This coming week is the week we have all been looking forward
to... Christmas!! Who doesn't love Christmas! Family, food, friends, music and snow. How I love the time of Christmas, and the joy
that it brings!! When I think about this
year, it will be a little different. I
won't be with my family, I won't be in the States, I won't get to spend
Christmas like my typical Christmas, but I do get to spend Christmas this year
the best way I could possibly ask for... Going outside and telling people of
Christ's Birth and why I can be happy, why I feel loved always because Christ
was born. And that is such an amazing
gift in itself. I love it here and it is
definitely getting cold in Korea. The
island that I am on is surrounded by water and the wind is super cold. But it
is wonderful being here.
So the message that I want to share today is about Christ's
birth because Christmas is coming up. Christmas
is such a special time and I love everyday leading up to it. Although I am a
missionary, I have to have a good time too.
So, I only felt like it was natural to have a Christmas tree in our
house, so we got that. But Christmas is
filled with special feeling and a whole lot of love towards one another. And I want to use the word
"Wonderful" to describe you. The
word "Wonderful" is used in the scriptures to describe Christ. In Isaiah
9:6, it states "For unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." When the word "wonderful" is used,
it is no simple phrase. The gravity and
magnitude this word has is immeasurable. And, I think you are “wonderful” too. So for this Christmas, think of someone who is
Wonderful. Think of someone that you
love and adore, someone who is Christ-like and want to give thanks to and do
so. I know that Jesus Christ is my
Savior and through him all things are possible. Therefore, I know without a
shadow of a doubt that he is Wonderful, Jehovah, Counsellor, my Redeemer and my
Savior and I know he lives.
That was the message I wanted to share with all today. So a rundown of my week goes a little
something like this:
So starting with last Monday.
After we finished emailing, we had to go drop of some stuff for a
member. This lady is like our island mom and she is great, but she needs us a
lot so we help her out. We waited at the
store for one hour, but she didn't come. So, we went home and waited for her. She came and we gave her stuff to her. It was great! Then we went over to the Church and waited for
Tharindu, our wonderful Srilankan investigator, but unfortunately he was busy
and was unable to come. So we went outside in the cold and talked to people
about the gospel. It was fantastic!
Then on Tuesday we got to go to our special service
activity that always gives me a huge smile on my face. They are so fun and amazing, and I love the
people I teach English to. Then we went home
and made nice message cards, and then went to a member’s house and she wasn't
home so we placed the message card on her door.
As soon as we left the apartment, she came walking up and says “ohh
hello missionaries,” and invites us in. We told her that we had about 30 minutes to
talk and she was like “ohhh okay... Well... I think you actually have one hour
and a half so sit down and have dinner and what not.” So, we had dinner and that was great and her
son is a little less active in the Church, but he was super happy that we were
there and we talked a lot. It was a
wonderful experience!
On Wednesday, we had our Christmas party, and it was
very spiritual with many musical numbers, games, fun and a Church movie about
the pioneers at the end of the meeting. I
got to see people that I left the Missionary Training Center with and that was
so fun! It is so funny because I am new
and not many people know me yet, so, many people would come up to me and ask...
Are you Korean? I say no. Are you half Korean? I say no. What are you then?
Half Japanese... Oh... Wait can you speak Japanese? Yes... OHH MY!!! So they
would freak out but all the Koreans would ask me that. And then I speak to them and they are like no
you're lying... You're Korean. I still
said no, and the haircut also makes me look super Asian. Anyways... So then we went back to Yeoungdo, and
went outside and talked to people about the Church again. It is great that we can talk to many people
and do God's will. I am so happy to be
here!!
Thursday was a very long, amazing day! So on Thursday, we planned out our
week and typically planning takes about three hours, but it took three and a
half on Thursday. It was great to
plan and planning is very crucial. Without planning, many things can't get done,
and if we are unorganized and do not have any goals, we cannot progress and
help others progress. So then we got
ready to teach Japanese class and then after Japanese class we went outside and
talked to others and that went super well!
Friday was a very good day. It was freezing cold and
sunny which doesn't seem to do anything in Korea actually. So we go clean up Sister Choi SongJa's fish
bread stand and waited for 2 hours without her... It was so cold... Then we came
and we taught a message. Then we studied, and made message cards --- because we
love the Lord, no matter how cold it was outside, we went out. J
So we went out and tried to meet with some less active
members, but they weren't home so we left message cards on their doors and
talked to others outside... It was a very very very cold day.
Saturday was a great day too! We taught our regular
English class and everyone who shows up to it is so wonderful! I taught a short, spiritual message at the end,
and everyone listened well. The message
was about how families can stay together forever because Christ was born. Then after that got done, we went out looking
for our ward mission leader (the member of the church who looks out for
missionaries and tries to help us out). The address system in Korea changed about 10
years ago and we only have his old address and he hasn't attended
church in 2 years that we had to ask for help to find this man’s
house. We looked for two and a half
hours in the cold to with no luck at all. But that’s okay. J I am happy that I got to talk to many people
while doing it! Then we went to some
other people’s houses and gave message cards, and then on our way home, we
helped Sister Choi SongJa finish up at her stand.
Sunday was so wonderful! So many people came to church
and we got to plan many things. We went outside and taught the gospel, and that
was amazing! I am so uplifted on Sundays, and there is no way my week would be
so great if I didn't go to Church every week! I love going to church and helping others come
closer unto Christ!
I am so happy that is it Christmas, and I hope you have such
a great Christmas as well. Be grateful
and generous and remember the true meaning of Christmas! J
Love,
Elder Wilson
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| Around the island I serve |
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| Japanese Lesson |
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| Preparation is Important!! |
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| The Missionaries Love Christmas!! |
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