Start afresh!

 

 

 

So, Here are a couple pictures of the beloved ward that I left, and the baptism we had. She is cute right? :)

 

Now as for my new area, and my new companion! My companion's name is Sister Freeman, and she is awesome! Turns out we are both pretty into fantasy stuff, like all those cool creatures :) And actually, she REALLY reminds me of Sister Mariah Johnson. I'm sure they would get along fantastically! She is from South Carolina, and lived on a farm. :) She's even got a little southern accent that I am starting to pick up on :O I love her already, and we work really well together.

 

This past week I got to meet a couple of the investigators, less actives, and members. It was so fun! The ward here is amazing! They are all very supportive and actually want to help with missionary work. And the youth! Holy moly! There are a ton of them, and they are willing to do anything. There are two (maybe three) Young Women who are preparing to serve missions, and I already love them to death. :)

 

Every Saturday all of the youth come to the church and just hang out there. And this past Saturday we had a little surprise party for one of the Korean Elders in our area. his birthday was on Friday, so we made him brownies and cake :D Which we are actually working with FOUR Elders and us sisters. Two are Korean, two American. The American companionship just came in with me, so there's lots of newness, and meeting the Ward Mission Leader and Branch President and such. It's been crazy! I can tell I'm going to love it here though.

 

Interesting fact of the week: So there's this church. It's been explained to me a few times, but this past week a guy who was a member stopped me and started preaching their views. It's called 하나님의교회, or God's church. Honestly, I was going to write about what they believe, but it just felt wrong to write it. So I'll let you look it up if you want. It's really interesting, and sad to think about how corrupted the world is becoming. it shows how important it is to keep sacred things guarded in our hearts.

 

Okay, that's all for this week! I love you all! Congratulations to the new baby in the family! And I was definitely surprised, but glad to hear that mom got a newer car with air conditioning! Say hi to the family for me--all of them. <3

 

"Bring forth fruit with patience." - Luke 8:15

I love this verse, because sometimes I tend to be impatient. I just want to receive the blessings of my work right away. I want the tree before I've had the sprout. But I need to trust in God, and just keep moving forward. Eventually I will see the fruits of it, but not in my timing. God knows what He is doing, certainly more than I do!

New area-Gupo!

Wow, it feels like a lifetime since the last time I wrote you! There's so much to tell you about! First, I'll start off by saying that I am writing this email in my NEW AREA, Gupo! Surprised? Yeah I was too. We got transfer calls this past Thursday, and this was my first actual transfer where one of us would be moving. Trainer and trainee are usually with each other for two transfers (12 weeks) and then they part ways. So the first transfer you know you are both staying. And the second transfer you know one of you is leaving. We were predicting that I would stay in Jinju and Sister Choi Hanna would be the one to transfer out. But... as you can see, that wasn't the case!

So I had to say goodbye to the beloved area that I was raised in, and all the people that I have grown to love. And I had to say goodbye to my amazing trainer! I really think of my first area as my mission hometown, and my trainer raised me to be able to survive on my own and become the missionary that God intends for me to be. So now I'm in my new area with a purpose to fulfill here!

One thing that I must tell you about (and I really promise that I will eventually send you pictures. I mean to but time is limited and now I have to figure out how here) is the baptism that took place yesterday! It was amazing! The Spirit was very strong, and Gladys, the Phillipina who was baptized, has such strong faith in God's plan for her. Her husband bore his testimony in the service, and he said it wasn't a coincidence that Gladys couldn't come to Korea until the exact month that the Sister missionaries came to Jinju. God really does have a plan for every one of His children. He is guiding us and putting every opportunity in front of that He can. But we have to reach out our hand and grab it! He gives us the chance, but we have the agency to take it or leave it. 

This is the biggest thing that I learned in my first area. And honestly I think it's one of the best things to have learned, because now every are that I go to, I will know that there is something I am supposed to do there. Here, in my brand new area, I know I am here for a reason, and I want to fulfill it! That's my job. 

I love you all, and am excited to be able to tell you about the people here next week!

Interesting Fact:

Koreans really don't know much about South America. Sadly, this means that they don't know where Bolivia is when I say my dad is from there, but I still love to tell them anyway! I just have to say it's next to Brazil. :)

"Give light to them that sit in darkness." - Luke 1:79

If you picture it in you head, who would willingly choose to leave their friends in a cave without light, while they held the matches in their pocket? Because that really is how it is. We hold the key to happiness, and who are we to keep it from others?

ahhh...

I have like no time! why are p-days so busyyyyy??

Okay, so I want to send a thank-you shout-out to two people. The first
is the Mountain Home 4th Ward, who has sent me many an awesome ward
letter, which are always very fun to receive! Tell Sister Pat Eagley
thanks for me :) The second person is Taylor Elwood; hopefully he will
read this. Thank you for the post card!! It was awesome, and I would
write back but you are having fun as a traveler!

Alright, as for the amazing miracles of the week...There were many,
but I'll mention two: We got three new investigators!! And there was
General Conference!!

So yeah, we met with quite a few new people this past week, so we will
see where they lead! I'm excited about the increase that is continuing
to happen in our two areas. And the investigator I told you about last
time, who came and told us she wanted to be baptized? She, along with
her two sons, now have a baptisimal date! They are they best little
family ever, and I can't wait to get to know them better!

As for General Conference.... I have never had such a spiritually
uplifting and learning Conference in my life. Honestly, (mom you would
second this) I don't think I've actually stayed awake for all 8 hours
before. Pretty bad, I know. But this past weekend was amazing. I was
alert and learning the entire time, even though I was sick and had
been fighting to stay awake both mornings! If you took my challenge to
find a talk that resonates with you, I know challenge you to find a
talk that can help a nonmenber you know!

Ah no time! I love you all, sorry I didn't do my weekly fact and scripture!

Sister Segovia

Seeing the growth

Oh. my. goodness.

This past week feels like a life-time, because of all of the things that
have happened!

First, I'll start off by telling about the baptism! Sadly, it didn't
happen. BUT never fear! The only reason it got cancelled is because of a
misunderstanding, and our wonderful investigator is still excited to get
baptized! So we just moved it to two weeks from now. :)

We would have done it this next week, but guess what it is?! GENERAL
CONFERENCE!! Yes, I know, you lucky people in the United States already saw
it this past weekend, but for us it's next weekend because they have to
wait for the translation. I am sooo excited!! I can feel that this General
Conference is going to be different than any before. Lately, I have been
reading the Liahonas and have found a lot of inspiration from them. So
I've already come to love latter-day revelation. Really, the Liahona
is a treasure that I don't think many members realize. We are getting
new scriptures every month when we receive those magazines. They
contain the words of our Latter-day prophets! Those, as well as
General Conference, should be treasured just as much as the ancient
scriptures. Can you see why I'm excited? :D Can't wait! I hope you all
found at least one talk that really resonated with you and that you've
committed to live by! If not, I challenge you to.

Here are some big things that happened this week:

1. We had a FOUR-HOUR LONG LESSON with this investigator who wouldn't
let us leave before they contradicted everything we said. It was
brutal. But because of that lesson and the questions that we were
posed with, I was able to receive a concrete answer to a question I
had. Seriously, it was an amazing experience. I had never experienced
getting an answer in such an obvious way and after such little time.
It was the very next morning in personal study! And I was able to help
my companion by telling her what I received as well! It was one of the
most joyful experiences we have had together, especially after
something so spiritually draining.

2. The second-transfer trainees had a training meeting! Which means I
got to see my MTC district again! It was so fun! I really had been
missing them all a ton, and loved seeing how much they have grown
already!

3. We found a huge store that was closing, and everything in the store
was only $10! So I totally found a jacket that would normally be like
80, and got it for 10! I felt awesome, especially because Korea really
is not normally that cheap. Whoo hoo!

4. We had a ward picnic in Sachon! Super fun, and we want to get all
the people that came to come to church! If they all did, we would
double the branch's size!

5. You will never believe this. On Saturday, a former investigator
came to English out of the blue. And guess what she said?! She said
that she has been wanting to come back to church for a while, and she
wants to be baptized as soon as possible! ...!!! Yeah! Seriously, the
Lord works in mysterious and miraculous ways. I feel so lucky to be
here! The miracles I am experiencing are just because I've been in the
right place at the right time! If we are righteous, obedient examples
of Christ, we will be led to those places where miracles are waiting
to happen.

Okay, that about sums up the week. The interesting fact of the week is
about the Light Festival in Jinju. We got to see it pretty much every
night, but haven't actually gotten to take a picture. It's this huge
festival that was happening this past week, with tons of lights
everywhere on the river. They have these floating light statues, that
are lit up at night. It is SO beautiful. The story that goes with the
festival is this:
In a war between the Koreans and the Japanese, the Japanese were
coming on their boats to conquer the people. During the night, some
children made hundreds of little paper boats and set them free with a
light inside. When the Japanese saw all of those lights, they got
scared, thinking that the Koreans had a army much bigger than they
thought. So they turned back and didn't attack!
The festival is a huge deal here, with thousands of people coming to
see it. And there's this big thing about Seoul wanting to start
something like it, but no one wants them to because that's a famous
JINJU tradition. I'm rooting for Jinju, because I love this place!

Okay, I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

Sister Segovia

"Because it had no root, it withered away." -Mark 4:6
Where are your roots? Are they grounded deep in the gospel? Or on the
things of the world? I've discovered that my gospel roots need to be
nourished and take hold of the deep soil before I can progress any
further. I know that when we focus on the most important things, the
fruit of our lives will be so much sweeter.