Let's see, where to start. This week I had my first companion exchange of the mission. I was companions with our sister training leader, Sister Smith. She is from Provo Utah and is just about the sweetest person on the planet. We met her at the subway and then took a taxi to get to English class. English class happens once a week and we always teach. It is held at the church and is a great way to get people inside the church in a non-threatening situation. We always begin and end with a prayer, and a spiritual thought. The sweet ward member fed us an amazing pork dinner. She is great. We have a beginner, intermediate, and advanced class. We teach the beginner class because Sister Gu can communicate with them in Korean when they don't understand what I am saying. It's really fun and I think it will work well in finding people to teach. It was really nice being with Sister Smith for a day, because I could ask her all about language learning ideas, parts of speech, vocab, culture differences, and just all kinds of things that I can't really ask my companion because she isn't from America. My companion is amazing, but asking her why they put a marker here and a word there doesn't make sense, they just do. So Americans understand how my brain works a little better.
The bread that our neighbors gave us, that we weren't able to eat because it was greet tea and coffee.. We gave one to the security guard for our apartment building, and another to the lady that sells fish snacks on the side of the road. She seemed confused but appreciated the offer. I told her in English that we see her all the time and wanted to give her a present, and Sister Gu translated. Well, a few days later we decided to buy some snacks from her which are normally 5 for a dollar. She put 6 in the bag with a big smile and told us that way we could each have 3! It was awesome! It was a small thing but we have started to build a relationship with her. It makes me so happy! There is another lady who sells vegetables near our house. We say hi everyday. One day she told us that she saw someone who she thought was us and said hi. It turns out it wasn't, so she was very glad to see us come by. Yay!! We are trying hard to make friends with the people we see all the time. They are all so sweet.
I was able to pass off teaching lesson 2 from preach my gospel. WOO HOO! it took about 2 hours because my district leader helped me a lot with memorizing techniques and how to apply things I learned during the day. It helped so much and motivated me to try even harder.
This week was Sister Gu's birthday. The elders had a little surprise lunch for her at a members house. We went over and helped cook. She asked if I knew how to cook meat in a pan. I said yes. So she handed me a big pair of chopsticks and a chunk of meat that is kind of a mix between shredded beef and hamburger. And guess what. It actually worked really well! I don't know how awkward it looked but the food tasted delicious. It was so fun in fact that I tried cooking meat with chopsticks again at our home. Practice makes perfect! I need lots of practice but it was so fun. The ward members are so sweet and feed us more food in one sitting than I have ever had probably ever. You eat until you might die, and then you find out that they have seconds and thirds of everything! And somehow it works and everyone is happy. I love it! They end every meal with fruit and that really helps your stomach settle. One ward member also insisted that we try her massage chair, which was wonderful! I love this area and the people here.
Yesterday at church we were able to go to ward council! This was very exciting because they hadn't held one yet since we've been here. We were able to talk about missionary needs and how the ward can help. It was a huge step in the right direction. I took notes during the meeting, which meant I wrote down all the words that I understood and spelled them in English and Korean. Not super helpful, but it was a start. We are also singing with the YSA group in a stake conference meeting soon. I'm not sure how that happened but we are. The song is in English so they love having me and the elders to help with pronunciation. The song is beautiful! It's called Homeward Bound by Marta Keens.
This week I was reading in D&C 31. In vs 10 it talks about being called to be a physician to the church. I feel like that is a huge part of our mission. Obviously we are called to teach and baptize. But here so many people are recently baptized, and the church members really need help to strengthen the ward they already have. It's hard to explain, but that verse really hit home. I feel like it was written for Korean missionaries. My sister training leader told me this during our exchange, "People are called to America to teach, South America to baptize, foreign lands to learn another language, and Korea to be humbled." Truer words were never spoken. This mission isn't easy. The language is ridiculous and the people don't want to listen. But there are wonderful things happening here. The church is growing stronger and I know things will progress. I am so excited to be a part of it! This week I tried to do street contacts without my trainers help. And I actually had a conversation with a lady on the street! She told me she was Buddhist and I understood!!! Holy cow it was the coolest thing ever!! I only understood a few words, but our mission president says "If you don't know what they said, answer the question they should have asked!" So I did and it was awesome. Baby steps but I am seeing progress.
I love Korea so much! Missionary work is hard. It's tiring and it tests every part of who we are. But it is so worth it!! This next week will be amazing, and I hope it is for all of you as well. I love you so much! Thank you for everything! The church is true!
-Sister Seegmiller
p.s. I have developed a slight cereal obsession. This bag lasted a week
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