January 25, 2015

To my friends and family,

The weeks here just get better and better. There are always disappointments, but in the end everything is worth it when you are doing everything you can to help people have joy through Jesus Christ. This week we had our first baptism. Normally, I would have done it, but my companion was pretty close with our investigator so I was content with just watching this time. We are continuing to teach pretty frequently, more often than a lot of other missionaries in Korea. We have been blessed with a lot of good people who want to hear our message.

So the culture for today: gender relations. First of all, you don't shake the opposite gender's hand at any time, members sit on other sides of sacrament meeting based off of gender, we are not suppose to give up our seats for women looking at all like our age because it looks like flirting, and we typically aren't suppose to preach on the street to women who are alone. It is very weird and I hope I don't get in the bad habit of not giving up seats for women. But yea, super interesting and I'm not sure how much I like it, but its Korea. 

My message on Christ today will be short. Many people know of Christ. All around the world, people have heard his name, know of his teachings, and are maybe part of a church who believes in him. But my question to all of us is do we really follow Christ? The Book of Mormon prophet Alma asks "do we have his image in our countenances?" We have a poster on our wall that says "be the type of person that someone who doesn't know Christ will want to know him because they know you." I am so far from that mark I don't know where to begin, but as we try to emulate the savior's example, we can help bring others peace and joy through him.

My testimony of the restoration of the gospel continues to grow daily as we teach people almost everyday about it and as I learn to teach it in another language. I wish i would have shared it more with people that I knew before my mission, but I'm happy I have the opportunity to do so now. We taught a man this week that has so many questions about doctrines and other historical information. I find it so humbling that I can't understand almost any of the stuff he says, much less answer in his language. But I know that I can always go to the scriptures and promise him that if he reads them, specifically the Book of Mormon, he can know the truth of all things.

I love you all,

Elder Coleman