Week 5

November 16, 2016

Well well well this week was amazing! The time is flying by and I never thought I would say this but I don't want it to! This week has been awesome both spiritually and with getting closer to other missionaries! 

The first thing that happened this week was we got new missionaries! And I had horrible flashbacks as they struggled to say hello and goodbye. I realize how far I have come. But we also got new Native Koreans and Elder Cho is so cool! He is hilarious. Me and him have become really good friends and we usually talk all day about things. The first thing that I talked to him about was my accent. I asked how bad it was and he said "you accent cute" it was so funny to me for some reason, probably because this place is making me mentally insane.

 Anyways I asked him about my two biggest worries when I get to Korea. Snakes and Fish. He told me that they don't eat that much fish in the area I am going, but they occasionally have raw fish and octopus. He told me they mainly have pork belly and beef and chicken, lots and lots of chicken. So that was really good to hear. Then he said there are no snakes in the Seoul south area. He lives there and said he has never seen one. So now I'm not scared at all! I'm actually excited. Then we talked about guitar and he loves Daughtry, One Direction, Eminam, Guns and Roses, and Led Zeppelin. I can't think of a better taste in music than that! So we talked about all the songs we can play and we pretty much play and listen to the same music.

 He also has a book of just stupid American terms like yolo and lit and stuff like that. So I was helping explain what they mean and I realized he has bad things in there that he has no clue what they mean. He is good at English but doesn't understand our terms. He said he just watches TV and movies and writes down phrases he doesn't understand. A couple things I saw that I told him NOT to say were; drinks on me, can we elope, Jacka.., and swag. The last one isn't bad it is just stupid. But then I told him what things mean such as; its not my cup of tea, bff, and sick. He says weird phrases all the time and it is very funny. 

One thing to know is Koreans are very honest and one day I asked him how he was and he said "not good, I have diarrhea" and then ran to the bathroom, he isn't adjusting well to greasy American food. 

So another Elder I have gotten really close to is Elder Leithead. I have no clue why but one day as I walked passed his class room he made a gun with his fingers and fake shot me. And for some reason I just played along and flinched and fell to the floor and acted like I got shot. Ever since then every time we see each other we have a shoot out. When I walk past the class I slam my back against the wall and peek in and out. He jumps out of his desk and ducks behind it and pops his head up and down. We make "pew pew" noses and whoever gets a clear shot first wins. 

Well one day instead of pew pew,  I clicked my tongue really hard and everyone was amazed. And now every elder is constantly clicking their tongues but it isn't nearly as loud as mine. So now I click my tongue when I see him and he know he has been shot.

But we have been taking this game a little to far but it is fun and passes the time. In the dorms at night we run around hiding in people's rooms and having shoot outs. I have gone as far as hiding in a bathroom stall and hiding in his bed. I have also hid in his classroom and waited for a good 10 minutes before he came in but I shot him first! We shoot each other across the cafeteria and hid behind people walking by. And then Elder Leithead has started lobbing grenades into my class room. And you know the hero I am I have to jump on it and absorb the explosion to protect my fellow district members, and sometimes I am quick enough to pick it up and throw it back at him.

Well one night Elder Cho saw us shooting at each other and exclaimed, "shoot me, I zombie" so he cocked his head, started growling, turned his shoe to the side as if he had a broken ankle, and started limping after me and yelling "I'm going to bite you!" Me and Elder Leithead were forced to join forces so for about 5 minutes Elder Cho chased me and Elder Leithead around the dorm hall. 

Ok that's about it for all the dumb childish things we did this week, now on to the good spiritual stuff!

So something that is essential to missionary work is teaching with the spirit. This is because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints has a sure way to know of it's truth. That is through the Holy Ghost or the Spirit. I know if you read the Book of Mormon and pray about it the Holy Ghost will confirm it's truth to you. As with all the things we teach as missionaries we need the spirit to testify and confirm what we teach. So the spirit is very important to us missionaries.

So I have been struggling to recognize it and to feel it and to teach with it because I am always so worried about speaking Korean. But this week something miraculous happened. Not only does the spirit testify and confirm to investigators, but it guides me and helps me communicate and know what to say. And our teacher ,Sister Choi, talked with me and Elder Mark about the Holy Ghost and if we are feeling it in our lessons and stuff like that. And we both said we hadn't been recognizing it and that we didn't really see how it had helped us in our lessons. She pointed out somethings and encouraged us to try to recognize the spirit and listen to it. She shared a quick video from a talk by Elder Bednar from the quorum of the twelve apostles. He said "if you are wondering if a thought is your own or from the spirit, quit worrying about it. Act on it and you will recognize in the future that the thought came from the Holy Ghost." My teacher said not only does the spirit speak to our hearts but also our minds. 

So I started really trying to recognize the spirit and act on its promptings and HOLY COW has my life changes. There has been two major experiences I'd like to share. The first happened on the 12, exactly one month after I go there. I did my best to listen and recognize the spirit and let it guide me through out the lesson. It took me in a completely different direction than what me and my companion planned. There were times where I felt I should share a scripture i didn't even know existed, and things I hadn't planned to share. Then I remember having the feeling I should talk about Jesus Christ's atonement and him dying and suffering for us. But I didn't know or remember the words I would have to use, but I had learned and knew I should act on every prompting that I get so I opened my mouth and just started talking, completely trusting that God would help me remember the words. He did. I was saying things I didn't know I could say. And then I had the feeling to invite our investigator to be baptized. She said yes! It was a miracle and I know that God and the Holy Ghost both helped me so much! In one month I am able to teach an hour lesson and get someone to be baptized. you can't tell me that I'm doing this on my own. I could not have imagined I would have come this far in Korean in 1 month!

The second thing that happened was on Saturday night. Me and Elder Mark were planning our TRC lesson for Monday, which is when we teach members of the church instead of investigators. Elder Mark just had a simple thought that we should teach about always remembering Jesus Christ and what he did for us. I agreed, and then we didn't talk or think about it until Monday when we had to teach. The member we taught through tears exclaimed he had been having a rough week and really needed to hear this message. he was so grateful and gave us huge hugs. I now recognize that that simple thought two nights ago was from God through the Holy Ghost, because God knew that one of His children would need to hear that message. Since these two experiences I have learned to trust in the Lord and trust that he will guide me. I have seen a huge impact in my life and my learning and my teaching. I now know how important the Holy Ghost is to me. It helps me know what to teach and what to say in the very moment I need it. I have complete trust in the Savior. 

On Sunday night I watched a talk by Elder Bednar, the same one that Sister Choi had shared with me and my companion. He shared two stories on how the Holy Ghost guides us without us knowing. The first story was when he was on a mission in Germany.

He was responsible for picking up an apostle and making sure he got on a train to northern Germany where he had an important meeting. Elder Bednar picked up the apostle and got him on a train. Before he left he gave him 20 notes because he had a thought that they might get hungry. This apostle 20 years later told a story about this incident. The apostle was Elder Boyd K. Packer and had explained that on the way to Northern Germany, crossing a certain boarder the train got stopped by German Military checking passports. Elder Packers passport was valid, but his wife had a passport that the German government would not accept. They military was going to throw them off the train. Elder Packer than took out the 20 notes and handed it to the military man and he let them go. When Elder Packer arrived in North Germany he explained this story to the American military and they were amazed. They said the German military has never ever let anyone through with that invalid passport. People have bribed 100 of notes and they always steal it and kick people off the bus. Elder Bednar at the time just had a thought to give Elder Packer money for food, he later realized it was a prompting from the spirit. 

Later as a stake president he was in a stake leadership meeting and was presiding in the meeting. His son was playing in a championship game that same night for high school. Elder Bednar saw the Elders Quorum president and knew his son was on the opposite team. He had a feeling to leave the meeting and go to the game. So Elder Bednar and this man drove two hours to get to the game just in time. Both sons were so happy and it was a great game. The next couple weeks Elder Bednar wondered if he was following the spirit or if he was just justifying leaving a church meeting. He then got a call from that Elders quorum president saying that is son was in an accident and asked if he would come. Elder Bednar promptly went and when he arrived at the hospital the son died. The father hugged Elder Bednar and explained what happened and then said "I am so grateful you took me with you to that basketball game. That was and is the only time i will ever get to see my son play in a game like that." Elder Bednar realized that a simple feeling he had months ago was a prompting from the spirit because God knew this accident would happen and wanted the young man's father to see him play in one last basketball game. 

From that I learned that in the moment we won't know if our thoughts are coming from the Holy Ghost or just us. But we shouldn't worry and wonder is this thought mine, or from the Holy Ghost and just follow. So I have been applying that principle and I have seen so much improvement in my Korean and my studies. 

Sorry for the really long email but I had a lot to say and a lot has happened. I love this gospel and I love my mission so much. Thank you for all your support and I will see you soon!

Elder Goon