Week 76

Sorry, I didn't like leaving you all hanging last week, and I also don't like emailing without telling you something special I learned this week. But anyways...

President wasn't able to sleep well. He said the Lord had been keeping him up. He didn't feel good about the transfers. So he called to do some investigating, to find out why he was having those feeling. Eventually he found out about our member's friend (The Canadian Sister) and how if I left she and our member wouldn't have any means of being able to understand any of what is happening in church, then later he found out that one of the people we previously taught had become the Chief Executive of the Dong-Hae Library and that she came to us asking if we could bring the English Connect Program over to the Library.

So, he and Sister Taylor told us that they feel better with me staying here this transfer. President specifically told me that I better enjoy the countryside while I can. It seems like he wants to bring me over to Seoul next transfer. I was completely fine with the decision mentally, but for some odd reason my body was freaking out. Haha. The whole week I wasn't sure whether I would leave or not, and I just wanted to feel steady. Haha. 

But, honestly I feel good about the situation right now. I could see that the idea of introducing an area to a Korean missionary was sort of racking Elder Torres mentally. He even said, the day president told me I'd stay, that he had really quickly grown to appreciate more of what I have been doing for him that last weekend. That day, and even this last week, he has had a fire and even more eagerness than usual, especially for conquering the beast of learning Korean. He kept telling me this last week. "Elder I am a changed man, don't let me forget that!" I love being with my greeny!!! Such an amazing convert!

That day I learned that our prayers really do get answered, even if it sometimes means keeping  the mission president up at night. haha! I know it got answered because he was worthy and seeking guidance extremely diligently. God works through his servants. I am glad president is in tune with the Spirit. 

And, this last week!!!!!!! It was great

I don't know how the Lord does it, but somehow He does every time! Every time I go to a conference I arrive feeling like I have been studying all the wrong things on my own and that what I have been studying is out of place, but while I am there, I see that really those acts of studying this or that, were actually acts of faith, acting on the tiny promptings that I have been receiving.

I won't go into too many specifics, but I wanted to say that I know that Elder Robert C. Gay is truly a servant of the Lord (part of the presidency of the Seventies) and because of that he had the Spirit. It pierced to my soul when he spoke last weekend. At one moment, it almost felt like God was speaking to me personally. At that moment in time, my heart was pounding harder than I have ever, ever felt before (no exaggeration). It actually hurt, that's how much it was pounding, so I was breathing deeply to be able to slow down my heart rate.

I know that God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, and a lot of times that Holy Spirit works through other people on our behalf.

And...
Guess what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The friend of the member, the Canadian lady, is completely amazing!!!!!!!!!! We gave her a book of Mormon this last Thursday, but when she came to church, she said she had read all of 1 Nephi!!!!!!!!!!! She is sooo curious! And, this morning she texted in our group chat that she almost finished all of 2 Nephi yesterday. She struggled with the Isaiah chapters, but she keeps on surprising us with how studious of a believer in Christ she is and also her diligence. She actually might even be more studious than all of our members when it comes to studying the Come Follow Me program!

She said, "the Gospel Library is any eager Christian's dream come true. It is so convenient with all the links and there are even such High Quality videos of the Savoir's Ministry. I like that it quotes directly from the Bible. It makes it authentic, but yet gives me the feel that I a watching a Shakespearean play."

Our member is such a key in the process. He is there to support her when we aren't there and answer her questions. I have never had a member referral like this before, but it really shows me that President Hinkley wasn't lying when he gave the address in Feb.1999 on member missionary work. Members are the Key!!!!!

Make sure that you stay open about the gospel with your friends, you will not only brighten the life of your friends, but also the missionaries there. All they want to do is share what they love so dearly. Work closely with your missionaries. Know what their goals are and if you don't feel like you have any friends that would be willing to give an ear to the missionaries, at least find out about people that the missionaries are working with. Then you can be a friend to those who are trying to learn of the Restored Gospel of Christ!!!

Love you all!
Elder Alger

One of our investigators wanted to take us up with his kids to see North Korea and to do some touring. Right now, for the Koreans, it is what Americans consider their summer break from school, but theirs is in the winter. It was a great bonding experience and very cultural. We went to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and saw other things, one including Kim Jong-Un's grandfather's villa. It was fun and our investigator was so generous. I won't forget this one!

While visiting the DMZ: https://youtu.be/k9IRpAAQBKE

South Koreans speak slightly different from North Koreans. Most of the words that are different are the Konglish, but it is interesting to me to see the differences.

Do you see the Alger? Yeah, he is an American communist spy, that brought a lot of bad to Korea.  Way to carry on the family legacy! (So sad..)

I was trying to do the Monkees walk with them! Fun stuff!

 He was a shy kid, but of course by the end of the day I was tight with our investigators kid. He even wanted to hold my had at some points of the touring! So CUTE!

On top of one of the church buildings in Seoul.

  

There is an amazing variety of teas here in Korea. I love them! 

Elder Torres is a punk and didn't tell me that it was his birthday last week, and so I bought him his favorite drink the following day! No worries I still love him!

More calls to less actives to check if they moved. I wrote a script for Elder Torres.

Week 75

Hey everyone!!!! Well, this last week.....hahaha....... I guess you could say that it made me feel quite unsteady!!!!!!!!!!!

First off this week, I had to go on exchanges with Wonju Elders. Right after that, we planned on meeting with a member and his friend who has just started attending our church last last week. I was SSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to meet them, first of all, because I love these guys and I love teaching Korean, and they wanted to learn how they could say a Korean phrase about what they have been studying together in the new and revelatory manual "Come Follow ME" ( If you aren't excited about these materials you should just try it. Even non-members are amazed by the details and the videos and links. The Lord has made things so easily available to us, but I think we can take them for granted some times).

But, anyways, I get a call from Sokcho Elders that they need me over there for a baptismal interview. We had originally planned on Friday, but something popped up for the baptismal candidate and he was only open that day and begged me to come over there. I hesitantly agreed, knowing I would have to cancel our appointment for that night. And, took the 1 hour 15 minutes to ride up there. It went well! The Elders there are doing amazingly!

There is that, but then this Friday the mission president decided to do give the transfer calls early, out of no where. And so we got them. He told me that I was going to go to a place in Seoul to work in a HUGE brand new building and to be the zone leader of a new zone that combined previous two previous zones. We heard that Elder Torres will have a Korean companion here to replace me. I was excited, for the new responsibility and I was excited for Elder Torres, because he's getting a Korean comp. He had said would help him in the language. 

But after that.... I then thought of the Canadian sister who is solid and has started going to church with our members and I thought, "How in the world is she going to get translation to English?"
Then I thought of how almost all of our efforts these last two transfer in Dong-hae were to start up and build up our English Connect Class, and if a Korean elder came then all of what we did would be wasted. Also we had a brand new opportunity given to us from the Executive Chief of the Dong Hae Libary. He said that we can promote in the library and have another base there.

With all these in my head, I worried a little, but me being me, I brushed it over quick, trusting that God had a plan. I am not a worrier.

But, Elder Torres is and he was the one that would get the backlash of it all. And, so for the past 2 days he prayed harder than he has in a long time! And he even was secretly brought to tears some times. I was unaware of this fact until last night.

But the following to morning President Taylor called us saying "I am not sure about this."

And yesterday morning he called and said I have been up all night. And the Lord has kept me up...
And.. 
I can't finish....
No time........

P-day with the zone. We had a Nerf war at the Kang-Neung building and we invited people we are teaching. If you are going to have fun on P-day why not with those you teach??? 

Leaving Elder Torres on an exchange. He was with a Japanese elder. A really good guy and I admire him because he never gets to speak his mother tongue. He has to speak Korean or English. He is a good elder.

I had to go to Sok-Cho which is a place way up in the northern parts of the county side. It has the cutest little church building and the interior is actually really well designed. (I was doing a baptismal interview for those elders' investigator.)

Eating with a guy that likes missionaries and likes feeding us, but he isn't taking lessons. But, hey he was the one who wanted to feed us, so I am not going to deny him. Anyway, I would have just been making dinner at the house and we have more opportunities to help others understand what our beliefs are when we are out, so why not take him up the offer.

Elder Torres found this cute little guy in the house and decided to make it at night.