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
September 17, 2011
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
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
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
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
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
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
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| 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
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
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