Turkey Day!

What a great way to start Thanksgiving — a Turkey Bowl with the zone! And what a great way to get a new perspective on your companion’s personality!

Happy American Thanksgiving!

Trick or treat

Since Halloween isn't really a huge thing in Korea, Sis. Bae wanted to know about what we do. As i explained it to her, it started to sound familiar in an eerie way...

Putting on special clothes: check! Knocking on doors: check! Getting surprised at every door: check! As missionaries, we're surprised when people actually open the door and talk to us or let us in. We're also surprised at how many people don't want to talk to us and let us in.

Could one, therefore, infer that being a missionary is like Halloween? Every. Single. Day?

Ready, set...

I noticed that General Conference is coming up soon. Normally that's a pretty exciting thing — and it is! — but after all the changes from last conference, i don't know if I'm ready for another one? After all, how many wards have the whole ministering thing figured out? 

My left hand doesn't know what my right hand is doing

You'd think that using chopsticks every day would make me a master. Nope!

Plus ça change...

Is it wrong to miss the smell of newly-sharpened pencils and the sounds of high school football in the air?

Sometimes that's all you have left!

You know that Studio C sketch with Captain Literally who pronounces, "Balance restored!"? I imagine there's some electrical worker out there in a similar uniform who says almost the same thing: "Power restored!"

Or maybe that was Joseph Smith when he translated the Book of Mormon: "Scripture Power restored!"

What's a little rain?

Good news, bad news.

The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm. But that didn't matter much because everything was already soaked through, and we didn't have any power anyway.

I wonder if we can get some potstickers delivered?

Storm's a comin'

There's no storm like a tropical storm — except maybe a typhoon! So much wind and rain...more than this little Idaho girl has ever seen, that's for sure!

Hazy days

So I've been thinking about my mission and going through my old journals. I don't remember very much about my first couple of weeks. Maybe I was a little jet lagged. Maybe a lot! Here's one of the stories that are, well, just a little bit hazy to me!

Sis. Bae was SO patient!

Happy days!

I LOVE General Conference! Make sure you watch it — and rewatch it (or listen to it, or read it) to get the messages the Lord has for you! It's AMAZING! 

Yes, I'm going there

One of the exciting things about getting ready for a mission was getting ready to go to the temple, too. After all those years in Primary singing about it, the goals and values in Young Women, and those discussions in Relief Society where I didn't quite understand what the older sisters weren't quite saying... The Temple Prep classes were cool, but there's nothing that compares to the real thing!

Favorite recipe

Not a recipe from my mission! :)

More stories to share? Oh, my!

Hey! There's another way for me to share my mission stories! Check out my new Instagram account!

Coming soon!

My Olympic pins are here! (Can you believe they're made in China?) We're just about ready for the Games to begin — I can't wait to see uri nara (our country) again!

There's a chill in the air

With the Winter Olympics coming up in a few days, people are asking me if Korea is cold. The answer is YES! In winter it can be downright FREEZING!!! Even colder than Rexburg! But don't worry — summer makes up for winter's chill by being swelteringly HOT. Well, warm and humid, anyway. Those are the perks of living on a peninsula!

I've never been as far north as Pyeongchang on the east coast, but the people who have been there tell me that it's very beautiful. They've made a lot of improvements to host the Olympics, just like they did when they had the Summer Games in 1988 (if anyone can remember that far back!). They are proud and excited to host the Olympics this year.

It's that time of year!

One thing that was fun about Korea is that there are all kinds of celebrations in winter, and two new year celebrations! New Year's Day isn't as big of a thing as it is back home, hence the wild celebration at midnight. But when the Lunar New Year rolls around, it's party time!