Beautiful Fall in Korea Nov. 17

This week was a really good week and we also started off this week with a really fun P-day as well.

As for last week, we have been searching for new investigators and God has really blessed us this week to begin finding. We especially are excited to keep meeting the man we met on the street a couple of weeks ago that I think I mentioned in my last letter. He goes by O.B. Kim as his english name. He's a pretty funny cool guy, but the best part is that he has opened his heart to seek the opportunity to change and improve his life. He's pretty wealthy and has lots of time but I think he's beginning to realize that he's not really happy and he thinks he might be able to find it here. (He's right!!!) Please keep him in your prayers!

We had a funny little experience in our apartment the other day. One of our members was clearing out some food in their house and gave us a few leftovers, one of which was a little container of Hershey's Cocoa (100% Unsweetened ^^). Our beloved Korean Elder who lives in the same house as us, Elder Won, was pretty excited when he saw it and said he'd have to try it later. I asked him if he knew what it really was and he said, "Of course! Cocoa!" So I left it at that. A few days later, as my companion and I were finishing planning, he came over to me with the container in his hand and said, "Elder, this stuff is super gross!!" Haha we got a kick out of it. He tried to eat it like hot chocolate and wasn't too impressed ^^

For P-day today, we had a really cool opportunity to go on a tour of one of the historic cities near Daejeon. My favorite part of the tour was the ancient Korean fortress with a big stone wall that winded up and down the hills around the area. We were able to walk around the perimeter and I felt like I was in Mulan. It was pretty neat. I'm getting pretty low on time, but I'll try to send at least one picture or two. 

In our efforts to find investigators this week, there were countless situations where thing just worked out in ways they really shouldn't have. We just seemed to be in just the right place at just the right time with just the right people far too often to label it mere coincidence. I KNOW that God exists and that He is undeniably guiding this work and our individual lives. I KNOW that He witnesses of His existence, His love, and the truthfulness of His restored Gospel through the spirit. I can never deny the witness of the Spirit that Jesus is the Christ, that He did atone for our sins, and that all of our efforts to follow Him and help others do the same are 100% worth it 100% of the time. I love and am so grateful for each one of you! Have a wonderful week!

-Elder Tolman

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Nov. 9 Another Great Transfer Week (Photo of Elder Williams & Elder Tolman)

Hello!

Today is the beginning of what seems to be another great transfer! It was so sad to drop off Elder Kwon at the Train station and to see him go. He was such a great example and just an incredible companion. I'm definitely blessed to have amazing companions and Elder Williams, my new companion, is definitely no exception. He's just on top of everything. He's so humble, enthusiastic, obedient, helpful, selfless, and so on. I hope to learn a lot from him.

This transfer as a mission we also decided to focus more on Being One. That's something that President Shin has been feeling strongly lately and it seems like most of the other mission leaders felt the same. We all have the ability to do great things individually, but our individual efforts with never be more than that which the Lord can help us accomplish when we truly become one under the inspired guidance of our mission president. So we all committed to make a habit as a mission to always prayer for our mission President and to always pray to receive revelation on how we can better be one. I'm really excited!

We also were blessed to see some miracles this week. We have been looking for new investigators who can progress and God has blessed us with some cool experiences this week. We have been pretty busy with transfer week, but we would try to make excuses to leave the office so we can talk to people along the way. On one of our short ventures, we met a man who said that he had met missionaries 10 years ago, but had never really committed to learning or living it. But he talked about how he feels that now he's matured more and that him meeting us is a new chance for him. He talked about how there are few people who are truly christian, but he thinks our church is part of that group. He also said that in life there are two things that are supposed to help people feel better: christianity and money, but that he has lots of money and has realized it doesn't really do any good so he's coming to the conclusion that he must need christianity. We have an appointment to meet him tonight, so I hope all goes well! God truly is guiding us and is preparing these people. We just have to be prepared to follow His will and receive His blessings. He will never force them upon us!

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior! I know that He has restored His gospel in these days because the worth of souls is too great in the sight of God to allow us to go without. I know that because of this restored gospel we can understand God's perfect plan of true happiness for us and for our families. I know that He is so involved in each of our lives and that He desires to bless and guide us. I also know that often He blesses others through us, so we need to always be actively seeking opportunities to serve and be worthy and prepared to answer His call to serve. And I know that as we do so, lives change! There truly is light in the restored gospel and we can see it in the lives of everyone it touches, including our own. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share that light with all of His children as His disciple! 

I'm doing well and I have a pretty amazing companion! I am so blessed to serve with and learn from so many incredible missionaries! I mentioned it last week, but his name is Elder Williams and he's a stud from Cedar City. He wants to go into Emergency Medical and has worked as an Advanced EMT on an ambulance crew for a couple year before his mission. He's really humble, incredibly diligent, and so enthusiastic in his desire to worthily serve his God. I'm excited to serve with him for the next few months. When I first began my mission, I was pretty sure God would give me at least one difficult or crazy companion, but it looks like He let me get by without anything but the best!

My companion had a rough week but I'm fine. I felt a little under the weather for a couple days, but it was nothing more than light diarrhea and a little bit of indigestion. Once again I feel so blessed for good health as a missionary. Thank you for your prayers. 

It sounds like our transfer week is pretty similar to what Dustin explained as his transfer week. On Monday, we finish all our preparations, get the new AP and office missionaries trained, review our plans for trainings, and try to get our other P-day must-dos all done. On Tuesday, we take a 3 hour bus to the airport to pick up the new missionaries and then bring them back to the office which takes most of the day. On Wednesday morning, we start pretty early with the new missionary orientation and that evening have a Welcome dinner with a testimony meeting. On Thursday, all of the other missionaries transfer and the new trainers come here early for their short training and to meet their new companions. We have a big "Transfer Meeting" around noon with all the missionaries transferring that pass by the office and then everyone except the departing missionaries all head to their new areas. Thursday evening we have a departing dinner and a testimony meeting with the missionaries going home. And then Friday, we had our Mission Leadership Council with all the mission leaders for most of the morning and afternoon. Phew! And then the weekend usually is full of things to do to tie up commitments given and get things moving for the new transfer starting on Monday. So it is definitely a pretty crazy busy week, but to that extent it is a week full of learning, enthusiasm, and joy.

I love God, I love this work, and, of course, I love all of you! Have a splendid week!!

-Love, Elder Tolman

Transfers Nov. 3

Hello!

I am doing well and I hope you all are as well! 

This has been a pretty crazy week and this week is transfers, so we'll be lucky to stay busy! Elder Kwon, my beloved companion, will be finishing his mission this week. I will definitely miss him. We served for a total of 4 transfers together which is a quarter of my mission! He's the best!

Unfortunately, I guess God was going to let Elder Kwon finish his mission quiet and easy. He has been working so hard up until the end and this past weekend he's been really sick. He is finally up and about today, but he was completely out for a couple days with a pretty bad fever and throwing up, etc. Poor guy. I hope he can stay healthy up until the time he heads home!!

My new companion's name is Elder Williams and he's an awesome missionary. He's a stud from Cedar City and I think we will get along well. I'm glad that even though the amazing Elder Kwon is leaving, there is at least another great missionary to take his place. 

It's been a pretty stressful crazy week and this week will probably continue to be just as busy, but that's when it's most fun!! I love this work and I'm so grateful and humbled to be a part of it! 

One of my favorite patterns I have realized recently in the scriptures is that Christ often asks us to come unto Him, but He often does so with another condition defining how or in what manner we need to come unto Him. One of the most common ones I have seen recently is that He asks us to come unto Him with "full purpose of heart." I'll let you think and search for yourselves what you think He meant by "full purpose of heart." And if you get a chance, I would love to hear what you think! 

I know that God truly loves us and that He is undeniably a part of our lives! I love my Savior and am so grateful to serve Him as a missionary! 

I love you all too and hope you have a wonderful week!!

-Love, Elder Tolman

Another Crazy Week Oct. 26

Oct 26

Wow, this has been a pretty crazy week! Our investigator that was planning on getting baptized was doing pretty well up until last Wednesday. He said that he just doesn't feel ready and would rather just keep studying and maybe get baptized sometime at the beginning of next year. That was a pretty rough day. We decided to fast the next day as a companionship and met him that next night. We had probably one of the most intense lessons I've ever had on my mission, but finally in the end, he recommitted to be baptized this weekend. He knew it was right all along, but he just had so much confusion and opposition against making what would probably be the best decision of his life. 

We met him again the day before his baptism and he said that the night after deciding to be baptized again, he felt peace and was able to sleep well for the first time in a while. It's amazing how God will always confirm to us His truths, but he often waits for us to act or to commit before He will give us the witness. Ether 12:6 in action!!

I know that God is so willing to bless us and that He will always more than overcompensate our efforts to follow Him! One lesson I was able to learn once again this week is that the best cure to discouragement, doubt, or distress is simply service. When feel like we need more help, helping others is maybe just what we need. When we want to come closer to God, often bringing others to Him will bring us closer than we can get alone! 

I love you all!! Have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Tolman

Oct. 20, 2014 The Unexpected Blessings of Unexpected Trials

This has been an interesting week! We focused a lot on helping 이준영 prepare for baptism and it was interesting to see how the opposition always seemed to reflect our effort. The closer we got and the harder we worked, the more we could feel the adversary doing everything he could to prevent the baptism from happening. His parents weren't too excited when he said that he wants to get baptized in our church (they just don't have a very good impression of church in general), he ran into some anti-mormon literature on-line, and just all these little things came up just before he was planning on being baptized. We were able to meet with him often and by Saturday, we finally had come to the conclusion that for sure he could get baptized on Sunday and everything was all cleared up and ready to go. Then just before sacrament meeting, we got a text saying that his parents had come to visit and weren't going to let him go to church! Aaah! We didn't really know what to do so we talked to our ward leaders and we said a kneeling prayer for all to go well. We kept waiting and eventually just felt like it would be better to postpone the baptism. So he didn't get baptized yesterday... BUT I called him again last night and we had a great talk. While with his parents, he honestly told them that he was going to attend our church and get baptized. His dad understand and although his mom is still worried, I think it will work out. He is now more comfortable having talked it out with his parents and he will get baptized on Saturday and be confirmed the following day in church.

It was a pretty hectic situation, but it actually seems to have turned out better than if he had gotten baptized yesterday. It was a testimony to me that God really knows each of our situations and that as we do our best to follow His will, He will guide each situation to work out for our eternal benefit. That is, after all, His "work and glory." I know that He loves each one of us and the greatest manifestation of that love comes through His Son, Jesus Christ and the power that comes through His atonement as we trust in Him and live according to the restored gospel.

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!

-Love, Elder Tolman

Conference October 13, 2014

This has been a great week! Probably one of the best parts of the this week is that 이준영 (Jun-Young Lee) is progressing really well. He is scheduled to be baptized this upcoming weekend and it looks like everything will work out really well. He's really taken it seriously and realizes that this decision will really affect the rest of his life as he seeks to be a better person and follow Christ. Yesterday we had a lesson with him and we've pretty much finished teaching all the lessons, so we were just reviewing conference and the last preparations for his baptism. Up until that point, he had always expressed a desire to be baptized, but still didn't quite feel confident that he would be ready by next weekend. But as we talked about what he's learned, how he's felt, and his desires for the future, he began to gain a little more confidence. Toward the end of the lesson, we reviewed that baptismal interview questions one more time. He looked at the questions for a little bit, was quiet for a few seconds, and then simply said, "I am a prepared person." We all broke into smiles and assured him that he was definitely right. We always ask to find those who are "prepared," but this is the first time I've seen anyone give themselves that same label. It was a great lesson and he is just a miracle. And to think that it would have been soo easy not to stop and talk to him on the street! God really is guiding our efforts and expects us to act. When we do so He can bless us with far more than our personal efforts can ever afford.

I also LOVED conference! I'm so grateful for living prophets on the earth today! I confess that most of my life, although I have really enjoyed conference, I've had a little bit of a hard time staying completely alert and attentive the whole time for conference, but this time I was surprised by the miracle that it was so easy to be completely awake and attentive. It was almost as though there was a little extra sense of urgency and hastening. We truly each have an essential role in the work of salvation. One of my favorite talks was "Is it I?" from President Uchtdorf in the Priesthood session. It's so easy to try to shrug off responsibility onto other people or things when life gets rough. But when we decided to look inward and always seek to improve ourselves first before blaming others, we have can do so much more good and so much more fully fulfill our divine potential! I love, respect, and sustain those beloved men and women who give so much in the service of us all!!

I am also so grateful for all of you who also give so much to all those around you! I always feel privileged to be one small part of each one of your circles of loving influence. I love you all and hope you have a splendid week!

-Love, Elder Tolman

Illuminate!!

Wow! Another busy week! This was a pretty packed with meeting and such so we definitely didn't have any time to be bored. I feel like I had a lot of good learning opportunities this week, some fun and some not as fun. I'm so grateful for the opportunities I have to learn and for the chance God gives each of us every day to change! We are so blessed!

We saw some pretty cool miracles this week. We often talk about how the spirit can "bring all things to our remembrance," but I feel like sometimes God works in the opposite way with me... We had a meeting in Gwangju this week and we were about to head home for the night but we realized at the last moment we had forgot our luggage in the church! So we rushed back to the church, but everyone had left and we didn't have a key... We called a set of Elders that had been there not too long ago and they agreed to come back and open the church. We were just waiting in front of the church, feeling pretty silly, when all of a sudden one of our old investigators from about a year ago walked past us totally unexpectedly! We were able to talk with him for a minuter of two until the other Elders came. They were also to talk for a second and swap numbers before we all hurried back home to make it in time. But WOW, what are the chances!! There were some other similar experiences where we could tell that God really was very involved. Oddly enough I feel like a majority of them seemed to be more like things were held from my remembrance rather than brought to it... But if that's the way God will do His work through me, then so be it!! ^^

I've studied and thought about light a little bit recently and one of my new favorite goals is to "Illuminate myself and my surroundings with His light and love." I truly believe that we each have such incredible potential to do good and to influence others for the better and there is maybe no better analogy to capture that concept than that of light. Almost everywhere we go we see the contrast between light and dark. We've all seen (literally) bright sunny days and we've all been seen total darkness, but usually experience a mixture somewhere in between. I think that the same is also spiritually true. We have all experienced some amount of the spectrum of light in our lives. We know people living lives beaming with light and others living lives seemingly completely devoid of it. 

When the gospel was restored, Joseph said he "saw a pillar of light ... above the brightness of the sun," and I think that even more than just literally seeing that pillar of light, from that time on the world was once again filled with a fullness of Christ's light through His restored gospel. And we have the opportunity to live it, love it, and especially to share it! We are so blessed to be able to "illuminate" our lives and our families with His love and His light, casting out the darkness of doubt, fear, and despair. We also have the opportunity and responsibility to "illuminate" all those around us in everything we do. It's so fun to share the light of Christ! I'm so grateful for that opportunity as a missionary and I'm grateful that the ability to illuminate isn't limited to full-time missionaries! I'm so grateful for the light of Christ. I know He is our Savior and that He lives!

I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful bright week!!

-Love, Elder Tolman