No Halloween Party

We aren't allowed to do jack squat on halloween! (I asked) But our Branch is having a trunk or treat so I'm pretty stoked. haha. Mom I'll be in the same branch with the same members at the same church for the next 2 years no matter what area I'm in haha. (once again, I asked) I'm so happy it's that way because I actually get to know everyone in my branch on personal basis. (btw. I am close to being only the 2nd American missionary to memorize every members full name. because of the last name I just need to remember...lee,kim,park and choo hahah)

Nope I'm still in a trio and I really like them, they're pretty awesome, except for the fact that one speaks perfect english and the other speaks good english so they always speak english to me so I have to constantly remind them to only speak Korean haha.

 

You should get a real hobby besides sewing. Try BMX or water polo perhaps?

This week has been pretty chill not a ton happened because we had so many meetings haha. BUT yesterday  2 of our investigators came to church James Kim and 이진태! 이진태 and our companionship made a "righteous exchange" we really needed a lot of people at church this sunday because the stake council was there to see if we were even eligible to be a branch. So we begged and begged and brought as many people as we could. Even Koreans that go to English wards came to help us which was awesome. But 이진태 said he would come if we came to his church at 7pm because they had a famous singer coming and he wanted us to come and he had already bought tickets. So we got the okay to go to the bethal church, and pretty much that was the coolest thing ever! I was literally the only non Korean out of thousands of people it was a huge laid back concert and this lady name 소향 was the main person, wow she was amazing!! And she was very easy on the eyes as well haha. and they had this dude from the top 4 american idol finalist their as well. It was way cool! We had to take a shuttle there and it was so packed you could barely wiggle around in there. I tried talking to everyone and placed mine and my 2 of my companions Korean Book of Mormon's. No one else was to interested though since we were on a shuttle to the bethal church haha.

Can you send any pictures of me playing football and basketball also the senior football photo of me and you. and my old church shoes (they went out with the last yard sale). THANK you!

Love Elder Meza

Nikko's Birthday and first companions

Thank you everyone!!

Thank you everyone for the birthday cards and gifts, I really appreciate it.

My district is so freaking awesome. I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday because I just wanted it to be a normal pday but they made it way more than a normal pday and when we came home from a lesson they came out of my room with a birthday cake singing happy birthday. It's something I'll never forget for sure.  

My Pday for this week was today because we got to go to the the Newport Temple! This week has been pretty good. President Bowen had a long talk with me about how he hates to have to transfer me before my training is done but he and Elder Kim thought it would be better for the Korean program if I was in the North. He told me he just has a ton of trust in me and faith that I could help the numbers go up in the north area......So the north averaged around 3 other lessons a week and that's about it. This last week we had 13 other lessons got 9 refferals got 4 new investigators and 1 of them is so close to becoming a PI while one of them has become a PI! It's awesome! The north area has so many Koreans, Fullerton is pretty much Korea haha.

Quick story. So when I came to the North we had no Investigators and know PI. So I've been praying and praying like crazy even fasting for an investigator. For like 2 or 3 days straight I kept saying to my companions I just want an experience where when the person opens the door they just say how we were the answers to their prayers...just something like that. ( we have just been tracking for hours and hours so we can find someone to teach) Its around 8pm and we're about 30 min away from our apt so we only had time to do one side of the street and right when we got out of the car and finished praying I told my companions we need to go to this house...so of course we went and a 17yr old boy named Daniel answered the door and he is so freaking cool! And me and my companions just clicked with him we talked for a bit and shared the restoration he almost started crying at the end and said "man this is crazy cause I kinda have just been praying about what to do and I just feel way lost and I know god answered my prayers with you guys"......I pretty much had to refrain myself from jumping up and down and hugging everyone haha anyways we are meeting him and his family this week and I'm super excited.

So me and my companions are not your average everyday missionaries we don't go to door to door bearing our testimony hoping the door doesn't get slammed in our face, instead my companion Elder Choi came up with a survey. (and this helps a lot with the Korean people because yeah...their Korean and want nothing to do with us at first haha) But what we do is we tell them we are offering service but we have a quick 11 question survery about their personal opinions. Each question is directed towards family and the gospel through this survey we know what to teach them so we can fit their needs. Also we have found out that instead of 9/10 doors getting slammed in our face, only 2/10 doors because a survey on personal opinions just sounds 10x less annoying. Plus we have found out if we can actually get inside their home to take this survey and sit down, 7/10 times we can teach a lesson and 2/out of those 10 times we can get a return appt. it's pretty awesome if you ask me.

Last thing my very first companion Elder Kim is the reason I'm even the missionary I am now. He had so much trust from the members and we was the only link from inactive members to the church and he worked so hard with me to give me all of that. Because of that now the inactive members call me,( like Sister Kim jun He) And we are actually starting to teach her now. He also gave me the courage I needed to approach any Korean person. I was fine at first just talking to everyone who wasn't korean and I did, but he really made me get our of my comfort zone. He made sure I didn't get comfortable with only bearing my testimony but really made me proactive in the lessons. Our first lesson with Kim Young he told me I was going to lead and I was so scared.  I got sentences and phrases memorized and when we got to his house I told him I wasn't good enough and wasn't going to lead that he had to.....so guess what Elder Kim did? Right when Kim Young answered the door he said I'm so sorry Kim Young but I'm really sick and have a super soar throat so Elder Meza will be talking most of the time...hahaha. I'm very grateful I had him as my trainer. Also because of Elder Kim the Korean Branch is having our first baptism in over 5 years! It's Kim Young and his whole family! :) Elder Kim has met with Kim Young for over a year now! Everyone calls me Kim jr. because I'm just always trying to be up beat and nice like him. Anyways my point is Elder Kim is awesome! He thinks the world of you to.

 Also Elder Kim's parents live in Korea and aren't mormon at all and had to pay for his whole mission, he also leaves in less than a month. Would you write just a short letter to him that would be awesome I know he would appreciate that so much! Thank you so much mom I love you! :)

Read Moroni 10:3-5 "Moroni's promise" Read those verses and do what it says. I do it at least once a week! 

Love Elder Meza

Happy Birthday To ME!

Thank you everyone for the Birthday wishes!

Hey mom, I've been transfered! haha I'm in the North now and I cover the Fullerton and Placentia area now. Our apartment is still really nice. I'll be going back to the south though right after this transfer and staying there for a while. President Bowen really has a lot of trust in me and that's why I'm in the north we really needed to get the numbers up this last week we had 9 other lessons and got 2 new investigators this week we're shooting for 16 other lessons and at least 1 progressing investigator.

My old companion Elder Kim insisted we do something for my birthday, so my district is taking me bowling.  He wanted to to go to the cheese cake factory but it's to expensive so we're going to subway :) Korean is so hard! I feel like i've hit a platoo. It's so hard to progress when I have the option to speak english...so i've told my new companions  to only speak korean to me and they are awesome!! They're both Korean, Elder Choi and Elder Ham. Elder Choi became the new DL and so I'm companions with the DL again haha.

Yesterday we went to this huge Korean festival and it felt like I was in Korea there were so many Koreans we couldn't speak English, it was awesome I placed my first Korean Book of Mormon and had a bunch of street contacts. I've placed countless English ones so it made me pretty happy! I really like this companionship I get a lot done butIi do ocassionally miss my 1st trainer haha Elder Kim is such an amazing missionary and leaves next month!

We get to go to the temple the 27th but they don't have temple pants or ties, we have to provide those so if you can send just those asap I'd really appreciate it because I don't want to buy new ones. Also I hardly wear half my church shirts so I might send half of it home becuase when we do wear church clothes it's mainly suits and I only wear long sleeves with them. We wear a lot of p day clothes because of how much service we do, also a ton of peopl,e including members have to meet with us in seceret which is quite sad. Because of the Korean culture if they see that they're affliated with us they will pretty much get shuned from the community. So if you can just send some more of my clothes that'd be awesome!

I want to tell you real quick about a less active member that means so much to me. 1st of all our branch has so many less actives it's not even funny so my personal goal is to bring 80% of them back. I work more with less actives than anything because to me they're just as important and they once had a testimony so it's just about finding what happened and teaching what they need to hear. Anyways Sister Kim Chong He, when she was baptized 11 members of her family were baptize, when she left the church 9 of them left...she goes to one of the mega churches and has actually seen more blessings from being there. When Sister Kim left the church she wanted nothing to do with our church not our members and not our missionaries. (The Awesome thing about Elder Kim was he was the only one in the branch that could ever stay in contact with those less actives. Because of my attitude and personality he focused so hard on me trying to get that same relationship with them. So that way when he leaves they still have a connection to the church) Me and Elder Kim actually had a dinner appt. with Sister Kim and her mom, aunt and neice (all once members). So naturally this felt like a lot of pressure especially for such a new missionary like myself and for one that isn't very good in the language. We prayed right before we got out of our car. And I have never felt the spirit so strong and I don't think I've ever prayed so sincerly on what to do. The answer I got was almost as if someone was right behind me whispering clear as day, I heard, just be a good missionary become her friend and teach by example. So I told Elder Kim I think we shouldn't give her a message just be nice to her because this was the first time she was meeeting with missionaries again in over 4 years. Elder Kim agreed and thought it was a good idea we went in and got to know them. She tried to be really mean at first and she really tried to discouarge me, even her mother was mad at how rude she was. She would say racist things and make fun of my Korean and just go off on me, BUT luckily I had no idea because I couldn't understand a word she was saying haha. So I just sat there with the biggest smile on my face because the only thing going through my head was "wow she's yelling at me in Korean and I know some of the words, I can't believe I'm here right now with a less active...I feel like such a missionary" Then I started to think about The Best Two Years...."I wonder if this is how he felt, I hope I don't say Joseph Smith was a pamphlet...this is so awesome" hahaha. so I politely and patiently waited for her to get done and the only thing I could think of to say was. 김자매님께서는 아주 이뻐요! 사랑해요! Which means Sister Kim you're so pretty! I love you :) But imagine me saying it with that super big cheezy smile haha. But after I said that her whole attitude changed and she actually told us why she left the church and why she stopped meeting missionaries and how the missionaries stop meeting her and how she was kinda bummed about it. We pretty much had a really deep talk and from it I could see she still does have that testimony so I told her I was going to the north ( Her area ) and I would make sure to visit her and we are going tomorrow and she wants me to meet her husband she told Elder Kim that I remind her of Elder Havy, the legendary Korean branch Elder who baptize her and her whole family and she said she's more than happy to have me over! Oh plus I'm really close now with her son who lives in his aunts house and is also less active his name is Danny. He reminds me so much of me haha.

All the Korean people call me baby cow because of how big my eyes and lips are old people no joke touch my face so much I feel like they're going to poke my eyes out trying to touch my eyes haha.

Anyways I love you so much mom you're amazing I wouldn't be here without you. Henry B. Erying's talk make me really think about you. He talked about a grandma and her grandson who always got into so much trouble and she always did her best to be a good example and she cried out saying why, why me? What else should I do for this young man? And she got the answer of something along the lines of "you have these boys not because I don't love you but because you were the only one that could love them like me." That's totally you mom. I know you're not naive about how much bad stuff I got into, yet you continued to be the example I needed and continued to be loving mom I needed. You're the best! Love you. Tell all the neighbors I love them and think they're awesome especially Brad he's such amazing person.

Love Elder Meza

Branch Youth with Missionaries

Conference Was Awesome

Hi, 

Confrence was awesome! And I got some great notes I don't have enough time  to really share them though.

It kinda sucks how much money I have to spend. Sometimes we will have to drive more than an hour away for appts and ex. and it takes way to much time to drive all the way back home for food and just is so ineffective. And since we are in the Irvine area food is so expensive even at grocery stores haha. President Bowen knows how hard it is for us finacially as the Korean District but he says as long as we do our best and make sure we always work as hard as we can and are 100% obedient we will be blessed a long with our families. So I'm sorry that I have to spend so much.

 

Anyways I had to help with transfers today which took most of the day so I don't have much time. But I can't believe it snowed!? It's like 80 degrees here haha I love it. That's awesome that our ward is growing, do the best you can to make them feel welcomed at our church! Yeah we are a branch not a ward and all 3 areas of the korean district attend the same church every week. So I will be going to the same church for the next 2 years, which I think is pretty cool because you get so much closer with the members and they help out so much more then members of english wards do. I'm way close already with our members and can already tell how sad it's going to be when I have to leave. I love these people so much!

 

Not to many stories to share this week because the funeral took a lot of our time. By the way we were the first missionaries in history to ever help run and preform at a funeral. Because normally missionaries are not even allowed to attend a funeral. But because of how different our mission is, an apostle (David Bednar) has told us that we aren't just the average missionaries our white handbook rules may not always apply because we are not simply missionaries we are ward members as well. So it's pretty awesome I feel very blessed!

 

For my b day I just want my soft layton blanket. and if it's to much to ship then just toffifay and some money for sweaters.

Sorry I'm at the library today and the internet is straight poo so I can only send 1 picture. But these are some of the youth in my branch. The tiny little girl and the girl behind me are my favorite! The little ones name is Angel and she is the cutest little girl ever she says I'm here favorite :) The other one just looks like an angel hahah but her name is Alice and she is the 2nd counclers daughter and he expects me to be  a future son in a law hahaha

I have to go now, so I will email you next Monday, on my birthday!!

Love
Elder Meza