We're sad we missed your real birthday, but we wanted to tell you we miss you and we hope you had a wonderful BIRTHDAY!!!!!! We love you!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Happy Birthday, Ben!!!
We're sad we missed your real birthday, but we wanted to tell you we miss you and we hope you had a wonderful BIRTHDAY!!!!!! We love you!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Letter from Elder Britsch March 26th, 2009
Dear Fam,
We had to postpone last Sunday’s baptism to this Sunday because our baptismal candidate was undergoing, for lack of better words, a “special time of the month.” However, she did come to church with us and will be baptized this Sunday. Elder 임 is still awesome and doing great. I am also happy, though still battling allergies. I have started over on the Book of Mormon the last few weeks and have gained so many new insights during this reading. There is so much of the writing and the words that can go unnoticed with a casual read. I’ve enjoyed being able to dive into Nephi’s mind and connect it to my own. I’ve been trying to emulate his ability to be positive and faithful through every trial he faced. Transfers are on Saturday. We will see what happens. We have started teaching some new people. One is a dentist who went to Baylor for dental school. He is catholic but expressed interest in learning about our religion. Although he’s catholic, he goes to classes at the Buddhist temple because he feels its ok to learn about other religions. We are grateful for his uncommonly open mind. I was on the subway, yesterday, when an older man with a beard and long grey hair looked at my name tag and then told me he was the Messiah. He said “I am the Messiah. I am God. I am the savior.” I didn’t know how to reply. He got off at the next stop and that was it. After being in the 60’s on Saturday, it snowed on Tuesday. Just flurries. The cold weather is still here. I had one of my new students in English class give a prayer and he pulled out some notes and gave a southern Baptist preacher prayer in English. I almost laughed because he was so into it. He was rocking in his chair. It was his first time praying. He had written down words to say this week after I had asked him to pray last week and he had declined. I shared about my seminary experience in english class. I never realized how significant the seminary program is to non members, especially in korea. They couldn’t believe that I did it. It gave them a whole new respect for the church and led into a great discussion of the book of mormon. I am grateful for the seminary program. I have been able to use so much of what I learned in seminary on my mission. I wish I had studied harder and memorized more than the 100 standard scriptures. Korean is a place I will never forget. I already know I will miss it when I leave.
Love
Elder B
We had to postpone last Sunday’s baptism to this Sunday because our baptismal candidate was undergoing, for lack of better words, a “special time of the month.” However, she did come to church with us and will be baptized this Sunday. Elder 임 is still awesome and doing great. I am also happy, though still battling allergies. I have started over on the Book of Mormon the last few weeks and have gained so many new insights during this reading. There is so much of the writing and the words that can go unnoticed with a casual read. I’ve enjoyed being able to dive into Nephi’s mind and connect it to my own. I’ve been trying to emulate his ability to be positive and faithful through every trial he faced. Transfers are on Saturday. We will see what happens. We have started teaching some new people. One is a dentist who went to Baylor for dental school. He is catholic but expressed interest in learning about our religion. Although he’s catholic, he goes to classes at the Buddhist temple because he feels its ok to learn about other religions. We are grateful for his uncommonly open mind. I was on the subway, yesterday, when an older man with a beard and long grey hair looked at my name tag and then told me he was the Messiah. He said “I am the Messiah. I am God. I am the savior.” I didn’t know how to reply. He got off at the next stop and that was it. After being in the 60’s on Saturday, it snowed on Tuesday. Just flurries. The cold weather is still here. I had one of my new students in English class give a prayer and he pulled out some notes and gave a southern Baptist preacher prayer in English. I almost laughed because he was so into it. He was rocking in his chair. It was his first time praying. He had written down words to say this week after I had asked him to pray last week and he had declined. I shared about my seminary experience in english class. I never realized how significant the seminary program is to non members, especially in korea. They couldn’t believe that I did it. It gave them a whole new respect for the church and led into a great discussion of the book of mormon. I am grateful for the seminary program. I have been able to use so much of what I learned in seminary on my mission. I wish I had studied harder and memorized more than the 100 standard scriptures. Korean is a place I will never forget. I already know I will miss it when I leave.
Love
Elder B
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Pictures from Korea
not everywhere in my area is rich. this group of shacks is being pushed out of the city for a new apartment. they live across a small river from the most expensive place to live in korea - tower palace - the home of the celebrities. the richest next to poorest. the poster says they are not leaving. up close the compound is very much 3rd world. 
My dinner at a member's home. We sat on the floor and ate this boiled squid and 15 potatoes. The squid was whole and the suction cups pop in your mouth.
Elder Britsch in front of a Buddhist temple in downtown Seoul.Letter from Elder Britsch March 18th, 2009
Dear All,
It looks like we will be having a baptism on Sunday. The catholic women who attended the music program has her baptismal interview tomorrow. We are very happy for her. Last night we got a call from an amercian businessman who was in Korea on business. He wanted to get a Korean book of mormon to give to his associate. He took us out to eat at a pizza place nearby his hotel. It is great to see that he is so desirous to do missionary work, even away from home. He served a mission in Japan and lives near Nauvoo with his wife and 5 kids. He called over 5 numbers in order to get a hold of us. He is great example of member missionary work, and we loved the pizza that costs over $30 in Korea. We are still teaching a few other people who are very interested in the church but they have been unable to come to church because of business. The yellow dust sirens went off across the city this week warning everyone that the dust is on its way from china. The cars and everything now have a layer of dust on them. Its been great for my dust allergies. We talked to some Russian missonaries at the temple this morning. They have to leave Russia every 3 months. They rotate between coming to Korea and Estonia and Germany among other places. It's a 2 hr flight to Korea but 12 to Estonia. They said the work is tough but the members are very faithful. I want to write back to all your emails but I have no time. I am getting them and love them. Thanks for thinking of me. love,
Elder Britsch
It looks like we will be having a baptism on Sunday. The catholic women who attended the music program has her baptismal interview tomorrow. We are very happy for her. Last night we got a call from an amercian businessman who was in Korea on business. He wanted to get a Korean book of mormon to give to his associate. He took us out to eat at a pizza place nearby his hotel. It is great to see that he is so desirous to do missionary work, even away from home. He served a mission in Japan and lives near Nauvoo with his wife and 5 kids. He called over 5 numbers in order to get a hold of us. He is great example of member missionary work, and we loved the pizza that costs over $30 in Korea. We are still teaching a few other people who are very interested in the church but they have been unable to come to church because of business. The yellow dust sirens went off across the city this week warning everyone that the dust is on its way from china. The cars and everything now have a layer of dust on them. Its been great for my dust allergies. We talked to some Russian missonaries at the temple this morning. They have to leave Russia every 3 months. They rotate between coming to Korea and Estonia and Germany among other places. It's a 2 hr flight to Korea but 12 to Estonia. They said the work is tough but the members are very faithful. I want to write back to all your emails but I have no time. I am getting them and love them. Thanks for thinking of me. love,
Elder Britsch
Letter from Elder Britsch March 12, 2009
Dear Fam,
We have recently seen some miracles. First of all, the lady that came to our music program has become a new investigator. In our first lesson she explained that she met with missionaries in the past but was turned off by the behavior of the missionaries (she said she overheard them say negative or offensive things about her). Sad. She stopped meeting with them but recently decided that she needed to try again. So she came to the advanced english class that I teach. At the end of the class she said she wanted to meet us during the week and come to church. I also invited her to the music program. She over slept church but came to the program and loved it. She came to church last Sunday and as we sat down for sacrament meeting she told me that she felt very peaceful. The progam was on missionary work and I thought it might be awkward for her. But she loved it. She said she wants to come to church every week. We had another investigator (his third time at church) also come. After church I taught her with our ward mission leader and elder 임 taught the other investigator with a member. She told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true but had some questions about Joseph Smith and polygamy. I answered her questions with the help of the ward mission leader. Trying to answer questions like that is very hard with limited Korean but I did my best and said the rest in english. We met again on Tuesday and talked about baptism. She wants to be baptized and has already told her Catholic parents that she is planning on it. It has been a miracle. We hope she will be baptized with another investigator who looks promising. Yesterday, we saw more miracles. All but one appointment for the day had cancelled so we spent a good amount of time on the streets. While I was talking to people at an intersection, a lady and her daughter came up to me and asked if I was from our church name. Before I could finish introducing myself, she said she wanted to meet us at 4:00. It was 2:30 at the time. I got her number and said we would call her (not sure if we could get a member). So I ran over to elder 임 and told him the good news and we called a member who’s free in the afternoon on some days. He agreed. Then as we confirmed the appointment with the lady, another women came up to us and asked if she could meet at 5:00. She said she had met the missionaries in the past and overheard us setting up the other appointment and her apartment complex. She has 3 daughters who she wants us to teach as well. I was totally amazed by the whole thing; it was an answer to my morning prayers. So we went to the first ladies house with the member and introduced our program to her and her 13 yr old daughter. The daughter then said that her sister is a member of our church. We were shocked. 5 mins later, the older sister arrived home from school. She told us that she was a member but hadn’t been to church since she was 12 (now 17 and a senior in h.s.). She explained that her parents had started meeting with the missionaries when they lived in another stake, but gradually lost interest. She, however, was 8 years old at the time and really liked church. She went with her friend. So she was baptized at 8 yrs old. Then her family moved to 강남 and she started academy on Sundays and church was inconvenient because its 20 mins. away and she had to go alone. She said she would come to church in a few months when academy finishes. The whole experience was remarkable. We will keep meeting with them and will see them progress We couldn’t meet the second lady because our member had to work but we have set a future appointment. I’m grateful for all the blessings. The Lord looks out for us and the answers to come with time. The Ramirez famiy baptism sounds awesome. On Mon. we had a zone conference in which Pres. Burton talked about success and feeling the spirit. He said how success is felt different ways. He talked about a missionary who saw little succcess but his family received many blessing because of his service. As he said this, I remembered the baptism that you have been a part of. It has been a remarkable experience for our family. Learning Korean has proven to be very humbling. Thanks.
I love you all.
Elder Britsch
We have recently seen some miracles. First of all, the lady that came to our music program has become a new investigator. In our first lesson she explained that she met with missionaries in the past but was turned off by the behavior of the missionaries (she said she overheard them say negative or offensive things about her). Sad. She stopped meeting with them but recently decided that she needed to try again. So she came to the advanced english class that I teach. At the end of the class she said she wanted to meet us during the week and come to church. I also invited her to the music program. She over slept church but came to the program and loved it. She came to church last Sunday and as we sat down for sacrament meeting she told me that she felt very peaceful. The progam was on missionary work and I thought it might be awkward for her. But she loved it. She said she wants to come to church every week. We had another investigator (his third time at church) also come. After church I taught her with our ward mission leader and elder 임 taught the other investigator with a member. She told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true but had some questions about Joseph Smith and polygamy. I answered her questions with the help of the ward mission leader. Trying to answer questions like that is very hard with limited Korean but I did my best and said the rest in english. We met again on Tuesday and talked about baptism. She wants to be baptized and has already told her Catholic parents that she is planning on it. It has been a miracle. We hope she will be baptized with another investigator who looks promising. Yesterday, we saw more miracles. All but one appointment for the day had cancelled so we spent a good amount of time on the streets. While I was talking to people at an intersection, a lady and her daughter came up to me and asked if I was from our church name. Before I could finish introducing myself, she said she wanted to meet us at 4:00. It was 2:30 at the time. I got her number and said we would call her (not sure if we could get a member). So I ran over to elder 임 and told him the good news and we called a member who’s free in the afternoon on some days. He agreed. Then as we confirmed the appointment with the lady, another women came up to us and asked if she could meet at 5:00. She said she had met the missionaries in the past and overheard us setting up the other appointment and her apartment complex. She has 3 daughters who she wants us to teach as well. I was totally amazed by the whole thing; it was an answer to my morning prayers. So we went to the first ladies house with the member and introduced our program to her and her 13 yr old daughter. The daughter then said that her sister is a member of our church. We were shocked. 5 mins later, the older sister arrived home from school. She told us that she was a member but hadn’t been to church since she was 12 (now 17 and a senior in h.s.). She explained that her parents had started meeting with the missionaries when they lived in another stake, but gradually lost interest. She, however, was 8 years old at the time and really liked church. She went with her friend. So she was baptized at 8 yrs old. Then her family moved to 강남 and she started academy on Sundays and church was inconvenient because its 20 mins. away and she had to go alone. She said she would come to church in a few months when academy finishes. The whole experience was remarkable. We will keep meeting with them and will see them progress We couldn’t meet the second lady because our member had to work but we have set a future appointment. I’m grateful for all the blessings. The Lord looks out for us and the answers to come with time. The Ramirez famiy baptism sounds awesome. On Mon. we had a zone conference in which Pres. Burton talked about success and feeling the spirit. He said how success is felt different ways. He talked about a missionary who saw little succcess but his family received many blessing because of his service. As he said this, I remembered the baptism that you have been a part of. It has been a remarkable experience for our family. Learning Korean has proven to be very humbling. Thanks.
I love you all.
Elder Britsch
Letter from Elder Britsch March 4, 2009
Dear All,
We had a great Sunday with 3 investigators at church. One was the minor celebrity and her boyfriend and the other is a 28yr old guy that we’ve started teaching. The girl called us the next day and can no longer meet because she is working 2 jobs and her mother hired a private english tutor. She had a bapt. date so it was a tough loss. However, the other guy is doing well and progressing. We took 2 other investigators to our stake music concert on Sunday night. A Chinese violinist and pianist were featured. I’ve never seen anyone so good at the violin. Incredible. Our investigators loved it and it was great for them to see a big gathering of saints. The investigator who drank often had gone 2 weeks without anything but last night succumbed to his boss. He was very apologetic on the phone this morning. North Korea has been the buzz on the street. There’s been a lot of activity. We stay out of politics but it’s hard to not overhear. Our investigator and my companion tell me a lot about the culture. The women desire a high nose and to be as white as possible. Funny how in the U.S. people want to be dark and here they wear visors so they don’t get tan. Now, when I eat American food I feel sick after because of all the grease and fat. Korean food is so light and healthy. I love kimchi. That’s right! I also now love seaweed! I snack on it. Thanks for the emails. I wish I could write back indiv. but no time.
I love you all,
Elder Britsch
We had a great Sunday with 3 investigators at church. One was the minor celebrity and her boyfriend and the other is a 28yr old guy that we’ve started teaching. The girl called us the next day and can no longer meet because she is working 2 jobs and her mother hired a private english tutor. She had a bapt. date so it was a tough loss. However, the other guy is doing well and progressing. We took 2 other investigators to our stake music concert on Sunday night. A Chinese violinist and pianist were featured. I’ve never seen anyone so good at the violin. Incredible. Our investigators loved it and it was great for them to see a big gathering of saints. The investigator who drank often had gone 2 weeks without anything but last night succumbed to his boss. He was very apologetic on the phone this morning. North Korea has been the buzz on the street. There’s been a lot of activity. We stay out of politics but it’s hard to not overhear. Our investigator and my companion tell me a lot about the culture. The women desire a high nose and to be as white as possible. Funny how in the U.S. people want to be dark and here they wear visors so they don’t get tan. Now, when I eat American food I feel sick after because of all the grease and fat. Korean food is so light and healthy. I love kimchi. That’s right! I also now love seaweed! I snack on it. Thanks for the emails. I wish I could write back indiv. but no time.
I love you all,
Elder Britsch
Letter From Elder Britsch February 28th, 2009
Dear Fam,
The weather is finally warming up a little. Its great to take our winter coats off and just wear a sweater and thermals under our suit coats. We are still teaching the web programmer. We taught him the plan of salvation and he loved it. He kept having these “aha” moments. It was great to see how every time we answered his questions things would click for him. The trinity was his first question. With every principle brought a new question followed by an answer that just wowed him. As we read alma 40 together, he saw that it talked about more than one resurrection. However, he’d always been taught there is only one. So we turned to a few scriptures in the new testament that clearly talk of a first and second resurrection (revelations). At the end of the lesson he was super excited and wanted to keep going but be had to go home. We set a baptismal date with him for the 15th of March. One of our other investigators (with a baptismal date) has not drunk for 2 weeks. It’s a miracle. He feels he might get laid-off because of it but he’s holding to his convictions for now. He visits N. Korea once a week doing construction business and said he would bring us something back. The big talk lately has been about N. korea moving missiles into the d.m.z. My companion, in the event of the emergency sirens going off, has to return to his base within 10hrs. We home it doesn’t ever come to that. We try to stay out of politics and news but it is very interesting to live in a country where the enemy lives next door. I’ve learned a lot about N. Korean life style. My Korean is still progressing but it’s always a slow process. One word at a time, but still growing nonetheless. My companion is quite an amazing person. His required military service duty time is full of interesting stories. He recently shared one that should be published in the ensign. As a part of the ceremony when you receive a big promotion, you are required to drink in front of everyone (a toast) . So in front of 200 soldiers his commander handed him a wine class and poured him some liquor and everyone chanted for him to drink – waiting so they could drink their own glasses. He stood their under pressure thinking and 1 nephi 3:7 came to his mind – the lord will provide a way. So he told his commander he was mormon and couldn’t drink. His commander, surprised, took the glass and surprisingly drank it himself. My comp. walked off the stage in shame with everyone silent and watching. His unit leader then followed him out and took him to his office where he beat him. Kicking him in the shins with steel toed boots and slapping him repeatedly. He was punished with toilet cleaning duty for one month during his break time. He also received teasing and beatings from the older soldiers. However, after a few weeks no one asked him to drink or smoke anymore. He never got his promotion. He said it is more important to obey god than man. He told this story to our alcoholic investigator and the investigator has not drunk since. The Koreans saints face tremendous opposition. Living the gospel is no easy thing here. People sacrifice jobs, social lives, money, promotions, and other things to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is worth paying a price for because the Savior has paid a much greater price for us. We must hold to the rock and remember who we are (Hel. 5:12). We are from divine heritage. I am so grateful to serve with and among these saints who give up so much. The change of a heart is a miraculous and special event. It is a blessing to be able to see. I love you all.Elder Britsch
The weather is finally warming up a little. Its great to take our winter coats off and just wear a sweater and thermals under our suit coats. We are still teaching the web programmer. We taught him the plan of salvation and he loved it. He kept having these “aha” moments. It was great to see how every time we answered his questions things would click for him. The trinity was his first question. With every principle brought a new question followed by an answer that just wowed him. As we read alma 40 together, he saw that it talked about more than one resurrection. However, he’d always been taught there is only one. So we turned to a few scriptures in the new testament that clearly talk of a first and second resurrection (revelations). At the end of the lesson he was super excited and wanted to keep going but be had to go home. We set a baptismal date with him for the 15th of March. One of our other investigators (with a baptismal date) has not drunk for 2 weeks. It’s a miracle. He feels he might get laid-off because of it but he’s holding to his convictions for now. He visits N. Korea once a week doing construction business and said he would bring us something back. The big talk lately has been about N. korea moving missiles into the d.m.z. My companion, in the event of the emergency sirens going off, has to return to his base within 10hrs. We home it doesn’t ever come to that. We try to stay out of politics and news but it is very interesting to live in a country where the enemy lives next door. I’ve learned a lot about N. Korean life style. My Korean is still progressing but it’s always a slow process. One word at a time, but still growing nonetheless. My companion is quite an amazing person. His required military service duty time is full of interesting stories. He recently shared one that should be published in the ensign. As a part of the ceremony when you receive a big promotion, you are required to drink in front of everyone (a toast) . So in front of 200 soldiers his commander handed him a wine class and poured him some liquor and everyone chanted for him to drink – waiting so they could drink their own glasses. He stood their under pressure thinking and 1 nephi 3:7 came to his mind – the lord will provide a way. So he told his commander he was mormon and couldn’t drink. His commander, surprised, took the glass and surprisingly drank it himself. My comp. walked off the stage in shame with everyone silent and watching. His unit leader then followed him out and took him to his office where he beat him. Kicking him in the shins with steel toed boots and slapping him repeatedly. He was punished with toilet cleaning duty for one month during his break time. He also received teasing and beatings from the older soldiers. However, after a few weeks no one asked him to drink or smoke anymore. He never got his promotion. He said it is more important to obey god than man. He told this story to our alcoholic investigator and the investigator has not drunk since. The Koreans saints face tremendous opposition. Living the gospel is no easy thing here. People sacrifice jobs, social lives, money, promotions, and other things to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is worth paying a price for because the Savior has paid a much greater price for us. We must hold to the rock and remember who we are (Hel. 5:12). We are from divine heritage. I am so grateful to serve with and among these saints who give up so much. The change of a heart is a miraculous and special event. It is a blessing to be able to see. I love you all.Elder Britsch
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)