Letter #4 MTC

Happy friday from the MTC! I have been here for almsot a MONTH!!! Can you believe that? It feels like I just go there yesterday but it also feels like I have been fhere for eternity. i cant explain it.

this week has been a rough one as far as the language goes. KOREAN IS SO HARD.

During an interview with my teacher I broke down in tears. I felt so embarrassed as I vented about how hard all this was but I felt so much better when he started to say he felt the same way i did in the MTC. Then he proceeded to tell me how terrible his roommates are and how frustrated he was with HIS life too. Wow, my teacher is actually a real human being who has a life outside of teaching us korean. i think everyone in my district unconsciously assumes that he lives in our classroom and eats his meals from the vending machines.

i felt so much better after i talked to him.

Our Tuesday night devotional was great. The speaker shared a Jeffrey R. Holland quote on missionary work and I was so moved by it. Holland asks the question why missioanry work is SO HARD. Why more people dont get baptized. Why people cannot accept the message when they know in their heart that it is true. He says- (and I paraphrase, greatly)

"Salvation is not cheap. The truth is not always easy to act upon. But everytime you are are spit upon, and laughed at for the message which you bring to the world, you are PRIVELEGED to spend just ONE small moment in the Garden of Gethsemane, just ONE small moment on the cross. This work is not easy, but the truth will bring you immeasurable joy in this life and the life to come, if only you have to courage to do something baout it."

The spirit was so strong when he said that, I am sure it shook the whole room. There were many tears rolling down the faces of the THOUSANDS of missioanries in the room who know their purpose and who act upon it. The work is hard, but the price is worth it. We are sent to spread this message to all the world, no matter how difficult it may be.

Yesterday we taught two lessons to two different investigators and it was the FIRST time since I have been here where I actually feel like I could stray from our script and really communicate in Korean with our investigatorss. All seemed to begoing  well in our plan of salvation lesson until our investigator interuppted us to tell us his girlfriend broke up with him so he went to the bar last night and got wasted. As if that didnt concern us enough, he then told hus that his girlfriend pretty much is an alcoholic and that she is CRAZY. (accompanied by the hand motion) to which he so politely concluded with an invitation to join him at the bar tonight, right before our closing prayer.

hmmmmmm, tempting.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Our second investigator is amazing. He has so much faith but can't really understand how the atonement applies to him. I was able to explain to him in broken Korean that the Atonement allows us to feel peace in our hearts and that we only need to pray to our Father in Heaven to access it. The spirit was so strong and I was able to actually say what I wanted to in Korean. the gift of tongues is so real! I am amazed by the power of it.

We got 30 new missionaries in our zone this week. We arent the babies anymore! Me and my district eavesdropped on on of the new districts first lesson. The teachers speak only Korean for the first week and these kids looked HORRIFIED. We were dying laughing outside the door because their teacher was speaking the most simple Korean in the wrld and we understood everything he was saying. The teacher kept saying 'DOOOO YOOOU UNDERSTAND??" in Korean and this one kid just kept saying "I'm sorry teacher, I don't know what youre asking me."

Its amazing that that used to be us.

Although our Korean has come so far, our zone seems to be going crazy. ourcommon  sense is slowly dwindling into nothing. this morning at breakfast an elder mentioned how he learned once that if you eat bananas and sprite together, the potassium and the carbonation make it literlaly impossible to keep it down.

A group of Elders.

A cafeteria equipped with endless bananas and sprite.

.... I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

And yes, the theory is true. You inevitably will vomit on the spot.

.... all. over. the. table.

We die at the entertainment that we come up with in the MTC. I'll admit that I played the salt game this week with Elder B. ITS DISGUSTING AND WONT EVER DO IT AGAIN.

Our districts favorite activity is "See who can draw a perfect cirlce on the board"

......Its surprisingly fun.

The church is true. Christ lives. I love being a missioanry.

Have a lovely week.

xo Pappa Chame

 Ps Pappa in Korean means busy.. That fits our family so much it is creepy!