North Korea

Why do I always worry, year after year that something is going to go wrong? It never does!

Hello everyone! This one was really short and to the point I think. This however, does not reference the Boston marathon nor any of the other accidents that have occured recently, I was really sad to hear about all of those events. This quote in many ways is referring to the situation that South and North Korea currently find themselves in. Today I wish to just release my own, for lack of a better word, my own statement on this situation.

Before I do, I want to say thank you to everyone who has expressed concern and worry for me. I'm really grateful for those and for the prayers that have been said for the missionaries here and around the world.

In reference to the quote however, area few situations I would like to bring up, for convenience, let me try two: the swine flu, and for those of you who lived in Utah a couple of years ago, 'Snowmaggedon.' We all remember what had happened. The news media all of a sudden gets the wind of a possible big story, and within a couple of days, they have already reported all the necessary facts, stretching them to their limit, trying to get the story to be seen, to be read, to be watched. The amount of coverage on one subject has those who read it believing that the problems are so much more severe than they actually are.

The Korean people are not worried. I talk to them everyday, lots of them. This is not the only time that North Korea has bought a new sword and rattled it and waved it in the air for everyone to see. He has done this consistently every year for many many years. There were times when the misionaries came here after the war, when the original dictator would often say that he would "celebrate his birthday(April 15) in Seoul," and he never did. This past week, you notice that date has passed as well. This has happened countless times to the Korean people, and though Kim Jong Un has been bolder than before, he has done so knowing that the more attention he gets the better it is for him. As many a spoiled child knows, if you want to get the candy, you sometimes have to throw the tantrum.

Thank you so much for your concern, it means the world to us. We are not yet worried. Nor is the Lord worried. The greatly increased number of missionaries in South Korea in many respects is also what should be expected. As missionaries, we are set apart from the world, we are indeed set apart not only away from the lifestyles and the evils of the world, but also set apart towards a greater number of blessings and greater amount of protection. As missionaries, we are granted an enormous amount of protection, for more than we will ever truly realize in this life. The more protected missionaries that are sent into the field of South Korea to labor, the more protected the country of South Korea will become. If North Korea still decides to continue with his plans, I say so be it. So be it. The Lord has sent hundreds of missionaries, young people who have dedicated, consecrated, two years of their lives to the service of their fellow men, and why, if not to come forth at this time to be a blessing to those who may need the help of the Army of God? Why? The Lord protects and watches over us, the influence and the Spirit that we as missionaries feel at all times and in all places cannot be described in the simple words that our tongue can express. The power of the Spirit at your fingertips, is awe inspiring. We are not worried. We have never fought, yet we do not fear death. If we are called this day to fight to protect our fellow man, so be it. It will be with the arm of God.

What will we do with all these missionaries? We will do what Elder Nelson said we will do. We "will bless the children of Almighty God."

God Bless, and God Speed
Elder Annen

A Security Message for U.S. Citizens

A Security Message for U.S. Citizens

The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that despite current political tensions with North Korea there is no specific information to suggest there are imminent threats to U.S. citizens or facilities in the Republic of Korea (ROK). The Embassy has not changed its security posture and we have not recommended that U.S. citizens who reside in, or plan to visit, the Republic of Korea take special security precautions at this time. The U.S. Embassy takes as its highest priority the welfare of American citizens in Korea. Should the security situation change, the Embassy will issue updated information.

We urge U.S. citizens to keep in regular contact with family and friends. For further information on specific countries, U.S. citizens should consult the Country Specific Information pages, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings at http://travel.state.gov/ as well as the Worldwide Caution.

Honesty? Honestly!

I’ve got to admit Jack, I thought I had you figured! Turns out you’re a hard man to predict..

Me I’m dishonest! And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest! Honestly! It’s the honest ones you have to look out for! Because you can never predict, when they’re going to do something incredibly... stupid.

Hello everybody! How are things going over there? I hope just fine and dandy and that everyone is happy and healthy ^^ Things are going quite well over here! At least, as far as the missionaries here. We’re not entirely sure as to how the relationships between the North and the South are going exactly, but! So far it seems that he just likes to be breathing threats and not much else yet^^ So we will see how this goes!

These past two weeks have unfortunately been pretty uneventful. We’ve been doing a lot of advertising for our English class, we’re trying to start one up, and that is also the only way that we can actually get them to even open the door to talk to us. Imagine! Here, we don’t get too many doors slammed in our faces, because people just like to yell through the door “Who is it?” and as soon as they here that we’re missionaries, we are greeted with either silence or lots of yelling saying “YOU’RE DONE!” and then silence ^^ But! When we advertise for English, the people are much nicer about it. Seems to work a little bit. I can honestly say that I am surprised with how much work it takes to put an English class together! It is something else! If you look on the blog or whatever, I think Mom’s posted the picture that we use for our advertisements^^ I love that one, it just kills me! People get a good laugh out of it too. Which reminds me, Mom, I’m just fine if you put a copy of that on the fridge ^^ It’ll give everyone a nice chuckle when they see it. Maybe we should make it more professional looking... Oh well, wanted something that’ll catch people’s eye.

Recently, there has been a fascinating subject on my mind. The subject of honesty. Hence the quote ^^ However, the feeling of this quote is not quite the one that I wanted to convey. The quote that had actually brought this thought to mind, was a quote by the prophet Joseph Smith, which I think you will find fascinating. “No one can ever enter the celestial kingdom, unless he is strictly honest.” I was listening to a man by the name of Truman G. Madsen, and he mentioned in his talk that to the question, are you honest in your dealings with your fellow men, the answer that is universally given is, I try. Eventually we must do more than that. But what truly is honesty? Might I suggest that honesty is a crucial difference, it is the line that separates many fascinating subjects. The spark for this spiritual thought was a run in that we had here with an American apostate. Fascinating fellow, in the sense that he blamed the church for every failure, every problem in his life. One of the interesting things that he told me was, “Oh yeah, you get really good at tricking people here when you are out here on your missions.” Might I suggest to you that what this man did not understand was the principle of honesty. The difference is crucial. Honesty. Honesty is the difference between, for example, flattery and compliments. Honesty is the difference between manipulation and friendship. Honesty is the difference between perjury and testimony. It is truly honesty that makes the largest difference in our lives. Imagine, for example, the amazing change in the world if everyone was honest. Perfectly and completely honest. The change would, I imagine, solve innumerable problems that occur in our daily lives. Remember that in the thirteenth article of faith, it starts out with, what was it? “We believe in being honest...” We believe in being honest. Why would that be so? Why is it, that the beginning of the list of virtues that is so ingrained in every primary child’s memory, is honesty? The answer is already on some of your minds as you read. Maybe because this virtue is the virtue that underlies all others. If we are honest with others, we are honest with ourselves, if that is so, then that will very soon lead to honesty with God. So, one of the challenges I make to you now is to step up. You know how much this virtue means to God, you even know as to how this virtue will change your lives for the better. But you still hold back. We always seem to hold back. STOP! Stop thinking that, well, he doesn’t understand the situation I’m in, he doesn’t understand that if I hadn’t lied in that situation, that it would have caused more problems... Just stop. We all know the excuses, we’ve given them to ourselves countless times. Try it. See how you feel afterward, then keep trying to do better. I know that these things are true with all of my heart. I hope you believe me. But, if you don’t, in complete and utter honesty, it doesn’t matter to me. I hold myself accountable to God, and He, knowing all of my weaknesses and shortcomings, will be the one to render judgment.

Love you all tons, and miss you too,

Good Luck, God Bless, and God Speed,

Elder Annen

Can Ye Feel So Now?

  Wait! Stop! Turn around! turnaround and go south!

South? but that'll take you past Isengard...

Yes. -insert part I can't remember- The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm. It's the last thing he'll expect.

Hmmmm... That doesn't make any sense to me. But then, you are very small...

Hello everybody! So... This was a really a great quote for everything going over here in South Korea. I'm sure you all have heard about the nuclear tests that are being run and the tensions that are building up and so on and so forth, but we had a little bit of fun yesterday, for a zone activity. We went and visited the DMZ. That's right, the DMZ. The border between North and South Korea. Were we nervous? Well, yes, quite. We had had this planned for a little bit though so we thought we would go and visit regardless of all that fun stuff going on politically speaking ^^ Love It! I'll be honest though, we were kind of bored after fifteen or so minutes of it ^^ There wasn't much to see where we went. You see there are actually two or three main DMZ points and we went to the one that iw on the east coast, so there really wasn't anything there. Lots and lots of rocks though. It did really cause us all to ponder on what those people have to live with over there though, it was fun going there, but the ride back was a little more somber than the ride up.

And before I get into this next part, I just want to acknowledge something. Yes. I am fully aware that the challenge I issued to you two weeks ago was worded in the lame format that a lot of people like to put on their FAcebook posts. It was worded that way deliberately. I now ask you, how many of you let that become an excuse not to follow through with that challenge? I am genuinely curious as to how many of you read those words, but did not stop to think about the feeling that I was putting behind them? This is what I think is one of the saddest and most difficult things about maintaining spirituality in this day and age. How desensitized we are to the spiritual. One thing that has impressed me is how often we just say things without contemplating their meanings. To just name a few, "I'd like to bear my testimony..." "I know that..." "I bellieve that..." Have any of us thought of that? Have you thought about the meaning of the word 'testimony'? In a court, for example, the testimony of one individual has great power. One eyewitness to a crime is enough to substantiate a claim. To bear testimony is to, in a sense, put true conviction ib the line. To show to the world that you are putting yourself as a witness to the world of your conviction. 'to know' in my mind means to have no doubt as to something's existence or truth. And to declare that one believes, I think, may be one of the most powerful of them all. I am guilty of thinking to myself before my mission, that if someone says, "I believe..." it meant that their faith was weaker than those who said "I know.." To say that one believes, though, is to act with much greater faith. It is truely to say with great feeling that, "I don't know this, but I have a hope. I have a strong hope 'for a better world' I have a faith strong enough that even though I do not enjoy an assurance of knowledge, I will stand here in fron of you to express this belief, in hopes that one day, I will know." The statement of belief truely seems to me more powerful than many things.

I love you all so much. Please forgive my weaknesses in writing and pay attention to the words that have been whispered to your soul as you read this. For I know you have had words whispered to you. Follow them.

Good Luck, God Bless, and God Speed,

Sincerely Yours,

Elder Annen

When Spirit Converses With Spirit

You Sailor!
Cotton, sir
Mr. Cotton! Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of an almost certain death? ... MR COTTON! Answer man!
Ah, he's a mute sir, poor devil had his tongue cut out, so they've trained the parrot to talk for him! ... though no one's yet figured how...
... Mr Cottons parrot... Same question
Ark! Plenty of sails, plenty of sails!
Mostly we figure that means yes..
Of Course it does! Satisfied?
Well you've proved they're mad!

What is up everybody?! I hope everyone's week has been absolutely fine and dandy! We're doing really well over here in Korea, We've just had a really crazy announcement, the mission here is splitting up... I can't believe it, we were all incredibloy shocked and excited. I'm both happy for that and also wuite sad. That means a lot of the missionaries I'm good friends with will be in a different mission in a few months... unbelievable really. This was a fun quote for me, sometimes this is how I feel when I talk to people. I feel like the branch president or someone tells everyone over the pulpit that " Ah, he's a foreigner, poor guy grew up only learning english, but they've trained him to speak a little Korean!" and then after I try to speak they're all thinking "mostly we figure that means yes" I love it though ^^

This one is going to have to be a lot quicker than some of my other ones, terribly sorry. Things are still on the slow side in my area, but we're working hard! It's going to be great!

I heard a general authority speak on the subject of John 20:27-29, where it refers to the story of doubting Thomas. Christ makes an interesting comment there, he says Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yethave believed. He points out that the phrasing of this statement is interesting because it seems to place priority, it seems to place secondhand knowledge above actual experience, as though we were better off not having seen the risen Lord, as though it were better that we just believe someone else than finding out for ourselves. But then he makes his point. He says that later on, when adversity comes along, and mighty winds, shafts in the whilrwind, hails and mighty storms come with it, we will doubt even our very own senses. But then he says that the one power even beyond sight, that can Sear doubt out of us, is the Holy Ghost. The other senses can be fooled, messed with, distorted, twisted, but the simple speaking, the conversation of spirit speaking with spirit is enough to sear any doubt out of us. These are now my words that I add. This is why the testimonies of the witnesses are so powerful. This is why particularly the testimonies of the Three Witnesses are so powerful. Have you looked into the story of the Three Witnesses? Do you realize that all three of them left the church? Do you realize that they all became personally disaffected from Joseph Smith? AND THEN, do you understand that notwithstanding their own apostacies, not ONE of them ever at any time denied that witness of the Book ov Mormon. NOT ONE of them ever claimed that Joseph Smith had deceived them, that they were mistaken, there was no angel, there was no voice of heaven commanding them to bear witness of the plates which they see. NOT ONE of them. Do you understand the power behind such a testimony? Their testimony was not one of sight. Their testimony is not powerful because of what they SAW, nor of what they HEARD. Their testimony has power because their souls conversed with God. The Holy Spirit spoke to their very souls. I challenge anyone here and now, if this is not a witness you have obtained, to do so now. Half of you that read this will say that you don't need it. Half of you that know you need it won't do it. And Maybe even after that there will only be a few that care enough to actually try. I challenge you to do so.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Annen

Happy New Year!

Look at that big jerk... Ruined my life, and for what?! A stupid kid! Because of you I am now stuck here in this frozen wasteland!
Waste land? I think you mean WONDERLAND! I mean how about all this fabulous snow, huh? Oh, and wait til you see the local village, cutest thing in the world! I haven't even mentioned all the free yaks milk!
Wait... what did you say?
Uh, the yaks milk! Milk from a yak isnt exactly a picnic, but once you pick the hairs out, it's very nutritious!

Well Happy New Year everybody!! Happy Sonlar and New Years Blessings Many Receive please! That's the literal word for word translation by the way :) And I picked this one because it's kinda cold here in my new area. In fact quite frigid. We traveled to and stayed in Seoul for three days so we could make it to the mission conference/celebration. Which was incredibly fun, we had an absolutley fabulous time and ate deuk-guk. Rice cake soup, traditional for new years.... SOoooo good ^^ But yeah, we travel back, get to our house. Now, we're really high up in our building. And the area's in the mountains. And it is winter time. And it is really cold. And when we got to our house.... The water heater was frozen solid ^^ Happy New Years gift for us... You thing coal is bad to receive for Christmas? Try this one. The house was down to about nine degrees C, and... Well that right there should about cover any and all explanation needed. We finally got it fixed earlier this morning, and man... Don't think I was ever so happy to see the thermostat hit just 15 degrees ^^ Heh. Also fun little thing that happened. Everyone went out of town this week. Almost everyone. So, Saturday, during the conference, I get a call from the branch president. Asks if I can give a talk. I'm thinking of all the travel time we have to get back to our area, and I think, yes, I can do that. Two hours later, he calls again. Do I play the piano? ... I can try the right hand. Great! Here are the four we'd like you to play tomorrow, can you do that? ... My mind is racing, don't know if I'll even have time to get to a piano to practice this stuff once, but yeah, sure I can try. Ah, thanks so much... Hour later, he calls again. I look down at the phone, see who it is, kind of brace myself, and sure enough, ten minutes later I'm also teaching the Elders Quorum... heh ^^ It was quite the fun time. I hesitate to put it this way, but 'luckily' no one was able to make it for Elder's quorum ^^ Too much of a good thing, you know ^^

One of the things that impressed me has been the study of the the book of Alma (in the Book of Mormon) There was one word that stood out to me in the first chapter.Twentyninth verse. It begins, "And now, because of the steadiness ot the church, they became exceedingly [blessed]..." I want to point out to you the word 'steadiness.' I want to first point out what it does NOT say. It did not say righteousness, though that is implied. It did not say perfection, though the fact that they were striving toward that is unquestionable. It says steadiness. This word to me means diligence, it means constant and consistent perserverence. When I one time gave a few words about diligence, I had brought in the story of the tortoise and the hare. I went over the story, then compared the opposing sides of their personalities. Fast, slow. Arrogant, humble. Hair, no hair(yes that actually makes a difference). And we all realized though, that the only attribute that made the difference is truely steadiness, diligence. I think we all can learn this lesson ourselves, to not worry about the speed that we're at and if we're slower or even faster than other people. Choosing to be righteous for one day is fantastic! But if the next day we just go back to where we were before, that effort was wasted. Every day, do a little bit. And then the next day do a little bit more than the little bit you did the day before. It makes a difference.

Love you all!
새해 복 많이 받으세요!
Good Luck, God Bless, and God Speed!
Elder Annen

The Weather! Very Peculiar!

What was THAT?!? HahahA! The weather! Hm. Very peculiar!
Yeah, it looks like the winds are changing. I know what I have to do. But going back means that I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long...
-THWACK-
OW! What was that for?!
Doesn't matter! It's in the past!
Yeah, but it still hurts...
Oh yes the past can hurt, but the way I see it, you can either run from it! Or learn from it!
-tries to nail him agin, dodges-
Aha! You see? Now! What are you going to do?

Heh Lo Everyone! How is everyone doing?! I hope you are all just fine and dandy! I'm doing pretty well myself. Kinda cold, I'm not going to tell you how cold because I know you don't want to hear it. (guess where that quotes from^^) No! I'm told its getting down to about negative twenty degrees Celcius here sometime soon... No, excited is not quite the word I would use right now. This one was from the Lion King, pretty sure I've quoted this one before, possibly even a year ago... But, it's kinda hard to remember that far back. I like this one because of that incredible transforming moment before this quote.

One of the funniest reactions that I think I get from people is their reaction to just the fact that I'm a foreigner. Seriously, especially where I am right now, they will just be shocked to see a white guy walking down the street. Sometimes they even just yell it out loud, "foreigner!!" just in shock. And I think I've found my favorite way to respond to this. I was at the mart, just looking around, I think it was at the different side dishes to go with rice or something. All of a sudden, I kid you not, this woman across from me had been looking down at the dishes, looked up at me and yelled for the whole mart to hear "AHH! FOREIGN PERSON!" "Whe-Guk-Een!!" Everyone in the entire mart turns and stares. And I immedaitely answer, reacting exactly the same way she did. Surprised jump back, eyes get really wide and I say loudly (I didn't have to yell, people had gotten quiet) but I say "AHH! KOREAN PERSON!!" ... ...I don't think I've ever been the cause for so much laughter in my life! People were busting up, I was busting up, the woman was. It was great.

I also had a wonderful miracle happen yesterday. I just learned that a man I had helped teach in my last area had gotten baptized yesterday! Such a blessing. His story is definitely a keeper. The last email I had written was the afternoon before we met him for the second time, so I haven't been able to really talk about him. But anyway. This brother has been coming to church for actually a few months. His girlfriend is a member and he would always come with her. The missionaries had of course offered to teach him many times, but at first he really wasn't that interested. He was just there because he liked the atmosphere, and because, of course his girlfriend was there. He was also a very busy man. He was the president of his branch of the company, and didn't really have a lot of time to meet even if he wanted to. I arrived in the area around his fourth month of coming to church. We were able to meet him the day before transfer calls at the end of last transfer. So we meet with him and find out that while he has learned a lot from coming out to church so often, everything was just in a jumble. He knew about prophets, but really had no idea where they fit in. He had of course heard of Christ and God but he had no concept of what those things could possibly mean, and so on and so forth. So that evening, while we had planned to teach for about 45 minutes, the lesson stretched to about two and a half hours or so. The beginning was just packed with us answering question, starting with prophets, the Godhead, the Church, Apostles, and also telling him somethings we would just have to teach him later. He also asked a lot about baptism, telling us that his girlfriend really wanted him to be baptized. At this point we see where he is, and we focus the lesson on faith and prayer and of course the First Vision. We wanted to give him the desire and the faith for the actions. We had just enough time to watch the Joseph Smith Restoration video, and it went well. We answered a few of his questions after then we all bowed good night, and went our merry way. This was Friday evening. Sunday, we see him at church, and he is quite friendly to us. HE is the one that strikes up the conversations and is talking to us, before, he was with the bishop and the older members and didn't really talk much with us. This change was unexpected to us, but we were happy. We meet him that Monday evening, after I sent my email. We meet, and we exchange 'pleasantries' and the like, start with a prayer, and ask him if he was able to pray since our last meeting. He said no. We were disappointed, we thought our last lesson had gone so well. We started to talk to him about the importance of prayer, and how it was necessary to receive revelation from God. And he jumped on that. Yes! he said, Revelation! You mentioned it last time. What is Revelation, and how do we receive it?! We take this as a good sign, and we talk about the still small voice and the feeling of peace that most people experience. He waved that aside, and said, What about Joseph Smith? Was that just a feeling of peace? We then explain about the others, visions, angels, and dreams. He gets quiet. He looks at us with a very sober, thoughtful look on his face. He starts out interestingly. He tells us, "I'm a heavy sleeper" ...ok... He continues on, "I don't dream. The last dream I can remember was maybe three or four years ago... Last Friday night, I dreamed. I dreamed my mother came and spoke to me about that movie that you showed me." He went on to describe his dream, and ended with "When can I be baptized?" I've rarely in my life, but more frequently on my mission, rarely ever felt so happy for someone else. The Sprirt was incredible.

Then I transferred.... ^^

Hope you all are happy and healthy.
Good Luck, God Bless, and God Speed,


Elder Annen