well i am now 20 years old and not a teenager anymore. it would be a lot weirder but it isnt because in korea i have been telling people i am 21 since new years. here they measure age differently so when you are born you are immediately 1 or something. and everyone turns one year older at the new years, not at their birthday. so according to korea i have been 21 since january and my birthday meant nothing.
i had a good birthday though. we met with a recent convert named kim gyoung bong 김경봉 and ate pizza and cake. yeah they have pizza here in korea and it really isnt bad. they do put a lot of wierd toppings on it though. like octopus and junk. but we stick with the potato pizza. do they put potatoes on pizza in america? missionaries here cant decide if they do. i dont think so. its really good, you should try it if you dont. after that we stayed at the house most of the day becuase my companion sprained his ankle and isnt supposed to walk on it a whole lot. luckily a doctor is coming to the mission this week so he can get it all figured out. he had surgery on the ankle a few months before the mission so it could be a big deal. we'll see.
because of my companion's ankle we have been inside a lot. but it isnt slowing our work down too much. we have been working with the area book and have made 2 appointments with old investigators. probably more appointments than we would get from proselyting on the street in a week. i am really excited about one of the people we met with. he is a farmer and is really open to religion. he was dropped because he was too busy but i think things have changed and he will be able to come to church. our branch president is also a farmer and he has been able to work and be a branch president for 4 years so it is possible.
Love,
Elder Wells
ps happy birthday mckay
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tons of foreigners!!!
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:00:24 +0000
Subject: tons of foreigners!!!
first of all, if you havent heard about the weird foreigners in korea, let me tell you about them. tons of people for whatever reason come to korea to teach english and get away from their own countries. they are usually pretty wierd and the social outcasts at home so they come here where they dont have to communicate with people. they stick out in any crowd of koreans (obviously). as missionaries we try to talk to them but its usually awkward and really funny. they are just awkward to begin with and since we havent talked to other people in english for forever the conversations are rough.
this weekend there was a big ultimate frisbee contest and foreign english teachers came from all over asia to unite and play frisbee. korea, china, japan, and guam actually. we heard about it from a foreigner and came to volunteer. it was cool to meet people from all over the world and it reminded me of how different the world is. their lives are so much different than mine. they live alone and spend their lives working, smoking, and partying. i really could recognize what they dont have and it made me feel grateful for what i do have. i have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. like one of the speakers in General Conference said, i too can say that i can't remember a time when i didnt know i was a child of God.
I love spreading this knowledge to other people. Not everyone accepts it but i know in my heart that it is true.
Love,
Elder Wells
i also dont think i have told you a lot about the island im on and ive been here for 5 months now so ive learned alot. all my information is my interpretation of what koreans have said to me in korean so its probably not all factual but maybe. i guess jeju was taken over by mongolians a long time ago and they used it to raise horses so there are a ton of horses here and stuff. there are restaraunts that cook horse meat and one of my goals is to eat it before i leave. anyway so the mongolians kind of stayed here and mixed with the koreans so people on jeju look a little different than normal koreans (according to other koreans, i cant tell the dif). also the language here is different. not everyone uses it but its a completely different dialect that is hard to understand. i heard the other day that during the korean war there was an army squad from jeju that spoke in 'jeju mar' during the war to capture a north korean camp or something. the north koreans couldnt understand what they were saying so it was easy for them to take it over. i thought it was a funny story because other koreans can't even understand this language.
Subject: tons of foreigners!!!
first of all, if you havent heard about the weird foreigners in korea, let me tell you about them. tons of people for whatever reason come to korea to teach english and get away from their own countries. they are usually pretty wierd and the social outcasts at home so they come here where they dont have to communicate with people. they stick out in any crowd of koreans (obviously). as missionaries we try to talk to them but its usually awkward and really funny. they are just awkward to begin with and since we havent talked to other people in english for forever the conversations are rough.
this weekend there was a big ultimate frisbee contest and foreign english teachers came from all over asia to unite and play frisbee. korea, china, japan, and guam actually. we heard about it from a foreigner and came to volunteer. it was cool to meet people from all over the world and it reminded me of how different the world is. their lives are so much different than mine. they live alone and spend their lives working, smoking, and partying. i really could recognize what they dont have and it made me feel grateful for what i do have. i have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. like one of the speakers in General Conference said, i too can say that i can't remember a time when i didnt know i was a child of God.
I love spreading this knowledge to other people. Not everyone accepts it but i know in my heart that it is true.
Love,
Elder Wells
i also dont think i have told you a lot about the island im on and ive been here for 5 months now so ive learned alot. all my information is my interpretation of what koreans have said to me in korean so its probably not all factual but maybe. i guess jeju was taken over by mongolians a long time ago and they used it to raise horses so there are a ton of horses here and stuff. there are restaraunts that cook horse meat and one of my goals is to eat it before i leave. anyway so the mongolians kind of stayed here and mixed with the koreans so people on jeju look a little different than normal koreans (according to other koreans, i cant tell the dif). also the language here is different. not everyone uses it but its a completely different dialect that is hard to understand. i heard the other day that during the korean war there was an army squad from jeju that spoke in 'jeju mar' during the war to capture a north korean camp or something. the north koreans couldnt understand what they were saying so it was easy for them to take it over. i thought it was a funny story because other koreans can't even understand this language.
Everything is good!
April 12
hey,
i love the little city of seo gwee po. it is fun down here. my companion and i are getting along great and we are working hard together. i love having a companion that actually likes doing missionary work. we dont have any investigators so the work is really slow but we approach everything with a positive attitude and we know that it will work out in the Lord's way.
i have a bike now. its my first area with a bike and i think i can say i officially feel like a real missionary. when we ride i look in front of me at the guy wearing a suit and say yeah, i'm a missionary. it is good.
one of my favorite parts about this area is that we play a lot of ping pong here. our house is a little shack next to the church and the church has a ping pong table in it so ya. i bought a paddle and everything. there is an old lady in our branch that used to play competitively so she teaches us.
the members are good. there aren't very many but they are strong. we are trying to work with them and build a relationship with all of them but it is hard when neither me or my companion are really good at the language. i think the hardest thing is that we do not know what to say or how to relate to people and that causes a lot of awkward moments...its all good though. the members understand and try to help us. one family we have been working with is a innactive family. they arent awkward because they are really good at english. i was hoping for them to come to general conference but they couldn't make it. general conference was great by the way. i learned a lot and really enjoyed the testimonies of all the general authorities. their testimonies really strengthed my faith that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God and that he leads this church by revelation. i am grateful for this knowledge and for the opportunity to be part of God's kingdom on earth. it is awesome.
Love,
Elder Wells
hey,
i love the little city of seo gwee po. it is fun down here. my companion and i are getting along great and we are working hard together. i love having a companion that actually likes doing missionary work. we dont have any investigators so the work is really slow but we approach everything with a positive attitude and we know that it will work out in the Lord's way.
i have a bike now. its my first area with a bike and i think i can say i officially feel like a real missionary. when we ride i look in front of me at the guy wearing a suit and say yeah, i'm a missionary. it is good.
one of my favorite parts about this area is that we play a lot of ping pong here. our house is a little shack next to the church and the church has a ping pong table in it so ya. i bought a paddle and everything. there is an old lady in our branch that used to play competitively so she teaches us.
the members are good. there aren't very many but they are strong. we are trying to work with them and build a relationship with all of them but it is hard when neither me or my companion are really good at the language. i think the hardest thing is that we do not know what to say or how to relate to people and that causes a lot of awkward moments...its all good though. the members understand and try to help us. one family we have been working with is a innactive family. they arent awkward because they are really good at english. i was hoping for them to come to general conference but they couldn't make it. general conference was great by the way. i learned a lot and really enjoyed the testimonies of all the general authorities. their testimonies really strengthed my faith that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God and that he leads this church by revelation. i am grateful for this knowledge and for the opportunity to be part of God's kingdom on earth. it is awesome.
Love,
Elder Wells
Rotten oranges
April 5, 2009
hello family and friends,
i hope everyone enjoyed conference this past weekend. on my mission i have started to enjoy conference a lot more. how amazing is it that we get to hear the council and advice of modern day prophets. it is awesome. i actually havent watched conference yet because they watch it a week late in korea but i am excited to watch it next week. my companion and i visited a less active family this week and told them about conference. the mom used to be a solid member but she went inactive and hasnt been to church in 5 years. the missionary that was here before me got them to come to church and it has really turned them around. we testified of the importance of a modern day prophet and the mom comitted to come to a session this weekend. the members here have to drive an hour to jeju city to watch conference so it is kind of a big sacrifice for her. i love watching the gospel grow in people.
as for my new area and companion, everything is going good. the work here is a little slower but nothing to complain about. we visit an old old lady, that lives alone, every once in a while and we have to bring a member with us because she speaks such a thick, nasty accent that we absolutely can not understand her. she is really nice though. my companion said that our job is basically to make sure that she is still alive. last week she gave us a bag of oranges that were absolutely rotten. she pulled out a completely green rotten one before she gave us the bag. then she made us eat them in front of her. it was probably the worst thing i have ever eaten. good experience.
the other day my companion and i were walking on the street and there was an octopus on the sidewalk. it was still alive and everything. my companion and i wanted to keep it as a pet but a guy ran up to us, picked up the octopus by the head, and threw it into a tank right there on the side of the road. it was so random. a lot of the restaraunts have tanks full of fish and stuff in front of them, especially the ones by the ocean. the city i am in has a port and stuff so we eat a good amount of sea food.
um other things about so gee po..there are a lot of mentally handicapped people here. like really a lot. they all come down here because the air is fresh and healthy or something. one of our members is handicapped and loves the missionaries. he waits outside our door and follows us around. he got the name james bond because he is really sneaky. hes pretty funny. i have a goal this transfer for him to remember my name but i dont know if it will happen. he already knows my companions name so i am pretty jealous.
This week we got to teach the restoration to a 25 girl named yu-na. it was a great experience. she really understood it and comitted to pray about it. unfortunately she is moving to australia but hopefully we can get the missionaries to meet her down there.
Love
Elder Wells
hello family and friends,
i hope everyone enjoyed conference this past weekend. on my mission i have started to enjoy conference a lot more. how amazing is it that we get to hear the council and advice of modern day prophets. it is awesome. i actually havent watched conference yet because they watch it a week late in korea but i am excited to watch it next week. my companion and i visited a less active family this week and told them about conference. the mom used to be a solid member but she went inactive and hasnt been to church in 5 years. the missionary that was here before me got them to come to church and it has really turned them around. we testified of the importance of a modern day prophet and the mom comitted to come to a session this weekend. the members here have to drive an hour to jeju city to watch conference so it is kind of a big sacrifice for her. i love watching the gospel grow in people.
as for my new area and companion, everything is going good. the work here is a little slower but nothing to complain about. we visit an old old lady, that lives alone, every once in a while and we have to bring a member with us because she speaks such a thick, nasty accent that we absolutely can not understand her. she is really nice though. my companion said that our job is basically to make sure that she is still alive. last week she gave us a bag of oranges that were absolutely rotten. she pulled out a completely green rotten one before she gave us the bag. then she made us eat them in front of her. it was probably the worst thing i have ever eaten. good experience.
the other day my companion and i were walking on the street and there was an octopus on the sidewalk. it was still alive and everything. my companion and i wanted to keep it as a pet but a guy ran up to us, picked up the octopus by the head, and threw it into a tank right there on the side of the road. it was so random. a lot of the restaraunts have tanks full of fish and stuff in front of them, especially the ones by the ocean. the city i am in has a port and stuff so we eat a good amount of sea food.
um other things about so gee po..there are a lot of mentally handicapped people here. like really a lot. they all come down here because the air is fresh and healthy or something. one of our members is handicapped and loves the missionaries. he waits outside our door and follows us around. he got the name james bond because he is really sneaky. hes pretty funny. i have a goal this transfer for him to remember my name but i dont know if it will happen. he already knows my companions name so i am pretty jealous.
This week we got to teach the restoration to a 25 girl named yu-na. it was a great experience. she really understood it and comitted to pray about it. unfortunately she is moving to australia but hopefully we can get the missionaries to meet her down there.
Love
Elder Wells
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