I want to share an experience I had last Monday. After our lesson with an investigator, we decided to knock on doors. It was something I haven’t done in a while and we were starting to get into the groove of it, but on one door, right as we introduced who we were, she was filled with anger and hate for who we were. It was so sad, I had to just stand there while she yelled in my face and I couldn’t bring myself to words. After we were told to leave, I was filled with such sadness. I just stood there as my most cherished sacred beliefs were being torn apart and I couldn’t do anything about it, and then I was being commanded to leave in the harshest tone I think anyone has ever spoken to me. I just wanted to say, "You don’t talk to me like that or anyone else!" I try to treat people how I would want to be treated and this was just so rude in my sight and I would hope that others do the same, but that wasn’t the case. I know that people have their agency and can do what they want with it, I just wish I could help them see what I see. I had an experience where I could feel only a little of what our Savior felt, and it was one of the saddest moments. I understand Christ’s sufferings a little more, and makes me want to try even harder for Him because He went through much worse things and stayed silent and didn’t go against the people who betrayed Him. As we were walking away, the thoughts of Satan popped up into my head thinking, ,"I hope she gets what she deserves for treating us so poorly," but then I IMMEDIATELY pushed those thoughts out of my head and thought, "she just doesn’t understand what she is doing" Satan has so much power and we cannot let him confuse us! I learned that after I let his thoughts come into my head. It was one of the most humbling experiences I’ve had, and I pray for her in my heart and in my prayers at night. I just wish people could understand. I see the world getting worse and there is more confusion than understanding in the world today. That is why we are here as missionaries and I am trying to bring others unto understanding. I know as we understand more and more we will be able to feel God's love and that is what the world needs. I am grateful for my challenges because I learn so much from them and I know that they come from God helping me learn and grow and progress as His daughter.

This started with a difficult moment, but ended in a sweet miracle. We were walking down a street and I saw a man smoking and drinking with his friend. I didn’t want to disclude this man in the Good News and introduced myself. Lo and behold, his friend is from Australia and speaks perfect English and we struck up a conversation about who we were and what we are doing. He told us that he’s met the missionaries before in Australia many times and he wonders why they come to him of all people, “is it something about my face or how I look??" he says. Ha-ha well maybe!! Perhaps it’s the light of Christ!! We talked deeply about the gospel and he had deep questions.  (I was glad to have deep discussions with my last companion or else I wouldn’t have been able to answer his questions!)  He was gracious and super nice because he was honestly curiously trying to find truth.  He even read the Book of Mormon before.  I can’t even express the experience in full detail, it was just so spectacular! His name was Matthew. He said God works in mysterious ways and if it’s meant to be and we meet again, we will sit down and have a long discussion. He has our number. But for now it’s a lot of prayers on our end and God's will if it is meant to be to meet him again. I have hope! It is not a lost cause! I know you are probably thinking, “this is a Best Two Years moment and she has no chance!" BUT I BELEIVE!!!! Faith is knowing Matthew will meet the missionaries again!!!

On other news, for p-day we went tandem bike riding in a really big park!

It was so fun and so hard. We got fed famous neng miong! It is delicious cold noodles; moor eng miong is the one with the ice!! Its sooo good! We have 2 new investigators that are great. We are becoming great English teachers... man it is hard sometimes, but we are beginning to understand how to teach better... it’s hard! My companion is a champ and I bow down to her because she cleans the bathrooms like a pro, (pic) she is washing nasty drains in the toilet!! Hahaha she’s insane and I am having such good laughs with her. I did insanity this morning... so hard. I had an exchange and got bitten by mosquitoes 18 times on each leg... I couldn’t sleep one night because it itched so badly. So I prayed that the pain would go away, and as I went back to sleep, they didn’t itch!! Miracle!!! We talked to Dawn last week about patriarchal blessings and she is getting it next week! She is super excited and she is so much happier! She’s the best! If any of you going to BYU see her there say a HUGE HELLO!!!!!!

Have a good week, talk to you next time!!

Sister Wright

The biggest mondu/dumpling thing

Japanese drink! Super fun

Ramen and mondu

we experienced a lot of miracles in the midst of it all!

Super stormy.  I got soaked!!

This week seemed to go by pretty slow, its vacation season and everyone is gone! A majority of our appointments got cancelled which was a bit of a bummer, but we experienced a lot of miracles in the midst of it all! The Lord works in mysterious ways! We decided to contact and visit a member from Mongolia who is visiting her sister. We decided it would be a good idea to meet with her and set up an appt with her, which turned into meeting with her and her sister and met them that night!  Her sister isn’t a member of the church.

 On our way to meet them we ran into a member of our church that said Jessica, the member, had gone to the temple that week by herself to receive her endowments! After that we definitely knew what message we wanted to share.  The catch is, Jessica, the member, speaks Mongolian and English, and her sister speaks Mongolian and Korean. We met and ate bingsu (snow ice desert) and had a good time with each other. We asked if we could share a message and talk about eternal families and the importance of temples. We spoke in Korean and English, a lot of translating for each other, but Biumba, her sister, didn’t understand religious words, so Jessica was able to teach a lot to Biumba and add personal testimony. She felt that we cared about her and that we have a special spirit about us and she has felt lonely and some hard times. What was a small and simple thought from the spirit turned into a miracle and being able to help someone who has been seeking help but not knowing where to find it! We met with her the next day at her small apartment and taught her the Plan of Happiness and she so lovingly accepted the message. We are grateful for Jessica who has made those important choices to partake in the wonderful blessings of the temple and help in bringing her family members closer to eternal happiness!

I feel Jessica shared her experience with her family because she told us on Sunday that a member of the church in Mongolia contacted her and asked if Jessica would help his daughter(who is also in Korea) and receive the lessons the missionaries are teaching. Another Miracle!

Jessica is a wonderful amazing person. She is the only member in her family and she comes to church even though she doesn’t know any of the Korean language. I am serving in Korea but that doesn’t limit me form helping others from other areas! It is a blessing.

Love you!

Sister Wright

Biumba(bee um ba) left and Jessica on right

Our bingsu insane amount, we couildn't finish, they're meant to be shared but they didn't know that.  Super Good!!!  They do a lot of fusion foods where they add stuff to American foods like crazy style pizzas (kimchi pizza, seafood in spaghetti, etc.  Cool!!

Honeycomb ice cream

Horse fountain 

I don't even know where to start! The weather has been a bit muggy and humid...but then again its typhoon season too so it has been raining a bit now as well. Everyone says there’s going to be a typhoon but.. we haven’t experienced any heavy or stormy rain so we will see.

It kind of was a slow week because a lot of people are on vacation and we had long meetings with the missionaries and service projects with our district. He mom and dad, guess what?? Our service project consisted of picking up trash on the streets so we had to find trash tongs! I felt like the official "runner" for tongs in Korea! And we found them!! I didn’t know the vocab word for trash tongs... but hand gestures and body language work real well and they were the next best thing and we got them! The find of the week! I liked the service project a lot. Even though it was real hot we had fun and talked to people and a lady we met sent her children to church because she liked us! Anyways, this past Tuesday we had a lesson with a sweet 27 year old and we thought it would be a good idea to bring a young woman member with us. She is getting ready to go to BYU and thought it would be a good experience for her. We thought she was about 17 or 18.. but once we met up with our church member named Dawn, she told us she was 16!! She told us she was nervous to teach with us because she’s younger than our investigator and that she doesn’t have the strongest testimony. We encouraged her and told her it’s not scary at all! We told her we pretty much are having a conversation about what we believe and there’s no pressure! She came with us to the lesson and really was able to help us explain and share what she knows. She was great and we had a blast full of laughs and getting to know each other at the beginning and sharing about the restoration and testifying that our sister Kim can find truth just like Joseph Smith did through prayer. There was a sweet spirit and Dawn had a really good experience teaching with us. Sister Kim wants her to come back again with us!

So fast forward to Sunday, Dawn came to church with her dad, her mom is less active, and it was fast and testimony meeting. No one was going up to bear their testimony, Dawn is sitting with us because her dad is in the bishopric, and we turn to dawn and ask if she’d bear her testimony of her experience teaching with us. She said she would! She goes up a little bit later and gave the sweetest testimony ever. It was short but full of the spirit. She said she doesn’t have the strongest testimony and she was scared to teach with us because she’s young, but she told of how much fun she had and that she felt the spirit. It made my heart just fill with joy and she was a bit emotional and that killed me even more!! She is soo special. We talked to her a bit afterwards and she said she was nervous to bare her testimony but SHE DOESN’T REGRET IT!! ahh I absolutely love being with the ward and seeing members of the church grow in testimony. Such spiritual experiences are so precious and I can see the light of Christ growing within her.

We may not have very many progressing investigators right now, but we have progressing members and I am so grateful I get to work with them. I love the scriptures and I know they are true. I know that we all are on a mission; we all have a divine role on this earth to bring salvation and eternal life to everyone. Mission Possible!!!!

Love Sister Wright

Dawn and her dad

on pday las week, we ran into a korean quartet!! it was awesome and we were pumpin up the crowd!!

plastic skating, it is a rink with plastic ground

So I am officially in my new area!! 부평(boo-piong) It is a big city in Incheon. It’s about 50 min from Incheon airport. So I pretty much started form the east of our mission and ended up on the west side. Kind of a fun! My companion is Sister Holmes and she has been here for about 3 months now. She is from Pennsylvania and likes to sing and she is a super reader. She finished the bible last week.... uhh ha-ha I’m a little behind. She’s cool and we get along real well. She is so great at stepping out of her comfort zone and trying new things, besides the fishy food ha-ha but I don’t blame her. Some of it can be a bit scary. I appreciate her desire to keep trying and not fearing anything. That is something I need, so I am learning a lot from her, especially stories in the bible :) We live with another companionship and they are great too, we all seem to work well and get along. So.. the house we live in used to be the mansion of the mission so it is super nice.. real wood floors!! Anyways, it is fun over here and the people are very nice to us. Hey guess what, we met the girl who I met on the subway that wanted to meet while I was living somewhere else. Remember her?? Her name is 이연억(Sister Lee). She is having a hard time with her family especially her son who is 20 and doesn’t have a good relationship with his mom and lots of personal problems. She wants us to help her and we plan to meet with her shortly. We gave her a proclamation to the Family and shared a message about how we can overcome our challenges through Christ and his gospel. It was a good meeting and she wants to meet again, but for now we are fellowshipping her because her husband doesn’t like church people too much.

It was hard leaving my last area, the members were amazing and we really grew to love each other.  I got some tips from sister Rose about this area because this was her last area, but to be honest, she scared me and pretty much said you can’t be yourself. I was kind of stressing this past Saturday because I had no idea what I was walking into and I didn’t know how I was supposed to act. I loved my last ward because the ward loved who I was and we all were comfortable with being ourselves and being hard working missionaries at the same time and willing to help the ward. But as I got to know the members of bupiong ward, they were amazing! Everyone was happy and I felt relaxed after meeting some members and meeting the bishop. And the best part was, I GOT TO BE MYSELF!!!  Some people said that the bishop can be very hard to work with, but as I was myself around him and expressed myself freely, he wasn’t bothered at all and at that moment I felt relaxed. I know that I am a representative of Jesus Christ and that I’m a missionary and I need to work hard and be diligent, BUT IT DOESN’T MEAN I CAN’T BE MYSELF!!  Sister Holmes and I were talking about this and how we are all sent to places for a specific reason and for who we are. If I hide who I am then I am living a lie!

I am happy

I am hungry

I am half Asian

I am obsessed with mike wazowski

I am a missionary

I am a daughter of God

I am a Mormon!!!!!!!

And another miracle, Joy Lee’s dad works around this area!! The missionaries have seen him !!! I am going to try and find her dad (he sells cultural Korean items) and talk to him and keep in contact!! It’s insane how small of a world this is. A lady in my new ward knows someone named Eric Olsen form Las Flores ward. They served in deajeon mission.  I know the Church of Jesus Christ is true and that Christ lives!! He is here and everywhere!!

I love you!

Our House.  We don't have a table but we have accepted the Korean way and eat on the floor

My desk is on the right

another investigator bought us an icecream cake korean style form Baskin Robbins!!

I will be greenie breaking!

Transfer calls!! sooo I’m leaving sanbon! I had a wonderful time with Sister Rose and I’ll be going to Incheon with sister Holmes! I will be greenie breaking! It will be fun and it’s a really big city. Funny thing, that was Sister Rose's greenie area so she is giving me all the tips of the area, the members, potential investigators and so on. I think that’s why president is sending me there. It will be an adventure for sure. Sister Holmes is from Pennsylvania and I hear she’s a funny character! And I’ll be moving into a four sister house. It will be a different experience from what I’ve done before but I’m ready for the challenge. Change is Good!!! 

I’m sad to leave this area, I felt like I really connected with the members, maybe because they kind of have an American feel to them and they have very outgoing members and leaders. I really appreciated their help and support for wanting to help the members become more united and do activities together. We did a dancing activity and Elder Baldwin taught the relief society sisters how to do the chachacha! We have been asked by the leaders and mission president to do whatever the bishop has asked us to do because WE ARE WARD AND STAKE BUILDERS! So we were included in this activity and these activities have really helped the ward come together as a ward family and not just people they see on Sunday mornings. We are also having a ward FHE tonight/going away party for the missionaries. Myself and Elder Stowe are leaving and going to Incheon. I love this ward and it will be hard for me to leave but it will be good to step out of my comfort zone and step up to the new challenge. Lots of growing and learning of course having fun at the same time! Without happiness, I would die out here! The mission can bring stress sometimes, but joy can counter all that and give a sense of hope and desire to keep improving. I have been blessed with a companion that has super knowledge and can answer any type of gospel question it seems like, whether it be my questions or investigators questions. I’m super grateful for her knowledge and now that I won’t have that, I need to keep working on gaining knowledge and retaining it. It really makes me just want to tell all those seminary students out there to focus focus focus! That time is such a privilege! I was thinking about school and how I participated in school and I always was so scared of asking questions. For some reason I am so bad at asking questions in school(probably because I’m embarrassed of sounding dumb...) but I wish I could have been more outgoing in that aspect. But out here in the field, I ask investigators so many questions while teaching and sharing messages. Even though my weakness maybe something in one area, I have found my strength in another. I am grateful for the simple blessings of our Heavenly Father. I may not be a scriptorian, but I’m trying my best to be one. I am not a pro at asking questions in school, but I feel like I have been blessed with asking questions of the soul. I’m working with what I have and going with it!!! and trying to make it even better!

We had a miracle this week. It was really cool. I was on the subway and chatted with a lady and she said she wanted to meet but she lives in Incheon, bu-piong city. We said we couldn’t go there and she was very persistent saying she’d feed us delicious food and she would clean her house super clean to have us over and invite her friends.  But she was sad and kind of disappointed we couldn’t meet with her. Well.... I got my transfer call and guess what! I’m going to that same city she lives in!!  I’m going to my new area with a potential investigator!! Super cool and kind of a reassurance that this is where I need to be going!

I read the book of Mormon and bible for personal study this week and it was very spiritual. Scripture power! Man those primary songs are speaking the real truth!!

I have to go but I love you and will talk to you next week!! :) I know that not only reading but applying the scriptures to our lives, we will receive an even greater testimony of this gospel. I practiced this during high school and I have noticed the blessings!!

Sister Wright

Buddhist Temple

Elder Baldwin teaching the Chachacha

The District

Hi family!!

We had a good kind of slower week. Our conversation time is hard because no one is out because it’s so hot, so we try and talk to people on air conditioned buses, at bus stops, and subways. Everyone carries cute sun umbrellas and it keeps us from getting too hot, they always try to cover me when I start talking to them because they now I’m hot! Super nice! And I always have my traditional fan with me at all times to keep me cool! The students testing season is over so they and the parents are stress free! People have more time to meet and the students are out on the street. In our area they’ve been having carnivals because of testing time and one was outside our house! kind of cool. We saw some break dancers last night and talked to people in the crowds! We go to the carnivals to talk to people because that’s apparently where everyone is! We have 3 real strong investigators and they’re true seekers of truth. Their American names are Alice, Celine, and Korean name sister jo! I love being able to share my testimony with them.

This morning during personal study, I studied in "daughters of my kingdom" relief society book and it talked about service the saints performed during the early times of the church. The women were amazing and sacrificed so much to help build the temples and provide for saints crossing the plains. They showed true selflessness. There was a quote that I can’t perfectly quote but it was along the lines of" even if you don’t get recognition for your service or actions you do, what matters? ".. idk sorry for the horrible quote. It’s on page about 45 by Eliza R. Snow. Anyways, I decided I could do more selfless service for others and help those who need my time and talents and devote all that I have!! There’s no other time like the present! Today is sister Roses birthday so I thought it would be great to make it super fun! I bought her balloons and journals and cute things and made her cake and put on a birthday hat on her head! Fun festivities for a girl who deserves the best! I love relief society and I love missionary work! ahaha this week was good, you are all in my prayers!!

Love sister Wright

cool man at the fair making dok, rice cake! traditional way

Families are so important

Well, my back has been torn apart this past summertime, so I took initiative to go get a massage!!! It was nice, just taking a little time to take care of my body was great. I was thinking about this and how much I’m taking care of my body and how much I need to improve to make my body healthier. I also related this to families.  So I’m here as  a missionary talking about families  and through the restoration of the gospel we can have eternal families.  Families are so important. We, just like our bodies, need to nourish our families and relationships with them because WE WILL forever be with them. Life is busy and hard and stressful, but are we taking the time to nourish the most important things in our lives??? I ask myself these questions and i feel bad because  of my lack of  effort. I ask, am I strengthening my relationship with my Heavenly Father? With my earthly family? What is overpowering my want to have a stronger family?? Obviously I am out on the mission and I can’t be with them or close to them, but I know that I can improve on goals, values, build Christ-like characteristics, and improve on being a better sister, a better daughter! Anything!! I keep teaching about how this life is to prepare to meet God. This is the time to be better, a time to grow and develop into the daughter Heavenly Father wants me to be. idk I was just thinking about that lately.

Well, our investigator didn’t get baptized this week:/ she’s back at work and now she has to work every day and her only free  time is  after 12 am.. We read the book of Mormon with her and talk about it. We are taking things slow with her because we know she wants to be baptized, but her husband doesn’t approve and it’s an emotional time. We asked her to just read 6 versus a day. We want her to have a firm testimony of the book of Mormon before she gets baprize because we don’t want her to become less active, and we have seen that a lot here in the past records. We are keeping the work going!!! Our new mission motto “we are the message" and I also made this motto last week "cherish the Challenge" :) love you!!!

Sister Wright

We played soccer, it wasn’t very fun. The Koreans segregated themselves!! And it was super hot. Oh well, I save that for when I get back home :)

My comp made a Mike Wazowski pancake for me!! she’s great!!!

Murphy!!!! he speaks perfect English and we don’t know how  he did it...he’s a genius I guess and he helps us with piano, sis rose and I are  singing  a duet at church soon, dear to the heart of the shepherd by Sherrie Boren! Super pretty! At least the piano is!

My comp made a Mike Wazowski pancake for me!! she’s great!!!

We bought some giant green onions

Murphy!!!! he speaks perfect English and we don’t know how  he did it...he’s a genius I guess and he helps us with piano