Consider the Blessings

This week we have been looking at low numbers (trying to get our area up and rearing!) but we've been able to visit a lot! I think I may have told you that one of our highlights of the week is visiting our sweet Mongolian less-active-Nara Jamaenim. We meet with her twice a week and do the thrity-thirty program- Thirty minutes gospel and thirty of Korean :) She's learning the alphabet slowly but surely! And I just found out that she's a harmonie, close to Grandma King's age! She's so sweet-we use pictures and our white board to explain gospel principles and learn how to read and write. And anything else we just use body language and smile. She's such a sweet woman. She lives in a tiny hotel room where she also works cleaning the guest's rooms every day. Her husband passed away, and her two children are living in Mongolia and Las Vegas Nevada. She keeps in contact with them and her grandchildren (andother one in May!) via Skype from her tiny room. She doesn't have many people that she knows here in Korea, but she does have us and the branch, where she goes whenever she has a day off at work. She also goes faithfully to the Seoul Temple any day off she has, and she has pictures of temples that she keeps right with her picture of her children. She studies her scriptrues each morning before work, and now she's dilliegently studying Korean :) She just learned how to write 몰몬경 (the Book of Mormon) in Korean and we were all so excited! :D And whenever she saves up enough money, she invites us to dinner with her or orders it to her tiny room for us to eat :).

 

Oh my, I can't tell you how much meeting this one woman has brought me so much joy! I'm so glad we have a reason to meet with her twice every week :) She has this ability to make you feel so loved.

 

We also visited with our other Mongolian less active (baptized three years ago, has a husband and two little girls), her name is xxxxx

. She's fantastic at Korean because she studied so dilligently when she moved here (over 9 years ago). Her daughter is now of baptismal age, so we want to work with her to see if she can take the lessons and be baptized. Just need to be her friend for now, then little by little... :) Miracles can happen!

 

Other than these visits we've been able to interact more with the ward-4 families invited us over for dinners this week! WE've been inviting them to look for missionary opportunities, getting to know them, and sharing fun stories (everyon is blwon away that Sister Musselman has 13 kids in her family, it's a great line opener :) It's fun to get to know our members better and what they're all about! I really love Onyang Branch.

We're also getting our English conversation class started this Saturday! Our Branch President has called a couple in our branch to be the English class coordinators, so we have help too! Now we're going to be contacting everyone to come :D

 

Other than that, we're working on Jundo, Ka Ka Ho Ho (door to door) and pass off :D

 

This morning I was reading President Monson's address on Consider the Blessings. I loved his testimony! In that talk, he basically says how looking back on his life, he can see the little blessings that ended up helping someone else-answering a prayer, or recognizing the answers of someone elses prayer (the Jumbotron talk!).

Its really all His timing! And all the while, as we're looking for the blessings He's sending, we'll find them :D

 

I love you all! Trey, this will be the last email you can read until you're sending your own from the MTC! I'm SO proud of you!! Rock it out there, don't give up, know we're rooting for you and have FUN! :D:D:D

 

Elder Brooksby I'm always praying for you. I hope you keep seeing miracles in your area. I'm so so so thankful that it's not in the numbers, it's in the people. I love you and I'm so proud of you. I don't think you'll ever know.

 

Mom, Dad, you got this-Sending another one off! The blessings are going to keep coming. I love you both so much, you've taught us so well. NOw it's our time to remember, learn and grow!

 

Please always be happy and remember how much your loved! This Gospel is the fastest way to happiness-it's all been figured out by our loving Heavenly Father. All we have to do is follow Him. :)

I love you!!!!

Love Sister Brooksby

Pictures of Korea...and Haley....so fun!

District Meeting...with Style!

My Beautiful Daughter...wow.

Girl Power!  Haley with new Companion...she is training!  So cool.

Hi all my awesome family and friends!

 

Oh my GOODNESS I've been flooded with love this week! My desk is COVERED with letters from you! Thank you so much Steph and Kayla and Sari (I seriously couldn't stop laughing! Oh it was SO good to hear your voices (?) via paper again!! I'm so happy for Kendra!! How're things going with them? ARe they at USU? Lindsey too! When I saw that she's getting married, I just smiled-She'll do so well :D What's he like, do you know?

Oh you three sound so good! Sarah, I was way surprised at your letter. I'll reply just as soon as I can get a pen to paper. I love and miss you three!!)

Elizabeth, Amanda, Mom times 3!! and Elder Brooksby- Thank you so so so much. I'll reply soon! 사랑해요!

 

So this week we had our awesome Sister xx called us up to say she was visiting our investigator (they became friends last year when she came to church) and invited us to come along! We got to sit and visit in a very comfortable enviornment and just get to know them both a little more as we talked-It was the perfect headway to start meeting Sister xxx (our Kudoja) as missionaries again! That Wednesday we had such a good time together, we scheduled another appointment with her the following Friday. :)

Sister xxx came also, and she bore testimony of what we taught and it was just such a good spirit-Sister Musselman also did fantastic for her first lesson with an investigator-bearing testimony about prayer and how the gospel has blessed her and her family. Sister xxx told her thank you, and that she felt the Spirit as she taught. We all did. I'm so proud of her! I believe the most important factor in evaluating a lesson or teaching is if the Spirit was there. She's already pro :)

She's also picking up the spirit of pass off! She saw the example of the elders (Bigler and Holt Jangronim) in our district after meeting with them during General Conference, and she made a goal that she would do a principle a day. She's roaring through it now! There's nothing like self motivation and a coulple good examples :D

One more thing!  We got to have a dinner with our Jiboo Hweojangnim (wow that looks strange in English..:) and his family! We'd been thinking about what to share with them that night, and I'd been thinking about a message on missionary work. I'd prepared an activity to do with the family for that night, and then that day during General Conference there was a couple solid messages on missionary work! As I watched them, I felt really good about the message we'd share.
We had wonderful dinner and looked at pictures and Sister Musselman astounded us all with her penny whistle skills!(have you heard her play? It looks so fun!) and finally if came time to share. I was a bit nervous because it was my first message for our President and I was representing the missionaries in his branch. I didn't want to be pushy, but I knew that I'd felt that this was the message Heavenly Father needed us to share. So we did the activity (I asked everyone to close their eyes except their 2nd oldest daughter xxx, then gave her a giant handfull of candy. Then I asked her what she wanted to do with it. She honestly wanted to keep it, but her mom helped her share :D:D So she gave the candy, one by one to each person and they were allowed to open their eyes.) Then we read together from Lehi's dream in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 8:10-15. I talked about our individual testimonies and how the gospel has blessed us and our families so much-We've been able to eat the sweetest fruit! And how so many don't know, they can't see this gift, they don't know it's there. I talked to them about the blessings we can receive from just opening our mouths, even if our friends or family don't accept our invitation to learn more. Then we read verse 16 together. It's always worth it to share, because God has blessed us so much, and the peope who will listen, will come. They will partake of the fruit! And then, when we make it back to the Celestial kingdom, we can make it together!!

That's really the essence of missionary work. I don't want to go to the Celestial Kingdom without taking all my friends and family with me!

 

Family-I had a memory blast this week I had to share-

Do you remember our very first Nancy Drew game together? Mom, Sierra, Savannah, Kiah and I? It was the Message in a Haunted Mansion one, with the creepy birdy eyes that one was missing... hahah

So a about a month ago, I thought of it! We were in English class in Cheonan (when I was still with Sister Cho), and Elder Bigler was teaching. He was going through some riddles in English as part of a fun introduction to the class. ("What's black  and white and red all over?" We all think about it  for a while and try a few shots at it. "It's a Newspaper! Because it's 'read' all over!"

Suddenly, I thought of a riddle-I asked if I could share it (this is where you'll remember, we were trying to break a code to get into (was it the piano bench in the mansion?)) "What gets wet the more it dries?"

....Got it? you bet you do!

A Towel!

 

:D I wanted to share my Nancy Drew-using-missionary skills with you. Awesome, huh? I love you all. I hope you are doing well and playing lots and having fun! Make memories! And maybe somehting you learn in Nancy Drew can help liven the mood in your future Mission English Class :D

 

From Onyang with love and cherry blossoms! :D
Sister Brooksby

Hi Everyone!

Wow! God never leavs His missionaries alone. I love reading all of my friends emails!!! It's such a boost to me to hear how you are all doing :D Keep it up! I'm so so proud of you, right with you!

This week we visited 6 less actives and 2 former investigators, created English flyers, called former investigators, ka ka ho hoed  (door to door) and jundoed (street prosyliting)! Every night when I went to plan with Sister Musselman, ideas came to mind of how to spend our time; (miracle!)  and this past Weekly Planning Session we both pounded out ideas for finding new investigators and how to work with our branch members for 4 hours.
We've had less contact with our one investigator, and so toward the end of the week, I was wondering if she wanted to keep meeting with us or not. But this Sunday was an incredible miracle! When I went to copy our flyers at chruch, our  branch president, President Lee, talked to me about the English class and how they used to have a coordinator from the branch to help, but they hadn't had one in a while. He said he'd been talking with the leadership about it, and they think starting another up would be a good idea. We have support in that area! WOOO!

Also, this Sunday both the Bishopbrick counserlors bore their testimonies on the power of missionary work- Brother Lee shared his conversion story and expressed the need for everyone to be searching and sharing the gospel to people like he was before he was baptized.  And Brother Hong told everyone in the ward how we had only one investigator... hahaha it was so amazing! I couldn't believe what my ears were hearing! Then after Sacrament meeting, the Relief Society President and I sat down and talked about creating a fun group where all of the women could meet with the Sister missionaries and bring their friends (possible referrals!). We decided on the first week of every month! Now we're just brainstorming some ideas of what to do :D

Sister Hong also referred one of her students she's teaching! We'll get to meet with her and her student on Tuesday!

I can't express how thankful and overwhelmed I felt because of our memeber's reaction to help! Heavenly Father's never ever going to leave alone to figure out what to do. I'm so so thankful that He trusts us enough to do His work here in Onyang. I want to help this area grow!!!

Wow! new position opening up for Sister Missionaries-A Sister Training position? I'm so excited! A leadership position for Sisters I think would help us organize and help the work move forward, and take care of each other :)

 

I think this week I'm realizing again the giant happiness found in seeing small miracles-every day. Seeing the mission through the eyes of Sister Musselman is really such a blessing :D We are striving to make every day wear us out, sleep hard, and wake up on our knees ready for the next day!

 

I love you all! Don't forget how much you're loved!
Sister Brooksby

 

PS The picture is of Sister Musselman and I muching on her very first try at street food here in Korea! We're having fun and laughing lots :D

 

PPS Spring is here!!!!

 

New Area New Companion!

Hi Everyone!

 

I'm in my 6th transfer, (8th in total) 2nd area: Cheonan/Onyang, but now we're split-Two sisters in Cheonan, two in Onyang. I've been in Cheonan since December.

We just transfered last Thurdsay (28th) and I got a new missionary to train Sister Musselman. She's just like somone off of Pride and Prediduce (can't spell ) -her major is English and she's an awesome reader/writer and dreams of becoming a novelist! We're in Onyang with our awesome branch! And we've got our work cut out for us :D We have One Investigator : Hong Jamaenim (sister), and we're planning and praying and brainstorming for more :D

 

We've also talked with a member in our ward who's given us referrals in the past (exp. xxx Jamaenim who we've begun teaching again) about ways he's seen the most success in his mission. My goal this week is to get an English class organized and get our memebers (especially the youth) involved and maybe invite their friends too!
And in the meantime, Sister Musselman is dilligently working on the language and jundo! She shared her first message with our Branch President's wife and children last night at dinner, (she prepared so dilligenly, you should have seen her :) and I've already been blown away at her free-speaking abilities! My favorite is when she bears her testimony. We're going to move mountains together in Onyang! :D

Sorry I forgot to end my email. I love you all! Thiw work is true! I'm so proud of you all!! Keep having fun, doing missionary work, working hard, learning lots, relying on the Lord, smiling!!!!!!!!

LOVE YOU!

Sister Brooksby

OH! PS Our Member's son (she's less active, but she's totally like a member! ) Got baptized! I'll send pics next time :D