Monday, May 29, 2017
Rejection, The River Man, and Haeundae Beach

Hey mom and dad! Thanks for the emails from both of you. I really love the photos.

This week it was tough to find anyone who wanted to talk with us, and we got punked twice. I think on one day we handed out close to 90 name cards, but weren't able to get a single number or appointment with anyone. Right now is testing season, so the students are all very busy. Usually the pattern of appointments and rejections kind of comes and goes in a wave. If one week you experience a lot of rejection, the next week you get lots of numbers :) I tell Elder Kwak that it's a "test of faith," and I truly believe that it is. We just keep on going, and eventually we find those who are prepared. So, I am looking forward to this week!

My companion is really fun! He's a good kid. He's from an area up north called Yongin. Including MTC time, he's been out for about a month. He was born a member, which is super exciting, because nearly all the Korean missionaries serving are the first generation of members to be born into the church. It's the start of a long pedigree. He's a pretty quiet kid, observant, obedient, not a word of complaint, even though the work is hard. With my other two trainees I was a lot stricter. After I told him he could take a quick 5 minute nap before heading outside I felt a little guilty, like maybe I'm just not as diligent as I used to be. With my other trainees, that was an absolute no no. But that same night he puked into the toilet because I made him sprint home so we could be home at 9:00. Haha. I'm having a hard time finding the balance. Truthfully, I'm getting so tired. I'm living in a 4 man house with 3 Koreans, and none of them speak English. Of course I recognize this as a great opportunity, but it's a little lonely. Sometimes it doesn't seem possible that anyone could ever become fluent in this language. I still have a lot to learn.

We were walking home late one night and turned down an untraveled road and found a large river with a beautiful bridge crossing over it. Right in the center of the bridge, sitting on a chair overlooking the water, was an old man. It was a super weird sight. All alone, in the dark, just sitting in the middle of the bridge. We approached him and I said something along the lines of "this river is beautiful. Do you come out here often to enjoy the scenery?" The old man actually laughed, and said "I'm not watching the river. I'm listening to it. It brings me peace."

That line stuck with me all week. I'm not really sure why. I've been trying to find some way to connect it to the Spirit... but I haven't come up with anything really good yet haha. Maybe you can email me your ideas next week or something.

Anyway, we spent p-day at good old Haeundae beach. It was fun being back for just a moment. I'll attach a photo.

Love,

Elder Sorensen