Slump Day!!!

If the going-home schedule doesn't change with the changing pdays, today is my SLUMP DAY. That means 6 months until I'm in America!

So, a very cold week in Ulsan. It apparently snowed buckets in Beijing, Seoul, Taegu and even the little town of Yongchon (where Elder Singleton is) but it was just very cold rain in Ulsan. Disappointing.

It's been pretty hard to actually have appointments with people over the last few weeks due to the plethora of holidays, but we've still had some interesting experiences. Sister Lee continues to progress since her baptism and is so happy to be living a gospel-centered life. We met with her, her daughter and her son the other day and ate seafood soup with them (yep, definitely ate some tentacles and other things I couldn't identify). The daughter is a college student who the sister missionaries want to meet. The son is a really shy high school student. Sister Lee really wanted us to help them and wants them to join the church.

Sister Kim (a member who was baptized a year and a half ago) is going to the temple for the first time tomorrow night. We're helping her prepare for that. We're also teaching the Gospel Principles class since the teacher is visiting America for a month. That's fun! The Sisters' baptism (Sister Ooh) was confirmed last Sunday.

Yesterday, we had District Meeting. It was great! We discussed the Book of Mormon and Faith. It was also my companion's year-in-country mark. So we ate WHALE MEAT SOUP. Tasted kind of like beef...but fishy.

Tomorrow we have interviews with the mission president, then I'll interview 3 of the Shinjung Sisters' investigators who want to be baptized this Saturday.

With the difficulty in meeting people recently, the spiritual high points have been district meetings and Sister Lee. We hit a low last week when Elder Matsurra and I were on splits. Searching for less actives, we ran into a father who didn't like that we knocked on his door, so he yelled at us in Korean low-form* and slammed the door in our faces. At one point, this man had invited missionaries into his house to teach his daughter and allowed her to be baptized, but now for some reason felt perfectly fine making us feel like trash and let us freeze on his porch. The day had been full of disappointments and discouragement for us, and I wanted to talk to him again. I almost knocked on his door again because I wanted a confrontation so badly (and had some uncharitable thoughts). Instead, Elder Matsurra and I just stood there...cooled down...and then just laughed with each other. Elder Matsurra has a chuckle that's contagious. The cute puppy downstairs also lifted our spirits. I'm pretty sure I repented later for my angry thoughts. ^^

Discouragement, Doubt, Fear...all are opposed to Faith. I testify that as we live faithfully we have no need to fear, and by exercising our faith we invite the Holy Ghost and legions of angels to work by our side. I'll try better to remember that next time!

The Gospel is true! Love, Elder Bocchino

ps correction...so the lunar new year isn't in January...it's in February...my bad!

*note from Sis. Bocchino: we inquired about Korean low form, and were told "Korean low form is a form you can use when speaking to someone younger than you (usually quite a bit younger than you and usually only if you have enough age to make it work), or with a romantic interest, or with family, or to animals, or when you're really really angry (at someone younger ish than you.) and then it's kinda like a very rude hand gesture...it cuts."

Sister Lee's Baptism

From Elder Bocchino:

Whew! What a first week in Bangojin. It's a small peninsula on the east coast of South Korea and is part of the city of Ulsan. It is dominated by Hyundai ship and car factories and most of the people on the streets wear the gray uniforms of Hyundai workers. Lots of cranes and smokestacks!

I've been able to meet a few members throughout the week - very nice people. We also had several English classes. Attendance isn't as large as the classes in Gyeongju, but we'll work on that.

On Sunday, we had a baptism! The sister (Sister Lee) met missionaries about 8 weeks ago. She works at a convenience store near the church. She was able to hear their teachings, cut down her coffee consumption, and accepted the baptism challenge. For some reason, she requested that I baptize her. I've not participated in a baptism here yet, or performed the ordinance. It went well. We talked about how baptism is the beginning of a journey rather than the end. Sister Lee is committed to living the gospel throughout all of her life. I'm excited for her.

The Branch is big here. It used to be a Ward when it was part of the Pusan Stake. 65 people came to church yesterday. (In Gyeongju, we were really lucky to get 30). The members seem really nice. Last night, we went with the sister missionaries to the Branch President's house for dinner. It was delicious and the Branch President is really nice! Very fun...

We're preparing for Christmas and our Branch Christmas party. Apparently I'm going to be Santa Claus (the members have been reminding me of that all week long. They're excited!). Also, I'll be going to a member's private kindergarten to be Santa for a little bit on Christmas Eve. :)

We'll also be having a Christmas Mission Conference in Pusan on December 23! I'm pretty excited!

It's been quite a week. Sis. Lee's baptism helped me think a lot about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and what our priorities in life should be. We need to have faith in Christ (which Sis. Lee has), we need to repent for the things we've done wrong (which she's done), we need to be baptized in Christ's name by someone holding the proper authority (we did that the other day), we can then receive the Holy Ghost and have it as our constant companion (we'll do that in two weeks...by someone with authority), and then we need to endure to the end by living a righteous life according to God's commandments. What a beautifully simple Gospel! What a true Gospel!

Gotta go! Love, Elder Bocchino

Laying a proper foundation

It's been a week of hard work. We visited with a man who has known missionaries for the better part of two decades. He owns a small cell phone business in the downtown area. He is doing some heavy remodeling to one of his businesses and asked us for help. Whew! We laid cement and destroyed a wall for two days. Very fun...it was good to do some physical labor. I learned how to lay cement (the Korean way)....we'll see if it lasts. He also cooked us up some spicy soups in a tiny cluttered kitchen in the back of his shop. Interesting experience.

A lot of people who we've met once aren't too interested in meeting again, so we're struggling to find people to meet.

We had zone meeting last week, where we discussed being creative vs. robotic as missionaries, and then we just bashed on the old English program days.

Next week is Choosuk, the Korean Thanksgiving-style holiday where they remember/worship their dead ancestors. We have a full p-day this coming Friday, and that Saturday we might be going to Ulsan to meet up with other missionaries at the District President's house. Fun fun fun. We're hoping to watch some movies and go to the BIG Buddhist temple here in Gyeongju on the p-day Friday.

Had interviews with President yesterday since he was in Pohang. No transfer info (it's wayyyyyyy too early) but still interesting. Sister Jennings promised us that we'll get a Thanksgiving dinner next transfer, either in Taegu or in Pusan. (woohoo!)

The October Liahona is amazing! Especially the article about shepherds in Israel.

The Church is true, the work is great! Love, Elder Bocchino

From Taegu to Gyungju

I've been transferred from the Taegu Seusong Ward to Gyungju. I'm out of the Taegu heat! But, I'm also out of the big city and back into the rural. It's a change all right, as I was just getting used to the big, fast paced city. GYUNGJU is a very very famous little city in Korea. It was the ancient capital of the Shilla Dynasty. It's about an hour west of Ulsan, an hour south of Pohang - pretty much a ways away from anywhere ("a geographical oddity!!" - George Clooney). It is soooooo beautiful. A lot of the buildings in the town proper are limited to a height of only several floors and most of them have traditional roofs. It is a modern town, but they try to preserve a traditional look. Everyone is obsessed with history due to the city's historical nature. (Sheela) The Korean drama shows depicting the old days are pretty popular here.

The Branch has about 20-30 members who regularly attend church each Sunday. I hear they're great and I'm excited to meet them. We just had an English class here an hour ago, and the seniors in the class have known missionaries for a long time and are very friendly with us. I'm excited to spend time with them as well.

It was a confusing and surprising transfer weekend for me at first, because it was completely unexpected and I was just getting used to a new routine in a big city. But it's getting better. It's not as hot here and it is so beautiful. My new companion is Elder Green from Kaysville, Utah. He's going into his 5th transfer in country (he's been in country for about 5 months) and I'm going into my 8th transfer (10 months in country). He's nice, and pretty good at Korean too.

We're anxious to get started. Thanks for your prayers and support. It helps! Love, Elder Bocchino