New Investigators

May 25, 2015

I have officially hit my 10 month mark, wow.  So weird and hard to believe.  We had a pretty great week here in Iksan.  We were blessed with 2 new investigators!!!  We have found more new investigators here in my 4 weeks than I have in all my other areas and transfers combined!!  Or just about.  One lady called off an English ad, and another lady we found on the street after petting the 5 dogs she always has with her.  They have decent potential.  We have a progressing investigator!  Park Jimeen who we found last week (English ad) is doing very well.  She’s reading the Book of Mormon and prays wuper well.  So please pray for her.

I went on a split this week with our District Leader, Elder Lominga, which went super well.  It’s always great to be with someone new every once in a while and see how they do things.  And it’s because of him that we have our dog lady investigator!

On Sunday, we met with this pastor guy who is currently in grad school for theology to become a pastor or what not.  We were able to answer his many questions about things like the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, Man’s ability to become like God, Word of Wisdom, priesthood, polygamy, and more.  He wanted to see if what they learn about our church in school was right and was very curious.  He really seemed to like our responses and left with a newfound respect.  Hopefully he can share it with his other religious leader friends and change the way people see our church, because right not it’s not too good.  This week, through talking with many people with other religions, I have truly come to know that we have the restored truth and I am so grateful to have it in my life.  Please, always remember the blessings and guidance that it brings.  Never focus too much on the things you don’t fully understand and let them tear down that which you know to be true.  Hold on to the hope and faith that you have.

Love,

Elder Jace Anderson

Elder Lominga

Me, my comp and the pastor dude we met with!

 

It was a good birthday

May 18, 2015

I’m not going to lie, this week was kinda slow with not much going on.  The beginning was decent.  We met with 3 new people, but they were all just English interest.  One doesn’t want to meet again, one we have no clue about, and the other is willing to meet because she hates being at home.  We’ll see if anything comes of it!  It was also my b-day at the beginning of the week!!  I got a very nice package and we ate a good big dinner, so it was a good day.  Thanks!!!  The end of the week was pretty rough.  Absolutely everything we had fell through.  Everything!!  It is hard to feel effective when there is no one willing to meet.  But we are continually inviting, and that’s all we can really do.  I am so grateful to have been born into the gospel and have had the guidance and comfort it brings.  People truly are lost without it, it is super sad.  So please, help your friends and family receive the blessings this gospel brings.  D&C 123:12, they don’t know where to find it, but we do!  D&C 59:23, help them receive peace in this life and eternal life hereafter.  Don’t let the full time missionaries do it all on their own, it is not effective, trust me.  And also believe me when I say there is no better way to strengthen your testimony and feel the spirit more than by sharing the gospel.  So let’s do it!!

                                Love,

                                Elder Jace Anderson

Birthday dinner!!!

Thanks for the package!! Also I bought myself a watch.  haha

May 11, 2015

This last week was a nice one.  There is a missionary who was an AP last transfer, but leaves partway through this one.  So he’s going around working with younger companionships.  He came with us for 2 days, and it was super great!  I learned a lot and have a better idea of how I can improve.  The 3 of us met with our investigator Heungjue Lee, who has been meeting off and on since June 2007.  They were a little pushy and didn’t really like it too much, so he still doesn’t have a baptismal date.

We had a cool miracle this week!  So, meal invitations from members are super rare here.  But we received one last Sunday from the bishop for Friday evening.  But the problem was, we aren’t allowed to eat with members after 6:00 but the invitation was after that.  I didn’t realize it was until Friday evening.  We really wanted to go so we could try to build a relationship, but we knew that doing so would be knowingly, blatantly disobeying.  So we decided to call and explain.  Long story short, before we told him the situation, he said we need to change the appointment to Saturday afternoon!  Yay!  1 Nephi 3:7 sure is true.

One more cool story!  We went in a 711 to charge my bus card and this guy in his upper 20’s and the old lady cashier were just in there yelling at each other.  I walked up, and as she was charging my card, he turned to me and said in English, “She is such a ####.”  He explained what was going on.  Basically, she wouldn’t let him buy a 40 cent lighter with his card and it turned into a big fiasco.  He said he met with missionaries in the past and they helped his depression a bit, but suddenly stopped.  Then the cops came in!!!  I wanted to give him our business card, but they were all talking together.  My comp kept saying let’s go, let’s just go, but I just wanted to slip him our card.  And I’m sure glad I did!  He called and met with us on Sunday and he has a ton of potential.  He has had a super tough life with his family, poverty, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, you name it.  But he has been super humbled and I think he could really accept our message well.  He sue does need it, and it would help him so much.  So please pray for him!  Brother Bit Han.

Happy Mother’s Day to the best mom ever!  And also to my wonderful grandmothers and any other mom who happens to read this. 

Thank you for all your prayers, love and support!!!  This truly is the Lord’s work.

Elder Jace Anderson

Elder Williams!!!  The awesome traveling AP

We found a mini bamboo forest!!!!

We tried to find a less active and wound up in a cool part of town

The power of constant prayer

May 4, 2015
Not the most exciting or eventful week, but it went well.  We found a new investigator!  Well, more like a new person for me to teach English to, or at least try.  Her name is Younjae Gu (I have no idea how to Romanize it), and she called off an English ad.  She is probably upper 20’s, maybe 30 years old.  We have permission to meet with women here because there are no sister missionaries and also no ward members to help.  Anyways, who knows if she has much gospel interest or not.

We were also able to meet our other investigator, Houngjae Lee, and his member and Filipina wife, Lia.  He’s been meeting with missionaries since 2007…..So hopefully we can spark something in him to get him moving a bit.

We also had a combined zone conference in Daejeon which went well.  Except I’ve had to travel a lot lately which is not cheap!  But a sister in the ward gave us a bunch of kimchi and meat and onions and more kinds of kimchi, so we don’t really have to buy many groceries.  Anyways, enough food rambling. 

I think the thing I have learned this week is that we truly can receive comfort through prayer, and the power of constant prayer.  Such a blessing.  Thanks for all the support!

 Love,

E. Anderson

It's Tough

April 27, 2015

Well, I’m here in the little city of Iksan now.  Before I came here, we basically just met with as many people as we could to say good bye.  Kinda sad, but there’s always good things ahead.  And I really do feel like I am meant to be here in Iksan.  But man, it is dang hard.  The people here just completely ignore me when I try to talk.  I’ve been trying harder than ever to talk to people and find investigators (because right now we really only have 1, who I haven’t met yet) but I have been consistently rejected harder than ever.  I’ve only been here a few days, but man, it’s tough!  I had one guy just straight up say he doesn’t like Jesus, and when I tried to strike a conversation with another guy by asking how big his family is, he very rudely just said, “Why?”  I explained to a guy on the bus the other day that was just completely ignoring me and refusing to talk that I have left behind everything in my life to share this message and serve people, yet people see me and just immediately reject me.  I don’t know.  My comp. Elder Kim just keeps talking about how much he hates this area and wants to leave.  I don’t want to leave, I want to succeed, and I want to do it here.  When I saw Pres. Shin at the transfer meeting, all he said to me was to change Iksan.  But how??

At church I learned that the 1^st counselor tries to take the missionaries out to restaurants on Sunday.  This other guy told us we have to come to the church Mon.-Wed. at 6 and play ping pong because of the ping pong wars in the world.  What the heck??  And there were less than 20 people at church, majority women.  I know that this is where I need to be, but I just don’t know how to do it.  Anyways, we were able to meet one person, Darlin, from the Philippines!  The bad news is she is a 7^th day Adventist missionary and lives at that church.  The good news is she has incredible faith!  She tried to fast for 40 days, made it to 23 and was then hospitalized!!  She’s met with missionaries for a little bit, but gets hung up on stuff like spirits and what not.  Yeah, so there’s my week.  It was better than this letter makes it seem, I swear!  Oh!  At church I gave a little talk and shared D&C 1:23 and 84:88.  Look them up!  And happy wedding Elizabeth and Jeff!!!

Love,

Elder Anderson

Me and our old guy investigator

Sister Paller who knew Marissa in the Philippines

An investigator

3 of the 4 Chinese guys

Happy Wedding

Here's me and Elder Kim at the pc place

 

Going back to the Jeonju Zone

April 20, 2015
Well, I got the news that I will be leaving the Samsung Ward of Daejeon (don’t know where to yet, will send in email).  It was pretty funny how I found out because I found out on Sunday rather than Monday.  Long story short, I was told at sacrament meeting to give a talk (and I thought they said it was because I’m leaving – the office elder told me).  So I get up there and talk about how I’m going and shared D&C 1:23.  Afterwards, Pres. and the AP’s all asked me what made me think I was going.  I was so confused!!  Eventually, they did say yes, I am transferring but didn’t say where.  I’m kind of sad to leave this area.  I love E. Warren and I’ll miss a few of the members and our investigators.  One member who is moving to Tennessee to be back with her husband said it was like saying goodbye to her brother.  I’ve met a lot of great people and made some good memories.  But I am also excited to go somewhere new and get a fresh start and something.

We got to meet a family!!!  This super nice family invited us over because they wanted to be nice.  They don’t have too much gospel interest, but hopefully they continue to let the elders over.  Other than that the week wasn’t too eventful.  We only had 3 appointments, but I still feel like we were successful.  I’ve been good lately about talking on the streets, and we were actually able to visit some members.  It’s been sad saying goodbye, but I trust that Pres. Shin is receiving revelation about where I need to go.  There are good times ahead, that is for sure. 

Ooh!!  One of our investigators (we study the Old Testament together) took us out for a party because I’m going.  We ate a whole bunch of sketchy, delicious fried street foods!  And also ground up boiled fish on a stick (really good).  Man, Korea’s the best.

 Elder Anderson

I'm going back to the homelandof the Jeonju Zone, to the city of Iksan, with my second naïve Korean companion!  We'll be co-seniors again down here, should be super great!

Me and Sungjune Park!!  Crazy guy

Our silly apple selling man who had a selfie stick he wanted to use

Favorite member family

Some dumplings!