Helaman 5:12

Okay so this week we got to go to the temple again!  And let me just say, I have never had to work so hard to go to the temple. Let me explain. To get out of Icheon, we have to take a terminal bus to Gangnam. It takes around 2 hours to get to the temple from Icheon. About an hour by bus, and an hour by train. So since the session we wanted to go to started at 9:30am, we bought tickets for the 7:10am bus. Usually we make it there easily if we leave at 7:10. So we didn't think much of it. But this time... we hit some stumbling blocks along the way. It had been raining and raining and raining for days (because I guess there was an earthquake in Japan...? I don't really know. Haha I can't watch the news), and for whatever reason, traffic was at a complete stop in Icheon. For an hour. At first everything was normal, and my cute companion knocked out dead asleep. I was looking out the window wondering if I would fall asleep on the ride too, when we slowed down and ended up completely stopping behind a line of vehicles that seemed to go on forever. I kept looking out the window, and looking at my watch. 10 minutes, still just the scene of endless rice fields and a few farm buildings covered in rain. 20 minutes, still the same scene. 30 minutes, we hadn't moved an inch. I turned around to see if the elders were asleep (they were sitting in the two seats behind us on the bus). They were both wide awake looking out the window. I asked them if we were going to make it. We all knew that there was a great chance we wouldn't make it to the temple on time. We decided that if we could get moving in 10 minutes, we could maybe make the 10:00 session, but as far we knew, we weren't going to be moving. Well, after an hour... literally 60 minutes of looking at those rice fields and farm buildings, we finally got moving. As soon as we got off the bus in Gangnam we called everyone we could to find out if there was a 10:30 session that missionaries could attend, because usually there are sessions specifically for missionaries and we have to attend those. President Morrise was driving so he couldn't answer the phone. Sister Morrise was on her phone and couldn't answer. The zone leaders didn't have an answer to our question. We didn't know if it was worth it to pay the money and go all the way to the temple without being able to go in. But we decided to try anyway.

We literally ran to the temple from the train station, and walked in huffing and puffing. The temple workers saw us and quickly ushered us into the temple. They assured us that there in fact was a 10:30 session that day, and that we didn't need to hurry. Anyway, so we made it to  the temple!

So here is the typical district Temple picture! :)

But there is an important lesson to be learned here. When we are trying to do something good, Satan will do everything he can to stop us. He knows where we are trying to go, and he knows that we are trying to follow the Lord. Therefore, he tries to stop us from doing good. He will send tons of vehicles packed bumper to bumper to try and stop us from getting to our destination. Just like in Helaman 5:12, he will send us storms and whirlwinds and everything he can to stop us. But we have to be strong and continue on with faith that the Lord will help us.  When we take a leap of faith, sometimes it feels like we can be leaping into darkness. Sometimes it feels like we are jumping off a cliff into an abyss and we are not sure what is going to happen. But I know that if we take the leap of faith, the Lord will either provide a net to catch us, or He will give us wings to fly.

 12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.


So this week is a very, very important week for us. We have 3 investigators that we will be inviting to be baptized. Our hope is that they will be baptized before I go home. And that means that they have to attend church 3 times by then. Which means that they have to attend church for the next 3 Sundays, or I will not be here to see them baptized. Two are 14 year old girls that were referred to us by a young woman. The other is a 24 year old Vietnamese woman who married a recent convert in our branch. They all have been very accepting of the gospel, and we know that with faith and hope and trust in the Lord, they can all be baptized. But it will also take a lot of work on our part. So we have made goals to be extra extra obedient and diligent this week. We want to talk to everyone we can while outside, and get to bed right at 10:30pm, leave the house right after lunch, and stay out working until exactly 9:00pm. We know that by polishing our schedule and doing all that we can to serve the Lord this week, we can invite our investigators to church and invite them to be baptized knowing without a doubt that we did everything we could, and the rest was up to our investigators and the Lord. Mostly, we are just trying to show our faith to Him by being extra obedient this week, tightening the loose bolts and polishing the scratches away. :) We are also praying even more often than we already were and more specifically. This week may in fact be the most important week of my entire mission.

We love the country! :)

Okay well that is it for today! Also, my dad just turned 40 again so wish him a happy Bearth Day (his birthday is on earth day ha ha). Love you dad! You're the coolest. And yeah, I know that every time you look in the mirror you get better looking. I am sure it hasn't changed. ;)

Love you all and miss you!

Love, Sister Maughan