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Friday, May 29, 2009

The Chatty Letter to Emily 5/11/09

RoseE wrote:

"11 May, 2009

Dearest Em,

That skirt sounds fantastic!* I would love a skirt! Did I mention that your black skirt was my favorite all winter? It was the only blessed thing I brought that would keep my legs warm. And have I mentioned also that I no longer have any restrictions on colors I can wear? It seems the last president of the Pusan mission only allowed the sisters to wear black or white. Pres. Jennings lets us wear whatever, as long as it’s missionary-appropriate. The packet of missionary information I got, and which I followed to the letter, reflected in no way what is actually worn or used by the sisters in the field. (When I told Sis. Mong and Hill about the “no jeans” rule I’d been sent, they just stared at me.) So yes, I would love a skirt. I would be so excited to have a skirt.

I wish you were here – every restaurant in Pusan is a hole-in-the-wall Asian restaurant of the kind you like so much. I begin to think that the whole economy is composed of people running soup restaurants out of their front rooms, and then eating at everyone else’s.

Have I also mentioned that I love Jeffry? I love how happy you sound when you write about him. Knowing that he’s out there with you makes me so much less worried, every day.

Have I also mentioned that I love you a ton, and that I love getting letters from you, whether typed or handwritten, and I can’t believe I have such a phenomenal best friend who still wants to talk to me and tell me about her life when I’m half a planet away? If I haven’t mentioned that, please remind me to do so. I really need to get that done.

And my good pen just went missing. Whoop-de-doo.

So today is transfer day, so all the missionaries in the whole mission are meeting up and hanging out before we all go home with our new companion, to work for another six weeks. And in the bustle of helping Sister Montgomery pack and cleaning the apartment for the sister coming in to replace her, I forgot to pack your latest letter with me today. Gaaah! So I can’t respond back to what you said, which is sad. But at least I have some time to write, hanging out in Outback Steakhouse (which is fine dining in Korea) while some American sisters chat and my new companion, old companions, and roommates go shopping.

It’s getting hot. In Korea. And it will get a whole lot worse before it gets better. I’m on the lookout for summer shirts – I keep seeing them, but then we always walk past really fast on our way somewhere else, so I never get to really look. Oh well, I shouldn’t be spending money anyway, and I’ve got enough shirts to last me a good long while.

Anyway, when I finish this letter I’ll have a new companion – cute-as-a-button Sister Pak Ji Yeong. So now it’s time to actually work – Korean all day, every day, having to understand what someone’s asking me to do in a language I barely speak. Here we go. I can do it – a transfer’s only six weeks long, the same as a “half” at camp. No problem. Easy as pie. And if I get lonely, well, I always have Emily-letters. And I’ll make good progress on my goal to read the whole Bible while I’m out here. (I started ith the New Testament and I’m in 1 Corinthians. If I manage to get all the way through Revelation and then swing back from Genesis to Malachi, I will 1. be very pleased with myself 2. be spiritually edified and greatly blessed 3. have nothing else to read. So it’s a complicated question.)

And my good pen’s back! And I just realized I’m writing on this sheet of paper upside-down! Yaaaaay!

I’ve got to wrap this up and get it into the mail. I love you, honey – be happy, be strong, have fun, keep talking to me.

RoseE"



* Note from Emily: I found a skirt that is really comfortable, flattering, and totally mission appropriate, and asked if she wanted one. Seriously, the most comfortable floor-length skirt I’ve ever seen. I wear mine to work at least once a week, and often over the weekend!

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