Mother's Day

This has been one of the, if not the most, miraculous weeks on my mission. Using a plan called "operation goldmine" that we learned about from President Sonksen, we have been using the phone to contact all of the contacts in the phone. We have five new investigators this week with lots of potential. One of them came to district conference yesterday. His name is Brother Lee, and he is just amazing. When we first sat down last week, I was on exchanges with Elder Hipps from Donghae. He talked about how he had received strength in his life from reading the Bible, and how he had also decided to quit smoking and drinking on his own a while back. He just has desires for righteousness. In two days, he read over 100 pages of the Book of Mormon and is still going. He accepted a baptismal date and said he would study and pray diligently to know and be ready for it. There isn't any question in my mind that it was not me that was able to do this. A mere phone call and a couple meetings couldn't have prepared his heart and mind to accept the Gospel. But the Lord has been inspiring him to make changes in his life, and I am so glad that I get to meet him now. 

There's been a lot happening this week, and we have lots of great people to work with. As a zone, we are writing down a miracle per day in our planners to have more gratitude, but there have been so many more. From that gratitude, I want to increase my effort to give all each day to help them progress a little more and find more people constantly!

Elder Crisp

So glad I was able to see you! Wish I could see Nichole's graduation. I think I need to take more pictures...I try to do that with people I meet!

Love you too!

Operation Goldmine

So, President Sonksen has introduced something new called "Operation Goldmine." Basically, every phone that missionaries use has over 1000, 2000, or even 3000 numbers in it that have built up over the years. We were trained on a way to organize them into groups, and then start texting them! We can only send 20 messages at a time, but the effect has been enourmous! Just this week, by texting people in the phone something like, "Hello! My name is Elder Crisp and I'm a missionary serving near you. A while ago you may have met missionaries or learned English from us. Although those missionaries have moved, if you have interest in meeting with us again or in learning English, please let us know," we've found several people who have agreed to meet again, including a less active. It's a little funny, because inevitably other missionaries, members, and even President Sonksen ends up getting these texts, but its been super effective! It also cleans up the phone.

Sister Huang came to church yesterday! Her baptismal should be coming up in a couple weeks, so we are excited for her. Brother Ho, our investigator with a baptismal date, also came, though he had to leave early because of work. He said his work schedule is to busy this month to meet for lessons, but fortunately the time he has available allows him to come to church. So, we'll keep teaching him then. 

This week I've been impressed by The Living Christ, which president also gave a training on. It was a really spiritual experience, and I felt powerfully how important is to really see Christ as a person, not as a principle or doctrine. Knowing that He lives means that we have someone to rely on. It means we can trust him, and that he will respond when we reach out to him. It means that there is one who understands and loves us perfectly, and that by Him we find strength and direction. The document The Living Christ declare boldly who He is, and I've felt a lot of strength, which has come by the Holy Ghost, as I've kept him in my thoughts. Words far beyond my own come with the power to change hearts when they come from Him. I've seen this this week, and it is something I'll never forget! 

Elder Crisp

​p-day on the beach. Me, Elder McKinnon, Elder Paulsen (my companion), Elder Summers

Miracles

This week with Elder Paulsen has been great! He is super hardworking and loves to just go out and get things done. We've found some really great people together. Among them were two men from Nepal. We met them on the street sometime last week, and yesterday they called and wanted to meet. We were both stunned by the sincerity and purity they had. Basically, they said they just wanted to learn a little about Christ. They said they had tried praying before. They are such a great example of honest desire to know a little more about what this life is about. We gave them a Plan of Salvation pamphlet in Nepali and have a Book of Mormon coming. 

Sister Huang is meeting with the sisters and is doing well! If all goes according to plan she will be baptized and confirmed in the coming weeks. 

So, this is a cool story that taught me a little bit about judging. We have an English-interest investigator that we have met a couple times who came to church yesterday. When he showed up, it was clear that he had been drinking quite a bit, so we were a little worried about that. After Sacrament Meeting, we were planning to just tell him he could go home, but the branch mission leader basically said, "No, its okay. Have him come to Gospel Principles class." So, we did, and Brother Ryu, the branch mission leader, taught the Plan of Salvation to him. During that meeting, we learned so much more about him than we did before. He said the reason he came to church was because he had felt something when we showed him the Easter Video a couple weeks back. He also said he remembered a parable we had shared when teaching about why God allows suffering to occur. When all was said and done, we saw so much much humility and potential that before had just been, "Uh-oh, he's been drinking." We've got a ways to go with him, but our hopes are high!

I hope you are all happy and having a great Spring!

I love you so much! Hope you are having a great spring in Montana.

Do I need a specific Ecclesiastical Endorsement for BYU?

Elder Paulson is great! He is extremely hard working and has a get-it-done attitude. He is very good and talking with others and thinking outside of the box. He is from Utah and also came out right out of high school. We were actually in the MTC together for a little while, so he is only one transfer behind me. He is lots of fun and likes to do things outside. He likes golf and Frisbee and whatever else. I'm excited to be working with him! 

Uh...I haven't taken any pictures this week. I'll try to send on with him next week!

Love you!

Mission Leadership Council and District Leader Training. We have outstanding leaders in our mission!!

Transfers again

Transfer calls came, and Elder Song will be leaving! I wish I could have been with him longer, because he has been a super great companion. We've worked hard in Gangnung together, and I'll really miss him! My new companion will be Elder Paulson. 

We met with Sister Hwang this week, and she has a strong desire to be baptized! We made some plans for her to be able to end her responsibilities at her other church to be able to consistently come each Sunday. She had to go somewhere this weekend, so she wasn't able to come yesterday, but she's committed to coming in the future! Because Elder Song, the one who knows sign language, is leaving, the sisters will start teaching her again. Interestingly, Sister Lee, who was the one who found her last year, then who moved to another area, actually came back to Gangnung last transfer. She will keep teaching her from here on out. 

We had a great music night yesterday! We were all a little worried about it, but the turnout was great. We had some members, nonmembers, and even less actives perform. In all, fifteen nonmembers came, along with two less active families. One of those families came to church yesterday! The members loved it, and the members here are really great. Yesterday was branch conference, so President and Sister Sonksen came and gave talks. It was really powerful.

Huaiting!

Cherry Blossom Festival

​2018 Olympic hockey stadium - we can see part of the stadiums here from our house!

Branch party at President O's house. I think he must be very rich. (he is the furthest on the left)​

Time this week was a little crazy! We did a BIG service project at a member's house who lives an hour drive away from Gangnung. We were mudding the walls with kind of a cement. This sister has built this house almost completely by herself over a period of four years! I think we helped her out, and she was really grateful. 

Other than that, we spent a lot of time with members this week. We had a big Samgyeupsar feast at the church (pig meat, kind of like thick bacon). We invited lots of people to come to church for Easter - less actives, investigators, former investigators, potential investigators, and every on the street. Unfortunately, we didn't have any investigators come, but a whole less actively family came to church, which was great! We have an Easter music night this Saturday that they are planning on performing at, which is great. 

In Sacrament meeting, I learned how powerful it is to consider Easter and resurrection in the context of the plan of Salvation. I don't have a lot of time to write, but think about how wonderful it is to know this!

General Conference

This week we were able to meet with a few new people. One of them didn't have much time, but seems likely to become a new investigator later. One of them became a new investigator, mostly with English interest, but who kept his commitment the very night we gave it. The other wants to learn and has interest in God and hearing "good words." We also had two investigators come to part of general conference.

 Sister Huang is still doing well! She came to part of general conference on Sunday. Each time we teach her, we see that she has a desire to follow Christ. She said she believes the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. She is struggling a bit to let go of her previous church, where she is really close with the members and has responsibilities as well. But, by continuing to help her have spiritual experiences, we are trying to help her obtain the pearl of great price. 

General conference was great! I thought a lot about the family of God. His role as our Father, and Christ's as the Savior, are critical to understand. When we stop seeing God as merely someone we pray to with a list of thanks and of requests and really see him as someone real and living, and when we speak to Him that way, our perspective changes. I was also struck when President Nielson taught that the Atonement is not what brings strength and redemption, but it is the Savior because of His Atonement. We also need to see Him as a person. Strength, comfort, and love come because He loves us perfectly, knows us perfectly, and can grant everything according to what He knows is best for us. We can come to know them, and this is eternal life. 

Have a great week!

​This is where we ate the other day.

​Loach Soup

Sign language

Me and Elder Song are teaching a deaf sister, Sister Huang, who has been an investigator for several months. Elder Song known sign language and he translates for me. She is so great! She has lots of interest in the gospel. She has not been baptized mainly because of her attachment to her other church, which is a hearing disability church. She has some duties there and jeong (a close bond or relationship) with the members there, and so it is really hard for her to leave. We talked about sharing Christ's parable of the pearl of great price. I imagine that the trader in this parable probably had lots of jewels and pearls of value. These things are by no means bad - in fact, they can all be very good. But then, he finds the pearl of great price. I might even say, when we consider the restored Church of Jesus Christ, the priceless pearl. We aren't told how much this pearl cost. But, we do know that it required all that he had. Surely this included things that were good or even great. However, he obtained that priceless gem, and the eternal happiness that came with it. We felt like we should share this in our lesson. It was clearly hard for her, but she committed to come to church. And she came! The members all love her, are we are super happy for her. 

As a mission, we are currently doing operation keystone: part 2. The goal, as we read the four gospels of the New Testament, is to come to a better understanding of how the Book of Mormon supports the message of the Bible and teaches the gospel of Christ. I've learned a lot already. The Bible offers an irreplaceable story of Christ's ministry, but speaks little of His Gospel. The Book of Mormon is clear. Faith unto repentance, the fruit of which is baptism; this is followed by the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. Those who endure to the end will be saved. It teaches this over and over again. 

Have a great week!

​

Our house. Huge! Yes, the red cabinets from last time are our kitchen. Two chandeliers. Mood lighting. 

​The view outside our window this morning

​Gangnung street