Ok! So I told you about the family we met last week, right? The group of students who walked past us and then we met them the next day? Well we met them on Friday!
Back up-- Friday was a little hard. I was kind of having a rough day mentally and things, just feeling a little down. Satan was attacking with whatever he could. On Friday we met with a man named Dave who was a new investigator! He is a really nice guy but pretty strong in Buddhism. We read 3 Nephi 11 with him, and he thought it was good.We are meeting again on wednesday.
That night we were studying outside a CU again, the same one we had met the students at. We did our language study for the day, then headed to the students' house that was right nearby. We went inside. They were so fun and loving and hilarious! We were talking and laughing, they were telling us some tips for Korean. They also love learning and practicing English with us. One of the most loving groups of people I have ever met, in the way they treated us, and each other. But... for some reason I felt so much stress. I didn't know why, but I felt really uncomfortable and anxious. I knew we were there to do missionary work, even though we love them and want to hang out with them I knew that if we didn't share the Gospel with them, we wouldn't be fulfilling our missionary purpose, which was the reason I came to Korea in the first place. Last time they thought the Easter video we shared was cool, but they weren't like dying to learn more. So I was a bit worried how we would get around to a spiritual message without feeling like they were being forced to listen to our message in order to be our friends. I struggle sometimes a bit with anxiousness anyway, I always have, but I also wanted to make sure we use our time wisely as missionaries. I went to the bathroom, and just knelt down and said a quiet personal prayer. It went something like, "Heavenly Father, we are so grateful to be here with L_ and his family. We love them, and want them to have the Gospel in their lives. But we aren't sure how to share it with them. Please lead us and guide us."
I went back out and sat down with everyone, feeling a little better. We continued talking and laughing. We ate dinner, some good fried chicken together. Suddenly a great thought slammed into me while we were eating. I had a cool idea! In Korean, I said to them,"Hey, so as missionaries we meet with lots of people and teach them Gospel discussions. You guys are good at English, and good at explaining things... Do you think it would be ok if we practiced one of our lessons with you and you could give us some advice on how to improve?" They immediately all agreed and were excited to help. "Yeah! Of course! Great idea."
So we finished eating, and then sat in a circle on the ground to teach. They all watched us attentively. We pulled out Restoration pamphlets, and explained that when we start and end lessons we do it in prayer. They said that was alright. Then we taught them how to pray. Elder A said the opening prayer. The Spirit was very distinct, and strong, as the prayer ended. I think it was their first time praying, and after we said "amen" they looked at each other, with a surprised look on their faces, searching for a word to describe the feeling that had entered the room. I offered '경건하다' which means reverent and they agreed. Calm, reverent. They recognized it!
Well, we taught the first lesson: the Restoration. God is our Father, he loves us. He wanted us to learn and grow. We are all part of his family, and he gave us families to bless us on this earth. To strengthen and help families God gave us the Gospel through his Prophets, who teach and preach through God's authority, the priesthood. God has always sent prophets, from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and so forth. Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and also a prophet. He taught the Gospel, and died for us that we might live again. After he died, He continued to lead His church through his chosen disciples. However, they too were eventually killed. God's authority was lost from the earth. Like He had in other times, God restored his Gospel through another prophet, called, as other prophets had been, when he was only a boy: Joseph Smith. But God knew that we might be doubtful, that we had no way to verify if Joseph Smith had been God's prophet. He prepared a book, The Book of Mormon as that evidence. We can pray about the Book of Mormon, and God will tell us the truthfulness of it through the Holy Ghost.
We taught pretty simply. They had discussed with us and asked questions as we taught, listening really well. We asked L_, the head of the group, to say the closing prayer. He said a heartfelt and beautiful prayer,expressing gratitude to have met with us, etc, and prayed for us. Then he closed.
Stronger than when we had started, again the Spirit was in the room very distinctly and discernibly. After he finished praying, L_ looked up and said, in broken English, " I knew scientifically that God did not exist. But now, I know religiously, spiritually, that God exactly exists." His English was a little strange, but he was saying that he had looked at God from a scientific perspective and couldn't believe. But he knew, from the lesson we had had, that God was real.
The interesting thing about the meeting was that, even though we didn't ask them to describe their feelings, they are a very intelligent group, and love to discuss things together, so they quickly told us exactly how they were feeling. L_ said something similar to that his mind had been enlightened, and he understood things in a new way that he hadn't before. And that he knew "exactly" that God exists. We explained what the Holy Ghost is. Elder A told them they could receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, to have that blessing and feeling more frequently. He asked if they wanted that. One of them said, "그럼요!" 'Of course!' We told them about baptism, and they almost accepted a baptismal date-- but they are moving to Seoul next month, before the day we invited them! But we told them we wanted to meet them more frequently, and asked if we could teach them our other discussions. Again, "그럼요!" 'Of course.'
It was one of the most spiritual lessons I have had on my mission. They were so good and their hearts were open! I was wondering-- why was it so spiritual? And I think I found the answer. They did not believe in God. But they were living good lives, full of love. Like I have already mentioned, they were so kind and good to each other. I think their Christlike behavior helped prepare their hearts, and the spirit quickly filled the room to testify that there was something more to life then what we can see here. I am so grateful to have been a part of such a special experience.
We have to go now! Sorry, we are updating our foreigner ID cards today cause I have been in Korea for almost a year. Crazy, huh? Anyway, I Love you all! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY MINDY!! woohooo!
Love,
Elder Beckett
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