Anyeonghaseyo! (that looks so dumb in English....)
So, as you all can probably see, I sent this to a bunch of people. I have come to realize that making a huge letter and then sending it to everyone is way, way better than taking the time to copy/paste things to make individual letters. It lacks that personal feel, but it brings everyone into the loop, so I figured that was better. I'm really sorry for those who have been left out of the loop for almost a year, and I hope you think my emails are cool enough to read once in a while. :D
So...This week was pretty good! Actually I'll fill everyone in on where I am and stuff like that. I'm in a district of Seoul called 봉천 (Bong Cheon...rhymes with Foam Fun), which is on the doorstep of one of the S.K.Y. universities in Korea (Seoul University, Korea University, and Yeonsei University). Therefore, there are millions of people here, which means it's missionary heaven. I miss my old ward in Il San, but this place is way better for missionary work. This is my second area on my mission, because I was in Il San for seven months, and I've been here for about three weeks. The area is actually really small, you could walk across it either north-south or east-west in about half an hour tops. It's right by a "mountain" called Gwanak Mountain, but compared to ours it's just a steep hill. :D The ward here is good, there's tons of people to talk to, we can get cheap Korean food at restaurants, we're right next to all the cool things in Seoul for P-day, there are sister missionaries in our area too (which is really fun), our house is big and clean, my companion is awesome, and we have an investigator who will be baptized two Saturdays from now. Hence the "Success" in the subject line. :D Life is really good right now!
The investigator's name in English is Choi Hyeon Chang. He is about thirty, and he met with the missionaries at the beginning of the year. However, because of a crazy church he went to (literally, they are INSANE), he lost all faith in God, so he ended up dropping the missionaries at that time. The first day I got to Bong Cheon, we were calling former investigators, and I talked to him. He speaks English really well, which was a relief. I asked him if he believes in God, and he said yes (this was before I read the record that says he doesn't believe in God). So then I asked him if he believes God can answer his prayers, and he said yes. So then I invited him to put our church to the test and find out if it is true, and he accepted. When we met him the first time, he said that he didn't believe in God when he met the missionaries the first time, but about a month before we called, he started reading the Bible again and he really wanted to get closer to God. So, he took our call as a sign, and the rest is history! He went to a fireside with one of our members last night, without us, and he said it was really good. I take that as an answer to my prayers as to how to integrate him into the ward. God really does look out for all of us, and with this guy, he sent the right missionary at the right time that would say the right things to get him to experiment on the word. Interestingly, he only got a real conviction about this church after he followed our advice and acted in order to get an answer, like it says in Alma 32 in the Book of Mormon. You can't know something is true until you try living it first. Once he did, he got an answer, and he's been solid ever since. So that's the thing I'm most excited about right now. :D
My new companion is named Elder Mallory. He's my same age, but one transfer younger than me in mission age. He's from Los Vegas, and since coming on his mission he's lost like 80 pounds. It's way cool. Korean food does that to you (but don't worry, I didn't lose 80 pounds, that's a little more than half my body weight :D). He's really nice, and he has a big desire to do missionary work. I'm glad I'm finally with someone like that, it hasn't happened since my trainer in January. His dream job is to be a firefighter, like his dad, uncle, and grandpa. He's gone on ride-alongs with his dad before, a lot, and he has some really cool stories. He also played football as a linebacker in high school. We're having some good times. I miss my Korean companion though, we had fun times. My Korean companion is only in his third transfer right now, and he's training another Korean. :D I hope he's doing ok.
I've decided to start a section in my emails called "You Know You're in Korea When..." I got the idea from someone who emailed my companion. Here goes!
You Know You're In Korea When....
1. When toilet paper is used for more than the bathroom...actually, it's used for just
about everything: napkins, paper towels, wiping the table, etc.
2. When old men are wearing more patterns and colors of plaid than they are articles
of clothing.
3. When an old man wheels a cart by that has a big pot of boiling silkworm larvae
soup on it.
4. When your companion can't remember the names of some of the United States
America. :P
5. When one elevator only goes to odd floors, and one only goes to the even ones.
6. When a city with 50 million people has a sweet transportation system that's super cheap and efficient. Like, it's way better than TRAX and *shudder* the Front Runner in Utah. Fail.
That's about all for this week. I'll keep an eye out for unusual/different/cool things. Something my ward mission leader told me was, if something is different it just means it brings something else to the table and makes life interesting. I try to keep that in mind when I see boiling pots of silkworm larvae rolling by me on the street. :D I love you all, and I hope this week goes well for you!
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