Week 52 (!!!!) - Apology Accepted, Elder Brantley

His year-mark is Thursday!  Can you believe it????

Title - In "The Empire Strikes Back", Darth Vader is trying to find the Millenium Falcon.  They thought they had it, but then it got away.  The Captain was apologizing to Darth Vader for losing the Millenium Falcon and Darth Vader chokes him to death.  After he dies, Darth Vader says, "Apology accepted, Captain Needa."  (We're assuming that Elder Huckvale did not choke his district leader though.)  :) 

Pics - His district (which got switched on Wednesday) - Elder Huckvale ("Yo Soy" he says), Elder Crisp, Elder Kim II, Elder Kim I, Sister You and Sister Allsbrook; Dream Forest Observatory Tower; some random guy that Elder Crisp and Elder Huckvale met on the street who wanted to take a picture with them first; where he was a year ago this week - the MTC!!!!

Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2016 12:58:40 +0900

Hello My Adoring Fans!

 

This week was so awesome!  We went to the Temple on Tuesday, had transfers on Wednesday, and were able to see lots of miracles.

 

Also, this week has also been very cold.  There's no snow, but it's still very cold.

 

On Monday since Elder Kim I and II were leaving, we went around and visited all of the people around the area that Elder Kim had become close with during his stay in 장위 (Jangwee).  At night a member named 박호룡 (Ho Ryong Bak) treated all of the elders in our ward to dinner at the meat buffet! It was so deliciously awesome. 

 

On Tuesday we went to the temple which was awesome (as usual).  Afterwards we went to an American-style buffet in the area called "Ashley" which was also quite delicious.  Then we rushed home so that we could do all of the p-day things that we needed to do and still have time to go to the Dream Forest Obsevatory Tower.  The tower looks really cool from the outside (I've sent pictures before), but the inside was kind of dissappointing to be honest.  The highest floor of the tower wasn't even open.  It's all good though, it was still fun.

The District (which changed on Wednesday) - 

Elder Huckvale (Yo Soy!), Elder Crisp, Elder Kim II, Elder Kim I, Sister You and Sister Allsbrook.

 Dream Forest Observatory Tower

 

On Wednesday Elder Kim I and II woke up really early so that they could do any last-minute packing and then took their bags down to the street and took a taxi to their new areas and thus Elder Crisp and I were left to have the pretty massive 4-man house.  Nice. 

 

On Wednesday, after studies, we met with Elder Crisp and Elder Kim I's investigator, 김상하 (Songha Kim) who is progressing really well.  We gave him a baptismal date for February 6 and he agreed!  He is super humble and has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying daily!  If all goes well, we could have a baptismal service next weekend!

 

On Thursday we went out to visit one of the less-actives in our ward who we visit every Thursday, but he wasn't home so we ended up proselyting for most of the day.  It was okay though because we met a lot of really cool people and taught a lot of really great lessons on the street.  Especially this week, I've been trying to teach the Restoration to as many people on the street as I can.  For a while, whenever I talked to people on the street, I would always try to steer the conversation towards Christ and coming unto Him, but a lot of people already believe in Christ.  The Restoration and the Book of Mormon are the most important thing that we can teach about, because they are what make the Church a church.  They are our special message to the world.  I've noticed that these past few days that as I've strived to teach message of the Restoration, that a lot more people are willing to hear more.  Elder Crisp and I were able to set up several return appointments on the street after teaching the Restoration to people.  It has been really cool.

 

On Thursday night we had dinner with 한석용 (Suk Yong Han) and his wife 홍주희 (Ju Hee Hong) and their family which is always fun. 

 

On Friday we watched the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast and it was so awesome!  I learned a lot that I think will definitely help me to work more effectively and efficiently to  find those who have been prepared to receive the Gospel.  I also saw Elder Bradshaw in the audience!  That was pretty funny.

 

On Saturday we met with Songha Kim again and taught him the third lesson and it went really well.  There was a point in the lesson where I was talking about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and all-of-a-sudden I didn't know what to say.  I had just had the thought that I wanted to say the moment before!  It was at that point that I realized that I had been talking too much and that Elder Crisp needed to say something.  I asked Elder Crisp what his thoughts about the Gift of the Holy Ghost were and he expressed exactly what I wanted to say but had forgotten!  It was so awesome!  Companionship unity!

 

On Sunday evening we went with our ward mission leader, 김영균 (Yung Gyoon Kim), to visit a recent convert that Elder Crisp baptized named 이상호 (Song Ho Ee).  Brother Kim really wanted to talk with Songho Ee's dad (who's not a member) because of some struggles that Songho has been having at Church.  It was really cool though because I really felt prompted to and was able to testify of how the Gospel blesses families and that the best way the dad can help Songho is if he listens to our message.  I told him that if he accepted it and chose to live by it, that it would be the best way to help his son.  We didn't set up a return appointment yet, but when we were leaving the dad told me how much he appreciated what I had said.  We're going to try and work with Brother Yung Gyoon Kim to try and fellowship the dad and hopefully help him to join the Church. 

 

Wow this week was so busy and this next week will be even busier.  We are seeing a lot of miracles in Jangwee and I am so excited for this transfer! 

 

I can't believe that this Thursday I'll have been out a year!  It's so impossibly hard to believe not only how fast the time has gone by, but also how much I've grown as a person.  I can also say now with more conviction than ever before that we have a loving Heavenly Father and He lives!

 

Oh what peace and joy this simple truth brings to my mind and soul!

 

Love and Miss Y'all!

 

Called to Serve!

 

Love,

 

Elder Huckvale

 

P.S.  Elder Brantley (our district leader) called me from the zone leaders' phone (they live in the same house) and then proceeded to apologize.  That was my response.

Some random guy Elder Crisp and Elder Huckvale met on the street who wanted to take a picture with them before he would talk with them.  :)

The North Tower - I think that is what it's called.

Where Elder Huckvale was a year ago - the MTC!  

With Elder Eads, Elder Shilling and Elder Stapp, all serving in the Korea Seoul South Mission.

 In front of the Provo Utah Temple.  

Elder Huckvale, Elder Eads, Sister Phillips (?), Sister Bell, Sister ?, Sister Jones, Sister Cameron, Elder Stapp and Elder Shilling.  His MTC District.  

Elder Huckvale went to the Seoul Mission with all of the Sisters, while the other 3 Elders went to Seoul South. 

 

 

Week 51 - I Won't Fail You

Title - In "The Empire Strikes Back", Yoda is talking to Luke and giving him reasons why he can't train him to be a Jedi.  And Luke says, I won't fail you".  (And then he continues to say, "I'm not afraid".)

Pics - wearing a Santa beard that he found at the church building; a picture of Elder Wasson that he saw (Elder Wasson is from our old ward, Grass Valley, and is serving in the Korea Busan Mission). From Elder Huckvale - Apparently one of the missionaries from our ward is serving or was serving in his ward in the Busan mission.

Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2016 12:54:08 +0900

Hello My Adoring Fans!

 

This week has been pretty normal.  Proselyting, punked appointments, member visits, and struggling investigators.  Oh, and we got our transfer calls this weekend!

 

Let's look back at this week!

 

On Monday during p-day we played ping pong and ate chicken at the church.  After p-day ended we called our investigator 이동민 (Ee Dongmeen) and talked with him on the phone about the Church and what his concerns are.  He's still having a lot of problems feeling too much pressure and getting frustrated about all sorts of random things.  He's at the point where just meeting with us is too much pressure for him so he doesn't do it.  Also, since Monday he hasn't been receiving our calls or responding to our text messages.  He has a really strong desire to find the truth and follow Christ, he even said that he was seriously thinking about getting baptized until we talked about it with him.  I believe that he will get baptized, if I'm the one who's going to do it I don't know.  I will, however, continue to contact him and invite him to come closer unto Christ. 

 

On Tuesday we had to drop one of the investigators that's been meeting with the missionaries in the area for about 3 or 4 transfers.  He just wasn't progressing and he really was just meeting with the missionaries because they told him to.  This was my first time meeting with someone and actually dropping them as an investigator.  It was pretty awkward, but I think that Elder Kim and I handled it pretty well, outlining our purpose and helping him to understand why we're discontinuing our meetings without getting offended. 

 

On Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Kim I and we had a pretty good time.  It was a pretty interesting experience, considering that he was my last companion.  We didn't have a ton going on tha day, so we did a lot of proselyting and less-active searching.  Also, the stake president's wife's father passed away this week and so we attended the funeral service and paid our respects.  It was pretty interesting.  There are a lot of different customs that they do in Korea, but not in America.  One of these for example would be the lighting of inscents in front of the casket.  It was a really great experience.  It's so great to see how much peace comes when one knows the truths of the plan of salvation and that death truly is not the end, but just a stumbling block that is overcome through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

 

On Friday we picked up a new investigator!  I'm not really sure about him though.  According to our ward mission leader, he's been meeting with the missionaries on and off for about 8 years, but has never been baptized.  His name is 공순호 (Gong Soonho).  We met with him at the church and talked about our purposed as missionaries and talked a little about him and the Atonement.  He has an addiction to drinking coffee and smoking which he's tried to kick several times, but has never been able to.  He seems to really want to change this time around though and we set a baptismal date for him for February 27th, so we'll see what happens.  When he came back to the church for English class that night he told us that he went home and threw out all of his cigarettes.  He also came to church on Sunday so those are both good signs.

 

On Saturday we got our transfer calls!  Double Kim (as Elder Kim II calls him and Elder Kim I) are both leaving!  Elder Kim I is going to 의정부 (Uijungbu) and Elder Kim II is going to 속초(Sokcho).  The two elder teams are getting combined which means that my new companion is Elder Crisp!  I'm really excited to be serving with Elder Crisp this transfer and I have come to realize that there are miracles all around us waiting to happen.  Our faith is what determines if the miracles will happen or not.

 

I was feeling pretty discouraged last night and this morning and I was begging my Heavenly Father to not allow me to give up hope and faith that there are prepared people out there and that if I work effectively and diligently enough, excercising my faith, I will be able to find those people.  The thought came to my mind that "I wouldn't have to search diligently to find them if they were not lost".  That thought means so much to me.  So many of God's children are lost, like the lost sheep in the Savior's parable.  Lost meaning that I do not know where they are.  Therefore, I will have to exercise my faith and work as hard as I can to find them.  Also, as I read in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 7, I read about Laman and Lemuel who rebel against Nephi in the wilderness, and Nephi turns to them and asks them how they could have forgotten the many miracles that the Lord had shown unto them. He sent and angel to them and delivered them on several accounts and they had already forgotten.  It caused me to ask myself if I had forgotten my spiritual experiences and the miracles that I've seen and the power of God to do anything if I just exercise enough faith.

 

I know that God lives and that He answers our prayers and comforts us through the Holy Ghost in times of strife and opposition.  I am so grateful to be serving a mission.  I know that there are hard times to come, but with hard times come great things.

 

"How is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him?  Wherefore let us be faithful to him."  -1 Nephi 7:12

 

Love and Miss Y'all!

 

Called to Serve!

 

Love,

 

Elder Huckvale

Wearing a Santa beard that he found at the church building.  :)

A picture of Elder Wasson that he saw (Elder Wasson is from our old ward, Grass Valley, and is serving in the Korea Busan Mission). 

From Elder Huckvale - Apparently one of the missionaries from our ward is serving or was serving in his ward in the Busan mission.

Week 50 - Yes, My Lord

Title - In "The Empire Strikes Back", Darth Vader is a Sith Lord and so a lot of times his "subordinates" will answer him, saying, "Yes, my Lord". 

Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2016 13:28:24 +0900

Hello My Adoring Fans!

 

This week was pretty great!  We're starting to pick up more investigators which is great!

 

On Monday we had P-day and towards the end Elder Kim noticed that his leg was more itchy than usual so after a few hours he looked under his pants and found a centipede attached to his leg!  It was so gross!  So there was only one thing to do:  Put it on Elder Kim I's desk.  When Elder Kim I got home that night he was the maddest I've ever seen. He even said "I am angry!" and kept saying in Korean: "What is that?! What is that?!".  It was really funny.

 

On Monday night we were also able to visit the guy that we helped move on Thanksgiving.  He likes the missionaries, but he said that he doesn't really have any interest in Church right now, but that he didn't mind seeing us every once in a while.  It's kind of sad, but it's okay, he might not be ready now, but maybe he will be the next time the missionaries contact him.

 

On Wednesday we had a zone meeting and it was pretty great.  We talked all about the importance of using Preach My Gospel more in our daily lives as missionaries.  I personally noticed that I had a problem not using PMG enough during studies and so I've been putting an effort forth to use it more and the training that we received helped.  It reminded me that PMG truly is an inspired manual that when studied and applied can make me become an excellent missionary.

 

On Saturday we did a lot of proselyting and it was a great day.  I decided on Saturday that I'm going to start doing something that I haven't done since I was a greenie:  when leaving the house saying a personal prayer to be happy and have the faith the talk to everyone the results were awesome.  I was able to talk with a ton of people and I was able to have the Spirit with me.  Our investigator, Ee Dongmin has been kind of struggling lately and he texted us and he seemed really frustrated.  I felt a really strong promptin to call Ee Dongmin and so I did and had a really good talk with him about repentance.  It seems that Elder Kim and I got overly-excited about baptizing him that we failed to really discuss thurroughly the repentance process with him.  It was a really great phone call and it was awesome because I was able to share the experiences that I've had with repentance and the Atonement and I think that it really helped him. 

 

On Saturday night we had the first-ever Jangwee ward Family Home Evening and it was a huge success.  We had two families come from the ward as well as some of the youth and others. It was really fun and everyone seemed to have had a really great time so I'm really looking forward to continuing to do it.

 

Well, it's pretty cold here.  Every time we do streetboarding I have to wear two pairs of wool socks and after a while of standing in the same spot not even that's enough to keep my toes from just about freezing off.  Also transfers are next week so we'll see what happens there.  I'm probably staying.  As for Elder Kim I don't know.  The transfers changed so now if you're transferring you just go straight to your new area.  So apparently if you're going to your new area alone, you just ride a taxi to get there or a taxi to the subway station to go out east to the less-populated areas. 

 

It's all good though.  All is well.

 

Love and Miss Y'all!

 

Called to Serve!

 

Love,

 

Elder Huckvale

Week 49 - It Is Your Destiny

Title - In "The Empire Strikes Back", Luke and Vader are having a lightsaber battle. After Darth Vader chops Luke's hand off, he's trying to convince Luke to join him in the Dark Side and he tells him that "it is your destiny".

Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2016 13:22:56 +0900

Hello My Adoring Fans!

 

Happy New Year!

 

새해복 많이 반으세요!

 

This week was really awesome!  Got to go hiking (kind of), and had two really awesome exchanges!

 

On Tuesday I went on exchanges with one of our zone leaders, Elder Yetter.  The zone leaders want to get more acquainted with the missionaries in the zone so they've been going on day exchanges with some of the other missionaries.  The exchange was awesome!  We did studies together and then we had two appointments.  One was with someone that him and his companion recently baptized and the other was with one of their progressing investigators.  They were both really awesome.  Afterwards we ended our exchange and Elder Yetter challenged me to set goals that would motivate me to become the missionary that the Lord needs me to be and the person that I want to be by the end of my mission.

 

On Thursday I went on another exchange with Elder Crisp who just finished training in my area.  The exchange was really awesome and we saw a lot of miracles.  The day was filled with visiting less-actives, members and proselyting.  First we went and visited a less-active that we visit every week who served a mission in Busan, but came home early due to issues in his family and has since fallen away from the Church.  We talked with him about the Atonement and how through it all men, women, and children can overcome their sins and mistakes to become perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect.  It was a really great lesson and it was cool because as soon as I couldn't think of what to say next Elder Crisp surprised me and started talking about exactly what he needed to.  He told an awesome experience and a scripture that were about the Atonement and it was just what the less-active needed to hear.  It was so awesome and I was really impressed with Elder Crisp.

 

At night Elder Crisp and I went and visited a part-member family in the ward and had a really good discussion with them.  The wife and their two sons both actively attend Church, but the husband is a non-member.  We told them that we wanted to start doing Family Home Evening with their family and the wife was really excited because it's something that previous missionaries had done before transferring out of the area.  The husband, on the other hand did not seem too excited.  He wasn't outwardly opposed to us being there, he was actually pretty nice to us, but  he did roll his eyes a little bit when we started talking about the Atonement.  I don't know how it's going to work out, but it was actually a miracle that we were able to meet with them then.  Apparently the husband usually comes home late on weekdays, but luckily he came home early and so we were able to meet him.  Tender mercies!

 

Afterwards Elder Crisp and I almost got lost in the massive man-made Dream Forest when we were on our way home.

 

On Friday morning we had interviews with President Sonksen which went pretty well.  Afterwards we rushed back to our ward to go hiking with our investigator, 이동민 (Ee Dongmeen) and our ward mission leader 김영균 (Kim Yung Gyoon).  We went out to a mountain called 수락산 (Sooraksan).  We didn't really hike that far up the mountain at all though due to shortage of time, just far enough up so that we could find a quiet spot and pray together.  It was pretty cool.  After we were finished hiking we went and ate pizza and then took Ee Dongmeen to the baptismal service of another investigator that he had met at our multi-ward English Class Christmas Party.  He really enjoyed the baptism and I think that it was really great for him to see it and see how much the guy who was baptised had changed afterwards.   We met with Ee Dongmeen for a little bit afterwards and talked about baptism and some of the commandments.  Ee Dongmeen still isn't ready to accept a baptismal date, but he seems now like it's something that he is planning on doing. 

수락산 입구

수락산

The picture on Elder Kim's camera

 

On Sunday Ee Dongmeen wasn't able to come to Church, but we invited him to fast with us and he did which was really cool.  At night we had a really cool opportunity come up out-of-the-blue where we were teaching a part-member family at a gathering of families where the stake president, the bishop of our ward, and the stake clerk (who is the former bishop of our ward) were all present.  It sounds like a really good idea in concept, but it turned out kind of weird I felt.  There was a lot of 부담 (pressure) on us as the leaders of the discussion, and I think on 이새윤 (Ee Say Yoon (the non-member husband)) as well.  We'll see what happens there I guess!

 

Anyways, yeah this week was super busy and super awesome.  I freakin can't believe that it's already 2016!  I've almost been out a year!  It is so mind-bogglingly hard to believe how fast time flies and how happy we become when we devote all of our efforts to serving the Lord!

 

Love and Miss Y'all!

 

Called to Serve!

 

Love,

 

Elder Huckvale

Week 48 - Chad...Now That's a Name I've Not Heard In A Long Time (Part 2)

Note - notice the "Part 2" in the title?  There might even be a Part 3 and Part 4 to this one in the future.  :)  This will be for any time we get to "talk" with Elder Huckvale.  And let me just say... skyping with Elder Huckvale was the BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT I could ever get!!!!  It was AWESOME and he was so HAPPY and AMAZING!!!!  What an honor to be his parents!  He is loving what he's doing, and that is just shining through!!!

Ok... now back to normal - Title - In "Star Wars", Luke goes out looking for R2D2 who has run away.  He gets attacked by Tuskan Raiders and then gets rescued by Obi-Wan Kenobi.  R2D2 is looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi, who is now going by "Ben".  When he hears that R2D2 is looking for "Obi-Wan Kenobi", he says, "now that's a name I've not heard in a long time".  

  

Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2015 13:10:55 +0900

I can't believe how much time has passed since I wrote the last e-mail with the same title.  So weird.  The whole time thing gets you when you're not looking.

 

Anyways,

 

Merry Christmas! 

 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and really enjoyed spending time with their families in one way or another in celebration of the birth of the Savior!

 

Now I will talk about me...

 

On Monday after p-day was over we went out into one of our neighboring areas and sang carols as a zone on a street corner.  It was so fun!  It was kind of frustrating though because it didn't really get the attention from the passers-by that we were hoping for.  Some people stayed and watched until the crosswalk light changed to green and they became able to cross the street.  It was really fun though and the other missionaries and I all really felt the Spirit and had a good time. 

 

On Tuesday we the majority of the afternoon visiting members and heart-attacking the doors of people that we had planned on visiting, but weren't able to get the chance.  It was really fun!  I've kind of figured out especially during these last few transfers that the most effective way to do missionary work is usually to do what a sister missionary would do. 

 

On Tuesday night we went to a different neighboring area and sang Christmas carols which was again really fun, but didn't get the attention of as many people that we would have liked.  There were however, two people foreigners from America that just happened to be in the area that came up and started talking to some of the other missionaries about how much they enjoyed that we were singing carols.  I don't know what the deal is.  Once again though, I had a really great time and I could really feel the Spirit as we sang songs and rejoiced over the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into the world. 

 

On Wednesday we had a district meeting and afterwards we went out and gave out Book of Mormons that we had wrapped.  It was so much fun!  People loved wrapped things!  At night we had our English Christmas party which was a blast.  For the white-elephant gift exchange, Elder Kim and I brought a Boba Fett figure that Elder Kim won out of a machine.  Represent!  Luckily, our investigator, 이동민 (Ee Dongmeen) who was also there, was able to end up with it.   At the end of the party, we put on a spiritual message and did the "Seminary Donuts" object lesson which went really well.  Elder Weiss volunteered to do it and it was really great.  There's probably no better way of demonstrating the Atonement that I've seen than through this lesson.  It's a really moving experience.

 

Thursday was Christmas Eve so all of the elders in our zone decided to go out to eat lunch together which was a blast.  The place we ended up eating at wasn't the best, but it was just fun to be toghether with so many other missionaries celebrating a cherished holiday.  At night we had dinner at a member's house.  It was a really great way to spend Christmas Eve.  After we ate, we shared our message about the Savior being born and had everyone share a good thing that has happened because Jesus came.  It was really awesome.  After we finished our message, the father of the family asked us to sing a carol so we did and then we sang a carol together.  It was so cool!  It's definitely a tradition I want to start with my family someday. 

 

And Friday was Christmas.  It was awesome.  I started out the morning by waking up and opening the presents that my family sent me which are all awesome.  The coolest thing I got was a pair of light-up lightsaber chopsticks.  They have to be one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life.  I'm afraid to actually eat thing with them though.  I also got a Star Wars crew-neck from my trainer, Elder Jeong which is pretty sweet.  He's so funny.  Christmas afternoon was spent preparing for the Christmas music concert that the mission was putting on in our church building.  The concert was awesome.  A lot of the sisters that came to Korea with me were in it.  Sister Bell and Sister Jones were both there and they did awesome!  The whole concert was so awesome and it did an incredible job of bringing the Spirit and it was a great way to end Christmas day. 

 Keeping it fresh Christmas morning.

 정진섭 장로님의 스타 워즈 스웨터  (Sweatshirt that Elder Jeong gave him for Christmas)

Elder Kim playing with the light up chopsticks.

 

On Saturday I got to talk with my family through the wonders of modern-day technology!  Wow!  Elder Kim and I went to 박병훈 (Bak Byung Hoon)'s house from our ward and he ordered us Chinese food right when we got there but it arrived right at 1:30 when I had planned to start talking with my family.  I couldn't wait because I ordered noodles and they would stick together if I didn't eat them quick enough!  It only took about 7 minutes to eat it all, but it was still pretty funny.  I can just imagine my family all gathered around the TV screen waiting and then the message "I have to eat the food that we ordered" come up.  Good times.  Anyways yeah it was really awesome and I think it had a little more impact than just talking over the phone.  I am so grateful to have had that opportunity.

 The wonders of modern-day technology (the picture from the other side is way better).

 

On Sunday we met with our progressing investigator, 이동민 (Ee Dongmeen) and had a really great lesson!  We talked about our personal commitment to follow Jesus Christ and about coming to know the truth of the Book of Mormon through prayer.  We then talked about fasting and invited him to fast with us in order to receive an answer to his prayers and he agreed!  He's doing so great!

 

This Christmas was so awesome and was probably one of the most special Christmases I've ever had!  I was going to say most memborable, but I remember all Christmases (Just ask my parents).

 

I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and I am so grateful, especially at this time of year, that He was born.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Love and Miss Y'all!

 

Called to Serve!

 

Love,

 

Elder Huckvale

Playing some Phase 10 - one of the things he asked for for Christmas.  :)

 

 

 

Week 47 - There Has Been an Awakening. Have You Felt It?

Title - From the first trailer of the new movie, "The Force Awakens".  D is pretty sure it is Snoke who says to Kylo Ren, "there has been an awakening.  Have you felt it?" 

Hello my adoring Fans!

 

Star Wars came out this week and it seems to have gone mostly unnoticed in Korea which is still really weird to me. 

 

But alas I continue to fight the good fight...

 

This week has been pretty good.  We've just been doing every thing this week to prepare for the this Christmas week and the various Christmas festivities that we have planned to do from making message cards and visiting members to wrapping Book of Mormons and going to/preparing Christmas parties.  It's been pretty fun.  I never realized how much I enjoy crafting until now...the real trick is trying to enjoy baking things.

Wrapping Book of Mormons

 

On Monday we had P-day so Elder Kim and I headed out to this huge shopping area called 동대문 시장 (Dongdaemun Market) and it was really awesome.  I got some cheap ties and a sweater.  I got to do some good ol-fashioned Korean bartering to get the sweater which was really fun.  It didn't take that much bargaining skill.  They were just impressed that I could speak Korean.  I'm sure it depends on who you try to buy stuff from though.

 

Anyways afterwards we headed out to the mission home for the Christmas conference and party with our zone and President and Sister Sonksen.  It was so fun!  I really wish I would've taken some pictures.  We did a training for maybe an hour at the office and then went to the mission home, ate dinner, did a Q&A, and then watched part of the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.  They fed us the Christmas morning breakfast casserole (a classic!) and these like pancake balls that were super delicious.  With fork in hand, sitting at a table that wasn't on the floor, a Christmas tree in the background, in the midst of a multitude of English conversations, for a second there I almost forgot that I was in Korea.  It was really cool.

 

On Wednesday we had our district meeting and then afterwards wrapped Book of Mormons to give out to people which should be pretty fun.  Later that night we met with our investigator 이동민 (Ee Dongmeen) and we had a pretty good lesson with him.  He didn't want to meet with us as often this week just to take a break and kind of figure things out a little bit more so we only met on Wednesday.  We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it went pretty well.  He's still a little hesitant to accept a baptismal date, but then again he's only been meeting with us for two weeks now.  He has a very strong testimony of Jesus Christ and a sincere desire to follow him, but he's just unsure. 

 

On Thursday we went to go visit some less-active members that we make an effort to visit every week.  One of the less-actives we visit served a mission in Busan, but due to issues in his family he decided to return early and has had a lot of regret since then and has really stopped coming to church.  Pretty much every week since I came to the area we've been visiting his house and haven't been able to catch him, but this week we were able to finally meet with him and we had a really great discussion.  I shared one of my favorite scriptures with him, Alma 5: 32-34 and afterwards he expressed that when he read it he felt the spirit!  What a miracle!  Hopefully as we continue to meet with him we'll be able to remind him that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can heal every wound imaginable and that as we excercise our faith in Jesus Christ and repent, partake of the Sacrament, and remain worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost, how great will be our joy!

 

On Friday we had English class and in the spirit of Christmas we decided to show the English class the Church's Christmas video and then did a testimony meeting.  There wasn't as big of a turnout as we were hoping for, but our investigator Ee Dongmeen was there and he decided to get up and bare his testimony and it was so awesome!

 

On Saturday we ate lunch with some of the members and they treated us to this incredibly delicious beef.  The husband and his wife own an English institute for elementary school-aged kids so they're both pretty good at English.  They went out the previous night and saw that new Star Wars movie.  According to his words it was "not bad", "so-so", and other phrases along those lines.  You might as well have written me a dear John letter!  Dang it.  My dad saw it and he really enjoyed it so I guess I'll just have to wait a year or so to see it and find out for myself.  It's nothing to give up the work for, that's for sure. 

 

I got 60 or so years to watch that new Star Wars movie, but only two to serve the Lord in Korea.

 

I'm so excited for Christmas and even though I won't be at home, I know that it's going to be awesome!  I hope that all of you (the fans) have a wonderful Christmas and truly remember why it's a holiday in the first place. 

 

I love you all and am so grateful for all of the love and support that you have blessed me with up until now and from now until the end.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Love and Miss Y'all!

 

Called to Serve!

 

Love,

 

Elder Huckvale

 The future of camping.  :)

Return of the Stormtrooper.  Getting into mischief in the Christmas Tree.  Just like an "elf on the shelf".  :)

 

 

 

Week 46 - Together Again

Title - In "Return of the Jedi", after Han is unfrozen from the carbonite, Han, Luke and Chewbacca are scheduled to be executed and on their way to the Sarlac Pit, Han says, "Together again, huh?".

Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2015 11:44:55 +0900

Hello my adoring fans!

 

This week has been so awesome!  We're seeing a lot of progression with our investigator who we found last week while streetboarding, 이동민 (Ee Dongmeen), and Elder Kim, the members of the ward, and I all agree that he has a lot of potential to get baptized next month!  Excitement!

 

Since this week was we had temple p-day on Monday we just e-mailed and went to the meat buffet with Elder Moore one last time before he had to leave on Thursday.

 

So on Tuesday we went to the temple and it was really awesome (as usual)!  I decided to do the session in Korean and it was so awesome!  I thought it was going to be really difficult, but it wasn't bad!  Afterwards we went to a cheap restaraunt near the temple that is a favorite among missionaries.

I asked him for a pic for our Christmas card... and this is what he sent.  Pretty awesome, huh?????

 

On Thursday morning Elder Crisp Elder Moore headed out to the transfer meeting, but since Elder Kim and I are both staying in the area we stayed home and just did studies.  When Elder Crisp came back with his new companion, we came to find out that his new companion is none other than my last companion, Elder 김태완 (Elder Kim I)!  I was so excited when I found out!  Now Elder Kim I and II are both in my area!  How crazy is that?  Also, we got sister missionaries in our ward.  It's going to be a really good transfer. 

 

On Friday we were able to meet with our new investigator 이동민 (Ee Dongmeen) again and we had a pretty good lesson.  We just have to be careful because he has a lot of questions that are good, but they can easily get the lesson way off track.  We got off track for a while during the lesson, but we were able to bring it back at the end and have a really good discussion with him about finding out the truth for himself and having the faith to receive answers to his prayers.  He is so open and honest and such a great invesigator!  

 

After we met with 이동민 we had English class and Elder Kim and I gave the message and we talked about knowing the truth through the Holy Ghost.  The message went really well and even those who have attended English class for what seems like forever asked some great questions and seemed really interested in what we had to say.  We've been having a lot of cool experiences at English class recently.  At the beginning of the transfer our ward English class had one person coming and now we have like 10!  And new people are coming too!  It's so cool to see! 

 

On Saturday we met with 이동민 again and this time we were able to get the bishop to come at the last minute so it became a really incredible lesson.  We taught him the Plan of Salvation and it went really well.  As usual, he had a lot of really great questions and with the help of the bishop and the Spirit we were able to answer them with simplicity according to his understanding.  At the end of the lesson we invited him to be baptized on January 9th, 2016 and he said that he wanted to know more doctrince before he was willing to be baptized.  He also talked about how he has a very strong desire to follow Jesus Christ and he believes that the Book of Mormon is true, but he's still waiting for an answer.  I showed him the scripture in Alma 32 about the importance of showing faith and believing enough to get baptized without knowing every thing perfectly.    He's still not ready to be baptized yet, but as we continue to meet with him and follow the promptings of the Spirit, we can help him to prepare to enter the waters of baptism.

 

On Sunday 이동민 came to church and we had the primary program!  이동민 seemed to have really enjoyed the primary program.  I think the other two hours of Church were a little bit more difficult for him though.  He still enjoyed it though.

 

Yesterday at the primary program, the oldest kid in the primary and his dad who's in the bishop pric sang a duet of "He Sent His Son" which is probably my favorite primary song and among my favorite hymns.  Their singing was not the best, I'll be honest, but the Spirit was still strong as ever.  I remembered once more the sacred love that my Heavenly Father has for me.  I remembered once more that He sent His Son to die for me; to die for us, so that we could become free.

 

Love and Miss Y'all!

 

Called to Serve!

 

Love,

 

Elder Huckvale

 

Also, Star Wars is coming out this week.  Weird.

 "It's pointless to resist."

장위 와드