Sunday, January 27, 2013

Week of January 27, 2013: Baptism!

Dear Fambly,

I hope everyone's good. I know my e-mails are always inadequate, but
thanks so much for writing, anyway. This week was good. It seems like
everyone else is still pretty cold---sorry about that. It was really
cold here for a while, but it's been getting better recently. I
finally remembered to bring my camera and send some pictures---they're
pretty self-explanatory.

Yesterday it was warm enough for one of our investigators to be
baptized. I think I've told some of you about her before---her name is
Kim Hyon-ju, and she's pretty awesome. She goes to college here in
Jinju, and wants to go to grad school in the U.S. She's studying
psychology, and is overall really great. She really wants to learn
about everything, and has a great desire to act on the things she
learns. She's very kind and nice, and our ward really loves her.
Overall, it was really nice.

I know you're all busy. but I hope you're all happy. I've recently
been reading D&C a bit, and have noticed a bunch of scriptures that
tell us to be diligent, but also to not be too hasty. I think it's an
important thing for all of us to remember. Every day, I'm reminded of
how grateful I am for all of you, and for everything you've given me.
I hope you all know how much I love and miss you. Keep it up.-

-Elder Campbell-

Monday, January 14, 2013

Week of January 14, 2013: With Haste

Hey everyone,

We're at a big department store right now, doing e-mail standing up.
It's a huge store---like a mall, basically, but like 12 stories tall.
We came to Busan today since it's a new transfer---mom was wondering
about that, and it just means a 6-week period. This transfer my first
companion and I are staying in the same area, so not too much
difference. It's still weird to think about how much time has gone by.

It was pretty cold for the past few weeks---it only snowed once or
twice but it's been so cold that the ice still stuck around. It just
started getting warmer this week, but I don't really know the weather
yet. Things are good, though---I got a scarf each from Papa and G.G.
and Bam, which have really been helpful. I don't think I've really
ever used a scarf before now. Right now we don't have too many people
we're teaching---we have one investigator named 김현주 (Kim Hyon-ju), and
she's a student at the university in Jinju. She's really nice---we're
also teaching an English class every week, which is interesting.

Sorry, we don't have too much time to write. I just hope you all know
how much I love and miss you. Things are a little different, and like
Eliza's e-mail I just read, time does seem to go pretty quickly. I
read section 60 of the D&C this week about missionary work.
The Lord says not to do it "with haste," but also not to waste time.
It's a hard balance to strike, but I think it's really important in
general, and it's something I'm trying to do.

I haven't been able to go to any shrines/temples yet---there's an old castle in our city, but
they're doing renovation on it, so we haven't gone yet . . .

-Elder Campbell

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Week of January 6, 2013: New Year's Soup!

 . . . Things here a great, in general. It's been pretty cold---it snowed a few times, and it's been cold enough for ice to stay on the sidewalks for a while, but in a nice, fun way. We had some good lessons this week, with some great people---most of them don't think much about religion, but they're really cool, great people, and they have faith to meet with us. We did have a testimony meeting yesterday---it's actually the first one I've been to in Korea. It was a little different in some ways, but also pretty similar. They don't make one of the bishopric members start off, specifically---but the Spirit was there, and that's all that really matters. We also had a ward activity for the new year. We went to a mountain early in the morning, and hiked up to see the first sunrise. It was really nice---I'll try to send some pictures later. Sorry, I keep forgetting to bring my camera. We also had some really good food---every new year, they make this soup called 떡국 (Duk-gook), and when you eat it you advance a year in age (Korean age changes every new year and your birthday). It has eggs and pieces of really chewy rice cake---it was really good.

Korean is hard, but really it's not too bad. I'm grateful for my companion and the preparation and help I've had. One thing is that it's sometimes possible to just say things without really thinking about what they really mean---but hopefully with more time that'll be better . . .  I know that our Heavenly Father loves all of the people around us, and he needs our help to help them to know that. I love you. 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Thomas is in Korea!

Hello Friends--

I have been posting Thomas' letters and information on Eliza's blog, but decided to make him a separate one.