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Thursday, August 7, 2014

4 Weeks Till Seoul!

Dear Friends and Family,

I don't know about about you guys, but the weeks are going by so fast now.  It really seems like yesterday that I sent my last e-mail.  But anyways, I have continued to get closer to my companions.  It's going to be sad to see them leave.  Elder Harvey, who is going to Anaheim, leaves in two weeks.  He will have stayed in the MTC for 8 weeks with only 6 weeks of Korean.  He really works so hard everyday so he can be ready in this very quick period of time.  He, along with Elder Bluhm, keep me focused everyday to meet my goals.  I tend to have a hard time completely focusing, but I make progress everyday that brings me closer to the Lord and helps me to continually serve him.

This week in our classes, we learned more Korean and more about this wonderful gospel.  The Korean language sentence structure is Subject, Object, Verb (Don't worry, I learned this a long time ago, but I'm still getting used to it).  And each week we make more and more complex sentences that are really hard to remember, unless I continually use them.  To do this, our teachers constantly encourage us to SYL (Speak Your Language).  It's very hard to remember to do this, but as I have focused on it I have seen miraculous progress.  Everything that has been put in place here at the MTC has been inspired to help us learn more than we ever could have imagined.  

Additionally, we have continued to practice progressing investigators each day.  These lessons take tons of time to prepare for and immense focus.  It is definitely difficult to listen to the investigator, my companions, and the spirit all at the same time.  What's even more difficult is that its all in Korean and I sometimes I have no idea whats being said.  Even with these circumstances, I have seen miracles.  The other day, when an "investigator" told me about a concern of his, I found myself responding with exactly what he needed to hear, all in Korean.  It amazed me what was coming out of my mouth.  It was so surprising that during those sentences I was thinking, "Wow, this is the Holy Ghost."  My companion also commented that he was shocked when he heard a complete change of voice followed by flawless Korean and no stuttering.  This was quite the testimony to me of the scripture in D&C 84:85 which states that "it shall be given you in the very hour" by the Holy Ghost. I am so grateful for experiences like this that remind me that God truly does care about me.

The devotionals this week were great, again!  On fast Sunday, we watched a video of a Jeffery R. Holland talk that he gave on Thanksgiving.  The talk touched on the fact that we are really so lucky to be living during this time when so many great things are being brought to pass.  He talked about how Prophets from the beginning have seen our time and worked towards this moment even though they knew they would fail with their own people.  I can only imagine what it must have been like for Prophets like Nephi and Mormon who knew that their people would fall into wickedness and be destroyed. We must take advantage of this time where the fullness of Christ's gospel is on the Earth. 

Quite a few funny things have happened this week.  Yesterday, Brother Christensen accidentally ripped his shirt while flexing.  I almost died laughing.  And our other teacher, Brother Sung, drove to the MTC without his glasses because he couldn't find them and he was going to be late.  He seemed blind during class; however, he still thought he was a better driver than his brother who also works at the MTC.  

I am doing really well at the MTC.  I almost have the entire first vision memorized in Korean.  Hopefully, I'll have it by the end of the day.  Thanks again for your prayers.  I feel the strength that comes as being a missionary of Jesus Christ.  My testimony grows of this wonderful gospel everyday.  I know it is true.  If you have any questions, just email me!  I'd love to hear from you!

Love,

Elder Wheeler



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