새해 복 많이 받으세요~! (#3)

01/01/17

안녕하세요, 여러분! 

This was a pretty fun week!  We did a lot of very exciting things this week!  And,  Elder Martinez is still alive, so that's good!  It's always good to be alive! ^^  We had a very great Christmas Conference this last week on the 28th!  It was awesome!  I was pretty bad a taking pictures this week,so sorry I don't have any exciting pictures of this week.  Our Christmas conference was a very spiritual one.  The whole stake's missionaries gathered together at the office to listen to our wonderful President Sonksen train us on teaching repentance, as well as the Atonement.  It was one of the more spiritual experiences on my mission, probably.  It was also fun to see all of the other missionaries, and share stories about 원당 with the missionaries serving there.  

We also had a really fun Family Night on Saturday.  We played Quidditch!  We didn't exactly have enough brooms, so we used anything that had a handle like a broom.  It was pretty great.  Our team lost, though ㅠㅠ

We also had a really cool miracle this week!  We were outside, proselyting on the street, and we talk to this guy standing there.  He says how he has a lot of interest in what our beliefs are, and so we ended up sitting down with him in a bakery and teaching him the whole Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The sad thing was, he attends another church, and since he is devoted to that church, he wasn't quite willing to accept the entirety of what we taught him.  But, we were able to see his heart get softened exceedingly.  We talked about happiness, and he wants to be able to find happiness, and now understands how our message can bring it, so hopefully, that will lead him to meet with missionaries with a full heart to learn next time.

It's been an awesome week, and I hope you all have a most excellent week!

Love,

Elder Tyler Conley

P.S. Happy New Year!

 Just for Elder Bradshaw

Me and my 사랑하는 동반자 (loving companion)

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town!!~~^^

12/25/16

안녕하세요, 여러분! 

This was a pretty exciting week!  My subject line this week does not leave a lot of guessing, does it?  Santa Claus totally came to town this weekend, but he missed his cue the first time!  That was embarrassing.  I was sitting in a different room, waiting for Elder Benson to come tell me when we were starting our performance, but then, I heard our song going, way past the time I was supposed to come in.  Yeah...  It was pretty fun.  I'll attach the video of it, because this explanation is very poor.  The Christmas party was pretty great.  I love 신당 ward!  They know how to throw a great party!  We had dinner beforehand, and there were many people who were nonmembers that came to our party!  It was pretty great!  

The missionaries performed again on Sunday, and luckily that went well enough.  I was very very worried about it, because of the music that we had chosen to perform, and the fact that it was slightly difficult made a lot of the missionaries in our district discouraged, but luckily through much trial and practice and by the grace of God it became well.  휴우...

As for exciting spiritual news this week, we were able to meet with two of our investigators.  이의수 is the first one.  He was fun to meet with.  He has lots of questions regarding the gospel and our beliefs, and his heart is continually getting softer and softer to accepting our message.  We had a really good lesson with him this week.  Then, on Friday, we met with 임한상.  He went really well this week.  We talked with him about baptism and the Holy Ghost after following up with his repentance, since that was the commitment we gave to him last time.  Now, he has said that he would like to get baptized as soon as he finishes reading the Book of Mormon!  He said that he would be able to do that by the end of January, so that's our goal now for helping him to come unto his Savior by baptism!

This week has been a really good week.  The will of God will never be undone.  One of my favorite scriptures that I found recently, at my last temple visit, was D&C 121:33, which talks about God's omnipotence and how he will always continue to bless us with knowledge.  It is a really wonderful blessing, and something that I have learned on my mission is that all things will be for our benefit.  We can learn at all times, through thick and thin, through the best of times, through the worst of times!  I love this gospel and how much it can bless this world.  It is truly the happiest thing that we can obtain in this life, and sharing it as a missionary and seeing others' eyes be filled with the light that it brings brings such sweet joy to my soul!

Love you all!  Have a great week!

Elder Tyler Conley

 Ho Ho Ho!!
The sisters in our district (Sister Engerbretssen(?) and Sister 이지수) and 이지열b, our Ward missionary leader and his family, and 강병근b and 황문영s 

Do you wanna build a snowman?

Tyler gave Brett a pair of "old lady" pants for Christmas. He said they're so comfy and that he has a couple pairs. Then he sent us this picture with the following email: "Here is the picture of destiny.  While we were making 김치, President Sonksen walked up to me and said, 'I don't know about those pants!  Not that, but I just don't know if I would be caught dead wearing them.'  So I told them of their extreme stylishness and how we needed a picture."

Surprises!!!

12/18/16

We had an exciting visitor stop by a week before Christmas. Jason and Holly Peregoy showed up our doorstep with a box of gifts. I had no idea who they were when I first opened the door, and I wondered why someone was bringing us sub-for-Santa gifts. I just assumed they had the wrong house. Then they said they were from Korea. It still didn't really register because they looked and sounded American to me! Thank goodness Holly just kept talking to make up for my shock. She explained that they were in the military and had come home for their son's wedding. They had offered to take gifts home for Tyler's and Tristan Baird's families. When it finally sunk in, I was so overwhelmed. We talked for a long time about how Tyler was doing and what it was like in Korea. This is an excerpt from my letter to Tyler that night: "The Peregoy’s were telling us about some of the food there. She said she hasn’t tried dog or live octopus. Have you tried those things? They were also telling us that when you go to the movies you get popcorn, a drink, and squid. Very interesting. He also told us about the first time he went to church there. He left early enough that he thought he would be really early, but by the time he found it sacrament meeting was over. Ha ha ha. To me they're angels. That was the very best Christmas gift anyone could ever give me. I love them so much even though I barely know them." We opened the gifts on Christmas day while we were talking to Tyler. Here's a picture of our Christmas angels:

Jason and Holly Peregoy

They are actually in the picture Tyler sent a few weeks ago after Thanksgiving. I didn't take particular notice until after I had met them.

We had another surprise the week before when the bishop texted and said he had asked all the missionaries to send an email that would be read in sacrament meeting on Dec. 18th, so we got an extra email from Tyler. The first email is from our bishop to Tyler, followed by Tyler's response.

"Hello Elder Conley,

I hope my email finds you doing well. I also hope you are enjoying your mission and learning to love those you are serving and teaching. I know the Lord will bless you as you serve faithfully. He loves you and is pleased with your desire to follow our Savior’s example by sharing the gospel. I have a question or favor to ask. Our Sacrament meeting topic on December 18th is "How the Atonement of Christ Can Help Us Be Patience and Long-Suffering in Adversity". I am inviting each of our ward missionaries to send me an experience or two and their testimony (approximately 5 to 7 minutes) on this subject so we can share your experiences and testimony with members of the ward on Sunday, December 18th. Will you be able to help me with this? Will you let me know either way so I can prepare and make adjustments as needed? I would like to surprise your family with this so please do not mention it to them if that is okay. If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Yes, I can help! 

There was a time in my mission that I was not very happy at all.  I had left my wonderful trainer and my wonderful greenie area.  My new companion didn't feel like a very good match for me, and I was not enjoying myself very much in my second area.  That sort of state continued on for the three transfers I was with this particular companion, but during this time, I was able to come to rely on our Heavenly Father much more and recognize the love that He has for each one of His children.  The biggest two things I learned during this time were humility and charity, both of which help a lot with patience.  I also came to enjoy reading Mosiah 24:14 and D&C 121:7-8.  Throughout this time, I gained a strong love for the gospel, for my Father in Heaven, and even for this companion that I was not getting along with at all.  Through learning all of this and being humble to God as well as talking and counseling with mission leaders that I had gotten very close with, I was able to find comfort in this new area, and able to be happy again.  

I really know that God loves each and every one of His children, and that He will help us all the time, and especially when we are having a rough time.  I know that through being humble to Him and His will, we can overcome all things, and that by following His will for us all will be well.  I know that any hard thing, any trial can be overcome, and that all those who endure with patience and with love will be given a happiness greater than anything that they could ever imagine."

Before these things happened I had been feeling really worried about Tyler. One of the first things Holly said to me was, "He's doing great!" I appreciated that so much from someone that had seen him just a few days earlier. We also got this extra email and it did a lot to alleviate my worry. I know Heavenly Father is mindful of His missionaries and their families. I feel like these experiences were tender mercies to put a mother's heart at ease.

 

Initiate Training Sequence

12/18/16

안녕하세요, 여러분!  

This has been a pretty fun week!  We did some fun stuff this week!  On Tuesday, being the day before transfers, we did some Hot Chocolate proselyting!  That means we give people hot chocolate and talk to them about the gospel.  It was pretty fun, especially since it was pretty cold this week.  Funny story: last week, when I was a little bit sick, we had a day that was planned to be inside for pretty much the whole day, so I thought I was going to be fine with just a suit, because I'm me.  But, due to some unexpected occurrences, we ended up proselyting on the street for about two hours straight while it was getting dark outside, and it was freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing cold.  That is what we call 핵노잼 in Korea (Heck no jam)~ It was not very fun at all.  And that is why our hot chocolate 전도 went so well this time!  It brought back some good memories. ㅋㅋ 

And, now for the exciting news-- I have a new greenie now!  His name is Elder Martinez, and he is from the faraway land of Payson, Utah.  He's a pretty great guy.  Reminds me exactly of me when I was a greenie.  ㅋㅋ  He's really cute, but don't tell him that I said that. ^^  We have had some fun together.  We met this fantastic man on the subway with a guitar and the most stylish sunglasses you've ever seen, who played us some Black Sabbath, Queen, and some Stairway to Heaven!  That was a really fun little experience.  But, probably the best thing I've seen happen while we are together is the principle of what the Atonement can do for us.  I see him and I feel like there are some things that he will need to change, but then I remember that I was the exact same as him when I was a young warthog.  He's going to be an awesome missionary.  It all reminds me of a quote by President Russell M. Nelson, "Perfection doesn't come in this life, but in the next."  I know that to be true, but I also know that through the Atonement of Christ, that we can come to be perfected in him by following His gospel, and that as we follow him throughout our life, we can find a joy and happiness that exceeds all else.  I love you all!~~

Love,

Elder Tyler Conley

 Introducing Elder Martinez!!!!

A picture of us at family night (We played Pac-man-wokkawokkawokka)

Missionary Work is Fun to Do!

12/11/16

안녕하세요, 여러분!  

We had a pretty great week this week!  This week was a testimony strengthener for sure!  Particularly our testimony of how God blesses us with miracles no matter the situation was strengthened exceedingly.  If you're all wondering where exactly I'm going with is, it means that both Elder Kang and I took turns getting sick.  Being sick as a missionary is 핵노잼.  But, we saw some awesome miracles while we were both sick.  It was actually during our overlap times of being sick that my favorite one happened.--

We met with a new Chinese investigator this week.  His name is 장이미오, or Jang i mio, or something like that...  But he is really interested in the gospel!  He is so cool!  We had a member translate for us, and we learned that our new investigator has lots of interest in learning about our religion!  He can also read the traditional Chinese Characters, which is lucky, because that's the only Book of Mormon that we had in our house... ^^  It was pretty great!  

Also, Jason (That one investigator that we met with once a while ago that was really cool), called us in the middle of the day on Wednesday and told us that he would be at the church in 20 minutes to receive a lesson.  So that was pretty cool.  He's doing well.  He is very gung-ho about religion, and it's pretty fun to watch him talk about how great it is to follow the gospel.  

Also, the last thing is that transfer calls came this last Saturday.  I'm staying here.  Elder Kang is moving all the way to the other study room in our house... (That means he'll be companions with Elder Megargel).  I am also going to be training a new missionary starting this next Wednesday.  So, that's exciting!  ^^

Love,

Elder Tyler Conley

We Be 신촌 선교사!!

12/04/16

안녕하세요 여러분! 

This was a pretty fun week.  Due to the lack of spending time in our own area, we were not able to do much missionary work in our own area this week.  We went to the 신촌 area 3 days in a row this week!  We met with one of the young men in our ward, who, thanks to his failing of an important test, has decided to serve a mission, and is preparing super fast!  He actually had his bishop interview yesterday!  We met with him and helped him prepare to send his papers in.  They're actually papers in Korea.  And, it was pretty much Elder Kang helping him prepare, because Korea is not America in multiple ways, including the stuff they have to do for missionary papers. ㅋㅋ 

Then, it was Temple P-day! We went to 신촌, where the temple is!  We spent P-day with the Elders from 원당! My old area of five transfers!  We didn't really know each other before, but because they are both in the area that I closed back in the day, we became instant friends!  Plus, 정우림e is one of the Elders that went to Costco with Elder Jarrett and I way back when I was a greenie!  How crazy is that!  

Then, it was Zone Training!  We went to 신촌, where the zone meeting always is!  The whole purpose of it all was to get us pumped up for Christmas.  By the way, if you haven't checked out #lighttheworld yet, now is the time to do that!  This Christmas season is a wonderful opportunity to learn how to become like the Savior!

Then, it was Language Pass-off!  We went to 신촌, where the AP's serve.  That was fun.  Not much else to say about that.  

It has been a really awesome week.  I have one little thought I want to share about.  Every Sunday, we have the wonderful opportunity to take the sacrament.  As a missionary, I love feeling the Spirit that is in the chapel during the sacrament.  I had the opportunity to pass the sacrament this last Sunday, and seeing the members take the sacrament with a sincere heart brought so much joy and gladness to my soul.  It is truly a wonderful thing to see other people continuously taking action to reach salvation.  I know that God loves all of His children and that He has done and will continue to do everything for us, just as any parent would for their children.

Love,

Elder Tyler Conley

Thanksgiving! (문자 그대로 감사드림)

11/27/16

안녕하세요 여러분! 

This was a pretty fun week.  I did learn, however, that Thanksgiving is a whole lot more fun when one is not a missionary.  Because you can sleep after you eat your weight in food.  (That's a lot of food, in my case) ㅋㅋ We did have a most excellent opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving- American Style this week.  We had an invitation from the American military base church members for the missionaries to come spend Thanksgiving Dinner with them.  The events leading up to it were all pretty fun.  For example, in our 9 missionary district, only 4 of us are American. Apparently, the concept of eating dinner at 1:30 doesn't make sense to non-Americans.  That was funny to explain.  Also, a story regarding the title:

Elder 강원호(Kang) and Elder Megargel and I were all together, trying to teach Elder Kang about the word literally.  So, we started using 문자 그대로(literally) literally every place it could fit.  Needless to say, Elder Kang didn't understand.  

And now, a cool miracle that happened this week.  We were waiting for our appointment on Saturday in the snow. (Yeah, it snowed!).  We ended up waiting for a total of about 30-40 minutes.  But, during that time, a man came over to the phone booths that we were standing by, and beckons me over.  We all start talking, and he is really interested in the principle of the Restoration of the Gospel, because he used to attend church, but he didn't feel that it was the right church.  So, he believes that there is a right church out there, and that he just hasn't found it yet.  His name is 김태경.

We also had a Stake Choir Conference this Friday, where the ward choirs of the whole Stake come together and have a friendly competition.  역시 원당 와드가 이겼습니다.  It was pretty fun.  I am famous in Seoul Stake!  I've served in half of the Stake now, and at the beginning of December, I'll have served in this Stake for a year!  I felt pretty popular that night.  ㅋㅋ

Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Tyler Conley

 Thanksgiving Party!

It's Christmas!

Under Pressure!~

11/20/16

안녕하세요, 여러분! 

This week was took a big turn.  Long story short, I got wrecked by an AP.  But, that's a really boring story, so I'll tell the whole thing, and also the aftermath thereof.  

I was in the office, doing Korean pass off with Elder Nam, my old district leader now turned AP.  We practiced teaching a little bit, and it was...meh...  So, after our roleplay, he tells me," Elder Conley, this is the highest level of pass off that a missionary can do, so we don't want you to just be all right, but we want you to be GOOD.  You have to change the way you teach so that the Spirit can really take place here, and that I can feel it."  So, we did it one more time, and it was amazing.  The gospel can only be preached by the power and authority of God, as well as through the feelings of our own hearts.  If we don't have a conviction of the gospel in our own hearts, what makes us think that our words can help place them in another's?  But, on the other hand, with a conviction of the gospel and all things related to it, what can't we do?  There is nothing to fear.  God is our Heavenly Father, and will support us in all of our right actions.  That is where our own personal faith comes in.  That we believe in the converting power of the gospel, and that people, through feeling the Holy Ghost as they feel the Spirit, can cultivate a desire to change in their hearts.  

I've been applying what I've learned to all of the teaching opportunities that I have had thus far, and they have gone so much better.  The gospel can be brought unto the hearts of the children of men so much better without fear.  All people need to hear this gospel and be presented with an opportunity to accept it, but they also need the fair opportunity that comes with being taught by the Spirit.  The Holy Ghost is a wonderful being, who is able to cause miracles on the earth, even in these days as in days past, and also in days to come.  I'm so grateful to be serving as the Lord's representative here in Korea, and to bring the gospel unto these amazing people.  

Love you!

Elder Tyler Conley

 Here's a cool looking subway station that Elder Kang and I found!

 This is Korea right after the test of destiny (수능, it is the test that the seniors take, and completely decides their future), so everybody's partying!

Not quite as good as Irish swag, but...

A Lot of Fun Activities That Didn't Actually Work Out That Well

11/13/16

안녕하세요, 여러분! 

That there subject line is probably the best few words I can use to explain this week.  We did a lot of things that didn't work out quite as well as we hoped.  For example:

• We had a member dinner scheduled for Friday night, but that got cancelled, so we decided to streetboard.  It poured buckets on us starting from 5:50.  (Koreans absolutely despise the rain, to the extent that they fear it)
• We had a lesson with a new investigator named 한상, who wanted to read the Book of Mormon in English with us. I was on exchanges with Elder Tapan.  We decided prior that we would just make it through the introduction and share a small message and give commitments and then be done.  Then, 2 hours later, we finally finished the introduction.
• On Thursday, I had a Korean pass off with the AP's, and after 2 hours, I finished half of it and had to leave

There are a number more, but I don't want to spend to much time on that.  I suppose that one of the biggest miracles of this week is that I'm still happy and optimistic.  We had a super awesome Family Home Evening activity on Saturday Night.  So many people came!  A couple of the members just brought their friends!  Everybody there loved it!  Then, the next day, the bishop came in to a little missionary planning meeting that we were having.  He told us that, due to the new member missionary program that he initiated last week, in the near future, there should be 44 new investigators for the missionaries, as well as 34 less actives for us to work with!  How cool is that?  Miracles happen when the members and missionaries work together!

Love you all!

Elder Tyler Conley

 We went exploring this week, and found this beauty.

I also found this beauty in the church (a different usage of the word "beauty")

We Be International Missionaries!!

11/07/16

안녕하세요, 여러분!  

This was a pretty fun week.  We did a lot this week.  As you might be able to see from the title, we taught many people this week who are not Korean.  Well, kind of...

We met a certain Zuniel Kim this week (김준일).  We got a call from our Office Elders this week on Thursday, asking if we have some time the next day, because they need a team who can do both English and Korean very well, so they can translate.  The situation is that a Sister from the other end of the Seoul South mission is coming up to our area to direct her nephew who has a little bit of business to do in Korea.  She was really worried because she can't speak English, and her nephew can't speak Korean that well.  김준일 was born and raised in Germany, but luckily, he spoke English very well.  And let me tell you, there's nothing more strange than listening to a Korean speak English with a German accent.  It was pretty fun.  He is a really cool guy.  He is a filmmaker, and is 34 years old.  But, he is returning to Germany tomorrow.  We had a really good conversation, and eventually he thought that he would like to hear more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  We were able to receive his address, and so later he should be able to meet with some missionaries in Germany.  

We also met with Richard on Saturday.  He is from Uganda.  He is returning in December, so we will be working on meeting with him a couple of times before he goes back.  He read the Restoration pamphlet that we gave him, and really really wants to read the Book of Mormon.  Due to a shortage of copies of the Book of Mormon in the English language, we weren't able to give him a copy, but we told him how he could download it on his phone.  He's pretty great. 

The work is picking up here a lot.  We have had a number of new teachable people come up, so we are working really hard to make that happen, and miracles happen literally every day.  It's a wonderful work that's going on!  I love it so much!

See you all next week!

Love, 

Elder Tyler Conley

휴우... It's Over!

10/30/16

안녕하세요, 사랑하는 여러분!   

This week was a pretty exciting week.  We definitely saw some miracles this week.  For example, we were finally able to meet with our investigator Jason this week.  I haven't met him since I got to 신당.  He is really awesome.  He lived in America for a really long time.  He is actually more comfortable with English than Korean for learning the gospel, so that's an adventure, especially for Elder Kang.  He actually sounds kind of like a very stereotypical African American when he speaks English.  It's pretty funny.  He has a lot of faith in Our Savior, but he is now on a search on how to apply it, so we taught him about the first principles and ordinances of the gospel this week.  He really likes what we taught about repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.  He said he will get baptized after he gets an answer that this is the path that God wants him to take, so we will definitely keep working with him.  

The next miracle is our Halloween Party.  We dedicated our whole week to it, due to fairly poor preparation.  In other words, we were pretty much quarantined inside the church decorating and figuring out how everything was going to work from Wednesday to Saturday.  The miracle is that it worked ㅋㅋ We decided that it was completely necessary to put a haunted house in our party on Friday Night at 8:30, for reasons that will not be explained here.  Then, we also realized that we had no idea how anything was actually going to work, so we got a call at about 10:20 from our district leader, and we figured everything out about our party in 7 minutes, and then the next day we had our party, and it went really well!  The other Elder team had one of their investigators come, and he brought a friend!  We had a good amount of non-members at this party.  It was definitely a success!

Love you all!

Elder Tyler Conley

I asked for the reasons behind the last minute haunted house:

The idea for having a haunted house appeared on Tuesday night this week, so there was already insufficient amounts of time to make a real good haunted house.  We talked about it again, and by Thursday, decided it was probably not the best idea, especially since we hadn't started on it at all by Thursday night.  Then, once upon a time on Friday night, one of our Sisters rushed into the church at 8:30 and said, "Hey, I called all the members about the Halloween Party and the Haunted House, and they all said that they were coming, and are really excited for the haunted house!"  Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo yeah, that's what happened.

 Did you know that if you put gummy worms in water and add a little vinegar...

They turn into disgusting slime? 

We added some extras!

It's Christmas time in Seoul!

Well, THAT Doesn't Happen Everyday...

10/23/16

안녕하세요, 여러분! 

It's been a pretty fun week.  I had a fun exchange with Elder Benson, another Elder in our district, on Friday and Saturday.  Elder Kang and I are doing really well together.  We are super united in the work here together in 신당 (Sindang).  

But then...

Elder David A. Bednar came to Korea!

He sure did!  This Wednesday, all of the missionaries in Seoul and Seoul South missions got together and were taught by this Prophet, Seer, and Revelator.  Some things from what I understood from his teachings are that faith requires action first, then the power will come as we step into the darkness, as faith is a principle of action and power.  I got the feeling that it is part of his vision for the church to have all of the members therein be completely self-reliable as far as spiritual things go.  He told us about how to pray in a way that truly invites the Spirit and opens the way for action on our part.  One of the more powerful statements that he relayed to us is that we do not need to be taught by an Apostle of the Lord to have the mysteries of heaven revealed to us, we only need to have the Spirit of Revelation and the scriptures by our side, and anything is possible.

As far as other things go, we had dinner with 2 different American families this week.  Well, I suppose one was an American/Dominican family.  Apparently, if you mix pig intestines, a whole pig leg, and curry together, it makes Dominican food.  Interesting, huh?  It was pretty delicious.  With the other family, we had taco soup.  It's been a little while since I have even thought about the concept of taco soup.  It was an awesome week.

I have the feeling that this week is going to be really, really good.  I hope you all have a really, really good week, too!

Love,

Elder Tyler Conley

This was a strange experience... Going across the river to the land of mystery... 

(the Seoul South Mission)

Suits On!

10/16/16

안녕하세요, 여러분! 

We had a really great week this week!  We had some super cool miracles happen with our investigators!  I haven't said anything like that for a long time, have I? ㅋㅋ  I was actually talking about it with Elder Kang yesterday while we were filling out our stats.  I told him that I haven't really had any super good investigators since I was a greenie in 화양 (Huayang).  In 원당 (Wondang), almost all of our investigators just disappeared, and in 일산 (Il-San), we just had one the whole time who didn't really progress or anything.  So this was a really exciting week for me.  Let me tell you why:

We met with 송동규b (Songdonggyu) this week.  We were a little worried about him, because we thought he just wanted English practice with us, because that's what it really seemed like.  But, last week, I met him with Elder Nam, and we taught him a little bit and told him to read Alma 32 before we met this week.  He did it, and actually, since he's 62, and his memory's a little faulty, he TYPED the whole thing.  He has tons of interest about faith.  He told us, "I read it but it was just with my brain, not with my heart.  That's kind of sad, because I really want to understand this, but I need to be able to feel it in my heart."  So, we talked about it and he has a huge desire to learn and grow his faith!  He also has a lot of interest in the Plan of Salvation and how we came to believe in all that we do.  It was a really great lesson with him. 

We also met with 이의수 this week.  His English name is Gaius, which is Julius Caesar's first name.  He is a huge history buff.  We sat down with him, and started trying to teach about the restoration, but he kept cutting us off every time.  But, when we started about the Plan of Salvation, it caught in his heart.  He opened his ears and listened.  Then, he really opened up, which is a huge miracle.  He told us about how he used to attend church, but all of the other Christian kids bullied him in high school.  It was pretty sad.  He is not particularly fond of any church now.  He knows for certain that Catholicism is not true, because of his super extensive knowledge of history.  He thinks that our church is different, though, and thinks that it might be worth it.  So, we will definitely be working with him to help him out.  

And our suits are back on constantly, so that's fun!

It's been a great week!  This next one will be really exciting, so see you next week!

Love,

Elder Tyler Conley

This statue is the biggest pile of garbage I've ever seen! 

(This is a traditional Seoul 해치, kind of like the mascot of Seoul)

And then there was Conference

10/09/16

안녕하세요, 여러분! 

This week was a pretty good one.  We watched conference this week.  That was exciting!  There were so many good talks given this time.  I personally was a really big fan of J. Devn Cornish 장로님's talk.  He talked about repentance and God's eternal love for us.  He taught us about not comparing ourselves to anyone, except ourselves.  That is a very important lesson to learn, and definitely one that I've learned a lot while on my mission.  God knows exactly what you can be, and what He wants you to be.  So, as long as we are doing what is right, and always trying to be better today than we were in the past, we are very successful in the eyes of God.  It is truly wonderful to know that we all have a loving Father in Heaven, who loves with such redeeming love.  

Shortly after General Conference on Sunday, we had a day of miracles.  It was really great.  It was wonderful to see the faith of Elder 강원호 grow and learn from what happened yesterday.  Nearly everyone we talked to had a considerable amount of interest, and although due to different circumstances, we were not able to make an appointment with them, I know that I just gave them something that could change their life.  We also met with the bishop of our ward yesterday.  He is a really great person, and we got really close to him, and are now working with him to help missionary work in this ward increase largely.  

Love you all!

Elder Tyler Conley

 Back to the River!

남산 Tower

Oh Dang! (as in Sindang)

10/02/16

안녕하세요, 여러분! 

This week was super awesome!  신당 (Sindang) is such an awesome area!  I have the best companion ever!  Elder 강원호 (Kang) is such an awesome missionary!  We have had a lot of fun together.  Whitewashing into the biggest area of our mission... Nice...  One of the biggest miracles I've seen since I've been here is that we haven't gotten lost yet.  Knock on wood...  Elder 강원호 (Kang) is working with the Deaf branch, which is a really big miracle.  There are new people that come every week!  This Sunday, we met with a really great family in 신당 (Sindang) ward, along with a couple extra young men. All 8 missionaries in the district were there, and we shared a message about missionary work.  At the end, our district leader asked a couple of the young men that were hanging out in the back who they could try to talk to the gospel with. They actually had legit people, and said that they would do it!  In Korea, things like that are a very rare occurrence.  It was pretty awesome!  

That being the case, finding new people to teach is surprisingly difficult here.  As I have been exiled out of Seoul for 10 months, I had forgotten a lot about what it was like to live in the big city.  People are really hard to talk to here.  They all say, "Oh, I'm busy, sorry." or just shake their heads and walk past.  It can be rather disappointing at times, but it's at those times when I remember who I can turn to, who has given me this opportunity to serve here in Korea, and then I smile, and everything works out so well!  It's a great life I live out here, in the service of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  I can't imagine anything else would be better!  

Love you all! Have a good week!

Elder Tyler Conley

 Escalator of Eternity

 Our member family (They're not actually in the picture, so this is just our district eating with a different member)

Me with Elder Kang

Transfers...

09/25/16

안녕하세요, 여러분!  

We got transfer calls this last Saturday.  I'm gone...

I'm leaving 일산 (Il-San).  Already...  I am going to 신당 (Sindang).  신당 is the area with literally everything awesome in our mission.  The mission office, the massive tie market, everything.  It's a massive area for Seoul (Three or so rather large wards were combined to make this ward), and I'm whitewashing in.  That means two people who are new to the area are in the companionship.  I will be with Elder 강원호 (kang wonho).  I get to serve with a Korean!  Yay ^^  I will serve as senior companion, so that will be a little different than this strange co-senior business I have right now with Elder Skinner.  I'm pretty excited.  

As for other things that happened this week, we found a new investigator.  His name is 오승우 (Ohseungwoo).  He is 18, and studies art in high school.  He really likes 80's rock music, like Guns n' Roses and Queen.  We got along rather nicely ^^  He is super prepared.  We asked why he wanted to meet with us, and he told us that when we gave him a call, he felt a really strong impression to meet with us.  He was extremely accepting of the Book of Mormon.  The only problem is, he lives outside the other side of Seoul.  So, we might just need to refer him to the missionaries over there.  

It's been a pretty fun week!  See you all next week!

Love,

Elder Tyler Conley 

Me with some 일산 ward young men

추석!!!

09/18/16

This week was pretty great!  It was 추석 this week, which is Korean Thanksgiving.  I was here in Korea last 

추석!  That's kind of weird.  During 추석, all Koreans are in there homes, where they most definitely do not want visitors, so missionary work does not really run very smoothly during this 3-day holiday.  So, our mission set aside Wednesday as our P-day.  Then, on Thursday, we cleaned our whole house.  Except we weren't able to finish, because our kitchen was a nightmare. The next day, we had a big 추석 conference at the mission office.  All of the missionaries from our stake and another stake were there.  The big theme of the whole meeting was remembering the Prophet Joseph Smith, so we started up in a little grove that was above the mission office.  We sang a number of hymns regarding the Restoration, and had some fun games together.  We walked up a small mountain and unfurled a banner ^^  It was pretty great.  I loved it.  We also had some fun little competition between the 2 stakes.  We got wrecked...  Whoever decided that putting me on arm wrestling definitely had no idea what they were doing ^^ ㅋㅋ  We also played some 윷놀이 (Yutnori), the Korean board game with four sticks that I think I mentioned back in January.  Then, we did some traditional Korean hackey-sack, which I took many videos of.  But, everyone who did it did pretty badly, so I don't think I will send the videos ^^  It was a pretty great day!  

That's the only really exciting thing that happened this week, so I'll talk to you all again next week!  Have an awesome week!

Love,

Elder Tyler Conley

 Tyler with Elder Littlefield

 This is a 한복 (hanbok), worn by our AP, Elder Davis

 Overview of Seoul

The spoils of war! (We found this in the 원당 church a couple of weeks ago, and everyone else was deathly afraid of bees.  So, I had to do what I had to do^^)