Hand written letter

I apologize to one and all, I can't quite remember when I received this letter and I threw away the envelope. But it is a very lovely letter and I wanted to share it with you.  Micah is such a wonderful joy in my life and I hope that you have enjoyed his emails and letters as much as I have. (Mom)

Dear Mom,
Things here are great and there has been so much that has happened.  I never thought it could be like this.  The hard times, the good ones, always teach me more about myself than I realized before.  I know that I'm helping others, wither they're people from off the street or another missionary. Also I've come to know more about the influence of Satan in this world.  And I'm surprised of how many of the things in the Book of Mormon are still around.  There is confusion, pride and other types of wickedness that's all around.  I know that I was sheltered well from the chaos of this world.  I'm blessed with this great opportunity to serve the Lord and help others to know what true happiness is in this life.  Being born in the gospel, I never experienced the empty feeling that comes with not knowing the truth and I know that I have "goodly parents" who taught me well.  I don't understand many things of this life but I get to see others around me, come to ME for wisdom.  I never told you (I think) but at the MTC I learned a little about voicing my thoughts to others.  The other missionaries would listen and later they would come to me and encourage me to talk about things.  I know I'm a lot like you and I often put myself down, when I should be raising myself up.  I love you Mom and I will always try to be the son you need, want and deserve.  I pray that each day you will have the strength to over come your trials.  It seems that you have been given a lot to deal with, but you know that God will pay us a hundred times more than what we give .  Keep care.

Love Micah

Week 70 - Me a Trainer ??

So, Another weeks has come and gone. What could possibly 

be new for this week?! Well, if you are following you'll 

know that the transfer is almost over and that means today 

is one of the hardest days of the month. I don't know why 

but everyone has been teasing me, saying I'll probably be 

trainer this next transfer, but that's what a lot of the
missionaries told me the past two transfers though. The 

only difference is that this time I have convinced myself 

that it will happen for sure this time. Either way the next 

six week is going to test me if I stay. Our investigators 

are on the edge and could slip away. We’ve been thinking 

that sister Lee Young Rhan has been fairly ill since we 

haven't been able to get a hold of her this whole week. 

Also sister Kim Bo Ryoung has been pretty antsy, I believe, 

since she asked us about transfers. It surprised me when she 

said something about it almost being six weeks already. She’s 

really attached to my companion right now and it would seem 

that if he goes she will too. However, he has more faith in 

her than I, which I should work on. But the main point is 

that tonight it will determine the next six weeks of our lives.

    So, this week was also just as slow as it was the last 

one. We hardly meet a soul and only a single student showed 

up to class. It started out with us meeting with sister Kim 

Bo Ryoung on Tuesday. She seemed fine but not too interested 

in our message and she frequently asked English questions 

during our lesson. But when we were closing... I believe that 

our member made a comment about the Book of Mormon being
in English. And at that point she was more ready to listen. 

(well my computer is freaking out, I hate this place, it so 

messed up. luckily I saved half the message I wrote so far.) 

So What I said was that she wanted a English copy of the Book 

of Mormon but I have mixed feeling about it. The first thing 

that gets me is that she said she'd read it if it was in English, 

which was more than what she was willing to do with the Korea 

copy she has. Also we had a member suggest we do that last 

Sunday. However I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I get 

the feeling that she only wants to read it in order to learn 

more English. And that there is the possibility that she'll be 

turned off at the fact that it's in old English, which no one 

uses any more. Also the Book of Mormon is difficult to read. 

We're still thinking of what to do with her. Anyway, This 

Saturday we had English class and only Harry, an 80-some yr old 

man, showed up. But despite how difficult it is to work
with him, since he is so old and losing his marbles, he's 

such a fun old man. He was telling us how he likes the bible, 

but that he thought that the Book of Mormon is so much better. 

Then he began telling us a story from Alma in half English, 

half Korean. After that he told us that he would say the 

closing pray right at that moment in time then he went on 

explaining to us about Japanese ninjas for fifteen minutes

before he gave a pray.
 
  Well I hope thing are working out for you. And good luck 

with that job finding. But that reminds me that we need to 

plan out what's going to happen in the future. Either this 

next transfer or the one after that, they will begin asking 

me for things like; which transfer I'll go home on, the late 

or early one. I don't know how it was for Dad but the Korean 

Mission comes at an awkward time so we can go at one of two 

times. Which means that I can go home on April 9th or the 

transfer before that which would be Feb. 26th. Well I love 

you and I'll pray for you...

Bye...

Week 69 - Keepin busy

It's seems that there is a lot that is going on back there. 

It's just going to be a test of patients. As for Hannelle, 

that is a totally different story... Right now it's hard for 

me to understand the fear you have especially since I'm staying 

in Korea. I've gotten the sense that it’s safe even for a three 

year old child to run around the streets unsupervised. People 

here and people there are so different; I still can't believe 

what kinds of things go on. Anyway~ I hope that it works out 

for you two. And for Rhylie... just keep strong and do what 

you do, She'll still be that little airhead we all know.

  
   So for me.... This week has tried my patience and my strength. 

Out of all of appointments, we only had two come through. The 

first was the most difficult due to misunderstanding. We had 

finished our lesson with a sister Kim Bow Ryoung (김보령). And My 

companion had the thought to ask her about baptism. In our mission 

we call it a soft baptismal question. So he said," Sister Kim Bow 

Ryoung if and when you come to know that our message is true, will 

you be baptized". At that point she flipped out and went on how 

this was not what she was expecting nor what she came for. That 

she was happy with her religion and did not want to change. 

~I still can't figure out, how people think that they are getting 

something for nothing. Nor can I understand what they think when 

they find out that TWO MISSIONARIES are going to be teaching 

english. You'd think that they would understand that the first
priority of the missionary is to teach the gospel then serve the
people. Not the other way around...~ thankfully we had a wonderful
member there, our ward... mission... leader?, Who calmed her down 

and got to the point. That we were missionaries but were not 

forcing her to change but that she should try for herself and see 

if what we shared is not true. It seemed that she was alright with 

meeting again and that she would try to have an open mind. We are 

now waiting to see if she'll meet us tomorrow.
 
   Also this week we meet a new person in our english class. He 

has come in the past but this is the first time we've both seen 

him. He seems to be an upright person but doesn't take the gospel 

for anything but educational or a sort of hobby. But he's much 

more open to it then those who come normally. The strange thing 

was, he was the only one to show up this week. And as for sister 

Lee Young Rhan, she was sick Friday so she had to cancel this week. 

So nothing new with her. 

   This is so hard... I didn't realize how much work it would be. 

I'm thankful for this opportunity and blessing. I just hope I can 

stay awake for the Quarter or so. I love you so much and hope that 

things work out for you at home.
 
Bye...

Week 68 - No stres :)

Hey, Every one back home, how is it? I'm not sure if mom reads 

these letters out loud or just shares some of the details. I 

think it's the latter. I just wanted to say to everyone else 

as well. Hi... 

   So, another week is gone and as usual I’m not sure what to 

write about. This week felt as if there was a lot that went on, 

But, we only met a few people this week. We spent most of the 

time running here and there for this and that. I don't know 

what's going on but I’m tired all the time and feel like I have 

no energy. But on the bright side things could be a lot worse 

off than they are. This area has several people we are still 

meeting with and wonderful members that we can turn to for help. 

   So the week started out with our investigator cancelling on 

us and getting caught out in the rain. But we were able to meet 

someone we found before. He still wanted to come to church; 

however he wasn't willing to come out Sunday. Which really 

confuses me. It seems that the other churches here don't really 

require anyone to sacrifice their time. You can go anytime you 

feel you have free time, like some sort of hobby or something. 

I can't understand why people can think that they get anything 

out of going to that kind of church. Anyways, we also tried 

meeting the many less active members in our area. We were able 

to catch several people. One man was a hair designer. He seemed

to be doing well but I just didn't understand him at all. He's 

been less active for at least the past ten years or so. He reads 

and prays daily yet has no desire to come to church. Also this 

one member a couple of years older than I, wants to go on a 

mission but doesn’t want it enough to change. The saddest thing 

he said was a question, asking if he could still go when he turned 

thirty. I felt that meant, (I'll come back to the church latter 

when I'm older.) It was such a heart wrenching visit. Hopefully 

we'll meet him enough to help him find better help. But on
the bright side, we attended a baptism on Sunday. My companion 

is the District leader so he interviewed the person. It seems 

like they'll stay active too, they've already been attending for 

one year now and  they haven't really missed a day since. That 

brought hope to this week as well as our meeting with Lee Young 

Rahn 자매님. She has been a handful and she is so out spoken about 

her feelings and her actions say otherwise. The last time we meet 

with her, she talked about how praying was a sign of weakness and 

that placing faith in something you can't see is foolish. But at 

the end when we asked her to pray she said yes and then asked for

help on how to pray. She’s weird... but she seems like she’s just 

a confused soul looking for answers but too proud to openly admit 

to it.
 
  Well I've been fine and sleepy this week. I'm finally realizing 

that this time is short and that at some point there is an end 

to it. I love you Mom and I miss you too. Hoping for the best for 

you.
 
Bye...

Week 67 - It's official

Well, It's now an official change for us. We no longer have President
Lee, but President Christensen. He seems ok for... now. I'm not
comfortable about the idea of someone new being here. It still seems
unreal to me. However it is much easier to understand what he is
saying.
 
   So we've been keeping busy so far, but there seems to be this
reoccurring theme in the work we have here. That is, there is either
too much to do in one day, so we are overwhelmed or there is a nothing

to do, so we get stuck walk outside all day long. I guess it's good 

for us in some way. Like finding others to teach and sharing the gospel 

or it's good for our health. Because as of now, out of those we are

meeting with, only two seem to be going anywhere. And even then it's 

that we still a struggle to get them to calm down and listening to our 

message. Like this Saturday, when we meet sister 이영란 (Lee Young Rahn), 

our newest investigator. She seems like she is very curious about the 

gospel, but has no desire to admit it. I believe that right now she 

feels like she can't trust any church because of past experiences that 

she encountered with other groups. Her questions are so deep and well 

thought out, but she hasn't really given us much time to answer them. 

Most of them seem to be trying to prove that there is something wrong 

with religions. Like "How can this be our only chance? It doesn't seem 

fair that this is the only way there is to be saved, when so many people 

do not know about it..." That was the best translation that I could come 

up with, but the point she was making was about her mother. And she didn't 

have the chance in this life to be baptized. It was a hard lesson to teach. 

Our poor member the whole time was explaining to her brief things here 

and there. Then said," If you would listen to the missionaries you would 

learn more..." But it was alright in the end. And we are meeting again, 

later tonight. So I hope it goes better this time around.
 
   So this week has been fairly regular and there were not as many
changes that have happened lately. I can’t wait until summer is over.
It's been quite warm and unpleasant out this week. We've tried to keep
indoors as much as possible. However it hasn’t rained very much so
everything has been dry. In all everything has been good and I really
don’t have anything to complain about. But I was excited to read your
email. I hope that you are happy, and at the least... I’m happy for you. 

It doesn't seem like much but a good thing is a good thing.
Well I love you.

Bye...

Week 66 - RRrrrr it happened again !!

Well what I wrote before was that is that I'm doing good and my week
was great. We meet a few people on the street who were nice. Some kid
we meet wanted to come to church this week, but he wasn't able to make
it. He had trouble understanding the directions that we gave him. Also
the time that church began was difficult for him to attend and our
building didn't have an elevator, he was in a wheelchair. Then Sunday
evening we meet someone who had meet other missionaries before. He wants

to meet today but I feel a little hesitant since he is an Elder of 

another Church. He seemed nice enough when we meet yesterday.
 
  Well I'm sorry about this email, this computer deleted the first one
I wrote. ㅠㅠ  It sounds like this week had a little excitement for you.
I've been doing my best out here. The house has been getting better.
We have less unwanted guests in our house and it's been a cool week.
The temperature has quickly risen this past week and the rainy season

has just started. But I'm doing fine and I still don't absolutely need
anything yet. I love you and hope you are doing well. Miss you and pray
for you...
 
bye...

Week 65 - New Area / Super Ward

Hello again,

   It seems to me that it hasn't been long since the last time 

I wrote you. There have been a few changes since last week. I'm 

now in my new area and have a new companion. We're working in 

the 失害 ward, but I still have no clue of where it is in Korea. 

My new companions name is Elder Cobabe, and he is from somewhere 

in California near Los Angeles. He seems to be a good companion 

and we also have some interesting thing in common. Like how we 

both played the Saxophone... I can't remember the other things 

that came up.

Well this new area I'm in is pretty good and all. Start with the 

ward, which is super friendly and was very welcoming this Sunday. 

Also this area has several investigators. They are all fairly new, 

so it should not be hard for them to accept me. I'm glad that I 

have this chance to be in a new area, But I'm still feeling a 

little lost and far from home. At least for now, anyways. It hasn't 

been too hard though. I guess the only thing sad about this is the 

house. I have never seen so many bugs inside a house. Every night 

this week we've come home to find the floor covered in bugs. But 

it seems that the problem can go away if we try harder to be more 

clean and make sure to always wash the dishes after we eat. I'm not 

to used to the idea of living in such an unclean home. That is 

thanks to you^^. I can't wait until I'm in a home that feels like 

it's clean, that's one of the things I've missed the most so far. 

All I hope is that we'll be able to get it all clean and fresh.  

So it's been fun so far but it seems like there will be tons
of work for me to do in the future. This coming week we have every
night filled. It's going to be crazy.
  
It seems that the weather there is getting pretty hot. I know 

how it kind of feels. For the past two weeks it's been unpleasant 

and the rainy season hasn't even started yet. I'm all excited about 

that. But I'm glad to know that home is doing all right and all 

seems to be well. Has Stephen done anything lately or is he still 

sitting on the couch? ぞぞぞ! Tell him that I said that "You'll be 

big pudgy ball when I get back and that wouldn't be any fun for any 

of us." Well I've been keeping you in my prayers and I'm praying 

that my family will still be there when I get back. I'll make sure 

to write you more next week. I love you and miss you. Oh For some 

of your questions... Yes I've been taking vitamins, that is thanks 

to Kim Moon Jong. He bought us some for our health, But it's only 

vitamin-C. So I'll need to look for the others some where else. 

My shoes are ok... They are holding up alright. My last companions 

name was Elder Warren.

Bye...

Week 64 - Not much happenin'

How are you doing and how is everyone else? It doesn't seem that much
happened this week back at home. This week it seemed to be forever and
ended pretty stressful but it was ok. The first thing to happen was, 

Kim Moon Jong finally started calling us back and sending messages. 

For the longest time we heard nothing from him and it seemed that he had
dropped us completely and that we'd never see him again. After the
day he relapsed we stopped talking as much and it became harder and
harder to get hold of him until we just gave up. Right now he is up
set at my companion for some reason but he isn't willing to tell why. 

But this week it seemed to be a little better for him. He is still not
willing to meet with us so he asked if he could meet with different
one's (missionaries). He still seems uneasy with his decision but I 

think that it is the best thing for him right now. Other than that 

everyone is good. We are building better relationships with our other 

people. And it seems that they are growing in there interest in the 

gospel and willingness to listen to our message. Our English family 

surprised us with questions about religion and it seems that they have 

the typical worries about it as well. Like, why are there so many churches... 

why do some religions hate each other... and other really good questions. 

But the one question that stuck with me the most came from the son. He 

asked us, "Did that really happen?" he was asking about Joseph Smith 

seeing God and Jesus Christ. It caught me a little off guard to hear that. 

I hope that they continue to ask questions and are still willing to meet. 

The father seemed to be a little uncomfortable about what we answered. 

It may have been since we said so much to them that it was a lot to take in. 

Plus they don't have any religious background so everything is new to them. 

They are a wonderful family.
 
   But for our other family nothing has happened this week. We were not
able to meet them this week. I hope that they are doing well. And as for 

myself, I'm doing well. just a little uneasy about this week and what will 

happen, but I know it will turn out good. Well I still miss you a whole 

bunch and love you too.

Bye...

Week 63 - A First Try & a Retry

First email
 

Well it seems that your week was pretty hard and very crazy. And all of it seemed to have occurred on the same week. That is a lot to take in at once. I hope that your next week will be better. Also it was sad to hear about you not getting the job, but I know that you can find one. Our week seemed so slow but turned out to one of the best weeks I've had this whole transfers. We saw so many miracles as our phone was going off like mad. We had several people call us wanting to meet this next, which makes our schedule full. And Kim Moon Jong is alright but he still doesn't trust my companion so that has us a little worried. But for better news there is this new family that has been coming out to church. They have attended many times and are looking for a religion. There is a Mother and her two kids, a son and a daughter. They started coming with a friend of hers who is a member, about two transfers ago, but we only have been able to talk to her the past three weeks.

So other than that not much has happened. The weather is getting hotter and hotter each day and the sun gets up earlier and earlier. But I'm glad to see so much happen this week, even though my email is so short. I think my writing is out of shape. Right now everything is good and the only thing that worries me,  is that... well that is a selfish thought, forget it. Well I've been worried for you and everyone else. But it seems that every one is still a live.

I love you mom and miss you

Second email

Hey Mom,

 I wanted to write you more but I've gotten so lazy at writing I can't think of anything to write about this 

week. I've been doing well and I finally finished writing a letter for you and I sent it along with an old 

one I found. It still isn't as much as I need to send. It sounds like you are having an extremely stressful 

time right now and that you need a little help. I know that I can't do much from across the world, but 

the things that I can do, I have done with quality. So here is for a second try. This week was rough for 

the both of us and I know that I have the better deal. So I love you and pray that God will give the
strength so need to overcome the hard times. Then pray that you get a break now and then.
  

Right now a have few worries and they all point to Kim Moon Jong. He is a great person and has a 

Strong desire to change his life. But he’s driving me up the wall with his mistrust. He see’s me a lot 

as the help he needs to get and I go out of my way a little more since we are such good friends. So he 

doesn't see my companion as much and now he doesn't know if he wants to meet with him at all.  I know

that I worry too much but I'll worry until the day I know he and his wife are sealed in the temple. I don't 

have any doubt that he'll join the church and be baptized someday.  But I think until then I'll worry for him.

On A brighter side of things so many miracles have happened this week. All this week we've had many

people calling and asking to meet. It was surprising... I thought I was in Utah or something. Also this
was the best week we've had the whole transfer even though by the looks of it, it should have been the 

worst. But God helped us see success even when we could not see it ourselves. Also we now have two

families we are teaching. One mainly english and the other only the gospel. This lady we've been teaching 

the past two weeks decided that her children needed religion in their lives to grow up to be better people. 

So she talked to one of her friends, who is a member in our ward about that. So she started coming 

from about February. However she was shy and only came once in a while and only stayed for about 

half of sacrament. But now she has been coming every single week and has a strong desire to learn more. 

She also brings two children, a son who is twelve and a daughter about seven or six. With this family 

I've been able to see the best of our ward. They are so friendly and inviting that I feel that is what every 

new person needs when they walk into the doors.  Well I've ran out of time. I hope that this email was

better than the first I love you and miss you.

Bye...

Week 62 - Kim Moon Jong fell :(

6/03/12 

Hello, how are you? 

I hope that your week has been going well for you and that you are getting along at home. This week was crazy, there was so much that has happened and I don't even know where to being. I guess the first thing that happened was this Text message we received from some lady we meet a while ago. Her brother is in the hospital right now and it seems he may not make it. I'm not sure why she tried to contact us in the first place since she didn't really seem like she wanted our help. Right now we're praying for him, but it seems that it's only getting worse. She has been leaving us messages every other day to tell us about his condition. So that's been sad to hear. When we spoke it reminded me of Bishop Wadmen, and his condition, since they sound so similar. Hope for the best for them. After that our week went on slowly until wednesday when the Elders from SoeCho asked for everyone’s days the next two saturdays for some open house their ward is having. And on top of that the ward wants the missionaries to do everything. So we helped plan that out with them just to find out that their ward wouldn't listen and came up with this unorganized system were everyone will be spread out and the no connection to anything. That'll be fun to deal with next week or when ever they start. Also Kim Moon Jong got really drunk yesterday and almost dropped us. That was stressful, but that wasn't the only thing that happened at that exact time. Some crazy guy came to our chapel and was causing problems for us and the members. The worst thing was that we knew this guy from before, since he has been disturbing other wards around our zone. He keeps demanding help to find a job but he will only settle for what he wants. Then he turned down ten jobs or so. So when that was happening our ward missionary leader came out and told us that the missionaries were not supposed to be there dealing with this, but with investigators. Well that was it. I hope that your week went better than ours. I love you mom.
 

Week 61 - I'm Okay, everythings okay !!

If you are following Micah's emails ,  I apologize for not keeping up with it.  Here are his last 7.

5/29/12

Hello Mom,

Sorry for not telling you sooner that I was not going to be able to write you until Tuesday, here. There was a surprise holiday that came up, Buddha's Birthday. So I've been doing okay and not much has seemed to happen. A lot of our appointments cancelled or were changed several times. Yet we still found many people to teach some how. I was grateful for that. It almost seemed like we were going to have no one to teach, but a few times some one would call and ask if we had time to meet. So there is nothing that  I can complain about. As for Kim Moon Jong, I have no idea what he's going to do and how he plans on doing it. He still wants to move to a foreign company, but his chances seem to be very slim right now. Anyway that's not the important thing right now what is important is that he still wants to be baptized, but he won't set a date.  He's driving me crazy...grah... I really hope that he starts taking the gospel and receiving baptism more seriously.  The best thing we got out of him, as for an answer, was," um... June maybe..." It's been on my mind lately that we need to show him that we are serious about this and that we need to back away and let him choose if he wants to do this or not. It's been hard for me to know what his thoughts are and what is our friendship. I didn't know how much friendship can influence Koreans. I've been told that some companies make deals just because they have this  “Jung”   built between them. And now I know that it's true. I feel a little overwhelmed with how much he has given me. A stylish expensive tie, along with two handkerchiefs and He has taken me so many places. I feel really sick about it and I know that it's not bad but I just want him to know that what we are offering is something worth not waiting for. Well I still care for him and his wife and hopeful they'll come around.

   For you, it seems that you are doing good.  The puppy, the cute baby goats, and May be a new Job... Still praying for you. well we only have one computer and many appointments today. I love you... Sorry it's so short.

Week 60 - At a lose for words :P

Hey it's me again. How are you all doing at home? It seems like only two days ago I called home and all. And now another week has flown by. Time hardly stays still enough for me to think. Like this Sunday some guy walked into our church and we talked to him for awhile. Our members didn't really help much. They forced this poor man into this room and also sat us down to started teaching. I feel like they think that we are little preaching robots. Fortunately the guy was nice about it and all. However he told us that he would think about coming to church again and if he did he'd give us his phone number. The ward members weren't happy about that. They want many members without any effort at all. Every day this ward reminds how important is to treat people like they genuinely matter. Otherwise they never come back. On the bright side, we are meeting with a good amount of people. They don't all seem to have interest in the gospel though, but I know that that can change. This one woman we are meeting used to be just interested in English but now she wants to find peace through the gospel. She is very timid right now and she's unsure if she wants to act on it yet. I guess life is just a test of time. But I'm so grateful for the people who meet with use. I also understand their concerned thoughts about us a bit clearer. Foreigners are so scary and now I have forgotten how to function when speaking English. I can't even say hello anymore. I'm so weird out here. And now I have a mixed vocabulary of Korean sounding English and a few Korean words. Ahh, I just hope that’s a good thing and means I’m learning the language. Anyways, I still love it here it's the best. And I feel that this is something that will be helping me more than I will be helping others around me.

So I hope that you are having a good time with grandma and grandpa. Please tell them that I love them and hello. Well, I guess I'll try to explain this week. Hum... Well it was good and I'm probably 20 pounds heavier... just a joke. We have been feed really good this week. So many, I don't know how to call it in English maybe dinner appointment? ( 식사's ) Almost every single day we had someone feed us. It is the best!!! Well just to let you know so you won’t worry, I'm all healthy and all is good. I got to go, I love you bye...

Week 56, 57 & 58 Oh so tired !!

Week 56

Hi it's me! Wow time seems to fly by so quickly and it only feels like I’ve only
been here for a few months. This week has just gotten better and better. Ever
since 김문종 received a blessing two or three days ago, things have been looking up.
The Best and worst news is that he has a bit of a health problem. His liver and
the intestines are a little sick so the doctor told him that if he wants to have
a baby he needs to stop drinking or else it will ruin his chances and it could
possible be worst than that. In other words, his death. But he's doing fine and
all. Today he took us to this really cool looking palace (Gwang Hwa Moon) 광화문.
So this week we've been preparing to give a baptismal date. Hopefully before both
our mission President and My Companion, Elder Madsen, leave. Oh.... So I don't
remember telling you about what happened last week. So after Emailing we found
out that the procedure failed and that they either need a new baby plan or to
just stop all together. And now I'm not sure what is going on. Also this week we
meet someone new. Plus they only have an interest in the gospel. The company they
work for is managed by an LDS member. So they wanted to learn more about us.
So sorry today we had so many problems with other people and the computer places
where we were at closed so we have so little time. I really liked your Email today
and I hope that the roads can handle this new problem. (Rhylie having her driver’s
license) I love you so much and I'll try to give a picture with me in it.
I thought I did!? Well I can send more. Love you bye....



Week 57



Hello, another week has just flown by. It's so sad the time here seems to be
picking up more and more speed. I can't believe what’s going on thought. This
week was a little heart breaking, as we received the news that our best friend,
김문종, slipped-up when his brother-in-law invited him to a dinner. It came with
no surprise that morning when he didn't answer his phone. (Which is very unusual
for him.) And from the sound of it, they had so much that he was drunk. I know
that he's doing better since this was the first time he has gone about ten days
without drinking. But I feel a little pressured with everyone telling me that this
needs to be the best transfer so far to help Elder Madsen. But almost every day
this week I felt like I've failed to push him. Well other than that the week was
awesome. We've met so many new faces and have found new places to work.
It's almost like all the people in Korea are waking up from hibernation. It's so
crazy though the weather has gone from cool 15*C to 25*C. I'm just hoping that
I don't melt on the way home.

Wow, there is so much going on back home. The world changes so quickly and
all. There is hardly any time to breathe. The same thing is happening over here.
 The New Bishop is working like mad and our entire ward has done a flip flop.
Everyone seems to have new callings and leaders are becoming more and more
involved in finding new activities and things to work on. They're trying to start
a seminary program and more youth activities. Our ward Missionary leader is
excited about this. He told us how this was how the ward was supposed to work.
He is really big in expressing his opinions. I hope that this new excitement takes
off to some where or at least brings more members to church. Yesterday at church,
it was so sad in numbers. Only Thirty or so people even showed up. It was such
a crazy day, since three of the people there where Investigators and one was a
new member in the area. I'm so worried for our little ward of Gangnam. Well,
that’s the most of this week. I wish I could recall more beside how tired I've been
feeling. I love you so much. Bye... Miss you.



Week 58

How are you this week? Good I hope. I've been keeping busy this week with all
sorts of different kinds of activities and meetings.
I still can't believe how fast the time is flying by. And my companion
Elder Madsen is going home in a few days and I'll be staying in
Gangnam for at least one more transfer. So not too many changes yet.
The only thing that has brought this week down was the condition of my
poor companion. He's been sick the past few days and it all seems to be
from the same source, stress of going back home and family stuff. It
was really noticeable when he gave his 마지막 말씀( last words )at church.
Other missionaries got up and took a few minutes to tell what they
learned on there missions and gave advice to the younger missionaries.
Then he got up and talked for ten second and then sat back down. It was
sad to see. The other missionaries that live in our same house were also
upset, especially our greenie.

Well for other news Kim Moon Jong is doing really good and each week he's drinking less and less. His whole family is supporting him in his decision to quit. The only pressure he's getting now is from work. And also we have two new people who are coming out to church to learn about the gospel and not English. One guy is working for a company named Nu Skin, which is run by a member of the church. Since he loves this company so much he wants to learn all about the church. His interest seems to be good and he likes the church. He even made some comments which sounded like he wants to join the church. Also this kid from who knows where. He came last week to church and he decided that he wanted to start meeting us. This is so great and I'm so filled with excitement. There are people willing to listen; it's just so hard to find where they are. It seems that 1% of the time we teach those we find and the other 99% of our time is full of ways to find more people to teach. I feel so blessed though. It seems that we always find some
one who will meet, other than Kim Moon Jong. I know that there are so many other areas that that is all they do all day, just look for some one to listen.    Also this week we had a farewell party for Elder Madsen, ALMOST every single day this week. Mainly the people we've meet with and one member is taking us out to eat today. It's been crazy. The best two were with our English Class members. They took us to this Korean Barbeque restaurant. Then, afterwards we enjoy some Ice cream and told  stories and all sorts of other things. And best was with Kim Moon Jong,  he took us to this awesome duck restaurant. We were so lucky to even get  in. It was crazy. There was a line of twenty or so cars lined up to get
in. The Food was sooo good. I love duck. After that we talked about the gospel a bit and then also had ice cream. Wow, Korea is getting hotter  and hotter. Each day seems more difficult than the last.
Well I'm so excited to find out how this week went for you. I sure hope that Rhylie and Stephen aren't causing to much trouble for you. I'm also curious about Hannelle. Has she fallen off the edge of this world or is she hiding away?? I'm going to end this letter soon I love you and miss you. And PS does Dad ever use his e-mail? Just a thought I had. Tell him that I love him too, and the two rascals.
Love you...Bye...

Week 55 - A Zoo of a Time

Well things are looking up it seems. I mean that it's looking up for our investigators. 김문종 and his wife may have a child after all. I can't remember if this is new or old news. However I'm still excited about it. They went to the hospital saturday to start the counseling and to get things started. It seems as though she’s been sick ever since then. I think that they are happy though. Also we had some surprises this week. 오영진 is one of the new people we've been meeting with. And for someone without any religion he seems to be doing awesome. He prayed for us once and after he did, he told us that it brought him peace and a good feeling inside. The next time we met with him, he started us out with a prayer. He seems to be so open and willing to listen but sometimes I wonder what is going on in his head since he is always so quiet. Also there is this woman named 김초훈. She is a very religious woman and has a strong desire to follow Jesus Christ. The best part is she is unlike most of the people I've meet who are strong in religion, she hasn't chosen one that she wants to be a full part of as of yet. She is reading the Book of Mormon and says that she could see how it could be from God. All is well with her, we are meeting today and we will see how she feels about things.      

So you got a letter about me being a Senior wahoo... not much of a difference yet since I still have the same companion, Area, everything, besides a lot of stress from pass off.  Which leads me to the next thing I want to talk about? Right now it's too hard to cook since it costs $1.05 just to get to our area and to come back would cost the same plus more to get back to our area. So normally we spend most of our time at the church and we eat most of our meals out or with members, which I say is one of the many differences between us and those who serve in the states. We only take care of one ward. So it is nice since we can learn the names of our members and get to know them personally.     

 Well this week was so exciting, so much has happened. Also this Saturday we went hiking with 김문종. I was a little upset that he took us and left his wife at home. But I'm also glad that we were able to go in the first place. We saw so many things. Like an old fortune tellers place, many grave sites and a castle. Also we learned about the SE prayer rock piles. Plus today we went to the zoo. It was so much fun. Well I'll try sending the photos. I love you. Bye...

Week 53 & 54 - "고마워요!‏ & 그소포를 보내기 대문에 정말 감사합니다! "

Week  53  -  고마워요!‏

So the first thing I want to say is thanks for the package. I got it this week, on Wednesday, which happened to be the same day as transfers. But there is nothing to worry about. Since our whole house stayed the same so it's like it never happened. Well anyways, About this package, I think that the best thing I got was the pictures. Even though I can't eat them everyone was excited to see what my family was like. I enjoy looking at them, but not too much other wise I start to feel a little homesick or now I can say Trunky. So, Thank you so much for that. It reminded me of how few pictures I've taken during at this time and how I need to improve on that.

Well this week was a fairly good week if I do say so myself.  김문종 how ever is still not fully committed in the decision to stop drinking. But he at least knows that he needs to stop. Every time he slips up he tells us about how much trouble he gets into with his wife. I just hope that he will realize sooner than later that he needs to change and has the strength to quit. He is a good man and has increasing faith in God and the gospel. I'm just hoping that he will have a greater desire to change his whole life and eventually help his wife to live in harmony with the gospel. This week or I mean today is quite nerve racking since they went into the hospital. They're seeing if they can still have kids through some expensive process. So it will still be their own kid. This is such a stressful time for them and it's been on my mind almost all day.

   Also new this week, we got a new Bishop this Sunday. I can't quite remember his name at this moment though. We're hoping that this change may bring back some of our ward members. It's so sad to see, we meet new people almost every Sunday but the number of those who show up just keeps getting smaller and smaller. Also the ward may combined with a near by ward if things don’t change and the members kind of don't like them. Ah... there are only two of us but it seems that we have so many people looking at us for support. This can be alright, but doing it all the time just wares someone out. But I love this ward.  It seems that at least they are trying.

   Also I learned about this fun game in Korea called Go-Stop. It is so much fun, but it's so difficult to play. 김문종 taught us one time how to play it and while we tried to help him find strength in not drinking. Also the weather here has gone crazy... Well I just found out that there is more bad news. Not about me but 우지연, 김문종's wife. They got the results back and they're not good. I'm not sure of how bad it's, but she is very depressed about the matter. Well I hope that they can overcome this.

I love you... and also all the others in the family. It just sounds so strange to hear about all of the changes that have happened in just one year. I never thought that this could be, but I guess that life always moves onward. I'll still pray for you daily and hope that you and everyone else will be alright. I also miss you.

Bye...

P.S. I forgot to tell but I haven't got the chance to watch General Conference (연차대회) yet. We actually get to see it one week later. So that is something to look forward to. 



Week  54  -  그소포를 보내기 대문에 정말 감사합니다!

 
(I decided not to change this email in any way.  I couldn't help but smile as I read.  I love the fact that he is losing his ability to correctly speak English.  In fact in my mind I can hear him speaking with a new wonderful Korean accent . )

Oh! Well a about that easter package you sent... 그소포를 보내기 

대문에 정말 감사합니다!  Even thought we haven't used the Toys 

that were inside so much they did keep use entertained for 

awhile. The cookies were good, we haven't had much time to 

really cook since we live outside our area. But we did use

them... So good. some time i forget what food taste like 

without gochjang. I sad to hear that packages are so expensive.

But I know that must mean love me enough to pay the extra. 

I love you too mom. I wish I'd show you more of how much I 

really do. there is so much that you have done for me. During 

conference it reminded me how home. And I was so surprised 

about the number of talks there were about families. Well 

anyway I think that I also like the priesthood session the 

most too. there was so much about using the priesthood and 

how men aren't using it in their homes. wow, during that 

whole thing i thinking about how I should have asked for 

blessing more often in my childhood.

   Well this week was soooo long waiting for conference to 

come. it use so hard to focus. it's like christmas but the 

whole meaning of this holiday is understood. we get to rest 

from our labors and feast upon the words of the prophet. I 

never knew how great conference was until going to Korea. 

We even got one of our investigators and his wife to come 

with us, 김문종 and 우지연. He seemed to be a little bored 

during the whole thing. I knew that would happen, He is 

not that mature. But his wife seem to be listening very 

closely from time to time. It started out rough since we 

watch it in korean. I didn't understand a thing. the 

speakers spoke so fast that it was difficult to understand 

what was going on. But it was all worth it since 우지연 was 

there. I'm hoping that maybe we can start teaching her as 

well. The saddest thing happened though. The day after 

during the Sunday session we got a call from him, 김문종. He 

told us that he was with some of his fellow co-working and 

they convinced him to drink. This is the only thing that is 

keeping back from being baptized. he has the desire and he 

is willing to follow but the drink is holding him back. I 

have a feeling the he needs to learn to say "No" before he 

get baptized. But he thinks that if moves companies he'll 

be fine. I'm so worried that he is scarred to lose his 

reputation and respect of his co-workers. I also feel that 

the temptation is not going to leave him if he moves. just 

that it will be worst for him to begin with no relationship 

were they may not even care to have him be welcomed. well 

enough worry, It seems you have to much already without me 

adding more to the chaos. I'll do all i can for Rhylie, pray.  

(she's taking her driving test soon) and Tell Stephen that 

i love him and that he should be a good boy. well time time 

is growing short. 사랑해요!

Bye...

Week 52 - Just a Week

Well sorry about not writing you a letter, but in my option they were not that good to begin with.  I took about Five minutes on each and sent them off. I’ll try harder to write a great letter for you next week since today was spent up with another stressful game of screen golfing. Uhg... I just didn't learn the first time did I. Well, I just hope that it piled some good 정 (jung) with our investigator. The saddest thing is that one of our other investigators friends decided that they would also like to take us Screen Golfing sometime. Ahh! i just hope that we can't get permission for it this next time, if he was serious. Anyway, things are looking up here we have many people to meet with and they all have different days and times that they can meet. So that is a great bonus. This week was very slow and disappointing or some what upsetting. The first thing that happened was either the question someone had or splits this week. I'll start off with the question. So on thursday or tuesday we had a lesson with an investigator and the bishop, we needed someone there to be able to teach with. Unfortunately our Investigator takes the whole time re-explaining the same thing that she told us the first time we meet. I never thought anyone could or would take the time to say the same thing over just in a different way. Well then we finally got her stop and listen for two seconds. When out of the blue, she randomly asked us to explain to her the meaning of Revelations 13, in Korean! "What are you thinking lady, do you think that I’ve studied this kind of stuff for twenty years," was what I was thinking when she asked. I don't think most people understand who we really are. I feel that they often look past our age and think that since we are missionaries that we are these scripture experts who majored in the field of religion.  Anyway, that was alright in the end, we told her that we didn't know what was going on but that we would see if we could help her find an answer. Now, as for splits. Well, the day itself was not bad just that the day they chose, it happened to also be the same day as our Member Shisa (식사), or dinner appointment. Which I totally missed, our members prepared steak, potatoes and other delicious things- while I enjoyed the next morning molding bread and jam. That sucked and surely I got the butt end of that deal. Next, It would have sucked even more if the result hadn’t ended differently. Sㅐ the day of my year mark someone thought it would be funny to throw a fish at me in the shower. Whoop dee doo so smart, so I got in the bathroom and prepared to take a shower, when I heard laughing and the words "Year mark". And my thoughts told me that it wasn't going to be good. So I made the decision to line up the bathroom floor with flip-flops to stop the door from opening, which totally paid off. They tried opening the door and they could barely get it to a crack. So I calmly walked over shut the door and got back in. Then they tried a second time which was when they were successful at opening the door. But I was prepared and rush behind the door to safety. Ok' this made me laugh, but right now I'm in a bad mood. So this week was not bad at all, just a little rough. It sounds like you had a hard time this week too. The only thing that I see that you should be thankful for is the great lessons you learned giving a talk and that you are at the end of Dad’s crazy Diet. Well I love you and miss you too.   Bye

Week 51 - It's Okay :(

   Well this week was a little sad. We learned even though 梯僥謙 is doing good and is trying to stop drinking, he still can't be baptized until he has gone at least ten days without drinking. It makes a lot of sense for it to be that way. He already feels so bad when he falls into peer pressure and slips-up. It would be worst for him to slip-up afterward knowing he has already received baptism. Anyway he is doing good and understands why he needs to wait. Anyways, today was fun...well sort of... 梯僥謙 took us to Screen Golfing. We spent so much time there, and all I have to say about golf is that it's not for me. The whole time I found it so frustrating and annoying. There were many times I would hit the ball and nothing would happen. Sometime that was good because of the shot we made was bad. Also today it seems as though time has moved so slowly.  I feel like someone keeps pushing the pause button at the dullest part of the day.

   So this week was filled with many promises and so few meetings. However we were able to meet some new people during the week.  The first meeting was a little difficult. Our Mongolian member, who I thought was becoming less-active, just came back from Mongolia. He called us and told that he wanted to meet with us this week. So on friday we meet him and his friend. Both of them are Mongolian and are here to study Korean. They only speak a little Korean and even less English. Ahh. It was such a stressful guessing game we played in order to understand what was going on. They would say something that we didn't understand or we said something that they didn't know. Yet, despite that mass confusion, we had a good meeting and the friend liked us and asked if we could meet sometime again. Now we are on the hunt for a basketball court since he wants to play a game, then we could share something after.

   Also this week we meet this really old lady who looks ten years older than she is. It's probable because she was a teacher at some university, very stressful.  At first we thought she was only meeting because she wanted to hear about the gospel, but she was just another person wanting to learn English. aw~ every time I here that word I think of something I had another missionary tell to me. He said, “ I came to Korea to be a missionary but I feel more like I am an English teacher.”  Anyway,  she almost gave me a terrible fright at our meeting. She told us that she believed in Jesus Christ, which was alright, but then she told us how she went to her church every day to pray to God for one hour. That caught me off guard and I thought she'd be another one of those Koreans who say, "you are Eedan, you don't believe in Jesus because you have more than the Bible," saying people. But I was so wrong about her. She was calm and respectful and listened really well. She told us how she was a catholic, then she got married and stopped going to church because of her mother-in-law. And after many years she stood up to her, the mother-in-law, and told her that she was going to attained church and that she did care what others thought about her. After sometime her husband and his parents were baptized as Catholics. And the whole time I was thinking about how much faith she had to follow Christ. So after her story we introduced the Book of Mormon. We told her that it was another testament of Jesus Christ. Then she said some thing very interesting that I hadn't thought of , she said," Oh! So there is the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Another Testament..." wow, that was cool.  Oh anyways, the meeting went well and she accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and she will be meeting with us again next week.

   Well that’s all I remembered about this week besides...HAPPY (late) BIRTHDAY!!!  

So I wore one of my green ties for that day, since that’s all the green I could find. 六六六.  Well it seems that your B-day wasn't too exciting but at least there are still people who love you. Wow, I just thought how I've been out for almost a year now. Oh, it is going so fast. The time seems to be flying away and I can neither stop nor catch it. Well I hope that you and the others are doing well and that you are happy. I love you mom and miss you too. Oh, and thank you for the address’s and the photo's. So many people will be happy to look through them, more than just me. Really!!!  I'll try to send some pictures home soon as well. Love You...

Week 48 - 50 (Sorry, didn't get these posted)

2-26-2012   “Brrr – No Heat !!”   (week 48)

So this week has been alright, not much more has happened since the last time I wrote you. It seems that the weather doesn't want to decide if it should be warm or cold. So it's been back and forth. I would say that this morning was the coldest so far, only because our boiler gave up yesterday so we had no heat. Brrr !!  I think that this is the fourth time we had to call the boiler man. He's a nice guy and all... but he has no idea what to do. Anyway, our investigator on the other hand is doing great. He meet with us last night, along with his wife.  He had a concern with some news article that talked about our church and how they called us 이단, or saying that we don't believe in Jesus Christ. He told us that this was not a good thing and that it was a lie. He also told us how he thought that this article would be bad for those who knew nothing about our church. Wow, he sometimes surprises me with how much he already knows and his thoughts. So as of now, receiving baptism is his first goal and finding a new job is the second. He still hasn't chosen a date yet, but we hope to help him finally pick a day. As for his wife, I have no thought or clue on what she is thinking right now.  She already has a religion (which is catholic) and I don't know how she feels about him getting baptized.  Anyway, right now not too many people with good intentions are to be found. Only a guy named Brian Kim, I don't know his real name. He's open to the lessons as long as we don't put too much pressure on him.  He seems to be real good guy. Right now it seems that he is a little sad since he failed a very important test to help get him a job or better a one.  So as of now he has plenty of time to meet and learn both the gospel and English, that was what his test was, an English test.

As for me... I'm doing well. I feel like I need to a apologize for demanding pictures like that, especially since I haven't sent that many pictures home. Anyway. I feel like I’m still healthy and doing all right. It really hasn't been too cold and it seems to be warming up over here. So being outside is not as bad as it was before.  This week we've spent some time finding some of the lost 200 members of our ward.   So far,  20 are totally lost and we did find one.  So that is good, we are 10 percent done with the work. Also this week we have been trying to increase the wards involvement in missionary work.  So far there has been very little luck.  One of our appointments had to be cancelled because we already had another appointment elsewhere.   Also we meet this family who had a missionary return home due to illness, that was really sad.  It got me to thinking about how good of care am I keeping of myself? Which has been okay, in my opinion. So, Right now I'm still in the same area, my old companion went to a new area which was just over the river. My new companion is awesome.  We seem to get along really well, so there are no problems there. We have been walking a lot and I think that I've never felt as tired as I am right now.

So are things at home going okay? It seems as though you have been a little stressed lately.  I hope that you don't get to over-worked, that isn't good for [someone] to run faster than he has strength- some verse - 24 in Mosiah I believe. Well on the other hand... thank you for praying for our investigator. I'm sure that he will be blessed. Well I need to go soon. I love you and I miss you too. Hope that and pray that you will have the strength to bear all your burdens. And I know that you can because God loves you and wants you to be more than you are now. Remember that please.

Bye...

3-4-2012    “Subway Confrontation”   (week 49)

Well I hope that you are having a nice outing right now. As for me I'm doing well and there are many new people are popping up here and there.  An investigator from my last transfer showed up at church, 갑자기.  I guess before he got a new job he would come out to church and so he decided since he had time this week that he would come to church. Also we have this girl who is constantly asking about her friend that she sogae'd (referred) to us. The only problem we have is that this friend doesn't want to meet right now. So it's a pain for us with the member breathing down our necks. Also we called some old man yesterday, he was a past investigator who didn't have time to meet with the missionaries for awhile. The only thing with him is... he kind of weirded us out last night with his repeated phone calls. Now as for 김문종 형제님, he is doing good and we are still meeting with him. He has decided that this month he will get baptized but when ? ... he still hasn't chosen.  The good thing is that now he is bringing his wife more and more to our appointments.  So may be we will start teaching her about the church too and all other sorts of good stuff.  Also our bishop is trying to push the ward towards missionary work more and more now.  It seems that he wants us to do all these things that will help members become more involved in missionary work, but so far not much is working out for us and the ward.  They would appear not to be such busy people for how old most of them are. Some members seem as though they would have plenty of time.  Anyway right now it seems that our bishop is trying so hard to stop the slow but steady decrease of members that are coming to church.

  So this week I haven’t done much more than walking and talking to anyone who will listen to me.  Sometime I get upset at how many other churches there are here and how sometimes they are so confrontational. This week we had some man talk to us on the subway. It started out alright then he started acting funny and started to ask lots of probing questions and shoving his churches doctrine at us. Then he pull out a Bible. 역시, 목사예요. So this man (actually a priest of another church) starts telling us how we are wrong and that we don't believe in Jesus Christ. So we calmly answered his questions and there was nothing he could do but change the topic to something else.  I have to say that his son didn't look at all too impressed by his father’s desperate attempt to disprove our beliefs.  To top it off he took one of our Book of Mormons to show that it isn't true. And after five minutes of looking he gave up and could only say" Oh, it isn't true. It just isn't." At that moment it didn't really seem that big of a deal to me not until afterwards. I got to thinking, there we were two twenty year old waeguking  (foreign) boys speaking Korean, (which is the complete opposite to English) who were able to defend our beliefs against this fifty year old man who had studied the Bible for half his life.  That is so amazing to me, to see how much power is in speaking the truth. That no matter how hard one could try they could never find a fault in what the church stands for.

Well I'm running out of time now, so I would like to say how much I love you and also that I miss you as well.

Bye....

3-11-2012      "Plumbing Adventures"      (week 50)

 So it has been such an exciting and interesting week, plumbing, new faces and dinner appointments.  All I have to say is that things have popped-up here and there and the excitement doesn't seem to be stopping.  For the first time since I've been in this area we have found three new investigators in one week.   The shocking thing is that not all of them seem to only be interested in learning English.  Yah, I feel that there is hope in the future for once.  We found many other people but they were either not in our area or they told us that they felt like we wanted them to join the church. That’s smart !?!  They knew what we wanted for them but they lacked the knowledge of what they really would get in the end.  And speaking of people joining the church 김문종 형제님 finally qualifies to be baptized and hopefully that happens this next week or sooner.  And to add more to this good news, his wife finally came to church with him.  Later, she told her husband how she felt about going.  She said she enjoined the service and how we worshipped; also she made a comment on how we seemed to change into men while we passed the sacrament. I guess every time we meet with him, things kind of got out of hand. But in our defense, her husband is the biggest goofball I have ever met in Korea. So maybe over time she will want to be baptized as well and they will be sealed in the temple.

   So as for the plumbing incident. Ahh... Well to explain, all missionary houses in Korea have a water-filter that cleans our water but, some times missionaries are not the best at making good decisions. Well, when that happens, normally the next set of missionaries suffers for their mistakes. So while living in this house something strange had happened to our water.  Needless to say black gunk was floating in our "clean water".  This is not the first time this has happened and now we got tired of playing faucet roulette. So, we took it apart (the filter)  and started cleaning it out.  At first we thought that it was in the actual filter since when we started cleaning it and black stuff was on it a little.  After that we tried again to see if anything would happen. Unfortunately (or luckily) a little more came out, also at this point we realized that the tube from the filter to where the water comes out was clogged a bit.  So we cleaned that out with a stick and guess what!?   Tons of this black seaweed like material came out. Yuk... it was so gross.  So then we started squeezing the tube to see if more would come out and it did, about a handful of this stuff flew out.  After that episode we decided that we needed to clean out the whole tube. Then someone, not me, thought that maybe if we put floss in the last filter the force of the water would suck it all the way through.  So we tried that, and it did not work, the floss got stuck and eventually broke off in the tube and was stuck.  To make this story shorter, in the end the floss finally shot out after working it through the tube. Well, I now feel it is safe to say we will be drinking fresher water from now on and I will never be a plumber.

   With all the illness going around I’m surprised that I haven't really gotten sick.  There were four days I didn't feel so good and started coughing, but it was nothing and I quickly got over it.  The only thing to whine about is how cold it got this week.  So, the weird thing is the weather was getting warmer then dropped down again. The sad thing is that this is normally supposed to be best time of the year.   Yes, I'm doing well and the ward is feeding us more and more.   So don’t worry we aren't going hungry.  The only thing I wish we had was greater support from them in doing missionary work.   Right now the bishop is going crazy since the ward is dwindling. Oh and I finally finish pass-off. Yeah!!!  Well that’s all the news that I can remember. I love you and hope that you can survive this diet of dad's.

Bye....

Week 47 - Exciting News !!

So Transfers were last week and to no surprise I have a new companion. His name is Elder Madsen, he is from some where near Provo Utah. He's been in the mission field for quite sometime and this is his second to last transfer.  Wow he’s such an old missionary.  But the weirdest thing is... I'm co-senior companion!? Weird !!  So transfer calls came Monday night and I knew that some sort of change was going to happen but to what extent it would exactly be, I didn’t know.  So President Lee told me that I was going to stay in 강남, and that my new companion was going to be Elder Madsen, but then he said you will be Co-senior companion !? I stopped then and ask him three times if he had said co-senior, and every time he repeated the same words "you will be co-senior, Ok". I’m fine being co-senior and all. It's just that normally you must finish your “ Pass Off ” before you become that.  Well I guess that President just trusts me enough for the greater responsibility. Anyway, here’s the Best thing of all to happen this week, it’s is that 김문종 형제님 said that he thinks that this next month he will be baptized. I don't know what is holding him back at this point but he really seems to want to get baptized.

Also this week there was a big miracle, or at least that is how we see it. So in order to get someone to come to Ping Pong Night we started making calls to member and less active members. At first it seemed like calling less active members was going to be a waste of our time since most of the numbers were bad but we kept trying anyways. During that time one of the numbers we called, called us back.  It's was this super cool guy who had recently joined the church. He told us that he always had work to do, the evil four letter word in missionary work, but he could see us earlier that day, so we agreed. At that time we found out a little more about him and that he had been a convert for only a little over a year and half and that he had meet the missionaries in Malaysia and was baptized there. He moved back to Korea to become a journalist. He told us all about what he had to do for the first three months. During that time he had to live at the police station and that he barely got any sleep, like one hour a day. He said he was spending more money with traveling around to report on stories than he was making. He said the worst thing was that the church building was really close by but he never had the time to go. Luckily that part of his life is over and at this time he was thinking about coming back to church but felt that it was going to be too weird for him to start coming again.  Yet, during this same time we happened to have called him. So we hope to see him in the future at church.

Other than that things are ok. We meet this old man who I choose to keep nameless. He is possibly the strangest character I have ever met so far.  He says he likes our church and the members and thinks that we are good people.  Believe it or not the only reason he wanted to meet was to learn English, so he could be a missionary for his church in Africa. That really got me. I thought, “You are meeting with us so you can go and preach the gospel of your church?!. Well I was okay with it, until he told us that he basically wasn't going to try to do anything we asked him. Like taking a few seconds to read a verse from the Book of Mormon, then praying about it. He wasn't even willing to just read a verse. Well that kind of got to me, especially after my companion asked him if he thought that it was fair for us to spend our time doing what he asked us to do and him refusing to even try to do one simple thing we asked him. He responded in a not so clever way that “YES, it's fair.” (Ohoo) Some people, I wonder what they are thinking. Anyways. . . . .

How are you and it seems as if there hasn't been much of a winter?! Here in Seoul it has been almost the same, except it's been cold. In fact this year they have had a day with a record breaking temperature for Korea.  It was one of the coldest days ever, but it hasn't seemed too bad to me.  Plus, it is suppose to get warmer soon. I pray for that.  Also it's so sad that your first day at primary was so hard and bit of a shock. When did you get called ???  I guess that would have been last week, when your Email was erased. Well I hope to tell you better stories in the future. Oh, do you want to know some thing sad.... I have more photos of my companion’s family than of my own. It was a little bit upsetting at first but I took as... I'm not writing enough to my family or something like that so I shouldn’t expect much.  Well I'll try harder in the future to write better quality letters home. I actually found some letters I had written for home but never got mailed. Only right now i.... uh uh ... lost them again, but I’m sure they are some where in or on my desk.  Well ilovv and have to go. Opps, I meant,  I love you something is wrong with this computer. I will pray for Bishop Wadman. I miss you...

Bye...

Week 46 "Wow, what a weekend ! "

So it has been a fairly warm and snowless winter over here and I have to say that this week ok until Friday. So I’ll start off with some good news first.  I almost have completed my Passed Off’s this week.  Ya so the night before I went to see the AP's we received a text from them saying that something had come up and that they could no longer see me on Saturday but that they could meet on Friday.  This was a shock since I did not set up another appointment with them in the first place. So we went that day and got there a bit earlier than we had planned but it was close enough. We ended up waiting for them outside the mission office a few minutes, a little less than ten, when President Lee showed up. He let us in. After that we found out that they were not even in their area at this time but in another area on splits, about thirty minutes away. So my companion and I waited there for a half hour and during that time two more companionships came.  That was a little crazy. So, in order to get every one done in the time scheduled they had to shorten everyone’s appointment.  So I didn't complete all of it yet.  Next Pass Off will just be um... capujagi, I can't think of what it is in English. Now, for the bad news. Saturday was a mess, there was an investigator that lived in our area that we could never meet with because we couldn't find a member to come with us, but we found out that her husband is interested in learning with her. The thing was he could only meet on Saturday. So the 자매님들 (sister missionaries) organized an appointment that we could make a more comfortable switch between them and us. The first big problem was that they wanted to make the appointment at a Restaurant. Next we got there a little before the 자매님들 (sister missionaries), and then it all fell apart with a lack of understanding of each other. At the restaurant we found the mother. She welcomed us and introduced a boy to us who is the friend of her little boy. Who in there right mind decided that some one else was invited. Well anyway, so she told us that she was going to go order some food. At that point it was our fault for not asking before hand where the father was. Because it turned out that he was not going to be able to come since he had work. But. that was only the start of the craziness.  After about a five minutes she did not come back. She had left us with these two Eight year old boys, who are actually six in America. Imagine two wild, screaming children in this loud over crowded restaurant. That was how it was and 안 된 것... so here we are forced to stay since we couldn’t leave them because that would be bad for them, plus there was this huge bill we couldn't even pay. Finally after about an hour and tons of phone calls, ( one of which she laughed at US for saying that this wasn't good and that she couldn't just leave us in that kind of situation)  she finally showed up again. ugh... while we waited we had to deal with the 8  (really 6) year old kid trapped in a 36 year old mans body. Wow that was ruff. To top it all off our bad day turned into a bad night, no one showed up to the Ping Pong Family Night again!!!  And worst of all our bishop wants us to try again next week, even though he doesn't even plan on coming himself. Well, I’m out of time. I love you mom.

Oh I finally got the Gibb’s card. Tell them  감사합니다.... (Thank You)

Bye....

Week 44 & 45 "SORRY " & " 안녕하세요, 암아님‏ " (Hello, Mommy)

No email for week 43

(week 44)  "SORRY"

Well last week was no good at all. I'm sorry that my email was... what ever that was. I went on exchanges that day and nothing seemed to turn out like it was supposed to. Aah... anyway this week has been getting better and better. We are having help from President Lee and are dealing with this situation. Our poor investigator understands more now, that if he really wants to receive help to overcome this problem and be given an answer, he needs to go to the Lord and not two Twenty year old boys from America. I feel that he is really beginning to understand the importance of the gospel and its role in our lives. Right now the worst thing for him is dealing with his family. They are split into two sides and both of them are pressuring him to make his chose right now. Well sometime today we will meet with him since it was his Birthday Yesterday. Surprise... I guess he wants us to go to his Birthday party. I thank you for all you have done so far and I ask you to keep him in your prayers.

   Also this week one of our members brought some friends to church and it was fantastic... For the most part. The Members were all friendly and warm. They really helped them feel like they were a part of this group. Not to be negative or anything but, it was so strange to see them act that way. I wish that they always acted like that when some one new comes to church. Anyway, the only thing that went wrong was we put the son of this family, who is eleven or twelve, I think twelve, in the Gospel Principles class so we could teach him. Smart Thinking but that wasn't a good Idea. - So this Twelve year old kid is placed in a room filled with five men, who are all over twice his age to discuss the gospel. On top of that the lesson we had planned out, since we normally teach it, was on the Relationship of family members with a focus on Husband and Wife relationships. No good! So, we changed our plans and taught a really dull and boring lesson on Heavenly Father and his relationship with Us as his Childern. ZZZ... not that it is a boring topic just being with the old people.  Oh - it was boring to this kid.

  Well it seems that life does not want things to run smoothly.  And it sounds like you have a lot of things on your plate right now. Your Email reminded me of a scripture but, I feel today is not the right time to share it, so here’s a different one 니파이전서 3:7 ( nephi 1 3:7) I hope that this week went better for you too. This week seems like it will be a long one. I wish I had more I could write about but this week and last was full of that problem with our investigator. I know that God loves us and is always looking after his children even when we think we are all alone. I love you and miss you too.

After thoughts: Well there is more thing I guess. So far I've been learning more and more about Mongolia. It's crazy... they have the same number of members as Korea and there are less people in the country, they have only one stake but they currently are missing a temple. Our Mongolian member is teaching us a little about his home and I know a few words and phrases in Mongolian now.... OH, I guess the biggest relief of the this week was “Almost”  Passing off that last test thing. There is a little left to do but it is the easier part of things. So some time when the  AP’s are free to meet, I'll pass it all off. What a blessing!!!  Well that’s all I can think of for now. I love you.

Bye...

(Week 45)    "안녕하세요, 암아님‏ "     (Hello, Mommy)

Hello? This week has been great and I feel like a lot was done. So, this week 김문종 형제님 made the decision not to divorce his wife and to try to overcome the difficulties that will come. Also he has been making other big decisions in his life. As of Thursday or so he told us, he prayed about some things in his life and that during that time he felt that he needed to find a new job. Somewhere that there would be less pressure to drink- since that is one of the ways Koreans build 정 and have a great chance to receive promotions. So, he asked us to pray for him that he might be able to find a new job. Also he has started to really study the scriptures and he has learned so much more than we could have ever taught him.  He is doing well and he shows promise in joining the church. As for the other investigators we have been meeting with them... well right now they seem like they are just not quite ready to make any big changes to their lives and prefer to only have a 외국 진구 (casual friendship). But they are all good people.

  Today started out a bit rough but now we have some sort of plans. One of our members passed away a few days ago and we were invited to the funeral but the time that it would take to go there, would make it an all day thing and there was also the possibility that it wasn't even in our mission area. So to make things easier on ourselves, we decided that it would be better to stay and meet with those we already planned to meet. Another thing we did was a ward 탁구 (table tennis) night- so members could invite there friends (진구) and not have any 뿌담 (no clear definition). This week it was a flop- only one person was able to come and he is Mongolian. This week seems to be more promising than last. At least five members have asked us repeatedly about what time we would hold it again. Well thank you for Emailing me and I'm so sad that your 1^st email disappeared.

Well I  love you...

Ahh.... 안녕하세요? 잘 지내세요? 이 주에는 동안 많은 선교 사업을 하며 저희의 구도자 김문종 형제님께 도음을 드렸다. 암아, 사랑해. 그리고 암아에께 도음을 드리기를 바라. 안녕기 계세요.
 바이....

It says.  “Hello, how are you?  All I’ve done this week is missionary work and helped our investigator Kim Moon Jong. I love you and I hope that I can be a help to you, mom. Good bye.”