Week 6

November 23, 2016

Hello all! this week has been just as amazing as all the others, and time is flying. I don't feel like I have been gone for 6 weeks. This week has been really fun. I have been getting super close to other missionaries, and more importantly I have been getting closer and closer to my Heavenly Father.

The first thing that happened this week is it SNOWED!!!!!!!! it was super awesome and fun. We didn't play too much, but starting this Friday it is going to snow for 4 days straight so hopefully on Pday next week I can build an awesome snow man. Funny story, Elder Lam is from Hong Kong and has never seen snow. So he picked it up and just stared at it for a good minute saying nothing. 

We also got our Korean name tags! They are so awesome and I'm so excited to get to Korea!!!!

Also a crazy story about our dorm. On Monday morning I woke up to Elder Gilmore screaming, "what is that smell!" his room mates proceeded to tear apart their room looking for the smell. If I had to describe it it would be a week old dead rotten animal. It was so bad! We came to the conclusion that something died in the vents and the rotten smell was blowing in all night. The vent had a really strong smell and we couldn't think of anythings else. 

Well we went to exercise and when we got back it was even worse. and that vent blows into 4 other rooms so now my room and the rooms next to us all smelled horrible. Like death. It was so so bad. We spent the next hour looking for the source and I had to be the one to find it. We were pushing up ceiling tiles looking for this dead animal and I lifted one up, looked in and almost died. There was a leaking sewage pipe that smelled so bad. I screamed "get me down get me down" because I was on Elder Gilmore's shoulders looking. It was so bad I was crying. 

So we left a sticky note on the housekeeping door, the ceiling and the pipe, hoping that they would fix it. Well they didn't and by the time we got back 12 hours later after class it was so much worse! It was awful! But we found a solution. I remembered that Elder Kellis spilled my laundry detergent on my bad and my bed smelled so good and made his bed smell good. SoIi decided to sprinkle my detergent all over our 4 rooms. It instantly helped. Then we took it a step further and stuffed dryer sheets in the vents. When we woke up, problem solved and our room smelled like clean laundry. 

Anyways this week has been really good. I'm learning to trust God more and more. I now know more than anything that He loves us and that he wants to help us, and will help us. I learned and have recognized how much our Heavenly Father has helped me. I learned that in the past 6 weeks, we have learned more than you do on Korean 101. we are studying a lot more, but that is amazing to me, that with Heavenly Fathers help I am able to learn a year of college level Korean in 6 weeks. I can't explain it other than He is helping me. 

I also learned a very important lesson this week. Probably something I need to hear most. And especially at this time.

I often said to my self growing up, if only I lived in the 80's life would have been so much better. Or if only I didn't have to go to school I would be so much happier. or once I graduate high school life will be so much better. Once I have a family and so on. 

And I have found that on my mission I have said similar things. If i only I could go home life would be so much better. If only I knew Korean and didn't have to struggle learning everyday life would be so much better. Or I'll be happy once I get to Korea. 

This week I learned I shouldn't say those things. I learned that I am supposed to be living in the 2000's and I am supposed to be on a mission. I have learned that there is no better day than today. So be happy now. I changed my attitude and am happy that I am living now, and doing the things I am doing now. I can promise you guys that if you decide to be happy now and not say"I'll be happy when... or life would be so much better if..." you will have more joy than you can imagine. it will still be hard, and life will not be perfect, but there is no better day to be a live than today, so be happy now.

I know that God loves us. I know he want's nothing more than our eternal happiness. He will help us if wee seek his help. I love my mission and love the gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know it is true. I know that Jesus Christ lived and died and lives again. I know he leads his church and his work on the earth through me, and everyone else. I sometimes feel in adequate, but my teacher said this "the Lord is doing a perfect work with imperfect tools." I know that to be true and I love serving our Heavenly Father. I am so glad to be on a mission! There is no better day to be alive than today!!!

Love,

Elder Goon