Yankees will stay, it seems -- January 25, 2015

Good afternoon! My hope that all is going well. The weather warms and miracles continue- it's a pleasure to be serving here. It was certainly a change to come here at first with seemingly many less people than anywhere else I have served, but the walking around more gives more of a chance for deeper conversation and more meaning to each contact, and for that I am grateful.

I am loving being with Elder Rosenberg and am learning every day from him. His ability to see through issues and patiently work with people is a pleasure to learn from, and we are having a good time together. We've been thinking a lot about faith- faith to make things happen. We can't control what happens, but we can believe that when we do all that we can to be a tool in God's hands, He will make miracles happen. And they have. We fasted as a zone on Wednesday this past week, and miracles continue. Baptismal dates have doubled again in the zone this past week- we hope that all can continue to invite and that all can start coming to church! We've been inviting people to be baptized on the street, and a surprising number of individuals have accepted that commitment and future meetings. It is our hope that that enthusiasm will continue to spread, that the vision will be raised, and many will come unto Christ. After reading an inspiring talk this week we're trying to find ways to talk with more people. We almost never take the subway here, but buses work. We no longer serve in the days of standing on soap boxes, but we look back with envy. What is the motivation? Charity. It has to be love, nothing else works.

Our young friend Daniel is doing well, and someone we met for the first time about a month ago on the street in Sanggye is looking very solid to be baptized next next week. We met a guy named Tony on Saturday, an Iranian Christian who has seen some really, really hard things but has come through it all with an unshaken faith in Christ. We bumped into him again today by chance, and we'll continue to meet. We also met a Bill from Nebraska with whom we discussed fracking and the restored Gospel. I went on exchanges to Gumchon and met someone who asked us if we were from America, and then proceeded to push us and follow us for twenty minutes yelling "Go home, Yankee." We didn't, and his yelling won us some friends from the people we were talking with. On the way back from Gumchon, there was nobody on the bus, so we could look out at beautiful Korea passing by. It's a beautiful place to be, and up here there is much more wildlife. Ducks and white herons and flowing rivers- a unique and beautiful place, and one that I will never forget.

I read the Bible story of Esther this morning in personal study, an incredible example of courage and faith, of facing God and not man. Mordecai asks her if she had not come to her situation prepared by God to be the means of deliverance to those in her influence:

"Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

 Esther responds in faith: "...and so will I go. . .and if I perish, I perish."

Our lives aren't in danger, but that doesn't mean we're not here in Korea, In Seoul, In Ilsan, for a specific purpose, and if we are, we'll do anything we can to find it and "go." Thank you always for your love and your support.

"When my body begs for rest, I give to myself this rallying cry: 'Remember Him.' The Lord is our perfect example of diligence in priesthood service. He is our captain. He called us. He goes before us." -President Eyring

Caleb: BOOLA BOOLA BOOLA BOOLA BOOLA BOOLA BOOLA BOO (Sam's brother Caleb was accepted this week into Yale).

Love, Elder South

Other news: There was a special presentation about giving service in lieu of normal meetings on Sunday in which we watched a video of a cougar chasing a baby bear and starting to maul it before the mother bear comes to save it; and more talk about complimenting and insulting onions. It was a little strange, but I think our friend Daniel was okay and he'll keep coming to church anyway. Also, Melanie, my research advisor at Yale, submitted our paper again with revisions to the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.  <3 I love you and have a great week! Welcome home, Elder Hawkes and Elder Rees (Sam's friends who have now finished their missions).

The greatest of these is charity: January 18, 2015

Dear all, 

I wish you a beautiful day wherever you may be. It seems to be warm in the states, or Utah at any rate- here we had a couple inches of snow yesterday, although it's not too cold.

I don't have a huge amount to report from this past week. We were busy with MLC {Mission Leadership Conference} and zone training {for the missionaries in his zone} early in the week, and just got out there and worked hard after that. We don't have nearly as many people meeting us regularly as we are used to or would like, so we've been just either out there talking or calling as much as we can. I feel an increasing urgency, a great sense of urgency to do everything I can for this work, and anything that begins to approach down time makes me edgy. There will be time enough to rest when this great adventure comes to a close.

One commitment we did leave for the zone was for each companionship to invite someone to be baptized every day, whether in a lesson or on the street, and we saw lots of people taking this with a passion. After 5 days there have been over 70 invitations and the zone has eight more baptismal dates than we did last week. As we keep inviting in the spirit we are excited for more miracles.

Bajirak Kalguksu (Shellfish and Chewy Noodle Soup)

image taken from the internets

We met a Daniel, fluent in English, having studied in Maine, who came to church with us yesterday and who is a deep, spiritual thinker. We are happy to be meeting with him, and the confluence of some pretty miraculous events has led him to this point. Please keep him in your prayers. One young man who came to church with us last week called this week and said that his dad wouldn't let him come to church anymore, and we were sad, considering his great progress. he called later and said that his dad had changed his mind, was interested in church, and wanted to come to our church to check it out. They weren't able to make it yesterday, and we are a bit worried, so please keep Dong-oo also in your prayers.

I'm loving this time with Elder Rosenberg- we're getting along well, working hard, seeing miracles, and enjoying pork stir fry and clam cut noodle soup. {We looked this up. It's the noodles that are cut, with a clam-infused sauce.}

After having finished the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price {other books of Mormon scripture}, I have started to read the Book of Mormon again with an emphasis on developing the attribute of charity, truly without which we are nothing and with which we are walking in the footsteps of Christ.

"And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." Bible, 1st Corinthians chapter 13 in the Bible. 

See video representation http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/bible-videos/charity-never-faileth

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." Book of Mormon, Moroni chapter 7

All of my love to you and my hope for a fulfilling and safe week. Keep on trekking, keep on praying, and keep on smiling. <3
Elder South

밝은 미래 (Bright Future)- January 11, 2015

Good afternoon from Ilsan! I hope that all goes well. We've had a fun week and worked just as hard as we could. We've seen a lot of fun things already and are looking forward to continuing to see the Lord's hand in this work as we do everything we can do to work hard and accept His guidance.

One fun thing from this past week was Brother Lee's baptism. He has been investigating the church for more than 10 years and as recently as last week had demonstrated very little interest in getting baptized anytime soon, although his wife is a member. Our ward mission leader called us Friday afternoon and said that Brother Lee was getting baptized and to make the necessary arrangements with interviews and hours of teaching and such. We were somewhat skeptical about the speed of everything, but after talking with President Christensen about logistics, he said, "Let's not stand in the way of a miracle." Brother Lee was baptized Saturday
afternoon. Since we just got here, we don't realize how much of a miracle it is, but it was a joyous experience and he will be a great support to the ward as he continues strong and looks toward the temple. In everything we do as missionaries, God is showering us with miracles, we just need to do our part and close the umbrella to accept them.

I was thinking about one more story from Sanggye {his last area} that we saw near the end of my time there. We went to one part of our area to which we had never been been before to try to visit a less-active member's house, but they weren't there. We met an older retired couple and had cocoa with them; it turns out their son did a lot of architectural design for JFK airport, and bought his parents a cafe after they retired so that they would have something to do. Pretty cool. We walked for a bit on the way-ish back looking for people to talk with, found ourselves on the top of a hill in the dark with very few lights in the town, and in the midst of significantly more dogs than people. I turned around and saw spray-painted on a broken, crumbling concrete wall in black letters "NO FUTURE." We were in a remnant of old Korea, Junggye Bundong- the last ghost town in Seoul, apparently populated only about 10 percent. It was old. It was poor, and you could feel the history.  We met a kind man who walked us out of the maze back to the Korea we knew as he explained the history of the area. Korea has seen incredibly hard things, and has climbed out of it with amazing resilience. Korea is bright and pushing forward today, with all the future in the world.

Sam hike's Suraksan on his previous Preparation Day.
It was a Korean holiday of sorts and traditional to do
a sunrise hike, so they went early!

Elder Rosenberg and I are getting along very well- it's a real privilege to be back together! I have a lot to learn from his patience and know-how, and I am looking forward to it. It's a fun zone to be in, with a whole lot of potential. If missionaries can have one great area where they see a lot of miracles, it's hard to ever be satisfied with anything else, and we want this to be that great area for all of the missionaries serving here. 

{Sam in missionspeak again: Here is what this means, I think: his last time in Sanggye was very productive for him personally and as a missionary. He's now in a new area in Ilsan and not sure what will happen--though I would suggest that having a baptism, unexpected on their first day is a bit crazy and bodes well for the future. But even if it's not as fantastic for him personally as the last time in Sanggye, as a Zone Leader in charge of so many missionaries he wants at least some of them to have this be that great area that Sanggye was for him.}

We're definitely not in Seoul anymore, and the church {building} is super far away, but we'll keep doing everything we can! Let's all continue to do everything we can to serve others and make the burdens of all lighter:

{here are a few verses from a Christian hymn "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief"}

Once, when my scanty meal was spread,

The Good Samaritan by Joseph Brickey

He entered; not a word he spake,

Just perishing for want of bread.

I gave him all; he blessed it, brake,

And ate, but gave me part again.

Mine was an angel's portion then,

For while I fed with eager haste,

The crust was manna to my taste.

I spied him where a fountain burst

Clear from the rock; his strength was gone.

The heedless water mocked his thirst;

He heard it, saw it hurrying on.

I ran and raised the suff'rer up;

Thrice from the stream he drained my cup,

Dipped and returned it running o'er;

I drank and never thirsted more

Then in a moment to my view

The stranger started from disguise.

The tokens in his hands I knew;

The Savior stood before mine eyes.

He spake, and my poor name he named,

"Of me thou hast not been ashamed.

These deeds shall thy memorial be;

Fear not, thou didst them unto me."

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed‍ of my Father, inherit‍ thekingdom‍ prepared for you from the foundation of the world:For I was an hungred, and ye gave‍ me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, andye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited‍ me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee?‍ orthirsty, and gave thee‍ drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee‍ in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it‍ untoone of the least‍ of these my brethren, ye have done it‍ unto me."

All love,

Elder South

"I Can See [China] From My House" -- January 4, 2015

{Here is a really rushed email from Sam which I also think is bursting with emotion though he tries to hide it. My view is that he is really sad to leave Sangye and really sad to leave Seoul and pretty scared to go to a place where talking to people will be really hard because everyone is only on their way to Seoul. I'm sure things will work out but now he is pretty bummed. The title for this blog post was the title of his email but I have no idea what it means~the Editor}

Happy New Year to all! I hope that last year passed peacefully away into a beautiful first week of 2015. Wow, really hard to believe. Really crazy. For a somewhat shorter update this week I will apologize in advance; we had a busy day and have an appointment later tonight, so time will not be in excess.

Sam's "Zone" in Sangye. President and Sister Christensen
are front-row left. Sam is far right. 

It's been a great week. We're all about new starts and re-dedication, strong goals and personal improvement. And what better a time to look in and move forward than now?

It's wonderful to be out here. Lots of emotions. This time and all of the vicissitudes that go along with missionary life are beyond valuable to me, and I can only hope that maybe just sometime during this time someone's life will be better because we followed what the Lord wanted for us.

Ilsan-Goyang city, a planned commuter
development northwest of Seoul

I'm transferring this week. Wednesday. I've been here for a while, and in Northeastern Seoul my entire time in Korea. It's my favorite place to be, but now I'm out West to Ilsan-Goyang city. It's about an hour outside of Seoul, and we'll go {to Seoul} pretty regularly for things, but it will certainly be a big change. I've heard that it is beautiful and diverse, dotted with lakes and with plenty of people, even if most of them work in Seoul. We may have to try to get studies moved or something to get people on the way to work, we'll see {meaning, move usual morning studies to later in the day, so they can be out when the people are out on their way to work. Sam is always trying to think of new ideas!}. {here is a link to info about Ilsan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilsan}

Sad farewells to Sanggye, with many people that I have gotten very close to and who I will miss greatly. I spoke in church yesterday a bit, got some pictures, and went in the evening to Brother Kim's home one last time. We ate today with our ward mission leader, and will have meals with a couple more families tomorrow as well. I'm a different missionary because of {my time in] Sanggye, that's for sure. Now going to what could very well be the last area of my time as a missionary, I'm ready to work harder than I've ever worked, love more than I've ever loved, and seek to be led more than I've ever been led, because there are people there that I want to help feel the love that's always ready for us. I'm excited, it will be a fun time, and I am blessed with the realization of a wish that I've had ever since the MTC {missionary training center, at the beginning of his mission}, to be reunited with my MTC companion, Elder Rosenberg, and serve together again. We're going to have a great time, and work, work, work, just as hard as we can.

We had the chance this week to get up early, very early, on New Year's day and hike Suraksan {the looming mountain that borders Sangye}
 to see the sunrise. It's not an easy hike, but we're proud of all for making it, and it was a beautiful way to start the year. I wish I brought pictures, we've been out all day so I don't have them here, but I'll send some later- it was a spectacular view, in spite of the nearly -20 degree celsius temperature with the wind chill and treacherous terrain. One of our investigators, somehow, also got up and came with us, and we got McDonalds on the way back.

Congratulations to Caleb on finishing college applications. My love to all and a very happy New Year. Life moves on quickly, and may bittersweet returns to home for Sisters Thompson, Peacock, and Hilton be joyful, and the missionary spirit never leave.

All my love until next week. Happy 2015~ <3

"...Gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other . . . and they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy."

E South