Well this week has been awesome. One request, can you all send me some of your favorite quotes? They can be silly, funny, spiritual, inspirational, random.. Whatever you want. I just love quotes and my elders want me to share more with them and I'm starting to run out! Through email or DearElder or letters would be great. Update for the week, I have been released from my music calling. they try to switch you out every three weeks so everyone has a chance. We also got a new district leader. Elder Wilkinson was released and Elder Hobson took his place. They are both awesome, we we are excited. We found some muscle milk that other sisters didn't want, and gave them to our elders. This has led to a non-stop flex-off during class, and them spending lots of time in the weight room. We didn't know it would have such a reaction, but we are constantly entertained. Poor Elder Weight ran into a pole the other day. He was talking to a group of us, and we all saw it coming, but everyone figured he saw it too, and then SMACK! He ran right into just minutes before teaching TRC. We all just about died laughing (he was fine) but felt a little guilty since all of us could have prevented it. Oops. We have developed a Reeses Pieces obsession. EveryWednesday they have them out, and we stock up in our district! It's not healthy, but we admit there is a problem. However, no one wants to fix it, just eat. So it's all good. It has been raining a lot, which is awesome! My P90X class is growing everyday. The most recent class had 18 people in it. We are going to need to find a bigger space, and I've had other people come ask if they can join. We do it just above the gym, but apparently people think its an invitation only thing. It's been so much fun! OOOOH in other news, we got our new name tags!!! They are completely in Korean, including our names and they are amazing!!! I am in love. This place is amazing. While doing my laundry today, two elders came over and asked me to bear my testimony so they could hear it in Korean. I had them bear theirs first in English, and it ended up being a really cool experience down there by the washers. The same thing happened last night with two of the elders in our district. We all bore our testimonies to each other for practice, but the spirit was so strong that we were all almost in tears by the time the last one was finished. The older district left on Monday. We are now the oldest district. It's super weird, but way cool! I love it. I miss the other girls, and we had a pretty good party before they left (pictures to come). The Korean sisters were my favorite! They gave us some Korean facial masks (to explain the picture) and we had lots of fun with those. The new missionaries came in on Wednesday, and we had 17 new elders and 16 new sisters! It's crazy!! When we came in, we had 30 elders and 6 sisters, just to give an idea of how much sister missionary work it growing. One sister is from Cambodia, and another is from Taiwan. They speak very little English, but they will be learning Korean through English. It's going to be really cool to see how this works out. The Lord knows what he is doing and in this case especially, the gift of tongues is very real. We have had some really cool devotionals. One was from Richard I. Heaton. He brought up his down syndrome son who is 13 to talk to us. I almost started crying! He is adorable! We got to talk to him after, and he has the sweetest spirit ever. Oh my goodness, it was amazing. We had another devotional from Elder James Martino and his wife Jennie. They are from Denton, Texas and he is a member of the Seventy. He talked about the story of Alma and Amulek, and compared that to how we can work with members in missionary work. it was such a cool take on the story! I loved it, and gave me new perspective on how to successfully involve members. He also talked about how in the world, people ages 18-26 are in general farthest from God than they will ever be. He also said it is so surprise that this is the time that he calls us to be missionaries, and dedicate our time to the Lord instead!
A couple topics that have really stood out in my mind lately are gray areas and potential. So often it is our fear of failing that makes us never reach our full potential. We all can do so much with the help of the Lord. We can do anything He wants us to do, as long as we have faith in Him and ourselves. That's been one of the hardest things for me here. I don't want to say the wrong thing or teach a doctrine wrong, or anything like that. However, this fear has held me back from doing as well as I can. I have decided to put in completely in the Lord's hands. If I make mistakes, well good! That means I'm trying and the Lord will help me grow. Faith cannot reside where fear is present. So I am letting go of my fear, letting go of "I", and am giving the Lord my very best effort. We also talked about gray areas, and how they really don't exist. This is something I have been thinking about for a long time. The Lord has told us what is right, and we know what is wrong. There is no in between. Confusion happens when we try to justify our actions. If we aren't comfortable, it isn't right. We are either building the kingdom, or we are not. We are either bringing ourselves closer to the Lord, or drawing ourselves away. But there is no fence sitting. There is no gray in heaven. Another Elder pointed out that the story of the Nephites and the Lamanites are very much like the story of North and South Korea. A people who come from the same lineage, but were split and now reside completely differently. It was pretty cool to compare the two. Sister Lee (she is the wife to a member of our brand presidency) was actually born in North Korea, and escaped to South Korea during the war. It's so crazy how different the two lands are. I cannot wait to go and teach the people about Christ, and who knows, maybe in a few years missionaries will be in North Korea too.
I am so grateful for this gospel, and for all of you! Being a missionary is the greatest thing in the world, and having support at home just makes things even better. This church is true. That's all there is too it. Either its true or it's not. If it's not, then we are good people living good lives. If it is, and I KNOW it is, we are striving to be more like Christ each and everyday. We will be able to live with our Heavenly Father in Celestial glory forever and ever! And we will all be together. The people in Korea need this message. We are talking about ETERNITY here! This is not a small task, and I am learning all the time what a big responsibility this is. But the Lord has called me do His work and be His hands. I am SOOO grateful to Him for all that he doesn't need to do but still does for me. From helping me find a lost earring, to helping an investigator feel the spirit, He is always there. He loves us, He wants us to succeed, and success is the only option if we remain faithful. I am so grateful for this gospel. I love it with all my heart! thank you for all of you, and talk to you next week!
-Sister Shanelle Seegmiller
P.S. The rumors are still unconfirmed, but there is a 94.7% chance that we will be singing in the choir during the General Relief Society broadcast on Sept. 28!!!! Also, I may get to call home from the airport when we fly out. I don't know the details yet but I will let you know.
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