"Have mercy, O Lord, ... That their hearts may be softened when thy servants shall go out from thy house, O Jehovah, to bear testimony of thy name; that their prejudices may give way before the truth, and the people may obtain favor in the sight of all; that all the ends of the earth may know that we, thy servants, have heard thy voice, and that thou has sent us."
Good afternoon to all after a wonderful week in Seoul and outlying areas. We are enjoying beautiful fall foliage and crisp days- it's a great time to be here. We've experienced a whole lot this past week, so I'll just try to run by some of the highlights.
On Monday, we walked and talked with people for a very long time trying to get to a member's house on the other side of our area. We finally got there, and got let in, which was a pleasant surprise, and had a great talk about the Book of Mormon, which he reads in Chinese because he knows so many Chinese characters. Pretty cool. On the way out I asked someone to shake their hand and they asked if I was a carrier of the Ebola virus.
On Tuesday we conducted exchanges with a couple of elders in Uijeongbu, and had a great time. Right as we got outside our house, we ran into a foreigner as we were on our way somewhere, and after introducing ourselves, he said that he was looking for a cafe, and if we knew where one was. We showed him, and went and sat with him for over an hour of fascinating talk about science, religion, and philosophy over Chinese citron tea. Laurentiu, from Romania. He is just here for three months traveling around, and he was very interesting. I hope that we bore testimony enough that he will remember us later if he ever feels the need.
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| At a service activity |
We had a great time at our service activity on Thursday and afterwards had devil's tongue jelly and quail eggs. Friday we went on a stunning tour with the military up to the DMZ {the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea}, where we went down in one of the tunnels that North Korea dug into South Korea to come up in Seoul, but which was discovered beforehand. Explosives, minefields, wildlife, villages, flags, guards, fences- it's real, and it turns out the DMZ is one of the most highly militarized areas in the world. We also went to the Joint Security Area, where the UN talks happen, and actually crossed the border into the North and back. Stern guards and a heavy solemnity characterized a 생각보다 더 cool experience, and it was very valuable for us, I think, as missionaries, to be able to see. Respect and love for the Korean people, and just a desire to do absolutely everything we can for them came out of the day. It was certainly among the most enjoyable, and impressive, experiences that I've had as a missionary so far.
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| Autumn picnic with the local ward |
On Saturday we drove about an hour out of Seoul for our ward {local congregation} picnic, which was in a great park with beautiful leaves and fun people and games. A couple investigators enjoyed the time a lot, I think, and we had a great time as well. My leg is still sore from a Vietnamese weighted-feather kick hackysack game that we played for quite a while. Sorry for the obscure description, that's as well as I can do. They're all over in China, too. Go Seongdeok was baptized that evening, and it was a very powerful baptismal service with burning testimonies and a strong spirit. He has changed a lot since we first started to teach him, and we are excited to keep seeing him and working with him. He was confirmed yesterday in church.
We went to family home evening last night at a member's house and had a great time. It's a great ward, and a beautiful place to be. All is well and all are happy from Seoul. Love and prayers,
Elder South
