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