WILL'S CALLING CARD - POSTED BY ERIC ON FACEBOOK!!! :)

SAY GOOD BYE TO 1st GONG JU COMPANION!!!

MORE MIRACLES!!!

Hello! Mother and family!

This week was great. [My new companion reminds me of my brothers.] He is the best missionary ever. He has such a great work ethic and just yearns for obedience and bringing people to Christ. I love him a lot.

This past week we saw more miracles than I think I can count on both of my hands. We were able to see all of our investigators this week (except the family) and we also met two new investigators on Sunday.

We met our Gwang Ju investigator on the street on Friday right before he was returning to Gwang Ju and set up an appointment for today. He is great, so hopefully we will be able to work with him and help him to make it to baptism. He understands sooo well!

We met the political investigator a couple of times this week and my companion made the observation that "he really needs the Gospel" which is true. Hopefully he will experiment on the word so that he can come to Christ and change his life around.

We also met with our 28 year old investigator and talked to him about the Book Of Mormon and read a little bit with him. He took his first test on Saturday, and we will continue to meet with him and help him to progress towards baptism.

We met two new investigators this Sunday. The first one came to church at the end of church (the ward had a ward dinner after church) which was a great opportunity to teach with a member. The person who came was a kid and so we had the wonderful opportunity to teach a lesson with Eric! It was so great; he helped the kid feel so welcome!

The second person that we met had only looked us up on the internet and then decided that he would meet with us. We taught him the first lesson and then talked about the church and answered his questions. He understood everything well and seemed to enjoy the lesson and said that he would come to church. So, we are excited for him to continue to progress towards Christ and to start the journey to eternal life!

This past week I learned a lot about a lot of things. The Sons of Helaman were right on in their firm and undaunted faith in God. Really, the pattern of the Sons of Helaman applies to all commandments including the Word of Wisdom, Chastity, tithing, etc. Through trusting in God beyond our own ability, although 1000 people on the sides of the Sons of Helaman perished, not a single one of them did. As General Conference clearly stated, we need to have this strong foundation if we are to survive the wars and battles leading to up to the Second Coming of the Savior.

I also learned that the epitome of all acquired attributes and skills, etc., is to submit our will to the Lord and to have the capacity to do it. The purpose of Christ's Christ like attributes was to enable Him, in the Garden of Gethsemane, to first submit His will to the Lord, and then to allow Him to accomplish the Atonement. So, if we have great skills, attributes, and other abilities and do not submit to the will of the Lord, then we are losing the potential of all our hard work. It is a very hard task to honestly purify every motivation for the glory and furtherance of the Lord's kingdom, but through working on Christlike attributes and spiritual gifts, etc., we form the very capacity to do so. One desire at a time, we become more like the Savior and will be able to say in our lives, looking back, as He did "Nevertheless glory be to the Father and I partook (if necessary) and finished my preparations unto the children of men."

I love this work with all my heart. I love the Lord. He is the perfect model for us. I love the Book of Mormon. It truly answers the questions of the soul. I know that is true. I know that God loves His children wherever they are and that through Jesus Christ we can become the best that we can be. I am thankful everyday for the experiencest that I have and the people I meet! I love you so much!!

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Hello mother and Family!!!

First off, the weather here has turned absolutely gorgeous (70s-80s every day) and at the conclusion of general Conference the Elders are no longer required to wear their suit jackets, which is always a little bit exciting when it is 80 degrees out...:)

Wow. My last 3 companions were all from Utah and they all had release seminary time...they do not understand the meaning of early morning seminary. It is a wonderful thing, that really prepares you for the mission (at least the waking up part).

Sounds like everyone is doing really well. That is really great that Rachel had the opportunity to go to Kansas for some time and see all of the historical church sites. I remember when we went and some of the experiences we had there. Really great experience.

This past week went really well. I had one companion leave and another come. My new companion is a great missionary. He loves motorcycles, played on the BYU ice-hockey team and is all around excited to get to work (which is music to my ears...!) We will have great times in 공주 serving the Lord together.

Yes! Our english investigator came for 3 sessions of general conference! He watched it in English with the Americans, but was still able to feel the spirit. I smiled to myself when he was talking about the really great feeling that he had and one of our members told him that it was the spirit. He said that it must be.

Funny story...he asked for tapes of the English scriptures and one of our members got him a set of Doctrine and Covenants, Book of Mormon and Hymns all on Casette tape. So, then when I was talking to him, he told me that he had a question. "What does "and it came to pass" mean...?" I laughed.

Our other investigators took the companion switch well. We haven't been able to contact the Gwang Ju investigator (because he is testing...) but our member who has a good relationship with him seems to think that everything will be alright. I am hopeful as well. The new family hasn't met with us for the last two weeks. We met our politician investigator on the street yesterday and we will meet him on Tuesday. We haven't met anyone new to teach, but there is a lot of potential. We have met some great people on the street the past few days and hopefully we will be able to meet with them!

I appreciated your comments about authority and controling them to conform to the ways and the will of God.That is a good thought that can do all of us good to the extent that we have authority and power...which we all have at least over our agency.

This past Conference was sooo good!!! I liked all of the talks. I learned a lot. A lot is going on these days, and I think in the past 7 or so years the quote "of all the sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, it might have been" has come up at least 3 times (Elder Hales once, President Monson once, President Uchtdorf once...and maybe more...) In today's world and in the future there are going to be many more choices available, many different ways to go, and many good things to do. But, I feel that with all of these choices and good things, there are many that will get lost in the midst of good things and fall short of the best things. If we focus absolutely on the best of all things...Jesus Christ, then the way is clear. In missionary work we follow a simple pattern that helps us to keep our priorities straight. We have a purpose and from that purpose we develop some sort of vision (whether for language, missionary work, member work, etc.). Then, we look at the vision and realize what specific steps we need to do to accomplish the vision. Very specific. Then, the next two steps are almost always skipped. Plan. Specifically when and where. Then we hold ourselve accountable. Through this way we can avoid the distractions and focus on what matters most. Very important lesson that I have learned on my mission. What is your purpose? What are your visions for this life? What specific things do you need to do to accompish that vision? When will you do it? Who will know? Very good way to accomplish what you want! (Think about the Plan of Salvation and God...)

Love you so much! I hope that you have the best week! Keep up the great work, I love you!

SERMON FROM BOOK OF MORMON

Hello Mother and Family!!!

Sounds like everything is going very well in Minnesota! Sounds like quite the weather rollercoaster there. Here it's a little strange as well. Apparently there is a really famous cherry blossom event throughout Korea where the cherry blossoms bloom and they are very beautiful. This year apparently the cherry blossoms bloomed almost 3 weeks early, which is why it was no surprise when it cooled off here as well.. Haha, so conference in Korea is not shown until the following week...so I will be sure to listen carefully to Elder Holland, Elder Bednar, and Elder Uchtdorf's talks. I am so excited to hear the words that they will share!  Charlotte got to see conference!!! That's exciting. I remember last year when I went. The best part was Elder Perry's booming sermon about obedience! I absolutely loved it!

Our investigators are doing well! The English investigator is slowing making his way to baptism...very slowly, but steadily. He really likes church, but at the same time his belief is really lacking. In Elder's quorum the teacher asked for his opinion and he seemed very happy to have the privilege to participate. He is not sure that everything is truth, but he has started to ask himself some deeper questions. He is also thinking about God quite a bit more, which is good.

Oh, quick news. Today was transfer calls. I am staying in Gong Ju, but I am getting a new companion named Elder Peterson. I don't know anything about him, but I am excited to work with him here in Gong Ju.

Let's see. The Gwang Ju investigator seems to be doing well. He had a test this week and so, as is pretty standard in Korea, we couldn't contact him. However, last week he was able to get with some of the young single adults in the mission and go to a young single adult activity which he seemed to really enjoy. He made good friendships with some of the members of our ward and will hopefully be able to come to General Conference this weekend!

The new family was not able to meet this past week. However, we did stop in at the workplace of the father and talk to him and they seem to be doing very well. I am excited to continue to meet with them and to help them see the light of the Gospel.

We still are meeting the 28 year old who is preparing for a test. He is doing very well and we had a good meeting with him the other night. He said that he would live all of the commandments, but that he needed time. So, we are going to help him build his faith so that he can keep the commandments. He is so wonderful and such a funny person. He will be a great member.

Other than that we have met a lot of foreigners recently who always are willing to meet. Hopefully we will be able to meet some of them and help them to come to church! Time goes well. I am excited for next week and the opportunity that we will have to help God's children.

A fun story. President told us this story this morning on our telephone conference call (we have one every P-day with the whole mission). Apparently there was a pastor in Korea that gave a sermon at his church. Everyone was astounded at how good the sermon was. His higher up authority pulled him aside later and said to him "Where did you get that sermon? It's not in the Bible." After pulling and prying, the pastor finally admitted that he got the sermon from the Book of Mormon. The higher up authority got a Book of Mormon, read it, and told the pastor, "it looks like we need to join the Mormon church". The pastor had good income from the job and so couldn't leave his post, but the higher up authority joined the church!

This week I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about a lot of different things. I think the one that is foremost in my mind comes from the Korean translation of a verse in Doctrine and Covenants. It is D&C Section 1 verse 28 which in English says "And inasmuch as they were ^ahumble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive ^bknowledge from time to time." The Korean translation renders inasmuch, in this case, as "to the extent that". I find that inspiring. To the extent (which doesn't quite have the feeling that the Korean does...but it's close) that we are humble, we are made strong, and blessed on high and receive knowledge from time to time. It's not about us. It's about God's power. The more that we rely on Him in His work, the more that He will make us strong and bless us from on high (according to His will) to accomplish His work.

My companion also taught me a great lesson this week from his personal study which was in Jesus the Christ. When Christ goes to heal Lazarus, Elder Talmage makes the comment that (to this effect) "Everything that could be done through the power of the agency of man was done." Christ did not use His Godly powers to remove the stone, He told the people to remove the stone. He did not in any case in His earthly life use His Godly powers for something that could be done through the exerise of God-given agency.

Humility, then, is the gateway through which we are able to exercise faith and tap into the powers from heaven. Without humility, we would simply try to do everything through our own means. However, through humility, we reach to other sources of power, beyond our own means. Through the exercise of faith those powers flow to us. Thus to the extent that we are humble, the extent that we rely on God and realize our need and desire to exercise faith. I know that God loves us and that through our humility and our faith we can receive help from Him that will enable us to do His will (Moroni 7:33).

I love you all so much and am very grateful for this wonderful opportunity that I have been given to serve the Lord. The Lord is at the head of this work. I have seen that over and over and over again as I have served Him in Korea. He loves all of His children so much.

Remember the words of the Prophets, they are written for us and for our day. I know that is true.

You are the best! I love you!

SPRING BREAK

Dear mother and family!!!

Wow...already spring break!!! I can't believe it is already April (tomorrow...)!!! I remember having a conversation with one of my favorite Elders in September about how how before we would know it October would arrive. Well, before I knew it, April came. And that means General Conference!!!!!

I loved your thought from the talk "The Character of Christ". That was one of the films that they showed at the MTC. It was so good. Incredibly good. Very inspiring. I loved that talk and will always remember it!

Yep, mothers are important. I like to compare the war chapters of the Book of Mormon (because they were written for our day) the battle that Satan is raging on the family. As our Book of Mormon professor pointed out, if you study the progression of the war, the turning point of the war happens when the 2000 strippling warriors join the battle. From that point on, the Nephites begin and eventually take back their lands. So, at the real core of the victory, was, the mothers and what they taught their sons. Which is really the key (amidst other principles) to raising strong families and defeating the war that Satan is raging on the family.

This past week was a great week.

The English investigator...he is slowly progressing. He came to church yesterday and he really enjoyed it. Especially the Gospel Principles class (which is him the Elders and Dragon Tiger (see the picture)) He is slowly realizing truth and coming to know the goodness of the Gospel. We love him a lot! He is still waiting to decide to get baptized, but he is coming to church every week (the 5th time!) and is doing well with the members. We have hope for him!

Grass, in a nutshell, doesn't really exist (at least real grass) in Korean cities. The try sometimes, but it doesn't compare to grass in the United States. Also there aren't really a lot of houses here...mostly high rise apartments. The houses that are here don't have yards.

The Gwangju investigator (see the picture) is doing really well. He is really receptive to the spirit and understands the Gospel very well. When we taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he asked at the end, so when/what do I have to do to get baptized. That was great. He then naturally realized well, I guess I have to have faith first, and then repent. Then we set a date with him (for the 20th of April) and he has realized that it is all up to him and the time in which he can develop patterns of faith and repent. He came to the last 5 minutes of church yesterday (college student that slept in) which was good because there was a baptismal service that he was able to attend and he was able to mingle with the single adults of the ward. We are excited to continue to teach him and help him realize the blessings of all those who sincerely follow the Gospel.

The new family is doing well. We taught them yesterday and they asked tons of questions about the church. They seemed fairly interested, and hopefully will come to church or some other activity in the near future. We are planning to give them a "For the Strength of Youth" next week and help them understand the blessing to families that the church has.

I read a verse in Doctrine and Covenants: (35:24) " 24 ^aKeep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound; and I will cause the heavens to ^bshake for your ^cgood, and ^dSatan shall tremble and ^eZion shall ^frejoice upon the hills and ^gflourish;"

We are bound to our covenants, to the extent of which God will cause the heavens to shake for our good, Satan will tremble, and Zion will rejoice upon the hills and flourish. I know this is true. I also know that Zion can be anywhere. Our homes, our hearts, our wards, our missions, etc. Which will rejoice and flourish if we keep the commandments and covenants that we have bound ourselves to God with. I love you so much!!! Have a great week and enjoy the warmer spring weather!

New Companion in Gong Ju

Eric Sung posted a picture on Facebook:

Sister Strahl,
This is the photo we took yesterday with his new companion, Elder Peterson..
Will invited me to a lesson for a 8th grade investigator yesterday and it was such an amazing experience! And it was my first time watching Will teaching an investigator in Korean and he was really good It's just so amazing to see Will at my ward every Sunday! He's so awesome and he really makes me want to serve my mission as soon as possible.    

— with William Strahl.