Monday, January 16, 2017

On today's episode of "Masan Shores"...

This week went by so fast. I'm sitting here trying to figure out how it's already Monday again.

I know you like details, so I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out where to start.

My companion. Elder Lee Yongjae. Let's just say that if I could finish up the last 7 months of my mission with this Elder, I would be very happy. I may have already mentioned, he's 25 years old and finished with his mandatory military service. He speaks no English. But that has made it really fun. The other day, we walked passed the church bathroom and I yelled something in Korean about how it smells really awful and Elder Lee asked me how to express that in English. After a bit of practice, he can now say with striking pronunciation, "It smells heinous in here." He's picking up some English phrases, little at a time :)

Masan is a beautiful city. Our apartment is at the top of a very large hill, which only seems to keep getting bigger. It's quite a hike home at night, but the view from the apartment is incredible. I'll attach a photo I took of this morning's sunrise, as seen from our window.

We have a couple investigators right now who are progressing fairly well. We actually gave one of them a baptismal date last week, which he accepted (February 5th). But he's battling with some pretty heavy schizophrenia right now, so we're not sure if he'll be able to be baptized on that date. We're spending as much time as we can searching for prepared people, walking up and down Masan's hills in the chilly ocean wind.

Being zone leader here is an entirely new experience. We are busy as can be preparing zone meeting, traveling all up and down Changweon visiting other districts, exchanging, resolving conflicts, doing interviews, meeting with bishops of various wards, and on top of that trying to make our area a model area and set a good example for other missionaries to follow by carrying a full proselyting load. Elder Oh (my trainer) is the district leader of one of the districts here in Changweon, so I get to talk to him often, and Elder Roper is the AP, so we report various things to him every night.

As I serve here in Masan, things are seen from a bit of a different perspective than before (and not just because our house is on top of a mountain). It's fascinating to me what leadership in the church entails. It's not at all a call to power or authority or fame. It is, in fact, a call leave more behind and to think a little less about yourself and a little more about others. It is a call to serve others a little more diligently. It is, essentially, the call of the Savior to "follow me, and feed my sheep." Christ demonstrated this when He, the only perfect person to live on the earth, washed the feet of each of His disciples, one by one.

I know Christ lives, and nothing brings us closer to Him than service for others.

"When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah 2:17

I am happy, and I am grateful to be in the service of my God.

Love,

Elder Sorensen