05302016 Back In Seoul

So this area is right next to my old one. It is cool. We walked right be the island-ish thing where I used to proselyte quite a bit. This house is super "chill." We all like talking which can be super fun and not good at the same time. I already like them all. Elder Cowles, Elder Perry and my Ethan Fleming. My comparnion is from Hickory, North Carolina. He is very athletic. He likes Baseball, Football, and Basketball. He got some offers to go pick D1 baseball but went on a mission instead. He is going to go to BYU. Nice kid. A little taller than me. Dark hair. Good at winking... Any other questions? The big event in the apartment though is that the day before I came they were playing soccer and Elder Cowles got hit pretty hard in the pinky. It just hit it perfectly, and it turns out is is broken pretty bad. So he needs surgery. It is his last transfer and I don't know all the reasons but they first said he has to go home. But President Morrise may be resisted a little. Anyway elder Cowles had to call his parents, one of whom is less active, and they both said very strongly that he should go home. So he has to probably choose today. Either do what he parents want and what the doctor first suggested or go home like 5 weeks early. So that has been a little emotionally rough for him.
One little miracle. We had nothing else to do so we went street contacting for like 3 and a half hours. We got back by our house at like 8:30. I just kind of suggested we keep going, instead of going home, and try to get some phone numbers since we have to send in that stat. After that we started talking to this guy and two girls who were my age. We ended up getting all of their phone numbers, which caused us to be a few minutes late actually. But the point it when we try to be obedient and work hard God rewards us!

We met with one cool guy this week who is our investigator. Yeung Choung Gu. He seems super sincere, with many doubts. But he is thinking about setting a goal for a baptism date. So prayers would be nice. We also have a little 9 year old recent convert. We started reteaching the lessons and it was cool. We just asked what she remembered. And asked her to explain some of the analogies the missionaries used when teaching. It was awesome. She really understood most of it and apparently that was way different from when she first learned. She is the daughter of a less-actives so hopefully in the long run this will help them as well.

Our apartment is pretty nice. We have a study room for each companionship and 2 bathrooms. Then a closet room with a little closetish thing with our washer and where we put our luggage. Then our kitchen and dining room is nice and where me and my companion sleep. So pretty nice over all. The best things is that we have AC. Most apartments don't. So I timed this perfectly. Just as it is getting hot I get AC. 

Thinking about Elder Cowles and everything. I thought "very seldom will you regret putting a relationship first." Obviously there are exceptions, like when parents don't want kids to go on missions at all or to join the church. And this situation is unique as well, but I think God really wants us to make good relationships with people. Because it is in relationships that we really test our Christ like attributes. It is in the walls of our own home we will have the greatest influence (and I think do the best missionary work.) It is with our closest friends were we can truly cause or help cause a change. Like you all believe, life and eternity and Zion really is all about relationships. 

I love you and love meeting great people here in Korea. I also love America! happy Memorial Day!

Hurrah for Israel!

05222016 Transfer Call to No Ryang Jean

We got transfer calls! I am moving back up to Seoul. A place called No Ryang Jean. My companion will be Elder Fleming, who I was with in the MTC (difference districts, but still it is cool.) That is the ward that we would do soccer with every week in Yeoung Deong Po. So I get to do that again!

This week there wasn't too much to report on. We taught Zach pretty much the 3 fun laws (Chastity, Word of Wisdom, and Tithing) all in one sitting. He seemed really open to it all. I think he is already doing well on them so that is awesome. We went on splits with some people in the ward so we could teach both Abby and Ola and Grace and Kevin at the same time yesterday. So I went to Elder and sister McPheron's home and taught Ola (Abby ended up not being able to come.) I just shared Helaman 3:35. And talked about the daily things as the key to conversion and answers to prayers. And while we were waiting for him to come and stuff I got to just have a good talk with Elder and Sister McPheron. They are great!

Other than that we went and played some basketball, Frisbee and soccer with kids at the park and 5 of them came out to English class, so that was pretty awesome! I really enjoy teaching English.
I read Jacob 5 again, but I guess just focused a little bit more and just thought it was good how accurate it was compared to I guess the history of the Church from the beginning until now. I loved how in the end, his re-grafts all the original branched on to the original roots, but doesn't destroy the bad. He waits for the good to overcome the evil. I guess that may be more of a postmillennialist perspective, but I like the idea of him waiting for the good to overcome the evil before coming the last time. I guess it gives us motivation to overcome evil now!

Elder Yates, in my house is going to Mok Dong where No Da Bean is. So that will be cool! :) 

Life is good and happy! We met a guy names KP who older missionaries had met and left a Book of Mormon for. He showed up and told quickly his story of being completely drunk and how the missionaries still wanted to talk with him. Now he started Alcoholics Anonymous. He I changing and was really touched by all the missionaries did and him going through a book of Mormon and highlighting good passages and sharing his testimony. I just am amazed at the goodness of people sometimes. It is pretty great. 

Hurrah for Israel!

-- 

Elder Sabey

05162016

Hello everybody!

What did everybody do to celebrate Matt's birthday? So I guess I will start with my memories of Matt. I remember playing basketball and slamball like everyday and getting a little frustrated that he would beat me most of the time. I remember one time in his senior year he took me with him to an Arapahoe basketball game. So instead of hanging out with friends he hung out with me. I remember hanging out at BYU and after some finals going to get some Jamba Juice to celebrate! Also him rocking defense and offense on our soccer team. Mainly I just remember a smile on his face! Happy birthday Matt, I love you!

This week was good. The highlights were as follows. On Thursday we had our temple P-day which is always great. Then we went back to my last area and played football and frisbee with some elders from our zone. That was fun! Then on Friday, we taught Zack. He is just a little quiet, so he can be a little hard to read. Though it was funny, we ate dinner at this family's house, who are both very nice, but just a little unique. They both are super excited to be in Korea because they like League of Legends. And apparently USA was playing Taiwan in the semi-finals. The winner was playing Korea in the finals. USA was winner 1-0 but it looked like Taiwan would tie it up in the second game. Hahaha. It is like a sport. They had announcers and one of the guys on the American team is Korean but came to America on a sports Visa. So we learned a lot from them... haha :)

Then on Sunday we met with Grace and Kevin! However, because they misplanned they trip up to Seoul a little wrong they ended up showing up 3 hours late. Yup 3 hours! So we ended up just having dinner with the family and sharing a message with them and then moving over to the McPherons house (the couple missionaries in our district) and taught them there. It was good. We have to review for Kevin since he missed a lot!

So those were the highlights. I have been studying mainly from PMG and the Book of Mormon. So that has been good! One thing the PMG points out is the difference in success between say Abinidi and like Ammon. God loved and blessed both men, but Abinidid died without a "baptism." I guess I never felt like I needed baptisms to feel successful, but I think about how often we compare. Our test scores, or sports abilities, or whatever. I guess I just felt like God does with us, constant assurance of love overcomes comparison. I don't know if that makes sense haha.

I love you all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Happy Birthday Matt!

-- 

Elder Sabey

05102016 French lessons and life

This week was another good week! The highlights were again probably meeting with Grace. So one of the MTC teachers (not mine) while I was there came and visited his brother who is in the English Branch.  I recognized him and pointed him out to my companion. I also recognized his wife but couldn't figure out how. It turns out his older brother, not the one in our branch, was my companion’s MTC teacher, so that was cool. So we talked with him and his wife. She served a mission in Tahiti speaking French. We wanted to do some missionary activity with her husband, and she kind of jokingly said, well if you are teaching anybody in French let me know. So I was like “Well, actually tonight we have a lesson in French.” So we invited them, and they came! After thinking for a little bit I connected where I knew her from. She was in my French and Italian cinema class at BYU! So we went to the Decosta's house, and they invited a friend for dinner who ended up staying and so we kind of separated into two groups, I was with the friend and the Decosta's answering her questions about our church, and my companion went with the other two for a French lesson and they taught tithing and fast offerings. Grace said she is already fasting and praying a lot about her baptism so that is awesome! Because the base is doing a drill thing, we couldn't meet with Zach this week. Lee Byoung Gap dropped us because he maybe kind of offended his friend who is a preacher at another church. So that was sad.

[Answers to Dia’s questions:]  Well, I look out the window and there are other apartment buildings... haha. No I mostly just quickly get ready and try to force myself to work out. Not like happy or sad just kind of am. My favorite part of the mornings are just the studies. It is a good solid time to learn and have silence and feel good and stuff. I am not a huge breakfast guy, so I eat some cereal, or bread. But often I don't eat anything. Well my companion is my district leader, so we get along alright... haha. But I like our zone leaders! I do eat peanut butter relatively regularly, but I have lived near a bunch of Americans! :) Yeah I had a little bear shower head! There’s nothing super awesome that I want to take home. Just some of their fashion maybe?

We had zone training this week which was awesome, and I passed off my last lesson in TIP so now all I have to do is pass them off with the AP's! Yay, almost done!

My spiritual thoughts this week have been focused on the first chapter of PMG, which is my purpose as a missionary. I guess no major insights, just the fact that this is what God wants me do do! That as I strive to do what he wants me to do, he will work through me! And that is comforting.

Hurrah for Israel,
-- 

Elder Sabey