We hosted again, which is always fun. I got to do two of them, both going to West Campus, (where all the Spanish speakers go) so that didn't take long. We only had around 250 missionaries this week. In a couple of months after school ends, they get around 600+ every single week. We got 5 Sisters and 1 Elder this week. We haven't talked to any of them for more than a few minutes late since our schedules are different, so impressions haven't really sunk in yet.
The weather here has been picturesque, almost too warm at times. We study outside a lot, and one of our "investigators" was "evicted" so we teach him in a "park," outside now! You can tell he loves the weather as much as we do. :)
To Nick: I did wear your tie! And one of the Korean Elders (Elder Ha) really, really liked it... and... we traded ties. So now it's chilling in K-Town! I got a really neat tie in return, and it bonded us. On the back of his tie, he wrote "I <3 Y," which I thought was hilarious since we write "U," for phonetic reasons.
On our last night with the Koreans, they sang the EFY medley in Korean for us. It was so good. Afterwards, as is our tradition, we sang "God Be With You Till We Meet Again," (in Korean, of course). It was difficult saying goodbye to the great Elders and Sisters after only a few weeks. We all write in each other's journals whenever a group leaves, and, after some meticulous translating, I discovered that one of the Sisters said I was like Winnie the Pooh, which another one of them had said (in English!)!
On that same note, the other day, in between Conference sessions, some of the Sisters and Elders from the other side of the hall (which is pretty much the rest of East Asia) said that my voice reminded them of Baluu the Bear, from the Jungle Book! I sang a couple bars of "Bear Necessities" for them, and they loved it. Interesting, huh?
I cannot emphasize how great Brother Egget, our choir director, is. I am so excited for our Easter Devotional. We'll be singing a selection of songs, for a general authority! All of you should recognize Brother Egget... he directed at conference! Wow!
Last Sunday, for our Sunday evening devotional, you'll never believe who sang: Vocal Point! I had no clue who they were, but apparently they're pretty big. They're a BYU Capella group, and they were incredible.
After that, we watched the long version of the "Restoration" movie, and it was so spiritually powerful. I received the strongest witness that I ever have received about the divinity of Joseph Smith's call to be a prophet when I was watching it. It was after that film that the Koreans performed for us, so it was extremely emotional.
I don't think it'd be very useful to share all of my conference notes, but here's a few highlights for me:
Elder Rasband's story about the Elementary School girl, Tory, hit me with the spirit really hard. It went really well with a story Brother Egget shared Sunday night, which was "when we're in danger, we think 'Who can save me?' Children always think, 'God can save me. Let's pray.' As we get older we start to think, 'the medicine can save me, I can save myself,' etc." It's the heart of that childlike prayer, "Let it be over soon," that hit me so hard. God's will be done, but let the bad pass quickly, and prolong the good. I want to implement that prayer in my life.
Elder Nelson's talk, about 'religion' was really good. I liked how he said that we cannot separate "spiritual truths" from other truths. I also thought of dad when he said that all truth emanates from God and is a part of the gospel. I also thought that it was very interesting how he drew the conclusion that man's quest for knowledge, kept outside of the gospel, reaches the same results as the gospel, but with far more pain and suffering in the interim. He said that you cannot be your best, truest, self if you "compartmentalize" yourself. You are who you are, as a whole.
I won't quote President Oaks' talk, because the whole thing was pure revelation. I learned more about priesthood keys, priesthood authority, and priesthood power in that talk than I think I ever have before in my life. It was an excellent response to "Ordain Women," and a powerful talk that will surely be a go to about the priesthood for years to come.
I really enjoyed President Uchtorf's "Don't Sleep Through the Restoration," as well. I love that short story, and that was a brand new twist on it. Priesthood session in general was INCREDIBLE this year.
President Eyring's talk about heroes also really got to me, because that's a concept that's always interested me. It got me thinking about who my heroes are, and what Christlike attributes they embody that I want to emulate.
President Monson's address was also, obviously, fantastic. It was very interesting that he said "You can't stand upright, rooted in shifting popular opinion and desires." You see it all the time in the world, but, as he said, "Courage [and the gospel] brings peace of mind."
President Uchtdorf's talk the next day, about gratitude, was also a stand-out talk for me. It really stood out to me when he said, "Endings are not our destiny." He talked about how we're divine beings, and that's why we don't like endings. It made me reflect on leaving. We need to look past disappointing endings to the bright future Jesus has prepared for us. Mortal endings are only temporary stops in the eternities.
One last note: when President Monson shared the story about the injured 2-year old boy, and the generous people onboard that plane, the spirit walloped me so strongly. It was such a powerful lesson.
That's all for now, folks.
That's all for now, folks.
Faithfully,
Elder Lynn
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