If you don't want to be an apostate sheep...

8/26

We had a great bike ride with the district today. I love being on a bike. I feel empowered. Such a cool feeling. just flying I feel like a little kid again. Super fu. We got our weekly ration of 30 popsicles and everything else we needed (including veggies) and had a good P-day. We also had a crazy half hour witha  guy who told us his religion combining all the Gods so everything is in harmony. I kinda made me think for a sec why the gospel does require fighting and hardships and isn't totally harmonious on this earth. It's tough for some people. But I though on how Christ said he came to "set a man at variance with his father (Matt 10:34-36).  We're here to see if w e can make it through the hardships. is our faith sufficient? Willw e make it with what we've had? DId we prepare well during the easy times? As Alma says, "Now is the day and time of our salvation>" This is the time to choose and as Geddy Lee says, "if you choose not to decide you still have made a choice."  CHOOSE. It's time. Apathy is no good. We need to be an active member or [can't make this out] and as for me I will choose the Lord.

8/27

we had a pretty crazy day today. We started with 3 appointments and so had a busy time preparing. i take a brief humor sojourn to say that Elder Van recently bought a note pad containing such phrases as "Hey Ruler Boy! and "Hey Ball Pen Girl!" as well as the timeless classic, "I feel like smile. Some snacks!" So yeah. English is super awesome here. Ok, so we meet this cool old investigator and talked about obedience and the ability to keep God's commandments. Then we had a guy call us and tell us he needed to talk to us immediately. We met with him and he told us he's been praying for 3 years to receive an answer. We met him and he told us he wants to know what the truth is and if there is happiness in religion. He talked about Enduring to the End and how hard it was. We are meeting him again tomorrow. It raised some good questions in me. Discipleship is sometimes painful. Enduring is hard. . But I find it joyous and [?] knowing I've found truth. So hopefully we can communicate that thought. We are praying for him. Then we got crazy haircuts during dinner time. Mine's nuts. Then we met this lady we've been trying to meet for a while. She doesn't want to tear apart her family so she doesn't have interest. Sad. Understandable but Matt 10:34-36. The time to choose is now!

8/28

We had a good one today. As always we started with a district meeting which was super cool. We learned tons and Elder Rhodes trained in a regal manner.  And we learned about how to keep up our power.  It was really a powerful meeting. The district is really having some good success. We have a baptism next week, in another area. Super cool And everyone is working super hard. We met Bro Lee again and he might be a little nutty.  We are trying to help him as much as we can, but he might be beyond our control. Pray. Also we had a good English class. And we met Evan Lee. Super dope! Love you!

8/29

Had another fun one today. We made tons of phone calls and contacted a bunch of people. We also met with Bro Lee again and taught lesson 3 about Baptism. He really didn't like it and said it's too scary to get baptized. He is hard to teach. We are working super hard with him and hope to get him to church. We shall see tomorrow. We had a couple of really good contacts and gave away 4 Books of Mormon. The power of the book of Mormon is amazing. We watched Elder Holland's testimony [something] and it's so intense. The Book for Mormon is the hinge of everything.It all hinges on 532 pages. What a Book. i know it's true and I have come to that witness through the Spirit of God. It has been a rock for me during hard times, and 1 Nephi 3:7 has set the tone for my whole life. I actually do get excited to go out and share it with people. What a Book! Give it a read! I love you and miss you. But I only have one and a half more years to spread the joy of the Book of Mormon. Stay happy Don't forget to read.

PS We've been listening to 1971 conference talks. I have a lot of music to delete… Ezra Taft Benson's decry of rock is intense.

8/30

we had a pretty frustrating day today. We taught Bor Lee again and I don't know how much longer we can teach him. He's not keeping commitments. We'll see him on Sunday… Then these people came to deliver our new phone, took our old one, left for 4 hours, and came back with the same phone having erased all our contacts. Infuriating. We couldn't work because they had our phone, so we just read scriptures and made cards for people. But I;m still mad. And he wasn't the least bit sorry. I feel lazy and mad. Bad feeling. Dang it. i guess some days are like that.

8/31 7:53 am

I had an interesting dream. i dreamed I had just woken up from getting home to America after I was done with my mission. i was still set apart and only had a few hours before I was released. I needed to proselyte! I tied to get Alex to come but he wouldn't (Sorry Al…) So I grabbed Tim and Nigel and we put on shirts and ties and went out to work. The whole time before we were outside I felt anxious and unfulfilled. As soon as we got outside and started talking to a guy I felt fulfilled and peaceful and knew I was going to be all right. Kind of interesting.

8/31 10:08 pm

we had a crazy day today. We've been trying really hard to get a baptismal date but it's been really hard. We've taught Bro Lee 5 times this last week. We've challenged him in every way we could think of. It's rough. I teach clearly and simply I think and I try to feel the spirit for without it I can do nothing. We bear strong testimony. I don't feel forsaken but I want to called own a miracle for this man. He needs it. Also we visited this lady in our ward who feeds us so much we can barely walk. We tried to stop by and give her kiwis but she made us come in and fed us. She's too good. What love. I'll remember her forever.

9/1

Ahhhh.  Just fried some hash browns and I am eating them as I write this. This super awesome lady (Sister Oh) in our ward gave them to us. Also this giant thing of meat. She's the best. Also I had a really humbling experience today. We had a good church, and today was fast sunday. We study right after church so we are pretty hungry during study. we went to eat that awesome meat but E. Van had put it in the freezer. So I was a tad peeved then we started cooking rice and stuff just started to bug me. So I went into the other room and sat there and just thought. Then Elder Van came in and set a bowl of fried rice down and walked away. It was super good. i prayed and walked away and felt OK. I realized that it was just myself and my pride that made me mad. E. Van was just trying to serve me. So it was good. Then we met a bunch of cool people. Lots of them going to church, but what better time to hear the restored gospel :)  So we gave out all our BoM's except 1 and had a great talk with people. Super awesome. It was great. Stay happy. life is good with the Gospel.

9/3

I feel bad because I forgot to write last night. We had a super fun hike with a potential investigator but unfortunately Elder Van got [something which I hope is not a misspelling of Giardia] and spent the day sleeping til 4 while I worked on records. Also our investigator, Bro Kim, dropped us last night. It was a huge let down for me. He's been making good progress and he just stopped. It was tough for me. I'm still trying to figure things out. I guess it's not us. I'm still happy though! I got a ton of good organization done today and then we had a good dinner/ping pong/lesson with Bro Park and Bro Kwak. Super good. We invited him to church and he said he'll think about it. Also Bro Park beat me twice in ping pong, which is a bummer because I usually kill him (he's 20).  I've gotten pretty good at ping pong here. Watch out 50 dollar challenge, here I come. Also it's time for a new planner! Which means a hilarious new planner cover. i'm stoked. We make those covers so our planners last longer and then laminate them. Korea is so crafty. Zone training tomorrow hope for some letters. Also I had an awesome study of the BoM this morning. So good!

9/4

Hey, so we're moving to our new house and while I'll try not to miss a day, it's pretty busy. We had a great Zone meeting today on the teaching method. I learned a lot and I have a ton to apply. I learned about the importance of questions and how understanding is vastly more important than just cramming stuf into our investigators. We are the tailors of the suit of the gospel. it takes a while to do it sometimes but we need to get it just right to help people feel the spirit and be converted. We taught a fun English class and then headed home.

9/5

We had another great day today. We moved into the new house! It's super huge and totally rad. Apparently the best in the mission. It will be a 4 man but it's a 2 man right now. Super crazy .  Been setting up and cleaning and stuff so not much time! Ate with the Bishop tonight. Super fun. Also we moved all our stuff by suitcase and got tons of weird looks. Also a bunch of little kids mobbed us and would n't believe I was American. They thought I was Korean! Super funny. Good day.

9/6

Had a nice day today. We are finally getting settled into our new house. It's way huge and Elder Van actually quipped that we might lose weight walking to the fridge to get our popsicles. We shower separately AT THE SAME TIME! We really need to find a couch for it though. We are pretty sparse on furniture. It's interesting to see how the super economical Korean culture adapts to western commercialism and consumerism. Highly interesting. We had 3 hours of street contacting today. it went really well. There's this kid we keep bumping into and it's like we have a lesson going with him. We gave him a card, then a pamphlet, then a BoM.  Now we have his number. It's pretty funny. Also we ended up eating dinner with a bunch of ladies from the Red Cross and it was way fun. Then I got a funky new haircut (during dinner time) and Elder Van taught a lesson to some waiting people. Then we went to our old house and brought over some paintings and [something] and other stuff. Good day. The question remains how to get people to see the [something] of religion.

9/7

Holy cow. I've been out here a while. i feel like I'm in a of time stoppage until I realize that Alex is starting his junior year, Emily is in college, Seth is on a mission, Lucy is a Senior, K-man is in college. Man, it's crazy.  Also Tim is in high School! What the heck?  That's so nutty. Time files. it feels more urgent every day. I dreamed I came home from my mission and it felt so hollow and empty.  I couldn't remember the second half of my mission. At first I was relieved to be home. i could drive, and had a phone, and wore normal clothes. But as it went on I realized how utterly meaningless it all felt. i felt like I had to be working, but I had no work to do. Gosh. That has made me work a little harder over the last few days. We had a crazy last couple of days. Since Elder Van was sick and we moved into the new house we hadn't had a lot of time to contact people. We had about 100 in the last couple of days to make up for it though. Also I write this as I text this cool kid we found on the street today. We had a district finding activity today and met some good people. It's so nice to talk to that truly sincere person every once ein a while. They exist and the spirit touches them. it's hard to stay stoked sometimes but that's what study is for!

9/8

We had a great sunday today. As is tradition e started off listening to MoTab whilst breakfasting on fried spam, eggs, rice, and seaweed. We're out of kimchi) Then a good study time followed by a good meeting with our ward mission leader. Then we had a great Church. I've been trying to really utilize the Sacrament lately to remake my covenants. It's really amazing. i practice the prayers in Korean so I understand them well and then I really try to fucus. It's a truly cleansing time. Also the sister missionaries from SanGye ward brought an investigator to our ward. She was way cool! But 20, so i couldn't talk to her, but she paid really good attention. Also this lady taked about a really cool experience in sacrament meeting where she overcame the hardships [something] with the scriptures. Her husband is against the church so she always found solace in 2 Nephi 2:25. Joy! It's real! Also I taught gospel principles right off the top of my head. Super nerve wracking but it made me ask the class lots of questions and it was very spiritual. Everyone paid attention a nd talked and I think i did an okay job of not hindering the spirit. That's the trick. Live worthy of it and then don't get in the way. Work hard and strive for the daily guidance of the spirit.

9/9

Hey! So our Zone leaders gave us the challenge to journal one positive experience and three things we're grateful for every day. So my three things are: we had an awesome time playing soccer and ping pon with the zone. I got to just talk to Elder Kafusi for a half hour while we ping-ponged. It was really nice. Then we had an awesome dinner with Sister Oh, where she basically fed us a costco sized pizza. It was so good. She's this awesome sister in our ward. She helps su much. Then we talked about her kids and she's just the best. Then we had a killer lesson with Bro Gwak and came home. My positive experience of the day is that of playing ping pong with Elder Kafusi. It was really peaceful. he's such a devoted servant of God that it just radiates out of him. We just got to know each other better and it was really almost cleansing to feel his love an power. he really is the best. Also being a 6'1- polynesian with a full ride to BYU doesn't hurt his power. Well I love you lots. Stay happy. Life's tough sometimes but it's good. Nephi had it right in 2 Nephi 31:19-20/ FEAST.

9/10

It's 1-"20 and I'm pretty toasted. We walked all day looking for less actives and a buch of different places. It was super rainy. And way fun. We met cool people and had a great day. Also this kid that keeps texting us in English probably has a larger vocabulary than I do. Though he does brag incessantly about the quality of Korean schools. He texts way fast. it's hard to keep up. 3 thankfuls: delicious lunch of (Best Soup), meeting super happy [gadpas?] and better comp study. My experience is [TOTALLY ILLEGIBLE!!!] Love you so much.

9/11

We had a dope day today. We had a good district meeting where Elder Kim taught me in Korean. he taught me about one of the greatest questions of my soul. How can I constantly strive to be better and at the same time have satisfaction and happiness? He has a lot of the same questions and we talked about it. i think that I can be happy all the time. I've had some rough times so I know sadness a little, but for the most part I'm happy. I guess is Eve says that it is better for us to pass through sorrow that we may know the good from the evil. Satans life is just [?] I guess. But the key is taking solace in the POS and the Gospel. Cheerfully but solemnly do our work. There is a time and place for everything. Joseph Smith is such a solid example of this I think. Still though I always feel like I'm not quite there. There's always a little more to do. Such is life. It's a fact that I can't dodge. i talked about it in my farewell talk about doing! but just knowing. And now I'm trying to become. it's super hard. i have so far to go. Thanks be to God for the enabling power of the atonement and the opportunity I have to be on a mission. Work hard. Serve on. He will support you.

9/12

The day finished out well. We met some really cool people and se appointments and it was really good. Also we have all the apostles on our wall but they keep falling down. i have a really weird relationship with Quentin L. Cook and Richard G. Scott now. They are pretty wily.

9/13

These days are kind of difficult. I feel like I'm pouring my soul into missionary work ore than ever but I really am not seeing the results. There's the occasional nice guy and the investigator who progresses, and there are right now, but over all I feel pretty unsuccessful results wise. inwardly I feel satisfaction of hard work and diligence, trying to push on and get through hard stuff, but I dunno. It's not translating into results for me I guess. I know the Lord prepares people. I have full faith He promised that if we work hard we'll see results. i've been doing what I can for the last almost 8 months. i've contacted over 2000 people, taught a couple hundred lessons, placed probably a hundred Books of Mormona nd I see no fruit of it. Sometimes that's just the way it is I guess. i am grateful for the experiences I hav eon a daily basis and for the love i feel from the ward. I feel like I do at least some for them. That sounds really ungrateful. The things God and Christ have done for me on my mission are immeasurably huge. The course of my life is changed and if I see no fruit, it is still way more than worth it. I know that it can happen and it will, God willing. And I will keep working.

9/14

Elder Van Orden is doing his pronunciation CD. "Eeeee, eee, eee" and I quote. I'm going to kill someone. Not really, but this is vaguely reminiscent of E. Woodfuss's infamous Hangokkoh 1 CD and me and Elder Clawson battled til the end. Oh the joy.

We had a pretty crazy day today. We really need new investigators so we spent the entire day talking to people. We talked to about 70 people, taught 5 lessons on the street and gave out 6 or 7 Books of Mormon. The first kid I talked to was super cool but then told me our Church was a cult and got frosty.  Such a bummer. The Churches that are big in Korea have made a little group of a few larger church's and try to make a list of "Cult" churches and so everyone is super predisposed. Oh how well Satan does his work. Also we got shut down a lot but got offers of food like 6 times and someone gave me a buch of bread and ran away. i feel bad about that. There was one guy who was super sincere and really said he would read and pray about the BoM. So cool. In a city of largely self-absorbed, apathetic, brainwashed people, there are rays of light! Also an old guy came up and grabbed my BoM. It happens!

9/15

We had a fun one today. Church was really good. our ward mission leader forgot to come to our meeting so I started reading the Old testament, then we had a great church meeting and I taught gospel principles again.  It also went well and I know 2 more people have the glorious truth of the Plan of Salvation! Sundays are very fulfilling. Then we me tJustin, a kid who is studying to get into college. He has some cool sincere interest but no time. We're going to take it slow. Man, I need patience.  Then we contacted for a while. We came home and sent stats but we had an extra 7 minutes so we ran outside and found 2 more people. It was super rockin.  Use your time! Then I sang the hymns for about an hour. I really do just love them. My two favorites right now are Hark all ye nations and The Morning Breaks. That first line, "The Morning Breaks, the Shadows Flee!" It's so true. The dawn is here! Hark! (All YE nations) :)

9/16

We also had the most hilarious lesson in church yesterday. our ward is pretty small so priesthood on a good day has 6 guys including us. Also cell phone usage during all parts of church is a bug problem. So the lesson was on leadership and unselfish service so we talked about "Feed my Sheep" or (john 21) and while he was talking a couple of the guys in the back and one of the youth were all crowded around someone's phone (half the class) so the teacher goes back and says, "What is this?" and someone says, "The apostate sheep." Then then the guys on their phones were like, "Yeah! We're the fallen sheep! We're hungry! Feed us!" It was super hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing, but then they paid attention and the lesson finished well. Moral of the story, if you don't want to be an apostate sheep, don't use your phone in church.