Week 59

Last p-day was a blast! We went with our district to the mud flats. We kind of got lost on the way, but Elder Bigelow, our fearless leader, was able to ask a few people and get us back on track after leading us in the wrong direction for about 20 minutes. It took about 2 hours to get there from our area. The mud flat is located on the island that the airport is on so we had to take 3 different subway lines and then walk for about 20 minutes to get to the place. It was super fun! Just imagine 10 foreigners digging around in the mud and throwing seaweed at each other. We found lots of little creatures :D like crabs, sea snails, jellyfish, and some other things that I didn't know what they were. 

We were suppose to be looking for clams, but we just played around. When we got back the owners got a little upset that we didn't find anything so a man randomly walked up to me and handed me a bag that weighed about 10 pounds and was just straight clams. He then proceeded to tell me how to cook them in Korean, but I couldn't understand what he was saying because he was talking to fast. I just nodded my head and smiled until he went away. Sister Cuary and I brought them home and made soup with noodles. We also brought home a lot of cool shells and Sister Cuary accidentally brought home a little crab. I was in the bathroom when she started yelling that there was a crab in her bed. We got him and and put him in a little jar with some water, but unfortunately he didn't last more than 2 days. We had a little funeral service for him. I'll send you guys the video.

Sebastian the crab's funeral

This week we were also able to visit that less-active that I told you about last week. The one that has been inactive for 30 years and we only had the right address... Anyways we went to stop by again because we were in the area and HE WAS HOME AGAIN! It took him a while to come to the door, but we were able to talk with him again for about 30 minutes. He talked to us about his kids and showed us pictures of them. They are all in their 20s and don't really attend any church. He talked about how he would like it if they would come to our church, but they have no interest really. His third daughter who is about the same age as me has some potential, but she is going to Malaysia today for 6 months on a study abroad. She is studying to be a stewardess (a super competitive field here in Korea) and she has to learn English. He said that once she gets home he'll try and get her to meet with the missionaries. I hope that one day she does!

I was also blessed to go on exchanges with Sister Gamayeon, from the Philippians. She is one of the first sisters that I met when I got to Korea because we were in the same district. We haven't ever served near each other since then so it was so fun to talk and catch up on everything. She is such an amazing missionary!

Another highlight of the week was eating ranch for the first time in over a year. Shout out to my mom for sending me the stuff to make it. I had a great time cutting up some carrots to dip in it. Sister Cuary thinks that I am crazy, but I don't think I have every been so happy to eat ranch in my entire life.

We went out to lunch with  고유정 자매님 (Go YuJeong) this past Friday. She is the recent convert from another area that I met a few times when I was serving with Sister Blom and Sister Carnahan. She is such a happy soul. It was so great to meet up with her and talk. It was also such a tender mercy because I could actually understand her! I don't know if I have mentioned it, but she is SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND! I couldn't understand anything as a greenie and then with Sister Carnahan I could only get bits and pieces. It was nice to have a conversation and actually know what she was saying. Although I couldn't understand 100% it was nice to be able to recognize that I actually have learned how to speak Korean over that past year of being here.

Our week wasn't filled with much teaching because of 휴가 (Hyuga) which is basically summer vacation for everyone. All of the students are off of school and the parents also get off work so everyone goes on vacation. The streets have been empty also so we haven't had much success lately. People also just seem to not want to talk to us because it is so hot outside. We're trying to push through though.

This week was also zone conference. I miss the days when I could just receive training and not have to worry about translating. Everything went really smoothly though and we had a great time. Our mission has been focusing a lot on unity so we based our training on building companionship unity. We used the talk "Then Jesus Beholding Him Loved Him" by S. Mark Palmer and the Hymn entitled "Each Life That Touches Ours For Good". I had an amazing time preparing for zone conference and I definitely learned a lot about how I need to improve as a companion. President Turner had an amazing training on centering our life on Christ and making sure that He is the center of the things that we are teaching to the people of Korea.

We are having a wonderful time here in Korea. Although the days are getting hotter we still find joy in the little things. I hope that you all have a wonderful week! Love ya!

-Sister Rindlisbacher

My groceries vs my companions

Exchanges with Sister Gamayeon