Transfer Week!

It's transfer week!!! And!!!

It's all the same. 

Yup, me and Elder Driggs are together for one more transfer although this one will be truncated (4 weeks) to get on schedule with the new MTC program. 

It's been a fun week! I have been all over the place trying to get everything done and it has just been tasking let me tell you. I did, like I told you, interview an American couple for baptism this week and they are just ABSOLUTELY amazing. Such good people. We have been seeing a lot of success here in our zone. It's been a really good transfer. We are excited to see the progress of things pick up and those areas that are having a little bit of a harder time hopefully to see some big time success.

I have learned a lot this week about our Heavenly Father. About just how hard it is for Him to see us make mistakes. It hurts so bad. I can't even imagine. I want to make Him proud. I want Him to be happy with the things that I am doing and not have to worry. It is really hard.

But ya.

We did get a chance to see our recently baptized 장영준 get the Gift of the Holy Ghost this week. We are so excited! He is going to be a really good help to the ward and is going to be a blessing to the people here. We are hoping to get him on a mission. We are working right now on getting him the priesthood and then up to the temple. It is an exciting process and I am pumped to see all the good that he can do in the future. We gotta work with him close but seeing as how I am here in this area for a minimum of at least 4 weeks (maybe till the end of my mission) I think it's gonna be alright. We are working with him right now on family history and it's so cool!

I just want you all to know that I love you tons and tons. I dreamed about getting to see all of you twice this week. It was weird but good at the same time. But it's mornings like those that make me want to stay asleep haha.

I have been studying lately in Alma and marking stuff about the Holy Ghost (cause we need it so much).

I just gotta tell you. Alma feels and understands the spirit. He does that REALLY well.

I want to be more like him. To have that boldness, to have that faith. It's going to take some work but you know what. I can do it. 

Want all ya'll to know that I love God. I love that when things are hard, that when it feels like "the jaws of hell gape open the mouth wide after us" that God is there and He is gonna help us.

I love you all tons. I gotta go. One of the computers broke and we have an activity at 12 so I gotta let Elder Driggs on.

Love you tons!

Josh

Miracle week!

This week was absolutely awesome. It was just awesome. It culminated on Sunday with 6 of our investigators coming to church as well as our good man 장영준 getting baptized! Here is a pic:

The process of getting parental permission was hard and resulted in a miracle on the part of 정은주. She totally helped us get permission from his mom and it was just the best. Things are good. 아싸!

It was a good day to say the least. Our ward mission leader was the one who did the baptism (we are focusing on member missionary work) so it was awesome. 장영준 is wearing I think all of my clothing in this picture though. haha. Anyway that was kinda one of the great things about this week. Just ended on a high. We had kinda a rough week as far as finding goes (usually it is kinda a pattern. Teach a lot, find a lot, teach a lot, find a lot.... ya). But all in all I was an extremely happy guy. His Aunt (정은주) will be coming to our ward next week to see him get confirmed and I will actually be talking in Sacrament meeting on that day (second time in the last two months. I only say that because this usually doesn't happen in our ward....). I'm excited!

Our zone also has been doing really well. There are some areas for improvement of course but all in all this last week was really good. All of the members of the zone worked way hard and it shows! I will actually be going to another city to be doing baptismal interviews for 2 Americans this week. It's very exciting but kinda weird just because... It's in English... weird... anyway. It is awesome and I am way pumped.

Things just went right this week. It all went well. We are teaching with our members. They are getting in on the work and things are just going awesome. I love this ward. I love this area. I am so SO happy that God sent me here because It is the best. The absolute best.

Things are just awesome here though. I am a happy guy. Nothing happier than when you see things go right. When you see someone make a decision to come unto Christ. It's the best.

This week I just really am loving life, Love my family, so so so so SO much. Just... ya.... love you tons ;)

Now I gotta think of something impressive to say.....

Thinking.....

....

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.

Ah....

...

..

..

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Just really simply. I know that this is God's Work. I can't think of anything else special.It's just the simple things that are important. This is God's work and nothing is gonna stop it. I love it :) I love the feeling I get when I truly see people making a decision to change. I love the spirit that softens peoples hearts and helps us to be better. To be our BEST selves. It's hard, it's REALLY hard. But if we can make it through, we will be so much happier and better.

Love ya 정말 사랑해요!!! 농담아니고 진짜 사랑해요!!!!  [Really love it!  Real love I'm not kidding!!!!]

:)

Josh (크라우더 장로)

This week!!! Things are going well!

Well, dear my mom/dad/jenna/kellie/alissa/katie!

Hello!

안녕하세요?

How are you?

잘 지내셨습니까?

Where are you from?

어디에서 오셨습니까?

Do you like Pounded up fish ground in a patty?

오댕을  좋아하십니까?

haha

I don't know why... But anyway. It was a good/busy week to say the least. We have been working busily away and this last week especially there was a lot of interesting things going on.

Elder Driggs and I went up to 대전 for ZLC on wednesday. It has been such a long time since I was in that meeting so it was interesting. I definitely feel a lot more able to participate and contribute, however, now that I have been around a bit more than before. It was a good meeting with a lot of good insights and things for our zone. It is going really well here. Like Mom mentioned in her email I am seriously grateful to our two District Leaders and to my companion. Keeps my "To-Do" list shorter and much more effective.

This week we also had our "Combined District Meeting" which is just basically a Zone Conference without President Furniss.... Except for President Furniss came. haha. So basically it was just another Zone Conference except for I had to be the one in charge of the meeting. We trained on our 3 zone focuses and I had a really awesome experience in the training that I did. I had planned to do an activity where I would simply play an investigator and I had a concern. I gave all the Elders and Sisters a training on "Effective Study" (I don't know quite how I got into this but it seems like I am utilizing the things that all of you taught me that I didn't exactly apply in High School on my mission....weird right?). Anywho, ya, I gave the training and then I told them about my concern and gave them 5 mins to study and prepare to teach me doctrine. So I was like "you've got 5 mins GO!" and all of the Elders and Sisters went to work. I watched carefully as I saw one of the Elders in the zone bow his head reverently before he started studying. One of the things that I had trained on was that we need to make sure that the Spirit and prayer are always a part of our study. So I watched this Elder and immediately I knew "I am going to call on him to do the practice teaching" so the 5 mins was up and I went and called on this Elder. He came up and started to teach and it was amazing the spirit that was in the words that he said. He truly had been taught by the Spirit what to say. I felt that Spirit so strongly in my heart as he testified of God's Love for us and how he has a plan for each of us. Although we may not know what it is He does. Because He loves us He has us go through hard times to get better.

It was amazing the spirit that I felt and I was and am so grateful for the gospel. It's the best!

As far as our Zone. It's the best, everyone is working hard! So they are for sure going to see success. We have some areas that could use some improvement but we are truly seeing success. Our area as well is doing awesome. Our baptism for the 17th is looking like it is going to go through as planned and he is excited. He is truly a miracle. So glad for members who share the gospel. They truly can't even comprehend the Miracle that they start just by bearing testimony and inviting to learn more. It's awesome. I talked to 정은주 lately and told her about his baptismal date and she is going to come to 전주 ward for his confirmation. But he is going on a sleepover this weekend (fri -> sat) and last time it was really rough. So we are praying for him. He just needs to be strong. But he can do it!

Our members here in the 전주 ward are the best. I love these members so much. They are awesome seriously. I love them tons. They are such amazing people every single one of them and it is a pleasure to serve with them. I think this is the most member work that I have been able to do on my mission. It is amazing to say the least.

We were able to find some more people this last week as well! We got a referral from one of our investigators and things are just going well. It is exciting down here. I love it. This week has the potential to be ABSOLUTELY amazing. We have 9 people who have said that they can and will come to church this week (although this was last week or the week before and that definitely takes the likelihood down a bit but ya... we have faith!) It is exciting. 

Feels like things are going pretty good at home (all things considered). I hope ya'll feel my prayers for you cause I really do pray for you every day. I hope you know that I love you all tons (I say this every week but it's just like the scriptures, if it comes out more than once, it's gotta be important!) (e.g. Ask, and ye shall receive)

But ya I hope things are going amazing and all! The church is true. I know it is. I can do nothing but bear my testimony of that everyday. Why? because it's true. God Lives.

And....

사랑해!!!!!!

ㅋㅋ

Love,

Josh (크라우더 장로)

Yay family!!!

It has been an interesting week let me tell ya! It has been full of all sorts of ups and downs and has just been crazy. But the week absolutely flew by I have gotta say and this week looks like it's gonna just blow by as well. We are already busy and the week hasn't even started yet.

As far as things going on in our area, it's going well. We were able to do some good finding this week and actually found some investigators to teach! It was a good week I have gotta say. One of the guys that we found this week actually was able to make it out to church as well and it was so legit! He really enjoyed the meeting, liked the people and ya, it was good. He's got some potential which is awesome!

I have been working hard this week thanks to my companion. It was a hard week. I'm just tired. I wasn't myself this week which was hard. Attitude was wrong and everything so I took some preventative measures and now I'm great! haha. We had a good Fast Sunday as well. Although 장영준 (the referral from 정은주). Turns out that he is actually 16 years old and acts like it.

I forgot he wasn't an adult because he is so mature when we meet but then we get into a situation with his friends and he's so different.... weird... I guess I have to remember that he is just a teenager. Goodness. However, he is planning on being baptized on 2/17 so things are going well as far as that is concerned.

Our zone did great this week. We had a zone conference and it was great to get an opportunity to hear from President and Sister Furniss (we heard from the Assistants too but because I was translating for the Korean Elders/Sisters I didn't get most of that. When I translate it all just goes in the ears, converted, then out the mouth. As far as remembering goes... there is none/very little of it) The Spirit was there and this week, despite having a day all meeting together away from our areas, EVERYONE did great. It was so marvelous. The Elders/Sisters in this zone are working so hard and it is great. I am so grateful for them all. I have especially got two absolute studs for district leaders. They make my life so easy and it is just a straight up blessing to see the organization of the church just be an absolutely huge blessing. It's awesome.

I had a really cool experience this week in which my testimony was once more confirmed that I wanted to share. We were talking during Zone Conference and I got a chance to bear my testimony of how the little things (Reading the Book of Mormon, Praying Daily) (sometimes know as "The Sunday School answers") really do make a difference. God has said in the scriptures that "By small means are great things brought to pass." And I have seen in my life, the night and day difference it makes when we make time for the Lord in our lives. Somedays it may just not make sense. It may not be logical. Some days it may not even seem practical, BUT God blesses us when we do what he asks. It is amazing the peace that came into my life when scripture study and prayer became a big part. It is amazing. I don't know why reading a blue 500 some odd page book and praying even make a difference. But the cool thing is:

It makes all the difference.

I love the gospel. God is the best. 완전 짱! I love Him, and all the help that he has given me out here. He stands by us. He never leaves us alone. He is involved in the details in our lives. and the crazy thing is:

If we reach for His hand, 

He'll never let us down.

(I'm feeling kinda like, 감동 주고 싶다 Ya. I don't know how to say that any other way. Just ya. I don't know why haha. But there it is :))

Love ya'll tons, I heard about the week and sounds really good and at the same time, really hard. Know that I am praying for you daily (I say that a lot, I really do ya know?). I hope you can feel that.

LOVE YA TONS.

내 사랑!

Josh (크라우더 장로)