Nokbeon Week 4

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a super great week in the mission field!  Of course, the headliner of this week was the baptism of Jee-Hoon who is just doing super well.  Elder Song met him about a week before I got here, and we have been teaching him ever since.  He has really opened up to us about the things he has gone through.  Because of his tough situation back at home, he has struggled through his life.  And although baptism is just the start, he already seems to have made a lot of progress.  The Bishop has really taken a big interest in his situation.  So through all the lessons, he decided he wanted to be baptized and the service went really well.

So on the day of the service, we forgot to remind him to bring his white shirt to wear for the service, so he ran home and back in like 15-minutes and made it right before sacrament meeting.  That was a little embarrassing on our part, not to mention that we accidentally flooded the baptismal font... I didn't realize there were TWO valves to turn off, so one of the clerks shoveled out water for a good 10 minutes, flooding the women's restroom.  However, regardless of those two disasters, it all worked out like it always does.  Our mission President came and spoke, along with the Bishop and a young single adult member.  We, as the missionaries in Noekbun, sang a hymn, along with the young single adults singing a song from the children's song book.  It was a super special and spiritual service, and my favorite part was Jee-Hoon's huge smile after he was baptized.  

This week also included a wonderful temple visit on Tuesday where we heard the final testimonies of missionaries returning home this transfer.  I really enjoyed it.  As for P-day yesterday, we spent the whole time at our ward mission leader's house trying to move an industrial sized oven into the second story of this house.  Let's just say between the angry landlord and the small balcony we had to fit the oven through, we were there forever.  It was quite the experience, especially since we forgot to bring an extra pair of clothes.  However, it all worked out and we were able to eat tons of delicious kimchi stew afterwards.  We didn't have any time to e-mail because of our late appointment.

Among other things this week, we had the opportunity to visit a family in the ward whose son leaves for the two year mandatory military service this next week.  We had some great watermelon and felt welcomed in their comfortable home.  Although I probably sweated through all my clothes this week, it was a great learning experience, especially with my wise companion Elder Song.  He relates so well with people and continues to constantly teach me.

Thanks for all the support!

Your Favorite Missionary,

Elder Wheeler

 

 

Elder Yetter and Elder Wheeler at the temple on July 14, 2015

Elder Wheeler and Elder Pons

Elder Song and Elder Wheeler

Elder Landford and Elder Wheeler



Elder Lanford and Elder Wheeler

Back Row:  Elder Wheeler, Elder Yetter, Elder Pons, Elder Mattingly, Elder Hansen
Front Row:  Elder Jeong, Elder Song, and two sister missionaries at the temple

 

 



Elder Jeong, Elder Pons, Elder Mattingly and Elder Yetter



Elder Yetter slack lining



Chase slack lining while Elder Cazier watches

Chase and Elder Hansen

Elder Yetter

Chase, Elder Song and Elder Yetter

Elder Wheeler, Elder Song and Jee-Hoon at his baptism July 19, 2015



Elder Wheeler, Jee-Hoon, Elder Song, Sister Sonksen, President Sonksen and a ward member



Jee-Hoon's baptism

Elder Hansen, Elder Mattingly, Elder Yetter, Jee-Hoon, Elder Song,
Elder Pons, Elder Jeong and Elder Wheeler

Now that's a smile!



Jee-Hoon and Elder Song

Elders Cazier, Hansen, Jeong, Wheeler, Song, Pons, Mattingly and Yetter

Elders Yetter, Mattingly, Song and Pons

Elder Song

The roof

Working Hard

Elder Jeong

Elders Yetter, Song, Hansen and ?

Elder Song

A much deserved meal after a working hard

Front table:  Elder Mattingly, Elder Pons, Elder Hansen, Elder Yetter
Back table: Elder Wheeler, Elder Song, Elder Jeong, Elder Cazier

The ward mission leader?

 

Nokbeon Week 3 - 날씨가 왜 그래요? Translation: And the weather is?

Dear Family and Friends,

 

This week was a roller coaster of weather.  We had a super hot night on Friday and, since we don't have air conditioning, we all sweated through studies on Saturday morning.  Luckily, we each have a fan that we put to use 24/7.  Plus, it was so humid, so it was impossible to get dry after we showered.  Then the rain started to pour on Sunday, which was a much needed answer to our prayers.  It's currently raining right now and it looks like it may increase the next couple of days.

Regardless of the weather though, we had a blast running around and doing missionary work this week.  Brother Jee-Hoon is still planning to get baptized this weekend, and to make it better, the members really helped us teach the commandments to him this past week.  Our investigator had a pretty scary nightmare on Wednesday, so we met him and really helped him calm down.  He came to the church breathing heavily, with a wild look in his eyes.  I felt the guidance of the Spirit helping me to share comforting words.

Saturday was probably the craziest day of the week.  We got a call right after language study from a guy that we met the day before who asked if we had time to eat lunch! So he took us to eat pig intestine soup which was magically delicious!  He was impressed by how well I ate it.  Although he didn't seem to have a lot of interest in our message, he took a Book of Mormon and agreed to read it.  After our lunch appointment, we headed over to the church so I could plan with Elder Pons (My Zone Leader) for a presentation that the Bishop asked us to give to the youth.  We shared some pictures of our families and some interesting videos that our parents sent us.  Everyone loved the skiing video that featured Sam Hettinger on a snow board and Gray falling hard at the end.  In the end, we were able to show the youth how fun living the gospel can be.  After we played some games with them, we had a small testimony meeting and then headed to English Class.

English class went so well that one of the attendees took us to his house to have dinner with him.  We had a great discussion along with one of the other English class members who tagged along.  During our meal, we got a phone call inviting us to the funeral of a member's mom.  So we took a taxi there and had a really spiritual meeting which mainly consisted of hymns.  It still amazes me at how powerful music is.

Thanks so much for all support and love I have received.

Your Favorite Missionary,

Elder Wheeler

Here are some questions my Mom asked me and my responses:

1.  What is something difficult you are being asked to do?

 

One thing that has challenged us this week was a commitment from the Zone Leaders to invite one person to be baptized each day.  It's pretty difficult because it can be pretty awkward if we're not confident and especially since all of the people we invite are those who we run into on the street.

2.  What new foods have you tried recently?

 

Pig Intestine soup.  I also have gotten pretty good at cooking Korean food such as Kimchi stew, curry, and soybean stew.  We eat lots of rice.

3.  What's something you miss about America?

 

I probably miss Chipotle the most at this point, outside of my family.  I also miss the space in America.  Everything here is really cramped.  I honestly have trouble fitting into most restaurants.

4.  What do you love the most about Korea?

 

My favorite thing about Korea is honestly the people.  They are so loving and willing to go out of their way to help you.  I can't tell you how many times people have just bought and given me free stuff along with helping me find where I am going.  

5.  Do you feel safe where you are living and serving?

 

Yes, I feel very safe here in Korea.

6.  How are things with your companion and your language? 

 

I'm doing well with my companion.  I pretty much speak in Korean all the time now, even to Americans...

 

Elder Yetter wearing Brother Charles' glasses

 Elder Song, Elder Jeong, Elder Hansen, Han, Elder Yetter and Brother Charles
eating chicken and watermelon at the church before the youth meeting.

Elder Yetter, Brother Charles and Elder Pons

Sign in front of the church

Large church across the street

 

Nokbeon Week 2

Dear beloved Family and Friends,

This week was filled with interesting and cool experiences.  One thing that went well this week was member present lessons. Two members helped us out this week to teach the two investigators that we are currently working with.  Jee-Hoon who is 24 years old is continuing to progress really well.  We taught him about keeping the Sabbath day holy and it went really well.  We're still pushing forward for the baptismal service on the 19th.  As for our other investigator who is about 60 years old, he loves meeting with us and learning about the Book of Mormon.  We watched the restoration together this past week, and he told us that he almost thinks it's true.  I'm not exactly sure what that means, but he really likes the Book of Mormon. I just think that he will have problems changing his lifestyle and acting on the message.

This week we had the wonderful opportunity to meet our Mission President and his wife.  His wife is a convert to the church from Cleveland, Ohio.  President Sonksen is a business man who originally did International banking, but he decided to buy a peanut butter company on a whim. He is true business man.  We had the chance to ask him questions and he gave a great training on "What does the Lord want me to learn today?"  He taught us a lot about learning personal things though the Spirit at each and every training.  We also headed to a meat buffet on the fourth of July.  It was a great and cheap restaurant that we all heavily enjoyed.  It was the closest we could get to a grill...

I had a really inspiring experience yesterday which was fast Sunday.  I was fasting to have the Spirit with me more in my missionary work, because all missionaries need it, right? Anyways, we were walking back from a street boarding activity to our house to have dinner.  It was past five o' clock, so I was naturally in a rush to get back home and break my fast.  While we were walking home, we passed this guy who was sitting and smoking a cigarette.  He had a beard and didn't look very likely to hear us out.  However, after I walked past, I just got this voice repeating in my head, encouraging me to talk to him.  I knew I would feel guilty later if I didn't say anything, so I turned around, walked back, and said hi.  We ended up teaching him the whole restoration of the gospel right there on the bench.  It was a super cool experience and an answer to my prayers to have the spirit with me more.  My companion was pretty shocked along with me.  He took a Book of Mormon, and we got his phone number to call and meet up later.

Thanks for all the prayers.  This work is so tiring, yet so rewarding.  Love you all so much!

Your Favorite Missionary,

Elder Wheeler
 

Chase with his district leader, Elder Mattingly

 

Missionaries walking through a tunnel after Zone Conference

Chase celebrating the 4th of July in Korea

 

Nokbeon Week 1

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was packed with activities and events.  On Monday, when I was still in Sokcho, we ate some delicious soup with a full sized chicken in it.  Brother Kim and his wife from our Branch took us out, and it tasted so good.  Brother Kim is just so hilarious. Then that night, we met with Sister Lee and had a great conversation with her.  On Tuesday, my companion and I met with Brother Jeon at another great restaurant before I took the bus into Seoul for transfers.  We had another good conversation, but Brother Jeon has seemed to change his thought process around 180 degrees.  I then took the trip into Seoul with Elder Lanford.

 

In Seoul for transfers, I met my new Korean companion, Elder Song Hyeon Bin, and we headed out together.  We live with another companionship - Elder Yetter and Elder Hansen.  My companion is Korean from the lower part of Korea called Ursan.  This is his 6th Transfer while this is my 8th in Korea.  Elder Yetter is from Mesa, AZ and Elder Hansen is from Rexburg, ID.  This is Elder Hansen's 4th transfer and Elder Yetter's 9th transfer in Korea.  For the record, transfers are every six weeks and each Elder gets about 15 transfers in Korea because of the 12 weeks spent in the MTC.  There are 8 Elders and 2 Sisters in our district.  The District and Zone Leaders all live separately from us in a smaller house.

 

As for the investigators that we are meeting with, one is a 24 year-old man who we were able to set a baptismal date with this week.  His name is Jeehoon and just returned from the 2 year mandatory military army service 1 month ago.  We have already taught him the first three lessons, and he is really interested in changing his life.  He has experienced some really tough circumstances.  Since his Dad works all day, he doesn't see him very much.  He lives in a one room house, eats Ramen noodles every meal, and has one pair of clothes.  He is a super kind guy, but lacks a lot of confidence because of his circumstances. 

 

On Sunday I spoke in front of the ward (congregation) for the first time. It was a little more nerve-racking than in Sokcho because there were over 150 people there.  I got them all to laugh though, so that's good right? They are all super kind, and we were even able to meet with the 1st councilor to the bishop and his wife for dinner on Sunday.  We had a great talk with them and about their son who has gone astray with drugs and tough friends.  They gave us a special assignment to meet with their son and his friends to set a good example for them.  My companion is awesome and just works really well with all the helpful members.  He is helping me a lot with my Korean, but more importantly he continues to push me to work harder.  I'm so excited to do the Lord's work here.

Thanks for all the love and support!

Your Favorite Missionary,

Elder Wheeler

 



Meal with the Kims



Sister and Brother Kim from the Sokcho Branch



Brother Kim, Elder Lanford, Elder Choi,
Elder Wheeler and Elder Shin (L to R)

Elder Lanford, Sister Lee and Elder Wheeler

Brother Jeon with Elder Wheeler



Chase in front of the meetinghouse in Sokcho

Doyeong with Elder Wheeler



Elder Choi and Elder Wheeler

Chase with his new companion, Elder Song

Chase with Elder Lee

Elder Julseth (Chase's first companion in Korea) and Elder Wheeler

Elder Wheeler and Elder Herron
(who was a missionary in Sokcho when Chase
first arrived there)

Elder Song Hyeon Bin



Chase's apartment in Nokbun

Chase's apartment building in Nokbun

 

Sokcho - Week 30

Dear Friends and Family,

So, I'll start off today with an interesting story.  I was walking along the street next to a seafood restaurant with the owner standing outside. I started to talk to him about this prize wheel he had outside his restaurant, and he invited me to spin it (usually you have to pay money to do it).  After it landed on shrimp, he took me and my companion over to the fish tank, pulled out two living shrimp, broke them open in front of us and let me eat it. I was super surprised by the amazing taste of this huge shrimp while it was still squirming around in my hand.  Best Shrimp Ever!

We received our transfer call Saturday Night, and it turns out that I will be moving to a city in Seoul called Nokbeon.  I'm excited because I'll be with a Korean companion, but I'm also sad to leave this amazing and very interesting place (as one can tell from the above story). Elder Choi will become the Branch President for his last three transfers here in Sokcho.  The ward in Nokbun is about 150 members strong, so that will be quite the change from Sokcho. 

This week we had a couple interesting things take place.  This past Thursday, we went to Wonju, a bigger city outside of Seoul, for President and Sister Christensen's farewell Conference.  It was an inspiring and uplifting conference, but also slightly sad because our wonderful mission President and his wife are leaving on June 30th.  He and his wife are just so amazing.  Over in Wonju we had some delicious Doncas (Fried Pork Cutlet- Japanese food).  Plus this week, I got to go on exchanges with Elder Demordaunt who is finishing his mission this week.  He has just been an amazing Zone Leader and I have learned so much from the way he works, loves, and invites the spirit.  Although our exchange was cut short because of Elder Choi's pinched nerve in his neck, I still learned a lot.

This week we also saw a miracle when we visited Brother Jeon's house with a plate of cupcakes.  He didn't open his door, so we walked down the stairs, only to hear him calling my name from the 15th floor.  We were shocked to have him call us up and have the chance to talk with him.  He's doing well, just really confused at the moment about what to do. We have been working with about 4 less active members of the branch and they are so awesome and close to coming back to church.  We also are continuing to work with Doyeong, who won't get baptized this week unfortunately.  I think we are going to bring a member and talk with his parents.  Brother Lim is doing super well, progressing really quickly.  Lastly, we picked up a really cool new investigator this past week who attends another church right now, but is interested in learning about other churches.  He took a Book of Mormon and agreed to read it.

I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve here with these amazing members that I learned so much from.  I especially learned a lot about my Savior Jesus Christ.  I have been so blessed to be here and learn about myself, and how I can better live up to my potential as a son of God.  Sokcho is such an amazing place, especailly since I came to know my Savior better here.  This is pretty much how I view Sokcho. "And now it came to pass that all this was done in Sokcho, yea, by the waters of Sokcho, in the forest that was near the waters of Sokcho; yea, the place of Sokcho, the waters of Sokcho, the forest of Sokcho, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever." Mosiah 18:30 (I replaced Mormon with Sokcho)

Thanks for all the love and support!

Your Favorite Missionary,

Elder Wheeler

Sister Christensen serving treats at the last Zone Conference before
the end of President and Sister Christensen's mission



Elder Shin, Elder Landford, President and Sister Christensen,
Elder Choi and Elder Wheeler



Chase with Sister Christensen (6-18-15)

Meal in Wonju - Doncas (Fried Pork Cutlet- Japanese food)

Chase - ready to dig in!

Elder Demordaunt and Elder Wheeler

Elder Bluhm (Chase's MTC Companion) and Elder Wheeler

Elder Wheeler and Elder Osborn

Saying goodbye in Sokcho (6-21-15)
Elder Wheeler with Yoonsung

Elder Wheeler and Seokjae

Chase taking farewell photos on his last Sunday
at the Sokcho Branch

Elder Wheeler with a young woman in the Sokcho branch
who didn't want to take a picture with him!

The awesome members of the Sokcho Branch

A gold Audi