..Kelsey's Letters..

..March 29, 2011..
{Kelsey's First Letter}

FAMILY!!!!! First of all, I am the most spoiled missionary in the MTC! All the missionaries in the district basically hate me because all the letters are for me haha! I can't tell you how much it means. Keep it coming! I have so much to tell you and like 17 minutes to do it because the MTC computors are so old and shut off on my twice! My companions name is Sister Allen (allen cha me neem) She is the BOMB! She is from New Jersey and is my favorite person in the world we laugh our guts out all day long but dont worry she keeps me in line and is awesome at Korean. I knew I loved her when on the first day we were in a room where there was an actress pretending to be an investigator and we were supposed to teach her about the gosple. She wanted to talk about families and the lady was OBVIOUSLY pregnant and sister allen asks (in front of seriously 50 missionaries) when are you due? She says im not pregnant. Do I look pregnant? I completely LOST it. Sister Allen just died and didnt even respond. I am so incredibly happy. The MTC is amazing. I have this perma grin 24/7... until I go to Korean class and then I want to cry my eyes out. But I know that it will come! I've seen everyone and there dog at the MTC and it makes me feel so comfortable. All the Elders think im a celebrity because everyone knows me and lets be honest- i basically am. My branch president is president Shin he is Korean and I couldnt love him more. We had a meeting on Friday night with the newly arrived missionaries where he looked at me and said What is your name? I told him it was kelsey and he said Kelsey Lund is dead, Sister Lund has just come alive the MTC is a transforming ground for you to change from Kelsey Lund to sister Lund. I love that and i cant wait to become sister lund! He also told us that lds youth are the cream of the crop- missionaries are the cream of that crop- and Korean sisters are the cream of the cream of the cream of the crop :) that made me feel fretty good ha Korean and I have a love hate relationship. I know im going to learn it but every day I am so humbled. I feel that I am already experiencing the gift of tounges though. I am reading and praying in Korean. I got everyones emails and I WILL write you a letter I just have five minutes left on the stupid computor. Thank you for your prayers- I can feel them. Know that I am deliriously happy. I know more and more every day the truth of the gosple. I love you and miss you but there is no where else id rather be. ill write more in my letters. and dad- you wrote me! Thanks.

All my love and more

Sister Lund

..April 5, 2011..

Hi family!

Conference was so amazing! It was such an awesome experience to watch in the MTC. I have never enjoyed conference more- I loved Elder Scott's talk- so tender. Anyways... the MTC is still the best place on earth. Sometimes I feel like I must not be doing it right because I am having so much fun. I have the most incredible zone and district. I expected the elders to be dork 19 year olds but i am blown away by their spiritual maturity- I learn so much from them. My companion is soooooo boss. I can't believe how lucky I am. It turns out that everyone they call to Korea is stinking brilliant they are all picking up the language so quickly but it is actually coming along for me too- all because of your prayers.

There is one thing about the MTC that is NOT COOL. I share a room with two other sisters. One of them, bless her heart, snores like she is snorting pudding. Honestly. The first time I heard it I sat up terrified. I tried to pretend like it was just hippos grunting in the distance but alas I still havent slept in days. The other amazing thing is that I will get frustrated and shout HEY! HEEEYYYYY! Hey SISTER! nothing. ill get up and slam the door. nothing. Ill cough LOUDLY. nothing. oh well.

Um... the mtc food=worst thing of my life. Ive resorted to eating salad at least twice a day. I have lost tons of weight (hooray)

Korean is still so rediculous but a huge blessing is that I have such a passion to learn it. I am constantly looking up words, trying to figure out grammer stuff, asking about pronunciation. I can sing the hymns which my dongbanja and I sing constantly. One of the other sisters in my room LOVES anime and every night I make her tell us bedtime stories about anime. Sometimes she even acts it out. It brings me so much joy.

I've started over on the Book of Mormon and was reading about Nephi when he was asked to kill Laban, something that was very difficult for him. This time while reading it I was impressed by the idea that although what the Lord asked him to do was very hard when he committed to do it he didn't just gently poke Laban with a sword- he cut his HEAD off. I decided that that is the kind of obedience I want to emulate. When the Lord asks me to do something im going to do it and do it good. 

I am learning and growing so much. I love this work and and DYING to get to Korea I just have to learn this beast of a language. Thanks for the Dear elders. They make my day- really.

oh I got to teach my first lesson half in Korean on Friday. It went well. I love to teach. I feel like i am learning so much more than they are in the process.

Some Korean sisters showed up yesterday. I ran to their room downstairs to welcome and tried speaking to them in Korean- it was such a rush! In korean they dont say I love you unless you are close friends or in a relationship. I told them I loved them and they all looked at me like I was crazy so I just hugged them which maybe made it worse haha. Oh well i will learn eventually. \

My time is up. I love you. The church is SO true. send me dear elders.

all my love
Sister Lund 

..April 12, 2011.. 

Ok lets get one thing straight- just because you all send me dear elders sometimes does not mean you can forget email. I am deeply disappointed.ok. soo... its been another eventful and quick week in the MTC. I have gym daily where I run a mile or two and then do like crunches and whatever on this ledge where all the Japanese and Korean sisters do these bizarre Asian workouts that really aren't workouts at all. They all spotted me one day and saw my impressive workout moves and in broken english asked me to teach them what i do so I have been teaching a workout class Monday through saturday to enthusiastic asian girls haha they are hilarious. Another great moment occurred at this orientation about how the brethren dont want us to look like polygamists and arent allowed to put our hair in braids etc. There was a part of the presentation where this older sister missionary like 60 or something gets the mic and says (condescending, angry, slightly British tone) "I don't understand why the girls no longer have to wear panty hoe's- (louder) a woman's leg looks so much better in a HO!" There was mutiny. The whole sister missionary audience has an audible gasp. Poor sister mciff tries to explain to the woman through her shouts of protestation how times have changed and that the younger sisters were very appreciative of the change. They actually had to take the mic from her as she continued to grumble hahaha.

I love the mtc and sister missionaries BUT sometimes they need to CHILL for example: its been the longest day in the history of the world. sister and allen and I are so excited to run back to our hall for a shower and bed. We run back to beat everyone else and find an empty shower room. Naturally we had to have an Opera sing off. Things escalated quickly. At one point I was singing Fifth Element style. All of a sudden a shrill voice is shouting "SISTERS! SISTERS! WE CAN HEAR YOU IN THE HALL! REMEMBER YOUR QUIET DIGNITY!" Some people have no joy in their hearts. Next time I will ask her to join.

Sunday's are always fantastic in the MTC. We got a bunch of missionaries from the Korean zone to sing that Army of Helamen EFY song which was so so cool. There's nothing quite like seeing a bunch of 19 year old boys reduced to tears. Sundays are also stressful because president shin requires that we prepare a talk for every Sunday- half of it has to be in korean and he randomly calls on two of us every Sunday. I got lucky this time.

I love the Korean missionaries we laugh all day long. None of us can understand a word each other says but it doesnt stop us at all.

Saturday was my first official TRC visit- where we get to teach to fake investigators and. It was a lot of fun especially because I had a surprise visitor! Annie was my investigator and got to see me first hand in all my horrible Korean speaking glory. I loved it! Teaching is a lot of fun- you have to have a sense of humor about it though we say the dumbest things sometimes ha.

Thanks for the earplugs everyone! They save my life. I even got the courage to give sister Egbert the breath rite strips (AWKWARD). So between that, the earplugs, and my perma exhaustion i am sleeping wonderfully. 

I hope you are all having so much fun in hawaii and korea and china and the whole rest of the world (but not really) I expect a full report. And you better not do anything cool in Korea. I still cant BELIEVE you are going. bring me back Korean stuff to share with my zone. please?

I love you all desperately and am so so thankful for the letters and stuff. Be good. and be jealous you are not a missionary.

LOVE,

Sister Lund  

..April 19, 2011..
Hello! so i have lots to write... and not any time to do it! I got to leave the MTC today!! it was the best experience of my life. I had to go to the dentist. They had soft chairs- something I forgot existed in the world. Also they had animal crackers- yum. While in my appointment one of the ladies came in my room and said umm... your companion is trying to convert everyone in the waiting room. haha go sister Allen! I love her. She talked to everyone and told this lady to come to church but she said she couldnt because she was in the middle of a rehab program haha awkward. I LOVED hearing about Korea!! I cant wait to go. It sounds like it was amazing. Um I was called to be coordinating sister today which is sort of a relief society president but not really. Mostly i just dont have Sundays anymore. I literally have meetings from 6 am to 6 pm- till the devotional that night. Its very cool though. The scary part is that when the native Koreans come I have responsibility over them and its pretty necessary for me to talk to them. I better start learning korean. In relief society they usually have a sister share her conversion story. This beautiful eloquent sister from DC gets up and tells her story about growing up catholic, wanting to go into politics and having pretty impressive ambitions. One day she is walking around the sketchy part of Washington dc when she sees these "white boys in suits on bikes" she was concerned for their safety and ran to them to help the find their way. She of course told her they were not lost but they had a message for her. They explained they were lds.   She responds "you're mormons? Mitt Romney is a mormon! He was my favorite presidential candidate!" the story went on and she is now called to serve in the Paris France mission- so cute :) Dad you should tell Mitt that story maybe. President Rasband came to speak- he did a wonderful job but at the beginning asked that the children of the currently serving seventy please stand. Which was me and... me. Thanks dad. I'll never live that down ha. My Korean is progressing. Slowly but surely. Um sister missionaries cry all the time. I just sit there confused while they cry. Bless their hearts. They are remodeling the cafeteria which means all of the options we once had has become one option. And its usually mystery meat or something. Ive gotten really good at peanut butter sandwiches. Everyone requests them. Well I love you and miss you. I wish there was more time- i will write letters. 

Sister Lund

..April 26, 2011..
So, this past week was basically the worst of my life. Every day felt like torture. Korean is not my friend. My teachers beast us every day and tell us we are horrible missionaries. We got a new teacher peterson chame neem. She comes walking in looking all adorable like a Korean Lilo or something but then ended up being stitch. I kind of like here but to illustrate the situation let me tell you this story: Elder Boyer is a red headed hilarious nonsense of a boy. He makes us laugh all day every day and is actually a wonderful missionary. He happens to have a ridiculous accent when he speaks. On the first day sister peterson asked him to say something in korean and stopped him midsentance shouting "say it again but without your stupid American accent!" haha yes, we are loved and appreciated as missionaries. I dont have to go into details but just know that yesterday I hit rock bottom. WORST DAY. I woke up early this morning and went to the temple still feeling the effects of the worst week ever. I trudged up the long walkway in the bitter cold with snow falling down feeling pretty pathetic. I went through the session and just prayed that something good could happen. Anything! I walked out and my companion reminded me that we had missed breakfast and suggested we go to the temple cafeteria. DID YOU KNOW THERE IS A CAFETERIA IN THE TEMPLE!??? I walked into the cafteria, looked around and all i could think was that the church was true. There were hash browns made from actual potatoes, omelette's- REAL EGGS AND MEAT AND HAM! and WAFFLES with strawberries and even whipped cream that looks like a smiley face. I teared up and bought one of everything. And proceeded to eat it all. I forgot what it feels like to feel full. And full with real people food. I kept spontaneously giggling and telling my companion that the church was true and everything was going to be ok. God loves missionaries. 

OK so tuesday Richard G Scott came. All i can say is wow. What an amazing experience. When he walked in the room we all stood and the most thick overwhelming spirit filled the room. The first thing I thought was that I could not deny that he was a man of God. As he spoke he was so full of love. It felt like the savior Himself was teaching us- telling us how to be better and reminding us how special it is to be a missionary. I love how slowly he speaks it makes you listen so carefully to the things he says. Some things he said that I loved was that the Lord called us and that it would go against His plan to ask us to do something and not provide a way to make it happen. He then promised us by the apostolic power that he carries that we would receive the gift of tongues. Wow. I will learn Korean. He then bore such a powerful testimony of the Savior. He knows. And I can't deny it either. 

So yes. This week was horrible. Missions are not all rainbows and bunnies but i wouldnt change it. Im learning more than I ever have, about myself, the gospel, and the most ridiculous language in the world. I love it. Its hard but I love it. I keep thinking about that quote from Elder holland that the gospel comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable ha. I know i got all bugged about not getting emails but the printer doesnt always work so yeah dear elders are better. I LOVE and MISS you! Keep praying for me i need it so so badly :). Oh and guess what?! this week is my halfway mark in the MTC! Its going by so fast!

love you

Sister Lund 

..May 3, 2011..

I dreamed in Korean last night. The funny thing is is that I still didnt know what anyone or I was saying. We were just talking and I was so so confused ha. This week has been a lot of fun. Our zone has been getting ready for the new district ariving tomorrow. Everyone is excited. I am a little less so because I have been using the closet at the end of the room and now have to move all my stuff in with my companion haha- ill survive maybe. Elder Oaks came and spoke to us. He laid down the law! I definetly have not messed around this week after his talk. I love when apostles come. We taught our first full lesson in Korean. It was definetly an experience. I have a lot to learn. It pretty amazing how I am so humbled every day and then I wake up the next morning to be humbled even further. its good for me... i know :). On Thursdays we have "service" which is actually slave labor where they get the missionaries to clean each others residence halls. My zone has been cleaning the bathrooms of a particular hall. I laugh to myself everytime knowing what you would say if you could see me scrubbing toilets. Missions are good for lots of reasons haha. One of our resposibilies is to clean out the showers. We have to pick up all the hair that collects in the drains. I dry heave every single time. My companion made so much fun of me until I actually threw up last Thursday. Yes. I actually threw up. We have since been reassigned to vaccumming and taking out the trash. Dont be too ashamed of me. 

I heard Osama bin Laden was killed. Thats pretty cool. 

An elder in my district broke his ankle playing volleyball and might have to be sent home. We are all pretty sad about that. Missionaries are constantly getting hurt you should see all of the casts, wheelchairs, crutches and stitches walking around the halls its pretty hilarious. 

Korean is still a beast.

I am very happy and healthy and in love with what im doing. Its crazy to think that this time next month ill be packing for Korea. I cant wait. 

Mom I cant call home on mothers day- take it up with President Brown. Know that I love you and will be thinking of you all day long- nobody loves you more than I do!

Sorry this is short and boring (we DO do the same thing everyday).

Love love love,

Sister Lund

..May 10, 2011..

Heelo! Another week has passed and it has been a glorious one. The new district showed up and that has been a lot of fun. Its kinda cool because they are the district that I was supposed to be in! I had a pretty cool experience this week. I was feeling completely overwhelmed with the language (as i always am) and was less than excited to teach our lesson to our fake progressing investigator. We said our prayer I walked into the room prepared to be humbled. To my amazement I was able to say almost everything I was thinking. It was in horrible broken korean but they understood, and the spirit was there. The even cooler thing was that I understood almost every word. I didn't realize that that was cool until we left and my companion was asking how I knew what they were talking about- miracle ha. Mothers day was great. I missed you mom- I hope everyone spoiled you. President and Sister Shin came back from korea and it was wonderful to see them! They had tons of stories of Korea and the people that are waiting for us. President Shin pulled me aside to tell me about the humongous Nuskin billboard in the center of Soel ha I love Koreans. They are my favorite. We only have four and a half weeks in the mtc- time has flown. Ive genuinely loved it here. The missionaries in my zone are like family- i love them like brothers. Its so sad that we are going to separate missions! 

So I may or may not have prevented a throw down in the cafeteria the other day. The Koreans all sit at this table together and have since the beginning of time. These new missionaries showed up and took our table which was ok until the youger districts showed up and then we wanted to sit at our table, with all our zone. So, our elders went early to reserve the table for us. When they got back to the table the grouchy elders were moving their stuff! one thing you should know is that our zone leaders are the BEST! Such obedient good missionaries, but they have tempers.. a little ha. They explained the situation but when the rude spanish elders started yelling at them i stood watching in horror sure they were all about to be sent home for decking each other... over a lunch table. Things calmed down somehow and now we all sit at that table glaring at each other. I try to be their friends but they are angry little elves. anyways i gotta go- so much to do on PDAY! love love love. 

Sista Lundo