December 11, 2011

I found out that we will get to call home either on the 25th or 26th whichever works best for us.  And since our church starts super early Sunday we will probably call Monday for us so Your Sunday Night!  They said we get 30-40 minutes but we've asked about big familys cause I know last year if people had big families they got a little bit longer!  So I'm hoping!

This week was a really good one.  This week will be great too...I have a final pass off this friday and if I pass I could be a senior companion or even trainer next transfer...yikes! :)

I was expecting this season to be hard away from home but it really has been fun.  We have a little tree and lights up in our house and we sing Christmas hymns every morning.  The ward is in charge of the Stake musical Night Christmas night.  So we are busy getting ready for that. My dance class said maybe they'll have the dance down for next Christmas haha!

I found a nice coat and now I need to find boots.  Monday night we go to a Family's house and do english games with 2 youngest kids.  So cute, then we taught the Mom and daughter but the little boy found out it was gospel time and he just shook his head and hand at us and said no no no no no no no no no no no no for probably 2 minutes straight haha....so he left the room.

 Tuesday we had lunch with  Helen.  She lived in Australia and she speaks super good English.  She is so funny....has the american sarcasm so its hilarious.  She wanted to make us American food so she did bacon and eggs and toast haha. Yummy!   We had another good lesson and Sister Seipel knows german so she was teaching Nickalo for 30 minutes and I was with Marsha doing English!  Because we have a man investigator we have to be with other woman too so we got 2 investigators at once.  They both come to our English class and are so funny we love them, and we had dinner with them afterward.

Wednesday - so busy! We had district meeting then lunch then lesson, lesson, dinner and english class.  Since it's cold I was so happy cause we weren't outside in it!  Marsha taught us how to make one of my favorite foods so it was GREAT!  So that was half of my week but I ran out of time so you'll get the other half next week!

Have a safe trip to the Valley and enjoy Christmas celebrations.  Till next week - love! Sister Richardson

December 4, 2011

I don't know why on earth the devils mosquitoes are still out but...they are!  Actually this week only had a couple so it's OK.  This weather is really warm..to Koreans anyway....They say usually it's a lot worse by now!  So thanks for your prayers :)...keep em coming haha.  Today I have to go buy coats and boots though because yesterday was pretty miserable and one of the ladies we visited said it's suppose to be getting super cold from here on out!

This week we got to meet with the cutest family!  The girl is 8 and the boy is 5.  We played Go Fish to practice english and then taught a little lesson on prayer.  Dance class was great last week..we had to make up a dance for the Ward Christmas party, they want our class to preform!  I made one part a little confusing so it was hilarious to watch them haha..but they will get it down...it will be great!  We (the four missionaries) have been asked to sing 2 different songs at 2 different Christmas parties so we have been practicing like crazy.  I wish I would have learned to read music!  It's making life pretty difficult haha...but maybe by the time I get home I'll know how to sing.

I got your package last week, so it didn't take very long!  Thank you so much!  It was perfect timing! I wear the socks every night and during study!! :)  and the candy is almost already gone heehe.

I've sent some pictures for you, this is Sister Moffett and me
and 3 grandmas.... It's 3 lady's from the Ward,
they are like The 3 musketeers,
they dance with us and feed us all the time...

they are my Korean Grandmas :)

        Here is Marsha that I've told you about at the restaurant where I ......ate Pig Skin!

                                                                             
 The copper tube is the cooker!  There's fire on bottom of pit but the tube cooks the top...they pull it down close as it's cooking and then move it up out of the way when it's done.







                                                                               

                                                                                 One last one...of Sister Seipel and I


I better get going I have to send pictures to the AP's for Christmas slide show. Please stay safe and warm happy!  We have Mission party on the 22nd and Ward party on the 23rd and Stake Musical night Dec. 25th !

November 27, 2011

It has been a good week!  We have a lot of lessons actually confirmed before so we have a good week planned.  It was transfers but we didn't transfer!  So still same area and same Sister Seipel :)  Transfer day is so stressful we just are shaking for the call and one of the AP's (Assistant to the President) called during our prayer so we screamed and jumped up.  He asked Sister Seipel how her new area is and she said "WHAT???"  and he said "Oh President call you? AH humm..."and then hangs up. haha so then they call later and say "Just kidding your staying there!"  So we think there was a last minute change!  But I'm glad I didn't change areas! 

It's been warmer this week so I've been very grateful!  We had good Thanksgiving,a family with 5 kids invited us over it was so surreal it was like being in America..their house was so Americanized! and we sat around eating turkey and mashed potatoes with maybe a mention of football haha just like home!  Another family was there too only they had 7 kids!  So it really was like home with bunch of kids runnin around!  We had to email early cause we are headed to a service project!  We are doing kim-jang...the process of making kim-chi!  Fun! :)

Will give you a quick mo-gi update....it's become quite the sport..we are trying to figure out the best technique to kill them (Mosquitoes) they stole our sleep the other night...Sister Seipel killed 17 during the night!  She's pretty good at slapping out of the air...but I don't like that on my hands so I just swing at them...but you can't do it like a baseball cause... you don't know where they go.. so you have to dribble them like a basketball...:)  Just in case you ever need to kill a plethora of mosquitoes I thought I'd share my tricks!

We had an amazing lesson  yesterday.  She has committed to be baptized on Christmas Eve and get the Holy Ghost on Christmas!  Best present ever!  I told you about  her before we met her on the street on the way home one night.  We picked up two families this week!  I'm so excited to be with them.  One of the Dad's works for the Korean CIA- he shook our hands and afterward we were like WHOA!  I didn't know someones hand could be that solid he could kill us with his pinky!  So we will stay on his good side :)

Thanks for pictures!  Semi painful but that's OK :) Every ones hair is getting so long!  Holy cow!  Avery is so long, and Lyvie looks so much like Avery!  Glad  you all had a good Thanksgiving.  I'm Smiling so you keep it on too!:)

November 20, 2011

We will get transfer calls tonight!  I will be starting my 4th transfer!  We have no idea whats going to happen - there are 6 new Sisters coming.  It's gotten pretty frigid but I'm not going to complain cause I know it's gonna get worse, I hope I don't spend all of my money on coats and sweaters and leggings and scarfs and mittens and boots....but I just might have to.  haha

I hope you all have lots of yummy food and enjoy a football game!  Yes I will be taken care of so go ahead and have all the fun you want.  If I don't get transfered Wednesday I will be going with the Elders in my Ward to a family in the English Branch so it will be fun.  If I do get transfered I will be sad, but I'm sure I'll still get to do something fun.  In some of the other areas I know the whole zone will just get together and have dinner or something so it's OK. I just can't believe it's that time of year!

This week was super good!  We picked up 2 new investigators, one of them has been coming to english class with missionaires for almost 2 years.  She has done 30/30 program with some of them but kinda stuck in her way so never progressed.  She really loves  us and has opened  up a lot and I can tell her heart is softening so we are going to start meeting with her and see if she is ready.  She is also  teaching us how to cook so I'll be able to make you some delicious korean food when I get home!  Be on the look out for Korean markets and a place to buy a yo.  I don't ever want a real bed again :)

Our other lady is RUSSIAN!  How cool!?! We actually went to their house, her and her husband and little son.  They are the nicest people and speak pretty good english but she wants to practice and learn more so we are so excited to start teaching her!


The  mosquitoes are still after us at night!  as we were praying the other night before bed Sister Seipel started saying please don't let the mosquitoes come, but right then, I heard mosquitoes and it was in my ear, so I couldn't let the chance of killing it pass  so I tried to slap it out of the air and she did the same thing at the same time!  It was so funny, unfortunately we didn't kill either of them and it was pretty hard to finish the prayer through our laughter but..that's ok.  Have a wonderful holiday Thanks for sending pictures I love t hem! Sister Richardson

2011 Seoul Lantern Festival

WE WENT TO THE LANTERN FESTIVAL WITH A COUPLE MEMBERS AND INVESTIGATORS!

 
They sent me pictures – so I’ll share!

It's just a ton of lantern things that tell a story as you walk down the river.

I found this information on the internet about the Lantern Festival...

Enjoy Dazzling Displays of Color and Light at the 2011 Seoul Lantern Festival!

The 3rd annual Seoul Lantern Festival will be held from November 4th to November 20th this year at Cheonggyecheon (Stream), starting with a lighting ceremony at Cheonggye Plaza.

With the theme of "Stories of Seoul's Past through Lanterns", this year's festival will highlight Seoul's long history and many traditions. This year visitors will also get to enjoy twice as many lanterns as last year, with the lantern exhibition starting at Cheonggye Plaza and stretching all the way to Gwansugyo (Bridge).



Highlights of the festival will include an 18-meter lantern tunnel made up of over 3,000 cheongsachorong (traditional Korean lanterns with a red-and-blue silk shade); a 1/2 scale model lantern of Namdaemun Gate; a lantern of Seoul's mascot, Haechi; lanterns that offer glimpses into traditional Korean life; and lanterns of popular animated characters including Batman, Spiderman, Superman and Robot Taekwon V. Lanterns from the annual lantern contest will also be featured, along with small-scale lanterns from 20 different countries, including lanterns from the Japanese cities and prefectures of Goshogawara, Aomori and Yuzawa.

This year's festival will also be hosting a variety of experience programs at Gwanggyo Gallery, starting on November 5th. Programs will include lantern making and other crafts.
 

November 13, 2011

Whoa! I cant believe already middle of the month! Transfers are next week! I'm excited to start a new one. I hope I stay in this area, we just got a new mission leader and he is such  a cool guy and excited to start helping the work move along. 

Nothing too special happened this week.  sorry if i already told you about anchovies but not only did i eat them....i had to gut them first haha...also on the weird food list...go ahead and add dandelion tea. yup she just dropped some dried up flowers in boiling water and we drank it...not too shabby either. :)

In answer to your question about when we get mail..... we get mail on zone meetings and when ever we see office elders so sometimes p-days sometimes other mtg...just kinda depends. for sure at least every first wed. of the month and temple day.

We just got informed that members of the English branch here are feeding us Thanksgiving dinner so I’m excited!

  

We got to go to a stake meeting with all the mission leaders and stake presidency and mission president. I didn’t know a lot of what was being said but it was cool to see how many people are in this work...and really how much effort and planning not only the missionaries do but our leaders to try and spread the gospel. A lot of what came out was like," well the missionaries need to do it this way or that way" ...but i was so grateful our mission president finally said..."our missionary are trying the best they can do and we have to support and help them."  it was cool. sorry ran out of time today. ill try to have more for you next week. Love you! -Me

N ovember 6, 2011

Nov 6, 2011

This week’s big event was our musical concert. Our ward mission leader planned it with us, but he was trying to make it a huge event. So he invited some area 70's and our mission president to speak at it and we were supposed to get 5 investigators each (us and the elders in our ward) and then invite other missionaries in our zone to bring thier investigators too...so we had been advertising like crazy and practicing our 2 songs (Koreans sing sooooo well....I have no idea why they made the 4 deaf tone Americans sing) so that night, all our investigators were "maybe"s so it was stressful. The ones we thought would come for sure were all busy...but we did have 3 come! One of them came with her husband too! So it turned out really well! The other one that came is pak-jung-won... she should be getting baptized on the 19th! :) She’s a cute little lady 32 maybe, with adorable little baby girl, just needs to stop drinking coffee...and possible only attend our church and not 3 others haha. We are working on it :). The last one that came was a miracle..we met her on the subway, she gave us her catholic name, ree-oh-ba, but she took a Book of Mormon and we met her once after that, she studied German, and was a German teacher for like 20 years. My comp studied German too so they had fun talking together and I just tried to keep in the game of 3 languages at once haha. We weren’t able to teach a real lesson, just got to know her and then she said she couldn’t meet for a couple weeks but we invited her to the music program...and she came! She stayed after for the food and talked with a lot of members, and our mission president! :) haha Apparently her husband works at same school as president did , they might even know each other! Crazy, but president pretty much taught her the first lesson for us haha so hopefully she’s not too overwhelmed. but we can’t wait to meet with her again.

October 31, 2011

Wow. Today has been crazy. We finally made the soccer game here next to our house so we wouldnt have to travel. so we thought we would have more time...but we didn't! its crazy running around finding computers that are open and we couldn't find any open before soccer so had to come after....but now only have 30 minutes! yikes...p-days are the most stressful breaks ever. but that's ok :) 

This weeks been pretty good. a lot of people are sick though so we haven't had a lot of appointments but that's ok. I told my companion one night i would talk to 30 people the next day if she ate some boondiggy (?) i don't know how to spell it but its basically sluggs..haha....and i did it....so she has to eat 3 of them :) hahah i'm so nice.

This weekend we have a big musical fireside.  4 of the missionary's in our ward are singing love is spoken here , and then last Saturday the ward mission leader asked Sister Seipel and I to sing the very first song...just us! yikes....there's hopefully gonna be a lot of people there but for the sake of my singing maybe i hope not very many people show up haha. No it will be good i'm excited. our mission president is speaking and also an area 70! cant wait.

Last week was temple day and we had interviews with president...basically making sure we are happy. he is the cutest person i have ever seen. he asked me " are you happy?" i thought of course i am now i'm with you...but in a couple hours when you are gone i wont be...haha. but i'm still happy...i just have to picture his huge smile.

 Also i better have halloween pictures! I totally forgot it was halloween! Crazy! Every one has cute ideas can't wait to see how they turned out. 

 

So this last week in dance class we taught the hula! oh my lanta...i wish i videoed it and could send it to you! I don't think i've laughed so hard in a really long time. They were lovin it...but not really gettin how to do it haha.

well i want to look at all the pictures so i better get going. thanks for support, love and prayers, i hope i can help others as much as you help me. love you all! take care!

 

-Sister Richardson

October 17, 2011

This week was good - Sister Moffett is now cruisin Seoul with her parents and Sister Seipel is my New Companion.  She is Awesome!  She is in her 7th transfer and she is really good at Korean - So I  was saved!  I've already learned a lot from her and I think we will have a great transfer together.

  I had a good birthday, Sister Moffett and the Elders in our ward got a cake and sang to me and then transfer morning I got a picture with the 3 of us that have the same Birthday!   While we were eating in the kitchen at the church a girl off the street found us up stairs - she had seen our English board - and she wanted to come back later for our English class.  Her name is Irene.

One lady from our English Class "Marsha" brought me a birthday present - 2 scarfs and some snacks- I just love her.  She is also the one who took us to dinner last weekend and made us try pig skin!  Yup...I ate it and it wasn't too bad actually.  I've meant to tell  you the weird things I've h ad because Dad asked the other day but I hadn't had anything...then after that I had lots!  I've now had octopus and clams and squid and pig skin and ground up bone soup. Yum :)  Sometimes the octopus is hidden in the kimshi but I found it once!  Gotta Go Love You!  Sister Richardson

October 9, 2011

Sister Richardson - turns 23 years old on Wednesday - and she said she found out that over there - she is actually 24!  Now that she thinks about it - it makes turning 23 sound pretty good!!!  Our family was all together (Except for Jon & Rachel & kids they were still in St.Johns) but the rest of us sang Happy Birthday to her really loud in hopes that she could hear us!  In her Email that night - she said "I think I did hear you!" 

The Sisters got to listen to conference and she said she enjoyed it so much.  Tons of really good talks and a little girl from the Ward got baptized in between the sessions!  Her Dad is not a member but he came, so it was exciting!  "The primary kids sang the same song that Jenn & I sang at Jaylen's baptism, and so I was singing along in my head before they started and so it kinda surprised me when they started singing and it wasn't English!...duh!"

Well, Sister Moffett will be leaving on my Birthday - so I will get a new companion for my Birthday!

Oc tober 4, 2011

Sorry I didn't get to email yesterday it was another Holiday! We had a Ward picnic, played some games, ate a lot of food etc.!  It was a cool "I'm in Korea" moment!  In the US we have picnic tables and hot dogs - well here they lay down tarps to sit on and then they put newspapers down and a million.....OK maybe 10 plates of random food!  We sat in small groups and picked off the plates as you go!  A couple of the ladies that come to our dance class wanted us to preform our dance in a circle of all the ward members!  The weather is already getting cold! :(   At Bishop's meeting on Sunday I was huddled up and one of the counselors asked "Are  you OK?"  I said "I'm from ARIZONA - I don't DO COLD!" haha  Our house is heated through the floor so I think I'll ditch the yo (bed) and sleep on the floor!   Stay healthy and enjoy your warm weather!!! 

September 26, 2011

Played some chookoo (soccer) by the world cup stadium!  I've got my front handspring down! This little old man saw me do it and made me do it again!   There are only 17 Sisters in our zone right now so I know everyone!  In 2 transfer's that will change as we will be getting 9 more!  I got my fingerprints taken for my foreigner card.....YEAH! I'm Legal!!!

We started our Dance class on Saturday.  Twelve people came - they're mostly over 60yrs old but we have fun!  My Companion did training on what makes a companionship strong.  We had a great time talking about our weakness & fears and how we can improve - because she's leaving soon, it really makes you want to do your best cause they look back and say "I wish I'd have done this or that" So it really makes me sure I'm doing those things NOW!  LOVE YOU ALL - till next week.....Richardson Sister

September 18, 2011

Sister Richardson emailed that her time was short today because "we are going to go play soccer! The different zones are recruiting us now that they know I  can play!"

First Transfer!

Sister Richardson is now in Bong Chun with Sister Moffett, who is in her last transfer of her mission.  They have a lot in common and get along really well.  In her last letter she writes: "We are getting a musical fireside ready for October, we are also starting a dance class :) next Saturday, and another English class- this ones gospel English study, and a hiking group we will start next Saturday as well. we are trying to get members involved a lot more so trying to provide different things that they can invite their friends to."

Bulgwang, South Korea

Sister Bennett, Sister Ellis & Sister Richardson in front of the Seoul, South Korea Temple.  Sister Ellis is the Senior Missionary - training Sister Bennett & Sister Richardson.  They have had a great time in Bulgwang and do a lot of "Street Boarding" where they Set up a Poster and talk to people on the street.  The Korean People are so thoughtful, they will bring them an umbrella when it's raining (which is most of the time) and someone brought them a drink, because they thought they looked thirsty!

July 4th Celebration Assembly

Sister Richardson entered the MTC in Provo, Utah on May 4, 2011.  She was dropped off at the curb and away she went!  We heard from her via e-mails weekly.  Some of the highlights of her stay were her companion - Sister Myrick - they became great friends.  She said the only way to tell her days apart were if she got mail, or if it was Sunday because of the awesome Devotionals and speakers. Her days consisted of gym time, which she loved, breakfast, classes, more classes, lunch, classes, more classes dinner!  One of the neatest experiences was on July 2, 2011 - in celebration of July 4, 2011 they had everyone meet in the auditorium, and a map of the world was up on the screen, as each Mission was displayed - those missionaries for that mission - cheered and kept cheering until the whole auditorium was on their feet cheering and then the flag bearers started coming down the isles with all the flags of the world, and The United States.  She said it was pretty awesome.  She took pictures, and a little video to capture the moment.  That night they were all out in the parking lot to watch the fire works from BYU Stadium of Fire and they all got ice cream.  Can you imagine a parking lot with 3,000 kids in it????