I'm never going to eat dog.

What a great week! I've been reading the New testament recently and I can't help but be so grateful for my loving Savior Jesus Christ. This last week was full of a lot of personal spiritual uplifting experiences for me. One of them included having an interview with our mission president. President Barrow shared D&C 6:14 with me which was the scripture I read in the temple while deciding to go on a mission. I really felt that he was so inspired to share it with me and I was able to feel God's love so strongly. 

Also Sister Yang and I got put in charge of teaching primary this last week! It was so fun! we thought of some fun activities and mormon messages to watch. It was a good experience.

A funny/disturbing experience that happened this week:

For those of you that don't know, in Korea, there is something that is called dog soup. yes. it's actually dog in a soup. A lot of missionaries try it just so they can say they have tried it because it's something that you can't get in america. So this last week as we were farming with our member we were talking about dog soup and Elder Long and I both said we wanted to try it before we went home. Well... God heard us say this because 10 minutes later we were walking back to our members house but we got a little lost because we were in the middle of nowhere and we happened to run into a dog farm. Let's just say... I decided right then and there I am NEVER am going to eat dog. ever. And I'm going to give max the biggest hug ever when I get home... because I saw things that I hope none of you will ever have to see in your life. Please don't ever eat dog! They are pets not food!

I have so much more I want to tell you all but I guess you'll have to wait till next week because I spent most of my time figuring out my schedule for BYU so sorry!!

I hope you have a great week! oh and happy halloween!!!

Sister Hurley<3

My District. Last Transfer <3

We are eating duck! My new favorite kind of meat. not kidding. sooo delicious!

​helping Sister Kim pack, I'm going with her!

The senior missionaries in our mission came to Andong so we took them to get the most
 delicious food in our area called jim darg. They absolutely loved it, and we did too:)

​our investigators daughter drew a picture of me. looks just like me right?

And this is a picture of the elders investigator Derrik who lives right next to us.
 I look so short in this picture:(

eating spicy octopus while on exchange with sister Stratton in Sangin.
 the elders in Sangin. Eating octopus is so normal for me now.

andong family:)

the primary kids that we help teach. the boy in front is an investigator.

Farming <3

​anyone want some rice?

The elders working super hard.

Happy Birthday Elder Long!

The beautiful leaves are changing color!

made these scary halloween party invitations for our
 branch Halloween party this week!:) Happy Halloween!!

Hey Hey Hey

Hey everyone! I don't have a lot of time this week so I'm sorry! Just wanted to leave you with quote Sister Yang have been sharing with a lot of people recently because it's soo good!

"You are loved. You are dear to you Heavenly parents. The infinite and eternal creator of light and life know you! He is mindful of you. Yes, God loves you this very day and always. He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed- even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And He still loves you. And God knows of your success; though they may seem small to you, He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them. He loves you for extending yourself to others. He loves you for reaching out and helping others bear their heavy burdens-even when you are struggling with your own. He knows everything about you. He sees you clearly- He knows you as you really are. And He loves you-today and always!" -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I hope you all know that God loves you so much!

cool story of the week:

I called Sri Lanka. yes. you read that right. I CALLED SRI LANKA. It was awesome. Our awesome investigator who is amazing at tennis left to Sri Lanka this past week for a tennis tournament and before she left she needed some help making sure her hotel was all set up for when she arrived there. It needed to be in English so I was volunteered for the job. It was awesome! I had to ask all sorts of questions and make sure that someone would be there to pick her up from the airport. So that's the cool story of the week. There was actually a point where I accidentally started talking to the person in Sri Lanka in Korean...it was kinda funny. I'm so used to just talking to people in Korean. I'm going to be so weird when I get back... My English has become sooo bad. please don't judge:)

one more funny experience

-I was Looking in the cupboard of missionary supplies to see if there was anything in english that we could give the Philippine sister we are working with and thinking that all the books and pamphlets that I saw were in English because it was so familiar to me but it was in Korean...I thought we had all sorts of supplies! Soon after I realized they were all in korean...

the struggle is real. I love Korean:)

Hope you all have a great week!

Love, Sister Hurley<3

Miracles

Can I just start by saying that I absolutely love what I get to do everyday? Seriously how blessed I am that I can be serving as a disciple of Jesus Christ here in Korea. Missionary work is so difficult sometimes but I have been filled with so much joy as I serve the Lord. This week was full of so many miracles! Where do I even start?

Aya: So we have an investigator name OhJunghwa who works as an english teacher. And a few months ago as she was talking to another english teacher at work she mentioned that she was meeting the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and her co-worker said, "hey! I'm a member of that church, but I have been less-active for the past 7+ years since I moved to Korea" then our awesome investigator asked her if she would like to start meeting the missionaries and she said yes! Aya is from the Philippines and she moved to Korea about 7 years ago and married a korean and now has two young children. We have been trying to meet her for a while now but she has been so busy so we couldn't meet. But this last week we were finally able to meet! Can I just say that the moment I saw her I knew that she was someone that I needed to meet in this area? Aya has the most sweet and pure heart of anyone that I know. We were able to get to know here a little better and turns out that her mother and all her siblings are members but only 2 of her sibling are active members right now. The most incredible thing happened as we began to teach her about God's love for her. We taught her about living prophets and about general conference and how we can receive help for things that may be challenging in our lives. tears began to fill her eyes. She opened up and told us how ever since she moved to Korea, she has felt there is something missing in her heart. How our message brought so much hope to her and she feels that God is that thing that has been missing. She has felt so distanced from God for a long time and wants to change that. She has been attending a Presbyterian church with her mother in law a little bit but said that she doesn't ever feel anything at church so she doesn't like to go. She said that as we met she had felt happier than she has been in a long time. As we finished talking she asked us several times if we could bring her a BOM and Liahona and other things in english for her when we meet this coming week. She left all of her church materials in the Philippians. She wants to continuing meeting every week so she can learn of God and regain the testimony that she once had. a couple hours after our meeting she called to once again thank us for meeting her and bringing her the message that she needed. I can't express how extremely happy and blessed I feel to be able to meet this sweet child of God. I know that God prepared her to be able to meet us with a heart willing to accept the gospel again. I know without a doubt in my mind that as she accepts the gospel, her and her family will be blessed. she will find true joy and greater strength to resist temptation.

KimSuja: sister Kim is an older woman in our branch who has recently become less-active. This last week Sister Yang and I were able to meet her and share a message about general conference. We didn't set up an appointment but just stopped by and she welcomed us with so much love. She told us of some hard things that are happening in her life. As we shared our prepared message, tears filled her eyes. She expressed her gratitude for the missionaries. I know that it was revelation that we were supposed to meet her. I love lessons when you walk away feeling like you were able to really be a tool to help someone come closer to Christ. I felt so much love for her as we met.

We had the opportunity of meeting 2 people this last week who were past investigators. As we traveled to an area about 1 hour from the one we live in to meet one we ran into a man on the street who seemed to know us because he asked us what we were doing in Bonghwa(the name of the town) we told him that we were meeting an investigator and he said that he was a member of our church in the Andong branch! okay... I have been in this branch for the past 6 weeks and I have not once seen him so obviously he was a less-active! He seemed really happy to see us although he said recently he is building a farm so he hasn't had time for church. We have his number so hopefully we can try and meet him and his family sometime soon! Sister Yang and I both really felt that we were supposed to meet him. Maybe simple to remind him about God.

One of the old investigators we are meeting is named KimDahye. She is 18 years old (in Korea) She is like an incredible tennis player and is ranked in the top 6 best tennis players in Korea. How cool is that?? Her coach wants her to learn english because she travels to a lot of different countries for tennis tournaments. She has been busy with tennis for the past 2 months so she hasn't been able to meet but all of a sudden her coach called us and said she could meet again. We were so excited because her record shows that she had a lot of interest in the gospel. We were able to meet her and teach her english and share a message. She focused so well as we taught her. She is so sweet! We are excited to continue to work with her and build her faith in Christ. This week she will be headed to Sri-Lanka so her coach wants us to help her learn so phrases that she can say to reserve a hotel room. I love that as missionaries we can share the message of the gospel but that we can also look for opportunities around us to serve.

Also last night as we were sticker boarding and trying to give a Book of Mormon to literally everyone we saw, we met a really sweet lady named Kimhaybin. the moment I saw her I felt that she could be baptized. She talked to us about all the hard things that are going on in her life right now. she lives with her mother but it doesn't seem she receives a lot of love from her. We shared a message of hope and of God's loves with her and she was so grateful. We also gave her a Book of Mormon and she accepted it as so special. A few minutes after she left she texted us and thanked us for listening to her and expressed her excitement to meet again. How cool is that? As She was walking away one of the Elders who was with us said that he saw her in a white dress. He had know Idea that I had that same though but I feel like she will become a progressing investigator this week!

Seriously, Life is so happy:) Can I just say that I have the best job in the whole world? I am feeling so blessed to be able to be in the area I am with Sister Yang. I really feel as though Sister Yang and I will be lifetime friends. Together we are working so hard and being perfectly obedient. I know that this is why we have been able to see so many miracles in just the one short week that we have been together. We understand our purpose and are trying our best to fulfill that purpose.

Conference was amazing. If you haven't watched it. Do it. As I watched I felt recommitted to be a true disciple of Christ throughout my life. I know that the work I am doing here in Korea is God's work. It is true. I know it because the spirit testifies to me that is is true. I have leaned on God and His support throughout my mission and He has carried me when I didn't think I could go any further. I know that God loves me and you with a love that we can't comprehend. He wants us to turn to Him so he can shower out blessings upon us.

I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!

Sister Hurley<3

This is Aya!! The sweet less-active we are working with!

Transfers!

HELLOOOOOO!

It sounds like general conference was so amazing as always and I'm so jealous that you all get you see it a week before me! I'm trying to prepare myself spiritually this week so that I can receive the guidance I personally need. I love that although we all have different questions and concerns, we can receive personal revelation through our lives as we watch general conference. What a blessing that is!

This last week was so amazing! I know I say that every week, but really! It was so great! And I am happier than I have ever been!

Last Tuesday we had the opportunity to run a 5k with the other missionaries in our mission. Our branch president and His wife really enjoy being healthy and exercise so this is the second 5k that we have been able to do. It was such a fun day. After the race we got to play basketball and volleyball (the best sports in the world) and I was loving every minute.

ALSO, On Thursday night I found out that my companion for this transfer would be sister Yanghanbit! I was able to go on an exchange with her a few weeks ago and get to know her a little bit. She is SOOOO sweet and I am so excited! She is from Chunan and has 3 younger sisters. We have already had so much fun together!! I am so excited for this coming transfer. I have been praying that my next companion would be perfectly obedient and love missionary work and let's just say, I know that God answers prayers!! We have already been able to see miracles in the one day we have spent together! We were able to make 2 appointments this week with 2 former investigators that the missionaries haven't been able to meet for a while because they both got too busy. I have a feeling that we will be companions for my last two transfers and I hope that it's true!

Sister Kim go transfer to... HOME:( She finished her mission and is headed back to Seoul. It has been such a fast transfer! Sister Kim has taught me so much about how to show love to others and how to have fun while doing missionary work. She really trys to make everyday a great day and make the best of any hard situation. I have been able to learn so much from her and was so grateful for the transfer we had to serve together! She is already planning her trip to come visit me in America once I get home so I will be looking forward to that!

A few things that happened this past week:

A week and a half ago in Korea there was a huge holiday called 추석 (choosuk) It is kind of like thanksgiving in America. Families gather together and feast and sometimes wear tradition Korean clothing and the grandparents give money to the grandchildren and they eat traditional korean food. It's so fun! So in honor of this holiday we decided to create a branch event this last Saturday to celebrate. It was a lot of fun! We play traditional Korean games, and had a gift exchange, and ate some really good food. Also our investigator Sister Parkhesun came with her two kids which made it even better!

Probably the coolest thing that happened this week was on Sunday. One of My best friends ever Sister Katie Brunson, who is serving her mission in Italy right now had an investigator come to Korea to attend an academy in order to learn Korean for 6 weeks and she was able to attend church we us on sunday!!! (that was like the longest sentence ever. sorry) She came 3 hours from Seould so that she could make it to church with us. Her name is Giulia. She is soooo sweet and it was such a miracle to be able to meet her. We decided to teach her and the elders investigator Derrick (who is american) in english for the last hour. It was a really neat experience and the spirit was strong as we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We also had the opportunity to meet a couple in our branch who has recently become less active because they are a little disappointed with the members in our branch. They feel that a lot of the talks that are given, don't focus on what's important and so it makes them not want to come to church. We were able to have a really spiritually filled lesson with them this past week about why attending church is important. The Sacrament. truly the reason that we must attend church every week is the sacrament. Something I have had to rely so much on on my mission. Despite not being able to understand most of the speakers talks during sacrament meeting, it is because of the sacrament that I am still able to have a personal spiritual experience at church. It is the time that we can reflect on our past week and see what we can do to do better and to be better. It is a time of healing and renewing. It is a time that we renew the covenants that we made at baptism and recommit to keep those covenants. We can truly have a spiritual experience at church every week if we remember the importance of the sacrament. I love it so much!

Also this last week our district meeting was focused on how to have a positive attitude while doing missionary work and I was asked to give a talk. How grateful I was for that opportunity because I was able to learn so much as I prepared. One of my favorite quotes that I found while preparing is:
"No matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it." I love this quote by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. I have come to learn on my mission that although we can't choose are circumstance, happiness IS a choice. we can choice how we react to the circumstances that we are in. As we learn to focus on the things that we have control over and don't worry about what we don't have control over, we will be more happy. As a missionary, we can't control if our investigators accept the gospel or not, but we can control how hard we work and how much love and service we give to those around us. I know God truly loves us so much and He wants us to be happy. If we aren't happy, than we don't truly understand the plan that God has provided for us. Sorry to go all preachy on you but I know that the gospel if Jesus Christ is truly central God's plan for us. And as we follow it, we will find true joy in our lives.

Sorry this email is kinda all over the place. basically, life is absolutely fantastic! We are working hard to help this incredible area. I'm praying I can finish my mission here because I love it so much.

I hope you are all healthy and happy! I love you!

Sister Hurley<3

Life is great!

Hey family so I have little to no time to email today because we had transfer meeting and I have to head back to my area now but I think I will have a little more time later this week to email... ahh this week was so incredible!! But the biggest change that happened is my companion went home and My new companion is name sister Yanghanbit! She is starting her 6th transfer and I am so excited!!! I feel we will be companions for the rest of my mission and I feel like it really be a really great 10 weeks of hard work. I already love her so much!

Also One of my best friends ever who is serving her mission in Italy right now (Sister Brunson)... one of her investigators is in korea on vacation right now and she came with my to church yesterday! It was such incredible day but I will tell you more about it when I have time!!

I love you all so much! Life is so great and I am sooo happy!!!:)