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!
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