"This is the word of God, and it will bless your life forever!"

November 4, 2013

Dear everyone!

Oh my goodness. A year from today I will be going home. So crazy. It's impossible to believe that I've already been on a mission this long. There have been so many days I almost couldn't remember a time before my mission, and time was just flying by.

Well, this week has been full of ups and downs and LOTS of miracles. Because we have no investigators, we've been proselyting a LOT. We proselyte on the streets, subways, buses, trains, everywhere. Spending most of our time proselyting has been a really refining experience for me. After two weeks of proselyting almost all the time and still with no investigators, sometimes you have to check yourself to make sure you don't sound desperate. "The message we're sharing is SO special! It will bless your life FOREVER! PLEASE!" 

One night, we were really struggling. Nobody was even accepting our free English class fliers! So we found a quiet spot and sat down and prayed. After we prayed, I just walked up to the first woman I saw and held out a Book of Mormon and said, "We are sharing such a special message! This book has the word of God. I know this book is true!..." She ran away. Literally. Yeah. Missionaries are crazy. We go up to random strangers and talk about religion.

But I've also never been happier during my mission. When you proselyte, you testify. You are constantly sharing with others what you know is true. And nothing gives you greater joy and strength. During the past couple weeks, Sister Oh and I have truly been able to feel the love the Lord has for His children and for us as we've striven to give our all to share His gospel. I know this gospel is true. 

And we ARE sharing a VERY special message! We are sharing the message that the church Jesus Christ established when He was on the earth has again been restored fully and perfectly to the earth! We are sharing the message that through the gospel of Jesus Christ we can be with our families forever! We are sharing the message that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ALL people can overcome death and sin and live again with Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son. I KNOW our message is true. If you're reading this and you wants to know if it's true, test it. John 7:17 Alma 32:27 Live the gospel. Experience the fruits of the gospel, the blessings that come to those who live it. I promise with all my heart that you will come to know that it is true. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I love you all so much!

But never forget Heavenly Father loves you most.

Love,

Sister Bonney

"Why don't Jesus and Pilate run away together?" "They are not lovers!"

October 28, 2013

Dear everyone!

Okay. The subject line is from during our English Bible class. I love Bible class. :)

So we actually are not over three areas anymore. They decided to wait a transfer to add Oncheon to our plate, which I'm actually grateful for at this point because we have been really busy in our ward this week!

First off, serving with Sister Oh is something else! She's a fantastic missionary. We've only had a week together and I've already learned so much from her. She is so kind and dedicated to missionary work! And she's SO efficient. We've been able to accomplish SO much this week.

And we have no investigators. 구도자들이 없습니다. The literal translation is "The investigators do not exist." Because we have no one to teach, we've been proselyting and visiting less actives a lot, which is okay because those are two very important parts of missionary work.

Not too many exciting things happened this week actually, but it was such a good week! I've never been happier to be on a mission, and I've never felt more at peace with my decision to be here. I'm finally starting to love my mission the way so many return missionaries told me I would. Although there have definitely been times where it feels I can't remember a time before my mission, it's hard to believe that I only have a little over a year left.

I've truly grown to love the people here and serving them brings me so much joy. And our area is truly progressing! On Sunday (yesterday), the elders had 3 investigators at church! It was so exciting! And the members made such an effort to meet them and include them during meetings. It was a miracle in my eyes.

I know this is the Lord's work. I know that this is His gospel. I know that this church is God's Kingdom on the earth today. And I know without a doubt that God loves us, His children.

I love you all!

Love,
Sister Bonney

THREE AREAS?

October 21, 2013

Dear everyone,

The last few days have been FULL of changes! First, on Thursday night, transfer calls came. And Sister Lee has already left for Kyongju. I'm staying in Geumjeong another transfer! My new companion is Sister Oh. Sister Oh is WONDERFUL! She is just about the calmest person I've ever met, and honestly, I think it might be exactly what I need. She takes everything a little bit slower. Sister Oh also speaks PERFECT fluent English. She studied at BYU-Hawaii for two years, and that has been a huge blessing for me. I loved Sister Lee with all my heart, but being able to communicate is something irreplaceable.

The last several transfers, the Geumjeong sisters (us) have been over two areas because our ward boundaries cover two areas: Geumjeong and Yangsan. Yangsan is super country and about an hour away from Geumjeong. Today, after our transfer meeting, an elder from my district came up to me and asked, "You excited to start working in Oncheon?" Oncheon is the area next to ours. The office elders and APs work in that area. We are also now over Oncheon. We have THREE areas. My mind is still blown. We are over two wards, three areas, a total of 4 English classes, and wow. I'm still reeling a little bit. Sister Oh and I will be praying a lot, but seriously, I'm so excited. It's going to be so much fun! Two wards?! Wow. So excited.

The past week, my desire and love for missionary work has grown so much. As I prepared for the new transfer and my new companion's arrival, I started looking at our investigators and members with new eyes. Since I've finished my first two transfers, I'm not "training" anymore. I'm a full-blown missionary. As that realization really sank in, I started to understand how missionaries really are God's care-takers in the areas they've been called to serve in. The people of Geumjeong, Yangsan, and now Oncheon are our responsibility, and we need to do everything in our power to understand their spiritual needs and meet them to the best of our ability. It's kind of an overwhelming thing, but I know that the Lord qualifies who He calls. If He didn't, He couldn't call us. He calls the weak and the simple because He knows they will trust Him. I know this gospel is true with all my heart. I love my Heavenly Father more than I can express. And I'm SO excited for this transfer! 

I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Bonney

Buddhist monk? Miracle?

October 13, 2013

Dear everyone!

 

First off, last week my email title made no sense and I didn't realize that until I was trying to fall asleep that night. Solid. Anyway, explanation! "Policemen don't need to be stylish" or whatever. So although Sister Lee and I have finally figured out how to communicate with each other, we still have those moments when we totally miss each other. For example, I was talking to Sister Lee (in Korean) about how I think Korean glasses are so much better than American glasses. They're stronger, cheaper, and more stylish. She was not agreeing at all, and I didn't understand why. Finally, she says in broken English, "Policemen don't need to be stylish!" Yup. Solid.

 

So this past week was my birthday!!! Which was fun, but at the same time, just an ordinary day. We spent most of the morning and afternoon in our apartment actually studying (which we do every morning) and then weekly planning (which takes about 3 hours). Then we had English class. We bought a cake, and we partied with the elders which was actually really fun! Our ward has the best elders. :) They brought me two huge bags of my favorite Korean candy, which was super sweet of them! I was actually really impressed they even knew and remembered what it was! 10 gentlemen points, right there!

 

This week has been full of little miracles, but I'm only going to mention a few of them. Yesterday, we were supposed to meet an investigator at a subway station, but they never showed up. (That wasn't the miracle, in case you were wondering...) Anyway, there were a couple women from another church passing out fliers. A man approached us and asked if we were from their church. We explained we weren't and told him a little about our gospel. He was SO interested. As sister missionaries in our specific mission, we're not allowed to approach men, but he approached us! That was the miracle. We got his contact information, and he agreed to meet with us and the elders to learn more!

 

Another miracle: Yesterday, we walked into the hallway after church and there was a nonmember man and a Buddhist monk standing in the middle of the foyer. What. The. Heck. He had the shaved head and monk clothes and everything. Apparently, he wanted to learn English! The nonmember man had attended our English classes in the past and told the monk we would teach him because we are kind, service-loving people. And the monk is interested in our gospel. HOW THE HECK DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN!?!?!?! I have no idea. But Heavenly Father does. I can't wait to see what happens!

 

There have been SO many other miracles this week, I can't even list them! Like meeting an investigator who lives an hour away about 50ft outside our apartment door the morning after she prayed to know if God wanted her to meet with us?! How does that even HAPPEN?!?!?!? It's such a blessing to be able to see how God is working in our area.

 

One of the most exciting things about this week was General Conference. We were able to watch it in English, thank goodness. :) And every speaker was so inspired and guided through the Spirit. Just hearing the speakers, my testimony grew SO much that God speaks today! He loved His children back in the days of the scriptures, and He loves us just as much now! Why would He ever stop communicating with us?! He wants to speak to us, to guide us, to comfort us, and He does. We just have to be willing to listen with faith and with an open heart. God speaks NOW! I KNOW IT! I love this gospel with my whole heart, and I KNOW it is true. God lives, and I love Him more than I can express. And that's why I'm on a mission.

 

I love you all!

 

Love,

Sister Bonney

"But policemen don't need to be stylish..."

October 6, 2013

Dear everyone!

          I hope you are all doing well and getting excited for Halloween! Halloween does not exist in Korea, but all the foreign missionaries are having fun planning "Harvest Parties" for our area's members. I'm actually really going to miss Halloween... But that's irrelevant! And I can't spell anymore. Bear with me.

          Anyways, our area is actually slowly starting to pick up the pace! We have a special investigator named Katie (that's her English name). She and her daughter Annie lived in San Diego, CA for 2 years where Katie studied TEOFL. They speak PERFECT English. She never speaks Korean with me. Ever. They started coming to our English classes about 2 weeks ago, and that also includes our Bible class where we discuss Bible stories in English. She came with so many questions about the gospel. She had been found and taught by missionaries in CA, but had never accepted the gospel. She's struggling to believe in God, but her desire to believe is so fervent and so strong. She approaches US to talk about the gospel. She wants faith so badly, and I know it will come as she seeks earnestly. We're doing our best to follow the Spirit as we help her!

            Having a Korean companion has been fun and interesting. Korean and American culture is SO different, and so sometimes having a Korean companion is ... interesting. It's just as frustrating to my companion to have a foreigner as her companion too, but it's really helped me to understand the Korean people and Korean culture which I know will be a great blessing as I serve these people. Also, Korean is amazing. The Lord has blessed me so much. I can speak and understand incredibly well for a second transfer missionary, and I know it's all Heavenly Father cause I am NOT this gifted. (Especially with Korean. Cause Korean's just totally backwards.) Sometimes I'm afraid that because I am doing so well with the language I'm going to get called to train or be senior companion soon, but for now, I'm just going to speak Korean. And I love it.

            This work is real! The more I serve here, the more I love the people and am able to see how much Heavenly Father manifests His love for us in so many ways. This gospel is true!

Love,

Sister Bonney

"I think nuclear..."

September 30, 2013

Dear everyone!

 

Alright! So street contacting basically does nothing in Korea. Just in case you were wondering, but you weren't, but now you know. But we teach free English classes, and nearly all the investigators missionaries find in our mission come from English classes. Everyone who attends the English classes is asked to have a 30 min lesson with the missionaries. Before now, we were teaching 2 a week. A regular class and a Bible story class. We had a small but steady turn out. Same people every week. But now, we have three classes and soon we will have FOUR classes, and SO MANY MORE PEOPLE ARE COMING!!! And the classes have gotten so much more fun! Last class, a couple younger (23/24) men who come started a whole English discussion about how they don't need girlfriends because they're going to invent weapons to get rich. Oh my goodness, I love the people who come. They're hilarious.

 

This is a HUGE miracle for our area because it means more people are coming to US. It's amazing and we're really hoping that through our English classes, the Lord will be able to help us find those people who are prepared. And it actually is super exciting! And honestly, teaching English classes is one of my favorite things to do here. Honestly. Plus, it's one of the few times during the week I get to speak English. Just treasuring the small moments.

 

Well, the work is moving forward! Not too much else to say for this week.

 

I love you all so much!

 

Love,

Sister Bonney

Where Do All the People Go?

September 23, 2013

Dear everyone!!!!

 

Okay. I cannot remember a time before last week started. Yeah. The time does NOT always fly on a mission. But I think that's because we didn't do a lot of REAL missionary work this week.

 

This week was Chooseok. That is Korean Thanksgiving equal in importance to American Christmas. We were not allowed to visit members for three days and finding was pretty much impossible because the streets and buses were DESERTED. Apparently Koreans just stay inside and eat and sleep. Sounds awesome. But it's hard when you require the existence of people in order to do missionary work. Since street contacting and visiting members couldn't happen, we basically did a lot of planning for changing things up in Geumjeong. So that's super interesting.

 

ANYWAYS, not really too much to say this week. Oh! We did get basically dropped by our two most solid investigators. That's fun too. But trucking onward. Everyone has their free agency. As missionaries, all we can do is offer the choice and our fervent testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. So that's what we're doing. Onward and upward.

 

As missionaries, we do our best to invite others to test the gospel. The Lord has promised multiple times throughout every book of scripture, ESPECIALLY the Book of Mormon that if we test the gospel with a sincere heart, He WILL answer us. John 7:17 and Alma 32:27 both offer this promise. When teaching investigators, we share these scriptures fairly often, and I always kind of thought, "Well, I'm already a member of the Church. I have a testimony. These aren't really for me because I already know." But that is TOTALLY not true. This week, through several experiences, I learned that this promise is for EVERYONE. We can ALWAYS test the gospel no matter what we believe or how strong we think we are. God will ALWAYS answer. If we have a doubt, we can ALWAYS test the principle and pray for to be able to recognize the answer or blessing that Heavenly Father will give us. As we do this, our testimonies will be strengthened and our ability to recognize the Lord's hand in all things will be magnified, and, above all else, we will be able to feel the Lord's blessings in our lives.

 

This gospel is true! And God wants us ALL to be able to know it! And so He has provided a way! Test it. He will answer.

 

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!

 

Love,

Sister Bonney