New Year

January 1, 2017

Happy new year everyone! It was a pretty funny one here in Korea! A lot of Koreans do something for New Year’s but nothing that we could really participate in. So instead we went back to my old area in Seoul and had a pretty large party with a lot of the recent converts and members there. When we went there, we did a pretty funny skit about what bad missionaries do in the morning and at nights (our mission president showed up to the party and I’m not sure if he thought our portrayal of the "sacred hours" was very funny. Haha, sorry president :)

Anyway, so this week is a week of new goals and new hopes. It is pretty much the same here in the countryside but we are still having fun. It is a little cold and all of that, but we are seeing a lot of great miracles and meeting with a lot of good people. One thing that has been on my mind a lot this week is the idea of a new life. I think most people set goals at the start of a new year, usually that are kept until about the middle of February and then we either forget about them or think that they are impossible to achieve. Some of us set goals for physical change like going to a gym, emotional change like laughing more, spiritual change like maybe going to church more, and some social change like making new friends. Whatever our goals are, I know that we can achieve them even when we are tired. Recently because it is cold outside and we are pretty busy all day, it has been hard to wake up for all of us in the house. This morning as I was studying I remembered how much patience the Savior had for the Apostles when they were physically weak.

“And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.  And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest:”

I think this scripture has many lessons for us to learn. First of all, the Savior is patient with us in our physical weaknesses. He knows that we get tired and hungry. Second, we should be patient with ourselves in our physical weaknesses. We should not say to ourselves, "Wow, Peter stayed awake for 20 minutes and I only stayed up for 7. I’m such a bad person." We shouldn't compare our weaknesses to others’, because we are all different and we have different weaknesses. Finally, we should be patient with others as they try to reach their goals and the things that they are trying to do. Let’s all be a little bit more helpful and kind to each other as we are all on the same path to be better.

I love you all,

Elder Coleman