Hey, everybody!
The second week here in Bong Cheon was pretty awesome, I have to admit! This is a way fun area. For our preparation day, we had a big conference to celebrate Chu Seok, the Korean Thanksgiving. It was so fun! Half the missionaries in the Seoul area went to a place called Yeong Dung Po, which has a huge building our church owns. Our Mission President talked to us about Korean culture and how it relates to Chu Seok; Koreans traditionally believe that when somebody dies, they become sort of a demi-god, so he explained a little about the rituals they do. On this holiday, Koreans go to the graves of their ancestors and bow in respect/worship, in order to gain the favor of those who have gone before, who then bless them. Koreans leave food on tables, too, because a long time ago food was kind of scarce. Thus they give the food as an offering. Also, something I learned is that they never give nectarines, because the spirits hate nectarine trees and actually can't go near them. So the fruits of the trees are out, I guess. :D Also, our mission president explained a little about Korean names. Taditionally, all males of the same generation in a family use a common syllable in their names; hence, in my Korean name, Do In Su, I share the "su" with Ha Yeong Su and Ha Min Su, the two sons of the Ha family. It's pretty awesome. We had a sweet lunch and got some training about teaching people, and the conference was over. However, P-day was from the end of the conference to the end of the day! You should have seen the building, it was a total party. Some people played board games, some people played volleyball, some people sat around and talked. It was really fun. I talked to another elder about video games that we had both played for proably about an hour. :D And then I read a letter I got from Erin van Komen. It was a really sad letter...she's hanging in there, but she's got a lot on her plate right now with college and tuition. I feel like she's trying to be positive, but it's just really hard. Apparently the letter I sent her got there on the day of her mom's funeral, so that was pretty good timing. I hope I can be a strength for her, but there's only so much you can communicate through the mail. I hope Kimee and Sarah are taking good care of her.
Speaking of Kimee, unless my letter got lost in the mail, she owes me one. It's understandable if she has a boyfriend now, though. Just remember, Austin--girls act all needy and they want you to write them, until they find someone at home. Then you get nothing. :D Just kidding, I'm not bitter. I hope she's doing well. Since Sarah is the "updater" for my friends, could you ask her if she's heard anything about Katie Haggard? I haven't talked to her in like six months, and I wonder if our letters are getting to each other or not. Tell Sarah thanks for being so awesome, and I'm working on getting her a letter soon. :D
This week...what a good week, from a missionary standpoint. We found two new people to teach; one is kind of a flake, though, and he's only in it for the English. The other one is pretty solid. But the best news is that a guy we're teaching accepted a commitment to be baptized on October 1! We're so excited! He said he got an answer about our church from God in a dream, and as he was telling us about it, I was thinking, "Whoa, this is just like a movie or something." It was seriously way cool. So, we're going to help him get baptized. I asked him why he thought it was so important, and he said it was because we need someone to help us out to be clean from sins, and through Christ we can do that. He said he wants to be baptized, so we will help him there. I feel very thankful to God for giving us this success.
I got your package, Mom and Dad! It was so awesome! Elder Mallory ate some of the dried mangoes, and he said they were really the best fruit he's ever eaten. Really. :D I really like the journal you sent me, too--it has really great questions in it, and I'm excited to fill it out. I just have to find the time now. You'll be interested to know that out of the 20 questions on that "How Well Do You Know Harry?" test from the newspaper that you send me, I got 18 right. And two of the answers on the key were actually wrong, which is pretty funny. I did it with one of the Assistants to the President and we concluded that the girl who wrote it didn't actually know Harry that well after all. :D And I appreciate the present from Emmy {our cat}, looks like she still sheds as much as always. 开矫. :D
Mom, you asked about bath houses; basically, you go in there and there are different pools with different things dissolved in them at different temperatures, and you sit in them and relax. There are also saunas that are super hot, and usually swimming pools. Also there are sections where you sit down on a stool in front of a mirror with a hand faucet, and just shower off. It's a really relaxing experience, and I love 'em. I have two more winters to enjoy them in, too. :D
Grandma, I'm glad you've made progress on Elmo {the barn cat}. They should run a new cable show called "The Cat Whisperer," starring Ruth Ann Brandon. i would totally watch that show. :D
I was reading an email from another missionary that Elder Mallory got, and it had a section titled "You Know You're in Brazil when..." I figured that I could make one of those for the blog you're making me, and it would be really funny. I'll come up with stuff for next week.
I love you all - have a good week!
~Elder Matt Dean
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