Letter from Elder Britsch March 26th, 2009

Dear Fam,
We had to postpone last Sunday’s baptism to this Sunday because our baptismal candidate was undergoing, for lack of better words, a “special time of the month.” However, she did come to church with us and will be baptized this Sunday. Elder 임 is still awesome and doing great. I am also happy, though still battling allergies. I have started over on the Book of Mormon the last few weeks and have gained so many new insights during this reading. There is so much of the writing and the words that can go unnoticed with a casual read. I’ve enjoyed being able to dive into Nephi’s mind and connect it to my own. I’ve been trying to emulate his ability to be positive and faithful through every trial he faced. Transfers are on Saturday. We will see what happens. We have started teaching some new people. One is a dentist who went to Baylor for dental school. He is catholic but expressed interest in learning about our religion. Although he’s catholic, he goes to classes at the Buddhist temple because he feels its ok to learn about other religions. We are grateful for his uncommonly open mind. I was on the subway, yesterday, when an older man with a beard and long grey hair looked at my name tag and then told me he was the Messiah. He said “I am the Messiah. I am God. I am the savior.” I didn’t know how to reply. He got off at the next stop and that was it. After being in the 60’s on Saturday, it snowed on Tuesday. Just flurries. The cold weather is still here. I had one of my new students in English class give a prayer and he pulled out some notes and gave a southern Baptist preacher prayer in English. I almost laughed because he was so into it. He was rocking in his chair. It was his first time praying. He had written down words to say this week after I had asked him to pray last week and he had declined. I shared about my seminary experience in english class. I never realized how significant the seminary program is to non members, especially in korea. They couldn’t believe that I did it. It gave them a whole new respect for the church and led into a great discussion of the book of mormon. I am grateful for the seminary program. I have been able to use so much of what I learned in seminary on my mission. I wish I had studied harder and memorized more than the 100 standard scriptures. Korean is a place I will never forget. I already know I will miss it when I leave.
Love
Elder B