Dear Family,
If this were the early 20th century and I were to send you a telegram, it would say this:
SO COLD. STOP. MY FACE IS SO COLD. STOP. IT MIGHT FALL OFF. STOP.
SINCERELY. STOP
YOUR DAUGHTER.
Luckily this isn't the early 20th century and I can send you emails instead of telegrams. It is really cold here. If you would like to send me knitted hats mom, I would be most appreciative. That package came at the perfect time. I needed that stuff this week.
This has probably been the most adventorous week of my mission thus far. I hope I can get all the good stories in.
Last week, it came to my attention that I was pronoucing the word missionary a little bit wrong. The word is sun-kyo-sa. I guess when I was saying it, the word sounded like sung-kyo-sa. Which, for lack a better term, means prostitute.... Now just think about how the meaning of this sentence changes if you switch out the word missionary for (cough cough) prostitute.
"Hi! We're missionaries! We are sharing a very happy message with people. Because we are foreign missionaries, we teach free English!"
No wonder I've had so many "no thank yous".
Last week, we went to a dinner appointment with the Elders. They had to meet us at a street corner to take us to the house. The door to the apartment was in an alley and it looked a little ... suspicious. It all turned out fine though. We met with the old RS president, her brother (our ward mission leader) and her husband. The food was very delicous as usual. I've come to expect nothing less from Korean meals. It was the couple that was my favorite part. People always ask what we studied before we came on our missions. I can never remember the word for art. Usually someone else pipes up for me. Sister Bush said art right as Elder Carter piped up. But instead of saying art, he said a word very close to art in Korean.... magic. I'm a wizard!!!!!!!!!! That made the couple and our ward mission leader laugh SOOOO hard. Later, Elder Carter tried to the dishes. But sister Ahn would not have it. Pandemonium erupted as Elder Carter took the dishes to the sink. Sister Ahn got up and started hitting Elder Carter with rubber gloves. She's about five feet. He's a little over six. The brother was just yelling at his sister to let Elder Carter do the dishes. Sister Bush and laughing our heads off. I don't think Elder Carter's companion really knew what was going on, but he was laughing too. The icing on the cake was the husband though. He was sitting in the corner slouched over. No one was paying any attention to him. Except for me. He looked over at me and then grabbed the rice syrup that was sitting on the table and started spooning mouthfuls into his mouth. It was so crazy! Dinner appointments are sooo funny here! Especially with the Elders.
The next day President called as said they were setting up a conference call with my surgeon in Provo to talk about my hip. It's actually been hurting quite a bit. But I'll be fine. Anywho, it was a huge conference call. President and Sister Furniss were on the line, as well as my surgeon Dr. Jackson, the area medical doctor in Japan, and a doctor from the Missionary Department in Salt Lake. It was cool to talk to so many people in so many different places at once. They decided to send us up to the International hospital in Seoul.
Sister Bush and rushed to Seoul to see the doctor. But we got there a half an hour too late. :0( I was devastated. The only thing that could've soothed my troubled spirit would be to partake of the deliciousness known as Taco Bell. We started walking around to look for it when Sister Bush turned to me and said, "I don't think we're going to have Taco Bell today. I'm not going to drag your broken hip all over Seoul." I thought I was going to cry. No severance for my hip (the name of the hospital is severance. whenever a missionary goes to the hospital, we call it getting severance), and no taco bell! I didn't know what was more devasting. I begged Sister Bush to let us turn one more corner. And then, in the distance I saw it! I imagine my joy was akin to the Willie and Martin hand cart companies seeing the Salt Lake Valley for the first time. (Not to be sacreligious or anything)
I've never been so happy to eat a burrito in my life.
We had to go back this morning to see the doctor. He sent me to another Korean doctor that specializes in hips. For the record, Korean hospitals are NOTHING like Grey's Anatomy. They told me that I needed an MRI. Which means we head back up to Seoul tomorrow. And then again next week to see the results. Today, they drew a bunch of blood. And made me take x-ray's in all sorts of weird positions. The funniest part of that is when I changed. For some reason, I didn't understand the technician when he told me where the bottoms were to the little hospital outfit I had to put on. So, I just walked out in the little top and nay but my under garments, figuring that that was just the way they did things in Korea. It was only after the whole ordeal was finished that I realized there were shorts that went with the little outfit, but I hadn't see to put them on. How embarrassing.
Things may be a little rough going right now, but I don't know if I've ever been this happy in my life. President asked me during interviews last week what I do when I get frustrated. I told him that there's something I learned from Elder Hale's last conference talk "Waiting Upon the Lord". Elder Hales explains that trials are experinces we go through in which we can choose to follow the Savior or not. No matter what I go through right now. I have two choices: to either follow the Savior and do what Heavenly Father asks of me, or not. The doctors and President Furniss mentioned now and then about me going home if things don't work out with my hip. The only response I have to that is that they'll have to drag me out of here breathing my last dying breath before I give up on this. I love it too much here. There's too many people to love and share the message of the gospel with.
Speaking of, I need to get going! There's a lot to get done today.
Love you all much!
Westrup 자매
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