JEJU

November 23, 2008
This week was the best week yet. i got transfered to a new area. the new area i am in is called JEJU!!!! if you look on a map, its the little island below Korea. i flew to the island (by myself) this morning. it was awesome. i am so excited to serve here. there are 6 missionaries on the island. it is an honor to serve here because they only send the most obedient missionaries here since no one can look after them. i was shocked to find out that i was coming here on my second transfer, it is a little rare. im thrilled.
some facts about the island: it is a pretty big island (2 cities) and its almost tropical. theres palm trees and stuff, it kinda reminds me of California but i have only been here for about 4 hours so i dont really know. the most famous thing about the island is called saturi, it means accent or dialect. they speak a very weird dialect here on the island and its hard for missionaries to understand. its not just an accent, they use different words that people on the mainland dont understand. its crazy.
i cant understand korean well so the dialect is going to be an even bigger challenge but im not very worried. i have faith. so thats about all i know about the island so far, it looks like the missionaries that serve here stay for at least 3 transfers because you have to take a plane to get here so i'll be here for a while.
My companion: his name is Elder Boardman, he is from Idaho Falls, Idaho. maybe the Saadehs know him? i didnt know Sister Saadeh's maiden name so he doesnt know. this transfer is his 6th transfer and its his first time being a senior companion. because its his first time going senior and im still a greenie this transfer might be interesting. i have faith in his korean abilities but we'll see how everything works out because he is still new. he seems like a very nice, diligent missionary and im excited to serve with him. we have a lot in common (track, football, BYU).
last week was nothing special compared to the past 5 hours of riding on a plane and having my whole world change in a matter of hours. the only highlights of the week were:
i ate dog. it was at a restaraunt and it was dog soup. its called bong shing tong. it was really tender and kinda tasted like beef. i couldnt really taste the meat though because there was a ton of random spices and leaves in the soup. there was also a dog bone just floating in it, kinda gross.
we also played a lot of sports last week. every week with the ward we go to this big sports park and play badminton. koreans love badminton. its in this indoor staduim with like 20 badminton courts. it was a lot of fun and im going to miss it. we also went to a multi stake soccer tournament on saturday. we brought an investigator and he really liked it. the tournament lasted all day. it was a lot of fun. i hurt my toe though.
so thats what happened this week. i still cant beleive im on Jeju. (its sometimes called Jeju doh, doh means island).its really awesome. i am excited to serve here and experience all of the cool things here. (this area is for sure the envy of the mission). i feel a little insufficient to be put in such a demanding area. im not worried about keeping the rules but with saturi and a young companion, i know that i will have to work hard to pull my weight. i know that i have been called here for a reason and i can't wait to find out what that reason is.

Love,
Elder Wells