Beautiful Spring!

This week has been really busy but for a different reason. We were informed on Sunday that we would be moving to a new apartment. Then on Monday they told us we would be moving on Tuesday morning, and needed to be packed by 9 am. Then on Tuesday morning at 6:30, they called and told us they would be over at 8 so we needed to pack quickly. Needless to say, it was a little crazy but we got it all figured out. Our new home is beautiful and much bigger. However, it was very dirty. So after several bottles of cleaner, LOTS of rags, scrub brushes, rubber gloves, brooms, vacuums, and 4 days of cleaning, it is finished and we love it! I will send pictures next week hopefully because I forgot to take some before coming. We had transfer calls this week, and all 4 of the sisters in our home will be staying another transfer so we are really happy. This is the best area and no one ever wants to leave it! Also in irrelevant news, I bought a new hoodie which makes me ridiculously happy. I forgot how comfortable those are, even if its just for exercise in the morning. 

This week we had dinner at the Barnes home. They are from Texas, and their son went to school with Sister Thomas, so we had a lot of fun spending time with them. (OOH! We were walking by some housing the other day, and saw a Texas Tech banner hanging from the window. We laughed really hard, and saw that Texas pride has reached even to Korea.) We were also able to have dinner with a family in our ward, who insisted that all 12 missionaries come. It was a little crazy, but so fun. We have the best district, and on Thursday we will be getting another set of elders, so 14 missionaries will be serving in this ward. (Note- ward boundaries are far bigger here than in Utah, so there's a lot of area for us to cover. But 14 is still a lot, especially on Sundays when we all stand by the doors to greet members! :) 

We were able to go to the temple on Tuesday and the first new video has made it to Korea! So that was really fun. It was very special, and a very needed time to just sit and have time to think and pray. Kim Soon Eh is still doing good. We may have to push back her baptism a few weeks because she hasn't been able to come to church yet, but she told us she has thought a lot about it and is excited for that day! We also met with the family again, but this time it was with the mom and her three kids. Her name is Hyun Lee, and she has two sons, Damien (8), Michael (6), and Beatrice (5). They are adorable. They are all Korean, but have lived in America for most of their lives. The sons love playing our English games, and the mom is wonderful. She wants to know if God exists, and asked if we can help her to know he loves her. She is so sweet, and we are very excited to go back and meet with them this week.  Han Mi Hyang, our adorable recent convert, is doing really great. Her husband was just baptized yesterday, and we are SO excited for them. They are the cutest couple and are very excited for this new step in their lives. 

Lately I have been thinking a lot about specific prayers, and also miracles. We listened to a talk by Elder Oaks called "Miracles". It was really cool. He said the greatest miracle on earth is the change of someone's heart. Everything else can be restored in the resurrection, but that must be done by the individual. It was really powerful. I also loved Romans 8: 31, 35-39. When we look at things through an eternal perspective, the word 'impossible' loses all meaning. If we are doing the Lord's will, be will 'open the windows of heaven', and that can be taken literally. Those are some of the thoughts I have had lately. Also, I started trying to find all the scriptures to "ask, seek and knock". I am up to about 45 and there are still plenty to go. A fun scripture chase for you!

Well that sums up my week. Everything here is so amazing. I love Korea so much, and I LOVE this area, ward, and district that I am blessed to serve in. There is really no one way to explain the feelings that go on here. I am just so incredibly grateful for this experience that the Lord has given me to serve him for this very short time. I love the Lord with all my heart. There is no work more important than spreading the gospel, in homes, classes, at work, or in Korea! I hope you all have a wonderful week, and please let me know any mission moments that you see in your life. I would love to hear them. Until next week!

-Sister Seegmiller

A simple quote with a lot of power:

"Daily decisions determine destiny!"

OOH! I forgot three things. One- in the March Ensign there is an article about a ward in Korea who takes care of a man's aunt. Well fun fact, that ward is the ward I am currently serving in. And we know everyone that it is talking about. Small world! I highly recommend reading it. It shows the importance of member missionary work in retaining members, and also helps show why the work progresses so quickly in this area. It's all about the member involvement! That's really how we will Hasten the Work! Two- Sister Thomas and I were asked to submit our testimonies and they will appear on the homepage of lds.org/kor sometime in the next few weeks! We are very excited, and it's really fun to see the work progressing here! Three- there was also another baptism in our ward yesterday. It was a teenager, and he was baptized by his friend who got baptized a few months ago. It was a very special experience! I love you all!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

Well this week has been amazing. We have had so many miracles and fun things happen I can't believe it's only been one week. On Monday, we held our first "Feeling New Night" which was FHE for all the investigators, recent converts, and less actives that wanted to come. A nice small activity for about 12 people.. At least that was the plan, until they announced it in sacrament and invited all 150 members to attend. The missionaries  panicked just a little, but things worked out and it was great! We had them prepare mini spiritual messages and share them with everyone, and the members were great at helping those who hadn't done it before. The night turned out to be a success! We have been working a lot with an awesome sister named Ein Bo Nah. She's come to a lot of our activities lately, and is really progressing. She was baptized about 3 years ago, and is started to be active again so we are very excited.

 

Our area is insanely big so we have tried to go out and find people all over, instead of just near our home. whenever we do this, the Lord blesses us so much. We met an adorable girl named Yoon Ju (her American name is Ann). She has heard some bad things about our church, but was willing to meet again. We were able to teach her how to pray, and she prayed for the first time in her life. It was a very sweet experience, and we will meet with her more this week. We met with a family this week, two older women, a 5 year old, and her dad. Next week, his wife and two sons will join so we may be able to teach the entire family. This has been a huge blessing and we are very excited and very grateful. We went to lunch at President Christensen's home with a recent convert and her husband who will be baptized next week. It was a very nice lunch, and they loved President and Sister Christensen. Also, President and Sister Christensen are the best. We love them so much. And in VERY exciting news, Kim Soon Eh from Gangnam is getting baptized on April 5!!! We are so excited, and are ready to help her take the steps to get there.

 

This week in English class we talked about being healthy. So for the spiritual message, we took the opportunity to teach the Word of Wisdom, and also how Christ is our great physician. I asked a man to read from D&C about the Word of Wisdom. When he finished I went to take my scriptures back, but he wanted to keep it longer. So we let him read for awhile. Afterwards, he asked if he could have a copy of that section, and wants to start meeting with the elders. We weren't sure how the class would like the Word of Wisdom message, but it was exactly what he needed. The Lord loves everyone of his children.!

 

Yesterday was awesome! A student just moved here from Albuquerque, and will be here for about 5 months. She wants to learn Korean so will probably attend our ward. We met another recent convert from China. She met the missionaries in Canada and was baptized in November. She has a very strong testimony and looked up our church to make sure she keeps attending. She is very good at English and Chinese, but doesn't speak any Korean. So I was her translator during our three church meetings. Oh boy. It was cool because I realized I understood a little, and terrible because I really understood very little. So she got my "I think this is what they are saying, but if not, this seems like a good spiritual message to share" translation. One ward member who speaks English quite well overheard my translations. Throughout the meetings you could hear her giggling at my version of what was going on, since it was probably close to 40% accurate. But she had a good time and said she felt the spirit, so it was successful. Elder Nash and his wife did a fireside that night, and we were able to have two recent converts and a less active come with us. He shared a really cool message about Ether 2:17. The Brother of Jared engraved his message into plates, so why did he repeat 'tight like unto a dish' over and over again? Elder Nash pointed out that every single detail of the boat had been done exactly as the Lord commanded. He didn't cut any corners or mostly do what was right. Every single detail was followed and he was able to pray to the Lord saying "I have been obedient" and know it was true. He then promized great blessings on the members of Korea, but it would start with doing the simple things in their homes. Specifically, he said Family Home Evening, family prayer, and family scripture study. These are promised as safeguards if we do them diligently, and don't cut corners. He challenged us to fill in all the holes, and make our lives and testimonies 'tight like unto a dish'. It was an awesome message, and we were very grateful to meet him. 

 

That pretty much sums things up for this week. I hope you all have a great Spring Break. Have lots of fun, play hard, and enjoy the sun! I love you all. I am so grateful for this wonderful gospel that allows us to be together for eternity. It's so wonderful having the opportunity to share that message with the people her in Korea. Like mom said, when we teach with the spirit, all the holes created by our language can be filled because they feel what we are saying is true. I love this gospel with all my heart. Keep up the great work at home, and I promise to do my best here as well!

 

-Sister Seegmiller

 

I'm sure you have all heard this story but I love it. Just remember, no act of kindness is ever wasted. You can always make a difference to that one.

 

Starfish Story
A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.
She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”
The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, “Well, I made a difference to that one!”

5 months!

Well I cannot believe that I have been in Korea for 5 months now! Where in the world has all the time gone? Life is so good here and the work is pushing forward! Last transfer, my companion and I met a student on the street and gave her a Book of Mormon. This transfer she started meeting with her and her new companion and will be baptized at the end of the month! We are so excited! Two other investigators in our district have baptismal dates as well. This area is awesome! Yesterday we had a fireside from SUU's president, Brother Wyatt. He talked about doing hard things, and how they are the things that help us build character. He shared a quote from President Holland, and this will be paraphrased but is still awesome. "Hard times will always pass if we want them to. Remember, darkness always yields to light." It was exactly what I needed to hear, and it seemed to be the same for all the other missionaries trying to learn Korean! Our character is built when times are hard, and our character is what helps us overcome hard things. What a fun little connection.

This week we really focused on having very specific prayers. You know how the Lord promises over and over and over and over again in the scriptures "Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you"? Well, the Lord always keeps his promises. And I wish we had applied this sooner, but the more specific our prayers, the more specific our answers, and that applies to everyone! On Wednesday, we made a goal to talk to 16 people and also have a lesson on the street with someone who needed the gospel in their life. We hadn't had much success, and it was getting close to time to head home. We were standing at a crosswalk and felt like we should talk to the lady next to us. We asked if we could talk more. She said yes, we sat down, and for the next 30 minutes she poured out her heart to us about how her grandmother and mother had passed away. School was hard, she desperately missed her family, and she was working sundays so she couldn't attend her church. We were able to tell her how much God loves her and her family, and that all hard things can be made right through Jesus Christ. She cried and just kept saying 'thank you'. When we got up to leave, we gave her a big hug and will hopefully meet again this week. We went home, almost in a daze, because of how specifically God had answered our prayers. But it wasn't without effort. We had set a goal, we worked hard to reach it, and it wasn't until the very last person that we found who he sent us there to find. The Lord always keeps his word and is more than willing to help any and every time we ask.

The next day we decided to set a goal of meeting someone with sincere gospel interest on the street. Once again, the very last girl we talked to was a sweet lady from China. She told us about her religious background, which didn't include Christ, but she thought he was a good God to worship. We showed her the Book of Mormon. She asked if she could have one, and after looking through it was really excited and told us she would start reading it with her boyfriend. She was going to go back to China the next day, and didn't have a Korean phone number. When she realized that, she looked disappointed and asked "Well, how are we going to stay in touch? I want to learn about this book." There are few words that sound better than that to a missionary. We exchanged email addresses, which is wonderful because we can keep in tough forever this way! Unfortunately, there aren't missionaries in her home yet, but one day that door will be opened. Until then we will continue to contact her, for which we are so grateful!

We have started meeting with a new investigator from Gangnam (yes, she lives Gangnam style!) She is super sweet, and has a lot of gospel interest. She really wants to learn English as well, so we are doing the Family English program with her. This past meeting, we talked about the restoration. We ended with the great apostasy, and told her we would continue next time. She said, "Yeah, because we still need to talk about Joseph Smith." We were slightly shocked, and learned that she has done a lot of research about our church. She would like to serve a mission later in life, and hopes to bring her family into the church if she feels that it is right. We opened the lesson with a prayer, and she was crying. She told us she felt something as we prayed and wants to keep that feeling. So you could say we are pretty excited to continue with her.

I had a fun thought today during personal study. I was reading in Jacob 2, which before I saw as the Lord calling out those who needed to repent. But today I realized another piece of it. It was interesting how often he talked about the wives and daughters. Thinking about fathers in this world, they all have a special place in their heart for their daughters. And that is no exception with our Heavenly Father. He loves his 'little girls' and is always looking out for us. It was a very comforting reminder that he is always there and that he loves me. After studying that, we sang "Oh My Father", which was enough to put me in tears. We are never, ever alone. And our purpose in this life is far greater than we recognize. But when we are on the Lord's errand we have the Lord's help, and he takes care of his "little flock". I love this gospel with all my heart. There is no greater knowledge than knowing where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going. Let's share it with the world! I love all of you, have a great week.

-Sister Seegmiller :)

And here is an awesome quote from a talk "Notwithstanding My Weakness," by Neal A. Maxwell (1976) sent by my MTC teacher. It was awesome and I want to share it with all of you.

Now may I speak, not to the slackers in the Kingdom, but to those who carry their own load and more; not to those lulled into false security, but to those buffeted by false insecurity, who, though laboring devotedly in the Kingdom, have recurring feelings of falling forever short.

Earlier disciples who heard Jesus preach some exacting doctrines were also anxious and said, “Who then can be saved?” (Mark 10:26.)

The first thing to be said of this feeling of inadequacy is that it is normal. There is no way the Church can honestly describe where we must yet go and what we must yet do without creating a sense of immense distance. Following celestial road signs while in telestial traffic jams is not easy, especially when we are not just moving next door—or even across town.

[...]

Some of us who would not chastise a neighbor for his frailties have a field day with our own. Some of us stand before no more harsh a judge than ourselves, a judge who stubbornly refuses to admit much happy evidence and who cares nothing for due process. Fortunately, the Lord loves us more than we love ourselves. A constructive critic truly cares for that which he criticizes, including himself, whereas self-pity is the most condescending form of pity; it soon cannibalizes all other concerns.

Brothers and sisters, the scriptures are like a developmental display window through which we can see gradual growth—along with this vital lesson: it is direction first, then velocity! Enoch’s unique people were improved “in process of time.” (Moses 7:21.) Jesus “received not of the fulness at first, but received grace for grace” (D&C 93:12) and even He grew and “increased in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52).