October 22, 2012

Subject line: Crazy week!

Hey all,

So this past week was crazy! We had the blood drive activity on Wednesday, which went ok. We had each zone of the mission come in shifts so they didn't overload the people, so there were tons of missionaries there like the whole day. Me and Elder Lee were busy doing pass-off with like 4 people too. Pass-off is a program that the mission does to help you focus your Korean studies into the church/ lesson vocabulary, which is what you actually use, and the final level is done with the APs. It's basically there to make sure you can speak Korean well enough to be a senior. And on the same day, there was a test administered by the church Institute people called the Michigan test, which is an English test that BYU Hawaii uses to screen foreign students. AND on the same day, President was doing interviews with the 강릉 zone, which is the one out east in the boonies. So it was really crazy. :D The activity went ok, but the red cross people only prepared for 30 people even though we repeatedly told them we would have from 60 to 100 coming, so only 39 people ended up being able to donate. The y had us going into a bus to do it, and they shut the door in my face right before i went in, so I was kind of bummed. But it was still fun to see everybody. 

Then the next day we had a training for the missionaries that are trainers/greenies, about finding investigators, which we didn't prepare very well for, unfortunately. But somehow it ended up being really good. I think with us training the mission, the Lord makes sure that they get something good out of it, because all this is really His work, not ours. We'll prepare better for next time, however. :D 

On Saturday we had a musical/testimony fireside which also went really well. The missionaries from two stakes that were combined gave some talks along with recent converts from each stake. Also the missionaries sang "How Firm a Foundation" and "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" as choir numbers, which ended up being really cool. It was nice to sing in a choir again, i miss that a lot. 

So we were pretty busy last week to say the least. :D But it was good to have something to do. That's one good thing about the office, always having something to do. And I learned a good lesson about the gospel this week--because we were so busy, I kind of neglected my scripture study, and soon I felt really stressed and alone and just not good. But once i really started reading the scriptures in depth again, I felt better. I had the Spirit with me more. It's so easy to skip the small and simple things, but they're so important to maintaining our relationship with God. 

I know this gospel is true, and I love being a missionary! I love you all!

Elder Matt Dean

October 14, 2012

Hey everybody,

So as you all probably know, my mom's father passed away this past week. So that's why I didn't write an email last week. But we're all doing ok, thanks for your prayers on our behalf.

Things have been really busy here for us. Our mission is having a celebration because this year marks the 50th year since missionaries came to Korea! So we've been getting stuff ready for the musical fireside that we're having next month and also for the mission-wide service activity: blood donation. Kind of goes well with Halloween, huh? :D That's this Wednesday, and then all the stakes in the Seoul area and maybe all of Korea will be doing a stake-level service activity too. The hope is to get a little publicity and kind of clear up a lot of misconceptions about the Church here. The fireside is going to be awesome! There's going to be some world-class musicians there in a string orchestra, and I saw them at a fireside a couple weeks ago, and it was seriously amazing. So I'm really excited. :D

Also this week we had President interviews which was really good. It's kind of just a time for President to talk with you one-on-one about how things are going, how much you want to kill your companion, etc. :D Also a time to get encouraged and uplifted from him, 'cause he's a great man that cares a lot about us all.

Also we picked up an investigator, a middle-aged lady, who is one of the 20 Grandmaster Chefs in Korea! To give you an idea of that, there are 300 Master Chefs who are really good, and then 20 who are ridiculously good. She's a professor at a college teaching Food Science and Cooking, and she's a director at some sort of kitchen somewhere. She wants to meet us for English but hopefully we can help her have interest in the church too. Missionary work is a little slow here because of all the office work we do, but that's kind of missionary work too.

I love you all and I hope you have a good week! Thanks for your support and all you do for me and my family!

Elder Matt Dean

October 11, 2012

Note from Elder Dean's mom:

We received the following email from Matt this week after he learned that my dad / his grandpa had passed away last Wednesday, October 3. We were given permission by his mission president to call Matt so that his grandma could talk to him, which brought her (and his dad and I) great comfort.

Hey all,

So the funeral is tomorrow morning your time I guess. I don't know what's going on there or anything, but I wish I could be there to help. It's not the same, being here. But this is the way things worked out I guess.

It's interesting how the way you view the world changes when something like this happens, how some things kind of pale in comparison. Your priorities shift a little bit. For me I thought about how we have all our possessions and things, but what really matters is our families and the people we love. What I'm glad for is that though we may not be able to get our possessions back if we lose them or whatever, our family will be with us forever as long as we live right. I'm so thankful that the four of us are sealed together, and that nothing will ever separate us forever. Nothing. It's a comfortable thought. We'll see him again someday.

I have a testimony of the Plan of Salvation and of the comforting power of the Holy Ghost, and of the Atonement of Christ. And even though I don't understand a lot right now, as we live and grow we can keep learning and keep getting stronger. More than anything I love Heavenly Father and the Savior, and I love the three of you. I'll be praying for you tonight. 

Love, Elder Matt Dean

October 2, 2012

Subject line:  Happy 추석!

Annyeonghaseyo!

So this weekend was Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok! Koreans take three days off from work to have the holiday with all their family. Usually people take the first day to travel out to their hometown, spend the second, main day with their family, and the third day traveling back to where they live. They do 차래 (charae), which is kind of a ceremony to honor their ancestors,and just hang out together. It's a really good time for them, and we had a good time too. A bunch of us got together and played games, and then we went down to the big palace in Gwanghwamun Square that's in front of the Korean President's house, where they had traditional Korean games and other activities going on. That was really fun. Here's a part of my journal about when we went to visit the office senior couple on the first day of 추석: "After that we went to the Ellis’ house to give them a message card and have a meal, and President and Sister Christensen were there too. That was really fun, especially when President and Elder Ellis got talking about the old days, like having a bunch of parasites and missionaries seeing who could get the longest tapeworm and a bunch of other random stuff. It was pretty funny. :D" I'm glad we live in slightly more modern times!

Also our mission had a "change day," where we switched the locations of all the furniture in the house and cleaned under them and stuff. The space under the bunk beds in our room was pretty scary, it had some really big dust bunnies and other assorted junk. Now our bedroom feels so much bigger and cleaner! Missionary houses are often pretty scary because we're supposed to use all our time for missionary work except on Preparation day, and cleaning usually takes lower priority to most people than going out and doing fun stuff with other missionaries. :D In honor of Change Day, me and Elder Olsen (one of the office elders) went in and changed around a bunch of the chairs and President Christensen's desk in his office (we know where the spare key is),and put a little sign up that said "Happy Change Day! (We'll put it back on Monday morning)" They found it and thought it was pretty funny. Then we came back later that night and they had come in to the office and messed a bunch of stuff up. the trash cans were on the desks, the chairs were mixed around and piled on top of one another, and all the things on our desks were switched around. They even left our sign on the floor in front of the door. :D It was a fun day.

So life is good. Serving in the office is hard for a lot of reasons, but lately I'm working on finding joy in every moment and on choosing to have a good attitude. It's a better way to live than just being annoyed or frustrated all the time, even if it takes more effort. Life is never easy, but it's always good if you look for the good in it. Thanks for all you've done to help me see the good and to be a good influence in my life; hope you have a great week! Love you all!

Elder Dean

September 23, 2012

Subject line: Where did September go?

Hey everybody,

I can't believe it's the last week of this month already. That's kind of scary, because it means time is getting shorter. On the plus side my birthday is next month, and I'm finally legal to drink! Woo! Just kidding, obviously I won't do that on the mission or after. I just had to say it because I only get one 21st birthday. :D

This week was super crazy. We had a General Authority (one of the higher-up leaders in the church) come to speak to our mission on three days, one 6-hour session a day. His name is President Ringwood and he's the Area President for this area. He had served a mission in Korea back in the dawn of time, actually the same time that President Christensen, the Mission President did. Then he came back and served as President of the late Seoul West mission a while ago, and now he's the Area President for Korea, Japan, and some other countries over here. He's spent a lot of time here. :D He was a really great speaker and really spoke with a lot of fire and enthusiasm, and I learned from him and from the Spirit a lot of things that I can do better as a missionary and as a person. This is a spiritual work, and every time I go to one of these conferences, I learn better missionary skills, but more importantly how to be a better person spiritually. And since we're in the office, we got to go to not only one day but all three days! It was awesome! 

I learned something that really affected me. President Ringwood said that if a missionary works hard, giving it all he's got, and he is righteous and faithful and obedient, then that day there will be a miracle, whether he sees it or not. It's a concept that has helped me to do my hardest and not be disappointed if something cool or miraculous doesn't happen. Also, we have to make baptism our goal and our purpose as missionaries, and exercise our faith to accomplish it, but then focus on doing the things we can control. Baptism, or conversion really, is a choice that each person we meet makes, and we don't make it for them. All we choose to do is talk to people, love them, invite them to do things like reading the scriptures or praying to find out if our message is true or being baptized. And if we do our best and the Spirit is there, we've done all we can do, and it's up to them. I also learned that exercise in the morning (part of the missionary schedule) is not optional. :D As I've been exercising lately I feel a lot more healthy. 

So preparing for that and going to it took up most of our week. But it was a really good week, and now that all the typhoons are done the weather is super nice! I love Korean autumn! The temperature is just right and it's sunny, and life is good. A couple days ago I was calling contacts that previous missionaries had made on the street, and I set an appt with a guy named Lee Hae In. He took us out to dinner at a Japanese place a couple nights ago, and as we were talking he said that he wants to learn the Bible in English from us, and also learn about how to get closer to God. So we're going to meet him tonight. It was a pretty cool thing, and I feel l like the hand of the Lord was in it. 

So that's my life right now. It's fun and I'm getting a lot of happiness from missionary work. Thanks for all you do for me and for your prayers. I love you!

Elder Matt Dean

September 17, 2012

Subject: Hey from the Land of the Morning Calm

Hey, so actually Korea is still not very calm because we're going through ANOTHER typhoon. The first one, Bolaven, was pretty bad for the southern coast and parts of Japan, and it sucked Tembin out from over China right up the same path. Now Typhoon Samba is heading up the other side of Korea. There's a lot of typhoons here! Samba was actually bigger than the first one, even, when it was over Okinawa, but now it's barely even a tropical storm as it goes over Korea. Okinawa is the southernmost island of mention in Japan, by the way. They say they get like 15 typhoons a year there, along with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions too. So you're either getting rain dumped on you, being blown away, being burned up by lava, getting the stuffing shaken out of you, or maybe even being blown soaking wet into a volcano as your house gets shaken over all at the same time. :D And yet they say that the people in Okinawa have some of the longest lifespans worldwide! I think I'll skip out on the earth falling apart around me even if it means I live five years less than they do. :D

Anyway, this week was pretty good. We survived transfers and still somehow managed to get a little missionary work done on the side. It's kind of sobering to realize that I'll only be involved in transfers two more times....I try not to think about that very much so I can focus. I think picking up the new missionaries is the funnest part of being in the office, though! Here's what happens: we drive out to Incheon Intl Airport on the best road in Korea (it's the best because it's a wide open freeway with almost no cars on it, kind of like America). Then we chill in the airport till they come through the doors, and take a picture with them. They're always pretty spaced out because they got on a plane in the morning 17 hours before that and somehow it's still early afternoon. It's really weird, actually, it was literally the longest day of my life. :D Then we load all their luggage in the van and take them onto the subway. We explain how to talk to people and then we help them go at it! It's really cool to see the fire they have as they talk to people and tell them about the church even though they've only been speaking Korean for 3 months. Sometimes it's hard for them though, like one of the elders that came through this last time. He had motion sickness from the plane pretty bad, I felt sorry for him. We don't push them too much on that first subway ride, because they just got off the plane and they're pretty tired a lot of the time. But we finally make it to President's house and then we have dinner, and President usually gives a spiritual thought before we get them to bed. I remember back when I first came, my experience was easier than that because my group was so big that they didn't want to take us all on the subway, it'd be like trying to take a bunch of sheep across Seoul. :D So they just loaded us in the vans with our luggage and we slept at the temple that night instead of President's house. And then for breakfast we had Korean food, and then we went to the same restaurant for lunch too. Anyway, getting new missionaries is always awesome. :D

And also this week we took the returning missionaries to the airport so they could head back to America/the Philippines. That was really sad, seeing some of the people I've known this whole time going back. I probably won't see most of them for a really long time. Thank heavens for Facebook! :D

Something I was thinking about this week was how we face our hard things. It's important to learn how to find joy in our hard times too, because you don't ever stop having hard times sometimes. That's life. The only thing we can change is how we see them. If you can find a little happiness even in the rough times, how much happier you'll be!

So that's what went on the past week. This week we're having our mission toured by a General Authority, this area's Area President. His name is Elder Michael T. Ringwood. I'll let you know how that goes next Monday. Hope you have a good week!

Love, Elder Dean

September 10, 2012

So, today is transfer calls day! Woo! This is a fun day. For the last week, we have been spending about 3 hours a day with President talking about who needs to go where. I think that putting transfers together is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, only the pieces change shapes sometimes and if you mess up it could make someone really depressed and have a negative impact on who they are for the rest of their lives and beyond. Kinda stressful. This one has been kinda hard because there are a lot of new missionaries coming in, but we finally got it figured out for the most part. Because of that I don't have much time today to email, also it's kinda another one of those days where I have to get out of the office or I will explode. :D

But we found a way cool investigator a couple weeks ago that we met for the second time yesterday. Here's what I reported to President Christensen about him: "Speaking of which, we met a great investigator for the second time this week! I don't know if I mentioned him last Monday, but his name is 민호. He's a college student, and he's SO prepared. He's really one of the 5 truly golden people I've met on my mission; he agreed to come to stake conference on Saturday and he really understands what we are teaching him. He doesn't agree with it all yet, but when we read Moroni 10: 4-5, he said he really wants to pray with real intent and a sincere heart, but that it would be really hard. The depth of his understanding with that really impressed me at the time, and the Spirit was so strong. Then we committed him to read and pray sincerely, and he said yes. That was one of the best lessons I've had on my mission. It was really amazing how strong the Spirit was and how awesome he is, and we're planning on committing him to baptism ASAP while he feels this way. As far as total missionary work goes...I still feel like we need to be contacting more, and I'm still working on getting us out on the street instead of in the office, so I'll keep you posted on how that goes. :D I think we're on the right path there. 

My study has been really good this week. I've started the study method that Sister Bennett mentioned in her 마지막 말씀, where you choose a missionary "question of the soul" and look for all the verses in the Book of Mormon that answer that question as you read it. It's been really amazing. I feel like my study lately has been stagnating, but that this new method is breathing life into the scriptures for me again. My question is, How can I be a good servant of the Lord? I figure that if I can do that, my decisions will be based on the right stuff rather than popularity, money, or personal comfort, and I will just be a better person. I love the scriptures and I love the Lord, and I love being a missionary!" 

I included another part of my letter too for kicks. :D Every week we report to the president about our investigators, our study, and any other problems or concerns or things we have. He's here to help us be happy and successful as missionaries. 

Anyway, that's all I have time for. :D Hope you all have a good week, love you guys!

Elder Matt Dean