I became really close with her and helped her through the mission paper process! Guess where she's going on her mission?!

So many things to share this week! I'll start with the biggest news!

In September, when I was in Gok ban jeong the BYU students came to our ward. They stayed for a semester attending a university in Korea. One of the first few nights of meeting them, Angel came up to me and said she decided that night to serve a mission because of our influence on her! I became really close with her and helped her through the mission paper process! She finally got her papers in and guess where she's going on her mission?! KOREA SEOUL SOUTH MISSION! 

Haha seriously though what are the chances?! I hope she goes back to Gok ban jeong ward as a missionary. The members would go crazy to see her as a missionary! She enters the MTC in October, so I'll already be home by then, but I'll get to see her a lot before she leaves on her mission and sit front row at her farewell! She was in Korea when she decided to go on a mission, and she's coming to that same mission she was at! Ughh words. English never sounds right to me anymore.

I have a fan girl! At English class this past week, there was a member from the Seoul mission just visiting. She saw me and told me that she knew my name! Haha turns out she's a fan of mine! She said she watched the video of me opening my mission call on youtube! She pulled it up on her phone and showed it to me. Yup, it was definitely me. As I talked to her more, she told me that she had seen the video over a year ago! 

She would constantly show that video to ask other missionaries if they knew me from the MTC. Haha she had been waiting over a year to meet me! She saw me at the BYU wind symphony concert and was so shocked to see that it was actually me! I think she found out I was serving in Gang nam and so she came to actually meet me. She's super cool and some people would think that story was kind of creepy, but it's sweet! My one fan probably got me a lot of views on my youtube page(;

So last week actually wasn't Buddha's birthday. People kept telling us the wrong dates for some reason! TODAY is actually his birthday. The area is going to be so crowded and awesome for proselyting! And casually looking at the lanterns while doing it.. haha last pday we went to Gok ban jeong and I was really sad! reminiscing about the good times and I realized that if I was this sad about an area and I was still in Korea, how much more sad (English..) would I be when I leave Korea?!

We tried a service project this week! We stole the Elder's trash tongs and went to work! I had Sister Northridge pick a street on our map and we headed out! We started picking up trash for about an hour and we had a TON of success. It was mostly all because of Sister Northridge. People were shocked to see a white person picking up trash in THEIR country! They kept coming up to her and asking her what she was doing! Of course no one gave me a second glance cause I'm Korean. Cool. But we gave out our number a lot and we might have some investigator potential! 

Anyway, we picked up so much trash during that hour. It's sad how there's so much liter in Korea! It's because there are no garbage cans to put trash in! Our trash bags were full by the end. Most of it was cigarettes too! Sometimes when there were other people around, I'd emphasize that I was picking up their cigarette buds and now maybe they'll feel bad about littering their smokies!

We met with our investigator this week and I asked her, "Have you ever thought about why there are so many churches on the earth today?" and she said "Yes! Because God is busy!" Hahaha I think that was the best answer I've ever heard.

Also, one of the Gang nam members is dating my trainer's brother. So this week we asked our member if we could do a practice lesson with her and we set a time to meet. We go to the appointment and her boyfriend shows up. We were totally crashing a date! We ate yummy food and even got dessert at the end. I've never been on a date as a missionary, so that was a first! haha missionary life..

Anyway, random stuff this week. Like always.

Have a great one!

Sister April Johnson

PICS:

Picking up trash

Sticker boarding on Gang nam Dae ro!

We got to see a ton of the Seoul missionaries so I got to see all of my old MTC friends (:

We ate "fire ramen" this week! And seriously. The name perfectly explains the taste! IT WAS THE WORST THING EVER. It wasn't a hot taste. It was a spicy taste. If that makes any sense. We would eat it and then feel like our mouth was on fire. Drinking anything did not help. The only thing that helped was to keep eating the stuff! Haha adventures. Plus we had the bright idea that 7up would be a good drink to go with it. WRONG. The carbonation would just come back up and bring all the heat with it. Haha we're smart.

We got to go to the BYU Wind Symphony this past week! They had a couple concerts in Korea and so we were allowed to go to the Seoul Mission with our investigators. We had an investigator and a less active come with! It was probably one of the most craziest, but fun nights ever. We were running around trying to find tickets and seating and finding our investigator and things like that.

 On top of that, we got to see a ton of the Seoul missionaries so I got to see all of my old MTC friends(: ALSO I ran into An seong members and Gok ban jeong members! YAY! My favorite family of all time was there too! They were in An seong but recently moved to the Seoul mission so I knew I was never going to see them again. But low and behold they were at the symphony too! It was a great day(: I saw one of the daughters and ran and hugged her when she wasn't looking! We both cried.. I'm such a cry baby!

Then we had a crazy Friday. We actually picked up an investigator! We're going to do the family English program with her and so that will be good! She met missionaries 10 years ago, but recently referred herself so we could start that program again! I hope there is lots of potential with her(: Right after that lesson, we got a phone call from a former investigator. We met right away and she started asking us about the Book of Mormon. (She thinks we're all Indians because the Lamanites were cursed with dark skin) But it was a good 갑자기(all of a sudden) lesson! She wanted to meet again around dinner time so we had some time to kill. 

We decided to go to the Buddhist temple nearby to look around and "proselyte" (I put that in quotations cause we're not supposed to proselyte at other church's areas... bad missionary) ANYWAY. It's Buddha's birthday soon so there were lots of decorations and lanterns. Super pretty. 

We ran into some members visiting from Utah and started talking to them when an older guy comes up and asks if we were Mormons. He then continues by coming really close to my face reciting scriptures in English. I swear I was having flashbacks from the last time this happened with that lady! 

I was definitely getting creepy vibes. That's when a worker called us over. I thought we were gonna get in trouble cause we're missionaries of a different faith at a Buddhist temple. Turns out that she just saw the whole situation and wanted to save us from the creepy man! She told us that we shouldn't talk to strangers... Uhh.. Little does she know that that's what we do as missionaries though... haha there were more crazy things that happened that day, but I'm running out of time.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great week and I hope you all have another one!

Sister April Johnson

WE ATE DOG THIS WEEK!

Okay last email I said it was my brother's 21 birthday. I lied. He's only 20... HAHA TYPO! But on the plus side! His Bells Palsy is almost perfectly healed!!!! YAY!

So to explain the title of my email.. WE ATE DOG THIS WEEK! And it was actually pretty good! The only part that really freaked me out was the fat. Just cause I knew it was dog fat, it was really hard for me to get down. Haha I'm on a mission in Korea. I had to eat dog at least once! Probably won't have it again though.. Those poor doggies..

Last week I ended my email pretty abruptly. We had a member bring his grandchildren to the church for a brief discussion. First of all, the grandchildren thought they were gonna have a fun day with the gramps! Until they got out of the car and realized they were at our church. He opened up 1 Nephi 14 with them (about abominable churches and stuff) and they just sat quietly while he scolded them for going to the wrong church. It was pretty... awkward. But he is such a good member!

 He has such a strong testimony and he just wants to share it with his loved ones. Maybe not the right way to approach it though.. Haha it's okay though. We cleared all the awkwardness up and gave them pamphlets about our church in case they ever wanted to learn more!

We also went to the temple this week! We haven't been since the beginning of last transfer and the end of this transfer so the last time we went was in February! TOO LONG. But it was amazing as always. The spirit you feel there is comparable to none other. I'm so privileged to be able to attend the temple as a missionary!

We have an investigator that never actually wants to meet with us. So we just do our lessons with her over the phone. Last time we committed her to read the Book of Mormon and we asked her if she had read it, but she hadn't because she had been on "prayer mountain" for 10 days. She's had a really hard past and has big trauma from her ex-husband who was a pastor. She has a hard time trusting organized religions because of the pastors. She can't trust their "angelic" image. Luckily for her, our church doesn't have pastors! Haha I told her that and she was pretty shocked! Just more the reason to start coming to our church, right? 

Anyway, she's been focusing on trying to get the bad spirits our of her on that prayer mountain. The priests there have been trying to cast out the devil inside of her... So as we were on the phone, I told her to maybe focus more on God. That as she focuses on Him, Satan won't be able to haunt her as easily. He becomes blocked as that belief and faith in God takes over! I told her that if she focused on the bad spirits and trying to cast them out, it just makes her concentrate on the bad. But if she focuses on God, then they'll just be automatically blocked out! You know...? Smart, right? haha I tried really hard to get her to come to church, but maybe next time I'll get her!

In zone training this month, we learned about diligence and obedience. What's the difference? Diligence is doing something because you DESIRE to do it. Obedience is doing something because you HAVE to do it. As missionaries, we have a saying "Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles." But our mission president has changed it to "Obedience brings blessings, diligence brings miracles.”

 I need to work on being a more diligent missionary and working my hardest! Not just do thing just because I have to. It was actually a great training for me because I have been in a slump lately. I feel like missionary work is just numb. But now I know how to change! How to become a better missionary. I just need to be diligent and do it cause I want to(: 

 Sister April Johnson

I knew that even though I felt like a bad missionary for not having much success in this area, I knew that I was still doing an okay job

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHER! He's turning 20!  Also, he just got Bell’s Palsy and so his face is half paralyzed. Pray for him!

On Monday it was still my birthday in America and so we went hiking with some members and the district! We also had a picnic and had a feast! Then we went to the Han River and went bike riding with some awesome sisters! I also got to see the 63 three tower. I don't have pics of it cause my camera is broken but it's cool for three reasons. One: it used to be the tallest building in Korea. Two: apparently it's on the new Avengers movie! Three: it's where my dad proposed to my mom! Super sweet, right?!

Ran into a Gok ban jeong (my last area) member on the subway the other day. She was heading to the temple! I almost cried when I saw her! It's crazy how much these members have truly impacted my life!

Anyway, lately I have been feeling like a bad trainer! Gang nam isn't the easiest place to do missionary work.. No investigators, not many member appointments, and no one actually lives in Gang nam. They all just come to shop and sight see. So I've been feeling pretty lame lately- a bad missionary, not having a lot of teaching practice for Sister Northridge. I've been pretty hard on myself, but at 12 week followup (a meeting for trainers and their trainees) they have the greenies bare their testimonies about something they learned in Korea that past month. One sister's testimony really hit me. She said that all missionaries were amazing. Why? Cause they are all here to serve Him. As simple as that. But as she said it, I knew that even though I felt like a bad missionary for not having much success in this area, I knew that I was still doing an okay job because at least I'm out here trying to serve Him. I made that sacrifice in my life to truly share the gospel.

Anyway, lots of crazy things just happened so my mind is all over the place. We just had a member bring his high school grandkids to the church and tell them that their church isn't true and that they needed to repent and join the true church. So... gotta go and help figure out that one... BYE! Have a great week!

Love y'all!

Sister Johnson

We're always so happy because we know our plan in life and because we know the truthfulness!

Thank you for the birthday wishes! Yesterday was by far the best birthday ever! Guess how I spent it?? By going to church!!! Haha I guess technically it's still my birthday in America right now, sooooo keep the birthday wishes coming! Sorry I'm so selfish.. My comp is the greatest! She decorated my room like crazy for my birthday! We went to church, got some great phone calls and texts for my birthday, received TWO cakes <-- 돼지...(pig), got presents, AND I got to call my trainer Kim Yoon Ha! Her brother randomly came to Gang nam ward and gave his phone to me so we could talk! I definitely bawled my eyes out. It really was the best birthday ever! Sister Northridge would not stop singing "22" by Taylor Swift. I am not feeling 22. But thank you for the birthday wishes!!!

This week was CRAZY. Let me share a few of our days.

Tuesday:

Ran into a LA ( Less active ) at the grocery store. He saw us and came up and said he moved in the area four months ago and he's been meaning to come to church, but he has to work at that store all the time. At least we know where he is so we can send the Elders to hunt him down!

Wednesday:

Went to dinner with a pretty wealthy lady. She comes to our English class and we helped her with some of her English homework so she took us out! She picked us up in her fancy Mercedes and took us to a tradition Korean restaurant. While we were eating, she would not stop talking about her real diamonds/pearls that she wore just for us, she kept talking about every single country she's ever been to, etc.. It was sooo funny spending that meal with her! She's a sweetheart, but I think money got to her head.. It just makes me more aware of how I present myself. But it was way nice to be treated to something special.. #GANG NAM

Then at English class, we taught the Elder's recent converts and I asked them what their favorite food was. He said, "My favorite food is rice." "Why?" "Because I like rice." HAHA. I died.

Thursday:  

 We tried to find an inactive member to see if she still lived there. Her address was in the mountain... So we went hiking! Hike 전도! (proselyting) We actually found great success doing it. Everyone that hikes is always soooo nice! We gave out our number to two people. One of them was kind of strange. She came really close to us and whispered creepily in our ears the bible scriptures she was memorizing in English. When I gave her our card, I knew it could be really great, or kind of interesting.. Turned out to be the latter.

Friday:

That creepy lady called. The very first thing she told me was that I was going to go to 지옥 (hell) if I don't stop going to this church.. She then continued to recite scriptures in the bible and bashing on our church. How she went on the church website and just said it wasn't right. That our prophet wasn't true, that because we didn't have a preacher it wasn't right. She kept saying over and over that I was going to go to 지옥! She then starting bashing on the Book of Mormon and I was pretty upset by then. So I just asked her a question. I said, "Sister, have you ever read the Book of Mormon?" She said no, so then I said, "Then how do you know it's not true??" She had no reply. She avoided the question and just kept saying that her church was true. Haha she considers herself a Christian, but would the Savior bash on other people's beliefs? I don't think so! I was upset so I just said thank you and have a nice day! And hung up.

We then went down to another area, because a sister missionary was able to contact on our LA! 

She literally had disappeared for a year. We heard that she had gone to Germany, but finally someone had found her! So we met with her and it was a miracle! 

While we were at that appointment, I got a phone call from someone. She said she met us yesterday and so I thought it was one of the grandmas we had talked to. She said she had a favor for us so we scheduled an appointment at 3. We were a little late because we were traveling far, but when we got there, I called and she said she was at exit 1. We get there and I couldn't see the grandma anywhere! She then calls us back and said she left. She left! WHAT? She couldn't have waited two seconds?

 So I felt bad and I kept calling and keeping in contact with her telling her that we wanted to help her. She calls again later that day and asked if she could live with us? That's when I was really confused.

 A grandma wanting to live with us? So then I looked in the call log and realized that this lady had been the SAME lady that bashed on our church! First she bashes on our church and then she asks to live with us? Sister Northridge an I were freaking out! I then stopped answering her phone calls and texts because she doesn't even know us and she wants to live with us? I feel like she just wants to so she can try and convert us to her church. Haha it was a pretty eventful day.

We also saw a white guy taking pictures of us. It was so obvious too! He was three feet away from us and we see his phone pointed at us with the camera noises going off! So either he was a member, or he was really excited to see other foreigners? IDK. Strange.

Then we were in the church and heard someone walk in. Which was strange cause it was early in the afternoon and no one ever comes into our church. We got freaked out, ran outside and locked that person in the building! I'm not really sure what happened to him/her.

Saturday:

We are doing something called the 40 day mission fast. Everyone in our mission fasts at different times during this 40 day period. Ours was Saturday and we were able to get a meal appointment at the end of the day with our Relief Society President! No one has been able to get an appointment with her because she always says no.. But she randomly invited us! That's a miracle that came because we fasted(;

Then an investigator called and has been having a lot of depression issues. She said that whenever she sees Mormons they're always so happy! That's when I testified about the Book of Mormon and that through this gospel she can start to feel that happiness! We're always so happy because we know our plan in life and because we know the truthfulness! We committed her to read the Book of Mormon and she was really excited to start reading it and she's really wanting to see that change of happiness. So please pray for her! Her name is 이주연

No matter how good you are at the language, all that matters is that you testify with love.

HAPPY BLACK DAY! (a few days late, but oh well) Korea has a few holidays that are pretty entertaining here! They have a Valentines Day where the girls buy the guys presents, White Day where the guys buy the girls presents, and Black Day.. SINGLES DAY! This week we celebrated Black Day by eating black noodles 짜장면 and reminiscing on our happy single missionary life! It was fun, we went out with some of our English class members and district! I like Korean holidays(:

I've been having a lot of fun with the fact that my companion is a greenie. I can tell her anything about Korea and she'll believe every word! So we were eating this spicy soup/noodle thing 부대찌개 and there were some rice cake flakes in it. I told her they were pig ears, she was freaked out yet she still ate them! haha also there are these trucks with loud speakers that go around Korea asking for unwanted furniture and appliances. She asked me what it was saying and I told her that sometimes Korea does these practice drills for when North Korea comes to attack. She started freaking out and I couldn't hold it in anymore. It's really fun(: I remember when I was a greenie and my trainer was Korean. So I REALLY believed her. Haha

We met with our Chinese less active again this week and she was having some problems about being alone all the time and we told her that she can always pray to Heavenly Father and we actually had a really good lesson, but she didn't really want to accept it. She kept saying that she'll never have anyone to love or anyone that loves her. So Sister Northridge finally steps in and said a powerful sentence. "Sister, we love you and we know that God loves you. Through the Book of Mormon you feel God's love!" The spirit was so strong! I was so proud of her! Greenie power! It truly shows that no matter how good you are at the language, all that matters is that you testify with love.

Koreans are so good at English. Every time I talk with them it surprises me how much they know! They know more than I do! They are sooo smart! Either that or they're just really good at English because they've been studying it since they were born! haha It's so crazy how important it is for Koreans to learn English. It makes me really grateful that I was born speaking the language! English is harrrrrd.

We also had zone conference this week and it was a blast! The thing I learned the most was "missionaries are great because they're not perfect. And yet they still do what they do!" Missionaries aren't perfect and no one expects us to be! Sometimes I can be too hard on myself for not being perfect all the time, but I really learned this week that it doesn't matter how perfect we are. The fact that we're still here and TRYING is what makes us great(: We also did this 7 minute workout contest with our Mission President.. And it kicks my bumb! It's really hard and I think I'll be sore for the rest of my life.

The Elders in my district also had a baptism this week! Yay for baptisms! It always makes me so happy to see a baptism! All of us missionaries are working towards the same goal and to see others come unto Christ is the best feeling ever! We sang at their service and it was beautiful! Baptisms are the besttttt.

Have a great week!  

Sister Johnson

BTW guess who's birthday it is this weekend?? You better be sending that certain someone happy birthday emails!!!!^^

I kept wondering who could have sent us these mysterious angel groceries? I was pondering it for over an hour.

Last week when Sister Northridge was deathly ill of food poisoning, we got a surprise delivery of groceries! (I forgot to write about this last week) In Korea, home delivery here is stellar. They have

people deliver your groceries to you! So last week we got a mystery delivery of groceries. There was TONS of stuff in it. I seriously thought angels had sent us this food! We didn't have much food in the fridge.. and we were low on money. I kept wondering who could have sent us these mysterious angel groceries? I was pondering it for over an hour. I was super happy and thankful that we had gotten the groceries. I kept thinking, "God is real. God is good." I kept thinking, "Is this a mistake? Or a miracle?" An hour later the delivery guy came back and was really sorry because he delivered the groceries to the wrong house. Sad. But hey at least I was really happy for an hour. Haha I know I'm ridiculous.

We went to the zoo this week! What was my favorite part? The lions of course! It was really cool cause there were about ten lions that started roaring like crazy. Amazing. After the zoo, we went to eat some delicious chicken 닭갈비 and it little did we know that it was superrrrr spicy. It was sooo good, but we were all basically crying while eating it. I swear I also blacked out a little bit. Either that or my eyes were going crazy from all that spice!

The other day Sister Northridge thought she got out area down and decided that she was going to lead us back home. We were actually really close to our house so I let her do it! She was so pumped and totally thought she knew where she was going. She's great. We laugh. A lot.

Sister Northridge: "The spirit tells me to turn left!!!"

Me: "No."

We also went to the Cherry Blossom Festival. It's a big thing in Korea. All the trees are beautifully filled with cherry blossoms! It was really fun, but it was way too crowded and I can see lots of trees with flowers everywhere..

Okay CONFERENCE though. Did anyone else feel like most of the talks were centered on marriage and families? Super great, but kind of awkward as a missionary. Especially when watching conference in a small room with the elders in our district. Anyway, I still really loved conference! Just taking notes for the future(;

Things that I loved!

"Families go back before this earth was, and will go forward into the eternities." -Elder L. Tom Perry

"I can teach you to dance, but you need to hear the music. We learn the dance steps with our minds, but hear the music in our hearts. Dance steps require discipline, but joy only comes as we hear the music. As teachers (missionaries), we must expand our curriculum by teaching more than just the dance steps." -Elder Wilford W. Andersen

We have to teach investigators more than just the lessons! Teach people, not lessons.

"Saint- a sinner who keeps on trying. God cares a lot more about who we are and who we are becoming, not who we used to be. No failure need be final. If we don't try, we're just Latter Day Sinners. If we don't endure, we're just Latter Day Quitters. If we don't allow others to do the same, then we're Latter Day Hypocrites." -Elder Dale G. Renlund

"Heavenly Father knows you're a successful missionary. What else matters? The service that counts the most is recognized by God." -Elder Michael T. Ringwood

"The artist knows what he wants to accomplish. Even though we cannot see the ending product, the artist knows. God knows! We cannot see our finished product, but with faith, we know that we can be made beautiful." -Elder Rafael E. Pino

Sorry these are probably not the exact quotes, they're my notes, but I love them! There isn't a whole lot to share this week, but conference was amazing. Cherry Blossom Festival was fun. My companion is great. Korea is warm. Life is good. God is good.

Have a great week!

Sister April Johnson

PICS: THE ZOO! And three out of six of my companions!