Monday, March 18, 2013

March 17, 2013

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The mission rules were changed and now I am allowed to e-mail family AND FRIENDS!!!!! So anyone who wants to e-mail me directly is allowed to! ( Hand written letters are still preferred, but e-mails are more than welcome! :P)
Today is March 18th 2013! It was 6 months ago already that Dad and Leasa dropped me off at the MTC! It seems crazy how fast the time has gone - but even crazier to look back on everything that has been accomplished in such a short period of time. I'm starting to understand what people mean't when they said " Your mission will change your life forever." It's amazed to look back on just a portion of my mission and see how much has happened since my first day in the MTC. I've said it before and I'l\ll say it again, missions have a way of cutting you down to the very root of who you are and letting you grow again - but this time in the way the Lord wants, the way we were mean't to be. Coming on a mission is what I always wanted to do and being here is by far the best decision I've ever made. it's been hard, but each day God is giving me strength and building & teaching me how to do hard things. He's teaching me how to love the journey and to find the happiness and hidden joys in our trials. 


This week was FULL of funny experiences and MIRACLES!! ( Of coarse as you can tell miracles have become a theme for my mission...But these just reconfirm to me that God is in control of this work:P So I wanted to share them) 

My favorite thing lately that I see as a personal miracle is the ability to laugh at the way people reject us. It's not every easy to be rejected haha, but especially in Korea it happens so often that I feel like if you can't laugh about it it might eventually wear down on you. SO I Choose to laugh at them haha. Here are some from this week: 

1) People running away from me. 
2) People who listen to me speak Korean horribly and just smile, and then say ( in English) " I really don't want to talk to you right now." 
3) My favorite this week tho was at one of our investigators houses. She didn't want to hear a message, so right as we were starting our message she abruptly stood up and said " Do you want to see my red pepper paste!?" Ha it was really funny, she took us outside and showed us this big bucket of paste she had made.. and then sent us on our way. We never were able to share our message with her. ㅋㅋㅋ <--- Thats Korean laughs :) 


Other little miracles are always fun, like this week all my street lessons ( When we contact on the street and are able to teach a gospel principle, share a testimony, bet their contact info and set up a return appointment is a "street lesson") Had the same names of people I knew!! One was Juhee, and the other Sabrina! Super Fun. When I tell people I know someone with their same English name they think its the coolest thing ever! ( instant 정)  Last night on the way home from church I met a family who wasn't interested at all but as we continued to talk to them about who we are and that we are 자비로 산교사's ( Missionaries who pay their own way) They were more interested  we told them were our church was and agreed to meet with the Elders in their area! Its crazy how many people I find just from talking to them on the street in this area! In my previous areas we never got any street lessons.


Our investigators are progressing still! Some faster than others, but I love them all so much. It's truly amazing to realize how true Elder Hollands words are: " His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour at the day in which you got there". I know this is so true, we are all at such different places in our journey back to our Heavenly Father. But its all for a reason. We all have different callings and learn things at different times so that we can be where God needs us to be to help his other children when they need to learn something. Before my mission I was so naive , I felt like I was coming on a mission to teach other people and help others come closer to God. Each day I am realizing how wrong I was. It's these people who are teaching me. It's my investigators and companions that are helping me understand my purpose better, and it's God who is teaching them, I just have the privilege of being a tool in which he uses to do so. 


OKAY One more quick story, then I'll share my Miracle and finish this post. 
This week in District meeting we were discussing how to build better unity within our " district family". Many suggestions were made similar to what we do with our Families back home such as : Take the time to say thank you, serve each other, spend time together etc. The one we decided to work on is something I have a strong testimony of. In order to strengthen and build unity within our district ( family) we need to share our spiritual experiences with one another. I thought about how the people I have the stongest relationships with are those who I've shared my deepest feelings and spiritual experiences with. So I just wanted ( my family especially) to try this week to share your testimony or a spiritual experiences with your family.. or me :) ㅋㅋㅋ I know that as you take the time to share those experiences with one another you will grow closer and stronger together. 


MIRACLE MOMENT: ( quickly cuz I'm out of time... so I won't have time for photos this week SORRY!) 
 Last week when we were leaving our apartment for the day we ran into this man who was fixing the water. We talked to him for a minute in broken Korean and gave him a mormon.org pass along card. This week tho my companion and I decided to go 가가호호 ( knock doors) in an area we had never gone to before. As we were walking we felt impressed to go down one street and started to knock. We has been going for about 30 minutes with no success when we hear this mans voice call to us. We walked out to the street and there was this man standing there holding our our mormon.org card! Haha it took me a minute to figure out who he was and how he got our card, but I saw his name badge and remembered that IT WAS THE WATER BOY! haha. It was a miracle that we even ran into him again. Long story short we got him number and we are meeting with him and his girl friend this Friday! Love how God is able to put us in the right place at the right time to meet the needs of his children! 


This is really long. Sorry. I'm done now! I love you all so much! I love missionary work! Keep looking for the little miracles in your life! :) 
LOVE YOU !!! 
사랑해요!!! 
Sister Sulz 
슬츠 자매 <3

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