Leanne Noelle Chun <leanne.chun@myldsmail.net>

Today at 9:46 PM

What. Fourth transfer. I'm still alive. BUT I'M ABOUT TO BE DEAD BECAUSE SISTER GILES IS LEAVING! She will be going to Nokbeon to serve with one of my MTC companions, Sister Gottfredson, actually. That's super neat, but also sad. And she has to go a day early, so our last P day together will be cut a little short (tomorrow we're going to the temple in the morning for P day. Yay temple!). But it's going to be good. She doesn't go back to America for another few months so, I'll still see her around, probably.

My new companion is named Sister Boss of Australia. I've only ever had a brief interaction with her, but I hear from everyone that she is super awesome. Hopefully I can match up to her awesomeness. :)

This week's letter was really short! sorry about that! Just know that I love you all! Life will be good this week, as long as you make it so! ^_^

Love,

Sister Chun

Leanne Noelle Chun <leanne.chun@myldsmail.net>

Apr 16 at 10:11 PM

Whoa, last week of the transfer. That's exciting and terrifying. There's a very real possiblity that Sister Giles or I will be transfered to a new area. Not super stoked about that. I've been blessed to have spent this long with her. Trying not to think about that....

But in the meantime... SISTER HAM GOT BAPTIZED! We had a huge baptism service: four people total were baptized. Sister Ham, and three of the Elders' investigators. It was so great! The Relief Society President made sure there were snacks to enjoy aftward, but then the missionaries, a couple of the recent converts, and the other Elders' investigator went out to lunch and we ate so much food on top of all the muffins and juice that we consumed. It was awesome. Hurray for BipBimBap!

Happy Easter! XD I think because I've grown up in the church, I've sort of taken for granted the Plan of Happiness that our Heavenly Father has provided for us. We talked with someone recently who had a loved one pass away recently; it's sad, but it was a good reminder of why we're here as missionaries. How blessed I am to know that we will see all of our loved ones again. Not only will we see them again, but they will be in perfect, resurrected bodies (and so will we... woohoo!). Can you imagine how joyous that day will be? Holy cow... There's something to think about.

So don't worry, Brothers and Sisters. There's hope for the future because of a Sacrifice in the past. I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ, without whom the Plan of Salvation would not be possible. Yay 예수님!

I'm sorry my letter is short this week. Just know that when that happens, I'm probably replying to people one-on-one. Just remember, Christ ministered to the people in ancient America one by one. Just following His example... :)

Love you all! Have a good week!

Love,

Sister Chun

Look at it!

Look at this cake!

I think this is the first time I have ever had a Mars bar...

This bush is next to our church house ^_^.

There are so many trees like this in Korea!

This, my friends, is a teddy bear dog.

We went on a walk with Sister Ham...

Leanne Noelle Chun <leanne.chun@myldsmail.net>

Apr 9 at 10:24 PM

Dear people who read this blog,

Thank you for reading this blog! Big thanks to my beautiful madre who is so good at keeping it updated!

HURRAY FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE. We finally got to watch it, and it was fantastic. It seems to have come at just the perfect time for me, too. There have been a lot of things swirling around in my head this past week resulting in sadder feelings than I should be feeling, but! thanks to General Conference, pretty much every single one of my questions and worries was answered.

There seemed to be some overarching themes for me this conference, phrases and ideas that kept popping up in the talks, but I think the one that they all tie into was the talk given by Gary A. Sabin. I don't know what the official title of the talk is, but in my notes I titled it "All In". For some reason, the idea of being "all in" really struck a chord with me. I think there have been too many days than I care to admit where I haven't felt "all in". But the more I choose to be all in, the more I choose to fully commit to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church, the happier I feel. Like today, I seriously feel like I'm walking on cloud 9 right now. Hurray for conference!

Also, some more happy news... Sister Ham is getting baptized! It's been a few months that we've been meeting with her now, but about a week ago, she got that confirmation that she should be baptized. She will be baptized on the 15th of April and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost on April 16, Easter! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY This also means that we will be preparing yet more music, both for her baptismal service and for Easter Sacrament meeting. Very exciting. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Oh. My. Gosh. We made Crazy Cake, and it was the best (two) days ever. Yes. Yes, we made more than one in one week. But we gave most of it away, I promise! My waistline is still sad, of course, from all the cake that I did eat... Hehe, I just need to be a little more "all in" when it comes to working out and eating healthy, I guess. That can be a goal for the week. :)

I love you all! Hope you all had good weeks, had a good time watching conference. The good news is that you can keep watching conference! Hurray for technology! Make sure to drink the Living Water and eat the Bread of Life constantly, or at least consistently!

Love,

Sister Chun

Leanne Noelle Chun <leanne.chun@myldsmail.net>

Apr 2 at 11:15 PM

This time a picture for Leanne!

Levi (far left) with his track buddies: pre-season kimpap (and pizza) feast!

Hurray for General Conference! Actually, that should probably be the opening for next week, since I haven't actually seen it yet, but that's okay! Repeats are okay, yes?

We performed a song in sacramament meeting. That was interesting. Actually, it went fairly well. Better than all the rehearsals, so at least we improved. Interesting fact, but first some background: the song that we sang is the If You Could Hie to Kolob/Come Thou Fount mash-up that was flying around the internet, sung by three sisters, really cool harmonies... you know the one, right? Well, I had the chance to sing that in the MTC as well, so we just re-used the sheet music. And here's the fun fact: the Elder who played the piano for us knows the family! Cool, huh?

I went on exchanges with Sister Wright, one of my MTC companions! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! That girl is a miracle worker. She just goes for it. What an amazing example of courage and just... gumption. Hopefully we didn't weird too many people out. ^_^ Yay exchanges!

As usual, I learned something this week. Don't worry, I'm learning more than just one thing every week, every day in fact, but this is one I want to share with you. Where there is fear, there cannot be faith! But, because that statement is true, where there is faith, there cannot be fear! At least, that's how it's working out in my head. There's a fancy math term for those kind of statements, but seeing as how I almost failed Geometry (what? I mean, I passed with flying colors...), I'm hardly qualified to try and guess what it is, because I seriously don't remember. Any who...

Where there is faith, there cannot be fear. Just by the nature of each of those qualities, one cannot exist where the other does. There's a story in the New Testament that I really like that this statement makes me think of. Jairus, a prominent Jewish guy, comes seeking Jesus because his daughter is about to die. While they're on the way to Jairus' house, they're sort of delayed while the woman with an issue of blood is healed; while they're delayed, a servant of his house comes to tell Jairus that his daughter is dead and he needn't bother the master anymore. The first thing that Christ says to Jairus when they receive this news is, "Be not afraid, only believe." How wonderful, that that reassurance is something that Christ can offer us? Be not afraid, she will live again. Be not afraid, I have borne the weight of your sins. Be not afraid, only believe, just follow Me, and I will make you whole, I will help you bear the weight. You will be stronger, better, happier, but don't be afraid. That's what I get out of it anyway. How great is it, that we have a Savior who can say that to us? That there is a Plan for us, which means that we can face our fears and troubles head on, because He is by our side?

Now, that's all very well and good, but then I get out on the street, or I'm sitting on the subway, and I know I'm supposed to be talking to everyone, and everything that I could say (that I know how to say in Korean) seems like it's right at the tip of my tongue, and then... nothing. And they get off at the next station. Or they end up crossing the street and walking the other direction. What?! I've done that a couple of times, sadly, maybe more than I'd care to admit. But you know what? When I do just open my mouth (a term you hear a lot as a missionary), the words really do come. I smile at people, and they smile back. We have a nice conversation. I give them our number, or they give me theirs (one of the better-case scenarios, admittedly)... bottom line? It's not that bad. Whatever fears I thought I had disappear as soon as I just do it. So, in the future, from here on out, if I can just remember that my Savior is standing with me--because why would He call a bunch of relatively clueless 19, 20 year olds to do His work and then not help them--opening my mouth is not that bad.

The Church is doing an Easter initiative this year #PrinceofPeace. I know that when we study the Savior's life and His character, we really can find peace. What a precious gift to have, peace. There's a lot more to say about that, but time is running short. For now I'll just refer you to Mormon.org to look at all the cool videos and stuff. (The Church media production department is on point.)

I love you all! Be safe and have a good week!

Love,

Sister Chun

Mother Chun's disclaimer - getting called to be the Primary President 

(of a youth organization with 145 kids and their adult leaders) 

might put a mom behind in posting to her missionary's blog! 

You have a lot of reading to do to catch up.....

Saw this statue on campus of one of the Universities around here. 

I have no idea what the writing says, but we're pretty sure that's 예수님 (Jesus Christ).

Leanne Noelle Chun <leanne.chun@myldsmail.net>

Mar 26 at 11:02 PM

Oh, boy, this week's letter might have to be kind of short. -_-

I feel like the only really exciting thing that happened this week was our ward BBQ. We ate delicious Korean food and sang fun songs. Good stuff.

This next month is going to be so busy! I AM SO EXCITED FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Because of the time difference, we'll be watching General Conference the weekend after it broadcasts live in the States. So DON'T SPOIL ANYTHING. You're allowed to tell me which ones are your favorite speakers, I guess, but NOTHING ELSE. =) We can fan girl about the Apostles after I watch all the sessions. :)

Brothers and Sisters, I don't know if I have anything super profound to share with you this week, but something I've been thinking about quite a bit recently is just how real the gospel is. (Sounds silly, I know. But when you spend at least an hour every day studying the scriptures, things tend to solidify in your brain a little bit.) The gospel is real. God's power is on the earth. We recently had an opportunity to appreciate that particular reality up close, and it's real. I'm so grateful that it is.

Have a good week!

Sister Chun

Test run no-bake cookies with Sister Ham.

No-bake cookies with the Young Women.

Can't wait for spring!

I'm not sure who decided this would be a good thing to put in a children's park, but... it happened.

Sister Ham was astonished that Americans eat Beef Jerky... I say keep it comin'!

Neck massager

Korean socks. 'Nuff said.

They have the most amazing fanny packs here, and I want to buy all of them.

We ate at a Turkish restaurant. So delicious!

Artwork on the ceiling of a guard house in Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul.

Maybe I will go there sometime!

Leanne Noelle Chun <leanne.chun@myldsmail.net>

Mar 19 at 11:09 PM

Oh my goodness my head exploded yesterday. Once upon a time the Chunsters (Scott and Andrea Chun family) hosted a foreign exchange student from Korea, Jun Park, and he just showed up at the church house yesterday. :D He explained that he had visited the Chunsters last month and they had given him something to bring back to me, and he found me! Yay Jun! And yay Chunsters! 과자를 잘먹겠습니다! ^^

The stake celebrated the 175 years of Relief Society on Saturday by throwing a big party and feeding everyone. It was fantastic. Each ward had prepared some kind of presentation: there was musical numbers, mini plays, full on dance numbers (turns out Koreans are pretty good dancers), and, of course, delicious food. Yay Korea!

In other news, the scriptures are fantastic, but I think you already knew that. And if you don't already know that, I would hope that you try to find out, because they're fantastic. I've started the Book of Mormon over again: can we talk for a second about how much of a boss Nephi is? Because is he a boss. I've never really noticed it before, but it seems like one of the focuses of Nephi's narratives is obedience, specifically to the commandments and to the promptings of the Spirit. (It could be that it just stands out to me because I'm a missionary right now.) But it seems like every other verse is Nephi talking about being obedient. One of the things I admire most about Nephi, and what, I think, sort of sets him apart from his brothers, is his go-get-'em attitude. You all may be familiar with 1 Nephi 3:7, or at least the Primary song, "I will go, I will do!..." That's what he does! He goes and does. When the Lord tells him he needs to build a boat it's not, "Aw, but that seems hard! I don't have any tools. I don't know how. You didn't tell Sam or Laman or Lemuel to build a boat!" (Although let's be honest, Laman and Lemuel weren't that great.) No! It was, "Okay, where do I go so that I can make tools?" Go Nephi!

I don't remember if I've talked about this before, but 2 Nephi 5:27 is a really good verse. This is after the Lamanites and the Nephites have split up. They go their separate ways because the Lamanites are total pooh-heads, and Nephi teaches and encourages his people to have that same go-and-do attitude: they're industrious, they work hard, and verse 27 says that they "lived after the manner of happiness." Elder Holland, when he visited in February, shed some light on this verse. It doesn't say that they were happy, it says that they lived after the manner of happiness, which Elder Holland submits is to live how happy people live. *mind-plosion* We can still be happy even though we'll have hard days, even though we'll have stress, even though we'll have seemingly insurmountable obstacles, emotionally, physically, spiritually. I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is manner of happiness. 

Of course, living the gospel of Jesus Christ--having faith in Him, repenting consistently and constantly, partaking of the Sacrament and making and keeping other covenants, and living worthy of the Holy Ghost and relying on His counsel--may require some sacrifice. It may mean giving up your favorite TV show, or missing a basketball game that's being played on Sunday; it certainly means putting aside what you want for you and focusing more on what God wants for you, but I really believe that when we do that--and it doesn't just happen, it takes some practice, weekly and even daily re-commiting--when we put aside ourselves and humbly ask God what He wants for us with the intent to follow through on His suggestions, He will not lead us astray. He may lead us through some hard times (or we may choose the harder path by not following Him), and that doesn't sound fun, but when we look back on it, it will be more worth it than anything we could have come up with on our own.

Okay, I think I'm done ranting now. Sorry, that's a lot to read. There's just so much good stuff to learn from the scriptures! Actually, it's sort of amazing how detailed you can get when you study: I spent an hour on one verse (Moroni 10:32), and probably could have studied it more. Yay scriptures!

Have a good week!

Love,

Sister Chun

Sister Giles, 스미에, Sister Ham, & Me - Last Goodbye!

Leanne Noelle Chun <leanne.chun@myldsmail.net>

Mar 12 at 11:07 PM

Yay new transfer! That's crazy... Good news! Sister Giles and I will be staying together in Dongdaemun! Sad news: Elder Cable and Elder Boren are leaving Dongdaemun! It'll be okay: all part of that Missionary life, but it's still sad for Dongdaemun. :)

Good heavens, what did we even do this week? ... ... ... Stake conference! That was fun. Our recent convert 스미에 (I don't know how to put that into English), an adorable Japanese girl about Lorin's age, is going back to Japan tomorrow, so we got to say bye to her. She'll be back probably in August sometime, which means I'll most likely get to see her again. :) She drew a fantastic picture of me. :D

We got to visit the temple with our investigater Sister Ham and 스미에. The temple store is just about the only shopping that I get excited about... :) We were also able to sit in the waiting area of the temple. We couldn't go past that, of course, but it's still the temple, and there was still a special feeling. My prayers got answered while we were sitting there. (Have you ever said a prayer and then randomly opened the Book of Mormon and read the first thing you saw?) It was nice.

This week is short, but I just want you all to know that I love you! Hope you have a good week! Remember that you are a child of God: you don't ever have to feel low or sad or confused. There are plenty of ways that God will communicate with you, just open your ears, eyes, and heart.

Love you!

Love,

Sister Chun

Sister Ham, Sister Giles,  스미에, and Me

(please ignore the double chin)

First time eating 부대찌개 (pu-dae-gi-gae), a kind of "everything soup"; 

literally translated, it means "military base" soup - as in, people 

scavenging leftovers from the U.S. military bases during the Korean War

and making soup out of whatever they found. It's tasty!

Japanese snacks

This street just seemed sort of picturesque...

This! is a Korean elementary school...

Yay stake conference!

스미에 (Su Mi-Yeh) is going back to Japan... sadness. But she so cute!

스미에 drew us and they're amazing...

Side by side comparison

Stairs to Shelob's lair

​​ Sister Giles' feet were a little sore so I told her to get on my back. 

She politely declined, but proceeded to quote Lord of the Rings, 

so we thought we'd take a picture to commemorate the experience...

My beautiful companion, Sister Giles

Leanne Noelle Chun <leanne.chun@myldsmail.net>

Mar 5 at 9:07 PM

Holy cow, last week of the transfer. There's sort of this feeling of nervous anticipation in the air for Saturday, when we get our transfer calls. Sister Giles and I are so hoping to do another transfer together here in DongDaeMun, but I guess we'll see what happens.

I feel like this week was so busy, but there's just not enough time to share everything! Church yesterday was really fun; we had a good time with our investigator, Sister Ham, and we also got to teach the Young Women. We told the story of Ammon (at least up until the arm chopping things), which is basically my favorite (Alma 17-18). I don't know if they got anything out of it, but hopefully they liked it. I know I did.

Our Savior is really wonderful! I know that I don't understand all the He's done, is doing, and will do for me, but from the little bit that I can grasp, He's pretty amazing. I'm reading the New Testament now, and oh, boy... I can see how scriptures are something you could be reading from for the rest of your life and still not learn quite everything. That's pretty cool.

I love you all! Sorry it's a short one this week. :)

Love,

Sister Chun

My companion makes all of the delicious food in the whole world!

Only in a Korean convenience store....

Still only in a Korean convenience store.

These things are delicious!

We had all-you-can-eat sushi.