Elder Austin Lynn's Time as a Missionary for the Lord, in Seoul, South Korea: 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