2013.03.04 snail mail week 18

(disclaimer - every now and then Elder Robarts writes something in Korean.  I found a virtual Korean keyboard and will TRY to copy it.  If you know Korean, you will certainly find errors! - Mom)

Dear Home,

This is weird.  I went to Costco. And it was a ton like ours.  Only two stories.  Everything is  like that here.  Turns out I don't have a lot of the same urges as other missionaries.  They all buy cereal, pancake mix, salsa, that kind of thing.  But I realized I don't need those.  I don't eat cereal except as a snack food, I can make homemade pancakes cheaper that taste better, and 김지 trumps salsa almost every turn here.

I did find a few good things, though. Great price on strawberry jam (by Korean standards).  I've been missing strawberries.  I got some chocolate, too.  Hot cocoa makes the end of the day sweeter.  Also, you can get taco seasoning here.  Great in Korean food, esp 볶음 밥(fried rice).  Mexican/Korean mix: super good. People also buy peanut butter, but we've got an E Mart traders here and it's cheaper there.  Yep. I like food. But PB is an indulgence.  Choco and strawberry, too.  Gotta make them stretch.

So, people back home: Enjoy your cheese, milk, and other fatty American goods. If you can find them here, it isn't cheap.

Luckily we've got other stuff.  I'll miss rice everyday.  Eat it practically every meal.  I've taken to even eating it by itself as a snack.  Tastes so good.

You can tell I'm in Korea.  Page and a half and I've only talked about food.

This week is fun. I've started organizing 유싱's records more.  Lots of them.  We've got seven or so maps in our house.  Area is massive.  But I've forgotten.  Missionary houses must be so strange. Records, maps all over the place. We're not crazy people.  Just devoted.  And inKorea, without those maps/records, youre a goner.

'Bout all I have time for.

Kind of a random letter, written with love,

See you!

초 바츠 ㅈ/조

That one is fun.  =D

2013.03.24 email

Dear Home,

     Transfer week! This was a short transfer. Only four weeks, but boy did it feel longer.

     Haven't gotten the call yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm staying here. And there's a LOT of work to do. It's been extremely hard to work this transfer. But I won't go into it. It's not something I want to write about.

     I've found so much gold in the scriptures. They really speak to you sometimes.

     Particularly the story of Alma the Younger. (I read Alma 8 today) I've always related to him, he's been one of my favorite heroes of the BoM. But there are three scriptures I wanted to share, one from today. Alma 4:15; Alma 8: 14-18; Alma 31: 30-38. Go  through those if you have time. This is where you see the strength of faith. Alma had some ROUGH times. Wasn't easy, even for a prophet. But the spirit never failed him. He never let himself get down. He was sad a lot, but he stayed strong. I've taken a lot of strength from that.

     Also, this transfer I've had a bit more time to read (already went through all our records and there's not really much I can do from the apartment...), so I've been reading from the missionary library. Good books. I covered Our Search for Happiness in one day, even on a missionary timetable. I was struck by the story of President Hinckley, and the wisdom of his father. "Forget yourself and go to work." Something like that. Again, even a prophet faced the challenges I've been having. And he received and followed the same counsel. Look what happened.

     The Gospel is powerful. This week I received a powerful witness of the Savior. He lives. He has carried the burdens of us all. He loves us more than we can comprehend. And Through Him, we can be saved. We can come Home. There's so much more I wish to say, but time can't do it justice.

     Our Heritage is another good one. Kind of a sad read at times. But I was again struck by the faith of the saints, especially partaining to the Temple. They left Temples they had built with their own hands. I thought it was hard just temporarily leaving one for 2 years, knowing it'd still be there when I came back. But I understand perfectly why they built Temples so soon after moving to a new home, despite persecution or poverty. I would have wanted the exact same thing.

     Jesus is the Christ. The Temple is the House of God. I miss it more than I can express, but I am in love with this work. I've said it before. If you have the blessings of the Gospel, Relish it. If you have yet to experience it, Try it!

     -End of spiritual highlights-

     So, some fun odds and ends. Thanks for the tongue twisters. Those and idioms/expressions are my specialty here for teaching english. I like story telling, explaining where phrases come from.

     Also, I've gotten pretty good at chopsticks. Eating chicken (on the bone) without touching my hands, even cooking. In the morning I like using them to cook eggs. Really convenient. Also, use a chopstick to mix hot chocolate. Super good.

     Also, turns out Korea is well suited for missionary shopping. Quantity doesn't have a huge impact on price here. Not as much as the states anyway. You can buy some small stuff. Good for weekly shopping. Also, no baby carrots here, but they do have giant ones. Got one last week. a couple kilograms I think. Big fella. Took a while to eat it.

     Also, theres a certain food called 짬뽕 I think that's spelled right. Seafood, and spicy. Tastes pretty good, but I've learned something about Korea. Your taste gets acclimated to the food, but your body doesn't. The day after eating 짬뽕 is rough. Korean, American, makes no difference.

      Computer crashed. Thanks for drafts Gmail. ^^

     Sign to start wrapping up though. I'll do some pictures and see if there's time left over.

~Elder Robarts

(pictures will be on Facebook  when I get to a computer that cooperates better.  Sophie is having problems with Ubuntu right now.- Mom)

2013.03.17 email

Dear Home, Good news: I love you and get to write to you. Bad news: This computer is retarded. Can't really downspace. (We're at a different one than usual. Not sure why. Companion wanted to look for a shop before he goes home. I think it's nearby..)  Anyway, this email won't look pretty.          First off, I've got my first Babylon Companionship. Turns out they do exist here. Just SUPER uncommon. Not too bad really. I've learned that I like budgeting my own food. And I'm eating WELL. ^^ Everyday I can make kimchi fried rice with potatoes and onions (healthy), I've got baking supplies, I found a cheap ice cream place. 30cents. Not bad. I even have fresh strawberries. Lembas and strawberries... That and the jam and chocolate. I'm a happy camper. I'm actually eating some plants again. And I haven't eaten too much meat in weeks. (I've learned I quite possibily could go vegitarian after this. or at least a very little amount.)        Also, I've discovered the simple joys of life. Finding a song I haven't listened to in ages. Clorox music. Pirates. Ask Joe or Andrew.     Also, another missionary found a pre copyright hymnbook in Korean (don't judge me) so I copied a couple. Come thou fount was even in there! (That's my mission song by the way. Sung it a lot in Pyeongtaek and singing it again here next week. But in Korean!)  Also, I found "If you could hie to kolob." Translated it during language study, some parts I like better in the korean version. Especially v5. Try to get a picture sent later.        Oddly enough, I'm quite sure the Hunger Games will remind me of my mission a lot when I get home. The setting (not the plot) was seriously based off Korea. The super dense cities and then sudden wall that separates it from nature. The doors, the transportation, everything. Even fashion. The old grandmas are pretty awesome. Super bright and hipster. I want a picture so bad. Patience. But anyway,went to a barbor shop. Fancy one, (companion wanted a good haircut before he goes home. ...I like the cheaper one's style better) it had a chandellier. (and I don't care about spelling anymore) Everybody was dressed weird, extreme style haircuts... Minus the color, it was Hunger Games. And some of them even had color. Where am I?      Spiritual stuff: FSS: Lot's of good this time. People of Alma were great to learn about. I've been needing a lot of patience lately. Sometimes missionaries don't die easily. But I've learned to be happy. Pretty nice, actually. And the Lord has helped me. Seen miracles this transfer. Meeting people who want to learn more. Non-english interest investigators. So nice... There are things I'd like to change. A lot. But I can wait. I also learned that things aren't permanent. And Alma's people taught me perspective. I'm not in bondage really. I'm not killed for praying. I've got it pretty good. I even have strawberries. (Those who know me well know the meaning behind that.I'vehadalongobsensionwithstrawberries.)(Thespacebarjustwentout.Sorryguys.)(So,Imightwrapuphere.Thisletteristerrible.Pictures?Iftheyworkmaybe.(Reallyquick,Ihadafavor:Canyougetmoretonguetwisters?Theylovethemhere!Weplayedhotpotatotonguetwisterwithafrizbee.SuperfunEngClass.)(Canyoureadthis?Ipromiseit'snotonpurpose.Nevercomingbackhereagain.)(Suchasitis,thisisit.MaybenexttimeI'llgetsomethingbetter.)(PS:Thanksfortheinputonthefan!I'llfiguresomethingout.Imaytrytofinda촉구netheretosendhome.It'ssuperfun.AndIdon'tknowiftheyexistinthestates.

Sorry it was acting up like crazy. Thought I might lose what I wrote. Space bars works again though. Anyway... It's been a long transfer. And no zoo today. Raining. I love the rain though. It's one of the few things I can always smell. (my nose doesn't work sometimes.) And it reminds me of the Temple. (Still no downspace.) Time for pictures. (pictures going up on Facebook - Mom)

I was going to send a recording of us practicing Come Thou Fount, but it won't work here. Maybe later. (It wasn't really good. Sounds weird when the guys part is louder than everything else... )(This computer isn't very good. Crashed, my mp3 got caught in the crossfire. Froze up, but I think it's okay. Later.)  Anyway, before I leave, I love you guys! ~Elder Robarts

email 2013.03.10 (Sacramento) (03.11 Korea)

Dear Home,

I love you guys!

(note from Mom - usually I send Elder Robarts a short email each Sunday and he replies with his email home.  Last week I didn't get the email out,  But he wrote anyway, as you recall)

Don't worry about last week, sounds like you guys were pretty busy. Hope everything is okay. I finally got last week's letter sent this morning, so it'll be a bit late. Not much though. A couple notes mostly.

Anyway, this transfer has been a little different than most. I learned this time just how much I was able to learn about working here, but I'm not able to do much. My companion is having a really hard time right now with some health problems, so working is really hard. He might be going home early because of it. But keep him in your prayers. In the meantime, we can't really work for long stretches of time. There's a lot of stopping to rest, and a couple times we've had to go home early and work in the appartment. But I've found some work I can do there, so it's okay. Organizing! Just like old times. :DD

So, mom mentioned earlier about how I might miss Korea. Simple homes, awesome food. True, I do like that most homes can clear away a lot of furniture when not using it, making nice open spaces. And I'll miss the food. But with a little Kim and Kimchi every now and then I'll be fine. And American food has it's perks too. I've missed dairy bread and vegitables. Here there's fruit, but kimchi is the main vegi. Actually, I don't know. ---moving on.

FSS: Today I read Alma 25. Man, I love these guys. The story of Alma's people is incredible. Not much time, but take a look at the difference between Limhi's escape and Alma's. They both made it, but Alma just walked out the front door. You can count on the Lord. Easier than yourself really.

Also, interesting scripture on Authority. Mosiah 21:33. It's important. Worthiness too. This scripture tags both. Nice.

PSS: Mission tour! Man, I love it. Answered several prayers I'd said the night before. Talked about the spirit, the comforter. Trusting in God. So many good things.

Also taught about studying. The field is ripe, but are our sickles sharp? Also, smile when you study (that was new) "It doesn't say anything about it in chapter 2 PMG, but do it anyway." It's true, it helps.

"When you are living the Gospel, most thoughts are prompted by the spirit." Deep. Not sure who said it though. Homework for you guys, I've got no google.

Also, I love Matt 16 (right now I'm studying new testament with JST and Jesus the Christ. SO nice.)
It speaks volumes about the divinity of Christ, as well as the importance of His work. No time to go into it as well as I'd like though. It's in my study journal.

Also, I have a favor. Could you send a couple General Conference things in these emails? We have the CDs at home, you should be able to attach them directly without too much trouble, (I think) and I should be able to pull them from here. (PS : Found a cheap memory card for my mp3 player, so it should be good. [it might be used to store pictures if I run low on my camera card...]) Thanks! I've been missing talks. Ensign is good, but no time to read.

Also, weather has officially changed now. It took about a day. Got really hot all of a sudden, about (don't know how strong, but strong) wind came through all day, and now it's spring!

The Wind rain snow cycle is over now I guess. That means it'll start heating up now. Snap. I've already shed my coat, but I can't ditch the suit until conference. I'll probabl still wear it for a while though.

That might be about it.

This week has been a little rough. I miss missionary work, going outside. We spend a /lot/ of time indoors. But a lot of it is just health. Can't change that. There might be more, but that too is out of my hands. So you gotta do what you can. I just wish there was more of that. I can't really help as much as I want to.

Don't listen to me though. I'm a missionary. No matter what, I'm the happiest person in the world. I have the gospel. And for 2 years, I get to SHARE it. A thought keeps entering m head this week. "Sometimes I have moments of sudden euphoria as I realize exactly what I'm doing. Glimpses of eternity."

The work is real guys.

...And I've got pictures!  (note from Mom - the pictures will be on Facebook)

~Elder Robarts

2013.03.03 email

Dear Home,

So, this week the new transfer started. gonna be fun. All three area seniors got switched out, so we've got three young missionaries (me, my older 동기 and my younger 동기) introducing the area. And it's big.  Biggest in the mission. TONS of info here. And the area was recently opened for Elders, so a lot of my records are still in the process of being organized. Mostly copies.

Turns out, I love this kind of situation. I learned recently just how much I know about this area. You pick up a lot over six weeks. Anyway, this transfer is really short. 4 weeks. And my comp is dying this transfer, so at this point I'm pretty sure I'm here for a while. My comp is going home early for a leg problem, so it's a little hard to work sometimes. It hurts him a lot. (Might be milking it, but I won't worry about it.) I use a lot of my spare time now organizing records.
Sorry letters and journals, I'll get back to you, I promise. But when we did the mission deep clean, I found three new maps we could use. So I'm updating records, finding addresses,  that kind of thing. Most areas have taps to help find important places, but this area hasn't made them yet. (New area)

The way I see it, this transfer is mostly preparing the area for training. We've got 21 missionaries coming in four weeks, and there are rumors Yuseong is going 4 elders, plus the 4 sisters already here. Crazy. Anyway, if I don't get these records better in order, a greeny would never stand a chance. :D

Anyway, having fun. Fun quotes, most of which are from my journal:
"Little acts of kindness seem easy to forget to all but those who receive them."
"You came to enlighten the world!" The Patriarch here.
"Christ is nearest when you can't feel Him." (With exceptions of worthiness.)
"In missionary work, one of your main focuses is staying worthy of the miracles God puts in your path. Alone, you can't do anything. But as you work diligently, do your part and pray, you'll see miracles happen. That's where missionaries see success."

So, FSS: Abinadi was great, gotta say. No fear, never let himself be stopped from sharing his message. once that was done, nothing else mattered. Also, I love Mosiah 18 (read that this morning) Alma's invitation was amazing. So simple, so powerful. Check it out.

PSS: Miracles are everywhere. I've talked about them a little before, and I don't have time to go into new stuff now, but I've been studying them a lot. Pretty amazing. But looking at the life of Christ, (reading NT with JST and Jesus the
Christ) has been amazing. So much power. Christ works through small things. He doesn't wait for us to have perfect faith. He called to Peter to walk on the water, knowing he would falter. He does it to help us grow. And we can if we rely on Him. I've seen that a ton.

As always, everyone are in my prayers. Miriam, Elder Gerszewski, the family. Everyone back home. I miss you guys a lot sometimes. I think about people, wonder what they're up to. But my mind is caught up in the work. I wish you all the best.

So, the fun part.

Daejeon Roulette. I'm not much for speculation on transfers, but even I've been thinking about this one. In July, Seoul South Mission goes official. The missionaries there become permanent. For Daejeon Mission, that means anyone serving in Suwon Zone when that transfer hits is gone.

Will I be one of them? No idea, but either way there are pros and cons. It's my greeny area. But there are so many missionaries it'd be hard to leave. Up to the Lord. Fun part is: I'm killing a missionary. Then I have to introduce the area to a new missionary. By that time, I'd have been in Yuseong for a pretty long time. That means potentially I could be moving during that transfer. Scary. Anywho, I
won't worry about it. I've got other problems. Lot's of 18 year old missionaries that need trainers. And I'm losing a comp when 21 of them are coming. Haha...

Should be fun. But a little about my companion. 이양건 E, from Seoul, dies this transfer. Pretty cool to see a Korean enter an area though. We took a tour, and an hour later he saw a map and charted the path we took (we'd been walking for about 2 hours) He picks up names like nothing (not surprising), and he even checked phone records to see when DL's usually call for this area. Not too bad. I picked up a couple good skills from that. His leg hurts a lot. He got treatment a
while back, but it still acts up. But he's kind of a laid back guy, so I've gotta be careful not to let things slow down too much. There's a lot of work to do.

Anyway, gotta email president, and there are some pictures I want to
send. Love you guys!

(look for pictures on Facebook)

snail mail 2013.02.11 typed up

2013.2.11

(week 15)

Dear Home,

[Korean] Happy New Year!
So, [Korean] is here, missionary work is crippled this week.  Everyone is busy or out of town. Everone goes to their hometown with family.  So, haven't been able to meet investigators, no one on the streets [Korean] trating door to door isn't effective.

Saturday the whole mission had a deep clean of our apartments.  Whole day was throwing out stuff, sorting, cleaning.  Dang, not missionary work, but really fun. I"ve missed organizing things, finding little treasures.  Super fun.  And I've got a minimalist companion, so we gutted this place.  First ones in the mission to be inspected, and Sister Furness (and President) was really happy with it.  ^^

By the way, see if you can find [Korean] (written BAM pronounced "Bang") why the English said [unclear] I'll never know.  Anywa, super good degreaser.  Remember the kitchen stove hood back home?  This apartment had one just like it. [Korean], five minutes, good as new.  Crazy powerful.

Also, I found some more things different in Korea.  No fireplaces. (All apartment buildings...)

Also, you can't really cook American food the same way here.  You've gotta find new tricks.  In the meantime, I'm learning Korean recipes.  Suprisingly simple usually.  My favorite: [Korean]. Boil water.  Add [Korean].  You can add other stuff too, meat, egg, that kind of thing.  But I never would have thought. = D

Cooking prices are funny though.  Dairy and fruit/veggies both super expensive.  Makes cooking fun.  I use oil a lot for buter.  Works...okay.  Wish I had more seasonings.

Anyway, Koreans have some nice ideas. Little snacks in trays taht can fit in cups, with soda or something underneath.  [drawing - like this] Then they have a straw so you can drink.  For people that don't like eating standing up, they have some good ideas for it.  Also mixed popcorn.  Some sweet, some salty, some plain.  So good. A member gave us some.

One thing I've seen: Korea is excelletn at adapting ideas.  (Except maybe driers.  They don't think mankind has the power to dry soemthing. [There's no verb for "to dry"] Anyway, tangent)

But, yeah, you even hear it in popculture. I hear a song that sounds familiar.  Some of the lines of music aare exactly the same.  Just slightly changed.

They're working on changing address systems, too.  Thank goodness.  The new one isa lot like the US.

And then there are Korean sports. [Korean] no English equivalent.  Pronounced choku. Foot volleyball. SUPER FUN. I migh try to find an inexpensive net before I leave Korea.  Also, a fun version of mini soccer.  Tiny goal, o bounds, you can score from either side of the goal front or back but to score, all of ourteam has to be past teh half way point. =D

Then there's [Korean] ping pong.  Surprisingly moe techniques than I thought.  Before mission, I knew smash, spin, but some I didn't: push (my favorite) dirve, and cut. (won't go into it)

Yeah I've been learning about Korean sports on P-days. Kind of jealous they aren't common in the States....yet.

Also, driving culture.  Emergency response vehicles are super specially treated here. But there's a fun dynamic..Tow trucks here are really small.  A while back I learned why.  When there's an accident, first tow truck gets the commission (all private) so they race to the accident.  I've only seen it once, but it was crazy.  It striaght up Floored it.

Anyway, probably won't have much email time, so this has to be good.

We've seen some fun changes.  One thing, it was cold last week.  But luckily all was well.  I found some gear that helped.
(Seriously, it was fun last week.  My pens wer freezing. =D So fun, but not when you need to write things. [If you keep it in your shirt and wirte fast it's ok])

But gear
-- I got some earmuffs, really fun, never wore them before. ^^ Also, during [Korea] I found some pens (this one) that's more gel based.  Less affected by the weather.

Also, I found a stock of handwarmers (Still haven't used any yet.  Usually there's no need, but when your hand slows down, it's annoying, so I started carrying some.

Plus, I found a satchel.  My goodnes, I feel like myself again.  I like carrying enough to be able to do alot. (Be prepared. Boy Scout) And without backpacks, it's been hard to do that.  I've been missing my old satchel.  Even the feel  of it felt familiar.

Anyway, I've written this somewhere before.  Hoping it's just my journal.  Sorry if I repeat myself.  Anyway, with that stuff, it's made changes easier.

Going back to pens freezing, other stuff has been malfunctioning too.  Fixed it though.  First, my MP5 started acting up and freezing. Not sure why.  But after fiddling with it, I eventually recalibrated the database or something.  Don't ask me how, I can't even remember what it said.  But it's working again.  I call it a mini (unclear) miracle.  The lord hears little things, too.

Also, since before my mission, my camera's had a fun glitch.  The mode dial is over sensitive, so when you're viewing picures sometimes it goes back into shooting mode.  Found a solution to that, too.  Just set the dial between two modes.  Works great.  ^^  The little things make life good.

Like finding good study patterns.  Language study.  5 min recognition and translation practice with comp.  10 minues picking useful vocab and grammar and research, 15 min PMG translating (good for (unclear) and reading practice).  Personal study 20 min scriptures, 10 min Liahona or specialty day (once a week I study temples, once a week I review old notes and study journal entries) 3 min PMG, passoff, lesson plans (whatever is needed)

Makes things so much more productive.  "Unplanned time is time planned to be wasted."  Something else cool I learned.  Noes are only as useful as teh number of times you review, ponder, and read them.  But when you do, their value is limitless.

J love you guys.  I may wrap up here.  I had a great solar [Korean] (New Years), had dinner and FHE wit a couple of families, lots of fun.  Love you, take caer! until next time!
                                                                           [Korean]

snail mail 2013.02.11 photo copy part 2