Tweed Pants and a Wedgie

5/15

Update. We don’t have that many investigators. But we met a really cool guy today! He asked to be taught right there and he’s coming to church Sunday! Super stoked.  Just met him randomly.  We’ve been focusing lately, not on getting tons of contacts but really helping people see how the Gospel can bless them.  It’s made me think of myself and how I’ve been blessed lots. Super good.  Also we had exchanges yesterday.  I went with Elder Newton from holiday, UTAH. Super cool Elder.  On the way to get him we introduced the Book of Mormon to a pastor and he really dug it.  On the way back we met a guy who said he was a prophet and could fly.  Also he kept saying, “I am the way” in English about Jesus, but he thought that anyone’s way is good.  Tonight we had a really good combo English class/pizza party.  Super legit. Grace taught me how to write my name in traditional Korean (Chinese) characters, so I did learn.  She’s the lady who I ate a million different things with.  She’s super nice.  We had a very hilarious English class all about how we should or shouldn’t have smart phones.

Lately in English class we’ve been talking about  things and got good debates going. Sometimes it gets a little heated and debates in Korea on the good use of hybrid cars comes up. Mostly it’s okay though. It’s a good time. OK, here’s a little Korean saying and my name in Chinese.

Korean saying: five minutes hurry, 50 years dead. [rough translation]

[can’t write the characters in this program. Romanized it says “Jeung Soo Chan”]

5/16 Thursday

So we’ve been talking a lot about how other missionaries always write home about their phenomenal spiritual experiences and I write about funny old Korean guys.  The truth of it is it’s a different kind of spiritual than I expected, like realizing how much you need personal study, you NEED prayer to sustain you.  You have to learn to always talk to people and to view them the way Father in heaven views them. And even if they let you down to still hope.  I feel like right now is when I make the choice to be a diligent disciple of Christ or not. And it’s in really small things. Like really talking to everyone even when all I want to do is take a 5 minute rest on the bust.  It’s getting up at 6:30 and going to bed at 10:30, even following rules when I don’t want to.  The differences between truly great missionaries seem small but it takes a herculean effort to get the last 5% out.

But the days I do, I feel more fulfilled than I ever have. It’s unbelievable. Miracles happen too! Like we had a guy ask us if we could tell him about our church and then ask to come to church on Sunday. He’s amazing! But the funnies are still there. Like 70 year old me biking around blasting techno music. J

5/17 Quickie Update

We have a stake sports activity today. So we’ve been inviting people all week. And now it is time to play soccer! And maybe basketball! I’m way excited.

K. Home now.  It was totally wicked! Elder Clawson and I won a dance contest against some other missionaries.  We got some strawberry wafers and the approval of our entire stake J  I did some pretty atrocious cartwheels. Also we saw our bishop and a lady from our ward, [unintelligible] gentleman. PSY! Very enthusiastically. Super funny. Elder Clawson, I and the Young Men’s president from our ward won the relay race. Also our ward won! There wasn’t soccer though. L Elder Newton was bummed. OK rewind a little.

So Koreans have a holiday that basically celebrates Buddha’s birthday. And also on that day they have a sports conference thing.  There’s a bunch of funny games and everyone eats together and it’s way fun and cute. So we had tons of fun. Also tonight we had a cool revelation moment. We had an investigator cancel today so we had some extra time. We prayed to know where to go. Then I got pulled over one way and so we went! We ran into a group of kids going to a Karaoke bar and got their numbers. We might play bball with them tomorrow. Super cool! Man, I love you so MUCH! Thank you for being the best. Cheesy, I know. But.

5/18 Saturday.

I’m in a bit of a goofy mood. [much Korean follows].  K, well, now that I have written terrible secrets right under your nose, I will relate the events of the day. So we studied and I learned about some of the early hardships of the church and how important optimism is. Then we called people and then had a meeting with Brother Yong, a 21 year old guy who’s about to go into the army. He’s way cool, rides a motorcycle everywhere, and dates Danish women. Quite debonair.  We just have to wake him up in time for church! He’s always sleeping when we call him. Super cool though. He has a hello kitty right and maybe some gospel interest. Also an investigator, Brother Kim, invited us to dinner outside the mission and reserved and paid for it and everything. It was a little awkward when we couldn’t go. Had a good conversation though. Okay. No time.

5/19

Sooo… had a killer day today. Church was really good. We had a little bit of a miracle. We met a guy named Luke at Anyang station and he asked if he could help us. W taught him about the restoration right there and he said he would come to church. That was on Wednesday. We’ve kept in contact with him over thaw eek and he totally came to church today! He wore very stylish tweek pants, tie and sweater vest. He really liked church and during the sacrament he said he felt cleaner. He told us he wants to quit smoking and drinking so we taught him the full restoration and word of wisdom. He really liked it and we’re helping him on his way toward being happier! He has so much real intent and is a true seeker of truth. He’s super bomb. We’ll keep working with him. Then we had a pretty crazy lunch of rice-ramen-jiaijang (curry-ish) and bacon stuff. Very good but very funky. Elder Cho got sick. But he recovered. Then we went out and got rejected a bunch/found maybe a new investigator. Then! We met a member of the bishopric for dinner. It was super delicious, duck, [Korean], and all sorts of good eats. Then we practiced teaching an investigator with them. Their kids are super cute and make fun of us a lot. But we love them. It was a good week, tired but happy. It is nice to see some hard work paying off.

5/20

Had kind of a goofy day. We emailed in the morning but it wasn’t pday. We went and did flyers for the English class. It was way funny actually. There were some other ladies flyering there and they left to get more and we swooped in! It’s way fun. You just compliment people and speak English and do other funny stuff. Super fun.  My favorite is when a bunch of school kids walk by and say Hello really timidly and giggle and run away. Also when we got back to the house today my companion totally attacked me when we got home for dinner. He went for the wedgie but I countered with the long arms and totally wedgied him first. I unfortunately sort of ripped his pants. He spent dinner sewing up his pants. He thought it was funny though.

5/21 Tuesday

So just a quick update today. Hopefully the package will be on its way soon. And as missionaries we have to commit people to do things, so you’ve got two choices.  Either read the Book of Mormon all the way though or refer someone to the missionaries. So yeah. Or do both. But only after that can you wear your ties.

Stay happy. Much love!

You Be Quiet, Mum-grapes

Monday, P-day 4/22

Had a good day.  Picked up my foreigner card and bought a bag! Super dope.  We had an investigator skip a lesson. :(  Talked to lots of people. We got told we were handsome a bunch.  Now we're switching all of the Zone Leader's stuff to the other one's desk.  They're in Ansan tonight.  Super good! Love you!

4/23 Wednesday...Awkward.  Tuesday.

So we had a pretty adventurous day today.  In personal study today I tried to break down Mark 4.  The parable of the sower.  I came to the conclusion that what it all means is that for a plant to grow it must at first be protected by others and nourished with all the [?] a plant needs, sun, nutrients, water, etc.  Then it must be placed in the right place to let it grow strong until it bears fruit.  Also I think it's interesting that plants don't bear fruit until the final stage of growth.  Coincidence...?  I'll let you puzzle that out. :)

We visited a less-active today and taught English during which I learned that the [korean characters] part of [Mumford in Korean] means GRAPES!  So I got called Mum-grapes for the rest of that ordeal.  And I quote, "You be quiet, mum-grapes!" My companion is still having spasmodic convulsions of unrestrained mirth.  

The funny story for today: We are carefully weaving our way to the subway to go to visit a less active member. The rain sprinkles lightly.  The scene is much like a dreary October day in Bellingham, except Korea has been enlightened by the umbrella.  Not Underarmour yet, though. Sorry Dad.  Anyway, as we briskly walk on, we are accosted by a 4 year old Korean man who the Zone Leaders had talked to the day before.  He points at my companion and yells, "Tom Cruise!"

My companion, unfazed, says, "Yeah! We're missionaries!"  He then offers to buy us pizza and though we protest he drags us into a nearby pizza school   We are excited to have a gospel discussion via free pizza, but it soon becomes clear that the man is less than sober.  Korea and English flow uninhibited from his lips as he professes his deep love for Mormons, us, Elder Witt, black women, Israel, pizza, and Catholics.  Then he expresses deep doubt of Mormons, black women, and Catholics.  Also Israel, I think.

He then orders us a coke and gives us the bottle.  We slowly get up and trick him into leaving, thanking him and saying goodbye.  As we walk away, I casually mention to my companion that there are likely few times in this life when a drunk man will spontaneously buy us pizza. He nods in agreement and we set off, plodding through the grey scene dotted with bright umbrellas, crusading on in the best two years of our lives.

That's all I got. Love you!

[written sideways in the margins: Oh sorry, but our water didn't work today. We shaved at the church. :)]

4/24 Wednesday

Elder Witt just finished his PB&J rice. He says it's pretty good.  We had a good district meeting today and talked to everyone!  I read in 2 Nephi 30 super amazing. So faith promoting.  We just talked to a  few people and went to English class. We taught K--- afterward. He is having his test right now so we shared Matt 11:28-30. Super good comfort.  Every day is an adventure! My testimony grows daily.  I am coming to a sure knowledge that this is the true church. And I'm learning lots.

Love you!

PS Elder Witt jumped on his knees.

4/25 Thursday

So I got kissed by a drunk guy today.  On the  hand but still, pretty sloppy.  It took a while to escape from that one.  Today we contacted for 6 hours.  Kind of a rough day, but as we work it gets happier.  Our search for Happiness is a rad book.  We visited L---- and we talked about faith and action.  We are going to try to get him to church.  Love you!

4/26 Friday

Had an adventure today.  So after weekly planning I tried to pass off, which is where you teach the Zone Leaders and they see if you can teach in Korean, and if you're getting ready to be senior companion.  I didn't totally make it but I'm getting close.

Also there was this huge explosion and Elder Woodford thought North Korea was attaching.  Turns out it was a power transformer.  But we're ok.  Also we taught a good lesson to a guy who made me hold his hand and take a picture.  And we met a member in English. We were super awkward.  Already getting used to Korea.  I love you lots!

4/27 Saturday

Had a fun day today.  We didn't have any appointments so we tracted for 7 hours.  We probably walked about 10 - 15 miles. And talked to tons of people!  We were talking to a couple of students and this one guy walked past.  He said "**KOREAN**" which means "satan's house" and pointed to a buddhist school.  He waled past and then we finished talking to the students and I felt like we should really talk to him.  It had been 5 mintues so we had to chase him down for a quarter mile or so. We finally caught up to him and then talked for 70 minutes about how there are lots of religions and how sometimes people are hypocritical.  We [???] and answered his questions, but then he said he couldn't meet with us and left.  Wouldn't even give us his phone number :(.  Super cool though.  Then we walked around this neighborhood and met a really giggly drunk man.  Super fun!

I love being a missionary.  I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ can help people more than anything else.  It's true! Test it out!

4/28 Sunday

We had a good/crazy day today.  Our investigator came to church, Brother K---.  Super cool!  He came for sacrament meeting, met a bunch of members, ate, then we taught him the restoration.  he has real potential.  He's about 50 years old and we started teaching him a couple of weeks ago.  We talked about the plan of salvation for an hour and a half.  he really wonders where we came from and has sincere desires to learn.  he buys us ice cream too.  Miracle of the day!  

So we came back from visiting a member tonight and only had 90 minutes.  We couldn't decide what to do next so we prayed.  Then I felt like we needed to be at Anyang subway station.  We went there and couldn't find anyone to talk to.  Then Elder Clawson made me talk to a man on a bench.  He was sitting there with his headphones in looking disconnected.  We talked to him and he was super stoked to meet!  We are meeting him next sunday.  We received totally straight revelation.  it was a killer night.  The gospel is true! I love you all!

4/29 Missionary Morning Update!

Tomorrow is temple day/P-day so today i just get to email and tomorrow it will be super awesome.  Also next thursday I'm going to see the rest of my MTC buddies at a midpoint training fireside thing.  I'm pretty stoked.  My comp so far has gotten Tom Cruise, Elvis, Superman, and of course Edward.  Last night while we were talking to a super cool guy, we were trying to set an appointment.  he asked if he could bring his girlfriend, and we said, yeah! Totally! But then he said he was afraid that his girlfriend would go after Elder Clawson instead of him.  So we told him that we can't date during missions anyway. And then in the middle of it, this homeless guy showed up and started stuttering about US gun policy in Korean for a while.  The guy we were talking to translated for us and then my comp told the guy that Obama had it under control so he would leave.  Then we set up an appointment with the cool guy with the girlfriend and departed.  Adventures indeed.  Oh! And someone gave us root beer last night. I love you!

4/29 Monday

Today we talked to a guy for an hour about his religion and the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and the awesomeness therein.  He seemed interested. But at the end he wouldn't meet again and wouldn't even take a Book of Mormon.  I wanted him so bad to meet again.  We could have helped him so much.  It took a lot out of me.  Then later we tried to talk to some less active member s and met this cool guy who bought us burger and coke and told us to go away.  Super nice! Being a white missionary in Korea is kinda hard because lots of people just like you for no reason.  It's tough realizing who wants you and who wants the gospel.  We were talking about if when people sin they do it knowing or on accident.  What do you think? Bed time. Love you.

4/30 Tuesday

My first month as a missionary is over.  We had an awesome day going to the temple, seeing people we know, meeting new people, and of course the temple itself.  The South Korea temple is gorgeous.  We went and bought ties today and hopefully this letter goes out in a box with ties.  The pink one is for Alex, the Teddy bear one is for Tim and the blue one is for dad. To accentuate his eyes.  I'll wear all of them for a day so they can be authentic Korean missionary ties. We then found out that my size doesn't exist in korean footwear.  Then some college kids bought us  Hot Cocoa and practiced English.  We taught some English and contacted home.  It was a nutty day.  I'm actually pretty good at cutting hair. I cut all three of the people in my house's hair.  And they like it.  If only I could cut my own... If I work I'm happy, if I don't I am tired and depressed.  So my only option is to work and be happy.  I'm glad I figured that one out.  I love you!

5/1-5/2 Wednesday Thursday

We had district meeting yesterday. Super fun.  Then we taught a Chinese lady! She's way awesome.  She has no religion but is super open. She has awesome potential.  Taught in really simple english.  She is way smart.  Speaks English and Chinese and Korean.  But English second best.  We shall see... We went to training thing.  I saw all my old buddies!  Super fun. No time.  I love you.

5/3  Friday

We had a bit of a crazy day today.  We spoke only in Korean for an hour or so and found some cook peeps to talk to!  Elder Witt, the Zone leader who I live with got called as AP!  He's stoked and nervous.  He will be awesome.  he's so nice and diligent and faithful and most of all Christ-like.  I want to be more like him when I get to be an older missionary.  He's the best. We traded ties so we can remember each other.  The first transfer approaches! My fate shall be decided!  I love you!

Saturday Morning Update!

We climbed a mountain for exercise this morning.  Super cool   Took some final pics w/ Elder Witt.  We're gonna miss him.  I finally got MAIL! I was pretty stoked.

Saturday

Had a crazy day.  Because Elder Witt got called as AP we had to wait with him and now we're in a threesome with Elder Clawson/Elder Woodland.  We did well today.  Taught a lesson.  Super busy.  We were late to meet a recent convert and had another appointment right after so we did splits with the recent convert and me and Elder Woodford ran a half mile to our appt.  It went well, but we were super sweaty.  I'll write more tomorrow.

Sunday 5/5

It's crazy, my first transfer comes to a close.  As I haven't had too many funny things of late (except saying thank you for the trees instead of thank you very much), I will related what happened to the Zone leaders the other day.  hem, hem... (Told from the perspective of Elder Woodford)

It was a nice sunny day in Anyang.  We were meeting with a nice old Grandma and eating ice cream.  As we finished, we asked if we could meet again.  She declined.  We asked for her phone number and she again declined.  Devastated!  She then started to leave and we bid goodbye, frantically searching for a way to find her again! She then got on a bus, and a brilliant idea came.  Follow her home! So we suavely waked toward the bus just as the doors closed and left. We then decided that the only course of action was to chase the bus down.  We ran and the bus looked as if it was going straight, but then a prompting came, go left. So I did! I turned left, and sure enough we barely caught the bus.  As I triumphantly began to step on, I cast my eyes round about for my companion and he was nowhere to be found.  He then pops his head out of the bus and says, "Yo! You comin?"  I hop on and we make our way to the back waiting for the Grandma to press the stop button.  She does, and we smoothly get up and get off, high  each other.  As the bus pulls away, we look for the old Grandma and she smiles at us from the inside of the bus, a twinkle of merriment in her eye.  Curses! Foiled again. On to the next yearning soul.

That's all I got.  Love you!

Elder Mumford

Tell Bro Jones I love him

OH! I totally scored a beautiful lefty over-the-keeper corner goal at soccer today!

5/6 Monday

Had a nutty week.  On Saturday we taught 9 lessons. Super busy, had to go on splits with the ward missionaries.  Barely snagged Elder Clawson before 9 and ran home.  Super crazy.  

I know that missionary work is the most fulfilling of all work.  I know Jesus Christ is my Savior.  i know that this is His true church.  Through the gospel we can gain more joy and lasting peace and happiness than anything else.  I testify of it every day.  I love you!  Stay strong. :)

A Dope Korean Two-Block

4/9/2013

Good day today.  We talked to lots of people and worked hard.

Here is the haircut incident.

It's a Saturday night in Anyang.  The missionaries ain't got much going on. They worked hard and are relaxing a little before bed.  One of them casually remarks that he could use a haircut.  having nothing better to do, clippers are procured and a chair set up.

"Gimme one of them dope Korean two-blocks," says Elder Clawson.

Elder Mumford volunteers.

He, having never cut hair before, is mildly stoked and a little apprehensive.  he gingerly begins the two-block, a korean cut where the inch around the edge is short and the rest is long, by diving in the back.  It looks good!  He proceeds to give a beautiful hair cut, rivaling those sported by Korean men everywhere.

Elder Mumford, stoked by his own performance, eagerly hops into the chair, somehow thinking that his skill will migrate to his companion.  His face slowly falls as all three elders watching fall to the ground, tears of uproarious laughter streaming freely.

Elder Mumford arises, showers, and goes to bed, pretty self-conscious.  There is no time to fix it.  His faith in his companion's haircutting skills is gone.  He spends a very self-conscious day at church.

K.  All done.  Bed time.  I'm okay!

4/10 Wednesday

It's morning time and it's just before we start study.  I've been doing ski workouts recently and my legs are killing.  I could feel it really bad yesterday.

4/11 Thursday

We had a super adventurous day yesterday.  We accidentally got on a Kukpeng (fast train_) to the De-jeon mission.  So we ended up outside our mission boundaries, called President, and headed back the other way.  We made it to district meeting 10 minutes early.  We had a good training called "really Big Krill and You Can Too."  by my trainer/district leader.  Then we went home and met a crazy guy who wanted to talk to people with us.  he hugged Elder Clawson.  When he went to grab his backpack we felt super sketched out and ran away.  Elder Clawson is still a little twitchy.  We taught English Class and Mr. Son told us about how he went to America once and ordered dog but instead it turned out to be a hot dog.  Much laughter ensued.  Also i got a bunch of good recipes to try.  We talked to lots of cool people and went home.  This missionary work stuff is fun :)  The church is true and I'm happy to be a missionary.

4/11/2013

So today was an adventure.  We studied and then went out to contact.  we met some cool peeps and then went to San Bon to contact with the sisters there. On the way we met a super cool Buddhist who we're meeting soon.  We ate so so-long-tong and then went to teach Brother Jung who punked on us.  We went back home and grabbed stuff.  Then we taught Brother Park.  He's the best.  Super sincere and really awesome.  he always says heend-itch instead of headache.  Super funny.  He really likes the BoM. Stoked to teach him more!  Also the other day my companion saw a guy walking his dog down the street and said, "O mari mashisoiyo" instead of  "mari moshisoyo", ie., instead of saying "Your dog is very stylish" he said "your dog is very delicious."  And Koreans eat dog, so...

Oh, and I've developed an acute fear of bugs.  Love you!

PS  Elder Woodford accidentally texted his investigator and asked for 2 fans, some water filters, and a 12 week addiction recovery program.  She texted back that she wanted to do the program!  So awesome.

4/12

So today was weekly planning.  We planned for the week and then went out and talked to people.  We got told we were handsome by a bunch of students.  My companion looks like Edward from Twilight.  So that helps us start a lot of good conversations.  We talked to a guy about the [impossible to decipher] and he gave us Doritos.  Hope we can meet him later.

4/13  Saturday

General Conference!  Had a really fun day today. We studied and then went to Sanbon for conference. We watched it with the other missionaries in our zone, ate snacks, kim-bab, and watched all 3 sessions. They were awesome.  I felt like I need to get to know the  word well.  I'll work on it.  We had a blast.  When we travelled home we talked to a dude who was a preacher from another church.  It was kinda awkward.  he yelled at us for a while and we couldn't understand so when someone's bike fell over we helped and he went away.  We always buy waffles from this one guy on the way home.  He says North Korea is sketch.  Also a guy told us he had no religion, but I thought he said he was buddhist, so I told him he had a cool belief.  He laughed and it was ok.  We might meet him later. He offered to buy us food.

Sunday 4/14

More conference!  Super good.  We went and picked up a really cool British guy who watched a session with us. Confused about faith, but cool  Also I bought a huge pack of seaweed.  My comp made fun of me.  Elder Witt is now benching more reps with one hand than I can with two.  He's an awesome ZL.  i love him. Elder Woodford too.  They're both dope.  We walked around and talked to people tonight.  Met a cool kid that we'll talk to later.

I really liked Elder Holland's talk on faith.  I feel like that happened to me.  I never knew for sure but I always wanted to believe and acted on it.  Not even close to perfectly, but it grew until i realized that I knew it was true.  I can never deny that knowledge now.  I challenge anyone who reads this if they struggle to put it to the test.  Then the day will come when you know for yourself.  it is truly amazing. Give Alma 32 a read.  So good.  This work is true and I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to permanent peace and happiness.  Take joy in that!  I love you.

4/16 Tuesday

So today someone asked me when Jesus would come again and I told him I was 21 years old.  Good thing my comp was on top of things.  He saved me.  Also we met a Korean who spoke spanish and lived in South America for 11 years.  Also, we went to meet a guy who never showed and we found an investigator for the sisters!

4/17

Today was awesome. We had district meeting and I got my suit pants skinnied up.  I like 'em.  I made lots of fried rice and cleaned the kitchen. Oh yeah!  There's this homeless man that really likes us and Elder Clawson is super afraid of him because he always stops us and hugs Elder Clawson a bunch.  He gave us donuts and bought Elder Clawson some green tea.  We ran for our train with him chasing us.  It was pretty awkward.  We barely escaped.

4/18

So we went on splits with Elder Witt and Elder Woodford today.  i was with Elder Witt and we had a great day.  We ran everywhere and taught a good lesson.  We saw a shirt yesterday that said "pointless sh*t."  Elder Clawson and I laughed so hard after we passed it.  Also, I decided that Koreans are super nice but somehow awkward.  I made a friend today and we took a picture together.  He's kinda punk but way funny. He has stitches from punching someone.  I like him.  Elder Clawson and Woodford met a random guy who totally loves Elder Clawson.  He bought them a bunch of food.  We had cornmeal pancakes for dinner.  I'm really finding out how awesomely applicable the scriptures are.  Everyone needs them! I love you! Don't forget to study them!

4/19 Friday

Had a crazy awesome day today.  it started as not super promising.  We only had one appointment with a guy we met on the bus.  The rest of the day was empty.  We did weekly planning and then afterward I called Brother Kim, a guy who had English interest.  he said we could meet that night.  We went to meet the guy from the bus and we met him.  He bought us food and brought a friend!  He was so cool.  He really liked the Book of Mormon and asked to come to church and was super happy when we gave him a BoM.  His friend was interested too.  he hugged us and shook our hands and it was awesome.  I had the kimchi fried rice too and it totally burned my mouth.  The inside of my mouth was all cut up from sucking mints.  It was super good though.  Then we met Bro Kim.  he was awesome!  Bought us ice cream and then we talked about the Plan of Salvation for an hour and a half.  he's coming to church too.  Two new investigators in a day.  They're both so awesome.  I'm stoked to teach them more!  I love you all!

Also, funny story, we saw a shirt that said, "Rock Sctssors flesh" spelled just like that.  K! Bed time.  Love you!

4/20 Saturday

Fun day today.  Ironically I'm the cleanest one in the house.  I clean lots.  If any of you are looking for a good, possibly life chaing talk, listen to W. Cleon Skousen "The Meaning of the Atonement." I have it on my computer. Listen to it!

Today we went to meet a less active member of our ward on the outskirts of our area.  She had moved, but we found a lady who spoke English and chinese.  She said we could meet with her and we're excited.  Also talked to lots of cool people.  We met a man tonight who really likes the Book of Mormon and says when he knows it's true he will be baptized!  Super cool.  Then we got waffles and went home.

4/21

Fun day today. Super gorgeous out, good temperature.  Reminded me of beautiful Sunday walks in Bellingham.  Awesome. We walked around and talked to lots of people.  We had an awesome sacrament meeting and Brother Park came! The Lord is blessing us majorly.  I love you lots!

Pictures Only

 View from the apartment

 Zach in his new tailored suit

 Red horse seeing some action...? For Uncle Nigel.

Zach's study desk.

Email Zach Yourself!

New policy! Anyone can send Zach an email and he can email you back.  He still only has an hour for emails, so he may not always be able to respond completely, but I encourage you to email him!  This is a public blog, so I'm not going to publish his email address, but leave a comment or email me directly and I'll be happy to give it to you.

Macklemore Haircut and Other Korean Adventures

Saturday 3/30
it is now 11:45 in the afternoon in Anyang, my first area.  It's in the Soul South boundaries.  South of Seoul.  My residence overlooks a little river and jogging path.  My trainer's name is Elder Clawson.  he's a super cool Elder from Southern California.  He's been out about six months.  He works hard.  We do lots of proselyting.  There are tons of people to talk to.  We talked to a 17 year old student ast night about what the Book of Mormon is.  We are going to meet with him soon.  I got here tuesday. I've had almost not ime to write.  missionary work is hard but wonderful  There are lots of people who can use our help.

I accidentally called someone "delicious." :)  Also, my senior companion hates being touched.  It's pretty funny.

We eat kimchi soup and pasta lots.  Smoothies abound.  It's a beautiful place with lots of people.  Good day.  Talked to lots of people.  Got lost on the bus.  Super tired.  Good night.  Calling people is hard.

Sunday 3/31

I had an awesome day today.  I'm finally settling in.  Went to church and met the stake presidency and bishop and ward mission leader.  We had good meetings.  The spirit was there even if my Korean understanding isn't.  We had the craziest meal with a lady from English class.  We went expecting a nice meal and it was a huge family dinner with tons of amazing food.  i had more kinds of meat that I've ever had.  here's the list'  Jellyfish, shark, squid, octopus, beef, chicken, shrimp, scallops, clams, oysters, mussels, salmon, tuna, halibut, crab, pork.  And probably more.  Suuuuuuuper good.

My companion said it was probably the best meal he;d ever been to.  Super awesome.  We had a kinda half lesson with an investigator, YKW.  She's moving right along.  I can't wait to teach her again.

We met a couple of really cool people on the street.  One of which was pretty drunk but super nice.  We taught him about families.  Hope he remembers...

We bought street waffles and korean candy.  I made some kimc hi soup too!  Super delish. We had an awesome time talking to people at a crosswalk in Sanbon.

Being a missionary is fun, hard, and satisfying.  The church is restored!  Happiness is there, all you have to do is have faith and ACT.  I love you all lots.

Monday 4/1

Met a super cool man on the subway.  Really open. Left a Book of Mormon and a card with him.  He lives far from us but that's okay, I guess.  We had a nice adventure going to Costco to buy stuff.  Talked lots a bout life.  We met a member in Costco who wanted to buy us food but we had already bought.  THEY HAVE BULGOGI BAKES!!!  I'm gonna get one next week.  We bought smoothie stuff and lots of pasta sauce.  I bought ramen and Pocari Sweat mix.  Korea is pretty dope.  our investigator skipped on us so we taked to people for a couple of hours.  We met an awesome Ukrainian named Andre.  He was super happy.  We might teach him later.  So nice.  We're working harder every day.  I really liked today.  It's getting easier to work.  i know this work is true.  There's such a big difference between the members and other koreans.  They seem so happy and everyone else seems so sad.  We're working on it!  Love you all lots.  Thanks to everyone who wrote me their testimonies.  They have really helped me.  I love you all.

4/2 Tuesday

I need to tell this day systematically for it to make sense.  So here goes.  A day in the life.

So, got up this morning, felt a little bad but showered got dressed, ate a muffin, and learned a couple primary songs on the guitar.  At 8 we started studying, prayed, and I read a couple awesome chapters.  Give 2 Nephi 9 a read.  So much depth about the atonement and the play of salvation.  It's incredible.

Then I studied how to find people and I made a plan how to use it.  Next we did companionship study.  We planned a couple of lessons for a less active member and a recent convert.  Then we worked on some training and I taught my trainer the restoration, in Korean, and invited him to read and pray.  It went well.  i still have lots of vocab to learn.  We did language study.  My companion made some delicious food and we set out.  We had pork potstickers and rice.  I t was raining so we snagged umbrellas.  no one was out to tak to on our two hour walk to a less active member's house.  We went to give them a message card with a scripture and our number on it.

We got there only to find out that the door was key coded and we couldn't get in.  After two hours in the rain with no-one to talk to we were pretty sad.

Just then, the member we were going to see walked up and invited us in!  we left our card and a short message.  Incredible opportunity.  Then we got on a bus to the subway and there was a man who I left a book of Mormon with and our number  he was so interested he put away his phone and started to read right there on the bus.  Hope he calls.

Then we had pizza with Murphy and talked about how to stay happy in the army.  We helped some less active members with their english homework.  Then we talked to some awesome pe on the way home.  Good planning session and now playing guitar with Elder Clawson. Amazing miracles.

4/3 Wednesday

We had a killer day.  We had a good training--super fun and learned lots.  Then we went and found people together.  me and an Elder who is also one week in went together.  We gave a man a book of Mormon and told him about it.  he was so excited that he started reading it right there.  He walked up to a woman the sisters were teaching and started telling her about the truth of it!  he told her it was God's word.  Hopefully we meet him in the next few days. Also had a good English class.  I'm understanding more! The Lord has richly blessed me.  I'm so happy today! i love you all.  Remember CPR keeps your spirituality alive: Church, Prayer, Reading.  Do it!  Love you!

4/4 Thursday

Had a killer day today.  Worked hard.  We did tons of contacting.  We had 5 appointments, but 4 fell through.  Kind of sad :(  That guy we talked to yesterday cancelled last minute.  Anyway, we met a really cool guy named Daniel.  He is so happy and caring.  Brought us a bunch of strawberries.  We taught him about the Book fo Mormon and he said that as he comes to know it's true he will be baptized.  He's just the kind of person who needs the gospel.  The church is so true!  I love the joy it brings.

4/5 Friday

Had a good day today.  We did weekly planning and successfully taught the first lesson to my trainer.  So I was stoked.  he's writing a song about coming home to a girlfriend post-mission. we talked to lots of people today and ate at a Kimpap.  Super good! Kinda sushi-ish. A roll is 1.50.  Super good and feels healthy.  Then we taught a lesson to a lady who struggles to act. She talked to us about the Book of Revelation.  Totally didn't understand.  Also taked to this drunk man for a while.  Afterwards my trainer said he wasn't speaking Korean.  So that was pretty funny. Figuring out how to work hard and effectively. Love you lots!

4/6 Saturday and Sunday

Had a super busy day yesterday.  had president interviews and chatted with Sister Christensen a whole bunch.  Met a super cool dude on the train.  We're meeting him later! Stoked.  Sister Christensen is the bomb.  A girl on the train asked for our card! Super awesome.  korea has so many cool peeps.  Latest favorite thing: Aloe Juice.  Sooo good.  Buy some if you can find it.  today we had one of our investigators come to church!  He stayed the whole time to make friends!  We challenged him to be baptized tonight and he wants to but his Mom won't let him.  We'll meet her soon.  I'm so tired and so happy.  Missionary work is at the extremes. Max emotions abound.  Every day seems like a week.  I love you all.  The church is true.  The only way to lasting joy and peace.

Elder Clawson! Soccer ball  P-DAY!

So Elder Clawson and I went to teach Brother Jung on Sunday and he was playing with a soccer ball.  I passed it to Elder Clawson and Elder Clawson tried to maradonna and totally slipped and slammed onto his backpack.  I laughed super hard after he said he was OK.  It was so funny.  Also I got told I look like superman.  We cut each other's hair last night and I did a good job but my hair got massacred.  Super bad.  We tried to do a shaved sides Macklemore cut, but it look horrible.  Lots of good adventures.

Elder Mumford Goes to Anyang

Hey Momma,

It's been a super fun week! I was way busy and super tired so I didn't write as much as I probably should have. We are e-mailing at this sweet little place thats sorta like a library. My first area is called anyang (spelled different than anyanghaseyo. 안양 as opposed to 안냥. sounds almost the same. I'll answer all of your questions in your e-mail and the bulk of stories and adventures will come by letter. 

I have had some periods of homesickness kind of. It was a little bit of a rough start. This is my companion's first transfer as senior and he's training and he's the district leader so its a little crazy. We're figuring things out. He is way good at Korean though and he is an awesome teacher. We are working pretty hard and should be working harder as we figure things out. He's from california, super nice, plays guitar, and loves to skate. Went to the Y for a year before the mission. 

We do lots of tracting 전도 contacting. It's kinda hard but people are really nice when they do talk. Korea is a pretty plugged in place. 99.9% of people have smart phones. Makes things easy if I can't understand, they just pull up the translator! But also semi awkward to start converstions. Also I poke out like a sore thumb. super tall white kid. I think a scare people sometimes. We aren't allowed to talk to women and we accidently went to a place where a school just got out. There were tons of high school girls saying Hi to us as we briskly weaved our way through them. Kinda awkward. Koreans are very giggly.We eat lots of kim-chi soup and pasta and rice and we are going to costco later to get some mad muffins. We eat pretty well. Street food is way good. Today I started to feel a little comfortable talking to people. We talked to a bunch of really cool guys on the train. We live in the same appartment as the Zone Leaders and as we were traveling somewhere I was with one of them. Elder Woodford. I was a little nervous to tap a guy on the shoulder and he said with a huge smile " doesn't matter, its salvation" That has really motivated me to talk to lots of people. We are here to bring people eternal happiness.  Why be scared! that is our purpose. I'm stoked to work. It'll be hard, but I am seeing that it's when I work hard that 3 things happen. I fulfill my purpose helping people come closer to Christ, I have a lot of fun, and the time goes by fast. Church was sweet. We live in a pretty big ward. We ate after church with the members. Super nice and happy. You can really tell church members apart. They seem a lot brighter spiritually. and happy for sure. My comp has yet to see the root beer exctract in action. He will be stoked though...My korean is ok. I can talk to people kinda, and get phone numbers. Still working on the days of the week though... So thats coming together. I haven't said anything terrible yet. We teach this awesome kid tonight, we met him in english class. We're are goign to teach him the restoration. I can't tell you how important PMG is. Super simple and super deep. Just like the Gospel. Which it is. so yeah. I dunno what time it is there but its like 12 here on monday. I think I'll miss your e-mail this week. I miss you all lots but I don't have time to think about it. I'm not toally sure what my address is... I'll send it next week. I'm a little torn about mail. I totally want to hear from all of you but I don't want to be distracted. I will send you my normal letter laden with adventures and a good e-mail.

We walk lots. Korean transportaion is super cheap but everything is pretty close. Buses are way fun. Roller coaster all the way. I've only seen one tiny fender bender so far so I guess it all works. My foot is fine no mail yet. My mission president is awesome. Way laid back in a strict sort of way. He puts a lot of trust in us. We don't have any extra rules. Only the white handbook. Which would be good for the guyzos to read and know. This really nice lady just gave us some coffee. We were too busy to notice until she set it down. ...awkward.

Korean culture is dope. Such good food. I'm stoked to eat more. You can buy this giant bags of candy for 3000 won. So I did. Theres this crazy ghost town by where we live that is all getting renovated. Scary to walk through. 

K love you lots, more to come in paper. I miss you, this is the hardest thing I've done so far. It will get harder. I will always push forward with faith. After all, it all means nothing unless we endure:)

Love, 

Elder Mumford