Faith, Prepared kids, and a lot of heat... Closing off another in Ilsan! August 14, 2016

 Morning everyone! Wishing you all a happy anniversary today... What of? Korean independence! Korea today celebrates its liberation from Japanese colonization shortly following World War 2.

So the atmosphere in Korea today is a lively one!

But as for the events of this past week here in Korea Seoul, our team has been starting to find lots of tender mercies as we set appointments to teach lessons at an accelerating rate to prepare ourselves for this coming week! It seems like God is trusting us with some of His prepared children to work with this coming week.

However, not all appointments are alike. This week, for instance, we set an appointment with, we thought, a nice kid we met by the lake and talked with for a bit, who we couldn't get a phone number from but we gave him a card with our number on it. So we go down there with high expectations, but soon we find that it wasn't him, but a middle-aged woman working as a missionary from a rather infamous church here in Korea. We quickly left the situation, with a warning from president not to work with people of that religion.

But later on, we were able to meet with Eliot and help him work on his commitment to live the Word of Wisdom. It went really well and we gave him a new baptismal date for the 2nd of November (which gives him enough time to quit entirely)!

And just yesterday, we left a ward gathering early because we felt like there were prepared people outside, and as the dinner had ended it wasn't too big of a deal to step out. So me and my companion go out to talk to people, and we find not one, but two really prepared kids on the street! One doesn't have a phone, but we're meeting with the other one on Wednesday to teach the Restoration!

And lastly, Transfers are in, and me and Elder Conley are to stay together in Ilsan! However, the other elders out here will be closing their area and combining it with ours as they move out to other areas. So we'll have a lot more people to talk about next week!

Thanks for reading my long email, and I'll close it off with a quick thought.

This week I learned that the principle of faith not only means faith in Christ, as important and essential as that is. It also includes faith in yourself. You have to believe that you, with God's help, are able to accomplish anything, and that you can do the things that God expects of you. Then, when you are weak or cannot go any farther, having faith in Christ allows you to have confidence in the future, and that things will all work out.

Love you all, and I'll talk to you next week!

~Elder Skinner

Exchange Miracles! Aug. 7, 2016

Morning everyone! How's it going in the world today? I don't really know, honestly, but if North Korea ever does something... Anyway. On to the weekly email stuff!

The monsoon season is up and roaring out here, and while there's not a whole lot of rain, it's sure been hot and humid. I'm not a big fan either, but so far I've been able to deal with it pretty well. Lots of water, sunscreen, shady areas and air-conditioned buildings, and just about anything we can think of to get out of the heat.

In the midst of all this heat, my companion (Elder the Best Companion Ever) goes down to meet with the Zone Leaders and passes the second level of LPP, the Korean language learning program. So we're all super proud of him and stuff.

Later on in the week we had a zone proselyting activity in our area, where we set up some fun activities and used them to teach people about the Gospel. As the district leader of Ilsan, it was my job to get everything prepared and set up and make sure it was good! And at first, it didn't look like it was gonna go too great, but amidst the stress of the situation, I took a minute to pray and was able to think clearly enough to move everything over to a better location and allow the zone to find lots of miracles!

We're still meeting with Eliot and though his baptismal date is fallen through, he's still doing well and we're trying to help him to progress towards a new one.

On exchanges, me and Elder Judd saw a few cool miracles! We met three nice people (all of whom spoke English ^^;; ) and though none of them were able to meet again, they were super cool! Exchanges always bring miracles!

Then on Saturday, we hosted a Mutual night with the YM/YW. I hosted a game of Mafia, and at first it turned out a lot like the zone activity- it looked like it was gonna be a flop, and no one was gonna come. But we waited it out, and the people that were there got it on like Donkey Kong and started calling everyone that wasn't there, so that 30 minutes later, we were able to have an awesome activity.

So this week I guess you could say I learned a lot about relying on the Lord in times of stress. It's comforting to know that after you've done all that you can do and things seem like they're about to fall apart, the Lord makes sure that things will work out somehow.

Long email is long, but one more item of business... This week we got 12 packs of the spiciest ramen in Korea! Wish me luck this week as I try to finish this 불닭 볶음면! (Bul-dak Bokkum Myeon- Spicy Chicken flavoured stir-fried noodles).

Love you all,

~Elder Skinner

They don't pay me enough to do this in only an hour! July 31, 2016

Meaning that once again, I don't have much time! But here's the week in wrap-up!

Monday was not P-day, but we still had a great time having a streetboarding activity and going down to Wondang (The other area in my district) to conduct Language-Progress assessment with one of the sisters in the district.

Tuesday was not only P-day, but we went to the Temple! As always it was an awesome experience, and afterwards we took some pictures, ate sushi, and went down to Dongdaemun to buy some fancy ties!

Wednesday I had district meeting! It was scary! But it went well and the spirit helped me to teach the district what we needed.

Friday we went back to Seoul to have a meeting with former Korea Mission president, President Brown! He taught us some cool lessons about missionary work and about the history of Korea in the gospel. I also went on exchanges with my Zone leaders!

Sunday we met with Eliot! He stopped answering his phone so we went down to his house and he was there and we went out and taught him a bit. He drank last night, but is still willing to meet and in interested in the Gospel!

Sorry but my companion's waiting for me! I'll talk to you all next week!

~Elder Skinner 

The Battle Axe of +3 teaching skills July 24, 2016

Morning everyone! Elder Skinner's back this week with another reference to Dungeons and Dragons (which my companion is a pretty good fan of) and another weekly email! This week in Korea... It was hot, and humid! We've had to get pretty creative in the ways we were able to cool down and keep hydrated, but we haven't had any negative side effects yet!

Other news from this week, we played board games at a cafe with our Zone Leaders on P-day (one of them being my MTC companion) and we got playing an old western-style game, and I was the Sheriff... and I won. Obviously I just kept cool about it and stuff but it was pretty intense.

This Tuesday I went on exchanges with Elder Conley!.. He's already my companion, but since we are Co-Senior, we decided it would be fun to have a day where we went on exchanges with each other. It was great fun, and we learned a lot and made everything fun.

I also went on exchanges with Elder Apigo, making this round 2 with him! Reason is, when I was all the way back in Shinchon, Elder Apigo was in his first transfer, companions with a Zone Leader. As my companion was District Leader, Elder Apigo and I were left together in Shinchon to work for a day. Now he's back, and the roles are switched around a bit! We were able to teach two lessons with new investigators, who were both awesome!

Lastly, because I have to get going, was President Interviews, a lunch appointment with a member, and Weekly Planning, all in one day! It was a great day, the food was awesome- Shabu Shabu and Rice Paper Rolls. I would highly reccommend it.

Thank you all for tuning in, and I'll talk to you all next week! DFTBA!

~Elder Skinner

Looking like a scrub, I have no idea how to be a District Leader, and other sentiments July 17, 2016

Time is short, but good morning, afternoon, or brunch to all those who roam the earth!

This week the missionary work has been going smoothly and splendidly. I was able to help a sister who just got to the mission a couple months ago to do her Korean Progress Program, which was a first for me!

 As for looking like a scrub, it can be summarized in this few-line monologue:

(Morning)- I shaved yesterday, I'm fine.

(After dinner)- Wow, I look like a scrub... I should shave now. How much longer do I have left in dinner?... 1 minute? Hmm... bring it on!

I'm sure you can imagine how that went ^^

We also had a cool miracle when Eliot, our progressing investigator, came to church today! He really enjoyed it and is getting integrated well with the ward.

You all have an excellent week, and I'll write a better email next week! Aloha, brothers and sisters!

~Elder Skinner 

Guide us to the Promised Land~ Elder Skinner encounters a wild Elder Conley! July 10, 2016

Elder Skinner used Great Ball...

Sorry. With all this talk about Pokemon Go back at home, I couldn't help it.

But hey, I caught an Elder Conley this week at transfers! There's a picture below for you!

 

Elder Conley is from Logan, Utah, has been a missionary for 1 year this Friday, and is the best missionary... around! I look forward to fighting Team Rocket (IE Satan's forces) with him!

As for other news this week, it's been a pretty slow week. Not a lot to report in terms of investigators or cool events from the week, but next week is setting up to be a pretty good one!

So instead of sharing uninteresting stories from this week, I'll share one of my favourite ways to pick myself up when things are hard- hymns!

Admittedly though not all hymns are created equal.

Here's the third verse from "Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah";

"When the earth begins to tremble,

bid our fearful thoughts be still!

When thy judgments spread destruction,

keep us safe on Zion's hill!

Singing praises, singing praises,

songs of glory unto Thee!

Songs of glory unto Thee!"

Brothers and Sisters, God will never let us go! I love you all and hope you have an amazing week! I'll see you all next time!

~Elder Skinner