Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
G'Day!!!
We just wanted to let you all know that we made it to Sydney! It was long and tiring but we made it. I have posted on our blog about it. We love you and will post more soon.
Julie and fam
Julie and fam
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas from Korea
Elder Britsch with Santa
Elder Britsch, Pres. Burton, and Elder WimmerDear fam,
Its Christmas day eve and I only have a few minutes to write, the rest I will have to say when we talk tomorrow or in the next email. I loved your presents. Thankyou for the cards and the digital messages. hearing your voices and encouragement means much more than any physical gifts. The korea book is great, but I actually just bought the same one here - 2 weeks ago. so I will sell my old one to another missionary. Last night I had a christmas party with the ward. We had 3 investigators come. It was neat to see this side of our ward. I played God and another character in a primary play. I had to speak korean in a low voice - it was fun. They even put makeup on us - I refused but had no choice - I think my companion enjoyed it though :). I will talk to u tomorrow as planned. I call the home phone. Can't wait.
Love,
Elder Britsch
Friday, December 19, 2008
Merry Christmas from the Schills
Send your own ElfYourself eCards
Jeff put our heads on these elves, and it is so funny. The picture of Jeff in glasses is of when he was a cop for halloween
Jeff put our heads on these elves, and it is so funny. The picture of Jeff in glasses is of when he was a cop for halloween
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Letter from Elder Britsch Dec. 18th, 2008
Hi, Dec. 18th, 2008
Another week has flown by. The weather is still cold with some rain. Our area is doing very well. We’ve started teaching another family in the southern area of our area – the suburbs. It’s called the country by the rich people in our area who retreat there on weekends, but it still very expensive. The family is living in humble circumstances. The apartment (including kitchen and 4 inhabitants) is close to the size of a double bed hotel room. We sat on the floor and taught. They feed us the whole time – a very kind gesture of respect. We appreciate it, but are full and beyond. I can hardly walk after having my legs crossed Indian style for 2 hours, but I love the family. The 8 year old is very hyper and runs around naked as we teach. The mom is a poet and gave us a signed book which has 10 of her poems – another gesture of kindness. The people in the southern part are much kinder and approachable. The father is well read in the bible and actually uses it to back up what we say comes out of the book of Mormon. The parents said that we are angels sent to them. The 20 year old son sits at the computer the whole time – he wants to be a progammer. I’ve been given a part in our Christmas party program. I will play god and read 6 lines in a deep Korean voice. It should be fun. Many of the other people we teach are in their 20’s. All seem to be very bright. Many attend what seems to be one of the best universities in Korea. During our English program time, I am amazed at the genius minds of these people. One of the kids will major in philosophy and writes essays in his free time. He is amazed that we are learning Korean - he says “It’s not even an essential language.” He compared us to Christ’s apostles. We told him we try to live like Christ but are not worthy of such a statement. One of the girls is studying Chinese Studies and is fluent in 3-4 languages. She is very quick. We are questioned on everything we teach, but she seems to like it. She feels that all religions are true. We explained that all have truth but only one has all of the truth and is God’s church. Many people are very impressed that we do not get paid. We lost many investigators do to false statements and pressure from their preachers or ministers. The investigator will even admit that they believe that what we are saying but just can’t join our church because of family pressure. It is very heart breaking. Church is very much a business here, and many of the people to do not like it. We bring a very different religion, free from the desire for money or status. It is God’s church, not mans’.
One man we are teaching is 44 yrs old, divorced and studying American studies in a grad. program. He is very well read in our religion. He has no religion b/c he has never agreed with other Christian faiths description of the plan and God. He felt God is not fair if things are so black and white with heaven and hell. He loved the plan that we taught him. He told me how he’s read about Brigham Young and the exodus of the saints. He felt very bad that such persecution had existed in a country that proclaims religious freedom. He was very impressed that we held to our beliefs, despite the persecution. He’s also read about our social and charity efforts in America; specifically mentioning our work in New Orleans after the hurricane. He read about it in Time magazine. He also said he read that Pres. Bush thinks favorably of our church. I was surprised that he had read so much. It goes to show that our actions are seen by many people. Knowing that our stake was apart of these clean up efforts gives chills to my spine. This is God’s church. Even someone thousands of miles away, in Korea, has read about our work. The favorable impression that he has of the church comes a lot from the efforts of the members of my home stake.
We are a light on a hill, our light shall not be hid, but shall be for all to see and come unto. He is very interested in our church. Our actions each and everyday are so noticed, even in distant lands. Thank you to all the church members who have contributed time and money to these welfare and charitable efforts. I love you all. Thanks for your letters and prayers. Remember, people are searching for truth. After all, Righteousness is happiness. And who doesn’t want to be happy?
Love,Elder Britsch
Another week has flown by. The weather is still cold with some rain. Our area is doing very well. We’ve started teaching another family in the southern area of our area – the suburbs. It’s called the country by the rich people in our area who retreat there on weekends, but it still very expensive. The family is living in humble circumstances. The apartment (including kitchen and 4 inhabitants) is close to the size of a double bed hotel room. We sat on the floor and taught. They feed us the whole time – a very kind gesture of respect. We appreciate it, but are full and beyond. I can hardly walk after having my legs crossed Indian style for 2 hours, but I love the family. The 8 year old is very hyper and runs around naked as we teach. The mom is a poet and gave us a signed book which has 10 of her poems – another gesture of kindness. The people in the southern part are much kinder and approachable. The father is well read in the bible and actually uses it to back up what we say comes out of the book of Mormon. The parents said that we are angels sent to them. The 20 year old son sits at the computer the whole time – he wants to be a progammer. I’ve been given a part in our Christmas party program. I will play god and read 6 lines in a deep Korean voice. It should be fun. Many of the other people we teach are in their 20’s. All seem to be very bright. Many attend what seems to be one of the best universities in Korea. During our English program time, I am amazed at the genius minds of these people. One of the kids will major in philosophy and writes essays in his free time. He is amazed that we are learning Korean - he says “It’s not even an essential language.” He compared us to Christ’s apostles. We told him we try to live like Christ but are not worthy of such a statement. One of the girls is studying Chinese Studies and is fluent in 3-4 languages. She is very quick. We are questioned on everything we teach, but she seems to like it. She feels that all religions are true. We explained that all have truth but only one has all of the truth and is God’s church. Many people are very impressed that we do not get paid. We lost many investigators do to false statements and pressure from their preachers or ministers. The investigator will even admit that they believe that what we are saying but just can’t join our church because of family pressure. It is very heart breaking. Church is very much a business here, and many of the people to do not like it. We bring a very different religion, free from the desire for money or status. It is God’s church, not mans’.
One man we are teaching is 44 yrs old, divorced and studying American studies in a grad. program. He is very well read in our religion. He has no religion b/c he has never agreed with other Christian faiths description of the plan and God. He felt God is not fair if things are so black and white with heaven and hell. He loved the plan that we taught him. He told me how he’s read about Brigham Young and the exodus of the saints. He felt very bad that such persecution had existed in a country that proclaims religious freedom. He was very impressed that we held to our beliefs, despite the persecution. He’s also read about our social and charity efforts in America; specifically mentioning our work in New Orleans after the hurricane. He read about it in Time magazine. He also said he read that Pres. Bush thinks favorably of our church. I was surprised that he had read so much. It goes to show that our actions are seen by many people. Knowing that our stake was apart of these clean up efforts gives chills to my spine. This is God’s church. Even someone thousands of miles away, in Korea, has read about our work. The favorable impression that he has of the church comes a lot from the efforts of the members of my home stake.
We are a light on a hill, our light shall not be hid, but shall be for all to see and come unto. He is very interested in our church. Our actions each and everyday are so noticed, even in distant lands. Thank you to all the church members who have contributed time and money to these welfare and charitable efforts. I love you all. Thanks for your letters and prayers. Remember, people are searching for truth. After all, Righteousness is happiness. And who doesn’t want to be happy?
Love,Elder Britsch
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Letter from Elder Britsch Dec. 10th, 2008
Dear All,
Korea is still great and getting colder. Last Saturday and Sunday it snowed all-day. It is rare, especially in December. The big flakes and white streets were a gorgeous site, but it had all passed by Sunday night. The weather goes through 4 days cycles of frigid and cold. The weather’s been a little colder than the usual. Many days it is in the low teens. A few days it was in the low single digits. The Siberian winds are deadly (we call them the death winds). Going straight through your body to your bones. Dropping the temp another ten degrees. Despite the weather, we are in good spirits. I just have to smile and laugh every time the wind picks up around a corner. People seem to be less willing to listen to our message in these circumstances, but we just work harder and we are always blessed to find someone. My companion says that this is the hardest place he has worked in because so many of our appointments fall through because of their busy schedules, fake numbers, or other reasons, and therefore we do more finding people than is typical. The Korean culture is very good about keeping commitments, but he says in this area, commitments are often broken. All in all, it is great. We are finding people. The other night we taught a college age guy and he promised to live the word of wisdom with no excuses and without additional explanation. He said wanted to be healthy and to be a holy man. I was surprised how easily he accepted God’s health code. Drinking is a huge social pressure and activity for businessman here. They use it as a way to build associations and get promotions. Almost everyday, employees will leave work to go drink for a few hours. Smoking is also more acceptable here. However, when we explain the importance of obedience to god’s commandments, people are very willing to live it. Many small miracles happen throughout our days. As we try to recognize these miracles in our live we see that they are happening everyday. It is so cool to see the happiness that comes into someone’s life as we provide an atmosphere where they can feel the holy ghost and we can teach them about the truths that god has restored to the earth. Our mission president has said the apostles (4 of whom have visited in the last year) have said that the blood of Israel flows strongly in the hearts of these people. The Korean people are great people. I will send some pics by mail to be posted. A few random tidbits. -I saw a Buddhist monk the other day.-I talked to a man from sudan.- we introduced ourselves to a group of Chinese businessmen.- I talked to a Buddhist man at a bus stop, and we compared our beliefs.- We’ve talked to a lot of Koreans who have learned English in Australia. - We’ve spoke to a few soldiers home on a weekend leave, none of them have liked the army. Korean men must serve in the army for 2 years. My roommate served in the army and is now on a mission – which means he will have 4yrs of service by the end. You can see a big difference in the maturity of levels of those who have served in the army and those who have not.Well, my time is up. I love you all. I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season.
Love,
Elder Britsch
Korea is still great and getting colder. Last Saturday and Sunday it snowed all-day. It is rare, especially in December. The big flakes and white streets were a gorgeous site, but it had all passed by Sunday night. The weather goes through 4 days cycles of frigid and cold. The weather’s been a little colder than the usual. Many days it is in the low teens. A few days it was in the low single digits. The Siberian winds are deadly (we call them the death winds). Going straight through your body to your bones. Dropping the temp another ten degrees. Despite the weather, we are in good spirits. I just have to smile and laugh every time the wind picks up around a corner. People seem to be less willing to listen to our message in these circumstances, but we just work harder and we are always blessed to find someone. My companion says that this is the hardest place he has worked in because so many of our appointments fall through because of their busy schedules, fake numbers, or other reasons, and therefore we do more finding people than is typical. The Korean culture is very good about keeping commitments, but he says in this area, commitments are often broken. All in all, it is great. We are finding people. The other night we taught a college age guy and he promised to live the word of wisdom with no excuses and without additional explanation. He said wanted to be healthy and to be a holy man. I was surprised how easily he accepted God’s health code. Drinking is a huge social pressure and activity for businessman here. They use it as a way to build associations and get promotions. Almost everyday, employees will leave work to go drink for a few hours. Smoking is also more acceptable here. However, when we explain the importance of obedience to god’s commandments, people are very willing to live it. Many small miracles happen throughout our days. As we try to recognize these miracles in our live we see that they are happening everyday. It is so cool to see the happiness that comes into someone’s life as we provide an atmosphere where they can feel the holy ghost and we can teach them about the truths that god has restored to the earth. Our mission president has said the apostles (4 of whom have visited in the last year) have said that the blood of Israel flows strongly in the hearts of these people. The Korean people are great people. I will send some pics by mail to be posted. A few random tidbits. -I saw a Buddhist monk the other day.-I talked to a man from sudan.- we introduced ourselves to a group of Chinese businessmen.- I talked to a Buddhist man at a bus stop, and we compared our beliefs.- We’ve talked to a lot of Koreans who have learned English in Australia. - We’ve spoke to a few soldiers home on a weekend leave, none of them have liked the army. Korean men must serve in the army for 2 years. My roommate served in the army and is now on a mission – which means he will have 4yrs of service by the end. You can see a big difference in the maturity of levels of those who have served in the army and those who have not.Well, my time is up. I love you all. I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season.
Love,
Elder Britsch
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