February 22, 2016
My family and friends,
John 14:18- I will not leave you
comfortless: I will come to you.
I'll start my email with that and
also with a big thank you to all of those who said prayers for me this week and
also sent emails making sure I was okay. You are all incredible and you are all
great examples in your own way.
Since I am restarting this blog I
guess I need to add Korean culture tidbits in here; I actually had a lot this
week that I had forgotten or about or at least realized again, but the big one
today is 부담
(boodam. Translated: pressure or something
like that). You give boodam to
someone when you constantly pressure them to do something (ah nag, that’s a
good word for this I guess, but it’s not exactly the same thing). This past
week I loved watching one of my companions pressure tons of people into coming
into church. It’s related to the word 기분 (that means like inner peace fealings) in that if you
pressure someone too hard, they can be offended and that’s like a big deal in Korea.
Anyway back to my scripture in John.
So whenever we change our situation,
whether it is where we live, if we are trying to exercise more, to undergo a
spiritual change, whatever; whenever we try to change, we are generally uncomfortable
at first. So, naturally I experienced a small amount of discomfort this week.
Compared to the rest of my and others’ human experiences, it was fairly
minor. So this week when I went into the temple with the rest of the
missionaries in my area (a temple is not like a meeting house, it is a
place where only dedicated LDS members go and it is sacred for people who are
members of the church), I was having a difficult time trying to be grateful for
what I had and I was also having this pressure and change on me again. Anyway,
in John 14, Jesus Christ talks about the spirit, or Holy Ghost, that He will
send to all those who sincerely ask him. There are a ton of famous scriptures
in this section of the bible but for some reason this one stood out to me. As I
read it, I was reminded that Christ sacrificed his life to take all of our burdens away, not just the
big ones. I was again reminded that even when we feel alone, or out of place,
and sometimes worst of all when we feel guilty; at these times, the Lord has
promised to send His spirit to comfort us, and that He will come to us, maybe
in the form of a friend, or in the form of a peaceful feeling. But I testify
that He will always come. God knows all of His children personally and He knows
how to best help us all. The invitation has been extended to all of us.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
I love you all,
Elder Coleman
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