Week 50

September 24, 2017

Well where do I begin with this week! SO BUSY and I just want to crawl up and die right now I am so tired!!! But it is the best tired I have ever felt!!! 

So Monday... was a pretty lame P-day, we played poker with my M&M's I got for my birthday.. it was fun! But we had to go to the mission office which is 2 hours away so we got up early but on the way home took a super fast train called an SRT! it was like a plane is was so fast! We got home in 18 minutes!!!! 

Tuesday;

This is one of my favorite days of the week, because at 3 o'clock we teach free Korean to English people! I just love love love love teaching so much! Ever since high school I have found joy in helping friends and classmates understand and show them how to work through things in a simple way! I love this hour of my week! Also, that night we were able to have two appointments. One with our recent investigator that has a baptismal date and on with an investigator that got back from his business trip to the Philippines. They were awesome lessons and the spirit was so strong. Helping me and Elder Maio know what to say and how to say it! It was amazing lessons and awesome experiences.

Wednesday was a busy day!
As a district we got together and had lunch, my favorite (black bean soup).

Then we had district meeting and then we have some language pass offs. The new sister in our district passed of to Elder Maio because he is district leader and I passed off to the other Elders in our district! It was fun and that took up most of our day.  

But that night we did some sticker boarding and it was a ton of fun! We closed down our English class and have been trying to reopen it and so tonight we tried to find people who wanted to learn English! It is a lot easier than finding people that want to learn about Christ and we ended up getting about 40 numbers in 1 hour!!! Fun night!

Thursday was a great day! 

We got to meet with 3 people, a somewhat new guy that works at a glasses store! He fixed my glasses for free because mine were broken pretty bad but I don't have money to fix them! It was really kind of him and I am very thankful!!! We met with our two investigators that are scheduled for baptism. We just took the time to try to help them understand why the Book of Mormon is so important and why it is important for them to get a testimony of it for themselves! It was a good REALLY long hard fun exhausting day!!! 

Friday we had a super fun activity!!! We all went to the shinpung where there was a big traditional festival! We did an activity: are you better than a foreigner?" we just asked people if they wanted to challenge an American! 

We had activities like chopsticks, jump rope, arm wrestling, rock paper scissors, chess, shooting a Nerf gun, and soccer! 

I brought my kendama and played with it and people are always so amazed!!! Haha they were fun to play with and I arm wrestled some people and rock paper scissored people and it was a great time!!!! 

Then half way through we had interviews with President and Sister Turner!! It was a lot of fun and I love them so so so so much!!! I will miss them after two years and will do my best to keep in touch with them!!! 

Then we went back out to the activity and something crazy happened!!! The news came to us and asked what we were doing and they asked if they could interview us and put us on TV!!!! So my companion got interviewed and me and Sister Patrick stood in the background and just smiled and looked pretty!!! It was awesome because the church has such a bad name here and we were showing the world we are fun people!!!! We ended the video with "WE LOVE KOREA. BELIEVE IN GOD, AND WE ARE MORMONS!!!!" It was a lot of fun!!!! 

Then that night we had a meal with a member!! But we failed so hard and rode our bus the wrong direction!!! Man we were so lost and so late and it was horrible. But the people were kind about it and the food was AMAZING!!!! 

Saturday was a long day!!! 

Every morning we play ultimate Frisbee on the base with some members and this morning was really fun, but in the afternoon we planned a sports activity with all three wards we are assigned to!! About 30 people came out and we played basketball and soccer! It was fun fun fun! 

Then that night me and Elder Maio had an appointment with two brothers from Nigeria! They are super good people and really strong Christians. We were able to teach about Joseph Smith and bear bold testimony that this is the only true church on earth and they can know for themselves.

Sunday was fun! We had two investigators at church and there was a lot of spiritual feasting. We learned a lot about the importance of modern day prophets and their roles! I am thankful for Thomas S Monson and the guidance and counsel he gives the whole world! 

That night we had family home evening with an amazing family!!!! They are so fun and we had a delicious meal and then shared a message and played Jenga and Spot It!!! It was so much fun and I miss my Family Home Evenings!!! 

I love the Korean people so much! I love being here. IT IS SO HARD. but it is so worth it!~

I read the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith this week. It touched my heart so much. How could someone make that experience up in such detail. I prayed for confirmation that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he restored Christ's church to the earth. I received it. 

I challenge you all this week to read the witness and testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith, pray about it, and listen to God's answer.

Elder Goon

Week 49

September 17, 2017

This week was really fun and we saw a lot of miracles. Probably one of the best weeks I have had on my mission. 

So Pday was pretty fun. We went to a bath house with bunch of missionaries I really like. One of them goes home in 3 weeks and I am really sad. And we had a great talk about how much we love Korea and don't want to leave, but want to see family and friends.

Tuesday we had a fun day! On that day we teach English people from the bases Korean! I love teaching so much so that always makes my day great! 

Wednesday we had zone conference! It was about concentration and unity! Plus we got to hear a lot of really good musical numbers! I got to see a lot of my friends and they are all leaving soon! I'm really really sad and I want to stay on a mission with them forever! 

Thursday we got to meet one of our investigators. I may have talked about him, but Brother Wright is married to a less active. They are both 20 years old and have a young child. He is really sincere and is such a good man and has a strong faith in Christ. We taught him the restoration already and on Thursday we felt we needed to teach him the Gospel of Jesus Christ focused heavily on the atonement and repentance. We extended him an invitation to be baptized and he said yes! He is so awesome and it is hard to describe the joy. 

Then Friday we met with a new investigator 원정호 Won Jung Ho. This was the first time meeting. So usually we just explain our purpose, expectations, and get to know him and his interest and beliefs. And he had a lot of questions. and some hard ones. He asked "Do you worship a statue of Mormon like the Catholics worship Mary?"  We said no, and that made him want to see what our church looked like. So we walked 20 minutes to the church. We showed him a tour and he liked it a lot! Then we sat down in a classroom and we taught him the restoration of the gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith. He was so accepting and interested and open. We talked about how he can know this church is true for himself. He doesn't have to trust us or anyone. If he goes to God he can know. He liked that. Then we showed him the baptismal font and asked him to be baptized. He also accepted!!!! Again the joy is indescribable. 

Then Saturday we played Ultimate Frisbee in the morning and it was so so so so fun! Every week a couple more people start saying, "Wow Elder Goon was really on today, or Elder Goon was on fire today." One day they will just realize its not just that day because I'm ALWAYS on fire! haha but I always say, throw me a football and then you'll be even more surprised. haha

Then that night we met a new investigator named Daniel. He is SO AMAZING. He is a preacher for another church but he came very open and not wanting to fight. He believed God needed him to read The Book of Mormon. He was awesome and he was so so awesome! One thing that he said that I really liked was he said God is the supreme being. We are human beings. You are Taz Goon. Your name is Taz. Your family name is Goon. Our name is human, we have a family name too, being.

Then Sunday was pretty tough. Only because we have church from 8-5.... its a long day but I love it! We had 2 people at church and they were just some random kids! The sisters are teaching their mother and the mother couldn't come so she sent her boys! it was a sweet miracle because our two investigators that accepted a baptismal date couldn't come to church. 

On Sunday we had a discussion about sacrifice. And the teacher kept asking me all sorts of questions. Well in case you guys haven't heard, Korean is hard. And its the hardest language for a English speaker to learn. And even though I have been out for a year I still can't understand, so she kept looking at me and I just looked like a deer in the headlights because there were 3 investigators, 3 members, and 4 missionaries. It was a bit embarrassing to look so dumb because I couldn't understand Korean. But she didn't give up asking me to answer questions. I think she asked me 6 questions. I didn't understand any of them. But she turned to me at the end of class and asked me to share my thoughts on Jesus Christ's sacrifice. WELL I understood that question, and my answer was as follows;

"Even if I could speak in English right now, I still wouldn't be able to explain what the sacrifice of Jesus Christ means to me. Because there are no words to describe it. We can't even begin to understand or comprehend the suffering of Jesus Christ and what he sacrificed for us. He loves us more than we can understand. He sacrificed more than anyone could ever give. And I am so thankful and happy. I know Jesus Christ loves us and died for us."

Have a great week! 

Elder Goon

Week 48

September 10, 2017

This week was amazing. So much to talk about, so little time. So I will try to just highlight the important important stuff! 

This week was pretty hard. We had 8 canceled appointments.... that was frustrating and really testing our faith! But we kept working and had some fun in the process. One cool thing that happened is we met a super cool guy and talked to him for an hour and a half!!!! he was a blessing because he came after a canceled appointment and 2 hours of straight rejections! God was testing us and then sent this man to us because we didn't give up!!! He was such a cool person and we were laughing and singing and dancing and just talking together and it was so much fun! I realized that getting out and spreading the gospel can be fun!!!!! It is meant to be fun! 

Also there was this really cool friendship festival. For the past 14 years, because there is so much military down here, they have had a friendship festival for Americans and Koreans... so we headed down there and sticker boarded! I was reminded of why no one ever does that in America... because the whole night two Americans stuck stickers and like 100 Koreans stuck stickers! But it was a fun night!!! 

Also, something Elder Jenkins taught me was when you are tired or feeling weary, take a shot of vinegar. I have been exhausted my whole mission but this week more than normal... so I got out and bought vinegar and started taking shots every time I am tired or not motivated and man it's like a slap in the face and it just sends energy through your body!!! Plus it's apple vinegar so it is really tasty!! 

Also this week we went to President Genglers house with our investigators! It was a good friendship opportunity and it was such a fun night! Being with 6 missionaries and two families really was a fun night and a really really really good time!!! 

There were three highlights of the week. 

District meeting: We talked about some things that are hard for us as missionaries. We were all supposed to come with a question and we were going to talk about them. My question was how can I elevate other missionaries without being forceful. Because when I was with Elder Jenkins I wanted to be the best missionary. I wanted to work hard, be obedient, but he never forced me, he just lifted everyone around him. I got good personal insights on how to improve. But Elder Yoon brought up a question "How can I always be standing in Holy places?" And we discussed and we decided it starts with your inside. If your thoughts, desires, and wishes are pure, you are always in a Holy place!!! 

Sunday meeting: So this was my first English church meeting in 11 months.... and honestly it was weird. I learned and felt so so much!!! Because I could actually understand! Sacrament I had a really cool experience. I was really physically and mentally tired. I was sore because we played ultimate Frisbee and I fell really hard and my butt hurt and my ribs were killing me and I have turf burn all over! English children are so loud and I was in the back and I was having a really hard time feeling the spirit and paying attention. So I said a prayer and then we sang a Hymn, "Did You Think to Pray?" and I was filled with joy and peace and a warm comforting feeling. It was an amazing experience and I was reminded why that hymn was and still is my favorite. 

The rest of the meetings were just amazing! I learned and felt so much! The 2nd hour a return missionary from Korea just talked to us because there was no room in the adult Sunday school! He was amazing and he helped and could actually relate to us because unless you have served here, you can't really understand how hard it is! So he was awesome! Then 3rd hour we talked about learning. We studied President Gordon B Hinkley and what he said about learning. Always be learning, but most importantly learn the things of the spirit and of God!

Elder Yoon: Then last night I got to have a long talk with Elder Yoon. he is a younger missionary. only been serving for 3 months. He asked me about my goals for my mission, my testimony, and advice. He is really struggling right now and going through a really hard time and wants to go home and is losing faith and wonders if he is doing anything. Well I had those exact thoughts and feelings. So I tried my best to help him and I talked to him till 12am and it was amazing! I shared great lessons I have learned on my mission and shared with him goals I have. I will share a few with you;

#1 I don't care about baptisms. I have almost been on my mission a year and still haven't baptized anyone. But I proudly say that, not because I have been lazy, not because I don't think it is important, but because one of my main goals is this. If I go to judgement and Christ only ask about my mission, I want to be able to say I worked hard and I gave everything, even when it was hard and I wasn't seeing any miracles. As Elder Jenkins always said, "Will you do that 12th mile everyday? Even when nothing was there? Will you give everything you got everyday, even if there is never a reward?" To that question, I have had to sadly say no sometimes, but I always strive to be able to answer yes to that question. 

I am learning to work for success and work for things. Because nothing comes easy here. 

#2. My biggest goal is to 100% without a doubt, perfectly and completely know Jesus Christ. That is what is most important to me. If I only get that out of my mission, I will be happy.

#3, The things I have learned and the things I shared are these. DON'T GIVE UP. And LISTEN TO WHAT GOD IS TELLING YOU. My first 6 months I was barely holding on. If I would have given up, I would not be where I am now, in as good of a place as I am in. And two, little by little, when I could handle it, God taught me something. And thankfully I was smart enough to listen and learn, and eventually I was ready to hear fully what he wanted to say. 

So to you all, focus on your relationship, testimony, and foundation of Christ. And don't give up and when the Lord speaks to you listen! 

Have a great week!