Sunday, December 14, 2008

Zone Conference

Hello and Merry Kuh-rees-uh-mah-suh from Busan!!!!! (Some Korean pronunciations make me laugh). Things are going well here in Busan. It's pretty cold now, but it's better than the heat we'll experience come summer. Missionary work is still hard (it always is) but soooo rewarding. We've seen some true miracles lately with members who haven't been to church in a long time suddenly starting to come back. The members and missionaries are working so hard to make this happen, and I feel that the Spirit of the Lord is moving upon these people and strengthening them. I like what Paul tells the Ephesians when he says that we invite people to come and be no more strangers, but instead be fellow citizens in the household of God. It's so wonderful to see these good people come back to the body of the saints, where we can all be edified together.

It's important to strengthen the church in Korea for the days ahead. Street proselyting is extremely hard in Korea, and the english program doesn't work well and has been discontinued in Pusan. That pretty much leaves knocking doors as the last way for missionaries to effectively convey this message to the people of Korea. That is becoming more difficult, as all new apt. complexes (where everyone lives in Korea) are getting "gwali-jahs" (security guards) who never let us in.
Eventually, it will be so hard to find people to teach that I feel the ONLY way will be through members. Members of this church will have to invite their friends to learn about their beliefs, therefore it is soooo important that we are strengthening the church now. Just last night we were kicked out of a nice apartment complex that we managed to get into, and that is happening more and more often. It's hard, but we still work hard to bring this message to everyone.

This past week we had zone conference, where maybe 50 missionaries get together from the Pusan "zone" (around Pusan) and have meetings. (Our mission has 5 zones). We had a great, edifying experience and then watched the musical "Scrooge" (I think it was from the 60s or 70s). It was really fun and also allowed us to feel and be taught by the Spirit.
I love the Christmas season and all the good things we can experience and feel during this time of year. I'm sad that I'm missing the festivities in America, but I enjoy the opportunity to share this wonderful message with everyone I meet. Not only was a Savior born, but He still lives! His church is on the earth today and He leads it. God still loves us just as much as He has loved His children throughout the ages. He wants to help us return to Him, and through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ we can. Just like the story and message of Christmas, this gospel message truly is good news to a world much in need of it. I am so happy that I have the opportunity to share it with the world!
Merry Christmasish time! Elder Bocchino

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