Tuesday, September 2, 2014

August 31- Kabo Wabo!

So I need to share some more about my companion, Elder Gibbons. He's an organic, health food freak. He only eats fruits and veggies and things grown from the ground like roots and grass. He had to give up most of his diet due to the lack of a whole foods in Korea, but just got a package this week loaded with all kinds of weird seeds and nuts and roots and things I didn't know humans can eat. So, I see something in his package that looks like the cardboard remains of an empty roll of duck tape and I ask what it is. He says its kabo wabo: a special food only grown in remote parts of Asia. He said that you peel back the card board and there's a soft inside that tastes really bitter, but is an excellent source of protein...I asked if I could try some and started peeling it back...it was just an empty roll of tape!! He made up Kabo Wabo because he knew I would fall for it with all the crazy stuff he eats. Speaking of eating, I ate an entire duck this week and it tasted amazing! It is really common to eat duck here, but why is it that I never tried eating this exotic bird back in the states? hmm.

This week, we loaded the house back up to 4 people! I forgot how much different it is living with 4 people compared to 2. There's a whole lot more going on in the house now. We have quite a few personalities in the house so there is never a boring moment. I always say that there are pros and cons to both 2 and 4 man houses so its kind of nice to get a evenish mix of both.

We saw tons of miracles this week! One day we were looking for a store that sells this food. We saw a sign for it in front of a really big run down building. We went in and it was horror movie status with peeled paint walls and flickering lights and everything. We couldn't find the store anywhere and I thought what in the world are we doing in here. We are wasting our time and I'm kind of scared. We were walking out when we passed the last store before the doors and it was an art framing shop. The guy ran outside and greeted us with a bunch of broken English. We went in to his little frame shop and got to visit with him. He said that he has seen us all over the area (his place was right next to our house) and that he always wanted us to help with his English and wondered what we were doing here. It was the last place I would've ever pictured finding an investigator, but sure enough there he was. I'm starting to realize that the people running the small businesses around our area actually have more time than the people on the street, who are always saying that they're busy.

This next experience was so great! We were out talking to people and I sort of had a feeling of being lost, not in the sense that I didn't know where I was but rather in a sense of I didn't know where I needed to be at that time. I said a prayer in my heart and an idea came to me to go a small park (that Grandpas always happen to be playing Chinese Chess in). I'd been there a lot before, but sort of doubted it a little bit. Ultimately, I decided to act on it. We came up into the park and immediately were approached by a Grandpa who had spoken with me before. The most miraculous part to me was the look of worry and concern that was in his eyes. He really looked like he needed help. We talked for a while and he was interested in learning about our church more than any other time talking to him. He told me that he would call me Sunday morning to meet and learn about our church. I tried to get his number to confirm in case he forgot to call but he wouldn't give it to me. I've had instances all throughout my mission where people say "I don't give out my number but I'll call you" and then I never hear from them again. I was skeptical to say the least. But he really did call me Sunday morning, and we really did meet Sunday night! After our first meeting, he said that he had thought very differently of our church and thought we weren't good people, but now he could see what we really were. He said he wants to know more. He's leaving next week for the holidays, but said he will come to church in 2 weeks! This experience along with many others makes it so worth it! There is nothing like seeing the Spirit work through you to help other people. Its so amazing!!

This week was an okay lesson with Brother Lee, He's really the best investigator and at the same time the hardest investigator. He is so research based in his belief that he's having a hard time feeling that the Gospel is true because he's just trying to know it in his head. He talked this week about how some people see all the bible as figurative and that Moses didn't really part the red sea but that it is just a parable and that miracles like that can't really happen, but they're given to us to learn. He then compared it with Joseph Smith and proposed that maybe he didn't really find plates and translate them but that he just received revelation from God and wrote it that way and the whole book is a parable for us. After I heard that, I wasn't sure what to do so we read the testimony of the 3 and 8 witnesses who saw the plates and then we testified. He's progressing slowly and learning every lesson. We also taught a lot about the temple this week. Every week we discuss baptism and he always talks as if it will happen for him but to him its just a matter of when. Last but not least the Grandpa and Grandmas here are just killing Elder Gibbons and I. We walked back to our apartment only to find 10 Grandmas on the floor just taking a Sunday nap in the covered garage together. They are so cool! They are like little kids in the sense that they all get together in big groups and go play and hang out. No old people in America do that! Okay, that's it.

Thanks for everything! I appreciate all the support! Don't think about me coming home. I still got plenty of time!!

K B Y E from 금천,with love. Elder Nixon

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