Monday, March 28, 2016
Happy Easter

Dear Family,

I hope you all had/are having a wonderful Easter Sunday. Seeing all your pictures and hearing all that you have been up to makes me so happy. What a blessing it is to know that all is going well back home, and that everyone seems to be doing so well.

Sorry I couldn't write much last week. I mentioned that one of the Sisters' investigators, Lee Jisoo, was baptized. It was such a beautiful service. She sang "There is Sunshine In My Soul Today" and afterward the bishop played a hymn arrangement on his harmonica. I don't think I could ever forget the look on her face when she came up out of the water. She just held onto my arm and cried.

It's true that missionary work isn't easy. But moments like that make up for all of it.

Yesterday was a beautiful Easter Sunday here in Korea. Sister Lee was confirmed a member of the church and received the Holy Ghost. Elder Tuinei commented that as we stood in the circle and placed our hands on her head, he felt very powerfully that she has a very strong spirit, which is exactly what I felt while sitting next to her at her baptismal service.

​Walking through a rice field... Tongyoung is about as far out in the country as it gets.

After church, Elder Tuinei and I took a bus way out to the countryside of Goseong and knocked on doors (I'll send some photos). As we walked through an enormous rice field towards a distant village, I realized with absolute certainty that I have no desire to go home.

That sounds terrible, but let me explain. Of course I miss you all and think of you every day, and I can hardly wait to see you all again. But holy cow, I'm a missionary! This is an opportunity that I know won't come around again for decades. Rejection is tough and abundant, and missionary work is difficult, but I am learning so much, and I love being here.

​We had to walk across a small little dam to get to the other side of this river.

We've lost some investigators recently (two moved to a new city), but my good friend Brother Ha is progressing very well. We are planning a baptism for him sometime next month. It is a joy to watch someone progress in the gospel. I feel as close to him as I did to Bak Mingyu back in Goejeong all those months ago. (Brother Bak is doing very well by the way, I called him a few weeks ago.)

We have a new service project we do every week: we spend about 2 hours eating dinner with and teaching English to a small group of high school students. It's so fun walking through that high school campus--people look at us like we are an endangered species. And it's even more fun to hear them whisper to each other, thinking we don't know what they are saying.

I hope you all enjoy conference this week! I'll watch it a week after you, because Korea gets it a week late. Don't spoil anything for me :)

Wow, I love Easter. What a beautiful time of year to celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior. I know He lives. I can see the first signs of Spring out the window as I write--the buds on the trees, the flowers on the cacti that Elder Stoker and I bought (that's another story...)--and it testifies to me that Christ lives. Because of Him, "weaknesses become strengths, challenges become opportunities, trials become triumphs, and adversity becomes an adventure."(Elder Ballard)

I love you all!

Sorensen Jangno

PS. Mom, to answer your questions:

My new companion, Sam Tuinei, is awesome. He beatboxes, dances, and speaks Korean like a pro. It will be a great transfer together.

And yes, I have seen a dog farm... not something I would care to send pictures of.