Sunday, August 28, 2016
My Last Letter
July 18, 2016
We had a successful week this last week. Our investigator Walter was suuuper close to being baptized yesterday. We had it all planned and everything and he brought extra underwear and we were all ready to go. So to remind you who Walter is, he is a great Filipino man who we met with the Filipina sisters, but after they left he became our investigator. We haven't been able to meet the last 2 weeks because he's crazy busy. He's always been a great investigator but always responded to baptism by saying when he's ready he will knock on our door. Well, he was thinking about it and opened up his Bible and read Acts 22:16 "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." He closed his Bible and opened again to Acts 18:8 "And Crisps, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and may of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized." He finally received his answer and was all set for baptism. Because of his schedule we were not able to do his interview until Sunday morning, and it turns out that he was involved with an abortion like 20 years ago. This means he has to meet with Pres. Madsen because of the seriousness of it. But they are both super busy and Pres. isn't really close to Gwangju. The only chance we have is for Pres. to come next Sunday. Hopefully things work out and Walter can be baptized next Sunday if possible because he really wants to. It's super sad! He really wants to be baptized but can't and he might have to work every Sunday next month. He needs a lot of prayers!
As for Park Jongmoon, he passed his baptism interview last week but we haven't ben able to contact him since...weird. We were meeting our fireman investigator at the park and ended up having a discussion with this random guy there. It stared out ok, but then he went mega Bible bash mode trying to tell us that we will be punished for teaching a different gospel because we have more than just the Bible. We tried to explain that the BoM is just a way to learn more about and understand the same gospel better, but he didn't want it to be true so he won't be able to know.
It is hard to believe that my last week has begun. It still does not feel real at all. I still feel like a newbie and that there is more I need to learn. I am grateful that the end of a mission is not the end of Christ-centered life. I am grateful that missionary opportunities will still come as we seek them. I know the Lord has a plan for us and that we must be humble and willing to accept his timing. These last 2 weeks, the sisters in the district and us have come so close to having 3 baptisms, but for reasons outside our control none have pulled through. It is insanely frustrating seeing us come so close, but I know that He has accepted our efforts and that one day all things will be made right.
I am looking forward to the best week yet of my mission but feel heartbroken that things are coming to an end. I love my mission experience and I am so grateful for the lessons I have learned, people I have met, and the changes I have felt within me. I have been blessed with a difficult mission which has shaped me into someone much better than the kid back home. I have a long way to go still, I am not yet satisfied with who I am ye, but I am grateful for a mission that has set me on the right path.
Love,
Elder Jace Anderson
A formal investigator. Oh yeah, I got toe surgery again......hahahaha it's not really healing well either......
We had a successful week this last week. Our investigator Walter was suuuper close to being baptized yesterday. We had it all planned and everything and he brought extra underwear and we were all ready to go. So to remind you who Walter is, he is a great Filipino man who we met with the Filipina sisters, but after they left he became our investigator. We haven't been able to meet the last 2 weeks because he's crazy busy. He's always been a great investigator but always responded to baptism by saying when he's ready he will knock on our door. Well, he was thinking about it and opened up his Bible and read Acts 22:16 "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." He closed his Bible and opened again to Acts 18:8 "And Crisps, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and may of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized." He finally received his answer and was all set for baptism. Because of his schedule we were not able to do his interview until Sunday morning, and it turns out that he was involved with an abortion like 20 years ago. This means he has to meet with Pres. Madsen because of the seriousness of it. But they are both super busy and Pres. isn't really close to Gwangju. The only chance we have is for Pres. to come next Sunday. Hopefully things work out and Walter can be baptized next Sunday if possible because he really wants to. It's super sad! He really wants to be baptized but can't and he might have to work every Sunday next month. He needs a lot of prayers!
As for Park Jongmoon, he passed his baptism interview last week but we haven't ben able to contact him since...weird. We were meeting our fireman investigator at the park and ended up having a discussion with this random guy there. It stared out ok, but then he went mega Bible bash mode trying to tell us that we will be punished for teaching a different gospel because we have more than just the Bible. We tried to explain that the BoM is just a way to learn more about and understand the same gospel better, but he didn't want it to be true so he won't be able to know.
It is hard to believe that my last week has begun. It still does not feel real at all. I still feel like a newbie and that there is more I need to learn. I am grateful that the end of a mission is not the end of Christ-centered life. I am grateful that missionary opportunities will still come as we seek them. I know the Lord has a plan for us and that we must be humble and willing to accept his timing. These last 2 weeks, the sisters in the district and us have come so close to having 3 baptisms, but for reasons outside our control none have pulled through. It is insanely frustrating seeing us come so close, but I know that He has accepted our efforts and that one day all things will be made right.
I am looking forward to the best week yet of my mission but feel heartbroken that things are coming to an end. I love my mission experience and I am so grateful for the lessons I have learned, people I have met, and the changes I have felt within me. I have been blessed with a difficult mission which has shaped me into someone much better than the kid back home. I have a long way to go still, I am not yet satisfied with who I am ye, but I am grateful for a mission that has set me on the right path.
Love,
Elder Jace Anderson
A formal investigator. Oh yeah, I got toe surgery again......hahahaha it's not really healing well either......
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Lots of neat pictures!
July 11,
2016
In news with Park Jongmoon he came out to church yesterday! He was a little shy though. But it went well and he also passed his baptismal interview with my good friend Elder Skouson. He said that he will choose between the 17th or 24th for his baptism! He wants to do it before I leave, which makes me a little worried that he’s doing it mainly for us, so we’ll talk with him about it. Hopefully he doesn’t stop moving forward and is serious about making the commitment to follow the Savior. He is a great guy and I want the best for him.
We started
off this week with a super cool hike with some of the other elders. We saw lots of cool Buddhist stuff and had a
great view at the top of all the clouds whirling around us. It was a great start to a fast week. We met Pres. and Sis. Madsen and they are
amazing! They are so strong and
dedicated. I know this mission will
continue to do great things with them. I
had a wonderful interview with him and he talked about how we don’t know the
influence we have had until a long ways down the road. We teared up several times together in our
quick interview. Haha he is a wonderful
man.
In news with Park Jongmoon he came out to church yesterday! He was a little shy though. But it went well and he also passed his baptismal interview with my good friend Elder Skouson. He said that he will choose between the 17th or 24th for his baptism! He wants to do it before I leave, which makes me a little worried that he’s doing it mainly for us, so we’ll talk with him about it. Hopefully he doesn’t stop moving forward and is serious about making the commitment to follow the Savior. He is a great guy and I want the best for him.
We had 1
other lesson this week and you probably can’t guess who it was with. An Iraqi fighter pilot! His name is Faddi and he’s here in Korea
getting military training. He’s a pretty
devout Muslim and we learned a lot about Islam.
It’s definitely not what I thought.
They pretty much believe everything we do except for a few variations
concerning Christ. But they accept Him
as a prophet, believe in the Bible, and believe He will come again. It was kind of hard to teach him because he
like already knew it all plus a little bit more from his Muslim stuff. Pretty interesting.
The
missionaries in our ward (6 of us) had to sing in sacrament meeting which was a
little embarrassing, but ok. We had a
solid week and I am grateful for the time I have to serve the Lord and share this
great message. This work is His work,
and this church is His church. I know it
and I am grateful to have been blessed with this time to strengthen my faith
and relationship with our Father in Heaven.
Love,
Elder Jace
Anderson
Monday, July 4, 2016
Time is going by fast!
July 4, 2016
Love,
Elder Park!
Saying goodbye to the Filipinas
Happy 4th
of July! We’ll have to have a late BBQ
once I get back. This last week went by
pretty quick. It was almost super
good. We met with Park Jongmoon and he
said he’d come out to church on Sunday and get baptized on the 10th. It was all looking perfect but he ended up
not coming and we haven’t been able to get a hold of him. It’s super sad and disappointing. We’re trying to do all we can to help our
investigators, but no one pulls through!
He still has potential though, I just really hope we can meet him again
and help him out.
As for our
other investigators, honestly they don’t really have much potential. We were considering dropping 2 of them last
week but ended up not. They are both English
learning investigators. 1 just doesn’t
really have gospel interest, and 1 of them is 23 and wants to pick up a
religion once he’s settled down on his own because his dad doesn’t like
religion. He’s a sweet guy, just really
lonely so he needs us.
In other
news, President Shin is now in America and we now have President Madsen
here! WE haven’t met him yet but we have
talked on the phone a couple of times.
He seems like a great guy. He
used to be in the military and he seems like a very straight edge kind of
man. I am excited to meet him this
Wednesday when he comes down to Gwangju.
Also, the 3 Filipina sisters leave today, so now our district is down to
just 6 people. It’s still bigger than my
district of 4 in Iksan! It has been fun
working with them and their investigators and experiencing a little bit of
Filipino culture.
Yeah, that’s
about it for this week. It was super
rainy and we spent a lot of time just out in the rain but time is still going
by fast. Thank you for all the prayers
and support!
Elder Jace Anderson
Elder Park!
Saying goodbye to the FilipinasI realized something new
June 27,
2016
Some of my group that will leave this transfer.
Some people from my mtc group!
A cool pond park place
We had an
interesting last week. Mostly because
Elder Groves got pretty sick so we spent a lot of time either at home or on
splits so I could still work during my last transfer. He eventually went to the hospital and got
some help so he is doing better and can work now. He’s done very well of not complaining and
doing what he can. President Shin goes
home this week so we had a goodbye meeting with him. He has worked very hard and has left some big
shoes for Pres. Madsen to fill. He has
been a wonderful role model and I feel very blessed to have been able to serve
with him.
Elder Park
and I met Park Jongmoon now that he’s back in Korea. He’s such a great guy, and I think we’ve
decided on him getting baptized the next time he comes out to church. Hopefully that happens before I go home. We were able to meet 2 other people, buy they’re
what we call “English sucks” here. The
fireman guy just won’t stop asking English questions during the gospel portion,
and our new investigator, Kwak Duhyoung, could have potential but he’s mostly English
interest and just got busy because he just got a job. Darn. But
it’s ok, if things work out with Park Jongmoon it will all be worth it.
I realized
something new the other day. Since my
time is running short, I have been praying to be able to baptize before I
leave. But as I was doing so, I realized
that baptism is not something for me.
Giving baptism is not what’s important, but receiving baptism is. I think I have spent too much time worrying
about baptizing rather than what I can do to help others receive baptism. Of course, they are related, but the driving
force behind it is different. I am going
to do my best to make love for others and for God and the gospel be my reason
for serving rather than doing it for my own personal reasons or satisfaction. Thank you all for your prayers on my
behalf. Please pray especially for Park
Jongmoon so that he will strengthen his desire to follow Christ and be able to
come out to church. I feel so blessed to
have all of you back home cheering me on.
Thank you for always supporting me and helping me on this journey. I have definitely learned that we cannot know
how great of an impact we have had through our efforts, so I am grateful that
you have all continued to support and strengthen me. I love you all and hope you have an enjoyable
week and spend some time in the service of others.
Love,
Elder Jace Anderson
Some of my group that will leave this transfer. 
Some people from my mtc group!
A cool pond park place
Share Personal Experiences
June 20,
2016
The ghettoish part of our area. At least it's pretty!
Some of my favorite people ever! This is Jobert, he's super cool. Just like all Filipinos. Haha
The new Filipinas and Walter. He came to stake conference yesterday!
Happy birthday Sister McQueen!
Our new fireman investigator
Bowling! I got a 185. Are you impressed?
The group above me went home and I met 3 of their families this last week as they’ve been traveling around. President also goes home in like 2 weeks I think. Things are definitely starting to feel more real that the end is close. But I am very grateful that I still have the time that I do, and will give it my best effort to the end.
Sadly, Sister Orongan left us last week, she was replaced by 2 more Filipinas. One of them is Sister Paller, who Marissa met in the Philippines! It has been fun hearing from her about how great a missionary Marissa was and how hard she worked. The 3 Filipinas will just be here for 2 or 3 more weeks and then will be heading home. And then we get their awesome investigators! Haha.
Hmm. What else…ahh our somewhat cynical investigator told us to share more personal experiences and teach through them. It has been really good for me to search for those experiences I have had. It has helped me recognize and remember them, and I am grateful for his suggestion. We may start to question or even forget things we once felt, but as we use our past to propel us forward continually striving to have faith building experiences we will be able to continue on the path that leads us to the brightest future. I am grateful for the experiences I have had on my mission and for a God and Redeemer who do not give up on us. This last week I was struggling a bit thinking that it seems like God has forgotten about me. I work hard and pray to baptize, but after 22 months there still has been nothing. But I know that God has seen my efforts, heard my prayers, and will consecrate all my experiences for my good.
Love,
Elder Jace
Anderson
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Last Transfer - But I'm staying
June 13,
2016
Eating chicken with Park Jongmoon
Park Jongmoon's wedding
We had a pretty good week here in
Gwangju. One fun thing we did was we
went to Park Jongmoon’s wedding! It was
fun being there and meeting his friends and wife briefly. He’s such a great guy. He’ll get baptized eventually. Hopefully sooner rather than later. If he could just come to church it would all
be fine.
We met 2 new people last week but only
1 became an investigator. He’s a former investigator
we called who has English interest. He’s
a bit cynical when it comes to gospel stuff.
He asked if I’ve ever had a prayer answered and I told of when I asked
if the BoM is true once when I was in Ikson.
He said that doesn’t count and asked if I’ve ever had a prayer answered
in my real life. I was a little offended
but told him that I don’t separate my life by religious and nonreligious parts,
but then told him about when we prayed as a family in Yellowstone after Dad
hurt his back. Man, people are pretty
tough sometimes! The other guy lived in
America for a long time but has epilepsy and had to come back to Korea. He’s alone and has a tough life, but he’s not
willing to even learn about our message either.
It’s super sad because he could really use it. Why won’t anyone just give it a chance??
Hmm what else? Oh yeah!
We met that guy who tried to teach us the Bible last time with the
Chungjang ward elders because he’s in their area and he brought a friend. We’re pretty sure they’re from this crazy
Korean church. The 6 of us talked about
the BoM, Adam and Eve, Joseph Smith, seeing God, and other stuff. I don’t know if they’re willing to change
their thoughts but it was kind of fun.
We’ve been helping out the Filipinas a
lot and meeting with them and their investigators. I am yet to meet a lame Filipino! 2 of them came to church and it was really
great. Except I had to translate for a
bunch of people and the speaker was quoting these nuns and it was pretty
hard. Haha.
We got our transfer calls today! I will be here for my last transfer (that
makes 6 here) and Elder Groves is staying as well making 4 transfers
together! That’s pretty crazy! It’s going to be good though and I’m happy to
have such a hard worker with me. This
last Sunday one of the speakers quoted the scripture about having great joy in
simply helping one soul come unto Him. I
felt a lot of comfort as I read it. This
transfer’s my last chance, and it’s going to be great!
Love,
Elder Jace Anderson
Eating chicken with Park Jongmoon
Park Jongmoon's wedding
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