I think I got on the wrong flight...

There're strange people standing all around me, and they're constantly staring at me. Little kids look at me, smile, get their parents attention, and then start laughing...

I think... I think I've entered the Twilight Zone!

Oh wait. I guess it's just Korea.

Close enough.

Anyway, I'm alive. Stil. Yep. Last I checked.

So here's me wonderfully amazing plane ride story:

We left the MTC at about five in the morning and headed up to the SLC airport. We got there on time, and had about an hour remaining so we all just kind of dwaddle around. Most people called home. I decided to wait because I wanted t call during... well, the time that I told eople I'd cal. (the keyboard sucks, forgive the typos)

So, around the time to board came, and we discovered that our gate had been changed. So we went to that gate. Then we found out the time got pushed back, so we waited. Then we found out the gate changed again, so went we back to the original gate that we left from. Then the time got pushed back again. Yay. So we waited more. I believe it was finallyabout 10 or so when we took off. We arrived in San Fran... 5 minutes until we had to make our next plane. Awesome.

The stewardess was kind enough to allow all of us that were making connecting flghts to go first, and I think she contacted the plane we were to board and told them to wait. So we ran from one side of the airport to the next in our best efforts to make this plane. We arrived!

Ten minutes after the flightwas supposed to leave.

But! It hadn't left yet! Whaaa!

So we boarded as quick as small... quick things, and settled in for a 14 hour plane ride. Which wasn't so bad. I dozed, and studied, and dozed... and dozed. And stared at this cute little kid siting in the next aisle over. I'm mailing a small Korean child home.

Anyway, we got into the 인전 airport and waited around fr our mission president who was supposed to come pick us up.

And we waited. I called this part of the day "Patience".

An hour went by so Elder Barlow decided to try and call the people that we were supposed to get in touch with if no one was there to pick us up. We then realized that... hey, we're in Korea. So we ventured out to figure out how to use the payphones.

We decided that the MTC teaches you wonderful things, like how to bear your testimony and teach about God's prophets.

...But they never tell you about how to buy a calling card in the Incheon Airport from an awkward desk girl.

So that tookabout another hour. Luckily a guy standing behind us spoke excellent english, and he helped us out. We bought a calling card (also had to get some Korean money), called the numbers... about six times each with no response. Then we called a different number, and got President 조. Hooray! He said that we were supposed to come in at 5 in the morning the next day. We were supposed to miss that flight (we had previously called the travel agency and told them we'd been delayed), and get pushed back to sleeping over in the airport.

So another hour passed, and we finally got picked up by our mission president.

Whew buddy.

After that, stuff happened. WE got all settled in, training happened, and I got mine very own, squishy and cuddly companion. His name is Elder Lemons and he is from California. He's freaking amazing at Korean, and does most of the talking while I stare intently at the person we're talking to trying to figure out what they're saying.

I'm in a town called Wonchu (원주), about an hour to two hours southeast of Seoul. It's smaller, but still very big. I'll get some pictures sent soonish.

Elder Lemons is very supportive and desn't put me into very many awkward greeny moments (suchas the "Hey look a door. You're turn!"). We've actually only been kaka hohoing once (door knocking. Coolest Korean word ever.) We've been wrking a lot with the members and with the less-active investigators. Our goal here is to turn this branch into a ward. That means we need about double the people that we had - but this past Sunday we had ten more people than had come out to church last Sunday. So, we're already making great progress. We're quickly seeing the fruit of our labors in trying to talk with everyone and trying our best to make contacts.

In fact, we've already had two crazy people approach is! It's been wonderful. We've turned them boh into potential investigators.

Story 1: We were talking to this older man, when all of a sudden a taxi pulls up right next to us. He yells for us to come over, and hesticks out his phone and shows us the number of the other two elders in our apartment - "Do you recognize this number?". Elder Lemons says yes. Then he commands us "Get in!" so we get in and start talking t him. Apparently his kids are less-active members and the other two elders in our apartment called him the previous night. So, we've been trying to meet up with him for a couple of days with no luck so far- but we'll call him today.

Story 2: We were in the hospital visiting this really nice older lady that had been paralyzed. We gave her a book of Mormon and she had been reading it. She's really really sweet, and I enjoy visiting her (Korean hospitals are gross by the way).

So on the way out, we were talking to the Info desk guy - we see him often and he sees us, so we were just chatting for a minute. Then we started talking t this other lady, and all of a sudden a guy approaches us, looks at both me and my companion, and says in pretty good English "Allow me t introduce myself".

So we started talking with him - and it turned out his father had been in the hospital for about two weeks - something with his brain and heart that I didn't quite catch. So we gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet to read and have also been trying to get in touch with him. His father got moved to Seoul, but we've still been calling (or he calls us. Usually about two or three times each day).

Those're our potential investigators fr now - it's so awesome. Elder Lemons has an investigator that he has been meeting with, so I've gotten the chance t know him too. He has a word of wisdom problem, and is trying to learn english so that he can be a teacher. He's the coolest guy I've met. So two times ago that we met with him, we explained the word of wisdom. Now, when I say explained, that was all that we did. We wanted to focus on other things, but all that we did was talk to him abou the word of wisdom. He didn't really understand or believe it to well. But that night, he had plans with his friends to go out and drink and have a good time.

So, the next day, we met with him again. We did the normal stuff, helped him with his English, and taught him a little bit more stuff. Then he told us his stroy. When he went out with his friends, instead of getting sloshed, he only had three small cups.

... Wait what? Yeah that was my response. We didn't tell him to keep the Word of Wisdom at all, but he said that he remembered what the Mr. Elders told him about, and he kept to it. He got home and his wife noticed that he didn't drink, and he said "The Mr. Elders told me about it, and I remember their words."

Coolest. Thing. Ever.

Oh yeah, and we do get called Mr. Elder a lot.

Now I need t illustrate how crazy cool Korea is:

You take your shoes off when you enter someones house, step up on furniture, or pretty much whenever you need to stand on something you sit. The floors are heated.

When we get rejected, the people laugh and smile, but still tell us no (real conversation: "Hello!" "No." "Ok bye!") Or they'll run away.

We take taxis most everywhere, and they're really cheap. NO ONE in Korea can drive. It's a free ball game. If you're late, run the red light if you can make it. Most of the roads are as big as one car, and if you need to stop just turn on your flashers and pull over. Use the crosswalks like you're playing Frogger.

The food is WAY good. I've already eaten: a whole fishthat was just deep fried(eyes,head, bones, skin) Small eel type things, and some other stuff that I had in mind to tell you guys but just forgot.

Ok one more story! We met our first bible basher too. I think she was a Baptist. She let us into her house, and Elder Lemons talked - literally - the whole time. My Korean is so bad! Ididn't really understand most of what was going on, but we were really trying to convince her of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. She told us that we need to just throw it away and stop preaching it. And that she felt bad for us because we were preaching false things, but we are such good and pure people. The conversation went really nowhere, but she was the NICEST lady. So,I told Elder Lemons to tell her that if she ever needs help with anything, let us. Andwe got her number. Then she gave us drinks. That's just kinda how Korea works. We just argued for like forty minutes, then she offered us to come some other time and eat, and then gave us drinks. We have a dinner appointement with her on Saturday. It'll be interesting.

Anyway, that's all I can think of. The members here and really great - very supportive and helpful. I enjoy this place and have been loving my time here! I don't have my mission address, so I hope someone ou there does and can get it to everyone else.I'll get it soon. So anyway! My P-day is every Wednesday. I'll keep you updated. Off to my first shopping expeience!

행복하십시오!

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