October 16, 2011

Hey all,

So, we got the transfer calls and I'll be in Bong Cheon for another six weeks! I'm really happy, I like this area a lot and we have three really good investigators right now. My companion, Elder Mallory, stayed too, and we will continue to have a great time out here.

Soccer last week was really fun; we played on a big dirt field out by the Han river, which was a great view. I made a spectacular goal on my own team on accident; I was going to kick it out, but I didn't realize that I was directly in front of our goal until the ball was flying at high speed right over our goalie. Oops. :-)  I'll probably be hearing about that one for a while.

I got a call this Thurdsday from our Zone Leaders , which said that this transfer I will be a District Leader! I was pretty nervous about it at first, but it's basically just calling the missionaries in the district and checking up on them, collecting stats to report to the ZLs, and preparing weekly training. The training will be the hardest part, but I'm not that worried about anything. The Lord will help me out.

Today for P-day we're going to hang out with the Zone Leaders, but they wouldn't tell us what we would be doing, they just said to come. I'll tell you next week about the awesome party I'm sure we'll have. :D

My studies have taken me to the preachings of Aaron, Ammon, Alma, and the others in the Book of Mormon. Something interesting that i found is that in almost every conversion story, people saw power that was shown forth from the missionaries, and that made them interested in the gospel, so the missionaries could teach them. That really made it stand out to me how important it is to teach by the Spirit and show forth our spiritual power to the investigators we teach. I'm also working on using questions more when I teach; I really feel a lot better about the teaching environment when I ask good questions, even something as simple as "Do you want to know if the Book of Mormon is true? Why?" It really helps the investigator become involved in the discussion more.

My recent convert, Choi Hyeon Chang, is doing really well. He comes to church every week, and he seems to like being a member. Now we just have to get him connected to the ward, and everything will be perfect!

Life is pretty good for me right now. Some missionaries find it hard to leave the media or girls behind, but it's usually not a problem for me. There's really nowhere else I'd rather be than with the people here in South Korea. :D Thanks to everyone; you have all had a really big impact on me, and I wouldn't be who I am today without you . I hope you all have a good week!

You Know You're in Korea when...

• The suits that guys wear are made of a really cool shiny material.
• You buy bunches of grapes wrapped in paper.
• If two or more people stop to look at something, soon there's a huge crowd. This happpens from events like house fires to people talking to us when we streetboard.
• You have to do battle with mosquitos even in your sleep. There's no better feeling than finally smacking one after it's been bugging you all night!
• Most cell phones have dangly things hanging off of them, from styluses to random keychain-type items.
• When you can do the cha-cha with a 70-year old lady at a ward activity and not have it be weird. No pictures of that one, sorry. :D

Love you all!

Elder Matt Dean