China Town, Korea
Koreans are big into recycling. I love the old ladies. So fun to talk to, especially when they don't have any teeth. 
Lost in a maze of villas
We knock on the little doors as well as the big doors.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Photos from Elder Britsch
China Town, Korea Koreans are big into recycling. I love the old ladies. So fun to talk to, especially when they don't have any teeth. Lost in a maze of villasWe knock on the little doors as well as the big doors.
Letter from Elder Britsch April 22, 2009 Grateful for examples of good families - Lots of New Investigators
Dear Fam, April 22, 2009
The past week has been great. Despite getting hit with cold weather, high winds, and rain for a few days (we had to pull out our winter coats), we have seen the work progress. We taught a second lesson to the man who lived in Wyoming. We planned to teach the plan of salvation but we changed courses because he had lots of questions. He wanted to know what is required to be saved. We briefly read through 2 Nephi and Alma 5 with him. We invited him to stake conference this weekend but he doesn’t want to miss choir practice at his church and the stake center is an hour away. He told us more about the family he lived with in Wyoming. He said he was deeply impressed by their faith. He said they woke up at 3Am to go to the temple in Billings on some Fridays. He also thought they were extremely polite and kind. He wants to repay them through kindness to us. He bought us some bread to eat after the appointment. I am so grateful for the example of this family. Their devotion to attending the temple has led this man respect our faith. Oh, and He said he was a little baffled at the crying in testimony meetings. We teach him alone because his wife works till 10 and his daughters go to a learning academy till 9pm. This lifestyle is common in korea. The competition is so fierce that kids go to school everyday till late at night and the parents both work late as well. His wife works Sundays and his daughters go to school on Saturdays.
Another investigator we teach is a car dent repair man that plans to move to NY in a couple years for a better life. He told us how Koreans have no free time and make little money. His wife is studying for a nursing exam and he works everyday till 9pm. He’s trying to quit smoking but the stress of slow business is making to hard. I have met with many depressed spirits here.
Another man we teach is a 60 yr old that works as a security guard on every other day. He gets paid little and hates his job. He thinks it’s impossible to be happy in Korea. He saw my family pics when I introduced myself and said with a sorrowful voice that he wants his family to look that happy but that its only possible in America or Canada. His wife is constantly pressuring him and getting made at him for their meager situation. His sons have moved out of the house. We are trying to help him see that happiness can be obtained through the gospel of Jesus Christ and doesn’t require a big yard or an American lifestyle. The gospel is for the rich and the poor. We know that it will give him the comfort and hope to carryon and help his family relationships. We told him about the members of our ward that are happy even though they have very little worldly possessions. We hope we can help him see the light and feel the savior’s love.
We had a man walk in the church just as we were leaving and ask about the book of mormon, we met with him on the spot. He said he met missionaries in 1990 when he was 14. We will continue to meet him.
On another night a man stopped his car in front of us and in English asked where we were from through the passenger window. We talked with him and discovered that he lived in San fran for 9 years and during the 80’s he met with missionaries. He said he wanted to meet us. We will meet him tonight. Our examples and those little missionary moments have a much greater influence then we realize. It is so important to take every opportunity to share the gospel. It may not result in them coming unto Christ at that moment, but somewhere down the line they may be telling some missionaries about a friend they had 10 years ago or a neighbor that was really nice. And because of these experiences they want to learn about the restored gospel. They wonder where those friends were different and so nice. Why they loved their families so much. How they can be so confident about life. Take every chance. This gospel is precious. It is meant to be shared out of the love of our hearts. The peace it carries and the answers it gives are not meant to stay hidden. These economic times have brought many people to their knees searching for comfort and more to life then just money that vanishes in an instant. People are prepared and ready to hear the words of the prophets and the savior. I know the Book of mormon is true. I feel it right now. I have felt it as I’ve read it each morning and as I’ve shared it with those that need its words.
I love being a missionary.
Elder Britsch
The past week has been great. Despite getting hit with cold weather, high winds, and rain for a few days (we had to pull out our winter coats), we have seen the work progress. We taught a second lesson to the man who lived in Wyoming. We planned to teach the plan of salvation but we changed courses because he had lots of questions. He wanted to know what is required to be saved. We briefly read through 2 Nephi and Alma 5 with him. We invited him to stake conference this weekend but he doesn’t want to miss choir practice at his church and the stake center is an hour away. He told us more about the family he lived with in Wyoming. He said he was deeply impressed by their faith. He said they woke up at 3Am to go to the temple in Billings on some Fridays. He also thought they were extremely polite and kind. He wants to repay them through kindness to us. He bought us some bread to eat after the appointment. I am so grateful for the example of this family. Their devotion to attending the temple has led this man respect our faith. Oh, and He said he was a little baffled at the crying in testimony meetings. We teach him alone because his wife works till 10 and his daughters go to a learning academy till 9pm. This lifestyle is common in korea. The competition is so fierce that kids go to school everyday till late at night and the parents both work late as well. His wife works Sundays and his daughters go to school on Saturdays.
Another investigator we teach is a car dent repair man that plans to move to NY in a couple years for a better life. He told us how Koreans have no free time and make little money. His wife is studying for a nursing exam and he works everyday till 9pm. He’s trying to quit smoking but the stress of slow business is making to hard. I have met with many depressed spirits here.
Another man we teach is a 60 yr old that works as a security guard on every other day. He gets paid little and hates his job. He thinks it’s impossible to be happy in Korea. He saw my family pics when I introduced myself and said with a sorrowful voice that he wants his family to look that happy but that its only possible in America or Canada. His wife is constantly pressuring him and getting made at him for their meager situation. His sons have moved out of the house. We are trying to help him see that happiness can be obtained through the gospel of Jesus Christ and doesn’t require a big yard or an American lifestyle. The gospel is for the rich and the poor. We know that it will give him the comfort and hope to carryon and help his family relationships. We told him about the members of our ward that are happy even though they have very little worldly possessions. We hope we can help him see the light and feel the savior’s love.
We had a man walk in the church just as we were leaving and ask about the book of mormon, we met with him on the spot. He said he met missionaries in 1990 when he was 14. We will continue to meet him.
On another night a man stopped his car in front of us and in English asked where we were from through the passenger window. We talked with him and discovered that he lived in San fran for 9 years and during the 80’s he met with missionaries. He said he wanted to meet us. We will meet him tonight. Our examples and those little missionary moments have a much greater influence then we realize. It is so important to take every opportunity to share the gospel. It may not result in them coming unto Christ at that moment, but somewhere down the line they may be telling some missionaries about a friend they had 10 years ago or a neighbor that was really nice. And because of these experiences they want to learn about the restored gospel. They wonder where those friends were different and so nice. Why they loved their families so much. How they can be so confident about life. Take every chance. This gospel is precious. It is meant to be shared out of the love of our hearts. The peace it carries and the answers it gives are not meant to stay hidden. These economic times have brought many people to their knees searching for comfort and more to life then just money that vanishes in an instant. People are prepared and ready to hear the words of the prophets and the savior. I know the Book of mormon is true. I feel it right now. I have felt it as I’ve read it each morning and as I’ve shared it with those that need its words.
I love being a missionary.
Elder Britsch
Letter from Elder Britsch April 15th, 2009 We loved conference
Dear All, April 15th, 2009
We really enjoyed conference last weekend. We are so blessed to have the words of living prophets. I especially enjoyed Pres. Eyering’s talks. I found a resounding theme of service and overcoming adversity. Our leaders and the Lord are very aware of the conditions we face. Although not many of the Korean saints in our area made it to the stake center to watch conference, those that did were excited to have a Korean called to serve in the 70. I ate dinner with him on my first day in my first area – thanksgiving dinner. Also, the previous pres. of our mission was called to the 1st quorum – Elder Ringwood. All of the missionaries were very excited about Elder Perry’s talk on member missionary work. Unfortunately, not many people here heard it. So we will share it in future visits. Right now, I have been working on a member missionary work plan. We want to see the members of our ward become active in the work and receive the blessings of sharing the gospel. It is no easy task translating it all in to Korean. Please let me know of successful ward missionary work plans or individual plans that you have seen. I would also love to have any inspiring stories of member missionary work that I can share with the members to get them excited and invite the spirit. We recently began meeting with a man that was a referral from BYU. It took three visits before we were able to contact him – we only had an address, no number. But we are so glad we’ve been able to meet him. He actually doesn’t know how he was referred b/c he’s never been to Utah. However, he lived with a member family in Wyoming for a few months last year while he studied english to become a teacher here. He went to church 6 times with the fam and already knows many of our beliefs. He was very nice and invited us to come back. We’ve now taught him about the restoration and hope to see him at church. He is a devout Methodist but has interest in our church because of the great example the member family showed. He has 2 daughters in high school and his wife is also a teacher. All are super busy. My companion has been serving in areas without many people to teach for most of his mission. So his teaching’s a bit rusty. We are both learning together. Random info: we have a little used American military complex in the middle of our area. - some Koreans are superstitious about the number 4. many of the apartments don’t have a level 4 – it just skips to 5. - The flowers are in bloom and are gorgeous but my allergies think otherwise. - We were knocking and an old lady let us in to give us what she called water. We sat on the floor and she gave us some water with at least a couple months old rice in the bottom. It was hard not to gag. She even gave us seconds. And talked our ears off – we just nodded.
Love you all,
Elder Britsch
We really enjoyed conference last weekend. We are so blessed to have the words of living prophets. I especially enjoyed Pres. Eyering’s talks. I found a resounding theme of service and overcoming adversity. Our leaders and the Lord are very aware of the conditions we face. Although not many of the Korean saints in our area made it to the stake center to watch conference, those that did were excited to have a Korean called to serve in the 70. I ate dinner with him on my first day in my first area – thanksgiving dinner. Also, the previous pres. of our mission was called to the 1st quorum – Elder Ringwood. All of the missionaries were very excited about Elder Perry’s talk on member missionary work. Unfortunately, not many people here heard it. So we will share it in future visits. Right now, I have been working on a member missionary work plan. We want to see the members of our ward become active in the work and receive the blessings of sharing the gospel. It is no easy task translating it all in to Korean. Please let me know of successful ward missionary work plans or individual plans that you have seen. I would also love to have any inspiring stories of member missionary work that I can share with the members to get them excited and invite the spirit. We recently began meeting with a man that was a referral from BYU. It took three visits before we were able to contact him – we only had an address, no number. But we are so glad we’ve been able to meet him. He actually doesn’t know how he was referred b/c he’s never been to Utah. However, he lived with a member family in Wyoming for a few months last year while he studied english to become a teacher here. He went to church 6 times with the fam and already knows many of our beliefs. He was very nice and invited us to come back. We’ve now taught him about the restoration and hope to see him at church. He is a devout Methodist but has interest in our church because of the great example the member family showed. He has 2 daughters in high school and his wife is also a teacher. All are super busy. My companion has been serving in areas without many people to teach for most of his mission. So his teaching’s a bit rusty. We are both learning together. Random info: we have a little used American military complex in the middle of our area. - some Koreans are superstitious about the number 4. many of the apartments don’t have a level 4 – it just skips to 5. - The flowers are in bloom and are gorgeous but my allergies think otherwise. - We were knocking and an old lady let us in to give us what she called water. We sat on the floor and she gave us some water with at least a couple months old rice in the bottom. It was hard not to gag. She even gave us seconds. And talked our ears off – we just nodded.
Love you all,
Elder Britsch
Teej's Latin Brother
When we were on our bus trip to Nicaragua, we realized we had Tennyson's Latin American twin (or brother, since he is younger) on board with us. We had to take his picture!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!
We hope you have a great day on your birthday! Thanks for all you do for all of us. We love you!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Happy 2nd birthday Lucy!
It is the 17th already in Australia so we wanted to wish Miss Lucy a Happy Birthday!! We love you like crazy!!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sent Mick your post comments
Hi all,
I copied your post comments about Mick's squid meal picture and sent them to him. He should get a chuckle out of it. I liked Ryan's recommendations. I don't think there will be any dogs around to throw scraps too though because they are EATING the dogs. Oh, my!
Jo
I copied your post comments about Mick's squid meal picture and sent them to him. He should get a chuckle out of it. I liked Ryan's recommendations. I don't think there will be any dogs around to throw scraps too though because they are EATING the dogs. Oh, my!
Jo
Letter from Elder Britsch April 8th, 2009 Christianity is alive in new area
Dear ALL,
We will watch conference this weekend. I’ve read lots of his talks on the mission. We are super excited for conference. We get to watch it in English. We’ve been thinking about it all week. I guess I’m a missionary.
Our area is a religious center. The other day we saw 17 missionaries from other churches on the streets. We are up against quite a force. I have never been so tired. I’ve been going to bed straight after planning at night. Too tired to do anything else. We have been on the streets and knocking on doors most of the day. We are seeking for new people to teach but it is no easy process. We face lots of opposition and rumors about our church. We found one new investigator but he canceled on us. A lady yesterday told me that we aren’t allowed to eat strawberries. We kindly corrected her misinformation, but she didn’t wholly believe us.
There are 7 other churches on the same block as our church. From our 10th floor apartment we can see 10’s of churches with red neon crosses lit across the night landscape. It’s quite a sight. Christianity is very alive.
The weather has heated up fast. Luckily, we can take our coats of after conference this weekend. We have been sweating a lot. Most people do not have air conditioning, including us. I would compare it to living in Houston with no air conditioning. People live in a range of living conditions – from apartments to rows of shacks. The area is a city but has areas that feel much like a village. People are much friendlier then in kangnam. There are hundreds of students and kids around, a welcome sight after all the business men of kangnam. Due to the hectic Korean school schedule, we heaven’t found any students with time to meet us. Despite the daily hikes and rejections, I have felt happier and more positive then ever before. The area has nowhere to go but up. We hope to change it into a thriving area. It is taking and will take lots of work and many miracles but we are hopeful that they will come. I am learning a lesson about blessings. Right now is a trial. During times of trial we dont always receive immediate blessings. These times are given to us so that we can grow and learn valuable lessons I have to remind my self that I can’t see the as far ahead as the Lord. My perspective is very low. His is in the heavens. I am grateful for this testing time because it allows me to come unto the Lord and trust in him. The blessings will come. We will see the fruit. It may not be in this area, but it will come. For now, we are doing our best to follow every rule and give the Lord everything. The Lord’s work is work. But the work is of God. He truly loves these people and desires their success. I love the ward members. Its a much younger ward. They are all very welcoming- about 60 members. The bishop reminds me of an army general but he has a kind heart. He speaks to us in the low form of korean, not because he disrepcts us but because he thinks of us as sons. The second counsellor was a gold medalist in tai kwon do. His family lives in vegas so that his kids can learn english. They've been there for 3 years.
oh, we have the biggest underground shopping area in korea in our area. also, there's a huge market. I literally saw huge pieces of dog meat (whole legs) on tables to buy. It made me rethink eating dog soup. Our ward mission leader likes to have the new missionaries try it. Love u.
God is with you.
Elder Britsch
We will watch conference this weekend. I’ve read lots of his talks on the mission. We are super excited for conference. We get to watch it in English. We’ve been thinking about it all week. I guess I’m a missionary.
Our area is a religious center. The other day we saw 17 missionaries from other churches on the streets. We are up against quite a force. I have never been so tired. I’ve been going to bed straight after planning at night. Too tired to do anything else. We have been on the streets and knocking on doors most of the day. We are seeking for new people to teach but it is no easy process. We face lots of opposition and rumors about our church. We found one new investigator but he canceled on us. A lady yesterday told me that we aren’t allowed to eat strawberries. We kindly corrected her misinformation, but she didn’t wholly believe us.
There are 7 other churches on the same block as our church. From our 10th floor apartment we can see 10’s of churches with red neon crosses lit across the night landscape. It’s quite a sight. Christianity is very alive.
The weather has heated up fast. Luckily, we can take our coats of after conference this weekend. We have been sweating a lot. Most people do not have air conditioning, including us. I would compare it to living in Houston with no air conditioning. People live in a range of living conditions – from apartments to rows of shacks. The area is a city but has areas that feel much like a village. People are much friendlier then in kangnam. There are hundreds of students and kids around, a welcome sight after all the business men of kangnam. Due to the hectic Korean school schedule, we heaven’t found any students with time to meet us. Despite the daily hikes and rejections, I have felt happier and more positive then ever before. The area has nowhere to go but up. We hope to change it into a thriving area. It is taking and will take lots of work and many miracles but we are hopeful that they will come. I am learning a lesson about blessings. Right now is a trial. During times of trial we dont always receive immediate blessings. These times are given to us so that we can grow and learn valuable lessons I have to remind my self that I can’t see the as far ahead as the Lord. My perspective is very low. His is in the heavens. I am grateful for this testing time because it allows me to come unto the Lord and trust in him. The blessings will come. We will see the fruit. It may not be in this area, but it will come. For now, we are doing our best to follow every rule and give the Lord everything. The Lord’s work is work. But the work is of God. He truly loves these people and desires their success. I love the ward members. Its a much younger ward. They are all very welcoming- about 60 members. The bishop reminds me of an army general but he has a kind heart. He speaks to us in the low form of korean, not because he disrepcts us but because he thinks of us as sons. The second counsellor was a gold medalist in tai kwon do. His family lives in vegas so that his kids can learn english. They've been there for 3 years.
oh, we have the biggest underground shopping area in korea in our area. also, there's a huge market. I literally saw huge pieces of dog meat (whole legs) on tables to buy. It made me rethink eating dog soup. Our ward mission leader likes to have the new missionaries try it. Love u.
God is with you.
Elder Britsch
Pictures from Korea
Investigator took Elder Britsch and his companion, Elder Lim, out to dinner the night before Elder Britsch's transfer.
After baptism on Sunday. Left to right: YW's pres., bishop's wife, Elder Lim, Gemma (who was baptized) Elder Britsch, Kim Yerri (investigator), Bishop
Crossing the river in Kang nam. The tallest building behind is where the celebs and the rich of Korea live. We teach a doctor on the 37th floor there.
Elder Britsch at a king's tomb in the middle of downtown Kang nam. Went there last Thurs. with Elder Lim. Built in the 1300's
Letter from Elder Britsch April1, 2009 Transferred to Boo-pyoung
Dear all,
I’m writing you form my new area boo-pyoung. I am now serving with Elder Walters, a Canadian. This is his second transfer as a senior. We will be learning alot of new things together, including Korean. The new area is of more humble circumstances and we live on the 10th floor of an apartment complex. It’s a two man house. This area is the catholic capital of korea. Right now, we have no investigators. My companion is on his second transfer in this area. The area is known to be one of the dirtier places, with a few factories. The air pollution is terrible. My allergies should be in for a ride. The area next to us is on the yellow sea. We are 20mins away from the ocean by bus. I hope to go there later. Last Sunday, I was blessed with opportunity to baptize a lady in her early 30’s. The baptism was great. Everything went as planned, perfect! The members were more supportive than expected. It was difficult saying good bye to our investigators and members. One of the investigators took us to a $40+ buffet last night. It was a surprise. He was very sad to see me go. I will miss him. We ate are selves sick. I tried lots of strange things. I ate all the raw fish I want to eat for the next month. I will miss serving with elder ěž„. It was an awesome experience. My love for the Korean people has increased because of him. I am a better person because of his example. My Korean has improved a lot because of him. I was able to pass of the first big part of the pass-off program yesterday. It was a big relief. The next part includes a 700+ vocab test among other things. It keeps me busy. I love missionary work. Im excited to get things rolling in this area. We have high hopes. We see missionaries from other churches 5 or 6 times a day here. They are very forceful with people. As a result, many people shy away from us as they think we will be the same. Our approach is much different than they expect.
Love you all.
Elder Britsch
I’m writing you form my new area boo-pyoung. I am now serving with Elder Walters, a Canadian. This is his second transfer as a senior. We will be learning alot of new things together, including Korean. The new area is of more humble circumstances and we live on the 10th floor of an apartment complex. It’s a two man house. This area is the catholic capital of korea. Right now, we have no investigators. My companion is on his second transfer in this area. The area is known to be one of the dirtier places, with a few factories. The air pollution is terrible. My allergies should be in for a ride. The area next to us is on the yellow sea. We are 20mins away from the ocean by bus. I hope to go there later. Last Sunday, I was blessed with opportunity to baptize a lady in her early 30’s. The baptism was great. Everything went as planned, perfect! The members were more supportive than expected. It was difficult saying good bye to our investigators and members. One of the investigators took us to a $40+ buffet last night. It was a surprise. He was very sad to see me go. I will miss him. We ate are selves sick. I tried lots of strange things. I ate all the raw fish I want to eat for the next month. I will miss serving with elder ěž„. It was an awesome experience. My love for the Korean people has increased because of him. I am a better person because of his example. My Korean has improved a lot because of him. I was able to pass of the first big part of the pass-off program yesterday. It was a big relief. The next part includes a 700+ vocab test among other things. It keeps me busy. I love missionary work. Im excited to get things rolling in this area. We have high hopes. We see missionaries from other churches 5 or 6 times a day here. They are very forceful with people. As a result, many people shy away from us as they think we will be the same. Our approach is much different than they expect.
Love you all.
Elder Britsch
Saturday, April 4, 2009
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