Monday, October 17, 2016
Sangin Round 2

Annyeonghaessqua (Jeju dialect)

I have so many thoughts I would like to share this week, but I know time is always limited. I will do my best at organizing them.

We saw a huge miracle this week. A man name Hong Jinseok found our number somewhere and actually gave us a call. 33 years old, newly married. He originally was mostly English interest. We offer a free service that we call the "thirty-thirty program" for people who want to learn English. Basically we will match their schedule and meet them at their home, teach free English for 30 minutes, then share a gospel message for the last 30 minutes. When we told him about our program, he was thrilled. As it turns out, his boss in America is a member, and he has heard great things about the church, so he's very curious. We have met him 3 times now... and he is golden! As soon as we cleared up that the Word of Wisdom does NOT prohibit chocolate, he was 100% on board. (I don't know who starts these rumors...) He keeps every commitment we give him, and is reading the BoM on his own. We are thrilled about that.

Yesterday, on Sunday, I had the chance to go back to Jungni to attend the baptism of an old investigator, Pyo Yeounghun. I'm sure I mentioned him a few weeks ago. Elder Roper and I found him on the street, gave him a card, and a few days later he called and wanted to meet. We met him a couple of times, taught the whole restoration, and took him to stake conference. Then I got transferred. I wasn't originally planning on attending the service because I wasn't sure if he would remember me. But Elder Roper called on the weekend and said he asked if I would be there. When I walked in, he gave me a huge hug. Moments like that really are the most rewarding of missionary work.

Transfer calls came this weekend. I'm glad Brian has been messaging you about it. Yes, I am staying in Sangin, and my new companion will be arriving fresh from the MTC in a couple of days, so I don't actually know who he is yet.

Basically, this will be my schedule for the week. I'll be with a temoporary companion named Jang Seyoung until Wednesday night.

Tuesday: train to Pusan for training meeting (it's about a 2 hour train ride from Sangin), then go to Andong to clean the house for Jang Seyoung's trainee (that's a 3.5 hour train ride).

Wednesday: Back to Pusan to meet the trainees, get assigned a companion, then back to Sangin for the night.

Thursday: Back to Pusan for district leader training meeting, then back to Sangin in the evening.

Friday: Back to Pusan for Mission Conference with Elder Bednar, then back to Sangin.

So it will be a week full of travel, but I'm sure it will be great.

Yesterday while waiting for the subway, there was a little old woman sitting across the tracks waiting for the subway going the opposite direction. I accidentally made eye contact with her, and she held up her arms in the shape of a heart (a common thing in Korea). I actually laughed out loud, then made a heart back. This little old woman laughed, waved, then was cut from my sight by the arriving train. It made my whole day. Kindness from a stranger, especially when facing so much rejection, can mean so much.

I've found that in the face of so much rejection, the best thing to do is testify more and testify louder. Even if people still don't listen, it makes me feel better.

I'm excited to be here in Sangin for a few more months, and I am sure there is much ahead.

Love,

Elder Sorensen