What's the local time?

Here's the a link to the local time in Pusan South Korea. It also includes information about dialing codes and longitude and latitude.

50th Anniversary DVD now available

For anyone that is interested, an advertisement just popped up on the ldschurch.or.kr website for a special DVD entitled "History of the Church in Korea for 50 years." It seems to also include stuff from the anniversary celebration and much more.

LDS Church name changed in Korean

A while back the leadership of the church decided to change the name of the church in Korea from 말일성도 예수 그리스도 교회 to a more understandable 예수 그리스도 후기 성도 교회. Please note the added emphasis emphasis by placing "Jesus Christ" first. The other changes reflect more common language usage. Check out http://www.ldschurch.or.kr/ to see for yourself.

Korean Food in Utah

Here's a list of some of my favorite Korean Restaurants in the Utah & SL Counties:

• Sam Hawk Korean Restaurant


• Touch of Seoul


• Jang Soo Jang


• Korean House Restaurant


• E Jo Korean Restaurant


• Myung GA

And if you like to cook up your own Korean food, here's a great place to get the ingredients you need in Provo: 1st Oriental Market

50th Anniversary Celebration of the Church in Korea

For those of you who were not able to go back to Korea for the 50th Anniversary Celebration, Kerk Phillips put together an incredible website including photos, newspaper clippings, and a personal travelogue.

Book of Mormon on MP3

If you have never heard of ldsaudio.com you should definitely give it a look. They have an excellent set of Church related books as well as the entire standard works all on digital audio. And while the majority of their products have an associated price, you can get the entire Book of Mormon in MP3 format for free. Click here to find out more.

The Gift of Tongues

I firmly believe in the gift of tongues. As far as I am concerned, every missionary has got to get that gift because the Korean Language is tough! In fact, almost half the stuff I every learned went in one ear and out the other. But I think the that process is an essential part of the gift of tongues. John 6:63 says, "It is the spirit that quickeneth." For me the gift of tongues is having the Holy Ghost remind of you things you have forgotten. Doesn't that make sense? For example, take two really spiritual missionaries who are seeking the gift of tongues. One missionary studies or the one who doesn't. Which one do you think has got better chances? Below I have listed several helps that I think can get you well on your way.

1. Be a spaz! Don't be afraid to always ask what things mean. Don't be afraid to be the district, zone, or mission spaz.
   
   (Spaz (n.): One who is completed enthralled in a language. This is a person who constantly inquires about the meaning of words and puts them to use. Every idle minute is language study time to a spaz.)



2. Set a daily vocabulary goal. Ten a day is not too difficult. There are some missionaries who have been known to memorize 50+ a day. Here are a few tips on how to do this:
   • Always be adding vocab from the street into your spax-pad.
   • On P-Day make sure you plan out the vocabulary you intend on learning for the rest of the week.
   • Use the vocab you learn. It's one thing to understand what people are saying, but its another thing to speak!



3. Memorize the discussions. This tip isn't about the way you teach discussions. This is about teaching yourself to learn to memorize. The more you exercise this muscle, the more you will be able to learn faster!



4. SYL (Speak Your Language). This is not just something greenies do in the MTC. Somehow missionaries get it in their heads that since they are in a foreign land, they will be forced to speak Korean. Believe it or not, most likely you will be with someone else that speaks English natively. SYL'ing will be harder to do than you think. Don't be rediculous and do this all the time or your companion will get sick of you and ask for a transfer. Instead, set a reasonable goal like SYL'ing every morning until lunch and all day on Sundays.



5. Study during every spare second. This means whenever you are not actively engaged with speaking to someone. You will be surprised to find up to 5+ hours of extra study time each day. Great times to study include:
   • During meals that don't involve members.
   • While you are in the shower.
   • While you walk or travel.

안녕하세요

I know what you're all thinking. Why in the world is a returned missionary blogging about his mission? There are two reasons why I think a blog like this might be of some value. First of all, serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a life-defining experience. It changes you. And so why not tell the world why and how I was changed. Second of all, there are about a hundred new missionaries that get called to the Korea Pusan Mission every year and the truth is that they know nothing about what the next two years are going to be like. So, this blog is also dedicated to the newly called missionaries who are in for the time of their lives!