It is only apropo to begin this letter with a bit of an ode to my sweet Poppop, who passed away earlier this week. For those of you who never met him, picture the sweetest wrinkled smile settled beneath warm brown eyes and a bit of a bald head. Then put some Andrea Bocelli in the background and get ready for a make-any-day-better hug. He was a man to be reckoned with, whether he was behind the gears in the cock pit, looking through the lens on his camera, or in front of the stove cooking up a storm. I can speak for all of his adoring grandchildren when I say that he will be dearly missed.
Thank you for all the memories, Poppop. I (and all those who have been lucky enough to cross you path) love you to the moon and back.
As news of this sad event reached my ears, I think about the message of hope I am here to share with the world and I'm so grateful for it. This week we taught Thomas and Leanne, a young Korean couple we've met with just a few times, and taught them about the PLan of Salvation. He asks so many really deep questions, which should have kept me on my toes, but were easy to answer with the Plan of Salvation. As we wrapped up he simply said, "If what you are teaching me is true, this is groundbreaking. Everyone needs to hear this." And he couldn't be more right (righter? more correctest? most correctister?). If this is true, which I know with more surety everyday, then there is no more important message to be shared. I'm so grateful for my family and for the knowledge I have both of this restored gospel and God's plan, through which I can live forever with my family.
And I can't believe that tomorrow is my six month mark as a missionary. Six months! Can you believe it? You may think that it has been a long, laborious road full of potholes, of which, yes, there have been many. But rather, this has been a road much like that on which I learned how to drive a stick shift. I am learning and growing so much and picking up speed faster and faster. The work here is picking up and we are looking forward to a baptism on the 10th of April, and a few more in the works.
Gee, this letter has been pretty deep, hasn't it? Only as deep as the mud in Utah Lake will let me go, I suppose! To bring us back to the surface, where the water is a bit warmer, here are some things as of late:
The humidity has hit and by golly it was a homerun. Let's just say it gives whole new meaning to the phrase "It's like an oven in here."
I met an old Korean man named Irvine who learned English from watching Gregory Peck movies and who sounded exactly like the original Albus Dumbledore when he talked. And then he sang me a song. I love Korea.
And today, I suppose in honor of Poppop (and a shout out to Uncle Ryan), I am going to sidewalk chalk the streets of Korea with an artistic interpretation of the Plan of Salvation. We are going to do it right outside the art center near a University and I couldn't be more excited! There will be pictures to come.
Oh! And tomorrow is our temple day and it's also my six month mark. So that's pretty cool I guess. Oh and transfer calls are this week too. Which seemed to go by much too fast. Ah!
That, along with some really great lessons, great food, and the fact that today is Jenna's birthday (hey jen, happy birthday or whatever), is all I've got for you today, folks. I love you all and I hope you know you are always in my prayers. And in the pictures on my wall. And sometimes in my dreams too.
Love,
me
P.S. Us at the temple with Sister Wen, our Chinese recent convert, and a little drawing that made it's way from my hand to my notebook sometime during sacrament meeting. Still not really sure how that happened. And, us getting ready for bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment