December 16, 2013
Dear everyone!!!
I hope you're doing well and getting SUPER excited for Christmas!!! We've had snow in Gumi, and it makes the cold weather so much more worth it. :)
Also, we have two investigators with baptismal dates!!!! It's such a miracle. A little bit about Brother Choi and his daughter:
Brother Choi came to church three weeks ago because he wanted to learn about the church. Well, he came to the right place. :) We called him later that week to see if he wanted to meet for a lesson, and he said, "Yes! Can we meet tonight?" Uh, sure! He accepted the lesson well, took a Book of Mormon, and started reading it. His 10 year old daughter came to our children's English class and the lesson, and she's the adorable little girl who asked us how to be baptized. This past week, we taught them about the Plan of Salvation, and invited them to be baptized on January 4th. They both accepted and they're progressing! Even Jiwon (his daughter) is reading the Book of Mormon, and when we asked her if it was hard, she said, "No, it's fun! Like a story!" She fits right into primary, and she answers questions like she's known the gospel her whole life. In our gospel principles class on Sunday, Brother Choi expressed how the Plan of Salvation makes sense and that he's looking forward to his baptism.
Here's ANOTHER miracle: It's still about Brother Choi. (He's kind of my favorite person right now.^-^) So Brother Choi has a tobacco and a drinking problem. He knows about the Word of Wisdom, and he also knows that in order to keep the Word of Wisdom, he needs to stop drinking and smoking. We planned to sit down with him this week to make a plan to quit both. In the meantime, he came to church on Sunday, and there was just something different about him. His skin was lighter, his eyes were brighter, and there was just a new kind of radiance to his countenance. Turns out, he's already starting to cut back on his own. President Packer said, "A study of the gospel will change behavior faster than a study of behavior will change behavior." And I know that's true. The gospel is so powerful because it is true.
Being able to teach Brother Choi and Jiwon has been such a testimony builder to me. Missionaries didn't find them. They found the Church. They sought out the gospel. Heavenly Father knew them and guided them before we even knew who they were. As missionaries, we do a lot of what we call "finding". We talk to others and proselyte and work with members in an effort to find those who are willing to listen to the special message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a HUGE part of missionary work, but even though we need to find those who are willing to accept this message, they are not lost. Heavenly Father knows EXACTLY where they are. Every single man, woman, and child on this earth is a child of God. He knows each of them, each of US so perfectly, and He loves us so perfectly. There is nothing we can do to change that love. It is simply there. He loves us and He knows us, and if we seek to follow Him, He will bless us more than we could ever imagine.
I'm so grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows each of us and loves each of us infinitely and individually. We can come to know and love Him too, in our own imperfect way. We can do that through prayer. As missionaries, we pray a lot. Several times a day. With others and alone. But the true relationship with Heavenly Father through prayer comes when we seek Him sincerely, with full purpose of heart. I know that when we do pray with faith and with love for our Heavenly Father, we can feel more of His love in our lives and see more the numberless blessings He's already placed in our lives.
I love you all so much! But Heavenly Father loves you most.
Love,
Sister Bonney
