I'd like to say that I miss you all so much, but I can already tell it's going to break my heart when I leave this place. It's so beautiful here! I'm serving in an are called Dogye (pronounced Dough-Gay). The members are so friendly and inviting. I was very nervous at first, but after I bore my testimony in sacrament I came to the conclusion that it's better to come off as Goofy-Yet-Loving than it is to be weird and quiet. 

My companion's name is Elder Bingham. He's an excellent missionary. We get a long really well. His knowledge of the Korean language is pretty immense, and he's so helpful to me. I'd be sunk without Bingham. He's from Blackfoot, Idaho and played football in Highschool. We have very similar perspectives on missionary work, and I can feel the spirit strongly when we teach.

As far as the language goes, I don't understand a whole lot of what is said to me. During lessons, I can get the gist of what someone is saying, but while contacting it's still tough. They understand me though! Everyone gives me props on my pronunciation, so I really hold on to that small glimpse of hope. 

The first day I got here I danced for some little kids who attend kindergarten next to our church. They got so excited that they all started dancing around me. This dancing lead to chasing, the chasing lead to punching and kicking and the next thing I knew I was getting assaulted by Korean school children. 

We've had the chance to teach a couple investigators since being here. I can feel the spirit so strongly when they talk of their experience with the book of mormon and the peace they feel when they meet with the missionaries. I didn't really understand it until now, but I love the people I'm around. I hope so badly that the book of mormons we place get read. I've been here less than a week and I'm already so excited to see the progress people make in their lives through this gospel.

Since being here I had the chance to dance on a street corner to get people to register for the free English class that we teach. There are a ton of people here want to learn English, thus we offer an English class with a spiritual thought at the beginning, and prayers before and after class. We also contact through playing sports and meeting up with people in our area. There's a super nice soccer field built into the side of a mountain right next to our apartment.

The ward members here are super kind. They're very excited about missionary work. Last night, we had dinner at the bishop's house. A member drove us there. He drove like he was from Initial D or Speed Racer. I was very afraid that we were going to die with empty stomachs. After that meal, I felt very close to the members. I showed them my family picture book. They said that Spencer looks like a famous actor.

Korea is beautiful! Particularly the area that I'm in. It's really mountainous and there's a lot of people and buildings everywhere. The food is excellent. 

I learn a lot every day. I had some great experiences with sharing the gospel to people on the streets. We were offering one man a book of mormon. Even though we testified of it's truth, he wanted nothing to do with it. I started to feel discouraged. I felt almost like a salesman. In that very moment, a man who had been listening in from the seat next to him reached over and asked for the book. We gave him one, and then he promptly left the train. I realized then the importance of enduring to the end and trying hard, even when it seems like no one cares. 

This place is beautiful and so is the gospel. I love you all very much and am excited to share my experiences with missionary work. 

With Love,
Sam

Dear Family, I'm still doing excellent. My study become more diligent all of the time. Still loving the scriptures and still loving Korean. Last Friday night, we had a skype TRC lesson with a member in Korea. His name is brother Park and quite honestly I barely understood anything he was saying. I had to sit and think about every sentence he gave us and even then, I could only understand very little of what came out of his mouth. None the less, I tried my best to understand, and I bore my testimony of the true and divine nature of Christ's gospel. I'm excited to go to Busan. I'm excited to struggle with the language, but I'm more excited than anything to bring the gospel to the Korean people. Especially the families. This gospel has the power to strengthen and heal our familial relationships. The love I feel from my family is something I hope everyone can one day feel. As of recent I've gained a stronger testimony of the power of repentance. I know, and I use the word know because I've experienced it, that through the atonement the burden of our sins can be taken from us. Christ bore all things for us, and because of that, we don't have to. God would didn't send his son to earth to condemn us, but to save us. He has faith in us, and in turn we must have faith in him. Christ taught to love our neighbors as we'd love ourselves. That goes both ways. When someone trespasses against us, we don't hold that sin over their heads for time and all eternity. This same teaching commands us to forgive ourselves. The atonement is real and for our own good, we should apply its power in our lives.

Spencer: I haven't been hearing much from you, bruh. How's the pool? and school? and Tanika? How big are your arms? Can you toss a horse? Also, I printed out the Why Was I Born A Train picture and posted it up in the dorms. One Elder is deathly afraid of it. In fact, when no one was around, he crinkled it up and threw it away. It was okay because I had five extra copies which I proceeded to pass around the zone. It's a big hit among most of the missionaries here.

Brooke: How are you guy? Did you win anything at Shakespeare? Who are you hanging out with? Are you reading the scriptures? Can Brodie Ripple toss a horse? 

Eliza: Thanks for writing so much, dude. I definitely agree with what you said in your letter. If we pray for help, the Lord will offer us ways to learn/help ourselves. One of the best ways to receive personal revelation is through scripture study. I want you to try your best to read at least fifteen minutes a day from the BOM or The New Testament. Also, are you sure your choir teacher is picking on you? Maybe he asked you to sing a solo because he realizes that 1. You have a good voice 2. You're ten times more mature than other middle school kids and would not cry if he critiqued you. God Speed, Little Sister.

Katie: Hey, dude! What's up with you as of recently? How's Ballroom going? Last I heard from you there was a little bit of friend drama. I hope it's cleared up! The best way to handle that kind of thing is to ask yourself "How can I do this in a way Jesus might?" and then do it! 

Lilly: I heard you have a backflip. I'm so jealous. I met a boy named Elder Cowden this week. He's going to Japan and he's very good at martial arts tricking and doing flips. How is school going? Are you having a fun time with your friend and teacher? How are Emmie and Suede?

Mom: I'm glad you're doing well. I hope you've been sleeping better. I want some pictures of everyone's Halloween costumes. I think I'm going to dress up as an investigator of the church for Halloween. Thrilling, right?

Dad: Glad to hear you're keeping your hustle one, bruh. Thank's for helping Dave out and being a friend. Yet again, I'm so thankful for the example my parents have set for me. Believe it or not, I'm on time to stuff and I keep my living space clean. Sorry to hear about your tooth. I bet if you did Yoga, your teeth would be less brittle. Maybe you should give that a try?

Anyway, I love you all tons. I'm so excited to go teach the gospel in Busan. The Church is true. God loves us and will always be there for us. No matter how many times we screw up, because of the atonement, we can be forgiven and move on.

Now, here is a list of funny things that happened this week that I feel I should share (Please edit for the appropriateness of the blog post):

-There is a new Elder here named Elder . He is very short and looks incredibly similar to none other than Mr. Bean. When we speak Korean to him, he gets frustrated and usually says something to the effect of "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO? I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR THREE DAYS!

- A certain Elder who will go without being named really enjoys the sound of his own voice. He often offers monolagues (spelling?) about his conversion story and how much he misses his parents. Very rarely are they relevant to what we're talking about. It's an excellent opportunity to practice my quiet dignity.

- We watched The Mountain of The Lord on Sunday night. It's a movie about the building of the Salt Lake temple and it's particularly bland. The only part that caught my eye was when two men were climbing the mountain in the rain with dynamite in their bags. One man slipped off the cliff, and rolled off screen. The other man then yells "JIIIMMMMM!", as an explosion happens off screen. Considering that this was the only part of the movie I really watched, I bust out laughing and struggled to re gather myself.

- The word for Plan of Salvation in Korean sounds like "Goo-wan-eh-ke-hwek". This inspired Elder Harkness and I to dream up a film of the same title about a Mexican family who tries to build a mini mall on an Indian reservation. There's conflict, but when the daughter of the Mexican business man falls in love with the Indian Chiefs daughter, they put aside their cultural differences and are able to live together in harmony. The film ends with the Mexicans and Indian doing a line dance on the reservation as the Goo-wan-eh-ke-hwek dance remix plays

That's about all for this week. Love you tons! Strength and Honor!