As you know, the trip is a good 4 hours total to get to the mission office. Elder Torres gets car sick and so he just rested as I read Elder Clayton's book, The Power of Every Day Missionaries. It is a really great book and it has inspired me with new ways I can help the members in their efforts.
After getting off the bus, feeling really inspired, we headed to the subway station. We got on and I was feeling refreshed, as I always do when I come in to Seoul, because their are so so so many more people to talk to and interact with compared to where I serve now. When walking the streets in Dong-Hae we are lucky to see another person coming our way on the street every 5 mins. Haha
Anyways, in all of the hubbub, talking with the people about why choose to serve, I noticed that we were passed the stop where we were originally planned to get off. And, so, I quickly asked Elder Torres "Which way should we go this way or that way?" He responded by just saying. "Why don't we just get off here?" So we just went with it. It wasn't too big of a deal because there are several way by subway to get to the mission home and we just continued, with not much more thought about it.
Then we arrived. We originally planned to try taking a video of me contacting people on the streets as we were asked to do, for training the next day. We were also planning on just skipping dinner because we wanted to find people, and do the challenge given to the Zone Leaders. But, then Elder Torres said, "There is a Kim-bab place near by right?" I didn't fight too hard against it, because we are supposed set aside time as missionaries to have dinner anyways. And, Kim-bab is a quick and light food, so maybe if we hurried we could still try to take the video, so we got Elder Torres some Kim-bab.
As we sat down, I opened my mouth quickly to comment on something to the people near by. (I have learned through-out the mission about how to follow a prompting as soon as it comes, because then I have no time to sit on it and build up any worries about the situation.) Hahaha I feel like acting on the promptings I get in the moment has almost become habitual. So actually, I don't think much more about it after sharing a comment/icebreaker. (In this case in was simple Korean, saying, "Wow that is a fancy dish you got there. What is it called?") He responded to my question, but gave off a feeling that he wasn't interested. So we ordered our Kim-bab and ate it, and talked to each other about something else.
We finish our so called "dinner" and were just about to get up when the same guy, spoke to us in clear English saying, "Are you Mormon missionaries?" Both his English and comment were unexpected, but were pleasing and we answered with a warm "Yes!!! We are missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"
We had fantastic conversation on religion and Christ and it turns out that we are the first pair of missionaries that he has talked to. He had seen them on the streets frequently coming to and from school as a kid.
We taught him about what makes our religion different from others and explained the Book of Mormon and that fun jazz. It is crazy how well it flows when people actually have interest. The Spirit is strongest when both people have interest!
After inviting him to read the restoration pamphlet and becoming friends with him on Facebook, we headed out sort of giddy. As I pulled out my wallet trying to pay for our meal, he quickly stopped me and said "Let me pay, you already give so much, I'll pay!"
What a great Christian man, as we finished the final part of our trip going to the Mission Home, we could see how God was guiding our steps along the way. We didn't need to come to Seoul an hour early. We could have taken another path on the way to the office, and weren't even planning on eating Kim-bab when we arrived.
I am so grateful for the Spirit's guiding influence! And, I am glad that I get this chance on the mission to learn how to follow the promptings, even though sometimes the choice I end up making can seem as if these "promptings" are just me "giving in to my carnal desires." Like choosing to eat Kim-bab over going around on the cold streets to trying find someone. Or, instead of working one hour more in Dong-Hae, our area, we choose to just leave early. Things like that.
Were these things the cause of my Free Agency?? Or, caused due to Inspiration? Which one?
2 Nephi 2:16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.
I know that agency is crucial to God's Plan of Happiness, and that He leaves a lot of things up to our best judgement, but I also believe that as we try stay worthy of the Spirit and use our best judgments. God will always be guiding our foot steps even if we don't recognize it fully in the moment.
We are brought into this world to walk by faith rather than by sight. God needs us to learn how to act for ourselves. Otherwise, God would have just kept us in Heaven and told us every single thing to do, taking away another important factor of learning the truthfulness of His way by experience, rather than just learning truth in theory.
I hope you all realize that you are all agents unto yourselves, not only following blindly, but by experience and your best judgement. I also desire that you realize the need of acting by faith and learning how to receive more and more guidance and inspiration through counseling with the Lord as the brother of Jared did.
The answer to the question posed earlier is not whether it is agency or inspiration. It is both. They act in one. As stated beautifully by Lehi!
Again, we are not to be pets of the Lord, but we His children learning to be agents of His family business. But, we mustn't forget the need for His inspiration! “There’s no one so hard to teach as the child who knows everything... We can trust that we are beloved children of Heavenly Parents... and be assured that “on our own (acting on our own best judgement) ” will never mean “alone (His Spirit Guiding in our own decisions).”
Thoughts were pull from Bruce R McKonnie, Dail G. Renlunds, David A. Bednar, and Lehi! My Heroes!
Love Elder Alger!
People in my zone need baptismal clothes we checked if the size matches the candidate by putting it up to me!! More baptisms are being realized in Kang-Won-Do then ever before!!!!! It is exciting! The next one to get baptized is Wonju!!! 화팅
X-mas is somewhat shown here!
Members sharing their love with us!
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