어머니!!!
I know I haven't even been here a week, but I feel like I've been here forever. At the same time, I feel like I just got here. We do so many things every day and just stay busy the whole day. We sometimes have to run to appointments just to get there on time. Rather than taking up all day typing out everything we do every day, I'll try and summarize. In the morning, we wake up, work out, get ready, eat breakfast, then do 4 hours of studies. Personal study, Comp study, then language study, then the first 12 weeks study (that will become additional study after training). Then we eat lunch and rush out the door to either appointments or contacting. We have been working really hard to find people this week because we only had a few investigators. But after contacting what seemed like 500 people, we got 4 new investigators which really isn't common at all in the Korean area. See here's the cool thing about Elder Koo only being here a couple of transfers, we're both new. So all the things that "used to happen” no longer are a thing. We set our standards and don't have to let ourselves try to beat previous missionaries. We are just going to do what we can and that is try our best.
So I think there is a benefit to speaking very little Korean and that is that when I try to speak to the Korean people, they actually pause to try and see what I just said. They don't expect me to try speaking Korean. In their moment of confusion, we can capitalize and start speaking to them about the church. So that's actually been a blessing to not speak the language. In no way am I not going to try learning Korean. I will work as hard as I can to be able to befriend, meet, and teach all the Koreans who will stop to listen to me. To do that, I need to learn their language. I know how hard it is going to be to get to the point I want to with Korean, but I have accepted that it will be work and I am going to face it head on.
So back to the schedule though. We usually contact until dinner. For dinner, we eat with other people about half the time. Other times we eat with members or at restaurants. I love Korean food. I honestly have yet to try something that didn't taste at least decent. And I’ve eaten some weird things. I don't know if it is actually all good or if Heavenly Father is just blessing me. After dinner, we usually have an appointment or two then English class 3 times a week. Then we go to the apartment, get ready for bed, write in journals, and then read scriptures or study until about 10:20 and even though we probably shouldn't, we usually just take about 10 minutes to talk with each other (all of the Korean missionaries). We all get along well. I like all of these missionaries here. I know we shouldn't waste time like that, but I think after a full day of hard work, it is ok.
On Saturday I went on my first exchange. Elder Kahng, another one of the Koreans, Elder Owens' trainer, and I had appointments all day so we didn't actually get to contact. It was cool though because two of our appointments were in Spanish and I actually was surprised that I knew what was going on the whole time. I couldn’t say much to help, but I bore testimony at the end in Spanish. I was just stoked because I understood most of the Spanish. I can't focus on Spanish though because Korean is so hard it will take all of my attention for quite some time.
Sunday was awesome here. It was fast and testimony meeting in our English ward, and then the Korean branch had branch conference. The English ward is really small and I didn't get the chance to talk to too many of the people, but I bore my testimony and introduced myself a little after. Then we had to go to the Korean branch though. I loved it. I said the bread prayer. I didn't mess up, which all the Koreans were surprised by. I did say it dirt slow though. It's hard. I love all the members in the branch though. Especially the branch president. He is awesome. We talked with him for a long time after church about missionary work. Also after church the Koreans did a break your fast Korean buffet. Another chance to eat Korean food. It was super good.
I'm having a great time here in general. It's hard and tiring work and I don't like getting told no by people, but every once in a while, we run into someone who lights up when we talk to them. And after that, it doesn't matter who has told me no, I'm happy. It’s usually the old people, they love to talk to us. Anyway, I love what I do. We tell people this on the street all the time, but I've got two years to worry about nothing but other people. And it's true. I love it, but I'm tired. I love my Savior. He makes all the difference in what I can't do. I'm painfully aware of how much I can't do, but something I've learned is that it really doesn't matter what WE can do, it matters what WE ALLOW the Lord to do. I'm amazed at the love he has given me for the people here in New Jersey. I am so excited to be here for two years.
-Elder Jacob Nickerl
P.S. This was lunch today at an all you can eat buffet. The branch president is awesome and gives us money to go out and eat, so we usually go every two weeks or so to get some kind of Korean restaurant food. It is honestly the best food I've ever had. I'm so full right now. I probably had like 50 pieces of sushi, and a ton of fish raw and cooked, and just a ton of these little samplers. They're super good. I've had the same meal that I had at that one Korean place in Provo twice now (which was terrible), and I've decided that was either just bad food or God is really helping me love Korean food.
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