Pink Dragons

Now! First of all, if you don't mind, I'll make the rules!

Rules indeed! HA She only wants rules so she can break em!
I'll take care of you later, featherbrain! Now, rule number one, no vegetable, or mineral, only animal. Rule two no make believe things like, uh, pink dragons and stuff... Rule three, no disappearing!

Cough cough, rule four, no cheating!

Don't ask, it was just one of the first movies that came into my head. Sword in the Stone ^^

Well hello and how are all of you wonderful people out there?

It has really been a while. A long long long time. Like I don't think I've written in at least six or seven weeks now, and that might be an understatement! So, terribly sorry, I do hope you will all forgive me for that. If not... Well, feel free to let me know in the coming months^^

SO! What on earth can I tell you that will bring all of you up to speed? Sad thing is I don't even know where to start, so I'll start at the very beginning. They tell me that's a very good place to start. :)

First off, I am out of the 시골! ㅠㅠ I am out of the countryside and back to the land where there are people everywhere. And remember, we're in the orient here, when I say everywhere, you know I'm telling the truth. The mission has split and I was recently introduced to both my son and my new misison president! This is my third Mission President, and the second mission that I have been called to serve in. My son is from Vancouver Washington (use google maps or something, he tells me its a real city^^) His name, which we've been getting nonstop jokes about it since he has arrived here, his name is Elder Gamble ^^ People just love his name out here. Hope it doesn't distract too much about the message we share. Awesome cultural fact here, names are very important, and often people will tell you what their names mean and occasionally why they are named that way, etc. etc. So, naturally when they hear my companions name they automatically assume that there must be some reason behind it... It's fun.

Training though! Man, it is definitely different. I am loving it, but the pressure has of course increased... That sounded awkward... The pressure's gone up? I think that's how you say it... Regardless of my English, y'alls have hopefully gotten the point.

A couple of wonderful miracles though. I will say this about the Lord's work. We are all a part of it, though occasionally in the smallest ways, those little moments that often slip below our radar. I will tell all of you something to illustrate. The last area I was in, I will tell you that as I left I felt like a failure. Not in the sense that I hadn't worked hard, but I was there for three transfers, and nothing had really become apparent. I had picked up several investigators over there, but they only had interest in practicing English. I had started a little English class over there, I had only focused on that. Seriously. By the time I left there were, on a good week, seven people coming out to it, three of whom were members. So, I packed my stuff up, my companion who was there a transfer before I got there stayed behind, and I came back to the city. Then, quite reminiscient of almost exactly a year ago, I got a phone call two weeks later from the branch president out there, and what do you know, they invited me back out there for a baptism. ^^ I cannot honestly say that I can describe that feeling. The words to describe going back, travelling for three hours to the countryside, to visit and see one of my good friends get baptized, to stay and talk with all of those wonderful members again, the words are much the same as those I used to describe going back to see my friends in my first ward get married. It is nothing less than pure joy. It will never do, to say that those words fully describe that experience. Nor will it do to compare that experience with other moments of happiness, because there is no comparison. Though there are things that help, experience, in this case as in most, experience is the greatest teacher. I do not know if I fully understood, as I came on my mission, what I was signing up for; the amount of work that goes into the life of the missionary was unexpected. But so were the blessings that come. The happiness and most of all, that peace that comes, through the knowledge of the Savior's Atonement, and its equivilant, the application into our lives.

I love my Saviour. I would never have known Him this well had I not come on a misison and experienced what I have. All of these blessings though, are not because of anything that I have done. These blessings that I have received, and the blessings that may have come from me, was because the Savior was acting through me. That has been the greatest blessing to see. The Lord never fails. He knows His Plan. We do too. I love Him, and I love all of you.

Be not afraid, only believe. That is where true peace and joy come from.

Elder Annen

Welcome to the Korea Seoul South Mission!

Welcome to the Korea Seoul South Mission!

We are thrilled to serve in Korea with your missionary. The work here is moving forward as our elders and sisters diligently serve the Lord. Thank you for your support and prayers in their behalf. We have attached a picture taken yesterday at our Meet the President event. Elder Kim, the Area Seventy for our mission, was present as we introduced ourselves.

We have a love for the Korean people and desire the word of the Lord to go forth throughout the land. As our missionaries study, pray, and follow the mission standards, the work will progress, many lives will be changed, and the gospel of Jesus Christ will be spread far and wide. What a wonderful time it is to be serving in Korea!

Sincerely,

President and Sister Morrise
Korea Seoul South Mission


Letters and packages may be sent to this address:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Korea Seoul South Mission
24-1 Ogeum-dong,
Songpa –gu
Seoul, Korea 138-855

This is the Stuff Memories are Made of!

Away with sweeping and away with brushing, and away... With dirty carpets!

Hi everyone! Long time no see and all that ^^ This one was from a old
movie, but I gotta say, I love it. Those of you who've seen it will
see a parallel in this story of mine. ^^ Hope you enjoy it.

So, it's Preparation Day. Lunch time comes around and I remember I
need to get a haircut. Funny thing about barber shops, by the way. I
actually really enjoy them, it can be really good time to let your
mind ponder stuff that's going on, catch a few winks or of course talk
to the hairdresser about the gospel. And that is all really fine and
dandy. However, some of those general principles, particularly the
first two, are not the greatest idea when you happen to be the one
cutting your own hair. ^^ (Yep, one of those stories.) So I start on
the front, have the size all selected out, razor is cutting
fine,moving to the center, and at this point my mind's already on
something else, I don't remember what it was anymore, but when I go
for the next cut, the measuring hair clip goes shooting off the razor.
This was not the first time this has happened to me though, in fact I
usually catch myself at that point, and everything's all fine and
dandy. This time, I'm preoccupied, the hair clip went flying I don't
notice it until I all of a sudden feel a little nudge right above my
forehead. Wide awake and panicking at this point now, I realize, with
utter shock, that the lock of hair falling down in front of me is MUCH
longer than the previous ones. So, long story short, I will now need a
LOT of hair wax to mess with the front of my head, and I may or may
not need permission for a little more of an extreme hair cut to take
care of the 3cm by 3cm almost bald part in the front and center of my
hair. ^^ I suppose I could tell people that I recently had an
operation...

So these next few weeks just got a lot more entertaining ^^

I'm sorry, I must make this one short, but just to add a little note.
I'm sorry to all of you who I've written to and I have not yet written
back to. The pace has really picked up in this mission, and with my
time winding down, there is a lot of stuff that I need to do to help
everyone else here out. The rules, at least for my mission, have
changed and I am now able to email friends. If you have written me
recently and have not gotten a letter from me, please write me, tell
me your name too ^^ I'm terrible at guessing who people are from
random emails addresses^^ My email: jeremyannen@myldsmail.net

Loves and misses ^^
God Bless, and God Speed,
Elder Annen

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