"I Love the Gospel! I know it's true."

Hi.

Well thank you for the package! It was a really nice surprise! So far I have really anticipated the packages, and so far you are doing a really good job. Thanks again for this last one! So I finally got my dictionary. And if you look at the account, I made the withdrawal. I took out 200000 won. which is about $200. but let me know what the account says. when you take into account the exchange rate and fees and the price of the dollar, it changes. Let me know what it Actually took out in american Dollars. As far as the dictionary, it is really cool! It has a really nice setup and is pretty "top-of the line" when it comes to dictionaries. And I bought it off of another missionary for a really good deal. Thanks.

So, this week went really well. we met a few new people and we think they are ready for the restored gospel. We are still trying to do a lot of this inactive work. Our mission President pretty much told us that he really wants us to focus on raising the wards up. There are a lot of details about how and why. But the long end of the short of it is that there are so many inactives and so many people that embrace the gospel and fall away. His goal is to raise the wards, to build them up and get them to trust the missionaries a lot so that they get excited about missionary work, about this church, and about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We want to build that atmosphere where those who are new converts, can find so much strength and really feel the friendship of the ward; this is something that has been desperately needed in the wards of the Busan Mission. It is a little different and we are still a little unsure of the best way to approach this phase of missionary work...I love the gospel! I know its true.
The atonement is real!
Always share it!
Love you.Elder Shumway

(I am happy that Greg and Michelle got married. That must have been really cool! I know they are both really happy! But the news of Scott Fleming's death is really sad... And Grandma in the hospital isn't good either.)

"Passed Off"

Hi!
Thanks for the Email. Kedric sounds like he's doing pretty good on the football team. I wish he would have played a little before I left so I could've had a reason to go to the games more. way ta go!

well, we did go to a Puma store and they informed us that Pumas run anywhere from $70-120. I dont know how much the package was, but they cost a lot here. Thank you for sending them! I bought a dictionary (well, sort of). I bought it from another elder and he is sending it in the mail. It should get to me today or tomarrow. I am pretty excited. It should be really good.

Well, yes. It was a good Choo-Suk. Even though It got in the way of proselyting, we built some good relationships with the members. This week I finally "passed off". We have a Pass-off Program here. You have to memorize a bunch of vocabulary and get to a certain level in teaching the lessons. There are 3 passoffs: 1st, midway, and Final. And just this week I did final. It doesn't really mean much other than now I can technically go Senior. Woah! Yeah, I little scary! I think I'm more scared about it than you might be though. I still dont feel like I would be ready... I dont think it will happen quite yet though. In my opinion I have at least a couple transfers until I have to really worry. But, there are a lot of new missionaries coming in this next transfer and quite a few ending their missions. Which means they will be needing quite a few seniors to take their places. We'll see... I think I'll go when I'm good and ready...

So the other day we were traveling and this guy coming off the bus stops us and starts talking to us in English. "Hey are you two Mormon?" We started talking to him. He was this old chinese man. He was a citizen of the US but he had to renew his visa to China in Korea. He didn't speak any Korean and was really confused about how to get to his hotel. We pointed him in the right direction, showed him how to use the subway system, gave him our number in case he got confused again, and after thanking us, he left. We didn't expect to see him again. But a few days later, he gave us a call and said he wanted to meet treat us to coffee. Not really caring too much for the coffee, we met and had a really good talk over some orange juice. To make a long story short, we shared some stuff out of an English Book of Mormon and gave him a copy. He really liked it. He had some great values and some longing questions he wanted answered. He expressed his desire to read and study the book. He gave us his address in China (he plans to live there) and we separated.
All of this from just telling him how to use the subway. There are a lot of opportunities out there.

Love you a lot! Elder Shumway

Choo-Suk!!!

Hi family.

So there is a holiday in Korea called (choo-suk). Anyway as far as holidays, this is the big one in Korea. It's pretty big. It started on Saturday and Ended on Monday night. But it was fun. As far as missionary work though, it really cuts into it. You cant really go procelyting because everyone is inside celebrating with their families. And if you do, they would just come to the door and be like " hey, what are you doing? it's (choo-suk). go away." They suggested that we use this time with the members and try and build our relationships with them. So on Saturday, we went over to this member's house that is really lonely ( her husband abandoned her, she has 1 daughter, and no real relatives.) And we spent Saturday just preparing traditional Korean Food with her. It was a good experience.

On sunday, we tried to find where some less actives live through a map at the church. We had a really short meeting and spent the rest of the day with members. It was good. But here's the killer... We got a full P-Day on Monday. Nothing was open, so we didn't have the chance to E mail then (hence the Email now). So we played football on the Beach, played basketball, and I had my 1st encounter with Ultimate Frisbee since I was in Arizona! It felt so good! After, we went to a Bath house and then watched "Robots" and had pizza. It was a lot of fun, but I am feeling pretty sore from all that activity.

So so so, this holiday season kinda destroyed the typical weekend, and our procelyting time was really minimized. :-( Thanks for all the updates! Well as far as the language goes, I am still not very comfortable. But I am still trying. It really helps when I shut out English and only speak Korean. But sometimes it's hard. But I need it. Pray for me to be better at the language and to keep studying hard.

Sounds like BYU will do pretty well in football this year! Thank you Caleb for the updates and pictures! Looks like you're having a lot of fun at BYU! Love you all! Sorry I can't respond back to everything as in depth as I want to.

Till next week! Elder Shumway

A New Investigator!

Hey

Well It seems as though you do have some big news in Arizona.

to answer the questions- yeah weather is changing a little bit. but I dont need anything. I brought warm stuff with me. Thanks though. Maybe send me a lot of those listrine packets or something. If it is too much dont worry about it. As missionaries, they dont like us chewing gum in public. But in Korea, that's kinda the only way to freshen breath. they dont offer much alternative. they do sell altoids, but thay are really expensive and they make your backpack all "powdery". Anyway, Thank you.

so right now I am at a place called sfun z ("spoungie" as Koreans pronounce it) its just a place with a bunch of games (ping pong, bowling, etc). it should be pretty fun. I am emailing on a computer here. so as for myself, I am fine as always.

Today I cut my own hair for the 4th time in Korea. And I accidently cut the bangs way too short! Haha. But it is alright. Everyone says it looks fine. I think I just look at it with a more critical eye...

As far as news... These inactives are proving really hard to find. Korean addresses are really confusing. they give houses numbers in the order that they are built. So in an area, all the numbers are jumbled up together. so it can be difficult. and the area book is 5 years old...

But one interesting thing that happened this week. We were finding an inactive and all of a sudden, we ran into a guy from our english service project. We talked a little. At first, we were just trying to get out of there but we started talking a little bit and it started from trying to leave to giving him a pass along card to giving him the first discussion at the church! And the first went really well. We had another and that went well too! So it turns out that we found this investigator from one of the people we see every week. The circumstances were just right. But the Lord prepares those kinds of people all the time. We always just need to take advantage of those oportunities!

Gotta go!
Love you all!
Peace,
Elder shumway

Here is a photo of me and a member of my district.