If I listen with my heart

Elder Carmen, Elder Anderson, Sister Anderson, Elder Anderson, Sister Rix

We fasted last Sunday and I bore my testimony that when we listen with our heart we really do hear the Savior’s voice whether it is in reading the scriptures or listening for answers to prayers. I shared some of our answered prayers this week.

This is what a typical Korean table looks like. There is a main dish cooking in front of me, rice, lettuce to wrap the rice and meat and condiments in at the very end of the table, and dozens of other side dishes. There were four kinds of kimchi, bean soup, tiny sardines, a brine of shrimp and dozens of different types of green vegetables fermented, cooked, and spiced plus regular boiled.

We went with Sister Rix to take the elders to lunch. She took us to a restaurant tucked away in the hills across the river not too far from our apartment. I wouldn’t have known to look for it, but everyone in Korea seems to know it’s there by the number of people there at lunch time on a Monday. It was traditional Korean food and she had a good time introducing us to a variety of tastes and textures. I admit that I didn’t try all of them.  We ate more kimchi and hot stuff than we usually do and I ate lots of tofu that was made fresh today. I usually avoid tofu. Sister Rix was careful not to let us waste any rice. Her mother taught her never to waste rice. She is a woman full of charity and kindness. The elders were very appreciative of the food and a chance to celebrate Elder Anderson’s birthday and transfer.

An answered prayer for guidance in our missionary assignment came with an exchange with a young high school student. The story really began last week when we went south for our District Meeting. On our way home, we had just missed the train giving us 30 minutes so we walked along the station platform. We were greeted by a cheerful old gentleman who was a safety guard. He spoke someEnglish and we talked with him until the train arrived. We had a special connection and knew we hadn't missed the train by accident.

Then this week we went back to the same city because a sister missionary there was ill. Our charge was to go cheer her up. The sisters were both Koreans and speak about as much English as we speak Korean so we had them help us with our Korean language which made them giggle.

When we to the train station (You guessed it!), our train had just left. Our friend the safety guard was delighted to see us again. A high school boy came by and the gentleman then told us that he was a boy he talks to at the station and tries to encourage. The love the older gentleman had for the boy was very apparent and the boy reciprocated his love with respect.

The older gentleman goaded the boy into practicing his English with us. At first, the boy was very shy and didn't want to open his mouth. The old man wouldn't accept excuses. Soon we were having a fine conversation with a mix of English and Korean. The train came and the boy stood by me for the 30 minutes to his station. He continued to talk with me about anything we could figure out to say that either I could say in Korean or he could say in English.

The older woman sitting next to me spoke a bit of English, too, so she joined in trying to help us understand one another. The Spirit was there telling that boy that I truly cared about him. He was so happy. When he left the train, I tried to explain to the woman how much I loved that boy and that is why I wanted to help him with his English to make him feel good about himself. I told her that is why I had come to Korea. She could read my name badge. She knew I was a missionary and she felt the Spirit. 

I don't know why the Lord wanted me to talk to those people this week, but I do know that He gave me the opportunity. The boy never would have talked to us if the old man hadn’t introduced us. The old man wouldn’t have trusted us to speak to the boy if he hadn’t already checked us out. We wouldn’t have met either of them if we had caught our trains. We wouldn’t have been on the train at all if the sisters hadn’t needed cheering.

Our other big adventure this week was a visit to the temple and attendance at the adult session of our district conference. We went to lunch with Pres. And Sister Rix and April Harward between the temple and district meeting. Sister Rix ordered for us what we thought was some of the same food we ate on Monday, but it looked quite different and had different side dishes. We are learning.

There was a conference at the Buddhist meeting house just down the street from the temple so they had strung paper lanterns between the light poles all along the street.

                We learned that the stroke Elder Bastian (another senior missionary) had at the DMZ was a very serious one. As the helicopter headed for the hospital in Seoul the medical crew reported him as unresponsive and said they were ventilating him. The Seoul hospital waved them on and had the helicopter take him on to another hospital where he could receive the care he needed. At that hospital they went in through a vein in his leg and removed a blood clot a full centimeter in length from his brain. That is an operation considered experimental in the United States but one that saved his life. The Lord knew he needed to be in Korea and at the DMZ so he could be at the hospital that could do the procedure he would need to extend his life. He is now able to walk, but his speech has yet to return. They will transport him back to the United States as soon as he is stable enough to travel.