Weekly letter 2/8/2015

Miracle week!

Before you get your hopes up, there's nothing to massive. No Lazarus' or cricket-eating seagulls. But, they could end up being just as significant in individual lives, in time. Our miracles consisted of finding people off of the street who are interested in coming to church. One man called out to us, "Aren't you missionaries?" We talked with him, and he said that though he attends a church, he's not really active in it, and would like to come out to one of our services. He didn't come out last Sunday, but we're going to try and meet him during the week, and give him a tour of the church. 

     We also met Do Yoon (도윤) again. We still haven't been able to teach him a lesson, but he's agreed to help us practice our Korean, and let us practice teaching with him. He doesn't have much interest in the gospel, but I believe we can touch his heart, even while practicing. 

     Our last miracle man was a former investigator -- from the other elders. We met him on the street, and talked for a long time. On the bright side, he's interested in meeting with us. So now we have a line-up of three potential new investigators this week, which we're beyond excited about. 

     Lately I've been studying the New Testament in chronological depth, aided by a wonderful study guide titled "The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles." I'm reading through the Acts* and some of Paul's Epistles right now, and I've just been impressed with one simple fact: the gospel is a gospel of eyewitnesses. The reason that so many of the Apostles' day -- and ours -- rejected the gospel is it's simplicity. There's nothing to theorize and philosophize on. The gospel is a just eyewitness statements: that Jesus Christ died, and was resurrected. There's no deep doctrine, no complex theology. Just men who had seen, and had received the most important witness of all: the witness of the Holy Ghost. 

     That's what our modern day apostles are. Eyewitnesses of the divinity of Jesus Christ. We don't know exactly what constitutes their special "Apostolic Witness," but we do know that all of them know, just as well as Peter, James, and John did, that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." 

     A witness. This concept is why the most important thing we can do as members is gain a divine witness, through the Spirit of God, that the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith is a prophet, that God lives and loves us, and He sent His son, Jesus Christ, who died and was resurrected for us. That's why those basic principles are what a true testimony consist of. Those are the facts; and we are witnesses to them. Now is the time, and today is the day to receive that witness. It may not come all at once. But, it will come, slowly and surely, as we exercise our faith in God and His beloved son, by obeying their commandments -- now, not later. It is only after the trial that the witness comes. We study the scriptures, we pray. Then, we listen. We listen for the whisperings of the spirit, and to the testimony of others: Paul taught that faith is kindled by hearing the testimonies of those who have faith. In other words, our witness can come as we listen to others' witnesses. 

*The Book of Acts in the Bible has been called "The Book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles." Pretty neat, huh? Also descriptive of the true teacher of the gospel. 

     With that thought in mind, I leave you with my own witness of Jesus Christ. He is the son of God. When He appeared to the Nephite people in America, His first words were an affirmation of His obedience to His father -- God, our Heavenly Father. I testify that He was completely obedient to the will of the Father, drinking the bitter cup and accomplishing an infinite atonement. He lived, died, and, most important of all, He was resurrected. He lives today! 

     I'm out of time for this week, but I can't wait to share next's weeks thought with you: that the ultimate mission of the Savior, Jesus Christ, was to show us what the Father is like.

Best wishes,

Elder Austin Lynn

Weekly Letter February 1, 2015

Choku!
Choku (촉구) was our sports activity this week. It's a vastly enjoyable cross between soccer and volleyball, which, like both sports, I'm not terribly good at, but always pleased to try my hand. We were especially excited because a less-active brother we've been working with for a long time came to it, marking his first step inside a church building in.... likely, years. So, yay for Bak Jay H (박제홍)! He's a really great man, with strong beliefs about family, but he hasn't been coming out due to work. We're not very worried about his family life though. The other day, he told us that he's always remembered one of the phrases from the church a while back: Family is heaven on earth. He's always remembered that, and it's affected his family life. He sets aside time for his family, and you can just tell how much he loves them. It's wonderful. As a fun sidenote, his son and I are the same age, so he calls me "son" and I call him "father." 
It's interesting to note how many "fathers" I have, in one sense. Foremost, there's my Heavenly Father, and my earthly father. Beyond that, there's Moses and Aaron, who become the spiritual fathers of all priesthood holders, my mission president, my trainer, and now this less-active man who so loves his family. Finally, there's Jesus Christ, who becomes the spiritual father of all who accept His gospel and endure to the end. Isn't it funny how much of our gospel relates back to those primal relationships found in the family?
In other news, I golfed for the very first time last week. For P-Day, the Sanbon Elders went screen-golfing! It's very popular in Korea, and all of us have always wondered what it's like. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Of course, I didn't do too well, but that's to be expected.^^ No big deal; I'll get better if we play it again. 
Hey, I'm not sure how many of you know this, but reading the scriptures in a foreign language can be exhilarating. I recently started using the Korean scriptures more in my language studies, and it's been fantastic. I'm finally to a point where all I miss are the specific words, rather than grammar forms and conjugations, so the scriptures have become another text for me to learn from. Unfortunately, nobody actually speaks in the scriptural forms anymore, but understanding the scriptures really helps when it comes to teaching. (Naturally)
I haven't started teaching seminary yet; when (or if) it happens, you'll hear first! Hopefully they ask for my help, I'm terribly excited to try it. I think it'd be a great way to learn.
All in all, this week was pretty slow, with lots of appointments punking on us. There's not much to do in that case, besides go out there and find people to meet with us. And, that's the majority of missionary work in Korea. One golden day, members will be a prime, moving force behind it, but until then there's nothing to do but put our shoulders to the wheel, and our feet to the pavement. In the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith... "Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, ... and on, on to the victory!" I am all about the business of victory. Victory over sin, victory over despair, victory over ignorance -- ultimately, victory of light over dark. 

From a lonesome private on the front lines, deep in the trenches, 
Elder Austin Lynn

Austin and his companion being goofy!

Weekly Letter 1/25/2015

Four-Square, Four-Square, Four-Square!!
This week the missionaries put on an event with the youth, where we taught them how to play "Four-Square!" We had good participation from the youth, and, best of all, our potential investigator came, along with his girlfriend! More on them in a bit! It was such a blast to play Four-Square -- the first time since the MTC! And... I've still got it! My favorite moment was when the ball bounced out of my square, behind me and to my left. I turned towards it as it hit the wood floor, then rose out of my square. I continued turning, thought, "Can I really do it?", reached out, caught the ball with the flat of my hand, kept spinning around, and slung shot it back into play! Things like that are great, not for gratifying my pride, but because when people see them, everybody gets excited! Although, yeah, it was pretty cool being cheered on by everybody.
After the activity, we went out to dinner with our potential investigator, and friend, -- English name, Devon! (김도윤), and his girlfriend, J Y (정연수). I was so surprised -- his girlfriend's name is the exact same as my first area! We'd originally met them a couple of weeks ago, walking on the street. I greeted them, and then we talked as we walked together for the next 15 minutes. We were able to become fast friends in that brief time, and he attended our English class that next week! It was there that I gave him his English name, Devon. He's a really funny guy, about 21 years old in American age, and his girlfriend's 19 in American age (I think -- Korean age and American age can be confusing). They were surprised by that when we first met, because it means we're the same age (Koreans count age from birthyear, not specific date)! That instantly made all of us good friends.
We joked about it looking like a double date between the four of us, but it was actually just a really, really fun experience! We were able to introduce the Family English Program, the missionaries' program for meeting with people and teaching both English and practicing their Korean/teaching the gospel. It's one of the most effective ways to meet people in Korea. We'll be starting that with Devon next week.
We had a ward council yesterday, and they discussed seminary for a bit. I wanted to help, and after a brief conversation.... I'll be teaching seminary once a week! I'm really excited about this opportunity. I can serve the ward, become closer to the youth and teachers, and better learn the language, all while honing my teaching abilities!
Before the ward council, we had a ward meal together. We have one about once a month, and it's always lots of fun. As a result though, there's always a ton of dishes! We had a golden opportunity, and I readily took it. Before anybody else even thought about it, my companion and I aproned up, slipped on our dish-doing gloves, and were at it! We must've done dishes for an hour... and I sang songs the entire time, in English and Korean. The members loved that, and they kept commenting as they walked past. Lots of the members thanked us, and it just felt good to do a bit of service for them.
We were also able to go to the temple last week, which is always a splendid experience. It's truly a blessing to be able to attend, even once every six weeks. I hope we don't take for granted what the saints of dispensations past saw and gloried of in vision.
It seems that I've taken on an additional responsibility in our area -- English class planner. Granted, I took it upon myself, but I really just wanted our English class to be the best, and I realized that it would take more than showing up an hour before, at least, thought and planning wise. On the bright side, our English class is getting better! As a bonus, I'm getting better at planning and teaching, things I'll use for the rest of my life.
On a more spiritual note, one significant thought that's lingered in my mind is that one of the main purposes of this life is to learn to care for others, to think outside of ourselves. As always, Christ is our exemplar. What is the character of Christ, but turning outwards, towards others, when we would naturally turn inwards, and be selfish? I believe that's one of the most important things I have learned, am learning, and will continue to learn to the end of my life, and perhaps even beyond.

Best Wishes,
Elder Austin Lynn

Weekly Letter 1/18/2015

This week I listened to several speeches by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. I think the idea that had the longest lasting impact on me was when he stated that, "America needs more idealism." I thought about that a lot; I feel the exact same way. If I want to fulfill that dream I have of changing the world, I think the most significant contribution I can make is to increase the amount of idealism in it. If we had more idealism, we would change ourselves and those around us. I suppose I should explain exactly what idealism is. Idealism is a thought or behavior based off of one's conceptions of how things should be. In other words, idealism is when we act and think according to our vision of the future. Our hopes and dreams, and, most significantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's in the Book of Ether, 12th chapter, that we have the significant statement that whosoever has faith hopes for a better world. 

     This thought has affected my thoughts about career paths. For a while, I considered teaching. That thought had taken the back burner, but after listening to Elder Holland speak (the majority of the time as a dean of religious studies, or president of BYU) I've had the thought that, as a teacher, I can spread that idealism to students and others. I can have a hand in shaping a generation, and that's where significant change takes place in society. Of course, I can express idealism in the other areas of professionalism I'm considering, but I've been able to come to the decision that if I enter education, I will enter in the fields of either English or social studies, with short term goals being high school teaching, with a long term goal of either a position as a professor at a college, or a dean. 

      Enough about me! We had a zone conference this week, in the which we dwelt extensively on "Stewardship." My personal definition of stewardship is something that we are entrusted with, for which we are accountable. As we discussed stewardship, we thought about the impacts it has on us as missionaries, from the concept that of people being entrusted to us in our areas, to companions, to our agency, then over to the accountability portion of stewardship -- to the concept that we will report to the Lord on our stewardship's, both personal and public. It was quite enlightening; we watched a conference talk together which really impressed me. It was "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence," and I really liked how the Elder speaking said that self-doubt can chip away at our faith, and rob us of the power to do miracles. That's something to watch out for -- faith in Jesus Christ is incomplete if we lack faith in ourselves. 

     As a final piece of my week, I had the chance to play a Korean sport called "Choku" (촉구). It's a cross between volleyball and soccer. It's extremely fun, even though I'm terminally uncoordinated. The net is ground level, and you play with your feet, using a soccer ball, as if it was volleyball. 

     I'm sorry for the short letter, but a lot of my thoughts this week were focused on pondering: a necessary habit, but one boring to share. 

With love,
Elder Austin Lynn

Weekly Letter 1/11/15

Good afternoon!" 
"No it's not!"
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing's good!"

"Can we help?"
"How can you help?!"

"Well, we don't know, that's why we asked!"
"You can't help!"
"We're disciples of Jesus Christ, serving here --"
"It's no good, it's no good!"

That was the gist of a conversation the other day. I wanted to look the man in the face and say, "I came here off of my own money, years of my own life, to learn your language -- not an easy task, mind you -- so that I could sacrifice for you, communicate with you, and help you!" 
Of course, I didn't. But I wanted to! That was the culmination of a rather frustrating day of trying to find less-active members. Here's a sample of other encounters at real estate offices, where you can stop in for directions:

Scene 1:

Enter missionaries.

Me: "Good sir, perhaps you could aid us. We are searching for an address in this part of town. Do you happen to know where it is?"
Worker: "Blast you! I don't know where it is! Flee from my presence!"

Okay, that's an exaggeration. But it was fairly annoying when the man looked at us, said, "Dunno," and turned away. Their job is to know the area; furthermore, their office is covered in maps, from wall to wall! We left without a word, after asking for help. 

At the next office, he said the same thing, so this time I got a bit sassy, and said: "Well then, is it okay if we look at these maps on the wall?" 
He said yes, so we stood there for a bit, trying to figure out where we were. He came over after a bit, and gave us directions (bad directions, as it turns out). 

The third and final time, the man waved at us to leave as soon as we walked in. Why do they react this way? Because we're missionaries. They assume we're going to try and preach to them, or that we have ulterior motives behind our actions. They mistrust us, both for being foreigners and for having the name of Jesus Christ on our chest. 

Anyways, he tells us to leave, as I stand in the doorway. I'd had it. I looked him in the face (he was looking down, not even paying attention to us) and cried out, "Is this, or is this not a real estate office?!" 

He looked up. I repeated myself, "This is a real estate office, right?! Well, we need an address." 

The man was surprised, and finally responded. We got our directions, and left.

I feel it appropriate to quote the Apostle Paul here: 

8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.

9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (2 Cor. 4:8-10)

So yes, those were annoying, but not really a problem. This week was good; I have nothing to complain about. For example, we sang a musical number last Sunday, and the members were really pleased. It was just "Come, Come Ye Saints" with parts, but everybody was really happy, and asked us to do it again. Another instance is I lost my watch (a watch I'd received from my father), and thought it was long gone. Then, while visiting a less-active we hadn't been able to see in a while, he said he had something for me. I'd left my watch in his shop, and he'd recognized it as mine! That was a tender mercy of the Lord. 

A final experience before I close this letter.

We give service at a house for children with cerebral palsy. Their ability varies from being unable to move at all, to being able to walk on their own. We clean part of the facility, and then feed them. Many of them require spoon feeding. This week, I fed a boy who was both blind and deaf. He could barely move. To feed him, I had to press the spoon beneath his lip, so he would know the food was there. Then, I would have to wait for him to open his mouth, so that I could place the spoon inside of it. As I slowly fed him, I thought of the Savior and His relationship with us. We are spiritually blind and deaf. We can't make it on our own. We need His nourishment. He can't force us to accept the gospel, lest we choke; He only lets us know that He is there, then waits for us to accept Him.

Jesus Christ is here. He lives; and He loves us. I bear testimony of these things as His authorized representative. He will provide us with everything we need to grow up to be just like our Father -- that is, our Father in Heaven. He loves us with an infinite love, and is prepared to heal us with His infinite atonement. I promise that this is true. Just try it. 

Best Wishes, 

Elder Austin Lynn

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