Hello! Hello! Hello!

안녕  Hello informal    안녕하세요  Hello formal

여보세요 Hello on a telephone

  

First, a bit of wonderful news:  Sis. B and I taught our lesson entirely in Korean without having to read a pre-written script for the FIRST TIME! (Korean is actually pretty easy to read once you know the alphabet--it's recalling the sentence structure and vocab that gets ya) We were so ecstatic afterward we high-fived and hugged and laughed the whole way back to our class! I love Korean! 

Now I just have to tell you this story because every time I remember it I can't help but blush and laugh.

Last Tuesday M. Russell Ballard came for our Devotional and gave an amazing talk on what being "set-apart" really entails as a missionary. Sis. B and I decided to sing in the choir that night (the MTC choir has about 500+ missionaries) and during the choir number the camera panned in right on my face and focused on me singing for several minutes (there are two large projector screens and several television all over the auditorium that everyone can look at).

That in itself is only a little exciting, but the very best part is...I wasn't even wearing my own name tag! After gym I accidently grabbed another sister's tag in my room. I had to find out from everyone else after the camera zoomed right to my face and everyone could clearly read Sister Evans, not Sister Washburn! Everyone in my district and all of the friends in other districts have been coming up to me all week to laugh about the whole thing! Now even M. Russell Ballard thinks I'm someone else...  

Honestly, every day has been such an adventure here. Sometimes while I'm sitting in class, bearing my testimony in Korean, adjusting the little black name tag pinned to my dress, (the one that actually says my name...) I can't help but be suddenly smacked in the face with the reality of it all--Holy cow! I guess I'm really a missionary!

It's so amazing to learn together as a district too, we have a lot of fun together. Last night one of the older district sisters and I were talking outside our rooms. She was trying to say the word "smart" in Korean but got it confused with another Korean word that sounds similar--So instead of calling me smart she called me really really fat! We laughed so hard I had to sit on the ground and lean against the wall to support myself! 

Today I'm determined to do some serious illness prevention. It's our P-day today and yesterday I woke up with a sore throat and a runny nose. Sis. B has been wonderful and carries around a little roll of toilet paper in her back-pack for me (I couldn't find tissues anywhere yesterday).

Sis. B and I started a game last P-day during laundry called "my story tag." I buy a little bag of Sour-Patch Watermelons, we find two chairs near our washing machines, and we go back and forth telling each other embarrassing, exciting, revealing, and/ or any story about ourselves back and forth, each time rewarding our story with a piece of candy. It sounds silly but it's our favorite game. She basically knows every embarrassing thing I've ever done in my life. And she stills carries around a roll of toilet paper for me, I think that means something :)

I better go, but I love love love you all--I pray for all of you every  day! And I'm SO GLAD DAD'S SURGERY WENT WELL!

Gah! I have to go I'm out of time! 

All of my love,

Sis. Washburn  

First MTC Communication!





The golden ticket to get into the MTC--recovered Immunization Record!



  

Last Wave!

Dear Friends and Family,
 

I hope this email makes it--my companion and I just got back from the temple and went straight to the lab, but I totally forgot to bring the piece of paper that had my Mom's email address! The only address I could remember off the top of my head was my own.  My first email from the MTC is to myself.  Oh dear.

First and foremost, I LOVE THE MTC!  My companion is Sister Bauer, from Orem, Utah, and the only weakness in our companionship is that we might have a little too much fun.  Yesterday we were both wearing long skirts and while we walked down the hall our skirts made this whump whump sound.  Sis. B's skirt was a little louder than mine so I bragged that if I walked a little faster my skirt would deafen her's.  I took a deep breath, stretched my arms, and then took two great long steps.  My efforts were rewarded with one very long rip down the middle of my skirt.  We laughed so hard we almost collapsed in the hallway.

My other roommates are Sis. Rovelsky and Sis. Evans. Here's a bit about them.

Sis. R: Her father once vomited on Mitt Romney.

Sis. E: She's from Canada. She thinks it's odd that there's so many American flags every where.

We've already taught four lessons in Korean to our little investigator (Ee yong ho).  Our "investigator" is actually a volunteer, and I know him from an old ward I was in.  We both smiled really big when I walked in, but stuck to our role play.  He's a good 'ol Korean. 

I love speaking Korean, and get so excited to learn every day!  Before I fell asleep last night I was whispering "I have a message about Christ," and "You want some food?" to myself in Korean.  Our district has the most sisters than any of the others and it's a spiritual fiesta every day.  We have only three Elders in our class and they make me laugh all the time.  Elder Lee was born in Korea, Elder Robinson studied at West Point, and Elder Greer was adopted from Thailand when he was four.  I've also made friends with some Mandarin speaking Elders at Gym Time and they've made me "their" official sister in our daily volleyball game. 

Holy cow, I only have 5 minutes and 43 seconds left to write!  Time honestly flies like a crazy thing here, Sis. B and I at the end of the day always stand by our beds and just smile at how quickly the days go by here. Actually, each minute is pretty slow but the day itself zips by like nothing...I don't know if that makes sense? All in all, I am so thankful to be here.  I'm in love with being a missionary.  Absolutely in love.

I need to get going but I love you all so much. 

Thanks again and again for the letters and packages!  My whole class and I have been inhaling the no-bake cookies.  I'm a celebrity among chocolate lovers here.

Love, love, love,

Sis. Washburn    





Good-byes!



Bekah's Officially a Missionary!

Bekah was set apart as a missionary Sunday night and will be entering the MTC this Wednesday, September 7th!

Most of her letters will be put up here, on her blog, so stay tuned...

Sending letters through http://www.dearelder.com/ is free and reaches her the next day, or you can send her a letter with her MTC address:

Her address in the MTC is:

MTC Mailbox # 161
KOR-SEO 1122
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

And once she's in Korea (end of November):

Korea Seoul Mission (Letters)

Gwanghwamun PO Box 210,

Jongno-gu

Seoul-si 110-602

South Korea

Korea Seoul Mission (Packages)

Samcheong-no 9 gil 45

Jongno-gu

Seoul-si 110-230

South Korea

GOOD LUCK, SISTER WASHBURN!