October 19, 2015

Annyeong hashinkyo, everyone!

It's been such a crazy week. I'm not going to lie; it's been pretty
hard at times, but I've seen lots of miracles. It's been frustrating
to feel like I can't really communicate with people, but I already
feel myself improving. I am certain that without the Spirit, I would
never learn this language. It's super difficult, but I love it.

Mom, to answer your questions:
Yes, we have a small balcony.
We cook occasionally. Something great about Korea: every store in this
country delivers... for FREE. That includes the grocery store down the
street, Costco, every restaurant... it's great. When we are short on
time, we (kind of) cook... I'll attach a picture if I can. But lots of
the time, we pick something up or have it delivered.
Ah yes, you were curious about the bathrooms. In our apartment, the
bathroom actually is the shower. Read that carefully. The shower isn't
IN the bathroom, it IS the bathroom. So basically the toilet and sink
are in the shower with you. It's actually ingenious. (Fun fact, I
actually sat on a heated toilet seat today. What a mighty throne. Put
that on my Christmas list.)

Up next on this week's episode of "What Strange Things Has Elder
Sorensen Eaten In Korea??", watch Elder Sorensen choke down the
stomach lining of an unknown animal!

Yeah, that happened. At a buffet, my district talked me into eating
stomach lining. It came back up two or three times, but I eventually
got it down. Earlier this week, at another buffet (the members love to
feed us, either at home or at buffets because they're really cheap) I
ate pig feet. Not my favorite. Another member took us to a place
where I was handed a bowl of some broth with a half a crab and full
shrimp (we're talking eyes, antennae, legs... everything) floating in
it. Actually, it wasn't bad. For the most part, the food here is
incredible.

Okay, now for the miracles. I have to pick and choose the ones to
write because there are so many.

Last P-day, I had little time to write because I had to go apply for
my foreigner's card in Nampo city, a solid 40 minute subway ride away.
While on the subway, a man came and sat by us. Some background info on
this guy: Elder O gave him a Book of Mormon on the subway about a
month ago, and this guy took it reluctantly. He made it pretty clear
he wasn't interested. Well, he recognized Elder O as the guy who gave
him "the book" a while back. He said, "That book is amazing, and I want
to learn more." Holy cow. In such a huge city, what are the chances
Elder O would run into him again? But wait--there's more. We offered
him our very last pamphlet with all our contact information, and he
declined. Wait, what? He just barely said he wanted to meet again, but
didn't want our last pamphlet. Literally less than 5 seconds later, an
old woman tapped my shoulder and said, "You're Mormon missionaries,
right? I have questions, but this is my stop." So we handed her our
very last pamphlet right as she was stepping off the subway. You can't
tell me this isn't God's work.


On Friday we co-taught a lesson with the sister missionaries in a
pavilion in a park that overlooked the ocean. There were literally a
dozen enormous freight vessels anchored in the harbor, and there was
a ship wrecking yard right next to us. It was surreal--sitting in this
pavilion with the sea wind blowing, overlooking the coast line and the
huge ships. Korea is so beautiful. The Spirit was SO powerful. The
sisters invited her to be baptized, but she declined. We're still
working on her.

One of the biggest miracles happened on Saturday. A man called us and
told us his son had met the missionaries 10 years ago, and had just
barely told him that he should try meeting with us. So we met him at
the chapel and started teaching. He told us he had studied the Bible
lot, but didn't believe in God and wanted sure knowledge. As we
taught, this man started to change. Our lesson lasted nearly two
hours! At the end, I taught him how to pray in my very simple, limited
Korean. He paused, then said, "I think maybe I've believed in God this
whole time, or else I wouldn't have kept studying the Bible. I think
what I've lacked is prayer." (I don't understand a whole lot--Elder O
translated for me afterward.) We invited him to say the closing
prayer, and he not only did so willingly, but he was so excited! I got
to witness that very powerful, very sacred moment when someone prays
to Father for the first time. He told us he would read the Book of
Mormon and attend church next Sunday. The Spirit changes people.

Wellll, I wish I could share more, but my time is up. Thank you all
for your letters and prayers--they keep me going. It was great to hear
from you all.

Until next week,
Elder Sorensen