October 9, 2008

Hello Parents! How are you? Im good. Today has been an amazing p-day so far. We woke up early and went to the temple which was good, i haven't been in like two months so i was really excited to go. After the temple we can to a place called ì—¬ì˜ë which is like the manhattan of seoul and we ate mexican food! It really was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Right now we are at the world headquaters of LG and its pretty cool too. It's fun to get out and do stuff like this on P-days but it always is a little bit stressful trying to get everything done by 6. This past week was reall good though. Haha our 85 year old investigator and his son got baptized on sunday and that was one of the happiest moments of my life. President and Sister Burton came to the baptism and it was really good. The old man was sooo excited after it was really fun to see. I don't really know what else to tell you about it but attached some pictures so hopefully you'll like them. Haha the one of Elder Terry me and him is after his baptism, he wore regular clothes to church and then came out after the baptism with traditional korean clothes on it was tight. Other than that nothing to remarkable happened. Oh yeah before i forget though, Mom i will tell you about my feet. I went to the doctor on monday for my follow up appointment and they said everything is fine. It still hurts a litle bit but by next week i should be back to normal. Next saturday i ward is goign to the world cup stadium in suwon to play soccer against some business though and i better be able to play. Haha the ward will not be happy if i can't play, it's going to be a big game. We didn't watch conference last weekend because of the translation and the time change but we will see all of it this weekend (in english) and i am soo excited. You mentioned President Uchtdorf's childhood and yeah i agree it's crazy how similar his story is to Oma and Opa's. I remember reading that in the ensign a couple months ago and i ment to write you about it but i forgot. I am stoked for his talk though, i think he has become my favorite aposlte. We are getting transfer calls this weekend too so it will be a good weekend. I can't remember if i told you this already or not but President Burton told my companion that he is leaving for sure this transfer so i will have a new comp which will be fun. I have definitely learned a thing or two about patience this transfer and i really love my companion but he has been serving in 수지 for 7 months and i think he is ready for a change. Mom you asked about the whole missionary letter thing and yeah i really like getting the letters from my friends, haha i have like never even talked to some of the kids that you sent letters from though. I don't mind if you want to send all of them but if its a hassle then you can just stick to the original group that you were sending. It sounds like things between stacie and her boy toy are going well. I'm not gonna lie i hope things work out and she gets married, that would be tight. Haha i bet the next couple of months for her are going to be pretty dramatic. Well i really don't have much else to report right at the moment and i think i answered all of your questions Mom so i am going to head. Sorry this one is a little short but i just don't know what to write.. I love you and miss you though! Keep the prayers coming, especially some about me learning Korean would be wonderful! I'll talk to you again next week.

Love Elder Musso

October 2, 2008

Hey Parents! How are you?? I'm doing amazing right now actually. This last week was a way good one, the weather is cooling down, haha and Korea is just the place to be right at the moment. So i am going to get right to the good stuff because i have some pretty exciting news for you... The old man and his son that we are teaching are getting baptized on sunday! Haha i really don't even know what happened it really was just a straight up miracle. Last week we met him on friday and he was still going off about getting baptized in North Korea but we taught him about temples and he was really excited about that. Then after church on sunday we sat him down with a member and the member threw down like the most amazing lesson i have ever heard. Haha me and my companion just sat there while this guy was sharing scriptures and writing on the chalk board and somewhere along the line he asked the guy to be baptized on sunday and he said yes!I really have no idea what happened because this old man is the most stubborn person ever but yeah something changed his heart. After that he called his son and told him that they were both getting baptized and they were both really excited about it. Our ward was pretty blown away when we told them, haha the bishop about fell over he was so amazed. Sunday really will be a historic day, President Burton said that 하국노 will be the oldest person to ever get baptized in Korea. It's going to be epic! I'll for sure send you some pictures next week. Lets see.. Besides that my week was pretty much the same as always. We are still having a heck of a time trying to get people to meet with us. We go out on the street everyday and get at least a few phone numbers from people that say they want to meet and we call them and set up appointments but they always punk us! My planner is literally full of numbers but none of the people will meet us. We did meet with the family that a member in my last ward referred to us though and they are really good, im excited about them. We had our interviews with President Burton this week and that was good like always. He told Elder Terry that he will transfer for sure and he also told the Korean Elder in our house that he is going as well. Im excited that i am going to get a new companion ( it's not that i don't like my companion but it's always fun to change) but i think it will be hard for my comp to endure to the end here in 수지. Haha he's kind of lazy as it is and i think it will definitely make it worse for him to know that none of the work that he is doing will affect him because he's leaving in two weeks. Mom you asked about how much walking we do everyday, that's all we do. I have only knocked doors like 5 times in the last 5 months because it isn't effective at all. All of the people have video cameras on there doors and so they never even open up to see who it is. Street contacting is good i guess, sometimes i wonder if there isn't a more effect way to get new investigators because it is almost impossible to get people on the street to meet with you. But then again Elder Terry contacted 하국노 on the street and him and his sone are getting baptized because of it. I already mentioned the weather a little bit but yeah it is definitely starting to cool off. The beginning of this week was really cool and we actually wore our suit jackets one day but it has gotten a little bit warmer since then. Yes i got your package Mom, and thank you for sending it! If i wouldn't have gotten anything that day i would have gone the whole transfer with out any mail and that wouldn't have been tight. You asked about what kind of treats i want in the next package and i dont' really care everything is good. Melissa sent me some beef jerky a while ago though and that was way good, be sure if you send some that you don't write beef jerky on the customs slip on the package because they will take it when it gets here because of the whole mad cow disease thing. I can't really think of anything else that i want or need besides that though. Oh and real quick yes the leaves do turn colors here and it is beautiful. They are starting to change a little bit but it probably won't be really pretty for a couple more weeks but i'll send some pics when they turn. Well my time is up so i need to go but i love you and thank you for the letters! I hope you have a good week.

Love Elder Musso

September 25, 2008

Hey Parents! How are you? I'm doing pretty good. I am actually in down town Seoul right now because we had to go to the hospital this morning (i'll tell you more about that in a minute) and so we just came to this library that is by the hospital. This week was pretty good though. It has just been the same old stuff. Our investigators are all doing pretty good, it seems like the old guy that we are teaching is finally progressing towards getting baptized and a member from my old ward reffered a family to us so we are really excited about that. Member referrals are amazing, President Burton told us that only like 5 percent of regular investigators get baptized but 40 percent of member referrals get baptized so hopefully this family will be in that 40 percent! Haha this week i went on exchanges with elder andersen in his area and it really was like the most fun day of my whole mission. It was just like my first transfer and we dominated seoul together. It was so nice to have a companion that is better than me at korean and can actually help me learn new things, i was only with him for one day but i think i probably learned more from him in one day than i have from my other companions in the last 3 transfers. He is going home in like 3 months though it's pretty crazy. Lets see i don't have much else to report about the week so i guess i'll tell you about my hospital visits. So on tuesday i went and had an ingrown toe nail cut out and it was alright, i didn't think it would be a big deal at all and i thought that i would be fine to be out on the streets walking all day like we normally do, but it has hurt pretty bad. Haha i have had to wear sandals with my shirt and tie because i can't put my church shoes on, i look pretty funny gimping down the street in sandals trying to street contact. The doc told me not to walk around for a few days haha but i felt like Ether where he saysthat he couldn't be constrained from preaching the gospel because of the spirit which was in him. I couldn't help it i had to get out and do something! I went back this morning so the doc could look at it again and he said that he's a little worried about it getting infected so he gave me antibiotics and told me to go back on monday. I don't know when i'll be able to wear shoes again, hopefully soon though. We have interviews with President Burton tomorrow and i think i'll ask him to give me a blessing so i should be good after that. Don't worry Mom im fine, haha i probably shouldn't even be telling you this but i don't really have anything else to say so yeah.. Well i'm sorry this is short but i think im going to wrap it up, you didn't send me any questions so i dont have much to say and we are going to the korean version of disney land today (haha i'm going to make my companion push me around in a wheel chair) so i don't have much time. I love you though and thank you for the emails and the prayers. Can you believe it's almost October?? We are going to be talking on the phone in no time! I miss you all and hope you have a good week.

September 18, 2008

Hey Parents! How are you? I'm doing way good. My new area is still amazing and the weeks are still flying by it's crazy. This past week was pretty fun, it was a little hard with the holiday because we pretty much didn't do missionary work for 3 days. On saturday we had our sports day and that was a lot of fun, our whole zone got together at our church and we played dodge ball and ping pong. After that on saturday night we had our weekly planning meeting and so we really didn't do anything all day. Sunday was pretty fun. It was a little bit hard being away from home on a holiday. It shouldn't have been because it isn't even our holiday but everyone went to the home towns to spend time with their families haha and we just had our companions! We had a dinner appointment on sunday night that was really fun though. A guy in our ward was the mission president of the pusan mission and right now he is the mission president of the mtc in seoul and he invited us over to his house to eat. We went with the other two missionaries that we live with and then two others from the area next to us it was a good time. On monday we had zone conference and the mission home and that was pretty good. It got a little boring towards the end of it though because they were just drilling into our heads the importance of teaching with members. Lets see what else do i have to report... Oh my companion is still good i guess. We get along really well but its hard because he and i don't exactly have the same thoughts about being obedient. He likes to sleep in and not exercise in the mornings and i don't think he has been to be on time a single night yet but i have talked to him about it so hopefully he'll step up his game. Oh Dad you asked about the language.. Haha it's rough! Naw its coming along i guess. I still don't understand very much but i think i do okay with talking. All the missionaries and members love to tell me how good i am at korean for my age in the mission but i don't know what they are thinking because i can barely even have a conversation! I should go senior companion in the next couple of transfers though and that will really help my korean. Dad you also asked about money and eating with members. We get 140$ on the 1st and 15th of every month and that usually is plenty. Haha last pay period i had like 2 dollars in my account at the end because me and my companion went to outback and got ribs but that was the first time that i've done that. (P.S. you have no idea how amazing it was to eat ribs after eating rice and kimchee every day for the past 5 months!) We don't eat with members all that often, no more than once a week. Usually we are to busy at night and the members are super busy too. It has been way nice living with a korean though. He cooks for us all like every meal and it's super cheap. Usually i spend about 20 dollars a week on groceries but this week i will probably on spend like 10 because we are always just eating rice. Haha this morning for breakfast i ate 김치 찌개 which is kimchee stew, who would of thought before i came on the mish that i would have been eating rotten cabbage stew for breakfast? Suprisingly though i have developed quite the taste for kimchee, there definitely isn't anything like it. Anyways i am running out of time here so i am going to answer your questions Mom. Yes i would love for you to send me an absentee ballot (haha i have to support my boy Obama!) but can you still get them? I am pretty sure i registered to vote when i got my motorcycles liscense so that shouldn't be a problem. I don't really care what kind of journal you send me anything will work. My new area isn't exactly sky scrapers because it's not in Seoul but it's lots and lots of appartment buildings which are all 20-30 stories high. It's crazy to me that a 30 story building isn't even tall in Korea and the highest building in St. George is under 10 stories. My area is pretty busy though, especially at night. During the day it's a little bit hard because all the men that live here work in seoul so it's just women on the streets. We went to the one member's house for dinner on sunday but it wasn't really for the celebration. They have their big meal for breakfast and then they have a ceremony where they honor their ancestors. I'm not exactly sure what they do to honor their ancestors but i know a lot of people go to their parents graves and do something. I'm assuming they just remember them and give them thanks but i really don't know, it was always kind of awkward when we asked people about their ceremonies. Well parents i need to go my time is up here but i love you! Haha thanks for beasting everyone Mom, i got some good emails this week. Oh yeah Dad real quick about the pictures thing, i am going to send my memory card to Melissa tomorrow so she should get it in a week or so and i sent her some like a month ago too i don't know if you have seen those ones or not but giver her a call and ask her. I hope all is going well back home and i'll talk to you agian next week!

Love Elder Musso

September 11, 2008

Hey Parents! How are you? I'm doing way good. My new area and zone are sweet i love them and my comp is pretty cool too. Today is kind of a trippy day though because it isn't our p-day this week but we are emailing and shopping today. On saturday sunday and monday it's korea's thanksgiving and so we are having p-day on saturday this week. I guess that everyone leaves the city and goes to their parents houses out in the sticks so we aren't really going to be able to do anything this weekend. Saturday should be super fun though because our zone is getting together at our church and we are going to play sports for a few hours. I can't remember if i told you this in my last email or not but there is a super nice turf soccer field right next to our church that we are going to play on and im stoked! Haha i don't know what we're going to do all day on sunday though. There will probably only be like 10 people at church and then we have no appointments the whole day and President Burton said that he doesn't want us to go and knock doors because Koreans are super intense about the holliday. I guess we will probably just end up walking around all day. This past week was a lot of fun. We were in a 3 some the whole week because the Korean elder in our house had to go to the army for the weekend in busan and that was fun (I don't know if i have told you about the whole army thing here but every kid has to go to the army for 2 years and after that 2 years that have to go back for 3 days a year for like 5 years). Our investigators are pretty good, it has been a little bit hard to meet with them because everyone is getting ready for the holliday though. Haha one of our investigators is the coolest person that i have ever met though. He is 87 years old and he has a beard down to the middle of his chest. He loves everything about the church and he wants to get baptized but he says that he won't get baptized anywhere but this lake on top of a mountain in north korea! Haha i guess the elders have been trying to talk him out of it for like a month and a half but he is set on it. We are teaching his son to though so hopefully when his son gets baptized it will have a ripple effect on him. I will make sure and send a picture of him, you have to see him! Yesterday we had combined district meeting at the mission home (the mission home is my stake center now so all of our meetings will be there) and it was so funny to have Elder Andersen be my zone leader. Haha he is such a geek i love it. My zone is amazing though i'm excited about it. I don't really know much about my ward yet because we haven't met most of the members because of stake conference last week but the ones that i met seem tight. Some of the guys in our ward get together on saturday mornings and play soccer in our gym and we played with them, it was a blast. Haha they were soo stoked that i'm a soccer player, it definitely scored me some browny points. Well parents other then that i don't have much else to report so i think i am going to wrap this up. Oh yeah i have 2 questions for you though. What is my blood type? Koreans think that your blood type defines what kind of personality you have and some people have asked me and i don't know what it is. And what does Musso mean? Haha our super old investigator wants to make me a Korean name but he wants to know what Musso means first because all korean names are made by chinese characters that show their meaning. Can you believe it's already been 7 months though parents? Time really does go by faster and faster every day. I'm going to be home before we know it! I love you though and thank you for your prayers. Oh haha and Mom i think you need to beast the rest of the family for me because you're the only one that has been writing me lately and it's not tight! I hope you have a good week!

Love Elder Musso

September 4, 2008

Hey Parents! How are you? I am doing way good, i just met my new companion and got to my new area and it is amazing. I'm in a place called suji and it actually is right next to my last area and in the same city but it's all good i'm stoked. My area has a brand new church that is giant and the supposedly the ward is really good too. When i talked to President Burton he said that this ward is the closest one to an American ward in the mission. Ever since the new church building opened last year they have been baptizing people like crazy here so it should be good. My companion's name is Elder Terry and he's from Provo. He seems pretty cool but it's hard to tell the first few days with new comps because you don't really open up to each other for a while. I'm in a four man house now and one of the other missionaries in my house is Korean so that should be pretty interesting. The apartment is pretty ghetto but it should be alright, haha we were super lucky in my last house to have mattresses though i think in every other house in the mission there are just little pads that you put on the floor to sleep on. I'll send a video of the house and the church to Melissa in a week or two so you can see it. Oh yeah another cool thing about this area is that Elder Andersen is my zone leader now! Haha we are both pretty stoked about it and hopefully we will get to go on exchanges with each other this transfer. Hmm other then that i don't have much else to tell you, this past week was pretty uneventful. We did a lot of walking around trying to find people to talk to this week. All the college classes started again this week so we went to 3 different universities but didn't have much luck. I feel bad for Elder Dryden and his new missionary (Elder Dryden is training), they are going to have a heck of a time trying to find new investigators. Street contacting is pretty bad when you don't have people to talk to and i swear i had talked to every person in my whole area in the last 4 months. It definitely will be nice to have a fresh start. Well i don't have much else to report besideds that so i will answer your questions Mom. The temple sessions are in both english and Korean. When we go on p-days with other missionsaries they do the whole session in english because they have all the senior and military couples there as well. When we go with our wards though they do it in korean and we just wear headsets. The mission home is on the other side of Seoul from the temple and it is like an hour subway ride away. The misison home is in Songpa which is the south eastern part of Seoul and the temple is in Shinchon which is the north western part. It'scrazy to walk up to the temple from the main road. You go up this hill with a bunch of random apartments and things and then all of a sudden the temple pops out. Haha in the picture that the church has of the temple they must have done some serious photoshopping because first of all the sky is almost never blue in Seoul and the temple is surrounded by other buildings. As far as the whole bargain shopping thing goes I haven't done a whole lot. Most of the really cheap stuff is in the subway stations and i'm not there all that often so i haven't gotten anything. In Seoul there are huge markets with really cheap stuff two but i haven't been there yet either. I have heard that there are 1 dollar ties at this one subway station though i need to go get some. And about the weather.. The rainy season ended at the beginning of august and then we had the "dog days" which are the hottest 15 days of the year and now it has started to cool off some. It is still pretty hot during the day but it gets really nice at night. Next weekend is Korean's thanksgiving and supposedly after that it will cool off a lot. Well parents my time is running short here so i'm going to wrap this up but thank you for the letters and the prayers. I hope all is going well at home. Can you believe it's already september though?? Christmas is right around the corner! Haha i love you and i'll talk to you next week.

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