November 1, 2021 - Gimje/Jeongeup

 Conferences Galore!


Hello everyone! This week was less wild then last week, but it was still somewhat of a doozie! We had Zone and Stake conference, which was a wonderful opportunity to feel the spirit and receive revelation. Zone conference was mostly in English, and there was translation for the Korean, so it was also a comforting opportunity where I knew what was going on and what people were talking about. Stake conference was less english friendly. Let me tell ya, as hard as it is to stay awake during Stake Conference normally, it is a whole different beast when you can't understand what the speaker is saying! It is easier when you can focus in on the Spirit though, which was present in spades. It was a great opportunity to practice listening to more formal Korean language as well! My listening and comprehension skills are by far my weak point with the language right now, so I love every opportunity I can get to practice listening in all sorts of different places!

Opening up an area is also very challenging. Its less challenging than it could be considering that technically the sisters have been serving here for two transfers and have some things to share, but they have primarily been working in 정읍 (Jeongeup) because that is where they live, and we have primarily been working in 김제 (Gimje) because that is where we live. To travel between the two areas is not convenient and also expensive, so the quirks of living here and working with these members are completely up to us to work out. But progress is being made, and there is a lot of fun to be had! 

We also had an opportunity to teach a lesson this week! We also got to teach multiple family home evenings with members, and I think I am finally at a point where I don't face swift and sudden execution at the hands of phone purge when we do finding. It might not seem like much (stop laughing, stateside missionaries), and I really hope to have more opportunities to teach here in the future, but compared to the first week that was more or less chaos, it feels like we actually have started being missionaries here. I am so excited to be able to participate in this work, my own inadequacies and all!

Halloween was yesterday, which is wild to me. It really isn't a thing over here, but I did see a couple people dressed up as the pink guys from squid game, which was fun! I went all out this year and dressed up as a missionary; I wore the white shirt and nametag and everything. I hope you also saw some really fun Halloween costumes this year (assuming COVID didn't permanently butcher the holiday, which it definitely could have haha). 

Have an excellent week, and remember to make time for the Lord! 

화이팅!
월들 장로
Elder Wardle

Pictures: Zone Conference, just an average Korean spider (They're usually about as big as my palm and have bright neon colors), the Jeongeup chapel (the Gimje chapel is on the 4th floor of a multi-story building and less picturesque)








Location: Gimje-si, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea

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