Dear Jordan,
Thank you for your email. We love hearing from you and what you are doing. Everyone continues to ask how you are doing. I enjoy hearing mom's excited responses. She likes to tell people that you are using your Chinese. I also let everyone know as well. I say that you are doing well and that you are still learning Korean. Please let us know if there is something you want us to say.
How is your comprehension of what the people are saying now? In Korean and Chinese? French? Any changes in who your companion is, meaning any transfers? What do you think of your mission president and his wife?
We had the ward Family Home Evening on Monday at the Wood's house. Mom and I were able to visit with Brother Wood for a little bit before it started. We asked him if he also found it difficult to commit investigators to baptism. He said yes, mainly because the family traditions of Buddhism and ancestor worship. He said that even if the person died and went to a place of peace and joy, if the descendant didn't burn the incense and have the statues on the mantle, then the person would be moved to a less and less pleasant place. I don't know if you are facing that situation.
I do know that if the Spirit is there in your discussion and the person recognizes the Spirit (always point it out when you feel it), that the Spirit will help confirm what the person needs to do. As you know, always say the things that the Spirit prompts you to say. I know you have heard this but I will repeat it. You can teach but the Spirit will convert and confirm. I know I was in a different situation in Ecuador. We still had plenty of people that wanted to discuss the gospel but being baptized was a different matter. The hardest part for them was if their family had been in the Catholic church for a long time, they didn't want to go against tradition. However, many times they weren't active in the church (only Easter and Christmas) so that the biggest change was starting to keep the commandments. I know that they are receiving the blessing of Lehi and the other prophets that they would be accepting the gospel in the last days. I know that the people of Korea are from a different lineage; however, they still are eligible for the blessings of the house of Abraham.
The Lord will help you if you follow the promptings. You will get to know the people quickly and there will be little things that will stand out in your discussions with the people that will help you show that you are interested in them. Let them know that Heavenly Father loves them and wants them to be happy. One thing that occurred to me was, in their lives, they have already made many important decisions (marriage, work, car, house) and with their decision, there have been blessings and trials. Baptism is the same but there will be special blessings and trials. When they were making the important decisions, ask why they decided to make the decision (what prompted them to make the decision) and then the process they went through to finalize the decision. With many of our decisions we only have so much information or people to talk with to gather the information. With baptism, we also can research and ask but we have a loving Heavenly Father who will respond. He has many more blessings for us if we will do his will. (see Ensign article at end of email). When I was in the discussions with the people in Ecuador, the Spirit made it easy for the people to accept baptism, plus it was part of their traditions to be baptized. If I think of anything else, I will let you know.
Dallin is back in his mission. Robert is taking a test today for his work. He has been studying for several months to pass it. I hope he has good news. Ben had another job interview and I hope to hear how it went on Sunday. Grandma and Grandpa Stamps were in town last week and some of the girls and mom were able to see them briefly and eat dinner with them.
How have your meals been? Is there anything that you don't have access to that you need? Have you had a zone meeting yet? Have you had any visiting General Authorities? Do you have to get any additional shots while you are there? (we generally received our gamma globulin shots at Zone Meetings) You may not have the same situations/meetings.
Spring is almost here. We had highs in the 50s and 60s last week. This week we got some snow but the temperature is rising. Hopefully we will continue to receive rain so that we have enough water. How is the weather there? What have you liked? Have you been able to visit any sites yet? Did you go through the temple in Korean or English?
The Lord has blessed you and us exceedingly. He loves us and watches over us. The gospel is true and we can receive eternal life (the greatest gift) by living the commandments. We love you and miss you but are grateful that you are willing to serve the Lord. Continue to work hard and smart but always follow the Spirit.
Love,
Mom, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, Bekah, dad
P.S. - Here is the article from the March Ensign, if you haven't seen it yet.
Serving a Stranger
BY YONG GIL PARK
As my departure from Korea came closer, I was worried. Who would take care of my aunt after I left?
My mom never accepted the gospel in her earthly journey, even though I had prayed for her and felt she would accept it someday. She was a strong woman who sacrificed throughout her life to support our family after the Korean War. On the one-year anniversary of my mom’s death, my wife and I went to the Los Angeles California Temple to perform her baptism and confirmation.
The strong Spirit in the room confirmed to me that my mom gladly accepted the gospel and the ordinances.
Just before my mom passed away, she asked me to take care of her younger sister, who was in a hospital in Korea. My family and I lived in California, USA, so unfortunately there seemed to be no way to fulfill my mom’s compassionate last wish.
Then my job unexpectedly relocated me to South Korea, and I had to be separated from my family for a year. Although I was concerned about living far from my family, I also anticipated visiting my aunt and my dad, who was in a Korean hospital suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
I asked Heavenly Father for divine help in living away from my family. As I thought about the time I would spend in Korea, I resolved to visit my dad, my aunt, and the temple weekly as well as to pray for my family daily.
Once I was in Korea, the bishop of my new ward called me to be the Young Men president and the Gospel Doctrine teacher. My ward and the hospitals where my dad and aunt stayed were far from each other, and I had a very demanding job; but Heavenly Father blessed me with strength and stamina to magnify my callings and to keep my resolutions.
Soon after I started visiting my aunt, I discovered she rarely had any visitors. I decided to pick her up and have her stay with me on the weekends at my hotel, which had an extra room. However, I had a problem: should I take her with me to church on Sunday? I thought she would neither be interested in nor understand the meetings, and she would have to wait for hours after church for me to be done with meetings and other duties. But for some reason I felt I should take her.
That Sunday I took her with me, and, as expected, she had to wait for me afterward. After my meetings, I took her back to the hotel to eat. I noticed that she held a bag. I asked her about it, and she said a sister had given her some snacks. Whenever I had duties after church, this sister—who did not know my aunt—always offered my aunt snacks. One week during my Sunday School lesson, a familiar voice volunteered to read a scripture. I had never imagined my aunt would volunteer, but a kind sister sitting next to my aunt had prompted her to read for the class. Although my aunt was not good at socializing because of her time isolated in the hospital, all the members kindly greeted and chatted with her.
Every Sunday evening I would take her back to the hospital and promise to pick her up the next weekend, which always brought a happy smile to her face. One day a friend of mine shared a concern that my aunt might have a hard time when my visits suddenly stopped when I left Korea. As my scheduled departure from Korea came closer, I felt mixed emotions—happy to be soon reunited with my family but distressed and sad about leaving my aunt alone. Finally, I explained to my aunt that I would not be able to visit her as often. She paused a moment, obviously disappointed.
Then she tried to compose herself and asked if I could visit her again in a year. I cried and desperately asked Heavenly Father to help this lady. On my last Sunday in Korea, the bishop asked if ward members could pick up my aunt on Sundays to bring her to church. He said that a number of members were willing to visit her on a regular basis—so many that they would have to organize and take turns.
I could not believe his offer! This was the unexpected answer to my desperate prayers. Since the members lived far away from my aunt’s hospital, I offered to leave some money for them to cover the travel expenses,
but the members refused to take my money. They told me they would take turns visiting once a month, but I found out later that they actually visited every week. One faithful sister picks up my aunt every Friday to attend institute and have lunch. She even took her to a beauty shop for a haircut. Another sister, a single mother of two teenage children, volunteered to pick her up every Sunday morning. She cooks for my aunt, takes her for a walk, and listens to music with her. Most importantly, she tries to be a friend, and my aunt has finally opened up and comfortably chats with her and other members.
Every Sunday evening the bishop picks up my aunt from a member’s home after his long day of Church meetings and other duties to take her back to the hospital. Every Thursday he sends a kind email to me to report their heavenly service for my aunt. I believe that my mom saw the actions of faithful Latter-day Saints serving her younger sister. And now I know, more clearly than ever, why we call our fellow Church members “brothers” and “sisters.”
