Hurray for exchanges!

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

May 28 at 6:41 PM

Last week of the transfer, here we go! I have a feeling that I'll be leaving Dongdaemun this time, so I'm giving it all I've got! (Hopefully I can remain this pumped about it for the rest of the week, 'cause, you know, human beings sometimes don't stay motivated to do things).

This past week was really good. I had some spiritual instruction and did some learning on top of that.

First off, last night we received an invitation to attend the funeral for a member's mother who had passed away (Bishop's wife's grandmother). Korean funeral... different, and yet not. We got to bow to the little altar with her picture on it. No, we were not worshipping her as an idol. It's just the Korean culture. They also fed us. *shrug* Just Korea, I guess. The thing that didn't make it different was the fact that pretty much everyone there was a member of the Church, or at least familiar with one, which means that yes, this grandma had passed away and her daughter and granddaughter were sad about it, but I think we could all feel pretty hopeful about it as well. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that we have about our Heavenly Father's Plan for our Happiness. How reassuring is it to know that physical death is not just "the end"? That when we die, it only makes it possible for us to be resurrected with a perfected, glorified body? Hallelujah! is just about all I have to say about that.

The other spiritual learning things I did this week also has to do with the future, but a little more immediate. Sister Boss and I had a really deep discussion about the future. It all started with this question that she asked me: "What do you want to get out of the mission?" Do you know, Brothers and Sisters, I was a little embarrassed, because I wasn't sure that I had thought about that before. I mean, I had, of course. I would hope that every missionary has thought at least a little bit about what a serving a mission will do for them. But when she asked me a couple nights ago, I sort of felt like I had to stop in my tracks and really think for a second. The next day during personal study I made a list of things that I would like to get from the mission, and then I wrote a letter to myself to read on the plane ride back (not going to lie, in all of my nerdiness I'm pretty excited about that). A lot of the things on the list that I compiled are things that have to do with the kind of person that I want to be. I don't know that I've ever sat down and thought about who I was before and who I want to be. It was nice to 깊이 생각 (ponder) about that.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is, as Elder Bednar puts it, to turn bad men good and good men better. I don't think I'm bad, but I certainly can be better. I'm really grateful to be out a mission, 여러분. Hurray for the gospel! Hurray for the Church!

If you are one who doesn't really get why I'm so hyped about all this stuff, I invite you to just try it out. There's a member here who is now less-active. Apparently he had some doubts that he studied and prayed about for a year, but didn't receive an answer, so he concluded that God isn't real, and he left the Church. When I heard that, literally the first thing I thought was, "Well, did he ever consider that maybe he needed a year and a day?" If you haven't gotten an answer yet, stick it out! It's worth it, I promise. The comfort, peace, and confidence that a testimony brings... Just trust me, it's worth it.

I love you all! Have a good week!

Love,

Sister Chun

She's so Korean it's amazing...

She was in charge of the camera maps ^_^

Off to do the Lord's work!

I told her I was taking a picture

Also there's a park.

Sister Boss was excited to relive her childhood a little bit (the donut thing spins around).

Went to the zoo with the Nokbeon Sisters 

(Sister Giles, my trainer, and Sister Gottfredson, my MTC companion).

This. Don't mess with this Mama Llama (it's actually an Alpaca, we found out, so that was awkward).

Touching his feet. We're pretty sure all the zoo animals' brains were totally scrambled from being cooped up in cages all the time...

So this happened, and it's one of the most fantastic things that's ever been.

We found the White House.

Hurray for 같이 식사s (ka chi shik sa - eating together)!

Dat missionary tan line, doh...