Real Friends do Handstands and Let You Steal Their Skirts and Stuff

I just love Sister Ahn.

Elder Bennett's final day at the temple

Sister Song has 4 of the same skirts, so we all decided to rock them on the same day.

Ha Hee Un

Kim Soon Eh

selfy with Ein Bo Nah

Sandy

Sometimes we do handstands at night, so we had to take a picture.

Last Days in 신당

This week has been so good. First off, we received transfer calls and I will be serving in 중랑 (Jungrang if you look it up, but that's totally not how it's pronounced) with a Korean companion so I am super excited!! I am really sad to be leaving this area. I have been serving here since December and it is truly my home. But the Lord needs me elsewhere, so it's time for a new adventure. It's been so fun serving with Sister McCloskey and six weeks together just isn't long enough! She is great and is such a wonderful missionary. There is however, a Costco in my new area so there is always a bonus ;) The ward was so great on my last Sunday there. One woman came over, and asked why they were making me leave. I had been there so long, she just thought of me as part of the ward. It was really sweet and I am SOOO grateful for the wonderful people that I have been so blessed to serve with.

 

On Saturday, we met with a woman named Kim Young Sook. She met us once on the street, met us once again to give back the Book of Mormon, and then wanted to meet again. So we went not really sure what to expect. She started asking a bunch of questions about the Book of Mormon, our church, our beliefs, just everything. As we talked, we kept turning back to the Book of Mormon for her answers. (Mom- in response to your comment, we are certainly not scriptorians. Every morning we have a lot of time to study and prepare, so that when we meet people the spirit can bring things back to our rememberance. It's incredible how it works, but the spirit knows what verse they need and helps us know what to share.) We would ask her to read a verse, and she would read the whole chapter instead. After about 45 minutes of this we offered her the book again. She was very excited, and asked where our church building is so she can attend. Holy cow, it was a miracle. On the way to visit her, we were on the Subway. That morning I had a thought to grab a Chinese Book of Mormon and bring it. On the subway I met a Chinese woman. She was not Christian, but had just met a new friend who invited her to church. The next day she met us on the subway. We were holding a Korean Book of Mormon at first, but when I pulled out the Chinese her eyes got huge. She couldn't believe it was in her language. She told us that she was never had a lot of association with Christianity, but feels like God may be trying to tell her something. Um, Yes He sure is!! She hugged the book to her chest, and told us she could feel that it was very special. As she left, she said she would try to find the church near her home. The Book of Mormon is true!!! I cannot say that enough. The Book of Mormon is true, it has real power, and the truths contained in it can and will and continues to change lives everyday. Oh my goodness, I love it so much!  Pretty much everything this week has happened because of the Book of Mormon. We have really tried to make it our focus this week, and were able to give away 38 copies. 38 people now hold in their hands the answers to the universe. The key to their happiness is so close and they now have the opportunity to come unto Christ in the purest, fullest, perfect way. It is far more than a book. It is a way of life, it is truth, and it testifies of Christ. The Book of Mormon is true.

 

Well, that just about sums up missionary life here in Korea for now. I could not be happier, and I LOVE this work. Everything in missionary work is about serving other people, but we are always the ones who benefit more. We can never repay the Lord for what he has done for us. Like King Benjamin says, simply being able to wake up and breath is a blessing from God. Then we keep his commandments and he blesses us more. Then we bless the life of someone else, so he pours blessings out upon our on. He has given us everything. He is so good to us, and I want to use all my time trying to help others recognize those blessings in their lives. The church is true. I love you all, thank you for all your prayers. You are in my prayers as well, and have a wonderful week!

 

-Sister Shanelle Seegmiller :)

 

 

Amazing quote:

“History provides us a vivid example of the importance of the Lord's servants being in tune with the Spirit. The young Prophet Joseph Smith could not translate when he was angry or upset.”
                                                      Dallin H. Oaks  Two Lines of Communication, Oct 2010

Joke:

Real things said in Court:

Q: Doctor, before you signed the death certificate, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you signed the certificate?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. But now that you mention it, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.


Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July fifteenth.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.

Never Forget to Do A Peace Sign

A district hike on Pday, oh how I love this city!

 At the temple with beautiful Sister Wen and the Ulvestads.

And this is Sister Ellis, who's dad set apart our dad.

 And the cute sisters that I serve with!

They really are looking for the truth!

This week has been so good and so full I'm not entirely sure what to share. One tender mercy is that we had President interviews!! I love them so much. I probably talk too much, but President Christensen is an incredibly inspired man and it's great to seek his advice and counsel. I was definitely sent here partly because I needed President and Sister Christensen, and I am SOOO grateful for them and their examples. We went to see the outside of the temple with Sister Wen this week as well. We also went to the family history center to teach her how to take names to the temple. And holy cow, it's so easy!! They used my account as the example, and I was fascinated as we looked into family stories and pictures. We read a little about Uncle Morris since he was a soldier, and that was really special. Sister Wen was also touched since she is a soldier as well. She is really excited to get things started for her family! We had zone meeting this week, and the focus was on 'How to Begin Teaching'. *see PMG chapter 10 They first talked about how to use this while doing less active work, which I LOVED! It's been so cool to see. Sister Thomas and I decided to get a district less-active project going, and it has continued for months. The elders in our district have been amazing, and we have found a lot of people. It's given a lot more direction to the work. We have a pretty cool system set up to get everyone found, and other areas have been calling to see how to set it up there as well. As a result, less-active work in this area has exploded! Oh my goodness, it's so exciting! These precious souls are being brought back into the fold! And as we seek out the lost souls, the Lord puts the most incredibly prepared people into our path. On the subway I met a man who asked to meet with missionaries. We all met at the church, and it turns out he was baptized years ago because of the example of his soldier friend. He has been trying to find the church since, and came to church on Sunday. Wow. Kim Soon Eh also came to church, and she got there about 15 minutes before we did. We tried to hurry and get there, but shouldn't have worried. When we arrived, she was sitting down surrounded by relief society sisters friendshipping her and making her feel welcome. That is the reason missionary work explodes in this area. The ward loves everyone who comes through those doors, and it's the greatest blessing. Mom, Kim Soon Eh started meeting with us several months ago but couldn't meet for a  while. Now we are meeting again, so she's had most of the lessons- to answer your question.

 

But this week we had the coolest, coolest teaching experience ever. After church we met with Thomas and Leanne (both Koreans). We LOVE them. They are the most honest, sincere seekers of truth I have ever met. We started with them asking lots of questions. It was fascinating, because they were asking some of the deepest, hardest questions in the universe for people to find answers to. But because of the Book of Mormon, we could answer every single one. He would start a question, and we couldn't help it, we would just start to smile. He said, "You honestly have the answer to that one too??" He also asked other questions, like "Is there anywhere in the Book of Mormon that teaches the exact same thing as the Bible?" (sermon on the mount) and "I would really like to know about how the government was before Christ appeared to the people in America. Do you know anything about that?" (see chapter headings of 3 Nephi) It really strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon, as I really realized in a very real way that two 20-something year old girls can answer the questions of the universe. All because we have been blessed with the incredible knowledge of this gospel. We then taught the Plan of Salvation. It was a really intense lesson. He is a devout Christian, and she was raised Buddhist. He believes that all good people who believe in Christ will be saved. She believes in reincarnation. When we talked about needing to be baptized to enter the Celestial Kingdom, it hit home. They sat quietly for a moment, and then he said. "If what you are saying is true, my world just got  rocked. This shakes the foundation of my faith that I have been taught since I was little." They asked to have time to read and pray, because we had given them A LOT to think about. But holy cow. It was incredible. It truly did rock their world, because they just heard about the plan they've already accepted once. We are just helping them remember what they already know. THIS GOSPEL IS SOOO COOL, OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!

 

I love this work with all my heart. Those who are searching for the truth are really out there, and the Lord is helping us find them each and everyday. I love Korea and these incredible people I am so blessed to be serving. I love you all, and hope you have a great week!! Shalynne- Keep it up! There are people waiting for you, and the preparation you are doing now is exactly what they need! This church is true!

 

-Sister Shanelle Seegmiller

 

Quote of the week-

“If you think you are too small to make a difference,
 you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.”
                                                ~African proverb. 

God Bless America....in Korea

And just because missionary work is fun!

4th of July on the base

This is P.J. Rogers, one of the best Korean-speaking Americans in the world. And this is the Michael Jordan of Korean basketball. His name is Ooh Jee Won, and he's super famous apparently.

I found out John Berger, one of my friends from Dixie, has a little brother on the BYU Hawaii team. He's the blonde one on the end. Small world.

Another amazing week!

This week has been so good. We have continued our search for less actives, with a lot of success. That is not defining success as finding the less active and activating them, but by finding the right people the Lord sent us out to find. There are a lot of real estate places around, and we often ask them for directions to find homes. And countless times we have been able to get into gospel discussions with them, give them a Book of Mormon, and make plans to meet again. It's incredible. Our investigator, Shinee, is a volunteer tour guide and wants us to help her revise her english script. So we have been doing 30 minutes of English and 30 minutes of gospel with her. She is awesome and keeps bringing new friends to hear and join. Through her, we have been able to give 9 people Book of Mormons already, and have several new investigators. She is wonderful. Kim Soon Eh, the one from Gangnam, randomly called us again and wanted to meet! She still has a strong desire to get baptized and wants to be baptized on Aug 10. We are very excited for her! Her main interest started when she saw the Salt Lake temple, and that has been her focus since. Which is a great reminder for all of us, since that's where we should be focused all the time. Eeh Kun Hay is also awesome! She is also a volunteer tour guide, and has so many questions about the church. We love meeting her and she is progressing very well. Yesterday we had a fireside with P.J. Rogers and the BYU- Hawaii basketball team. That was really fun, and their coach is so nice. I led the music, so I sat by the coaches on the stand, and we had some good long talks. It was really cool because some members of the team aren't members. But a Korean spoke who wasn't a member when he joined the team, but got baptized later and shared his testimony with us. It was very special and a good reminder what our example can do for others.

 

Another tender mercy this week- we were able to spend the 4th of July on the army base surrounded by soldiers. The Ulvestad's bought us ice cream and hot dogs to celebrate, and we were with our adorable recent convert who is far too pretty to be a soldier. We had a great lesson with her, then went to watch fireworks. There we met a woman who we have met twice on the subway already, and she was shocked to see us again. But she's super nice and we had a good talk with her and her husband. Then there were fireworks, and it was incredible. Standing there, in the center of Korea, yet surrounded by hundreds of soldiers. As we stood there watching fireworks, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the soldiers since I am able to be in Korea because of their service. It's very possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity spending Independence Day on an Army base, and  I am SOOO grateful for the opportunity. I love Korea, but I am so proud to be an American no matter where in the world we may be.

 

That about sums up my week. It's been so good, full of miracles, and wonderful people. I love Korea, I LOVE this gospel, and am so grateful for every day that I have here in this beautiful country. I love you all, have a wonderful week!

 

-Sister Shanelle Seegmiller :)

 

 

 Quote of the week:

 According to James Madison, often referred to as the father of the Constitution: “We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of the government—far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

"By their feet you shall know them"

Me and Sister McCloskey :)

Delicious food on P-day!

 Sister Missionary tanlines!

11 months!

Holy cow. exactly 11 months ago today I was set apart to be a missionary. It is absolutely incredible how fast time has gone. This is has been absolute best time of my life and I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve and share the gospel in Korea. There was a baptismal service yesterday, and Sandy was able to attend. She has never been to one before, and she is seriously considering being baptized herself. Another less active came to church, and told us she has been studying both the english and Korean Book of Mormon for an hour everyday for the past few weeks. Incredible. We had two less actives and one investigator at church, and were trying to figure out how to be with each of them. But as we walked into Sacrament meeting, each of them were already surrounded by ward members, and we didn't have to worry. I love this ward so much. Just being a friend to others is spreading this gospel more than we realize. This week we had a testimony builder of how our efforts are never wasted. We have been meeting with one less-active since February. She is great, and loves meeting. We make a lot of progress but it never sticks and it has been the same cycle for months. We were a little frustrated and lost about what to talk about with her. But we decided to talk about perspective, and seeing commandments from God as blessings. We compared 1 Nephi 17:2-3 with 1 Nephi 17:20-21, and planned to explain that things are only hard if we think of them in that way. Well, she walked in the room and was glowing. She had an incredible light about her and was so happy. She could barely contain herself as she explained how she had been keeping the Word of Wisdom for the past month. She said she now understands why we were given that commandment, and she has no desire to turn back. I was shocked, amazed, and SOOO grateful as she talked. Months and months of working with her really was making a difference. And now she is taking very big, wonderful steps to come closer to Christ. It's amazing. Never give up on anyone. They all have the light of Christ, and the ability to recognize goodness in their lives.

 

We had a guest speaker come to our mission this week named P.J. Rogers. He served a mission here years ago, and talked to us about how to become a part of this culture in order to be most effective. It was amazing. But the reason it was so amazing, the night before I asked in my prayer to know some very specific things. Things I felt like I struggled with, things I was lacking in action or understand. etc. Well, Brother Rogers started out his talk with my first bullet point and then went on to answer every bullet point on my list. It was incredible to once again see the Lord so quickly and obviously answer my prayers. It doesn't always happen like that, but I was so grateful and it was very needed. Specific prayers get specific answers, general prayers generally don't. I am a firm believer of that, and know that it has proven to be true in my life time and time again. Well that about sums up life for this week. I am so grateful for all of you and your examples of strength at home. Thank you for your prayers, support, and love! It is the greatest help I could ask for. I love you all, the church is true!

 

-Sister Shanelle Seegmiller :)

 

 “[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

 

 The following are actual church bulletin board bloopers found in churches across the United States:

-Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
-The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.
-For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
-Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
-Don't let worry kill you off - let the church help.

Hello Family!

Sandy is doing great. She came to church again, and asked more about the Word of Wisdom and other commandments. Everytime we explained them, she would respond "Oh, that's not hard. I can do that." But she still wants to be sure it is right, and it's what she really wants. We are working hard to help her gain that conviction for herself. We also had a cool experience while looking for less actives homes. We were walking up the street and a lady ran over to us and said that we were different from other foreigners. We asked why, and she said because we smiled all the time, and most people can't always be happy but we were. It was very simple but really fun to see that people really are recognizing a difference in us as we walk around the streets. We decided to heart attack the new relief society presidency's homes to show our support. After the first one, we realized we had put the wrong name on the door. It was too far to go back and fix, so we just mixed up all the rest as well, so that all the names would be accounted for somewhere. We were looking for the relief society president's house, and weren't sure which one it was. But then we saw an Ensign in the mailbox, and new we were at the right place. Latter-Day Saints can be distinguished in a lot of different ways. This week we decided to fast for a very specific purpose. We were excited and ready, and acted in faith. But then the time came and what we had been fasting and praying for didn't happen. We were a little disappointed, and tried to see the Lord's hand. Well, the Lord is too good. And on Sunday, we had 4 investigators come to church, plus another less active!! One was a former investigator who has been meeting missionaries for years, but stopped about 5 months ago. She texted us, and randomly showed up at church with her two children for the first time in her life. Then during sacrament, Thomas and Leanne walked in and asked if we would be willing to meet after church. We had met them once before but hadn't heard much for a few weeks. And there they were, we were able to have a wonderful first lesson and they are very interested to learn more. He said his favorite part is that we talk about feeling the truth, because he believes that's the only way to gain knowledge. He said when he was young he felt something once, and has been trying his entire life since to find that again. We had tried to visit the less active about four times the past few weeks, but they kept sending us away. But Sunday morning, she walked in happy as ever and ward welcomed her with loving arms. Later that day, we were looking for more less actiives. We knocked on one door, and a man answered. He immediately asked "are you Mormon?" We said yes, and he said he saw missionaries when he was young. He has been wanting to learn more since, so we gave him a Book of Mormon and said we would send the elders over. We were walking away, and he came running behind us with a snack for each of us, to say thank you for the gift we had given him (meaning the Book of Mormon). It was almost more than I could handle. While a few moments of disappointment came after my will wasn't fulfilled, the Lord literally POURED out his blessings on us in His way and His time. It was incredible. My testimony of the power of fasting has grown so much, and I know that it is a true principle of the gospel. The Lord gives us commandments, and he always keeps his promises. I cannot express through email my gratitude for my Father in Heaven, and his guiding hand in this work.

 

One more thing before I depart.  In the July Ensign, there is a talk called "Becoming Perfect in Christ" on page 42. I thought it would be good to read in order to improve myself. But instead the talk is about what it means to become perfect in Christ, and what it doesn't mean. It talks about perfectionism and perfectionists, and reminds us that Christ never demanded that of us. Perfection in our mortal view is very different, and success has an entirely different meaning. As I read the talk, it felt as if it had been written directly and specifically for me. It was incredible, but it also made me think of all of you. I would encourage all of you- my amazing, overachieving, incredibly smart, talented, wonderful family members- to read this talk.It helps put into perspective how the Lord views us all, and it's pretty amazing. This has been another wonderful week, and I love being here so much. This is the Lord's church in earth, I have absolutely no doubt. I love you all, have a wonderful week!

 

-Sister Seegmiller