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

Weekly Letter September 15, 2014

This week was off the hook! Awesome miracles and some sweet meetings. I'll just do a day by day, blow by blow this week.

Monday: Monday was super simple. We had a really calm evening, since there was literally nobody outside, and we didn't have Family Home Evening. The reason why? Choo Suk! (추석) Basically, Korean thanksgiving. It's a mammothly huge deal here, so we couldn't get too much done during it -- everybody was traveling and busy with family.

Tuesday: Tuesday was our mission Choo Suk meeting. It was so cool! It was all day long, and tons of fun. We received some training from Elder Han, of the 70, who was President Morrisse's mission president! We arrived early, so we got to chat with him before the meeting. During the training, he talked to us about bows, and he called my name out. I wasn't sure whether or not he meant me, but he did! He had me come up in front of everybody, and demonstrate how I bow to people. That made me feel really good about the way I bow! He said that the most important things were not depth, but eye contact and friendliness. You're basically hugging them... by bending your neck. They gotta feel your love when you stoop below them! Okay, most of that's an interpolation by me, but that's the feeling. We also got some training from President Morrisse, and then we had lunch -- homemade Korean food! It was nuts having the whole mission in one church building. During lunch, I got to catch up with the Yeonsu (연수) gang -- my trainer, Elder Westbrook, Elder Thomas, and their new greenies. It was really fun seeing everybody I'd met throughout my mission so far, and being able to catch up a bit with them. After lunch, all of the zones split up to do some activities together. In my zone (Ganso (강서)), we had to fill out a questionaire about Choo Suk, by asking people on the streets the questions! That was lots of fun, and a good conversation starter. I got picked to come up with our zone's chant, and I had to come up with it on the spot! I went through a few different versions, but this is the one that we ended up using. We had to use the phrase, "We succeed when we invite" in it.

We're Gangso zone

To the bone!

We never teach kudoja (investigators (구도자)) alone!

We listen to our kamdokenim (bishop (감독님))

And we've got an Elder Im (임)! [Elder Im is one of our zone leaders, and the only Korean Elder in our zone. He's super funny, and generally beloved among the missionaries]

[This next part was a call and response from each district. I led the chant, saying everything, then the districts would do their shout, and we recited the last two lines together (I didn't choose that, they made me!)]

Sounds off!

Gimpo!

DMZ~!

Sound off!

Gaybong!

Peaches~!

Sound off!

Mokedong!

Brother Reel.

We're Gangso Jiyuk (지역(zone))

We just wreck!

We're the best, we never rest!

We succeed when we invite,

Because might don't make right!

Sound off!

Boochun!

Pears and apples!

And Shihoon! [They're a split off of Boochun, so they get a seperate mention like this)

Boochun!

Sound off!

Hwagoke!

Elder Im!

We're Gangso Zone, we're at the top!

And our progress never stops!

 It was tons of fun, and everybody loved it. I also had a huge role in our zone's skit, which was something along these lines:

A Tale of Elder Rock (a senior missionary, who was Elder Morrisse's trainer, so many years ago! It's crazy having him here) and Elder Morrisse. They visit King Seyjang, the king who invented the Korean alphabet, and he's converted, and accepts a baptismal invitation. It was really funny, using a lot of jokes from the mission, and my role was the messenger of the king. It was all improv, but so much fun! One of the missionaries approached me afterwards, and told me I was like a missionary Jack Black -- which is something I've heard before. They meant I was funny, so I'll take that. Our skit was one of the best one's and it was just really fun to act. I hope to do a lot more of that when I come home. Afterwards was the talent show, and there were tons of cool things, tons of music, tons of vague things I can't describe right now, but I turned pages for my companion while he played the piano, and I sang "Praise to the Man," to the tune of "The Spirit of God," with Sister Morrisse accompanying me on the piano. I almost made a sister cry, haha! I hope they felt the spirit when I sang. I realized that's the most important thing.

 Wednesday: We ate with the bishop, his twin daughters (who are about Noel's age) and his son (who's 16 or 17), and his wife. We played a traditional Korean board game that resembled sorry, and my team dominated! Haha. It was tons of fun, and there was a lot of delicious food. His daughters are adorable, and decorated a bit of my planner, and put some stickers on my nametag! Haha. It was a lot of fun; I also got some help from bishop on some sentences I'd written.

Thursday: We had a meal with the stake patriarch and his wife. Korean food, plus sphagetti! That was different, but good. I got the typical comment about our family being huge! They were impressed that I was the eldest though. I think that's something I'm going to keep running into in Korea -- there's a lot of respect for the oldest child.

Friday: I went on exchanges with Elder Chow! I really respect and love him. I'm out of time, but I want to mention one of the vital things I learned from him: the importance of unity, of having a team spirit, on every level of the mission. We also met with Y M Suk, but he was sick so we just gave him his copy of the bible... and he introduced us to his friend Kim Dong Bin, who wants to study English and the gospel with us! His family too! We're going to be teaching a family! That's really rare in Korea! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!

Saturday: Had a picnic for English class, nothing special, and then I spent the rest of the day with Elder Chow. We gave a blessing to a foreigner who lived in our area, accompanied by senior missionaries from the Seoul Mission. They called us up out of nowhere; we didn't even know about the sister! It was really nice to give a blessing again though; it's something I love doing.

Sunday: We had church, and that night Elder Harline and I met with Y M Suk again, who brought two of his students with him, so we reintroduced the Book of Mormon, taught one of them who had no religion -- who God was, and how to pray, and then read a bit of the Book of Mormon with them. The miracle there is that on our way to the appointment, we had a conversation with a man who'd just moved back from America with his family. They'd just been thinking about whether or not they should come to church again, and where, then they say us! We were the answers to somebody's prayer! They're going to come to church this Sunday, and if their kids like it they'll keep coming! We may have a chance to teach another family! I'm losing my mind!!!!!

One of the days we walked around picking up trash, which is a really good service project here. Later, a grandma talked to Elder Harline and I, and patted us on the face, thanking us for picking up trash!

Sorry the email's so rough this week, I just don't have any time! So busy! Agh!

Love you all,

Elder Austin Lynn

Weekly letter September 7, 2014

This week, I wanted to share one of the guiding principles in my life that I sort of realized I had this week. Simply, I never want to hear the same complaint twice. What this means is that when I hear a complaint made, or a tip proferred, I'm going to jump on it, and apply it, or change things so that the same thing doesn't come up again. It's really helped me grow, and it's improving my relationships with everybody in our house. Often, it's not even directed at me, but I still try to squash it, just so everybody can get along a little better. After all, if there's contention, we can't feel the spirit, and that means we can't do our work. We're just young men out here alone, with nothing but the Spirit of God to guide us in our work. Without it, all our effort is in vain, and we'll never accomplish anything worthwhile.
     This week is Choo Suk (추석)! Choo suk (추석) is a Korean holiday. Sadly, I'm not sure what this one is, but it's when people wear the traditional clothing, called Han Boke (한복) and spend time with family. It also means people are really busy and it's almost impossible to get appointments. On Tuesday, there'll be a special training meeting/celebration, and there'll be a talent show! I decided to sing "Praise to the Man," to the tune of "The Spirit of God." Hopefully it goes well! That meetings tomorrow, but Choo Suk (추석) lasts several days.
     This week Elder Harline and I have gone exploring, and we found several thrift shops! The ties there were less than $3! I have six new ties now, and it's pretty cool! They're my first Korean ties! They're gorgeous. I'll send pictures of me wearing them sometime! That's just a typical slice of my life with Elder Harline. We love to share stories with each other (and Elder Chow), and we have fun, while diligently working. This is probably my favorite transfer already. It's been wonderful, and I keep learning more and more Korean. This week I've been mixing it up, and I focused on memorization. I've memorized several scriptures in Korean now, and it's really cool! I've found it helps to mix up what you do for study every once in a while.
     We had a zone training this week, and we focused on language. Not speaking properly, but literally the language of Korean. The mission keeps getting younger, so it continues to be vital that people learn as quickly as they can. I know I'm feeling a bit of the pressure. I'm one of the most fluent people in our district, and once Elder Chow leaves in a transfer or two, there'll be a lot of responsibility on me if I'm still here. That's gonna be typical across the mission; the younger missionaries have to step up as quickly as they can, especially in learning the language.
     This week was really good because we actually got to teach and meet with investigators, for the first time in a while. One of them was named LJH (이주홍), and he's a year younger than me, and is really interested in different religions. He's a former, who got busy after taking the second lesson a few months ago. We're meeting with him again, and we're starting with lesson 3: The Gospel of Jesus Christ. He's a real funny guy, and he actually took us out to dinner after we met with him! We all really like each other; hopefully we can teach with the spirit, and he'll feel that the church is true, in a way that intellectual speaking will never do.
     We also met a man named Y M S (윤민석) and I'm afraid of him, he's so golden. He wanted to study scriptures with us, and do the 30/30 Family English Program. So what we'll do is study the Bible in English for half an hour, then study the Book of Mormon for half an hour in Korean! He asks questions to show that he wants to understand, and he has a lot of sincere interest. He teaches English at his brother's academy, so he's good at English, but I honestly don't know how good, because we spoke in Korean -- and that's how it should be! Anyways, I'm really excited about him. We were able to answer all of his questions using the Book of Mormon, which strengthened my testimony of it. For instance, he asked what a seer was, while reading the prophet Joseph Smith's testimony. We were able to flip open to Mosiah 8, where the first Ammon explains what a seer is to King Limhi. Later, he asked about the witnesses, and we read Ether 5, a prophecy about the three witnesses. I asked him what the significance of the witnesses was, and he understood it really well. I'm really exicted to keep teaching him. We felt in sync while we taught, and it was guided by the spirit. We asked questions, scriptures came to our mind, and God blessed all of us so that we were edified together. Even crazier, he has a referral for us! One of his students wants to learn about the church. He already sent one to the sister missionaries. He seems really solid, which scares me. It's like a "it's too good to be true!" scenario. Fingers crossed that he really is our miracle man!
     We actually first contacted him when he called us up during our mission tour meeting, and that's why he's such a miracle. He just called us up out of nowhere, right after we were promised people to teach if we did our best. How about fulfillment of promises, huh?! Mission tour is when a general authority comes through and meets all the missionaries, and gives training. I think I mentioned him last week, but his name is Elder Koichi Aoyagi, and he came with his wife. His English was really good, so he spoke to us in English, as did his wife, who was adorable. They actually went around and shook everybody's hands, and when I shook her hand, I greeted her in Japanese. She then shook my hand up and down two more times, and bowed a few times! It made me so happy to put such a big smile on her face. Elder Aoyagi talked a lot about joy, and said there were two main ways we felt joy: when we feel somebody's love, and when we feel the guidance of the Lord. I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly. Sister Aoyagi talked about how our job is to "push the rock." We may not move it on our own, but all God has asked is for us to push. He'll take care of the rest. President and Sister Morrisse also spoke. Sister Morrisse gave a great talk about "looking up." Basically, we need to look up -- where we see others, and can be optimistic, rather than look down, where we're focused on ourself, and more pessimistic. I really liked it; I'll probably say more about it when I have more time. There was a lot of good phrases and ideas from mission tour, I can't possibly share them all hear. I will add one more though: a part of Christ's atonement is His power to heal our spirits. Faith in Christ includes faith that He keeps His promises. I've seen that a lot as I've read the Book of Mormon this week. We have to believe that He did what He did, and He'll do what He said He'll do.
     That's it for this week; I'll try to say more next week. This pictures included are views from our apartment buidling the past few days. Today, it was so foggy we couldn't see anything outside! That was all burned up as the sun rose, of course.
Elder Lynn

Weekly Letter 8/31/2014

The pictures are of Elder Lee (이상범) and I at transfers with President Morrisse.

 

I met my new companion this week, and he's great! His name's Elder H

 and he's from California. Let me list off a few things I've noticed and learned about him:

 

He's a little taller than me.

His major is game programming.

He liked to tinker before his mission.

He's highly intelligent.

He's very musical.

He likes video games.

His hair color is similar to Griffin's.

 

All in all, it feels like I'm serving with Griffin. It's the strangest feeling to feel like you're with your uncle, but I'm down for it. He's a great missionary, and we're working well together. We're stalling out a bit in Gimpo right now, but we're determined to push forward. We had stake conference last week with Elder Koichi Aoyagi of the Seventy, and there were a few things they said that I really liked. From the priesthood session, one of the speakers said that we need to "trust the missionaries and do our best." Do your best is one of my favorite Korean phrases, so my ears perked up when he said that. I really liked his statement. I've shortened it to "trust and do your best," but I think it's important for members to trust the missionaries as much as they can. 99% of the time, the missionaries are just 19 year old kids who are doing their best to represent Jesus Christ. They make mistakes, but they're doing their best, just like we are. Trust them. Love them. Remember to remove the beam from your own eye before looking for the mote in theirs.

In the Sunday session, a sister speaking about family history talked about how her grandparents had passed away, and asked the question, "How will I know them?" That really brought home the importance of journal keeping and family history work. How will we know those who have gone before us? How will we know our family members who are further up the tree than we are?

 

We had a monsoon the other night! It came out of nowhere. As we were standing on the street corner, we literally saw the cascade of water coming towards us, splashing off the ground. It had been clear, so I was the only one with an umbrella. Elder Harline and I huddled under it as nature gave us the works. As we approached our house, it got really windy, and it destroyed my umbrella! Terrified of the baldness causing acid rain, I held the tattered remains of our hopes and dreams over my head as we ran into the building. We were absolutely soaked from the waist down. I actually poured water out of my shoes, a unique experience for me.

 

Last monday, we had our last family night with Elder Lee, my companion. We shared a message about faith and works. He shared the classic faith/works rowboat story, then I talked a bit about dad's company, and his motto, reading from James. I then read a verse from 3 Nephi describing how not everybody who cries out, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the Father's will. I testified, and said that if we truly do have faith, it will cause us to act. I said that if we have true faith, we'll show it through our works. We know it's by grace that we're saved, but through our works we purify our hearts, and qualify for God's saving grace. The ward mission leader really liked the thought, and said that it was a really important one for the young adults there. It was nice to have his endorsement of our message.

 

We play soccer every Monday morning with a bunch of pastors and priests and such from other churches, and this week was my best week yet! I'd really improved, and they even mentioned that. They said I was the "MVP." Of course I wasn't, but they're a bunch of jokesters, and we're all pretty close. For instance, last week the guy who split up the teams (a president of some church) pulled me over to his side, saying that he'd "scouted me." If you remember, last week they told me I was fat but played well. This week, they told me that I played extremely well today. It's nice to see those bits of progression! Who'd have ever thought I'd be playing soccer a lot?

 

We had a cool miracle yesterday while proselyting! We decided to sit down and rest our feet for a few minutes in a park. When we sat down in the midst of some benches, there was nobody there, nobody around, but we felt good about it. A few minutes later, and five or six grandmas just appear out of nowhere and sit down next to us! They gave us some oranges, and started chatting. Well, as we sat there for the next 15 minutes or so four more grandmas showed up, for a total of 9! There were also a bunch of kids and parents in the park in the background. We were able to explain who we were and what we're doing here to all of these grandmas, and learn a bit about them. They all got our card, and one of them may bring her two grandchildren (a little boy and girl that we met) to English class! It was truly a miracle, and that enabled us to reach our contact goal, which we thought for sure we were going to miss. It just goes to show that with God, all things are possible.

 

See you next week! Sorry for the short letter!

Love,

 

Elder Austin Lynn

Weekly Letter 8/24/2014

This week was great! I feel like I've made it over a huge hill, and now I can see an enormous panorama of potential! As I worked on being more open and communicating, and especially on loving, my relationship with my companion has continued to steadily improve. In addition, Heavenly Father's smiling on us, blessing us with miracle after miracle. Sadly, I'll be losing my Korean companion this week. I'll be staying in Gimpo (김포) but he's outta here.

In other news, I went on exchanges this week with our resident greeny, Elder Whitney! We had three special experiences during exchanges.

1) We met a member who speaks English! I'm not sure how I feel about him though; it was a strange experience. He stopped us on the street, and began talking to us in English. I was really sketched out at first because he tapped my Korean Book of Mormon, and told me, "Don't rely on this book." I was surprised; and replied, "This is the Book of Mormon!" I then asked him if he was a member, to which he responded, "It's not important for you to know." He continued by saying not to rely on that book; the translation was imperfect, and though it was true in English, it wasn't true in Korean. Sadly, a lot of members have that opinion about the translation, mainly because it uses traditional, older grammar forms and rarely used words. I defended the book, testifying to him (in Korean) that I read both the Korean and English Book of Mormon every day, and though Korean is still difficult for me, I have spiritual insights and experiences reading it in Korean. He brushed this off, and continued on. It felt very strange to defend the Book of Mormon to a member (he later confessed that he was a member, and I don't see how he couldn't have been, based on how he spoke). He kept telling us to follow the teachings and instructions of Jesus Christ, as found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, if we wanted to gain salvation. He also kept telling us that our duty was to cry repentance to all people, everybody, if possible. He told us to work together, that we had to believe this with our hearts our we would fail. He told us not to rely on anybody in the world, and not to rely on anybody in the church. At that point, I asked him about the prophet, because I was feeling weird about that. He agreed that we should follow the prophet, but emphasized that if the prophet doesn't follow God, he'll perish. He talked to us, basically repeating everything several times, for about 40 minutes. I asked him where he was from, and he responded, "That's not important for you to know." ...It was an extremely odd conversation.

2) A drunk fellow approached us. This isn't the first time it's happened to me, and it probably won't be the last. He was spouting off something about God being in our hearts with Jesus. He also saluted us, and fist bumped us. Near the end of the conversation, he reached into Elder Whitney's shirt pocket, and took his pen. Then he walked away. I asked him to give the pen back, but then he babbled something in Korean I didn't understand. We saw him that night, and he once again saluted and fist-bumped us. The first thing I noticed was the pen nestled in his vest pocket -- Elder Whitney's.

3) I got gypped! By a grandma! But it's okay. I asked her if we could help her, and she had us move some boxes. I asked her if there was anything else, and she motions us over to a stand of vegatables, and starts motioning. Before I know it, I'm holding a bag of cucumbers, and am handing her 5,000 Won. Dang! But that's alright; money's nothing, as long as she thinks a little better of the missionaries (and the church).

I've found that one of my talents right now is building friendships with members. It's easy for me to chat with them about things, and to ask questions and occasionally make jokes. They're interested in me, and I'm interested in them. Talking with members is probably my greatest strength as a missionary right now.

I was reading in the Book of Mormon the other day, and I realized that the gospel is "the ultimate reality." It explains every aspect of existence, and it's importance. There is absolutely nothing more real than the principles the gospel teaches; indeed, the gospel includes all truth! It's not a fable or unrealistic, it is designed for reality, it is reality.

I was reading in Alma 18:24-25, where Ammon is teaching King Lamoni, and I realized that his question is just as applicable today, and Lamoni's answer just as common.

"Do you believe in God?"

"I don't know what that is."

Too many people today have unclear, or non-existent conceptions of diety. I love how the gospel clearly defines God's character and purpose. As a missionary, I'm focused on teaching people there is a God, He loves you, and He has a plan for you. God's purpose is, as written below, our growth and ultimate joy.

I've been reading this book titled "Mission 2B:)" (Mission to be happy) and I wanted to share one of my favorite parts from it: "The exciting news, if you can absorb it in the right light, is that the real you is utterly unique. Nowhere in the sacred texts will you find God asking you to betray your uniqueness. In fact, God's plan for our happiness is His celebration of our extraordinary individuality. God didn't craft puppets. He enabled intelligences to find fulness and completion. And He mentioned on more than one occassion that we would learn all this by our own experience, not someone else's."

I've found so much joy in life as I'm striving to be "me." There are times when I wonder if all the parts that make me who I am are really necessary, and if I can just borrow somebody else's, but resist that! You are truly the only person who can find joy for yourself! Finding your identity is incredibly difficult, but infinitely rewarding.

As I've read in the Book of Mormon, another principle has pressed itself on my mind: condemnation. The way I see it, God won't be lashing unwilling sinners. He won't be punishing us by His own hand. We'll condemn ourselves, having a perfect recollection of our mistakes, our sins, the ways we hurt other people, the times we didn't live up to our potential. We will sorrow for what we've done wrong, and we'll feel unworthy of God's presence. All this will come upon us if we "procrastinate the day of our repentance." God's work is designed to ovcercome this: He's provided a savior, and He gives us mercy, but we have to exercise it. Our guilt in that case will be, in part, failing to exercise the atonement of Jesus Christ, which is so freely offered to all men. People will consign themselves to where they belong, and the only real "hell" or "purgatory" will be one's own regrets. 
As always, God's arm is extended towards us. Everything He wants us to do is for our own good, and it's no different with repentance.

Stay tuned! Next week find out about my new companion, the mysterious "Elder Harline!"

 

Love,

Elder Austin Lynn

 

Postscript

I saw the Yeonsu gang! I met my younger brother (Elder Westbrook's greenie) and he seems solid. We were able to talk for a little while, and it sounds like I'm "famous in Yeonsu!" I'm glad to know that my work payed off there, and is inspiring other missionaries. Apparently, the stake president talks about me a lot in meetings! Things are going great there. Just a testimony that if you do your part, God will magnify you!