Seoul Chaser: Sokcho Week 29

Dear Family and Friends,

So this week, all said and done, was really crazy. I definitely experienced some of the hardest things on my mission and some of the sweetest moments this week. It all started with a hectic Monday. After Monday morning spent talking to people on the street and emailing home, we took a bus ride out to a smaller town in an area north of Sokcho. Since we had quite a bit of time, we decided to explore a less visited part of our area. We spent about 4 hours there talking to people trying to share this great message, and we were literally rejected by every single person we talked to. At one point, as we were talking to this college student, a girl shouted out behind us, "Cult!" which basically ended any continued conversation. We felt like Alma and Amulek in that city, talk about modern day application! Elder Choi and I had received a training last week from our Zone leaders on being positive, so we were pretty much silent about the whole situation, just trying to be patient. After we left, we headed over to an appointment at an apartment building in Sokcho, but she was not there, so we decided to start knocking on doors in that apartment complex. On the second floor we got to, a lady came out from her apartment, interupted a great conversation we were having with a man, and personally escorted us out of the building. I was not in the best mood after that, but luckily my companion was there to help me out. As we left the apartment, I just turned to my companion, and said, "Elder, we need to pray." After pretty much pouring our hearts out to God (I haven't really felt that dejected in a long time) and moreover expressing our frustration, we decided to go visit an old investigator who was close by. As soon as we walked out of that apartment complex, Elder Choi and I immediately turned to the smell of some amazing garlic bread from the bakery right across the street. We were basically hypnotized by the smell as we realized how hungry we were. Right then, a man walking by stopped after we asked to shake his hand and invited us to eat bread at this bakery. Being conscious of our money situation, I expressed a shortage of money. Without hesitation, this man took us into the Bakery and bought us about $15 dollars worth of delicious bread, while the baker continued to bring out more. I have never been more humbled and grateful by the grace and love of God. I was in awe by the miracle that came at a time when I needed it most. I really felt overwhelmed by the spirit, recognizing an immediate answer to our prayers. It is such a sacred experience to me that cannot be fully expressed here, but I feel inspired to share it so that others can see how well God takes care of us. That day we talked to over 120 people on the street and went right to bed as soon as we got home.

Our entire week was full of amazing experiences that I am so grateful for. Our investigator, Do-Yeong, came to church, and we were able to have some really great discussions about the Gospel with him. We are still planning on him being baptized in a week and a half, if we can get permission from his parents by then. He's a fifteen year-old kid, but he has a great heart and a desire to be baptized. We also had a weird experience with an investigator that we met for the first time. He is quite the interesting man, who at one point expressed we should talk more at the nearby beach. Since we were having a good gospel conversation, we followed him, only to find that he had the intention of buying fireworks. We stood helpless as he bought a thing of roman candles and shot them off at the beach. We weren't sure what to do, so we called President, and he said we could watch. We took some pretty hilarious pictures afterwards.

Thanks for all of the love and support. There's not a lot of time to express all of my thoughts this week, so hopefully this phrase will suffice: Missionary work is awesome!

Your Favorite Missionary,

Elder Wheeler