December 5, 2016 (Week 103)

December 5, 2016

This week not much happened still.

Elders Roe and Mortensen

Tuesday we met Lee again, but we really couldn't even call it a lesson.  He and Elder Jung talked about military, teas, life, languages, etc.  We didn't even pray, discuss religion, and didn't give a commitment at all.   There needs to be a purpose to us meeting..  

Wednesday we went and came back from zone meeting.  Pretty trippy realizing I won't have another one.  There I also got my travel plans. Flying 8000+ miles... Yipeee.  Should make for a great flight home.  After that was English class.

Thursday we met a less-active, but he went to the donut shop, and just talked with the workers there for a good while, then when we wanted to have a lesson, he said that he needed to go home and sleep... Great... 0/2 on lessons this week..

Friday we had a meal with a member, then weekly planning, that goes nowhere... love it when my comp worries about pictures, how much time he has left, and how tired he is, more than doing missionary work..

Seoul Overlook

Saturday we had a Christmas planning meeting, then English class... After that we had dinner, and a member bought us some ice cream, that was nice.

Sunday we got Bay Gyoung Whan to come to church! That was sweet. We set up an appointment, so there is hope for him! After that, we had choir practice, then street proseltying.

 Well, I know I'm almost done, but doesn't feel like it, but still pretty trippy.

-Elder Mortensen

November 28, 2016 (Week 102)

November 28, 2016

Well...

Ward Activity

Monday was my last haircut in Korea!!! (Also for the next 6 months haha :). I've missed longer hair.)  After that, the other elders wanted ties so went down there, nothing too exciting.  After was streetboarding.
Tuesday we had lunch with Melvin, an English class student. He's a 60 year-old guy that loves the missionaries.  So we went out to Ashley's "American style buffet" and ate all Korean food. I'm not sure how it's American, but eh, it's good food.  After that did a lot of street proseltying in the freezing cold. (It got cold fast here) nothing too special, just a lot of busy cold people.  Then we handed out English class flyers, and got cancelled on 10 minutes before we were supposed to meet the person... good night... Just another thing to add to my life.
Wednesday we had district meeting, nothing too special. After that we had English class! Yes, my favorite!  The people themselves aren't bad, but the class/teaching portion is the worst...
Thursday we went and visited members who came to family night to say thanks, then we went streetboarding. Nothing too special still.
Friday we planned, then I went with Elder Roe on exchanges. It was a fun time. He's such a chill guy to talk with. We street proselyted, then ate pizza (We both regretted it. We had soo much pizza here.) Then we met Lee. He met the missionaries right before I came here. We met him on the street again. We had a nice chat, chatted about a lot of random stuff.  But he said he was down with learning about the church, so, hey, I'll take it! We'll see how far he goes, but there's a little bit of hope here!
Saturday. We had the weirdest baptismal service ever. I'll have to explain in person. (Ask about Yoon Jee Hyun).  After that was English class, and street walking.

More from the Lantern Festival

Sunday we had church, where Kim Tae Young came.  He's 24 years-old, needless to say that the members loved him.  They all have his name memorized, asking how they can help, what lesson we are doing with him.  If only they showed this much care with everybody we bring. but yeah, it was a good time with him coming! After was Ward Council. Not much after that...

Well, take care, hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving,  I enjoyed a normal Thursday haha :)  Have fun!

-Elder Mortensen

PS. Mormon 9 is worth reading. gotta a lot of good stuff.

November 21, 2016 (Week 101)

November 21, 2016

Well, this one will be quick.

Go Young Ook and Elder Mortensen

Tuesday walked....
Wednesday PJ Rogers came and spoke to us. That went for quite a while.  We came back, held English class. Yipee.  I love teaching 6 people that aren't the best at English by myself.  It's wonderful, I love it.
Thursday we had service.  There I fried shrimp, and whole fishes (literally the whole fish. ) It was a pretty fun time.  After, we met Own Say Hoe 온새호.  He is a less active, has been so for the past 5 years.  We randomly met while streetboarding.   So we went and sat with him.  We had a weird chat. It went from how he found the church to teaching me ways to flip people off in Korea, then back to if he reads the Book of Mormon or prays, to telling Elder Jung random slang that Elder Jung's never heard of.  It was very weird, all-over-the-place conversation, but it boiled down to the fact that since he works construction, doesn't have a family, and doesn't really have a close friend in the church, he quit coming. Poor guy. But it was a fun chat.  Hopefully we can help him
Friday we met Go Young Ook, my friend from Gangneung. He is studying in Seoul, so we've met up once or twice. Had a good chat with him.  Glad to see a happy/familiar face right now. After meeting and eating with him, we went and got rejected some more on the street.
Saturday we had MCM, then English class... More of the same old.  Then went and got stood up by yet another person.  Honestly, that was my breaking point.  After he stood us up, I just kinda checked out for the night. I'm so tired of getting nothing more than a handshake "I'm busy" and people running away.  Or people acting as if we don't even exist, we're just not even there.  So we just walked over to the river and took a minute to clear the mind.   That's one thing Elder Jung is good for, a good friend for these kind of things...
Sunday we had church, which resulted in us going to pick up a member that got lost (85 years old, lives alone, has a memory issue). So we ran to the police station, walked with her back to the church just in time to hear the talks.  After that we went and got rejected some more on the street, then prepared for family night. We had a big ward potluck/Thanksgiving night.  Weirdest Thanksgiving you'll ever see... Fried sweet potatoes, sushi, kim pap, curry, and chicken.  But hey, it was fun.  We got about 20-23 members out, from a 60 member ward. Pretty good turn out, especially when the entire bishopric didn't show up.  We had dinner, a little Thanksgiving activity, then played games "pig pig" and "spoons".  Pretty fun games.

Elder "Mo"

Well, that was my week.  Nothing much at all happening right now.

Love you all,
Elder Mortensen

November 14, 2016 (Week 100)

November 14, 2016

Well, this week..

At the Seoul Tower

Monday wasn't too special, played Settlers of Catan, chilled at home.   That night we did streetboarding, and I got wrecked. I couldn't find a friendly face in the world besides the last five minutes of it.  Good night, this world is way too busy.
Tuesday was a lot of walking around, not doing much, but at night we met Bay Gyoung Whan. We met him with a member too! We started to finish up lesson 5, but then got side tracked about weird doubts he has... He believes the Book of Esther is trash, since it doesn't mention anything religious really (pretty true, but a fun read)... Also, in Jeremiah's time, there were a lot of false prophets, how did Nephi know for sure he was a real prophet?  If Nephi's name is Hebrew, what does his name mean? etc. We tried to discuss those, but kinda hard to explain on the spot. Then he said he doesn't have a white shirt/suit to wear to church, so he couldn't be baptized.  Then it was "I dunno if I can commit to come to church every week yet.  So that's where we are at right now, trying to get him comfortable/willing to come to church..
Wednesday we had zone meeting, probably my last one... weird... after that we had English class. Almost done!! I'm so tired of teaching English to 40-50 year olds with no gospel interest.
Thursday we had service, then as we were changing back to missionary clothes, our appointment for that day called and said he was waiting for us, 3 hours earlier than expected. So we hurried there and had a nice chat with him. Han Wang Dong, nice little 70 year old man. We had nice chat and will meet next week, and see where he goes from there.   That night visited a member, then street proselyted.
Friday we met Bay Gyoung Whan with bishop. It came back to the fact that he can't commit yet, so his date dropped, and just kinda waiting for him to find his conviction.  That sucked to hear.  After was just meeting to plan holiday activities, then proselyting. We visited another member, because it was Pepero Day... (imagine in America a Snickers day... go out, buy a bunch of Snickers, and just hand them out to people... weird holiday) but an excuse to visit members.
Saturday was English class, and Stake Conference.  It was a pretty good session, talked about finding joy in life.

Temple with Elder Lowe

Sunday was Stake Conference again, then ward lunch at bishops house.  Then after that was MCM, then 2 hours later.  After we had a meal with the Digmas... Oh man, I felt like I was in America, two member meals in a day!  Good day though.

Well, love you all
-Elder Mortensen

November 7, 2016 (Week 99)

November 7, 2016

Ok, this week...

Monday we went and found another market to check out. I found some chopsticks, a cool sweater, but nothing too special today

Elders Mortensen and Hall

Tuesday was freezing cold.  Man, it got cold fast!  We all almost died.  Anyway, we didn't do much during the day, but at night Bay Gyoung Whan and Sheen Sung Hee said that they could meet.  So we met both of them!  That was cool... Sheen: He says he felt happy at his baptism, was happy when he repented, but nowadays doesn't really care. Pretty frustrating, seeing he had good experiences, but then doesn't care.   Bay: We taught the rest of the commandments, and the only hard thing is just church for him, due to school work. But, he is doing good.
Wednesday  I picked up Elder Jung. It's been super fun with him.  He doesn't really care to learn English from me, so we just talk in Korean the whole time. It's kinda funny, the first couple days he was surprised that I was good at Korean for not having a Korean companion yet.  But, it's been fun with him.  He is super fun to talk with, brings a new life into the house.  He doesn't really care to speak much English.  He does talk with Elder Roe in English, but not really with me. It's kinda funny though, since being on the mission, he's picked up "what the heck" and "dang it" and "flip man".  He says it all the time, it's pretty funny... Wednesday night was English class... Not to sound trunky (ready to go home) But... only 10 more classes!!!!  Happy day!!
Thursday we did a lot of street proselyting, nothing really worth noting...
Friday we went down to Bay's college, where we ate lunch with him and his classmate.  Bay talks a lot about meeting us, about the church, feels like it's a good church to join, pretty fun meal.  The friend only had a foreigner interest it seemed, but maybe there is hope. We came back, did weekly planning, then we visited a member. It was a bit awkward. We hopped in the elevator with their non-member daughter.  It's a weird situation when you go to the same floor.  So, she went in first, then we were talking for a minute, then the mom came out. So we went in, and the father comes out, sees Elder Jung, and goes on a bit of a rant about how the president should make missionaries stay for at least 6 months in an area... Kinda strange when he really doesn't care about missionary work.   Then just got up and started eating with out talking with us. It was a pretty weird visit.

English Translation At It's Finest

Saturday was a lot of English class, and street proselyting. We had ramen with a less-active, that was fun.
Sunday Bay Gyoung Whan came to church.  That was sweet!  Plus, the ward talked with him, which was good.  Keep praying for him, please!   After that,  street work... yay.

Well, take care!
-Elder Mortensen

October 31, 2016 (Week 98)

October 31, 2016

This week...

At Home in Do Bong

A lot of decorating.. not even kidding.  I think we had to go to the church everyday this week for a couple hours for it. Especially the haunted house we made.  We would hang up sheets, then they would fall down.  So we're hang them up, and they fell down.  So spent a ton of time on that, but it turned out well.  About 40-50 people came between both wards, pretty good. We did a lot of mini games stuff, and most people liked the haunted house we made.  If you really care to know about it, ask me later, too hard to explain over email.

Besides that...
I went on exchange with Elder Roe.  He is super chill, fun time talking with him.  We just walked around, decorated, and did streetboarding. It was a good day for that..

We did the music night.  From our entire stake, only about 40-50 came,  and most of them had a part in the presentation, so not that good at all.  But, afterward we had a meal with the 2nd counselor because Elder Lowe is leaving.  It was a really good meal with them. They're a nice family.

Elders Mortensen and Lowe,
Second Counselor and Family

Transfers... I'm staying/dying in Do Bong!! Dying with Elder Jung Young Hoon.   Sick, my one Korean companion!  We've done a lot of stuff with him already, so we both know each other. It should be fun.  Elder Lowe is going south, right next to the river. It was an interesting two transfers with him.

Not much else happened this week, take care!

October 24, 2016 (Week 97)

October 24, 2016

Well, how short can we make this email??

Elder Mortensen
(Courtesy Sister Stancliffe)

Monday was more halloween prep, since we combined with another ward for the party. So some missionaries came over so that we could plan with them what to do. We did that, practiced singing a little, (we still suck) then had a regular work day.
Tuesday was temple P-Day. We went there, enjoyed the temple for a while, then enjoyed a pizza buffet (Why is this not popular in America yet?) Then we went to the War Museum with Elder Lowe, Elder Carmen (from our MTC group) and his companion. It was pretty fun, but three times there makes it not quite as cool.. We did that then came back and streetboarded the night away...
Wednesday we rode to Young Dong Po (Seoul South Mission) and had a combined mission conference... with... Elder Bednar... Yup, that was pretty sick.  He assigned us four talks to read in preparation for the meeting (Ask in Faith, Converted unto the Lord, That They May Always Retain a Remission of Sins, and Seek Learning by Faith; all of them have a very similar trend). He talked a ton about how we are to act, not be acted upon. Example: Instead of praying at church "bless those who didn't come this week to come next week", pray "bless us as we go to their houses and visit them, that we may be able to bring them back to church." See the difference? One is throwing it all to God and going home, whereas the other, we decide to actually do something about it. Pretty great conference, he was a lot more open and free than you would imagine from General Conference.   Plus, got to see my Seoul South people again.  They are all doing good, still cool friends.  After that was a smashed-full train ride back to English class... yippee...
Thursday we had service, then we went and made some halloween invitations to give to members, so we went around and visited them, and talked with people.
Friday was pretty much the same. We streetboard, then visited members.
Saturday we visited members, had English class, then got stood up by a kid, so we tried to talk with people.
Sunday we had church, ward council (little in missionary work would happen unless missionaries came there...) That went on a while, then we had to figure out what we needed still for the party, then we had dinner and spent some time outside.

That's pretty much my week. Nothing too special, but it was fun seeing my friends from Seoul South mission and realizing we are almost done...shoot... but, the Elder Bednar conference was great.

Love you all,

Elders Brantley, Mortensen,
Herron and Whitlock
(Thanks, Sister Stancliffe

Elder Mortensen

2 Nephi 10:23---The gospel doesn't get simpler than this. (Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.)

October 17, 2016 (Week 96)

October 17, 2016

ok...

Elder Mortensen at the Lantern Festival

Monday we went to Dong Day Moon for Elder Roe. I looked at all the ties, still nothing special anymore.  After that we came back and ate and played Settlers of Catan. Fun day.  After that we did some flyering at the lantern festival that was going on this week. There was a good stream of people, and we met some really nice families.
Tuesday we went and visited a member.  He usually isn't there at that time, but his schedule changed so he was there! We had a good talk with him and hopefully we can keep him working with some people.  He's been trying to get to church.  After that we did some halloween party planning, and singing practice, since our stake is doing a music night. After was dinner and street boarding.  That was alright, nothing super great.
Wednesday we had district meeting, then went and practiced some more for a little bit, then went on exchanges with Elder Judd. We pretty much just ate dinner and had English class... yippee...
Thursday Elder Judd and I went to a leadership conference Pres. Sonksen had set up. It was pretty much all the ZL's, DL's, STL's, and trainers come in and get a long training on becoming the new leaders, the new face of the mission. It was a really good meeting though. We talked about simplifying the work, getting all on the same page.  So now the mission feels a lot more on the same page, the same thoughts, instead of just relying on zone leaders interpretation of his words. We came back, closed exchanges, then went and walked around, and went to the festival.
Friday we had planning, streetboarding, then got cancelled on by a couple of people, so we tried to visit some members, but they were busy, and ended up with not much to do.
Saturday was more walking around, English class, then a long member meal...  It's difficult to tell them we shouldn't stay too long.  It's a struggle of keeping time effective/ keeping a good relationship with members.. but yeah, we ate a lot of meat, and didn't feel happy afterwards, haha.
Sunday we had church, and more proselyting...

Tigger and Piglet in Korea

This week not much happened. Nobody seems willing to meet, and not a lot of stuff happening in Do Bong ward. Bay Gyoung Whan has mid-terms this week, which means that he will be studying all day everyday for the next 2 weeks, dang it.  

Well, take care,
-Elder Mortensen

October 10, 2016 (Week 95)

October 10, 2016

Ok, this week...

Ward Activity

Monday we went bowling with a couple members, so thats why I hopped on late last week, sorry folks. But, it was pretty fun. I bowled a 167 one time. I'm pretty proud of that. After that we emailed, shopped, wandered around, nothing too special.  That night we met Heo Say Moo (that's the best way to say his name) We met him in July, and finally got around to meeting him again. We had a good lesson, and he seemed pretty interested in the the resurrected Christ somehow visiting America.  That sparked some interest, hopefully we can build on that.

Tuesday we went and just talked on the streets with people, got lost at one point, but managed to make it out ok. Nothing really exciting to report about today.

Wednesday we had zone meeting, talked a lot about the basics of missionary work; planning, faith, teaching simply, etc., all because our mission is really young.  By the time I leave almost all companionships will be training or greenie-breaking (3rd transfer).  It's pretty crazy, so they are reviewing basics right now. It was an alright meeting, came back, went around the block talking with people, before English class and dinner.

Thursday we went and did service, came back and as soon as we left our apartment, our appointment cancelled on us.  Freak, he's done that 2 times now.  It's so frustrating when everybody in the world just cancels on you.  So, we just did a lot more street contacting, went to some festival they have going on, and talked with some cool people there.

Friday we had a couple appointments fall through.  And it started raining, so life just wasn't the best, but later we met Sheen Sung Hee. It's been a while, so it was good to meet him.  He is doing alright, not much desire on his part to come back though.

Saturday was General Conference.  That's about it.  Pretty sweet time though.

Night Shot.  (Red Dots are Crosses on Churches)

Sunday we had Bay Gyoung Whan and Sheen Sung Hee come to the morning session with us, so that was sweet! We watched it in Korean with them, and that was cool to listen to conference in Korean and actually get something from it. We had lunch after the morning session with the ward, then watched some more.  Good conference.  Then we had the dinner with the Digma family again, and family night.  Pretty good weekend.

Well, take care,
-Elder Mortensen

October 3, 2016 (Week 94)

October 3, 2016

Alrighty, this week is in the books...

Bowling with a Member

Monday we went and ate lunch with a member, before the other missionaries transferred. Then went up to the suit place, and got a suit made for me.  So much stress...you see a cool pattern, but not quite sure how it would look on a full suit. I ended up getting a gray one. I'm pretty excited. I've got a couple black suits and a nice blue one, so I decided to go a little bit bolder with this one. I get it this Wednesday, so we will see how it turns out!  After that, we shopped and called it a day.  Just kidding... We went and just streetboarded with the district.
Tuesday we had another meal.  A buffet with the bishop and other elders. It was originally just meant for the other elders, but at the last minute, the bishop called and said all to come.  Dang it, I'm fat... There are so many buffets here, and a lot of nice members =fatness.  Oh well, fat and happy I guess hahaha.  After that we just went to find some less-actives, and it was downpouring most of the day, so nothing too exciting happened.
Wednesday we did studies while Elder Du Plessis and Elder Judd went to the office.  Elder Judd is training Elder Roe.  Yes, we now have an Elder Lowe and an Elder Roe. (It's the same spelling in Korean. Shoot, you would not believe the members' reaction on Sunday.  So confused/amazed/cracked so many jokes about it.)  So we met up with them and the sisters (our district is now five from Utah, one from Korea...) for singing practice for the baptism on Saturday. We did that for a little bit, then ate, then got stood up by a super sick guy, then had English class.
Thursday we went to the service, came back, then tried to visit a couple members, then we went and had dinner. After we went and did some more street proselyting, then went to bed.
Friday we had 4 appointments set up. One cancelled because of being sick, one didn't have time anymore, one wasn't in Seoul and didn't tell us, and one we met: Bay Gyoung Whan. We met him with our ward mission leader, who are the same age. It went pretty well.  We talked about the Book of Mormon.  He noticed that the book starts in 600 BC, but the reign of the king in 1 Nephi 1:2/4? didn't start till 597  BC.  So we talked through that, and the fact it was written in Egyptian. We tried to answer those, but man that's hard.  After that, we just went and wandered around the streets.

Elders Lowe, Du Plessis and Mortensen

Saturday we met a guy, who didn't want to keep meeting. That was sad.  Then we had a baptism, but the kids were terrified of it all, so they didn't go through.  Try again later I guess... English class and work, and that's about all that happened.
Sunday we went to church and studied and watched it rain.

 Love ya,
-Elder Mortensen

September 26, 2016 (Week 93)

September 26, 2016

Ok, well, this week was pretty fun.

Elders Du Plessis, Judd, Lowe and Mortensen

Monday I went on exchanges with Elder Du Plessis. Due to an awkward transfer last transfer (we both openly admit that now), I was more than apprehensive about going on an exchange, but it was great. For some reason we get along great as housemates, just took a little warming up I guess haha. We went and looked for less actives, streetboarded, had a good time.
Tuesday we went to the temple, then went to Seoul Tower. Pretty cool view, but not much to do. We walked up a massive 20 minute long hill, sweating the whole way, then rode an elevator up for a minute, then you just had a little lookout view.  You can't go outside at all, you can only look through windows.  It was cool to see all around Seoul. We could see clear into Seoul South, then almost to the top of Seoul.  Pretty fun day.
Wednesday we had district meeting, then we had less active finding, then English class. I'm not sure why I'm still teaching because 1, my English sucks nowadays, and 2, it's pretty much talking about America the whole time in Korean, haha.
Thursday we went to the 12-week follow up, which is where all trainers/trainees meet up again, and just get a long pep talk that they can make it through two years of this.  Not the most exciting meeting, but hey, I got free subway, I'll take that anyday!  We came back and did pass-off with Elder Judd, then met Sheen Een Sheek.  He is a new investigator. He really likes his church already, but has some interest, and he wants us to teach his son English, so we will try to work through that route to teach him.  After that we met Sheen Sung Hee.  He is a struggle.  Apparently he can't remember things very well, so the people we talked about last time, he doesn't remember, so we have to start from scratch again.  Plus, he doesn't want to keep commitments at all, which is a struggle.
Friday we went and did weekly planning, then we went and had singing practice, then we went and streetboarded and found some less actives, nothing too special.
Saturday we went to MCM, then had a meal with his whole family (bishop, ward mission leader, and 2nd counselor... plus the wives.) We went to a reeallly expensive buffet that was suuuper nice. Then we practiced some more, then had English class.  After that we went finding people, then a guy said he could meet, so we met at 8:55. We quickly went to a cafe, he appeared to have no interest, plus it was transfer call night, so not the best timing, so we kinda rushed a lesson, and he gave us a lecture on how to set up an appointment with him. Good night, long story with him...

From the top of Seoul Tower

Sunday we had church, then ward council (3 weeks straight of missionary work, member work, doing it... great topics.)  Then we met Bay Gyoung Whan with a member, and the member kinda went hard on doing the basics, reading, praying, church. Really good lesson, helped a lot with him.  After that was family night.  We had a bunch of "minute to win it" games. It went pretty well, that's where all the pics came from.
Transfers: Elder Judd and Sister Kim are both training so all three teams are training. So exciting.

Love you all,
-Elder Mortensen

September 19, 2016 (Week 92)

September 19, 2016

Well, this week was interesting...

"Attending" Conner and Korinne's
Wedding (far right)

 Monday was just a regular day, so we went and emailed then headed out for work.  Nothing too special happened, just a lot of people busy getting ready for Thanksgiving.  Although it started to downpour, so we had singing practice for our song on Sunday, and man, I could of filled up a gallon jug with how much water was in my socks and shoes.  The waterproof effect no longer works for my shoes, yippee!
Tuesday we went and did our lovely service project, pretty fun this time, there weren't a lot of people helping so we actually got to do stuff this time! I love it when that happens. We did that, then met 신승희 (Sheen Sung Hee).  Things went well, he says that he has a couple friends that he could refer us to, but we will have to wait to see if Elder Lowe and I stay together [transfer week next week], because he doesn't want to bring a friend, then have us leave.  But it was a good meeting with him.
Wednesday we had P-Day, so we went and got haircuts, played around a little bit, went looking for badminton rackets, and whatnot. Nothing too exciting.  Tomorrow is temple day though, so that'll be fun.
Thursday we cleaned... and cleaned... and cleaned... That's about it.  You'd be surprised at how much stuff can get everywhere.  That's about all we did for Thanksgiving, day 2.
Friday we went to the mission office. We had a meeting outdoors in the "sacred grove" of our mission (just some outdoor pavilion type thing).  Then went to a little outlook over Seoul. Pretty cool view.  after that was announcements, which meant half the mission sang to me for my birthday... Awkward... I hate those types of things.  Then we ate Subway, played some Korean games, jumprope, and watched the Restoration movie. It was a pretty good conference.  After that, we came back, and had weekly planning,  Thanksgiving, day 3

Seoul Overlook

Saturday we went and tried to find some less-actives, then had English class... oh goody. Then we went, had dinner, visited a less-active who renovated his house. It's a really nice place, but he lives alone so kind of an empty feel to it.  After that we ran to the church, since Sister Digma got me and cake for my birthday.  Shoot, she's the best. It was a really nice cake too.  That was a fun day.
Sunday we went to church, had MCM, then went out and talked with people. Yeah, nothing too new. Some people came in from the stake and started to teach about missionary work. They got pretty into it as well.  Kind of exciting.  Let's see if that goes anywhere now.

Well, take care world,
-Elder Mortensen

September 12, 2016 (Week 91)

September 12, 2016

Alrighty...

Sporting a bolo tie

Monday we went to a bookstore and picked up new English class books, since the one we use right now is terrible.  Hopefully this will make the students happy.. If not, oh well, I'm a missionary, not an English teacher.  After P-Day we went and met David again.  He is the one from Los Angeles, hardcore Christian, nice guy.  We tried to talk about the Book of Mormon, but he just kinda beat around that, and went right to his beliefs.  He asked us to pray about his beliefs, if he would pray about ours. I came to the realization as I took him up on the offer that that was kinda dumb.  Honestly if I can live at a higher level, and be happy, why bother going lower?  He says we don't need prophets, or we just have to believe that God is in us, and we are already saved, etc.  Just pretty much as if he said "just stop everything..."  Kinda dumb theories he has, especially about the trinity.  How anybody thought that is correct.  I can't understand them...

Tuesday was exchange with Elder Judd.  We just kinda talked about the mission, how we can try to get the ward doing stuff, how to work better.  Good time with him.  We met a guy that took us to a cafe, and pretty much gave us the same speech as David. I still don't understand...

Wednesday we had zone training.  I still don't know many people in my zone, they just aren't the people that I've actually known over my mission.  We came back, ate, then did English class. Not bad, kinda boring still...

Thursday we did our usual service, still a fun time there every week.  After that was walking around trying to find people to talk with.  Not a whole lot of luck... kinda sad.

Friday we had planning, then we street boarded.  While street boarding, Bay Gyung Whan said he could meet in an hour.  So we went and ate, then taught him.  He remembers his baptismal date, which is good, especially at the rate he is progressing.  He reads a lot one time, then the next he doesn't, the next he does.  Up and down.  So frustrating sometimes.  But he is good.  I enjoy meeting him.

Saturday we had music practice then English clas, then trying to talk with people.  Because of the Korean Thanksgiving coming up, people are really busy, and already have plans, so getting anything set up with them is super hard.  Kinda sad, Thanksgiving wipes out an entire week of missionary work almost.

Thanksgiving gift boxes (Spam!)

Sunday we went to church, came back, went with bishop to visit a less-active.  That was a good visit. It's kinda awkward when all parties involved know exactly why you came, haha.   After that we went and visited some other less-actives, and went walking in hiker village. It's a huge street with a ton of hikers and hiking shops.  It was nuts.  After that just singing practice and dinner. It was a good day.
Well, thats about it.   Love you all.  Happy Thanksgiving/wedding/birthday and everything else that is going on the week...  Man, so many things!

-Elder Mortensen

September 5, 2016 (Week 90)

September 5, 2016

Shoot... Time to type fast..

With Elder Lowe at the Palace

Monday we went to the palace, got Elder Lowe's foreigner card submitted, then played Settlers of Catan with the other elders. Also, I got a new suit. I decided to get a super sweet blue one for 90 bucks. Not a half bad deal.
That night we tried out some new Family History streetboard idea. Ended up really awkward and didn't really work out.

Tuesday we tried again the streetboard.  It was still kinda awkward. Asking people to write down their name, everybody is really suspicious of it... haha.  After that we did a lot of less-active finding and met Sheen Sung Hee. He talked about how he feels like God doesn't answer him. He doesn't have much hope in the world right now.  Super sad.

Wednesday we had district meeting, then we had English class that night. Nothing too special, same old at English class,  :D

Thursday we met Yoon Hyun Sup.  Another less-active.  He pretty much is just lazy and doesn't want to come to church.  He says he is studying, but he still plays games 1-2 hours each day, plus, he said he could meet in 3 weeks. Yeah, he's not going anywhere right now.

Friday we met Bay Gyung Whan!  He is doing good. He pretty much just doesn't feel like all members don't believe since they either sleep, or sit on their phone the whole time. It's really sad that a non-member sees that in our church. We talked about how much other Christians believe, and they go pretty hard. Dang.  But he is slowly progressing, just need him to see the gospel side of it, and not just by the members actions.

Dinner at the Digmas

Saturday was English class, then we met with Sheen Sung Hee.  Same story, just no hope right now. So sad, I just want to help him out so much.

Sunday was church and a meal with the Digmas. Such a sweet family .

Love you all,
-Elder Mortensen

August 29, 2016 (Week 89)

August 29, 2016

Well, this week:

"Catching Up With Friends"

Monday we went to the tie place, showed Elder Lowe all of those things... Kinda fun, but a lot of ties all the other missionaries wear.  None of them look good anymore, haha. But we checked out some shoe places, and a couple suit places.  Tempting...  After that we met Go Young Ook, from Gangneung.  He came in for studies, so he came up to Do Bong to say "hi!"  Super cool to see him again.  Still no gospel interest, but he is a good friend.  After that we streetboarded, and met David... Interesting guy, I'll tell ya later.
Tuesday we went to a skills workshop where they talked about Family History for 3 hours. Sheesh, I've heard way too much about Family History.  It's like God is smacking me with a 2x4 repeatedly. I might have to look into that one when I get back.  After that we ate, then met Sheen Sung Hee.  He is a less-active that came on Sunday to church.  We talked about priesthood, the temple. Cool stuff.
Wednesday we went and visited some members, tried to visit less-actives, former investigators.  Nothing really worth telling about, just another lovely day.
Thursday we we went and met David. He grew up in Los Angeles, so he has natural English. He loves his bible.  So we met to give him a Book of Mormon, but he brought his pastor buddy and we started having a lovely chat.  This is the first time I've heard a pastor say that Jesus and Adam were reincarnated when they were baptized. Weird stuff.  Not sure how much we can work with them.

Jam-packed Subway

Friday and Saturday not much happened.
Sunday Bay Gyung Whan came to church, and we talked some there.  He is doing good, but his mom opposes our church, and he can't get baptized until November. Shoot. But we will keep working with him.  Cool kid.  Then a little bit later Melvin called us up, and wanted to meet. Ok, great!  So we met.  I guess he was just bored so he called us.  So we talked for a little bit, but still his same old self, can't accept much still. Dang. But a cool experience today!  
Well take care,
-Elder Mortensen

August 22, 2016 (Week 88)

August 22, 2016

Well, this week...

Elder Mortensen,
T-Shirt Gift from Elder Benson

Monday we went around and just kinda played around the area, nothing too exciting. That night we had a member dinner, then they took us bowling... It was fun, but I'm not sure if it was the best use of time.  It was for Family Night they said, but I don't know... guess I'll let God decide on that one, haha.
Tuesday we went around with Elder Petersen in a threesome saying goodbye to people. We met Mr. Song.  He is interesting. He's an English teacher that has reaaaally weird ideas. A very strange path of thinking.  But he is cool and has some potential.  After that we met Sung Hee Sheen.  He is a less-active, kind of a quieter guy. We talked with him, got to know him a little better. He's a nice guy and we got him to come to church this Sunday!  Then, a lot of walking around, saying bye to Elder Petersen's friends.
Wednesday, we rode a jam-packed subway for an hour carrying all of Elder Petersen's luggage, then I had some trainer's training. Then I met Elder Lowe.  He's from Santa Quinn, Utah. He was born in 1998... yep, 1998... he is young!  Holy smokes, he's the first 1998-born I've heard of in the mission. We came back, ate lunch, then met June... Everybody's favorite old man.  We started trying to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but as soon as we asked if he believes in Jesus, he went on his usual rant of how we can't ask questions, because he is an old man, etc... So I kinda lost my cool, got into a small argument, then closed. We're not meeting him again...  After that we got lectured by some members on how rumors are on the web that Mormon missionaries are bad with the Korean language. Not cool... After that was English class.
Thursday we had studies, then the service activity at the welfare center. After we went and toured around the area, talking with people. We met some nice people, but nothing too special happened that day.  A lot of just getting to know Elder Lowe.
Friday we had studies, and weekly planning.  Then we met Melvin.  That was just a long discussion on how he can be happy, but he has made up his mind already that he can't understand the gospel, he doesn't have friends here, etc... good night, if he would just listen to us.  After that, we ate, then visited some people. We found the aforementioned less-active's member friend at his work and talked with him.. It was a good talk.
Saturday we met Bay Gyung Whan.  We met him a couple times now, he had the baptismal date, came to church, then dropped off the map.  We met, talked about commandments, and seems to understand them.  The trick is just getting him to church.  He didn't show up this week.   After that was English class. Two students, six missionaries.. woohoo... That night we had music activity again. It went well again.

Elders Lowe and Mortensen

Sunday we had church, then got a 20 minute lecture on how we lack at Korean, and our language ability reflects how hard we work, and how we need to step up our game.  I can take criticism, but that was just cold.  I wasn't too happy with that one. If they would just look and see how much Korea runs on English nowadays, they would understand. After that we went and found some less-actives. former investigators.
Training is going good, he is just a little ball of energy, and struggles with how to release it. It's kinda funny to watch.  He works hard though, which is nice.

Peace,
-Elder Mortensen

August 15, 2016 (Week 87)

August 15, 2016

Rooftop Playground

Well, not much time today a lot of things happening. The highlight is that I'm training next transfer.   Not sure if he's Korean or American yet though, the anxiety is killing me! I'm staying in the same area as well!  Elder Du Plessies is going to the other area, and the other elders are being whitewashed. Elder Du Plessies new companion is super funny, so should be cool.
Cool story about the North Korean and South Korean gymnasts taking a selfie at the Olympics.  Yeah, North Korea, South Korea... Everybody except the government like each other.  The people here like the northern people... just Kim Jung Un is unbelievable.
Our investigator Melvin.  I'm not really sure what his deal is. He likes missionaries, comes to church if we have a musical number, or someone is leaving, but other than that, he has convinced himself that he can't understand the Book of Mormon, so he can't join.

Korean's Love Spam

Nothing really exciting happened this week, a lot of walking around, meetings, etc.  I'll fill you in with more stuff next week, but just know I'm doing good.

 Love you all,
-Elder Mortensen

August 8, 2016 (Week 86)

August 8, 2016

King for a (P)Day

Monday we emailed then worked... nothing too special that day. We streetboarded and about died of heat, etc.
Tuesday we went to the temple. My goodness that was good.  I can't wait to just chill in the Celestial Room for days, not feeling rushed because of missionary life.  After we went to a couple museums about Admiral Lee and King Se Jong. Pretty cool, not much to the museums though.  Sweet guy though. They are like the George Washington and Abraham Lincoln for Koreans.
Wednesday we had district meeting, then I went to Gireum [served there June 2015 - September 2015] with Elder Houston. That was a trippy time. I slept in my old house, cooked there, walked around, man, it was like being home again. Good times there.  We taught their investigator then had English class. That has changed a lot since I was here.
Thursday we taught that same investigator, then switched back from exchanges. It was a good exchange. It's always nice to go with an older missionary who knows what's going on.  After that we kinda wandered around, visited the Elders Quorum President... There's a sad moment when he admits he doesn't read his scriptures except at church. We helped him with that, great guy, though.  Super funny, loves the missionaries.  I kinda realized that it is 10 times harder to stay active in Korea than America.

Grilling Steaks for a Ward Party

Friday we met Juhn Hoon. He's 25, and pretty good at English. He has a little church interest, but a lot of friend interest. We'll work with that though for the time being.   That was the highlight there.
Saturday was doing English, then sitting around for waaay too long at the church. We planned for a party at 5:00, but didn't start until 630. We did have some English Class people waiting, so we just sat there and talked with them.  We met a cool guy there.  Then we ate for a couple hours..
Sunday we had church and then dinner with the Digmas. They are a Philippine family here.. great family.

Love ya,
Elder Mortensen

August 1, 2016 (Week 85)

August 1, 2016

This week was a lot of meetings...

Elders Brantley and Mortensen

Monday was P-Day. We played games with the elders from the other district nearby, namely Elder Brantley. That was fun. We played "resistance" a game where you try to find out who is the spy in the group. Kind of hard to explain, but once you understand, it's pretty fun.  After that I sent off the package.  It should be there in 40-60 days. No opening the black bag or letter until the wedding day.  The rest you can check out.
Tuesday we walked across our entire area. We went up to the very north, and started walking down. We met some sweet people, but mainly just hot weather.  Man, there's 1) It's hot, 2) I'm sweating, 3) I'm out of sweat so I'm just sticky, and 4) I'm walking in a pool.   That's the heat degrees here.  You usually hit level 4 by about an hour or so.   But during that time, we met Robin.  We talked for a minute, then he revealed that he is Sheen Chun Jee. Basically the strangest church in Korea.  Their members don't say that they are members until you meet 3-4 times, and they can trust you.  But they've done a lot of weird stuff in the past, so no churches allow the members into their churches. Pretty much the weird people get up in the middle of a worship service and Bible bash the pastor.  Then, in order to join, you study with a teacher in the middle of nowhere for 6 months.   That's the basis of their church. We've been prohibited from meeting them as investigators, so probably can't meet him anymore, dang it.
Wednesday we went and had district meeting. It wasn't bad, just very quiet. Just me speaking the whole time. No fun.  After was English meeting, part 1.  We want to change up English class, so we met, but nobody really gave comments, so it was just 2/6 missionaries planning.  The other missionary helping, sister 김지연 kinda called out everybody for not caring. So that was fun. Then we met June, our 60 year-old guy that I have little patience for.  The lesson went decent this time, until we asked him to pray one time a day.  Then he got in a fuss about how you need to sincerely pray, not just by our wishes.  That's what we are asking you to do! Pray sincerely.  After was English class.
Thursday we had another meeting, then nothing too much else. Weekly planning, service activity, etc.

Carts Selling Yogurt and Drinks.
Korea's Version of an Ice Cream Truck

Friday we had President Sonken's president come and talk to us.  That was cool.  Talked a lot about working with members. But it was weird.  I saw so many missionaries I don't know.  I've been so far out of the loop.
Saturday, nothing special
Sunday we taught Gospel Principles class after getting last minute notice by the sisters.  That worked out ok.  That night we went to see the mission president again with an investigator,  Melvin.

Well, good week, hope you do well,
Elder Mortensen

July 25, 2016 (Week 84)

July 25, 2016

Elders Mortensen and Benson
Traditional Korean Wear

This week.. well, we went to the missionary mall for ties/jerseys/ everything you can imagine.  I picked up some jerseys and whatnot.  I saw all the same ties that all the missionaries have, so I didn't buy much.   After that was a music night activity. We had Elders Pelina and Bradshaw come and play for us again, and it was great. We had 10 or so members come to the location, had about 40 people just sitting around listening at all times. That was sweet. We met some super sick people.   That was a good day.

The next day we had President interviews.  It was a pretty good time.  His advice was, "get ready". We have 6 or so zone leaders and AP's leaving, and half the mission will be training in the next 3 months.   But after that we went out and proselyted the rest of the night.

Wednesday was District meeting. After that, we met June. He's a 60 year-old, frustrating guy. He says he wants to learn, but never gives us a chance to talk.  I have a pretty short temper with him. We will meet one more time, after setting some guidelines of what we are doing here.  After was English class. That was good time.  I just chat about America the whole time, hamburger prices/restaurants,  sport salaries, where everything is, accents there, etc.

Thursday we had the service activity, then met with David. We went over the Plan of Salvation, and it was pretty good. We had member there but seemed to me a bit too strong. He kinda took over at times. It's hard sometimes, getting the member to participate, but in the best way.  But it was a good lesson.  We're still working with his wife, and how to get her approval.  After that was just some more proselyting.

Friday we had planning, then we met 구장효.  We sat there forever waiting for him.  He finally showed up, saw the church for 2 minutes, then left. He said he would come back on Sunday. (He texted later and said he can't join a church that doesn't have a cross... what the heck?) Then we street boarded again...way too much.  After that was missionary coordination meeting..

Saturday was exchanges with Elder Benson. He's a great guy, pretty funny.  We didn't do much besides proselyte, but it was a good time to talk with him and just break from the usual.

Random T-Shirt

Sunday we had church.  David came for Sacrament Meeting again.  Then we went and had a big zone activity (already on Facebook).  That was cool, but we got put on regular street board station, while everybody else had face painting, or cookie decorating, or name writing... everybody just kinda left our station.. so it wasn't the best...  but oh well,

Well love ya,
-Elder Mortensen

July 18, 2016 (Week 83)

July 18, 2016

Ok..

Beach in Gangneung

Well this week was a lot of meetings, zone meeting, English class meetings, church, fireside, so not much really seemed to happen this week. Also, a lot of people just kinda didn't answer.

We did met David again, taught the Restoration and Gospel of Jesus.  He came to church again too! He is doing good, just his wife is big into her church, so might be struggle down the line.

I'm settling into the ward. It's going pretty good.  The good news is that its only 40-50 members, so you can actually get to know the, not like 100+ wards.  It's kinda funny though, I've been seeing a lot of missionaries I was with before I went out to Gangneung, and they all ask about that area.  All I say is that it's the best... Unless you've served out there, you can't really understand the vibe of out there.  But Do Bong is a good place.   I'm the oldest missionary in our district, so I'm the leader here... :P not fun. We have some good returned missionaries to help us out though, so it's been good so far.

That's really the only big update for the week. I got to see

Dobong Church

a lot of old missionary buddies here, but slowly realizing that a lot of my buddies have gone home already... Pretty trippy to think about..
But yeah, nothing too special to report otherwise.

-Elder Mortensen

July 11, 2016 (Week 82)

July 11, 2016

Ok... well, this week has been interesting.

City of Dobong

Monday we went and celebrated July 4th by eating at McDonald's, then went back and played some games.  It's was down pouring for a week straight there, so not much else to do.   After that we had pass off, then Family Night.  Family Night was playing American games, like limbo, three-legged race, spoon egg race, and baseball.  Good day. We also sang the national anthem for the start of it haha...

Tuesday we had a branch party and koo koos... it's a sushi/ everything buffet... suuuper good. Especially the cow beef on top of rice, that's the best, I probably had 2-3 plates of that alone. They also had waffle maker, ice cream, chicken, spaghetti, tons of sushi variety (spam, sushi, fish, shrimp, beef, bacon, octopus.....)  super good meal, sad to say bye to the Gangneung folks.  After that was getting the English banner we made... 4/6 missionaries on there have now left,  but hey, we got our faces on it, haha... We did that, hung it up, said hi to So Han Suck, the 89 recent convert, then said bye to Jung You Suck, our ward mission leader. After that, had dinner with Go Young Ook, said bye to him, then came back down and met Juhn Dong Hoe, our referral.  Man that talks a lot.   Met with a lot of people, but it was a good time.  Sad to say bye, not sure when I'll be able to go back.

Wednesday I got back into Seoul. I forgot to switch my wheels on my luggage, so I kinda struggled with that... (I had packed in 70% of stuff, then realized I didn't switch out the broken ones yet, and just went with it. That won't happen again. Trust me on that one.)  But I met Elder Du Plessies, and Elders Peterson and Benson, my new housemates. I got to know the place a little, then met a 60 yr. old man that wants to read the Book of Mormon in English, but is terrible at it. So we kinda reestablished what we want to do.  After that was English class.  Not bad, I guess that are some scout troops around here. I met a couple leaders... who knew?

Thursday we had a service project feeding food to the elderly.  I got put on dishes duty the whole time.  Man, I'm getting pretty good at cleaning dishes. My wife will love me, haha.  That was cool. We did that, then met Robin.  He is a missionary of some other church, but once he heard about the Kingdoms of Glory,  he started to be really surprised, and wanted to meet.  He is sincere, but requires 4+ examples in the Bible to believe it. It's a struggle, especially with the Plan of Salvation. But, he is cool.  After that we went and visited a couple less-actives with the bishop.

Friday we didn't do much, tried doing music proselyting, but everybody we met was super busy, so didn't work too well.

City Logo

Saturday we met a couple cool people, who came to church the next day!  That was cool.  One has a date now  I'll follow up on that later. Gotta run, but this place is great!

-Elder Mortensen

July 4, 2016 (Week 81)

July 4, 2016

Ok.. well, I'm leaving Gangneung City, going back to Seoul. 도봉 (Doe Bong) area.

Elder Mortensen and ??

Transfers came. We are getting closed down.  The new senior couple is coming here and they are playing around with zones again, so they closed our area.  Elder swan is going to Gireum (my former area, ) and I am going right next door to Gireum, same zone 도봉 Doe Bong.  Super bummed to leave here, this is my second home now. I love this city.  I've heard good things about Doe Bong though. Elder Hall was there before me, and I know a couple other people that have been. My new companion is from South Africa, not sure how to spell his name.. (white guy though... dang... haha)   this may be my last area, too...

This weeks highlights....

Gangneung branch is the best branch in the world.  They are just a little sweet family. (for example.. the other Elders went less active visiting with the Elders Quorum President, and they came and picked us up after they were done, dropped by the Branch President's house, and they went in quoting Alma going to Amulek asking for food. So the Branch President's wife, and another sister that came over cooked us up a meal on the spot, so much fun last night. )  If anybody gets to come to here, blessed are they. It's worth learning Korean to just talk with these people.
 

Branch Photo with Visitors

Investigator wise, nothing too special, hopefully they meet us before we leave.

Sorry, nothing too special, just a whole lot of emotions right now.  Literally all I think about it how much I'll miss this place.  This literally is a little city of heaven.

Love you all,
Elder Mortensen

June 27, 2016 (Week 80)

June 27, 2016

"I will love you in really and in dream" - Some random shirt I saw.   Really bad English.  Mine is slowly getting there too.

Monday we went to a war museum type thing.  There was an old war ship that we got to tour all over, then a submarine from North Korea that they found that we got to walk through, then a couple planes and tanks and stuff.  Pretty cool place, that was a fun day.

Tuesday we did a couple projects, one included making a Nerf gun shooting board,  the latest of projects to try and get people to talk with us. So we got that all made, then tried it out. It worked pretty good, we got a few people besides 15 year old girls to do it.  A lot of guys bragged about doing military then missed.  It was kinda fun.  Nothing much else happened that day.

Wednesday we had district meeting, talked about "grateful in any circumstances" and just continually giving thanks. It went over ok.  Then did teaching stuff with Sister 조혜원 (Jo Hey Won).  After that we went and headed up to the college area and tried to talk with some leftovers from summer vacation.   Yeah,  nothing too special again...

Thursday we cleaned the worst house ever.  Imagine our family room, covered in months old food, stains, cigarette ash.  Some of the food was just covered in old flies that had died on it,  and a mountain of clothes that had never been touched.  It was nasty.  This was one of our members houses. He had moved out, so we threw out about half of his stuff since it was old, then helped him move to his new house. So dirty, it's amazing.  After was meeting some guy that has his religion, and like most people was commanded to not change his religion.  Nice kid though.   After we went to meet Gayan, from Sri Lanka. It was a good lesson.  He really wants to learn about everything, including who God is.  Cool guy.  He is funny.

Friday we planned, then went and cleaned his new house, then threw out a lot more of his clothes, since they smelled awful and were super old, and he had brand new ones he has never worn.  After we did Nerf gun activity again. It was pretty good.

Air Show

Saturday we had English class, then met Thomas.  He understands everything, just doesn't really apply it to him... that and he is 15, so still a little young to fully understand.  After, we went to Kim Young Hee's house (Branch President) and had a wonderful dinner.

Sunday we had church, everybody that said they would come bailed, but it was ok.  Some new couple came and gave their love tale for half of sacrament though. (They met and married within 3 weeks at BYU Hawaii... good night...) We tried to meet some people afterwards, but they all fell through...

Well, take care peeps!
-Elder Mortensen