Annyeong from the land of rice and fermented cabbage!

It was great to hear from everyone this week. I apologize for last week. That was a super rushed letter so I didn't have time to answer your questions. Here's your answers:

As far as the language, it's tough. Actually, tough doesn't quite cut it. I realize that the ability to speak this language will be a gift from God, and because of the effort and the struggle that went into learning it, it will be a gift that I will cherish for the rest of my life. God does not bestow precious gifts freely, so I know that it will take everything I have to be able to speak this language. That being said, I'm actually really enjoying the struggle of trying to speak. I'm looking at it like a challenge. From all the missionaries here that I've talked to, they say that it takes around 5 months before you can start to follow a conversation. Geeeeez. But no problem, I've got two years :)

Here in Goejong I'm serving in a branch that has about 35-40 regularly attending members.

Mom, you asked for my apartment address:

Busangwangyeok-si Saha-gu

Nakdongdae-ro 265

Sindongyang Apateu 3dong 308ho

South Korea

Plan on about 10 days for letters to travel.

My companion is wonderful. He helps me out a ton with my Korean, but sometimes it's a struggle because, as a native, he forms super complicated sentences without thinking about it. But I'm learning quickly. I can see so much improvement in the few days I've been here.

I'm doing well. The initial culture shock is fading and the confidence that I can learn the language is coming back. When I first stepped off the airplane, I thought, "Oh crap, this is not the language I learned in the MTC." But it's all a learning experience, and I'm loving it.

I'm trying to remember what else you asked... If I didn't answer some of your questions, send them again.

I'm sorry to hear about Grandma. I am praying hard for her.

Ok, this week has been a fun one. I'll share a few excerpts.

The companion exchange with Elder Hines was AWESOME. Since he came to Goejong, I was leading the area, so I got to be senior companion for a day. We saw miracles.

On Wednesday night, after the companion exchange, Elder O and I were riding the bus back to Goejong. I had the impression to speak to the man next to me. I looked around, and Elder O was on the other end of the bus talking to a man, so he couldn't bail me out if I couldn't understand the man at all. I kind of just sighed, and decided I need to learn this language somehow, and started talking to the man. I understood a very small amount, but left him our card. When we got off the bus, a man approached us and talked to Elder O for a solid 5 minutes. As we were walking away, it hit me: I just understood everything that man said. I quickly ran the conversaion back to Elder O, and he told me "yes, that's exactly what he said." Right there, on the streets of Busan, I just cried. I know it was a blessing from God for having the courage to talk to the man on the bus.

Our skit

On Saturday we had our Branch Fall Party. We put tons of time into preparing it, and it went super well. I performed on the piano (a modern Korean song), then we performed a skit with the Sisers and watched a movie. At the end, the branch president asked me to bear my testimony on the Book of Mormon. I was a little nervous since we had managed to get a few non members to the party, and I wanted them to know that I know the Book of Mormon is true with all my heart. Another miracle, as I began bearing my testimony, I had no trouble finding the words to say. All-in-all, the party was a huge success.

Those are the main highlights. We were going to go visit a Buddhist temple for zone p-day today, but it got canceled. So, Elder O and I are going to head to Nampo (the huge shopping district) a little later and stock up on winter clothes. All of a sudden, it got SUPER cold outside.

Thanks for all the great letters. I'm loving it here in this amazing country. The culture, the people, the food, the sights... it's amazing. There is nothing in the world like missionary work! I know this gospel is true with all my heart.

Until next week,

Elder Sorensen