Week 13: Kimuchi & more!

Ohh how amazing this country is, and how great it is to be serving the Lord here!  I've been thinking a lot this week about others’ needs about why I am doing this work, and why I absolutely love doing it.  I believe in my heart that there is nothing better to be doing than to be doing this work.  I absolutely love the people, I love the experiences, but most of all I love spreading the gospel.  Buddy the Elf says "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear," and I believe that the best way to spread the thing that makes me most happy --the gospel of Jesus Christ -- is by sharing it in every way possible. 

One of my favorite verses in the scriptures is Alma 26:12 in the Book of Mormon.  It reads "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."   I have seen so many miracles even while just being out here, and I know they have not come from me.  They have come from my God and because He gives me strength, I can stand up at 6:30 a.m. every day, and say “I will do God's will.”  I will say this many times, but I know I am weak, and the Lord helps me everyday.  There have been many times I have prayed so sincerely, and answers come or they don't come.  All I know is I can always smile because I have someone looking out for me and showing me miracles.  I will always praise my Lord and my God.

That was my little spiritual message for the week.  So this week as always has been such a fabulous week!  It is really a blessing being out here and serving!  So last week on our P-day, we went to a very famous Buddhist temple in Haeyundae.  It is right on the sea and absolutely gorgeous!  I got to see Elder Yoon from the Missionary Training Center!  I was so happy to see him, and we talked all day and it was SO fun to go around with him and hang out!  I took many pictures that day!!  Then we came back to Yeoungdo, and e-mailed, shopped, prepped for our lesson with Tharindu and taught him about the Commandments and the Word of Wisdom.  He is doing well with them both!  He also said that he wants to experience everything, and he is really working to try to be baptized.

Tuesday we got to go teach our English class to the special needs students, and they really do brighten up my day!!  They were like “You guys are my favorite teacher,” and they know about missionaries getting transferred in and out, so they are like “You guys are both going to be here next week right?”  We are like “yes,” and they are so happy to hear that.  I really do love them so much! Then we went to go get my foreigner card and went to a department store for a second, and bought a Japanese text book for the free Japanese class that I am teaching on Thursday Evenings now!  We have 4 people who attend!! :)  Then we made calls and had planned to meet with Tharindu, but he was unable to do that so we went outside and proselyted and that was fantastic!

Wednesday was such an amazing day!!  So in the morning, we studied and then met up with the missionaries from Quejyeoung, at the same place that we do the special needs English class, and made kimchi!  It was so fun, and we had such a great time doing it!  I love serving other people, and making kimchi is a very interesting process as well.  After we got done with that, we had lunch and got changed into missionary clothing and went on Exchanges!  Exchanges are when someone else's companion becomes your companion for a day!  So I was with Elder Oheuichan (오의찬)!  It was such an amazing time!  So we went up to sister Choi Songja's Fish bread stand and taught her a lesson and introduced her to Elder Oheuichan.  Then we went to Kim SoonDok's house and she was there, but was on the phone and said that she was super busy so we proselyted for a few hours and that was amazing.  Then we taught Jung Min Jung and her kid English and the gospel, and that went super well.  They accepted a baptismal invitation.  Then we tried to get a hold of Sister No Yongshin, but she told us to come next week, so we proselyted more.  That day we talked to so many people, and gave out a lot of Book of Mormons. Then at night we talked a lot and had a very fun time!

Then on Thursday Elder Tuinei got back, and we had meetings with everyone who is serving in our area, went and ate lunch with them and planned. Then we made Japanese flyers and tried to meet with Tharindu again. Unfortunately he was unable to so we went outside and proselyted more and talked to many people! 

On Friday, we did a lot of proselyting and inviting people to come to our English class on Saturday and then our Japanese class on Thursday night!  We met many nice people!  We also had dinner after a meeting with one of the members.  Then we ate at home, set up our amazing, beautiful Christmas tree that I absolutely love! :)

Saturday was great! So in the morning we went to help out Sister Choi Song Ja with her fish bread stand, and then we went and taught English Class!  The English class was very fun!  Many people were unable to show up, but we were able to talk to someone who isn't as active in the Church right now about her conversion story and just talked.  It was great! :)   Then we had dinner and went and put up Japanese class flyers all over Yeoungdo while talking to many people!  It was a great experience although it was cold . 

Sunday's are amazing days!  I love Sundays!  We went to church, greeted everyone and we got to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional!  That was great!  I really enjoyed the story that President Dieter F. Uchtdorf shared about the Generous one.  The talk he shared was about gratitude and understanding gratitude.  Also why Jesus is the generous one and are we truly grateful.  The story below is one I started to cry on because it really touched my heart so deeply when I heard it.   It reads "One example I learned about involved a man who lived in Africa. Because of a disability, this man had never been able to walk. He was forced to spend most of his time in his parents’ home. He could not work; he could not go out with his friends; he could not do even the simple things we take so much for granted. Then he heard something remarkable! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was bringing wheelchairs to an event not far from his home! He asked a friend to take him to the event, and there he watched as dozens of disabled men, women, and children were lifted into new, gleaming wheelchairs. Oh, how he wanted to sit in one of those chairs! How it would change his life for a moment if he could move about by his own power! He waited in line until finally, it was his turn. Two men lifted him into a chair and for the first time in his life, he was able to move freely! At first he moved about hesitantly. But as he got the feel of the wheelchair, he moved more courageously. He turned, twisted, and sprinted. He waved enthusiastically with both hands as he raced past his friend. He flew! The look on his face was one of joy.
After a time, however, he slowly wheeled the chair back to the others and with an expression of calm resignation he prepared to be helped out. "What are you doing?" his friend asked.
The man smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “It is someone else’s turn now,” he said. The Church humanitarian missionary knelt beside him and said, “This wheelchair is yours.” The man couldn’t believe it. He had assumed this event was only to demonstrate what it was like to ride in a wheelchair. “Is it truly mine?” he asked. “Yes.” "But I have no money." “It is yours. It is a gift from people who love you.” When the reality of what was happening finally sunk in, this humble man looked at his friend. he looked at the missionary. He tried to hold back the tears, but it was in vain. And as he wept, he laughed at the sheer joy of what he felt. His friend and the missionary wept with him. “Thank you,” he said in a whisper. He hugged them both, settled into his chair, and then with a “whoop!” he took off again with a big smile. “I can fly!” he shouted as he sped back and forth along the pavement. This man understood gratitude." That is the story and sorry it was long.

So ask myself... Do I really know what gratitude is?  Do I fully grasp that?  Do I know what it means to be grateful?  I have been thinking that since then.  Anyways here is the rest of Sunday: I meet with people in Church; played the Piano; talked to Mr. Won, one of our investigators; and then proselyted.  We didn't talk to many people, but then went and sticker board proselyted and that went well.

So am I grateful?? --- just one of the many things to think about.  I never realized how many blessings I receive in a day, and how much I need to show my gratitude.  The funny thing about Korean is that “Thank you” isn't actually directly translated as “Thank you.”  It is "I am grateful."  I really am grateful to be here and check out the link to President Uchtdorf's video. It is very good, and inspiring! Please watch it! :) 
https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/christmas-devotional/2015/12/the-generous-one?lang=eng

I love you very much and I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Wilson

Our Christmas Tree - Set-up

Our Christmas Tree -Lights Up!