My companion and I brought toilet paper mummies to the table. We had three groups race, and it was tons of fun! I was one of the mummies, then one of the Sister Missionaries was another, and then our Ward Mission Leader was the last one. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that; hopefully I can get some from the missionary who was taking pictures.
The Sisters brought an activity where you work together to create monsters -- by drawing. Everybody draws the head on their paper, passes it to the right, draws the torso, passes it, then draws the lower-body. That was fun; it was very calming after the previous two activities.
The spiritual thought we shared was about light -- spiritual light. We shared one of the Mormon Messages where Elder Bednar talks about receiving revelation. My favorite part is where he talks about two different patterns of revelation.
The first is comparable to flipping a light switch in a dark room. Instantly, the room is flooded with light. You can see everything.
The second is comparable to a sun rise, or a foggy morning. Bit by bit our surroundings are illuminated, until we can see in front of ourselves, enough to take a few steps into the fog. After that, we can see a bit more.
He said that he feels the second pattern is far, far more common, and that's how it works for him most of the time. I'd say that's correct!
This week we also had a really significant Zone Conference. The theme was "Living by the Spirit," and it divided into four segments of training:
- Studying by the Spirit
- Planning by the Spirit
- Finding by the Spirit
- Teaching by the Spirit
I learned a ton and brought home a lot of things to apply, so I'd say it was a huge success. Even crazier though, is that they changed our key indicators (numbers we report each week). Since I came here, we've reported the number of people we've talked to about the gospel each week. That's what all of the missions in Korea do. But, we're changing. This is the last week with conversations as a key indicator. From here on out, we won't be reporting to the mission in that regard. However, we are now instructed to teach a minimum of 10 lessons a week; even if we have to meet with members and practice teaching, which is something we've put a lot of stress on lately. As a mission, we're working really hard to become the best teachers we can be, in Korean and English. This is just part of fulfilling that goal. I'm really excited for this bold new mission -- President Morrise shared his experience in making the choice, and I can say that I believe with all my heart it's the right choice for our mission. The biggest point made for the change is that, as Preach My Gospel said, the reason we talk to people on the street is to find people to teach. Now that we're not -- dare I say it? -- suffering from tunnel vision in the goal of talking to people, I feel that we're a little more focused on what we need to be doing.
This week we spent the majority of our time searching for Less actives, and it actually paid off! We were able to determine that one address no longer existed (hello, demolition) several others were incorrect, and we were actually able to find one of them, rather miraculously, too. We got directions to one house, but we ended up going down the wrong intersection. We didn't realize it till far later, though. As we walked... and walked... and walked, we found an apartment complex that we recognized from our list of less-actives. We walked over, knocked on a door... and we got to talk to a less-active for a little while! We confirmed her phone number, invited her to come to church, and found out a little about her while sharing a spiritual thought. Unfortunately, she didn't show up. However, we won't give up! We'll definitely visit again this week.
Here's a funny moment: last week, Elder C
and I got our haircut. This is probably the best one I've received in Korea. Anyways, at church, one of our young men friends commented that I looked like Leonardo DiCaprio! Who would've thunk it?
and I got our haircut. This is probably the best one I've received in Korea. Anyways, at church, one of our young men friends commented that I looked like Leonardo DiCaprio! Who would've thunk it?
By the way, I have been loving Preach My Gospel! I've developed a new study method, and it's doing wonders. I am excited every morning to study it; and I feel like I'm getting more out of it. I wish that I'd figured this out sooner! At least I have it now though. I might need it soon, too. Elder Chow (our most senior missionary, and district leader; he leaves at the end of the month) was talking to me, helping me develop my study method, and he mentioned that I'll need to be ready; he told me that President will be placing a lot of trust in me really soon, and it may be all at once. I won't lie; I think he's right, just because of the type of person he is, his relationship with President, and his knowledge of the mission, but it still feels cryptic, and could mean a lot of different things. Who knows when whatever it is could be. It reminds me of a comment President made in his last response to my weekly email to him: "You are such a lift and a light to me and those around you. We all feel it. Thanks for making such a brilliant effort." Hearing that pleased me so much; it reminded me of the scripture where, after living life righteously and dying, Christ will say these words to us: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." I'm certain the feeling will be similar, but much greater. But, anyways, my thought is this: I want to be an impact player on the Lord's team, so I need to be the best I can be, as quickly as I can, and always be ready for whatever He requires of me. So, that's my goal! The picture I've attached is a sample from my Preach My Gospel. You should see Chapter 3 -- it's got lesson plans taped everywhere!
To wrap up this letter, I'll mention something funny from church yesterday. Our Ward Mission Leader's wife has been sick for a few weeks, but finally came out to church yesterday. When she saw me, she said the very same thing she's said every week at Family Home Evening -- "Wow, Elder Lynn, you've lost weight! Your face has slimmed down!"
And, yeah, I kind of like that; people like to hear they've lost weight, and I still am.The funniest part, was what she did new. Normally she'll move her hands down he face, symbolizing slimming *and is actually the only reason I understood her the first few times* but today she moved her hands down from face to waist! Guess she thinks I look a whooooooole lot slimmer!
Yours slimly,
Elder Austin Lynn
No comments:
Post a Comment