September 26, 2011

Hey, everybody,

This week has been pretty great! We were really busy. The busy times are definitely the best times out here. Since we share this area with a couple of sister missionaries, when they decided to start a dance class as a way to find new investigators, me and my companion joined in. It was so fun! I know what you're thinking, it wasn't ballet, it was just line dances this week. One of the sisters is a dance major, and her companion is really good too, so they made up dances and taught them to us and a bunch of the ward members. There were probably 12 people there, and actually some new people that weren't members of the Church. It was a nice way to have fun with the ward members without pressure. We met our guy with a baptismal date and everything's going great still. He will be the first person I found and baptized myself, because the man I baptized in July was found by somebody else.

Tomorrow we get to go to the temple in Shin Chon. I think Dad was there on his mission before it was dedicated, but he might not be that old. :D Anyway, it'll be really fun, because there's always a bunch of other missionaries that you hang out with after the temple. When we go to the temple it becomes our Pday for that week; me and my companion plan to go to a shopping center somewhere and buy him a suit. He needs one because he's lost so much weight. He wrote me up a weightlifting schedule, so when i come back to Utah I'm going to be super ripped. Watch out, Austin. :D

The language is coming along ok. I still have a problem understanding people, but I can usually say what I want to say. Someday I'll be fluent, I hope. I actually heard that there was a missionary that returned last year that tested out of so many Korean language classes at college that he got a minor degree automatically! I hope I can do something like that at Utah State when I get back.

You Know You're in Korea when...

• Anybody you ask is willing to help you. One time I was in Il San, my previous area, and I asked a guy how to get somewhere, and he walked to the stop with me, found the right bus, and made sure I got on it. It actually kinda backfired, because I was only using it as a ploy to start talking to him about the gospel, but hey. :D
• When the buses sometimes break Mach 1. Sonic booms aren't just for jets anymore.
• When there are 30-story apartment buildings everywhere.
• When you can buy awesome ties for $3 each. I'll have to send you some, Austin.
• When saying "Hi" to a group of junior high girls results in a wall of sound that almost knocks you over. That actually happened in Il San, no joke!
• When the 김치/ kimchi is measured by proof. Ok, it's not actually alcoholic...is it?
• When your companion gets interviewed on the street by high school students just for being a foreigner.

That's about all the news I know. I'll let you know how the baptism this Saturday goes. I love you all!

Elder Matt Dean