Week 74

Well... The time has come for me to say goodbye to this wonderful country and the people that I have grown to love. This week I'll be flying home >.< I can't believe that the time has passed by so quickly. I really wish I could rewind to being a greenie so that I could stay here for another year and a half serving as the Lord's missionary, but I guess the Lord needs me somewhere else. I've been trying to convince my mission president to let me stay, but he hasn't gotten onto the "let Sister Rindlisbacher be a missionary forever train" so I guess I'll have to get on that plane. 

I don't think I could ever express what the past year and a half has meant to me. There are no words... No words that could explain the love that I feel for the Korean people and more importantly for my Savior Jesus Christ. Last August I was thrown into this new world and it took some adjusting, but I don't ever want to leave! I can't imagine being anywhere better than Korea. It breaks my heart to have to say goodbye to so many people that I love so dearly. I am so grateful for the love that they have shown me. I have never met a more kind, caring, and considerate group of people. They have made my time in Korea the most amazing adventure!

I have learned so much and grown in so many different ways. I can't explain it, but the time that I have spent in Korea has changed me. Changed to be a little more patient, a little more loving, and a little more confidant. Changed to be a little closer to the person Heavenly Father wants me to be. I'm not perfect and I still have so many ways that I need to grow and improve, but Heavenly Father has shown me the path that I need to follow. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a set apart servant of the Lord for this short amount of time.

The biggest thing that I have learned is to have faith. President Gordon B. Hinckley taught: "With faith, accept the challenge; plead with the Lord for help; then go to work... Faith, the dynamic, powerful, marvelous element by which, as Paul declared, the very worlds were framed. The kind of faith that moves us to get to on our knees and plead with the Lord for guidance, and then, having a measure of divine confidence, get on our feet and go to work to help bring the desired results to pass. Such faith is an asset beyond compare. Such faith is, when all is said and done, our only genuine and lasting hope."  

I have learned to accept challenges even though I think that they are to big for me. To rely on the Lord in all things and just keep moving forward. To have a smile on my face when things are hard. To love a people that I can't understand sometimes. To love companions who are complete opposites of me and somehow make things work. To love the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I KNOW that the things that I have taught are true. I KNOW that this gospel was restored through a latter-day prophet Joseph Smith. I KNOW that through this gospel we can receive eternal happiness and be with our families forever. I KNOW that my Savior Jesus Christ performed His Atonement specifically for me and also for you. I KNOW that Heavenly Father is my Father in Heaven. I KNOW that He has a perfect and divine plan for me. I KNOW that as I follow Him I will find the right path. I KNOW that all of these things are true!!

If you are ever considering going on a mission DO IT! I promise that it will be the best decision you ever make in your life. I sounds clique, but it's true. Being a set apart servant of the Lord is a special experience that I will never regret. 

I hope that you have a wonderful week. See you guys on Thursday :)

For the last time....

-Sister Rindlisbacher

Death picture

My last English class party

The YSA of Cheongra ward

 Every minute of the past 18 months

Korea scenery

Week 73

Guess what! I had to leave my mission to the hospital this week >.<

(Me going 배도 and leaving the mission)

But don't worry I wasn't the one that was sick ;)  I actually went on exchanges with another sister and she had to go. She is such an amazing missionary and so dedicated to the work. I love her so much! We had a great time :)

This past Saturday was 빼빼로 (Bbaebbaero day) Every year on September 11th Koreans eat lots of chocolate dipped biscuit/cookie stick thingys. They are absolutely delicious and you better believe that Sister Hill and I consumed a good amount of them haha >.<

None of our investigators are progressing :/ which is a bummer so we are putting our focus back on finding new investigators. Lots of phone calls and street proselyting to come this week!

We also started having Sister Hill do the phone calls when we call potential investigators. She started the conversation and would go as far as she could before she needed my help. She was totally freaked out and stumbled over her words a lot, but she was able to get an appointment with someone for tonight all on her own! She is awesome!

This week was also zone conference. So that meant giving another training on my own. Let me tell you it is a lot less stressful doing it the second time around :) The whole zone conference was amazing! I also had to give another "last words" talk. This time I shared Isiah 43:1-3, which has become on of my favorite scriptures. I had the opportunity to talk about effective studying. Here are just a few things that I learned:

1. The things that we learn from the scriptures everyday not only affect us, but also everyone that we associate with in our everyday lives. This doesn't just apply to missionaries! Everyday when we study from the scriptures we are just a little more edified, just a little more spiritually fed, and just a little more prepared to help those around us. Don't forget to do your own personal study everyday!

2. Learning and growing through personal study is a "fundamental principle of enduring to the end" -Elder DeLaBruer It is all part of Heavenly Father's plan for us to find answer on our own as we learn to study effectively.

3. It takes faith and also patience to learn what the Lord would have you learn. Lot of times our answers don't come right away. It may take a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even years. BUT answers will always come. We just need to be persistent in finding them and also have patience.

I really liked one quote that I found by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. He said, "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven, for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come."

I know that Heavenly Father has a divine plan for each of us! I am so grateful for my own knowledge of His plan and the opportunity that I have to share it with the wonderful people of Korea. The past year and a half has been nothing less than amazing. There has always been hard times, but also so much joy! 

Have a great week!

-Sister Rindlisbacher

Sister Legaspie and Sister Rindlisbacher at the hospital

빼빼로

 Face mask with the comp :) "Face mask level sloth..."-Sister Hill

Phone calls (she's praying that they don't pick up so she doesn't have to speak to them in Korean hahahaha)

She' only a little freaked out

She really likes the floor

No shave November ㅋㅋㅋ

Fun fact... you can buy seaweed at the post office here #Korea

Week 72

We got smart phones! So of course I had to take a selfieㅋㅋㅋ We have a Samsung J5, which is pretty sweet. Although is can only do as much as our flip phone did for now. I think they'll slowly expose the missionaries back into the world of technology. The camera is pretty nice though :)

The old and new

The seasons are changing and holy dang is it cold here! This week just flew by. I can't even remember half of the things that we did, but here is what I do remember.

The leaves are changing!

My favorite quotes from English class this week:

- The response after I asked a Korean language question "Ask the 세종 대왕..." (the person who created the Korean language)

- "I'm a hot woman."

- "I like your face."

Since we teach the basic class we have a lot of fun correcting their English ㅋㅋ

Exchanges with my old companion Sister Cuary. We were able to serve in her area together (a ward I served in during my third transfer) and visit an English branch member for dinner. I got to go back to the place with THE BEST BURGERS IN KOREA! It was fun :) We also got there a little early and were able to see the Olympic torch run by! It was fun to watch all the people run after it trying to get pictures.

The Olympic torch

One funny story that I do have happened while we were at a service activity on exchanges. We were handing out food to old people at a soup kitchen type of place when they asked us to use scissors to cut peoples meat. Sister Cuary and I were running around (very safely) with scissors trying to calm all the old people down enough to cut their meat so that they could start eating. As I was going around one grandma came up to me and tried to forcibly take my scissors away so that she could cut her meat first. This lady was tiny, but grabbed the blade edge of the scissors so as we wrestled over these scissors I was just praying she wouldn't get cut. We went back in forth of her yelling "give me the scissors" and me relying "no" for about a minute or two before she gave up and just dragged me by the wrist to come and cut her and all her grandma friend's meat. Korea grandmas get real pushy sometimes >.< but they're really cute about it.

GaYoung (our Vietnamese investigator) dropped us this week :( super sad about that! She is just to busy with school and studying to take a Korean language test to meet with us. Our meeting with her this week was really weird and then she texted us the next morning saying she couldn't meet. Hopefully she will stay in contact with missionaries and learn more later!

We also had a zone proselyting activity. We teamed up with another zone so about 40 missionaries total and went to conquer the Inchon Bus Terminal. We set up 3 sticker boards and had half the missionaries roaming around to talk with people. It was really fun, but also freezing! The wind just cuts straight to the bone!

 Zone activity

Yesterday was stake conference so we headed to Buchon. It was fun to see members from two other wards that I served in. I also got to hear someone I taught bear her testimony. My trainer and I had started teaching her right before I got transferred out of the area. She was baptized a little while later. Her name is Hong SuBin and she is the most adorable 13 year old you will ever meet. She bore a strong testimony of the power that the gospel has and how she wants to go on a mission now! Amazing!

I love being a missionary! Hope you all have a great week :)

-Sister Rindlisbacher

Temple last week

Exchanges

Sister Hill ㅋㅋㅋ

Sister Hill againㅋㅋㅋ