Monday, June 26, 2017

Geumjeong

Hello mom and dad! Thank you for the letters. Mom, I know you said you don't think your letter has enduring value, but it was a good letter. It sounds like it was quite an eventful week! I love all the details.

I also loved hearing about the long bike ride you both did two weeks ago. That's very impressive! I don't think I would be able to do that at all. I exercise nearly every day, but not cardio exercise. I struggle even just to run long distances now! I would like to get back into road biking when I get home, but I am sure that the first few bike rides will have to be limited to just going around the block a few times, haha. Maybe you can run next to me while I huff and puff on the bike.

Today I start my last transfer, number 16. I am officially among the oldest missionaries in the Busan mission (actually, in the world).

I'm feeling... good? It's hard to tell. Lots of back and forth.

Your letters actually helped me put the next few weeks into perspective. I think I feel a little numb at the realization that I only have six weeks left. This time of year is one of my favorite. I love the carillon concert, I love the sailstice. I love BYU campus and the mountains and the lake and the dry desert air! For the first time in two years, the thought that I will someday see family and friends again is suddenly a fast-approaching reality. And I am looking forward to that.

Tomorrow, many of my best friends in the mission go home, including Elder Roper. Because so many missionaries are leaving, our b-team in Geumjeong was removed, meaning that my good friend and former companion, Lee Yongjae, was moved several hours north and I will probably not see him again before returning home. It's now just me and Elder Kwak in a large, quiet apartment.

President Barrow also leaves this week. His three years are over, and I will miss him so much. He once told me that missionaries are assigned to their mission president just as much as they are assigned to their mission area.

Emotionally, I'm feeling a little drained. I remember how hard it was to leave family and friends when I went to the MTC, knowing that the next time I see any of them everything will be different. I've found that making friends, building relationships, leaving friends, and starting all over is a fairly consistent pattern in life, and it may be one of the most difficult as well as rewarding aspects of living. And I believe that it is for that reason that family is so precious and so central to God's plan. They are really the only people who will remain, now and for forever, a main part of your life.

Reading back on this email, it sounds a little sobby. Haha. I didn't mean for it to produce that tone. I am happy! All is well. I know God provides the experiences we need and is guiding our lives. I love serving as a missionary, but I don't want to sugar coat the experience by only highlighting the good things. I am a bit of a realist, and I think it's important to be frank with the facts. The reality is, missionary work is hard. It is a constant emotional battle. The rules are strict. The days are hot. The breaks are few. The hours are long. Rejections are many. It pushes you past your limits emotionally, spiritually, and physically. So yes, if one were to ask, I am very excited to go home soon and see my family (and take a nap).

And yet, this experience is so amazing, and so worth-while, and so rewarding, and so short. And I know that when it ends, I will never get to experience missionary work in the same way ever again. And so I am savoring every moment.

In other news, I wanted to tell you real quick about a man in our ward named Vantu. He is from Vietnam. Vantu met the missionaries and was baptized about two and a half years ago (my old companion Elder Harkness actually baptized him). Six months later, his wife was also baptized. They have the cutest little baby girl I have ever seen, and they are very faithful members.

The church was formally recognized in Vietnam last year, and there are currently five branches there. Vantu referred his whole family to the missionaries, and now his family is steadily maintaining a large portion of one of the branches. Vantu's little brother just received a mission call to Australia, and he will be one of the very first Vietnamese people to leave from Vietnam on a mission.

Several months ago, Vantu referred his friend Dat to the missionaries and he was baptized a week before I got here. Dat attends church each week with Vantu and his family, even though none of them speak Korean and have to rely on the missionaries for English translations.

A few weeks ago, Vantu referred another one of his friends, Tuan, to us. We meet with Dat and Tuan once a week, and Vantu always attends and bears powerful testimony of the things we teach. In fact, Vantu gets upset with his two friends when they don't keep our commitments to read and pray and such.

Last week, we committed Tuan to be baptized on July 22nd, and he accepted. These three men, all in their twenties, are three of the most humble, sincere people I have ever see. It has been a testimony builder to meet them. I'll attach a photo of Vantu and his wife and daughter. It is true that the best way to maintain and build your testimony is to share it with others. I am sure that when Vantu returns to Vietnam in a few years he will be a powerful tool in the Lord's hands in building the church there.

Since our b-team is now gone, they handed over to us all their records and the people they have been meeting. So I imagine we will be quite busy this transfer.

Looking forward to this week! Can you believe it's almost July?

Love,

Elder Sorensen