4th MTC Letter

Dear Family,

This Sunday will mark the halfway point of my stay at the MTC. 4 and a half weeks has gone by so quickly, and I have learned so much. I hope you received the written letters that I sent you...I sent them to the house in Oregon, so hopefully you will get them. This past week has been a great week at the MTC. My companion and I have been teaching diligently and learning the language diligently as well. In case you didn't happen to know, there was a semi-kind-of-a-big-deal event that happened on Sunday.--Let's just say that I saw President Monson in person twice at the MTC, along with Elder Holland, Elder Nelson, Elder Ballard, and Elder Packer. Pretty cool. I was not in attendance, but they had some missionaries pass the sacrament at a Mission President Sacrament meeting where all of the 12 and the First Presidency were there (except one of course). The broadcast was a wonderful experience.  It  was a grand experience to hear from the Twelve Apostles and the revelation that they have received considering the progression of missionary work in this age.

On another good note, I had the opportunity to meet my mission president twice while he was here for the mission president seminar. He had all of the Taejon missionaries report to a classroom and we talked and he let us know about himself, about the mission, and about the culture of Korea. He is a great man, a native Taejon Korean (and his wife as well), who may not be impressive in stature, but who is most definitely impressive in spirit and love. He was an electrical engineer working on micro processing chips for Intel in Portland Oregon before he went back to Samsung in Korea. He also has a business degree, and you can tell. His emphasis, besides culture, was working hard (which is really the culture). He told us that we need to work hard and then we can play. He knows Korea very well and is very excited for us to experience the Korean culture. He said that he will try to put us in both urban and rural situations so that we will get more of the Korean experience (although sisters serve mainly in urban areas). He is a great man, and I know I am going to like him a lot!

Life continues with great experiences! Tender mercies abound, and the work moves forward! Yesterday my companion and I had a moment of joy after we taught a lesson to one of our {actor portrayed} progressing investigators. We didn't have time to answer all of his questions, but we were able to help him understand a little bit more about the Atonement and how it was important, and he opened up to us what questions he had and where he needed help. The lesson was not anything special, but I have been learning recently a very profound lesson. I have learned of the power of companionship unity and teaching by the Spirit. Companionship unity is HUGE when teaching a lesson, and really affects the environment. I think that this is true of all companionships, whether it is with family, a spouse, the Holy Spirit, etc. When we really trust and love the companion, that is when the two becomes one, and that one has much greater capacity to influence the lives of others than one or the other by him/her self. Companionship unity is very important.

On another note, I just want to mention the great importance of the Book of Mormon. Our mission president told us that Elder Nelson said that without the Book of Mormon, there would be no gathering of Israel in the Latter-days. Besides this, the book is absolutely plain and precious. Specifically regarding the Atonement, the Book of Mormon will teach more about the Atonement, its role in our personal lives here and in eternity, than any other source! I cannot express the invaluable nature of the Book of Mormon and the amazing contents therein. To know that it is the word of God and represents only a fraction of God's dealings with His children is wonderful indeed!

One spiritual message of hope. There is opposition in all things. This thought of inspiration, however, is focused on the Atonement. Remember whenever you are feeling and feeling of pain, disappointment, doubt, despair, etc., that that feeling has an opposite; and that the opposite feeling is available through the power of the Atonement. We must know the bitter to prize the sweet. If you ever have a bad feeling, remember that every bad feeling has an opposite feeling of parallel strength. We can gain the opposite feelings through the Atonement (2 Nephi 2:10).   With Love and Care, Elder Strahl