This week was a good one! To start off, this area is absolutely gorgeous! We cover 3 little branches here, and the cute little town we live in is surrounded on every side by the greenest mountains I've ever seen. It's SO pretty, and a welcome change from the big city I was in. Lovin' the 시걸:) Also, there's this random chained up golden retriever at the bottom of our villa stairs that barks at us every time we walk in. I asked my companion why it was there. She explained in Korean and I didn't understand. Something to do with a restaurant I think. Anyways, I named him Fred.
So this past week a typhoon blew through Korea! It was a bit more to the West of us, but we still had to stay inside our tiny apartment for more than 40 hours because of the rain and strong wind. It was a party though! We contacted people through the phone, ate Baskin Robbins ice cream, watched a movie about Christ while eating popcorn, and all of that fun stuff. But lemme tell ya, I don't think I've ever been more grateful to be outside than I was after that storm passed. Yay for fresh air!!
On Saturday as me and my comp were eating this red bean noodle stuff (sounds gross--tastes delicious) this man sitting at the table next to us asked me where I was from and why I was here. We got talking about missionary work and the church, and he told us that his wife had passed away 3 years earlier from cancer. We were able to testify of eternal families, and it was such a cool moment when I was like----hold up----I've known about the fact that my family can be together for eternity my whole life, but I actually get to share that precious knowledge with people who have never known that!! Missions are the best:) We ended up walking over to the church together and going on a church tour! The Elders were there, and they exchanged numbers with him. He said that this church feels different from other churches, and he wanted to learn more!!
We are meeting with this cute lady 박은혜 자매님 (Sister Pak) and this week we taught her about the word of wisdom. She said that she loves coffee and tea, and she wasn't sure if she could abstain from those things. We challenged her to just do it until Sunday (4 days), and promised her that she would receive strength and feel the spirit more in her life. When she came to church on Sunday, she said that she hadn't had a cup of coffee since our lesson and it wasn't nearly as hard as she thought it would be! She has a baptismal date set for September 15th! Super pumped for her!
I read SUCH a good talk by Elder Bednar, "Accepting the Lord's Will and Timing." (kinda long, really good, super worth it) He talked about a recently married young man who was diagnosed with cancer. When Elder Bednar went to give him a blessing, he asked him if he had the faith NOT to be healed. The young man said this about the experience: "We learned we needed to gain the faith that the Lord is in charge whatever the outcome may be, and He will guide us from where we are to where we need to be." I've come to learn on my mission that when things don't work out the way that I think they should, it's not because Heavenly Father suddenly changed His plan for me. It just means that little by little, I'm finding more out about what He wants me to do and who He wants me to become.
Love you all and sorry for the infinitely long email this week!!
--Sister Cummings
커밍스 자매
Daejeon-si PO Box 38
34630 South Korea
1) cute comp
2) companion hard at work studying English
3) popcorn and Jesus movie:)
4) I made a new friend<3
5) Suncheon!!
6) last day in Daejeon!!
