September 26, 2011

Hey, everybody,

This week has been pretty great! We were really busy. The busy times are definitely the best times out here. Since we share this area with a couple of sister missionaries, when they decided to start a dance class as a way to find new investigators, me and my companion joined in. It was so fun! I know what you're thinking, it wasn't ballet, it was just line dances this week. One of the sisters is a dance major, and her companion is really good too, so they made up dances and taught them to us and a bunch of the ward members. There were probably 12 people there, and actually some new people that weren't members of the Church. It was a nice way to have fun with the ward members without pressure. We met our guy with a baptismal date and everything's going great still. He will be the first person I found and baptized myself, because the man I baptized in July was found by somebody else.

Tomorrow we get to go to the temple in Shin Chon. I think Dad was there on his mission before it was dedicated, but he might not be that old. :D Anyway, it'll be really fun, because there's always a bunch of other missionaries that you hang out with after the temple. When we go to the temple it becomes our Pday for that week; me and my companion plan to go to a shopping center somewhere and buy him a suit. He needs one because he's lost so much weight. He wrote me up a weightlifting schedule, so when i come back to Utah I'm going to be super ripped. Watch out, Austin. :D

The language is coming along ok. I still have a problem understanding people, but I can usually say what I want to say. Someday I'll be fluent, I hope. I actually heard that there was a missionary that returned last year that tested out of so many Korean language classes at college that he got a minor degree automatically! I hope I can do something like that at Utah State when I get back.

You Know You're in Korea when...

• Anybody you ask is willing to help you. One time I was in Il San, my previous area, and I asked a guy how to get somewhere, and he walked to the stop with me, found the right bus, and made sure I got on it. It actually kinda backfired, because I was only using it as a ploy to start talking to him about the gospel, but hey. :D
• When the buses sometimes break Mach 1. Sonic booms aren't just for jets anymore.
• When there are 30-story apartment buildings everywhere.
• When you can buy awesome ties for $3 each. I'll have to send you some, Austin.
• When saying "Hi" to a group of junior high girls results in a wall of sound that almost knocks you over. That actually happened in Il San, no joke!
• When the 김치/ kimchi is measured by proof. Ok, it's not actually alcoholic...is it?
• When your companion gets interviewed on the street by high school students just for being a foreigner.

That's about all the news I know. I'll let you know how the baptism this Saturday goes. I love you all!

Elder Matt Dean

September 19, 2011

Anyeonghaseyo! (that looks so dumb in English....)

      So, as you all can probably see, I sent this to a bunch of people. I have come to realize that making a huge letter and then sending it to everyone is way, way better than taking the time to copy/paste things to make individual letters. It lacks that personal feel, but it brings everyone into the loop, so I figured that was better. I'm really sorry for those who have been left out of the loop for almost a year, and I hope you think my emails are cool enough to read once in a while. :D

     So...This week was pretty good! Actually I'll fill everyone in on where I am and stuff like that. I'm in a district of Seoul called 봉천 (Bong Cheon...rhymes with Foam Fun), which is on the doorstep of one of the S.K.Y. universities in Korea (Seoul University, Korea University, and Yeonsei University). Therefore, there are millions of people here, which means it's missionary heaven. I miss my old ward in Il San, but this place is way better for missionary work. This is my second area on my mission, because I was in Il San for seven months, and I've been here for about three weeks. The area is actually really small, you could walk across it either north-south or east-west in about half an hour tops. It's right by a "mountain" called Gwanak Mountain, but compared to ours it's just a steep hill. :D The ward here is good, there's tons of people to talk to, we can get cheap Korean food at restaurants, we're right next to all the cool things in Seoul for P-day, there are sister missionaries in our area too (which is really fun), our house is big and clean,  my companion is awesome, and we have an investigator who will be baptized two Saturdays from now. Hence the "Success" in the subject line. :D Life is really good right now!

      The investigator's name in English is Choi Hyeon Chang. He is about thirty, and he met with the missionaries at the beginning of the year. However, because of a crazy church he went to (literally, they are INSANE), he lost all faith in God, so he ended up dropping the missionaries at that time. The first day I got to Bong Cheon, we were calling former investigators, and I talked to him. He speaks English really well, which was a relief. I asked him if he believes in God, and he said yes (this was before I read the record that says he doesn't believe in God). So then I asked him if he believes God can answer his prayers, and he said yes. So then I invited him to put our church to the test and find out if it is true, and he accepted. When we met him the first time, he said that he didn't believe in God when he met the missionaries the first time, but about a month before we called, he started reading the Bible again and he really wanted to get closer to God. So, he took our call as a sign, and the rest is history! He went to a fireside with one of our members last night, without us, and he said it was really good. I take that as an answer to my prayers as to how to integrate him into the ward. God really does look out for all of us, and with this guy, he sent the right missionary at the right time that would say the right things to get him to experiment on the word. Interestingly, he only got a real conviction about this church after he followed our advice and acted in order to get an answer, like it says in Alma 32 in the Book of Mormon. You can't know something is true until you try living it first. Once he did, he got an answer, and he's been solid ever since. So that's the thing I'm most excited about right now. :D

      My new companion is named Elder Mallory. He's my same age, but one transfer younger than me in mission age. He's from Los Vegas, and since coming on his mission he's lost like 80 pounds. It's way cool. Korean food does that to you (but don't worry, I didn't lose 80 pounds, that's a little more than half my body weight :D). He's really nice, and he has a big desire to do missionary work. I'm glad I'm finally with someone like that, it hasn't happened since my trainer in January. His dream job is to be a firefighter, like his dad, uncle, and grandpa. He's gone on ride-alongs with his dad before, a lot, and he has some really cool stories. He also played football as a linebacker in high school. We're having some good times. I miss my Korean companion though, we had fun times. My Korean companion is only in his third transfer right now, and he's training another Korean. :D I hope he's doing ok.

      I've decided to start a section in my emails called "You Know You're in Korea When..." I got the idea from someone who emailed my companion. Here goes!

You Know You're In Korea When....

 1.  When toilet paper is used for more than the bathroom...actually, it's used for just 

      about everything: napkins, paper towels, wiping the table, etc.

2.   When old men are wearing more patterns and colors of plaid than they are articles

      of clothing.

3.   When an old man wheels a cart by that has a big pot of boiling silkworm larvae 

      soup on it.      

4.   When your companion can't remember the names of some of the United States

      America. :P

5.   When one elevator only goes to odd floors, and one only goes to the even ones.

6.   When a city with 50 million people has a sweet transportation system that's super cheap and efficient. Like, it's way better than TRAX and *shudder* the Front Runner in Utah. Fail.

That's about all for this week. I'll keep an eye out for unusual/different/cool things. Something my ward mission leader told me was, if something is different it just means it brings something else to the table and makes life interesting. I try to keep that in mind when I see boiling pots of silkworm larvae rolling by me on the street. :D I love you all, and I hope this week goes well for you!

Elder Matt Dean

September 12, 2011

Hey, everybody!

     The second week here in Bong Cheon was pretty awesome, I have to admit! This is a way fun area. For our preparation day, we had a big conference to celebrate Chu Seok, the Korean Thanksgiving. It was so fun! Half the missionaries in the Seoul area went to a place called Yeong Dung Po, which has a huge building our church owns. Our Mission President talked to us about Korean culture and how it relates to Chu Seok; Koreans traditionally believe that when somebody dies, they become sort of a demi-god, so he explained a little about the rituals they do. On this holiday, Koreans go to the graves of their ancestors and bow in respect/worship, in order to gain the favor of those who have gone before, who then bless them. Koreans leave food on tables, too, because a long time ago food was kind of scarce. Thus they give the food as an offering. Also, something I learned is that they never give nectarines, because the spirits hate nectarine trees and actually can't go near them. So the fruits of the trees are out, I guess. :D Also, our mission president explained a little about Korean names. Taditionally, all males of the same generation in a family use a common syllable in their names; hence, in my Korean name, Do In Su, I share the "su" with Ha Yeong Su and Ha Min Su, the two sons of the Ha family. It's pretty awesome. We had a sweet lunch and got some training about teaching people, and the conference was over. However, P-day was from the end of the conference to the end of the day! You should have seen the building, it was a total party. Some people played board games, some people played volleyball, some people sat around and talked. It was really fun. I talked to another elder about video games that we had both played for proably about an hour. :D And then I read a letter I got from Erin van Komen. It was a really sad letter...she's hanging in there, but she's got a lot on her plate right now with college and tuition. I feel like she's trying to be positive, but it's just really hard. Apparently the letter I sent her got there on the day of her mom's funeral, so that was pretty good timing. I hope I can be a strength for her, but there's only so much you can communicate through the mail. I hope Kimee and Sarah are taking good care of her.

     Speaking of Kimee, unless my letter got lost in the mail, she owes me one. It's understandable if she has a boyfriend now, though. Just remember, Austin--girls act all needy and they want you to write them, until they find someone at home. Then you get nothing. :D Just kidding, I'm not bitter. I hope she's doing well. Since Sarah is the "updater" for my friends, could you ask her if she's heard anything about Katie Haggard? I haven't talked to her in like six months, and I wonder if our letters are getting to each other or not. Tell Sarah thanks for being so awesome, and I'm working on getting her a letter soon. :D

     This week...what a good week, from a missionary standpoint. We found two new people to teach; one is kind of a flake, though, and he's only in it for the English. The other one is pretty solid. But the best news is that a guy we're teaching accepted a commitment to be baptized on October 1! We're so excited! He said he got an answer about our church from God in a dream, and as he was telling us about it, I was thinking, "Whoa, this is just like a movie or something." It was seriously way cool. So, we're going to help him get baptized. I asked him why he thought it was so important, and he said it was because we need someone to help us out to be clean from sins, and through Christ we can do that. He said he wants to be baptized, so we will help him there. I feel very thankful to God for giving us this success.

     I got your package, Mom and Dad! It was so awesome! Elder Mallory ate some of the dried mangoes, and he said they were really the best fruit he's ever eaten. Really. :D I really like the journal you sent me, too--it has really great questions in it, and I'm excited to fill it out. I just have to find the time now. You'll be interested to know that out of the 20 questions on that "How Well Do You Know Harry?" test from the newspaper that you send me, I got 18 right. And two of the answers on the key were actually wrong, which is pretty funny. I did it with one of the Assistants to the President and we concluded that the girl who wrote it didn't actually know Harry that well after all. :D And I appreciate the present from Emmy {our cat}, looks like she still sheds as much as always. 开矫. :D

     Mom, you asked about bath houses; basically, you go in there and there are different pools with different things dissolved in them at different temperatures, and you sit in them and relax. There are also saunas that are super hot, and usually swimming pools. Also there are sections where you sit down on a stool in front of a mirror with a hand faucet, and just shower off. It's a really relaxing experience, and I love 'em. I have two more winters to enjoy them in, too. :D

     Grandma, I'm glad you've made progress on Elmo {the barn cat}. They should run a new cable show called "The Cat Whisperer," starring Ruth Ann Brandon. i would totally watch that show. :D

     I was reading an email from another missionary that Elder Mallory got, and it had a section titled "You Know You're in Brazil when..." I figured that I could make one of those for the blog you're making me, and it would be really funny. I'll come up with stuff for next week.

     I love you all - have a good week!

~Elder Matt Dean

September 4, 2011

Hey everybody!
     So, I got transferred to a new area called Bong Cheon (rhymes with "stone gun"). It's the area that includes Seoul National University, so it should be pretty easy to find on a map. My house is north of the university a little ways. I really like this new area, because there are millions of people to talk to! We talked to 188 people just from Wednesday morning till Sunday night. yeah, that's a lot of people. The house is really big, much bigger than Il San was, and since the area is really small we don't have to spend as much money on travel. The ward is really nice, too; I hear that they love helping missionaries, and I'm excited to teach with them.
     My new companion is named Elder Mallory. He's my same age, but one transfer younger than me in mission age. He's from Las Vegas, and since coming on his mission he's lost like 80 pounds. It's way cool. Korean food does that to you (but don't worry, I didn't lose 80 pounds, that's a little more than half my body weight :D). He's really nice, and he has a big desire to do missionary work. I'm glad I'm finally with someone like that, it hasn't happened since my trainer in January. His dream job is to be a firefighter, like his dad, uncle, and grandpa. He's gone on ride-alongs with his dad before, a lot, and he has some really cool stories. He also played football as a linebacker in high school. We're having some good times. I miss my Korean companion though, we had fun times. My Korean companion is only in his third transfer right now, and he's training another Korean. :D I hope he's doing ok.
     I was so sad to leave Il San. The night before I left we visited a bunch of the members I was closest to and sang "God Be With You Till We Meet Again." It was way sad. The Spirit was really strong when we visited the man I baptized, Ko Gwang Jin. I went out to dinner with Ha Yeong Su, a returned missionary from Daejon mission that I was way close to. He's actually the oldest son in the Ha family that I told you about, and it was really sad. I got a picture of him on my camera that i'll send you. His dad called me on the phone as I was on the subway heading out of Il San for the last time, and it was the hardest goodbye I've had since leaving for the MTC almost a year ago. I will miss Il San so much, and I really want to go back before I leave. Oh, I asked Ha Tae Wan, the father of the family, to give me a Korean name, and he named me도인수 (Do In Su). The meanings are as follows: Do is the surname that Dad went by when he was here. In means love or mercy or something like that, and when combined with Do it kind of sounds like Dean. And he gave me Su because the two of his sons both have that in their names. So even though I don't share the Ha surname with them, it's like I'm his son, in a  way. I love my Korean name!
     Our investigators are doing pretty good. We had first meetings with a few of them, and they went really well. The people we met were sincere and it seemed like they really wanted to find the truth, and I'm excited to help them do it, because I know how much of a blessing it'll be in their lives.
     In our mission there's probably about 150 missionaries, and it's on the rise. Since the consolidation there has been a real shortage of missionaries, but they're sending more and more out here. I'm writing a letter to Jayson on paper, and I'll enter it into the email next time if I have time. I hope he's doing ok. If you could get Jake Hall's MTC mail address that would be awesome. It's hard to believe Mom is on Facebook. :D I'm excited to see your profile when I get back. Oh, and I've gotten some weird suspicious emails from Grandpa's email address, so I deleted them. My email was returned to me marked as undeliverable to him too, so I'm not sure what's going on. But everything will work out. I think the vest is a great idea, I'd actually wanted one last winter but I forgot about it. If it was dark greyish I think that would be best. Thanks so much, Grandma!
      The weather is starting to cool off a little; I think it will be really cold again this winter. But for the next month or so it should be pretty good.
     I'm glad that Grandma caught Elmo and got to take him to the vet, hopefully his eye is ok. Maybe you can knit him an eyepatch like a pirate. :D
     I just had a thought: you can take parts of my emails and put them on my blog! That would be cool. If you can record how many people have visited it, you should tell me after a few weeks. :D
      Today for P-day we are going to a public bath house with some other missionaries, which should be really fun. I love those bathhouses, they're the best. Other than transfers nothing's really changed...I love my life as a missionary, despite the hard times, because I'm learning so much and having fun most of the time. I can feel the love of God in my life, and how much He's proud of me. That's something this mission has done for me more than anything else--it's strengthened my testimony of Jesus Christ, of Heavenly Father, and of their plan for us to help us learn here in this life and return to them after this life. I have so much comfort from knowing their plan for us, and I love being able to teach it to other people. I'm not that great of a teacher yet, but all I can do is my best, and when I've done that nobody should be displeased with me. I think one of the best things about the Atonement of Christ is that even if we make mistakes and don't do our best, it's ok if we keep the simple promises we make when we recieve baptism. As long as we do that, He forgives us and helps us to be better. I love this gospel and everything it means to us.
      That is all. I love you all; thank you for being such an amazing support to me! I owe everything I am to you, and I hope my emails are interesting. :D Give all the animals some pets for me.
I love you!
Elder Matt Dean

August 28, 2011

Anyeonghaseyo! (Or however you Romanize that!)
     So, I decided to consolidate my letters to you into one, to save time and to not have to copy/paste and/or retype things. If you really, really want me to go back to separate, let me know. :D
     This week has probably been the craziest week of my mission so far. I got news from you, Mom and Dad, and from Sarah about Sister van Komen's funeral, and about Jayson, my best high school friend, losing 3.5 months of his memory and being sent home from his mission on medical release. That's a lot of bad news for one week. I really enjoyed the letter from Aaron Hoggan (one of my other best friends). I'm glad he's doing so well on his mission. I hear Russia is a really, really hard place to be out doing this work, but he sounds great. Anyway, with all the bad news I definitely have people to pray for.
     We found some golden investigators this week! Their names are Chris and Che Eun Hee, and they are a married couple with one 5-year-old boy who is way cute. Chris is from Virginia, and he's here teaching English. His wife is Korean, but she's way good at English, and so is their son. His name is Aiden. Che Eun Hee saw us on the street, said she is looking for religion, and invited us to dinner that night! It was way fun. Chris is Christian, but he hasn't been out to church since he came to Korea. When I asked him about his beliefs, he said he wants to be a good person, follow God's commandments, and live a good life. I said that's awesome, and that we weren't there to tear down his beliefs or shove our religion down his throat; we are only here to give people a choice. He liked that. They came to church on Sunday and I think they will be baptized, because Chris is already on Chapter 5 of 1st Nephi, the first section of the Book of Mormon. I'm way excited to work with them.
     However, it looks like I will definitely, 100% transfer on Wednesday. The President of our mision basically told me so face to face. :D It's a good thing, I'm ready for a change, for a fresh start. I feel like I'm still the little greenie that came here in January, and I'm ready to meet some new people. But I'm so sad to leave this ward behind...a lot of people say they will miss me. I'm busy getting contact info so I can keep in touch. I never thought people would love me this much, it's really surprising. I'll let you know where I am next Monday, because I don't know yet.
     Thanks for sending the package, I'm really excited! Don't worry about the Lysol, I just wanted it to sanitize stuff like mattresses or laundry baskets and things. I've worked through almost all the candy and stuff from the package Grandma and Grandpa sent, so good timing. :D I'm excited to send Austin packages on his mission, he's going to get some crazy stuff. Probably some canned sea slugs from Korea or something. :D Here's a golden quote from Dad about Koreans and their diet:"Nobody ever told them that just because you can eat it doesn’t mean you should." I really laughed out loud when I saw that, because it's so true. One of my missionary friends in the MTC is half-Korean, and she said her mom would just go out back and pull random plants (not out of the garden) to put in soups and things. Good times. :D
     Congrats on the award, Mom! You should tell Grandma and Grandpa all about it. They'll be proud, I'm sure.   Grandma, how did your new plan to catch Elmo {a barn cat} go? Grandpa, thanks for the stories about Korea. I can definitely identify with how you had to huddle around oil heaters, it gets really, really cold here. Really. :D
     I sent my camera card last week, hope it gets there. If it doesn't, I'll recopy the pictures and send a USB flash drive this time. Maybe I should have done that the first time anyway....well, I hope you enjoy the pictures.
     Christmas list! AA batteries, 4x6 printouts of pictures of our family camping or at church activities or whatever. Koreans love pictures, and I didn't bring very many. Also, Mom, Dad, and Austin--if you could send me your testimonies by Christmas, that would be awesome. They don't have to be long, and don't stress about it. Actually if you feel like between now and Christmas is too short, just start them by Christmas and that will be present enough for me. Also, Austin--it would be way cool if you could buy me a small, cheap Star Wars Lego set. I mean less than $15 when I say cheap. If you want I'll pay you back when I come back to America. :D If I think of any other ideas I'll let you know. Is there anything any of you want me to get for you?
     If you see any of my friends, tell them that if they've sent letters and nothing comes back, they should just email me or check the address. I haven't gotten anything from Nicole or jake. Hopefully I put the right mailing address on Facebook before I left...oops. :D If I email you a letter for Jayson, can you find a way to get it to him?Also I'll have a reply for Aaron's letter soon.
     I love you all so much. Thanks for working so very, very hard to raise Austin and I. All four of you adults were so vital in making us who we are today. I was thinking this week about the sacrifices you've gone through, and I was just so thankful. I can't tell you that enough. I'll let you know where in Korea I go to, and I love you all!
Elder Matt Dean

August 21, 2011

Hey hey,
     So, I miscalculated the time and I only have like ten minutes left to email. But I'll pack in as many spiritual experiences as I can for Mom to use {in her talk at church}.
      This week I prayed for about ten minutes at our church building, and I only expressed thanks for my blessings. I think I asked for like one thing, maybe. It was only about thanks. That helped me to be more thankful for the things I have. And that night as I said my personal prayer, I was overcome by an intense feeling of love and happiness. I really felt love for Korea, for my mission, for God, for all of you, and basically everything. I was just so happy! I was so filled with the Spirit that I felt like I was on fire. I didn't go to sleep for like an hour, because I didn't want that feeling to go away. It was the best I've ever felt, I think. And I think the reasons it came were, I was being obedient, I prayed for love and charity, and I exercised faith in God. And because I'm a missionary and we just have awesome things like that happen all the time. :D
List of weird things I've eaten: canned sea slugs, whole baby crabs the size of quarters, squid ink spaghetti, acorn jelly, potato pizza, jellyfish, peanut butter-flavored squid jerky, cow intestine, and a couple other things I can't think of. Prayer and relying on the Lord have become real things for me instead of just going through the motions. I can speak Korean passably well. That is a miracle.
     I'm running out of time, but basically just tell anyone that's preparing for a mission to prepare well for the best adventure of their lives. All they have to do is try and put their best into it, and never give up, because if they try they will always get results. As soon as I started trying to give away Book of Mormons when I proselyte, I've given away two per day. That's gone on for three days now. Ether 12: 27, read that for me. The Lord will take you and improve you in many miraculous ways, while at the same time he is using you to bring peope to salvation. Come on a mission. Experience what everyone talks about. Give it a try, and prove the Lord. he won't let you down. I'm out of time, but I'll talk to you more next week. I love you all!
Elder Matt Dean

August 16, 2011

Hey family,
     So I used up most of my email time today transferring pictures from my
camera card to my flash drive in case the card gets lost. That means I
can send the card this week, but on the other hand I have very little
time to email today, so it'll be kind of short. As long as you get
good pictures I figure you can forgive me. :D {The pictures he refers to are the pictures that are already posted with past blog posts.}
     We went to the temple today. It was so nice to sit in the Celestial
room and just put all my worries down for a minute. I think I'm
getting slightly stressed and worrisome again like I was in second
transfer, because I want to grow and do better but it's not coming as
fast as I would like. And we have very few investigators right now.
But I'm trying lately to think more positively, because of something
my mission president said to me. Basically you can look at a glass
half full or half empty, but no matter which viewpoint you take it
still has the same amount of water in it; you can't change it by your
attitude, you only change how you deal with it. Thinking positively is
really hard, but it's better than the alternative, as Dad told me one
time. So I'm looking for the happy points and just trying to do my
best and rely on the Lord.
     I got a letter from Jayson today! It was such a great letter. I was
going to write him soon but he beat me to it, which is ok because it
was exactly what I wanted to hear from him. He regretted how distanced
we became before our missions just like I do, and he hopes we can be
as tight as we were then when we get back. It really made my day. And
he sent me a pokemon card for old times' sake, which really made me
laugh out loud. :D
     I'm glad Mom's trip went well, and I hope Austin's trip was good too. I'm out of time today, but I'll reply to your emails more specifically next week. I love you!
Elder Matt Dean

August 7, 2011

Hey family,
We had our mission conference last week! It got moved up suddenly, which is ok with me because it was way fun. We went to Seoul Forest, which is a pretty good-sized park in the middle of Seoul. While we were there we did a bunch of activities that were focused on companionship unity, since there are a growing number of Korean-American companionships. I really liked the Egg Toss, where me and my companion (I'm still with Kim Jin Oo) tossed an egg back and forth while stepping backwards. Eventually he just chucked it way over my head because we were so far away from each other. :D One of the girl missionaries had a bad catch and the egg splattered all over her shoulder, which was pretty funny. Other activities...we had a blindfolded walk where one companion had to give directions to the blindfolded one. My companion only ran me into a couple trees, it was ok. :D Oh, we had a three-legged race too, which was way fun. We all raced around this obstacle course that included a playground and a ramp with ropes and handholds, which was awesome. After every activity we all sat down and discussed how it applied to our companionships and how we do missionary work together, and we read some associated scriptures about Christ's teachings on the subjects. It was really, really cool. And then we had lunch, which was fun because I got to see some of the missionaries I know but haven't been able to talk to. I ate a lot of kimchi, because it was super-good. After that we had a time-capsule activity, where we wrote why we came on a mission, and what we hope to accomplish. I also wrote about our mission president, Lee Yong Hwan, because he is amazing and he won't be here when I leave next December. We ended with a testimony meeting, which was really spiritual. A lot of new missionaries got up and told what they believe about the gospel and about missionary work. All in all, it was a really fun mission conference, and we only got rained on a little. :D Sorry, I forgot my camera...
Speaking of pictures, I plan next week to transfer everything from my camera card to my flash drive so I can send the card to you. Sorry it's taken me so long, I guess I should put slightly more emphasis on showing you my life than telling you about it. :D
     The family I was telling you about isn't doing so well. The mom decided to go back to her other church with her son. We were so sad...we visited them with no call-ahead a couple nights ago, and she wouldn't come out and see us. They had a couple guests, though, and given the present circumstances I don't really blame her all that much. We still love them and I will pray for them every day for a long time, but we can't drag anyone into the font. That answer that you have to get has to come from God, and if she doesn't sincerely seek it it won't come. Now is not her time, I suppose, but I have faith that later she will come back. Keep them in your prayers, please, especially her husband. He is having a really, really rough time, but he says that eventually he will come back to our church alone if he has to. It's a tough road that he's on, and we will be there for him.
     Mom, I hope Washington, D.C. is fun! Don't burn up over there, I hear it's really hot. I'm glad Shelley's {birthday} party went well, and that she was really actually surprised. Sounds like a good week, with the Christensen's baby. Dad, the mosquitoes aren't bad here in 老魂, because they spray a gas into the air that isn't harmful to humans but kills mosquitoes. I bet if I transfer somewhere else it'll be pretty bad, though. :D A fine and pleasant misery...anyway, the council you told me about sounds amazing, too. And Brother Preece's comment about taking on us the name of Christ is really something I will think about.
     Package list! Lysol disinfectant spray, if you think that's ok to send in a package. Extra Polar Ice gum. Mangoes and/or other dried fruit, lifesaver Wint-O-Green Mints, those rolaids soft chews for heartburn, a recipe for snickerdoodles, and dry muffin mix like last time. I still have plenty of Jello, I should probably actually make that more often. Don't feel like you have to send all that in one package, it's a big list that you can just choose from. Thank you so much for supporting me in this way, I'm really thankful whenever something comes from you!
     I am doing great. There are hard times, but that's what the gospel is for. I can see amazing growth in almost all areas of my life, and I'm starting to see how we need to do this work for other people more than ourselves. The Lord lives, He loves you and me, and He knows what to do for us so that we grow and accomplish His work at the same time. What a miracle that is! I'm so thankful for the gospel, and I'm thankful to you for being my family and helping me live it all my life. I love you all, and I'll talk to you next week!
Elder Matt Dean

August 1, 2011

Hey family!
Hello from Atlantis! Yeah, it's basically underwater here. Or at least, it feels like that sometimes. We got a lot of rain last week, more than I've ever seen in my life, and it's supposed to rain a lot this week too. I really like the rain too, except it puts almost everyone else in a bad mood. It rained so much that they moved our mission conference to this week instead, so I'll let you know how that goes. It seems like it'll be way fun, and I'm excited to be there and get pumped up about missionary work and see all my missionary friends.
     The family that we are mainly working with is having some problems still. I think I told you about them, but I'll just give a recap. The wife's family is hardcore Protestant, and they basically attacked her at a family party, so she's pretty down right now. We don't know how hard to push her, but we're afraid that if we don't, then nothing will happen, you know? But i feel like everything will be ok.
     That's sweet that Dan Gomez's barbecue went well. How did all the other parties go?  Dad, it's ok that you miss writing to me sometimes, I know you're busy providing for the family and working your tail off like you always have. Thanks for showing me a good example there. That's so cool that you got ol' Too Slow {a really old snowmobile his Dad acquired}to work out, that'll be way fun. Just don't run it into a tree or something before I get back next winter. :D That's interesting about all my friends' love lives, it's weird how the world just passes me by out here. I'm ok with it though, it's kind of nice not having to worry about girls for two years. You don't have to worry about me marrying a Korean, I can barely understand Americans. :D.
     Thanks for being such an amazing support to me. You can't build a good building without a solid foundation, and between you and Christ I'm on bedrock. :D I love you all, I hope you have fun in Flaming Gorge or Albuquerque or wherever you go, and I love you !!
Elder Matt Dean


Korean food - yum??!



July 24, 2011

Hey Family!
     Yep, I'm still in the Il San area that I've been in my entire mission. :D It's kind of nice, because I know the area really well and I don't have to pack up my stuff. But I want to see other places in Korea, too. Hopefully I don't get to the next area only to find that Il San was actually pretty awesome and I didn't appreciate it.
     Our family with baptismal dates are doing ok. They have some persecution with their family, but I think they will be all right. Just pray for them, please, and pray that we will be able to know how to help them. It's kind of a sticky situation right now, but with faith we can all get through it.
     I bought a chromatic harmonica, which is something I've always really wanted to do. It's so great, I love it. I have to be careful not to be distracted from the work I have to do, though, it's easy to waste a lot of time plugging out tunes on the harmonica. That's one thing this mission has been teaching me--how to use time effectively. I'm still not that good at it, but I'm getting there. :D
      We get to go to a special mission conference this Friday. About half the missionaries will go Thursday, and our half is on Friday. We will go to this cool place in the forest and play games or something, I don't really know what to expect for sure. But I heard they did it a couple years ago, and everyone says it was awesome. I'm really excited for that, and I'll let you know how it goes.
      I've started to read the Book of Mormon in Korean. It's really hard, actually! Korean writing style is pretty difficult. But I can still feel the power of the words, and new insights I didn't see before have been popping out at me. It'll probably take most of my mission to complete, but I want to do it before I go back to America.
     I'll think about what I want in the next package. I don't need one for a long time, though, you don't have to send them super-often. :D Thanks for all the news about the ward and stuff, I find that really interesting still!
     I am the Lord's missionary. that knowledge has given me a lot of comfort lately. He loves me, and He will help me get throught whatever I need to get through!
     I love you all. Thank you for being such an amazing family. I don't have time to write a ton today because my companion wants to go do stuff, but I'll write more next week. I love you!
Elder Matt Dean

July 17, 2011

Hey family,      So I got the transfer calls, and they decided to transfer me into the first North Korean Mission area! Just kidding, the transfer calls come tonight. But I think I'll stay in Il San for one more. That's the feeling I get, because we have some good progressing investigators, and if I stay I will baptize them next month. That's the family that moved in, and I made friends with their son. They are such a cool family! They are rich, for sure. Their apartment is SO nice, on the 26th floor of this way tall building. Anyway, they have been taking the lessons for a while now, and we set a baptismal date for August 14. I'm way excited, because they will be an awesome family in this ward. And I love their son, his name is Lee Yo Han (the korean version of John), and he's funny. He speaks a little English, too. I'll get a picture with them and send it to you.
     Other news...It's rained a lot here. Like for four or five days straight. I heard there's a typhoon or some sort of tropical storm in the vicinity, which explains all the rain. It rains so much harder here than it did in Utah, that's for sure. i was soaked from the knees down.
     Sounds like the last Harry Potter movie will be good. I heard that part one had some racy scenes in it, which is kind of disappointing. Harry Potter should focus on being a dark wizard killer, not a lady-killer. But i will see them when I get back anyway, along with everything else.
     I'm sorry to hear about Paul's dad. That's so sad... We don't know God's timing with everything, and reconciling our wills to His is really hard. I hope they're not having too hard of a time with everything.
     Congrats on the 5 elk tags, that's pretty sweet! I like how the five of you make up almost half the hunters up there, that's some pretty good odds. Blow em' away and tell me how it went.
     They have some pretty fancy phones here too, Dad. Good luck trying to figure it out, but you're a smart guy, you'll get it eventually even if Austin has to show you how. :D
     For the ward newsletter...yeah, just tell them I'm alive and well, and that I'm having the time of my life out here. And that I baptized Ko Gwang Jin. And that kimchi is the best food on the planet.
     That's all. There's a Korean guy yelling at people way loud in the post office right now, which is strange because usually Koreans don't lose it in public like this. Just thought I'd let you know what was going on as I'm typing. :D I love you all, i'll tell you where I go next week!
Elder Matt Dean

July 10, 2011

Hi family!
     Sounds like you had a good time in Wisconsin. How is Grandma Kunz? And the rest of the family? Have Thomas and Emilio kept out of trouble? I still remember that one time that Emilio came down the stairs with a monster mask on while we were watching the 'Sixth Sense', right in that part where the girl whose mom poisoned her is on the screen. He almost wet his pants. That was so funny. :D Good times, good times.
     This week was pretty good. Not much to report, though, it was basically a normal week. Oh, this one guy from America is over here doing business, and he's going to take us to dinner at a way nice steak buffet tonight! I'm pretty excited for that. He's an amazing guy, really straightforward. He's actually Korean, but he grew up in New York, and he joined our church 6 months ago. He is a great man, and I'm glad he's here. he leaves on Thursday, though.
     I'm almost 1/3 done with my mission somehow, don't ask me how that happened. It's been really good. I had some rough times my first two transfers, but through them I really learned to trust and rely on God, and to be patient. But I'm still learning so much! And I was able to use those experiences with hard times to help Elder Kim, because he's having a hard time right now too. I've been working him pretty hard...maybe too hard. I don't know. I think I've kind of messed up all three of my companions so far, in one way or another, but maybe the fourth time's the charm, huh?
     Thanks for sending Aaron's mission address, Mom. I wanted to send him a letter. I heard that Jake sent me a letter a while ago, but I haven't gotten it yet. Austin, thanks for the letter you wrote me at EFY. I really, really liked it, a lot. I got letters from Angie and Erin van Komen that same day, but yours was the best. Thanks for being an amazing little brother, and I am excited to see you in a little while! You can always email me about anything, just like you could talk to me about anything before I left. I'm always here for you brother, and I love you.
     Yup, that's about it. I hope you made it home safe, and that Emmy is doing good. I might buy a harmonica here, because they have chromatic ones for less than 50 bucks and i've wanted to buy one ever since I met Denny Patterson. I sent him a letter a couple weeks ago; if you see him you should let him know, see if he's gotten it yet. I love you all, stay awesome!
Elder Matt Dean

July 3, 2011

Hey family,
Happy fourth of July! You're probably having the time of your lives up there in Wisconsin or Nauvoo or wherever you are right now.저도 즐거워 하고든요. :D That means I'm having fun too. We had a couple move in to the ward this last week; the husband is a member, but his wife isn't yet. They were taught in the previous ward, and she's basically golden, I think. And they have a 12-year-old kid (Korean age--in American age he's 10), and he's cool. I made friends with him at his parents' request, and he actually looked excited to come to church after that. :D I'm really looking forward to working with them, especially because our finding efforts on the street and whatnot haven't been too effective yet.
     Last week was way fun! We went to the area next to ours, and the missionaries there are ones I've known since the MTC, Korean and American. It was actually our whole district, so it was a blast. We kind of ran out of time with the cinammon rolls because the yeast we used at first was dead, so we had to go buy more. But I got to eat a few, and they were really good! What was more valuable to me was the fun we had, though. We quoted Monty Python and the Holy Grail for ten minutes or so, and that was really fun. And our district leader told a really funny story about how he almost blew his hand off with a homemade pipe bomb one time. He's so great. :D The sisters weren't there because they weren't in our district, but maybe someday we can all get together. We did that once at a zone activity where we played indoor soccer, and one of the sisters basically destroyed us. Good times. :D
     My translator is pretty good. It has a keyboard and a touch screen, which is way nice. It plays music and stores pictures and has some educational programs on it that I don't really use, because learning by the Spirit is better. :D I got it for a good deal, but I feel like if I'd shopped around a little more I could have gotten something with a few less bells and whistles that was smaller and cheaper. But I heard a quote about marriage one time -- "Choose your love, and love your choice." So that's what I'll do. :D I think it'll be pretty useful for when I study Korean in college.
     We had dinner at a member's house, and they invited a few other people too. I'll send you a picture of it. The couple on the far right are Ha Tae Wan, whom I told you about a few times.
      I formatted my memory card with no problems, and next week I'll download all my pictures onto my flash drive so I can send the memory card to you. Make sure you send all the pictures to Grandma and Grandpa, or put them on my blog when you get that up and running. Whatever you need for the blog, just let me know.
     Ko Gwang Jin, the man I baptized, is doing great. He comes to church most weeks, and I can tell he and his wife are more unified and happy now. He's an amazing man, and I'm glad to know him.
     Transfer calls are in two weeks from tonight. If I stay here I'll be surprised, because I think they'll make Elder Kim a senior because he's almost done with pass-off. He's working way hard on it. His family is about average age in the Church for Korea, which means he is the second generation because the church only came like two generations ago. His family actually went less-active (though they still read the scriptures together and stuff), and through the efforts of missionaries, they came back, so that's really good for his testimony. He's great, and we get along really well. I'm learning a lot about communication in a companionship that will help me when I get married, I think.
     Well, that's about all. I hope you all have a great fourth of July! Tell Austin to catch some fireflies for me, and take some good pictures. I love you all!
Elder Matt Dean

Elder Dean and Elder Kim at the dinner he wrote about.

June 26, 2011

Hey family,
     So we're going to another area for pday to make cinnamon rolls and just mess around. the other area is like 40 minutes away, so we're emailing as fast as possible. However, I still love you all, and if I could make a clone of myself that writes emails while I go to the other area, I'd do it. :D
     Dad, thanks for the advice on Koreans, and for your mission memories. I acutaly found your korean name and the chinese version in that copy of Jesus the Christ you gave me. Mom, thanks for the ward news, I enjoy hearing about that kind of stuff. But I'm not trunky. :D I'll answer your emails more specifically next week.
     I got the package! Elder Kim likes the muffins, and they're so easyt to make. Thanks so much! Have fun in Wisconsin!
I love you all!
Elder Matt Dean

June 19, 2011

Hi!
     This week was pretty good. We didn't get great stats or anything (actually they were really bad), but two great things happened. Firstly, there was a training meeting for Koreans only about companionship relationships. They got a bunch of great stuff that applies to all companionships regardless of race, but the things are especially important when it's an American/Korean companionship. Things like patience, understanding, unity, etc. You really have to be patient with people when you both have to struggle for words to say something! We learned some really good stuff, though, and I'm excited to put it into practice.
     Secondly, a returned missionary in our ward from the 하/Ha family gave us some great advice for missionary work. He was stuck in the same area for the last year of his mission down near Daejeon, and he had to do a lot of finding and a lot of member work. So he gave us some things to try for our area, and I'm really excited about putting them into play. The way I've been approaching finding hasn't really worked so far, so these things will be good.
     We did some streetboarding this week, and it went ok. I kind of like it, because the people that want to listen, listen, and those who don't, leave. You don't end up wasting your time and energy on them. Our mission president has a saying, "The coming ones come, and the going ones go." He's great, I really love him. Thanks for the advice on streetboarding, Dad, it was really good, and I'll work on using the things you gave me about the plan of salvation (because that's the only streetboard we have :D).
     I'm looking forward to this week. We have a fair number of appointments set up, and I'm going to finish the second level of pass-off with the APs soon. We ran out of time the first appt, so I'm going back at the end of the week. It'll be easy, I just have to pass some written Korean test, so I'm not that nervous for it.
     My greenie is pretty awesome! I like having a Korean companion, because I can always ask him Korean questions. My Korean is not that great yet, but I'm starting to get to the point where I can understand people. i really do need to start learning the culture, though; I have enough language skills to talk about it now.
     I realized the other day that I'm going to be a trunky missionary if I'm not careful. I think about the future a lot, like what I'll do when I get back and even where I'll go next transfer. I should probably focus on the present and just do my best to do the work now, and I'll take care of the future as soon as it turns into the present.
     Hey Dad, I have a few questions about your mission. How many of your areas do you remember? Which positions of responsibility did you hold, like zone leader? Which year did you serve in? Do you remember your Korean name at all? What are some of your favorite memories?
     The other day I shook a drunk guy's hand before I realized he was totally wasted. He wouldn't let go of my hand, but he wasn't threatening. First he invited me to go drink with him, which I thought probably wasn't a good idea. Then he said in English, "You are my sunshine!" and then translated into Korean, "Dangshin ee na eh haetbit ida!" (당신이 나의 햇빛 이다!) He didn't even say it right in Korean, so he was pretty drunk. It was really funny. :D This other elder I talked to said that when he talked to a drunk guy one time, the guy said in English, "It is my dream to fight a Negro. Hwa!" and he kicked an imaginary black guy. Good times with the alcoholics. :D
     Well, that's about all for this week. I love you all, and I hope the preparation for the trip to Wisconsin goes well. Love you!
Elder Matt Dean



June 12, 2011

Hey family,
     So I baptized Ko Gwangjin last Saturday! It was really, really good. He has overcome so much to get to this point, and though his testimony isn't amazingly strong yet, I think he will do great. He said some words after the baptism, and it was really good. My first baptism...yes! We will work with him to teach him the lessons again according to PMG, and the ward will give him a calling. I'm so thankful his wife is a member, it will be so good for him to have someone to talk to. It was so good...I can really feel his light now. He's made some great changes, and though I don't have the closest relationship with him because of the language barrier, I'm really happy for him.
     Also, I'm training a Korean! His name in english is Kim Jin Oo. He's really cool! He's from down by Busan, and he has a real fire for missionary work. Everything is so much better than missionary work with Elder Pulsipher, let me tell you. I hope he will figure things out someday. His new companion is probably not as much of a pushover as I was, so maybe he's undergoing some good changes right now.
     Anyway, back to my companion. He's really great, and the best thing about him  is that he's so obedient. If I tell him a mission rule we have to keep, he keeps it with no problems. We got training on how to be a trainer before we received our greenies, and the APs said that if you only teach them one thing, teach them how to be obedient. So that's what I'm doing. Being a trainer is kind of hard, though, because I have to explain everything in Korean. Some things are hard to explain in English, and then I have to switch it into a different language! But it's going ok. the language barrier is not as bad as I thought it would be. Also, I think our ward is really pleased they have someone who can speak Korean again. :D
     Challenges with a Korean companion... He speaks fluently, obviously, but he doesn't really know how to be a missionary yet. So when we proselyte, it's been kind of hard. It must take a lot of humility on his part to listen to me, because I still don't speak well yet. Actually, I have a harder time with listening than speaking. But being with him all the time is really improving my Korean, I can feel it! My intonation is better, and I have a living dictionary that I can always ask Korean questions to. He just barely speaks English, but he understands ok.
Dad, I have a few questions. First, is this owner's manual you speak of included in the card or the camera? Because if I have the manual for the camera, I really don't know where it is. I think I might have left it in America...so I don't know how i will format the new card yet. I'll definitely look for it here, though...if it's not here then maybe someone can look it up on the internet, they might have directions there. We'll see.
     Second, do you have any ideas for training Koreans? I don't know how to make it fun for him. We had kind of hard day the other day, with talking to people and such, and i don't know how to encourage him or say funny things or basically how to make missionary work enjoyable for him. So if you have any experiences with that, or training in general, I'd really like to hear about it.
     I'm going for the second level of Pass-off this week. I did the first half already, and the AP I did it to was really impressed with me. I feel like I'm doing ok, and if we could just find some new investigators, that would be great.
     I'm sorry to hear about Kyle Eby. He seemed like he was doing really well in the MTC when i saw him that one time. I didn't know their parents were divorced recently; that must have been really hard. I don't know how he feels, but he needs to be back on a mission. That is where he will find the most happiness, eventually. I'm just so glad I have a great family back home that supports me and is so solid in the faith. Thank you for all you do for me, and for your great examples.
     I'm glad the Kerstens are doing a little better. At least, Kyle is. How are the other two patients now?
     I'm so pumped about Jake Hall's mission call! Where is the Dominican Republic, anyway? South America?
     As for weird things I've eaten, you can tell people I've eaten jellyfish tentacles, squid ink spaghetti, acorn jelly, kimchi (though that's not really weird), baby fish, and ginseng. The herb, not a drink or anything. Nothing too bad. Oh, and whole baby octopuses too. :D And I have eaten nengmyeon once, it was actually pretty good.
     I'm glad Camp Helaman went well, I'm sure there are angels bearing everyone up when they do it. And I'm really proud of you, Austin, for working so hard. It sounds like you will be a great missionary, becuase you are already a  great person!
     It's ok that Nick Olsen messed up my car. It's kind of like I was the last one with it before it died. Now it doesn't even exist anymore, kind of. :D
     Well, I'm pretty much out of time. Tell everyone I said hi, and pet Emmy a few times for me. I love you all!
Elder Matt Dean

Elder Dean and his 3rd companion, Elder Kim Jin Oe

June 6, 2011

Hi, family!
     I have a lot of good news this week. This is probably the best crop of news my whole mission so far. Ok, first, I'm staying in일산! Yeah! That's what I really wanted, because I know this area really well now, and I really love my ward. So I get six more weeks here. I will have been here for a slightly unusual amount of time now; usually, people only stay in one area for three transfers, but this is my fourth. I'm excited to serve here for another six weeks.
     But what I'm more excited about is the fact that Ko Gwang Jin is getting baptized this Saturday! If all goes well at the baptismal interview, we'll baptize him Saturday night and confirm him on Sunday in Sacrament meeting. I'm really excited for him. He's come so far since he started meeting missionaries last November, and he hasn't smoked for two weeks. He seems well-prepared to be baptized, and we'll see what the Spirit tells my district leader on Saturday afternoon in the interview. I'm so excited! I might get to baptize him, in which case I'll have to learn how to say the ordinance in Korean. That'll be an adventure. Please pray that he will be able to pass the interview, I'm not completely sure that his testimony of the restoration is strong; but you can never judge someone's testimony as "strong enough," only God and the Spirit can do that.  I'll let you know what happens when i email next week.
     By the way, i didn't email yesterday because it was Korea's Memorial Day, and the post office was closed. It all worked out, though, because now I get the opportunity to tell you that I get to be a trainer this transfer! Yeah! The missionaries get here tonight, and then we meet them tomorrow. I'm relieved that I don't have to serve with Elder Pulsipher anymore  - his purpose here is not to preach the gospel yet; he hasn't found that fire that motivates us to push ourselves and try hard. I didn't really try to help him find it, either...I hope my example was enough. I don't think he would have liked any help I could give him anyway; it's something he's got to do for himself. Maybe his next companion will be able to get him into gear. I hope so, because this last transfer he seemed braindead with boredom or maybe frustration/despair a lot of the time. Someday I'll learn how to help people like that. But anyway, I get my greenie tomorrow and it'll be great. I've already made plans for how I want things to be, but I know they probably won't turn out exactly how I want them to. Life is what happens when all your plans go awry. However, I'm ok  with it. I know that this is what God wants for Il San, for my greenie, and for me.
     So life is good right now, for me. I'm a little nervous about what lies ahead--the "what ifs" always come along--but I have gained a lot of trust in the Lord from being out here. When i went senior, I really had a hard time. Seriously. But now I feel like as long as I rely on the Lord, it'll all be ok, even if my greenie is worse than Elder Pulsipher. I guess this is what faith feels like, huh? It's strange how faith and testimony come upon you like a sunrise, like Elder Bednar said in his Conference Talk. You've just got to hang in there, and though it seems like you'll go crazy at times, He will help you through.
     I feel good knowing I'm being prepared for life after the mission, because Mom and Dad have probably gone through way worse times than I have. But whatever comes my way in the future, I know I can deal with it.
     Other news from me...I had the best contact of my mission on Sunday. It was probably because I was fasting. Maybe I should do that all the time! (just kidding) I talked to a high-school age kid, and he had interest in our message, so I explained it to him. He listened, I spoke well, he understood, he seemed to accept it, and he agreed to meet again. I felt really good about it, and I felt like I followed the Spirit. It was really good. I'll let you know if anything comes from it, we're supposed to meet him on Sunday. It was really one of those moments where I actually thought, "Yes, this is why i left my family and friends and college and came across the ocean and give up to 2 years to wear suits all the time. This is why I am a missionary."
Andy and Florence leave next week. They will come to church one last time before they head to Australia. I will miss them a lot, but I'm glad I got the opportunity to teach them and plant that seed. Maybe now is not the right time, but someday I pray they will come into contact with missionaries again.  I will definitely email them when i get home.
     We rode bikes around the lake last Monday and played badminton yesterday. Elder Pulsipher and I get along ok as friends, but not as missionaries. Maybe someday I'll look him up again, since he lives in St. George.
     We met a potential investigator this last week, and he wasn't interested. However, his friend was listening, and he agreed to meet again this Sunday as well. It's interesting how the Lord leads us to people, huh? I like this kid, his Romanized name is Shin Hyeok. I really hope we can meet him, because he said he was looking for religion right now. He seemed pretty interested, too. I'll call him tonight and see how he's doing. He speaks English, which is nice, but I'm still going to teach in Korean.
     That's all the news I have. The stuff from home sounds great! I'm glad you were able to help Grandma and Grandpa put up the guest building. From what they said to me, they are so grateful! It sounds like you all worked really hard, and I'm proud of you. It would have been nice to be there with you, but this work that I'm doing is really important too. Speaking of them, I don't really know how to share the gospel with them yet, since even sharing spiritual experiences might be pretty weird for them. But I'll continue sending good news and pray for the best.
     Dad, thanks for the great advice about everything. Don't worry about replying to my Korean letter either, that would probably take a lot more time than you have. And it's totally fine if stuff comes up that keeps your emails from getting to me on time, I understand and I'm fine with it! And I'll work on not complaining/beating myself up from now on. :D
     Sounds like you all have a busy summer coming up, especially Austin! That's good, though, it's way better than sitting at home all day. And if you do end up sitting at home all day, maybe consider volunteering somewhere, like the bishop's storehouse. they were always really happy to have me there.
     I'm glad Kimee got my letter, and that she got re-hired at Krispy Kreme. I actually went to Krispy Kreme here in Korea last month sometime, you should tell her that if you get a chance. :D
     You might get discouraged a lot of the time {about your diabetes and weight}, Mom, but just know that I love you and I'm here for you, and that Heavenly Father is too--more than I ever could be. I'll keep praying for you; I know you can do it! Don't give up!
     Sheesh, the Kersten family took some really hard hits, it sounds like. That's really crazy that all that stuff happened this month...I'll pray for them, for sure. How's the Montoya family doing? Are the kids all doing ok? How old are they now, anyway?
     Well, that's all, I guess. I'll let you know who my greenie is next week. I love you all, and I know that this church is true. Bye!
Elder Matt Dean

May 29, 2011

Hey, family!
     I don't know whether you're still in Colorado or not, but I'm sure going to send you an email anyway!
     This week went a little better than last week. I got a package from Grandma and Grandpa, full of Craisins and Jello and stuff. I'm good on Jello for probably the next six months between the two of you. :D
     So every night I write down blessings or miracles or positive things i saw during the day. I just realized that I should probably be reviewing that so I know what good things to tell you about! I'll do that next week.
     So it turns out that Andy and Florence are probably going to Australia in two weeks. We're pretty sad to hear that, because we have good times with them. It also means that probably the best we can do is commit them to investigate the church more in Australia, because we're not to the point where we can say, "Ok, will you be baptized before you head out to Australia?" They are not committed enough yet. But hopefully they will feel the Spirit, and feel like they need to learn more about this. Andy in particular thinks it's a really good church, and I hope they don't give up on it.
     Ko Gwang Jin has made good progress on his smoking addiction! We're really excited. I don't know how much he actually wants to be baptized yet, but we'll see. I think he will be eventually, just maybe not on the goal that he set. If we can get him to really ask the Lord if the Book of Mormon and the Restoration are true, he'll be in great shape.
     I learned a lot about repentance as i was pondering at Church. I changed my perspectives on it a little. It's not something that you HAVE to do so much as it's an opportunity to say, "Ok, Heavenly Father, I messed up. But you love me individually, so you care enough about me to help me with these things and forgive me for them if I put them out on the table. So here's what they are." It makes sense to me, I don't know how much that makes sense to anyone else. :D
     Elder Pulsipher and I are going to the lake to ride bikes today. I'll take some sweet pictures for you. I  might have time today to send some home over email, too, we'll see.
     I got a letter from Denny! I was really excited. It was a good letter, and I'm sad that he's moving to St. George. Maybe I can visit him someday. He said they are buying a house more in the countryside where they can have horses. That's the life they really like, he said. So if they're happier there, I guess it's a good thing.
This week I improved my attitude about things. God knew what He was doing when He sent me here, and He knows how to help me. I still have to try my best, but He won't let me completely fail. I've been wondering about why I get so stressed and over-focused on perfection and all, and I think it's because my mind equates relaxation with failure. I don't know why, it just does. The mind is a funny thing, huh? But regardless of that, everything is going ok. I'm learning out here. I'm having spiritual experiences. I'm a missionary. What more could you ask for? We were visiting a member the other night, a returned missionary in his thirties, and he said we were so lucky to be missionaries and to have this spirit about us. He said he can feel the Spirit whenever he talks to us, and I can tell he really misses being a missionary. It really made me think about how blessed I am, and how much I've been taking that for granted. So I'm not having as hard of a time anymore. I'm still working hard, and still doing my best, and still making mistakes and learning how to be effective, but my mind is more at peace, and I'm drawing closer to the Lord.
     So that's all. :D We get transfer calls a week from today, at night, so in two weeks I can tell you what went on. Oh, please send an English version of the Conference Ensign sometime in the future; I'd like one that I can mark up and not have to share. I should have just said yes when Mom asked me like two months ago. :D How is Caleb's family doing, by the way? Everything good? How's the business going?
I love you all!
Elder Matt Dean

May 22, 2011

Hi, family!
    Hello from Seattle.....I mean Korea.  I'm doing ok right now. We got lots of rain last week, too, but it didn't rain for a week like it did there! I'm glad that Aaron and Devin are doing well, I'm excited to be able to talk to them eventually. Jayson and Jake, too. If you find out where jake is going on his mission, let me know, because he hasn't sent me anything yet.
     Sounds like the computer is pretty good! I'll have to check it out when I get back. The computers we use at the post office to email are pretty fast, too.
     I have quite a few pictures, but they take forever to send over the internet. If Dad sent a card to me last week, I might get it tomorrow, if not, just wait till I can send my card back. You waited six months, you can wait a little longer. :D Also, could you tell Kimee happy early birthday for me somehow? I forgot to put that in my letter to her that I sent last week. Her birthday is June fifth. Maybe you could tell Shelley...Thank you!
     Transfers are in two weeks, thank goodness. I think what will happen is, I'll get transferred to a new area and Elder Pulsipher will stay here. But you never know. As long as one of us is transferred, things will be ok. We are just too different, and I hate working with someone that doesn't really care about missionary work.
     We went to the army base again so Elder Pulsipher could load up on candy and stuff, and a Korean guy came up to us and said he had interest in our church! I was like, "All right!" So I went and sat down by him and his friend, who was American, and got his contact info and all. And then I found out that he was actually a former bishop. :D He had come to the base with the current bishop of the English speaking ward here, and he was doing a role-play with me. I was kind of embarrassed, but it was funny. I think if I ever serve in his ward, we will have some good times.
     We have an investigator with a baptismal date! His name is Ko Gwang Jin, and he's like 45ish. The problem is, he didn't come to church, and we can only teach him on Sunday because of his work schedule. And he has some Word of Wisdom problems, so we have work to do there. We'll do our best to get him baptized on June 12, though!
     I feel like my fire is going out. I wish I could be the classic, always-excited missionary that sends home way interesting letters full of positive things and miracles, but I'm not that missionary right now. It's something I need to work on, having a good attitude. I wish I could be that missionary that the President can put in a hard situation and get results from, someone he can rely on to do whatever job he gives. But I can't yet. I know that every good gift takes work, but I feel like I've been working for six months now and I haven't really grown yet. I feel like I'm past that time where I can say, "It's ok, I've only been out for a little while, I have time to learn. " But I should be getting better by now. I only have 18 months left, and I feel like time is slowly running out...I don't know. It's like walking around the house with your eyes closed, you can't see anything for sure, but you kind of know the things around you, just not exactly.  I feel this sense of urgency, but I don't know how to open my eyes yet, and I have a hard time relying on Heavenly Father to show me where to go. It's just hard, to put it simply. :D But I know that I'm doing what's right, even if I can't do it very well yet. The temple was really good (we went there last week) and I felt the Spirit a lot. If I rely on God, everything will be ok....eventually.
     Thanks for being there for me, everybody. you are a great family, and I'm proud to wear our name on my chest next to the name of Jesus Christ. I'll try to be more positive and happy this week, and I'll let you know how it goes. I love you, stay safe!

Matthew walking on some sort of textured foot path in a park on P-day

Elder Matt Dean

May 15, 2011

Dear Family,      We're starting the fourth week of this transfer today. It's really gone by pretty fast, despite our lack of progress. It's hard to believe tomorrow is my six month mark! Whoa! My mission is 1/4 done already. Time flies.
     It sounds like the neighborhood barbeque went pretty well! I'm glad Dan Gomez is still there, he was a really nice guy. Hopefully we can develop a good friendship with him. Did lots of people come out to the barbeque? Did you just throw the grills in the middle of the street, or what? I miss grilled food, I've only seen one grill here, and it was in a really expensive house that we saw.
      I'll try to take more pictures of things and people. That's a good point, taking pictures of ward activities and such. I'll remember to get pictures of people before i get transferred out of here.
     The family prayer over the next phone call sounds amazing! Too bad we didn't hear about it this time, but we still have two more, huh?
     It's starting to get pretty warm here. The humidity isn't as bad as I thought it would be; I'm sure that coming in the winter when the air was relatively dry was good for me too. That way I got used to it slowly. I'll probably be huffing and puffing when i get back up to Utah, though! It rains a lot, too, but I bought a nice umbrella, so it's ok.
     The missionary work is going ok. It's hard to teach Andy and Florence when my companion refuses to teach in English or plan out lessons. But I'm doing the best I can, so I'm satisfied. And when I don't do my best, I can repent and change my ways through the Atonement. That's one great message of the gospel that I love. I've come to realize, though, that I really don't know the lessons or this gospel well enough to teach in English or Korean. I need to study more, I suppose...
     It's really cool when I feel the Spirit testifying through me that what I say is true. I always love that feeling. It happens pretty often, which is great. I haven't experienced any amazing, outstanding miracles yet, but those don't do as much for your testimony as the daily things do.
     It's weird, I feel like there are all these things I need to be doing better, but I don't know what they are or how to to do them.
I love you all!
Elder Matt Dean

Outdoor Fair



The 16th Goyang Korea Flower Show



May 8, 2011

Hey family,
     Yeah, I get to email and talk on the phone to you all in one day. This is pretty much the best day ever. :D
     It's great that Jayson stopped by! I wish he were out here with me, we'd be having a great time. That would be seriously awesome, now that I think of it. I wonder how much he's changed in the past six months... I'm sure we'll get together after we both get back. That'll be a great day. Maybe we can get Jake Hall in on the action too, though by the time he gets back I will have been home for almost a year. Whoa....
     Here is a list of stuff I need eventually: deodorant, Vitamin C, Centrum multivitamin, and maybe 8 AA batteries or so. Something I want is a small English hymnbook. I foolishly left the one Mom bought Austin and I at home, and i have no idea where it is.
          We do have a lesson on the Plan of Salvation. What kinds of things would you tell them when you taught that, Dad? Also, what kinds of things would you do/say on the street? How did you find new investigators? That's proabably the area we could use the most improvement in.
     So, from taking care of me since I was born, how do you think I could improve to get along with people? Obviously there are things I can be doing better too, and you know me the best out of anybody on the earth. So any advice would be appreciated. :D
     That's about all I can think of right now....we'll all have more things to say next week. It's only been like four hours since I talked to you last. :D Thanks for being amazing like always, I always thank the Lord that I got to grow up in this family. I love you!
Elder Matt Dean

May 1, 2011

Dear family,
     Yeah, neither one of us got transferred. I'm a little bummed about that, actually, because it means I'll be doing six more weeks of solo missionary work. But, my leaders and you have said that there are lessons to be learned from all this, and I believe it. My district leader said that every single companion has something to teach that no other person could, and that it's up to me to humble myself enough to see it. I think I'm supposed to be learning how to have patience with someone, how to give constructive guidance, how to have charity for someone even though they are hard to live with, how to keep my standards up even when others' are decreasing, and how to keep a good attitude even in hard times. That's a lot, I suppose, but with the Lord's help I can do it. I just hope I'm not treating him like I treated Austin all those years, that was not good. I'm not naturally someone who can inspire others (especially if they don't want to be inspired...), but I know there's a lot I can learn from this that will make me a better missionary and a better friend, husband, and father.
     We went to the temple this week! It was pretty awesome. You got to go when you were here, right, Dad? I like seeing all the missionaries in our zone and others, and the temple is always amazing. It's such a blessing to be able to go once a transfer, the missionaries in Taejeon and Busan don't get to go till the end of their missions.
     I got letters from Erin and Kimee, and they were both great! They both have their hard times, but they are staying true to the gospel like I knew they would. They both give good advice, too. I'm glad I have so many people that write me.
     Andy and Florence are doing well. They want to meet three times a week! I'm pretty excited about that. We help them with English for half an hour, and then teach them about the gospel for the other half. Andy is going to Australia at the end of the month to work to raise money for tuition. I hope we can help them come to the gospel before then....
     So, calling next sunday. If you can call me, it will save the Church some money. If you can, then call me at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, your time. That should be 8 o'clock a.m. our time. If I've got the time difference wrong, just call when it's 8 o'clock here. If a little time goes past and you haven't called, I'll just call you. I get one hour that morning, and I'm really excited!
     No baptisms yet. I was kind of discouraged the other day. But then I thought that I'd talked to 700 or so people in the last six weeks, and maybe because I talked to them about the Book of Mormon, they'll accept it more readily in the next life. That thought, along with the Spirit, helped me through.
     I'm so excited to be able to talk to you! And I get to email that day too, it'll be nice. :D I'll talk to you in a week, I love you all!
Elder Matt Dean

April 24, 2011

안녕하세요!
Hope that made it into your computer without being transformed into boxes or something. :D This week was ok. From the stats standpoint it was actually pretty awful, though. We are struggling with meeting the stats. Actually, I should say only I am struggling, because I feel like only I am working for them. Elder Pulsipher doesn't care about the stats. He doesn't care about Korean, either, to be frank. When I ask him to talk to people, he basically only says hello. He won't teach with me. He says he isn't learning how to teach because we're not teaching (which is true), but when I ask him to practice teaching with me, he says no. "I don't feel like it" and "I don't care" are the two phrases I hear from him most often. I can't force him to do it, either, because it would just turn into a straight-up fight and nothing would happen, except we'd hate each other and the Spirit would be gone. Being with Elder Pulsipher is a little like preaching the gospel with someone who can't talk, actually. He won't do anything in Korean, period, and I don't think he's trying his best. He mostly just sits around like a bump on a log and either plays with his Rubiks cube or reads a book. Basically I have done missionary work on my own this transfer, and it shows in the stats. I know it's not all about the stats, but they are important as a reflection of how well we're doing. This transfer was basically just like last transfer, except Elder Choi actually cared about missionary work. I don't think Elder Pulsipher cares, and he's basically in some sort of biological "power-save" mode. He's alive, but major Korean functions are inoperational. And thus the work in Il San is suffering.
     But hey, transfer calls are tonight, eh? Honestly, I hope one of us gets transferred. I kind of feel like a jerk for saying that, but that's the way it is. I know also that it's not all his fault, but I feel like I'm actually trying to get along with him, I just don't know how to do it. If we don't get transferred, I will have a frank conversation with him about all this, and see if that helps. I know I've got to love him more, it's just hard. But this trial will make me stronger, and I thank the Lord for that!
     Ok, ranting about my companion=over. :D Andy and Florence came to Sacrament meeting! Yeah!! They are so awesome. I don't remember what I've told you about them yet, so if you have questions, fire away. They agreed to meet us later this week to speak English and also talk about the Church for a while. I like them, they are funny and interesting and can speak English, which is always a plus.
     Our ward mission leader was just released, because he said he has no time to help us. Whoop-de-do. So the first counselor is filling in, and so far he's a lot better than the other guy. I like the first counselor a lot, he's great. Dad, how can I as a missionary effectively work with the Ward Mission Leader/person who's filling in?
     Happy Easter! It's still Easter there, I think. Just barely. I got your package last week! It was so great, thanks for all the Jello and candy and stuff. I will be sure to share it with everybody. the letter from President Lee was pretty cool, too. {President Lee is Elder Dean's Mission President}
     Remember the picture book Sister Owens made for us for Christmas? With all the funny pictures of us at the temple? I'm showing that to people that ask to see my family pictures. Bwa ha ha! If you could tell her thanks for making that, it would be great. I laugh every time i see it. :D
     I heard about an internship at Langley Research center at some university for aerospace engineers. It's for sophomores in the summer, it pays 6000 dollars to those who do it, and it sounds awesome. I'll have to research it more when I get back, since i'll have to wait a year before I can do it.
     I found some scriptures for hard times, in case anyone is having hard times now or later: Alma 32:21, 58:9-12, 36:3, 26:27, 7:13-11; D+C 6:34-37; Helaman 5:12; Psalm 23; Mosiah chapters 14-16; Moroni 10:32-33; Ether 12:27; 2 Nephi 31:20. I like all those, and maybe they will help you.
     This week we had an activity with the ward that only like eight people came to, but that was ok, they were the eight I liked best. :D We played basketball and then a traditional Korean game called윷노리, which is like 'Sorry', a little bit. It was super fun, and I'm glad i could go.
     We get to go to the temple tomorrow! I'm way excited for that. Also, transfer calls are tonight, so I'll let you know next week what happened.
     I haven't heard how calling to you {on Mother's Day} will work yet. I'm waiting on my leaders for that, but I'll be sure to let you know. I'm so excited for that! It'll be great. Prepare for Korean, Dad. :D
     Youth Conference sounds awesome, Austin! I wish I could have gone to that, but this is kind of like one loooooooong overnighter in Korea. :D And shed hunting sounds really good, too, Dad. I can't wait to see those huge ones you found, the one that we helped drag out was really big already. I also really enjoyed your quote about how a man will starve before he catches a legal fish at Strawberry. Mom, be safe when you drive in Colorado, and have fun with Grandma. It's ok if you can't write because of that.
     I have to email the three grandparents now, but I'll email you next week. I love you, thank you so much for everything!
Love, Elder Matt Dean