Hey, Long Time no See

HEy Long time no see!!!!!‏
6/27/10


Dear Family!!!!!!!!

Sorry its been such a long time since I emailed you for real’s but when your companions time in Korea is limited it seems like he always wants to make the most of the time he has left! Haha, however I haven’t minded going around everywhere with him! In the last 12 weeks I have been to the zoo, Buddhist temple, biggest mall in Korea, fishing, an amusement park, and to cap it of today I have to be at the mission office all day while my companion has his final interview! We had to have a bunch of fun ones to make up for the lame one today I guess!

We have a baptism scheduled for the 11th of July! He is a 24 year old man by the name of 강영일, kang young ill, he is just amazing! Elder tucker actually first met him on the bus on his way out to do some baptismal interviews for me when I was still out in shi heoung and we just started meeting him again about two weeks ago! He loves sports, studying, and his girlfriend is fluent at Japanese and looking to get baptized as well!!!! This last week he also brought one of his friends and we talked together and his friend has tons of interest! He’s been to church only once and didn’t come this last Sunday because of the world cup game(WE LOST>>>WHAT HOW COULD WE LOSE? OH…THAT’S RIGHT, KOREANS AREN’T VERY ATHLETIC!!!!!!!HAHA)! Keep him in your prayers if you would, he’s a great guy but he has stuggles with the word of wisdom and also with the law of chastity probably. He has cut from a whole pack to just five cigarettes a day but definitely needs the lords help to get the rest of the way!

This last Saturday I had to do a baptismal interview for only the second time on my mission and wow did it rack my nerves! I had a woman who had had big problems in life and she was confessing it all out to me! Let me tell you I have never felt the weight nor the power of the calling as a missionary as much as I did then. This woman as almost every other woman over the age of forty in Korea had had an abortion but she had also had other problems earlier in her life which could have prevented her form getting baptized. After hearing all this and talking for a while I finished the interview and called up to president burton cause she had to have another interview with him. I told him what was going on and he says, “Well, Elder looks like you’ve gotten yourself a good one!” I was thinking yeah thanks president holy smokes this is crazy, I never want to be a bishop if this is what they hear every day. Then president stunned me by saying, “ Well since I am going home in 4 days I don’t have any counselors any more and I can’t make it down there to do the interview for her. So because of the seriousness of the matter I feel it inappropriate to do it over the phone so what I am going to do is have you do it. President then gave me very specific instructions on what to ask and then said at the end of talking with her I want to you to go with the feeling that you get from the spirit. I was astounded and shocked that so much power was being put into my hands to decide whether or not this woman was worthy for baptism. After another 30 minutes of talking with her and learning all the details I asked her to bear her testimony about why she wanted to be baptized and the gospel. She gave a very sweet and short testimony of the atonement and the power of it that she has felt in her life. At that time I felt the saviors overwhelming love fro both her and me, I knew in my heart that she had fully repented and was forgiven of her sins despite the seriousness of the matter. I heard from the elders who baptized her last night that her baptism went great and she cried through the whole thing! Its really cool to come to understand a little bit more the power of the atonement through an experience like that! I love this gospel and know that it is true and all I want to do while I am out here is help people begin the long road back to our father in heaven by being baptized! This gospel heals people not only externally but internally as well! I love all of you and hope you’ll allow yourselves to be guided by the lords hands this week!

Love,

Elder Greg Grant