Gone By TOO Fast!

Family!! HI!!!
Can you believe it!?!?! Not only has Feb. gone by ridiculously fast, but another transfer has gone by as well!! Seriously, time needs to slow down.

As I was talking with my MTC group, we all realized that we only have 4 transfers left, and this next transfer is only going to be 4 weeks! (We have to match up with the MTC or something). ((Daddy, transfer days are the 29th, and then I will leave for Seoul on the morning of the 30th, go to the temple, play a day up there and their our flights are on the morning of the 31st.. which means I'll be in America on the 31st. Sorry for the confusion)) It makes me sad that I only have 4 weeks left with Sister Taylor, but by the looks of this past week, we are going to be busy!!

We have had SO many miracles this past week! This whole transfer we haven't had hardly any opportunities to teach. The investigators we had from past transfers all dropped us and so we were left to try our faith with proselyting and referrals from others. Heavenly Father loves His missionaries, but He also loves those who He has prepared!  He loves everyone, and He will give people the chance to hear the gospel in the most unexpected of ways. 

We were blessed with SIX! 6! new investigators this week!! All were amazing, but I only have time to tell y’all about one right now. His name is Bak Shin. He is about 70 years old, and he studied at Duke University in Philosophy. One day on the subway he came up to my companion and asked her about the book she was holding. "What is the Book of Mormon?"  "How are the Mormon's different?"  "Are they Christians?"  My fabulous companion was a superstar are she began to testify of who we were. The ride was short, but we left him with a pamphlet and he left us with his number, saying that he would like to meet again. 

Fast forward a week. We meet up with him with one of our members who is about to leave on her mission. We had sincerely planned for this lesson, knowing that with his mind and knowledge, we could do nothing but bring the spirit into the lesson and let a member of the Godhead take our message to his heart. It's always hard trying to describe later how a lesson went, but here are some of the highlights that I liked and remembered. 

We first began by asking him about his background and belief in God. On the train he said that he was atheist, but we wanted to see if there was a time in his life that he ever believed or thought about God.  He explained to us that in middle and high school he was a part of one of the first Christian schools in Korea. There, he was 'instructed' in religion, but he never seemed to be able to find the answer to his questions.  When we asked what his questions were, he said that he had always wondered why man was here, where did we come from, what was our purpose and where would we go.  The way he explained it was that he could never find his answers within the church that he was going to, so he turned to other sources, which I believe led to his study in philosophy.  Here the Spirit prompted us to ask if, while studied in that field, he had found his answers. He did not reply.

As the lesson continued we were able to testify to him that we had the answers that he was looking for.  We could teach him, and he could find out from himself.  We made it clear that we didn't want to prove us right, and prove him wrong, but we wanted to help him find the answers he had always searched for.  We knew that our message was right, but we also knew that if he did not put forth his own effort, he would not know the truth of what we were saying. Being a Professor of Learning, he readily agreed to put in his own effort. We were able to teach him about Prophets, after he made the comment that he hated when he saw “professed christians” going to church, and then going back to live their lives however they wanted the rest of the week. We taught him that through a prophet, we not only know of Christ's gospel, but we also know how to live it, and we know that there are people in the world that live their beliefs every day.

We talked with him about Joseph Smith seeing God the Father and Jesus Christ, receiving the call to be a prophet and restoring Christ's church upon the earth. His favorite part of the lesson is when we said that there was evidence of what we were saying, and that evidence he could read and study for himself. That is the Book of Mormon.  If the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God, then Joseph Smith was His prophet of the Restoration. He kept on saying how much he liked that there was a book, something he could read and study for himself. 

As we were finishing up the lesson he confessed that he made it a point not to visit with or meet with people of other religions. But, apparently he saw us a couple of times on the train and he felt that he needed to talk with us. At the end of the meeting, he said that he wanted to continue to meet and learn more about the Book of Mormon. My companion finished the lesson with a powerful testimony that she knew the Book of Mormon contained the answers to all of the questions he has ever asked, the questions he has had gone unanswered in a lifetime. The Spirit in that lesson was so strong and so tender.  It may have taken a lifetime, but I know that Bak Shin is about to find the answers to all of his questions.

How grateful I am for this Gospel and the fact that I get to teach it and share it with people!  I got to read the Book of Mormon with a man, and he said "Joseph Smith is a prophet, huh?"  I got to testify to 2 girls that they were Daughters of God, divine princesses with the potential to become queens. I got to teach a mom and her sister about the beauty and importance of family. This week was WONDERFUL!! I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!

A fun thing this week too, my first trainee, is going to be training this next transfer!! That makes me a "grandma" in the mission field. President told me today that in 2 transfers every sister in the mission will be training!!!  (That's how many new people we are getting!)  So you never know, I could train 2 more times! Oh and I found out my trainer is dating the AP of my first transfer and I think they are going to get married (in Canada) which makes me SO HAPPY!! 

Oh and crazy thought, within 2 transfers, my sisters group will be the oldest in the mission!! ahhh!!

Well I love y’all! thanks for all the lovin and prayers!

I love missionary work!!
kiss love hugs!