This week has been packed full of class, work, and study.

This week we were able to do our first service project, which consisted of helping mop and clean the main areas of our study buildings.  The most fun part of that was being able to raise the flags.  Every day they fly 35 different flags from every country.  Because we are going to Korea, they let us raise the South Korea flag(태극기), which was a neat experience. 

We were also able to teach our investigator three more times this week, and each time we were able to use more Korean, and were able to answer more of her questions.  This week we are going to meet more people who we will be able to teach, which means that we will have more opportunities to practice our Korean(한글말)

Last week we had beautiful weather and were spending as much time as possible outside.  This week we have had almost non-stop rain since Tuesday.  Though the rain is beautiful, its not so fun getting wet then having to be in class or workshops till 9pm.

On a more interesting note, I have been asked to be the music coordinator for our Branch, so it will be my job to pick the hymns each Sunday, as well as conduct said hymns, and to make sure that there is a musical number each and every week.  This will be an interesting way to meet the new missionaries who will come in every three weeks.  The most difficult thing is that everything has to be in Korean, which is still challenging for me.

I hope everything is going well for everyone.  I have loved hearing from you, 

I love you all, love

개롤 자매님 (Sister Carroll)

PS There is one thing I forgot to mention. On Sunday we were able to listen to a professional choir perform the Lamb of God Oratorio.  It was stunning, and definitely a powerful piece of music with a powerful story to tell.  If you ever get the chance to listen to it, I highly recomend it.

Dublin signing "I Love You"

Hi!

This week has been one of the busiest and most amazing weeks of my life.

I arrived at the Missionary Training Center just after noon, and within a half hour I was in a classroom learning Korean.  Since then I have learned how to use basic Korean sentences, and have even taught an Investigator in Korean.  What made it particularly difficult was that she did not speak a word of English!  That was a crazy experience, and showed me how much more I had to learn.

All of my companions are very nice, and we have enjoyed spending time talking and studying together.  Our teacher is very energetic, and is very encouraging in helping us learn the language.  The most difficult thing is that he is constantly trying to push us, and we don't always move as quickly as he has tried to help us move.

One thing that I am really grateful for was that there are always non-dairy food options, so I never go hungry.  The title of today's email actually came from today's Lunch.  They said that Lunch would be battered cod with fries, but most of the missionaries in my branch did not look at the sign, and as they were eating were commenting on the "Chicken".  One sister was asking why the texture was so weird, and an elder commented on how odd the flavor was.  Then those of us who had seen the sign told them that the food was advertised as fish, not chicken.  This made everyone more confused, because now they felt it tasted to odd to to chicken, but to chickeny to be fish, and that the texture was that of neither chicken or fish.  Eventually we sent someone to ask the cooks what exactly the food was, and they confirmed that it indeed was........chicken.  So there you are, fishy chicken.

Being able to watch conference with the other missionaries was a really neat experience, especially when they announced that we will be building seven new temples.  The reactions throughout the room were amazing to listen to.

I love you all, and hope to hear from you.  Just so you know, I can read any emails you send throughout the week, but I will only be able to respond on Mondays until 6 pm (5pm California time)

Sister Carroll

I'm here !!!  After putting my stuff in my room, they had me go straight to the Korean classrooms, and have not yet said a word of English.  I am super excited, and just wanted you guys to know that I arrived safely.  I'll make sure to tell you guys about it next time I get the chance!