I was transferred out of Haeundae. I will miss that ward! It was a really great area-- the members were so kind, we had great investigators, and I will miss my companion, Elder K_! But he will do a great job taking care of S_, the S_ family, and the other investigators. I will send some pictures in a bit!
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| The T_ family, and also a wonderful recent convert couple. I will miss them all so much! |
The good news is, I just moved somewhere else in Busan! So I will probably be able to see them again from time to time, call them, see them at stake activities. And my new companion is... Elder Y_!! One of my best friends in the mission!! I couldn't believe it! So I am really excited to work with him. We will have fun and work hard. We are in the Oncheon Ward, in Korean 온천동 if you want to find it :)
Well last week we visited the S_ family a couple times... one time was Monday night. They were sick and so we just said a prayer for them with the dad and daughter at the door. Then after I got transfer calls, we went to say goodbye, but they weren't there, so I stuck a letter on their door. I love those kids!
I was also able to say goodbye to S_ yesterday! He has been super busy lately so it was good to see him one last time, and encourage him!
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| Our English Flier Announcement. |
We were able to find an investigator last week from calling through the area book, as well as Brother Y_ in our ward, introduced his friend's son to us, who was super nice! I think they both have good potential, so look forward to hearing about how things go!
We also had the opportunity last week to help with a baptism in our zone! One of the districts in our zone did so well last transfer-- They had 4 teams in their district and 6 baptisms! It was seriously awesome. I learned a lot from Elder S_, who was the district leader over in that district. He really helped the missionaries there to work effectively and happily. The baptism was so great-- even though there were problems with the water and the font and other things, the Spirit was there and it was wonderful!
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| Elder K and I eating chicken and potatoes mixed with the taco seasoning you sent! |
Today I want to share some thought from the talk, "Three Sisters" By President Uchtdorf. It is such an accurate and beautiful talk! He uses a small parable--
President Uchtdorf briefly relates a story about three sisters. Sad, Mad, and Glad, who all reacted to their various circumstances and life experiences in different ways. They all die, with the same feelings with which they lived-- One sad, one mad, and one glad. He then gives an analysis of why each sister felt the way they did.
The first sister, Sad, "saw herself as a victim—as someone who was acted upon. It seemed like one thing after another kept happening to her that made her miserable. With this approach to life, she was giving others control over how she felt and behaved. When we do this, we are driven about by every wind of opinion—and in this day of ever-present social media, those winds blow at hurricane intensity."
The 2nd sister, Mad, "was angry at the world. Like her sad sister, she felt that the problems in her life were all caused by someone else. She blamed her family, her friends, her boss and co-workers, the police, the neighbors, church leaders, current fashion trends, even the intensity of solar flares, and plain bad luck. And she lashed out at all of them. She didn’t think of herself as a mean person. To the contrary, she felt that she was only sticking up for herself. Everyone else, she believed, was motivated by selfishness, pettiness, and hate. She, on the other hand, was motivated by good intentions—justice, integrity, and love."
And the last sister, who was able to have joy and live Glad, "represent[ed] the authentic disciple of Jesus Christ. She did something that can be extremely hard to do: she trusted God even in the face of ridicule and hardship. Somehow she maintained her faith and hope, despite the scorn and cynicism around her. She lived joyfully not because her circumstances were joyful but because she was joyful."
How are you like Sad? How are you like Mad? How can we be more Glad?
I think in the end, one of the biggest answers lies in choosing humility over pride. Humble enough to seek God before the opinions of society. Humble enough to not always have to have the last word. Humble enough to respect others' agency and choices, and love them without condition or reserve. Humble enough to accept advice and correction, even seek it.
I love you all! I hope we can choose humility and gladness rather than pride and sadness or madness! I think as we sincerely pray for it, God will inspire us to recognize circumstances in which we can improve and change
Love
Nate
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