Elder Kyle Jensen

So, I pretty much love this small town of Anseong. I'll probably be homesick when I leave which could potentially be in 2 weeks sadly... ah, anyway, we got to go to a less actives farm this week for a service opportunity and oh boy it was so much fun! haha we harvested 고구마 (sweet potatoes) and it reminded me of back at home in my garden digging up potatoes. The countryside here is saving my life right now, this town is such a comfy, lovable town. We actually learned how it came about, the name, from a doctor who owns a hospital we made friends with! There's a mountain here in the north (not a Utah standard mountain btw, we run up it every Monday morning for exercise in our 30 min we have to exercise haha), then the city and a river and fields. This set up makes for the perfect little town out here and the character 안 means rest or comfort or peace and 성 means castle. so it's the castle of peace pretty much and I would definitely agree! Every time we get to farm this lady loves to give us some rewards of course so we usually have a constant supply of fruit from her and other members haha.
That's one big thing we've realized this week is that in order for this branch to grow here in Anseong (usually about 20 people come each week to sacrament meeting) we have to start with the members and less-actives themselves. Our mission president expounded on this by saying the church in Korea is going to grow through those sources, so that's a huge focus here we have in Korea is working with members and less actives. Like anywhere in the world, strong members are needed to fellowship new investigators of the church. If the new investigators can't feel anything special at church, and feel like it's just like any other church in Korea (which there are so many, up in our apartment looking out you see so many crosses spreaded across the town), then it's hard to hlep that investigator to progress. I love the members here and this town. It's quite special and I truly mean that because no other place in this mission is every going to be like this. Of course, it's really challenging at times, but that's where the most growth comes in.
Another crucial thing I learned this week of how insanely crucial simplicity is. One huge lifetime goal I have is to be able to teach simply. There's a quote in PMG that says something to the extent that true intelligence is being able to take something really complex (lets say the Atonement) and teaching it to a child so they can fully understand. Ah, teaching simply is so hard, especially having grown up in the church. It's such a natural urge to just spill everything you know, but you have to realize, any new person we teach here, we have to try and teach like they're an 8 year old learning a new language, and pretty much a new world. that's one advantage i do find though is because I only konw basic korean, I can get away with limited basic teaching haha.
One thing to think about this week. Try comparing Christ's Atonement to Joseph Smith's First Vision. As we repent, it should take everything we have to fight off against the adversary. The light of the atonement GRADUALLY descends until it rests upon us, but that whole time we fighting an evil power so real. This fighting is our faith, our desire to change and do everything we can so we don't fall back to our old ways. If we fight off sin until the light of Christ's Atonement can rest upon us, that's when our hearts our changed and we have become a new person. If we don't fight, and fall short, there's no permanent change and we will find ourselve struggling with the same sin, same problem which we have suffered from before. Yes, Satan will always try to tempt us with the same thing, but our reaction to resist and thought process is something that changes. I've really had to train my mind to have positive thoughts here on my mission. Sometimes I think bad of myself, my companion, other people, and I realizethat was destroys virtue, which is a foundational building block to obtain the spirit (PMG in Christlike attrivutes under virtue). But through repentance and fighting evil, i'm training myself to be more positive, and the majority of the time it comes down to me singing "I'm trying to be like Jesus" in my head. The healing power of the Atonement is real, and it truly brings out change for good. I know that to be true. I feel the power of it espeicially as I remember Christ and renew my baptismal convenant every Sunday as I partake of a simple and precious emblem, the bread and water. Christ has got my back, he taps me on the shoulder now and then and says, Arise and be not afraid. I can testify to you that when I "lift up my eyes" as an act of faith, I see "no other man save Jesus." No, not literlly, but symbolically, I know he's there for me and loves me. He loves all of you as well and is waiting to shed the light of His Atonement on you.
So, there's my thoughts this week haha ^^ Love you guys!! Truly and sincerely!

Elder Jensen