Isn't it Abraham Lincoln's birthday soon?

Hmmm, I wonder why my tall, white, American brother Scott hears people pointing out a foreigner on a regular basis... 

Hey President!
This week has been pretty good as always. For study I worked on a lesson that I had for gospel principles class quite a bit. It was on honesty and there was a lot I learned myself from it. I realized that there were things that I had been seeing blessings from that I wasn't even aware of. Not so much as a missionary since some of the things I learned had to do with downloading music versus buying it and that sort of thing, and that's obviously not too much of an issue as a missionary haha.
Our investigator is doing alright. Since he was primarily an English interest investigator, we tried to make an effort to make the english part of our lessons good, as well as the gospel side of things. The english went well, and I know that I felt the spirit, and I think that he definitely should have. We had definitely done everything we could have to help him feel it. I think he's a little slow to accept things just because he's never been religious, but there's potential there in any case.
A huge miracle that I saw this week came in the form of that gospel principles class. I somehow was able to fill up the allotted time without any real hitches. They did give me less time than originally expected, but I had to cut out a whole lot of my material from my lesson, so I guess that was a case where faith preceded the miracle.
Thanks for all that you do for us president!
-Elder Clawson

Hey Everybody!!!!
Another week here in this wonderful country, and somehow this transfer is almost over.  Not quite sure how that worked out but it did, and all the sudden in a little bit there's going to be a bunch of 18 year-olds hanging out here in the mission.  Crazy...  Also really funny story, remember that girl Hayoung?  Well if you went to school with me you certainly do, this statement is more towards my family and home ward then.  She is in Korea right now, in the same ward as my companion's parents.  That's so crazy to me!  Hayoung, stop following me!  Also, Hayoung is going to the same mission as Logan.  So, Logan, if you get this forwarded to you, look out for a crazy Korean sister named Sister Lee.  Hayoung, if you see an Elder Williams once you get to Boston, don't slap him please.  Besides that's against the rules. hehehe
Other news from this week that has been fun, my companion served in this zone before so he knows a bunch of people from this other ward in the stake.  The bishop of that ward has a major in oriental medicine, and with my companions back problems, he had the opportunity to go to that Bishop's house and have oriental medicine practiced upon my companion.  He had a bunch of needles and such in him.  At first I was really sceptical about it being that I am me and am sceptical about just about everything like that, but apparently it worked on some level, and has somewhat of a degree of legitimacy to it.  Now my companion has a bunch of bandaids with little needles coming out of them in his ear so that the effects of said medicine practice last a little longer.  His ear is super sensitive now and it's kinda funny to me hahaha.
Really crazy thing about this experience is that the family totally knew about our home area and such!  They lived in Korea town a while back, and this is the really crazy part to me.  I told them that we lived in the Redlands temple district, and they said that they were at the Redlands temple open house!  I was tripping out because we totally were too!  It's not that much of a connection, but there's a solid possiblity that we were at the same place at the same time, 6000 miles away from here.  crazy...  It was really weird to me.  Plus the Bishop's wife wouldn't say it at first, but I found out that she's super good at English.
On Saturday we had dinner at the ward mission leader's house, and his family was super fun.  We went there straight from practicing for that musical program next month so I still had my guitar.  Naturally, this resulted in me playing for them.  Whenever this sort of thing comes up, I always play the same song, just because it's the one song that everyone ends up being impressed by.  I played that song, its kinda like August Rush, and since nobody really plays like that, it always solicits a good reaction I suppose.  Anyways, it did that time, and now I have the great fortune of being able to play that song as a solo at that music thing next month.  I really need to start hiding my abilities as much when I visit members hahaha.  Not really though I guess, I suppose it's a good thing to share ones talents, especially since it was a really cool family.  It's really interesting because we have dinner at the bishop's every now and then and the environments in those two houses were just so different.  The Bishop's home truth be told is a lot nicer of a house, but the environment is so awkward.  You can practically taste the tension in the family when you're there.  The ward mission leader's home, while a much more humble place, has so much of a happier vibe to it.  Everyone gets along and the children enjoy each other's company.  I guess it's a huge testament to the fact that there certainly are things that are of greater value than money.
For things that you can learn in Korean this week, by the way, I am still taking requests, I shall do a phrase that white people tend to hear a whole bunch
외국인 있다  (wae-gook-in eed-dah)  Literally translated to "A foreigner exists"
Pretty much this means "look, a foreigner".  If I walk by any female under the age of 20, 100% chance, they're thinking it if not saying it.  You hear it alllllllll the time, and it's really fun that nobody knows that we understand Korean sometimes.
Hearing about Dad's differentiation between suffering and struggling is pretty cool.  It's something that I think is really applicable to missionaries.  A really good example of this that I can think of is Jackie Chan!  When he gets tied to a chair, he doesn't just sit there and all the sudden is free.  No, he starts wiggling around like crazy and moving until he's finally in a position that he can get himself free, or at least in a more maneuverable position.  We need to wiggle around and work, so that the opportunities to get away from our problems will present themselves.  We have to struggle before the opportunity at clarity and knowledge will be presented to us.
I love you all, I'm sorry this email isn't as good as usual, but I feel like this week was somewhat lackluster in some regards.  Maybe next week will be more fun!
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What the 6 months?!?!?!?!

I don't know how many of you know Scott really really really well, but those of you who do are not at all surprised that he both wants to be in charge & also would be amused by someone punting a pigeon. We are pleased that the latter has not yet happened and that he wants to be in charge so that the appropriate focus can be put on work. Still so proud of and amused by him.

Hey President!
This week has been really great, what with the conference and just being another week. I'm sorry that we had to leave a bit early from conference, we had an appointment that we wern't sure if we could make it if we stayed much longer.
For study this week, I did a lot out of Alma, which was great! I don't think I had really delved as deep into Alma as possible, and had missed a lot of great scriptures. One thing that was great was Alma 5. I had never really read that as something to learn from before. Just a really really long chapter, but it is so awesome! I'm not super great at remembering exactly what things are about in the scriptures, but I do remember there was a lot of insight from the scriptures there.
That appointment we had wasw the investigator who we met last week. He's super nice, and such a genuine guy. I think he really has a lot of interest but isn't quite sure of it himself yet. That, and I heard that some of my investigators from 계산 are doing well at conference, so I think this has been a great week in that regard.
One miracle that we saw this week came in the form of a man we called, and then we met like 20 minutes later.  I'm not exactly sure how much gospel interest this man has, but I have come to notice that meeting anybody is really a miracle here.  Missionary work is tough, there's always a constant reminder of that fact it seems.
Thanks for being awesome President!
-Elder Clawson
Hello everybody!!!
What the heck?  How have I already been gone for six months?  It makes no sense to me.  Granted, I am still a baby in the mission field, and really as a missionary in general, but that's so stinking fast.  I came to the conclusion this week that I want to train next transfer though.  Ideally a Korean missionary, not someone from America or something.  I've noticed that people who end up training foreigners early end up having somewhat awkward Korean and my companion has reaffirmed that to me.  I also finished pass-off things, I don't know if I said that before, but it means that I'm supposedly ready to be senior companion or really is just an indicator that I want to be senior and such.  I really do.  It's nice being junior, not having to worry about everything, but there's some things that seem so nice, like being in charge, especially with a new missionary.  You probably pretty much do what you want, and it's entirely up to you on whether or not you want to work hard.  That being said, sometimes in this area with my companion and such, it would seem that he doesn't really have the same desire to work as hard as I do.  It's kind of understandable what with him having some health issues, on top of other problems, so I guess I can't pass any blame on to him since I don't full understand his circumstance.  All I can do is love him!!!
This week we had a conference for what in Korean is called 설날.  Literally it means "new day" I believe, and is pronounced (seo-lar).  It's the celebration of Chinese/lunar new year, so I find it kind of silly that it is pronounced kinda like solar.  hahaha  Anyways, conferences are super cool, and we have two more in the next month and a half!  Well sort of, one and then what's called a "mission tour" which I still am not quite sure what it means.  I would try and explain, but I really have no idea, and it's not that important to me to know what the exact nature of it is right now.  I'll figure out when i need to.  All I know is that there's a Japenese guy from the first quorum of the 70 coming, so it'll be super cool!
The conference that we had on saturday was super cool!  It's always super cool just getting to see all the people from around the mission so that's way nice, and then we had this awesome speaker guy come, and kinda tell us a little bit about the culture a little more.  It was this guy from the military who has lived here for a while, so he speaks Korean ridiculously well, and knows the culture better than just about any other white guy in the world.  He was a super entertaining teacher, and taught us a whole lot that was really valuable to learn about Korea, learning Korean, and how to be better missionaries.  The dude was awesome.
Also fun story about conference, there was an elder who read something about Balaam from the Bible, and didn't know who he was.  It was a reference to Balaam in 2 John or something, and the Elder asked President who Balaam was.  President addressed it a little bit in conference, and I was the only missionary who knew about the guy with the talking ass!  It was fun for me hehee.
Fun fact about Korea, the pidgeons here, are soooooooo stupid.  Yeah, pidgeons are dumb in the first place, but these guys take it to a whole new level.  I don't even understand how these guys are still alive.  I have recently discovered that if you so desired, you could totally punt a pidgeon.  I have not done it, I promise, but I have wanted to.  You can easily walk within like 2 feet of any pidgeon, and it won't move.  Sooooo dumb.
I have not gotten the package that was sent for my 6 months yet unfortunately, HOWEVER, we are going to the temple tomorrow so there is the possibility that I will get it tomorrow as well.  Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER BECK!!!! Sorry it's a little late, and that there's not really much more that I can do than give a shout-out in an email, but nonetheless happy birthday!  Temple days are always super cool, I think I always end up too tired on some level though.  There is however this cool guitar shop close to the temple so I get to look inside at all the cool electrics that are brands that are international companies from through a window.  Waste of time to go in and check it out, especially since I have a guitar at the house.
Oh yeah, fun things related to guitar, the ward wants to put on a music night, pretty much based around me and my companion!  I'll play guitar, my companion will sing, and our recent convert will play piano, or some shuffling thereof, pretty much with me at the guitar though.  It's going to be super fun, they want us to do some more mainstream songs, so that's why it's helpful to have the recent convert, because we can get sheet music, lyrics, and whatever else we need.  It's going to be super fun!  I'm excited!
Korean time!  Another very important word to know!
순데국  (soon-dae-gook)  It is important to know, so that you never eat it!!!!!  Nastiest food ever, it's pig intestine soup, or as me and my companion call it, pig intestine soup.  Don't eat it. Ever.
Another really cool thing that is starting to happen on temple days, is one of my favorite little meetings that the mission has.  It's basically like the missionary's farewell address from the mission.  All the people going home at the end of this transfer get to impart some of their wisdom to us, and I always enjoy it!  Granted this will only be my 3rd one, but there's always something to like from them in my opinion.  Infact I learned probably the biggest lesson on my mission to date at the last one, and this is something that I think everyone can learn from.  I think I may have already said something about it in the past, but One of the biggest lessons that I've learned, is to not let other people's judgements of others, keep you from seeing the good in them.  Now that I say it I'm pretty sure that I've already mentioned it  in an email, but that doesn't make it less significant to me.  If that is the only lesson I learn on my mission, it will have been a big one, and that sounds great to me.  Fortunately I've still got 18 months to learn here.
I love you all, and congatulations to Elder Baker!  I'm so glad that everything has gone well for him and that he will soon find himself well in the service of the Lord!  There's nothing better to do!  For everyone else, don't forget that you don't have to be on a full time mission to serve as a missionary!
Have a great week!!!
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Mission rules get you investigators!!!!

Who ever guessed that following rules is a good thing?? =)




Hey President!
This week has been fun, kinda long but fun nonetheless. For study, I ended up mostly studying for a lesson that I was going to have to give in Gospel Principles class. I ended up not having to teach it this week, but two weeks from now. I kind of look forward to delivering that lesson though. I think it will be a good indication of my progression on some level.
We found an investigator who seems really cool this week! We met him Saturday, and I like to call him the investigator we found from Elder Lee's stomach. He was a referral from his parents who own this chicken shop that is super good. Anyways, he has a lot of English interest, but he never really had religion growing up, so I think he has a lot of interest in the gospel too. To tell the truth, I'd say he is the investigator who seems most prepared on the first visit that I have came into contact with yet. I'm really excited to continue teaching him.
One miracle this week happened not 15 minutes ago. We were sitting here emailing, and this man comes up to us and asked about the church. He had met missionaries in the past, but apparently wants to meet again.  I think if this man could become an investigator it would be something that can end up really fulfilling and something that will truly help me feel the light of Christ in my life.

See you on Saturday President!

-Elder Clawson
 
Hey everyone!!!
This week has been really fun and I'm not sure that a whole lot has gone.  Nothing super crazy except for that man that just walked by and asked to meet with us.  That was super cool, and I think was quite the convenient of miracles to come about.  I suppose that is actually kinda crazy.  Kind of amazing the things that drive people to come talk to you.  I think that the craziest thing about it kind of comes as a result of the mission rules.  This could be one of those crazy stories that people talk about in all they're lessons and stuff about following mission rules.  If we were just emailing in P-day clothes, than this guy probably would not have noticed us.  Obviously I'm a white kid in a see of people who don't usually expect white people, but that's not as uncommon as a missionary.  We legitimately could pick up an investigator just because we were following the rules, and were wearing missionary clothes instead of p-day clothes.  Come to think of it, that is really crazy!
Sorry this email is coming kinda later than usual.  We had an appointment for lunch and the zone leaders needed something from us really quickly.  I thought I had answered some questions about the new area, but I guess not.  It's a fun area I guess.  Our house is super nice and I love it.  I get along with my companion really really well, but he's older and has some trouble getting motivated to work, but he's got a good heart, so I want to help him out a little, its just so hard because he has had a lot of tough experiences, so I just think that he needs to see some miracles and he can have things go right for him through hard work.
My companion also knows how to do some really cool workouts that result in things that I really want!!!  Namely, he knows workouts that make it so you can jump higher.  I can't get huge buff, but if I could come home and dunk, how cool would that be!  I know that shouldn't be something that my goals are based off of, but temporal health keeps you sane.  I promise it does.  I notice it's easier to be happy when I work out consistently. 
side note, our new city is called gunpo, so if you want to check how bad weather is here, feel free to hahaha.  
It's crazy to think that in a few days I will have my 6 moth anniversary as a missionary!  How nuts is that?  Kinda not that crazy considering time always flows at the same rate so I guess it's kind of to be expected but hey, its crazy sometimes to me hahaha.
I love hearing about you guys at home and I swear sometimes it seems like everything is going better without me there, but I know there's reason for that.  I love hearing from anyone by the way.  You don't have to be family to talk to me, I like mail from anyone haha.  Also with regard to my birthday, I don't need anything super special.  If it is at all possible to send a Yoohoo my way, that would be really appreciated.  Just saying.
When I heard it was super bowl sunday, I was kind of blown away.  I knew that it was going to come, but sometimes it feels like time hasn't really gone by and that it's just a couple days after I entered the MTC still.  Kinda like it's all  just a big dream and I have no idea why time is still going by.
For Korean time, I think I may have to just start doing vocab, because I can't think of anything very fun to do all the time.  It's hard to come up with stuff for this but I will continue to try.
힘들다  (heem-dur-da)  to be difficult mentally
heehee, I feel like this is particularly applicable considering i just said hard a bunch of times.
This is a good word for the day.  A good word for missionary work too.  Not just as a missionary but altogether.  Missionary work is hard, but its fulfilling.  The work is so much less hard when members take some of the burden.  The way I see it, there is somewhat of a finite amount of difficulty with the work with regard to a single investigator.  When members share just a little bit of the difficulty, and invite friends, family or whomever to meet missionaries, to hear about the word, and their potential.  I know that missionaries everywhere appreciate referrals, so if you would, take the time to share this happiness with those you love.  I know you will get just as much back in return, if not more.
 
I love you all, you're awesome!
 
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