This has been another pretty great week. Things are starting to get a little warmer again, although there's still always the slight rain every once in a while. This week we came back here after going to the meeting for missionaries who are transferring to new areas or going home. It was pretty interesting---there were a lot of missionaries that I had served with or knew pretty well who gave their testimony, and at the end they all sang the one from the Children's Songbook about praying. It was kind of cheesy, but kind of in a nice way. After that, I realized the missionary who called me and told me he was transferring to this area, 박장로님 (Elder Park (Pock)), wasn't there. We went together with the other missionaries in our area back here together, and then later heard that he had had a bad allergic reaction and went to the doctor at the last minute. He called later that day to say what had happened, and that he would come the next day. The other missionaries here, 황장로님 and 김장로님 (Elder Hwang and Elder Kim) and I stayed together and then left in the morning to go to the bus terminal to pick up my companion. He's really nice---we actually served in the same district when I served in Ulsan a while ago, and I was always impressed by his good example. He already did his military service, went to college for a year where studied marine biology, and is very nice and responsible as well as funny. He was still feeling a little tired from just being treated, so after a bit of trying to find a less-active member's house we went back and called some other people that we wanted to meet, and then went to visit a really nice member together, 고자매님 (Sister Go). She works as a custodian at a middle school, and talked about how her kids aren't as interested in church and sometimes it's hard for her. Even though it was just the first day he'd been there,Elder Park (Pock) worked really hard to get to know everyone as fast as he could and to figure out how he needed to help them.
On Wednesday we had a meeting with all the other missionaries in our district, which was a lot---there are almost 15 people, and a lot who have come recently. We talked about how we can work together and strengthen each other, and my companion suggested we each share something that we think is one of our strengths, and then someone who has served with us before share one as well. It was really nice---we got to get to know each other a lot better, and afterwards we went to eat together at a restaurant called 밥버거 (Bop Burger), which is a kind of 주먹밥 (Fist-rice: rice mixed with lots of other things and rolled together in a ball) kind of shaped like a burger. It's a bit silly, but surprisingly good. On Thursday, we got to meet 허형제님 (Brother Huh), who was planning to get baptized for a while. He seems to be doing really well---he and Elder Park (Pock) talked about when they served in the military, and the experiences they had. We talked about everything he's learned so far, and how all of it is based on faith in Jesus Christ, and taking action on the hope that we find. He seemed to really like it---he still has some trouble and worries about keeping all the commandments, but we reminded him that we're not all perfect, nor does Heavenly Father expect us to be all at once. Then Elder Park (Pock), showed him a parable about faith---that when we're holding a coin in our own hand, the only way we know it's in there is by the feeling of it. Elder Park (Pock) is also really good at magic, and so he showed him some, and it was pretty really cool. We also visited several other members together with all the other missionaries and got to know them a little better. One of them is a painter who used to live in lots of other countries and who took about 10 years from finding out about the church until she decided to be baptized. The same day we went to visit the bishop's family, which was also really nice. Their kids are all really funny and cute, and the Sisters shared a really nice message about serving others. They asked me to share an experience, and I talked about the young men in 김천 (Kim-chun) and how when I first tried to teach the Sunday school class that it seemed like there wasn't enough time to prepare, but after a while I started to look at the lesson every day just for a few minutes and try to prepare, and it worked out a lot better. It was really nice. We're having a talent show this week, and two of their kids decided to do 판소리 (Pan-sori), an old kind of story-telling traditional music. We talked a lot with the other missionaries to prepare for it and for other things, and it seems like we'll get along really well. All the other missionaries are really nice and pretty experienced, and all seem to get along with each other really well.
On Friday, we met someone that we had first met while we were doing an activity about our English class, but that I didn't actually meet. His name is 백형제님 (Brother Beck), and when we sent him a text him about our English class he replied and asked if we had time to meet on another day. We met him in kind of the downtown area of Kim-hay, and it turned out he brought his friend. We went and ate 밀면 (noodles made of wheat) together, and found out that he actually moved with his family to California when he was 2 or 3, and came back recently to go to college. He speaks both English and Korean really well, and even though he originally just wanted to meet with someone to practice English he started asking about the Book of Mormon that we had brought, and we talked about Joseph Smith and the importance of the Book of Mormon. He seemed pretty curious about it, as well as about how to interpret the Bible. We asked if he wanted to meet later and talk more about it, and he said he would be interested. It was pretty amazing, and I'm really glad that we were able to meet him before the first time---it was really was quite a miracle, even though it might not have seemed like it right away.
Everything else was pretty good this week---I started trying to read in Isaiah again, and was thinking about the nature of the Lord's strong words about sin and sinners, coupled with the promise that if we just desire to and come unto Him, that we can figure everything out and become better. I think that as we keep trying consistently to be better and to follow Jesus' example, all the things we worry about, even the ones we don't totally understand, will eventually be able to be solved, and will work out well. I know there are lots f people here that need our help to be able to feel the comfort of working together with the Lord to be happy, and I'm so grateful to be able to serve here with great missionaries to do it. I hope you're all happy, and know how much I love and miss you. I also liked this scripture that Elder Park (Pock) shared a little bit ago---Doctrine and Covenants 84:77. I know that each of you are really blessing all the people around you---keep it up.
-Elder Campbell
Editor's Note: Here's D & C 84:77 for y'all:
77 And again I say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall call you friends, it is expedient that I give unto you this commandment, that ye become even as my friends in days when I was with them, traveling to preach the gospel in my power;
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