A lack of appointments, a lack of trash-cans, and the case of the missing wallet.

Hello!

This past week has been great (of course. If I don't start an e-mail like that, I may've lost a limb. But I wouldn't actually tell you, so... just keep an eye out for that code. Or I just forgot to).

Although it has been good, we've had a decrease of appointments with our normal investigators. One of them, the old man that got the job, now doesn't have enough time to meet with us. He's working every day, though - and as Elder Lemons pointed out, it might turn into the Nephites of rising and falling in their success... So, we'll still be standing by at least. :D

Another of our investigators got sick - she has tonsal...bad stuff. I don't know how to spell it. But anyway, we've only been able to meet with her and her husband once over the past week. It's been tough - we had her baptismal date planned for the end of this month but it'll have to be changed now.

Our other good investigators are still doing well, though. Although we haven't had the chance to meet with them, we've at least gotten phone calls sent to them. So, that's ok. We're still checking up on them. One really great guy that we haven't had the chance to teach a lesson to yet has been going through a hard time - he met with the missionaries about two years, and we found his record and gave him a call again. We aren't sure why he stopped meeting, but we've only had the chance to see him two or three times. He's always busy - works from morning to night, and then goes snowboarding on the weekends (... >.<). We've tried to get him to make time for us, but not much luck so far. So anyway, we found out the other day that his wife kicked him out of the house. Not really sure why, but I asked him if there was anything we could do for him. All he said was to pray for him. I asked if he'd pray for help, too, but didn't say much, and then said that he had to go. So, we'll call him later. So, hopefully that'll turn out ok soon!

Other than that, though, we've been going about trying to find new people and contacting old people. We rode our bikes for the first time yesterday - I definately miss real bikes (the back brake doesn't work very well, and the rim has a big dent in it. I'm safe, though, don't worry). I had fun suffering on the bike since it has been something of like... five months since I've had a good ride. There's a hugely steep hill near our apartment. Elder Lemons toughed up it, but I gave up as soon as my gears popped and I lost momentum. But I cheered him on! Also, for some reason, while we were on bikes, a lot more people said hello to us. Kinda strange. Maybe they felt bad because we looked ridiculous wearing a suit and helmet. BUT! I did have my ninja face mask on. That's all that matter, I think. Except for when I couldn't breath very well...

We met with our Branch President this past week, too. He's really, really nice. He has the most awesome little kid - and I don't think anyone better could be called to serve as the Wonju branch president. He's the most humble guy, he works as a car-washer and lives on the top floor of a two story house (the top floor is smaller). So, he's been helping out a lot - he likes to help the missionaries and he's always very happy.

Not really any stories to report. The explanation of the title would be that I've began to discover that, for some reason, Korea seems to have a massive lack of trash cans. I can't figure it out. They sort their trash in recyclables - paper, plastic, and food trash - which is kinda neat. But... there aren't ever any trash cans around. Maybe I'm just used to America where, you know... it's logical to put a trash can in each room. Our apartment has a trash can the size of one you'd keep in a bathroom, and our church has one for the entire church. It's just weird, is all.

Next, "The Case of the Missing Wallet" or "The Most Expensive Taxi Ride Ever". We were heading home from a less-actives house and the group stuck me in the front - it was all four missionaries that night. And because I was in the front, I had to pay. So, I gave the guy a five - the cost was about $2. He gave me two dollars back - I didn't realize until after I got out of the car because we were trying to move quickly. So he gipped me a dollar in the first place, and then when I went to put the cash into my wallet... I discovered it was quite gone. Yes, quite gone. Not just missing, but 없습니다 ! So, that really kinda sucked. It had my bank cards, my alien ID card, and 22 dollars. But, there was nothing I could do. I searched on the ground and all about, with no luck.

We went back into our apartment and started planning meeting, and that night I prayed that I'd find my wallet with my cards intact. I needed them!

The next morning we were to go to our district meeting, so the other two missionaries left first to go to the bus station. Elder Cameron has an addiction to chocolate, so he went and grabbed that at a nearby store. When he went in there (I found this out later - they told me the story after pulling the prank on me) the lady behind the counter asked "Hey, do you know this person?" and showed Elder Cameron my wallet - with my driver's license in the front. So, he took the wallet and gave it to Elder Lemons without me knowing. I went to the bus station with sadness because I had to make Elder Lemons buy my ticket, but then after we bought the ticket he said "We have to go get money".

So we ran out of the bus station and across the street to an ATM. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet and told me, "Ok, go get some money". I flipped the wallet open really confused and found out it was mine. At first I thought he had taken it in the first place and they were just pulling a total joke on me, so I may've threatened Elder Lemons' life a little bit (just a little), but then realized that Elder Cameron and Elder Woods must've given it to him after that. And after he gave me big puppy dog eyes.

So! My wallet is safe. My money was gone, but all of my cards were intact. Now, how did that wallet get from a taxi cab into a convienance store, you ask?

Yeah, so do I.

Prayers come true!

Keep praying, keep reading your scriptures, and stay healthy and happy.

'til next time!

Elder Webster