In Which RoseE Gives Her Samang Marsum in Under Three Minutes

RoseE writes:

"Dear Mom & Dad,

myldsmail's being obstinate again, and the computer won't read gmail either, so we're back to option 3 so I at least get an e-mail out. Tiresome machine.

So . . . gaaah. What on earth happened this week? Well, we had ZLCM (hamburgers and baked beans . . . joy itself. I nearly killed myself with two pieces of fudge cake a la mode) and then right smack after that Zone Conference (yesterday). It was odd, because your last Zone Conference is supposed to be this big deal, because you give your Samang Marsum (Death Speech) and then everybody sings 'Each Life That Touches Ours For Good' just to make sure you cry, if you didn't cry while giving the actual talk, and you say goodbye to everyone and it's very sad and tragic. Except we're having another zone conference later this transfer, because Elder Ringwood's coming, so although I did give my talk and get sung at and cried, I didn't say goodbye to anyone, 'cuz we're all doing this again in four weeks anyway. So, uh . . . bye, y'all. I'm very lucky things worked out this way . . . as you may know, I heartily dislike dramatic goodbyes. I'd rather have goodbyes done with before I know what's happening.

You may recall that when I gave my farewell talk, though I was well prepared, I had some issues filling the time allotted. Well, that problem's a thing of the past. The trick with Samang Marsums is squeezing them into three minutes, lest you get eaten by the APs for over-extending their meeting. Whatever else I may have done, I'm proud of myself for not going over three minutes. HA.

This week Sunday was the big in-the-middle-of-church event of all watching the Joseph Smith movie together. Though none of our investigators came (gggaaaaah! The big standardized English test was on that Sunday, so at least two people couldn't come because of that [one of them Son Yoo Jin, who answered my call and talked to me again! Yaaaay!] and others were busy or not answering or dang it all), our awesome friend Kim Kyeong Bin's less-active dad came, as did a lot of other less- and semi-active members we weren't expecting to see. Kim Kyeong Bin was just beaming the whole entire time. She was SO excited her dad came to church.

Big discovery this week was a little cafe called Tesoro. We met a woman who works there a few weeks ago, and she gave us her business card, and we've been meaning to find the place for weeks and weeks . . . well, this week we finally managed it, and met her again. Nicest person in the world. We sat at the bar drinking hot chocolate and eating brownies and just chatting for a good hour or so, and I was able to give her a Book of Mormon and a cookie. The name on her business card was Son Hyon Seo, which is what I've been thinking of her as, but now that I reflect, that might be the name of her aunt who owns the new cafe.

We had our first power outage this week. Fortunately it didn't cause too much trouble . . . it was the middle of the morning, and although I was in the middle of a baking project, the oven was already lit and it's gas-powered so there was no problem. Lucky sods, us.

Sis. Culver got to pull out her old skills again and give a haircut to our member friend Charlotte, wife of Matt and mother of Lincoln and as-yet-unnamed. AYU is due at the beginning of July, so it's anybody's guess if I'll get to see him before I go. We're all hoping so. Charlotte's friend Wynne, from Scotland, also came and got a trim, and we got to talk a lot with her (she was very impressed that I was a piper's daughter) and eat tacos. Lots of weigukin food got et this week.

*checks the blog* Wait, you lost the second picture disc? Lost it? AAAAHH, freak. Now I have to make another one, and this one that's supposed to be copying right now is taking for blinking ever; I'll probably have to cancel the job. I may just have to buy a bigger flash drive and back everything up to that, because the CDs are turning into a real headache.

President Pak Yeong Chol, Branch Prez, is threatening us with Boshimtang again. Fortunately, his wife, Go Gyeong Ah, is about my best friend in the whole world now (I taught her Sunday school class for her this week and now she loves me) and has promised to protect me from any bizarre substances her husband might try to make me eat. Yep. I'm all for new experiences, but there are some lines I just do not cross.

It's been another week of bizarre freezing coldness, but sun's finally out (about blessed time -- it's JUNE already, people!) and we're doing another run to the whale museum today, as I am the only Chamei who has yet seen it. I'm wearing a sweater I dug out of the church's random leftover clothes pile with a zipper for a neckline (it's weird . . . show ya later) and am all set to have a great day and a great week, including a possible split to Taegu so save Sister Chon, who's going insane. So . . . I love you! Mom, Happy Birthday! I'm still trying to see what you e-mailed . . . I might have luck and I might not. Rrrgh.

Stay out of trouble

Love,

RoseE"