December 21, 2014

This week I was given the opportunity to speak at church! It felt special since the program was a youth, myself, and then the temple president, who visited our ward. I decided to speak about something that had really impressed me, coming from Moroni 7 -- a "full heart." My talk went probably something like this:

     "Good afternoon, everybody. I'm quite anxious right now. I pray that the Holy Ghost will carry my words to your hearts. 

     My family lives in America. Among my siblings, I have a sister whose name in Korean is [charity]. (that's a sticky subject; translations not exact, so I won't dive into that right now). In the Book of Moroni, Mormon taught his son Moroni about Charity. If we read Moroni 7:45-47, he explains it quite well. 

    "And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

     Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail -- 

     But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."

     How great is Charity! If all men had charity, war, famine, and poverty would disappear. Lust, greed, and all other expressions of selfishness would disappear from our lives. When we have charity, there is no room for evil in our hearts. Finally, we would celebrate Christmas all year round!

     In that case, obtaining charity is the most important thing we can do. Mormon taught us how we can obtain charity in verse 48 of Moroni 7:

     "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ..."

     To attain charity, we must pray unto God with "all the energy of heart." What does "all the energy of heart" mean? My thought is that it means we have real intent. In this case, real intent means that if we receive charity, we'll express it, and share it with others. As we receive the gift of charity, our hearts become full of love. A heart full of love truly is a full heart.

     This is the road of the prophets, and of Jesus Christ. They understood God's love -- charity -- and they spent their lives sharing it with others. Charity is the reason I am a missionary, and why the church does missionary work. I promise that as we strive to attain charity, our hearts will become full of love, and we will become closer to God and our families. 

     I testify that Jesus Christ lives. He truly is "the gift." I know that God loves us, and sent His Son Jesus Christ so that we could return to His presence. I testify that Christ loves us all, with pure love, with charity. I promise that as you pray with "all the energy of heart," God will answer your prayers, and bestow charity upon you. I promise that your heart will become full, with love. I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

     Something like that; translating is always sketchy. Not my best, but alright for a day of preparation. Another thing I thought about this week was endurance. We don't have a lot of appointments right now, so we've had to do our best and push through and work at finding new ones. I was thinking, if I can't keep my head up and remain optimistic during these periods, how on earth would I be able to make it as an actor, where I have to rely on people to decide they want me, where I may have to wait long periods of time without feeling successful? When I realized that, I was able to treat this period as a moment of preparation for the future. 

     I wanted to thank everybody from Olathe 1st Ward! I got the cards, ala Brother Cory Wofford, at the temple last Thursday! It was such a nice surprise. Thank you so much for the kind thoughts, and for all of your prayers! 

     Here's my first video, from Gimpo, while we were searching for less-actives in the wilderness! https://www.dropbox.com/s/97tuwit9pkxm8w4/DSCN4755.AVI?dl=0 

     Funny side note: we were meeting with some potentials in their shop, and they asked us what our dreams were. I told them I wanted to become an actor or voice actor, and he looked at me for a minute, then told us that if I lost some weight, I'd look just like Tom Cruise! Guess my haircut went well, eh? That was a funny experience. 

     Last, but never least, I wanted to share a thought about Jesus Christ, His Atonement, and His relationship with us. Jesus Christ understands all of our pains and afflictions; when He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary, He literally experienced everything we will. He is perfectly positioned to be our advocate and healer. I've always taken great comfort in the fact that my Savior understands me perfectly, in a way that nobody else on earth does. I've understood this for a long time, but this week I added a greater, deeper level of understanding to this. 
Not only did Christ experience all of my pains and trials, but He overcame them. Not only does He understand what I'm feeling, but He understands what to do to overcome those feelings and situations! How incredible! That underscores our need to reach out and communicate with God through prayer --- not only can He comfort us, but He can teach us the solution, give us the key to victory! I am so grateful for a Savior who suffered for me, who drank the bitter cup, so that He could come to me, and heal me of the wounds and scars we all accumulate as we walk life's path. Reach out to Him, and He will come to you. I promise that. 

   

With Love,

Elder Austin Lynn

December 14, 2014

This week... was so snowy! I'm as terrified of it as I am excited. I don't know why, but I seem to have turned into a bumbling oaf -- always slipping! Not as much now, mainly because my tailbone still aches after a nasty slip a few weeks ago. But all it takes is getting burned once to fear the fire... 

      Apparently, it doesn't snow in a ton of places, so I'm grateful I can see snow during the Holiday season. Though Christmas is largely a western holiday, Koreans do recognize it, and so there's lots of Christmas music coming out of the shops. In addition, the church, be it American, Korean, or Chekhovian, always celebrates Christmas! 

     Last Saturday was the Gangso Stake Christmas Party. If you remember, I was brought on-board to sing (and teach our zone to sing) several weeks ago, before I moved from Gimpo, to Sanbon, in an entirely different city. I guess you could say that it was a Christmas miracle that I received permission from our mission president to come back for it! It was a wonderful night. Seeing old members was a special privilege -- I don't think there was a single one who didn't do a double-take and gasp when they saw me. The song itself was a highlight of the night, with the crowd really enjoying our enthusiasm, even if it wasn't exactly the finest musical presentation. I have a video of part of it that I'll try to send. We'll see how long dropbox takes!

     In case anybody's wondering, I had a great birthday. We spent most of it in a bookstore just looking around, then ate out with the other Elders. It wasn't fancy, but it was a good way to spend P-Day. 

     This week I wanted to mention a song lyric that has really captivated my heart. It comes from the musical Les Miserables, in the track "Epilogue:" "To love another person is to see the face of God." 

How succinct, how accurate! It reminds me of John the Beloved's writings to the primitive church. I won't quote them here, but he dwells extensively on love. I especially recommend 1 John 4, found in the New Testament. Wonderful writings on love. 
      I truly believe that the central trait of God's character is love. As we learn to love as He does -- as Christ does -- we will come to understand more and more of God's character. In essence, we see His face. We see it reflected in others as we reach out in charity and love, and others will see His image in our countenance, as we answer prayers and perform miracles. As President Monson stated in April, "Love is the essence of the gospel." 

     I testify of that -- Jesus Christ's earthly ministry consisted of one long expression of love. As He ministered to the downcast and broken hearted, He loved them in a way that would lead them to grow, to become more, and to love others. That's one way we can define Charity -- the pure love of Christ, which will lead people to share that love. It's a possession so valuable that we can't help but want to share it with others. That's why I'm in Seoul, Korea, "sharing the gift" of charity -- the gift of the savior -- the gift of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas! 

December 7, 2014

I was kissed this week! 

Okay, so here's how it happened. As Elder Maris and I were walking to an appointment with our ward mission leader to practice teaching, we ran into a fellow on the side of the road. He hugged us, and I'm pretty sure he was a bit tipsy, based on the smell of his breath. I've never met as many drunk people as I have as a missionary. We talked for a solid twenty minutes about life and religion, then he wanted to buy us hot chocolate. So, we walked with him to a bread shop, and he bought us hot chocolate, as we chatted. He accepted a Book of Mormon, and said he'd call us. As we parted ways outside the shop, he shakes Elder Maris' hand, then turns to me and says, "Kiss." I look at him for a second, and he puckers up. I grimace and say, "Ahhh.... let's not," but then he points at his cheek and responds "Just here." I don't know why, but I conceded to that, and turned my cheek to him. He was pretty adamant. So, that's how I was kissed on the cheek. Memories!

     Anyways, we've been putting a big emphasis on teaching practice lessons with members this week, and it's gone really well! The Spirit is on the ball helping us prepare what to teach them, and sometimes we don't even know why we choose what we do, but it always works out! It's incredible. We were able to meet with a Sister at her restaraunt (spicy food! Ouch! But, I'm getting more and more used to it!), our bishop, and ward mission leader. Each time, we found our unity growing, and it's the weirdest thing, but I swear we're starting to read each other's mind. It's awesome! 

     It snowed again this week! It's dropping super cold in the evenings. Not sure how cold, but it makes me think of Kansas weather. Also, Pop-Pop came through -- snow on my birthday! That was a nice surprise. 

    Fast Sunday was really solid; actually, the Bishop and Ward Mission Leader both testified, and talked about how hard the missionaries are working, and how great teachers we are. I don't want this to sound prideful, but 

     Sorry this letter is shorter than usual; I had a lot of things to respond to today. But thank you all for emailing! It means a ton to me. I love all of you, and wish the best for you! 

Elder Austin Lynn

11/30/2014

 Transfers have come and gone, and now I'm living in a new city! It's pretty weird to imagine that we literally do live in several different cities over the course of our mission. For those of you counting at home, this is my 3rd home in Korea -- Yeonsu, Gimpo, and now Sanbon. Sanbon's more like Yeonsu than Gimpo, and has a lot more shops and buildings than Gimpo. It's exciting to be here; there's lots more people to talk to, and English is pretty popular, so teaching English is a strong lead in here. 

     My new companion's name is Elder Maris, and we're getting along pretty well. We're low on investigators right now, so we're working hard on friendshipping the people in our pool of potentials, so we can start meeting with them consistently. Hopefully that'll go well. 

    Thanksgiving this year reminded me of Tim Allen's "The Santa Clause:" we ate pizza as a district for dinner, and that was about it! That was really different from back home. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Korea at all. 

     This Sunday I had the chance to speak in sacrament and introduce myself to the ward. They were surprised at the size of my family (very typical), but surprised by my Korean. I shared a message rooted in 3 Nephi 18:32, which teaches: 

     Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.

     Here, Christ is teaching His disciples not to give up on the lost sheep, those who have wandered from the gospel. We don't know what kind of effect we're having, and even though it can hurt us to constantly reach out and not always be accepted, we have to keep going! We don't know if we'll have an impact on them, and help them return to Christ. This verse is one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon, and strengthened me in a time of question. I coupled this personal experience with a quote from Ezra Taft Benson, a prophet of God, who declared that we "need to show how the Book of Mormon answers the great questions of the soul." God often gives us revelation through the scriptures. I am a firm believer that we can find the answer to our deepest, most intimate questions in the pages of the Book of Mormon, a volume of scripture preserved and brought forth for God's children in our day. 

     That's all I've got for this week; I love all of you! Thank you for your support, in all its forms: prayers, emails, etc! It means the world to me! Merry Christmas!

Love,
Elder Austin Lynn

11/23/2014

This week we got our transfer calls... 

And I'm leaving Gimpo! I'm headed to Sanbon (산본), to work with Elder Maris. We've never met before, but I haven't heard anything negative about him. Having heard much of anything about him actually, but I'm sure it'll be a good experience. Next week you'll get my first impression! Everybody says Sanbon is a great area, so I'm excited to work there. It ought to be fun. 

Since I'm leaving, I had the opportunity to give my "last words" in church last Sunday. They gave me three minutes; not much, but perfect for a brief testimony and scripture. I shared 3 Nephi 9:13-15, which is one of my favorite passages right now. To introduce it, I explained that after Christ's death on the cross in Jerusalem, there was great destruction in America. After the destruction, there was total darkness for three days. In the darkness, the Nephites who lived in America heard Christ's voice, and this is what He said: 

13 O All ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? 

14 Yea. verily, I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me. 

15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name. 

I love these verses because they represent the Book of Mormon's purpose: to testify of Christ and bring us to Him, so that He can heal us. How amazing is it that the Creator of heaven and earth wants to heal you and me? His greatest desire is for us to be whole, and He suffered so He could heal us. Because of His Atoning sacrifice, He understands all of our pains and trials. Sometimes we think the pains we're carrying are secret, but He can see them, and He understands them. If we come unto Christ, He will heal us. 

I enjoyed sharing that with everybody. We were able to visit one of my favorite families,  J (정재중) and his wife and children. I think I like them so much because it's obvious how much they love each other, and their family reminds me of mine because they have several active children. 

Speaking of meals, we were able to eat with our Bishop Saturday night. He's a great guy, and his son just got his mission call! He leaves for Busan in January. His oldest son (my age) is on a mission in the states. His wife is Primary President. 

I have two more meals with members (tonight and tomorrow night), then I'm out of here! It's pretty common to have lots of meal appointments right before you leave an area. 

We met again with JM S (정민수) this week, for my penultimate time. We finished teaching the Plan of Salvation, and resolved a question/misunderstanding he had regarding traditional Christian "heaven and hell." The explanation is that there's a preliminary experience of such in the spirit world, where the deceased go to either prison or paradise to await the resurrection of all mankind, but our final destination is one of the three kingdom's of glory -- God won't condemn His children to eternal misery if He can help it! 

Overall, it was a pretty good week. We've been able to do a lot of work with less-active lists, mainly confirming whether or not the people still live there, and have actually met one or two people. I feel that I've succeeded in Gimpo; it's better than how I found it. That's all I want to do in the areas I go to. 

11/16/2014

This week was centered on the zone music practice for the Stake Christmas Party. I'll explain it all as clearly as I can. 

 -- A Brother from my ward (Gimpo), named Shin Gi Chor (신기철) has been put in charge of a significant chunk of time during the Stake Christmas Party -- about two hours. 

 -- To help fill this time, he's enlisted the help of the missionaries. 

 -- Initially, he approached Elder Harline and I with one idea -- to sing Michael Jackson's "Heal the World," a song that's entered my heart since then. It really is a wonderful song. He planned on having a small group of missionaries lead the verses, then having everybody sing together for the chorus. At this meeting, he gave us the sheet music for the song, so we were able to start practicing with a piano. As of then, we'd never heard the actual song.

 -- When we met again, he got us an MP3 of the song, and a karaoke version -- the version we'll ultimately be singing too. We found out that he's renting a synthesizer for Elder Harline to play along to the song. He refined this original idea, and wanted 3 Elders and 3 Sisters to sing the verses, one of those Elders being me. He specifically said that he wanted me to be Michael Jackson! He also gave us another song, out of the blue -- Miley Cyrus and John Travolta's "I Thought I Lost You," from the Disney movie "Bolt." He told us he wanted 2 Elders and 2 Sisters to sing that, with one of them being me. It seems like he wants me to sing, eh? I was just worried about learning all those songs. He also decided he would ask a Sister missionary who's an excellent violinist to play the first movement of Vivaldi's "Winter," with Elder Harline accompanying on piano. 

 -- When we met together as a zone to practice, it went really well. I picked out the singers for both songs, and we were able to have a focused practice, and made a lot of progress. That's good, since we might not have another practice. Meanwhile, Elder Harline worked with the rest of the zone on the chorus. They're not perfect, but they're pretty good already. The songs are lots of fun. At the practice, we got the score for "Winter," so Elder Harline could practice... 

 -- And now, I've been sucked into "Winter." Elder Moon, who lives in our house, has a cello, so, somehow, I'm now practicing to play the cello part for the first movement of "Winter." Thus, without trying, I've been involved in all three songs. I just don't want to let Shin Gi Chor down! 

That's consuming a lot of thinking right now; it feels like I've always got one of those songs stuck in my head. They're coming along nicely; they should be good by the time the party comes. 

We had our first snow this last week! It was just a tiny bit, and it all melted, but there was definitely snow when we woke up. It's also getting colder by the day. 

Last Monday, we had a Turkey Bowl here in Gimpo! It's surprising, but I've managed to consistently attend a Turkey Bowl for years now! Korea can't stop me! I play the position of Center, snapping the ball to the QB. I had a few duds, but, as Elder Chow kept reminding me, it was my first game. In the light of experience, it went pretty well, actually. A lot of Elders came, including the Yeonsu gang. It was a blast playing in the giant soccer field by our house. Hopefully I'll be able to send you a file with tons of pictures from it. As missionaries we didn't keep score, so I can't say we won, except in this sense: it was lots of fun! 

We were only able to meet with our investigator  (정민수) once this week, but it went pretty well. We began teaching the Plan of Salvation, and... we were able to get to the Fall of Adam and Eve. During that part of the lesson, he expressed some common Christian beliefs, such as the belief that the Fall was a loss of chastity on Eve's part, and that their transgression consisted of a sexual relationship. Clearly, this is false doctrine. It's an example of men using their own wisdom to try and interpret the scriptures -- or, as Peter would say, as he does in his second Epistle, "Wrest the scriptures" -- to fit their own theories and philosophies. We believe in the biblical account. They ate the forbidden fruit, and were driven out because of it. We believe it was a part of God's plan for us, and not only led to all of us being born, but enabled Adam and Eve to grow by experiencing sorrow and pain, success and happiness. 

He also theorized that Adam and Eve were not the first people's names, but rather a generic name for "Man" and "Woman." That was.. interesting. The Spirit led us to simply state and reteach the basic principles, essentially disagreeing, but in the politest way possible. He accepted it well, though I'm not sure he believes it. 

That same night, we were able to bring him to a "Priesthood Party" held at one of the ward's patriarch's house. Another one of our investigators ( (함대식)) also came, which was good, since he's been unable to meet lately. We were able to get both of them involved in a gospel discussion with a patriarch, our bishop, our ward mission leader, and the other patriarch! It was pretty awesome; and it came from me asking Bay Pan Bong, the ward mission leader, about the Word of Wisdom, since we talked about it a bit while waiting for our bus with Jung Min Su. Bay Pan Bong had smoked three packs a day before becoming a member, so he was able to testify of that to Jung, and we were also able to discover that Ham Dae Shik is living the Word of Wisdom, which we haven't been able to teach yet, but he's heard about at church. So it was a great night. 

Last, but not least, we got involved in the Gimpo Ward's Primary musical number for that same Stake Christmas party we're performing in... and it was a total accident. Or, at least, not planned in any way. They asked Elder Harline to play in Primary, since their regular pianist had to leave. As they did, I sat in the back and tried to learn me some primary music (in Korean!). For their Christmas song, they sing it all, then split off and have little two-somes sing verses together, going through all 10 or so children. Randomly, the Sister directing pointed at me, and called my name! I was a bit surprised, but I sang, and the kids really liked it. Then, the Sister told them all that the missionaries will perform with them, just like they'd practiced just now! We definitely weren't expecting that. I really love the little children though, so I think it'll be a blast. And I think that'll wrap up this week's email. 

Practice, practice, practice!

Love,

Elder Austin Lynn

11/9/2014 Weekly Letter

This week I went through one of my most blatant "If smiles could kill" moments. Elder Harline and I were on the way to a zone meeting, and a man stopped us, gave us some peanuts, which was awfully nice, then looked us in the face with a smile, and told us that our church was a heresy, and we couldn't go to heaven if we believed in it. 

Well...

     I did the only thing you really can do, and testified that I knew the church was true by the power of the Holy Ghost. I said that was the only way you can know truth. 

     He responded by referencing an list of churches that are "heresy" here in Korea -- technically true. There's a list, made up by one of the larger Christian churches out here, where they said who is and isn't heresy. 

     I responded to that by telling him that I knew about it, yes, mankind can declare things whatever they want, but I've asked God, and I know through revelation that this church is true. 

     The man resorted to once again telling us we can't go to heaven if we believe in "Mormonism." I responded by telling him I understand what he's saying; and believe God will save all of us who do our best to follow the Savior. He repeated the same thing, and we walked away, bidding him a good afternoon, munching on peanuts. 

     That's not an uncommon experience. I've gotten really good at testifying of truth, and avoiding confrontation, because that's all you can do. As Christ taught the Nephites, the spirit of contention is of the devil. Regardless of what gets said, I want to be seen with a smile on my face, being polite, but firm for truth. 

     Our family home evening went really well last week. We shared a message about "the power of one." We started off by talking about the prophet Abinadi, who boldly taught the gospel. He was martyred without seeing a single person become converted. But, his mission was not a failure. One man -- Alma -- accepted his teachings. This one man personally baptized hundreds, and established the church. His descendants would also be prophets and incredible missionaries. Abinadi may not have baptized, but he had a huge influence. I shared how dad was one man -- the missionaries converted one man. But now, he has 8 children, sealed to him and mom in the temple. One of those children is on a mission (me!). Others are baptized. Each of us will have families in the future, bringing dozens more into God's kingdom. Through one man, dozens will have found the gospel -- and that's just within two generations, not counting the influence he has on others! If we work our whole life and only show one person the gospel path, we've succeeded! As the Lord Jesus Christ declared to Joseph Smith, "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" (D&C 18:15)

     Let's see, what happened this week... hmm... Oh, well there's one big thing coming up! There's a stake Christmas party coming up, and our zone of missionaries will be participating! A Brother from our ward was put in charge of the party, and since he's so busy, he's asked us for help. He wants the missionaries to sing the Michael Jackson song "Heal the World." He talked to Elder Harline and I, and he wants us to teach everybody how to sing it! We met and talked about it longer, and now our method will be to divide the verses between the missionaries in our zone who sing the best, and then have everybody come in for the chorus. That'll allow us to focus our teaching, and split the zone into two groups -- chorus, and a small group that'll learn the song. I'm one of the 3 Elders that'll be singing in the song. Hopefully we can get some video footage! That's normally way too big for email, but I'll figure something out! That'll happen in about a month's time. I'm pretty excited for it.

     We've been practicing teaching a lot with members this week, and I think the words of our Ward Mission Leader, Bay Pan Bong (배판봉), really sum it up well. We met with him, practiced teaching the 3rd Lesson, and he said this: "You've really progressed a lot in Korean since you've come here." He expressed pride in us, and said that investigators would be able to learn well. I'm glad that we have his trust, and I know that as we become better teachers, the Lord will be able to send more of His children our way. 

     We've been teaching a 61 year old man with English interest named JM S (정민수). He's Christian and has a firm testimony of prayer. He met missionaries when he was in college, decades ago. He knows a lot of the church terms pretty well (in Korea, even words like "Prophet (선지자)" are church specific; other churches use a different word). He's accepted the first lesson, and has agreed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it's truthfulness. I'm excited for him; we work on translating his Korean poems into English for 30 minutes, then teach the gospel for 30 minutes, as the Family English Program. We're going to start teaching the Plan of Salvation this week, and he's excited for it. He has several questions about his ancestors that we'll be able to answer. 

     Today, we're hosting a Turkey Bowl! Among the missionaries coming is my father, Elder Westbrook, and the rest of the Yeonsu gang! It'll be great to get together, and throw the ol' pigskin around.

Okay, so anybody who knows me probably knows I don't know how to throw a football, or really play football.

Well, I didn't know. I do now! Elder Chow played football throughout high school, so we've been working together to train me! I learned a lot of things during exercise time this week; things like -- how to throw a football*, how to snap a ball, and how to block several different rushes. I'm going to play center! With only 6 days of training, Elder Chow says I'm actually pretty good. I'm excited to play! Thought a lot about Turkey Bowl back home, and I regret not having much of any interest in this before. Sorry, dad! By the way, *! This * is the "Hey, I found out that when I play sports, I'm left-handed. I throw a ball way better when I use my left-hand" *. I'm learning lots of things about myself on the mission! My goal was to be able to throw a football to my dad, Elder Westbrook, and to throw one to my real dad -- after the mission! I'm coming for you! You better be ready!

Determinedly, 

Elder Austin Lynn!

Fall has arrived in Korea!

Weekly Letter 11/2/14

So, last week was our Halloween Family Night! It was a hit.  Each missionary companionship provided an activity. The other Elders made a pinata, and the members had lots of fun hitting that; although they didn't actually break it! They knocked the top off, and Elder C just dumped it out on the floor. Guess it was a little too tough! 

My companion and I brought toilet paper mummies to the table. We had three groups race, and it was tons of fun! I was one of the mummies, then one of the Sister Missionaries was another, and then our Ward Mission Leader was the last one. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that; hopefully I can get some from the missionary who was taking pictures. 

The Sisters brought an activity where you work together to create monsters -- by drawing. Everybody draws the head on their paper, passes it to the right, draws the torso, passes it, then draws the lower-body. That was fun; it was very calming after the previous two activities. 

The spiritual thought we shared was about light -- spiritual light. We shared one of the Mormon Messages where Elder Bednar talks about receiving revelation. My favorite part is where he talks about two different patterns of revelation. 

The first is comparable to flipping a light switch in a dark room. Instantly, the room is flooded with light. You can see everything. 

The second is comparable to a sun rise, or a foggy morning. Bit by bit our surroundings are illuminated, until we can see in front of ourselves, enough to take a few steps into the fog. After that, we can see a bit more.

He said that he feels the second pattern is far, far more common, and that's how it works for him most of the time. I'd say that's correct!

This week we also had a really significant Zone Conference. The theme was "Living by the Spirit," and it divided into four segments of training: 

- Studying by the Spirit

- Planning by the Spirit

- Finding by the Spirit

- Teaching by the Spirit

I learned a ton and brought home a lot of things to apply, so I'd say it was a huge success. Even crazier though, is that they changed our key indicators (numbers we report each week). Since I came here, we've reported the number of people we've talked to about the gospel each week. That's what all of the missions in Korea do. But, we're changing. This is the last week with conversations as a key indicator. From here on out, we won't be reporting to the mission in that regard. However, we are now instructed to teach a minimum of 10 lessons a week; even if we have to meet with members and practice teaching, which is something we've put a lot of stress on lately. As a mission, we're working really hard to become the best teachers we can be, in Korean and English. This is just part of fulfilling that goal. I'm really excited for this bold new mission -- President Morrise shared his experience in making the choice, and I can say that I believe with all my heart it's the right choice for our mission. The biggest point made for the change is that, as Preach My Gospel said, the reason we talk to people on the street is to find people to teach. Now that we're not -- dare I say it? -- suffering from tunnel vision in the goal of talking to people, I feel that we're a little more focused on what we need to be doing. 

This week we spent the majority of our time searching for Less actives, and it actually paid off! We were able to determine that one address no longer existed (hello, demolition) several others were incorrect, and we were actually able to find one of them, rather miraculously, too. We got directions to one house, but we ended up going down the wrong intersection. We didn't realize it till far later, though. As we walked... and walked... and walked, we found an apartment complex that we recognized from our list of less-actives. We walked over, knocked on a door... and we got to talk to a less-active for a little while! We confirmed her phone number, invited her to come to church, and found out a little about her while sharing a spiritual thought. Unfortunately, she didn't show up. However, we won't give up! We'll definitely visit again this week. 

Here's a funny moment: last week, Elder C

and I got our haircut. This is probably the best one I've received in Korea. Anyways, at church, one of our young men friends commented that I looked like Leonardo DiCaprio! Who would've thunk it? 

By the way, I have been loving Preach My Gospel! I've developed a new study method, and it's doing wonders. I am excited every morning to study it; and I feel like I'm getting more out of it. I wish that I'd figured this out sooner! At least I have it now though. I might need it soon, too. Elder Chow (our most senior missionary, and district leader; he leaves at the end of the month) was talking to me, helping me develop my study method, and he mentioned that I'll need to be ready; he told me that President will be placing a lot of trust in me really soon, and it may be all at once. I won't lie; I think he's right, just because of the type of person he is, his relationship with President, and his knowledge of the mission, but it still feels cryptic, and could mean a lot of different things. Who knows when whatever it is could be. It reminds me of a comment President made in his last response to my weekly email to him: "You are such a lift and a light to me and those around you. We all feel it. Thanks for making such a brilliant effort." Hearing that pleased me so much; it reminded me of the scripture where, after living life righteously and dying, Christ will say these words to us: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." I'm certain the feeling will be similar, but much greater. But, anyways, my thought is this: I want to be an impact player on the Lord's team, so I need to be the best I can be, as quickly as I can, and always be ready for whatever He requires of me. So, that's my goal! The picture I've attached is a sample from my Preach My Gospel. You should see Chapter 3 -- it's got lesson plans taped everywhere!

To wrap up this letter, I'll mention something funny from church yesterday. Our Ward Mission Leader's wife has been sick for a few weeks, but finally came out to church yesterday. When she saw me, she said the very same thing she's said every week at Family Home Evening -- "Wow, Elder Lynn, you've lost weight! Your face has slimmed down!"

And, yeah, I kind of like that; people like to hear they've lost weight, and I still am.The funniest part, was what she did new. Normally she'll move her hands down he face, symbolizing slimming *and is actually the only reason I understood her the first few times* but today she moved her hands down from face to waist! Guess she thinks I look a whooooooole lot slimmer! 

Yours slimly,

Elder Austin Lynn

10/26/2014 Weekly Letter

First off, a miracle! As I was sitting here, not 20 seconds ago, I received a phone call! It was a man we talked to in Masong (마송) last week, and he just called us back! Call backs are so rare, this is definitely a miracle! We're meeting him tomorrow evening! Fingers crossed.
This week we went streetboarding again (it's become a tradition to go once during the week, and again after Church on Sunday) and we killed it on Sunday! We talked to a ton of people, and taught 5 street lessons! Using the streetboard as a lead in, we were able to really quickly start talking about the Plan of Salvation, covering subjects such as our true identity as children of God, our purpose in life, and how to find peace and happiness. It was surreal! It made me think of old-fashioned "preaching" like they talk about in church history. I was standing there in front of small semi-circles of people, legitimately preaching the Plan of Salvation, bearing testimony and teaching true doctrine. It was such a good experience.
Here's a moment from gospel principles class: Our ward mission leader was teaching the chapter "Honesty." As he wrapped up the lesson, he started making a bunch of short summarizing statements, such as "Honesty is obeying God's commandments. Honesty is sharing the gospel. Honesty is knowing we're a child of God." He was throwing out a bunch of these really quickly, and it became obvious he was building up to something. His crowning statement was to write a sentence on the word, as he looked at each of the missionaries in the room, and stated: "Honesty = missionaries." That made me feel really good!
Tonight's our Halloween/culture Family Home Evening. It ought to be fun! There'll be pictures and a report next week, so be on the lookout!
In other news, we had a zone meeting this week, about learning the language. We divided into groups by mission age, and talked about things that were difficult, and ways to overcome them. The group I was in -- the middle of the 3 groups -- discussed this, and I felt the most significant thing was confidence. As I've been studying Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel this week (Christlike Attributes) I really noticed how vital confidence is, in the gospel. Faith in Jesus Christ requires confidence. Hope requires confidence. Humility requires confidence. Confidence is so intertwined with what we're striving to do and become. If we want to become able speakers, of both the language of the Spirit and in Korean, we need more confidence. Confidence in the gift of tongues, confidence in our potential as God's children, confidence in our call to Korea, which was given by God's prophet, and presumes our ability to learn this language, and most of all, confidence in the enabling power of Jesus Christ's atonement, which, as Ether 12:27 explains, can help us overcome anything:
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Confidence in Christ is "hope for a better world," an "anchor to the soul," a bright hope of a brighter dawn, a more noble morning, an eventual "all is well," the triumph of good over evil, and the making right of every wrong we suffer in this life. Confidence is not a sin - that's pride. Self-deprecation is not humility - that's reliance on Christ and His grace.
How do we accept Christ's grace? We follow Him. As 2 Nephi 31 says, we have faith in Him, then we "follow Christ" into the waters of baptism, we follow His example to us, by keeping the commandments of God. We endure to the end, and we do all we can to become like Christ. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. We show the fruits of our repentance through baptism, which is completed with the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Gift of the Holy Ghost helps us endure to the end, which includes constantly strengthening our faith and repenting. This gospel is a program to perfect us, to bring us joy, and to follow in Christ's footprints -- which we will discover lead us right back to our Heavenly Father. He is our exemplar, our brother, and savior; He loves us, knows us, and suffers with us. I testify that I know He lives, and I know He loves us. I've felt His love in the moments when things got their hardest, moments when it looked like there was no light at the end of the tunnel, no morning to end the night. I am forever grateful for His sacrifice, through which I can overcome my own shortcomings and return to my God, Heavenly Father, full of joy and love.

Faithfully,
Elder Austin Lynn

pics

 Austin with his first companion...Elder Westbrook!! 

There was a fair by our house, with all sorts of booths set up from different schools. This cotton candy was less than two dollars! 

 Gorgeous landscape in Korea...with a handsome Missionary too!!

This is my missionary family! There's me, my father (Elder Westbrook) and my two little brothers!

October 19, 2014

Here's a really brief, really random, pretty cool tidbit to start with: 

I saw Bradie Johnson today! My companions been in country for about a year now, so we had to renew his foreigner card. At the office, we saw 6 sister missionaries -- two from Elder Harline's group, who were renewing, and Sister Johnson, getting her card! It was pretty cool seeing such a familiar face in Korea. 

I had an experience while streetboarding yesterday that was informative. Streetboarding is when you take a board with some sort of message and stand on the street. We usually use sticker boards -- boards that have questions, and you get people to participate by putting a sticker on their answer. We have several different ones, but we decided to take out our "If you met deity, which of these questions would you ask?" board. The questions varied from classics like, "Why does God allow bad things to happen?" to "How can I balance my work and family?" The other two were "How can I find peace and joy? and "What is the purpose of life?" At least one question will always stick out to somebody. As one person responded, when asked why they chose what they did, "It was the only one that resonated with me." That was cool to hear, because it's the purpose of this board. One person did it, and then walked back over, looked me in the eye, and asked (being fluent in English), "Why do you believe in God?" 

That's a pretty tough question! Luckily, I didn't have to rely on my own wisdom. I opened my heart, and spoke what the Holy Ghost gave me. I ended up testifying about the role of prayer, and how I've received answers through my prayers, and the special feelings I've felt, which I believe can be answers from God. I testified of a living God, a God who loves us and hears our every prayer. I didn't say anything special, but I bore my testimony, and I'm realizing there's nothing more sacred than that. As we were walking home, I found myself emotional -- I realized that talking about my spiritual experiences, and my heartfelt belief in God, tapped the depths of my soul, and affected me. A testimony is a person's heart, put on a platter and offered for inspection. It's not something to trifle with, and it's not something that Latter-Day Saints do, just for fun. When somebody bears their testimony, it's meaningful -- and you should make sure you pay attention. 

The other day we went out to visit a recent convert, but he ended up cancelling our appointment. It was okay though; we'd decided to spend a part of the day in a different area, than where we normally do, since it was closer to him (this recent convert lives quite far away). We ended up having more time there, and were able to talk to many different people, and find several potential investigators.  

Finally, a little bit about our new Elder in Gimpo -- Elder Moon Sang Chun (문상천). He's really outgoing and goofy, but not over the top. He's also fairly good at English -- as good as we are at Korean! So, we can all communicate comfortably at home and on the streets. Somehow, he acquired both a cello and violin, and he's brought them both with him. I've had the chance to play a cello for the first time in years, and it was actually really nice. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed playing the cello, until now. I really do love it, and intend to play it more after I return. 

Other than that, I guess you could say that I'm still learning the language (okay, no, I can't understand General Conference talks yet. Elder Dallin Hull's got me beat there... of course, he's learning Portuguese, and I'm learning Korean. Ahh! Church still likes to beat the snot out of me sometimes), still doing my best to talk to everybody, and still doing my best to be my best. I love all of you, and treasure your letters and emails! God bless all of you; and may you recognize His presence in your life, through the myriad of blessings and opportunities He blesses us with daily. 

Love,

Elder Austin Lynn

October 12, 2014

This week we had transfer calls!
I'll be staying with Elder Harline another transfer, but our resident greenie, Elder Whitney, will be leaving us. Most of this week was dominated by General Conference, but there were a few other experiences we had that I'd like to share.

First, a slice of culture. As my companion and I walked past a large mart selling grapes outside, he commented "포도!" (Grapes!) I jokingly responded, "진자 좋아해고든요" (The feeling of this statement is "You don't know this, but I really like them!") This was funny because we had a week or two where we had bunch after bunch of grapes given to us by members, and we had to eat them with every meal. After a while... it did stuff to us. Grapes are now a source of jokes in our home. Anyways, as we turned the corner and were walking away, a lady shouted out, "Come here!" Confused, we turned around. She repeated her command (all in English), and we pointed at ourselves. I was thinking, "Us? Why?" We walked over, and she ushered us into the mart, which she owned. She asked if we liked grapes. I told her we did. She walked into the back room, we heard a faucet run, then she returned with a bunch of grapes in a strainer. She ordered us to eat, and we chatted with her while eating grapes on her check out counter. We found out that she is a Catholic, and noticed that we are Christians as well. While we talked, a lady and her son purchased food, and after we jokingly stated that we "sponsored" this mart's grapes, she purchased some of those too! We were able to have a nice chat with the three of them, about religion and the Korean concept of "정" (jung (a bond?)). It's a difficult word to translate, but the best words for it are "brotherhood," "love" and "a bond." Jung motivates Koreans to do all sorts of acts of charity. Jung is better than a business contract, and better than a promise. Jung leads to sacrifice. I believe it's one facet of charity -- the pure love Christ has for all people. The lady and her son gave us a bunch of grapes, saying that because we looked the same age as her son, she wanted to give these to us. As they left, the other lady commented that she has a "wide heart." That's not a western thing -- that's a Korean description. They use all sorts of words to describe the heart. This experience touched me, and reminded me of the principle values at the base of Korean society, which I admire so.

Another neat experience came this week as we walked about and got a call from one of our investigators (H M Sup (한민섭)). He asked us where we were, and it turned out we were right in front of his apartment complex! He invited us into his home, and we were able to talk to him and see how he was doing in his reading of the Book of Mormon. It was the first time we'd ever had the chance to visit his home, since he always worked the late shift at the mart down the road from our church building.

Last Monday, we had the chance to play soccer together with a bunch of other missionaries. It was really fun seeing people I've served with and then parted ways with, especially Elder Thomas and Elder Westbrook. It's great to know that they're still working hard, and, like the scriptures say "Still my brethren in the Lord." Being reunited with the people you love truly is wonderful; I'm looking forward to another such reunion in a little under a year and a half! Time keeps moving faster!

There were a lot of things I absolutely loved from General Conference, so here's some of the highlights:

Elder Richard G. Scott's talk. The main thought I got from it was that the scriptures are a sound-byte of Heavenly Father's voice, and teach us to recognize His voice.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/make-the-exercise-of-faith-your-first-priority?lang=eng

Elder Godoy's talk also piqued my interest. Like him, I'd never thought about actively making choices that would fulfill my patriarchal blessing, in the way he spoke.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/the-lord-has-a-plan-for-us?lang=eng

Elder Kacher's talk was one of my favorites; it really hit me. Gotta watch out for the currents in your life!
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/trifle-not-with-sacred-things?lang=eng

Elder Russel M. Nelson's talk on church government was another all-star that I'll certainly be referring to for a long time.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/sustaining-the-prophets?lang=eng

Elder Quentin L. Cook gave a great talk during priesthood about focus, and the choices we make.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/choose-wisely?lang=eng

President Monson spoke about direction in life, and shared an awesome story about a German warship.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/guided-safely-home?lang=eng

President Uchtdorf gave a great talk about self-reflection and introspection.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/lord-is-it-i?lang=eng

Elder Dallin H. Oaks' talk was really helpful for me, and I think it's a wonderful road map on how to discuss politics, gay marriage, and other controversial matters. It's a great talk about loving others and living with differences.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/loving-others-and-living-with-differences?lang=eng

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave a highly emotional talk about taking care of the poor (in body and in spirit).
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/are-we-not-all-beggars?lang=eng

Elder Robbins gave a really good talk too, about "the way you face", and I loved his line, "Deja Vu, in the Latter-Days."
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/which-way-do-you-face?lang=eng

Elder Wong gave a really good spin on a classic story from the New Testament, that got me thinking.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/rescue-in-unity?lang=eng

Finally, I was a huge fan of Elder David A. Bednar's talk, as many people guessed. I especially loved the story he began with, connecting the dots as he revealed the gospel applications.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/come-and-see?lang=eng

I invite everybody to watch or listen to his especially, as he explains why missionaries do what they do -- why I'm doing what I'm doing. I agree with everything said in general conference, and absolutely loved it. This list is not exclusive; it's just the ones that really popped out at me. There are no "duds." I can't wait for the conference issue of the Liahona, so I can study them at length.

How did you feel about General Conference? "Comment below!"

Love,
Elder Austin Lynn

Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority - By Elder Richard G. Scott

LDS.ORG

October 5, 2014

This week was a little on the down side, in terms of lessons and investigators. Practically all of our appointments fell through, and most of our investigators skipped out on church. 
Despite that though, I had a great week, full of the Spirit. It's just an example that people have their agency (ability to choose). They may sometimes use it in ways that make others sad, but, ultimately, it is a God given right to all of God's children, and I'd much rather get hurt once in a while than live in a world without freedom. 
So, what do you do when things don't go right? You forget yourself and go to work! Sure, I could be disappointed or let down. But! It's much healthier, much more productive, and much more Christlike to shoulder on, and push through! There's so much out there, just waiting to be found! If investigators keep canceling, then we'll just need to find some new investigators! I feel an assurance that when things go wrong, God always has something even better prepared for us, if we can just endure a bit of darkness. 
One example is that, while walking on the street, a woman randomly approached us, and asked us for help. We ended up helping a preacher from another church move furniture for an hour! Some of the furniture was really heavy, but our hearts were light. This experience was special to me, because the woman recognized us as missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She knew that she could count on us to help. In Korea, the church is still so new that it's battling through the labels of "heresy" and "cult." I'm confident that as the church continues onward, people will recognize it as it has in America. This was just a small example of how that's slowly changing here in Korea, and it gives me a bright hope for the future. 
Last week, we went to a bathhouse on P-Day. I feel that with this experience, I've partaken of another piece of Asian culture that will never be forgotten. 
Last Saturday, we had a barbecue with a few members after English class! That was a lot of fun. I love being around the members and their children. Kids in Korea love playing rock, paper, scissors! I can't tell you how many times I've spotted one of the youngsters running around and played rock, paper, scissors with them for the next five minutes. Anyways, the members asked me to sing! It made me feel special to be recognized as a talented singer; especially since my companion is an excellent pianist, and is constantly being called out by members as a genius. Of course, it's not gratifying pride or anything like that, but I legitimately enjoy sharing my talents with others, and it just so happens that they wanted me to sing a song for them. 
Other than that, this week was pretty low-key. We spent most of the time running around, trying to talk to as many people as we can! We did go to the temple, and that was wonderful as always. We also had fast Sunday yesterday, and I had a good experience fasting -- sorry, no details about that one! As well as you can describe the taste of salt without using the word salty, I can describe this experience. If you've ever tried that, you'll know it's pretty difficult -- if not impossible. 
Fingers crossed for more miracles this week, and more experiences with the Spirit of God! 
Faithfully yours,
Elder LYnn

Weekly Letter September 28, 2014

I thought I would share a few pics Austin shared with us of food he has been eating.  Shrimp, crab, octopus and kimbap

This week was lots of fun! 

First off, most of our appointments fell through, which is a bummer. Hopefully, they really do keep their commitment to meet with us next week. On the bright side, we were able to talk to over a hundred people about the gospel this week! That's a big number, and the first time I've hit numbers like that in weeks. It felt great! 

One of the activities we did to hit that was streetboarding. We took out our "what question would you ask if you met deity?" board, and talked to over 50 people about it! That was a big boost. The other huge event was Saturday evening -- the Fire Flower Festival! Basically, all it meant for us was the chance to walk around a crowd of a few hundred people, as they all enjoyed each other's company. There was a magician there, and then there was a fireworks show! The fireworks only lasted about 15 minutes, but it was loads of fun, and reminded me of Thanksgiving and 4th of July back home. While we were waiting for them to start, I walked over to a crowd of students and stood next to one of them, hanging on a fence. A moment later, it began. A hurried, "Hello!" (in English), and suddenly we were talking to a crowd of 15 students, joking around, introducing ourselves, and learning about them. That's actually a pretty common technique here, since almost all of the students learn basic English in school, and many go to English academies. It excites them, and it's always fun. 

One of our investigators, Y M Suk (윤민석) was moving supplies from one floor of an academy to another, and requested our help. It was Monday, but we went over anyways, and, after an hour of moving, it was all done! He showed us a broken violin he'd picked up off the street (just for fun; he said it was fun to look at) and when I remarked that I could play the cello, he insisted that I take it! We brought it to a friend we made at one of the music shops in town, and they were able to repair it! Funny story with that: we bring in the violin. It's missing a bridge. No bow. No case. No shoulder piece. Only one string. She looks at it, lists off everything it needs, throws out some approximate prices, and drops it down a bit to 60,000 won. That's a steal! We come back, and she'd forgotten about it, so she fixes it right in front of us -- super interesting, and we got to talk a bit more about how she went to a Catholic school, and her religious background. She gives me a case for free, then sums everything up at 40,000 won. 60 to 40! Whoa! Major deal! So now I have a fully functioning violin with everything I need to play it! What a random, nice blessing! So that's what I spend part of meal time doing now, haha. 

We had a great district meeting this week about unity, and it's inspired me to be more united with others. The more we work together, the greater the miracles we can perform are. Where there's a team spirit, people are lifted. With synergy, we become a whole that is greater than its parts. It's something special, and something needed when everything's against you. 

This Sunday was a pretty important one. It's the anniversary of our ward and stake, so they set a big goal to have a ton of people at sacrament meeting. They didn't reach the goal, but it showed what members can do when they put their minds to it. There were several non-members there, and hopefully we can continue working with the members and turn some of them into referrals. Missionary work will move forward most effectively as it's united with the members. 

The meeting on Sunday started with a baptismal service, for two of the members' kids, and they wanted the missionaries in on the confirmation! That was fun. 

Afterwards, there was a ward meal, and the primary program! That was lots of fun. Although I don't understand the language perfectly, I know the melody to a primary song when I hear one! I felt the Spirit, and it reminded me of home. During the program, the missionaries sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives," and while musically we weren't perfect, we did our best, and since I felt the spirit, I know that we did good enough. 

Out of time again! Darn! 

Love,

Elder Austin Lynn

Weekly Letter September 21, 2014

I get lots of questions about Korea, so I thought that today I'd finally share on of my short essays on Korea: "Reflections on Rampant Grandmas."
     One of the largest differences I've observed in Korea (compared to back home in the States) is the apparent lack of control over their senior citizens. I have, as of yet, neither seen nor heard hide or hair of a nursing home, or any sort of retirement facility. The phrase "retirement" seems to only refer to the old men who hang out all day, drinking and playing chess. I'm not sure exactly what happens to the feeble and infirm.(1)
     It's not as obvious among the men as among the fairer sex. This is likely because old men are more likely to chill with each other and drink in the shade, than anything else. The grandmas, on the other hand...
     They're everywhere! Some run streetside shops that are often just vegetables over a blanket, while the vast majority collect trash in massive rickshaws. Becuase Koreans sort their trash, it's extremely easy to find the things that the city dump will pay for, by the kilo. I'm not sure where they get them, but it seems every grandma in Korea is equipped with a basic rickshaw/cart.(2) Personally, I'm unable to think of a more common sight in Korean than a hunched over grandma, pulling a cart full of trash.
     Don't misunderstand -- these grandmas aren't the enslaved, mistreated, victims-of-society-who-need-a-social-crusader type of hard workers. They love what they do! They may be one of the happiest groups in Korea.(3) They seem to have a special pride in their work, and a unique bond with each other. Nobody pities them, and they wouldn't take pity if offered it. They're a special group, and everybody gives them the respect they deserve.
     Of course, there's a few crazy ones, as there's bound to be when working with so many old folks. They're in a one-of-a-kind position because of their age. Since most of Korea's culture is based off of Confucian teachings, those older than you are automatically venerated and respected. In the case of senile grandma's, this shifts into a humerous tolerance of their shenanigans. For the most part though, this aged strata of Korea's society is remarkably sound.
     It always comes back to the fact that they are literally everywhere. If they all united, they could likely conquer the country, if they so desired. Never in my life did I think that I would se so many toothless, wrinkled, white-haired grandmas hobbling around everywhere.(4)
     When it comes to grandmas, they're even more numerous than the churches(6) -- and that's saying something!

1. Grandmas in Korea, though small, seem to be incredibly fit. I assume there's some sort of Darwinian "survival of the fittest" that roots out the weaker ones. It's my honest opinion that a typical American (or British, or any other highly developed country) grandma could not survive as a cardboard collecting grannie in Korea.
2. The rickshaw/carts used by the old women are remarkably uniform in style. It's this essayist's opinion that either a) rickshaws are distributed by the government, in support of the grandmas, or b) a long time ago, there was a seller of carts well-beloved by the grandmas. His carts became extremely popular, and though he passed away decades ago, his carts are passed down from grandma to grandma, having become legendary for their durability.
3. For some reason, Koreans seem to forget how to smile once they enter puberty. It isn't until they become extremely aged that society's effects wear off, and they regain the ability to enjoy daily life.
4. To overcome the infirmities of age, grandmas in Korea have developed a highly-effective, extremely disconcerting bow-legged style of running (theories suggest that it may have use in frightening predators) to complement their steady hobbling. I've personally witnessed the bow-legged run, and words cannot describe it. It is unforgettable.
5. This essayist cannot think of a single moment since he's come to Korea where he couldn't see, at the very least, 2 churches. An upper-limit, from a street-view, would probably be about 10. (The karaoke bars of Korea are even more numerous, with dozens on a single street).

Something fun is that I've adopted Skyler and Tyson Hull's snap/fist-bump (I think that's where it's from...), and I'm using it as my "thing." People love it! Our ward mission leader started giving fist bumps to everybody a couple of weeks ago, but know he gives the snap bump! He's adopting my style! I thought that was hilarious.
 I was studying in 3 Nephi this week, and read a scripture that's always impressed itself on my mind. I was feeling downhearted about somebody, and was considering whether all my efforts had had any effect on them, and if I should give up. Then, I read this verse, and it reminded me what my purpose is.

32 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal‍ them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.

 Unto such ye shall continue to minister. "Don't give up. Don't stop trying. You don't know what kind of effect you might have. You don't know whether or not they'll return, and you'll have been the one who saved them. You don't know when they'll be healed. You don't know; so don't stop until that day." There is nobody I'm willing to give up on, nobody who's so far gone that they're not worth the effort. No matter who you are, where you are, or what you've done, you can repent. You can come unto Christ, and be healed. That is one of the most magnificent promises in all of the scriptures. "I will heal you." Surely, anything would be worth that magnificent promise.

As we keep meeting with members, I realize more and more that one of my talents is confidence in speaking. I may not always know the words to use, but I'll certainly go for it anyways. That helps me a lot when meeting with members. I'm definitely social; I love speaking in Korean, especially now that I know enough to joke around with members and make witty remarks. I also love using the Korean expressions! I love those a lot. They're usually a bit goofy, but really funny.

Church keeps getting better! The more I focus, the more I'm able to understand, and I'm loving it! I really am starting to understand the speakers. We go to the Aaronic Priesthood meetings, and yesterday was a real fun lesson about being self-sustaining, language, etc. It's funny how similar the lessons are, whether they be in Korea or America. One of the teachers (we have about 6 young men) compared me to Sam Hammington, a really famous foreigner in Korea. He's a fat Australian, who has flawless Korean and is actually a Korean citizen now. He's similar to Robert Holley, the returned missionary who's a huge tv star here. Sam Hammington's also a really famous tv star, which I think is a cool comparison, except he's huge! It didn't sting too badly though, especially since his mom told me the week before that my face looked slim. It's funny, but on the one hand you get fat comments, then on the other hand you get, "Wow, you're really losing weight!" Not sure which is better. ;)

 Sorry this week's letter is so short; I don't know where all the time went. It was a more laid back week this week, since a lot of our appointments rescheduled for next week. Hopefully those appointments stick!

Faithfully,

Elder Austin Lynn