December 13, 2013 - My Last MTC P-Day!!!!

Honestly, it's a little weird because they told us the majority of the people leaving the mtc get their ticket for either Monday or Tuesday, but mostly Monday. I'm district leader, and I went to get our notices from the mail, and my whole district is leaving Sunday morning. I swear it was like Christmas that day and I was Santa Claus. "Hey, Buckwalter, are they here yet? Have you checked the mail? where's our travel plans!? Hey Buckwalter!"

and I checked and I checked and finally they came and they said Sunday!!??

We report to the travel office with all our luggage at 2a.m.

We then ride a bus to the Salt Lake airport around 6

I lose my companion as he flies to Denver (haha sucker...)

I go strait to San Fransisco. (so basically half our district for some reason has to go to Denver and then to San Francisco  while I and a few others go strait to San Fransisco and have like 3 hours to chill and maybe get some pass-along-cards out)

After I see my companion again, and the rest of my district, we all get on a flight to Korea. I'll be in Korea like Monday morning I think... Remember time changes

TIME TRAVEL IS POSSIBLE!!!!!   Yes!

Anyway,

My singing last week went great! We have pictures. We all had matching scarves and we sang a capella carols. There was legit Christmas food and staff and it was incredible. Jenny Oaks Baker was also there and accompanied us on a song. She was on the other side of the gym also entertaining. It was way way awesome! We made a lot of people happy and the shrimp was incredible.

Ya that's right, I sang with Jenny Oaks Baker.

anyway. (to some family who care anyway)

Umm, today was our last service project for the mtc. We clean a chapel early early in the morning every Friday. As we clean, there's always this weird old lady who wakes up early to practice on the organ. It's really strange and kind of funny. Every week, we're just cleaning out trash and toilets and she's just sitting in the dim-lit chapel playing quiet hymns. It's kind of awkward and awesome. So today, whether she knew it or not, we got a picture with her playing behind us. :) haha. It's super funny. I'm going to miss that Grandma.

I don't know, just all of us in gloves with our cleaners and this random lady playing hymns behind us.

super awesome! :D

So I love you all. I'm a bit nervous and scared. I just hope that I can use the spirit effectively and do some real work. gah! okay.

yep thank you all! :D

-Elder Buckwalter

December 6, 2013 - Hey Hey!

So, holy cow there is a lot to tell.

I'm district leader now. The Lord knows why, I don't know. But basically I have to get mail and conduct all our meetings and follow up on everybody's goals. If there are problems in our district, I either catch them or have them reported to me and then I send them to the branch president. I have a couple more meetings than I used to, yikes, but It makes me want to be a better example and work harder to be on time and to use all my time and to speak as much Korean as I can. It's more work but it's more blessings.

Tonight I'm singing in a cool caroling group for the staff of the MTC dinner party. I have a pitch-pipe and we're going to be all in matching scarfs (the 9 of us). I'm excited.

My companion and Elder Gehrig are on splits right now going to see the salt-lake temple. All internationals get to go see Salt-Lake. I'm on splits with Elder Flinders, he's on the computer next to me writing his family.

My companion got a Lego Star Wars advent Calendar from his family. Every morning we open a part of the box and build a speeder or a gungan with a spear or something. 

Um, we leave to Korea in 10 days. I feeling a lot of comfort in the language as I prepare to leave. I was working so hard, and now a lot of what I've learned is coming quickly to my head and it makes me happy. I know that the schedule is of God, and that it's time to hit the streets of Korea. If I stayed here, it wouldn't be as productive for my language and testimony as it could be if I just go to Korea. I'm sure I could still learn, but I've capped the rate at which I learn. Now I'm primed for the rate at which I will learn with the natives.

We were going to see M. Russel Ballard, but he got snowed in and couldn't speak to us, but I'm pretty sure we'll get someone Tuesday.

Ya and honestly, just love everyone. There's where I've found the most success. Being a leader and teaching every day is often a struggle. But If you do it with true sincere interest in the welfare of those you serve, it becomes easy and earns true respect. I love my friends and my teachers and every Korean I see. 

Happy Thanksgiving!! ... from the MTC

Thanksgiving in the MTC  Thursday, November 28, 2013

The dinner was really great! We had real potatoes! Pie, some weird yummy broccoli, delicious turkey and I loved their green beans. The only thing I didn't like was their yams.

There's a member of our district who is a little off on the holidays.... don't know why.... but it was weird sitting next to him as he grudgingly ate a bowl of cereal on Thanksgiving day. It was weirder having sister Pratt fast on Thanksgiving, what was up with that?

Ya, my first Thanksgiving away from home or family. It was powerful like unto all the thanksgivings, but not MY thanksgiving. I would've liked to go around the table being thankful, or drawing turkeys on the paper-cover of the table, or going to get a christmas tree, or playing games or watching movies or singing songs. Without those things, it was a bit sad. But the MTC people did the best they could do with us, and it was definitely a fun holiday anyways. 

We did a service project.... We made 350,000 meals for the church's humanitarian program. Their just like rice and oats that you can add water to and heat up... but for those in need of humanitarian food.... I'm sure it's a miracle and we all helped save lives!

We also watched a wonderful movie about the willy handcart company called Ephraim's Rescue. It's kind of like the mormony version of thanksgiving... the pioneers.

But the funniest thing we got to do... and I don't know if you'll be able to find a picture of it from Ellsworth or Smith or Bishop.... but the four of us.... okay... hold on....

So The president's wife held a primary program. Seriously. She had us sing "over the river and through the woods"... we did a lot of childrens songs and childrens games. I swear she must have been a primary leader before she was MTC president because she must have done this program before and we loved it.

We told the story of thanksgiving. She was the narrator, and whenever she mentioned a character in the story, whoever was playing that character had to run up to a microphone and say a phrase.

She gave us pieces of paper before the program started, while we were singing prelude songs, and when the time came, we all walked up to the stage to get dressed in our costumes and learn our lines.

The pilgrim men had those big hats and had honker guns, and whenever Sister nally said, "pilgrim men" in the story, the pilgrim men in their big hats (with buckles) walked up to the microphone and said, "bang bang bang!" as they honked their guns. It sounded like the honkers and dingers on sesame street. 'bang bang bang!" (honk honk honk) it was hilarious.

Their were indian men who said deeply, "big and braaave"

Indian woman who said, "shh shh shh"

Pilgrim woman who said, "mercy mee"

a Pilgrim minister who held up a bible and shouted, "Haaaaalelulia!"

And me, Bishop, Ellsworth and Smith were the turkeys that got hunted and shot by the honker pilgrim men.... Whenever she said "turkeys" in the story... we had to go up to the microphone in our funny glasses with a red balloon hanging off of our necks and a bunch of crazy feathers and go, "gobblegobblegobblegobble" as we flapped our elbows up and down.

... And we died and got eaten.

Oh oh oh oh oh oh!! and the musical numbers today were a bit lax, because it was more of an activity instead of a devotional.... so the musical numbers were not hymns but one of our musical numbers were actually the Joseph and Technicolor dreamcoat medley! So a girl with a great voice went up as a narrator and sang a verse or two from all the scenes in Joseph and summed up a bit of the entire musical. She sang things like, "A pharo's story, go go go joseph, way way back many centuries ago, ect."  and we all singed along going, "ah-ah, any dre-e-eam, any dream, any dre-e-am" it was way fun!!! it made me miss you guys and cry a little bit but I had soooo much fun at the thanksgiving program! :D

Snippets from Elder Buckwalter's Letters

The truth is, all good things come from God. All negative things come from Satan. Our minds are both divine because we are spirit children of our heavenly father. but our minds are also fallen because of the flesh and natural man within us during this probationary state. The only means by which good things happen to us, is by God's grace. Every good thing you have or can think of, is a gift to you from God... and I'm sure there are many you don't even know you have. If we are wanting or needing or required to do any thing, it is only by God that we can do it, he gave us our bodies and he gave us the gift of agency to choose how to use it. He oversees every action and occurrence and there is nothing that happens on this earth save he would allow it. He will not tempt us above that we are able. 

......

I know God has called me on a mission. Knowing that purpose helps me a lot. I often think of home and desire to do some of the things I left behind when I came here. But it's always for an instant at longest that I think of those things. Because right after I think of that, I am reminded of my purpose and why I'm here. I'm reminded that I've been called to people in Korea, and God needs and has asked me to help him bring his children back to him. I think of how important this work is, that I couldn't be doing anything better than the things the Lord has need of me to do.

Anyanghashimnika / 안녕하십니까 November 22, 2013

On Nov 22, 2013, at 11:59 AM, Elder Wesley Buckwalter wrote:

This language is ridiculous, it's on and off... I feel like I got this sometimes and I also feel like it's not even a language, rather my teacher is just making sounds up to freak us out and play with us.

The temple is closing soon, so this'll be my last time at the provo temple, I think I'll be going to Seoul Temple once a month so.... the next time I'm going to be at the temple is in Korea!!!!!

I have to be honest, the mtc is starting to make me ancy. I know I still have a lot to work on, but I kinda want to just hit the streets you know, come on, let me at em'. I think it's like 23 days left.

So, some quick funny stories.

Sister Giles folks are vacationing in Hawaii without her.... and they sent her an authentic pineapple I guess to be funny, but it was actually super super super tasty, the sweetest fruit in the universe oh my gosh!  and it was really funny and messy and awesome!

Ummm. Elder Smith, has finally started understanding the prayers, so just before gym time... the coach guy with the whistle asks for a volunteer to pray and Smith always raises his hand. Umm... probably on purpose he prayed as follows:

Hananim Aboji,  하나님 아버지

Dear Father in Heaven

Um shik er zhu shyo so kamsaderimnida  음식을 주셔서 감사드립니다

We're thankful for this food

Um shik er  /  chuk bok hey zhu shi op so so   /   kamsaderimnida 

음식을  /  축복해 주시옵소서 /  감사드립니다

This food    /   please bless    / thank you   (this is not a complete sentence, but it's what he said)

Jesucerisido eh irumero Kidoderimnida Amen.

예수 그리스도 의 기도드립니다 아멘

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

It's funny because, you can either thank god for things or ask him to bless things.... I'm not good enough to know how to say we're thankful for and please bless _blank_. But he said it.... it was so bad haha. and right before gym time haha.

When we start a hymn, whoever chooses the hymn says, "1 2 3, start!"

Well, Elder Flinders was starting the hymn and said, "hana, dul, set, ka jok! / 하나,들,샛, 가족!"

He was supposed to say Shi jak 시작 which means start but "ka jok 가족"  means family!

1...2...3........Start!  <---  He was supposed to say.

1....2.....3.... Family!  <---  What he said.

hahahaha

Anyway. My companion is really british. He played the oboe for a choir number the other day. He was really good. It was a short notice thing, he just went up and said, "I see that you have an oboe line on the music, Can I play that?" .... so the day of, he played it for a member of the seventy on the tuesday devotional. I was singing in the tenor section... I was supposed to be watching the conductor. Mtc choir is really fun and spiritual, I'm thankful for that.

Um, I love all you guys. I can't think of anything else to say but thanks for your prayers and your support in any form! I love letters, "dear elder". I love emails. I love treats! I'm especially grateful for all the funds supporting me out here.

The church is true, in Korea too, of all things, it's still true there. haha.

God loves you and I hope you see him blessing you, please give yourself to him so he can shape you to your full potential. I've tried my own way and I've tried his way.... and I got to say, his way works better....

See ya next week.

Elder Buckwalter

First Letter from the MTC. P-Day is Friday!

Subject: What!? you guys haven't written me yet?

Date: October 18, 2013 11:49:08 AM MDT

So I came in the first day and I didn't have a companion!~

I've been in a three-some since Wednesday and supposedly "Elder Bishop" from England is coming today, but I haven't met him yet.

When I arrived my teacher would avoid English at all costs. His name is Christensen Hyung jei neim (Brother 형제님). He's been off his mission 10 months and is teaching us heavily so as to prepare us for a practice investigator tomorrow. I admit that I am ahead of everyone else in Korean, yet I've seen everyone participate in the gift of tongues and focus heavily on the language. I know that those Elders and Sisters in my district were called of the Lord and are prepared with the gifts they will need to be successful as missionaries in Korea. They are all remarkable and are armed with firm testimonies. 

One of the Elder's in my district is a red-head who beat-boxes just as good as me. We basically hang out with our district all the time: lunch, class, district meetings, fake investigator practice, ect.

I've absorbed an intense amount of information in these my first 3 days. Mostly I've learned that despite all that is expected of us and among all the things we have to do, the most important thing to have on your mind is your purpose which is to invite others to come unto Christ. We're not learning Korean to know the language, we are learning Korean so that we can be better tools in the Lord's hands for engaging in his work. If the foremost thing in my mind is to keep the Holy Ghost as my companion and guide, super hard things are then possible. 

I'm grateful for the spirit here in the MTC. I've never felt anything safer, more worthy, or more focused then this environment at the  MTC. There is no time for sin or distractions. Everywhere we go is planned out and everything we do we do in the name of Christ. You can feel the Holy Ghost as if it were a silent member of your party, just walking with you and brushing you and your companions shoulders constantly. My heart is always warm. The only problems we think of are, how to prioritize our time, or how to make it better fir the investigator, things like that.

I recommend figuring out how Dear Elder, the website, works.
http://www.dearelder.com/

Most of the Elder's in my residence hall use that. If you write through that website, I'll get the letter in the mail the same day you submit it to their site. Mail-day is every day... and hearing my district leader say, "Mail's here Elders!" doesn't follow with that skipping heart reaction from me as it does all the other Elder's. I feel a little down that I won't be able to hear from you until on Fridays / P-days by checking this mail as I am doing now.

I love you guys, and I'm working hard. The spirit is strong and I have so much to do to prepare... everyday is full.  Thanks for your prayers.

Elder Buckwalter

Wesley at the Logan Temple before entering the MTC.

Last weekend Wesley entered the temple for the first time.  He chose the Logan Temple and it was a very wonderful experience for Wesley and his family.  

Elder Wesley Buckwalter is ready to start his mission.