I have found why I am here in this area

This week has been so good. I’m sorry for being a total wimp last week and talking about the problems with the language. I should be over it by now right!?? Anyways, a lot has happened this week. A lot of learning on my part and it feels like ages ago when it was last Monday! Anyways, the event of the ship was pretty devastating. The students that were on the boat were actually from a school not too far from here. The missionaries said no members of our church were on the ship but their friends were and they were really worried about them. There is a lot of skepticism and wonder if it really was an accident or not because the owner of the ship had been known for causing other problems too... You probably know more than me because you can watch the news.. but it has affected a lot of people here and they have closed down a festival in remembrance of the them  in this area. Pray for them and their families, and that they might be forgiving of the leaders of the school and faculty as well. 

This weekend Sister Linda K Burton came with her husband to Korea and talked to our mission and held a fireside for the people in this area! If you didn’t know, Brother Burton was a mission president of this mission before it closed down. They were so wonderful and spiritual. President Burton talked about the importance of the word REMEMBER. It is said 157 times in the Book of Mormon. We must remember that we are always a disciple of Christ!! Anyways, so much to say so little time! 

I realized that for a while now, I had been focusing my efforts on the language and getting frustrated and feeling like I was going nowhere. But maybe that’s because I was comparing myself to the native Korean speakers!!!! silly me! How can I be perfect at a language that I’ve only been learning for 7 months! Wow time flies.... anyways, I decided to cast Satan out of my mind, to stop letting him influence me in bad ways. I decided to devote my thoughts, energy and time to the work. Seek the spirit more than the vocabulary I needed for that moment. No wonder I had been having a hard time. I was pushing away the spirit and focusing on the things of less importance. The spirit speaks, not the language. The spirit is what makes me act, not the language. 

This Sunday I met the father of the girl Joy Lee who I met in the MTC and became instant friends. He is a less active member of the church. As we talked, we bonded over his daughter, who he was really proud of. He showed me all her pictures. I found out her served a mission too and then the spirit kicked in. I had thoughts and questions put into my mind that I knew were not my own. I asked every single question that came to mind. I didn’t want to leave anything out or miss any opportunity. I asked him if he had mission photos and he found them and started showing us and after asking many questions it got him to reminisce on the good and happy times while he was a member and he started telling stories that i could understand. It was so fun to laugh with him and imagine him on the mission. He started smiling and his smile was so bright!! I could see something spark within him. He was different. It made me sooo happy. It is amazing what the Holy Ghost can do and speak to people without words. This work is so amazing, and the blessing of feeling the spirit is the greatest blessing I could ask for!  Even though I’m not the greatest at this language, I am grateful that I can be trusted enough of the Lord to be filled with promptings of the spirit and know what to do and to say when the Lord needs me. I have found why I am here in this area and it was not by coincidence that i bonded so well with my Korean friend in the MTC. My vision has been enlarged and I am realizing things I would not have if I had not gone through the challenges I did. I love missionary work. I love it soooo much. 

Love Sister Wright

ps. transfer calls came. I’m staying here and my comp is leaving! I’m getting Sister Rose from my district in the MTC! haha it will be a blast!

Melon Milk is Great!!!

This week has been sort of challenging. I’ve gotten myself stuck in a rut! I feel so insecure about my language abilities. I was doing really well! until.... mega stress kicked in. ahhh it is killing me! I know that being a missionary isn’t about how well I speak the language.... but speaking the language is a big part of being a Korean speaking missionary. It made me question why I was called to speak this language. Then I realized that this language does not define who I am as a representative of the Lord. That’s when the saying “actions speak louder than words" really applies to me. If I can’t speak, (which is probably one of the hardest struggles, not being able to express myself through words) then I can act. I can smile, I can serve, I can work hard, and through my actions I can show who I really am. It was so hard for me during college application/college acceptance time when everyone was getting into the colleges they wanted, getting the grades they studied for. I felt like I studied but didn’t get the grades.  Like then I feel like the same thing is happening to me again. I’m studying, but not getting the results I want. I see others progressing so quickly and I compare myself to others which is a dangerous act! But then I realize, the gift of learning a language is not something I’ve received, but it is something I can strive to work on, and look and develop the other strengths I have received. And in the end, I will be happy with the results. Happier than I would if I had just been given freely the things that I want. The Lord isn’t spoiling me because he knows what would happen to me if He did spoil me! It must be really bad! hahaha I know my Heavenly Father loves me and will strengthen me through my trials. I am happy because I know that I can overcome the world, just like Christ did. john16:33.

Happy Easter :)

p.s. I am happy, it just seems like every time I email, I get emotional... I love you!!!!

Sister Wright

a man gave us free snacks!

I Love General Conference

Good morning!

This week was filled with inspiration and lots of good things. We saw general conference on Saturday and Sunday and it was so great! Spiritually preparing really makes a difference and being able to receive answers to my thoughts and prayers. Before conference I wrote down some questions and that really helped me focus on finding answers and recognizing answers while I was listening. Good experience. I especially enjoyed the Saturday session talks. They really spoke to me and I also enjoyed the yellow flowers:) yellow is my favorite color and it’s a bright song of light and hope. At the beginning of the session I liked what President Monson said, We are a temple building and a temple attending people. I also liked Jeffrey R Holland’s talk about defending our faith. In high school, people would talk about Mormons and lightly make fun of what we believe and too often I would let those comments slide and ignore and move on from the subject. How I wish I could stand up and defend my faith. Not in a way that would start an argument, but a way that would show that I am proud of who I am and what I believe and not let people talk in a making fun type of way. "yes it is worth it!!" Like elder Nelson said, "show your faith BRIGHTLY". As Quentin L. Cook gave his talk on family history, I thought back to previous conferences and how they talked a lot about missionary work. This conference they talked a lot about love and family and family history. The work is being hastened!! We cannot forget our family!!! We are a temple attending people!! In the Sunday session, there was a comment made saying that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. I don’t want to let my harvest of corn die off, do you?? How horrible to see that there is a beautiful field, ready to be harvested and no one is there to do the work. All throughout conference, I heard numerous speakers use the word EMPATHY. I love this word. Looking it up in the dictionary is my favorite past time :) We will never regret being too nice, smiling too much, or keeping the commandments. It’s impossible! I love General Conference. It has given me a spiritual boost and I plan to reflect on these words throughout my mission so I may be able to learn and grow and follow what the Lord has instructed his leaders to teach us so we may be a better people.

Our investigator came to general conference! Miracle! We have been praying for her to come for a long time. And another miracle, a lady popped into the church building to see if she could learn English but came during general conference time and watched it with us. She became our new investigator!!:) Miracles small and big all around :) we went hiking last week.  It was super pretty, and today we are going to play soccer again! SUPER excited. I love you and pray for you always.

Sister Wright

 recent convert in her super expensive hiking gear with the zone leader!

message card! temples all around!!!

Hello family!???

How was general conference! I’m just dying to see it. Weird, the last time I saw conference was in the mtc!!!! Time is flying. Anyway, we will watch it next week because that is when the Korean broadcast is. We will be able to see it in English so I’m excited and very grateful.

This week we had our sports activity we have been planning for a couple weeks! It was a success!!!!! ahh it was real fun. We made jersey markers for teams..(they were like giant stickers) the hearts and squares... the squares looked like tella tubbies and the hearts looked really funny all over peoples bodies.  It made things fun though! The Koreans really know how to play dodge ball! The middle school girls love it and apparently the only way the people here play dodge ball is ultimate dodge ball! One ball and chaos all around. During planning, I offered the idea of sock dodge ball... haha it wasn’t favored... even though its sooooo fun! haha maybe another time. Then we played kickball and volleyball and some badminton. And then had a great lunch with some special brownies I made! Don’t worry mom, even though I’m away from home, I still feel like I’m in the kitchen making desserts for weddings with you!

 

My Brownie Mix

It was fun and our amazing less active member the missionaries have been visiting for years came! She is so faithful, she just has some personal challenges she’s trying to overcome, but she came and participated and helped and it was like she hadn’t been gone from the ward ever! And she came to church on Sunday! Things are looking up!  We have had a less active family come back as well and they are amazing. It is such a good feeling to have these special people come back and enjoy the blessings of the Lord. They are amazing people and amazing members of our ward family and it is such a great feeling after praying and supporting them that they come back and we see them happier.

It was a good week this week, except for the drunk man on the subway last night. yikes! That’s a story for another time!! haha I love you and hope all is well back home. 

Sister Wright

Dodge Ball

Hot Cocoa!!!

Making Sushi rolls