Weekly Letter June 29 First off, we werent able to meet with our investigator B last Saturday, because of work. Works becoming a bit of a problem, because he cant come to church either. Weve actually written him a note to give to his boss, asking for church time off. We teach B English and Korean, because his English is pretty solid, but his Korean can use a lot of work, especially since everyone he works with speaks Korean, or a different foreign language. He picks it up pretty quick, but definitely isnt fluent. He did make it to English class on Friday, however! I talked to him before the class started, and he kept his reading commitment, and read 3 Nephi 11! He had trouble understanding some of it, but it was so exciting that he read it. When investigators keep their commitments, it shows that they have real intent, which opens the door for revelation. I hope we can resolve his problem with work soon, because Billy is so golden. I learned more about Gasman! It turns out, hes called So Dok Cha in Korean (독차) which means poison dispersion car! He sprays out pesticide. We finally solved the mystery of Gasman. Its crazy that they just drive around spraying gas everywhere. Its pretty thick! You dont wanna be outside when he comes around. Koreans like to use English words and phrases a lot, but its usually got really basic mistakes in it. We see that all the time on signs and things. An example is the special KFC ads in Korea for the world cup are Korea Fighting With Chicken. Im not sure exactly what thats supposed to mean... whether theyre using chicken as a weapon, or if chickens are their enemies. Who knows? Our investigator (the old, poor one) wandered by the church the other day, right after wed finished teaching a lesson, and we ended up giving him a tour and going over the first lesson with him! It turns out hed come 30 minutes early (in the middle of an earlier lesson) but wed forgotten the keys, so we were in a different area, waiting for the other Elders. What a miracle that he came back a half-hour later! If wed been there, it wouldve been pretty awkward with the two of them, but because wed forgotten our keys, everything worked out perfectly. Sometimes, God is in the smallest of details, working things out for our benefit. Chwae In Guk (최 인 국) also came to church! He remarked that it was noisy, which we were guilty as charged. Theres a lot of children at church. However, he stayed for all three meetings, including gospel principles, which is taught by the ward mission leader! That was really good, and he learned about the plan of salvation. Were meeting with him again this week. Weve been working with an inactive Sister, and she came out to church this Sunday! We asked her if shed play with us for a special musical number, and she agreed! She played the flute while the missionaries sang, Abide With Me, Tis Eventide in Korean. It went pretty well, and the members were really excited to see Ha Hyun Suk (하현숙) at church! We also had several other less-actives weve been working with there, so Bishop was really pleased with that. Speaking of Bishop, hes such a wild card! When we first got here, he wasnt a big fan of the missionaries. As a matter of fact, when we asked if we could attend P.E.C., he literally thought we were joking! He laughed for a minute, then said, Go do real missionary work! He said that several times after. Of course, real missionary work is so much more than just proselyting. Working with the members is far more effective. One night, all of the Elders sat down, and we started discussing how we can get Bishop and the ward to trust us, because we need their help. We decided that gok, (곢) (at all cost, any price, etc) we had to get somebody out to church that Sunday. With that fire, we did it! As we continued to work hard, especially visiting less-actives, Bishop started to see that we were working hard, and he eventually started telling us who not to visit, which progressed to telling us who to visit, and eventually we made it into meetings with him! That was really rewarding. Bishops been Bishop in Yeonsu twice, which says a lot about the members, and how hard he works. He said, its fun! Thats so unusual in Korea, where the church is seen as a burden sometimes. We played soccer with lessactives, potential investigators, and some of the youth last Saturday, and Bishop showed up! We joked that he was going to play, and thought it was pretty funny when we saw him doing stretches. We realized he was serious when he did a warm up lap! He played as goalie that day, and became friends with everybody we got to come out. On Sunday he told us that he wants us to do soccer every week, and when we suggested somebody in the ward be given the task of being the soccer coordinator, he responded, Aju choin idea! (literally 아주좋은 idea!)! (Very good idea!) That same day, in a combined Priesthood/Relief society meeting, Bishop stood up and said that hes found that the more he works with the missionaries, the more effective missionary work is in the ward! That was such a blessing and answer to our prayers to hear him say that. It blew us away. Things have really changed here! Another amazing experience at church: A less-active wed visited only a few weeks after I got here gave a talk in Sacrament meeting. She related an experience she had with us! She talked about how shed never really understood the commandments (a really common thing in Korea, and perhaps even the church at large) and how she asked us about the whole punishment thing when we visited her. It was amazing to hear her talk about this, because I remembered exactly what she was talking about! Elder W wasnt sure what to say, so he turned to me, and the answer I gave (translated through him) was, Sometimes our punishment is not receiving the blessings we receive from keeping the commandments. At the time, we didnt know if wed had any success with her, because she didnt come to church that next week, and we didnt hear from her again. But it turns out that the answer really made sense to her, and caused her to reflect on the blessings shes received throughout her life as shes kept the commandments, and how unfortunate it wouldve been if she hadnt received those blessings! It really strengthered her faith in God, and that He truly loves her. That was a major teaching experience for me. At the time, we didnt know the effect my answer had, and I didnt realize how inspired it was -- because an answer that has an effect like that is an inspired one, given of the Spirit -- and this experience taught me that you dont always feel the Spirit in the moment when youre inspired, and you can never know what effect the things you say have! I can only imagine what it will be like after this life, when we learn what an effect weve had on those around us. One thing thats already surprising me is how quickly the time is passing. Im over halfway through my second transfer already! We sit down for weekly planning on Friday, and it feels like we did it yesterday! Time really is passing so quickly. Ive come to realize what a precious commodity it is on my mission. A pretty big thing I learned from my Book of Mormon study recently is what Ive termed The Deceitful Doctrines of the Devil. Ive written it all out in my study journal, and as I continue reading through the Book of Mormon, it helps me really hone in on what the Anti-Christs like Sherem are teaching, and how it conflicts with Gods truths. The more we understand the tactics Lucifer uses, the easier it is to thwart him and remain safe. 2 Nephi 28 is a really good place to start for that. Another thing was a really powerful analogy, which Ive labeled The Consequences of Careless Crossing. The crux of it is that if you cross the street when the light is red, it has all sorts of far-reaching effects. I dont have the time to write it out, but some of them are the concept that youre literally taking your life into your own hands, and how while most of the time itll be okay, there may be a time when something tragic happens, or how your little sibling might see you, and think its okay to do that. My companion and I have really discussed it, and its a powerful way to teach about the commandments, and the safety we find in them, while also helping us grow as people. Next week Ill bring my study journal and write down the miniature talk I wrote about it, because it really affected me. After church, my companion had a baptismal interview with one of the Sister missionaries investigators, Ii Sung Mi (이 성 미), and she passed! Shed had a bit of a struggle with the Word of Wisdom, but overcame a coffee addiction through fasting. Wow! She was really golden, and was converted over a period of one month. The Elders gave her a blessing when she was just starting out with the Word of Wisdom, and I was the one she asked to give it. Shes fluent in English, so I was able to do it in English. During the interview, my companion called me over, and Ii Sung Mi asked me to baptize her! This Saturday Ill be performing my first baptism -- in Korean! -- and the first missionary baptism in Yeonsu in years! The ward is so excited, as the missionaries are. We had a meal with my favorite members (the mother/son duo) last Saturday, and she gave a good suggestion for my Korean name that Elder W is now thinking about! Originally, it was 임수천 (Im Su Chun), to go along with his 서천 (literally translated, west river (Westbrook)), but he wasnt sure, so we asked her! She suggested 임광천 (Im Guang Chun). The middle character means, bright like a light! Sounds like Im gonna be related to Brother Chun, huh? The first name has a ton of different meanings (maybe you could ask Brother Chun!) but the second one is bright, combined with any of the various meanings for Chun (such as river, diety, etc). Il try to give you more description next week. The meal went really well, and we got to see a painting she did (attached)! Sorry the pictures blurry, I forgot to check it immediately after. That is literally a giant painting of the classic Jesus Christ picture! That Korean is her son (sorry if thats really obvious!). This weeks going to be really exciting! Lots of things going on in Yeonsu! Weve finally started a fire here, and things are really picking up. Until next week, Elder Austin Lynn
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 05:36:05 +0000
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