Beautiful Fall in Korea Nov. 17

This week was a really good week and we also started off this week with a really fun P-day as well.

As for last week, we have been searching for new investigators and God has really blessed us this week to begin finding. We especially are excited to keep meeting the man we met on the street a couple of weeks ago that I think I mentioned in my last letter. He goes by O.B. Kim as his english name. He's a pretty funny cool guy, but the best part is that he has opened his heart to seek the opportunity to change and improve his life. He's pretty wealthy and has lots of time but I think he's beginning to realize that he's not really happy and he thinks he might be able to find it here. (He's right!!!) Please keep him in your prayers!

We had a funny little experience in our apartment the other day. One of our members was clearing out some food in their house and gave us a few leftovers, one of which was a little container of Hershey's Cocoa (100% Unsweetened ^^). Our beloved Korean Elder who lives in the same house as us, Elder Won, was pretty excited when he saw it and said he'd have to try it later. I asked him if he knew what it really was and he said, "Of course! Cocoa!" So I left it at that. A few days later, as my companion and I were finishing planning, he came over to me with the container in his hand and said, "Elder, this stuff is super gross!!" Haha we got a kick out of it. He tried to eat it like hot chocolate and wasn't too impressed ^^

For P-day today, we had a really cool opportunity to go on a tour of one of the historic cities near Daejeon. My favorite part of the tour was the ancient Korean fortress with a big stone wall that winded up and down the hills around the area. We were able to walk around the perimeter and I felt like I was in Mulan. It was pretty neat. I'm getting pretty low on time, but I'll try to send at least one picture or two. 

In our efforts to find investigators this week, there were countless situations where thing just worked out in ways they really shouldn't have. We just seemed to be in just the right place at just the right time with just the right people far too often to label it mere coincidence. I KNOW that God exists and that He is undeniably guiding this work and our individual lives. I KNOW that He witnesses of His existence, His love, and the truthfulness of His restored Gospel through the spirit. I can never deny the witness of the Spirit that Jesus is the Christ, that He did atone for our sins, and that all of our efforts to follow Him and help others do the same are 100% worth it 100% of the time. I love and am so grateful for each one of you! Have a wonderful week!

-Elder Tolman

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Nov. 9 Another Great Transfer Week (Photo of Elder Williams & Elder Tolman)

Hello!

Today is the beginning of what seems to be another great transfer! It was so sad to drop off Elder Kwon at the Train station and to see him go. He was such a great example and just an incredible companion. I'm definitely blessed to have amazing companions and Elder Williams, my new companion, is definitely no exception. He's just on top of everything. He's so humble, enthusiastic, obedient, helpful, selfless, and so on. I hope to learn a lot from him.

This transfer as a mission we also decided to focus more on Being One. That's something that President Shin has been feeling strongly lately and it seems like most of the other mission leaders felt the same. We all have the ability to do great things individually, but our individual efforts with never be more than that which the Lord can help us accomplish when we truly become one under the inspired guidance of our mission president. So we all committed to make a habit as a mission to always prayer for our mission President and to always pray to receive revelation on how we can better be one. I'm really excited!

We also were blessed to see some miracles this week. We have been looking for new investigators who can progress and God has blessed us with some cool experiences this week. We have been pretty busy with transfer week, but we would try to make excuses to leave the office so we can talk to people along the way. On one of our short ventures, we met a man who said that he had met missionaries 10 years ago, but had never really committed to learning or living it. But he talked about how he feels that now he's matured more and that him meeting us is a new chance for him. He talked about how there are few people who are truly christian, but he thinks our church is part of that group. He also said that in life there are two things that are supposed to help people feel better: christianity and money, but that he has lots of money and has realized it doesn't really do any good so he's coming to the conclusion that he must need christianity. We have an appointment to meet him tonight, so I hope all goes well! God truly is guiding us and is preparing these people. We just have to be prepared to follow His will and receive His blessings. He will never force them upon us!

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior! I know that He has restored His gospel in these days because the worth of souls is too great in the sight of God to allow us to go without. I know that because of this restored gospel we can understand God's perfect plan of true happiness for us and for our families. I know that He is so involved in each of our lives and that He desires to bless and guide us. I also know that often He blesses others through us, so we need to always be actively seeking opportunities to serve and be worthy and prepared to answer His call to serve. And I know that as we do so, lives change! There truly is light in the restored gospel and we can see it in the lives of everyone it touches, including our own. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share that light with all of His children as His disciple! 

I'm doing well and I have a pretty amazing companion! I am so blessed to serve with and learn from so many incredible missionaries! I mentioned it last week, but his name is Elder Williams and he's a stud from Cedar City. He wants to go into Emergency Medical and has worked as an Advanced EMT on an ambulance crew for a couple year before his mission. He's really humble, incredibly diligent, and so enthusiastic in his desire to worthily serve his God. I'm excited to serve with him for the next few months. When I first began my mission, I was pretty sure God would give me at least one difficult or crazy companion, but it looks like He let me get by without anything but the best!

My companion had a rough week but I'm fine. I felt a little under the weather for a couple days, but it was nothing more than light diarrhea and a little bit of indigestion. Once again I feel so blessed for good health as a missionary. Thank you for your prayers. 

It sounds like our transfer week is pretty similar to what Dustin explained as his transfer week. On Monday, we finish all our preparations, get the new AP and office missionaries trained, review our plans for trainings, and try to get our other P-day must-dos all done. On Tuesday, we take a 3 hour bus to the airport to pick up the new missionaries and then bring them back to the office which takes most of the day. On Wednesday morning, we start pretty early with the new missionary orientation and that evening have a Welcome dinner with a testimony meeting. On Thursday, all of the other missionaries transfer and the new trainers come here early for their short training and to meet their new companions. We have a big "Transfer Meeting" around noon with all the missionaries transferring that pass by the office and then everyone except the departing missionaries all head to their new areas. Thursday evening we have a departing dinner and a testimony meeting with the missionaries going home. And then Friday, we had our Mission Leadership Council with all the mission leaders for most of the morning and afternoon. Phew! And then the weekend usually is full of things to do to tie up commitments given and get things moving for the new transfer starting on Monday. So it is definitely a pretty crazy busy week, but to that extent it is a week full of learning, enthusiasm, and joy.

I love God, I love this work, and, of course, I love all of you! Have a splendid week!!

-Love, Elder Tolman

Transfers Nov. 3

Hello!

I am doing well and I hope you all are as well! 

This has been a pretty crazy week and this week is transfers, so we'll be lucky to stay busy! Elder Kwon, my beloved companion, will be finishing his mission this week. I will definitely miss him. We served for a total of 4 transfers together which is a quarter of my mission! He's the best!

Unfortunately, I guess God was going to let Elder Kwon finish his mission quiet and easy. He has been working so hard up until the end and this past weekend he's been really sick. He is finally up and about today, but he was completely out for a couple days with a pretty bad fever and throwing up, etc. Poor guy. I hope he can stay healthy up until the time he heads home!!

My new companion's name is Elder Williams and he's an awesome missionary. He's a stud from Cedar City and I think we will get along well. I'm glad that even though the amazing Elder Kwon is leaving, there is at least another great missionary to take his place. 

It's been a pretty stressful crazy week and this week will probably continue to be just as busy, but that's when it's most fun!! I love this work and I'm so grateful and humbled to be a part of it! 

One of my favorite patterns I have realized recently in the scriptures is that Christ often asks us to come unto Him, but He often does so with another condition defining how or in what manner we need to come unto Him. One of the most common ones I have seen recently is that He asks us to come unto Him with "full purpose of heart." I'll let you think and search for yourselves what you think He meant by "full purpose of heart." And if you get a chance, I would love to hear what you think! 

I know that God truly loves us and that He is undeniably a part of our lives! I love my Savior and am so grateful to serve Him as a missionary! 

I love you all too and hope you have a wonderful week!!

-Love, Elder Tolman

Another Crazy Week Oct. 26

Oct 26

Wow, this has been a pretty crazy week! Our investigator that was planning on getting baptized was doing pretty well up until last Wednesday. He said that he just doesn't feel ready and would rather just keep studying and maybe get baptized sometime at the beginning of next year. That was a pretty rough day. We decided to fast the next day as a companionship and met him that next night. We had probably one of the most intense lessons I've ever had on my mission, but finally in the end, he recommitted to be baptized this weekend. He knew it was right all along, but he just had so much confusion and opposition against making what would probably be the best decision of his life. 

We met him again the day before his baptism and he said that the night after deciding to be baptized again, he felt peace and was able to sleep well for the first time in a while. It's amazing how God will always confirm to us His truths, but he often waits for us to act or to commit before He will give us the witness. Ether 12:6 in action!!

I know that God is so willing to bless us and that He will always more than overcompensate our efforts to follow Him! One lesson I was able to learn once again this week is that the best cure to discouragement, doubt, or distress is simply service. When feel like we need more help, helping others is maybe just what we need. When we want to come closer to God, often bringing others to Him will bring us closer than we can get alone! 

I love you all!! Have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Tolman

Oct. 20, 2014 The Unexpected Blessings of Unexpected Trials

This has been an interesting week! We focused a lot on helping 이준영 prepare for baptism and it was interesting to see how the opposition always seemed to reflect our effort. The closer we got and the harder we worked, the more we could feel the adversary doing everything he could to prevent the baptism from happening. His parents weren't too excited when he said that he wants to get baptized in our church (they just don't have a very good impression of church in general), he ran into some anti-mormon literature on-line, and just all these little things came up just before he was planning on being baptized. We were able to meet with him often and by Saturday, we finally had come to the conclusion that for sure he could get baptized on Sunday and everything was all cleared up and ready to go. Then just before sacrament meeting, we got a text saying that his parents had come to visit and weren't going to let him go to church! Aaah! We didn't really know what to do so we talked to our ward leaders and we said a kneeling prayer for all to go well. We kept waiting and eventually just felt like it would be better to postpone the baptism. So he didn't get baptized yesterday... BUT I called him again last night and we had a great talk. While with his parents, he honestly told them that he was going to attend our church and get baptized. His dad understand and although his mom is still worried, I think it will work out. He is now more comfortable having talked it out with his parents and he will get baptized on Saturday and be confirmed the following day in church.

It was a pretty hectic situation, but it actually seems to have turned out better than if he had gotten baptized yesterday. It was a testimony to me that God really knows each of our situations and that as we do our best to follow His will, He will guide each situation to work out for our eternal benefit. That is, after all, His "work and glory." I know that He loves each one of us and the greatest manifestation of that love comes through His Son, Jesus Christ and the power that comes through His atonement as we trust in Him and live according to the restored gospel.

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

-Love, Elder Tolman

Conference October 13, 2014

This has been a great week! Probably one of the best parts of the this week is that 이준영 (Jun-Young Lee) is progressing really well. He is scheduled to be baptized this upcoming weekend and it looks like everything will work out really well. He's really taken it seriously and realizes that this decision will really affect the rest of his life as he seeks to be a better person and follow Christ. Yesterday we had a lesson with him and we've pretty much finished teaching all the lessons, so we were just reviewing conference and the last preparations for his baptism. Up until that point, he had always expressed a desire to be baptized, but still didn't quite feel confident that he would be ready by next weekend. But as we talked about what he's learned, how he's felt, and his desires for the future, he began to gain a little more confidence. Toward the end of the lesson, we reviewed that baptismal interview questions one more time. He looked at the questions for a little bit, was quiet for a few seconds, and then simply said, "I am a prepared person." We all broke into smiles and assured him that he was definitely right. We always ask to find those who are "prepared," but this is the first time I've seen anyone give themselves that same label. It was a great lesson and he is just a miracle. And to think that it would have been soo easy not to stop and talk to him on the street! God really is guiding our efforts and expects us to act. When we do so He can bless us with far more than our personal efforts can ever afford.

I also LOVED conference! I'm so grateful for living prophets on the earth today! I confess that most of my life, although I have really enjoyed conference, I've had a little bit of a hard time staying completely alert and attentive the whole time for conference, but this time I was surprised by the miracle that it was so easy to be completely awake and attentive. It was almost as though there was a little extra sense of urgency and hastening. We truly each have an essential role in the work of salvation. One of my favorite talks was "Is it I?" from President Uchtdorf in the Priesthood session. It's so easy to try to shrug off responsibility onto other people or things when life gets rough. But when we decided to look inward and always seek to improve ourselves first before blaming others, we have can do so much more good and so much more fully fulfill our divine potential! I love, respect, and sustain those beloved men and women who give so much in the service of us all!!

I am also so grateful for all of you who also give so much to all those around you! I always feel privileged to be one small part of each one of your circles of loving influence. I love you all and hope you have a splendid week!

-Love, Elder Tolman

Illuminate!!

Wow! Another busy week! This was a pretty packed with meeting and such so we definitely didn't have any time to be bored. I feel like I had a lot of good learning opportunities this week, some fun and some not as fun. I'm so grateful for the opportunities I have to learn and for the chance God gives each of us every day to change! We are so blessed!

We saw some pretty cool miracles this week. We often talk about how the spirit can "bring all things to our remembrance," but I feel like sometimes God works in the opposite way with me... We had a meeting in Gwangju this week and we were about to head home for the night but we realized at the last moment we had forgot our luggage in the church! So we rushed back to the church, but everyone had left and we didn't have a key... We called a set of Elders that had been there not too long ago and they agreed to come back and open the church. We were just waiting in front of the church, feeling pretty silly, when all of a sudden one of our old investigators from about a year ago walked past us totally unexpectedly! We were able to talk with him for a minuter of two until the other Elders came. They were also to talk for a second and swap numbers before we all hurried back home to make it in time. But WOW, what are the chances!! There were some other similar experiences where we could tell that God really was very involved. Oddly enough I feel like a majority of them seemed to be more like things were held from my remembrance rather than brought to it... But if that's the way God will do His work through me, then so be it!! ^^

I've studied and thought about light a little bit recently and one of my new favorite goals is to "Illuminate myself and my surroundings with His light and love." I truly believe that we each have such incredible potential to do good and to influence others for the better and there is maybe no better analogy to capture that concept than that of light. Almost everywhere we go we see the contrast between light and dark. We've all seen (literally) bright sunny days and we've all been seen total darkness, but usually experience a mixture somewhere in between. I think that the same is also spiritually true. We have all experienced some amount of the spectrum of light in our lives. We know people living lives beaming with light and others living lives seemingly completely devoid of it. 

When the gospel was restored, Joseph said he "saw a pillar of light ... above the brightness of the sun," and I think that even more than just literally seeing that pillar of light, from that time on the world was once again filled with a fullness of Christ's light through His restored gospel. And we have the opportunity to live it, love it, and especially to share it! We are so blessed to be able to "illuminate" our lives and our families with His love and His light, casting out the darkness of doubt, fear, and despair. We also have the opportunity and responsibility to "illuminate" all those around us in everything we do. It's so fun to share the light of Christ! I'm so grateful for that opportunity as a missionary and I'm grateful that the ability to illuminate isn't limited to full-time missionaries! I'm so grateful for the light of Christ. I know He is our Savior and that He lives!

I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful bright week!!

-Love, Elder Tolman

This week was another busy week! I'm doing really well. The weather here is starting to cool down a bit and I love it! My favorite is running in the slightly brisk weather in the early mornings. Life is good. 

Yesterday we attended a cool fireside and for part of the program, one of the sisters in the ward played a traditional Korean song using a traditional Korean instrument called a 가야금 (Gayageum). It's a 12 stringed instrument similar to a harp or guitar. Probably the two main differences are that they play it while sitting on the ground with the instrument across their lap and there are notches holding the strings in the middle so that they can pluck the strings on one half and then move the strings up and down on the other half to get the cool Asian-sounding vibrato type sound. It's too hard to explain in words and that probably didn't make much sense, but it's was a really cool cultural experience. 

This week Jun-Young Lee came out to church again for the second time and he's progressing pretty well! We're still hoping he will be able to get baptized about mid-October probably a week or two after conference!

I think one of my favorite things as a missionary is scripture study. President Shin has really placed a lot of emphasis on making sure that we have quality studies in the morning and I'm beginning to understand more and more why that is the case. The scriptures truly are the word of God and they are the gateway to revelation! I think they also are such important tools in helping us to more fully enjoy the promised blessing of having His spirit to be with us always as we are worthy and keep our covenants. I definitely know that God speaks today through living prophets and apostles (who will be speaking to us soon!!! Woo hoo!) but that He also speaks to us personally, and I think most often than not, He does so through our persistent, daily "intercession with heaven" through the scriptures. 

I know this is Christ's true restored church with restored priesthood keys holding the fullness of His restored Gospel!! We are so blessed to be a part of the work of sharing that message with the world!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!

-Elder Tolman

Miracles in the work Sept. 14, 2014

We were definitely blessed to see the hand of the Lord this week. But before that, I feel like I've been slacking in fun/culture stories, so here's some fun things about Korea. Last week we had a big holiday that people call the "Korean Thanksgiving" and Mom asked me to explain a little bit more.

I've actually only been to one of these "holiday meals," so I don't can't really make any generalizations, but here are just a few general things I know… As for the food, I think it's pretty similar to their other meals, just bigger. Our Thanksgiving is all about the meal, but their holiday is more focused on the family and their ancestors, where the meal is just an inevitable plus. They do, however, have some traditional puffed rice snacks and some rice cake dessert they eat every year. The rest of the food would probably consist of rice, some sort of meat (in our case "bulgogi"), and lots of side dishes (obviously with kimchi included ^^). We almost always sit on the floor to eat, especially if it's a big meal. Korean's homes are rarely big enough for a big dining table, so when lots of people come to eat they all have little tables with collapsible legs that we sit around on the floor. The standard Korean silverware is chopsticks and a spoon, both of which they use quite a bit. One of the interesting differences between Korean and Americans meals is that the concept of dessert is definitely not the same. Korean "dessert" is almost always puffed rice, rice cake, or fresh fruit, none of which are really sweetened much. I have to admit that Korean's definitely have the healthy diet thing down a lot better than Americans. 

As for the miracles this week, the first once has to do with our recent convert, Yoon-Hyun Kim. He's been really busy lately and struggling a bit and we had a hard time contacting him for a week or so, but this week one of the most sad but amazing miracles of my mission occurred. We've been praying for him to have more time to meet and come to church and I'm afraid that maybe we prayed too hard because he recently found out that he injured his foot from the consistent work and stress and can't really walk much for the next 6 months. His job included a lot of driving and they said that driving is also no good, so for the next 6 months or so he will just be studying. He called us on Saturday and and said that he doesn't have much else better to do, so he wants us to come almost every day. He also made it out to church on Sunday for the first time in a couple weeks, which was amazing. I definitely hope that his foot heals quickly, but we will also do our best to utilize the miracle of him having time.

The second miracles is about 이준영 (Jun-Young Lee), our new investigator. He's about 26 years old and lives here in Daejeon alone. We met him on the street on Thursday and had our first lesson on Saturday. He is so prepared. He readily desires to have a religion in his life and is willing to do what he needs to learn and progress. We gave him a baptismal date for mid-October and he accepted it really well. I'm really excited to keep meeting and helping him progress.

I know that this is God's work whether we are a part of it as a full-time missionary or not! I know that He loves and know each of us! I know that every sacrifice we make to serve God and follow Him is completely worth it!! 

I love and look up to each one of you! Thank you! Have a wonderful week!

-Elder Tolman

Elders serving in our ward Sept. 7, 2014

Korean Thanksgiving!

Hello!

Today is 추석 (Choo-seok) the second biggest holiday in Korea. It's vaguely similar to our Thanksgiving. It's really focused on family, especially their ancestors. Koreans culture is really cool in that they really take their ancestry seriously (which in turn, probably makes Korea the best and easiest country to do family history work). So for the holiday they usually all gather together at the grandparents home, they have traditional ceremonies in which they show their respect and devotion to their ancestors, and then I think the rest of it is just lots of food and time spent together! This is my second 추석 in Korea, but it's definitely better than last year... Last year one of the Elders dropped a ping-pong table on his toe and we spent most of the day trying to find a hospital that was open and would let him get treated. This year we also got invited to a "Korean Thanksgiving dinner" tonight, which should be fun. I'm so grateful to be here in this amazing country!!!

This past week was fairly normal without much specific to write about. So instead of a story, I figure it's been quite a while since I have sent any pictures, so I'll attach a few below.

I'm so grateful for this work and the opportunity to be a part of it! I know that God listens to prayers and He really does answer if we are willing to listen and willing to act. I know that there is real power in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and that God has provided us with opportunities to partake of that power through making and keeping sacred covenants. I know that this world is full of so many good things! But only through centering our lives on the gospel and it's principles, without excuse or justification, can we find and delight in that which is best and most precious! I know that God lives and that He still speaks! And I'm so grateful that we are called and qualified to proclaim that message to the world if we can just "have desires to serve" (D&C 4:2). 

I love you all and am so grateful to learn from your great love and examples! Have a wonderful week!!

-Elder Tolman

PS: I actually don't have most of my pictures with me and I'm running low on time, but here's a picture of the Elders serving in our ward.

We actually have a mission blog at daejeonmissionary.blogspot.kr which has some good pictures and fun stories. 

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to Mom, re: challenging week Sept. 1, 2014

Dear Mom,

Thanks for you letter! I am so happy to hear that you are feeling a bit better. It sounds like you've had quite the healing process! I'm definitely glad that you seem to be feeling a little better today!! You definitely are loved and I'm so grateful that you've been able to receive all the help that you need. This morning, President Shin mentioned about how our families truly are blessed as we serve and I am grateful to have seen the same thing. God definitely is watching out for us. 

I can imagine how frustrating it must be for you to be "sitting around" all day. You have always been such a great example of being diligent and utilizing your time meaningfully. As I see so many people who just don't have that attitude or habit, I am grateful I had the opportunity to learn from your great example. 

I have begun to think that P-day here in the office is more like "mother appreciation day." There are usually so many things we want/need to do, so little time to do them, and usually our schedule is the sum of what everyone else wants to get done especially if it involves a car... And then before you know it, POOF the day is over! Sometimes it's frustrating, but most of the time I just laugh and think "Wow, my Mom sure was amazing to do this for 10 people for the last few decades." Thanks for begin amazing. I love you.

I hope you continue to recover quickly! Have a wonderful week! 

Love, Elder Tolman

On the Road Sept. 1, 2014

This was a pretty interesting week. President had interviews with the missionaries in the bottom half of our mission and also a District Conference in 순천 in the south, so we ended up leaving Daejeon on Tuesday and we didn't get back until Sunday evening. I think my favorite part was just spending time with some of my favorite missionaries in the south! I was able to go on splits in both Chungjang and in Gwangyang, my last two areas, which was fun. It's crazy that it's been a whole year since I was there. I was happy to see the members there, especially the ones who were happy to see me.

I was also able to get an appointment with 조병수 (Byung-Soo Jo), the taxi driver who was baptized about 6 months ago in Chungjang! He is still having a hard time because he works SO much, but he admitted himself that he feels like his faith is deepening and he feels more and more the need to keep attending church even if his schedule doesn't really allow much time for anything more than that. He also usually brings his 7 year old son (who is crazy and extremely energetic) and he mentioned that if he has a hard time getting up for church his son will even sometimes say "Dad! What are you doing? We have to go to church!" It's so amazing to see that the faith of one father is making the beginning changes that could change the lives of generations! 

I think one of my favorite scriptures of the week is Alma 37:34, which says "Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls." In the wisdom of the world, I feel like this phrase just wouldn't make much sense. In order to find rest we need to work? How can that be true? Even though it may seem a bit paradoxical, I can testify that it is absolutely true. We live in a pretty frenzied world where it can often feel like everything is too fast, too loud, too unstable, too fragile, too stressful, and too close to falling all apart. We might feel like we are balancing a hundred different tasks, responsibilities, and expectations, always worrying that at any moment it might all come tumbling down. But if we stop to ask the question "Where can I turn for peace?" we will find that the answer is very simple. Christ has provided a promise that if we follow Him and rely on Him, everything will work out! As Alma counseled, if we are humble enough to look beyond ourselves, to never weary in reaching out our hand to love, bless, and serve, then He can take care of the rest and He can provide true "rest." I know this gospel is true and I know that this is God's work! He truly knows and loves each of us! 

Thank you for all being wonderful! Have a wonderful week! 

Love, Elder Tolman

August 24, Happy to be Busy!

This was a good week! We had quite a few big meetings, so in some ways it feels like we didn't do much this week, but on the other hand, the meeting were all so insightful and were a testimony to me, once again, that God really does know us and He can speak to us according to our needs through the Spirit. 

In accordance with the meetings, we had lots of travel as well. After the comings and goings and meetings in between, we were pretty tired. I am still amazed at how tiring it can be just to be sitting down... Nonetheless, it was a great week!!

One thing that I think I realize ever single week is how much I love the scriptures. They are the best. No joke. One of the favorite things I read this week was about the fullness of joy that Ammon felt after their incredible mission to the Lamanites. In Alma 26:11 where Ammon says "my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God." I think that we often feel joy and that we all have happy days, but how often can we say our "joy is full" or that our "heart is brim with joy?" That kind of joy doesn't come from anything the world has to offer and I don't think it is even something we can ever find alone. Ammon expressed it this way in verse 37: "we see that God is mindful of ever people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen." That joy comes from realizing that God cares about each and every single one of us, that He knows us by name, and that He wants nothing more than for us each to return to Him. We experience that joy most when we share that message with others. A fullness of joy can never be experienced alone. I'm so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that gives us every reason to have joy! I'm so grateful to be a missionary and to be able to witness the power of Christ and His atonement as that joy fills and brightens souls and families! We are so blessed! ^^

I hope you all have a wonderful joyful week and do everything you can to make your joy and the joy of those around you full! I'll be working on doing the same! I love you all!

Love, Elder Tolman

August 10, Tramsfer Week!

This week is transfers!! My companion, Elder Paskett will be transferring. To America.... He has been such a good support and is such a good example! I am so grateful I had the opportunity to serve with him and learn from him! My new companion will be Elder 권동엽 (Dong-Yup Kwon)! We were actually companions just a couple transfers ago, but I guess God needs us back together! He was an amazing companion then, so I'm excited to be serving with him again!! Also, Elder Dursteler, my greenie will be serving in the same ward as me, so it will be fun to see him often! 

Last Saturday 김윤현 (Yoon-Hyun Kim) had a baptismal date, but his work schedule is so unpredictable and we had to cancel a couple days before because he just didn't have time. Elder Paskett really wants to see him be baptized before he goes home, so we are trying to find a way to make that happen... We also met with Jacob (정희철) a couple times and he's doing great! He is really sincere about listening and he's willing to at least try acting on the message. I think he will be baptized soon. He said that he feels he is going in a good direction and he is even going to the Young Single Adults conference this weekend. He'll make it for sure.

We saw a cool little miracle this week. There is a lady who works at a convenience store that really likes missionaries but has a hard time really agreeing to come to church or keep any commitments. Last time we visited, her husband politely but very directly said that they have absolutely no interest at all in religion and that they only like us as good people (pretty much implying to just not waste time coming back). But this past week we were in the area and decided to drop by one more time before Elder Paskett leaves. As we were heading in, we had the thought that it would be fun to buy them some ice cream from their own store, so we grabbed a few from the little freezer outside and headed in. We were pretty worried because the husband was the one at the counter and I was sure he would just get frustrated and tell us to leave. But we went for it anyway and headed up to the counter to buy the ice-cream bars. When we said that one of them was for him, he tried to give us back the money and say he would buy it, but we insisted. He then began to talk a little, gave us some advice about not getting discouraged when people rejected, and the conversation kept going from there. Little by little, he began to open up his heart and by the end of a 10-15 minute conversation, he admitted that he had told us they had no interest but that he rashly judged us and that he was wrong. He said that he was impressed that there were pretty who were teaching about religion that actually lived what they preached. We didn't have much time to talk, but it was amazing how he completely dropped his guard in all of 20 minutes or so. 

I learned two lessons. First, the spirit really has power to soften hearts, especially when we follow Christ's command to let our light shine. Second, small and simple acts of service can bring about great things. I'm almost positive that if we hadn't bought him a 50 cent ice-cream bar we would never have had the opportunity to talk with him and change his entire perspective of us and our church. The small things make all the difference. 

I'm so grateful to serve as a missionary and to preach the restored gospel! I know that God lives and that He loves us! I'm grateful for each one of you and I love you all! Have a great week!

-Elder Tolman

August 4, Another Great Week!

This has been another great week! Our investigator 김윤현 (Yoon-Hyun Kim) is doing well and has a baptismal date for this Saturday. He has come a long way and he has lots of room to grow in the gospel (Don't we all?) He said he wants to change his life and he recognizes that this gospel is the way to do it. He also had a difficult family situation and I'm so happy that he will be able to learn the principles of a righteous, gospel-centered, eternal family here. There really is nothing more valuable!

We also met a couple other cool investigators this week. One is a Russian named Dmitry who is studying business here for a while. He is a really solid Christian and asked a lot of great sincere questions. I hope he will open his heart enough to at least "plant the word!"  We also met 정희철 (Hee-Cheol Jung), and he also has a lot of potential. He said that he's tried attending church a couple times and is curious about finding if God really exists, but said that each time he tried, he failed. He agreed to try one more time with us and seems really open just to learn and try everything we are inviting him to do. We had our first lesson on Saturday night and he came out to church the next day! He's pretty amazing.

We also had a fun little ward activity yesterday. We all drove out to the outskirts of town with our members, investigators, etc. to one of our member's chicken farm. We had fresh chicken soup and rice porridge boiled over a fire in their yard. We felt like we had traveled a few decades back in time and really had a pretty traditional meal from scratch. It was a neat experience.

I had an opportunity to attend the very end of a youth camp nearby as they were closing the meeting and had their final testimony meeting and it was so fun to see how amazing God's children really are! We really are the children of God! We are often asked to do things that seem out of our reach or seek to do things that other people might consider silly or impossible, but God truly can qualify those whom He calls. He is the head of this church and He is leading this, the work of salvation in these latter days. The most exciting part is that every single one of us is a part of it! But we have to be humble enough to turn to Him so that weak things can be made strong. We are each different and have our unique weaknesses, struggles, and experiences, but I know that God, as the Creator, can guide us, shape us, and help us to become more than we can imagine of becoming on our own. And it's all possible because the fullness of the gospel has been restored and it is found here in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!!! 

I am so grateful to live at such an exciting time and to have so many tool and opportunities to reach out and change lives!! I challenge you to ask God what He is seeking to do through you and then to do it! It probably won't be easy but it will definitely be worth it! Give it a shot!! 

Have a wonderful week!! I love you all!!!

Love, Elder Tolman

July 28, A Fasting Miracle

This weekend we had a pretty cool experience with the power of fasting and prayer. In our district, there are 3 or 4 investigators who are approaching baptism but are all struggling to make the progression they need to prepare for baptism. The one that we are teaching is 김윤현 (Yoon-Hyun Kim). I think I mentioned last week how he said he wants to be baptized. A few days, ago, however, he gave us a call and seemed a lot less certain that he was going to make the necessary changes and he keeps talking about how he's totally booked and just doesn't really have lots of time to meet, go to church consistently, or be baptized, so we've been worried about him. So, as a district, we fasted from Saturday to Sunday for these investigators to come to church and make the necessary changes. Then on Sunday morning, we got an unexpected call from our investigator and - guess what?! - he was in front of the church!! We didn't think he was really going to be able to come, but he did and I think he'll be able to make it before Elder Paskett goes home! God really answers prayers!

That was probably the most exciting part of the week. This transfer has seemed to be a gift from God to be more humble and learn how I can improve. One way that we can be humble that has come to mind often recently is by opening our hearts. In Mosiah 2:9 it talks about the importance of "opening" and says that ought to open our hearts that we may understand. I think I am coming to realized that there are often more things that I "know" than things that I really "understand." But as we open our hearts to God, I know that He can helps us come to not only know that we are children of God but to really understand what it means and how it ought to change our every thought and deed. We can come to understand how much He really loves us, our family, and all the strangers we pass on the street. We can come to understand how deep His love really is and that often He loves us enough to let us struggle and grow. I think there is so little that we really understand, but I know that as we open our hearts, God can fill them with His strength, love, peace, and understanding. I am so grateful for the gospel in a world of confusion and insecurity and I am even more grateful to be a missionary in this incredible work! 

I hope we can all seek this week to open our hearts enough to understand the importance of this sacred work and our personal role in inviting others to come unto Christ!

I love you and am so grateful for each one of you!! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Tolman

July 21, A Miracle

This has been a tiring but good week. We saw a pretty cool miracle this past Saturday. We have an investigator that we've talked about baptism quite a bit with but he has always been pretty flaky and doesn't really like to give a straight answer and he's pretty busy so we can't meet very often. As we were saying the prayer for our dinner, my companion, Elder Paskett, was about to close the prayer, but then remembered to pray to be able to meet with this investigator 김윤현 (Yoon-Hyun Kim) who we had been hoping/planning to meet. Within seconds of ending the prayer, he called us to confirm his appointment! Then 20 minutes later or so when he came to the appointment the first thing he said when we sat down was "So what if I just go ahead and get baptized this weekend? That's ok right?" We actually had to say no because he needs a little more preparation, but I think he'll be baptized in the next couple weeks! Wow! Miracles happen.

I don't really have much time left, but I am so grateful for each one of you and especially for the opportunity to learn and grow in this work. I feel like I have had a chance this week to refocus on the importance of humility and I'm so grateful that God loves us each enough to allow us to have experiences that make us better. Life is often difficult, stressful, strenuous, and uncomfortable, but when we trust in God and proactively learn from our trials, that is when God can fulfill the promise that He will make weak things become strong. It's so important to really believe that and understand how much it really can and does apply to our daily lives. I know that God lives! I know that He really did send His Son. I know that because of Him we can repent, repair, renew, and rejoice! I love my Savior and am humbled to be His missionary. 

Thanks for all your wonderful examples and for your support through letters, thoughts, prayers, etc. I love you all! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Tolman

July 14, 2014 Hooray For Missionary Work!

I just have to say that I love being a missionary! There was an Elder that extended a couple weeks and so he went home this past weekend and it just makes me so grateful for the precious time that I have to serve as a missionary. Time goes fast, so we better make the most of it!

I feel really bad that I forgot to mention about my companion last week... I am now serving with Elder Paskett and he's just a stud. He's from Utah, he played rugby at Utah State, and he is studying Mechanical Engineering. He goes home after this transfer, but he's such a good example of just focusing on the work and giving his all up to the end. He works hard, he's patient, and he just has a good attitude all of the time. I really look up to him and feel blessed to have the opportunity to serve with him. He's also helping me stay in shape/get in better shape. He's worried he won't be in shape when he goes back to play rugby, so we wake up a little early and run for about 40 minutes most mornings. He's pretty fast, so it's tough, but I love it! I've been so blessed with amazing companions.

I don't have a ton of specific stories this week, but as we visited a few of the zone conferences this week, there were a couple cool things I noticed/ was reminded of. The first is that the Book of Mormon is absolutely amazing and can truly become such an abundant source of revelation! President Shin held some scripture study time at each of the conferences and every time he studied 2 Nephi 33. It's a pretty short chapter, but it's full of amazing things. The thing that amazed me the most, however, was that every time we went over the same chapter, I learned something new! I know that book is truly the word of God.

The second thing that was interesting to me was the influence that people can have on those with whom they associate. As we visited the zones, you could literally sense the "feel" or the "atmosphere" that the leaders there had sought to create and it made such a difference in the way the missionaries acted and responded as a group. I think few of us really recognize how much we influence and affect others. I also think that few of us realize how many opportunities are awaiting us every single day to reach out, to make that influence, and to change lives! I know that as we follow the gospel of Jesus Christ and invite others (members and non-members) to come unto Him through our words, actions, and example, we truly can "change the world" even if it's just one precious soul at a time.

I am so grateful for each one of you and the influence every single one of you have had in my life. Thanks for making all the difference to me!! Keep doing the same for others!! Have a wonderful day! 

Love, Elder Tolman

response to Mom's questions

Dear Mom,

It sounds like you had such a fun week!! I'm glad that you all enjoyed yourselves! I hope you took some good pictures of the "air chair." That sounds pretty exciting. 

I'm pretty impressed with Trinsica making big decisions like that on her own. I've thought a lot about the importance of being proactive and learning to act for ourselves and it seems like Trinsica is a good example of being able to do that.

As for your questions...

Along with my companion, Elder Paskett, our main responsibility prepare and give trainings and help President Shin with any other projects or tasks that he needs. There are 4 Elders total in the office. The other 2 Elders are more in charge of ordering materials, helping with financial, translating, etc. President Shin has a hard time traveling alone and isn’t super fond of driving a lot, so we almost always go with President to Zone Conferences, Firesides, interviews, etc. I’ll be getting my Korean driver’s license within probably a week or so. On normal days, we are in the office until 6 and then we go out and do “normal” missionary work. But this past week was super busy with incoming missionaries, outgoing missionaries, our Mission Leadership Council, and preparing for the Zone Conferences that start tomorrow. The mission home and the mission office are right next to each other inside the same fenced plot of land, but we live on the 2^nd floor of the mission office, not in the mission home. We usually eat meals at our home, but this past week was full of events and special situations where we had quite a few meals with President Shin in their home. It is definitely different, but it’s lots of fun. In lots of ways, I feel like a student, which isn’t really a bad thing because I love being a student.

And just so you know, I found some deodorant and will probably have enough to last me until I go home, so you don’t have to worry about sending it anymore… Thanks for being prepared though! Packages are great just because they are fun, but I know how expensive they are and there isn’t really anything else that I need that I can’t get here, so I will be happy if you don’t worry about sending a package at all. You can just save the goodies for me when I get back instead. ;)

I love you and am so happy to hear you are doing well!! I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love Elder Tolman

First week in mission home

This has been an interesting week!

This past week was super busy as my new companion, Elder Paskett, and I helped with incoming missionaries, outgoing missionaries, our Mission Leadership Council, and preparing for the Zone Conferences that start tomorrow. So we didn't really have a lot of time to go proselyte on the street or teach lessons, but we still got a lot of good things done in the office. 

It was a really neat experience seeing the new missionaries come in and the old missionaries heading home within just a couple days. The difference is so apparent. We had a testimony with the new missionaries on Wednesday night and a testimony meeting with the outgoing missionaries on Thursday night and it was so amazing to see what I imagined as the "one day mission," seeing the changes that happen across 2 years all within 24 hours. It wasn't a situation that you could say one set of people was better or worse than the other, but if I try to express the difference in words, I think I would say that you could tell the outgoing missionaries had made an exchange. They had sacrificed 2 years of time, thought, effort, and soul, and in return you could feel that their "confidence [had waxed] strong in the presence of God" and they had gained a deeper conviction of the reality of their Savior and His love for them. They gave lots away, but the result was priceless. It really was a testimony to me that this is God's work and that when we give our all in the work of the Lord, lives change, almost always beginning with our own. The more we lose our lives in service to others, the more value and fulfillment our own life gains. 

I am so grateful for my Savior and for the opportunity to represent Him in this work! I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored and that lives change every single day as people accept Christ as their Savior and come unto Him. I know that God truly gave us families for a reason and that there is nothing more important to Him than us and our families. Our priorities ought to be the same!

I love you all! Have a splendid week!

Love, Elder Tolman

Jangma June 15

This past week we can feel that we are approaching "장마 (Jangma)" the big long hot rainy season in Korea. We had a fun random flash flood rainstorm that poured like crazy for an hour or so, almost as though the weather is warning us to be prepared for the real deal in a couple weeks or so. 

Last week the Soccer World Cup started and it's interesting to see the nation react. Koreans love soccer, especially my companion. He's having a hard time with not being able to watch the world cup, especially considering that fact that if he had stayed in France playing soccer up until now he could probably have been not just watching, but participating in it. Poor guy. He's the best.

We didn't have many particular things happen this week. Most of our investigators are college students and they are all taking tests this and next week, so appointments have been a little more slim and the days a little longer and hotter. 

One thing that I have had a lot on my mind recently is importance of learning to really exercise our agency. Part of becoming like God is learning to act and to do so righteously. In every situation, we have the opportunity to act or to be acted upon. For example, we can be acted upon by difficult circumstances and get angry or we can choose to act, look for the good in the situation, and be grateful. We can allow our situations to instill fear in our hearts or we can choose to seek courage, love, and charity which casteth out all fear.

Every moment is an opportunity to make some sort of decision, but I know that through understanding and applying the principles of the gospel, through daily scripture study and prayer, through relying upon God and the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can "become agents unto [ourselves]" filled with the power of God to not only make the most of our own lives, but help and lift others as well. 

I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it is true and I know that it has been restored. I know that the Book of Mormon is an undeniable witness of that restoration. I am so grateful to be called by God's living prophet as witness of that message. I'm so grateful for your love, support, and examples!!

Have a wonderful week!!!

Love, Elder Tolman

June 15, 2014

This past week we can feel that we are approaching "장마 (Jangma)" the big long hot rainy season in Korea. We had a fun random flash flood rainstorm that poured like crazy for an hour or so, almost as though the weather is warning us to be prepared for the real deal in a couple weeks or so.

Last week the Soccer World Cup started and it's interesting to see the nation react. Koreans love soccer, especially my companion. He's having a hard time with not being able to watch the world cup, especially considering that fact that if he had stayed in France playing soccer up until now he could probably have been not just watching, but participating in it. Poor guy. He's the best.

We didn't have many particular things happen this week. Most of our investigators are college students and they are all taking tests this and next week, so appointments have been a little more slim and the days a little longer and hotter. 

One thing that I have had a lot on my mind recently is importance of learning to really exercise our agency. Part of becoming like God is learning to act and to do so righteously. In every situation, we have the opportunity to act or to be acted upon. For example, we can be acted upon by difficult circumstances and get angry or we can choose to act, look for the good in the situation, and be grateful. We can allow our situations to instill fear in our hearts or we can choose to seek courage, love, and charity which casteth out all fear.

Every moment is an opportunity to make some sort of decision, but I know that through understanding and applying the principles of the gospel, through daily scripture study and prayer, through relying upon God and the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can "become agents unto [ourselves]" filled with the power of God to not only make the most of our own lives, but help and lift others as well. 

I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it is true and I know that it has been restored. I know that the Book of Mormon is an undeniable witness of that restoration. I am so grateful to be called by God's living prophet as witness of that message. I'm so grateful for your love, support, and examples!!

Have a wonderful week!!!

Love, Elder Tolman

Stake Conference and a baptism!! June 23, 2014

During the week we have a hard time getting the work moving, especially because all of our investigators are busy taking tests, but we had an amazing weekend to finish up the week!

 

One of our investigators, 김수엽 (Soo-Yup Kim), is originally from Seoul but is in Gwangju for school, so he is heading back up home for the summer vacation that begins this week. He is a referral from our recent convert who was baptized just a month or so ago and he's really come a long way. He used to smoke about 20 cigarettes a day a few weeks ago and he has cut down probably faster and more confidently than any other investigator I have ever seen. He is a stud. We originally had a baptismal date for this next weekend, but when we heard he was leaving sooner than expected back to home, we prayed and discussed it with President Shin and decided that it would be better for him to be baptized here and then be passed to the missionaries and ward members up in Seoul. So we had a bit of an unexpected baptism this week and it went really well!! It is so amazing to see the difference that the gospel makes in the lives of those who accept it.

 

We also had a stake conference with Elder Whiting and another member of the seventy this past weekend and it was amazing. When Elder Whiting stood up to speak, he said something to the effect of "I have had a strong prompting to talk about something different than I have ever spoke about before and different than what I had planned." We all knew it was going to be good. He talked about the First Vision and taught some basic principles of receiving revelation, then explained that because he had received assignment from the First Presidency, becuase he is a special witness of Christ, because we exercised our agency to be in that meeting, and so on, that we were in an environment to receive revelation. He then said that he was going to play a video and that if the members were prepared, as they watched the video with an "I-will-go-and-do" attitude, that a mind or a face would appear in their minds of someone they out to reach out to. He played one of the videos from The Work of Salvation world-wide training, and the spirit was so strong.

 

It was so amazing to me the reality revelation and how it can work through us and our leaders. I know that God lives and that He speaks.

 

I don't have much time, so I'll have to try to write more about our fun/funny experiences and such next time, but I just want to express gratitude for my family, for the opportunity to serve as a missionary, and for a loving Father in Heaven who truly love and knows each one of us. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to often be humbled as I realize how little I know and how much I have to improve and to, at the same time, realize how merciful God is for giving us those opportunities to learn and to grow. I am so grateful for His Son, Jesus Christ, who not only died for us but lives again as a witness that regardless of the imperfect world we live in, there is a way prepared for us to have joy, for us to change, for us to forgive and be forgiven, and ulitimately for us to live again. I am so grateful that those truths have been restored and that we have the Book of Mormon as an undeniable witness of that. I am grateful to be His servant, however young and imperfect, to testify of Him and participate in this, the work of Salvation. I love it!!

 

Be grateful! Be an example! Be happy! ^^

 

Have a wonderful week! I love you all!

 

Love, Elder Tolman

 

transfers! Skyler's letter to Mom

Dear Mom,

Wow! What a fun week you have coming up!! When you were mentioning about all the comings and goings of the Tolman family this upcoming week it reminded me of how our mission President must feel trying to figure out transfers... Which, by the way, is what happened this week! This week is transfer week and for the first time in my whole mission I am moving out of the south end of Korea - I am moving to North Korea...

Just kidding. Of course I'm not going that far north, but I am going to Daejeon. President has asked me to serve as one of his assistants, so I will be transferring early (in a couple hours) to the mission home. I think that more than anything it will be a humbling learning experience. I am so excited to work with President Shin. I often thought of leadership as becoming the person with all the answer, but I've come the believe that's not the case. There's just no way to automatically be able to solve every problem and no every answer. But I do know that leadership, at least in the church, is a God's appointed way of helping us to fulfill the commandment to "organize yourselves." Leaders are examples. They have the rights to revelation. They are undoubtedly just as involved in the learning process as everyone else is, but they act as a guide to help us make that journey together. When we doing things as one, we become entitled to the help of the One, our Loving Father in Heaven. He truly said "If ye are not one, ye are not mine." I will be seeking for opportunities to learn, to grow, and to help our mission become one as we learn and progress together! 

As for your questions: 

I don't think my body really adapts. It just sweats more. But the weather is only as difficult as you decide it will be. I have seen missionaries who complain and murmur about having to work in the heat and I've seen missionaries who just go forward smiling, just happy to be here serving in Korea. God's gift of agency sure is amazing!

I probably have about 1 or 2 weeks left of deoderant after which I am praying I will find someone who will let me borrow a stick or two... 

My suits are great! No, we don't wear suits in the summer. Thank goodness. Also, I think I will buy a suit or two here in Korea because they are so stylish and so cheap. You can find some pretty nice suits for about $50 here. 

I love you and am so grateful to be your son!! Have a wonderful healthy safe happy family-fun-filled week!!

Love, Elder Tolman

Wow, what a week! 

First, this is transfer week! For the first time in my whole mission I am moving out of the south end of Korea - I am moving to North Korea...

Just kidding. Of course I'm not going that far north, but I am going to Daejeon. I'm so sad to leave all the of the people that I love here but Korea is pretty small, especially in the church, so I think I'll still have a few more opportunities to see them when there are big meetings and such. And obviously it's God's will that I go, so I am excited for more opportunities to learn, grow, and serve the most amazing people on earth! 

I also had a kind of interesting experience this week... I played a solo on the trumpet at an activity we had! It was the first time I've performed with the trumpet in about 6 years, so it was pretty rough, but it was a fun opportunity that I definitely had never expected, 

One thought for the week is the promise that comes out in D&C 121 that we can have our "confidence wax strong in the presence of God." One thing I have learned a lot from my companion Elder Kwon is the importance of being confident in everything you do. We all have weaknesses, but worrying about whether or not we are good enough often just amplifies the very weaknesses we are worrying about! But when we have confidence, we are able to amplify and highlight the strengths that each of us have. There are lots of ways to try to find confidence and there are a lot of things that we can try to have confidence in, many of which are worldly and superficial. But when we turn to the scriptures we find that our confidence out to be the kind that we have not in the worlds eyes, and maybe not always in our own eyes, but in God's eyes. Our confidence is a way of telling God that we acknowledge who we really are as His children and is a way of expressing our gratitude for the gifts and blessings He has giving each and every one of us. As we keep the commandments, stay pure in desire, thought, and action, serve others selflessly, and keep our covenants, I hope that we can have our confidence "wax strong" in God's eyes to the point that we can boldly say in any situation, as Moses did, "For behold, I am a [child] of God, in the similitude of His Only Begotten." (Moses 1:13)

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!

Love, Elder Tolman

One Heart, One Mind

This weekend was a little different, but lots of fun. The stake had 3 days of events and such as a commemoration of the new stake center being dedicated and as an opportunity to get to know each other a little more having recently combined wards. They had a big sports conference on Friday, lots of fun little exhibitions and a culture night on Saturday, and the Korean Area Seventy came and spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday. It was a cool opportunity to build trust with the members and especially to help our investigators get to know all the members. In a way, it was hard not to be out talking to people and teaching lessons as much as usual, but I was a neat opportunity that I think was really good for a lot of members and investigators.

Yesterday we met a new family!! They are attending another church that is kind of extreme, but they have recently felt like it's not really all right and especially that it's not really the way they want to raise their kids, so they have been looking for "better options." He prayed to know what he needs to do and our church kept coming to mind as one that is just full of good, kind people and he feels like it might be helpful for his family. So we met, gave their cute little family of 4 a tour of the building, and talked for a while. They will probably get a lot of opposition and persecution from their current church if they start coming here, so he said he needs some time to figure out what is best and how they need to act. As we spent that hour or so with him and his family, I could just feel the eternal value of families and I promised them that if they are really searching for truth, God will guide them and help them do what is needed for their family. 

I know that God really does love and watch over our families. I couldn't help but think again how important families are. Especially as a missionary, one thing I have noticed is that there is a distinct difference in the spirit and atmosphere when teaching individuals and when teaching families. There is just something inherently sacred and pure about a family, especially one seeking or prepared to receive truth. FAMILIES ARE SO IMPORTANT!!! I'm so grateful that God gave us families and I'm especially grateful for mine. I am so blessed. Thank you, I love you all!!

Have a wonderful week! 

Love, Elder Tolman

New Stake Center

This week was great and the weekend was especially interesting. They built a new stake center in Gwangju so that the four smallish wards in the area could all combine into two wards that are attending the same building. The building is soo nice!! One of the floors is a lot like a normal American church, but maybe just a tad smaller. But there are 3 floors plus a big basement patio parking lot underneath. I almost feel weird because it is so big and so nice, but as soon as we started our first sacrament meeting there yesterday, I could feel a peace that confirmed it was God's will. It was crazy because nobody knew where to go or what to do, but it was so fun to see a Korean ward that is big enough to function like a normal American ward. It's so fun! I'm glad I've had the opportunity to stick around long enough to see them combine and just to keep being with the same people I love. When summer comes, I will have experienced at least a little of all 4 seasons in this area. I love it here in Chungjang!

We also had another baptism in our ward from another set of Elders. We've really seen some miracles over the past few weeks. That was the 3th week in a row that we've had a baptism in the ward and there is another baptism planned for next week. God is blessing us! Thank you for your prayers!!

I don't have a lot of time or a lot else to talk about, but I definitely want to say how grateful I am to be serving a mission. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to learn and to change. The whole reason we are here on earth, the reason God created this plan, and the reason Christ suffered in Gethsemane is so that we can change. The incredible thing is that God has so much more change in mind for us than we can even imagine for ourselves. He knows perfectly who we can become and He's provided the gospel, our families, and fellow laborers in the vineyard to help us learn, grow, and improve. I know that this gospel is true and that there is no greater peace or happiness than that which comes from becoming more like our Savior through the gospel and helping others to do so! 

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!

Love, Elder Tolman

family history is big in Korea

안녕하세요!!

 

This week we pushed back our P-day a couple days because of a big holiday weeking in Korea with Children's Day and also Buddha's birthday. So I'm a couple days late...

 

It's has a been a great past week or so. The weather is really starting to warm up and we can feel summer coming! My companion, Elder Kwon, isn't too excited for summer just because Korean summers are so hot and humid, but we'll just make the most of it.

 

Right now we still have two investigators who are really progressing well towards baptism! Gwang-Sheek Choi (최광식) will be baptized this Saturday!!! Woohooo!!! It will also be the last baptism in the old building since we are moving to the big new building soon. Also, Jeen-Hyung Lee (이진형) will be baptized on the 18th. So exciting!! If you can pray for them, that would be great! It's really weird to type out their names in English, but I do my best to type it similar to how it is really pronounced...

 

One fun experience I had this week was that for the 3rd hour of church on Sunday, the ward all met together and had a little discussion about how to get their family history work going. Family history work in Korea is so amazing. Korea is huge on family trees and respecting ancestors and such, so every family in Korea has these massive volumes of their whole family tree all printed out in crazy old chinese characters that trace back to as far back as 300-400 AD (maybe some even further. So all they need to do is just type it all in. The hard part is that it is always all done in Chinese, so they have to know how to read it to be able to do their family history work. Super interesting. Here's a picture of one of the member's old family history book:

So cool!!

 

One of the thoughts that has reoccured to me often lately is the importance of the phrase "In the name of Jesus Christ." As a missionary, we probably say that phrase 10-15 times a day and even as a regular member, hopefully at least 3-5 times on an average day. But because we repeat it so often, it almost becomes more of a thoughtless tag saying that we are done talking. But it's not. It ought to be a sincere acknowledgement of who our divine Mediator is. It ought to be a humble declaration that both the words we just said and the actions that will follow will be, according to our best efforts, in harmony with what our Lord and Savior would say and do Himself. Every time we say the phrase we are reaffirming to God our covenants to always remember Him and to give everything we have and are in our efforts to follow Him. We are promised that when we really act and speak in His name that we will have His spirit to be with us and we will be given guidance, blessings, and strength from on high.

 

I know that Christ is our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Mediator with the Father. I know that there is nothing in this life that will be more important or bring more joy and satisfaction than following and serving Him, including our efforts to share His message to all the world!! Let's be a little more conscious of how we use His name and truly, humble, meaningfully act and speak "in the name of Jesus Christ."

 

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful splendid beautiful week!!!

 

Love, Elder Tolman