Hey!!!
It was so good to talk to you on Christmas! Gosh. That just made my year.
On Christmas Eve we finally had the Christmas party! We spent most of our time this week preparing for it, and especially the day of, we had finishing touches, a load of cookies to bake, and had to practice our message and our little performances. It was so fun! We had several investigators there brought by members, and they seemed to really enjoy it! There were several fun little performances and I was able to play violin with Elder Hong on piano, and then at the end the missionaries sang and did a little message. The best part though was just talking with the members and the investigators.
I've been transferred! We got the call on Wednesday. I am serving in Jinju and Sacheon, two areas on the far west side of the mission, apparently one of the biggest areas of the mission. A lot of it is country, and we pretty much use all of our money just busing around everywhere because it is all spread out. It stretches to the coast, and even has a few islands in the area! My new companion is Sister Call. We are the Sister Training Leaders in the Changwon Zone. Sister Call told me that Jinju/Sacheon is a tough area, and that it will be a lot of work. She said, "Jinju is where the tough missionaries go." Great! It will be fun! I am excited to work hard.
It has been sad leaving Gyeongsan. I love these people so much and already miss them. When I said goodbye to NGL it was so hard! We were both crying. Of course Elder Hong had to be a dork and started playing "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" on the piano. The members were so sweet. We were able to meet with several of them again before I left. One of the grandmothers at church told me, "But, I won't be able to hear your violin anymore!" The night before I left, we went to CKL's house. When we walked in though, the lights were off and she and her husband were standing, smiling at us and beckoning us towards their table, which had been set up prettily and had candles on it. She had bought a huge fancy cream bread, and then taught us how to make one of my favorite soups while we listened to Christmas music. It was so nice! Right after that appointment our Branch President brought us a pizza and talked with us for a little bit. I love Gyeongsan so much, and it means a lot to me to know that they care about me too!
We were also to meet with PND on Sunday! I hope that she continues to meet with the Sisters and comes to English class. NKL progressed a little more too this week! She read one of the Conference talks from the Liahona, and although she didn't remember much from it, she said she would read it again to try to really understand it. Gosh. I love that woman so much. It is interesting to think that a year ago I had no idea about any of these people, and especially that they would mean so much to me.
Christmas was very good! First, I was able to talk to my family, and then we went to a member's house for a big Christmas lunch. It was delicious. Totally traditional Korean meal. It was super tasty. That night Sister Cunningham and I went out proselyting, and were able to hand out close to fifty of the "A Savior is Born" cards. Opening up presents was wonderful too! Thank you so much!
Okay, a little more about Jinju and Sacheon. While it is a really tough area with a lot of work to be done, it will be super good! The apartment is HUGE. I don't know what to do with all of the space. Of course, it is still pretty small, but compared to the one room apartment in Gyeongsan, it is a mansion. Sister Call is INCREDIBLE. I am so excited to serve with her. Seriously, it has been less than a whole day that we have been together, and I already love her SO much. She is hilarious, and so kind and loving. She is a hard worker too. The ward and branch that we are over here really need our help, and we will be doing a lot of less-active finding and re-eactivating. These two areas take up about a third of the mission, and takes a long time to get around. It will be tough, but good.
I am excited! I love you all SO much!!!
Sister Stapley
It was so good to talk to you on Christmas! Gosh. That just made my year.
On Christmas Eve we finally had the Christmas party! We spent most of our time this week preparing for it, and especially the day of, we had finishing touches, a load of cookies to bake, and had to practice our message and our little performances. It was so fun! We had several investigators there brought by members, and they seemed to really enjoy it! There were several fun little performances and I was able to play violin with Elder Hong on piano, and then at the end the missionaries sang and did a little message. The best part though was just talking with the members and the investigators.
I've been transferred! We got the call on Wednesday. I am serving in Jinju and Sacheon, two areas on the far west side of the mission, apparently one of the biggest areas of the mission. A lot of it is country, and we pretty much use all of our money just busing around everywhere because it is all spread out. It stretches to the coast, and even has a few islands in the area! My new companion is Sister Call. We are the Sister Training Leaders in the Changwon Zone. Sister Call told me that Jinju/Sacheon is a tough area, and that it will be a lot of work. She said, "Jinju is where the tough missionaries go." Great! It will be fun! I am excited to work hard.
It has been sad leaving Gyeongsan. I love these people so much and already miss them. When I said goodbye to NGL it was so hard! We were both crying. Of course Elder Hong had to be a dork and started playing "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" on the piano. The members were so sweet. We were able to meet with several of them again before I left. One of the grandmothers at church told me, "But, I won't be able to hear your violin anymore!" The night before I left, we went to CKL's house. When we walked in though, the lights were off and she and her husband were standing, smiling at us and beckoning us towards their table, which had been set up prettily and had candles on it. She had bought a huge fancy cream bread, and then taught us how to make one of my favorite soups while we listened to Christmas music. It was so nice! Right after that appointment our Branch President brought us a pizza and talked with us for a little bit. I love Gyeongsan so much, and it means a lot to me to know that they care about me too!
We were also to meet with PND on Sunday! I hope that she continues to meet with the Sisters and comes to English class. NKL progressed a little more too this week! She read one of the Conference talks from the Liahona, and although she didn't remember much from it, she said she would read it again to try to really understand it. Gosh. I love that woman so much. It is interesting to think that a year ago I had no idea about any of these people, and especially that they would mean so much to me.
Christmas was very good! First, I was able to talk to my family, and then we went to a member's house for a big Christmas lunch. It was delicious. Totally traditional Korean meal. It was super tasty. That night Sister Cunningham and I went out proselyting, and were able to hand out close to fifty of the "A Savior is Born" cards. Opening up presents was wonderful too! Thank you so much!
Okay, a little more about Jinju and Sacheon. While it is a really tough area with a lot of work to be done, it will be super good! The apartment is HUGE. I don't know what to do with all of the space. Of course, it is still pretty small, but compared to the one room apartment in Gyeongsan, it is a mansion. Sister Call is INCREDIBLE. I am so excited to serve with her. Seriously, it has been less than a whole day that we have been together, and I already love her SO much. She is hilarious, and so kind and loving. She is a hard worker too. The ward and branch that we are over here really need our help, and we will be doing a lot of less-active finding and re-eactivating. These two areas take up about a third of the mission, and takes a long time to get around. It will be tough, but good.
I am excited! I love you all SO much!!!
Sister Stapley