Monday, March 31, 2014

Okay fine, I'll write a blog post

Am I a missionary?  Or a blogger?
 
Or something in between??
 
Haha, well recently, I've put my blogging letters off to the side and simply have just been too busy to write my weekly update for you all to read.  But, FINALLY, I found the time this week and chose to return to my old ways.  Alas, here is an update from my life here in Korea:
 
Things are going great!  The weather is warming up as spring officially begins to set in.  The fields are being planted, the blossoms on the trees are beginning to bloom, and - last and least - the bugs are returning.  But all is okay, because the beauty of Korea definitely beats the pesky little bugs any day.  That is, until the spiders get bigger....
 
Missionary work is going great.  We found another new investigator!  She was referred to us from a member's daughter and has lots of potential.  She right now is attending college, is really nice, and is truly interested in our message.  Hopefully things will keep going well!  Also, just a few weeks back, we got the approval from the Area Seventy to split off from the current branch and form our own group here in Dangjin!  Now they are just looking for a building for us to meet in each week and it will be official.
 
And finally, we saw another wonderful miracle unfold over these past few weeks.  For a very long time now, there has been a husband and wife in our branch that have been seperated.  She lives in the city, he lives in the country.  The wife has still attended church, but the husband has long since gone inactive.  Elder Otterson and I went to his farm often and tried to visit him, but his problems seemed too deep for us young missionaries to understand.  However, despite that fact, we still continued to stop in just to give him as much support as we could.  Then, 4 weeks ago, my companion and I got a phonecall from him.  He told us that he is finished with regretting things he knows he should be doing and that he was ready to change his life around. That week, he drove us the 40 minutes to church and attended all meetings.  But it doesn't end there.  The next day, he invited us over to his house for family home evening.  Then, he started asking us about our missionary work and how he can help.  Then, he started driving us all over the countryside to visit less actives that haven't been seen in years.  Then, he invited us over for family home evening again, attended church every week, and taught lessons to our investigators with us. 
 
Just a few weeks back, this man was lonely, unhappy, and lost.  His hair was unkept, his hands were worn from farm work, and his clothes were tattered.  Now, his hair is cut, his clothes are neat, and his smile is bigger than ever.  Of course, the problems with his wife are still there, but he is now doing everything he can fix the mistakes he once made.  It has been such a wonderful thing for Elder Jung and I to experience - and really - we did nothing.  The gospel, however, provided the perfect opportunity for him to change his life once again.  Elder Jung and I have just been lucky enough to help him along the way.
 
So there's my update.  Things are going great, as you can see.  Next week is transfers and I have a feeling I might be saying goodbye to Dangjin... but maybe (and hopefully) I'll stay as well.  Until I find out, have a wonderful week!
 
Elder Graf

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