Elder Joshua Richard Chisholm Called to Serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints August 2012-August 2014
Monday, May 6, 2013
Moving to the new Seoul South Mission and Zone leader!!!
Just a little update from our Korean missionary. He's been called as a zone leader and will be moving into the new Seoul South Mission to Incheon. (A coastal "smallish" city of 2.6 million!) it looks like a nice city, and is home to big name Asian business like Samsung. He has had a pretty tough few weeks, in fact, he says they were so tough he didn't want to even tell us about them. As hard as that is, he is being humbled and refined, and for that trial, I think he is grateful.
"So I'm getting transferred and.........I've been called to be a zone leader in the new Seoul South mission in Incheon! Crazy huh? Haha Incheon is sweet from what I have heard. It isn't in Seoul so I will be in the new Seoul South mission which is kind of sad but not really a big deal. I am serving with a Korean companion as well for the first time so I am fairly excited and pretty nervous! I don't know much about incheon and the church there! There is a ward so that is good?I didn't think I was going to transfer but I am so excited for the opportunity!!
Don't worry, I got a lot of pictures and will write all the great peoples names down!!... It is crazy to me how close you can get to people in 6 months and what not but I love them!! Haha I am super excited to go out there though,.... It is going to be an awesome opportunity and it will be a good change of pace for me that is for sure!! Haha I wasn't going to tell you tons about my week this week cuz it was another tough one... Maybe the toughest of my mission. We had about 8 people cancel on us and we really didn't teach at all this week. It was really hard, but I learned a lot about enduring and I wanted to tell you about something that you said last week really hit me hard. I was thinking as we went to a missionary meeting a little bit about the holy places thing that you talked about last week and I actually, at first, didn't think about it tons. But I was sitting there and all of a sudden it came to my head and it really made a huge impact on my week. We contacted a ton this week and i found that as I focused on making those times, those contacts, into a holy ground, a holy place, the spirit was so much stronger and at least I felt the spirit. It was really cool to see like how you said, a place on the street, or the subway can be turned into that little spot of holy ground. In the bible dictionary, it talks about how the opposite of holy is common or profane and I thought about that a lot. The places I am talking to people are very common, but when we transform them from common to holy, through bearing our testimony and showing our light, it is so cool how it can change. It says in D and C 87:8 Therefore stand in holy place and don't be moved or something like that. We can always be standing in those places if we are worthy and able to make those places into something holy. Super cool!! Thanks for sharing that.
The language is coming:) It will probably shoot up with a Korean companion!! I will miss Elder Brewer. He is a great guy and I'll miss him. The best thing about this week was that holy ground thing. That was a really cool realization for me to come to and to learn from . I also loved church yesterday. That 11 year old is still getting baptized next Sunday so that is cool!! I might not get to see it.... But he will get baptized so that is great:)_ I don't have to see it... Just as long as it happens I am happy:) I will miss my ward mission leader a lot, and another return missionary is awesome so I will miss him as well. They rock! And my bishop is awesome so I will miss him too. I will miss my house a lot…
And I will just miss knowing everything about Gaebong!! Haha I know a ton of people here and have a lot of memories so that is tough. My zone has 16 missionaries I think... So fairly big!!
Yeah my companion was my last district leader and he is a super good guy and I am excited!! I leave bright and early on Wednesday morning and then head out there. It is kind of a strange experience moving. I said goodbye to most of the people in my ward yesterday and that was kind of tough! I have been here for a long time and don't really know anything else so I am excited for the opportunity for sure!! I am still very surprised at the fact that the Lord trusts me so much. I have never heard of anyone doing exactly what I am doing right now. Be trained, train, train for a transfer, and then go be a zone leader. It is kind of unheard of and sometimes I just don't totally understand why he trusts me so much ya know? I feel fairly unadequate most of the time and I am a little nervous!! And yeah I get a new mission president and everything so that will be an interesting experience cuz I love my mission president. But it will be good. That happens in July:)"