I've always said that I wanted to serve a mission because I love people, but I didn't realize that I was lacking the element of love in my teaching style. This entire mission has nothing to do with me. It's all about others.

Dear Family,

I'm doing so well. The MTC is helping me grow as an individual and as a missionary. The language is coming really well! The grammar forms and vocabulary come with correlation to my prayers. Teaching our practice investigators has helped me remember why I'm here and how to effectively invite others to come unto Christ.

Harkness and I teach our teach Sister Kim and Sister Goodwinn. Goodwinn has been home from her mission for about six months and Kim has been off of hers for a year or so. Sister Kim is natively Korean and Sister Goodwinn is from Ogden (I think). They both bring a special spirit when teaching. Kim has been busy with school lately, so we've had different substitute teacher's for our night classes all week.

Yesterday, we were taught by Brother Sung. That guy understands the gospel and missionary work. Harkness and I had the chance to teach him. Our lesson was going alright, but it was a very humbling experience. At the end of our lesson, Sung stood up and told us that we were doing a good job at presenting the information and explaining the doctrinal concepts, but then he asked "What were your investigators needs?". Embarrassed, I could only come up with one need that I'd identified. Brother Sung then went on to fill the chalkboard with needs and struggles that the investigator he was portraying had. I didn't realize how much we'd glossed over in our attempt to throw the gospel at him. I've always said that I wanted to serve a mission because I love people, but I didn't realize that I was lacking the element of love in my teaching style. This entire mission has nothing to do with me. It's all about others. It's about you guys at home, it's about the investigator's I'll teach, it's about the ancestor's and future posterity of those investigator's. That being said, I'm so thankful for my chance to be the Lord's full time service.

Everyone in my district is progressing so well. The usual "replacing-alcohol-with-a-gospel-term-in-korean" shennanigan still happens from time to time though. Last night during class, Elder Harkness said "Rice Alcohol died for the sins of mankind".

I'd like to say thank you to everyone who is writing me! Mom, tell your sisters and their kids thank you so much! I'm super jealous of West getting to play the new Super Smash Brohers game and Disneyland with Heidi's kids sounded like a blast. Also, Dad, tell Auntie that I say thank you as well and that I'm doing really well.

Thanks so much for the packages. The noodles and soda especially. Close to every night myself and a couple elders in my district have taken to making snacks in the microwave and sitting on the curb outside out dorm every night while we just chat and hang out. I'm starting to feel like the people I've met here are going to be life long friends of mine.

Also, I think people from Virginia throw things at each other as a pass time. Elder Willis (from Virginia) enjoys tossing leaves, pine cones, M&M's and pretty much whatever else he can find at other people. The only other person I know from Virginia, Joseph Whitmore, also had a hankering for projectiles. I really don't get it.

Im glad to to hear that everyone is doing well and growing spiritually. I think Dad finding a new job is an answer to some prayers I've been saying. I know I'm no longer in your presence, but I feel so much love from my family and I want you to know that I pray for you all as well.

Also, Parker...uh...Thanks for the jacket, and I miss you too.


Spencer, if you could send me the lyrics to Frank Sinatra's Fly Me To The Moon and Best of Times by Sage Francis, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm glad to hear our friends are doing well. Awesome news about Matt. Tell me how you camping trip goes and I'm also real sorry that you had to hang out with Chubs.

Eliza, be careful with your body, yo. It sounds like you have the joints of a frail old man. I'm glad to hear that you're doing well in Volleyball. You're gonna have such a huge flock of boys following you in high school. I can tell already.

Brooke, you acty. Keep me posted with road show details and the latest Acty drama. I heard you have a chronic problem with falling asleep in class. I don't really do a whole lot of sleeping here. I don't get too tired for some reason. It's a blessing really. In the word's of Modern Baseball "All of those classes in High School I fell asleep in, but now I can barely close my eyes."

Katie! You dressed up on the wrong day, you goon? Haha, that's so funny. One time Spencer thought he wore his pajama's to elementary school on the wrong day and he got embarrassed and ran home. Also, one time Spencer and I were with Sawyer cleaning an office. We didn't have shoes on so when we got to the top of the stairs and found someone still working there, he got embarrassed and ran to the nearest gas station. Old habits die hard, dude.

Lilly, thank you for that picture of your toy. Keep sending pictures of all of the cool things that you do and get. I've been keeping up with my dancing and practicing my hand stands every day. Also, thank you for your comics about he missionary animals. My favorite one was about the polar bear and the dolphin. Please send more.

Mom, I love you so much. Thank you for writing as often as you do. I'm glad to hear that you're doing well and staying busy. I want to hear more about your adventures in subbing. Public school kids are naives and I'm excited to hear your thoughts on them. The RS retreat sounded like it was fun. There is so much you have taught me about  loving others and trust me. I get it, especially now.

Dad, is it weird for me to say that I'm proud of you? I guess what I meant is that I'm proud to be your son. You lead our family well, and I know the Lord honors your efforts. There are reasons for all of the things that happen to us. Good and bad. And I think I'm starting to understand them a little more. Also, thank you for giving me your missionary stories and keeping me posted about the fam. The term masochistic hillbilly is a commonly used expression among Harkness and I now.

Also, I see Josh Jarvis just about daily. He's speaking Cambodian. That language sounds like a gutteral, tonal, machine gun and hearing it come out of Josh Jarvis's mouth makes me laugh so incredibly hard.

Anyway, that's about all I have for this week.

Actually, no. We had M. Russel Ballard come visit and speak to us. I was front row for his talk. Two front row seats for the talks of two apostles within a span of a week. I had a lot of questions that Elder Ballard addressed in his talk. 

The Lord answers prayers. Things happen for reasons.

I love you all so much! I miss you terribly, but I'm so happy to be here. 

From,
Elder Samuel Loa Tuinei

Another letter from the MTC

Family!

I miss you guys so much. The MTC is going well. Every day we have about six hours of language classes/doctrine classes taught in Korean, and about four hours of personal/companion/ and additional study time. The food here still sucks. In the words of Kamana'o Arakaki it tastes like "Sausage A La Crap". If you send anything, I'd appreciate more soda and noodles.

For my exercise I've been doing my breakdance warm up, and then doing freeze stacks and dancing for about forty minutes. It's not as much time as I'd like, but honestly it's such a blessing to be able to do what I love daily. I've also become a better dancer since being here and training my fundamentals. I actually just hit my first barrel windmill to shoulder spin combo yesterday morning *sunglasses emoji*

I'm currently in Alma 15 in the BOM and I study PMG daily. It's so cool to see the Lord answering my prayers so directly as I put in the necessary work. My Companion Elder Harkness and I work really well together. We've taught mock investigators in Korean a few times already. Harkness knows his scriptures incredibly well and I've been blessed with the gift of tongues, so with our combined efforts, plus the spirit, we've been able to teach really well. I love my district a ton, and there's never a minute of down time here. It's like going to Hogwarts, except without the magic, or Emma Watson, or Cho Chang, or magic, or adventure. The only thing similar is the boarding school studying and attire and I have a ginger friend who never leaves my side.

That's so cool that you had the chance to hear Elder Scott and Elder Nelsen. I was actually sitting front row at the Elder Scott talk. He carries such a powerful spirit with him when he speaks.

I've met plenty more enjoyable people here as well. The Lord blesses us with friends if we're willing to be friendly. Elder Evans is a well dressed hipster from Chicago who produces and loves rap music and movies. I've become friends with a lot of guys in our branch and our district has grown a lot closer together.

I've been finding alright sleep. To help myself pass out, I imagine the plot lines of a childrens chapter book series that I'd like to write titled PK Brown and The Terrible Time Machine. The series begins with Sawyer and his dad working on a time machine in their garage. Being the forgetful people that they are, they don't put the device that allows the user to choose which year he travels to on the machine. PK Brown mans the machine and sends himself flying through time. The first book would be about PK landing in the early American colonies where he meets Jebediah Jensen (Matt Jensen's great-great-grandfather) who is deathly afraid of Indians. Of course I'm working on a story in which PK finds himself defending the Alamo.

I'm glad to hear that my friends are staying close to home. I hope Sawyer really follows through with his decision to serve. Two weeks out and I can already feel myself becoming a more loving and effective individual.

Quite often I find myself having to bite my tongue. There's a lot of weird things that certain elders do that I'd love to turn around and vent about, but I've made it a priority to not speak ill of other missionaries. It's sooooooo hard though. Elder Willis and I have had to sacrifice many a joke by filling the potential comedic moment with the phrase "Quiet dignity, Elder."

Brooke, that's so cool that you got to meet Stewart Edge. And I'm glad to hear that you're being a good example to Hunter.

Spencer, I miss you so much, man. If you send me that iPod please stuff it full of good music.  And the song you were talking about is Always Gold by Radical Face. Don't listen to it. You will cry. Also, please write me when you go do your endowments. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter. Speaking of which, I was able to go through the temple again last Thursday and am going today. Everything made so much more sense and I walked away with a better understanding of the power of women and the role that they play. If you allow it to be, the temple can be a great teacher.

Lilly, keep tumbling. Also, I read your comic about the Polar Bear missionary. It was excellent, please send some more. I miss you so much.

Katie, keep up the uke. I don't think you understand how much I miss playing instruments. I write raps down in my notebook daily, but it's not quite the same. I miss you a ton and thank you so much for all of your sweet words of encouragement.

Eliza, I think you're such an excellent person. I've always been so impressed with the high standard you hold yourself to. Keep studying and enjoy volleyball and your friends while you can.

Tanika, thank you for being there for my family. You came to my brother when he needed you most and I really appreciate the role that you've played in his life. If you get married while I'm gone, please send pictures. lol jk. Just wait till I'm home.

I'm sure I've said it before, but being here just feels so right. My entire life I've felt the need to help others. It dawned on me that as a missionary, I really am a catcher in the rye. We've got all of these people rushing towards the edge of a cliff and I get to be the one to keep them from hurting themselves. I get to present this life saving gospel to them. I know we can be together throughout the eternities, and I take comfort in that. It also serves as a motivation for me to share the gospel. There are people out there who live their lives with uncertainty. Uncertain of whether they'll see their family ever again. It's now my responsibility to help them understand that through the atonement, they will see everyone they care about in the life to come.

 I love you so much, Mom, but I've gotta run. The church is true! Stay strong, Tuinei Clan! "STRENGTH AND HONOR!". Also, tell your sisters thank you so much for writing. And tell Aunty thank you as well. If I could get a list of email adresses I'd love to send stuff out to them. Anyway. Really have to go this time. I LOVE YOUUUUUU!
I love you all so much and miss you dearly.

From,
Elder Samuel Loa Tuinei

My first week in the MTC

dear family, 

thank you all so much for the love and support! the mtc is going really well, and i actually enjoy being here. i miss you all sooooooo much. so much that it's hard for me to sit here and think about, but i've never felt more absolutely sure that i'm doing the right thing in my life. i've been praying daily and the language is coming really well. through hard work and the spirit, anything is possible. we've been able to teach the "investigator" here pretty well with the exception of elder H replacing the word atonement with hang-over. long story short he told sister kim that jesus was hung over so we can live again.

my district consists of myself, elder H, elder G, elder W, elder, Q, sister E and sister M.
i love everyone i'm here with, especially the elders!

my comp (elder H) is like a ginger (name protected). he ran track, played in marching band and orchestra, sang in choir. very utah valley mormon boy-esque, but he's nice. he does struggle with the language a bit tho. for example last night he said "heavenly father, please bless the gospel" while we were praying with our investigator, and then later on handed her the english bible rather than the korean one for sister kim to read out of.

elder G is funny in the way that an eighth grade math teacher from sandy utah is funny. hilariously uncomfortable with different cultures and he finds language barriers to be the funniest thing in the world.

elder W reminds me of (name protected), except not retarded. he enjoys gooning around. we talk a lot about reddit and the sitcoms that we've watched. i can tell i'm going to be good friends with all of these elders.

elder Q reminds me of oscar from the office. he likes to tell people what to do, and correct them aaaallllll the time. funny thing is he often doesn't know what he's talking about. oh well, he's nice enough i guess.

the food here sucks. it's a step above cafeteria food, which still isn't much.

i share a dorm with Elder H, and two other elders, elder T and elder F, very typical boys you'd meet in utah. one of them is thespian who reminds me of a more spiritual (name protected) and the other is a fitness guru who banged out a year of college physics in eight weeks.

i'm currently doing really well as far as supplies go. thank you so much for the packages and letters. it feels so good to know that you're all doing well and are alive and kicking. i have the most mail out of anyone in my district and it's a running joke that i have a million girlfriends writing me. i miss you all so much. and honestly, after being out here, i could see spencer being an excellent missionary.

tell pk and sawyer and the rest of the clan that I say hi. don't mention to pk that i think he should be out here as well. i'm learning to be way more productive and effective in my studies than i've ever been.

brooke, i'm glad to hear that you're enjoying high school. junior year is such an awesome time. you really come into your own as an individual. there's so much fun to be had when you open up and allow yourself to be friends with everyone.

eliza, i'm so happy to hear that you're inspired to serve. start studying now though. you'll be leagues ahead if you're familiar with preach my gospel and the standard works. keep me posted with how volley ball is going.

lilly, i'm sorry to hear about your arm. the cupcake and lemonade stand sounds like a blast though, and i think it'd be awesome if you could do backflips by the time you were home.

katie, thank you so much for your sweet letters. i miss you so much. it's not the same without a little sister to goon around with and sit on, seriously though.

spencer, stay strong, bruh. everyone is enthralled with the stories from home i've been telling. i feel like you with the way these elders quiet down when i speak up to talk about something we've done together, or when i recount scout camp/1211FIVE stories. i'm so stoked to hear about how you grow as person in the next two years. write to me about your patriarchal blessing, when you go through the temple, college and the blessings you receive in general. if i can offer any advice to you as a younger borther i would say to pray always and be familiar with the doctrine of christ. i can feel myself becoming a better human being and my capacity to love others has grown in a matter of a week. you've taught me well, man. i'm staying intact with my personality and passions tho. i recite rap verses daily that in hopes to remember them through my whole mission.

Mom and Dad, I'm doing so well. also, i go to the temple thursday afternoons. i mean this in the nicest way possible, but please don't come. it'd break my heart to have to say goodbye to you again.

i also find it important to mention that i've met a bboy, a hip hop dancer, and a producer/rap enthusiast since being here all within my district/class building. the lord places friends in our midsts.

also, if there's a way for me to write a generic post to send to extended family, please help me to do so. i don't feel like there's enough time in a day.

i love you all so much and am doing well. i guess  that's all i have to say as of right now.

with love,
Elder Samuel Loa Tuinei

p.s: the shift key on this computer blows.

Hey Guys,

Well, here I am sitting in my dorm at the MTC.  My first day was great!  We started with different orientation classes, and taught some totally legitimate investigators.  It definitely did not feel like they were paid actors at all.  The food is on par with college cafeterias around the the nation, salty with a side of frozen vegetables.
I have been paired with an elder from Mapleton by the name of James Harkniss.  He's a well mannered ginger with a gang of extracurricular activities under his belt.  He's nice, comparable to Andrew Giles.
I share a room with three boys where all of my stuff fits surprisingly well.
On another note, I would like to thank you so much for all of the support.  The decision to serve and endure would be a lot tougher without all of your love.  I miss you all dearly, but I know that there is a work that needs to be done.  There are families out there less fortunate than us, who who need this gospel.  They need truth.  That being the case I am willing to leave for a few years, immerse myself in a new culture and language in order to bring others this knowledge.
I love you all so much.  I really do.
With Love,
Sam

Today's the day. I head to the MTC in about four hours and I'm nothing but excited. All my life I've wanted to travel to Korea, and now I get the chance to do so on the Lord's errand. While excited, I'm nervous and I know that I'll come to miss all of my friends here in Provo.  I'd like to give a big thank you to all of my friends and family that have stopped by over the last few days. Thanks guys. Stay tuned to this blog. I promise I'll have more to say as time goes on.