My time in Korea, Part 1

I spent only 2 weeks in Korea, quite a short time compared to what I was expecting, quite a short time compared to what anyone was expecting. But in those two short weeks I learned and experienced much. I felt as though I was home, I felt as though I had lived there forever, and upon reaching the unexpected end of my stay I felt like I was leaving my home forever.

No one knows if I will ever have the chance to go back. I certainly plan to, but life is full of so many maybes, I cannot be sure. But I would never give away the time I was able to spend there. I would never take it back. But now, I would like to share it with you.

On the 9th of January in the year Two Thousand and Twelve, I embarked on a journey that would change my life. I left for Korea. I woke up at 5 or a bit before and readied myself for the airport. Excited we made it on time and took a picture with a smiling me and a crying mom. How exemplary of a permission photo op. Then I departed on the plane, for what was to become one of the longest days of my life. On the plane I became filled with self-doubt, and even decided that I could never be a missionary, I would need to turn back. Then I realized that nothing in this world would get me back on a plane before it was absolutely necessary. So I resolved to stay. As I exited the plane, went through customs, met the mission president, and caught my first glimpse of Korea and knew that I would love every second of it. I was right.
That night (January 10th) I stayed at the presidents house, in a room reserved usually for apostles, and had my first experience sleeping on a yo (Korean mattress) I loved that so much, and am now trying to find out where a girl can buy a yo in America… That was a ridiculous side note, now on to the story of this missionary’s life.

January 11th

I woke up and took a wonderful WARM shower (my only consistently warm shower in my entire Korean stay) and then had breakfast with my mission president and his wife, President and Sister Lee. They are both amazing, sweet, and constantly smiling. I loved them from the second I met them.

After Breakfast I went to the mission office, had a brief training, met my companion (sister Seipel! So awesome, we had a wonderful, if short-lived companionship) , and took off for my first combined district meeting. The meeting was fun, and intense, we set all kinds of goals that we strived to meet. I also met my whole zone, and they were awesome! One of the Best things was that Elder Greer from the MTC was in my district! In fact, his companion was my district leader and we got to know one another really well. I was also able to take my first subway and bus rides in Korea!

Upon finishing the meeting we went to teach my first ever lesson to an investigator! It was awesome, I was so nervous, but it turned out really great. Her name was Sophie and she was so sweet, interested mostly in learning English but once we started teaching the gospel section of our 30/30 program she seemed pretty interested in that as well.

After Sophie we were able to meet with Marsha. Marsha is a really wonderful lady who has been meeting with missionaries on and off for almost 2 years. She finally seems to be progressing which is totally AWESOME! I love her so much! But my arrival was a bit of a shock to her, she learned to love me too though. She then took us to dinner before our English class.

Teaching English Class was also really fun, I was nervous but I am pretty comfortable speaking English so it wasn’t too bad. Once class was over it was a little before 9 and we were able to drag my luggage up and down hills to our apartment. (Our apartment consisted of a small kitchen, a bedroom with our yos and desks, and extra room with drying racks and hangers for clothes, and a bathroom with a toilet, washing machine, and shower head). Upon arriving home, there was nothing a wanted more than to unfold my yo and go to sleep on the heated floor. So, we made our plans for the next day, and sleep I did.

Update

Hello everyone,
This is Heidi, Sister Bauer's mom. I am writing to let you all know that Corinne became ill again almost immediately upon arriving in Seoul. She called me early last Friday morning and will be returning home from her mission tomorrow. To all who love and care about Corinne, and there are so many of you, I ask you to please pray for her to get well, and I especially ask that you might find a way to show her an outpouring of your love to help her spirit recover as well. We love her so much and know how important being a missionary is to her, and we also believe that the Lord must have an even more important mission for her to fulfill here at home. Thank you for your love and support of our daughter, it means so much to us!

Sunday, January 15, 2012 8:02pm

Hi everyone!  I am in Korea and loving it! It is beautiful, big, loud, clean and fun. I have a ridiculous amount of work to do, but it has been super awesome.  We teach at least a couple lessons a day, an English class 2 times a week, proselyte in a lot of crazy ways every day, and meet plenty of crazy people all of the time! It is quite fun. I will now provide you with a list of the important people that we teach on a regular basis, I will use their English names if they have them.
Marsha-
Totally crazy and completely lovable.  She is in her 50s, probably, and loves learning English from us; the gospel she is willing to learn, but she is scared to commit.
 
Hannah- she is amazing and really learning quick; we just taught her the first lesson, and she seems to be really excited to learn more.  I freel that she will progress quickly and will accept the gospel.  She is about 22 speaks English really well, she is also just about as cute as they come.
 
Sophie- she is 20 and wants to be an actress.  She is starting to progress; we just started teaching her on Wednesday, and taught her again on Friday.  She is really cute.
 
We have quite a few others that we meet with regularly, but I will have to talk about them later when I have more time.  The food here though is AMAZING, I haven't tried anything that I haven't liked, well... except for these tiny dry fish things that make me sad and taste like the ocean.  I love Korean food!
 
My companion is really awesome, we actually went to high school  together though we didn't really know each other and she was a grade ahead of me.  Her name is Sister Seipel! It is also cool because Elder Greer is in my district and his companion is my district leader.  They serve in the same ward as us, so they get to see us quite a bit.
 
We spend lots of time talking to people on the street, and mostly getting rejected by them, but every once in a while, we will meet someone who really wants to hear our message, and then we get to meet with them again.  I know that everyone we meet will at least be affected by what we say and will hopefully decide to accept the gospel in the future.
 
Being a missionary is awesome! I love it here!  I love that the spirit is always present and that I have a purpose in all I do.  The only negative is that I have started to feel sick again.  Hopefully it will clear up, but if not, we will see where this road takes me.  I know that God has a plan for me and that he is with me, wherever I go.  I know that as his plan is revealed, I will be able to grow and accept it as it comes.

I love you all!

-Sister Bauer

Update

Hello everyone. This is Heidi, Sister Bauer's mom. Just thought that I'd let you know that Sister Bauer is on her way to Korea as I type. She is so ready and willing to serve the Lord, and we know that she will bless the people of Korea immensely, just as she has blessed us. Please keep her in your prayers, and stay tuned for her first p-day email from Korea!

Happy news

Happy news, everyone! Sister Bauer will fly to Korea and resume her mission tomorrow. Thank you for your care, concern, and prayers on her behalf. We have been so blessed.

Home

Sister Bauer is home for the holiday(s). We all hope she'll be on the mend soon because she is rearing to go to Korea to be with her peeps. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 9:49 AM

hi everyone!

man, I love you all so very much. i cannot believe how much love is accumulating in my life. through my time at the mtc i have gained so many of the best friends i have ever had, and i have really felt the support of the other best friends i have ever had back at home.

i have a bit of news that seems appropriate to share seeing as i love you all so much! my stay at the mtc has been extended for at least another 2 weeks, this has been a bit of a struggle for me as i just want to be in korea, but i am learning to love it. i have been sick for about the past month with some mysterious stomach hurting illness that can't seem to be fixed. This is a problem as it is not allowing me to eat much in the way of food and is not allowing me to keep much of the food i do eat. Those things combined make me quite a tired and sick feeling, yet exceedingly happy, missionary. Last tuesday as i met with Dr. Brown, who is quickly becoming a good friend, I was given quite a shock. As we sat in the room, he told me, "Sister Bauer, i think you need to go home and get better," it really threw me, but for the first time in my entire life i came up with an immediate and quite assertive answer and insisted that he let me stay at the mtc with sister westrup who has also been delayed. lucky for me, he agreed. So, I have two weeks more here at the MTC to get better, if not I will be going home.

I was quite distraught over that news, and really upset. it was especially hard because it is unknown what will happen. i am learning though that god has a plan for me, i am never forgotten. I love being a missionary so very much, i love that i have the opportunity to share something so important with the world. But i don't know what is coming next. I am doing my very best to rely on the lord, to remember that he knows me and knows my name. I know that i was meant to be here at the MTC, I know i was meant to meet the people i have met, and to be learning korean and about the gospel. I know that whatever gods plan is for me it is a good one. i know that whereever i end up and whether I serve in the capacity of a full time missionary or not I will be led to those who need to hear the gospel from me. Jesus is my shepherd, he will not leave me alone. Thank you everyone for the support you offer me. I promise you that i will always do what heavenly father wants me to do, no matter how hard.

Yesterday morning, my whole district left, except for sister westrup and I. it was a hard day saying goodbye to sis dub as my companion, and the other sisters, andreceiving a new and equally amazing companion, sis dub 2. it is kind of funny because both of my companions have had w last names and the first name of Rebekah! it must be meant to be. i love my new companion, we have a room all to ourselves both for class and for sleeping for the next two weeks.

My MTC district has been so completely supportive of me. Every single one of them has made an impact on my life that I will never forget, and hopefully I have made an impact on them as well. i know my heavenly father loves me. i know he knows me and that he has a plan for me. I know that everything happens for a reason and that the hard part is that we don't get to know the reason until after. i don't know what will happen, but i know that god knows, and that is all i need to know.

i love you all so very much. i pray for you daily and keep you in my heart. i know the church is true. i know that Jesus Christ is my savior, i know that he is your savior. i know that he knows and loves me, that he understands when no one else can understand. i know that he is with me and each of us always, that when we cry he yearns to hold our hands. that when we smile he smiles with us. He has felt everything each of us has felt, on an individual and personal level. He is my best friend, and he can be yours as well. when we need solace it can be found in him.

i love you, dear friends,

sister corinne bauer

(please forgive the many lower cased things... the shift button has selective hearing)