Miracles and other Blessings in the Heat

We wish you could all be here to enjoy the special experiences we are having.  Each week the missionaries send emails which include miracles, large and small, they see in their work.  Remember, there are 94 (numbers will be lower this week) missionaries in an area of maybe 20-25 million people.  As Elder Rasband called it, by "divine design" people are in places at the right time to connect with our missionaries.

One really special miracle happend for our team this week that I wanted to mention. We had been on street tracting for a long time to no avail and we were about ready to take a short breather and rest. But then, right before we did it, I saw a person who I thought was a boy at a crosswalk alone. I was really tired and wanted to take a break, but then I remembered the words of Elder Renlund and thought, "You never know who your next miracle is going to be these days." So I decided to just talk to one more person and talked to him. To make a long story short, she ended up being a person I had met over a year ago! We ended up getting her number and helped her connect to the Sisters and she came to church! The best part is that she came and said she wanted to keep coming to church weekly and really enjoyed it! It was also special because she had kept the namecard I had given her a year ago when I met her on the train! This experience showed me that no effort is wasted. It was really special to see a seed planted over a year ago begin to sprout! I am grateful for the Lord and His timing.

We had a baptism this week with a man with a dilemma.  Here's his back story.  

The last miracle I want to share is about the person who is going to be baptized this Sunday! So his boss caught him on the CCTV coming to our church and is probably going to kick him out because he doesn't like religion. Well, I was super sad because after sacrament meeting yesterday he told us that he will probably lose his job if he gets baptized this Sunday. Well, we didn't know what to say. My companion and I were worried because if he loses his job it will be hard for him to find a new one because he is 70 years old and he isn't that wealthy. As we were thinking he suddenly called and we quickly answered.  He told us that he will probably lose his job but that he still wants to go through with the baptism. He said that he knows that the Lord has brought him this far and if he follows Him that the Lord will pour out his blessings to him. We were so happy for him even amidst these super hard trials.  His faith in Jesus Christ and this church is so strong! He is ready and knows that this is the path he wants to follow. I know that for me and also for him, that as we have faith, the Lord will always answer our prayers and pour out his spirit to us. I am so thankful!

Here is the result:

We visit with pioneers, people willing to do hard things despite opposition.  They are such a powerful influence on our church members, our missionaries, and on Sister Turner and myself.

We wrapped up interviews this past week and wanted to make sure we got these pictures on the post this week.  The upcoming week will be so crazy, it's now or much later. 

These two elders got away too quickly so we had to ask them to send us one!

 We wanted to continue the 'Prom' theme, but the stairwell was too hot so we used the couches.

 

Further fulfilling our missionary purpose, our missionaries have been teaching, testifying, inviting, and praying with so many people.  Many are making sacred covenants.

The next three pictures are the same baptism today, but wanted to demonstrate all that's going on.  This illustrates the number of missionaries involved in teaching this young lady.  The young man in white is her older brother who was baptized just a few months ago.

This picture is for the two young ladies being baptized and the love between the girl and her brother.

 These two young ladies are 16 and 17 years old so this picture illustrates the support they get from other lovely young ladies at the ward they attend.

 Here's another picture that illustrates all those involved in changing a life.

Finally, we had a nice visit from a former sister missionary who departed last November.  She brought her family.  Unfortunately, they couldn't pick a cooler time to come, but we wanted to make sure we helped them have a real Korean experience.  It always includes food!

We continue to be in a very warm weather pattern which is expected to stay for some time.  We are doing all we can to encourage positive efforts to stay hydrated, avoid the direct sun, spend time doing a bit more record updating, studying, etc.  They are happy to follow the counsel.  This week will be the worst so far this year with heat indexes exceeding 115F.  It's Death Valley with humidity!

Thank you for you continued support and help for these special people.  We couldn't be happier!