Of strange packages in strange places...

Hi all,

Dangerous criminal on the loose...

Our new Army friend!

I ate SO MUCH MEAT this week. So much I think I broke that one Word of Wisdom stipulation that everyone living in Idaho seems to forget about. I definitely did not eat it sparingly. There are meat buffets here. I am not kidding. Meat BUFFETS. Incidentally the word for missionary is really close to the word for fatty pig meat, so when we tell people we're seongyosa's they get really excited because they think we said samgyeopsar's. Then they realize what we're saying and they aren't as excited. 

Anyways.

Monday: PDAY~ We finally made it to the beach! We went to 망상 which is a huge tourist destination. It was so weird feeling sand between my toes. It was really cloudy and everyone was wearing weird clothes but it still felt a little like California. It's so strange to think that my family sees the same ocean I do! We took some pictures, and then this lifeguard came over and was really excited to meet Americans. Then we told him we were missionaries and he suddenly remembered some responsibilities he had to do.

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​Tuesday we tried walking to the same beach we had gone to Monday. There had been a lot of people on the road then. Tuesday there was NO ONE. We wandered in the mists and forests of Korea and then came out and had no idea where we were. We saw signs that said 'Busan'--like a lot of them -- and we thought we were in Busan Mission for a little bit. So we were a little freaked out. But then this sketchy grandpa motioned us onto a bus and somehow we got home. We were in Donghae the whole time. Donghae, as it turns out, is basically Narnia. You THINK you're going into the forest and somehow you end up by the ocean. 

We ate so much meat. We came home for a bit after and literally just lay on the floor groaning in pain. Truly Korean missionaries suffer.

​Wednesday our District Leader gave SUCH a good devotional! He talked about living below our privileges. We all have so many blessings we can take advantage of. I've been studying David A Bednar's talks recently and he talks a lot about how our morning prayers are a continuation of our nighttime prayers. If we live life from prayer to prayer wouldn't that be an amazing thing? 

We also visited a furniture shop lady and she talked a lot about arranged marriage. That was one of the first words I learned in Korea. A lot of people immigrate here and get married. It's sad -- they're usually pretty miserable.

Thursday we visited every single branch member in Donghae. Granted, it's not huge, but Donghae is, and the members are spread out all over the place. Also, that day it was simultaneously the hottest day of the year AND raining like crazy. I felt so sweaty and gross and greasy. We were on a bus and this woman sat next to me. I felt guilty but I really did not want to talk to her. I felt so disgusting, and it felt like I would do more for the church by NOT being the first missionary she ever talked to!

But then something strange happened in front of us. There was this strange old man with a strange old coat holding strange packages. He booted a younger college guy right out of his seat and tumbled into it himself. He fussed around and got situated. Then he tapped the man in front of him and thrust a package into his hands, gesturing for him to untie the plastic strings. The man did so with some sideways glances, obviously not sure why he was doing so. He finally unknotted it and handed it back. In return the man pulled out a loaf of bread and handed it to him. The other man was so delighted!

I realized we don't always know why God sends us to people or places, or why he asks us to do weird things. But when we do them it inevitably brings blessings we don't expect. So I talked to the lady and we had an amazing discussion, and I gave her a Book of Mormon. She was so interested in modern prophets. I had no idea she would have this interest when I started talking to her, but when I untied the package there was something amazing inside.

Friday we did an exchange and had some amazing things happen. I went with Sister Evans, our STL, to Wonju. We had just started 전도 with a woman crossing the street when I heard this big, deep voice say "Hello, Sisters!" I looked behind us...and then looked up. There was a six foot six white man standing behind us. He was SO TALL. Normally I would have been a little unsettled but he had said “sisters", which is a term most people obviously don't use. I talked to him while Sister Evans kept 전도 ing and learned his name is Joseph, and that he's stationed here with the army. He's a member of the church with a cute little family living in Idaho that he hasn't seen for 15 months. He hasn't been able to find a church building since that time. So when he saw us walk past he immediately did a double take. In his words..."White girls? Wearing SKIRTS? Must be the sister missionaries". So we took him to the church building and introduced him to the elders. The miracle was that our bus had been late. Buses in Korea are NEVER late! But because it was we were able to walk past right when he looked up. The next day he was able to go to a music concert with us and he was so happy to hear church music!

Saturday: We ate MORE meat. And went to this really awesome opera concert! The guy was amazing! He had a huge voice and range and I died a little inside because it was SO BEAUTIFUL and I never thought I would MISS opera that MUCH. His cute daughters played violin too. It was really special. Then I got back with Sister Murdock and we complained about how much we had eaten. 

Sunday was really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really hot. We walked to church at 9 and then spent ten minutes just standing in front of the air conditioner. We do streetboarding on Sundays and no one really wanted to, I think, but we did it anyways. I said a silent prayer as we prepared for it that somehow we would be able to withstand the heat. The moment we walked out there was this gentle breeze. Strange shadows were conveniently everywhere. We got to our streetboarding site only to find that a huge tent had been erected there, casting a huge shadow we were able to streetboard under. God answers prayers. He really does.

This was a really long letter...sorry! If I can't answer everyone's individual emails please know I love you all and would if I could! 

Thanks for all the support and love!

xoxo

Sister Bell