Good Eater Charlie Brown

So there is a saying in Korean that literally translated is: You are a good eater.  FYI there are good and bad eaters, and in Korea, you want to be a good one. Eating all of the food given to you is an especially important sign of respect.  I have known this for a while.  I didn't realize how this was done at buffets... I am so grateful we have members willing to feed us :) It is such a blessing.  It was my first member meal, and I wanted to be sure to eat everything I could and because I don't really know how to speak Korean yet I finished my 2nd plate a little early and I saw someone getting dessert so I did the same.  Well the host went for a 3rd plate.  I was very impressed. haha then realized I had ended my meal to early, but didnt think that was a problem.  Well The Sister said something to me in Korean, to which my companion translated, "Are you hungry Sister?" With a look that said to answer correctly. So I was like... "oh. Yes." and got up and got more food. I think I just got told I was hungry haha.  That happened like 4 times. By the end of this meal I had had 4 plates of food and 4 helpings of ice cream.  We were so full we were laughing a pained laugh, but it was so worth it to embrace the culture. Also it was pretty funny haha.

We had an appointment after that, which it is a korean custome to ALWAYS offer something to any guest that enters your house and she fed us too. My companion was like, "Sister Shaver, Now I KNOW you are a good eater!"  Good thing we walk everywhere. haha

So this week the other things I was offered to eat included:

*Octipus: nope not a huge fan but when you think of it like chewy noodles it helps.

Pig intestines/liver: kinda dry but not bad. cow was better to me.

We can compare this to life. We might not get to choose what comes on our plate, but when we face it with a smile and love in our hearts we can make it through the things we thought we could never do :)

*So when I saw octipus I may have prayed in my mind that it would stay stationary, since they eat live octipus in Korea haha

Lost in Translation:

So apparently last week when I spoke iin church I told everyone I had 15 people in my family... oops. haha
So while practicing reading from this church book in Korean I misprounounced the word for shoes and swore one of the worst swear words in Korean... Sister Lee was like Sister Shaver! that's a swear word! oops...

Uplifting

If you can smile when things go wrong
And say it doesn't matter,
If you can laugh off cares and woe
And trouble makes you fatter,
If you can keep a cheerful face
When all around are blue,
Then have your head examined, bud,
There's something wrong with you.
For one thing I've arrived at:
There are no ands and buts,
A guy that's grinning all the time
Must be completely nuts.

By Rudyard Kipling

We will all have trials and right now mine is understanding everything and everyone around me. :)  But it is okay. I finally have started treating this experience like the journey that it is.
One of the missionaries just kept laughing whenever they looked over my way. I thought I had somethingo on my face. Then more missionaries were chuckling. I finally asked what was so funny and one of the natives said, "You just look extra happy."

"Yep! I 'm confused, but I am happy!  It is weird how those have been going hand in hand lately."
Smiling is really the best thing we can do when feeling down. It physiologically will help make us happy. Also, in my case it is really the only way to convey how happy I am and how appreciative I am, and how much I love the people I am serving since I really can't express myself yet.  Although apparently I should take my joy down a knotch haha.

I am kinda like a baby; in a world where everyone speaks jibberish and expects a response.  Luckily smiles are universal :)

I love what Elder Packer says in his talk, Things Every Missionary should Know.
"You have a to learn that you are unique. You are sons and duaghters of God you have powers and talents and capacities that no one else has."
If something doesnt come easy that's OK. Which can apply to anything. Maybe your testimony is something you reallly have to work at, or language learning is a challenge, or a relationship isn't going how you want. Maybe there is a dance move your struggling to pick up. Math, memorization whatever it is.

"You wil find that things that grow slower live longer. Look at the animal kingdom or plant kingdom.Things that mature quickly have very short lives. the mayfly is a good exaple. It is born grows to adult stage, mates, reproduces and dies before the day is over. Things that grow slowly live longer. You may grow more slowly in mind and spirit but you will learn and your learning will stay with you."

In conclusion, Smile and know that everything will come in its own time. Enjoy the jounrey. You only get to be where you are in that moment once. :)

SMILE!

Cheers!
Sister Shaver

Pictures!

Best trainer ever!!

Noodles with chopsticks... its a struggle haha

Seriously this food was soooooo spicy even for my native companion!

I think this was a rice noodle thing... haha yum!

We were at the prettiest park today!!!

#sistershaverthephotographer

"I Cant Believe I Ate That"

Awko Taco

Alright so we went to this investigators house, and I have no idea what the conversation is about, and then this older sister looks at me and asks if I want Juice, and the american in me kicked in and in english I say I am good. Well my companion is kinda behind the investigator and gives me this look like accept the juice and motions with her hands like she is drinking something, so then I am like oh yes in Korean. So luckily I made the mistake in english lol but I almost caused a huge offense...oops.  ALWAYS ACCEPT THE JUICE.

I Can't Believe I Ate That

So on day four of being in Korea, my companion orders us a soup, and when it comes out I look at it. The first thing that comes to mind is. That has got to be octipus or squid or something... It wasn't. Turns out it was actually Cow intestines. And then there was this square sponge thing that she told me to break apart, and I made the mistake of asking what it was and she said it was Cow blood... Okay I am down for a lot of things, but that caused a certain amount of hesitation. As I talked to her more about it, it was discovered it was Cow liver. Not cow blood. Which is significantly better from where I am standing. It was actually pretty good. Mentally it was a challenge haha.

Also, the people at the resturant were like she is a foreigner. She won't be used to it. And they all watched me intently on how I would react. I tried to play it off as nanchilantly as possible haha. Although idk how good I did. Especially because I am still so clumbsy with chopsticks, which I use at every meal. I am chopstick challenaged ... My hand cramped the other day. Haha but it is getting better. My companion just sits there and laughs with me haha.


Uplifting

This one is kinda short, but just a reminder that even when you are literally on the otherside of the world and you don't understand anyone. God loves you and he is always there for you when you turn your heart to him completely.

When we got here we were given a book of mormon and asked to hand it out along with pass along cards. Yes jetlagged and exhausted we hopped on the subway to talk to people in a language we still didnt know. Haha Someone even told me I was going to go to ... ah where people "burn",  but besides that it was a really good experience. :) I saw someone who I felt I was suppose to talk to and so I started this conversation about music while on the bus. He gave me a curious look, and the Sister with me helped me out, but I asked if he would accept the Book of Mormon and he did! It was awesome. I hope he reads it, but if not I know he felt the spirit, cause you dont need to speak the same language to feel that.

Quote of the Day:

“We don't need to know the same language to love”-Me

Pictures:

Korea Airplane food

We arrived!

President and Sister Christensen

You can't tell but there a heads on those fish. :P

Awesome Companion Sister Lee!

Sister Lee is a great cook. :)

Learn All the Things

Left to Teach and here is What I Learned

So from hanging around with the Korean missionaries this is what I have learned so far.  I walk really fast. Whenever we walk anywhere it takes us forever to get there, cause we Americans just move really fast. Not really sure what my hurry is, already I am learning that I need to stop and smell the roses(metaphorically of course).

Lost in Translation

So we were shopping/translating for Sister Lee and when they gave her change she expressed that they don't have coins in Korea and she didn't know what to do with them. I was ringing my purchases up at the time and she asked how much the Kit Kat was, she had enough to buy one in change, and she said in English she would buy this.  So I grabbed her one and finished the purchase.  When I gave it to her she looked at me in confusion and said, "No No this is for you." pushing it back to me, and I was like "but now I already have one, so you can have it" and gave it back. She then took it and put it in the tip jar.  It was probably the funniest thing that happened in the MTC.

Once upon an Aussie
After running some errands during lunch we only had 15 min to get our food and eat it before class starts so I said
Me: "Ah! We are going to have to eat like the wind!"
and my companion said,
Sister Tui:"but I dont want to eat like the wind I want to eat like a wombat."
Me: "a wombat?"
Sister Tui: "ya dont you know what I wombat is?"
Me:"yes..."
Sister Tui:"they eat very slowly"
Me: "Good to know"
Lol

While Adventuring

This poem was what I wrote in the doctors office while waiting to know the foot condition that would determine if I could continue to serve in Korea.

Here's to Hope

A firm hold on today

a belief in a brighter tomorrow

whatever comes our way

we have no need for sorrow

For in Christ we find our joy

and through him there is nothing we can't bare

We need not fear he who seeks to destroy

for we are forever in God's care

So pick up your head

and raise your voice

and echo what has been said

Rejoice the Lord is King again we say rejoice

(dedicated to Bev Shaver the best mom ever)

(written by Shantel Shaver)

Uplifting

Ever since I was 15 I have always felt a deep respect for Joseph Smith.  I always respected him and admired him, but when I was 15 and faced my own severe physical challenges I always saw him as someone who could relate.  This past week we worked on memorizing the first vision in Korean.  Poor Joseph Smith never got a break in life or death. I don't know another name that has so much spoken for both good and evil in the world.  In conclusion, this week seemed to have a focus centered on the life of Joseph Smith.

Joseph Smith had anything but an easy life.  Even in just getting to Palmyra where the first vision took place was a journey of hardship, betrayal, and misfortune for the Smith family.  When Joseph Smith was about 8 years old he had a serious infection in the bone of his leg and the only solution was amputation. His mother pleaded that they try an experimental surgery, they said they would, and then said they should give Joseph alcohol, he refused it saying all he needed was his father’s hand and for his mother to leave the house.  He had more strength as an 8 year old boy than I had as a 15 year old. Granted our challenges were the same and I am so grateful that was not expected of me, but I feel anyone should be able to admire a child for having that much strength and discipline.  He then spent the next 3 years recovering from that surgery which including the family’s move to Palmyra without their father who went on ahead to get things settled.  That journey alone was almost fatal for Joseph as the person they had hired to help them kicked Joseph off their own wagon to make room for some local women.  Still recovering he limped behind.  Eventually they ended up with a different group headed to the same place. Somehow Joseph was separated, and one of the other drivers hit Joseph over the head and left him for dead.  The only reason Joseph even made it to Palmyra was because a nameless stranger carried him into the town, where he would see the Lord God and his son Jesus Christ.(MTC devotional)

Joseph Smith also was not perfect, and several times in the D&C is rebuked for not hearkening to the word of the Lord. The most memorable of these time is when the first 115 pages of the Book of Mormon are lost by Martin Harris.  I don’t think I knew the circumstances surrounding that time in Joseph Smith’s life.  His child had just died, he came dangerously close to losing his wife, and he himself had been so grieved that his health was failing as well.  I don’t believe any of us would have done better under any circumstance, but for him to be so humble and teachable is something I really admire.   And from that revelation on we see a new resolve in Joseph Smith.  He was truly a remarkable and generous man.  Even the man who bore testimony against him that caused him to be thrown into Liberty Jail,where he stayed for 6 months not being able to stand upright and in horrible living conditions, was readily forgiven from the humble prophet inside that jail cell.  This man later went on to write “Praise to the Man” upon the prophet’s martyrdom.  I hope I can one day be that willing to forgive.  That willing to give my life entirely to the Lord, and so trusting, that the cares of the world no longer affect me.

The MTC speaker was the son of Elder Holland.  And my favorite quote that I will leave you with is this:
“Your lives need not be perfect, to be powerful”

Quotes of the Week

So Elder Gildae is a red head and has so many quotes about it he probably should get his own section called once upon a red head, but this will suffice.
"Mufassa, Simba, both red heads, Scar? not a red head. Hercules, Ariel red heads keep good company"

"Red heads never hide their light under a bushel"

Sister Sweetnam asked, "How was it getting hit by the language train?"
the response : " Just relax and let it run you over."

Sister Hatch as she was giving me her hair dryer before she left
"Just give it a few good whacks and it will start working"

 Picture time!

SIster Amende and I make the best faces :P Love this pictures 

 Sister Lee drew this picture of me haha I sing a lot :P oh and that is my name in Korean! :)

Best teachers and district ever!! :D

 Sister Fiso and I :)

The challenge

​Seriously the funniest :D

Closest I get to science now a days :P

​#cleaning #chemicals

SIster Lee!!! She is the best

References
Young Joseph and his surgery https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/06/joseph-smiths-boyhood-surgery-mercy-during-a-desperate-siege?lang=eng&query=joseph+smith+leg
D&C 3 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/3?lang=eng#

It's all about time

Time. It has to be one of the most perplexing concepts that man has constructed. I feel like the MTC is a simultaneously a wormwhole of awesome or being forced to watching paint dry. there is no in between. Looking back it doesnt seem long but looking ahead I still have 11 days. It is like the laws of physics don't work here.  If someone were to start floating I would be like oh okay gravity doesn't apply here either and accept it and move on with my life.  Although then I would probably think about ender's game.

If you know me at all, you know I am not a super patient person when it comes to a lot of things... It isn't my virtue of choice, which is probably why the Lord in his infinite wisdom sent me Korean speaking. Also, this is the longest I have stayed in one city/state in 2 or 3 years. Moral of the story is I have been trying to obtain this virtue, well trying might be a stretch... but sometimes we need a little push to learn the things that we don't want to.

I was going to write this deep spiritual thing about learning to wait, but I didnt have the patience for it. so here are some pictures.


Pictures! :D

The traveling skirt!  This skirt has been passed down from Korean District to Korean District, and all the sisters who have worn it sign the inside :) It is awesome and fits everyone.

The real star of this selfie is the Australian in the background ;)

This is the cove I engineered to block out the light from the street light outside our window. Probably the best idea I have had the entire time I have been here. #engineering #totallywortha4yeardegree

Sisterly love! And a walk to the Temple

Just kidding. I do have some thoughts. but first let's talk about the one time our sister training leader got her wisdom teeth pulled.

Once Upon an Aussie

My comapnion's twin sister, Sister S. Tuinukuafe, had her wisdom teeth pulled. I won't share too much, but she was out of it for a full 24 hours to the point she did not know who she was, she didn't know she was a missionary, she didn't even know she had a twin! It was pretty funny. When asked who Sister Sweetnam was she responded,
"my cat"
Sister Schur?
"my mouse"

Possibly my favorite was watching her take off down the hallway to another room, with her faithful companion not to far behind trying to convince her to come to bed, but Sister Tuinukuafe(sister training leader) shut the door behind her and tried not to have anyone open it. Eventually she decided she would go to bed, but only "because she wanted to".
She also thought she was 12 the first day, and then when she woke up she said," I had a dream that I was telling everyone I was 12... but I'm 17 yo!" (she is 19)
she still hadn't recovered, but at least she was 17 now and she knew she had a twin. at the 24 hour mark she mentally woke up, and didn't remember anything that happened!
We had some good times.

Uplifting

What is the root of patiences?

We are going to go with love. I am sure there are a lot of factors to cause one to be patient, but loving where you are at in life or loving people you need patience with can help us when we feel like we are enduring. When we put our expectations on life and other people we no longer see life as it is but as we are.  That projection leads to frustration cause we are living in a reality that doesn't align with the real world. When we change what we can, and then accept the rest it becomes significantly more enjoyable. and it is better to enjoy every part of life right? Time will ensure the rest happens on its own, but the time currently given to us is precious. Along with having love we need hope. Hope that it will work out and hope in Christ. Sometimes we forget what we already knew, and we need an extra reminder.
D&C 6:22-23 This is my scripture of the week. Remember and RECORD the times of strength and confirmation, so you have them as a reminder in the times of forgetfulness and weakness. :)

Sister Shaver adventuring

Well I kinda want to draw a comic for this too, but I am running out of time for such things. but I will leave it at this. I left the MTC today for a foot appointment and felt like I have grown awkward. I can only hope that it is the kind of awkward that is adorkable, but when I get back I will let you be the judge :P

FRIENDS!

Old Friends

So ran into this fine Elder! It was so nice to see a face from home. Elder Speakman always has a smile on his face that is contagious! So glad our MTC time overlapped! He is going to be an amazing missionary!

Cousin!? Pictured in last weeks post.

So minding my own business at the MTC when out of the corner of my eye I see someone I feel like I know. They already had walked passed me but I called out his name anyway and figured if it wasn't him he wouldnt know the difference right? haha
BUT it was my cousin Nathan!!! I totally had forgotten he works at the MTC. It was good to see him too :)

New Friends!

So the Native Korean Missionaries came in yesterday, they are here 12 days and leave with us. there is one sister, who is staying with me and my companion. She is the sweetness, and between our broken Korean and the little english she knows we have become fast friends. It has been a wonderful opportunity to actually use my Korean and trying to organize my brain to adjust to the grammar.

Peace signs! roomies

Quotes of the week:

"Korean is like an onion. They both have layers, but not like cake."

"write your own happily ever after" -Brother Brian Soids

"It takes a real man to drive a rainbow truck" - Sister Schur

"There is nothing as whole as a broken heart" - Jewish Proverb