Monday, November 21, 2016
Little Changes

I cannot believe it is already Monday again.

When I think back on this week... I'm not entirely sure what to write. It's fun having a young companion--everything is new and exciting to him, so he's good at reminding me what funny or crazy things happened throughout the week.

Among other things:

I got hugged by two drunk guys on two separate occasions. Not actually as rare of an occurrence as one might think.

I may have engaged an old Korean man in a "kimchi squatting" contest. And almost won.

And I learned how to give horses commands... in Korean.

Our list of truly progressing investigators right now is fairly slim. We have people we are meeting with, but none of them are progressing at the rate we would like.

Our most progressing investigator right now is a man we call Curt. I actually don't know his Korean name. He just likes Curt. He was a miracle find a few weeks ago, and has shown lots of interest, especially in the Book of Mormon. We had a neat lesson with him on Saturday where he asked many questions about prayer. He told me that he reads his scriptures and prays, but doesn't feel like he's ever received a solid answer from God. I asked him what kind of an answer he is expecting, and he gave such an insightful and powerful response. In answer to his own questions, he said he believes that in order to receive an answer to prayer, one must first offer the prayer with real intent, then get off his/her knees and begin to act in accordance with the prayer, searching intently in the little things for the answer.

I believe that is absolutely true. Answers to prayers hardly come when we sit and wait for them. Like Elder Bednar told us a few weeks ago, "the most important part of any prayer is when you say 'amen.' In that point you get off your knees, and you begin to actively work to find your answer." And often times, those answers do come through small and simple means. I've had powerful answers to prayers come through things as simple as watching the leaves fall from a tree. As ridiculous as that may sound to some, God's methods are often a lot simpler than we sometimes think.

My good friend, Kim Kyeongdeok, is moving to Australia on Friday where he plans to spend close to a year working and studying English. It's hard to see him go. We spent p day with him today at Daegu Tower where we spent an hour or so ice skating. He expressed to me his fears of going--at the moment he speaks absolutely no English--but then bore a powerful testimony to me that He has prayed and he feels peaceful that God will help him. It's amazing to me that just months ago he had no belief in Jesus Christ and very little perception of who God is, and now he's a powerful witness of the power of the Atonement.

I testify that Christ lives, and He has the power to change lives. I know that prayers are answered. I know this is the work of the Lord.

Love,

Elder Sorensen