Pig-ear-intestine soup and such.
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| Top of Mount Mireuk |
done, things to learn, people to help...
I'll jump right in.
One day this week, around lunch time, Elder Stoker and I were
wandering around on one of the southern islands looking for a place to
eat (because of the way our schedule played out that morning, we were
pretty far from home). We stopped an older man and asked him if he
knew of any good restaurants nearby. The man spoke with CRAZY Busan
dialect (which I have actually started to pick op on a little bit), so
it was a struggle trying to understand him. He told us to follow him.
He took us to a small little hole-in-the-wall (literally) restaurant
in a ghetto little alley and bought us dwaeji-gook-bap, or
'pig-soup-rice.' I love dwaeji-gook-bap... but when I stirred my soup,
a full pig ear with hair on it floated to the top. As I picked through
the soup, I realized almost all the pieces of meat still had skin on
them, with little bristley hairs. There were even chunks of the pig's
coiled intestines. With no other option, Elder Stoker and I both
choked it down. All of it.
At the end of the meal, the man took off his glasses and just started
crying. He said "you two are my friends. Thank you for eating with
me." Embarrassed, the man hurried us on our way without letting us say
anything else. Without a doubt, the Spirit touched that man. I hope he
finds what he's looking for.
A few days ago we were down near our bishop's house on the bottom of
an island, and we needed to get home. The bus was still about 40
minutes away... so we decided to hitchhike. Imagine, two American boys
in a traditional Korean town standing on the road with our thumbs in
the air. We got picked up in a van by a group of vacationing college
students. I wish I could send you a video... wow. It was hilarious.
Last week I got to go on exchanges with Elder Kimble Mahler! He came
here to Tongyoung, and we spent a beautiful day out knocking on doors
in the country. He is one transfer below me, so I was expected to
lead. I was a little nervous about it, because I've always had a
senior companion who speaks the language much better than me, so he
can help me out when I need it.
The gift of tongues. Holy cow, it could not be more real. For the
entire exchange, I felt like I could speak Korean. Not just speak
Korean, I felt nearly fluent. I didn't have any trouble understanding
anybody. Sometimes, someone would talk for 20 seconds and I would
catch two or three words, but somehow I knew exactly what they were talking
about, and had no trouble responding. I could just talk to people! We
ran into one man down by the docks and had a full 1 hour conversation
with him. He even offered to take us to a really expensive restaurant
and buy us fish. I say it all the time, but the ability to speak
Korean is not mine at all. It comes from the Lord, when I need it.
Also, this week was the first time I dreamt entirely in Korean.
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| Of course, we ordered chicken. Alan Sorensen and Kimble Mahler (friends since elementary school) |
DAY, and not a single person would even talk for a moment. In fact, a
lot of people yelled at us and told us to go home. It was rough, and
we both were feeling really down. At the end of the day, we walked
home feeling pretty discouraged. About a block from our house
(literally two minutes away), we said hello to a man who, long story
short, said he is looking for truth and wants to meet us, then gave us
his phone number. After an entire day of nothing, we found a new
investigator when we were two minutes away from home. It was a huge
testimony to me that the Lord blesses us according to our efforts.
I had better end. We are starting to see so many miracles here in
Tongyeoung. My testimony has grown, my faith has been tested, and day
after day we are "sailing on." I love this work, and I love this
gospel. I know it's true. Until next week!
Elder Sorensen
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