A Tale of Two Cities...

Choco Pie

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the hottest of days and the rainiest of days. It was the days of people giving us a lot of free food and then walking away when we tried to teach the gospel. (Which honestly could be worse.)

I'm just going to put it out there: I'm a terrible person. Why do I even go outside? I should just go live in a cupboard under the stairs or something. Speaking of which....I met my new companion.

This is my fourth companion, counting my MTC companion. I really loved serving with Sister Olson and I was pretty sad to leave, and nervous to meet my new companion, Sister Murdock. We were walking up the hill to transfers and Sister Olson goes "There's Sister Murdock!" So I tried my best to look psyched and confident and walked up to her and said "Hey Sister Olson!". Yes. I called her by my last companion's name. It really could have been the beginning of the end. Thankfully, Sister Murdock is really cool. She's basically me with brown hair. We both LOVE reading and Harry Potter and traveling! This is going to be the best transfer ever!!!

Anyways, Donghae (my new area) is SO gorgeous. It's got a bustling little downtown, spreading houses, and a huge seaside. There are lots of farmers and old grandmas doing weird exercises. There are trees everywhere. Honestly, when I was in the big city I wondered if trees were still a thing. They are. They are everywhere. I keep thinking I'm in Mexico. The weather changes every day and there's all these misty mountainy landscapes and ramshackle little houses painted bright colors. It was a 3 hour bus ride from Seoul to Donghae and every bit of it was wonderful! The world outside gradually changed from smoky, grimy city to greeny paradise. Sister Murdock and I got to know each other and essentially we are both huge nerds. I'm so happy. 

That night we went to a member meal. It was super simple but so good. TONS of kimchi that the mom had made herself. Somehow it tasted a little minty. It was SO GOOD! What am I gonna eat after my mission?? After the meal we visited this enormous rose garden by the river. I felt like we were in a fairytale or something.

The next day all our appointments cancelled so we proselyted for seven hours. We just got to explore and stuff. Our area is like Middle Earth sized. (Rivendell is Baskin Robbins. Mordor is the red light district.) There was this windy, cramped-road hill with tons of slanted little houses where we met a grandma with a serious hangover. She was really cute but she REALLY didn't want to talk. We felt so bad!

The next day was an actual monsoon I think. We got soaked. I got this monsoon-proof umbrella in the states and I had a hard time holding onto it. It was super miserable. But we got to meet with our new investigator. We met her riding home from the member's house. She told us during the lesson that it was a miracle we had sat by her because she had prayed for a sign and that kind of thing. She asked for a Book of Mormon and was pretty psyched about tithing. She's basically golden. Except she lives inside a different mission boundary so that's kind of sad. Dang it Seoul South. We still love her though. We looked like drowned rats and she didn't judge us.

And yes, people are giving us TONS of free food. I need to start keeping a list. We've gotten cherries and mangoes and donuts and coffee and rice and a peach energy drink, and a lot more. People tend to give us these things because they want us to eat them, which will make our mouths stop moving for a little bit. Also, people in Donghae are just super nice. All these Korean moms keep trying to set me up with their sons. The high school students keep complimenting my nose. This one girl in the branch covered my nametag with stickers.

So we were in this kind of sketchy part of town. There was no one there and the sky was super gray and kind of creepy. We rounded the corner and saw this tall thin girl just standing there. You know the scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when they see Bathilda Bagshot? It was a lot like that. She had this huge crazy perm. She raised one arm and beckoned us really slowly. It was so creepy. We went over and she took us to her house. It was disgusting. I don't know what smell it was but it was not a smell I want to smell again. There was trash all over and the roof was caving in, and the wallpaper looked like it had been scratched off with fingernails. My companion went "Oh no, I know who this is...we're in trouble...." which was not a huge comfort.

She talked to us sometimes, but mostly to herself, and she didn't remember her own name. We did our best to teach her the gospel but no go. She took us to her mom's house too and the mom said "God sent her a friend! She's your older sister now" and that kind of stuff. We finally left after doing our utmost.

It turns out she's a former investigator. The elders called her Africa because she used to wear white stripes of makeup on her face. She's a FORMER investigator because she stripped everytime she saw the elders. She was really nice and I feel bad but it seems likely we won't visit again...

Even so, I love Donghae!

All my love,

Sister Bell

Our investigator from Jungnang! She has a baptismal date :) Isn't she cute??

View of Donghae from the window

I got to eat quail eggs. They were SO GOOD!!!!!!!!

More kimchi :) My favorite Jungnang ward member gave us a meal my last night. It was HUGE! SO good!

김치!! 너무 마시서요!!!!!!

Sister Olson is just too cool

Transfers

My old companion and my new companion, both of whom I called Sister Olson

Hey kids we're getting the band back together (MTC sisters)

Cue the Les Miserables music -- the river by the rose garden

We write member names and investigator names on our sliding glass doors!

We found this mysterious forest path

Bing soo! Basically a mountain of ice and chocolate :)