MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas from Australia!

Well family and friends, it is that time of year where everyone is holly and jolly and ready to share the christmas spirit.  The only problem is that there is no SNOW... It is literally getting hotter.  Two days ago it was around 42 Degrees Celcius!  Yeah, that day was really fun. :)  

Anyways a lot has happened over this last week.  We went to the temple lights with an potential person we are going to teach, and it was awesome.  She felt really good and excited, and we are currently teaching her.

For zone P-day last week, we went to this place called La Parouse, in Eastlakes in Australia.  BEAUTIFUL (attached are some pictures).  Anyways, it was really fun, and my tongan friend caught a seagull and ate it... Just kidding, he didn't eat it, but it was pretty funny.

We also had the opportunity to visit families and receive many things from them.  Elder Easton got new shoes, and I got shaving/shower stuff.  Our ward is really nice, and loving.  I am excited for this week.  

I love Australia and the fact that there is still a lot of work for me to improve as well as in the area.  The one thing about this gospel and this life is that I can continue to learn and progress.  

Also, my first convert Harry just recently left to CHINA to go back and live there.  He is awesome and he will do fantastic.  I am so excited for him!

For those of you who don't know,  our church creates videos about many things and they are really awesome.  I would invite you to take a look.  But I wanted to share this video:

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=911161814001&cid=HPWE121813271

It is about the spirit of Christmas and I really like it.

This next week will be the end of the year, but as well as the next transfer, so I will email you next tuesday instead of monday!

Love YOU<

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

ELDER HAN

The pictures are of Harry, and me, La Parouse, the Summer hill youth, and Vincent (bishop's son), the Qureshi family.

The Joys of Christmas Season! :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

I love you all and hope you will have an awesome christmas season!

I am looking forward to your emails and just feeling your love for me.

This week has been a blessing/miracle week.  Because it is around Christmas time, people are being more friendly and more ready to hear the gospel.  It is very good and we have miracles through our ward.

Because I have been in the ward for a while now, (almost 6 months) I have been able to see the growth and the progression.  I also have been able to really see the fruits of the efforts of them.  Our ward members this week have been really trying hard to find referrals from us, and invite them to the christmas lights.  

Through that, our area has 2 new investigators!  

I love Christmas, and I am really looking forward to continue on this work, and really dedicate my time towards it.  

It's weird that it is almost Christmas in about a week, because we are still doing the same things as missionaries. Tomorrow we have a Christmas Mission conference with a few zones in our mission, and that will be really exciting and fun!  

One thing that I have noticed a day ago is how much I was able to see people grow.  When I first got to the area, a sister just had her baby, and now she is crawling and huge!  I think it is amazing with growths of children and how fast they grow.  

I kind of liken it to me, looking back before the mission and to now.  I feel that I have grown a lot, spiritually, intellectually.  I really love this chance that I have to really help others grow and learn more about Jesus Christ, but also for me to learn more and to establish my testimony more, and make it into a huge solid rock.  

Love you heaps, and hope where you are you make snowmen and drink hot chocolate.  For me, I will make sweatmen and drink ice cold water!  

Love you,

Elder Han

Christmas Gifts! (with pics)

Hello Family and friends,

I have exciting news.  If all of you remember, I was out on a quest to find my brother one thing.  A kangaroo coin pouch!  Guess what? I found something even better.  Supposedly in Queensland, they have what is called a cane toad.  There are heaps in Queensland, and the native Aussies have developed many things from the magnificent cane toad.  Attached is a picture of a cane toad coin pouch.  It is a real cane toad, but they hollowed it out to make it into a coin pouch.  O.o  It is pretty cool.

Anyways, I also have been doing super well on my mission.  The more I serve the more I learn, and help others.  It is a great experience for me to really push myself and to continue on the work.  Elder Easton and I are doing well together, and we are helping our ward strengthen themselves and to help them get excited for christmas, we sang in sacrament meeting!

In light of the Christmas spirit, we have been doing little things everyday to be in the Christmas mood.  For example, 20 days before christmas we had to talk to 20 people and say merry christmas!  

That is very fun, and helps us talk to more people as well.

Last week, we set up the christmas tree.

My korean is going pretty well.  I have the mindset that I will be fluent soon, and that has helped me to keep going and to continue, even though we may not have Korean investigators.  (but actually we do have a korean investigator!)

Keep working hard, and I love Christmas season because we are able to think of our savior, Jesus Christ, and what he has done for me.  I'm grateful for all of you, and wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

LOVE YOU HEAPS,

ELDER HAN!

Aussie Aussie Aussie ~ Oi Oi Oi (Dec 2nd letter)

Hello Family and friends!

All is well here in the warmest christmas season ever!  Naturally, Sydney is getting warmer and there is no snow here.  However, the nature is simply Beautiful!

I am so very grateful to be here, and working for my Savior, and to continue to serve with all my heart.

It's been pretty hectic here, and everything is amazing.  December is what we call miracle month, where miracles will happen!    We are so excited to embark in this, and share our message of Jesus Christ and help people come closer to him.  

Fantastic news:  Fruits are coming now in season, and will be cheap!  이야!

My first convert, Harry, is moving back to china soon, and so I will be very sad.  He is very awesome and he will work magic in China!  

In other news, we had a Korean Fireside.  Just us and 3-4 families, but we had a testimony meeting and I bore mine as well.  I could feel the spirit, and I am glad that I continue to learn and study Korean.

I love you all, and I am sorry that this is short this week, 

but I am excited for you all!

Have a great week!

Elder Han

The term: Sanctify

Dear family and friends,

I am excited to tell you that nothing changed!  Elder Easton and I are still companions and still in the same area we were before!  This is  a really good thing, because I get to continue to help my area improve.  

The title is important to me, because lately I have been thinking about the word Sanctify.  To clean, to make pure.  The mission life is very different, and freely obedience plays an important role in the way missionaries think.  If the missionary thinks that the rule is a rule just because, then it is harder for that missionary to follow the rule.  However, if the missionary thinks the rule is a rule because it will help us, then the missionary will follow it.  That is changing ones' nature into not only just a better missionary but a better person.

That is what I have been striving to do.  The chance that we have on this mission, is the opportunity to sanctify ourselves so we can fulfill our purpose.  To invite others to come unto Christ.  

Although there will always be downs and trials, the one thing that I focus on that keeps me going is how much Heavenly Father loves us.  Everyone of us.  That is why I am here in Australia to Preach His Gospel. (3 Nephi 5: 13) * My favorite scripture so far about missionary work. 

My Korean is getting better every week.

I am so excited for this next transfer, and many miracles will happen as I continue to work diligently and use my faith.  

Love you all,

Elder Han

Latasha

Dear family and friends, 

First off, I just want to point out that my weeks on my mission are getting shorter and faster!  It just feels like yesterday that I was writing to you all and talking about what happened last week!

Does it feel the same way to you?

Anyways, this week was hectic.  One of my good friends from the ward J.J. Kauvesi is leaving on his mission and had his 'farewell' yesterday.  He is going to be a good missionary, and he helped our young men a lot.  

As you may know, we get to drive a car in our area, which is a fantastic blessing!  We had one of the oldest cars in the mission, and so it was dying.  Her name was Betty.  She was excellent except for the squeaks she made, and the floor of it was moist, so it smelled like stinky shoe.  You know when you are in the rain too long and get your shoes well and leave it drying, and a day later it is still wet, and smells bad?  That is how are car smelled like.  

When that happened, I really hoped that we would get a new car.  And guess what?  We DID! 

Her name is LATASHA and she is brand new.  We are blessed we have a new car, and I hope that I don't crash it.

For other news, we have been meeting a couple Korean people to help us with our Korean.  I feel that my korean is getting really good, but it is still not good enough.  I have been reading the book of mormon in korean every day, and I know that by doing that my korean has been getting heaps better.  

We are sincerely striving to do the best we can, because of how short our missions are.  It has hit me since day one that the mission goes by too fast.  It is almost my 6 month mark!  And I don't like it.  I wish I was just starting right now, and time never happened.  But because it doesn't, I am trying super hard every day so that I can be able to say that I did my all. My 100%.

Also, Halloween isn't very big in Australia.  Which was okay, because I don't like candies or sweets that much.   

I want you to watch this mormon message, 

William Hopoate is a missionary now, but is coming back in december I believe.  He is super big in Rugby, and everyone knows of him.  

Anyways that is all.  Have a good rest of the week, and have fun!

http://mormon.org/william

Elder Han

Hey family!

Hello family and friends,

페키지 주셔서감사합니다!

I am so excited to talk about this week, and what I did.

This week we had another baptism.  Her name is Angeliki and she is greek.  It is an awesome experience everytime, and I am looking forward to continue on the work and be as diligent as possible.  

I was told that I need to share more pictures, and so I will in this email.  Some of them are of me, and my companion, and some other people, but that is about it.

Oh!  I have started to LOVE cooking!  Mom, I tried making your chicken, and guess what, It tasted almost close to it.  If i marinated it a little more, it would have been almost exactly like it!  

This week helped me recognize the importance of patience.  The reason being was because in order to work, i needed patience, and to wait for the right time to do things.  sometimes I want to do things right then and there, but that is impossible.  so,  that is what happens.

Anyways, it is still spring time, but it feels like summer... Meaning it is hot!

My korean is doing a lot better, because I have been really trying to use it as much as possible.  

Although we aren't teaching anyone currently that is korean, we are talking to heaps of members and people who are korean.  So it has been a blessing to us, Elder Easton and I.

Anyways, there are so many things to get done it is crazy.  Life has been getting more hectic, but that is the fun of it. 

The trees and everything is blooming.  Actually the other day, my companion and I went to someone's house and had sugar cane!  They were also growing bananas meaning that they had a banana tree...  I was so happy!  People just have banana trees in their backyards.  That means I don't have to buy any! 

Also, we had a special p-day last week, because the whole mission didn't get any crashes for 2 months, our mission president gave us a special p-day.  We were able to go to the Imax theater and watch hidden universe in 3d!  It was so cool, but I felt so weird that I was doing it.  The visuals were really cool though.  

I love you all, and I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Han

P.S.:  To family:

누탤라 너무 마싰어요!  (did i spell that right?)

그리고 수트 받지안았습니다. 근때, 오늘 암마 받겠습니다.

Obedience leads to blessings

Dear family and friends,

This week has been both really rewarding and tiring!  We made goals for lessons and even who we would teach, and I can't stress how important it is to set goals for your life!  I was really working so hard this week that I got lost in the work.  It is pretty insane that I learned so much this week regarding patience, humility, pride, frustration, and so much more.  I learned how to have more humility in all my doings, and that it isn't through me that is doing the work, but rather God.  

Training is very helpful for the trainer.  I feel like Elder Easton is training me!  Haha, but he has the fire that all missionaries do when he got here, and helped me to make my fire bigger as well.  

I really enjoy all your emails, and encouragement.  I love you all, and I just want you to know that not only do I love you, but Heavenly Father loves you as well.  That is the truth.

I also want to talk about my theme for this week.  Obedience leads to blessings.  If you are exactly obedient, but really want to be not because you have to, but because you want to, you will be blessed.  I have come to the conclusion that I love being Obedient, and I can notice the difference between the two: the not obedience, and the obedience.  

We really strived to do our goal which is 20 lessons!  We pushed it, and it was the last day and we were down 1 lesson, but we knew that we could accomplish it.  We were one hour left before we had to give our numbers for the week when we visited a family and shared a message and helped them understand the importance of missionary work.  We realized that as we work hard, be obedient, and stay true to our faith, we will be blessed.

This week is going to be amazing!  I am super excited for the many things that will happen soon.  

We have another baptism this week, and have one more baptism next month!  I'll take some pictures and you will get them next week.  

Also, I will take some pictures of our many places we visit and so forth!  

Love you all, 

Elder Han 

P.S. Aussie word of the day:  Milo ( a type of drink that is very good to the taste )

Starting Fresh

Dear Family and friends!

This week has been very good for me and Elder Easton.  Although we didn't have as many lessons or people to teach, we started to really strengthen our testimonies and really have faith in everything.  I have been blessed to be able to humble myself to realize the things that I need to improve on.  Every day I feel like I am getting stronger in my belief of the Book of Mormon, as well as my faith in God.  

There is a scripture that I really love in the Book of Mormon.  It is 1 Nephi 3:7.  Many of you know it.  It is about this prophet named Nephi who was commanded to go and get some records from a man who was known to be very powerful and dangerous.  He said that he would go and do, but he also said that the Lord doesn't command people to eventually lead to failure.  Instead he prepares a way for those who believe.  

Like this scripture, I have learned I have been called here not to fail, but rather I am here to succeed.  

That is what I have been thinking this week, and I am super excited for the weeks to come!

This week has been very good for us.

I guess I have been scaring all of you and saying that I have been becoming an islander, but the fact of the matter is, I have been maintaining my weight ever since I have been on my mission.  I just like to say that, because I really love the culture of the islanders and how nice they are to the missionaries.  

I want to thank everyone who emails me and sends me letters!  It always makes my day when I read what my family and friends are doing and what they have planned.  

We also got a chance to watch General conference.  For those of you who don't know what it is, we get an opportunity to listen and learn from our prophet, and apostles in this modern day.  It was so good, and I learned so many things and it answered many of my questions!  

I love you all, and I hope you have a fantastic week, no matter where you are!

Elder Han

First week of tranfers! (Week 11? I think) - "Hectic"

Alright Friends and Family!

This last week was very hectic.  As you may know, I was talking about transfers and how they were coming up, and also many of my leaders telling me that I might be a trainer, or leader, or whatever.  

So, you may all be wondering what happened. 

Well I'll tell you. 

First, the weather is getting a little colder, which is extremely weird, because it is almost summer. 

Oh man, I just can't wait to tell you what happened!!!!

I am training!  Yep, I was not ready for that.  It is crazy, but awesome at the same time! 

My companion is Elder Easton, and he is speaking Korean!!   He is super prepared which I am very grateful for. 

That's that.

Next thing,  I had my first baptism!   His name is Harry, and I have uploaded a picture of Harry, Elder Jun, Elder Easton, and I.  I probably got fat, but as you may be aware, I am trying to achieve the status of an islander, so...  HAHA 

Actually, I think I have been maintaining weight. 

Aside from that, I am super excited for what is going to happen, and I am excited to tell you so many things. 

Let's see.  

Elder Easton is super friendly!  He goes to every Korean ( sometimes Chinese ) and says 안녕하세요! To everyone!!  it is super funny and awesome.  His courage and motivation are amazing!

Anyways, here are some pictures. and if you have any questions just send me an email.

Oh!  We didn't watch general conference yet,  it is this saturday and sunday at our chapel. 

Love you all, and good luck this week.

The term, Potential

Dear family and friends,

This week has been a huge eye opener to me and my companion.  Especially for me.  Sometimes, I think to myself this week has been a good week, and I don't really know what I can improve on.  Then I realize that I have so much more to learn, do, and say.  Especially now that my training will be done after this transfer, many missionaries have been telling me things that I really haven't been thinking about.  This week helped me realize my potential, and what I could be and do.  

I am really excited for this week, and I am excited for all of you!  

To answer some questions that some people had.  

Summer Hill is a suburb, but I go to the city quite often.  Like right now.  

I really enjoy my mission.  It isn't difficult when you have the right attitude.  

Something really cool I learned is this.

A-1

T-20

T-20

I-9

T-20

U-21

D-4

E-5

100%  Attitude is everything in life!

Love you all 

September 15th, 2013 letter

There is a time in missionary work where the missionary just receives the best of blessings and does so well. This week was that time!  We really were blessed and literally everything we did, we not only felt a strong spirit of peace and love, but the people we taught and the people we met were extremely prepared.  It just shows that if you work extremely hard, good things will come out of it.  

Currently, it is week 4 of the transfer, so 2 more weeks and it's back to being nervous if I am staying or going.  I really like it in SummerHill, and the people are so nice and welcoming.  I really feel that the missionary work with the members in my ward will really progress in the next couple weeks.  My trainer is doing really well, and of course he has to put up with me.  

We are really working well together as a companionship, and we are really grateful we are together.  My korean is not very good yet, in fact I think it is kind of deteriorating, because I'm back in ground zero.  My companion taught me the real pronunciation of reading and speaking, so I am back in level 1, and have yet to progress more.  

I'll tell you some blessings about my area.  There is a tongan man who before we met us had already started reading the Book of Mormon, and on the website Mormon.org, it tells people to really pray to see if the Book of Mormon is true.  He did, and he received an answer telling him that he needs to keep learning and to get his questions answered.  When we met him, we really felt the spirit.  For those of you who don't know what the spirit is, it is a feeling where we receive a peace or comfort, and sometimes a burning feeling in the heart that just makes you feel super happy and spiritually uplifted.  we felt the spirit, and we invited him to be baptized by October 12!   

Anyways, I hope all of you are healthy and safe, and hope that you be happy this week, and keep going!  

Love,

Elder Han

September 8th letter

Dear family and friends,

There were many blessings and miracles that happened this past week, some of which were extremely exciting.  One of our investigators is getting baptized, and he is so strong in his faith and his belief in Jesus Christ.  It is an amazing experience to witness people improve and to see them want to change in order to find their purpose in life. 

Apart from that, it is already week 2 in my second transfer, and it is pretty much a blessing to be in my area.  We are really working hard, and trying to get to know all the members we possibly can.  However, we can always do better.  That's the best thing about life: there is always something we can improve on.  Whether it be friendships, knowledge, charity, faith, etc, we can all work on things to help us improve.  I'm really excited to see how next week is, and how much will change. 

I feel like I've already been out on my mission for a year, but I still remember the first day I got to the field. 

My companion and I are getting around like two peas in a pod.  He is very different from me, but because of that we are really good together, I think.

Right now I am in a Korean Internet cafe, and so many people around me are watching Korean dramas.  ㅋㅋㅋ.

I have had a huge time this week to reflect on how I improved, and what I could do better.  I realized that we shouldn't be content in the state that we are in, but we should always keep on pushing through and through. 

I really appreciate the constant emails, and the awesome news that I always receive.  

SHOUT OUT TO MY COUSIN: LIA!  HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!

I always promise pictures, but I always seem to forget my camera....  Okay next time, I will really bring it.

Love you heaps,

Elder Han

September 1st, 2013 letter

Every day is such a beautiful day.

And what is quite interesting, is that it isn't getting cooler, but getting warmer.  Yep, the seasons are opposite, and I actually heard that Christmas is almost the hottest day of the year!  O.o

Anyways, our area is doing okay.  We received a car.  I probably already said that, but it's different and hard to get anywhere.  So i bought a GPS.  BEST THING I DID SO FAR.  Haha, it is really helpful, and now we don't need to worry about getting lost. 

Anyways, today was pretty busy, and this week was okay.  We have a couple of baptisms coming up, and hopefully they don't drop us before that.  There are heaps of Chinese and it is really interesting to talk to them, because they are really interested in God and Jesus Christ. 

I really appreciate all the emails and I am super glad that they keep coming.  Every week, reading the emails of everyone make me so motivated and ready to keep on going. 

A blessing for us this week was probably this one Vietnamese guy named Ricky.  There was a baptism the day we were going to teach, and he straight up asked us if we could go!  It was crazy, and he really wanted to see how it went and what we did. 

I am extremely grateful for all of you, and of the wonderful support I have received.  I know that you are doing all well, and I hope that you have a wonderful week!

I will continue to write you, and try my best to keep it interesting, but all is well, and

Love you heaps!!

Elder Han

P.S.  If you find Tim Tams in America, try them and warm milk and bite the ends and use it as a straw and then eat the tim tam.  Oh so good!!!  But I don't eat them too much - don't worry mom.

Have  a wonderful week!

August 18th, 2013 letter from Elder Michael Han

I honestly have no idea how time flies in the Mission Field!

This week has been amazing, and I have been learning so much!  The weather is getting a little warmer, but it is awesome and nice and cool.

There was a miracle last night.  A man from the navy, has been living on a ship with 3000 people, and came to church last night.  His buddies have been teaching him about the church for about a month and a half.  He had only 3 days on Sydney and then will go back to the ship for more time.  He wanted to get baptized, so the missionaries taught him all the lessons in 4 Hours!  And he got baptized 2 hours later!  I was able to witness the baptism and his faith was so strong, and the spirit was so strong.

It is miracles like these that help me get motivated and pumped for my mission.  Everyday, I know that miracles will happen all the time.  

On another note, we don't play sports that much.  We play footy (rugby), but touch rules.  So if we get touched we have to roll the ball in between our legs and start playing again.  It's fun, but not dangerous.

I get Korean food almost every day.  

Honestly, I love my mission and the people within.  Not only the missionaries, but the people and the ward, and the culture.  

Until next time, 

Love ya heaps,

For all the family and friends: keep working and enjoy life, and have fun at school.

For all the missionaries:  Anything is possible.

Elder Han

사랑해요!!

WEEK 9 " GRAND FINALE"

Hello friends and family,

I am excited to tell you that I am leaving in 3 days to AUSTRALIA!  There are so many good things that are coming out of this, but I am sad because I am leaving my whole district that I grew to love and care throughout my stay here.

It's been a pretty fast week.  Really, I've been thinking a lot about what my purpose is here, and why I am on a mission.  I am super glad that I am serving here, and I know that my call was of God, and he wants me to go to Australia for a reason.

My Korean has been doing super well.  The Korean Natives always come to me, and say how good my korean is (NOT THAT GOOD).  The first week here, no one could speak korean, but I've seen so much progress it's incredible.  My whole district can speak really well, and it's insane how much they learned in only 2 months!  I am so excited for them, and the fact that they will learn so much more and mature so much more.

I have TRC tonight, where we will skype Korean speakers and teach them.  It is super hard, but worth it.

One thing I learned in the MTC is having patience.  It required a ton of patience to have a companion with you 24/7, and teaching with them. 

I am so glad that you are all supporting me, and I appreciated any letters I have received.  I hope Grandma and Grandpa are doing well, since they came back from Korea.  Also, I hope Alison is doing well, and I was wondering when the baby will come.  I saw Iris's car and heard many adventures from her, and I am glad that this summer is so much fun. 

I love you all and here are some pictures of me and my friends in the mission MTC,

Love,

Elder Han

P.S.

MY ADDRESS IS

Elder Michael Chong Jae Han

Australia Sydney Mission

P.O. Box 2723

Carlingford NSW 2118

Australia

Phone: 61 2-9841-5430

If your family ships a package with a private courier, they will need the mission office telephone number indicated above.

Week 8 - "TRAVEL PLANS AND KOREANS"

HEY FAMILY AND FRIENDS,

It's crazy how long it's been since I've seen all your beautiful faces.  First I got some exciting news.

I GOT MY TRAVEL PLANS.  It's exciting that I finally get to leave from the MTC. 

Editors note:  Michael leaves for Australia on Monday, July 29th

During this week, I had some questions that I hope that everyone asks themselves everyday.  Am I a better person?  How can I be a better person? How can I love everyone? I have understood in the MTC that goals are extremely important, and if you don't do anything than how will someone change? 

This week, I realized it is up to me to change, and be the best I can be. 

Another thing is is that the KOREANS are here.  I just love it, and one of them almost looks like Chris.  It's funny, but me and the Koreans have a certain bond that can't match anyone else.  

It is also exciting that I can somewhat talk to them.  During the past 3 days, I was their translator for a sprained ankle, a upset stomach, and all those things that happen at the MTC.  I am so excited to go to Australia, and the only thing that makes me sad is that 3/4 of my district is going to Korea, and just my companion and I are going to Sydney Korean speaking.  I will miss them, but I know that the Lord will bless them and that is awesome.

The crazy thing about being here is that everything is going by so so fast.  But at the same time it feels so slow.

What a blessing it is that all my friends are such great examples to me, and I know they are working extremely hard both in the field and out of the field. 

It is crazy to think about that I have almost been in my mission for 2 months now. 

I love you all,

ELDER HAN

June 28th, 2013 letter from MTC

Friends and Family,

My Korean has improved exponentially.  Although I am not learning as fast as I would like to, I am still pushing myself in order to learn new things.  Everywhere I go it is almost crazy how much I know, and when people speak I translate it into korean.  Not perfectly, but translated.  However, I know that it isn't because I am trying to do learn Korean, but it is because I am learning in order to serve the Lord. 

This week's motto is "just keep swimming."  The reason that this is so is because I am Marlin, and my companion is Dori.  Sometimes I get frustrated with the language or certain people, but my companion puts me back on track.  Something about reading the scriptures gives me this reassurance that I am here at the right place, being prepared for something far greater than just teaching some lessons.  I am here to invite others to come unto Christ.

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to participate in the Worldwide Leadership Broadcast.  What a wonderful occasion and opportunity to see the apostles teach us as well as teach those around the world.  Sometimes I forget that we aren't the only ones in the world, and what a blessing to know that there is something bigger than just our small MTC. 

This week there was a wonderful scripture that I leaned on when I needed a break or if I needed motivation.  It is in D&C 121:7-9, which says:

My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a csmall moment;

And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

Thy afriends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands."

It is so awesome that I was able to find this and it brings my soul the joy of the knowledge that my afflictions shall be but a small moment.  If I work hard, then I will be able to stand by my friends, and family.

We also had a chance to meet the Australia Sydney South mission president, even though we are not going there.  It is surprising though that we haven't heard of anyone else going to Sydney North... 

Thank you for the awesome packages! I hope that you are having fun in this wonderful warm weather ( except when you are wearing suits )... 

Security was huge this week because all the new mission presidents were being trained by the general authorities.  I am getting way good at volleyball, it is probably my favorite sport now.  I am going to teach at the MTC after my mission, I think. 

I love you all, and I hope that you have a wonderful time in summer, and hopefully you will remember that if you are struggling with anything or any trials, you can always pray to Heavenly Father who loves you, and knows you.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  I know that if you pray to Heavenly Father, you will receive an answer.  I love you all, and I hope that you just tell yourself everyday that you are a child of God, and he loves you.  That is why he put is in this earth.

Just keep swimming,

Love,

Elder Han

Weeks 2 and 3 in the MTC

Note: Excerpts from Elder Michael Han's letters to home the last 2 weeks from the MTC

Week 2 letter

Hi family!

I love you all so so so much.  Words can't describe how much I miss you, and the feeling I had at home was awesome. 

Things at the MTC life are okay.  We have 5 hour classes and in between we have personal study and additional study.  I have been reading the BoM so much, and it is such a wonderful book. 

The good news is that I am at 3 Nephi 15!!!  

The  spirit (song shin) is so great here.   ( I am typing in Romanization only because I have little time, and much to say).  A few days ago, a sister in my district asked me to give her a blessing because she was concerned that she didn't know why she was here.  Because I was the district leader, I did it along with two other district leaders.  The spirit was so strong I almost cried!  I had no idea what to say, but the spirit came over me, and I could feel Heavenly father working his power. 

New missionaries from Korea came two days ago and they are super funny.  They live in Seoul and they are going back after two weeks.  Also, we taught our progressive investigator who is very (nomu moshisoyo) stylish.  I am getting so good at my Korean.  It is so fun, and I kind of wish I was going to Korea, because all my friends are going there now.

We have GYM time everyday.  Meaning VOLLEYBALL everyday, and Four square.  I told everyone I was super good at four square so we play, but I actually Kind of stink.  hahaha. 

We are allowed to watch Mormon Messages and probably my favorite one right now is Mountains to climb.  I almost cry every time!

My companion is such a wonderful person and has an awesome spirit.

This week has been a blur, I feel like I have been in the MTC for 3 years!  Also, the outside world is no longer known to us, which is so weird.  I think this is a wonderful place and it is super awesome.

I am watching what I am eating, because I want a 6 pack.  I am almost getting there... haha psych! 

One thing that I wish I changed when I was at home, was going to the temple EVERYDAY!  What a blessing it is to go every week, but I wish I could go all the time.

I miss you dad, mom, chris, james, and kara!!! But I know that we will see each other soon enough. 

  

Thanks for being such a great family!

P.S. It would be kind of cool to get some letters here at the MTC, but if you don't have time that is ok.  Because, I only see emails once a week, but I have the opportunity to read letters every day!  DEARELDER works or personal letters. 

  

Love you!!

Week 3 letter

Dear Family and Friends,

What a blessing P-day is.  I love my companion and my district so much.  It is awesome to see how much I have learned and how much they have learned.

Life in the MTC is fantastic.  Except this week, I got a little sick.  I finished strong and only once did i have to take a nap, because I was exhausted.  However, I know that Heavenly Father helped me through it and what a blessing it was to hear from you and get that wonderful package!  I was sick and I ate Kimchi, Gim, and Rice.  I almost cried because of how I actually missed Korean Food and the family.  Sometimes I can get a little impatient but then I realize that I either need to pray or read the BoM.  I had a chance to hug Elder Allen and Elder Lewis before they left for Germany.  You tend to see that a lot in the MTC, BroHugs is what I call it.  I love the opportunity to serve the Korean missionaries and it is exhausting, but it is fun.  It is amazing to see how fast my district is learning things.  My Korean is getting so much better.  I understand almost everything, but I still have to practice reading and speaking.  Sometimes the MTC feels like a spiritual dome, where outside life doesn't matter.  All of us are laugh at the most random things because we are either super tired or just waiting to get out to the mission field.  English speakers are so lucky!  They can convey their message so easily, and also be able to teach it well, and also they are only in here for 10 days.  Sometimes we get jealous, because the English buildings have awesome desks, whiteboards, rolly chairs, and other cool things.  However, in the Korean building, we are the ghetto life.  It's okay though, it feels kind of homey which is good.  The Korean missionaries came and it is SO FUN!  I TALK TO THEM AND THEY ARE SO FUNNY.  They go up to all the people in our zone, and they are like "YO WHATS UP DOOD?"  Exactly like that.  A ton of our people in the zone are leaving on monday, so we will almost be technically the old people in the zone...  Weird.  Can't wait to see Jun, because he will be in the same zone as us.

There is something that is super cool about the MISSION LIFE that cant be explained.  The only thing is that Heavenly Father blesses us if we stay worthy and preach his gospel.  Gospel study is probably my favorite part about the day.  I am getting so close with my Heavenly Father, and it is crazy how fast I am learning.  I finished the BOOK OF MORMON, and now I am restarting for a missionary emphasis.  It is crazy how if you ask questions and write them down, where you will find the answer and how you get closer to him. 

I teach to our progressive investigators everyday ( they are our teachers).  It is hard but super awesome, and although we can't speak that well the spirit is so strong it helps us.  Sometimes I forget a couple of words, but if i do I just start bearing my testimony, and the spirit is so awesome it does the rest. 

I love you all,

Mom: Again, I loved that wonderful package and it has been useful to me.

Dad:  Fantastic job on the Marathon, I am glad that you finally got to where you wanted to be.

Chris: Thanks for the letter, and be careful.

James:  Did Choir go well?  and how's the summer?

Kara:  How's dance? 

I just want to bear my testimony that I know that this wonderful gospel is true.  I know that through Jesus Christ we could live with him again.  I know that our loving Heavenly Father is the reason why we are in the earth today, and it is awesome that we are able to choose to return with him once again.  The Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith and I know that to be true.  Without the Book of Mormon, we would not have the fullness of the gospel and I testify of that. 

If you see Logan, tell him I saw Aaron Williams.  It was pretty cool to see high school people a year younger than me to serve missions.  I am glad that I have the opportunity to serve, and I hope that you will strive to be closer to Christ.

Love,

Elder Michael Han

P.S. I saw Elder Allred come into the MTC two days ago.  It was awesome.  

First letter from MTC

Note:  Michael asked me to be his editor so he could write fast without worrying about grammar, etc.  - Vince Han

Dear FAMILY!

So the past few days were insane.  My district is so awesome.  My companion's name is Elder Clark, and he is from Cedar City, UT.  He is also going to Australia Sydney, but I don't know if it is north or south.  My other elders are going to Busan and Daejon.  I am so excited that I might be able to serve the Lord.  It is such a great blessing.

That is so awesome that James is the new ward choir director.  He will do fantastic.  I also want to challenge you, because it is the summer, to have one week designated for Korean.  Only read in Korean, watch in Korean, speak in Korean, and work Korean.  I know that will be super hard, but I wish I had done that during my life.  Even if that means not hanging out with friends, but hanging out with family and learning the language.

In my district there are four elder companions including me and elder clark, and two sister companions.  What is so awesome is that there are 104 elders and sisters that are Korean speaking!  YEAH!  My friends are Elder Wilson (he is 6' 6" and just graduated from high school!), Elder Jackson (plays soccer AWWW YEAHHH), Elder Hansen ( Really funny, and farts a lot, we call him bangu haha), Elder Carter (half Japanese, and is awesome), Elder Sorenson (Going to California ARCADIA!), and Elder Blake (Half Korean, doesn't know it at all and is also going to California Arcadia!). 

Wednesday was so tough!!!  We came in and had a four hour class, and it was insane.  Inside the class, there was an investigator in every room who invited us to come in, and boy was it hard.  It gave me perspective that we can't just give them the Book of Mormon and say you will love it.  We have to follow the spirit, and feel their needs and what is the best thing to say to them.  Also, I learned that day that it isn't only through hearing that they may receive the gospel, it is through doing service for them, or feeling the spirit and acknowledging that.  This week we realized that our teacher would only speak Korean to all of us, so basically I was the translator.  It was funny, the first thing in class and our first lesson was Hello formal, Hello, and Pleased to meet you, and everyone was saying it so wrong!  I was like, no its like this.  I felt bad because I already knew most of the things.

Wednesday was so intense, I was tired when we got home.  And I couldn't even sleep.  However, I know that the Lord helps in amazing ways, because during the day I was never tired, and I kept wanting to learn more. 

About my zone leaders:  Elder Khan, Elder Manasefjlks (don't really remember), and Elder Allan. 

Elder Khan is so cool!  He is from New Zealand and is speaking Korean. 

Ok, so Thursday was packed too.  We had some stuff in the morning about how we can recognize other peoples' needs and what we need to do to ask the right questions.  Also, we went to our 5 hour class!  It was about the missionary purpose in Korean, and learning the alphabet.  Later on, my teacher told me and my companion to go to a different room, and she wanted to know how good my Korean was.  She asked me to speak about Joseph Smith, and I was so informal it was bad!  But it was an awesome experience, because it taught me I still need to learn a ton.  My Korean has improved so much and I know it is because of the wonderful Lord. 

I keep seeing Elder allen, and Elder lewis, but not Elder crowder enough.  Last night we went to our branch meeting, and I SAW PRESIDENT LEE AND SISTER LEE.  It is funny, because he was like anyong haseyyo, I'm president lee, who are your parents?  At first, I didn't understand so I was like, "Hi, I have a father and a mother..." and he was like, "no, who are your parents, (in english)", "I said yun hyeonju, and han wonki."  and he said, "Your Dad was my AP."  And I was like BOOYAH My parents are awesome!  But when we sat down he kept looking at me and smiled, I was like uh oh, something weird is going to happen.  All the presidents stood up and introduced themselves, and President Lee came up introduced himself, and basically introduced me!  Everyone looked at me and now almost everyone knows me.  Weird.

During the meeting we introduced all of the missionaries, and what mission, where you were from, and a brief testimony.  I could tell from the spirit, everyone was so ready to prepare speaking korean, and that they knew that this gospel was true.  It is amazing in the MTC how much you feel the spirit.  I mean I thought BYU was awesome, but the MTC is so awesome. 

Ok I only have 5 minutes left, but we got interviewed with the presidents one by one.  Afterwards, the zone leaders were speaking to us, because the presidents were still talking outside,  I kind of had a clue what about, but when they got back they called DISTRICT LEADERS!!  It is way too fast, but I am a DISTRICT LEADER!  I am so excited!!!  I also started teaching my district Korean before korean class because I wanted to help them.

I just want to end with my testimony,

That this wonderful church is true.  Heavenly Father will help you in every way possible if you ask him.  I know that to be true. 

Sorry it is brief, but I also want to say that every week, everyone prepares talks every week, and they randomly call people.  cool, huh?

Anyways, I also want to say to MOM: 

I love you, and I know that you are sad that I'm gone, but I want to let you know that my room is clean, nothing is wrong with me, and I am doing well.

K  BYE,

LOVE YOU GUYS

Elder Han