Letter #33

안녕하세요!

 

Hello everyone! :) Grandma and Grandpa Kersey I hope you had a great birthday!

 

Today, we were told to stay indoors all day because of the BIG typhoon that was coming. So Saturday night, we updated our 72 hour kits and got a lot of groceries and got ready for the big day! This morning, we received a call from our zone leader who said that we could leave our house for just two hours to get to the post office and e-mail our families to tell them that we haven't "blown up". Haha so here I am telling you that I haven't blown up....yet. Supposably the typhoon is coming in two hours... I am excited to see how it is going to be because just in the time we left our apartment, the 119 trucks (911 trucks) were outside and we could bairly use umbrellas because the wind was so strong. Things were falling and you could hear crashing sounds...kind of scary, but so cool!

 

So this week was kind of a get-to-know-you week. I was able to meet the ward members in my new ward and one of our investigators. Our ward is absolutley amazing and so friendly! I haven't seen such a big ward in my entire mission. They have a beautiful building that they bought for their Sunday services and it makes me feel like I am back in the states. This ward is considered the best ward in Korea. I am so excited to be here and serving these people. I keep feeling like there is a special reason that I am here in this area at this time. I am excited to see what is in store for me.

 

The weather is starting to get really cold...I think winter is on it's way. I was grateful that most of this week we were indoors planning and preparing and organizing for this transfer. I can feel that there will be many miracles that await us and I am so excited to see them unfold.

 

This week, a professor from BYU came and talked with us about Korean culture. He served a mission here and was the mission president a long time ago here in Busan. He gave us a history of Korea and why they have the culture that they do, along with their religious background. I learned so much about these people and why they view the things they do, like family and ancestors, as so important. What was even more amazing was being able to see how their culture and beliefs are so closely inter-connected with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge that we have today. I realized that all religions and beliefs have truths and somehow relate to Jesus Christ's gospel. The problem is that they lack the full truth. I feel so blessed to know that we do have the full truth on the Earth today and that all truths and addition truths are presented in this gospel. It just makes sense and what a blessing it is to know that we can have all the answers to our questions answered and continually receive more and more truth. Learning even more about these people that I so love has brought me an even deeper appreciation for them and their lives. I love them more and more and am so grateful to be living with them in their culture.

 

Well, I am alive and doing well! I am so happy to hear from so many of you and appreciate your love, support, and prayers. I hope you all have a fantastic week!

 

I love you!

사랑합니다!

 

커시 자매

Sister Kersey

Letter #32

안녕하세요!

Wow where do I even begin? So much has happened this last week and I just want to tell you all every detail!

I received a transfer call on Thursday night and am having to move to a new area. It is still in Busan, but it is even closer to our mission home. I will be working with the office Elders and the assistants to the President. That should be very fun and I am so excited about it! My companion is another American. She is the youngest American sister here in the mission (in a transfer younger than me). I was absolutely shocked to hear that we would be working together and especially all the responsibility that we will have here in this area. It just blows me away at how much trust Heavenly Father has in me. I still feel like I don't know enough Korean for such a big calling, but I know that there is a reason that I am here and I am so excited for the miracles that are going to happen in this transfer. I have such a good, peaceful feeling about it all and feel the Spirit very strongly here.

This last week in 연산 was definitely one to remember. One of the sweetest experiences happened to my companion and I just the other day. We had just left our apartment to go out prosyeliting for the day and my companion said that she felt like we should go down this certain road from our apartment. We started down the road looking for an apartment building to go knock doors. We came to a very old looking apartment building and my companion asked me if we could go try those doors. We got to the building and of course there was no elevator....we started the long way up the stairs to the top. We got down to the second floor and knocked on the door. We heard a noise from inside the house, but no one was coming to the door. I started leaving to go to the last floor, but my companion said that she heard another noise. We both went up to the door and started listening inside. Finally, the door opened, and a little old man was standing there with one leg. It had taken everything he had to come open the door to see who we were. We explained to him that we were serving missionaries from America and that we had a special message to share to him. He started explaining to us that his wife had passed away and that his daughters all lived far away. Everytime he spoke of his wife, he would start to cry. I explained to him that I knew his wife was in heaven and that he would see his wife again someday. He invited us in, but only walked out of the entryway before he had to sit down. We sat down in his entry way and he asked us to offer a prayer. I prayed for this little old man and for his family and that he would see his wife again. The man was so touched by this prayer and with tears in his eyes thanked us for coming. What a sweet experience that I will always cherish from my mission. The spirit was so strong and I could feel Christ's love more powerfully than ever before. For the first time, I felt like Christ's instrument and knew that I had helped someone in the way that Christ would have. I hope that that man felt the love that his Heavenly Father has for him, as much as I felt the love that He had for that old man. I know that Heavenly Father knews and looks out for each one of us individually no matter how insignificant we feel. I know that my companion and I needed to find that old man and help him realize that he would be with his wife again and that he is significant in his Heavenly Father's eyes.

Yesterday, being the end of the transfer, I was able to attend two baptisms. They were beautiful baptisms! Our investigator from China and her son came to one in 김해 with us, even though it was an hour and a half metro ride away. It felt so good to see the excitement of these people receiving baptism and see the impact that it is having already on their families.

I am so grateful to be here and to be a missionary. What a special opportunity. I have fallen even more in love with Korea, the people here, and this work. I don't ever want to go home....sorry family :) I have learned so much last transfer and have grown more than I ever thought was possible in such a short time period. What a humbling experience to have this time to devote completely to the Lord and become who He needs me to be.

I love you all and wish you were here with me!

사랑합니다!

커시 자매
Sister Kersey

Letter #31

안녕하세요!
I can't believe another transfer is over. This is the last week and we get transfer calls on Thursday. It is always an exciting time to see were your new area or companion will be. It almost feels like another mission call! Super exciting!
This week we had a lot of service opportunities which made this week really fun. We had our normal service project of cleaning dishes at the community center for the elderly on Tuesday morning and then we had to take 3/4ths of the day on Thursday to deep clean the carpets in the church with the Elders. That was a ton of work, but so much fun! I haven't worn pants for a almost a whole day since....I don't even know when haha! Then on Saturday night, we visited one of our members who has started going less-active recently. She is from the Phillapeans and struggles fitting in with our ward because of the cultural differences and her children do not behave like Korean children. This is hard on her to feel like she is a part of the ward and that the members except her. We got to her house right after her drunk neighbor came in and yelled at her girls for their loud behavior while playing with the children outside. She and her girls were crying. My heart completely broke for her and all that she has to go through being a single parent in a foreign country from her own. We spent the evening with her helping organize and clean her home. I love the times as a missionary when you can see that you brightened someone's day and lifted another's burden.
It is getting harder and harder to meet with our investigators, and when we do, they are not keeping commitments or progressing. Most of this is because of family obligations and oppostition to them becoming members of our church from their parents or spouses. It is hard to see them struggle. We had a lot of extra time on our hands this week and spent a lot of time outside talking to people on the streets. I haven't had to do that kind of work in a long time, and I was happy to be out talking to new people again! We were able to make the mission goal of contacts received in a week! What a good feeling! I met a girl last night that was exercising with her mom. She came up to me and started speaking to me in English! She explained that she had lived in California for a month, while going to school. When I told her that I was from Sacramento area, she was shocked. She had gone to school at Sac State! I got her phone number and hope that we will meet again! We live in such a small world!
This week during Bible study, we talked about the sons of Mosiah and their desire to teach the word of God. The spirit was so strong as my companion and I shared about why we wanted to serve missions and our experiences. I shared many stories about my mom and her influence in my life. I taught about her example of prayer and fasting, and how she can feel, even half way around the world, when I need something. These women, all mothers themselves, were blown away by my mother's example and faith. One of them said that she knows that I have felt of God's love and was touched by my mother's devotion. I am so grateful for you mom and dad! I am the person I am because of you and your examples to me. You have taught me how to be strong and how to live this gospel in my everyday life. You have taught me how to rely on my Heavenly Father and have faith in Him and His plan for me. I am forever grateful for you! I love you two so much; more than words can express. Thank you for your love for Jesus Christ and for me.
I am grateful for this gospel and I am grateful for my growing testimony! I love you all so much!
Have a fantastic week!
사랑합니다!
커시 자매
Sister Kersey