Dear amazing family,
It's the last week of this transfer. Crazy, huh? This one went a lot faster than my first one here. Probably because i speak a little more Korean, and I'm mostly adjusted to life as a missionary now.
The weather here is slowly warming up. We get rain every once in a while, but nothing serious yet, and I have yet to be in a real snowstorm. We've just had wussy snow here, it doesn't compare to Utah at all. :D
We get the Liahona in English and Korean here, so you don't need to send an English Ensign if you don't want to. I'm pretty excited for that to come out, there was so much in it that applied to me and that I can use to talk to members with!
I haven't gotten Chris Sutton's letter yet. Or Jayson's, or the things Denny Patterson said he wanted to send a while ago. I bet he's pretty busy, though. I don't get tons of letters, but I usually have at least one every time our zone gets together, which is when we get mail. {The people I worked with at }Men's Wearhouse sent me one a while ago, which was awesome. :D I'm still looking forward to your package!
So Mother's Day is the first Sunday of May, right? I can still be excited about it even though I don't know exactly when it is. :D I'm really looking forward to calling you too! I think how it works is I call you. I will ask other missionaried how it's all set up, but if we have to call on our sunday here, you'll probably recieve it in the late afternoon or evening. But I'll keep you updated.
Andy and Florence couldn't come to church this last week. Actually, we haven't been able to teach them at all yet; they just came to General Conference. But we're working on getting them there. We actually have only four investigators right now, and none show very much interest/promise. But we're working hard, that's for sure. It's hard, though, because Elder Pulsipher and I haven't really gelled yet still. We don't really trust/love each other as much as we need to. We're different sorts of people. It's hard to explain over email with limited time, sorry. But my district leader is going on exchanges with me tomorrow, and we will talk about it then.
Things are going all right, though. I was actually praying really hard about the companion situation, and I was really worried. But as soon as I finished, I got prompted to look at the map on the wall. I'd been trying to find this family's house on there for days, with no luck. But when i got prompted to look, i found it in like three seconds. It was like the Lord was saying, "Don't worry. I'm here, and I know exactly where you need to go and do and be. If you just trust me, everything will be ok." It was a comforting experience, for sure. Also, in the calendar you sent me, this month's picture is of Christ with Mary Magdelene in front of the open tomb, and it says, "Why weepest thou?" We really have a great thing in the gospel. No matter how bad things get, Christ has overcome everything, even death; that knowledge takes a little bit of the sadness out of all bad experiences, I think.
I love the Ha family! They are amazing. In Korean wards, there's often one or two families that do everything--all the callings, etc--and this is one of those families. They are rock-solid. We went to dinner with them last night, and it was so great! We had a great time with their oldest son, who served a mission in Taejon, and speaks really good English. And he's probably the funniest Koreans I know. He's awesome. And as we were talking about some missionaries whose branch president told them to stay in their apartment all day and not proselyte, the father said, "No work is the hell." :D That's probably the funniest quote I've heard this whole time! I love them, and they are a great support to us.
Our ward mission leader just got released. He didn't have time to help us, he said. So the second counselor in the Bishopric is the temporary one till they call someone else. he was very supportive, though, and he is going to be a good help to us.
Grandma Kunz sent me an overview of her life, where she grew up, what she did, etc. I'm so glad I have this chance to talk to her and get to know her better! I wish I had taken the time to do that before I left, through email or phone.
I'm curious as to which blessings you've seen since I've been out here. All missionary families recieve them--which have you noticed?
Dad, you were right--happiness is a choice. I'm more happy these days, not because situations have changed much, but because I've decided to be. Thanks to all three of you for your support, advice, and love; I couldn't do this as well or at all without you. I love you!
Elder Matt Dean
September 17, 2011
April 10, 2011
Dear Family,
This week was pretty good. General Conference was probably the best part, though. It was amazing! The priesthood session in particular was really great. It was probably the best one I can remember; or rather, the one that touched me the most. I still treasure the times I went to the Conference Center with Dad, though, those were as good as watching it in Korea. We gathered in a little room in our ward building and watched the DVDs in English; I'm impressed that the Church could translate all five sessions into Korean, burn them on DVDs, and ship them out to Korea in a week. Some of the ward members who speak English watched with us too, which was cool. I really like this one family, the Ha family.I'll talk about them later. :D I really liked all of the First Presidency's talks, and Elder Bednar. Each one of those had something in them that applied to me, or answered a question I had, or touched me in some way. It was a great Conference, and I can't wait for the Liahona to come out next month.
It's cool they had the special on the MTC! That showed you ten weeks of my life that I couldn't really express through email. You didn't get it all, though, there were still crazy things we did and secret stuff that won't ever make it to a documentary. We were a bunch of 19-year-olds, what did you expect? :D
Congrats on your anniversary! 27 years...That's kind of a long time. I was about to say that that's longer than I've been alive, and then I was like, "Oh, duh. Of course it is." I may be a valedictorian, but I'm not that smart. :D But really, having two amazing parents back home is such a blessing to me. I don't have to do this alone, because I have you and Austin. Thanks for sacrificing your lives to raise us in the Gospel and provide for our needs; I can never pay you back enough.
I'm glad Emmy {our cat} is doing ok. And that she still attacks you at night. :D
You sent another package?! That's awesome! I wasn't expecting another one for a long time. Candy and toys...In a couple weeks, life will be real good. :D감사합니다!/Kamsahamnida!
We've been to McDonalds a few times since being here. We get ice cream there fairly often; it's exactly like America, except the meals are smaller. Asians don't like to eat huge amounts of greasy food, for some silly reason. :D Costco is really awesome too, except everything is really expensive because it's imported. A one pound-bag of MnM's? Fifteen bucks, right there. Ouch.
What were your favorite parts of conference? Also, what are the principles of making a budget? We have to manage our own money here, and it can be hard sometimes. Lastly, could you send me my record number? I think I need it to be able to baptize/confirm people.
I'm going to send you a new testimony someday, better than the two-liner I sent for Camp Helaman. That one is way too short!
The Bishop sent me an email, which was pretty cool. I miss him, he was an amazing Bishop and member of the ward.
The work is going pretty well. We found two new investigators who speak english: Andy and Florence. They are maybe mid-twenties, really young for a Koren married couple, and they are really nice! they are moving to Canada sometime this year, and they wanted to come to an English-speaking church. our church is in Korean, but they still came and watched General Conference with us in English! They said they can come to church next week, and I have high hopes for them. contacting on the street is still pretty tough. I can't do conversation beyond, "hi, how are you, where are you from, do you work around here," etc. but that's all you need to transition to the gospel. I can talk about that. :D For language study, I do fifteen minutes vocaburlary, fifteen grammar, fifteen reading out loud or side-by-side with english (for reading comprehension) and fifteen minutes of memorizing scriptures or phrases in Korean. It's working pretty well, I think! I love memorizing scriptures in Korean. I did James 1:5 a couple weeks ago, and I really felt the Spirit confirm to me that the Lord really does give to those who ask Him. And it wasn't even in English. :D We actually teach an English class, but I agree with Dad that it's hard to find things that will be beneficial for them. But we have fun anyway. :D
I forgot that I told Kimee to wait till I could write her...oops. I didn't write that down, and if I don't write it down, it doesn't happen. Tell her I'm really sorry, if you can, and that I'm awaiting her next letter.
Well, I'd better email Grandma and Grandpa. I love you all; I hope austin feels better soon, and that he keeps on owning those Grunts {on the '[Call of Duty' x-Box game} for me; and I'll talk to you next week!
Love, Elder Matt Dean
This week was pretty good. General Conference was probably the best part, though. It was amazing! The priesthood session in particular was really great. It was probably the best one I can remember; or rather, the one that touched me the most. I still treasure the times I went to the Conference Center with Dad, though, those were as good as watching it in Korea. We gathered in a little room in our ward building and watched the DVDs in English; I'm impressed that the Church could translate all five sessions into Korean, burn them on DVDs, and ship them out to Korea in a week. Some of the ward members who speak English watched with us too, which was cool. I really like this one family, the Ha family.I'll talk about them later. :D I really liked all of the First Presidency's talks, and Elder Bednar. Each one of those had something in them that applied to me, or answered a question I had, or touched me in some way. It was a great Conference, and I can't wait for the Liahona to come out next month.
It's cool they had the special on the MTC! That showed you ten weeks of my life that I couldn't really express through email. You didn't get it all, though, there were still crazy things we did and secret stuff that won't ever make it to a documentary. We were a bunch of 19-year-olds, what did you expect? :D
Congrats on your anniversary! 27 years...That's kind of a long time. I was about to say that that's longer than I've been alive, and then I was like, "Oh, duh. Of course it is." I may be a valedictorian, but I'm not that smart. :D But really, having two amazing parents back home is such a blessing to me. I don't have to do this alone, because I have you and Austin. Thanks for sacrificing your lives to raise us in the Gospel and provide for our needs; I can never pay you back enough.
I'm glad Emmy {our cat} is doing ok. And that she still attacks you at night. :D
You sent another package?! That's awesome! I wasn't expecting another one for a long time. Candy and toys...In a couple weeks, life will be real good. :D감사합니다!/Kamsahamnida!
We've been to McDonalds a few times since being here. We get ice cream there fairly often; it's exactly like America, except the meals are smaller. Asians don't like to eat huge amounts of greasy food, for some silly reason. :D Costco is really awesome too, except everything is really expensive because it's imported. A one pound-bag of MnM's? Fifteen bucks, right there. Ouch.
What were your favorite parts of conference? Also, what are the principles of making a budget? We have to manage our own money here, and it can be hard sometimes. Lastly, could you send me my record number? I think I need it to be able to baptize/confirm people.
I'm going to send you a new testimony someday, better than the two-liner I sent for Camp Helaman. That one is way too short!
The Bishop sent me an email, which was pretty cool. I miss him, he was an amazing Bishop and member of the ward.
The work is going pretty well. We found two new investigators who speak english: Andy and Florence. They are maybe mid-twenties, really young for a Koren married couple, and they are really nice! they are moving to Canada sometime this year, and they wanted to come to an English-speaking church. our church is in Korean, but they still came and watched General Conference with us in English! They said they can come to church next week, and I have high hopes for them. contacting on the street is still pretty tough. I can't do conversation beyond, "hi, how are you, where are you from, do you work around here," etc. but that's all you need to transition to the gospel. I can talk about that. :D For language study, I do fifteen minutes vocaburlary, fifteen grammar, fifteen reading out loud or side-by-side with english (for reading comprehension) and fifteen minutes of memorizing scriptures or phrases in Korean. It's working pretty well, I think! I love memorizing scriptures in Korean. I did James 1:5 a couple weeks ago, and I really felt the Spirit confirm to me that the Lord really does give to those who ask Him. And it wasn't even in English. :D We actually teach an English class, but I agree with Dad that it's hard to find things that will be beneficial for them. But we have fun anyway. :D
I forgot that I told Kimee to wait till I could write her...oops. I didn't write that down, and if I don't write it down, it doesn't happen. Tell her I'm really sorry, if you can, and that I'm awaiting her next letter.
Well, I'd better email Grandma and Grandpa. I love you all; I hope austin feels better soon, and that he keeps on owning those Grunts {on the '[Call of Duty' x-Box game} for me; and I'll talk to you next week!
Love, Elder Matt Dean
April 3, 2011
Hi, Mom!
My third week as Senior Companion actually went by really fast, it was kind of weird. We haven't picked any new investigators up yet, but we're trying. We like to experiment with recipes--I tried the pancake recipe you sent, and they were pretty good! We have no baking powder, though, so they didn't rise, but it was ok.
How was General Conference? We get to watch it this Saturday and Sunday, which will be really awesome. It'll be a party with the other missionaries there, for sure!
I'll see about taking more pictures, I think I can get them to you next week. We see lots of dogs here, of all shapes and sizes, but cats are pretty rare. Nobody eats them, though, silly. :D We get issues of the Liahona every month, which is just the Ensign, New Era, and Friend all smushed together. If you can send the Ensign sometimes in a package, though, that would be great, because there are things in there that don't make it to the Liahona. And you should also send some Jello in the next package you send, I miss that a lot. :D Don't worry about sending packages often, it's pretty expensive.
I'm so jealous you get to go to those cool Church History sites! That'll be so fun. I'm glad you get to see Uncle Rick and Aunt Nancy then, too; they must be lonely now that Devin's gone. I'll answer your other questions next time, I'm out of time today. I love you!
Love, Elder Matt Dean
My third week as Senior Companion actually went by really fast, it was kind of weird. We haven't picked any new investigators up yet, but we're trying. We like to experiment with recipes--I tried the pancake recipe you sent, and they were pretty good! We have no baking powder, though, so they didn't rise, but it was ok.
How was General Conference? We get to watch it this Saturday and Sunday, which will be really awesome. It'll be a party with the other missionaries there, for sure!
I'll see about taking more pictures, I think I can get them to you next week. We see lots of dogs here, of all shapes and sizes, but cats are pretty rare. Nobody eats them, though, silly. :D We get issues of the Liahona every month, which is just the Ensign, New Era, and Friend all smushed together. If you can send the Ensign sometimes in a package, though, that would be great, because there are things in there that don't make it to the Liahona. And you should also send some Jello in the next package you send, I miss that a lot. :D Don't worry about sending packages often, it's pretty expensive.
I'm so jealous you get to go to those cool Church History sites! That'll be so fun. I'm glad you get to see Uncle Rick and Aunt Nancy then, too; they must be lonely now that Devin's gone. I'll answer your other questions next time, I'm out of time today. I love you!
Love, Elder Matt Dean
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| Check out the caption on the right of the box....then Matthew's note on the table....Funny! |
March 28, 2011
안녕하세오, my amazing family!
Well, I lived through my second week as Senior Companion! This week was a lot better than the first one, that's for sure. Thanks for the list of "break the ice" questions, it'll be really useful!
Elder Pulsipher is from St. George. His family has been in the Church for like forever...back in the days when it first started, actually. He didn't really gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon till his trials in the Army made him read it for the first time, and that's when he found peace and comfort in its pages, in the word of God, as I have found. He was stationed in Texas and Missouri, and he joined the Army for the money. He actually paid for his whole mission, with cash to spare. Pretty cool! But I'm glad I did what I did; I don't think I'm army material anyway. :D
As far as me not spending much goes, all I've really bought here is a soccer jersey, a frisbee, and some groceries. I've been trying to save money for when I come back, 'cause it might be a while before I get a job or whatever. You never know when you'll need a thousand dollars. :D Thanks so much for paying for my mission out of your account...I really took that for granted before I came out here. You've actually paid for everything I ever needed, basically, and I'm so thankful to you for that.
The bath house was really awesome! they have these different pools with things in them like jasmine and "traditional korean medicine to take away the stress," that's kind of sketchy, but I'm still in good health. :D Basically it was a giant room underground with saunas, showers, and the pools, and a swimming pool with a current you could swim in. It was all decorated very Korean-style, rocks on the walls and frog-shaped stone fountains. And it was full of naked guys, which was weird for like five minutes, but I got over it. :D We actually got a dinner appointment out of it--this guy spoke English and invited us over. He had to cancel, but he was really nice!
Thanks also for the talk by Elder Anderson! It helped me more than you know. In fact, just knowing you're all there and praying for me gives me lots of strength.
This week we have found a couple investigators that speak English, so things will go well with them. We're praying for more, and I think I need to be looking for the miracles from God every day. Everyone talks about us accomplishing miracles out here--it may just be a self-esteem boost from them, but there are miracles I haven't been seeing yet.
The longer I'm out here, the more I see what a wonderful blessing it is to be born in the covenant, into an amazing family. We visit less-actives, and the Spirit isn't there. Our family was always really strong in the Church, and that has made ALL the difference to me. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for raising us right, even though you may say we "raised ourselves" or whatever, it was really through your hard work, sacrifice, patience, and love, and help from God, that we are where we are. So thanks. :D
I'm doing better now. Things aren't perfect, but they always are improving, I think. The Lord won't leave us; He will be with me in troubled times, and He will support me in this mission. I'm learning that more than ever before right now. I love you all, and I'll talk to you next week!
Love, Matt
Well, I lived through my second week as Senior Companion! This week was a lot better than the first one, that's for sure. Thanks for the list of "break the ice" questions, it'll be really useful!
Elder Pulsipher is from St. George. His family has been in the Church for like forever...back in the days when it first started, actually. He didn't really gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon till his trials in the Army made him read it for the first time, and that's when he found peace and comfort in its pages, in the word of God, as I have found. He was stationed in Texas and Missouri, and he joined the Army for the money. He actually paid for his whole mission, with cash to spare. Pretty cool! But I'm glad I did what I did; I don't think I'm army material anyway. :D
As far as me not spending much goes, all I've really bought here is a soccer jersey, a frisbee, and some groceries. I've been trying to save money for when I come back, 'cause it might be a while before I get a job or whatever. You never know when you'll need a thousand dollars. :D Thanks so much for paying for my mission out of your account...I really took that for granted before I came out here. You've actually paid for everything I ever needed, basically, and I'm so thankful to you for that.
The bath house was really awesome! they have these different pools with things in them like jasmine and "traditional korean medicine to take away the stress," that's kind of sketchy, but I'm still in good health. :D Basically it was a giant room underground with saunas, showers, and the pools, and a swimming pool with a current you could swim in. It was all decorated very Korean-style, rocks on the walls and frog-shaped stone fountains. And it was full of naked guys, which was weird for like five minutes, but I got over it. :D We actually got a dinner appointment out of it--this guy spoke English and invited us over. He had to cancel, but he was really nice!
Thanks also for the talk by Elder Anderson! It helped me more than you know. In fact, just knowing you're all there and praying for me gives me lots of strength.
This week we have found a couple investigators that speak English, so things will go well with them. We're praying for more, and I think I need to be looking for the miracles from God every day. Everyone talks about us accomplishing miracles out here--it may just be a self-esteem boost from them, but there are miracles I haven't been seeing yet.
The longer I'm out here, the more I see what a wonderful blessing it is to be born in the covenant, into an amazing family. We visit less-actives, and the Spirit isn't there. Our family was always really strong in the Church, and that has made ALL the difference to me. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for raising us right, even though you may say we "raised ourselves" or whatever, it was really through your hard work, sacrifice, patience, and love, and help from God, that we are where we are. So thanks. :D
I'm doing better now. Things aren't perfect, but they always are improving, I think. The Lord won't leave us; He will be with me in troubled times, and He will support me in this mission. I'm learning that more than ever before right now. I love you all, and I'll talk to you next week!
Love, Matt
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| We'd like to know the story behind this picture.... |
March 20, 2011
Dear Family,
Guess who's Senior companion? Yep, it's me. :D Since I passed off last week, they decided to leave me in Il San and ship my old companion out so he can be a zone leader. It's a good and a bad thing--I didn't like a lot of things about him, but he really knew how to be effective, and we did a lot of good work there. My new companion is Elder Pulsipher, and he has been in Korea the same amount of time as me. That's right, we were in the MTC together. Therefore, they've basically stuck two greenies (one with slightly better memorization skills) in the same area, and they expect us to do missionary work. I hope they knew what they were doing....
I'll get to that later. My old companion's cousin just got called to the Ogden, Utah mission, so if you see a korean ask him if he knows Elder Choi! Also, we have the first Korean missionary in our ward. Crazy, huh? He translated most of the early Church material, and he was pretty awesome. He was a bishop, Branch President, Area 70...the whole shebang. But after they re-translated the Book of Mormon and other things, he basically went on a "retirement" stint, and now he only comes to sacrament meeting and refuses to take a calling. He's pretty prideful, I hear. It's prophesied that in the last days, men's hearts will fail them...go figure. He's a pretty cool guy, though!
I hope I'm not losing my sense of humor out here. I feel like I'm not a very fun person to live with, and I',m really bad at talking to people. Really. I can barely make small talk to my companion. How do I work with people better? How do I have fun if it's not in my personality? and where do you cross the line into worldly things you shouldn't be talking about on a mission? It's a grey area. I just wish I were the kind of person that could always find something to talk about, instead of having awkward silence prevail most of the time.
My new companion, Elder Pulsipher, is pretty cool. He was in the Army before he came, so he's a little different than me. I'd describe him as a very army-ish guy. :D It's nice to be with an American, though, and we'll figure out how to get along better as time goes along.
We're slowly losing our investigators. Our baptismal date one hasn't answered our calls or texts for almost a week; basically we have two investigators that we're meeting with on a regular basis, and only one speaks any English (and it's not that great.). Sorry I don't have any good news to tell you about the work; since we're both so new, we're still trying to figure out how to be effective. Our mission is very stat-driven, so it's hard. Lots of stress. But I'm doing all right with it. We'll learn slowly, I suppose, but until then the stats will just have to be goals, not quotas.
We're going to a public bath house today, though! That will be fun. And my comp will teach me guitar, too. He made a lot of money in the army, so he bought a nice guitar here. I'm looking forward to that for sure!
This week I've learned that I need to ask more questions. Even when I go to conferences or talk to leaders, if I prepare questions the Lord can teach me through the Holy Ghost. Questions are so important! I've also learned that I need a stronger foundation on Christ. I've kind of just taken Him for granted my whole life; this is a good opportunity to really get to know Him and feel Him in my life. It's one of the best opportunities, actually.
Ok, now for your questions! I only paid tithing on my net pay, so if you could pay it for me that would be awesome. Thanks! There's no daylight savings time in Korea, which is kind of nice. you just go at it, and the clocks will never change. :D Our living conditions are really really good. Just think of a nice apartment in America, and that's how we are. No rats, no roaches; we filter our water so it tastes good, but unfiltered is drinkable. Good stuff all around. We mostly proselyte on the street; knocking on doors isn't often that productive, and the security guards don't like it. We have lessons, but we're encouraged not to memorize the whole thing--just the main points. Then we go by the Spirit. It's a little more stressful than memorizing lessons, because you have to plan really well and to their needs, but when I figure out how to do it, it'll be really effective. The new PMG is supposedly not organized into lessons at all, but it's just a pool of doctrine that you pull from to meet people's individual needs. All I've heard are rumors, though. Aaron Hoggan's farewell invitation was pretty fancy! :D But guess what? We chose the same scripture! That's the one that's on my plaque, though I've never actually seen my plaque, now that I think about it. I'll have to email him and tell him about it.
There's not much other news...I'm just trying to stay positive in the face of this trial of not speaking Korean, and not having anyone else to turn to that knows what people are saying. But I will write you my testimony, and maybe I'll have time today to send pictures.
Here is my testimony for the Camp Helaman slide show: "I know that Christ lives. Since I know this, I want to follow Him and His words, which tell us to go on a mission! It's super-hard, but my testimony has grown more than ever before. As we share His gospel with others, He blesses us in ways we never thought possible."
I love you all, I'll talk to you next week!
~Elder Matt Dean
Guess who's Senior companion? Yep, it's me. :D Since I passed off last week, they decided to leave me in Il San and ship my old companion out so he can be a zone leader. It's a good and a bad thing--I didn't like a lot of things about him, but he really knew how to be effective, and we did a lot of good work there. My new companion is Elder Pulsipher, and he has been in Korea the same amount of time as me. That's right, we were in the MTC together. Therefore, they've basically stuck two greenies (one with slightly better memorization skills) in the same area, and they expect us to do missionary work. I hope they knew what they were doing....
I'll get to that later. My old companion's cousin just got called to the Ogden, Utah mission, so if you see a korean ask him if he knows Elder Choi! Also, we have the first Korean missionary in our ward. Crazy, huh? He translated most of the early Church material, and he was pretty awesome. He was a bishop, Branch President, Area 70...the whole shebang. But after they re-translated the Book of Mormon and other things, he basically went on a "retirement" stint, and now he only comes to sacrament meeting and refuses to take a calling. He's pretty prideful, I hear. It's prophesied that in the last days, men's hearts will fail them...go figure. He's a pretty cool guy, though!
I hope I'm not losing my sense of humor out here. I feel like I'm not a very fun person to live with, and I',m really bad at talking to people. Really. I can barely make small talk to my companion. How do I work with people better? How do I have fun if it's not in my personality? and where do you cross the line into worldly things you shouldn't be talking about on a mission? It's a grey area. I just wish I were the kind of person that could always find something to talk about, instead of having awkward silence prevail most of the time.
My new companion, Elder Pulsipher, is pretty cool. He was in the Army before he came, so he's a little different than me. I'd describe him as a very army-ish guy. :D It's nice to be with an American, though, and we'll figure out how to get along better as time goes along.
We're slowly losing our investigators. Our baptismal date one hasn't answered our calls or texts for almost a week; basically we have two investigators that we're meeting with on a regular basis, and only one speaks any English (and it's not that great.). Sorry I don't have any good news to tell you about the work; since we're both so new, we're still trying to figure out how to be effective. Our mission is very stat-driven, so it's hard. Lots of stress. But I'm doing all right with it. We'll learn slowly, I suppose, but until then the stats will just have to be goals, not quotas.
We're going to a public bath house today, though! That will be fun. And my comp will teach me guitar, too. He made a lot of money in the army, so he bought a nice guitar here. I'm looking forward to that for sure!
This week I've learned that I need to ask more questions. Even when I go to conferences or talk to leaders, if I prepare questions the Lord can teach me through the Holy Ghost. Questions are so important! I've also learned that I need a stronger foundation on Christ. I've kind of just taken Him for granted my whole life; this is a good opportunity to really get to know Him and feel Him in my life. It's one of the best opportunities, actually.
Ok, now for your questions! I only paid tithing on my net pay, so if you could pay it for me that would be awesome. Thanks! There's no daylight savings time in Korea, which is kind of nice. you just go at it, and the clocks will never change. :D Our living conditions are really really good. Just think of a nice apartment in America, and that's how we are. No rats, no roaches; we filter our water so it tastes good, but unfiltered is drinkable. Good stuff all around. We mostly proselyte on the street; knocking on doors isn't often that productive, and the security guards don't like it. We have lessons, but we're encouraged not to memorize the whole thing--just the main points. Then we go by the Spirit. It's a little more stressful than memorizing lessons, because you have to plan really well and to their needs, but when I figure out how to do it, it'll be really effective. The new PMG is supposedly not organized into lessons at all, but it's just a pool of doctrine that you pull from to meet people's individual needs. All I've heard are rumors, though. Aaron Hoggan's farewell invitation was pretty fancy! :D But guess what? We chose the same scripture! That's the one that's on my plaque, though I've never actually seen my plaque, now that I think about it. I'll have to email him and tell him about it.
There's not much other news...I'm just trying to stay positive in the face of this trial of not speaking Korean, and not having anyone else to turn to that knows what people are saying. But I will write you my testimony, and maybe I'll have time today to send pictures.
Here is my testimony for the Camp Helaman slide show: "I know that Christ lives. Since I know this, I want to follow Him and His words, which tell us to go on a mission! It's super-hard, but my testimony has grown more than ever before. As we share His gospel with others, He blesses us in ways we never thought possible."
I love you all, I'll talk to you next week!
~Elder Matt Dean
 |
| Elder Dean's new and 2nd companion, Elder Pulsipher |
March 13, 2011
Hi, family! I have very little time for email again; but I'll get as much out as I can!
We have no news on the earthquake {the earthquake in Japan}, since we can't really search the internet. But my companion's on LDS.org, and they have 6 missionaries safe, but 8 missing. Pray for them to be found, and I will too. I didn't even feel the quake, which is ok with me. :D
My pass-off went great! It was such a good experience. I learned so much, and the leader I passed off to was great. He really made it a learning experience, instead of just something you do to get a signature. I recieved so much help from the Lord, and I'm glad you prayed for me too. Thanks for your support! I think they'll make me a senior next transfer, but they'll put me with someone older than me that can speak Korean. I'm a little nervous for that, but it'll be ok. :D
Our mission gets around 30-40 baptisms a month right now. Our goal is 40, which would be awesome! Our district got a baptism this transfer, which is good.
We eat with members once a week on average, it really depends on what they want to do. We have 1 church building owned by the Church, which is really nice. We go to ward activities and work with the leadership of the ward. The ward has about 80 active members, so basically everyone's a leader somehow. :D I love our ward; I just wish I could talk to them better.
We can take day trips on our Pday, but we have to be in our area at 6 p.m., so we can't go super far. I think we need permission to leave our area. I went to Gwanghwamun to pass off, though, and I saw the Korean version of the White House and some really cool statues!
Here's the situation with my cameras. I can transfer pics, but the message sizes are hard to finangle, and it really takes forever on this end. Did you get the ones I sent last week? Plus, I get really nervous about taking the camera grandpa gave me in public; but I forgot the cord that goes to my old camera, so no pictures from there. Maybe next time you send a package you could send me a cord to go to my older camera?
Speaking of packages, I got yours last week! Both the box and the envelope came, which was AWESOME! I've eaten the mangoes already, but I'm going through the Starbursts and Skittles more slowly. Thank you so much for spending the money to send that! I love everything in there, especially the recipes and the letters. They gave me a lot of comfort and strength. Thanks for printing the letters and writing the recipes, I think I can make most of them. I feel very loved every time I eat a starburst. :D
Austin, I read the letter you gave to me on the day I left to go to the MTC, and I'm so glad you wrote it. You're probably the best brother ever. :D I love you so much, and I'll try to write awesome things in that journal I'm making for you.
We have one investigator with a baptismal date! He'll be baptized on the 27th if all goes well. I'll talk to you more about it later.
I'm out of time today, but I have two questions: How serious does something have to be to qualfiy for a blessing for the sick? And: how do you deal with doubts? I was assaulted by the most powerful doubts ever last week. I'm good now, but it was really hard at the time. Any advice you have would be awesome.
I hope all is well there. I wish I had more time to write; I'd tell you all about awesome spiritual things. But that's life. I love you all so much, and I pray for you every day!
~Elder Matt Dean
We have no news on the earthquake {the earthquake in Japan}, since we can't really search the internet. But my companion's on LDS.org, and they have 6 missionaries safe, but 8 missing. Pray for them to be found, and I will too. I didn't even feel the quake, which is ok with me. :D
My pass-off went great! It was such a good experience. I learned so much, and the leader I passed off to was great. He really made it a learning experience, instead of just something you do to get a signature. I recieved so much help from the Lord, and I'm glad you prayed for me too. Thanks for your support! I think they'll make me a senior next transfer, but they'll put me with someone older than me that can speak Korean. I'm a little nervous for that, but it'll be ok. :D
Our mission gets around 30-40 baptisms a month right now. Our goal is 40, which would be awesome! Our district got a baptism this transfer, which is good.
We eat with members once a week on average, it really depends on what they want to do. We have 1 church building owned by the Church, which is really nice. We go to ward activities and work with the leadership of the ward. The ward has about 80 active members, so basically everyone's a leader somehow. :D I love our ward; I just wish I could talk to them better.
We can take day trips on our Pday, but we have to be in our area at 6 p.m., so we can't go super far. I think we need permission to leave our area. I went to Gwanghwamun to pass off, though, and I saw the Korean version of the White House and some really cool statues!
Here's the situation with my cameras. I can transfer pics, but the message sizes are hard to finangle, and it really takes forever on this end. Did you get the ones I sent last week? Plus, I get really nervous about taking the camera grandpa gave me in public; but I forgot the cord that goes to my old camera, so no pictures from there. Maybe next time you send a package you could send me a cord to go to my older camera?
Speaking of packages, I got yours last week! Both the box and the envelope came, which was AWESOME! I've eaten the mangoes already, but I'm going through the Starbursts and Skittles more slowly. Thank you so much for spending the money to send that! I love everything in there, especially the recipes and the letters. They gave me a lot of comfort and strength. Thanks for printing the letters and writing the recipes, I think I can make most of them. I feel very loved every time I eat a starburst. :D
Austin, I read the letter you gave to me on the day I left to go to the MTC, and I'm so glad you wrote it. You're probably the best brother ever. :D I love you so much, and I'll try to write awesome things in that journal I'm making for you.
We have one investigator with a baptismal date! He'll be baptized on the 27th if all goes well. I'll talk to you more about it later.
I'm out of time today, but I have two questions: How serious does something have to be to qualfiy for a blessing for the sick? And: how do you deal with doubts? I was assaulted by the most powerful doubts ever last week. I'm good now, but it was really hard at the time. Any advice you have would be awesome.
I hope all is well there. I wish I had more time to write; I'd tell you all about awesome spiritual things. But that's life. I love you all so much, and I pray for you every day!
~Elder Matt Dean
March 6, 2011
안녕하세요!
How is everybody? I hope Austin's play went super-well. It sounds like you had a fun time, bro! Make sure you write it all in your journal, so you won't forget the good times you had. I hope Grandma and Grandpa had a good time staying over, too. Hopefully as we continue to give them support and love, they'll be able to weather this storm and maybe accept the gospel, too. I don't really know how to help them do that, but I pray that I'll find out when the time comes.
This week was really good too. I'm progressing well in our mission's pass-off program, where we learn the lessons in Korean and other things and pass them off to our leaders. If all goes well tomorrow, I'll pass off the last part to the Assistants to the President on your Monday night, so if you could pray for me to do that it'd be great!
Thanks for the calendar you sent me for christmas, I have it up on my wall by my desk! I've been writing in the important days on it, which might end up being cool, but might be dumb, too. We'll see. In any case, it's a really great calendar, because it's missionary-size and has awesome pictures. :D
From seeing our leaders here in the field, in the mission and the ward, I've gained so much more respect for our church leaders everywhere. Being a leader is more than going to meetings and conducting things; you've really got a stewardship, and it's your responsibility to fulfill that calling. Holding a ward or a mission together is so much harder than i thought it was! So, I'm really thankful for the Stake Presidency, our Bishopric, everyone else in the stake, and especially you, Mom and Dad. your callings require so much energy and time, and more work than I ever imagined. So thank you for magnifying your callings, and doing your best with them. I know it's not easy, but the Lord will always reward our hard work and faith!
Thanks for depositing my tax return! 100 bucks isn't bad. If we have to pay tithing on that, do you think you could do it for me?
From being out here, I've really learned a lot about what I can improve in myself. Especially my self-centeredness. I didn't realize before how bad it was sometimes, especially between me and the three of you. I'm sorry I was such a self-centered kid! Thinking back, it really showed through with Austin when we were little kids, and even up till i left. I'm working on it here, but I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out.
I might have to change companions at the transfer. All our leaders are leaving the field soon--actually, after this month, there will be only seven missionaries in the whole mission of 120-ish elders and sisters that have been here for over a year. Kinda scary to think about! Since my companion is one of the seven, we think he'll be promoted to Zone Leader at the transfer, which means we'd be split. I wish it hadn't taken so long for us to like each other--right when we get used to the work together, we'll be split. He's not that excited about it, either--he says it's too much work. :D but the Lord will help him out.
So, I hear that they're coming out with a new version of Preach My Gospel! It's pretty crazy! I remember that Dad told me they're changing the program, but this is a really big change. I'm excited to get it, even if it takes a while to get here.
This Fast Sunday I bore my testimony in church for like one minute, because I felt the Spirit so strongly. It wasn't a great or eloquent testimony at all, but I followed the Spirit and said what I needed to say. These past couple weeks I've grown closer to the Spirit and also Christ and Heavenly Father; I'm nowhere near close enough, but I'm working. I wish I could follow the Spirit enough to convert everyone and say exactly what they need to hear, but that takes a lot of work and time. I'll just keep on keepin' on, and always pray for the Spirit in my life.
Remember those letters you wrote to me in my Senior year English class? About advice you'd give me for college? yeah, I totally still have those. They are awesome, by the way. :D I'm excited to get the envelope with the recipes and the package with the letters; hopefully the envelope at least will be here soon.
When we go to restaurants, my companion picks most of the time. He knows what the good deals are, and what we're ordering. I still have no idea, really. :D We haven't done any sightseeing, though, mostly because there's not much to see in the big city. But I still have 1 2/3 years to do that!
Mom, congrats on how much weight you've lost and your blood tests! It's so great that you've been able to make good changes in your life. I knew you could do it. :D About your recent depression and negative thoughts, I know that the Lord loves you, like He always has, and He wants you to succeed. He knows your faults, so He can help you with them. Just turn to Him like you always have, and keep turning to Him, and He will help you through your afflictions. Alma 7, 2 Nephi 7,8, and 9 are really good chapters with a lot of comfort in them. I hope some of what I said helps; I'll keep praying for you. Just know that you are an amazing Mom, and that you are one of the biggest reasons I'm out here and doing well. You will always be my Mom, and I love you so much. You're in my prayers; don't ever give up!
Austin and Dad, I hope you're doing good! I hope also that you all are having family scripture study too, even if it's only for five minutes. Sorry if I'm annoying you, but I know that the blessings from it are amazing. I love you all, and I'm working my hardest out here so you can recieve blessings. I'll talk to you next week!
Love, Elder Matt Dean
How is everybody? I hope Austin's play went super-well. It sounds like you had a fun time, bro! Make sure you write it all in your journal, so you won't forget the good times you had. I hope Grandma and Grandpa had a good time staying over, too. Hopefully as we continue to give them support and love, they'll be able to weather this storm and maybe accept the gospel, too. I don't really know how to help them do that, but I pray that I'll find out when the time comes.
This week was really good too. I'm progressing well in our mission's pass-off program, where we learn the lessons in Korean and other things and pass them off to our leaders. If all goes well tomorrow, I'll pass off the last part to the Assistants to the President on your Monday night, so if you could pray for me to do that it'd be great!
Thanks for the calendar you sent me for christmas, I have it up on my wall by my desk! I've been writing in the important days on it, which might end up being cool, but might be dumb, too. We'll see. In any case, it's a really great calendar, because it's missionary-size and has awesome pictures. :D
From seeing our leaders here in the field, in the mission and the ward, I've gained so much more respect for our church leaders everywhere. Being a leader is more than going to meetings and conducting things; you've really got a stewardship, and it's your responsibility to fulfill that calling. Holding a ward or a mission together is so much harder than i thought it was! So, I'm really thankful for the Stake Presidency, our Bishopric, everyone else in the stake, and especially you, Mom and Dad. your callings require so much energy and time, and more work than I ever imagined. So thank you for magnifying your callings, and doing your best with them. I know it's not easy, but the Lord will always reward our hard work and faith!
Thanks for depositing my tax return! 100 bucks isn't bad. If we have to pay tithing on that, do you think you could do it for me?
From being out here, I've really learned a lot about what I can improve in myself. Especially my self-centeredness. I didn't realize before how bad it was sometimes, especially between me and the three of you. I'm sorry I was such a self-centered kid! Thinking back, it really showed through with Austin when we were little kids, and even up till i left. I'm working on it here, but I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out.
I might have to change companions at the transfer. All our leaders are leaving the field soon--actually, after this month, there will be only seven missionaries in the whole mission of 120-ish elders and sisters that have been here for over a year. Kinda scary to think about! Since my companion is one of the seven, we think he'll be promoted to Zone Leader at the transfer, which means we'd be split. I wish it hadn't taken so long for us to like each other--right when we get used to the work together, we'll be split. He's not that excited about it, either--he says it's too much work. :D but the Lord will help him out.
So, I hear that they're coming out with a new version of Preach My Gospel! It's pretty crazy! I remember that Dad told me they're changing the program, but this is a really big change. I'm excited to get it, even if it takes a while to get here.
This Fast Sunday I bore my testimony in church for like one minute, because I felt the Spirit so strongly. It wasn't a great or eloquent testimony at all, but I followed the Spirit and said what I needed to say. These past couple weeks I've grown closer to the Spirit and also Christ and Heavenly Father; I'm nowhere near close enough, but I'm working. I wish I could follow the Spirit enough to convert everyone and say exactly what they need to hear, but that takes a lot of work and time. I'll just keep on keepin' on, and always pray for the Spirit in my life.
Remember those letters you wrote to me in my Senior year English class? About advice you'd give me for college? yeah, I totally still have those. They are awesome, by the way. :D I'm excited to get the envelope with the recipes and the package with the letters; hopefully the envelope at least will be here soon.
When we go to restaurants, my companion picks most of the time. He knows what the good deals are, and what we're ordering. I still have no idea, really. :D We haven't done any sightseeing, though, mostly because there's not much to see in the big city. But I still have 1 2/3 years to do that!
Mom, congrats on how much weight you've lost and your blood tests! It's so great that you've been able to make good changes in your life. I knew you could do it. :D About your recent depression and negative thoughts, I know that the Lord loves you, like He always has, and He wants you to succeed. He knows your faults, so He can help you with them. Just turn to Him like you always have, and keep turning to Him, and He will help you through your afflictions. Alma 7, 2 Nephi 7,8, and 9 are really good chapters with a lot of comfort in them. I hope some of what I said helps; I'll keep praying for you. Just know that you are an amazing Mom, and that you are one of the biggest reasons I'm out here and doing well. You will always be my Mom, and I love you so much. You're in my prayers; don't ever give up!
Austin and Dad, I hope you're doing good! I hope also that you all are having family scripture study too, even if it's only for five minutes. Sorry if I'm annoying you, but I know that the blessings from it are amazing. I love you all, and I'm working my hardest out here so you can recieve blessings. I'll talk to you next week!
Love, Elder Matt Dean
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