Hey everyone!!
Last week I traveled to Korea! That day of travel was the longest day of my life... seriously though! Everything went smoothly though and we made it the our mission home safely! President Shin and his wife are incredible people! I feel blessed to serve with them and spent the first three days with them at the mission home and mission office in Daejeon. Sister Shin is big on saying "open your mouth!" That's one of the hardest parts of being in Korea as a foreigner... they speak so differently from what we were taught in the MTC! I've been striving hard to just open my mouth and speak, especially this first week in Korea! I've had some hilarious moments (one of my favorite phrases to say is that I know as much Korean as a rat's tail... it's a Korean phrase and they get a kick out of it! It's a good ice breaker.)
I am currently serving in Cheongdam, which is in Gwangju! It is truly the best area in the mission, or that's what everyone says! And I am coming to realize it. I also have the best companion! She's Korean and has been serving for a year now. She is incredibly talented, speaks English really well, and is so kind! She helps me a lot with my Korean! We've met a TON of people already and it's been so awesome getting to know them! They get excited when I tell them I am majoring in Korean Studies, and that I know about random things like King Sejong, Pansoori, and all different Korean foods. I am so excited to be serving a people who I already love as a whole, and will come to love individually as well. This is truly a special experience! I feel like I'm am home.
This week my companion and I experienced my first bible-bash ... we were in the park waiting for our picnic appointment with an investigator and starting talking with a lot of people. We started talking to this woman and commenced a long conversation. As with most other conversations, I said the few phrases I knew and then spent the rest the time being lost in the conversation. At one point I felt like I needed to share my testimony of the Book of Mormon. The conversation went on and then we parted ways on friendly terms, leaving our contact information. My companion told me later what had happened! It was hilarious... but I knew God was helping me. It made me think hard about how I would have handled that situation had I known what was happening... like what scriptures or knowledge I would have shared. It worried me for a time, but then I realized I actually did the best thing I could have! I bore my testimony of what I knew to be true! This morning I read the scripture in Alma 37:6, where it says by small and simple things are great things brought to pass! A simple bearing of a testimony, which sometimes is all we can do, may bring about the change of heart in a person. I know this to be true.
Love you all so much!
Sister Hatch
Last week I traveled to Korea! That day of travel was the longest day of my life... seriously though! Everything went smoothly though and we made it the our mission home safely! President Shin and his wife are incredible people! I feel blessed to serve with them and spent the first three days with them at the mission home and mission office in Daejeon. Sister Shin is big on saying "open your mouth!" That's one of the hardest parts of being in Korea as a foreigner... they speak so differently from what we were taught in the MTC! I've been striving hard to just open my mouth and speak, especially this first week in Korea! I've had some hilarious moments (one of my favorite phrases to say is that I know as much Korean as a rat's tail... it's a Korean phrase and they get a kick out of it! It's a good ice breaker.)
I am currently serving in Cheongdam, which is in Gwangju! It is truly the best area in the mission, or that's what everyone says! And I am coming to realize it. I also have the best companion! She's Korean and has been serving for a year now. She is incredibly talented, speaks English really well, and is so kind! She helps me a lot with my Korean! We've met a TON of people already and it's been so awesome getting to know them! They get excited when I tell them I am majoring in Korean Studies, and that I know about random things like King Sejong, Pansoori, and all different Korean foods. I am so excited to be serving a people who I already love as a whole, and will come to love individually as well. This is truly a special experience! I feel like I'm am home.
This week my companion and I experienced my first bible-bash ... we were in the park waiting for our picnic appointment with an investigator and starting talking with a lot of people. We started talking to this woman and commenced a long conversation. As with most other conversations, I said the few phrases I knew and then spent the rest the time being lost in the conversation. At one point I felt like I needed to share my testimony of the Book of Mormon. The conversation went on and then we parted ways on friendly terms, leaving our contact information. My companion told me later what had happened! It was hilarious... but I knew God was helping me. It made me think hard about how I would have handled that situation had I known what was happening... like what scriptures or knowledge I would have shared. It worried me for a time, but then I realized I actually did the best thing I could have! I bore my testimony of what I knew to be true! This morning I read the scripture in Alma 37:6, where it says by small and simple things are great things brought to pass! A simple bearing of a testimony, which sometimes is all we can do, may bring about the change of heart in a person. I know this to be true.
Love you all so much!
Sister Hatch