Elder Alan Sorensen: Korea Busan

Monday, May 23, 2016

Hakunamata

Thank you for the emails, everyone!

President Barrow

This week we had zone conference in Busan... and President Barrow took everyone hiking up a mountain situated right in the heart of the city. Definitely a zone conference to remember.

Missionary work is wonderful and exciting and I am learning so much, but at times it can be heartbreaking and disappointing. We are working so hard to find people to teach, but the rejections seem to be getting more and more frequent. Old investigators move away or drop us, we call the numbers that we obtained during the day and nobody wants to meet, or appointments get cancelled. It's difficult when you see how much this message can change someone's life, then they reject it.

Despite the rejection we face, I know the Lord is guiding this work and preparing the hearts of the people. I see His hand in my life every day. I have mentioned before, but sometimes the trick is just to "sail on."

On Saturday night, after facing some pretty rough rejection, we had dinner with two ward members, Sister Jeong and her husband Brother Park. (In Korea, women don't change their last names when they get married.) Sister Jeong, who could sense that we were feeling a little exhausted and sun-burnt from the day's activities, offered some very encouraging words. She shared with us her conversion story, which I would like to quickly summarize.

She met the missionaries through the free English class we offer. Originally, she had no gospel interest, but she agreed to meet with the missionaries because she was friends with them and didn't want to let them down. She progressed through the lessons, and eventually accepted a baptismal date. Up until this point, she had never felt the Spirit, but once again, didn't want to let the missionaries down. She was baptized, but even after the service, she didn't feel anything. The missionaries would tell her that "that feeling you have is the Spirit," and she would go along with it because she really didn't want to disappoint the missionaries.

A few weeks after being baptized, she began to hear some crazy rumors about the church and her friends told her she was part of a cult. Her parents weren't happy either. Sister Jeong, many months after originally meeting the missionaries, decided she needed to KNOW whether or not this church is true. So with no real plan in mind, she made the decision that she would fly to Jeju island, by herself, and spend a week alone so she could ponder on the restored gospel.

With very little money, she left for Jeju. She had no idea where she would sleep every night, but prayed that God would provide a way for her. Each night she was able to find a comfortable place to sleep.

She didn't go into much detail about the rest of the experience, but she told us that God spoke so clearly to her heart and mind that she knew without a doubt that this church is true. When she returned home a week later, she felt proud to be a member of the church, and now she is one of the strongest members here in Tongyeoung.

Her story reminded me of Enos, who describes his experience as a "wrestle" and a "struggle" before God, and only after praying all day and all night, he received his witness of the truth.

Obtaining one's own conversion is a battle. For most people, it's not as simple as reading a few lines and praying to know if it is true. Like Sister Jeong and Enos, it requires hungering and thirsting for the truth, and the action to prove it.

I'm not sure if you are aware, but the activity rate among members in Korea is hovering around 10% right now, and I know there are struggling church members all over the world. The problem, I think, is that people aren't willing or don't know how to pay the price for their own conversion.

I remember a talk from General Conference Spring 2015. I don't remember the speaker. He told the story of an Indian who was very good at dancing. When asked by one man if he would teach the man to dance, the Indian replied, "I can teach you to dance, but you must feel the music." As missionaries, we teach the dance, but people must choose to feel the music. Only then can they truly be "converted unto Christ."

As always, we will keep looking for those with the ears to hear the music. I know it's there, because I have heard it. I am grateful for the opportunity to represent the Savior here in Korea. If any of you haven't already, please ask God if this is not His true church. If you do so with a willingness to pay the price for your own conversion and a "hungering and thirsting" for the truth, I promise He will answer.

Until next week!

Love you all,

Elder Sorensen