There are a lot of Buddhists in Korea. Not all are very /active/, but they go by the title.
Funny story. I am with Elder Hawes now. Used to be housemates, then we got transferred together. ^^
This week has been insane in all of the best ways. Ups, downs, and almost everyday a reminder of God's love for us.
We
met an awesome family this week! First met the dad on the street who
asked if we could talk to his son. He's in middle school, and likes
learning english. After talking with them, we get onto the topic of
religion. He never had a religion, and to be honest, wasn't too
interested until about 5 years ago when I was diagnosed with cancer. He
went through a lot at that time, and he said that since then, there's
been a part of him that's looking. Since they don't go to church yet,
they said they would try to come out to ours sometime.^^
Also had an investigator that we thought for sure
just wanted to learn english that progressed a lot. He said that he'd
been doing a lot of researching online and found a lot of things about
our church that he liked. Left a good impression on him. At first, he
went to church, but had a bad experience when he was little so he
stopped. Started going a little during military, but now he just prays
by himself. Such a pure, innocent guy. While talking with him, he's
always really honest about what he's thinking, and what questions he
has. Really excited for him.
One hard thing this week was seeing an investigator
growing a little more distant from the church, and I felt terrible the
entire day because I had had such high hopes for him. It wasn't until
the next morning that I started feeling better. I opened my scriptures
for personal study, and the very first scripture it fell open to was
what I needed. God truly is a god of miracles. He knows us, our needs,
our desires. And He'll help us every step of the way.
Other fun facts: We've got a couple investigators who like meeting and playing basketball with members on Saturday
nights, so recently I've been learning just how much I didn't know
about sports. There's a lot more to it than I thought. Still terrible at
them, but I see a lot more of the beauty behind it than I used to.
Great for talking with people too. Here in Korea, they say you bond the
most when you're eating or doing sports together. I see some truth to
that. I also determined I need to exercise more.
Another miracle: Ran into a less active that lives
in another ward. He was visiting his family here so we jumped on the
chance to visit and talk with him. Turns out he lives 15 minutes away
from the church there. Said he'd go this week, so we'll be checking up
with missionaries there to see how he's doing.^^ I love his family,
they're so nice. He's cool too. Likes art, so I brought some of my
sketches from home. Reminded me how long 2 years has been. I haven't
sketches in ages. Tried this morning... Didn't go well.
One of the things that pulled at my heart this week
was a number of Less Actives that want desperately to come to church but
can't. A sister who has a husband that hates the church. Keeps her from
going if he finds out. She can only meet members or missionaries when
he isn't there and she's alone. Another who is so busy with work 4am to 10pm
some days on weekdays, then helping his mother on weekends in the
countryside, that he can't come out. Another who is trying to provide
for his family while paying off an old debt which makes him have to work
sundays.
It tears my heart when I see them going through these things, and I
wonder how to help them. But this week I realized something. We're
doing it just by visiting. You can see in their eyes sometimes how much
they want the church. Sometimes, if they can't come to church, God with
bring church to them. Makes me think a lot more about the messages we
share, and the spirit we strive to invite when we visit them. I love
this work. And l love God. He knows us each personally in ways we cannot
fully understand. But each new day I feel like another glimmer of light
gets shown on his love for us, making it just a little more clear, a
little more bright. Never let that fade!
Thanks for everything! I love you all! I look forward to seeing you all again soon!
~Elder Robarts
No comments:
Post a Comment