Sisters Serving as Church Missionaries in Korea

There are over 650 young men and young women in Korea serving as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  

Where do they come from? Some come from Korea, and some come from America or Europe. Some come from the same hometown, and occasionally, but rarely, do they come from the very same family. We recently interviewed two sets of sisters who have been serving as Mormon missionaries in Korea for the past year and a half.

“We were so surprised when we were both called to serve missions in Korea,” said Jamie Wadsworth.  “Not only were we surprised that both of us were called to Korea” added her younger sister, Cindi, “but we were also surprised because our older sister had served in Korea in 2009.”  The sisters also wondered what it would be like for both to be in Korea but not see each another for 18 months. Family members are typically assigned to different areas; Jamie served in Busan, whereas Cindi went to Daejeon.

The Hingano twins, who grew up in Laie, Hawaii, found a unique solution to living in different parts of Korea. The two inseparable twins wondered how they could live separately and still share their lives.  “Finally we decided to make a shared journal we called the ‘Elephant Book’ based on our favorite childhood animal,” said Meleane Hingano. “One of us would write our missionary stories in the 'Elephant Book' for about a month then mail it to the other sister.” Now they have a combined 18-month journal of their shared separate experiences.

Now that their missions are completed, both Meleane and Marie Hingano will continue pursuing degrees in Illustration at Utah Valley University in the U.S. Cindy Wadsworth will study genetics at Brigham Young University, and Jamie Wadsworth will enter a graduate program in communicative disorders. “Five years from now I hope to have completed graduate school, be married, and have started a family,” said Jamie Wadsworth.

All four sisters said they will miss the Korean people, Korean food, and their fellow missionaries.   They said they have learned about the need for charity, the power of God’s love, and the importance of the mission of Jesus Christ.

There is an old saying, “A sister is God’s way of proving He doesn’t want us to walk alone¹.” Although these sisters walked separate roads in different Korean towns, they learned the same Korean language, they ate the same Korean food, and they learned to love the same Korean people. 

For them, there is no friend like their sister.  “She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities²."

_______________________________

¹ "Anonymous." Goodreads. Accessed December 21, 2014.

² Alpert, Barbara. No Friend Like a Sister: A Celebration in Words and Memories. Berkley Trade Pbk. Ed. New York: Berkley Books, 1996.