Proselyting Miracles

Question of the Week: I've read that it's considered impolite to smile at strangers in Korea. Is this true?

Answer: hmm, not that I've noticed but I am a foreigner, and people react way differently to us than other Koreans. It is way out of their culture to talk with or start conversations with people randomly in public, but we have to ignore that and just do it as missionaries. But yet again, because we're foreigners, they react differently than they normally would so it works (:

Also something about their street culture that I have a story to share about this week is that they never accept help. Ever. I can't tell you the number of times I've offered to help someone carry something or clean up something and they've been like no, I'm good, or something like that, and then if you try to help they very strongly protest. Well this week we had a zone 전도 [proselyting] activity on Friday, so we all ate dinner together and then just blizted this one area and did exchanges for training and stuff. Well about an hour after dinner, me and another elder (Elder Jesse) were walking by the resturaunt we ate at and they were unloading heavy boxes of ingredients and carrying them into the store, and we offered to help and they actually said yes!!! It was soo cool!! For the first time they actually said yes!! haha, small I know, but it was just like yes!! I get to serve someone!! And it was really good, they were really grateful and smiled and thanked us a lot and it was good! (:

Another miracle this week happened on a super cold morning!!! We were doing some stickerboarding 전도 [proselyting], and for the first hour or so we weren't seeing any success at all. But then an investigator of another team comes up and brings us all hot chocolate!! (what a saint!) But that's not the miracle I want to focus on. While we were talking to him and taking a break and drinking the hot coco, we talked about ending because it wasn't being productive today and we were soooo cold. Well we decided to keep going for another little bit even though it was soo cold I couldn't feel my hands anymore, and in those 30-45 minutes we continued we found several people who are amazing!!! One came up to me and was like "Hey you called me the other day, but I wasn't available. Why haven't you called me back, I want to meet" (yes, bad on me for not calling again later but we had been busy) so that's one! And another person comes up to me after that and we're talking and apparently he's read the whole Book of Mormon and remembers prophets from it and other things and has been to church a few times already. Met with missionaries before, but back then decided to not get babtized but now wants to meet again!!! (This whole conversation all happened while he took my hands and put them inside his coat to warm them up... not the weirdest conversation I've had before though). And there were others, but those are just two that were so great!!

Lots of other awesome stuff also happened this week, but I don't have time to write it all so I'll just summarize it with I know God is real, and loves each and every one of us!! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Lott