Letter #10

An nyong hah say yo!

 

This is my last P-day here at the MTC! I cannot believe the time is finally here for us to go to Korea! It doesn't even feel real. I have so many mixed emotions about going. I am so extremely excited, but more nervous than I have ever been in my life for something!

 

This week flew by! With the natives here everyday seems fun and exciting. I have started keeping a list of all the people they say that I look like. They say that I look like a movie star. So far on my list I have been told I look like one of the girls off of Charlie's Angels, Elle Woods off of Legally Blonde, Britney Spears, and Barbie. I don't know whether to take these as compliments or not, but it is very entertaining! They said that when I get to Korea everyone will want to talk to me because I am always happy and loud! ha ha! I guess we will see soon!

 

On Wednesday my branch had the opportunity to host in the new missionaries. That was fun and brought back memories of my first day here at the MTC. We get to do it again tomorrow.

 

We also were asked if we could get our pictures taken while we worked out in the gym, for the new MTC orientation page. That was fun and very entertaining. I did it just so that when Colin and Dallin get to the MTC they will see my picture and recognize a familiar face! haha! :)

 

We got our travel plans on Thursday and will be leaving Monday morning. We are flying to Seattle, then Tokyo, and then finally to Busan! It will be a long trip, but I am excited to be going with eleven others from our branch!

 

Even with all the fears and nerves that I am experiencing, something stuck out to me during Relief Society on Sunday that has brought me much comfort. Barbara Bradshaw came and spoke to the sisters and her talk was on Mosiah 7:33. She expressed to us the importance of turning to the Lord with full purpose of heart and putting our trust in Him. The Lord knows us based on the desires and intent of our hearts. He knows all of our capacity and our potential in being the instrument He needs us to be. We need to trust in Him always and be obedient to His commandments, because He knows us better than we know ourselves! Nephi was the perfect example of trust and obedience. Even when asked by the Lord to do things that he did not understand, He never questioned Him. 1 Nephi 3:7. Like Nephi, we should never question the Lord when He asks us to do something, and most importantly we should never question ourselves. He knows us and our hearts and our potential. He has full trust in us when He calls us or asks us to do something, so we need to believe that we can do it! We need to believe in ourselves because we are His children!

 

I know that Heavenly Father loves me and loves each one of you! He knows us personally: our joys, our struggles, our pains. He wants to be there for us and waits for us to come to Him in prayer. I have full confidence and trust in Him and His will! He has asked me to serve in Korea and I have confidence that He will help me to serve and brings those that are waiting for the gospel unto Him! I am grateful for this gospel and for the Savior's perfect example of how to live a happy life! I am so excited for this new adventure ahead of me and am so extremely humbled by your love, prayers, and support for me at this time!

 

Have a wonderful week! I love you all!

 

Sister Kersey

Letter #9

an young hah say yo!

 

THE NATIVES ARE HERE!!! The Korean Natives came this last week and that means we are about to leave! I can't believe it! Time is flying too fast and I will be in Korean in less than two weeks! :) I am so excited for this adventure!

 

Having the Natives here is so much fun! The three sisters are in my room with my two companions and I. They are so extremely kind (as expected) and they help us so much on our Korean - and it has helped so much! This week my Korean has improved so quickly! I had fasted on Sunday for my companions because they are both really struggling with being home sick and scared to leave, and I think that by doing that Heavenly Father has blessed me more than them. I feel so blessed and so grateful! On Sunday I was asked to give the closing prayer in sacrament meeting for the branch. At the end of the meeting, Sister Shin, the branch president's wife, came up to me and told me that she had to open her eyes during the prayer because she couldn't recognize who was speaking. She said she was shocked to see me standing there - she thought for sure it was one of the Native Korean speakers. She said that I had no American accent when I spoke. I was so surprized by this! I had struggled so much with my pronunciation! Fasting and prayer does work! And I am so extremely grateful for all of your prayers for me too!

 

The Native Koreans have had a blast trying to pick up on the English while being here, which is an advantage for me because I ask them to give me a sentence in English and then I say it (actually I attempt to say it) in Korean. Then we correct each other on our grammar and pronunciation! It is a great trade off. One of the highlights of my week was when I curled my hair and Sister Seo (one of the Korean sisters) came up and touched it. She gasped and said "Oh my! You have barbie hair!" Ha ha! My companions and I laughed and laughed!

 

This morning I had a wonderful experience! The Mongolian Elder from the younger district brought a stack of names from Mongolia with him to do temple work on. He is a first generation convert and so he had many, many family names. He received permission from our branch president to do baptisms and confirmations for these names so that we could do the other work for them in the next few weeks. They were short on sisters and ask my companions and I to join them. So this morning I was able to do baptisms and confirmations. It was wonderful! It felt like forever since I did those last! It was a wonderful experience to see Elder Hem doing the ordinances for his ancestors. He was beaming the whole time. It was such a struggle for him because his English is very limited, but the temple workers and his district were so patient with him and let him take his time. The spirit was so extremely strong and I could feel the love that he had for his ancestors and his testimony of the work that was being done! It was a sweet moment and I will never forget the look on his face of gratitude for all of us to join with him in that experience! It made me think of how grateful I am for the temples so close to all of us! We are so blessed to be able to go and do this work for our ancestors any time that we want.

 

I am so grateful for all of you! Brother and Sister Rasmussen I cannot express to you my gratitude for your sweet letters! I am so thankful that we can relate to one another on our love for the Asian people! They are absolutely wonderful, and I am so excited that I will be able to be with them and immersed in their culture!

 

I love you all!

 

Sister Kersey

Letter #8

an yong hah say yo!

 

Happy birthday Ashley and Colin! I hope you both had wonderful birthdays!

Thank you Aunt Terri and Aunt Cindy for your letters! They really meant so much to me to hear your inspirational advice and to fill me in on what is happening with your families! I am happy to hear that all is well and so many new and exciting adventures are happening!

Also thank you so much Brother Carlson for the note on what to do for investigators without a Christian background! You have no idea how much that helped me this week and how much I used your advice. It changed my perspective and I know that it will not only help me here but out in the field as well!

 

So yesterday my companions and I had an adventure! My companion, Sister Wells-Longshore, was sick so we got to leave the MTC and go to the BYU Health Center down the street! I was so so so excited for our fieldtrip and my poor companions had to hear me singing and talking to everyone about it! It was a beautiful day and the perfect day to escape the MTC! I have to admit that it felt nice to leave, even for the twenty or so minutes that we were gone. As we were walking to the Health Center, people kept stopping and talking to us on the streets! That is when it hit me - I AM A MISSIONARY!!!! It was so cool! I loved every minute of it and it really made me even more excited to get out in the field and get to work!

 

So this week was absolutely wonderful! We were visited by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Alex Boye this week! I know a complete contrast, but they were both so inspiring and wonderful! I was able to sing in the choir for when Elder Holland spoke. His talk was amazing! He pretty much told us bluntley what we were supposed to be doing as the Lord's missionaries! No one knew that he was coming to speak, and as he entered the room, the spirit was so strong and I knew that he was an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ! It was a wonderful experience! Something that I absolutely loved that he said was, "Rise to the full height of your stature." This really made an impression on me! To be missionaries for the Lord, whether set-apart or member missionaries, we need to be our full selves and do our very best in every situation. This is what the Lord expects of us. I believe that each one of us needs to live this principle everyday so that we can be an instrument in the Lord's hands everyday of our lives.

 

Alex Boye's message was wonderful too! He spoke to us on the importance of positive self-talk and how that will influence our futures! He explained that when we believe we can't do something or that we are not as good as someone else, we are being selfish because we are thinking of only ourselves! He said that as we have faith in ourselves and do our best, we will be able to be happy and be a positive influence in other's lives. I loved that he explained how we can turn any situation into a postive one. I believe this completely! We can always find good in every situation; we just have to focus on that part! We all have been blessed with unique talents and ablities for specific reasons. We need to love those and use them to influence others for good and bring happiness into our own lives!

 

Because my companion was sick, I missed sacrament meeting with her on Sunday. The Elders in my district did a special sacrament for the two of us. It was the first time that I have experienced this. The spirit was so strong and I was touched by the reverance that the elders had. The priesthood is powerful and so real! Dad, I am so blessed that you are a worthy priesthood holder and have given me this example in my life! And I am so happy to have both of my brothers have this priesthood. It has truly blessed my life and I know that it is the power of God on earth!

 

I love each one of you! I am so happy to be here and be doing what I am doing at this time! This is a once in a lifetime experience and I am grateful to have it! I hope that you all have a wonderful week!

 

Sister Kersey

Letter #7

An nyong hah seh yo!!!

 

So much has happened this week! We got the new district on Wednesday and they are wonderful! They are so excited to be here and it has been fun trying to help them with the language! One of the Elders from the new district is from Cambodia and is the first Cambodian to go to Korea! He had never been to the temple, so this morning to whole brach was able to be there for his endownment! It was an experience that I will never forget! Having the whole branch there made it so special because we are all like family. He was so happy and the Spirit was so strong the whole time during the session! When we walked out of the temple, the snow was falling and the whole world was white! It was his first time seeing snow too, so we took pictures and were all white by the time we got back to the MTC! It was a wonderful morning!

 

So on Saturday morning I had the best day since being here at the MTC. I want to write to you what I wrote in my journal that day, " Today was the best day I have had so far at the MTC! I had an incredible experience in TRC today with my companions. Our subject to teach was up to us this week because it was an introduction lesson. We choose the doctrine of Christ and had prepared a lesson to be fit for a member of the church. When we arrived at TRC, however, we were told that our family was a real investigator who had met with the missionaries just the week before. We had not planned our lesson for an investigator adn had only brought our scriptures with us. We had no idea what to do and no time to plan or change our lesson, so we just prayed for support and love and went into the room. The moment we entered the room, a feeling I have never felt before came upon me. I could literally feel the mantal on my shoulders. It was a feeling I cannot describe. A feeling of power and peace was upon me and at that moment I was exactly where I needed to be and was in my Heavenly Father's hands. The investigator's name is Kim Mary and is from Jeju Island ( the island in the Busan mission!), and is a freshman in high school! She is an exchange student and is living with a couple who were recent converts of the church (about 20 years ago). The host mom, Lisa, knew no Korean, so they also had a member there that knew both Korean and English. So after meeting her and getting to know her, we started our lesson. It was incredible how the words literally flowed out of my mouth. There were times when I wasn't even thinking about how I was saying words or phrases, but I knew what I was saying to her. The Spirit was incredibly strong and she was so intent on what I had to say. I was able to look her in the eyes and tell her, from my heart, my thoughts and beliefs." It is amazing to see how the Lord uses His servants to do His word and to say the things He wants them to say! I was so humbled to feel His power with me and to see the Spirit that could come from my words. I could see the impact I was having on this young woman in that woman and it changed me!

 

This week I also finished memorizing the First Vision in Korean. It was really funny because I was waiting in line in the cafeteria reciting the First Vision and it was the first time that I got through it! I started freaking out (and you all know how I am when that happens) and this poor elder in front of me had to be the one that I freaked out on! I was so excited and was telling him what I just did and that he literally had just witnessed a miracle! haha! I seriously thought it would be impossible to do, but I did it! He said he was proud of me because he couldn't even do it in Spanish yet! ha! And right when I finished with that, our teacher had us start memorizing D&C 4 in Korean! Now I know I'm in trouble!

 

The Korean langauge is coming...slowly, but it is coming. It gets discouraging at times, but I just make sure that I keep an eternal perspective of why I am here - and that is not to learn Korean, but to bring the Korean people unto Christ. The language will come!

 

I found out yesterday that Busan now has the members to build a temple now! I was so excited to hear this news! I don't know when they will have the money and when the right time will be to build a temple there, but my dream is that someday there will be a temple there for the people!

 

Everything is going very well here! I have made it through 2/3 of the MTC and only have a month left! I am so excited! I have been so blessed here at the MTC with wonderful companions, friends, and an amazing branch presidency and district! I cannot stop talking about how wonderful they are! We are all friends, especially my district, and now we feel like a family! It is going to be so hard to say good-bye to all of them when we go our seperate ways in a month!

 

I love you all and I hope you all are well and happy! I am grateful to be here and to be a missionary of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ!

 

All my love,

 

Sister Kersey

Letter #6

An nyong hah sey yo!

 

First of all congratulations Kira and Joe on your new baby! She is absolutely beautiful! I am so excited for you and your family! Thank you Aunt Cindy for the pictures and the kind, encouraging words! That meant so much to me!

 

So this week was pretty difficult for me. The language is harder than ever and I felt pretty discouraged. There was one lesson that my companions and I taught where I didn't even say a word. It was horrible! But I keep a good attitude and just look at how much I have progressed and thank Heavenly Father for how much I have learned so far. My companions and I are pushing ourselves even more and now we are starting to do lessons without notes or notecards. It is hard but it will be worth it in the end. My companions are wonderful and we are very good friends. It is crazy to see how different we all are and our contrasting personalities, but how well we work together. I think this is because we are all here for the same reason: to help others come unto Christ. I am grateful for them! 

 

This week we received three new roommates, so now we have a full room. They are only here for three weeks because they are going state-side, but they are very kind and I enjoy their company. Tomorrow we are getting the new district of Elders and Sisters going to Korea! I can't believe that we are now the oldest district! To set the ton for the new district, our whole brach is having an SYL (Speak Your Language) Day on Thursday for the whole day. So we will only be speaking Korean! We have had a couple of half days as a district, but this will really push us to go the whole day! I am grateful for my hard-working district and their diligence and willingness to learn! They inspire me and I love that we all work together and uplift eachother! It is a blessing! We all just want to be obedient and the best we can be!

 

By the end of the week, we had TRC with voluteers that come and listen to us teach. We taught about church attendance and how you receive revelation by attending church. It was the first lesson that I felt that my sentences flowed and that I knew what the investigator was saying. I hope that it will continue getting better.

 

We started learning how to proselyte this week and received a new "investigator". He is Buddist and does not know who God is. It has been a humbling experience and challenge to learn how to prepare and teach lessons with someone who has never known a God before. I realized that I am going to have to deal with this a lot while in Korea and I am so humbled at the opportunity to teach of such a special topic that is so dear to me - how I know there is a God. I am still searching and studying on how to do this and explain these simple truths and I would love to know if any of you have any suggestions, experiences, or comments that would help me to learn to teach this.  

 

This week the principle that stood out the most to me was that I can do nothing without the Spirit. I am here on a mission simply to be an instument for my Heavenly Father to bring His children closer to Him and unto Christ. I simply need to be obedient, humble, work as hard as I can, and have the spirit, and the Lord will simply do the rest! I rely completely on Him. He knows where I need to go and what I need to say and the people that I will touch. I just need to listen and He will lead me! I am grateful for this gospel and know that it is Christ's gosple on the Earth!

 

I love you all!

 

Sister Kersey

Letter #5

An nyong hah sey yo!!!

 

So I don't even know where to start! This week has been incredible! One of my companions, Sister Kent left for Korea on Monday morning because she was in the older district. I can't believe how fast time goes! I was sad to see her go because she has become a great friend to me. I am happy to know that I will see her again in Busan, though! Now with the older district gone, we are the older ones...which means we are half way throught the MTC! CRAZY!!! It doesn't even seem real! My district celebrated our first month "anniversary" as we call them by playing ping-pong in our classroom with a mini, travel-sized ping-pong set. We had candy and watched Mormon Messages! It was a fun "party"...at least the funnest you can have while on a mission! haha!

 

On Sunday, the native Korean district sang a song for the branch as a farewell song. I had the opportunity to play the piano for them. It was fun to rehearse with them because it was all in Korean and they were so patient and kind to me. They are such grateful people and they always compliment me on everything I do. (When I bore my testimony to the native Korean sisters, they screamed with joy after each sentence I said! It was wonderful! They are so supportive and happy!) It is nice to have their smiling faces around to lighten my day and uplift me. My companions took pictures of them singing and me playing the piano because it was so funny to see all these Korean people surrounding a little blond, American girl. I guess this is just the start of looking out of place! They left with the older district on Monday, as well, and I am already looking forward to when more natives come.

 

On Sunday, one of the branch presidency members, Brother Stoddard, came and talked with my district during Sunday school. He shared with us stories about his mission in Europe. He had the opportunity to serve with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. It was amazing to hear the story of how Elder Holland influenced his mission and what he taught him. I was so touched when he told us that while serving with him he felt a strong impression that Elder Holland would be serving on the councils of the church someday. He watched Elder Holland through the years in different leadership positions and he kept getting the same impression that he would be on the councils of the church. Finally when Elder Holland was called to be in the first quorum of the seventy, before becoming an apostle, Brother Stoddard received an impression that he was to tell Elder Holland about his impression that he receive all those years ago while serving a mission with him. He visited with Elder Holland, not knowing why he was the one to receive that impression all those years ago and why he had to tell him now, but while telling Elder Holland this story, Elder Holland's eyes filled with tears and it was one of the most precious things to him. He said that he was struggling to know if this calling was really right for him, and that Brother Stoddard's message was an answer to prayer. I was so touched by this story and how the Lord uses us to help others around us. If Brother Stoddard had not listened all those years to that prompting he had while on his mission, he would not have been there when the Lord needed him to comfort one of his children. Brother Stoddard then bore testimony to each of us that he knew that Elder Holland was an apostle of the Lord and that he truly is one of the most humble men that he knows.

 

I am grateful for the men of the church that lead and guide us. I know that they are men of God and that they are inspired and instructed by him! I love each one of you and miss you dearly! I hope all is going well and I am grateful for the love and support you show to me!

 

Sister Kersey

Pictures from Sister Kersey in the Missionary Training Center

Letter #4

An nyong hah sey yo!

 

I wish that I had a Korean keyboard so I didn't have to romanize every time I say something in Korean. Ha ha oh well!

First of all I just heard the news about Shannon and Loren! Congratulations! I am so happy for you both and am somewhat jealous that I won't be able to see the baby for so long! I also heard about Channing's father. I am so sorry to hear about her and her family's loss. Aunt Becky, please give my condolences to Ryan and Channing and let them know that I am praying for them. Also, I wanted to thank the Rasmmussens and Aunt Cindy for their kind words. That really made my day and I thank you for your support and prayers.

 

So this week was fantastic! I feel like each week gets better and better as a missionary! I am loving it! I have never been so happy and so cheerful in my entire life! Life is good. Last Tuesday we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the MTC. We were anticipating that day for many weeks because we knew that we would be getting someone great to come speak to us. Elder Holland and his wife, Elder Nelson and his wife, many of the seventy and their wives, along with eleven previous MTC presidents and their wives came to celebrate the event! It was incredible! They talked to us about the buildings of the MTC and who they were named after. Each is named after a significant missionary in the church. Then Elder Nelson ended the fireside with a dedicatory prayer for the five new renovated buildings on the MTC. It was amazing the blessings that were given in the prayer of having the enlightenment that we needed to fulfill our work as set apart missionaries while studying in these buildings. No wonder the spirit is so strong and the miracles so prevalent here!

 

The Korean language is still slowly coming. My focus this week is to learn more vocabulary. I have all the grammar forms down, but my vocabulary is weak. The minute I feel like I am finally getting somewhere, I am humbled once again when one of the native Koreans speak to me! I have a LONG way to go! I have tried hard not to worry about the language because I know that it will come if I just keep applying myself and not worrying about it.

 

My district and I have been growing closer and closer together. We go through ups and downs together. I am so blessed to have such motivated people in my district and with such strong testimonies of this gospel and missionary work. We all get along great and are loving and supportive of each other. It is a blessing because I see other districts struggling to get along and to stay obedient. I just can't stop smiling when I see all these young men and women sitting all together really trying to learn and feel the spirit during a fireside, lesson, or talk, even with others around them goofing off! They are amazing people! We also have our points where we are silly too! With eight hours a day together in a classroom, there are times (or many times) when we will have laughing attacks! And you can imagine how those are with me! I will be crying for twenty minutes because I am laughing so hard! It is fun and gives us a good break! I love them all! And I am going to miss them so much when we have to go our separate ways once we get to Korea!

 

The lesson that stood out the most to me this last week has been the scripture in Joshua 3:5. It says that if you sanctify yourself, the Lord will work wonders among you. I was impressed with this message and did research on sanctification. To sanctify means to make pure and clean. In Helaman 3: 35, sanctification comes from yielding your heart unto God. To truly be God's instruments, we need to become one with God, or sanctify ourselves to be taught by Him and to be like Him. In D & C 43:16, we are told that we are taught form on high and are endowed with power if we sanctify ourselves. My goal is to completely sanctify myself to God and become like Him so that I can be His instrument here upon the Earth. I know that by doing this, I will be able to teach others of Christ because they will see Christ in me.

 

I know that this gospel is true. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I am humbled to be His representative here upon the Earth at this time to teach and love the people of Korea! I hope that I can be His instument and bring those that are looking for the truth unto Christ! I love you all!

 

Sister Kersey  

Letter #3

An nyong hah sey yo!

 

So this week has been a great one! Lots of studying and so many uplifting talks! Mom thank you so much for my package! That made my whole week! I was smiling from ear to ear! It sounds like all is well at home and that makes me so happy to hear!

 

The language is finally coming!!! What a relief! It just suddenly seemed to hit one day. I still have SO SO SO much to learn, but I am hearing what I need to and being able to put sentences and thoughts together!

 

About 12 Korean missionaries came this week to the MTC to get ready to go back and teach. They are the most amazing people I have ever met! So extremely kind and so generous. They are always smiling and wanted to help everyone. They are so Christ-like and so willing to help us with the language. They always compliment us, even when we sound terrible. I feel so priviledged to be going to Korea and that I will be able to be amongst these wonderful people and learn and LIVE their culture. Their energy and smiles are contageous and I feel amazing around them!

 

I have been playing the piano every Sunday in church and it is nice to be able to contribute something to our tiny branch. Sister Shin, our brach president's wife came by the other day to check up on us sisters. She is so wonderful and uplifts us. She always stresses to us to just enjoy the MTC and not worry about the language. I have been doing that and if feels so great to just relax and learn.

 

I absolutely love the sisters in my branch! They are my new great friends and are always so uplifting. I am so blessed to have friends so quickly and already feel like we are family! I just can't wait to be on the plane on the way to Korea with them!!!

 

So rumor has it that tonight, being the 50th anniversary for the MTC, that someone VERY important is coming!!! There are 700 guests coming...I am pretty sure it will be the prophet and some of the apostles! I can't wait! I have joined the choir with my companions so that we can have a great seat for tonight and be able to sing! We are singing Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer. It is a beautiful song! It will be a great experience!

 

Anyway that is about all that has happened this week...not too many new things. I am loving being a missionary and I feel so blessed everyday to be here and by having this opportunity to get prepared to share the gospel of truth to the Korean people. I have never been so happy and have never felt so close to my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ! This has already been an opportunity of a lifetime and it hasn't even really started yet! I know that this gospel is true and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know that He knows and loves us all individually and is with us always to lift us and help us. I know that the plan of salvation is the plan that brings happiness to families and everyone in the world. I love you all!!

 

Sister Kersey

Letter #2

An nyong hah seh yo!

This past week was pretty discouraging for me. The Korean language seems to be getting harder and harder. With so much information to retain, I feel like there is not ever enough time to fully keep up. I guess that is why the Lord only expects so much from us and promises to do the rest.

I have loved that in this past week we have learned more about the gospel and not just the language. We have been able to have more time to practive senarios on one another as fist being the investigator and then being the missionary. I have learned so much from this experience and it has been a blessing to see how the gospel works from an investigator´s perspective. It helps me to understand their needs more and explain to them the gospel in terms that are simple.

I have been extremely blessed to have a wonderful district. There are nine of us (six Elders and three Sisters) in my district and it is wonderful to see that we already feel like a family. I am so impressed with the Elders in my district. For being 19 year old boys, they are spiritually on a higher level. I am so blown away with their selfless determination to do what is right and to put their heart and soul into the work. It is harder for my two companions to see their potential, but I am blessed to be able to and to have that open relationship with them. I know that they can trust me as an older sister and I view them as Colin and Dallin and so it is easy for me to love them and be patient with them. I just wish my companions had more patience toward them and their points of view. There is so much to learn from them if we just listen and let them express themselves. I look up to the Elders so much for I know it must be much harder for them to be doing this work than the sisters. They need the support and the uplifting words and I am glad that I can do that for them.

I also am so blessed with my branch presidency. President and Sister Shin are both from South Korea and converts to the church. They are so kind to us and I know that Sister Shin loves me because she always comes and squeezes my arm whenever I see her. She thinks that i am so beautiful because of my hair and complextion. Ha ha. President Shin is constantly smiling and he always stresses that if you just smile, you will be that much more effective everyday of your life. It will change your attitude and it will draw people to you. He always laughs at me because I can never get a smile off my face. Everyone thinks I am crazy because I am always happy even when things are hard. I´ve never noticed, but I am blessed to have that. Brother and Sister Jennings, the old mission presidents from Busan are the counselors in the presidency and I love talking with them about Busan and all of the weird, crazy, and fun things there! They talk A LOT (which I LOVE) so I know much about Busan already! Everytime I am able to talk to them, I become more and more excited!

On Sunday morning during Relief Society, Rosemary M. Wixom from the general primary board came to speak to us Sisters. It was exactly what I needed to hear, especially after struggling all week with the language and just feeling discouraged about myself. She is such a powerful woman and speaking with her after the meeing, she hugged me and her eyes just glowed! She taught us women that whenever we felt discouraged, to sing a primary song, because it teaches us what we already know about ourselves and what we believe. She reminded us of the millions of children around the world that are praying for us everyday! I am so grateful for those children! And mom, you are so lucky to be working in the primary right now! To help build these children´s testimonies ! She went on to explain that if you ever feel inadequate about being a missionary, or a wife, or a mother, to just remember that the Holy Ghost is your talent and beauty, and with His help you will ALWAYS succeed! Her testimony inspired me and was exactly what I needed to hear!

Later duting the MTC fireside, Clayton Christensen, a past member of the quorum of the seventy gave us a talk about being missionaries our whole lives. Back when he was a seventy, he and the other men in the quorum got together and went throught the Doctrine and Covenants and recorded all of the blessings that Heavenly Father gives to his missionaries (both set apart and member missionaries). The list was huge and very powerful! Some of the blessings that stood out to me were power and strength than no other man, your enemies will have no power over you, gates of hell will not prevail against you, your tongue will be loosed, your words shall be the Lord´s words and as scripture, you will never be weary or hungry, your joy will be great, and angels will be around about you to bear you up! We can ALL be missionaries and be able to have these blessings in our lives!

Well my time is short and I just once again wanted to express my love and gratitude to each one of you! Thank you for writing me and thinking of me! I love you and miss you all!

Sister Kersey

Letter #1

To my beautiful family and dear friends,

I cannot believe that I am here at the MTC as a full-time missionary! It doesn't even feel real! I only have 20 minutes to write this e-mail and I don't even know where to begin! I have absolutely been loving the MTC! The spirit here is so strong and the positive attitudes from all the missionaries is contageous!

I have two wonderful companions, Sister Baker and Sister Wells-Longshore! We are all very different, but I already can tell why we are together and what I need to learn from both of them! Sister Baker has taught me of exact obedience by wanting to be five minutes early to everything and Sister Wells-Longshore has taught me how to stand up for myself! They are both wonderful and try their hardest to be obedient and take this time seriously! I grately appreciate that.

I am in a wonderful district here. I am so impressed by the Elders in my district. They are so self-motivated and have such strong testimonies of this gospel. I was so touched my their strong spirits -  even as 19 year old boys.

The Korean language has been a struggle and I feel somedays that it will be impossible to teach anyone in Korea! The Korean language is the second hardest language to learn here at the MTC and I can feel it! I have learned how to read, write, and pray so far! Missionaries are truly taught from the spirit and I know that Heavenly Father has been helping me to learn. There is no way that I could learn this language at the rate that I am without His help! My companions and many in my district have been extremely home-sick and overwhelmed by all that is expected from us. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to go to school and work hard so that it does not stress me out or effect me negatively! I have felt completely at home here and I have been extremely patient with myself in learning the language. I am so grateful for this so that I can completely focus on the work and not dwell on what is happening at home. I can feel that all is well and that gives me comfort. 

I have been teaching a Korean investigator with my companions. We have already taught him two times this last week. He came from Soeul Korea and is here in Utah to learn English. It has been a very humbling experience for me. I have learned that the language is not what teaches of the truthfulness of the gospel, but it is the spirit. In a fireside given by Jeffrey R. Holland, I learned that if you first become converted and bring the spirit with you to your lessons, the Lord will do 99% of the work. As I was teaching Chway Moon Young (our investigator), I had the opportunity of bearing my testimony of Heavenly Father's love for us. Although it was only two small sentences long and I could barely pronounce the words, the spirit came so strongly into the room and I know that he could feel of the sincerety of my message! This was what Elder Holland was talking about! This is how I know that the church is true and that missionaries are truly God's instruments here on the Earth. All He needs is for our willingness and testimony and He will do the rest!

I am so grateful for each one of you and your love and support for me. I truly can feel your prayers every day. They are powerful and they help me not get discouraged. I am grateful for the strength that I have learned from two beautiful parents and their testimonies that have helped create my own.

Mom, thank you so much for the wonderful e-mail! Your testimony will give me strength! Thank you for your confidence in me! It has always brought me peace and made me strong!

I wish that I could tell you more because there is so much more to be said, but for now I want you all to know how much I love and appreciate you in my life and the examples you set for me! Until next week!

Britanie was set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-Day Saints on Monday, January 9th, 2012.

Her parents dropped her off in the Sacramento Airport Tuesday, January 10th.

She arrived in Salt Lake City that afternoon, and was picked up by 

her brother-in-law Jordan.

The next day, I dropped her off at the Missionary Training Center!

The Spirit was VERY strong at the MTC, and I cried as I drove away!

She was so HAPPY! We are going to miss her very much!