Erica's Thoughts

Pictures

2010-01-27T12:49:00.000-08:00

After the viewing last week, Lydia, Adelle, Jeff, and I played Pretty Pretty Princess. I took pictures this time and thought I should share. Adelle won (again). I think she's just really good at the game because she's a real princess inside.
At the end, we got a little silly as Princess Adelle showed off to Grandma. I love Lydia's look. And Jeff's. It's great.

On a much sadder note, on Monday morning my brother Dustin's cat Patches had a stroke or something. He was leaving my room to go upstairs and started making really odd and worrisome noises. When I went down to check on him, he couldn't move his back leg. And he was really freaking out. I've never seen him so agitated before. It took him a few hours before the shock wore off enough that he could sleep. I stayed with him all day and fed him. Dustin was at work. And I knew that he would want to see his cat again.

Monday night, Patches seemed to be doing a bit better. He had stopped panicking and could pull himself around very awkwardly with his front legs and use his other back leg a bit, but by Tuesday morning things had deteriorated. He could hardly move. Dustin made the very difficult decision to put him down. I'm going to miss talking to him during the day when I'm home alone. He was a very vocal and generally loving cat.
Goodbye, Patches!

The Missing Tooth and Cupcakes

2010-01-18T22:38:00.000-08:00

Hey. It's been a while since I've posted. Guess it's time I should post again so everyone knows I'm still around. The past few days have been very different from my normal schedule. Different is a good thing...but I wish it were for happier reasons it's been different. My sister-in-law's father passed away. I wish I could do more to help her...but as I've never lost any relatives, I don't know what to say. So, instead of just saying that everything will be okay, Mom and I have watched the girls a few times while different preparations were being made.

They came over on Saturday a little more subdued than normal (which is saying something, because they both really get excited when they can play with me). Adelle was very much excited about her loose tooth, though. She even called Tasha and told her all about it. I wish I had as easy a time talking on the phone as Adelle does. She's fearless. And adorable. Anyway, we played for a bit and then I decided it would be fun to make cupcakes. I've been debating as to whether or not I want to go back to school and learn to be a pastry chef...so I've been practicing by making cakes and frosting and fondant. I made a really good pumpkin cake the other day and put fondant over it...but man, fondant is a lot sweeter than I thought it was...

Anyway, we went up and made cupcakes from the box. They were white cupcakes, and both Lydia and Adelle helped me measure out the ingredients. We each got to crack one egg, which was pretty fun. Lydia did hers really slowly and Adelle nearly dropped her eggshells in with the rest. They then helped me spoon the batter into the cupcake pan. We made buttercream frosting. Adelle got bored until we started adding the powdered sugar. She thought that was pretty fun. They both helped me keep count of how many half cups of sugar we'd put in--which was good, because I would've forgotten.

Once the frosting was done, I mixed in yellow (it turned out more orange), blue, green, and black per their requests and we prepared to do some cupcake decorating. I was amazed by how awesome their cupcakes turned out. Once I showed them how to make flowers, they were showing me up!

This is Lydia's first cupcake. She made a pirate ship out of gum paste.

This is Adelle's first cupcake. I had some WALL-E decorations that I got on clearance. Her first one was of EVE.
This is Adelle's pretty flower cupcake:
And this is Lydia's awesome flower cupcake!Here's a picture of all the cupcakes Adelle and Lydia took home:

And these are the rest. The girls got sick of decorating, so we had a bunch that were naked! Aah!
Afterwards, we put a little ship I got from Tasha for Christmas in some water to see if it would grow. Here's a video that the girls made up on the spot:

Now....Adelle has been telling everyone about her loose tooth. Today it finally fell out! She was eating an oatmeal creme pie and realized there was something hard in it. Turned out to be her tooth! She was afraid it would hurt, but it didn't. I snapped a picture of her hole. She's excited to be able to squirt water out of her mouth through the hole (I totally didn't give her that idea...).
We played Pretty Pretty Princess a few times today. Guess who won? Miss I-Lost-My-First-Tooth! She was a beautiful princess. She chose pink for her jewelry. Sadly...no pictures. I wish I could've gotten one of Lydia wearing an extra purple earring on her nose...

Adelle and Lydia are real sweethearts. I'm glad they're in my life.

Liz, you're in my thoughts and prayers! I love you.

New Moon

2009-11-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

Hello!

It's been over two months since my last blog post. I'd say that I haven't updated because I've been super busy...but that's not the case. I haven't updated because life has been pretty boring lately. No crazy stories to tell. No pictures to put up. Well, Mom and I did visit Martin's Cove back in September, and that was pretty neat...but otherwise, things have been pretty tame.

I'm currently looking for a job. I occasionally work as a substitute teacher. I hate substituting, though. Children these days are evil monkeys. I don't remember so much drama when I was in grade school--and I also don't remember so much swearing. I've been subbing for a fifth/sixth grade split class, and you'd be surprised by the language these kids use without even meaning to. Depressing is what it is. There's also a lack of caring about other people. Kids are really cruel to each other. Yet again, I don't remember that happening back when I was in grade school. It seems like there's two or three bullies in every class now as opposed to maybe one or two in an entire grade...

I digress. The main reason I wanted to post today was because I saw New Moon on Wednesday. Tasha dragged me to it with a promise of food. Which I had. It was yummy food, too, otherwise I would've gone crazy. Here's my disclaimer: I'm not a fan of Twilight. I will be mentioning things that are probably considered spoilers. And I will be merciless in attacking Stephanie Myer's terrible use of mythology.

First things first: I have a soft spot for romance novels and movies. I enjoy them. I'm a sucker for sappy love stories and whatnot. But I am not a fan of Edward and Bella's romance (or lack thereof). First of all, Bella is a terrible character. She's a stock character that is terribly static, emphasizing all of the traits that women have been labeled with for centuries unfairly (in some cases). Bella is self-centered and wholly reliant on a strong male character to make all of her decisions for her. My strongest evidence is the way she reacts in the movie when Edward tells her that he has to leave. She doesn't even really protest. And, yes, arguably that's because she feels like she isn't worthy of his love or whatever--but the first book should've shown her that Edward was willing to do anything for her. After all, he managed to stop feeding on her before she became a vampire herself. Instead of begging or demanding Edward stays, she lets him go. And then spends the rest of the movie moping. Which is a little understandable, as heartbreak is terrible--but it takes her months to move on. Months. That's not realistic. If she were really depressed for months, she would probably progress to more self-harm than simply not eating or talking to people.

The apparitions of Edward are ridiculously contrived to try and bring him into the movie more. Which is ridiculous. I don't know why anyone decided Robert Pattinson was a good casting idea for a vampire that's supposed to be handsome. He's scary looking. And compared to Taylor Lautner (Jacob), I don't know why Bella choses him. Honestly. He's brooding (but not in a good brooding way like Angel from the Buffy universe) and immature. Why would vampires choose to spend years repeating high school? Yes, I know they eventually go to college...but that doesn't change the fact that they willingly decide to go to high school over and over and over. Which is stupid. Anyone who has lived through high school doesn't really want to go through it again. Especially since basically the same things are taught over and over. As anyone who has watched Twenty-One Jumpstreet knows, hearing the same thing over and over gets to be monotonous and boring. Are vampires too stupid to remember that they've learned how to solve algebraic equations over and over?

I was glad when Bella finally started hanging out with Jacob. Mostly because the pacing during her depression was boring! The scene where the camera rotated around her to show the passage of time seemed to take an eternity. I felt as though I'd been stuck in the theater for all those months. Which wasn't good. For most of the movie I was actually playing with a butterfly clip I'd had in my hair to keep from crying out of boredom. It was so predictable.

Anyway, I'll move on to the Volturi. Goodness. That was stupid. A council of vampires that make up rules that all vampires have to follow? Lame. And contrived. My biggest problem with the Twilight franchise is that Stephanie Meyers has taken the fangs out of vampires. They just aren't scary in her universe. The point of the vampire mythology is to keep people inside at night like most other mythology. They are widespread in different cultures (though my favorite form of the vampire is one from Japanese mythology that detaches its head and flies around through the sky at night with intestines trailing underneath to suck blood) and are supposed to be feared. Not sparkle. European vampires die in the sunlight to add to the mysteriousness of the pale strangers--as well as to make daytime safe. Other vampires look like normal humans during the day and can only be revealed as vampiric creatures by turning their body parts around so that they reattach themselves all crooked-like. They're scarier if there's no real way to tell that they're killers during the day. Sparkling vampires are not scary. They are ridiculous. I might have been okay with Meyer twisting the mythology if not for the sparkling. They're more like fairies. And not scary at all--which isn't helped by the lame action sequences in both the first and the second movie (and the books).

My next problem is the whole werewolf thing. I know that in the book Meyers makes the distinction that they are not werewolves. But no one seems to remember that. They're skinwalkers, people! Not werewolves. There are legends of skinwalkers in many Native American tribes that walk around with the pelt of wolves, bears and other creatures that eventually turn into them. There are also legends of similar people in Eastern European countries. People that willingly change into wolves. Werewolves do not willingly do so. They are forced into their wolfish state during the full moon. Meyer's wolves are skinwalkers. Okay? Good. Now to complain about the CG. Goodness, I haven't seen wolves that look that fake since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (at least they weren't hairless like poor Lupin). The CG in this movie seems to be three or four years behind the times. Yes, I know that this isn't a big budget movie...but the first one made enough money they could've paid for something decent, right? They look stupid. And entirely unrealistic.

I know that I'm supposed to suspend my disbelief and forget what I know about mythology...but I'm sorry. The script wasn't very good. Pattison looks disgusting with his shirt off (I wish I could erase that from my memory) because he looks like he's dead. The Volturi are ridiculously contrived and not really scary. And Edward can't read Bella's mind because she doesn't have one. She's a doormat. She doesn't even drive her own truck for most of the movie! This franchise reinforces stereotypes that women need saving and that bad boys really can have soft centers like Edward. Bella is fixated on death. And not a good role model for the little girls who read these books (I've seen several fourth graders with the books). I suppose the only good thing about the books/movies is that vampires are popular again.

Thanks for reading my rant!

Home!

2009-09-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Utah, sitting on my bed. I don't know how I feel about being home, frankly. I wish I were still in Korea some days, but other days I remember how hard it was and don't really want to go back. I've been kept busy here at home, which is good. We've been waging a war against little terrorists in the house and had an exterminator over yesterday. It was fun getting ready for it. Gave me something to do most of the day.

It's amazing how fast life moves. Korea feels like a dream and an eternity ago, much like home felt like a dream the moment I entered the MTC in April. Everyone has been super nice. Which is good. It's also been super awkward. Especially at church. I hate feeling like a disappointment to people. Before you start telling me that I'm not a disappointment, I know. I've heard from President Perriton and my stake president and my bishop that I'm not. I'm not a failure. My mission wasn't pointless. But that doesn't change the look in people's eyes seeing me home. It was awkward at church, and I can see why a lot of missionaries who come home early go inactive.

President Perriton and I talked about this feeling of failure in length before I came home. I know I'm not one. I just sprained my hamstring and had to be pulled from the game before I did some serious injuries to myself. So here I am. Home. Taking it easy for a while.

I didn't take many pictures in Korea (I thought I had a year and a half), but here are some pictures from my mission.
Me and my trainer, Sister Lee Se-ri. This was our last day together as companions. There's a restaurant behind us that looks like a pig.

This is Sister Jung Eun-ju and I my last day in Gwangju. She was an awesome companion. I love her to pieces. We made every day a special day.
This is my first district in Korea. They were crazy. Lots of fun, too.
This is in the MTC with my district and with Brother Murray.
This is the MTC too with Sister Son and Brother Erickson in our classroom.

I'm sure I'll post more pictures and stories and whatnot in the future. This is just a quick post to let everyone know I've come home safely.

Erica

Confessions part two

2009-09-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hello one and all! Time for another confession. I don't particularly want to make this confession...but I figure it best to do so quickly so that you have time to think about what I'm about to say. I'm coming home. Relatively soon, actually. For the past five months, I've had some highs and some very bad lows. Recently, the lows have been getting worse and more prolonged. I have a hard time finding energy to just smile some days. So...I talked to a psychologist in Japan and he recommended that I come home to get treatment. Apparently I'm suffering from severe depression.

The thought of coming home is both a relief and a disappointment. I love it here in Korea. The food is delicious. Everyone is remarkably kind and respectful. I've seen some miracles. Three of the sisters I've had the opportunity to help teach have been baptized (though I only got to physically see one this last week). They will be great members, and I consider it a real privilege that I've been able to meet them. I wasn't able to say much, but I was able to testify. Which I'll do now. I know that this church is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and through him, Heavenly Father restored His church on this earth. I know that God answers prayers, even though I sometimes don't feel as though they are. He has helped me make it this far in my mission. And though I feel as I've failed Him, I do know He loves me. And you. If we follow His commandments, we will be blessed. I've seen it in my life.

I don't want to come home, but I can't wait to see all of you again. Thank you for your continued support. I've appreciated your prayers on my behalf. The church is true regardless of where I am or what I'm doing, which is a great comfort. The next few weeks will be rough. But through God's help we can do anything. I love you all!

Sister Erica Ellen Oates

Confessions of a Missionary in Korea

2009-08-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

Hi all! This week I promised to write something better than last week. Which I truly intended to do. Alas, there's someone who wants to use the computer nearby who is trying to be patient...but as I know how hard it is to be patient, I think it best for me to help him by giving him a chance to email as well. Anyway...

I want to make a confession to you all. I've wanted to come home several times this last week. I know I make it all sound glamorous, being in Korea and learning Korean...but it isn't always that way. This is hard. Really hard. Ridiculously hard. I feel like I'm trapped in the mud some days and will never learn Korean or help anyone or do anything right. When I was young, I thought missionaries were always happy and that everything always worked out for them because they were doing what God wanted them to do. They would never want to go home because they were saving souls, right?

Of course, now that I'm a missionary...sometimes it's hard to see the impact we have on people. We've been asked to speak to at least 140 people each week as a companionship. It's hard, because most people say they're busy and don't want to listen to us (especially since I'm really only capable of talking at people now rather than with people). Our investigators sometimes make big changes in their lives...but mostly they seem a little on the lazy side. (It's hard to remember to read from a book you'd never heard of before, after all.) And it's full of disappointment--people cancel their appointments, and people decide they don't want to meet with us, and they don't want to do anything we ask them to do, and they're afraid to change. So it's hard.

I also used to think that missionaries learned their language in no time at all. After all, the gift of tongues is a miracle. So shouldn't it just come overnight? Or maybe in a week? That would be nice. I could live with that if I went to bed and then woke up speaking perfect Korean. Lamentably...it's hard! I suppose I could put forth a little more effort, but as missionaries in Korea, we speak a lot of English because we teach a lot of English. If we found more investigators interested in the gospel, it would be much easier... That was another thing I thought was easy. However, solid investigators who progress are hard to find. Usually when we get a referral from someone in one of the wards, however, they do much better. So, if you know anyone who might be interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you should talk to the missionaries.

Obviously I haven't come home. I've come close to making that decision a few times...but if life were easy, people wouldn't write songs about it. If missionary work were easy, then there would be almost no point to it. Following the Savior was never guaranteed to be easy--His life certainly wasn't. There are good times. There are times that I love. But I wouldn't experience those times without all the times where I feel wholly ineffectual at being a missionary or helping people. Life isn't easy.

So, my message to you is just keep working! If I can be here in Korea learning Korean and teaching the gospel to people who sometimes don't really care, you can keep going too. There is help if we ask for it--we're not alone. I love you all!

Sister Oates

My Quick Blog Post For the Week

2009-08-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Korea! I don't have much time today to leave a long message (plus I didn't really think of one this last week), so today it will be short and hopefully sweet. I want to tell you about my fun experience yesterday and today going on splits with a greenie.

So, Sister McKay was in the MTC with me--she arrived six weeks after I did. She's amazing, and she ended up with my trainer as her trainer this transfer. Which is awesome--I get to see her almost every week for P-day. And we get to go on splits with each others' companions. I wrongly assumed that I would go on splits with Sister Lee twice this transfer...nope! I found out on Monday that I would be going on splits with Sister McKay. Ahh! I started to panic. She's on her first transfer and doesn't understand most of what people say, and I'm on my second transfer and also don't understand. And neither of us is particularly gifted with Korean.

So...I was very worried. I figured it would be terrible, because August is really hot, and we would probably spend the whole time just proselyting.

It turned out to be not too bad. Thankfully all of the appointments for yesterday cancelled (teaching a lesson would have been very hard to do successfully), so we decided to heart attack doors (attach hearts to the door with tape) and deliver cookies. We cooked a lot of cookies and had a very good companionship study (that was a little long, admittedly) before going out into the heat. I found my way around by myself. We didn't get lost. We found apartments and delivered cookies (without actually having to talk because it was an attack). Then we taught English class and went home--I could've done a better job talking to people, but it was pretty fun. Sister McKay and I got a lot of compliments.

It's amazing how the Lord can work with such imperfect beings to do His work.

Anyway, I hope you have a great week! Next week I promise to have a better blog post.

Sister Oates

Comparison Time!

2009-08-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

Alrighty...yet again, this week I was busy trying to learn my new area after my transfer, so I didn't put too much thought into my blog for this week. But I figured I could give you a glimpse of Korean life, since most of you faithful readers have never been here. I'll also compare it to my time in China, for those of you who've been following my blog for almost a year.

Korea is a beautiful country, and Koreans are very proud of their culture. They are very clean (which is definitely not the case in China) and sort their garbage into recyclable, non-recyclable, and food garbage. They also sort their recyclable garbage into plastic, paper, etc...which is really neat. They even do it at restaurants like McDonald's. They care about the environment and want Korea to be clean in the future, which is great. I'm not so much a fan of the food garbage, though...there are little traps in the sink that catch all the food when you wash dishes etc...then you put it into a garbage bag and take it down to put it with the rest of the apartment complex's food garbage. It kind of smells. But is used for fertilizer and whatnot, so that's good.

When you arrive at a Korean's home, you take off your shoes at the entrance way and then sit down on the floor. Koreans don't have carpet, like the Chinese, so it's a little uncomfortable for foreigners for the first few weeks. (Actually, sometimes it's still uncomfortable, but my feet don't fall asleep as much). Generally you sit cross-legged. Koreans love to feed missionaries, which is awesome. You eat on the floor with a small table. Kimchi is always on the menu. It's delicious. Before you eat, you say that you will eat well, and then you wait until the host/oldest person starts to eat before you eat. After you eat, you always say that you ate well. Koreans like it when you compliment their food---which is easy to do, because it really is delicious.

Korean chopsticks are metal. And flat. Which is really nice...but hard at the same time. In China, I got used to round chopsticks, so I still sometimes have a hard time picking things up. But that's okay. Unlike a lot of Chinese food, Korean food generally doesn't have bones with meat, which is nice. It is very rude in Korea to pick your teeth in public after a meal. Koreans eat a lot of vegetables. It's very healthy food.

They usually don't have dessert--if they do, it's fruit. When you visit someone, they typically give you some fruit or a drink even if they're not feeding you lunch or something. It's rude to not eat what they give you...so there are days when I'm very full because everyone that day decided to give us food.

Koreans are very polite to one another. They bow in Korea when they meet. Chinese people don't bow. Respect is very important--there are different ways to conjugate verbs depending on the level of respect you want to show. As missionaries, we always speak in middle form or high form...but when people are close (like family members or whatnot) they speak in a more familiar form. They love to speak to foreigners, and will compliment you frequently. It's a good thing to play the humble game and compliment them in return.

Korea is a lot more advanced technologically than China. They're on par with the United States for most things and have better technology for others--like phones. Korean cell phones are cool. And Korean cameras--a lot are touch-screen cameras.

If you ever have a chance to visit Korea, you should! Have a great week!

Sister Oates

Change

2009-08-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

The only thing constant in this world is change. That's a really trite and hackneyed phrase, isn't it? Of course, it's true. Everything changes. The weather changes from monsoon season to typhoon season. Buildings change-spiders spin their webs and mold starts to grow, making something that was once shiny and new older and mature. We all get older. We lose skin cells. Mosquitoes annoy people the world around.

We're all changing, even when we're not noticing it. I suppose the reason change is on my mind is that I've been transferred. I got a call from President Perriton on Tuesday morning saying I would be, and by Wednesday night, all of my things were in my new apartment. I said goodbye to the people I met and taught, and am now going to have to introduce myself to two new wards (which is something I'm not particularly looking forward to due to my limited vocabulary and ability to speak Korean). I have a new companion, and now live on the tenth floor of an apartment complex. I don't partiularly like heights. This change, obviously, was a big one. Big changes happen in the blink of an eye. Sometimes they make our lives better--like the birth of a child--and sometimes they can make us devastated. Big changes are really easy to notice.

But I want to focus on small changes. Everyone is changing every day, and if we're not careful, we might never realize what's going on unless we measure how far we've come. For instance...I feel like I can't speak Korean any better (or maybe even worse) than I could at the MTC. But this morning as I was practicing reading in the Book of Mormon, it only took me about five minutes to make it through a page and a quarter. The first time I read from the Book of Mormon in Korean, it took me ten minutes to make it through one column. And I'm sure my pronunciation was terrible. Of course, my pronunciation is still not very good, but when I read with investigators, I don't feel like I'm a baby anymore. I feel more like I'm about to go to kindergarten. (Someday I'll understand what it is I'm reading...)

I've also lost weight in Korea, though it doesn't feel like it to me. Actually, I've been losing about 1-2 kilograms each week. But I can't notice the change. Which is why it's good for us to point out changes in other people for the better. Compliments are wonderful. Koreans are great because they compliment everyone...so, I encourage you to be more like them. Say something nice to everyone you talk to today about some change they've made. Encouragement helps us all continue to change and be better.

Have a great week!

Sister Oates

Greetings from Korea!

2009-07-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's Thursday again. This past week has gone by really fast. Which is a shame...I wanted it to go slower. We had a Sister's Conference yesterday in Daejeon. It would be nice to still be there right now learning from the other sisters in the mission and from Sister Perriton and Sister Pierce. Sadly, nothing good lasts forever just like nothing bad lasts forever here on earth. Time will always keep going no matter how much we want to stop it.

This past week was nice--it only rained on Tuesday. And it didn't rain buckets, either. When we leave our apartment in the morning, I never know if we need umbrellas or not... I think the rainy season is almost over, though. Maybe. I don't actually know. The weather here is exciting, that's for certain. I love seeing everybody on the street with their umbrellas up. When people walk down the street, it's like a big chain of bobbing apples of different colors in a stream.

If you can't tell, I didn't really think about what I was going to tell you in this blog post. I apologize for the randomness... My mind is a mess anymore as I try to remember Korean and people's names. I've always been really bad at remembering names--and I'm not any better at remembering them in Korean. But that's okay. The wonderful thing about Korean is that you can refer to a person without using their names in a wonderfully respectful way by just calling males brother and females sister. I appreciate that.

I've almost been on my mission for four months. It doesn't seem like it's been all that long. At the same time, it feels like I've never been anything but a missionary. I suppose that's because we're kept so busy every day. There really isn't much time to think about home. Which is good. Though, I had a hard time not doing so yesterday on the train home from Daejeon--they showed movie previews for the new Harry Potter and the new Transformers movies... If you haven't seen them yet, you should go and watch them for me. :)

Things are going well here in Korea. My Korean is still abominable. I don't understand most things people say to me...but that's not a bad thing sometimes. When I walk down the street, little children often call me a foreigner, which I find amusing. Everyone here is really nice and honest--when we try to talk to people who have no interest, they've got no problem telling us they're not interested. I like talking to students. They find it funny when I start talking in Korean (especially since I generally just use high form) and are always very interested in what I'm saying. Sadly, they're generally not interested enough to want to hear more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I pray that all of you are doing well--as it takes about three weeks for me to receive letters, I have no idea what's going on in your life. Whatever's happening, know that it's happening for a reason. Growing hurts--ask any teenage boy who is going through a growth spurt. But it's worth it in the end. Hard work becomes easier the more we do it. I never thought I would be able to walk around as much as I do each day (exercise never has been my friend), but each day I do, I get stronger. And I also never thought I could sit on the floor as long as I do when we teach without my legs falling asleep. Granted, they sometimes still fall asleep, but it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. My legs are sore, but it's getting easier. Keep working.

To quote one of my favorite movies, "Never give up, never surrender!" Hard work pays off rich dividends.

I love you all! (And I would love to hear from you!)

Sister Erica Oates

A Fairly Typical Day in the Life of Sister Oates (오츠 자매)

2009-07-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

6:30: Wake up, pray, exercise.
7:00: Start getting ready--shower. I feel like I'm walking through water most days, so I like taking showers--I feel less sticky afterward because I'm drenched in water, not sweat. Eat breakfast.
8:00: Personal study. This is one of my favorite times of the day. I can read in English and understand what I'm reading. Yay! I'm currently halfway through the Book of Mormon again and almost finished with the New Testament. When we have lessons scheduled for the day, I focus some of my time on studying what will help investigators.
9:00: Companion study. Sister Lee Se-ri and I start with a song (in Korean) and a prayer. Then we tell each other what we learned in personal study, review some missionary rules, and then read from the Book of Mormon. I read one verse in Korean and she corrects my pronunciation, and she reads one verse in English and I correct her pronunciation. Generally we read a page or so. Afterwards, we plan our lessons for the day (wherein I have the difficult task of deciding what I can actually say) and then study from Preach My Gospel together (time permitting).
10:00: Language study. I have a goal to read the Book of Mormon in Korean by the end of my mission, so I try and read at least one page aloud. I don't understand most of it. I also spend this time preparing for teaching (ie getting vocabulary I'll need) and working on learning new grammar/vocabulary. None of it sticks. But that's okay. Eventually I'll remember what I learn. Or my brain will explode >.<.
10:30: We leave the house with a prayer and a copy of the Book of Mormon/pamphlets/fliers. We usually contact people on the street for a half an hour to two hours, depending on when we have an appointment.
12:00-1:00 (ish): Lunch. Yay! Korean food is yummy. I had bear soup the other day for lunch. It was pretty tasty. I haven't really found anything I don't like.
1:00-2:00: An appointment. If we have one. Anyway, we start by teaching English for 30 minutes (which I'm not very helpful at, due to the fact that I can't speak Korean. But I can help with pronunciation.) Afterwards, we teach the gospel for 30 minutes. Or sometimes more. It depends. Many of our investigators like to give us food, too. In Korean culture, it is offensive if you don't eat what they give you--even if you're super full. So you have to eat it.
2:00-5:00: More appointments. If no appointments, we visit less-active members or do more contacting.
5:00-6:00: Dinner! Yummy!
6:00-9:00: More appointments or more contacting or more visiting, depending on circumstances. Sometimes we knock on doors. That's usually not very successful--especially when I talk. I'm hard to understand through doors, apparently. :)
9:00: Come home. Pray. Plan for tomorrow. Update the area book (a book where we keep records of what we taught investigators/members).
10:00: Get ready for bed. Brush, floss, change into PJs...
10:30: Pray and then go to bed.

We repeat basically the same schedule each day--though, sometimes things go awry when people cancel on us. :( It's not too bad, being a missionary. The work can be fun, even when the language is frustrating. I trip over my tongue all the time. Though, I have only actually tripped once, which is good (especially if you know how clumsy I am). There's a lot of shoe-taking off in Korea, which is nice during these hot summer months. I like having appointments to get out of the heat and humidity.

Things are going well here in Korea! I hope all of you are doing well. You're in my prayers. I encourage you to feed the missionaries. We run out of money sometimes and it's nice to not have to pay to eat. Plus you'll get blessings for helping the Lord's servants. If you have time, you should teach with the missionaries. It's exciting--and not really all that hard unless you're trying to speak a language you don't really know. If I can teach about Jesus Christ in Korean, you can teach about Him in English. I challenge you to open your mouth to someone and mention the gospel and how it has blessed your life if you're a member. If you're not...well, I encourage you to meet the missionaries. We're a little weird, true, but we like to make friends.

Necessity of Suffering

2009-07-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

I promised that I was going to share a scripture this week. So here it goes. This is from the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon. Alma was a prophet who went on a mission to a city called Ammonihah with a man named Amulek. Nobody wanted to listen to them, really. In fact, the people in this city wanted to kill them. They thought that repentance was stupid, and didn't want to listen to anything that either man said. (I'm glad that people actually listen to me and generally don't want to kill me here in Korea.) Alma and Amulek kept trying. Some people listened--but most of the people were angry...

They were angry enough that they gathered together all the scriptures and those who had believed and then cast them into the fire. Amulek was really worried about this. I would be too. These were good people who were being killed. Who wants to see good people die? So he asked Alma why they couldn't call down the powers of heaven for help.

Alma 14:11--"But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgements which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and that the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day."

This seems pretty harsh, doesn't it? Why would God allow this to happen just so He can punish the wicked? God is all powerful--could He stop this from happening and just punish the people anyway?

Of course He could. The more important question is should He?

Heavenly Father gave unto all of us agency, which is the ability to choose. In order to have choices, we have to have different things to choose from--many of which are wrong, and contrary to what God would have us choose. Without right and wrong, our choices would never really be more significant than "do I want to wear green or pink?" We would never learn or grow because our choices would always be good.

God wants us to grow and change. There would be no reason for us to leave His presence to come to earth if all we ever did was good. It would make far more sense for us to just stay with Him forever.

It doesn't particularly seem fair. But life isn't fair. God never promised that life would be easy. Children never really appreciate what their parents have done for them until they have children of their own. We need tough experiences to grow and progress.

A particular sentence of this verse had never really stuck out to me until my district meeting last week. Elder Barzee emphasized this phrase "he doth suffer that they may do this thing unto them" while sharing his thoughts. Suffer is a very important word in this instance. The Lord took upon Him the sins of the world during the Atonement. He suffered more than any of us can ever comprehend. He felt all of our griefs and sorrows so that by turning to Him and following His commmandments, we can return to our Father's presence. He understands every paper-cut, jammed thumb, or sense of grief when our loved ones die. He "suffer[ed] that they [might] do [that] thing." Christ experienced the intense pain of the women and children tossed into the fire.

He felt the anguish of the parents of the students at Virginia Tech who were killed. He felt the pain of all those who died on 9/11. He felt the pain of those who are killed or injured in car accidents. He has suffered for everything.

And He still lets bad things happen. It would have been infinitely easier and far less painful for Him if He jumped in like a super hero every time something bad was about to happen and caused it to not happen. He could make us always happy and ensure we do the best thing all the time.

But He doesn't. We wouldn't grow. He won't take our agency. Suffering is a necessary part of life, as harsh as that seems.

Christ learned obedience through suffering, as we learn in Hebrews 5:8: "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." In order for us to be like Him, we have to learn obedience the same way.

It's really easy to follow a law that you already do naturally. However, sometimes it's hard to follow rules that you don't understand. For example...let's say that a parent tells his 3-year-old to not drink from the bottle under the sink. The 3-year-old doesn't know why...so when Daddy leaves, he opens the sink and pulls out the bottle of vinegar. It looks vaguely like a bottle of soda, so he opens it and then starts to drink it. Obviously after a few swallows (if even that many), he's going to realize that vinegar in large quantitites really doesn't taste very good. He has now learned to be obedient to that rule of his father.

Doing the right thing isn't always easy, especially since life is hard. People aren't going to give us pretty blue ribbons when we choose to be obedient or we are going through tough times. Life isn't going to be all puppies and kittens. And bad things will inevitably happen to everyone--regardless of religious creed or background.

The Savior knows how you feel. He has suffered all you have and more. His arms are stretched out to help you. Reach out and cast your burdens at His feet. He will help you. The burden won't disappear, but it will be easier to bear because someone will be helping you. The world won't be as dark.

I hope you all have a great week! Next week, I'll be giving you a typical day in the life of Sister Oates.

Week 2 in Korea

2009-07-08T23:11:00.000-07:00

I've now been in Korea for two weeks. Wow. I'm not sure where the time went. Of course, it's also felt like the longest two weeks of my entire life. I can scarcely remember being back in America anymore. Isn't it funny how relative time is?

So, monsoon season is upon us. It poured rain on Tuesday. Literally poured. I don't think I've ever seen it rain so heavily before. Of course, I am from Utah, so that makes sense, eh? We had district meeting, and the river we go over was just swollen with water. The roads were basically rivers. I was glad I wasn't driving...though, our bus driver was a little crazy.

Things are going pretty well. We've got a baptism scheduled for this Saturday. Sister Kim was going to be baptized last week, but her mother wasn't able to drop by and sign the necessary form...so fingers are crossed for this Saturday. Sister Noh is going to be baptized probably the end of this month, too, which is uber exciting. I can't wait.

Everyone here is very helpful--it's a little frustrating at times when people finish my sentences for me, though. But that's okay. I gave a talk in Primary. They actually listened to me--which is amazing. The Primary in Seongjeong is very energetic and hardly ever listen to anyone. I help Sister Lee teach. I can't say very much (and I understand even less), but we do a lot of English teaching. I can do that. Mostly. I can't explain things in Korean yet. But it will come, so there's no sense in me worrying.

Things are going well. I wanted to share a scripture this week, but I forgot to write it down before we left our apartment...so you'll get to read it next week! Hooray! It's a good one, I promise. Even for people who don't particularly like scriptures.

So, for a spiritual thought, I'd like to quote one of my MTC teacher's mothers. Sister Lebaron's mother said "If the Lord put you to it, He can pull you through it". That's very true. I didn't think I could ever live in Korea and get to the point where I can understand one or two sentences people say...but I've started to be able to. I didn't think I would be able to share the gospel. But I've been able to. The Lord knows what it is we can do, and He does a remarkable job of helping us stretch to be that person. It hurts a lot.

C.S. Lewis gave an interesting parable about how the Lord helps change us. He said that we're like a house. And maybe something breaks in the kitchen and we need a plumber, so we call the Lord. He comes and fixes the sink. And then He fixes a few other things. And before we know it, He's knocking down walls and we're not sure what in the world is going on. It hurts a lot, and it's confusing and even a little scary...but when He's finally done, we see the palace we are now as compared to the house we were.

I don't think I've shared that one before...

Anyway, I encourage each of you to pray to be strengthened through whatever it is you're doing. The Lord will help you. I know He will because He's helped me, even though I sometimes even doubt He's there. His arms are stretched out to us and He will support us if we turn to Him.

Have a wonderful week!

I'm in Korea!

2009-07-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hello, one and all! I'm currently in Korea. I'm serving in Gwangjou. My companion is Lee Se Ri. She's from around Seoul and is very nice. I don't understand anything anyone is saying. At all. Which is frustrating. The members here are really nice, and their children are adorable, but I have no idea what's going on most of the time.

Korean food is yummy. I make it a special point to eat kimchi at every meal. I'm not sure if I like it or not, actually... I think I do. I really love all of the other Korean foods. A lot of it is spicy...but not as spicy as everyone told me it was going to be (I guess the Hunan province just has spicier food or something). We have three new investigators who are interested in learning about the church and learning English, which is really exciting. I can't remember anyone's name, though. Oh well. It'll come in time. I can't remember any new vocabulary very well either. Which is okay. I'm supposed to be patient or something until things start to make sense. I hope they do soon.

Brother Erickson, if you're reading this right now, the buses in Gwangju aren't really that crazy. They're fun to ride. Relaxing, even. I haven't seen any buses playing chicken yet like I did every day in China. The 할아 머 니s are a lot of fun (I wonder if that will show up or not...I probably spelled it wrong, too) Unfortunately, most people don't really want to hear what I have to say. We talk to a lot of people, but most are unwilling to listen. Which is okay, I guess. It'd be nice if people listened. They look at me like I'm an alien or something when I speak Korean. Not that I speak it very well.

The plane ride was long. We had quite a fun adventure getting to Korea (we missed our connecting flight), but we obviously made it eventually. Because I'm here. Right now. In Korea! Yay!

Erm...a quick spiritual thought: The church is true. The Book of Mormon testifies of Christ. I was reading in Mosiah this morning, going over King Benjamin's address. Because God gives us everything, the only real way to show our gratitude to Him is through service to others. He gives us so many blessings if we're faithful and try our best. So, I encourage you to go out of your way and do something nice for someone else this week. It can be as simple as calling them to make sure they're doing well or just smiling and saying hello to your neighbors.

Yahoooooo!!!

2009-06-16T23:25:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Korea in less than a week. A week from today, in fact, I will almost be to the Inchon international airport. Wahoo! I'll get to taste my first bite of kimchi, and will be able to be in high humidity in a country where I don't understand a lot of what I hear again. Fortunately, I'll be able to understand at least a little bit.

My Korean is going okay, I suppose you could say. I'm anxious to go to the country, though, because I've discovered I learn Korean better when I hear it and am forced to use it than by simply reading it. I can read Korean pretty well, actually. Putting sentences together is difficult. But I can do it. I'm sure my pronunciation is terrible, but that's why I'm excited to go to Korea.

It will be about a 14 hour flight. I think. Not too bad, especially when compared to train rides I've taken before. I also get to take a train. I'm very excited about that. I wonder if Korean trains are any different from Chinese...I bet they are. Korea is a very advanced country.

My address in Korea will be (I'm pretty sure):

Sister Erica Oates
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Korea Daejeon Mission Daejeon
P.O. Box 38
Daejeon, Korea, 300-600

Neat, eh? I'll post it in Korean one of these days.

Please write me! I won't be able to update next week (obviously), so if you want to hear from me, you'll have to write me. I love you all, and I'm very excited to be going to Korea, immersed in the language.

Keep up the good work! God loves you all very much, and with His help, we can do seemingly impossible things like learn Korean.

Sister Erica Oates

Two Weeks To Go!

2009-06-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I'm on the cusp of finally getting to go to Korea, which is uber exciting. The past week here has been rather hectic and completely irregular thanks to the quarantine and swine flu going around. Half of my district has been sick and hasn't come to class, which makes it difficult for us to all be on the same page as far as Korean and whatnot. Apparently in quarantine the elders watched the movie Legacy 8 times and in several languages. They got to sleep whenever they wanted...which means that things basically melted down for most missionaries. Fortunately, the elders still tried to be obedient. They're good nineteen-year-olds, that's for certain. Most in a similar situation would probably go insane. Which would be bad. I don't like seeing people go crazy. I had hoped to be patient zero with the swine flu, but unfortunately...no such luck. Drat. I'll have to start a pandemic later. (Just kidding.)

Oh. I just remembered what it was I wanted to talk about in this blog post. I call it the Parable of Shenzhen.As many of you are aware (especially if you've read my blog), I spent four months in China teaching English at an offshoot of Xiangtan University in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, China. It was pretty much awesome. I loved being immersed in a different culture (which is why I'm excited to go to Korea) and seeing the history of the other side of the world. I didn't really want to go home--the only reason I did is because my Mom and Kathy decided to pick us up in Hong Kong. I would love to still be there. Although, I am more excited to actually be able to speak the language of another people in Korea...

Anyway (I've been going off on tangents a lot lately), at the end of our stay in China, Lany arranged for us to take a train to Hong Kong to meet up with Mom and Kathy. It would've been really expensive for us to fly, and Jeff and I were okay with taking a train. It was actually pretty fun. We had beds. And lots of Beijing nougat (which I really miss, by the way) to eat. We slept most of the way. It wasn't as noisy or as smelly as the train to Beijing was, and it didn't take as long. Our train ride from Xiangtan ended at Shenzhen.

Now, I had googled Shenzhen when I'd learned we were going to be visiting there, just so I could figure things out. I'd also googled Hong Kong's subway system to figure out where we needed to get off and find a taxi (sadly, my research wasn't thorough enough). I was so excited and terribly nervous...because I couldn't find out how we were supposed to go from Shenzhen to Hong Kong anywhere online.

Jeff and I arrived in Shenzhen and then proceeded to the ticket office in order to purchase a ticket to Hong Kong. After waiting for nearly an hour in the wrong line and then an hour in the right line where they told me they could get us to go through Guangzhou (which was about three hours away) into Hong Kong, I was confused. We didn't have enough money for the tickets, and the ATM in the train station didn't actually work. So, Jeff and I lugged our heavy bags behind us and then set out on a journey around Shenzhen to find an ATM.

I had always thought that I was a really patient person before this experience. I mean, I've got five brothers after all. (Not that they made me endure anything, really.) I found out in a hurry that I'm not. As we started pulling our luggage down the street toward something that looked like a promising area for an ATM, I was panicking. Now, you might wonder why I seem to think panicking and patience are related. Well, when we're patient, we trust that God will provide a way for things to happen. I wasn't trusting God. All I could think about was that we didn't have cell phones, we couldn't get in contact with Mom because she wouldn't be checking her email, and she was probably already thinking we were dead or something. I'd given her a rough estimation as to when we would be coming, and I was certain we wouldn't make it. We couldn't speak Chinese, and our Chinese friends were all the way back in Xiangtan. We'd had to turn our cell phones in, and had no way of remembering any of the numbers.

So, yeah. I was panicking. I felt like crying. I hardly ever feel like crying, but I felt like crying. I looked at Jeff and I said, "What are we going to do? We have no way to...yada yada yada."

He looked at me calmly for a second and smiled. "Erica, it's okay. We'll be alright. Somehow we'll be able to find the train station. We can go to an internet bar and email mom and can find a hostel or something. Let's just try to find out where we need to go. Shenzhen is right next to Hong Kong. There has to be a way."

I have never felt so humble in my life. My little brother had more patience than I did. His reassurance calmed my soul considerably. I didn't start crying, and we proceeded to find an ATM.

I figured that there was probably another train station in Shenzhen we needed to get to, so we tried to communicate to a taxi driver that we wanted to go to the other train station by showing him our tickets. He didn't understand us...and gave us a ride back to the other train station, which was nice. My arm was very sore from pulling nearly 50 pounds behind me over rough terrain (there was construction going on).

Jeff stood in line this time, and the very nice lady at the train station who hadn't understood me before understood him. She wrote the address to the other train station down on a piece of paper. We hailed a taxi, and went off.

We found Hong Kong. We were smelly and sweaty and tired when we came to the Mariott (which is a lot like heaven when you've had a miserable day) and were reunited with our family.

So there you have my parable. :)

I hope you have a wonderful day! Remember that God loves you very much, and that He does answer prayers if we have patience and are humble. Life is hard, but it is possible.

Sister Oates

Quarantine!

2009-06-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Provo Missionary Training Center! I figured that the title to this blog would get your attention. Did it? Well, hopefully. Quarantine is such a fun word, isn't it?

Saturday, there was an official case of swine flu detected at the MTC, so preventative measures have been put in place to try and keep things from spreading like wildfire. With the constant influx of new missionaries each Wednesday and the droves of those leaving each week for various parts of the country, it is imperative that they took such drastic steps to keep things from going crazy. There are about 2,000 missionaries here right now, and it's really easy for communicable diseases to go around (like the cold I inherited from Sister Judd). Any flu-like symptoms are reasons for missionaries to not go to class or to the cafeteria and isolate themselves from the rest of the missionaries. More severe symptoms, like a persistent fever, actually lead to a trip to the hospital.

Two of the elders in my zone have been placed in actual quarantine after visiting the hospital. They are kept in isolation, not allowed to come out of the building, for five days until they receive a clean bill of health. Which is a good thing.

These drastic implementations have brought out a lot of human characteristics that I find amusing. I mean, I shouldn't find them amusing...but I do. Some are paranoid about getting sick, going to extreme measures to avoid those they think are "sick". Some of the elders headed to Japan have face masks they wear to keep from getting sick, which is a good idea, but other missionaries assume they're wearing the masks because they're sick, and then it cannonballs into almost hysteria. People don't know what their symptoms mean, and I think some of those who are sick suffer mostly just from mass hysteria. Living with another person twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week can lead to that sort of assumption you'll end up sick, after all. There are those who are more reasonable--but we have been counseled to stay in our residence hall if we do have any symptoms. Which means that I was the only member of my district in class last night. Which means I joined one of the younger districts. Which is great.

Missionaries who were scheduled to depart this week are being kept here an extra week to ensure they don't develop any symptoms of Swine Flu. Missionaries coming tomorrow, unfortunately, aren't going to be able to say goodbye to their parents. They'll be dropped off at the curb and have to say goodbye there in order to keep us from being exposed from even more contaminates.

There's no need to worry, though. Those who are sick are receiving treatment, and those who aren't sick are pressing forward. The Lord truly does watch over us all. He isn't going to keep me from catching a cold just because I'm on a mission--the Lord wants to give us the opportunity to grow and progress. My patience is being tried this week, which is great. The only way to really know you have patience or to learn how to get it is to be placed in situations that don't seem to go the speed or way you want them to go.

I hope you're all doing well, and that if you have any aches, pains, chills, or a fever that you quarantine yourself (just kidding). God loves you. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. God truly does qualify those who are called to do the work. This life isn't just chaos--we experience what we experience for a reason. Without the things we go through, we would not be able to grow. And, when the judgement day does come, we will realize that every single thing we've gone through was necessary to our salvation. God has a plan for us. I love you all, and I can't wait to be in Korea. 20 days!

Erica

A really quick update from Sister Oates

2009-05-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hi! Things are going pretty well here at the MTC. I've got two new companions. Sister McKay and Sister Judd are from Utah. They're both really sweet. Sister Judd already knows a lot of Korean and can almost speak it as well as I can, but that's okay. I need to be humble. Teaching this last week in Korean was fun. And very intimidating. The girls we taught (who were in grade school and one in middle school) spoke very fast. I can't believe I'll actually understand them one day. They did their best to help us understand, which was awesome. This next week we're teaching the Plan of Salvation for the first time, which is really exciting. That's a very happy thing.

I wish I had more time to fill you in on the happenings here, but we didn't get to the computers until twenty or so minutes before six. P-Day officially ends at 6. I love you all! I want more letters from you! God bless you in whatever you're trying to do, and try to look for His hand in your life. The harder you look, the more you'll see, I promise.

Sister Oates

Hangukmarl Karucheyosumnida

2009-05-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

This past week was my first experience teaching only in Korean, as the title to this blog says. Well, kind of says. I don't actually know how to make the Korean sounds using our alphabet. So if you try and sound it out, you might sound like you said "Korean taught". Maybe. I don't think I quite sound like I said that when I speak it to Koreans. Pronunciation is fun. And frustrating, at the same time. Learning a language is not easy. But that's okay! It's fun. Korean is a really neat language. The verb goes at the end of the sentence. And the subject is quite often implied. Much more interesting than boring old English. It's really fun being able to write using their alphabet, too. Korean has an alphabet, which is really fortunate. Chinese doesn't. And that scared me from learning the language in China, as great as pinyin is.

Totally random tangent. Anyway, I taught for the first time in Korean on Saturday. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, though I had a hard time remembering some of the words. (It isn't often that the word to disobey comes up in a conversation.) We (consisting of myself, Elder Vezzani, and Elder Heyrend) taught four young girls originally from Korea. The oldest, Sister Lee, is only 16. The youngest I think was somewhere around 5 or 6. She's really cute. She tries to communicate with me and I have no idea what she's saying, though. The other two girls are really smart, and seem to be enjoying school in America. Anyway, the lesson went well. I got to teach about prophets and showed a picture of Moses. Pictures are great. I love 'em.

Things this past week have been a little on the unusual side. Sister Peterson and Sister Olgilvie left for Korea last week. I sleep in the same room as five sisters headed to Japan just so I'm not alone. I also spend time with them at gym and whatnot. They're (Sister Lung, Sister Nishida, Sister Hobson, Sister Evans, and Sister Lindsey) really sweet. And I'm glad that I've been able to meet them, though I don't particularly know them very well. Most of my day is spent in the classroom with the elders. Our zone is down to the seven of us--Elder Kaing, Elder Peterson, Elder Vezzani, Elder Heyrend, Elder Stubbs, Elder Bessey, and myself. I appreciate how much they generally try to do what is right. Sometimes I feel like I'm their older sister...but often I find them teaching me.

Hmmm...what else is there to tell you about? The weather here is great. Of course, if you're also in Utah, you know that already. We have good food at the MTC. We get ice cream every Sunday and Wednesday. Last week we heard from Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve. He encouraged us to be bold when saying we're following Christ to those interested in the message of the restored gospel. It was pretty neat.

Things are going well here. I hope that everything is going well on your end. I wish that I could write you all letters, but I only have so many addresses...if you want me to write you, you need to write me first.

Annyong he kassayoh!

Sister Oates

Week 5 at the MTC

2009-05-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this time I promise I'm not going to sound too much like a missionary. I want to talk about feeling alone and inadequate today. I'm not going to pull out any scriptures, because I don't have them with me...these are just thoughts that I've had because I often feel alone and inadequate, as I'm sure most people do.

This week, Sister Peterson and Sister Olgilvie are going to Korea. Actually, Sister Olgilvie is gone already. I am a solo sister, which makes things difficult. I frequently felt alone. Its hard being the only sister in a class of elders (they are only nineteen, after all, and not as well-behaved as my brothers). Sometimes I feel like I'm cut off from the real world, and that I'm living in some sort of bubble. And it would be really easy for me to feel sorry for myself. Sometimes I do--I'm not perfect.

Over the past few years, I've noticed that the more time I spend thinking about how miserable I am, the more miserable and alone I feel. So, when I start to feel as though I can never learn Korean, and that I'm going to be completely alone for the next week without any help from anyone else, I do something else. It was a very painful lesson to learn, but I have learned it. I start to sing, I read my scriptures, I talk to someone else, I pray, or I start thinking about vocab in Korean. Anything I can do to keep my mind from being on me and my 'miserable' situation helps. And I promise you that if you try to do the same thing when you feel alone, you'll be able to lessen the impact of those terribly depressing feelings. Even if you don't do something "spiritual". Lose yourself in service of other people. When I'm doing something for someone else, I'm too busy to do any thinking about me.

You're not alone. You don't have to feel miserable. Work on choosing to feel better. I know you can do it! Ciao for this week!

Joseph Smith

2009-05-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

I told myself that I was going to post something of a bit of a lighter nature this week, as I know that some of you reading this aren't members of the Church of Jesus Christ, and I really don't want to end up sounding overly preachy or zealous. However, as I spend most of my time studying either Korean or the gospel, I find that I think mostly about preachy stuff as opposed to the menial chores of day to day living. Being in the MTC from day to day is pretty much the same thing over and over. I mean, there are a few things that are specific to certain days, but generally, I do about the same thing. It's hard to know exactly what day it is, actually. It's a good thing we have planners.

Anyway, our devotional on Sunday night was on Joseph Smith, and afterward, we watched "Joseph Smith; Prophet of the Restoration". That's a really good movie. They show it at temple square and at visitor's centers. If you have one nearby, I encourage you to go and see it. Anyway, I thought I would share my testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith.

Joseph Smith was 14 years old in 1820, confused as to what religion he should join. There were a lot of churches in upstate New York (so many that it was actually called the 'burned over' district), and a lot of really zealous ministers trying to convert people to join their church. Arguments ensued over doctrine, and people weren't exactly exemplifying Christ's patience or other attributes. Joseph was really confused. He'd been raised reading the Bible, and he knew that he needed to be baptized in order to have salvation, but he didn't know which church to join.

Joseph read from James 1:5 one day as he pondered upon these things. I encourage you to read it yourself, as my time is limited and I can't quote it here. Anyway, after reading this scripture, he had enough faith to believe that God would answer his prayers. He went into a secluded grove of trees and prayed to know which church he should join.

I testify that God answered Joseph's prayer. A pillar of light descended upon him, and two Personages appeared to the humble young boy. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. He was instructed to join none of the churches. I testify that he later received records from the ancient peoples of America from an angel, an emissary from God. These records were translated into the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I know that he was a prophet. I know he taught God's word. And I know that he restored the fulness of Jesus Christ's gospel.

I also know that there is a living prophet today. God loves us. We are His children. He wants to speak to us, and He does through the prophet. I know these things are true, and I know that anyone who earnestly wishes to know of the truth of these things can receive a manifestation from our Father as to the truth of these things through the Holy Ghost. Experiment upon the word. Ask in faith. Even if you already know he's a prophet, pray about it.

I testify that you will learn for yourself through the Holy Ghost, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

Greetings from Sister Oates!

2009-04-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

So, last week I gave you a taste of the schedule that I have each day. A very small taste, which did not emphasize the number of times I go up and down stairs each day. It probably seems really busy. And it is. But that's good. I've noticed a lot in my life that when I have down-time, I lose focus and end up not sure what to do or say or think. And it's good to unwind every once in a while and not focus on anything in particular, but I was doing it a lot. All of this intense study at the MTC is keeping me focused. We have so many distractions in our lives, it's ridiculously easy to lose sight of what really matters to us.

I'm totally turning into a missionary, aren't I? Ordinarily, I refrained from talking about religion, politics, or anything that I thought was of an incindiary nature on my blog. I didn't really want to offend anyone, so I posted short things that were quite infrequent. I'm naturally a quiet person, even when I'm around friends and family--which was perfectly fine. But I find myself changing here. I speak up more often, which is good. I know there are a lot of times in my life where I look back and cringe because I didn't say something because I thought I had nothing of value to say, and didn't want to offend people. The truth is, everyone has something to say. I encourage all of you to speak your mind often. I encourage you to learn from others and what they have to say. I've learned an awful lot from the nineteen-year-old elders around here who easily and without apology testify of what they know. I love listening to them. When we share what we think and feel and believe with others, we are better able to taste the joy in life we often lose as our focus is distracted and distrupted by mini-emergencies of life or something on television.

Think about why that is. Think about someone in your life who has influenced the way you think and act. What did they do/say to be such a great influence on you? Have you thanked them? Do you try to help others see things in a similar manner?

If you have, kudos. I wish I could give you a candy bar. If not, I encourage you to be like that someone. Share what helps get you through the day with a friend or a neighbor. Try and brighten someone else's day when you notice they're in the depths of despair--or even in a bad mood. You don't need to catch the miserable cold when someone else has it. Think of that influence on your life when you feel down. The more we focus on the good in our life, the easier it is for us to keep pressing on with life--which isn't easy.

As I'm in the MTC, my primary focus and my great Influencer is our Savior, Jesus Christ. I testify that by focusing on Him, my life has been made better. I've become more considerate to others and have tried to put myself in their shoes. I've also been working on being more selfless--something that should be taught in schools. I am very far from perfect, and make many mistakes, but the more I learn of Christ and apply His teachings in my life, the more I want to help others do the same. I want to help them focus on the Savior as well. I know that He lives and loves us. He has truly born our griefs and sorrows that He might succor us. He has descended below us all in order to know exactly what we're going through. I have found peace in my darkest times of life through Him. The more I talk of, think of, and focus on Christ, the easier it is to get through the day. Missionary work is not a picnic, same as life. But there can be much joy and hope as we learn to rely on the Savior and share His all-encompassing love with others through our actions and words.

I challenge all of you to spend at least an hour this week focusing on the Savior. If you know nothing about Him, open up your Bible to the testament of Luke. If you know a lot about Him, ponder upon that which you know and try and see how it has influenced your life. I promise that you will better be able to see how the Lord has blessed you if you do this. You will find joy to be sweeter, and tough times a little easier. I'll be asking you next week if you did.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, and that through His infinite Atonement, we can be made clean and dwell with God. I bear witness of this in His sacred name, even Jesus Christ, amen.

Typical Day At the Provo MTC

2009-04-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

6:30 am: I wake up all groggy and then shuffle my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth in a hurry.
7:00 am: I go up five flights of stairs to my classroom for forty-five minutes of personal study. I'm allowed to choose my own topic of study--this is my favorite time of the day.
7:45 am: breakfast! Yummy! There are lots of choices including cereal and something warm and lots of fruit.
8:25-9:15 am: Gym. I usually work out on an exercise bike or eliptical machine. Sometimes I actually play four square, which is pretty fun.
9:45 am: Class with Sister Lebaron. We go over Korean (grammar, vocab, usage, etc.) and practice effective teaching skills while studying the gospel.
12:30 pm: Lunch!
1:15 pm: Fifteen minutes of personal study.
1:30-2:30 pm: Companion study
2:30-3:30 pm: Language study (I practice hymns, write sentences, read from the Korean Book of Mormon, etc). This is self-directed.
3:30-5:30 pm: We work on language study, companion study, etc... Whatever we feel we need to work on more.
5:30 pm: Dinner
6:15-9:00 pm: Class with Brother Theil.
9:00 pm: planning session for the next day
9:30 pm: I finally get to go back to the RH after climbing up the stairs several times in the day (my calves are starting to look pretty good).
10:30 pm: Bedtime!
We're kept pretty busy. It's fun, though. I'm glad that I don't have to worry about things too much. I encourage you to write me, once again. I like responding to letters on Tuesday.

Musings on the first week at the MTC!

2009-04-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, the MTC is the Missionary Training Center. I'm at the Provo MTC in Utah, but there are several in different parts of the world. Most missionaries sent to the United States are here for three weeks to deepen their understanding of the gospel and to learn how to preach it. Foreign missionaries (ie those going out of the country) are here for between 6 and 12. I'm here for 12 weeks due to the complexity of the Korean language. I don't think I'll ever actually be fluent until the end of my mission, which will be a year and a half minus a week. It mostly sounds and looks like gibberish to me right now, even after a week of intense study.

As missionaries never go into the field alone and have what are called companions, you're probably wondering who I'm learning Korean with. Well, I'm a special case, as it were. I'm a solo sister, meaning that I was the only sister to enter the MTC on April 8 who was going to Korea. I have two companions who are about halfway done at the MTC, Sister Peterson and Sister Olgilvie. We share a room with three bunk beds. Both are very sweet and always willing to help me find where I need to go and answer questions. They're wonderful examples of charity, and often help me with my pronunciation. I really appreciate their presence. Sister Olgilvie has wonderful quirks, and is from Colorado. She loves music, and went on an Ambassadors of Music tour like Katie did (though for Colorado instead of Utah) as part of the choir. Sister Peterson is soft-spoken and sweet. She's a very Christ-like individual. She graduated from BYU in Editing and is from Texas.

In my classes, I hang out with a district (a group of missionaries) that is made up of four elders. Elder Lee and Elder Lee are companions. They both come from Korean-speaking families, so therefore are fluent. That makes it pretty intimidating to me, but they're very kind and helpful. I feel like I've got four new brothers, actually. Elder Bessey and Elder Stubbs are the rest of the district. I do my companion study with them (usually) and they're great fun. All of them are wonderful young men, and are generally very mature when in class. Generally. I'm constantly surprised that they're only 19.

Life at the MTC is very structured. That took a while to get used to, as I don't particularly like plans. We have instruction twice a day for between three to five hours each block. Our teachers are Sister Labaron and Brother Theil. Both are returned missionaries from the Daejeon mission. They are kind and very patient, even though I forget about 90% of what they try to teach us.

So far, I've learned Korean fairly well. I know the alphabet (if you give me a minute for the vowels) and can pray in Korean. I can also bear my testimony (if I read it) and will soon memorize that. I also hope to be able to introduce myself by Saturday, as that's something we need to do for a teaching appointment. I'm nervous about that, actually, but I know that the Lord will be able to help me get through it without dying. The worst thing that can happen is that I say something absolutely terrible.

My days start at 6:30 in the morning and end at 10:30 at night. I don't really have any spare time at all, which is okay. An hour is devoted to personal study each day, and an hour for companionship study, and an hour or more for language study. Things are going quite well, and I'm excited to be here.

Alright, I am only allowed to email family. So, if you're not in my family, I can't give you my address. Consequently, you'll need to write me a letter. Please write me letters. I feel so sad when everyone else gets one and I don't. You can use DearElder.com if you want to. It's fast, convenient, and will make you happy. I can only respond to letters on my preparation day, which is every Tuesday, so don't expect a prompt reply.

I love you all!
Erica

Sister Erica Ellen Oates
MTC Mailbox #255
KOR-DAE 0622
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, Utah 84604-1793

Mission Day 1

2009-04-08T22:14:00.001-07:00

Ellen here.

Erica has asked me to post emails to all here while she is on her mission. I just thought it would be nice to publish here first official mission photo. We took her to the MTC today and said goodbye for the next 18 months while she serves her Heavenly Father on her mission in South Korea. As you can see, she is still smiling.