12/25/16 at 8:26 PM
Hai!
MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hurray
for time zones (and also not, because it super confuses me, but that's okay),
because that means that it's actually Christmas in the States!
I'MINKOREAYAYAYYAYAAYAY!
I mean, it's not like that would've changed since last week, but you know, just
thought I would remind you. Seriously, though, pretty much everyday I find a
new way to appreciate the city. The tall shiny buildings and the smaller, older
brick buildings; the people's grins when they are enthusiastically greeted with
안냥하세요! by a foreigner; and, of course, that special
Seoul smell. Couldn't call it Seoul without it.
One of our investigators
arrived at our lesson, sat down, and one of the first things she said was,
"Do you have church tomorrow? I want to go." It was so great. And
sure enough, she came and sat by us for Sacrament meeting. (I found out
afterwards that she couldn't really hear anything, so that's a bummer, but on
the other hand, I couldn't really understand anything, so we're in it together,
I guess.) But my companion and I are thinking about the whole "not being
able to hear" thing. We'll figure it out, I'm sure. 하나님 아버지 wants that lady to hear the gospel, so by golly
she'll hear it. :)
I got to Skype family
yesterday, so hurray for modern technology! (Except for when it tells me I
spelled "hurray" wrong...) Maybe it's because it's only been a couple
months, but it was sort of like I'd just had a really long day (and
not more than 2 months) that I was telling them about. We were in three
different places--one of which was a third of the globe away--and two different
time zones, but it was like we had just seen each other yesterday. I'm so
grateful to have such great relationships with my family members. Dey ahr deh
behst. (Yes, that's a Nacho Libre quote...)
We ate dinner at the
bishop's house, and IT WAS SO DELICIOUS. It's not like we've been starving (my
companion and I are perfectly capable of making ourselves food), but man,
nothing beats a home-cooked meal. It was just like my mom had cooked us dinner,
and it was amazing. There was also cake, so that's good.
I feel that I must warn
the readers that when you see me in 2018, there's a good chance I will be even
more giant than I already am, and it's because I eat all the rice in the whole
world. I try not to, and then I don't feel like being creative enough to come
up with a meal that doesn't involve rice, so I eat all the rice in the whole
world. I'm sure there'll be no need to point it out to me, as I am surrounded
by Koreans. ;) I'll work on it, but I don't want to make any promises.
Anyway...
Last night (our
Christmas night), we watched The Testaments with a recent convert. You know,
the old Church movie with all the feathers and the bad acting and the spray
tans on white people? Well, there were still as many feathers as I remember
from watching it as a kid, but the acting was great, and the tans looked pretty
natural for the most part (I'm giggling as I type that because, let's be
honest, there's no way they looked natural, but it was still
great). The point is that I LOVE THAT MOVIE SO MUCH. If you've never seen it,
or if it's been a while, watch it. It's old, and maybe a little cheesy, but it
was great. (And if it's too cheesy to watch it in English, watch it in Japanese
with English subtitles, 'cause that wasn't too bad. Those Japanese people do
good with the voice-acting thing.) There were a couple moments that I wish we
had the technology to record feelings. Just bottle up the feelings to save them
for later, then open up the jar when we want to feel like that again...
Unfortunately, there is no such thing, but I will try with words to express the
things.
As I was watching, at
the part that all the video clips of the Atonement are playing, especially when
you see Christ carrying the cross, I just had the distinct thought of,
"What if your best friend was doing that for you?" And then
immediately following, "Your best friend did that for you." Isn't
that an amazing thought? That this perfect, loving, powerful being is already
your best friend, you just have to reach out to Him?
The second part that
really got me is right at the end when (*SPOILER ALERT*) Jacob is describing
the goings-on to his dad Helam, and then right at the end you see Christ's
hands touch Helam's face to heal his eyesight (he was blinded earlier on) and
you just hear Christ say, "Helam." As soon as He says his name, it
was like jab to the heart: He knows our names! Individually! That fact is
supported even more when you think of Joseph Smith's story. The first thing
Heavenly Father says is Joseph's name. How incredible? That such wonderful,
powerful beings know our names, that they think of us individually? There's no
telling how that's possible, and I'm not sure our mortal
brains could wrap our heads around it even if we did know, but it really is a
thing.
I'm grateful for the
gospel. I think I take it for granted a lot of the time; because I grew up with
it, particularly in an environment where pretty much everyone else believes the
same things I believe, I think I didn't really realize the impact it can have
on a life. I feel that impact a little more each day, and I hope to be able to
help others feel it as well.
Love you all!
Sister Chun
