Weekly Letter 1/4/2015

Happy New Year! I think this first new year as a missionary year (which will be my first full year as a missionary) was one of the funnest yet. We got permission to get up extra early, and hike a local mountain (Korean's use that word lightly) with some of the brethren. We hiked up in the dark, through the ice and dirt, and made it to the top, as the sun rose. It was gorgeous! It was also packed. Apparently, it's a Korean tradition. We all sat down in a clearing, and talked about our hopes for the New Year, and said a prayer. It was a wonderful experience. 

     Afterwards, we went to the church and ate rice cake soup (떡국), which is actually another Korean tradition. In Korea, everybody changes age at western New Year's (so, I'm 21!), but [traditionally] only after they've eaten the soup. It was super good! If the taste is any sign, this year will be awesome. Afterwards, we played yoot (윳), a traditional Korean game. I've played it once before, on Choo Suk (추석?), so this time around I was able to really figure out how the game worked. That was exciting -- I want to play it at home in the future! It's kind of like a mix between Sorry and Parcheesi. All in all, a fantastic start to 2015. ^.^ So, yeah. We hiked a mountain, to watch the very first sunrise of the new year.

     Another fun thing was I tried my hand at songwriting this week, in a really simple way: I wrote another verse to a hymn (Hello, Elder Bruce R. McConkie). Somebody was singing "Lead, Kindly Light," in the morning, and the melody was trapped in my mind as I showered. During personal study, I spent a bit of time writing the words in my head, and this is what came out: 

"A thousand suns cannot compare to thee

Lamp of my feet (Ps. 119:105)

Thy lovingkindness shall forever be (Ps. 119:88, 149, 159)

Darkness, retreat!*

Strengthen my hand, 

And walk with me in night

Bring thou me home

To the Father of Lights!" (James 1:17; D&C 67:9)

*A day or two later, I added a verse before that, taking the 3rd and 4th lines from the first one I wrote (the one right above) and moving them to that verse. The one above would be the last verse, and the following would be a hypothetical fourth verse to "Lead, Kindly Light." 

"My throat is dry, I weary of my tears

Mine eyes do fail (Ps. 69:3)

I am a broken vessel in thy hands (Ps. 31:5) 

With love, shape me (Jer. 28:6)*

Carry thou me, 

Upon thy tender back (Matt. 11:30)

And give thou me

What I didst always lack!" 

     I was really happy with what I wrote, and I think I may try it out more in the future. One thing I thought about this week are the instances of Christ stilling tempests. Those are moments I think about a lot; perhaps because we all faces tempests during our mortal journey, and all of us have cried out in the night, wondering, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:38) There is so much to learn from thoseepisode, but this time as I pondered I focused on Christ's first words on the water: "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." (Matthew 14:27) 

     There are two instructive principles embodied in this moment: Christ was out there in the midst of the storm, and, further, He gives us the antidote to all fears. He teaches us how we can face adversity with hope, all in a few words. When I read His words to the apostles, I start to see, "Be not afraid, be of good cheer, Because I am with you." Christ is the center of hope. He can tell us to be of good cheer because He's experienced our battles in life, and He's already won them. 

     If we'll walk with Him, He'll safely carry us through everything we'll ever have to go through. If we're not afraid, we can, like Peter, walk on water. We can walk over the waves of conflict around us, through the whirlwinds of modern disaster. As long as we are centered on Christ, we can come unto Him, regardless of what's around us.

      In terms of other work this week, we met with several members to practice teaching, and as a district discussed how to help members fulfill their missionary obligations. The main concept that came out of that discussion is that members want to do missionary work; they just don't know how. Our goal moving forward into 2015 is to train members on how to be excellent member missonaries. To that end, we're all reading Clayton Christensen's The Power of Every Day Missionaries. It's an excellent book, and I'd freely recommend it to anybody. 

     All in all, a good week. A good start to the new year; a good end to the previous. Here's to missionary work!

Best Wishes, 

Elder Austin Lynn

Weekly Letter 12/28/14

Sorry I (Brandi) am a little behind in posting Ausitn's letters been a little under the weather! Enjoy!!

The highlight of this week was the Ward Christmas Party -- followed by a funeral.
Brother Go Jong Min (고종민) a faithful brother in our ward, passed away at 7:00 a.m. on Christmas morning. I was never actually able to meet him in person, because he'd been hospitalized since I got here. Apparently, he suffered from stomach cancer, then never really fully recovered after the chemotherapy treatments. It was especially disappointing that he died Christmas morning, because we were going to visit him with his 3 daughters that night to try and share some Christmas cheer. We've been able to help his family in a few small ways, but I feel the most significant one was attending his funeral. I won't go into detail right now (most of it's trivial for foreigners), but my favorite part is the tradition of lighting a candle, individually, and placing it in a pot. The candles (more like slow-burning sticks of incense that don't smell, but I don't know what that's even called) represent our thoughts, our prayers, and our hopes for the family, and the deceased. Never, throughout the three-four day funeral, is the pot to be empty. Someone will always watch it to make sure there's at least one candle burning. How cool is that! There will always be somebody thinking about them, as they mourn. I find that a symbolic representation of part of the baptismal covenant, from Mosiah 18: to mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort.
The day before, we were able to testify to a man of the reality that we are representatives of Jesus Christ. A Chinese man approached us on the street, and, for the next half hour or so, talked to us about his myriad life experiences, sharing his opinions on a variety of subjects. He talked a lot, and I knew that we would have one chance to say something to him. I didn't figure that out myself -- it was a conviction that the Holy Ghost placed in my heart to prepare me for that moment. He looked at me, and said, "I know that you have a big man behind you. I know that he is very rich, wants to change the world. He probably wants the world to see the bible from his perspective."
I'm not sure exactly what he meant; probably he assumed we'd been sent here by some rich pastor in America. No clue. But when he paused, smiled at me, and looked expectant, I smiled back, my heart just wanting to share the gospel with him, and bring him towards God's light, and responded:
"Yes, we do have a big man behind us. The big man behind us, who wants to change the world, is God. I am a representative of Jesus Christ, and God has placed us here today to offer you the chance to add more truth to your life."
The man was pretty surprised. He literally threw his arms up in the air, and bowed to us a few times, almost laughing. He cried out, "I am humble, I am humble." I just smiled at him, hoping he would accept an invitation to meet with us, or exchange contact information.
Well, he didn't. But I knew that I'd given him that chance, which is all we're here to do. We are offering a gift -- the gift of the restored gospel, the gift of Jesus Christ's atonement, the gift of eternal life.
That night was the Christmas party for our ward. The missionaries participated by performing a skit, and then they asked me to dress up as Santa Claus, and give out the presents to the children! That was so much fun. Our skit was a parody of what goes on in missionary homes, with the Elder's constantly sleeping, not knowing how to cook, having no food, etc, whereas the Sisters are always super energetic, exactly obedient, etc. The members loved it. The highlight of it for me was a lunchtime scene, where we found ramen, but couldn't read Korean, and so didn't know how to make it. I ripped open a package, took a bite out of the uncooked noodles, tore open the package of seasoning, threw my head back and downed it, then topped it off with the small package of vegetables they include in Korean ramen. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (I was kinda terrified...), and everybody went crazy. There were so many people who saw exactly where it was going as soon as I ripped open the ramen, and they were all going, "No~ Don't do it~ Ah~" So much fun. I really enjoy performing.
We spent part of Christmas day at Bishop's house (the part we weren't at Brother Go's funeral). Fun fact: Korean's watch Harry Potter at Christmas too! Of course, they had to turn that off when we got there. A lot of the young adults from the ward were there, so were actually able to have some fun, and take a breath after leaving the funeral center.
Yesterday we met with a recent convert family, and shared the story of the 2,000 Stripling Warriors. As we discussed the importance of parents being gospel teachers, and how important it is to share the gospel with our children, I thought of the inscription on the two pound coin: "Standing on the shoulders of giants." As I thought about it, I thought about how I've come to where I am, riding on the shoulders of giants. From my parents, teachers, and priesthood leaders, to companions and mission leaders, to noble ancestors and relatives, to, ultimately, the Savior Jesus Christ, I've stepped off of, and will in the future, step off of more shoulders, as others ride on mine. That's part of growing up; but I'll never leave the Savior. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. We all ride on His shoulders.
Elder Richard G. Scott has talked about the importance of mentoring others, teaching that as soon as we are in a position, because of experience, where we can mentor somebody else, we should do it. Age doesn't matter; it's our experiences. If we would all share what we've learned and experienced, we could learn and grow at a cumulative, accelerated rate! As I continue to grow up and become an adult, I realize more and more that there will be people riding on my shoulders, who will look up to me, and who will learn from my example. My intention is to stand as tall as possible, so that the next generation can soar even higher, as we continue to improve upon that which has been passed down to us.
Paul H. Dunn said, "We who are older speak of building a better world, but our progress is slow. Real generosity to the future lies, then, in giving all that we have to the present." I want to give my all, now, so there can be a better future. It's my hope that all of us who are older will give our all to build a better tomorrow, starting right now!

Best wishes, and with a bright hope,
Elder Austin Lynn

December 21, 2014

This week I was given the opportunity to speak at church! It felt special since the program was a youth, myself, and then the temple president, who visited our ward. I decided to speak about something that had really impressed me, coming from Moroni 7 -- a "full heart." My talk went probably something like this:

     "Good afternoon, everybody. I'm quite anxious right now. I pray that the Holy Ghost will carry my words to your hearts. 

     My family lives in America. Among my siblings, I have a sister whose name in Korean is [charity]. (that's a sticky subject; translations not exact, so I won't dive into that right now). In the Book of Moroni, Mormon taught his son Moroni about Charity. If we read Moroni 7:45-47, he explains it quite well. 

    "And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

     Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail -- 

     But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."

     How great is Charity! If all men had charity, war, famine, and poverty would disappear. Lust, greed, and all other expressions of selfishness would disappear from our lives. When we have charity, there is no room for evil in our hearts. Finally, we would celebrate Christmas all year round!

     In that case, obtaining charity is the most important thing we can do. Mormon taught us how we can obtain charity in verse 48 of Moroni 7:

     "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ..."

     To attain charity, we must pray unto God with "all the energy of heart." What does "all the energy of heart" mean? My thought is that it means we have real intent. In this case, real intent means that if we receive charity, we'll express it, and share it with others. As we receive the gift of charity, our hearts become full of love. A heart full of love truly is a full heart.

     This is the road of the prophets, and of Jesus Christ. They understood God's love -- charity -- and they spent their lives sharing it with others. Charity is the reason I am a missionary, and why the church does missionary work. I promise that as we strive to attain charity, our hearts will become full of love, and we will become closer to God and our families. 

     I testify that Jesus Christ lives. He truly is "the gift." I know that God loves us, and sent His Son Jesus Christ so that we could return to His presence. I testify that Christ loves us all, with pure love, with charity. I promise that as you pray with "all the energy of heart," God will answer your prayers, and bestow charity upon you. I promise that your heart will become full, with love. I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

     Something like that; translating is always sketchy. Not my best, but alright for a day of preparation. Another thing I thought about this week was endurance. We don't have a lot of appointments right now, so we've had to do our best and push through and work at finding new ones. I was thinking, if I can't keep my head up and remain optimistic during these periods, how on earth would I be able to make it as an actor, where I have to rely on people to decide they want me, where I may have to wait long periods of time without feeling successful? When I realized that, I was able to treat this period as a moment of preparation for the future. 

     I wanted to thank everybody from Olathe 1st Ward! I got the cards, ala Brother Cory Wofford, at the temple last Thursday! It was such a nice surprise. Thank you so much for the kind thoughts, and for all of your prayers! 

     Here's my first video, from Gimpo, while we were searching for less-actives in the wilderness! https://www.dropbox.com/s/97tuwit9pkxm8w4/DSCN4755.AVI?dl=0 

     Funny side note: we were meeting with some potentials in their shop, and they asked us what our dreams were. I told them I wanted to become an actor or voice actor, and he looked at me for a minute, then told us that if I lost some weight, I'd look just like Tom Cruise! Guess my haircut went well, eh? That was a funny experience. 

     Last, but never least, I wanted to share a thought about Jesus Christ, His Atonement, and His relationship with us. Jesus Christ understands all of our pains and afflictions; when He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary, He literally experienced everything we will. He is perfectly positioned to be our advocate and healer. I've always taken great comfort in the fact that my Savior understands me perfectly, in a way that nobody else on earth does. I've understood this for a long time, but this week I added a greater, deeper level of understanding to this. 
Not only did Christ experience all of my pains and trials, but He overcame them. Not only does He understand what I'm feeling, but He understands what to do to overcome those feelings and situations! How incredible! That underscores our need to reach out and communicate with God through prayer --- not only can He comfort us, but He can teach us the solution, give us the key to victory! I am so grateful for a Savior who suffered for me, who drank the bitter cup, so that He could come to me, and heal me of the wounds and scars we all accumulate as we walk life's path. Reach out to Him, and He will come to you. I promise that. 

   

With Love,

Elder Austin Lynn

December 14, 2014

This week... was so snowy! I'm as terrified of it as I am excited. I don't know why, but I seem to have turned into a bumbling oaf -- always slipping! Not as much now, mainly because my tailbone still aches after a nasty slip a few weeks ago. But all it takes is getting burned once to fear the fire... 

      Apparently, it doesn't snow in a ton of places, so I'm grateful I can see snow during the Holiday season. Though Christmas is largely a western holiday, Koreans do recognize it, and so there's lots of Christmas music coming out of the shops. In addition, the church, be it American, Korean, or Chekhovian, always celebrates Christmas! 

     Last Saturday was the Gangso Stake Christmas Party. If you remember, I was brought on-board to sing (and teach our zone to sing) several weeks ago, before I moved from Gimpo, to Sanbon, in an entirely different city. I guess you could say that it was a Christmas miracle that I received permission from our mission president to come back for it! It was a wonderful night. Seeing old members was a special privilege -- I don't think there was a single one who didn't do a double-take and gasp when they saw me. The song itself was a highlight of the night, with the crowd really enjoying our enthusiasm, even if it wasn't exactly the finest musical presentation. I have a video of part of it that I'll try to send. We'll see how long dropbox takes!

     In case anybody's wondering, I had a great birthday. We spent most of it in a bookstore just looking around, then ate out with the other Elders. It wasn't fancy, but it was a good way to spend P-Day. 

     This week I wanted to mention a song lyric that has really captivated my heart. It comes from the musical Les Miserables, in the track "Epilogue:" "To love another person is to see the face of God." 

How succinct, how accurate! It reminds me of John the Beloved's writings to the primitive church. I won't quote them here, but he dwells extensively on love. I especially recommend 1 John 4, found in the New Testament. Wonderful writings on love. 
      I truly believe that the central trait of God's character is love. As we learn to love as He does -- as Christ does -- we will come to understand more and more of God's character. In essence, we see His face. We see it reflected in others as we reach out in charity and love, and others will see His image in our countenance, as we answer prayers and perform miracles. As President Monson stated in April, "Love is the essence of the gospel." 

     I testify of that -- Jesus Christ's earthly ministry consisted of one long expression of love. As He ministered to the downcast and broken hearted, He loved them in a way that would lead them to grow, to become more, and to love others. That's one way we can define Charity -- the pure love of Christ, which will lead people to share that love. It's a possession so valuable that we can't help but want to share it with others. That's why I'm in Seoul, Korea, "sharing the gift" of charity -- the gift of the savior -- the gift of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas! 

December 7, 2014

I was kissed this week! 

Okay, so here's how it happened. As Elder Maris and I were walking to an appointment with our ward mission leader to practice teaching, we ran into a fellow on the side of the road. He hugged us, and I'm pretty sure he was a bit tipsy, based on the smell of his breath. I've never met as many drunk people as I have as a missionary. We talked for a solid twenty minutes about life and religion, then he wanted to buy us hot chocolate. So, we walked with him to a bread shop, and he bought us hot chocolate, as we chatted. He accepted a Book of Mormon, and said he'd call us. As we parted ways outside the shop, he shakes Elder Maris' hand, then turns to me and says, "Kiss." I look at him for a second, and he puckers up. I grimace and say, "Ahhh.... let's not," but then he points at his cheek and responds "Just here." I don't know why, but I conceded to that, and turned my cheek to him. He was pretty adamant. So, that's how I was kissed on the cheek. Memories!

     Anyways, we've been putting a big emphasis on teaching practice lessons with members this week, and it's gone really well! The Spirit is on the ball helping us prepare what to teach them, and sometimes we don't even know why we choose what we do, but it always works out! It's incredible. We were able to meet with a Sister at her restaraunt (spicy food! Ouch! But, I'm getting more and more used to it!), our bishop, and ward mission leader. Each time, we found our unity growing, and it's the weirdest thing, but I swear we're starting to read each other's mind. It's awesome! 

     It snowed again this week! It's dropping super cold in the evenings. Not sure how cold, but it makes me think of Kansas weather. Also, Pop-Pop came through -- snow on my birthday! That was a nice surprise. 

    Fast Sunday was really solid; actually, the Bishop and Ward Mission Leader both testified, and talked about how hard the missionaries are working, and how great teachers we are. I don't want this to sound prideful, but 

     Sorry this letter is shorter than usual; I had a lot of things to respond to today. But thank you all for emailing! It means a ton to me. I love all of you, and wish the best for you! 

Elder Austin Lynn

11/30/2014

 Transfers have come and gone, and now I'm living in a new city! It's pretty weird to imagine that we literally do live in several different cities over the course of our mission. For those of you counting at home, this is my 3rd home in Korea -- Yeonsu, Gimpo, and now Sanbon. Sanbon's more like Yeonsu than Gimpo, and has a lot more shops and buildings than Gimpo. It's exciting to be here; there's lots more people to talk to, and English is pretty popular, so teaching English is a strong lead in here. 

     My new companion's name is Elder Maris, and we're getting along pretty well. We're low on investigators right now, so we're working hard on friendshipping the people in our pool of potentials, so we can start meeting with them consistently. Hopefully that'll go well. 

    Thanksgiving this year reminded me of Tim Allen's "The Santa Clause:" we ate pizza as a district for dinner, and that was about it! That was really different from back home. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Korea at all. 

     This Sunday I had the chance to speak in sacrament and introduce myself to the ward. They were surprised at the size of my family (very typical), but surprised by my Korean. I shared a message rooted in 3 Nephi 18:32, which teaches: 

     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.

     Here, Christ is teaching His disciples not to give up on the lost sheep, those who have wandered from the gospel. We don't know what kind of effect we're having, and even though it can hurt us to constantly reach out and not always be accepted, we have to keep going! We don't know if we'll have an impact on them, and help them return to Christ. This verse is one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon, and strengthened me in a time of question. I coupled this personal experience with a quote from Ezra Taft Benson, a prophet of God, who declared that we "need to show how the Book of Mormon answers the great questions of the soul." God often gives us revelation through the scriptures. I am a firm believer that we can find the answer to our deepest, most intimate questions in the pages of the Book of Mormon, a volume of scripture preserved and brought forth for God's children in our day. 

     That's all I've got for this week; I love all of you! Thank you for your support, in all its forms: prayers, emails, etc! It means the world to me! Merry Christmas!

Love,
Elder Austin Lynn

11/23/2014

This week we got our transfer calls... 

And I'm leaving Gimpo! I'm headed to Sanbon (산본), to work with Elder Maris. We've never met before, but I haven't heard anything negative about him. Having heard much of anything about him actually, but I'm sure it'll be a good experience. Next week you'll get my first impression! Everybody says Sanbon is a great area, so I'm excited to work there. It ought to be fun. 

Since I'm leaving, I had the opportunity to give my "last words" in church last Sunday. They gave me three minutes; not much, but perfect for a brief testimony and scripture. I shared 3 Nephi 9:13-15, which is one of my favorite passages right now. To introduce it, I explained that after Christ's death on the cross in Jerusalem, there was great destruction in America. After the destruction, there was total darkness for three days. In the darkness, the Nephites who lived in America heard Christ's voice, and this is what He said: 

13 O All ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? 

14 Yea. verily, I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me. 

15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name. 

I love these verses because they represent the Book of Mormon's purpose: to testify of Christ and bring us to Him, so that He can heal us. How amazing is it that the Creator of heaven and earth wants to heal you and me? His greatest desire is for us to be whole, and He suffered so He could heal us. Because of His Atoning sacrifice, He understands all of our pains and trials. Sometimes we think the pains we're carrying are secret, but He can see them, and He understands them. If we come unto Christ, He will heal us. 

I enjoyed sharing that with everybody. We were able to visit one of my favorite families,  J (정재중) and his wife and children. I think I like them so much because it's obvious how much they love each other, and their family reminds me of mine because they have several active children. 

Speaking of meals, we were able to eat with our Bishop Saturday night. He's a great guy, and his son just got his mission call! He leaves for Busan in January. His oldest son (my age) is on a mission in the states. His wife is Primary President. 

I have two more meals with members (tonight and tomorrow night), then I'm out of here! It's pretty common to have lots of meal appointments right before you leave an area. 

We met again with JM S (정민수) this week, for my penultimate time. We finished teaching the Plan of Salvation, and resolved a question/misunderstanding he had regarding traditional Christian "heaven and hell." The explanation is that there's a preliminary experience of such in the spirit world, where the deceased go to either prison or paradise to await the resurrection of all mankind, but our final destination is one of the three kingdom's of glory -- God won't condemn His children to eternal misery if He can help it! 

Overall, it was a pretty good week. We've been able to do a lot of work with less-active lists, mainly confirming whether or not the people still live there, and have actually met one or two people. I feel that I've succeeded in Gimpo; it's better than how I found it. That's all I want to do in the areas I go to.