MJ first met the missionaries 3 years ago here in Busan in the church's neighborhood, not too far away from where his house is. It started out with the missionaries just playing ball and eating together with him but eventually he started receiving the lessons and coming to church. But he felt he wasn't ready for baptism; he still wasn't sure about some things and he wasn't really willing to keep some of the commandments. He still met with the missionaries though, up until he left to go to Australia for about 8 months. And by the time he came back to Korea he had lost contact with missionaries and didn't really think much of it. So a year or so passes and around the same time that our mission had finally finished moving old paper records onto our phones, an elder found his record and decided to call him. So they met for the first time and played a little ball and ate together just like he did when he first met the missionaries. And after awhile the missionaries started asking him more about what he learned back when he first met the missionaries. He remembered all the things the missionaries taught him, not in detail bu enough to remember that they were good and helpful, and how at the time he didn't think he was ready for baptism (and still didn't think so). But that one elder asked him if they could start teaching him the lessons again, just for "practice" and to see if he could start thinking differently about the lessons. And then I transferred in! And we taught him all the lessons again. The only thing is, MJ is a really logical thinker. If he can't see cold, hard evidence for something it's hard for him to accept it. And so we took a pause on the lessons, and we focused solely on faith. And we pulled out ALL the stops to teach him about faith. We used every metaphor and parable we knew. We watched videos that simply summarized and explained things. We even blindfolded him one time for a lesson to teach him how we don't "see" our answers, it takes keen listening and earnest seeking. But most of all, we just taught him that we won't get a witness until after the trial of our faith. Action. And he acted! He started reading the Book of Mormon when we invited him. He started praying. He found a way to come to church on Sundays and started coming when he could. And he finally decided that he'd be willing to receive baptism on the date we decided. Before he was baptized he was very honest in telling us that he still wasn't completely sure about some things, and that keeping some commandments would be hard to agree and live with. But he was also very honest in telling us that he would try. He had the desire and commitment to try his best. And that's faith people! We find out after we test it all, after we put it on the line. There's a million real-life applications to this principle but in it's most simplest: don't knock it 'til you try it. Kim Myeongjin was baptized on April 21st, 2019 on Easter Sunday, the day to represent Christ's resurrection and the reality of eternal life, and now the start of his new life. It was amazing to learn and teach with him, and I know that this is only that start, all he needs to do is keep taking those light steps of faith.
It's been a privilege to serve in the Korea Busan Mission the last two years. It would take more than a weekly email to tell you all the things I've learned or felt but this feels like the epitome of it to me. It's been amazing to witness other's change and conversion. And even more so, to watch my own self change, grow, and convert. I'll share probably my favorite scripture and finish this up. It's in Matthew 16: 24-25.
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
I didn't do my work or will for the past two years, it was someone else's (more specifically, God's). I use to be the type of person that really just looked out for themself. Just focusing on me, my problems, my interests. But I've since looked back plenty of times and realized: I wasn't happy. Part of my efforts to personally find out of becoming a missionary was right and if the church was true was really at first just trying to figure out how I could be happy. And I felt that this was a way to find out. I started not really knowing what to expect but with a few things I hoped to accomplish and a promise to try my very best, just like my friend MJ. I lost myself for two years and I can say that I found a lot more than what I had to begin with. I'm still Gavin Metcalf but it feels like a different, more happy, new life. And I know that all it took was the simple act of trying. Keep trying! And if you haven't tried yet, just try it. You'll be surprised what you find~ ^^
-Elder Metcalf
No comments:
Post a Comment