Hey everyone!
I’ve now served on my first area for a whole week. We have been extremely busy. Thank you for your email and letters. I don’t know how to begin recapping the week. We are serving in an incredibly rich area. Koreans dress my the latest fashions and always look their best. And in our area it is common to see Armani, prada, Gucci, etc.. on guys and girls. Whether rich or poor the people look their best. I have seen about a dozen Bentleys, an Aston martin, hundreds of Mercedes; and Lambo and Ferraris dealerships are in our area. It is also very fascinating. Although this is not the norm, the Korean people as a whole are a very clean, sophisticated, polite, handsome people. English is so important to them. The government may soon require english for most jobs. Due to this, we teach English a few times a week and get most of our investigators through a program called 30/30 – 30 mins of english (pronunciation, and free talking) and then 30 mins of our gospel message. Furthermore, I have been able to teach a lot in english – which is good because I want to help but bad because my Korean is not being practiced as often. My new ward consists of 30-60 people, mostly retired. Our bishop is a retired nuclear engineer and is currently a ceo (multi-millionaire) . He bought us burger king on sat night. The ward has been sleepy on missionary work but the bishop gave an hour long talk about in our combined meeting on Sunday. He seems to have a new invigoration with our arrival. It helps that my companion was an AP, he gets a lot of respect from the members. Sunday was also the primary program. The kids are so cute. (my companion was forced by the bishop to take pics during the program- he tried to say no) There is one young man in the ward and maybe 2 young women. I sat with a Japanese man who has an interpreter who translates to english for him, in sacrament meeting – so I actually got to understand it. Another blessing. My companion told me that he was expecting to stay in the office for his last 2 transfers. However, Pres. Burton woke up one night from his sleep and had the distinct impression that Elder Wimmer needed to train someone and got to kam-nong (our area). So he became my trainer. And we are whitewashing one of the dreaded places to go in the mission. I really don't see why it is so dreaded but maybe thats just because i have a succesful companion and we have been blessed by the Lord. We now have a number of investigators and a likely baptism (s)before Christmas. We feel very blessed. A few events from the week:- we saw 2 car accidents in one hour right by our church. The church is in a hard to find spot nestled on a hill between narrow one lane roads, with no stop signs or lights. Korean driving does not include following many laws anyway. Red lights are more for show. We walk the hill atleast 5 times daily as we meet people at the subway station for appointments and show them how to get to the church so we can teach them english and the gospel. - the church has one toilet but it has a heated seat and built in buo de (however you spell that crazy French word ). Great after the 30 degree rainy weather.- I like the food, though I admit kimchi for every meal is hard. Most of it is spicy but bearable. The hardest thing is actually sitting on the floor. I have uttered many silent prayers during the 1 1/2 – 2 hr meals with my legs crossed. I am stretching often. A few people have asked if im ok when I fail to hide my pain as I stand up very slowly so I don’t fall over. I’ve also dropped slippery noodles in my lap using chopsticks – the members laugh.
- I found out that our roommate/d.l. elder hatch saw someone get cut in half by the subway. After one of the yearly tests that decide your future, many college age suicides occur. Many by jumping on the tracks. He witnessed one of these deaths. He has been having nightmares for the last 4 months. Very sad.
- Mcdonalds delivers, and no tipping in korea.- the best mall in asia is in our area but we are not allowed in it for obvious reasons.- many of the sidewalks in our area are made out of track rubber for running and walking. They replace them every year – miles of it.
-I was contacting people (in Korean) and ended up talking to a college age kid who didn’t speak much english but told me that he could meet anytime and anywhere - this answer is unheard-of. I gave him a book of mormon and he said he would read it. We are often “punked” 3-4 times a day with people who don’t show for our appointments. Due to the high business positions of many of the ward members, it is hard to get them to lessons.
- We meet people from all over. Yesterday on the subway we spoke to a german man from munich who was visiting seoul by himself for his vacation. He was very interested in the church and we referred him to mormon.org so he can meet with the missionaries in germany.
- Today I went to the temple. It is on a hill in the middle of an urban area. It is cool how quite it is on the grounds. I love korea. I have been very happy. I feel that many of the people are searching for truth but don’t know where to find it. I’ve also noticed that my little language skills are not a big issue in finding people. I have gotten a few contact numbers without understanding most of what is being said. The spirit helps a lot. I also don’t remember the phrases I study until I have used them in my teaching or contacting. Once we are lost in the work and really love it, all else does not matter. The cold, continuous overcast skies and 10’s of miles walked each day go unnoticed. Being able to teach just one person, and see and feel the happiness that the message we share brings to their souls, is enough. How great is the joy in our souls of invite just one seoul unto Christ. And how much greater is our joy as we invite many to receive of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wish you all the best. I am well in the great land of korea.
Elder Britsch
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