Week 33: From Jordan

It sounds like everyone is having a great time! I hope the rest of the summer continues being fun! It's more than halfway done now, isn't it? Time sure flies when you're having fun. :) 시간이 발리 간다!

 

Things are going really well here. There are fewer investigators in this area and is basically the foreigner area, so we have done a fair bit of all three languages, but it has been 5 days, so we're still not quite to normal yet. This week we are hoping to do a lot more of everything. We have been doing a lot of finding lately, but we hope to be shifting to follow-up and teaching soon. There are a lot of really prepared people, we just need to be ready to work with them. Malvis, the man with the dream is in the other area, so I don't know how much I will be able to keep updated on him. I hope to hear if anything big happens. He has a Book of Mormon so you never know what will happen with that.

 

I can't think of anything extraordinary this week, though as Elder Pons often points out, we are in "Impossible Imun", so I may just be getting jaded to all the incredible things that are happening. Now that we are able to use a little of our Chinese study time, I feel I am almost back to where I was before my mission, though there is still a lot more to know. I'm feeling pretty okay talking to anyone on the street about whatever in Korean. Definitely not conversational, but sufficient. Chinese has definitely helped with that. If I remember the numbers, 2/3 of Korean words are taken from Chinese. I really struggle, though, on the pure Korean words... meaning all the words for everyday tasks. ;)

 

Overall, though, things are great. We're working hard and seeing a fair bit of results. They may not be full fruits until later, but we do get to see progress, and that is good. I am always grateful to hear from you about things back home. I hope things continue to go well, and I can't wait to hear about people's adventures in school this next year! Just around the corner! ;) Looking back on the email, I'm realizing I do quite a few more run-on sentences than usual. That's something Korean has done beyond a shadow of a doubt. Sorry about that... :) Still, thank you for your support and praters. They are felt. Love you all.

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 33 - Mosiah 7: 33 - But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.

Dear Jordan,

    It was great to hear that you are still in the Imun area. Hopefully your Korean is improving as much as your Chinese. On average, how much do you teach in Korean, Chinese, and/or English/other? We hope that you are getting along well with your new companion. Even though the goal of each missionary is to teach the gospel, it is interesting to see how different each person is and what strengths he/she brings to the companionship.

    It has been an interesting week. I returned home from the camping on Saturday and Mom and Sarah commented on how well they were able to coexist. I came home and Sarah and I had some confrontations. I guess I need to work on my parenting skills some more.

Chris Pratt is still assigned to Afghanistan; however, he was picked for some special training in Germany this week. So Bonni purchased a ticket and flew to Germany to be with him for the week. This left Rachel to take care of the kids. So Mom, Sarah, and Bekah drove to Denver to help Rachel for the week. They made it there safely. So it is just Hannah and me at home. It is pretty quiet except when Michaela comes over to visit Hannah.

On Monday we had Family Home Evening and then Mom went to the open house for the new elementary school in Bluffdale. In case she hasn't told you, she got the job as a TA at that school. On Tuesday Pete Jensen and I visited with each of the young men and/or parents about their eagle scout projects and what they still need to complete. There are 7 young men in that situation. On Wednesday Mom took Grandma's Pilot in for a checkup for her trip to Denver. That night she did some school item shopping. On Thursday it was the 24th, Pioneer Day, so the girls and I helped set up the flags in the morning and took them down at night. There were some young men that helped as well when Bruce and Pete picked them up. In the afternoon i watched two movies, Heaven Is For Real and Spiderman 2. On Friday Hannah and I drove to Alpine and mowed Grandma's lawn. We also visited with Debbi and Mark Pope since they were at the park for part of her 20th year reunion. They are doing well and will be at the cabin at the end of this next week. On Saturday I went to the temple for a sealing session. Hannah and I then went to Lagoon for a couple of hours. We rode some rides that we both liked and then ate lunch. We then went to Lagoon a Beach for 2 hours. Fortunately we didn't get sunburned. It is now Sunday and Hannah and I just returned from being home taught at the Urton's. They asked how you are and if you have had a chance to use your Chinese. I told them that you are using it probably a little more than Korean.

    Nathan and Lori Colgrove were in Houston this week to see what options they have for his reoccurring cancer. They will try chemo again. Jason flew into SLC on Wednesday and is in the MTC learning Spanish for his mission to Mexico. I think I already told you that Reilly Richards has been called to the NYC New York Spanish speaking mission.

    On Friday we will be going to the cabin and we will miss you and the other missionaries from our family. You are engaged in a great cause and you see that the elect who haven't received the gospel yet are now coming forward. Seek the Spirit in all that you do and you will be guided just like Nephi not knowing beforehand to those who are seeking but don't know where to find it. Your investigator with his dream is an example.

    We love you very much. You are great and the Lord will bless you with the things you need to do His work. Stay strong in the Spirit and please let us know if there is anything you need. I know that Mom is working on the shoe situation but I haven't heard the resolution yet.

    

Love,

    Mom, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel (still in Denver for 1 more week), Bekah, dad

Week 30: From Jordan

Congrats on the new dishwasher! That's been coming for quite a while ;) Probably the best birthday present mom could've imagined.

 

It's been a quiet week out here in Imun. The college students are busy studying hard for their classes now that their tests are over. You'd think the term final would mean that classes are over, but... Tests are over, though, and Love is in the air. It's not the same as back home where people show their love through kissing, or hugging, or other displays of affection. No, here, they go to PC cafes and play games together online. Or they sit in an actual cafe and text while at the same table. Once in a while there is a particularly adventerous couple who holds hands while walking down the road. When they reach the corner, they look each other in the eyes... and look... and look... and evetually the light changes.

 

The foreign population is doing well. In the last two days, There's been an Atheist Muslim, Joseph, the human beatbox, and only this morning, Hammond, the Catholic missionary from Cork. Joseph wants to perform Amazing Grace for worship services this Sunday, but he's not sure if he'll have another appoinment scheduled then. Hammond was great. He's been in Korea for a couple years now, and still has the British Isle gait. He walks with purpose, though at times, that purpose seems to be merely to walk. He talked for a while about the challenges of Korea, and then mentioned that he was from Cork. I said I had wanted to go there once,a nd he instantly piped up with pride. I suppose Cork is not the name of a place that inspires tourism.

 

There appears to be a flu sweeping around the Chinese community. Sister Deng is feeling a bit under the weather, and even Zack has got " the serious flu". They keep trooping along. Great people, the Chinese. Reminds me of a lesson a while back. The man was a student, and while we taught the Word of Wisdom, he started flipping throught the Law of Chastity pamphlet. He turned to one specific page and said, "This. I cna't stop this. All my friends do it. Stopping this would be super, extremely hard." After a time of confusion, it turns out he believes he would have a hard time not joking about sex. He now says he'll work on it.

 

Well, it's been a quiet week in Imun, where the branch is strong, the scenery is good looking, and the missionaries are above average. ;)

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 32: From Jordan

Well, it seems like the summer has completely settled in. I'm glad everyone is well and enjoying their time. I especially look forward to trying that fish fillet when I get back!

 

This week has mostly been a quiet one, though tttthere were a couple relly high points. The highest is probably our run in with Malvis. He's a student from Nigeria who loves God and all the ideas of religion, but doesn't like how churches force people to come. When we met him, he said he was interested in what we were saying and thought he should listen because he had a dream a couple nights before where he was on a stormy sea headed toward rocks, but he was saved and there were two guys "preaching" to him. We are looking forward to teaching him more. We also met a man from Iran who doesn't like what Islam has become, but would like to find another way to know God. We have been able to find some really prepared people. We just hope to start doing the same in Korean soon. ;)

 

Transfers are this week. Elder Redd will be training (probably a Korean). Elder Osborne is going to the next area over. I will be with Elder Pons in the other Imun area. Sister Deng is going over to the temple. We are back to one pair of sisters. It is going to be an exciting transfer. Elder Pons's area had already been doing a lot of foreigner work, so now that the Chineses part will be there too (unless Elder Redd's greenie speaks Chinese really well) we will be a bit hard pressed to teach a lot of Koreans... in Korea... That's a little goofy, but we'll see what happens.

 

Other than that, it has been a pretty normal week. The weather is getting hotter. Monsoon season seems to have skipped Seoul this year. Investigators are doing well, but everyone is still really busy... I don't really know what more to say. Things are good. :) I'm always grateful for your updates from back home and look forward to hearing more as time goes on.

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones

Week 32 - Alma 34:32 - For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, Behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

Dear Jordan,

Sorry this email may be a little short. Since I was up at a scout camp for the week, I wasn't able to write an email in the mountains. I came back on Saturday afternoon, still alive, but very tired. Mom will have to let you know what happened at home.
 
On Monday I met with the Galena scouts at the church. Bekah, Mom, and Hannah helped me pack so that I could be ready close to ontime. We drove up to the Uintah mountains (other side of mountains by Smith and Moorehouse). We set up camp and started teaching the cooking merit badge. The scouts set a goal to hike and earn the 50 miler award. On Tuesday we did our first hike. It was supposed to be 10 miles but it became more because we took a wrong trail and added miles. The temperature in the mountains was perfect (highs in the low 70s). I was exhausted by the time we were only half way through the hike. We kept going and finished for the day. I had one blister.  

On Wednesday we did a different hike and took a wrong turn again so we didn't get to go all of the way for the hike because we ran out of time. We still did more miles and I had two more blisters. On Thursday we decided to do the 20 mile hike. We started earlier and we were able to finish. We had been blessed when we took the wrong turn the day before because we talked to someone that we do the hike the opposite direction from what we had planned. There were more down hill areas the way we went.  

On Friday the boys went on another hike for those that didn't go on Wednesday. I took a long nap and then went fishing. I caught two fish but let one go because it wasn't very big. I am learning how to filet the fish so that there aren't bones. We cooked the fish in butter with garlic, salt, and lemon juice and it was delicious. On Saturday we packed up and drove home. It was a good camp but I was exhausted.  

On Wednesday I actually broke down in my tent because my cot wasn't working and I knew that I needed to sleep. I prayed for help and received the inspiration to put away the cot and just use the mat with the sleeping bag. I was able to sleep and get the rest I needed and have the energy to do the hikes. I was so grateful to Heavenly Father for his help. I knew it was beyond my capacity to do it on my own.

Well, enough about me. We received two new missionaries in our stake replacing Elders Alpin and Dean. One is from Missouri and the other from Texas.

Mom and the girls may be driving to Denver to help Rachel because Bonni will fly to Germany to meet with Chris for a couple of days.

We love you, Jordan. We continually pray for you. You are doing a great job. We love that you are excited about the work. Please stay strong in being obedient and following the promptings of the Spirit. You are a great son and a wonderful person. Again, we love you.

Love,
dad, Mom, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel (still in Denver), Bekah

Shoes!

p.s. I attached a picture of one of my shoes, two of them are like that, but I figured one picture would suffice. Let me know if it is otherwise.

p.p.s. I have been using a shoehorn. I think it is mostly the fact that we walk everywhere all day long. ;)

Week 31: From Jordan

I'm really sorry about getting last week's email to you a week late. I thought I had sent it, but I hadn't, then when I wrote all of it and had it basically done, then my computer shut down and I couldn't send it. I was a bit upset about that all week, but it's to you now, and I think it was pretty fun. :)

Sorry about the young men not coming to flags, but I suppose it's a good bonding experience for the family! It might just be a universal thing that everyone gets more busy during the summer. We're experiencing the same thing here, except that no one even leaves the area (with the exception of Chinese investigators who go home). I guess people just want to enjoy their free time so much that they schedule all of it to the gills.

Whatever the case, things are good here. The weather is really warm, and I am going to start taking advantage of afternoon showers. We have permission to do them, but they take a lot of time out of dinner, so it is generally not a popular option. A cold shower, though, would feel incredible. I have resorted to carrying around the camel-back, and it is quite helpful now. It was just too heavy a while ago, but the heat has made it a welcome burden. All the missionaries are discovering impossible sweat stains on shirts that seemingly appear out of the blue. Most of the people in the district are going to try to get new shirts soon. I only recently got my first batch, so don't worry about me. Also, Elder South was kind enough when he stopped by to pick up the rest of his luggage to leave some Fels-Naptha. That has saved quite a few shirts in the district lately.

Transfer calls are this weekend, so we'll see what happens. I think I will be here for the apparently mandatory 7.5 months, so no change for me, but at interviews this last week, the mission president hinted at a fair bit of change in the district this transfer. We're all excited to hear what happens. 

I am always so happy to hear that everyone is doing well. It seems like you are using your summers to the fullest! :) I understand the difficulty of getting everyone up for scriptures, but I'd say it is a worthwhile sacrifice. Proverbs 20:13 :) I hope everyone is enjoying the heat and the ability they have to wear shorts... and t-shirts... and hats... I hope you're all having a good time. :) I am still doing well, and always look forward to hearing about your exciting adventures. Every moment is special and irreplaceable. No moment is like another, so we may as well enjoy every single one. :)

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones