Hello, me lovelies. (28 December 2014)

Hi! 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. It was crazy here. So many people on the streets just running around. Huge crowds. Crazy! I have a picture somewhere. I will have to send it. 

Other than that... Just a normal week. We had breakfast at a member's house and another member gave us a referral on Christmas. So that was great. And. We went caroling and handed out Book of Mormons wrapped as presents. Hahaha. We explained what the present was. We weren't just throwing them around. Hahaha. I think we gave out about 80. 

I don't have a lot of time today! I gotta go. My companion only has 2 P-days left. 

I have been reading the Korean Book of Mormon a lot lately and it has been really great. 

In English Helaman 3:29 it says "behold we can see..." and throughout the previous verses it talks about things of God's characteristics that we can see from some sort of evidence. "Thus we can see..." That God is merciful... or other things like that. But in Korean is says "Thus we can know..." "Behold we can know..." It just seems more definite. That by observing the works of the Lord, we can learn, and know, even cherish His attributes and character. It isn't just a passive observation. But it is an active attainment of knowledge. Which is the basis of Faith. Faith changes us because it is Faith in Him, in His character. Therefore, we must know who He is. And we can. As it is stated clearly in the Korean.

Anyways! I love you all! 

Love, 

Elder Renfroe

Helloer (21 December 2014)

Hello!

 

Merry Christmas! 

 

I have been really busy doing a lot of stuff this week that wasn't proselyting... But I guess it was ok. We had a big Christmas Zone Conference that we had to plan and prepare everything for. At the conference, we had a training from our president and his wife and the assistants. It was really good. After that we had a really good meal. And then went caroling and handed out Book of Mormons wrapped as presents. Hahah. It was great. Then we had hot coco and krispy kreme donuts. Ha. It was great. 

 

Then, we had a ward Christmas party that we had to prepare for and get some music ready for as well to sing as a musical number. It went really well. We sang Silent Night and Carol of the Bells. Haha. I was proud of the missionaries and their performance. 

 

Also, we have to prepare a musical number for a talent show next week. I feel like I have just been leading choirs all week. Musical Mission. Ha. 

 

We also got back in touch with one of our investigators who has a lot of potential but started ignoring us because he felt a lot of pressure from some ward members. It was a miracle. But he still has a lot of potential. So, I am really glad we can meet with him again now. 

 

Tomorrow we go to the temple, and don't really have any special plans for Christmas. Just a normal work day. It will be great!! 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifCWN5pJGIE 

 

Listen to both these songs. They are great. I used to hate the little drummer boy. Because it usually is the most annoying song on the radio. But this version is really good. And it has allowed me to actually think about the true meaning of the song. We have such meager gifts to give to Him. We are so poor. But we give them and He accepts them with love. He is so kind to us. And loves us more than we can currently know. But we can feel it. 

 

Anyways. I love you all! Keep me in your prayers! 

 

Don't worry, I didn't break rules to link those videos. Hahaha. 

 

Bye!

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Hello! (14 December 2014)

Hi, People. 

It is freezing! My bones hurt. Not really I am fine. Don't worry. I have a really fluffy coat. Ha. 

I don't have nearly as funny stories as last week. But I was walking next to an old man, and was about to start talking to him. But he started to flatulate quite loudly about three times. I curled over in laughter. It was kinda sad though because the laughter kept me from being able to talk to him. Hahaha. 

What else? I ate a turkey dinner again. The Americans in our ward made 2 big turkeys for the Christmas devotional. The first time I ever had turkey and kimchi together. It was great! We will have kimchi at all Thanksgivings for the rest of my life. 

We had an investigator and a less active that hasn't been at church in 4 years there. We had a really good meeting with the less active member afterwards. He was one of our miracles last week. 

I forgot to tell a different funny story last week. Our investigator that randomly called us last week... When we were teaching him to pray, he kept asking how to say it in English. Which was weird because he hadn't mentioned anything about English up to that point. And he kept saying it out loud and practicing. So I asked him why. He said that He didn't feel like Jesus could speak Korean so he had to pray in English because He wasn't Korean. So I told him by that logic He doesn't speak English either. Hahaha. He just prayed in Korean. 

My companion bought a sweater that makes him look like he is from Star Trek. He goes home to the mothership in 25 days. 

We went caroling this week. It was really interesting. To stand in front of a bunch of people, as 6 missionaries. 5 of which are foreigners. And sing about Christ. These aren't just Christmas songs. These are songs that literally testify explicitly of the birth of our Savior. I don't think I would ever scream on a street about the Savior. But I will certainly sing of Him. It was interesting how bold we are able to be with song. And how it can act as a conduit of the spirit. I certainly felt the spirit as we were singing. I felt closer to my Savior. 

But I love you all. Keep me in your prayers!

Love, 

Elder Renfroe

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Week of Miracles (7 December 2014)

Helllo, my lovelies. 

This week was really great. It is as cold as a baboon butt in Antarctica. You have to say that sentence in a Texas accent. But it is freezing cold. I am grateful for thermal underwear, to say the least. 

Also, some embarrassing things happened this week.

We work out at the temple in the morning and there is a treadmill that I run on because it is freezing outside. And my companion is a bum and doesn't want to run. Haha. Anyways. The treadmill wouldn't work, and I was quite sad. The converter was blown out or something. So I brought another converter to see if it would work. The second I plugged it in there was a really loud noise and sparks and smoke started coming out of the treadmill. I exploded the Lord's treadmill. I was so sad. But some other missionary fixed the converter and it works now. It withstood the explosion. All things are possible with the grace of the Lord. 

Then this... I think this is the funniest thing that has happened to me on my mission. Maybe my whole life. But here it is....

We were in a really big business type building. It was really fancy. So fancy. Like metal trees on the inside and really tall and in a really rich part of town. Business executives everywhere going in and out in their suits. We went in to go to the bathroom. My companion was taking forever. Korean Mexican food. Like literally forever. So I was getting tired of standing there right next to the bathroom. I looked like a creeper to all the men going in an out anyways. So I look and there is a little metal bench thing like 10 meters away. It is pure shiny metal and is in a weird V-shape. It fits, we are in a big executive building. Even the benches are fancy. I just wanna sit anyways. So, when I get closer I notice the bench is really short. Uncomfortably short. But I don't care. I just wanna sit. So I take the far plunge to sit on the weird fancy bench. The thing just falls over. And these two little plastic props fall out from the side. It makes a really loud noise that echoes through the marble halls. And the lady at the front desk starts waving at me like, "Nooooooo!" 

It wasn't a bench. It was a piece of art. I laughed for a really long time. And so did the lady at the desk. I didn't break it. I was the weird American that sat on someone's art. She said it was the first time anyone has done that. Hahahahaha. 

I also went a visited a beautiful little girl and her dad in the hospital. They are from Mongolia, but are here because the daughter has some sort of condition they can't treat there in Mongolia. The father is a member and has been coming to our sacrament meetings for the last 2 weeks. He has 3 other kids, so the whole family isn't here. He just asked us to come help him, so we went and visited. The girl is so cute. It was really great being there and seeing her spirit. 

But the miracles. We contacted an old random less active member who is the same age as me and was baptized about 3 years ago. He went to Korean military and then fell off the face of the earth. But he answered and apparently moved to Australia after military and hadn't been in contact with anyone in Korea yet that he knew before because he just kind of wanted to get away, I guess? But anyways, we met him and it was really great. We started to reteach him, and he said he will start coming back to church. It was a miracle! So great. 

And recently, we have dropped all of our investigators. Because they weren't going anywhere. We had a lot of them, but it just wasn't really going anywhere. It was hard, but we decided to stop meeting with them because they were wasting our time, even though we love them. But a guy randomly called us. Called us. US! That is a first. Hahaha. And said he wants to learn about our church and meet with us. We met with him and it was so great! He is so great. 26, having a hard time and needs more purpose in life, never had a religion. He was referred to us by his friend who used to be an investigator way out in the countryside. He told him to just contact us and we are the best. It was awesome. It was incredible to see the Lord's hand to specifically give a prepared person to us. We also had another guy become a new investigator this week. It was pretty good. Lots of miracles. 

There is a new video produced by the Church. Our mission is focusing on it. 

http://www.mormon.org/christmas

I love the end where it says to discover the gift. To embrace it. No matter where any of us are, we can discover Him more. We can love Him more. We can discover His goodness and character more. We can discover why He is the Christ. It is an open invitation. To everyone. 

Anyways. I love you. I pray that we can all think about the real reason for Christmas. 

Keep me in your prayers. 

Love,

Elder Renfroe

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Thanksgiving! (30 November 2014)

Hellloer

 

That is how you say hello in a New Zealand accent. Hahaha. I have learned so many language skills here in Korea. 

 

This week, I ate more American food than Korean. My bowels had a hard time. Tree frogs. We ate together at an American family's house and it was wonderful. My first Thanksgiving in 2 years. I had Korean food last year, remember? haha. But It was great. I also had lasagna this week for the first time in 2 years. And they gave us the leftovers. It was amazing! Hahaha. 

 

This week was really hard. Basically, we have to start our area over. We have had to stop meeting with most of the people we were meeting with because they weren't going anywhere, or dropped us. We had a lot going on, but I think it will be good to start with a cleaner slate. It was hard on my heart. But has to be done. 

 

I am starting a new study. Faith is the first principle of the gospel. Yet it is so misunderstood. The most important thing is Faith in Jesus Christ. He is the reason for our hope. And basically everything. It is faith in Him that changes life and outlook on life. But it isn't just faith in a name. The reason faith in Him is important is because of His character. It is because of who He is. Many people understand this basically, but the changing process of faith is just that - a process. The more we understand of the character of Jesus Christ, the more we are changed. So I will be studying that more. It is understanding that principle that causes faith to change our life. That is the essence of faith.

 

Anyways. I love you! Keep me in your prayers. 

 

Love, 

Renfroe Elder. :P

Hello, My Loves! (23 November 2014)

Hi. 

This week was hard. And cold. But then not cold. But still very Korean. 

I had to translate all of church on Sunday. It is so hard. And sometimes people talk about nothing. So that is the hardest part. Haha. 

We have actually a good amount of people that we are meeting with, but they are all kind of going no where. And it is annoying. But I love them. But we may have to stop teaching all of them and just start over soon. 

There is a new Mormon Message. I really like it. It has sparked some new interest for me in terms of how I want to study, and the things I need to learn. 

Here it is! You should all watch it. http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3897359657001

The part I like the most is right at the end. When she says that the Savior really is just so sweet. If that lady can say that, can't we all? Or shouldn't we all be able to? It is a really interesting take on it, I think. To feel the sweetness of the Savior. If only we could feel that, life would be so much more enjoyable, right? I feel it some times. I have felt it this week at times, but certainly have much to learn. If only we could feel more tenderness towards our Savior. And not hate the very things which are helping us become who He wants and needs us to be. 

But I love you all. Keep me in your prayers!

Love, 

Elder Renf

Hi, America (16 November 2014)

Hello, America. 

This is Elder Renfroe. I made kimchi today. Lots and lots of kimchi. We had a huge service project that we participated in. Basically all I did was lift stuff and give people more cabbages to pepper stuff in. It was actually pretty simple. But tiring at the same time. And I kept getting fed kimchi by the ladies. Hahaha. And you get pepper paste stuff all over you. Fresh kimchi is actually completely different in taste than the usual kimchi. It is sweet and spicy and just tastes really fresh. It isn't sour at all. Then after it is aged for a while it becomes real kimchi. Hahaha. 

One of our investigators took us out to dinner. We had ribs that were on a bed of melted cheese. And then you eat it together. It was quite tasty. I will have to make it for you all when I get back. It seems like it would be a hit in America. It was also pretty spicy. Like nearly hiccup spicy. I have had a few hiccup fits in Korea from spiciness. But it didn't happen that time. 

This week. 

I learned some powerful lessons of the power of the Book of Mormon. We have an investigator that we have been having a kind of rough time with because of his unusual thoughts. Ha. And we have been talking a lot about certain things like the law being fulfilled by Jesus. And whether or not we need to keep the commandments or need to be baptized. Just kinda unusual things like that. But this week I stumbled across things in the Book of Mormon. They were just so clear. And so perfect for this investigator. Like it was written expressly to solve his concern. And it just went so smooth as we shared it. It just fixed that concern way quicker and better than anything we had ever tried to say to him. God knows us. He knows our problems. And He has provided a way to solve them. To heal our souls, our hearts, and even our thoughts. His influence is deeper than we think. 

Anyways. I love you all. Keep me in your prayers. 

Love

Renfroe Elder. 

Hello!!! (10 November 2014)

Today is my birthday. And I have eaten a lot of chips. Ha. I got all 10 bags of chips! They are delicious. Korea just doesn't make good chips. :( 

This week was really crazy and it was my companion's turn to get sick, I guess. Haha. This weekend we were in the house a lot. And we had trainings and stuff that we had to do and prepare, so that took a lot of time. But it was really good. I think our training went really well. 

My favorite thing that we talked about was daily repentance for the Holy Ghost to remain in our lives. We have to be changing and yielding to the Holy Ghost to be able to continually feel it. We can't just ignore it and expect it to help us. We must be changed into who God wants us to be. I did a cool little chemistry trick at our zone meeting because we were talking about conversion. I filled a big bottle with ethanol and then shook it around and lit it on fire right after opening it. It just makes a flame for a little while. But it is alcohol, so it burns at a really low temperature. Anyways. Because we were talking about conversion. It is interesting that conversion is a real change. From one thing to another. Alcohol to water. It has certain ingredients. It takes time and energy and certain pushes and pulls. 

But the Spirit works the same way for us. It is changing us. Everyday there are things to do and ways to become. We just have to listen and act and rely on Him. 

I love you all! I am going to a zoo today. I have already been there before. But whatevs. It is Korea!

Keep me in your prayers!

Love,
Elder Renfroe

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Hello! (3 November 2014)

I wasn't able to write a big email yesterday because of a big meeting we have every month with all of the Zone Leaders. It was a really good meeting, but our P-day gets moved to Tuesday!

 

Anyways. Things are going well. I didn't lick any chicken this week, so no food poisoning anymore. But it is starting to get pretty chilly! At nights. Daytime is fine. Ha. 

 

Koreans are still Korean and they still speak Korean. I am really comfortable with Korean now. I don't worry about it really ever. But I still learn lots and have plenty to learn, of course. 

 

We have really hard investigators! They have a lot of potential, they just are people that will probably take a lot of time or people with complicated problems. But they really aren't that complicated, they are just missing a really basic principle or something. 

 

I don't know what else to write about... I am sure there was something interesting... It just all is the same to me at this point. Ha. 

 

I learn Chinese for an hour a day. I said that last week right? It is fun. Hahaha. 

 

This month we are focusing on the role of the Spirit in conversion. That is what we learned about at the meeting yesterday. It was really good. Something that stood out to me as I was thinking about our investigators is how concrete the promise is from Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things. It is not that we can have an idea about the truth or be 50% on it or think we know something. But it is a concrete knowledge. God can impress truths upon the soul in such a way that we know. It isn't based on a word in a scripture or the reasoning of a certain preacher or idea, but it is a knowledge only God can give and no one can take away. It takes faith and trust, but He teaches us so that we know. Not so that we think. It isn't guesswork. 

 

I love you all! Keep me in your prayers!!

 

Love, 

Elder Renfroe