Annyeong haseyo!!

It has been the most amazing week. I'll get right to it.

There is a promise from one of the prophets (President Hinckley?) that if you read the entire Book of Mormon in your mission language, you will be fluent by the end. PMG also says that "there is great power in using the scriptures for language study." So I have been fighting my way through 1 Nephi in my Korean BoM. This week, it was like something suddenly just clicked while I was reading, and some of the most difficult things about Korean, like sentence structure, just started making sense. I found myself reading entire verses and being able to understand the whole thing. The gift of tongues is REAL. I feel like I'm light years ahead of where I was a week ago, and I know it is because of your prayers on my behalf.

We visited an old woman named Ha Chuja a few days ago. Koreans love to feed people, but nobody likes to feed people as much as this woman. It was the most painful experience of my life, mentally and physically. Every time I finished a plate of food, she would load more onto it. I finally thought I was done, but noooo. She came out of the kitchen with a bowl of sweet potatoes and sat and peeled them one by one and fed them to me, and I sat and ate plain sweet potatoes one after another. When she started peeling the fourth potato, I panicked. Luckily, she got distracted half way through peeling, and left. Then she emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of parsimmons, and sat and peeled those for me. After 2 huge bowls of rice, a six-inch pile of kimchi, two bowls of this weird soup stuff, 3 potatoes, and 3 parsimmons later, I was on the verge of losing all of it. Instances like these are becoming typical.

The biggest miracle this week was a man name Bak Mingyu. He is about 30 years old, and absolutely loves the missionaries. He takes us out to eat often, and comes to English class. We have become very close, and I feel like he's an old friend. I even wrote in my journal the first time we met him that he seems familiar to me. There's a light in his eyes. Elder O and I both noticed it.

He started taking lessons from us this week. At the end of the first lesson, he told us he wants to "soak it all up like a sponge." We invited him to start praying, and he told us "ever since I met you guys, I have been praying the same way you do." He told us he would come to church.

The meeting started on Sunday, but there was no sign of him. The minutes kept ticking by, and he didn't show up. I was absolutely devastated. Then, about half way through, he showed up! It was one of the happiest moments of my mission so far. He stayed all of church, and afterward he told us he LOVED it, wants to meet twice a week with us, will come to church next week... and then he asked about baptism.

My area, Goejong, and its adjoining area, Daeshin, are know as two of the hardest areas in the Busan mission. They have the fewest investigators, and have gone the longest without a baptism. When I met with President Barrow for an interview a few weeks ago, he told me and Elder O that he is praying super hard that we can revive the area. Elder O and I both felt like we would have a baptism before the year is over. That's why Bak Mingyu is such a huge miracle, and he's not the only one. I have no doubt that the Lord is preparing people and placing them in our path. This work is truly amazing.

This wasn't a very well-written letter--sorry about that. I'm trying to write quickly, so I don't really have time to revise or think about what I'm writing.

I wish I could share more. I love it here in Korea, and every day there are so many miracles. This is the Lord's work, and He is guiding it carefully.

Love,

Elder Sorensen

PS I have been thinking much about the email you sent me a few weeks ago about the pain you occasionally feel. The last few months for me have been the toughest of my life, but suddenly I feel myself coping in ways that I never before even considered. I am learning and slowly becoming a new person entirely. I agree with what you said--it's so difficult to share the deepest pains with anyone. Not that they won't listen, but they won't understand. Anyway, I have been praying for you, and came across a scripture that really helped me the last few weeks, and I think you should look it up. It's Hebrews 12:5-11. In addition to that, I have a quote from Elder Holland that I used to carry around in my pocket until I had it memorized: "If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart--so it has been with the best people who ever lived." 
The fact that you sometimes have deep moments of pain or trials proves that you are one of the "great and noble." I'm grateful for that. I feel very blessed to have grown up with your example.

PS2 Hey dad! Here's that email I promised you. Time is so hard to come by, so I apologize for having not written for a few weeks.

I remember you telling me how kids would lean out the windows of school buses and yell, "This is a pen!" (Was that your friend's experience?) Well, that actually has happened multiple times this week, and each time I laughed so hard because I remember you telling me that story. Little children will put their heads out of the bus window and yell "Hello, how are you??" Being an American in Korea is awesome. Some of the best teaching opportunities come from people who stop me on the street. Remember that conversation we had in the airport about how Koreans greet Americans in English? That's literally how every encounter goes. My favorite conversation last week: "Hello, how are you? You are American boy! Wow, you more handsome than Tom Cruise! Hamburger!"

I sure miss sailing with you. That's probably one of the things I miss most. Some of my greatest memories are being out on the boat with you. I can hardly wait to get back on the water.

It sounds like you're keeping super busy! We sure appreciate your hard work. Thanks for everything, and thanks for the great letters.

Love you tons