Elder Alan Sorensen: Korea Busan

Monday, April 24, 2016
Annyeonghaseyo, yeoreobun.

Yesterday, as you know, we had planned for Brother Ha to be baptized.

We met many times last week, and reviewed all we had taught him.

He told us that in anticipation for his baptism this week, he hasn't smoked a cigarette for 4 days (When Elder Stoker and I first met him, he was smoking 7 a day). Every time we have met, he has told us how difficult it is to quit smoking, so a few weeks ago we made him a promise that if he would pray every day, he would be able to quit before April 24th, his scheduled baptismal date. He was so excited to tell us that he hadn't smoked for 4 days, and the he will never smoke another cigarette again. When we mentioned moving his baptismal date, he told us he has been preparing really hard for baptism, and he would prefer to keep the date on the 24th. The Spirit in the room was so strong, and Elder Tuinei and I talked and both felt that it would be okay to go ahead with the baptism.

On Saturday, Brother Ha had his baptismal interview. He came out of the room glowing, and told us he was so excited for tomorrow.

Ten minutes before church on Sunday, we called to see where he was, and he told us he was really sorry, but he would be about an hour late. Two hours later, I called President Barrow (who was on his way down from Busan) to tell him that Brother Ha never showed up, and wasn't answering our phone calls. President Barrow said "Well, Elder Sorensen, if I were you, I would go to his house and I would knock on his door."

So we did. We grabbed the sister missionaries and we looked up Brother Ha's address on his baptismal record, and we went and knocked on his door.

His father answered and told us that Ha Jeongman had left to Geoje island the night before and had never come home.

Up to this point (Monday evening), we haven't heard from him at all.

I never thought I would be THAT missionary whose investigator didn't show up to his own baptism. I realize, though, that things like this happen. Yesterday was rough on both myself and Elder Tuinei, but today we both feel very peaceful.

I have been thinking a lot about why Elder Tuinei and I both had the impression to go ahead with his baptism, then why things turned out the way they did. I realized that God can do all things, and that He is always blessing people with the direction they need. However, God loves us enough that he will never interfere with our personal agency. We can always choose our path, whether it is the one God has prepared for us, or a different one. I think Brother Ha will come around.

Well, enough about that. On a totally unrelated topic, I learned some valuable lessons about the Spirit this week. The Spirit, in some ways, is like water. When present, it flows like water and directs thoughts, words, and even behaviors. However, when not present, there truly can come a "stupor of thought." Calling upon the Spirit in times of need is easy if your thoughts are already focused on the Savior. But going from a state where you are not fully in tune with the Spirit to a state when you are is like bringing water to a boil. It takes time. You can't flip on a switch and feel the Spirit if you haven't been making the effort to feel the Spirit in the first place.

Wow, that made very little sense, even to me. The point is (actually, this is a totally unrelated point) that the gospel is true and the work is moving forward. We are seeing lots of miracles in Tongyeoung, and I'm grateful I'm here.

Sorry about the super long, confusing email. I guess my thoughts are a little jumbled today. Until next week!

Love,

Elder Sorensen