[ 6 MONTHS! ]

Dear Family,

It is hard to believe how fast this week has gone by, not to mention the last 6 months. I still feel like it was just yesterday when I was sitting in the MTC trying to learn the alphabet. haha!

We had a pretty good week here in 금천. In fact we now have an investigator! His name is 안기천. He is only 14 years old. His gospel interest is still low, but little by little right. We began teaching him because his father wanted him to do our "30/30" program with him, which is 30 minutes of English and 30 minutes of Gospel. We have only met one time but have set up a schedule to meet every Tuesday and Thursday. His family is super nice. I want to be able to meet with the mom and dad too, but right now it is just a little hard. We'll see how it goes.

Want to hear something kind of cool? So do you remember the Korean girl (Boo) that I used to home teach at BYU-Hawaii? Well, my companion knows her! And even weirder, my companion's brother was dating her about a month ago, but not anymore. I thought it was so cool that he knew her. I told him to ask his brother to tell her I say hi this week in his email home.

On Friday, all of us elders in our apartment decided to treat ourselves to an all you can eat meat buffet to "celebrate" my 6 month. It was soooo much meat, but dad you would have loved it haha!

Also this week I was able to pass off lesson 4, the commandments. I was really happy about that. Now I just need to do final pass off with the Zone Leaders and the APs. Once I do that, I can become a senior companion.

I was reading in the New Testament this week and came across some really good chapters. I really liked Ephesians, specifically ch 6:11-18. In these verses it talks about the importance of putting on the WHOLE armor of God. In the world that we live in today it is so important to put on EVERY piece EVERY day. If we leave part of our "body" exposed without being shielded it is so much easier for the adversary to get to us. In verse 18 it mentions one very important way to keep ourselves fully shielded, "praying always." As a missionary I have really learned the importance of praying to our Heavenly Father about everything. My companion this morning gave a really good analogy of this during companionship study. He said, "when you have a question about math, you ask you math teacher because they are the expert on the subject. This applies to missionary work. Any time I have a question, I need to ask my Heavenly Father, because this is HIS work." I can testify that prayer is real. He wants to hear from us about everything. When we come to Him asking for the answer to something, He will give it to us, if we are willing to listen.

Make sure that you put on the FULL armor of God EVERY day. I love you guys so much. Have a great week. I'll be thinking of you and praying for you. 사랑합니다!

Love,
Elder Messick

[ HAPPY HALLOWEEN! ]

Dear Family and Friends!

Hello! How was your week!? Mine has been pretty eventful, as always. As a missionary, not a day goes by without something out of the ordinary happening. I love it!

This last week on Wednesday I went on splits with our zone leader. I headed over to his area which is about a 40 minute subway ride and 20 minute bus ride from my area. For the day, we headed out to a part of his area that he had never been before because it's what is called the (She-gore) which just means like countryside. It was like i was in another country there. It really made me think of Elder Roche and what his mission is like because this area was poor and and not very populated, like some of his areas have been, but just not as bad. Anyways while we were there, we saw this cemetery. Korean cemeteries are interesting when they are for wealthy people. The wealthier or more famous you are, the higher mound of dirt you get put on top of your burial spot. Anyways, there was this one mound that was huge. As we were leaving, a guy who was working there called us over. We weren't quite sure why, but he said that because we are Americans he wanted to show us something. He took us in his house and started to talk all about his family history. Apparently, that one mound was his 12th great grandfather who was the Father in Law of the King in Korea. Pretty intense i guess. He showed us a drawing of him that was from 1680 with the king's hand writing on it. Anyways, I thought of this as a miracle because he was just so interested in family history work. I feel as though when he learns of our message, if his hard is open, he will receive it with great joy. I'm sad he is not in my area because he was a very nice old man.

On Saturday, we had a combined ward halloween party. It went soo well. We played games and ate candy and had a good time. It was honestly one of the most successful LDS events I've been to I think. Everyone was saying how much fun it was. Even all the parents were playing the games and getting really into it. I have some pictures for you, but this computer won't let me put them on so maybe next week I'll send them. The little kids are soo adorable.

Last night we had to literally run to the sisters house. The sister missionary in our ward, Sister Bae (korean) has been sick for the last few days. She was in a lot of pain last night and called us to give her a blessing. It was probably pretty funny looking, this white guy and korean guy running through the crowded streets in suits and ties. Oh well, we made it there and she is slowing improving. It was a pretty powerful experience as we blessed her. It is SUCH a special privilage to be a priesthood holder. I am so grateful to have the keys of the priesthood restored and never to be lost again.

We had our regular interviews with president Lee this last week and he told me to make sure I bore my testimony to you often so I just want you to know that this truly is God's church on this Earth. I have such a firm knowledge of that. The more I learn and study the gospel, the stronger my testimony becomes. My testimony's foundation is the Book of Mormon. I know that it is the word of God. Because it is, everything else must be true. It's like what Elder Holland's grandfather said, (not quoted directly) "no bad person could write this book, and no good person would write it, unless he was called by God to do so." I know that as we read the book of mormon every day, we will strengthen our testimony, feel the spirit, and feel God's love for us. I love each of you so very much. I hope that you guys are having so much fun back in America. I think of you and pray for you often. HAVE AN EPIC WEEK!

Love,
Elder Messick
메시크 장로 (May-She-Kuh - Chang-No)


The last one is a little present that Thao gave to me :)

[ BEAUTIFUL FALL PICTURES! ]

Hey everyone! How was your week! From what I heard, super busy!! Well, me too, but that's always the life of a missionary and I love it.

You mentioned last week that you were curious about what a typical day for me is like. So here it is. We wake up at 6:30 on the dot the work out for a half hour(except sundays). Then from 7-8 is preparation for the day and breakfast. From 8-9 we have personal study, 9-10 is companionship study, then 10-11 is language study. After the 3 hours of study we get an hour lunch break. At 12 o'clock we head out to do missionary work. Some of the things are streetboarding, teach investigators, visiting less actives, going through old records, regular street contacting, or just visting members to show our love to them. At around 5 we eat dinner. After dinner is when most of the lessons are taught to investigators. If we don't have a lesson set up, my companion really loves to visit members so we will do that. We have to be in our house by 9 pm if we don't have a lesson and 9:30 if we are teaching someone. From 9-:30 is planning for the next day and setting goals. From 9:30-10 is calling investigators and things like that. 10-:30 is ready for bed/joural writing. then 10:30 is lights out. And that's the typical day of a missionary in the Seoul mission.

We have one investigator right now whose name is Lee Ha One - 이하원. He is 15 years old. He really doesn't have a stong desire in the gospel right now, but loves meeting with us because he thinks we are fun. He likes to play basketball with us and things like that. However, after we play, we are able to sit for 15 minutes or so and talk about the gospel. He seems to be progressing, but just a little slower. My companion gave him a "soft" baptismal date for the 19th of november but we have a lot of work to get to that right now. I think he just needs to take it a little more seriously. Tonight, we will be meeting with him at our church and teach him about faith and repenting. I think that after tonight we will have a good idea of where he is at.

So last P-Day I went to this HUGE street market in Seoul to get some presents. Anyways, I mentioned to you that I wanted to get a fake rolex while i was there. Well, when I asked one of the watch guys there if he had any he just got so serious. I didn't realize that it was such an intense thing. He like had to take me any my companion to this secret room to show me. Because it was so sketchy i decided that as a missionary I probably shouldn't buy it. Anyways, it was just way nuts! haha.

On wednesday this last week, my companion had to leave to go to a training for the Army haha! I don't know if i already told you about this but in korea the Army is manditory for every male. They all have to serve in it for 2 years. Some missionaries choose to do it before there missions and others do it after; my companion did it before. Anyways, since he already did it, they has to go back every year for a 4 day training. However, my companion tore his ACL about 4 months ago. Because of this, he didn't have to do the 4 days and just had to check up with them. It was pretty weird though not having my companion with me.

So do you guys have any special plans this year for halloween? In korea, this holiday isn't really popular and they think its like a really like bad holiday and not happy and fun. But, in our ward we are going to have a party on the 29th. They won't let us call it a halloween party though, pretty funny. Anyways, we will just be playing some games and eating together. Should be fun!

Kind of random, but koreans love to joke about me being Mexican because they think my name is so simular to mexico. It's so funny because I think a good 15 people have said something like that to me now. It's pretty funny.

Lastly, I just wanted to thank the Masters so much for the Winter jacket that they sent me. It is going to be awesome. I'll do my best to advertise Oakley here! haha.

I love you all so much. Have a great week.

Love,
Elder Messick

[ Hello from 금천!! ]

Well if you didn't figure it out from the subject of my email, I have been transferred! The name of my new area is Geum-Chun. I am living in a 4 person apartment now. This area has 6 missionaries! There is Geum-Chun 1 and 2 and then there are also sister missionaries that go to both of the wards. Pretty cool. 

The area that I am serving in now is just outside Seoul. It is more south, but is still very city though. My companion is a Native! He is from the West side of south Korea. His name is Elder Yu, first name is Jun Sang. He is 25 years old (korean age). He is pretty good at English and is studying it diligently because he wants to go to BYU-H! I really like him and we get along so well. All day long on the streets we just teach each other korean and english. It's going to be a GREAT transfer!

This transfer is a bit different than my last area because this area was just opened up last transfer, therefore we have 0 investigators. It is definitely going to be a lot of work, but I am excited for this challenge. I want to help turn this area into one of the best in the mission. With hard work and the help of the lord, I know Elder Yu and I can do it.

Brother Lee from my last area was baptized on Sunday! I heard that everything went soo well and that he was just so prepared. I was a little bummed I couldn't attend the baptism because i had to give an introduction about myself in our sacrament meeting, but that's ok. As long as i know that he went though with it, I am happy.

You would never believe what i ate this week! I had dog soup! Yup, I did it. It tasted just like beef, but much more fatty. I ate every bite. I have pictures of the whole thing. :) Also, this week i had spicy octopus for the first time. That was pretty interesting too.

I am so grateful to be a missionary. It is such a blessing and one. This is a once in a lifetime experience. It is 2 years of my life that is completely dedicated to the Lord. I love Him and His work. Thank you for raising me is such a way that has given me this opportunity. I will be forever grateful. I love you all so much. Have an EPIC week!

Love,
Elder Messick

The last picture is my desk :)

[ LAST WEEK OF TRANSFER #2 ]

Hey!! Another transfer has come. It's crazy how fast time is going. We will be getting a transfer call tonight to find out what is going. Chances are Elder Christensen will be transfered since he has been in his area for 4 transfers now.

We were able to watch General Conference on Saturday and Sunday this week! I don't think I have ever looked forward to conference that much before. It was really great. My two favorite talks were President Uchtdorf and Elder Holland's in priesthood session. For the sunday morning session, there were some technical problems so we had to watch the first half in Korean! I wasn't able to really get any key points out of them, but I understood the theme and topics beind discussed, so basically I'll definitely have to read those ones. Haha.

Our investigator with a baptismal date, 이동선, Sun, is doing so well. He came to 8 hours of conference!! Pretty awesome huh! We were able to take him to see the temple in between one of the sessions and he thought it was so beautiful, of course. :) As we were walking away, he kept looking back and smiling. He says that he is praying and reading his sciptures every day, but still isn't sure if it's true, but he is definitely making progress. He used to be this shy, awkward guys but he has just opened up so much to us. He really is just the most sincere guy. He still plans to be baptized but the date is now the 16th. Keep praying for him!

Our recent convert Choi Sung Taek has had a hard week. His brother passed away unexpectedly. Because of this, we wasn't able to come to conference or see the temple. I hope that this ddoesn't bring him down, but rather causes him to be lifted up and trust in the plan of salvation and temple work even more. Please pray for him.

On Friday night, we got to go bowling with Sun! I included a picture for you :)

Sorry I don't have a whole lot to update you on. Just know that I am safe here and am learning and growing each and every day. I have never put so much trust and reliance on the Lord in my life. But as I do, my testimony of Him becomes firmer and firmer. I know He is there and that He cares. I love you guys so much. Have an awesome week!

--
love,
Elder Messick

[ TRANSFER #3 JUST AROUND THE CORNER! ]

Hey guys! I can't believe that I've almost finished my second transfer already. I still feel like a greenie! We will be getting a phone call in 6 days to find out about the transfers. I really hope I get to stay in my area for one more transfer. I am really starting to feel comfortable here. I love our ward, especially our ward mission leader. But, we'll see.

Well as you know, last week was a bit of a tougher week. However because of what happened with that, I was able to have one of the most powerful personal experiences I have ever had in my life. I would like to share it with you.

The night that I returned to my house, I literally just felt so low. I didn't know what to do. I felt like this situation was impossible to be fixed. At this point, I decided that there was no way this situation was going to be fixed without the help of Heavenly Father. I decided to get on my knees and propose a plan to God. I have never prayed with so much faith in my life. I just knew that God would answer. I can promise you that this experience is real. I told God that I was going to open my scriptures to a chapter and I asked that He would guide me to an answer on that page. Well, I have never seen God answer a prayer so personally and directly as I did because of this. I closed my eyes, and opened my scriptures. When I looked to see where I was, I was a bit disappointed at first to see that I was in the topical guide, not even a chapter in the scriptures. But then I saw a word and it stood out to me like it was just glowing. PATIENCE. That was the answer that God gave me to solve this situation. After this experience, I promised that I would do all that I could to study out this topic and apply it as best as possible.

After about 3 days, the situation was still the same. I wasn't sure what else to do. But, God always fulfills his promises. That night at about 1:30 I was woken up to the best thing I've heard in a long time. Elder Christensen wanted to apologize to me. It was just incredible to me. God does listen to our prayers. He does care what we are going through and he WILL help.

As for investigators this week, we have an AWESOME one who's name is (Lee Dong Sun) but he likes to just be called Sun from Americans. He is 23 years old. We met him on the streets about 2 months ago and ran into him again like 4 times since. He always told us that he wanted to meet but was just too busy. One day after running into him, he told us that he would come to church on Sunday. Well, he came and we were able to meet with him after. We met again on Wednesday, which led to him coming to church again this last Sunday! On Sunday, he accepted a baptismal commitment to be baptized on 10/15/2011! I am thrilled about it. He doesn't have a whole lot of religious background, so the progression is slower, but he is so sincere about it. We teach him half in English and half in Korean. He is an awesome guy. In another email I attached a photo of him and I together. :)

I am so excited to watch General conference this coming Saturday and Sunday. I don't think i have ever looked forward to it this much. I am hoping Elder Holland has a good one :)

On Wednesday this last week I passed off lesson 3, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I only have lesson 4 left, the commandments then I just have to do everything with the Zone Leaders and APs. It is definitely a lot of work, but a good way to keep myself progressing in the language. I feel like I am improving in the language lately. I can follow simple conversations and contacts now. Once it gets to a tough topic or someone who speaks fast, I'm totally lost still haha.

On Saturday morning I was able to finish the best book ever, the Book of Mormon of course! Over these last few months my appreciation for the Book Of Mormon has grown so much. It is something that I used to take for granted. If you read this months ensign, it talks a lot about how sacred the book is and to never take it lightly. It's truly God's word and I will forever be grateful for it!

I love you all so much. I am so grateful to be serving a mission. There is no better place for me to be. I love this work and I love our Savior. Have a great week everyone!

--
love,
Elder Messick

[ 최성택 RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST! ]

Hello everyone,

Another week has now gone by in Korea. Hard to believe that its already been 2 months for me here in Seoul. I was able to get my mail and got 2 packages from you guys! Thank you sooo much. And those socks are exactly what i wanted, thank you! The cereal is GREAT!

For our pday last week, we were able to play a big soccer game on a great AstroTurf field! We played zone-zone. The Book zone (mine) verse the Seoul zone. And we won by one! It was way fun. Some of the Koreans in our mission are so good! After the soccer game we went over to check out the World Cup Stadium. It was massive. There was basically a whole mall and grocery store inside the stadium! We weren't allowed to see the field sadly, but we did find something else...Jamba Juice!!! Yup, a legit jamba. It tasted exactly the same as America, but better since it has been so long. I thought that was pretty cool.

On the 24th, we had a special music fireside that we have been puting together for the last couple of weeks. It was 4 wards combined and we had people from the wards do special musical numbers and sing and stuff. Before the fireside, we had a one hour open house for investigators to come. It was super successful. We had about 10 investigators come with a bunch of ward members there to explain the things we had put up on the wall (like temples, the restoration, Christ ...). It went very well. At the end of the whole event I had to give the closing prayer in front of like 75 Koreans. Of course I was nervous, but i think it was ok haha. I guess i should at least mention this, but i was told that i shouldn't dwell on it. Before the event started, we spent the whole day dealing with this guy who is crazy. He has been giving the church trouble for about a year now. Anyways, he was just making some really harsh threats and ended up pretty bad. The APs had to come down and help take care of the situation. He was brought to the police station, but is no longer there. It probably will not be the last of him. Be sure to ask me about the full story when I get home in 2 years. It's a pretty crazy one.

At church yesterday, Brother Sung Taek Choi was able to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I had the privilege of standing in the circle as our bishop gave the blessing. It was very cool to be a part of. Thank you for all of your prayers for him and please continue to do so. I know that as I continue to work hard and strive to find the prepared, the Lord will continue to bless me.

Last night, I went on exchanges with the AP's which was interesting. It was crazy to see how much work they have to do, how many phone calls they get, and just how busy of a life they have as a missionary. They were able to help me out with some problems that were going on and I hope that I will be able to apply their teachings.

I know that all of you are doing great and that makes me so happy. I continue to pray for all of you every week. I know that as you do what the Lord requires you will be blessed. I hope you have a great week and that things continue to go well for you. I love you all. 사랑해요!!!

사랑으로,
Elder Messick
메시크 장로

[ FIRST BAPTISM 최성택 ]

Hey everyone!

Well this was an amazing week here in Seoul, Korea! Yesterday, my companion and I had our first baptism! As I have mentioned before, his name is 최성택, and the official spelling of that in English is Choi Sung Taek. It is pronounced a little bit differently in Korean than English, but that's ok. Also, in Korean the last name is said first. Anyways, the baptism took place yesterday after sacrament meeting (since that's our last meeting). It was such a special experience for me. During the closing song of sacrament meeting I had my arm around him as we sang and my heart just became SO full of joy. I have witnessed first-hand someone who really came unto Christ. He really changed his life around. He had the most sincere intentions and I can tell he will be an awesome member. Elder Christensen was able to baptism him and it was just so awesome to watch the smile on his face when he came out of the water. I am so happy for him and the direction his life is heading.

Sadly, his wife would not attend the baptism. She is involved with another Christian church and so I think she might just have a hard time with coming to our church. However, Choi Sung Taek did say he will try to be an example to her and invite her to come. I think that when she notices the changes in her husband's life and how he has become a better man she might change her way of thinking about our Gospel.

Sung Taek will be receiving the Holy Ghost next Sunday so he has a whole week span from his baptism to when it will be completed with the confirmation. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. I am not quite sure what happens if he smokes a cigarette between now and the confirmation, but I do know that we have to do all we can to keep that from happening!

On Thursday this week, grandma and grandpa's friends Jin and his wife took us out to lunch at a little Korean restaurant. They are so nice. It was so cool to be able to talk about grandma and grandpa and San Clemente with them. They are really nice people and I'm so glad I was able to meet up with them. Before they left, I gave them a Korean Book of Mormon. I didn't get much time to discuss what it really was though. But, I told them that I would make sure you ate at their restaurant, so maybe in a couple weeks you should head over there and maybe discuss a little about the book :)

My companion has been having some health problems lately so that has really been slowing down our contacting efforts. He is having some of the same stomach problems that he was having a couple months ago. Also, he had to have something removed from his foot so it's tough to walk for long periods of time. He is really fighting though it well and I know the Lord will bless him for his efforts.

Other than Choi Sung Taek, we have 3 other progressing investigators. We were able to have one attend church with us yesterday and he even got to see the baptism. I think he liked it because he wants to meet again on Wednesday. His name is Yuri. He doesn't have a whole lot of religious background in his life, so the way our church worked was a little confusing for him to understand, but he seems very sincere and interested.

One other investigator we have is 황승현 (Hwang - Seung - Hyong). He is such a nice guy. We met him about a week and a half ago. He is very good at English and is trying to get into school to become an interpreter. He is 33 years old and has a wife and a little 8 month old baby. Sadly, his wife moved down south for 4 months to live with her mother because she is struggling raising the baby. I can tell that he really misses them and gets lonely. Gospel wise, we have taught the restoration and a little bit of the plan of salvation. We committed him to pray about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. When we followed up on this commitment in our next meeting, he said that after he prayed about it he looked in the mirror and he said that he looked brighter and just feel calm and at peace. Pretty awesome! Also, when we taught about the beginning of the plan of salvation he said that he was very interested and is excited to learn more. I think that he has definitely been prepared by the Lord. He may take a little longer make the decision to be baptized, but i truly feel like one day he will.

The weather in Korea is finally starting to cool down! It's about 65-70 and really quite nice. We don't get blue sky here very often so it's always great when there is some blue in the sky.

Anyways, it has been another wonderful week. I am always so grateful to be one of our Lord's servants. It is a wonderful privilege to be here. I am learning so much about the Gospel, our Savior, and myself. I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. There shouldn't be a doubt in any young man's mind about serving a mission. It is what God has commanded us to do. So many blessing and treasured memories come from this. I am grateful to be a part of building the Lord's kingdom. I love you all so much. Have an EPIC week.

Now its time for some soccer! Woo
--
Love,
Elder Messick

Dad, guess what's just around the corner!? Triple Crown of Surfing. Anyways, when it starts up, do you think you could get me some updates in my email of how that goes. Thanks!

Also, this week i bought a sweet plant! Hawaii style :)

[ BAPTISM JUST AROUND THE CORNER! ]

Well hello everyone!

I am sorry that it has been an extra couple of days since you expected the email. On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday it was a holiday called 추석. That is pronounced chew-sok. It is basically Korean thanksgiving day. So because of this everything was closed. For this holiday, all of the Korean go to the part of Korea they were born in, eat lots of food as a family, then visit their ancestors graves to pay their respects. It is a very cool holiday. To celebrate this holiday as missionaries, we had a special conference on Monday. We received some very good council from our mission president and had a very spiritual testimony meeting. It was a great time. The conference was at the biggest church in ALL of Asia! The funny part about it is that it's about the same size as the Laguna Niguel Stake Center. Anyways, I just thought that was pretty cool.

Our baptismal date investigator, 최성택, is doing so well. Right now there is no official date though because we are still working on getting him to stop smoking and drinking wine. He has a baptismal interview with the Mission President this coming Saturday. Depending on how that goes, he could possibly be getting baptized on either the 18th or the 24th, maybe later. But, he is progressing so well. He is reading the Book of Mormon and has such a strong desire to do what is right. In fact, he has come from smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, to one or two a day. We call him 4 times a day to remind him not to smoke. Haha! Anyways, I am so happy for him. It is just incredible to watch him change his life around. He looks happy and he just knows that what we teach him is true. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

I don't know if Grandma and Grandpa ever told you guys about their friend Jin, but I guess he is one of their good friends who owns one of their favorite restaurants. Anyways, he called me the other day and is taking me and my companion out to lunch tomorrow! We were pretty shocked actually. It will be nice talking to someone who has such close relations with my family. Thanks grandma and grandpa! You're awesome missionaries haha.

So I was wondering, how did you like the Korean food in the package? Was it too spicy? I tried to just send like junk food stuff so that you would like it all haha. If you want more of anything or want to try something, just let me know!

Our ward here has been loving my companion and I lately. They keep bringing us food and telling us that they want to have us over for dinner. I think it might just be because we are bringing investigators to church and they can see that we are really working hard. We have spent some time cleaning up our church and doing yard work on it. The ward is really starting to love us. It is great. haha.

Well, I hope you all have a great week. I love you all so much. Again, sorry this is so late, but it is always so great talking to you. CTR!

Love,
Elder Messick
메시크 장노

[ FAST SUNDAY #4 ]

Hey family and friends!

Well another great week has passed here in Seoul, Korea! I have not been transferred, nor was my companion. So, we have high hopes for the next 6 weeks here in Nok Boen.

We started off this transfer by deciding to clean our house! It is a pretty old apartment with some mold so we spent hours just going to town on it. I was doing the kitchen, while my companion tackled the bathroom. It was pretty gross, but definitely necessary. I hope we can keep it clean now!

The next day, I was able to pass off lesson 2 (the plan of salvation) in Korean. I was very excited about that. I plan to do "mid-way" pass off on Wednesday. "Mid-way" includes 4 random principles from the first 2 lessons, a basic contact on the street, a simple version of the first lesson, and reciting Joseph Smith's first vision.

Our investigator with a baptismal date, Chae Song Tek , is progressing very well, expect one problem. We taught the word of wisdom 2 days ago and he has some problems with it. He smokes and drinks occasionally. He has accepted the challenge, but his baptismal date has been moved back one day to the 18th because he was unable to attend church, due to his grandchild's 100 day birthday ( I know lame, they are huge here though). Anyways, please continue to keep him in your prayers. I know that he will be able to reach the waters of baptism because he has a strong desire and a real love for Jesus Christ.

I was able to get a letter from Thao (from the MTC) and she is doing great. Right now, she is in Vietnam but will be heading back to Utah soon. Baptism is not on the top of her priorities at the moment, but I have faith that one day she will know that it is the right thing to do.

I had two pretty incredible miracles happen this week. Since it is a new transfer, our zone leaders said that our goal for the transfer is based on Ether 12:12, which is about, without faith miracles can't happen. Anyways, we were walking on the street after visiting a member and we were trying to just get some contacts. We realized we had made a goal to teach one lesson on the street before we had to go home for dinner. Well, my companion said "ok, we are going to get a new investigator right now before we are home." Sadly, in my mind my first thought was, "ha ya right." But, right after that the scripture Ether 12:12 came to my mind. So, I told myself, "Alright Heavenly Father, I have faith that this can happen, I really do." Well right after that I got a really bad headache all of the sudden so we went to get a drink of water. Literally it was like 30 seconds after this whole thought process. Anyways, as I was drinking some water, this guy comes from out of his office and calls us into his office to talk. He gave us a drink and talked to us for about 15 minutes. We were able to give him a Book of Mormon and will be going back tomorrow to teach about the restoration in more detail. Now, that is the power of faith right there. I can testify to you, because I have witnessed it for myself, that with faith miracles can and WILL happen. I know this.

The second miracle happened on Saturday. We were on the street again, hoping for another lesson. Well, we met this guy at the bus stop and only had about 3 minutes to talk to him. He said he has walked by our church many times and was curious about our beliefs. Well, he ended up coming to priesthood session and brought his 3 daughters to primary! Pretty awesome! His wife wasn't able to make it, but he said he plans on coming for all 3 hours next week. AWESOME!

To wrap up my week, yesterday we had a member of our ward need our help with some translation. Let's just say that was one of the hardest things my companion and I have ever done in Korean in our lives! It was just some raw Korean with no rough English to edit from. It was about an old palace questionnaire thing, so we didn't know any of the vocabulary. We spent 3 hours just trying to figure it out with our translators. Anyways, it was a good experience because I learned a lot and it helped build good relations with the ward.

I am grateful to be here in Korea. Although it is hard sometimes, it is always worth it. I think of that quote a lot that Ryan, Elder Roche, said from Lance Armstrong "pain is only temporary, but quitting lasts forever" I hope you all know how much I love you. I love our Savior very much and I am forever grateful for him. I hope you have a great week and enjoy watching the big waves! I love you!

Love,
Elder Messick

The first 2 are with a member in our ward, Chore Lee, He is the one who lives in the crazy scary hospital. Then the others are just some fun ones. If you zoom in on the picture of my companion and i walking it kind of looks like we are glowing. Pretty cool :)

Pretty great huh!? We are supposed to preach to every creature right...haha

I love you,
Elder Messick

Sorry but I gotta go now. Have a great week! Travel safe!! CONGRATS ON THE GIRL AUBREY!