11/11/2012
The tranfer's half over, its going fast, just not fast enough. This
week, we didn't do much...again. The best part of the week was
Thursday; we all went to mission headquarters for Zone Conference,
just over 1/2 of our mission was there. We discussed Elder Holland's
and Elder Bednar's talks. All I can say is re-read the talks and look
for the principles. They're true. On Saturday we had a Stake Musical
competition between the ward/branch choirs. the Sujeong ward placed
3rd! So we get new hymnbooks soon! Our song was called 만남, Mannam
(trans. Meeting). One of the judges was a sister from Jinhae, and she
was surprised to see me there, but we talked and it was good to see
her. She is kind of a regional opera star, I think she went to Austria
for a few years to study opera, and she sings amazingly. She did a
demo for everyone before the end of the competition; Carmen, you know,
that music from 'UP', when Mr. Fredricksen is riding down the stairs
in the automated chair; and I think she did it better than that. There
was also a high school senior that attends a high school for talented
students of all sorts; she sang 2 pieces in Italian, and if i hadn't
been watching, I wouldn't know she was Korean, because her
pronunciation was perfect. Other than that...our high school seniors
had their equivalent of the high school exit exam, except theirs is
hard; and all in one 4-hour sitting. So we made
chocolate...somethings, and sweet potato....somethings. Just rubber
ball-sized snacks. THe sweet potato thing was actually pretty good, i
just don't konw what it is with Korea and sweet potatos, they love
them almost as much as kimchi. In other
news, I bought 2 suits for about the price of 1 American suit on
Friday, they're super 모시 (stylish), and I'll have to take then send
pictures soon. This way I'll be able to rotate suits, and they'll all
last for a long time. So...there wasn't anything else that happened
this week. Hope all is well in Rescue, San Jose, Maui, and everywhere
else this will be read. Love you all lots! Remeber to prya, read the
Book of Mormon, and don't quit. I hate quitting, and I strongly
dislike when people quit. Remeber- It came to pass, not to stay.
Love,
Elder Honda
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Week 2 Transfer 3
10/28/2012
Hello! Before I say anything else, have you seen The Best 2 Years?
Yeah, here's like that, minus the best part. The area's partly in the
ghetto, and my companion reminds me very strongly of the trainer from
the best 2 years. Not in the good way either. Anyways, to be positive
:) The youth in this area are great; they study all day, every day,
even Saturday...and thats about all I know. We haven't done hardly any
work, which is why this letters quite a bit shorter than usual.
Anyways, the members here for the most part speak a decent amount of
english so they've been helpful for understaning, but i wish they
would just speak in Korean, a little slower, so I could learn that
better too. The area's not too bad, we try and stay away from the
sketchy areas, staying along the main road. The area looks a lot like
SF and NYC; downtown has tons of huge buildings, and there are hills
EVERYWHERE. Its a good workout :) The ward is small, about 30ish
members, even though it is the stake center. supposedly the
missionaries are in the aaronic priesthood presidency, so i should be
expecting that later. My old trainer Elder Lee Saac is my zone leader,
and my district leader is Elder Hoskins from Sandy, UT. It rained a
lot the other day, so we cleaned the apartment a little, because it
needed it...really bad. THe last elders in this area and house were my
companion and an elder that just finished and went home...which might
explain the state of the area, work, and house. I don't want to sound
like I'm complaining, it's just not the way the work is supposed to be
done. Anyways, i'll let you know next week how things get better, love
you all lots! Remember to read the Book of Mormon, pray fervently,
love one another, and hold strong.
Love,
Elder Christopher Ichiro Honda
Hello! Before I say anything else, have you seen The Best 2 Years?
Yeah, here's like that, minus the best part. The area's partly in the
ghetto, and my companion reminds me very strongly of the trainer from
the best 2 years. Not in the good way either. Anyways, to be positive
:) The youth in this area are great; they study all day, every day,
even Saturday...and thats about all I know. We haven't done hardly any
work, which is why this letters quite a bit shorter than usual.
Anyways, the members here for the most part speak a decent amount of
english so they've been helpful for understaning, but i wish they
would just speak in Korean, a little slower, so I could learn that
better too. The area's not too bad, we try and stay away from the
sketchy areas, staying along the main road. The area looks a lot like
SF and NYC; downtown has tons of huge buildings, and there are hills
EVERYWHERE. Its a good workout :) The ward is small, about 30ish
members, even though it is the stake center. supposedly the
missionaries are in the aaronic priesthood presidency, so i should be
expecting that later. My old trainer Elder Lee Saac is my zone leader,
and my district leader is Elder Hoskins from Sandy, UT. It rained a
lot the other day, so we cleaned the apartment a little, because it
needed it...really bad. THe last elders in this area and house were my
companion and an elder that just finished and went home...which might
explain the state of the area, work, and house. I don't want to sound
like I'm complaining, it's just not the way the work is supposed to be
done. Anyways, i'll let you know next week how things get better, love
you all lots! Remember to read the Book of Mormon, pray fervently,
love one another, and hold strong.
Love,
Elder Christopher Ichiro Honda
Transfer 3 Week 1
Wow, I can't believe this tranfer is over! It feels like at Disney,
where you blink and months have passed. Guess what? I transferred! I
already miss Jinhae, but Im sure I'll love my new area. I am in
Sujeong, in the heart of Busan. It's kind of...for lack of other
descriptions, ghetto, but only in comparison to Jinhae. Its not bad,
and I feel comfortable walking around here. Our house is older, but
bigger. Our area is huge, and I guess it takes all day just to visit
1-2 people. There are currently no investigators, but lots of work to
be done in the ward. My new companions name is Lee Hanur. He's from
Seoul and has about 4 transfers left. My old trainer Lee Sac is my
Zone Leader. Elder Hoskins is my District leader. We had a baptism
last week too! Her name is Baek Hahn Byeol, (translation in short:
Star). I got to baptize her, but she started crying for some reason or
got scared and couldn't relax, so it took 3 times and about 5 minutes
for her to be completely immersed. I love her family too, they were
supportive, and her father wants to be baptized even more now. When he
does, they will all be members. When they announced my transfer in
Sacrament, all the Sisters in the ward gasped, it was pretty funny,
kind of like finding out the age change rule in Conference. Today was
a sad day, because at transfer day the missionaries who leave talk for
the last time, and there were a few who I was kind of attatched to,
and next transfer day will be even worse. But, all who left are
excited to use what they learned on their mission, and all testified
of the Savior. And im starting to realize that that is what this work
is about. I feel like every day I learn more and more, but I also
realize that I know less and less. I wonder if i'll ever know enough,
but I'm sure it'll be fine: who the Lord calls, He qualifies. Love you
all, I'm excited to tell you about my area next week when I find out
more about it! Remember to love and serve each other, READ THE BOOK OF
MORMON!, help the missionaries as if they were your own children, and
keep the faith! 화이팅!
Love
Elder Christopher Ichiro Honda
where you blink and months have passed. Guess what? I transferred! I
already miss Jinhae, but Im sure I'll love my new area. I am in
Sujeong, in the heart of Busan. It's kind of...for lack of other
descriptions, ghetto, but only in comparison to Jinhae. Its not bad,
and I feel comfortable walking around here. Our house is older, but
bigger. Our area is huge, and I guess it takes all day just to visit
1-2 people. There are currently no investigators, but lots of work to
be done in the ward. My new companions name is Lee Hanur. He's from
Seoul and has about 4 transfers left. My old trainer Lee Sac is my
Zone Leader. Elder Hoskins is my District leader. We had a baptism
last week too! Her name is Baek Hahn Byeol, (translation in short:
Star). I got to baptize her, but she started crying for some reason or
got scared and couldn't relax, so it took 3 times and about 5 minutes
for her to be completely immersed. I love her family too, they were
supportive, and her father wants to be baptized even more now. When he
does, they will all be members. When they announced my transfer in
Sacrament, all the Sisters in the ward gasped, it was pretty funny,
kind of like finding out the age change rule in Conference. Today was
a sad day, because at transfer day the missionaries who leave talk for
the last time, and there were a few who I was kind of attatched to,
and next transfer day will be even worse. But, all who left are
excited to use what they learned on their mission, and all testified
of the Savior. And im starting to realize that that is what this work
is about. I feel like every day I learn more and more, but I also
realize that I know less and less. I wonder if i'll ever know enough,
but I'm sure it'll be fine: who the Lord calls, He qualifies. Love you
all, I'm excited to tell you about my area next week when I find out
more about it! Remember to love and serve each other, READ THE BOOK OF
MORMON!, help the missionaries as if they were your own children, and
keep the faith! 화이팅!
Love
Elder Christopher Ichiro Honda
Week 12-Transfer 2 Week 6
Hello! ^v^ I got a haircut by the way today, I'll have to take a picture because I'm never voluntarily getting my hair cut this way ever again...This last week was really busy, but great. For our P-day we went to Jinju, where they had an Obon-style festival going on. got some great pictures that I'll send in the mail soon; Jinju Castle is famous for a battle against the Japanese in the 1800's, and the Korean's won. And yes, many Koreans don't like Japanese still. Good thing I look American ;) We've ran into so many crazy people here, in the way of religion. 2 times now we've spent an hour listening to people scream at us about how we don't understand religion (including our own), and basically told us to stop wasting other peoples time. What's funny is, after we ask them a few short questions, such as why they think we're teaching the Gospel, they get really...quiet. There's just a lack of love when it's their turn to 'preach', and the evidence of our power and authority is made clear as we share our message with the love that theirs lacked; even for me, who speaks so little Korean. We had another training meeting; and the younger missionaries were there too, and I'm surprised at how much I could understand. Ah, when I get back before I go to school, I have to make something for you all called 'pot bing su'. Its like Hawaiian shave ice, but better. Shaved ice, sweet milk, azuki, fresh fruit, sometimes corn flakes, ice cream ,and vanilla syrup. And 'choco bing su', which is the above minus azuki and fruit plus chocolate cereal and cocolate ice cream. Its really super good. Our 4 14-year old investigators are really hard to meet with now, so we can't teach nearly as often anymore. but I may be transferring next Monday, so you'll know next Monday if I've moved or not! But I am definitely either going next week or next transfer, just because that's what President Gilbert does. General Conference was great; Elder Bednar's words were a lot like the Character of Christ talk he gave last Christmas in the MTC that we watched; and I encourage to read Elder Christofferson's talk from Priesthood, and focus on the word 'equal', as all people should be. It was a really great conference, and I can promise you as an apostolic (with a small 'm') witness of the Savior, that if you follow the counsel given in Conference, the promised blessings will follow. As far as general questions I remember; yes, I've lost a lot of weitht. That picture of me and my old companion and Pres. and Sister Gilbert; the tie is a little short, but my spare tire was poking out a bit...but Ive lots about 20ish pounds; last weight was 179. Thank you kimchee~you thought the cabbage salad blew through me...Anyways, at conference I ran into a girl who teaches English in Masan which is about 30 minutes away. Guess where I know her from? Yeah, Disney. We both worked at the same time, but she did merchandise at many resorts; her name is Cybil Tanner, who also is really good friends with Justin and Jason Ward my old roommates. So Molly, you may have met her at church, once. We have some of the best missionaries ever here; they're really nice, compliment my Korean, and are always encouraging. One of our members got his gallbladder removed last week so we went to see him at the hospital. I love being a missionary. But I have never been this kind of tired; I don't think it's possible to be this tired and still function under normal circumstances. I love Korea, but honestly, once I'm done serving the people here, I don't want stay. There's too much here that pulls away from what we teach, in so many different ways, and I don't think I could keep the momentum going without the authority and purpose that I have gained from this calling. It is a lovely place, with much to see and offer, but...it's spiritually tiring, just as the 3 Nephite disciples mourned over the sins of their people, I do too... I have come to love these people, but there's only so much that I can do, before I, like those disciples, just can't stay anymore, and that time of protection and strength and power is very short, less that 2 years in fact. Anyways, I love you all, and please, hold on to the rod for you life, limit your contact with the world, or in the words of President Monson- "Dare to be a Mormon, dare to stand alone"
Love,
Elder Christopher Ichiro Honda
혼다 장로
Conference Weekend
Hi :)
How was conference? I heard it was great, and all I heard so far was
the change of age for missionaries. Thats going to be a big change! We
will watch conference thisweekend at Masan. Right now we are in Jinju
on a Zone Pday. Im not sure what we have planned, but I've never been
in this area before so I will take lots of pictures! We got 4 new investigators, all 14 years
old, so its tough getting them to focus for more than 5 min but ive
learned how to love them. I'll
keep working hard, and start working on a longer handwritten letter
that i'll send eventually. Love you lots, hope you have a great week!
Love, Elder Honda
How was conference? I heard it was great, and all I heard so far was
the change of age for missionaries. Thats going to be a big change! We
will watch conference thisweekend at Masan. Right now we are in Jinju
on a Zone Pday. Im not sure what we have planned, but I've never been
in this area before so I will take lots of pictures! We got 4 new investigators, all 14 years
old, so its tough getting them to focus for more than 5 min but ive
learned how to love them. I'll
keep working hard, and start working on a longer handwritten letter
that i'll send eventually. Love you lots, hope you have a great week!
Love, Elder Honda
yeah!
Hi again :) So I again have just a few minutes but I guess I
should say a little bit about Chuseok ( Koreas Thanksgiving), even though there's not that
much different that we did. A member invited us over for lunch and it
was delicious but they ate earlier in the day so it was just my
companion and I eating. I dont know what anything was called, and i
guess neither did my companion, but it was good, a little meat, a good
soup, a lot of fruit, and some different types of dumplings, some like
gyoza others like chashyu. and i did find out about Mollys call :) its
exciting!
I'll try to start doing better with handwritten letters, we really are
always short on time on P-days, for everything, including writing,
shopping, travelling, and cleaning. I may be able to borrow someone's
card reader here so i can download and send you some pictures in the
next few weeks :) The language is getting better bit by bit, but
everyone talkes so fast, its hard to understand.
We had stake conference last month, and yes, it was all in
korean, and i understood maybe 5 words for the entire 2 hours they
speak that fast. we'll watch conference the week after, they translate
it into a DVD and we watch in English, the Koreans in Korean.
Elder Robert D. Hales " there is
no failure except in giving up". Keep up the
great work!
Love, Elder Christopher Honda
should say a little bit about Chuseok ( Koreas Thanksgiving), even though there's not that
much different that we did. A member invited us over for lunch and it
was delicious but they ate earlier in the day so it was just my
companion and I eating. I dont know what anything was called, and i
guess neither did my companion, but it was good, a little meat, a good
soup, a lot of fruit, and some different types of dumplings, some like
gyoza others like chashyu. and i did find out about Mollys call :) its
exciting!
I'll try to start doing better with handwritten letters, we really are
always short on time on P-days, for everything, including writing,
shopping, travelling, and cleaning. I may be able to borrow someone's
card reader here so i can download and send you some pictures in the
next few weeks :) The language is getting better bit by bit, but
everyone talkes so fast, its hard to understand.
We had stake conference last month, and yes, it was all in
korean, and i understood maybe 5 words for the entire 2 hours they
speak that fast. we'll watch conference the week after, they translate
it into a DVD and we watch in English, the Koreans in Korean.
Elder Robert D. Hales " there is
no failure except in giving up". Keep up the
great work!
Love, Elder Christopher Honda
Hi :) We had a bit of an emergency with one of the neighboring Elders (he's fine, just going to Army Training) so we had a sudden change of plans. I'm glad that your week went by fast and its ok about he letter :) We do get the Liahona which is all 3 magazines in one, so you don't have to worry about that.I think the picture was at mission ;headquarters in Busan \, but I'm not sure because I can't see it. So far the computers that I have used haven't let me upload pictures except for the one in Miryang, but I wont be going there soon so when I get the chance i'll send more :) and it would be easier if you just put all the pictures you want to send in a zip file and sent it; to me in an email, because i need permission o go on the internet for anything other than email every time, so that way would just be easier. The Korean thanksgiving is on this next Monday and we are going to Busan as a mission, so we will probably be able to send a short email on Tuesday It is called 추석 pronounced 'chew-suck' and its supposed to be delicious :) As for my daily life, I get up and study every morning 1 hour by myself, 1 hour with my companion to practice teaching lessons, 1 hour to practice fundamentals of missionary work, and 1 hour to study the language. after we eat lunch we go to an appointment if we have it, if not we talk to people on the bus or streets to find people to teach, and visit member homes to help them get involved Every week, we have a district meeting just Jinhae and Miryang, here we set goals, learn from Preach my Gospel together, and many other learning activities. On Thursday we serve at the Senior Welfare Center, helping to teach English and serving food and washing dished. Every Saturday at 6:30 am we play soccer with the young men for about 2 hours,and I've gotten a little better. we also try to organize a youth activity every other week; this last week we played basketball for a few hours after our own English class. On Thursday night we teach 2 young men a my gospel class; 1 got his call to Daejeon, and the other will send in his papers after he finishes military in about 1 year.l normally we email from church computer, but there's usually just 1, and right now I'm mailing from a bus station, so really its just wherever we can find a place that has internet. anyways I gotta go, if you want you can send this one to your blog, because I'm nearly out of time and i still need to write my letter to president about this week's work. love ;you lots, be safe have fun remember to read the book of Mormon and pray always.
Love lots
Elder Christopher Ichiro Honda
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