When Kelly Wigington mentioned his mission to a stranger six years ago, he didn’t expect an outpouring of miracles to follow.
This seemingly chance experience led to a deeply personal assurance of God’s love, a rekindled connection across the globe, and a genuine friendship between two families that is ongoing today.
The First Miracle: A Mission in Common
In September 2019, Kelly listed his phone for sale online. A potential buyer reached out, and Kelly and his wife, Jan, arranged to meet him at a local sandwich shop.
When the young man arrived, he began testing the device and adjusting the settings.
“I noticed Korean characters that were appearing on the screen,” Kelly remembers. “I remarked, ‘Oh! You are Korean!’ and he briefly nodded.
“I continued, ‘I served a mission in South Korea.’
“Again, he looked up and replied, ‘Yeah. So did I.’”
Kelly learned the young man’s name was Jaehwan Jung, and the two began comparing the different areas where they served. Curious if they had any mutual connections, Kelly asked Jaehwan for permission to text some photographs of people he baptized.
“After serving my mission, I didn’t have any contact with any of those people that I’d met, taught, and baptized, and I often wondered what might have become of them,” Kelly says.
Jaehwan agreed to look over the pictures, purchased the phone, and they went their separate ways.
The Second Miracle: An Unexpected Connection in South Korea
Kelly texted Jaehwan the baptism photos. While Jaehwan didn’t recognize anyone, he sent the photos on to one of his former mission friends. A day later, Kelly received a phone call from Jaehwan.
“He ... suggested that I sit down,” Kelly says. “He explained that his fellow missionary friend, Youngchan Kim, who was currently attending Brigham Young University in Provo, didn’t recognize anyone in the photos but had forwarded them on to his mother back in Korea. She reportedly screamed when she saw [a baptism picture] because she was the 12-year-old girl in the photo.”
Over 40 years ago, Kelly met Sujin Kim and her sister while hosting an open house event at the Sanggye Ward’s meetinghouse.
“Sujin … mentioned that she felt such a special spirit as she entered that building and heard and saw all the information about the restored gospel,” Kelly says.
Sujin, along with her younger sister and best friend, enthusiastically participated in the missionary lessons with Elder Wigington and his companion, Elder David McCubbins. Then, on July 5, 1980, the girls each provided parental permission forms and were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Third Miracle: Learning the Impact of One Baptism
After the call with Jaehwan, Kelly coordinated a time to get together for dinner with Sujin’s son Youngchan.
They met up at a Korean restaurant, and Youngchan shared how his mother’s faith influenced his family.
“He thanked me for bringing his mother into The Church of Jesus Christ and stated that he wouldn’t be here enjoying such great blessings were it not for the gospel in his life,” Kelly says.
Youngchan gave Kelly his mother’s contact information, and Kelly texted Sujin that evening with a photo of him with her son. She quickly replied and expressed her gratitude and testimony. She told him she’d been faithful since her baptism and had served a mission as soon as she was old enough. After her mission, she married a returned missionary named Yongtae Kim in the Seoul Korea Temple, and they had five children.
Reconnecting with Sujin and meeting her son touched Kelly’s heart deeply, as he had often wondered whether he had made a lasting impact during his mission.
“I feel like Heavenly Father wanted me to know that I truly made a difference and that lives were changed through my missionary efforts,” Kelly says. “He [provided] this opportunity for me to see the seeds that were planted and how that had grown in people’s lives.”
The Fourth Miracle: Sacred Temple Experiences
Sujin invited Kelly and Jan to visit South Korea. After some travel delays due to the pandemic, Kelly and Jan were finally able to visit the Kims in 2022. The highlight of the trip included doing an endowment session with Sujin and Yongtae at the Seoul Korea Temple.
“It [felt] like we had known each other forever, though I had never met her before,” Jan says. “It was amazing to me … to know that Heavenly Father had a hand in this and brought everything together.”
“When we entered the celestial room, [Sujin] pointed to a sealing (marriage) room off to the side, and announced, ‘That is where we were sealed for time and eternity,’” Kelly remembers. “At that, my eyes filled with tears, and I was overcome with great joy.”
Around six months later, in April 2023, the families had the chance to attend the temple together again—this time, in the United States for a live ordinance. Youngchan was being sealed to his wife, Meganne, in the Provo City Center Temple, and the Kims invited the Wigingtons to attend.
“I can truly say, ‘And now behold, my joy is full!’” Kelly says, referencing 3 Nephi 17:20. “This was indeed a tender mercy from our loving Father in Heaven.”
Ongoing Tender Mercies and Missionary Opportunities
The Wigingtons and the Kims continue to maintain a strong friendship across the globe, with Kelly calling it “a family connection.”
This October, they plan to gather in the United States to celebrate the birth of Youngchan and Meganne’s first child. Later, they also hope to meet again in South Korea and attend the Busan Korea Temple open house and dedication together.
Reflecting on the experiences that helped him reconnect with Sujin, Kelly says his testimony was strengthened in the importance of sharing the gospel in natural and normal ways.
“You never know what will come of it, even if that conversation leads to a new opportunity to share the gospel and improve someone’s life, so I’m even more diligent about bringing up the gospel in conversations.”
More articles for you:
▶ Strangers in Italy help mother and son find their long-lost relatives
▶ How one couple relies on their covenants to face dementia with faith
▶ After being disowned then stranded, she found healing from the temple
