March 10, 2014

HIIIi! Ok so this week was really great!

On tuesday we went to Won Dang and jundoed (street contacted). We talk to a ton of different people. So I saw this lady and I went up and started talking to her. She was super nice and actually talked to me. She tried to speak a little bit of English to me too. We told her that we are missionaries, what we teach about...etc. and we also told her that we teach free English classes every week. She was way nice and told us to come see her at her hair salon. So she gave us her card and a few days later we went and visited her at her hair salon. She was way friendly. I gave her a BOM and shared my testimony about it. She told us that she sees missionaries a lot but she usually doesn't want to talk to them. But she saw us that night and really wanted us to talk to her. Awesome. She wasn't super interested in the gospel, and our message we shared, but she said she wants us to come again and meet with her son and share our message. So we will go back and continue to build trust with her. She is great! We are excited to continue to work with her.

 

Later on tuesday, we were out jundoing somewhere else, and my companion and I went up and talked to this girl waiting at the bus stop. (we pretend we're waiting for our bus too and strike up a conversation) so anyways, I start talking to her and ask if she's heard of our church and she told us that she learned about our church and that she wanted to learn more and she's been looking for some Mormons. Right then her bus came and she's was like oh my bus! And started running to get on before it left. So we ran after her and asked her for her number so we could talk some  more. So as she's getting on the bus, she's yelling her number and her name. haha we called her and talked to her. She was too busy to meet last week but we are going to try and meet with her this week. We'll see how it goes.

 

On thursday, the elders gave us a business card that they received from a lady who was interested in learning about our church. They met her on the street and referred her to us. So we called her and she was super nice and we met with her. The only thing we knew about her was that she's Buddhist and that she had a lot of questions. So we prepared the first lesson and met with her at a Cafe. Well, we soon found out that she has no religion but that she knows the bible extremely well. And she has been searching a lot of religions for the truth but hasn't found it. We shared the Book of Mormon and testified that it goes hand in hand with the Bible...etc. She said that she only believes that the Bible is the Word of God and wanted proof in the Bible that the Book of Mormon is God's word. She had a million scriptures memorized to try and prove us wrong. I showed her 2 Nephi 9 and some other scriptures that testify of the truthfullness of The Book of Mormon. She wants to know where in the bible it says the word Mormon. She had a whole bunch of other things she asked about. I bore a simple testimony of the Book of Mormon and how I know that it is true. I asked her to read it and she said she would. I showed her the last two paragraphs of the Introduction and just asked her to read it. I told her if she sincerely reads it and prays about it, she will know that it is true. We are meeting again on tuesday. We are praying for her!!!

 

Our investigators are doing awesome!

 

We met with E song Hoon (the little 8 year old boy) and taught him about the commandments. We shared a mormon message about obedience and then showed him a picture of the plan of salvation that we have. He LOVES the Plan of Salvation. We have this picture of the earth and the things we have to do in order to return to live with HF again. He stares at that picture. He loves it. He understands it so well. We told him that in order to be baptized, he has to come to church. So we told him we would come pick him and his older sister up for church on sunday. He was super excited. He really wants to be baptized so we committed him to a baptismal date. We made a copy of the Plan of Salvation and he was SO excited to have it! He hung it on his fridge. He loves it. on Saturday night, he and his older sister texted us saying that their mom won't let them come to church. They were sooo sad. They said that their mom was mad at them and told them they have other things they needed to do that day. We were seriously so sad when we heard this. The kids were so bummed. Now we have to move their baptismal date another week back. I think their mom will let them come next week though. It's not that she doesn't like the church thing. They just had other things to get done that day so she wouldn't let them come. We are praying for them! Crossing our fingers for this sunday.

 

Eee Bo Young was really sick this week and so we didn't get to meet with her. She wasn't able to come to church either. :( She is still struggling with gaining a testimony about the Book of Mormon and the gospel. We are planning on meeting with her this week when she feels better. We text her often and she is always so sweet. We are going to focus on the fact that she is a daughter of HFand that He loves her and hears her prayers. I love her so much! Please continue to pray for her! She needs the gospel in her life so bad.

 

Kim Hoo Eee is doing AWESOME!! We went to Seoul on Saturday and met up with her. We went to the temple and walked around and she loved it!! We went and sat inside the lobby and told her about the commandments and the things we have to do in order to be worthy to go to the temple. We showed her the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet and she loved everything and how the commandments are there to protect us and make us better. (golden, right?) She committed to keep all of them. She loved the feeling we had as we sat there. So peaceful. She read some talks out of the Liahona and really enjoyed them. On sunday, she came for her baptism interview. (she travels an hour and a half to come, but always wants to come to church) So she had her baptism interview and she is on for this Saturday the 15th!!! Yay!!! She is so excited. One of the elders will baptize her and her professor is going to confirm her. We asked her why she wants to be baptized and she told us that she loves this gospel and she loves the feeling she has when she is at church and the temple...etc. I LOVE HER. I'm so excited for her!!! By the way, the RS is busy doing something, so sister Koo and I are in charge of all the food for the baptism. hahah so that should be interesting. :) It will be awesome.

 

This week has been FREEZING in Korea!!! I have worn full Under Armour under everything this week. It's so cold. But we're doing great anyways. Hopefully it should start warming up soon. Can't wait for spring!

 

This week I was studying In PMG and the Book of Mormon and in PMG it says, "Read 2 Nephi 33:10-15 and Moroni 10:27-29, 24. What will you tell Nephi and Moroni at the judgment bar about your use of the Book of Mormon?" That stuck out to me so much this week! What would I tell them? Have I studied the Book of Mormon the best I could? Do I really appreciate the Book of Mormon as much as I should? I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon! It has the answers to every question. I learn so much every day. I am so thankful that I have the chance to share it and defend it and testify of it each day.

 

Rach- sorry the Darts lost in the playoffs :( Next year will be a blast cheering for the Aggies!! Thanks for the scripture you shared. I love it. Live up these last few months of track and HS. The last few months are a party!

Dman- love how you and Isaac played basketball and he was D-Wade and you were "The Bron James" classic! i love hearing about the student section yelling "lone peak recruits" hahaha so funny!!! love you!

Ellie- good job on federation! that's way hard! Your missionary activity sounds super fun. Tell Christine Taylor good job if you do the Davis Defenders team!!! That's awesome. Love you!

Jane- Good job on federation too!! You are awesome! I can't believe you are making a robe in sewing. That's so cool! Send pictures. I love you!!

Addie- how was dinner at the Anderson's? That sounds super fun! Guess what? My companion LOVES hello kitty. she always gives me hello kitty stickers and things. haha i think of you because i see hello kitty things everywhere in korea. i love you!!

Isaac- That's so cool that you and dman had a basketball game. The movies sounds fun. There is a song that everyone sings in Korea. I heard it's from Frozen, but i don't know what it's saying becasue it's in Korean. haha i love you tons!!

Mom and Dad- have fun in mexico!! That will be a blast. I love you! Glad everything is good. You are the best. Thanks for the letters and package you sent!

 

I have to go. I am so thankful to be a missionary! It's the hardest and best thing ever. Have a great week!!! I love you!!! xoxoxox

Sister Tara Anderson

Tara and Sister Koo waiting for the subway.

Sister Anderson and Kim Hoo Ee at the temple

March 3, 2014

HI Everyone!! Thanks for your emails! I loved them all. Rach and Isaac I am glad you had good birthdays! This week was awesome! We had some great lessons with investigators. I will tell you all about them!

 

The temple was so good. It felt so good being there. Thankfully, we got to do an English session. We do the English session with the senior couples in our mission. President and Sister Christensen were there with our zone. It was good to see them again. After the temple my whole zone went hiking to a national park place. It was a ton of fun! The hike was actually way hard! But it felt good to be in the mountains getting exercise. I have missed hiking so much! It was kind of foggy and It felt like we were hiking in an old asian painting or something. The weird looking trees and fog with the mountains. mixed in with a few random temples here and there. haha but It was about 4 miles total. We barley got back in time later that day and changed in a subway station and ran to a member's house for dinner. It was an exhausting but fun day!

 

Our investigators are good! last week we taught Ee Hyoung Gee. (she is the 13 year old girl) we teach her and her 8 year old brother. Her brother was gone so we just taught her. Last time we taught her, we thought we were losing her. She seemed like she lost interest in the gospel and didn't really care anymore. But we went and taught her on thursday and she told us that she has been reading the Book of Mormon and she knows it's true. She told us that she tries to apply it to her life and it is helping her so much. We gave her the of Mormon stories book to help her understand better, but she said she likes reading the actual book because there are more details. She is awesome! She said she wants to be baptized and committed to being baptized. Now if we can just get her to come to church with us. She shared with us an experience she had when she was younger. She said her two younger siblings were really sick when she was little and they were in the hospital. She went outside and said a prayer and looked at the moon because she knew that God is light and she felt like he would hear her. Her family has no religion. Her parents have no interest in religion but she said she knows that Heavenly Father is real and that the church is true. We were so happy when she said this. She is so brave! Her friends have been trying to invite her to come to their church and they don't understand why she likes our church. She told them she knows it's true. We are so excited! Now we are going to try and get her and her brother to church. It's hard for them to get there when it's early and their family doesn't go. We'll talk to her little brother this week and see where he is at too. He understands the plan of salvation perfectly and wants to be baptized so he can live with HF again. We love them!!

 

Kim Hoo Eee came to church yesterday and we were able to teach her an awesome lesson after church as well. She is so great. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and understands and believes everything we teach her. We taught her the 3rd lesson yesterday, which is Christ's gospel. She is the perfect investigator. She loves learning everything. She loves that through the gospel, we can become better. This gospel is all about change. And she loves that. She understands that she can repent and be forgiven. She loves reading the Book of Mormon and always has a lot of questions. Yesterday she said she would be baptized! She decided March 15th would be good. She said she is excited to feel clean when she is baptized. (ps background on her- her professor is in our ward. He said something about our church in class one day and after class she asked him what church he went to and asked if she could come. So she came the first week I was here. That's when we began teaching her) She has been prepared. I am so excited for her. She asked about the temple because she heard we went. So on saturday, we are going to Seoul and visiting the temple and teaching her about it. I'm super excited!!

 

Ee Bo Young is doing good. She's still "waiting" for the answer. We are trying to explain that the spirit answers in many different ways. I think she is worried about being baptized and wants a big solid answer that this is the true church. She always reads the Book of Mormon but she said she isn't sure that the church is true. We're still working hard with her. Praying for her a lot. She is so sweet and we want her to realize how much the gospel can change her life.

 

This week I studied 3 Nephi 17 and shared how Christ healed the people when he came to earth. I pointed out to her that Christ healed everyone. He healed every person that came to Him. He will heal us. If we come to Him. Christ has so much compassion. He wants to heal us! I read a quote this week by Elder Packer that I love: "Christ is the creator. The Healer. What he made, He can fix." I love that. I am learning more and more about Christ and I am so thankful for His Atonement. Christ's Atonement is the best news in the world. I am so thankful that I get to share that good news with the people here in Korea.

 

Rach- I am glad you had a good b-day. Sounds super fun!!! Your hike in the pouring rain sounds like a blast. love you!

Dman- how's Savior of the World? I wish you could see all of the crazy things here in Korea. The busses and motorcycles drive wild. hahaha it's so funny. running red lights and flying around corners. classic

Ellie- thanks for the quotes! How is where the red fern grows? That book is so good/sad! i love you!!

Jane- Your missionary thing sounds way cool! Let me know how it goes!!

Addie- I am glad you are working hard in English. That is so hard. There are so many tricky things. You are so smart. Keep working hard! I love you!

Isaac- That is so cool you saw the fighter planes! I am glad you had a good birthday. This week I ate gross fish that looked like silver goldfish and I ate octopus haha crazy huh?

Mom and Dad- I love you so much!! Thanks for the emails. I love you and constantly pray for all of you.

 

Have the best week!!! I love you!!!!!!

 

Sister Tara Anderson

 

February 24, 2014

Hey Everyone!!!

 

I am so glad you are all doing good. Thanks for all of the cute emails! I love reading every one of them and hearing what is happening. Tell Emily and Livi good luck this week. The MTC is THE BEST!!! The Spirit is always there. It is awesome. Tell Emily I will see her on May 31st when we have a combined mission conference with Seoul South. I can't wait!!!

 

I am doing pretty good here. I still have a lot of ups and downs. It's hard not to get homesick when you feel so far away and can't understand people. But everyday I am a little more familiar with the culture and everything. So it is a little better.

This week was good. We got to teach Ee bo young on monday. We talked to her about keeping the Sabbath Day holy and she seemed good with it. She always seems so interested in everything. She always reads the Book of Mormon, and prays, and comes to church most of the time. She has been praying to know if the gospel is true and if the Book of Mormon is true. We have a baptism date set for her, but she seems like she is not as interested in being baptized as she used to be. I asked her if she wants to be baptized. And she said right now, no. Sister Koo and I were SO sad when she said that. We want to know how to help her. She is having a hard time with her family right now. I told her I pray for her everyday and she said she really appreciates it. She is always so sweet and does everything, but for some reason she is afraid of being baptized. I love her so much and it makes me so sad! The other day, she gave me a letter she wrote for me. She doesn't speak very much english but she tries hard and does pretty good. She wrote the letter in English and it was so sweet. She told me thank you for being her friend and a missionary and for teaching her true lessons. She said a whole bunch of other heart-felt things. It made my day! She told me it took her an hour to write because she had to translate everything she wanted to say. I love her so much and I want her to realize how this gospel can change her life if she will let it.

 

We didn't get to teach Kim Hoo ee this week because she was in Seoul and couldn't come to church. She still seems really interested by the texts she sends and I think she is doing good. She is really sweet. She loves that through the gospel, we can become better people. She is awesome. We are going to teach her again on sunday.

 

The 2 siblings we are teaching are doing alright. At first they really understood how important it is to be baptized because we cannot return to live with HF if we aren't baptized. So they really wanted to be baptized. They love reading the Book of Mormon stories book. The little boy was having a problem with praying. He said it feels really weird. I explained to him that HF is our Father and when we pray, we just talk to him like we talk to our dad. We are his children and he wants to talk to us. Hopefully if he realizes who he is, it won't be so awkward to pray. We keep trying to get the kids to come to church but they always sleep in :( i Think sister Koo and I might just show up one morning and try and get them to come with us. haha they are so cute and i want them to understand how important this gospel is.

 

On wednesday, I went on exchanges with sister haynie. She is awesome. She was in the MTC for about a week when I was there. It was fun to be with her. We taught an English class and taught a lesson to one of her investigators. It was super fun. I leaned how I can study Korean better and become better at talking to people on the street. It was nice to teach with another American who doesn't know very much Korean because we were able to work together and I could actually understand the things she was saying. It was fun.

 

On friday, part of our zone met in Ilsan area and street contacted together. It was a blast! We went to dinner at this resturant after. We all showed up and while we were waiting outside the door, a lady kept staring at us. She would lean forward and look at us and then sit back. She kept doing this. And I saw her. Nobody else noticed but I knew I had to talk to her. my comp was talking to someone else, so i stood there. Next thing I knew I was walking over to her and telling her we are misisonaries. I explained our church, and that we teach about christ. I told her and her daughter about the Book of Mormon and how I feel when I read it. I gave them a Book of Mormon with our card in it and they were super nice. It was slightly terrifying. But I think they needed to hear our message and that's what led me there.

 

I have been doing really good for the most part! I have my moments of homesickness, but usually I am doing pretty good. Yesterday, I was a little homesick in the morning before church. I went to church and sat by a really sweet member. 4 Americans showed up to Sacrament Meeting. I couldn't believe I was seeing Americans! We never see Americans. We are far away from Seoul and the only Americans i see are the other missionaries. So afterwards, I went up and talked to them. They work with the bishop of our ward and are here because they are builing 2 family history centers in Seoul. They were super nice. From utah. One was from Syracuse. One said he used to live by Ponds Park in Kaysville. So exactly where we live. I was so excited to talk to people who could understand me! hahah but they asked me how long I have been serving and i told them 3 weeks in country. They were super nice. Told me that I will get used to the culture and the language will come. I kind of felt like I was going to burst into tears as I was talking to them. They left and after church sister Koo and I were walking home and I burst into tears. I think something about seeing them and knowing they came from home made me SO homesick. It was sad. but the other sisters helped me feel better. haha. The rest of the day I was totally fine. I just have my moments. haha :)

 

I have to say, overall, I am doing so good. I am doing a lot better than I expected I would. I can honestly say I feel the prayers of everyone at home. I know that there is no way I could ever do this on my own. I feel the strength of my Savior helping me along the way. I also know that there are others beyond the veil who are helping me everyday. I am so thankful to be a missionary. I love serving the Lord. I can't imagine my life without the gospel. And the plan of Salvation. Coming her to Korea makes me realize how blessed we are to have the knowledge we do. Why are we so lucky to know what we know? I want others to know about Jesus Christ and how the Book of Mormon can change their lives. I lOVE the BOok of Mormon! I am so thankful for it.

 

I love you all so much!

Rach- congrats on USU!!! That is so exciting. I can't wait for you!!! yay! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! have the best day ever. hopefully you get my letter soon! I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Dman- keep it up with basketball and school. Have fun with Savior of the World. IT IS THE BEST!!! I wish I could do it again

Ellie- Feel better love! Good luck with Sewing. You are awesome. Keep playing speed and shooting during kiddy rid's turn. haha!

Jane- Thanks for the cute email! When does track start? Speed sounds way fun with marv. How's violin?

Addie- I can't believe you are doing year rouind next year! That's so cool! HOw's ballet? I love you more than all of the fish in the ocean!

Isaac- How is kindergarten? I love you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! IN korea, your birthday is tomorrow. I sent you a letter in the mail. i hope you get it soon for your birthday. I will think abouit you all day. love you!

Mom and Dad- I love you. thank you for everything. You are the best. Have a great week. Thanks for all of the encouraging things. I love you!!!

Tara and Sister Koo (her companion) at the subway station. 

Tara and Sister Jackson at Dinner.