February 7, 2022 - Daejeon

Hello everybody! Sorry for the few weeks of radio silence! These past two weeks have been so busy, which is no excuse, but it does mean I have too much content to give a detailed report on everything that has happened recently. I just want to hit some key experiences and describe the feeling of doing missionary work here in 대전 (Daejeon). 

I honestly don't remember what i last wrote about, so I am going to start from when we split our trio and left Elder 성현 (Seonghyeon) in the 2 ward so that we can focus on the 1 ward. It has been grueling at times now that it is just us two foreigners, as neither of us are particularly proficient with the language yet. That being said, our ward members are so unbelievably helpful and kind to us in spite of our shortcomings, and we have been able to do a ton of work with their assistance. We are consistently meeting new people, collaborating with other missionaries, and teaching about Jesus Christ to and with our members. 

Daejeon is also a large city, and with that largeness comes a lot more opportunities for missionary work. We have met people on the subway, through facebook ads, on language exchange apps, on the street, at bus stops, and any number of in-betweens. There is no downtime here, and even our meals are done with other members or friends in busy environments. This has been a huge blessing, and also very exhausting, as I think missionary work should be! 

This past Tuesday was Lunar New year, which in Korean is 설날 (sor-nar), and it was awesome! We had lunch with the Stake presidents family and had 떡국 (tteoggug), a traditional mild Korean soup with rice cake noodles. Our recent convert 뢰건명 (Loe Geon Myeong), who is from China and is here for college, also attended and it was really fun talking about how Korean and Chinese lunar new year differ. That night we had another dinner meeting, and this time it was with the senior missionaries, the sister missionaries, their Chinese teaching friend, and 뢰건명(Loe Geon Myeong)! It was a wild mix of American, Korean, and Chinese celebration with foods from all three countries and constantly mixed languages. Right before we went and played with sparklers, we had a particularly powerful testimony meeting. It was a perfect balance of bringing a powerful spirit into the group without disrupting the cheer and joy already there. It was a clear reminder that this gospel doesn't require us to be solemn all the time. God wants us to be able to be ourselves, and the spirit is there to increase the joy our innate characters bring to each other, not to change it. 

I have loved studying the scriptures as a missionary. There are so many life changing scriptures found in these handful of books freely available to us! One of my favorites is found in Mosiah 2:41, where it states:

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

Being a missionary has not been easy. In fact, it has been astronomically difficult! But its difficulty has not changed the core fact that this gospel brings me more joy than anything else. I have seen this joy in countless examples back home, I have seen this joy in countless examples here in Korea, and I have personally felt that joy as I have drawn closer to Christ here on my mission. 

I hope you all had a fantastic Lunar New Year as well, even if it was not something you focused on. You all are amazing, and I hope you all have an amazing week! 화이팅 여러분 (Hwaiting Yeoleobun, which means to "keep going")! 

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Elder Wardle

Photos: Pizza in Korea; Exchanges with the AP's; Korean Lunar New Year; the streets of Daejeon; Recent Convert from China; and a cool story he didn't write about - the sister is one he was teaching in his first area over zoom but was moved to Elders in a new area.  They wanted to teach her in person in the new area, but she didn't know them and it never worked out. Elder Wardle happened to go on exchanges in her new area and was able to meet up with her (which she was willing to do since she already knew him) and introduce her to the Elders there!; more with the recent convert from China; several pictures of Joseph's companion Elder Zito and him in this new-er area