Come Unto Christ (Letter of Monday, January 6, 2014)

Good day to all, and a very happy New Year. The New Year is a big deal in Korea. The Gregorian perhaps not as much as the lunar (not Chinese, in Korea :)), but that is right around the corner as well. Age is a big deal here, and those who were born in the same year are called "friends," and have an instant relationship. It means a lot to call people older brother or sister, too, and the relationship dynamics in general, especially with those you are meeting for the first time, are really interesting to me here.

Among others, we were able to meet with Jin Uk this past week, and it was so nice to see him. He is so busy, but has such a desire to know Christ, and as we talked about the Restoration, it was a sweet experience.

We went to a 순대 (sundae) restaurant last week near our church, whose Korean romanization is about as far from its English twin as you can get. The owner always parks in front of the church, so she has always served Elder Grimshaw for free when he has been there in the past. We decided to go with the other Imun elders for dinner, and enjoyed an interesting and certainly very hearty soup. The owner, unfortunately, was gone, so we ended up paying good money for pig- well, you can look it up. Experiences, though. I'm all for sucking the marrow out of life, but sometimes that gets a little bit too literal.

Achasan hike

We were able to hike with some of the members of our branch on New Year's Day. We went to a place called Achasan, which offered a very fun hike and a beautiful view. Seoul is nice in that it is certainly a big city, but there are lots of places that are easy to get to that let you forget that. Many offer prayers when they get to the summit, which I think is pretty cool. There was also a very cool, ancient-style building at the summit, filled with... children's books. There was a big group of kids reading at the top, and that emphasis from an early age on the outdoors and learning is so fun in Korea.

We were actually able to go hiking this morning as well. We wanted to go to a famous spot in Dobong to watch the sun rise over Seoul. We ended up going a lot closer, not nearly as high, but it was a lot of fun. There was tons of exercise equipment all along the way, as hiking and exercise are extremely common hobbies among 나이 많이 드신 사람 (those who have partaken of many years). We thought we were kind of in a hurry to get to the top to see the sun rise, so we asked an older grandma which way was the quickest way up (we were at a fork). She said, "You shouldn't look for the quickest way up, but the way that gives you the best exercise. I woke up at 5 and have been hiking since." She then saw that I was holding a football, and using the Korean "for your information" form of sorts, said to me, "There's not a sports field on top of the mountain 거든 (FYI). There's one down at that college, though. It's pretty big." We enjoyed a bit more conversation with her and headed on our way. I love the people here. So friendly, so helpful.

Sam gets his exercise in any way he can.

I've been thinking a lot this new year, this chance to begin anew, about purpose and goals. I wrote many goals down, but essentially, as a servant of Christ this entire year, I want to devote everything- heart, might, mind, and strength. As much as possible this year I want to learn how to offer 100% sanctification and 100% consecration--to give all of me. "I will give away all my sins to know Thee," said King Lamoni, and I really want to do whatever it takes to be purified, to become a more effective messenger of Christ's happy Gospel. In finishing the Book of Mormon this past week, one of the last verses reads the following:

"Yea, come unto Christ and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God." Moroni 10:32

Come unto Christ. What a powerful invitation, and one that transcends every arbitrary boundary that we as humans have set up through our arrogance or imperfection. The way is open to all, in and through Christ.

White means a baptism day. Happy times!

I'm also trying to go 100% Korean this year in speech, save really important situations and a few others (read: English class). It is so fun, and is really already proving beneficial, both to language and to focus.

The crowning event of this past week was Sung Il's baptismal service Sunday. His story really is miraculous, just showing up to church one day, and his journey in faith since. He is absolutely incredible, and it was a very happy day.

I pray too that all goes well elsewhere. Happy, happy New Year. Enjoy the season, enjoy school and work as it begins once more, and go snowboarding for me, in Sha'Allah.

All my love from 서울 <3

Elder South