Week 57

The Last Week in Taebek! Ending with some miracles!!

This last week I am proud to say we worked ourselves as hard as we could and the Lord saw fit to bless us with 2 new investigators, and a Baptismal Date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This last week was fantastic!!!!!!!!
We didn't get a single investigator this transfer until this last week. And, I was excited to work with them. And, even though I will be in the neighboring area Dong-Hae, I will be able to continue working with one of the new investigators over there, because he lives in that area.
I was glad that we found new people to teach, but the highlight of the week was definitively getting the Baptismal Date!
He is a Youth, named Jung Mean, and has gone to FSY (For the Strength of the Youth) conference and to church more than 18 times already.
When we were teaching the youth in Sunday School, the Spirit was giving us the promptings throughout the whole thing, and it work well. The way I extended the baptismal invitation was different than I had ever done before.  I kept in mind Elder Stevenson's statement of how you need to also have the 2nd baptismal date (at the temple) to retain the converts and keep them always reaching for the temple. And, so I asked our investigator if he would prepare to go to the temple with us as a branch  in the coming months.

He said yes, and it lead to, "Okay! So this is what we've got to do to get you to the temple."
He had been asked to be baptized before, but didn't accept it. I think that it is because he didn't see the full picture! Seeing the end Goal of going to return to Heavenly Father's presence as one big family helped him to know what he needs to do!

I love this work!!! I have learn so much from being here in Taebaek!!! I have gotten a lot closer to the members, investigators and the less actives, more than other areas, and I want to continue that in Dong-Hae!


i AM GOING TO BE zONE leADER IN dONGHAE!!!

Week 56

Just another great week here in 태백 (Taebaek)!!!!
Thank you so much for being you!!!

I love our two most progressing investigators so much!!!!!! They both are headed in the right direction!!! Tonight, we will be extending a baptismal date to one of them, and the other is right behind him!! Keep Forrest in your prayers!

I was so grateful for a chance to listen to our leaders!! Thing I love most, about these types of experiences, is the confirmation that we are all one through this gospel.

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Through the spirit of revelation and earnest seeking in prayer, I have been able to learn what the Lord's will is for me. And, not only do I have the right to the spirit of revelation, but I also have wonderful leaders. I've gotten to meet with my mission president, Elder Yamisita, Elder Choi, and Elder Gray E. Stevenson all with in this one transfer, and it has been a huge blessing. All that was taught, (maybe it wasn't even what was said, just the Spirit that was there, for he is the real teacher right?) was exactly what the Lord had revealed to me before hand.
As Christ says when we are one we can be made perfect.

We went to a conference in Dong-dae-moon, another place I consider to be home. The training was given by our area leaders, for the Japan and Korea missions. They are both Japanese and gave their training in English. Elder Yamasita is fairly good at English, but his wife speaks broken English.
Even though her teaching was very simple and she reminded me of a giddy little girl (being late in her 50's), the Spirit was strong and taught us. And, I know for a fact that she loves us. She kept on using simple but sweet phrases while looking us straight in the eyes. Things like, "We love you and God loves you!!" "You really special!" "You can do it!"

It reminded me of when I was a greeny in the Korea. Words really don't matter in the work. It is the way we handle ourselves, and show God's love through our actions!!!

I love the Gospel!!! And, I can feel God stretching my understanding of the gospel in 태백 Taebaek so much!!!!

So, people wonder what impact the Korean culture has had on me. There are so many!

One of the biggest impacts the people or culture has had on me is my sense of reverence. In the temple and in sacrament meetings, reverence is taken to a whole new level, when it comes to respecting the Lord. It is because they have amazing manners in Korea. Not only have I received a greater spiritual witnesses from the spirit because of that mannerism, but even how to show your respect for leaders in the church. It means the world!! Koreans are the best!!!

There are a 1000 more things that I have learned, but I think that is one of the best.

Another, is the realization of overworking. Koreans are so stinkin' studious, as students and in there profession!!! They are flippin' geniuses, and they achieve so much. I love them!!!!!!! But, the flip side to that is they miss out on things. There priorities get flipped, not everything in life is the next task to be done.

I feel that aside from the corrupt methods used by some of the churches here, such as pastors getting famous for speeches and get rich from tithing and so on, and the bad image that creates of churches in general, the biggest thing that Satan uses to halt the work is the "I'm busy" excuse. There is always work to be done or the next exam to prepare for, and so on. Even if we find some with interest in learning about God, that cultural aspect gets in the way of what matters most in life. What we offer is something that doesn't rust and cannot be corrupted by moths.

I have learned the importance of making eternal matters a priority. For the rest of my life I am committed to doing that, and to never tell my kids when they come up to me, "No, I am busy." Just saying those words sort of makes me gag at this moment. I mean after all they are the ones to whom I am sealed for the rest of eternity.

I have recently fallen in love with the "Gospel Topics" (a new feature in the Gospel Library that is like a new and improved True to the Faith). Under Becoming Like God (One of my favorite gospel topics to read from, at the moment, I could read it over and over) it says this, "Latter-day Saints tend to imagine exaltation through the lens of the sacred in mortal experience... Church members imagine exaltation less through images of what they will get and more through the relationships they have now and how those relationships might be purified and elevated. As the scriptures teach, That same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy." The things that matter most are people and the relationships we have!

I love being a missionary and serving God's children in Korea!!!!

Week 55

This last week, was good, because I know that giving my best effort is all God asks of me. (2 Nephi 25:23)

I feel that God has helped me understand the principles of Faith, and Agency, and Judgement (Accountability) this last week. We listened to Elder Ukchdorf's Fourth Floor, Last Door talk. I had heard lots of great stuff about it from other missionaries, but this last week I finally listened to it and loved it.
 

 I loved the understanding the limits of faith.
"Yet some might ask, 'If faith is so powerful, why can’t I receive an answer to a heartfelt prayer? I don’t need a sea to part or a mountain to move. I just need my illness to go away or my parents to forgive each other or...뭐뭐뭐. Why can’t my faith accomplish that?'

[1.)] Faith is powerful, and often it does result in miracles. But no matter how much faith we have, there are two things faith cannot do. For one, it cannot violate another person’s agency. [God] will not force anyone to choose the path of righteousness. God did not force His own children to follow Him in the pre-mortal world. How much less will He force us now as we journey through this mortal life?

[2.)] Something faith cannot do is force our will upon God. We cannot force God to comply with our desires—no matter how right we think we are or how sincerely we pray."

Just because something doesn't happen the way we feel it should (outward results). It does not mean, if you are jumping quickly to conclusions, that your lack of results is a lack of your faith.
But, the lack of results or information or stats, should NEVER EVER be used as an excuse or the OK to slacken the ropes or to not put as much effort, or diligence.

There are amazing examples of these all through out the scriptures...

Mormon to his son..  (Moroni 9:6)
"And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God."

Lehi comforting his worried, scared, and doubting wife, in a time where all things seem to be going wrong. They had traveled away from the place they had lived their whole lives, leaving all their belongings on a leap of faith. And, after a little whiles journey, Lehi tells his sons to go back and get records from a powerful and wicked man Laban. And, right before the sons returned successfully, Sariah being worn down by this dramatic change and complains to her husband.

This was his response. (1 Nephi 5:4-5)
"...I know that I am a visionary man; for if I had not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren. But behold, I have obtained  a land of promise,(despite the present state, having hope in the promises of the Lord; "Faith it" till he makes it) in the which things I do rejoice; yea, and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban, and bring them down again unto us in the wilderness."

There is also, Alma who preached to the people in Ammonihah. He had no direct results and was rejected when an angel comes and says to him... (Alma 8:15)
"Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivest thy first message from him."

As missionaries we know Moses 1:39 (For this is my work and glory —to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man) about God's purpose.  But, have we ever thought about what OUR work or OUR duty is as humans? It is clearly stated in this passage. (D&C 11:20) "Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength."

Sometimes we can't control everything that happens outside of us. Not saying that it takes away our personal responsibility, or even implying that things are just the way they are and you can't do anything to change it. NO! We are all agents, to act and not be acted upon (2 Nephi 2:14).  So, the thing, in which we can have the most impact, is our everyday choices. On a mission, the thing we can control is our own obedience, the type of person we become, what type of attitude we have, whether we have the Spirit with us always, and if we always teach and invite according to what we KNOW is true. We do everything with-in our power, to bless the lives of others. Not only all successful missionaries, but all successful people in life, have come to understand the principle of agency one way or the other.

We all are to help others become agents unto themselves, by helping them understand truths. Recognition and awareness makes us liable for our the actions we make later on. It gives us the opportunity (2 Nephi 2: 27-29). 
After we share with them the things they didn't know that they didn't know, it gives them power!!! We all know that, "With great power (like knowledge of truths, laws and promises of our loving Heavenly Father), comes great responsibility."
Thanks Spidey ;p!

A wise man told me once that Spirit testifies of truth, no matter where it comes from. So make sure to lean in closely, no matter where you're at, the Spirit might just be teaching you something.

The next time you learn a truth by the Spirit, I would hope that you literally think of it as power given to you from Heaven! What have you come to know by the Spirit?

Love you ALL! You're in my prayers.
And, 화이팅 (good luck fighting the good fight)

Rootless plants are always fun, right?

Getting some 떡뽁이 (Pronounced duck-bow-key)

I don't know if you all heard, but there was a typhoon that came over Korea. There was no big damage from what I have heard and seen, other than fact that the kids didn't have to go to school for some days :p.  

Food I made at home. Green apples taste remarkable with chicken! 해보세요!

Week 54

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This last week we had an apostle, Elder Gray E. Stevenson, come to Seoul!! The Seoul Mission and the Seoul South Mission combined for the meeting!!

The best part was hearing him teach the restoration lesson in 3-ish mins, and his testimony at the end!!

The Spirit truly is a miraculous gift from God and I am so grateful for its ability to witness of truth!!! I know that this church was restored by Jesus Christ, through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that prophets and seers are leading His church today! How grateful I am for their special witness of Christ!! The Spirit testified that to me this last week! And I can not deny it!!!!!!!!!

I love Christ's disciples! And, because I, through leadership, know without a doubt that God wants to restore truth to everyone of his children!

Love you all!!
Elder Timmy

떡뽁이 (Duck-Boekey) Delectable Korean Snack!

Riding the train to Seoul from Taebaek takes 4 hours!!!! But, the view is killer!!!!!!!!!!!! (Sometimes I forget that it is not normal for me to be in Korea!!!!! I love its green hills, rivers heading towards the East side.)

My first Mission President, Pres. Sonksen, had his last Sunday in Taebaek, and taught Sunday School! And since then, we had not erased his writing off of one of our white boards. But, this last week we had to because there were 20 kids that came to English class!!!!! It was hectic and fun. (But, honestly they all were fantastic at English and Korean students are so well behaved)

Taebaek!

We finally got air conditioning units, but after the heat wave. This week it cooled down to 85-65° F. Koreans still think it is a little warm, but I am a cold blooded reptile from AZ, so it was quite chilly to me, and refreshing! People are always shocked when I tell them what temperatures it reaches in AZ!

MY GANG of GRANDMAS! (Still upset about that one picture getting deleted!!! IT was with me and my 할아머니s  (Har-Moe-Knees [Grandmas]. Love them with all my heart!)

This belongs to someone we see every time we head to or from the house. He goes all out with gardening, and since his grandson likes reading, we gave them a Book of Mormon last week. It is not to hard follow up on commitments when you see them almost daily!! ;P

Who can read Elder Stevenson Code??? (Hint: The thing on the right is a ?"firework")

Elder Boden is great with the camera, and so he made these last P-day to send out to people through our phones. He is nice and crafty! They are just scriptures, with pictures he took while we went hiking!

Seoul Mission!!!!!!!

My Comps from the MTC

The people I went into and out of the MTC with!! Great to see there faces again!!! We have changed but at the same time we have not, so funny!

Week 53

For being the week that marks my year out as a missionary, there has been a considerable amount of ups and downs.

There were some really high highs. One of the top ones being the inspiration and revelation that came out of Zone Conference. And through the week there were some lower moments.

But, I think you all know me well enough that even if something outside of me and my control is happening, it will NEVER take my passion for the work of the Lord and I will not let it effect my attitude for very long at all.  I think that it is all thanks to my understanding of the principles of Agency and Hope.(Something I shared as part of training during exchanges this last week, no coincidence as to why I was prompted to teach that. God wanted to reinforce what I already had come to learn.)

This last week in Taebaek, out of our 5 lessons, there were 3 spectacular lessons with progressing investigators. (You know that it is a good lesson if the person you're teaching finds out for himself and says in prayer that they have come to learn that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God, or that they ask questions about doctrine they heard from youth conference, but especially when you yourself have had your understating enlarged in the Gospel.) 

After one of those 3 great lessons, we texted the person we taught to check up on what she understood from the scripture we had sent. And from that simple attempt to follow up it lead to the person we taught going straight to expressing that she would never like to meet us again. It really caught me and Elder Boden off guard.

I was sort of shocked at first, but later on in the night, when that shocked feeling started to fade away, the feeling started turning to an achy heart. But, only because I could feel that she was just on the grasp of partaking of the fruits of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, to feel that peace and purpose in life that you can find nowhere else in this world. I put in a lot of thought and studying with Elder Boden, to make sure that all our investigators can start to hear the voice of God in their lives, but the person we had been teaching used her agency to choose not to accept it, the opportunity. An opportunity to partake of the blessings God has in store for each and every one of his children that ask or seek for it.

And, I don't think that she has shut herself off for eternity. That would be way to dramatic, but I believe that it is for a moment. We have taken the time and care to make sure we planted a seed correctly, and I believe that later it will start to grow, as God's servants continue to watch over that seed and she chooses to water it until it can finally take root, flourish, provide fruit. 

This transfer President Taylor, other missionaries and I have be told through multiple means, that the Lord need us to reach out our light even further to find new people to teach, take them to church and ultimately bring to the waters of baptism. For baptism is the place where they can partake of the first fruits of repentance. (Moroni 8: 25)

If we follow each step of the gospel, pure doctrine of Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Endure to the End), the fruit of the first harvest will be sweeter than any other fruit we have eaten before. (1 Nephi 8:12) I promise you. And that is only the first harvest, imagine what the tree's fruit will be like when it has been nurtured over the years until it is fully matured! (Alma 32: 42-43) And this tree will never wither away. (If you endure to the end; Alma 32: 41) That I can promise you!!!!!

Christ is the Shepard.
Alma 5
33 Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.

34 Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely;

[...nevertheless have gone astray, as sheep having no shepherd, notwithstanding a shepherd hath called after you and is still calling after you...]

41 Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him...

This Shepherd knows the name of all his sheep, and not one can come to harm with in his keep, but if they wander from the keeper into the this fallen state of a world, there is no reason to fear! For there are angels watching over the Shepherd's sheep, to warn them in the cold and stormy nights and guard them still! They are there to guide them safely to the fold again. They need to know that they will never walk alone.
"...the arms of mercy are extended towards [us all]..."

Sometimes we forget the fact that we believe in the same things and and can experience the same things as was in the primitive church.

I believe in the Gift of Tongues!!! It is a miracle that I can speak as much as I can in Korean, it truly is a Spiritual Gift from God, and it has come after earnest prayer for the gift and all that I can do.

I believe in Revelations. I have accepted our modern day Prophet's invitation to "stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.”
Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!”    As I have accepted this invitation I have come to realize the same. God is more willing to give us understanding of these important and eternal doctrinal truths then we think.

I believe in the Gift of Healing. I know that very priesthood that was given to the apostles by Christ, was restored to Joseph Smith. It is the same priesthood used to bring people back to life and heal many manners of sickness. I have see these types of miracles come to pass in our day through worthy priesthood holders and the faith of those the receiving these blessings!

I believe in the Ministering of Angels. As I mention before, there are angels watching over the Shepherd's sheep. We just need to open our eyes!

I love you all and sorry for the surplus of thoughts, and I am sure you don't have all the time in the world to read this, but I hope that you can get a little something out of it.

 God Bless you all!

Friends keep coming out of Goodyear Arizona!!!!!!!!!!

Week 52

It is time to change! The new transfer has arrived!

Honestly! Elder Boden and I are on doing EXTREMELY well! Not only is it pleasant to be with him, we both are making sure that we are one in how we go about doing the work. You know, things just get done when you learn how to be on the same page. And, since we are determined on being united,, it makes rowing our little boat to the Lords WAY a lot easier and quicker! I know that we have started off on the right foot here. It is as if we are in a three legged race together, and we've just got to keep communicating openly with each other!

If I may, I will list a couple of the changes that we have decide to change in our work!

1.) Exact OBEDIENCE! (Still a lot to work on, but I feel I am improving daily)

2.) We are working on being TIMELY in all things (We only have a limited amount of time here!)

3.) Maintain the SPIRIT of our home, keeping it spic-n-span - I have spent all of my down time, like mornings and nights, deeply cleaning our home, at the expense of reading 20 pages of the Korean Book of Mormon. You know what? I already feel the Spirit residing stronger in it. After all, we do believe that heaven is the continuation of the ideal home, right? I am not sure about you all, but I don't picture heaven being cluttered up. So, I changed that and tossed out A LOT of junk  from the house. It now feels like OUR haven. It is hard to reflect and ponder, on how we did that day, if we don't have revelation to guide us. If it is not clean, the voice of the Spirit is muffled out. If that is so, we as missionaries can't have the sufficient amount of revelation that we need for the work of salvation.

4.) We are only speaking in KOREAN to each other!!!!!! - It actually turned out to be a whole lot more fun than I had previously thought. And, I feel that I have been increasing my ability to communicate a lot faster than I've done in the past. Our motive behind this is to work out all the kinks of communication with ourselves in a safe and loving environment, before it gets to the real deal, out on the streets, where people's salvation is at stake. Sort of a bold way to put it, but it is just the truth!

5.) We are trying to pull new people with interest from our CONTACTS! To keep contact and better connection with those we are teaching as priority and also with those who have interest. -  To find those with interest, we don't need to always be sifting through the people on the street. Previous missionaries have already made a bank of people who all have/had interest to some degree or another. Why go mining for that gold hidden in the vast mountains, when people from the past have already been found and put aside in our phone? It is up to us to clean up the mess and cleanse the raw gold of its impurities, by taking the time to really sit down and polish up and refine it. But, missionaries want to be "outside" sweating to swing there picket with their might. "He that thrusteth in his sickle with his might" (D&C 4) as the scriptures put it. But, sometimes we forget what the reason is behind our task. We need to be careful of the "busy" disease. Don't ever mistake momentum for progress!!! The image of always keeping in motion is very appealing to the the inexperienced.  Take my word, I am not trying to pick on those work who work in the field, but we need someone who can take a step back and look at the end goal. We want to fill our daily lives with tasks that lead us to our goals in life. We need to finish the process, look at what we need to do to reach the end goal. Sometimes, those valuable fruits from the first steps have a limited lifespan.

Anyways, as PMG puts it, nothing happens in missionary work, until you meet with people. Usually the way our missionaries go about that, especially those in Seoul, is by talking and finding people on the street. And, from that point you have gotten a phone number to follow up with. Something that I have noticed is that we struggle in moving forward to the next stage, actually meeting with people. Whether it be the we forget them and don't follow up, or we just don't know how to follow up. However it maybe, when that happens, the missionaries have no one to meet and think to themselves "Alright then, I guess I ought to find new people to teach." And, they turn straight back to street contacting. I have found this to be a loop that we get our selves stuck in. And, of course this is not true for every missionary, but from what I have seen it is a common thought process that we circulate through and to which we are often we are blind. (We don't know what we don't know. )

This last week when Elder Newton left to America, we were supposed to give back the second phone. But, Elder Boden gave his petition to President Taylor to keep both devices here in Taebaek. President told him that he would let us keep it on the condition that we live 90% to 100% according to the technology safeguards. 1.) Be in tune with Spiritual Promptings 2.) Be focused on your missionary purpose 3.) Be Disciplined 4.) Be one

Because we don't want him to regret leaving 2 phones here in Taebaek, Elder Boden and I really have been trying to live 100% according to the safeguards. And, I HAVE seen a change.  President Taylor's counsel to Elder Boden is constantly playing in my head. The idea surprised me in the moment, but a  little while later, the Spirit confirmed with me that what he said is truth. He said something along these lines, "Even though living completely according to the safeguards may seem slower or unnatural to us, doing things the Lord's way which may seem slower to us as mortals, WILL in the end bring about more results than if we skip a rule here or there from the safeguards." I feel like that is very applicable to more than just following guidelines in use of technology. What do you think?

I am excited to pay really close attention to what God wants me to learn tomorrow at our Zone Conference. They are always full of inspiration! Our leaders always seem to have the right thing to say. I am so thankful for all our leaders do, and especially President Taylor's watchful eye as God's spokesman for the great work to be done here in the Seoul Korea Mission!

I love the work of the Lord and all I want to do is make sure that I am doing it the Lord's way! It is the one thing I constantly worry about.

 Sorry for the extreme detail, but I just never want to forget. That is what records are for right? (3 Nephi 23: 6-13)

Love you all! God bless!

It's been in the upper 90's here. Everyone is melting in the heat!

Goodbye Elder Newton