Another Great week in Mokpo May 5, 2013

Hello!

 

This has been a great week. We worked hard and we have seen more success in the work, which was a blessing. We actually challenged the guy we ran into miraculously (I will call him Brother Shin) and he accepted! I still think that most of his enthusiasm for meeting us is centered on English, but he is coming to church and learning and hopefully we can really help him realize how important and valuable the decision really is to him!! In addition to that, we just had a bit more success all across the board, which was nice.

 

Today we recieved transfer calls. I am staying in Mokpo and my companion is transferring to be our Zone leader for this same zone, which we kind of expected. It will be a bit tough to be the only one who knows the people and the area for a while, but it will be a good fun experience.

 

To make up for last week, I have a couple cool/funny things that happened this week. This week we went to visit a couple old members in the southern old part of town just by the coast and it was probably one of the most exciting days so far on the mission. The main reason is that because it was an older more poor part of town, I really felt like I traveled back in time about 30 years ago to old Korea. The houses were all tiny and were crammed all over up and down the mountainside and the only way to get through them were these tiny alleyways that zig-zagged up the mountain. It was crazy to see and lots of fun to experience. I will try to send pictures in a week or two. It was a cool experience.

 

The other story is another one of funny joys of being a foreigner in Korea. Often we will be told by members and people that we look like famous people from America, even if we look nothing alike and it's pretty funny. I have gotten Arnold Schwarzenegar (however you spell it) and my companion has gotten names all over that map. But this week, we were with some less active members and they said something like I looked like that famous basketball player .... oh, yeah, Micheal Jordan - but more hansome. I cracked up. That's definitely a first - and probably a last too. I'm not sure exactly what the connection is, but it was super funny.

 

I am just so grateful for gospel in my life and for how reliable it is. As we study and teach people about why the gospel should be important to them, it makes me think why it is so important to me. I think that at least one of so many answers I could give to that question, is that God is always there, He always pulls through, and the gospel is what leads us to realize and take advantage of that. The hard part, though, is remembering. I love how often the Book of Mormon beckons us to remember what great things God has done for us and for those we love! Remembrance is such a powerful tool. God has been present in so many ways so many times in all of our lives, but they are often the small and simple blessings we receive each day. I think the trick is to never let a day pass by without acknowledging them and then find a way to always remember them! I know that God lives, that he loves us, and that as we remember that every day, He will ALWAYS pull through. We just have to be true to the covenant we make each week to "always remember Him" so we can have the priceless blessing of always having His spirit to be with us.

 

Thanks for all you do! I love you all! Have a wonderful week!!!

 

Love, Elder Tolman

Week 1 of first Transfer in Mokpo May 12

Hello!!!

 

This has been a pretty crazy week. We got transfer calls on Monday (as I mentioned) and then spent the next few days saying goodbye to people in Mokpo. Mokpo will definitely miss Elder Allen. He has been here for 6 transfer, which is 8 or 9 months, and he has done a lot for Mokpo. I am just hoping and praying the Elder Barney and I can keep it up and take advantage of the great potential that Elder Allen worked so hard to prepare.

 

This transfer will be a lot of fun, but also a "growing experience." Elder Barney is in his 5th transfer, so he is less experienced than Elder Allen in a lot of ways which means we will learn a lot together. For the first couple weeks, if not most the transfer, we will be working more like co-seniors as I lead the area and help him get everything figured out. It's a lot of responsibility, but I know it will all work out. (see spiritual thought at end of letter).

 

I had a couple fun/crazy experiences this week. The first was that we went to a meat buffet wednesday night with a member and his referral. It was a ton of fun and the food was so good. Similar to a lot of Korean meat restaurants, you have your own like grill at the table to cook the meat yourself and we just could choose from a ton of different meats at the buffet. It was almost the perfect meal because I had had tons of great food and even an ice cream cone to top it off, and then the member went for one more serving and brought back some octopus to cook. I was hoping that the fact that I had just eaten ice cream would signify that I was done eating and didn't need anymore, but, as expected, I was eventually pressured into trying it. It didn't taste bad, but the texture was pretty tough to handle. I eventually just shoved some kimchi in my mouth and swallowed it all together to get it down. That was fun.

 

The other crazy experience was our only member lesson this week. It was with an investigator who is really religious and researching lots of churches, but is going about it the wrong way by trying to prove with facts which one is true. So she agreed to meet, but she brought a preacher or something from another church and the lesson ended up just being a bible bash debate between the preacher and our member. Neither my companion nor I are too good at Korean yet, so we could really do a ton about it. It was crazy. After a couple hours, the investigator and her friend just stormed out. Not a good lesson. Hopefully she will eventually realized the real way to know truth - through the Holy Ghost.

 

It was also so nice to call home this morning. I am so lucky to have such an incredible family! I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

 

My favorite thought of the week relates somewhat to transfers and how I have a new less experienced senior to help carry the momentum here in Mokpo. I was reading in 1 Nephi and when I read the part about how the Lord commands Nephi and his brothers to return to Jerusalem a second time, I couldn't help but think how crazy that is! When I read that, it's easy to think that there could have been a better way... Why didn't God just line it all up and have them snag the plates, get the family, and take off all in one night, never to return? Couldn't God have provided a more effective way? As I thought about it, the thought occured to me that my question was all wrong because I was defining "effective" by the world's standard. We often measure effectiveness by how much time is spent, how much resources we use, or what amount of effort we have to put into something. But God measures effectiveness with eternity in mind. He is the only one who really knows how to determing "eternal efficiency." So really, returning to Jerusalem twice was maybe perfectly effective, but based on God's standard of eternity. In our own lives, I think we often get caught in the need for worldy effeciency and we forget to consider God's view of eternal efficiency. I know that whether or not we can always see it, God is aware of our position, our potential, and the perfect path that will lead us back to Him. So we just need to trust in Him - to "be still and know that [He] is God." (D&C 101:16)

 

Thanks for your love, your examples, and your support. You are amazing! Have a wonderful week!

 

Love, Elder Tolman