Monday, September 28, 2015

HAPPY KOREAN THANKSGIVING

WEEK 20- MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2015

Happy Korean Thanksgiving!!

WOW this transfer is almost over!!! I have been out on the mission almost 5 months now!! Time is really flying by!

This week was a jammed packed week full of fun!!
We met with all of our investigators this week and all our appointments went really well. This weekend was the Korean Thanksgiving Holiday so it was a little hard to get appointments with investigators or members so we had the opportunity to come home and work on updating the area books and language study. It was really fun!
Also this Friday is was Sister Kim's birthday! I made her some french toast for breakfast and then we made lunch and all the sisters ate together! Lets just say we ate all day... haha what else would you do on a birthday, right? I am so grateful for my companion. She really is such a sweetheart and we get along so well and she can speak ENGLISH! ahh such a blessing. hahah. So I really wanted to make her birthday a fun and special day.



Happy Birthday to my sweet companion Sister Kim

Birthday Hats are a must.


WE love Birthdays!!

I always need 2 party hats!

추석: The Korean Thanksgiving! I don't know the whole background behind this holiday but it is a time where family gets together and eat a lot of food. Sounds just like the American Thanksgiving too:)


This is why I love Thanksgiving!!

So there was nobody really on the streets and all stores were closed. So we couldn't really proselyte. We still had church on Sunday but only about 4 families came so it was very small and quiet. We then were invited to dinner with all the missionaries in our zone at our Stake Presidents house. We had so much good food and discussed Chapter 1 of Preach My Gospel. We went around the table and a person from each companionship was suppose to say something that studied. I looked at my companion to give her the cue that she was going to do it because she can speak korean..hah and she looked at me and said you can do it.
ugh.... I was like you are not serious.. right? But yes she was serious. So it came to us and it was my turn to speak. I really did not have a clue what to say but I got out like 2 choppy sentences and then closed my testimony like how you would close a prayer... SO yeah super embarrassing. 



YES!! I will accept this Emmy 


Being a Missionary Is "Super!"

I came home and was still a little bugged about the situation. I prayed and prayed that I would just forget about the whole thing but it wouldn't go away.
I am really grateful for this experience because I often expect myself to be perfect. And I get frustrated with myself when I am not doing the best that I can right at the moment or I mess up when I know I know how to say something. But it was a good experience to really step back and remember that I can't put so much pressure on myself. We all are missionaries all learning and growing at their own pace. I have only been here 2 1/2 months and I can't expect myself to know everything right this second. I really have had to learn patience and to just enjoy my time here as a missionary in Korea. I want to be the best missionary that I can be. I don't want to have any regrets! There is still so much I have to learn and I cant wait to see the progression that I have made when I come to the end of my mission! This experience is once in a life time and I am beyond grateful that I get to be here. I wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything.



We never go hungry;)


We Sisters know how to celebrate.

Thank you for all the love and support!! I couldn't do this without you!! Being a missionary is the best!!! I am constantly smiling and I just want to bring everyone to this church! Even if it doesn't quite work out that easy I am grateful for the hard times and my weaknesses, because I can grow from them and truly understand what God wants  me to learn during this year and a half! I just have to always think of when the cute little Grandmas we pass on the street and they stop and stare at us and just say... " 아이고 천사 (ahhh ANGELS) This gospel is a happy thing, It makes me happy and I just want to share it with everyone! I love being a missionary and I love Korea!!!


사랑해요!!!!!
❤ Sister Tanner

Monday, September 21, 2015

TO STAY OR OBEY


WEEK 19- MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21 2015

This week we had a MISSION TOUR!!
The mission had the opportunity to hear from a General Authority of the Seventy, Elder Choi Yoon Hwang. It was such a powerful meeting! He taught us so many great lessons how to be the best missionary that we know we can be! Here are a few things that really stood out to me that I wanted to share with you. So as the meeting started,


Wings of Love



He kept asking us the question.. "WHO ARE YOU?" (3 Nephi 5:13) I am a disciple of Jesus Christ! The opportunity to be a missionary is once in a lifetime. And the Lord fully trusts 18 and 19 year old young adults to be sent all over the world to preach this gospel. The Lord fully trusts all of us. He knows what we are capable of and knows our potential! We are genuine children of the Father, He loves us unconditionally and only desires us to be happy. 

My beautiful Companion

Love this sweet Sister

The Lord chose you! He chose each one of us individually to serve. We are ordained as His missionaries, the work of Salvation. In order to truly be an effective missionary, we need to be able to elevate our thoughts. I think that this does not only apply to missionaries. This can apply to anybody. So what does "elevate our thoughts" mean..? To see life with a birds eye view, is how he put it. That if we want to see outcomes of baptism our soul missionary purpose, we need to be able to think that we will accomplish it. If we are constantly thinking negatively or that we aren't capable of doing achieving our goals then we wont. We need to recognize our potential and THINK/KNOW that we can do it! 

Greeting General Authority of the Seventy, Elder & Sister Choi Yoon Hwang 

Traditional Korean feast

Sister Power

Change your heart: What kind of person do you want to be?
We should strive to be like JESUS CHRIST. To always be willing to take upon His name and serve him with all your heart. We as missionaries, took our righteous agency to be here on a mission! We need to recognize our potential and change our hearts to be able to reach that potential. It is not always easy to do, this work is tedious and hard sometimes but as we realize our purpose and why we chose to believe the way we do, Heavenly Father will pour out blessings.

Sunsets are beautiful in September


My View from the Sister Casa

"Whatever God commands, do it, and blessings will follow."
I was reading the September 2015 LIAHONA one morning and came across a story called;
"To Stay or Obey". It was a story about a young boy that was a convert and was first and only member of his family. He really want to serve a mission. But as he told his family that he wanted to serve, they said that him leaving would break their hearts and that he needed to chose his family or his mission. I couldn't even imagine being put in a situation like that. So the boy went to the nearby church to pray about what he should do. As he knelt down to pray he heard the words... "whatever God commands, do it, and blessings will follow." As I read that sentence I felt the spirit so strongly. It is true. As missionaries we often hear.. "oh you sacrificed so much.. your cell phone, car, friend and family time, etc." Which is true.. we dont have the luxuries that we would like at home. But as I read that quote it testified to me that we aren't sacrificing, we are obeying. Because of our obedience, Heavenly Father promises us blessings.
(1 Samuel 15:22) ".. To obey is better than sacrifice."
The young missionary then told his family that he would be serving a mission, and his dad said that he could no longer live there. So he found some place to stay before his mission and served in the Philippines Cauayan mission. A few months out on his mission his family wrote him and said that they would be waiting for his arrival home. When He returned home he was able to baptize his family and they are preparing to go to the temple. Such an amazing miracle. That because of our obedience God will not leave us. He will rain blessings upon us.

No Doubts (D&C 6:36)
We must look unto heaven, don't look around. All answers will come from God. We must begin with the end in mind. That we want to return to our father in heaven and our families for eternity. We must trust the will of the lord. We might not understand everything now but we will. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to grow. I have so many flaws and weaknesses. But through Christ I am strengthened.
Elder Choi told us to,
Be patient. Go little by little and try our best. We will see our progress in the long run. We need to enjoy and have fun. This is such a short time but will impact our lives from here on out.
I learned so much from the MISSION TOUR and am happy to share my experiences with all of you!! Always remember that I love you!! But most importantly our Father in Heaven loves you. 

Its a slumber party every night

Thanks Mom for the Brownie Mix


Talk to you next week!!!


xoxo
Sister Tanner
태너 자매님

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

VERY SHORT AND SWEET

WEEK 18- MONDAY SEPTEMBER 14 2015



I pinky promise to love you forever Sister Kim.

Love from Home.

Yay! For clothes

Letters keep me going strong

Might of had a hard day;)

Not an einsteins asiago:(

whole wheat donut??

Cool Gourd Garden

I'm a Mormon

Making my Grandma T. Proud

I have no time to write a big weekly email!! Sorry!! I hope you all had an amazing week!! Here is a scripture that I found during my personal study that really stood out to me.

Luke 1:37
..For with God nothing shall be impossible.


Short but has so much meaning. I love this gospel and everything about being a missionary here in Korea!! Its definitely not easy, but like Elder Holland said, "Missionary work isn't easy because Salvation isn't easy." (Billy sent me that. Thank you Billy!)

I am here because I love my Savior and Heavenly Father. I am here because through this gospel my family has been so blessed and I get the amazing opportunity to share this message with Korea!!


I love you all. I will talk to you next week!!!
xoxo


태너 자매


Sunday, September 6, 2015

WHY I DECIDED TO SERVE A MISSION~

WEEK 17- MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7 2015


안녕하세요!!
I don't have a ton of time to write this email but I have been thinking about what I wanted to write all week.
This week we visited our Bishop and his family here in the ward we are serving in. They have 7 kids!! So during sacrament they all are running around. There are so many of them and they all are the cutest things ever. So we went over there one night this week all four of us Sisters that we are living with and we were sitting in their living room talking and Bishop turned to me and asked the question..
"Why did you decide to serve a mission?"
After he asked me that question I tried to put together my thoughts and say it in Korean the best that I could. Ever since that night I have been thinking and really pondering that question. When I came home that night I wrote down my answer and wanted to share it with you today. 





This ones for my Sister Olivia.

When I think of why I decided to serve a mission, I think of my Grandpa. He played a big role in my life. My Grandpa was diagnosed with Cancer and was very sick. When He knew that He didn't have very much time to live, he wrote all his family individual letters. In my letter He expressed that How he has been thinking a lot about me serving a mission, and how much it would bless my life. Ever since that letter I really thought about a Mission. But when I reached the Mission age, I started to stress and panic a little. The thought of leaving my family for a year and a half scared me. The thought of being away from HOME for that long freaked me out. SO when I was at College my Mom called me and said, you need to start thinking about what you want to do, because If I wanted to serve a mission I needed to start the paper work as soon as possible. Making the Mission decision was not easy, it has been the biggest decision I have had to make so far in my life. During that time of trying to decide if I was going to go.... I prayed and prayed looking for an answer. A couple weeks went by and I hadn't received that reassuring answer. So many thoughts were going through my head during that time. Like, I could just stay home, work some more, go to school, be with my family and friends, etc. Satan was really working hard to prevent me from serving a mission. So another week passed by, more praying then finally I received my answer. My roommate and I went to our YSA activity at our 1st Counselors house. It was originally going to be everyone from the ward over there eating waffles. But our counselor said, he had the impression to share something with us all before we ate. He began to say what he felt impressed to share and then said he wanted to share a scripture but he wasn't going to read it. He wanted us to go home and read it on our own. So I wrote it down making sure I wouldnt forget it. When we got home I immediately opened my scriptures and turned to the scripture....

Alma 29:6-9
This scripture had answered my prayers. After long weeks of waiting and stressing, I finally received my answer. I called my Mom right after I read that scripture and was just crying to her. All I said on the phone was I found my answer.. I am going on a Mission! The following day I made an appointment with my Bishop to start my paperwork. And now I am serving in Korea. The place where my Mom was born. Learning the Korean Language. It all doesn't seem real. The Lord works in amazing, kind of mysterious ways sometimes. But, I thank Him every day for this opportunity. When times are hard I have to take a step back and remember where I am. That this is such a short time in my life to really forget myself, to serve everyone I come in contact with, and most importantly to serve my Father in Heaven and his Son Jesus Christ. I can't put into words how much I love this Gospel. This experience has brought me so close my Savior and Heavenly Father. and I want to make them proud. 

My life with these beautiful Sisters

Love this sweet companion of mine

Sister Kim 

Of course another pic with ice cream;)

A Mission is a once in a life time opportunity and I want to make every moment count. I love this gospel and want to share it with everyone in Korea. So If anyone is struggling with the decision to serve a mission. Dont let Satan win. The decision to serve a mission will forever change your life. A decision that you will never regret!
I love you all so much!! I hope you have another great week. Cant wait for next Pday!!


사랑헤요!!!
-Sister Tanner

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

"I LOOK LIKE YOU SISTER TANNER."

 WEEK 16-  MONDAY AUGUST 31 2015

이동 2: I made it to my 2nd transfer!!
This week the new missionaries came from the MTC!! My trainer and I got to go to the mission home and proselyte with them! They asked a couple of missionary teams to come and proselyte with the new "Greenies". So I was thinking that my companionship was going to get one new missionary and then go off on the streets.. but NO, we all were split up alone with a new missionary. Me... alone with 2 new missionaries on the streets of Korea! hahah such an interesting experience! But it was so much fun!! My face hurt just from smiling so much! And it amazed me really how much I learned and could understand what the people on the streets were saying to us. The Gift of Tongues is real, without a doubt, I know that I couldn't do any of this without the power of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:13)


A reminder of home

Last night as companions.


Last meal together before adding 2 more new sisters to our humble home


Re-united with the district 

Sister Orongan from the MTC. Love her!!

The next day we had to go back to the mission home for TRANSFERS! I met my new companion and then we left to go back to Yuseong with the other sisters that we are living with! yay 4 man house in our tiny shoe box!! I love my companion!! oh my goodness she is the cutest!!! This transfer is going to be a good one, I can feel it. She is so patient. I feel bad because I ask so many questions on how to say this, what does this mean. But she absolutely loves to help me all the time. And is so supportive! Her English is sooo good so that is a blessing to, because she can describe things and she can still understand me somewhat. I'm really excited to see what this transfer has in store for us!

My New Companion.... Sister KIM


She cooked for me kimchi fried rice

Miracle of the week:

YURA came to church this Sunday!!! She is the daughter of the lady that we meet at her office and she was a referral from the Elders. We texted her after transfers to see if she was going to be in Daejeon this weekend because she works in Seoul. She said she was coming home Sunday and so my companion and I were talking and I said lets just invite her to church. So my companion texted her and invited her and she immediately replied and said that she would be there! It was so unexpected. But she came!! She really is so open to learning about this gospel. We picked her up at the bus stop and she had the Book of Mormon that we gave her in her hand and she was wearing a dress. It was so cute. She was like "I look like you Sister Tanner" hahah.
So she came to Sacrament Meeting and then in our Ward the Elders investigator was baptized. So she stayed for the Baptismal service and then food afterwards! She said she really enjoyed it and was really intrigued by the baptism and had a lot of questions. She is being prepared by God, we know and have such a good feeling about her we just want to continue to teach and meet with her. We think that her Mom might be holding her back a little bit. But we will continue to keep praying for her. They are going to the Philippines this week so we wont see them for a little while. Just means we need to work harder to find people to teach! 

Expo Bridge

I heart YOU!


IN Expo Park


Expo Bridge in Yuseoung


LOVE my new companion!!


My new companion 김미현 자매님 and I were talking about why we wanted to serve missions and it was such good talk. She is amazing and I am truly blessed to be her companion. This work isn't easy but as we continue to have positive and happy attitudes it makes all the difference! We have so much to be grateful for!! Always thank God for what he has given us, I love you all so much and miss you like crazy! Have the best week!! And I will talk to you next Pday!!

Just doing the Lords work...

 putting up our flyers for our English Classes.

I just love this work!!

Here are some scriptures that I found this week in my personal study that have helped me a lot


D&C 8:8
Psalms 27:1
John 15
Philipians 4:13




태너 자매

Jesus makes me so happy!!