Monday, February 8, 2016

Hello everyone!

Well.... I'm not in Haeundae anymore. It was a bit of a disappointment because we had a few people we were working with who seemed SO CLOSE. But because of the time of year, there are fewer missionaries arriving in the mission every transfer (it will pick up again when school lets out), so they couldn't spare to have two teams in Haeundae anymore. So we handed all of our investigators over to the A-team, picked up our bags, and left this morning. They will put in another B-team in a few months when some more missionaries arrive.

This is Bae Youncheon. He is one of the people I will miss the most from Haeundae. In the early 1960s, President Hinckley (Elder Hinckley at the time) was proselyting in Korea to a crowd from a stage. He pointed to this man, and said, "Will you be baptized and organize the first branch in Korea?" And he said yes. He was the first branch president, and the President of the Seoul temple. He's a close friend of President Hinckley. Incredible man. Fluent in English. Just amazing.

So, you're probably wondering where on the face of Korea I am now. After a very early morning, I dropped Elder Ku off at the enormous subway station in Seomyeon, then took a long train ride to Gupo with Elder Cronin. Then, Elder Harkness and I went to head quarters to meet my new companion, Elder Stoker. He and I caught the subway, then transferred to a bus after about 30 minutes. After a 3 hour bus ride, we arrived... in Tongyeong! Wow, let me tell you about Tongyeong. When I first arrived in Korea, this was the area I was hoping I would get to train in. Tongyeong is made up of close to 200 islands (no, that's not a typo), so we basically are never on mainland Korea. Each island has just a few houses, or maybe a store or two. Haeundae was beautiful in a big, touristy kind of way. Tongyeong is incredible. Imagine islands scattered all over the place like a bunch of pebbles. From what I've heard from multiple people, this are needs a lot of TLC. The members here are struggling. There's only about 15 people that come to church. I'm excited to get to work.

Really quick, I'd like the thank the Canyon Crest ward for the AWESOME Christmas gift! Nothing means more to me than personal notes like that. Thank you thank you thank you.

There are lots and lots and lots of things that happened in the past few weeks. My mind feels a little scattered. I will send lots of pictures with explanations, but other than that, rather than try to catch you up on everything that has happened, I think I'm just going to start fresh. I feel like I learned a lot in this last transfer. My testimony has grown. I feel... different. I hit my six month mark last week. I spent a lot of time reviewing how far I've come, and making goals for what I want to accomplish in the next 6 months. You grow up singing "I hope they call me on a mission," then suddenly you realize you are living it. I'm on a mission!

As I start fresh in this new area, I can't help but feel a sense of insufficiency. I have no idea what lies ahead. I know I've said it before, but I find peace in knowing that it's all unknown only to me. God has a plan. My time is numbered. My direction is set, if I can find the strength to trust Him.

I love you guys! 

Elder Sorensen

Today is Sournar, the largest holiday of the year. So lots of people wear "hanbok," traditional Korean clothing. This was at church yesterday, last day in Haeundae.
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The Korean Elder next to me is Elder Oh Kitaek. He went home on Friday, which was a little hard. He has become one of my really great friends. He used to call me "dongsaeng," which means "little brother." We would wrestle every night and have tons of inside jokes. I will miss him dearly.
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