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| L and his family with Elder A and I. Love this family! |
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| This man is our investigator, J, with his new bride, Sister C. |
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| J's son, so cute! |
Here in Haeundae we don't really have investigators right now.. like 2 people, but I am not sure how much will come out of it. So we have to find a lot of people! But last night we did some group proselyting with the sisters, and with an English sticker board. There was this big group of kids who came by who seemed like really nice good kids. We got a few of their numbers and plan on having some kind of fun activity with them and some of the young men. The miracle was, one of the kids in the group asked if I knew J__... Well earlier that day I had met a kid at our church named J__! And I found out that our church member was best friends with one of the kids in that group! So I am pretty confident we can meet with them all and have fun playing ping pong and teaching them the gospel.
The members of Haeundae are awesome-- I gave my greeting speech yesterday. I told them how I came from a small town, feeding horses and cows for a job growing up. I told about how before my mission I realized that missionary work was important, but didn't really activitely seek opportunities to invite people to hear about the gospel. But now, I realize how important it is, now! So I shared a couple quotes that are in PMG about missionary work and how sometimes we can be worried about sharing the Gospel, cause it is scary! But, God doesn't want us to be scared. So I shared my testimony, finishing with my favorite scripture, in 2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
Well after the meeting I talked with the Bishop, and we also had Missionary Coordination Meeting with the Ward Mission Leader. Both went super well, and they both expressed their willingness to help, and advice and encouragement. The Bishop even told me that he or several others would be able to make time whenever to teach with us, and they gave us the Sunday school lesson this week to talk about member missionary work! I am super excited if you can't tell... Although I am nervous to teach about that in Korean, so pray for me please!
Also, one other miracle-- there is a man in our ward who is not a member, but the ward contains his wife, and 4 daughters, and their husbands and children, so he comes to church every week. But he looks like he just sleeps during the meeting and isn't really interested in being baptized. Anyway, after the meeting, one of his daughters came up to me and told me that he grew up in the country, too, and loves horses and cows and when I talked about that he was really happy, smiling big! That really made me happy! I hope to reach his heart.
After church, we visited the hospital and took the sacrament to an elderly man there yesterday. What a neat man. I love taking the sacrament to the elderly. Well this man is really special. His name is Y_. He is 91 now. I asked him how he was baptized, because Elder P had told me a bit about him. This is what Y told me (in English, he was so sharp and smart):
"Do you know who this is?" He asked, as he pulled a picture of President Gordon B Hinckley from a notebook he had. "Yes, President Hinckley!". Well, when Y was 19, he saw President Hinckley on the street in Korea and said hello. President Hinckley said hello too, and then said to young Y, "Why don't you come to the church with me?" And then Y emphasized as he told us "President Hinckley said, 'Not tomorrow. Not this evening. Now." So Y went with him to the church, and President Hinckley explained a bit about baptism, and asked if he was Christian. Well his dad was Presbyterian, so he knew a bit. And President Hinckley baptized him right then. And then made him a branch president, and a building supervisor over a new church building. Y was 19!
Well Y went on to be a district president, temple presidency, staying close with President Hinckley throughout his life. He said, "After I finished the temple presidency, he sent me and my wife to Japan for a couple's mission."
It was so neat to me to see this 91 year old man, whose body was failing, but whose spirit was as lively as ever. When he spoke in English, he even sounded a bit like President Hinckley. What a neat man! He also asked us to write the date, time, and our testimonies in a little book he had. I am so excited to continue visiting him each week! And it is amazing to me, both that he stepped up to the calling President Hinckley gave him, and that President Hinckley was inspired to have such a young man do it-- a young man who was obviously prepared and ready.
Anyway, I love my new area! I sure miss Youngdo, but I am excited to work here!
I've got to go, love you family!
Elder Beckett
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