Monday, April 11, 2016
Conference and such

Cool little village we stumbled across out in the country one day

Annyeonggggggg!

I loved the letters I got this week! It sounds like the family is doing so well, and I'm excited for all the big changes happening.

And tell Grandma Gibson happy birthday!! Love you Grammy!

An update on Ha Jeongman: Only a couple of hours after sending that email last week, we hit the streets to proselyte. After an hour or so, we were heading back to the church to meet with a member who wanted to eat ice cream with us and ask some questions. On the walk back, we ran into none other than... Brother Ha! What are the chances? We invited him to come back to the church with us and eat ice cream. As it turns out, he lost his phone in a movie theater over the weekend, and that's why we hadn't heard from him. We met with him a couple of times last week, and he even came and watched a session of conference with the ward on Sunday. He still wants to be baptized, but we will probably move his date to May 1st.

It's amazing to me how little needs to be done on the part of the missionaries when someone is prepared.

Spring is here in full bloom, meaning that suit coat weather is over. When a good salty gust of wind blows in from the ocean, it blows cherry blossoms in large swirls all over the place. It's like being in a snow storm, only it's warm and full of flowers. Thank the heavens I'm not allergic, otherwise it wouldn't be nearly as beautiful.

Cherry blossoms

General Conference was incredible. We watched it here with the sisters, all 12 hours of it. (Because we were so busy on Saturday, we powered through 8 hours of it on Sunday. I'm still a little cross-eyed.) The emphasis on family and relationships, especially in the priesthood session, really stood out to me. It is clear that as the world continues to degrade, the main focus of the church is to make sure that there is peace in the home. After all, eternal life is really just an extension of the ideal home. 

The other thing that stood out to me a lot was the bold, powerful testimony of President Eyring to open up the Saturday morning session. Such a kind, diplomatic man, but his unshakable, unarguable declaration that "this is the only true church on the earth, and the only one led by Christ" was definitely more than just a declaration of a whimsical belief. Korea is covered with churches, and in Tongyeoung there are literally multiple steeples on each street corner. But I know, like President Eyring declared, that this truly is the only true, restored church of God and is led by a living prophet.

I have thought a lot about President Monson's line, "the doors of history swing on very small hinges." A few months ago, in a quarterly interview with President Barrow, I asked him some questions, and he told me the same thing. "You know Elder Sorensen, the doors of history swing on very small hinges." He went on to tell me some experiences from his own mission, and promised me that the doors of my life will swing on the hinges of my experiences as a missionary. It's a strange thing to be right directly in the middle of my missionary service; not exactly a new missionary, but still with enough time left that I haven't quite started panicking yet. And in the short time I have been here, I can definitely say that the experiences that make up day to day life as a missionary are shaping and reshaping the future. I love being a missionary. 

There's lots more I could write, but I'm running out of time. The companion is great, we have probably a little too much fun together (all within the bounds of complete obedience, of course). I'm excited for whatever this next week brings. I'll be going on exchanges with Elder Mahler again on Wednesday, this time in his enormous area of Sacheon. Quarterly President Barrow interviews are in a few days. And we have an investigator to prepare for baptism.

Love you guys! 사랑합니다!

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