Title - In "The Empire Strikes Back", Yoda is talking to Luke and giving him reasons why he can't train him to be a Jedi. And Luke says, I won't fail you". (And then he continues to say, "I'm not afraid".)
Pics - wearing a Santa beard that he found at the church building; a picture of Elder Wasson that he saw (Elder Wasson is from our old ward, Grass Valley, and is serving in the Korea Busan Mission). From Elder Huckvale - Apparently one of the missionaries from our ward is serving or was serving in his ward in the Busan mission.
Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2016 12:54:08 +0900
Hello My Adoring Fans!
This week has been pretty normal. Proselyting, punked appointments, member visits, and struggling investigators. Oh, and we got our transfer calls this weekend!
Let's look back at this week!
On Monday during p-day we played ping pong and ate chicken at the church. After p-day ended we called our investigator 이동민 (Ee Dongmeen) and talked with him on the phone about the Church and what his concerns are. He's still having a lot of problems feeling too much pressure and getting frustrated about all sorts of random things. He's at the point where just meeting with us is too much pressure for him so he doesn't do it. Also, since Monday he hasn't been receiving our calls or responding to our text messages. He has a really strong desire to find the truth and follow Christ, he even said that he was seriously thinking about getting baptized until we talked about it with him. I believe that he will get baptized, if I'm the one who's going to do it I don't know. I will, however, continue to contact him and invite him to come closer unto Christ.
On Tuesday we had to drop one of the investigators that's been meeting with the missionaries in the area for about 3 or 4 transfers. He just wasn't progressing and he really was just meeting with the missionaries because they told him to. This was my first time meeting with someone and actually dropping them as an investigator. It was pretty awkward, but I think that Elder Kim and I handled it pretty well, outlining our purpose and helping him to understand why we're discontinuing our meetings without getting offended.
On Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Kim I and we had a pretty good time. It was a pretty interesting experience, considering that he was my last companion. We didn't have a ton going on tha day, so we did a lot of proselyting and less-active searching. Also, the stake president's wife's father passed away this week and so we attended the funeral service and paid our respects. It was pretty interesting. There are a lot of different customs that they do in Korea, but not in America. One of these for example would be the lighting of inscents in front of the casket. It was a really great experience. It's so great to see how much peace comes when one knows the truths of the plan of salvation and that death truly is not the end, but just a stumbling block that is overcome through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
On Friday we picked up a new investigator! I'm not really sure about him though. According to our ward mission leader, he's been meeting with the missionaries on and off for about 8 years, but has never been baptized. His name is 공순호 (Gong Soonho). We met with him at the church and talked about our purposed as missionaries and talked a little about him and the Atonement. He has an addiction to drinking coffee and smoking which he's tried to kick several times, but has never been able to. He seems to really want to change this time around though and we set a baptismal date for him for February 27th, so we'll see what happens. When he came back to the church for English class that night he told us that he went home and threw out all of his cigarettes. He also came to church on Sunday so those are both good signs.
On Saturday we got our transfer calls! Double Kim (as Elder Kim II calls him and Elder Kim I) are both leaving! Elder Kim I is going to 의정부 (Uijungbu) and Elder Kim II is going to 속초(Sokcho). The two elder teams are getting combined which means that my new companion is Elder Crisp! I'm really excited to be serving with Elder Crisp this transfer and I have come to realize that there are miracles all around us waiting to happen. Our faith is what determines if the miracles will happen or not.
I was feeling pretty discouraged last night and this morning and I was begging my Heavenly Father to not allow me to give up hope and faith that there are prepared people out there and that if I work effectively and diligently enough, excercising my faith, I will be able to find those people. The thought came to my mind that "I wouldn't have to search diligently to find them if they were not lost". That thought means so much to me. So many of God's children are lost, like the lost sheep in the Savior's parable. Lost meaning that I do not know where they are. Therefore, I will have to exercise my faith and work as hard as I can to find them. Also, as I read in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 7, I read about Laman and Lemuel who rebel against Nephi in the wilderness, and Nephi turns to them and asks them how they could have forgotten the many miracles that the Lord had shown unto them. He sent and angel to them and delivered them on several accounts and they had already forgotten. It caused me to ask myself if I had forgotten my spiritual experiences and the miracles that I've seen and the power of God to do anything if I just exercise enough faith.
I know that God lives and that He answers our prayers and comforts us through the Holy Ghost in times of strife and opposition. I am so grateful to be serving a mission. I know that there are hard times to come, but with hard times come great things.
"How is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore let us be faithful to him." -1 Nephi 7:12
Love and Miss Y'all!
Called to Serve!
Love,
Elder Huckvale
Wearing a Santa beard that he found at the church building. :)
A picture of Elder Wasson that he saw (Elder Wasson is from our old ward, Grass Valley, and is serving in the Korea Busan Mission).
From Elder Huckvale - Apparently one of the missionaries from our ward is serving or was serving in his ward in the Busan mission.
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