Austin with his first companion...Elder Westbrook!!
Gorgeous landscape in Korea...with a handsome Missionary too!!
Sunday, November 2, 2014
pics
Monday, October 20, 2014
October 19, 2014
Here's a really brief, really random, pretty cool tidbit to start with:
Love,
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
Sunday, October 12, 2014
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
Sunday, September 28, 2014
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
Friday, September 26, 2014
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
Sunday, September 21, 2014
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
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