INVESTIGATORS IN MOKPO

Hey mom and family-

The work is going well in Mokpo. We are working hard and relying on the Lord to help His children come to Him. So far we have not gotten any referrals, and we are teaching a few investigators right now. 

First, we are teaching a man that has a heart condition that has been determined as fatal within a short period of time (the time is not designated...he used the phrase "just around the corner"). We met with him last week and committed him to take the lessons from the missionaries again he accepted, and so today we will see if stays true to his word.

Second, we have two students that are learning English with us and about the church. Their main interest is English and so we will try to spur their interest in the Gospel and help them to come unto Christ.

There is also a man who teaches English at a local academy who once knew a member in our church and thereby began to be interested in the Gospel. He is pretty great, and has invited us to meet with his family, but fell through on Sunday.

Third, there is a last year middle school student that we met a few days ago after talking to him on the street. He is a great kid and showed us the background of his phone - a picture of Jesus. He is a great kid that attends church all by himself. He seems to be a little more of a thinker than most middle school aged kids and so we are hoping to help him to come to Jesus Christ.

Fourth, there is a Sri Lankan that we are teaching and his friend. We were not able to meet with them last week, but will be able to in the future.

There are some other potential investigators in the area, but so far, those are the only investigators that I have been able to meet with.

I am really glad that everything is going well in Minnesota! I hope that things continue to go well there! Hope your talk on music goes really well!!! 

This past week I thought a lot about the spirit, and the way that the spirit communicates to us. The spirit helps us know God's will for us in His plan to help us be as happy as possible in this life. The Spirit is a feeling that leads us to thinks that are good and to believe in Christ with greater desire and hope.

I hope this week that you can strive to feel the spirit more acutely in your own lives!!!

Have a wonderful week this next week!!!

By the way, next week, we will not have time to email because of the holiday in Korea.

Sorry.

Have a wonderful week!!!!

Elder William Strahl

FIRST WEEK IN MOKPO AND UPDATE ON SOME KOREAN FRIENDS

Hey!!!

Ok, so Mokpo is on the sea, and it is not a huge city, but I would say there is about 500,000 or so people that live here...and...6 missionaries, and 1 ward of about 60 people.

Gwangju has more members than Mokpo but is also bigger. The weather is a little bit different; because it is by the beach it is a little bit more humid down here...

The house is great, I get to live with a Korean for the first time on my mission!

The restaurant owners from my first area are doing well. Before I left, I talked to the daughter about the family and the mother does read scriptures with her daughter once in awhile, and I saw the son at church a few times here and there. I heard that the father (who didn't come back because of smoking) has been able to reduce his smoking.

The last that I heard from Eric he is done with High School, and was allowed to visit stake conference and the temple. Right now it should be vacation for him before his first year of college, which he will probably do before his mission.

Yeah...pictures. I do have some, but not of Mokpo yet. Things are really busy. Glad that everyone in the family is doing well!! Sounds like God is blessing us well!!!

As far as an update of the mission...

This is my last area, and I have 4 months here until the return trip to America.

This last area is really great. I have some relatives of people that lived in the previous wards that I have served in, so getting to know the members has been a relatively quick and simple thing. I don't have anything super exciting because I recently just moved here. sorry. ready to start my last area and work forward to the end! yep...that's about it.

Wow. Going back to America is going to be really weird. Right now Korea is in the 1960s but technologically in the 21st century. [I had told him about the Church's latest news conference about nondiscrimination]

Well, the things the prophets always say is that the world is getting further and further away from the church, and I have definitely seen that as I have served as a missionary. I never knew how important the Gospel was until I started to share it and go into the homes of those who don't have it. Frankly speaking, people who don't have the Gospel have nothing that they can really rely on (because everything else is either fake, or changes). But, the Gospel provides us with true principles that allow us to be happy in this life and happy forever. I know that the Gospel will help us in our quest to become like Jesus Christ and return to our Heavenly Father.

I love you all so very much!!!!

I hope that everything is going well in Minnesota! (Melissa mentioned how surprised she was that it has already been a year and a half!!!)

Love you all so much!!!

Have a wonderful week!!!

Elder William Strahl