Greetings from 신당 (Sheen-Dahng)

Yes, I think that was the best gift I could give Mr KJO, he seems to be so happy. I called the elders serving there now, and they said he was confirmed, and he's loving it. I'm so happy for him. 

This week was incredibly busy, but not a lot to report. Here it goes.

We got up early on Wednesday, went to transfers, and I got to trainers' meeting. My new companion is Elder Bybee, from Clearfield UT. He's pretty awesome. He loves taekwondo, anime, and he studied Chinese for 3 years. He's excited to be here. They gave us our brand new phone from the 80's, it's an old phone, but it'll work. They said, well, we think this is how you get to your new area. We are opening an area, so we're all going to be new. So we, with two other elders we're going to live with, started off on the trek. After climbing stairs after stairs, subway to subway transfers, and going from apartment to apartment trying to find it, we did. It's a brand new apartment, which is nice, but the only downside, is that there isn't much inside. We have the necessary, like cups and plates, but no toilet paper, extra food left by the old missionaries, and cleaning supplies. So we had to go out and get all of that good stuff. Stocking up the new apartment. Elder Bybee and I serve in 신당, but we are living in 신촌, a little away from the temple, and the two elders we live with, Elder 박종일 and Elder Bell (also a new missionary), serve in 신촌, where we're living. They're all really cool, I'm really excited to be here. Even though we've only been here for 4 days, we already have a whole list of phone numbers we got from just walking around and talking to people. We also have 2 new investigators and they're really nice! One seems to be really accepting the message, but we've only met twice, so we can't be sure yet. The ward is great, it's really big. They were really happy that even though we're new, we were able to bring something to them to show we've been working. Saturday night they had their Christmas party, which was fun, I got to know some of the members well, then I gave a short introductory talk in church the next day. The members are really nice. I miss my old ward, but I think I'll like it here too.
 

I didn't do much to celebrate my birthday, I opened my presents (THANK YOU!!), and went to my old ward member's wedding. I've only been out of the area for a few days, but I already missed the members, so it was good to see them. The wedding was actually held only a stop or two away from where our house is now! Fancy that.

Today we are going to go to the bathhouses, then out shopping for my birthday/Christmas, and also to show our greenies the wonders of Korea, one p day at a time. I love this work! It's cold, my nose is stuffy, but something keeps pulling me out to talk to people on the street and give them books of Mormon! I don't know how he does it, but my greenie gave away about 6 or 7 books since he got here. Just in a few days. He's great. 

I love this work, and I don't have much longer left (well, 10 months is a while, but it'll go fast), but I love every second of it. I love Korea. It's so much fun here. I just want to take all of you our here and introduce you to the people here and show you around. Hopefully one day all of you that read this will be able to come out here :)

Thank you for everything, especially the birthday wishes and such, it's nice to know you're thinking of me even though I'm far away. 

Elder Franchina

BAPTISM!!!!

Hello All!

I got my package with the presents in it, I'm super excited to open them! And THANKS SO MUCH for the Reese's, I love them. One thing I forgot, is in Korea, the floors are heated, so when I left the box on the floor, I went to eat a Reese's, and it was all liquid. But a quick trip to the freezer and it's all better. They're so good. Thank you thank you.

Thank you everyone for your prayers for us and our investigator. Even though his house had leaks in the floor and ceiling and he got sick the day of his interview, he was able to come Sunday morning, get interviewed in time, and was baptized. It was an incredible meeting, and I wish you all could have been there. The bishop said he had never seen someone that old get baptized in Korea, and that was a testimony builder to him that anyone and everyone can accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. KJO was so happy. The mission president and his wife came to church to see the baptism too. It was amazing. 

Also, this week, we had the opportunity to go to Namsan Tower! It was a great experience. The day before we went, it snowed, so there was a clear sky and a nice, snow-capped Seoul to see. We had a nice buffet on the top floor followed by a lot of pictures. 

We also prepared for our ward's Christmas party, which was really fun. The missionaries did a great skit that we videotaped. I'll mail the card home so you guys can watch it. 

Other than those three things, we didn't really have much time for anything else! We got our transfer calls, and I'm going to Sheen-Dahng, 신당, which is the same area as the President and APs, so that should be really fun! I'll be opening a new area by them, and training. I'll miss this area and Elder Smith, but I'm excited to have this new experience.

I love you all and again, I'm so grateful for everything you do! 

Elder Franchina

Getting Ready for a Baptism!!!

Hello everyone!

 

It's getting colder, but definitely not as cold as Utah! I heard it got to negative 20! We're doing pretty good, and I'm staying warm. The more you walk and work, the warmer you stay.

 

There's not much to report for this week, transfer calls are this Saturday, right after our ward Christmas party, so we're all antsy to see what happens!

 

Our investigators have all been busy this week, it's finals here, so they're all busy. The only people that aren't busy are the old people. So we met our guy that's getting baptized this Sunday, he's doing well. We're going over to his house later today to follow up. So far the plan is still to get baptized this next Sunday. He's 74, so he's pretty old, and surprisingly busy, but he'll make time for us. He's the best. I'm really excited to see him baptized, he mentioned how he needs that 'fresh new start', and how his live was by far better when he believed in God. So he wants to go to church and make his life better. I'm so glad we met him.

  

We're still teaching a small congregation of Seventh Day Adventists, they're really nice and love to hear our insights. It's kind of stressful, teaching all of them and having the leader of the bunch pull random quotes and ask strange questions, but I love meeting with them, they're so nice. They're just trying to find the truth, not to prove one or the other wrong.

 

We met with a few other investigators, but they live just out of our area, so we referred them to the other elders.

 

We're staying up top and looking forward to the Christmas activities coming up!

 

I love you all, and hope you have a good week.

 

Jordan

Long Live the Hinchcliffs

We had a great week this week.

 

The Hinchcliffs, a family living here by the army base, invited us and two companionships of sisters over for dinner. There was so much food, and it was all from the Army base, so it was all American. It was awesome. We had so much turkey, ham, homemade rolls (not better than yours mom, but they were close), and pumpkin pie. It was nice to be able to have full conversations in English too. The family was so nice. They had two friends over, their daughter just got back from a mission a week ago from Holland, their son is preparing for a mission, and their maid from the Philippines isn't a member, but she's so nice! She just walked up to them as they were moving in and said, 'Can I be your maid?' She's the sweetest. She calls them mom and dad. One thing I'm really grateful for this time of year are the people that sacrifice for others. Whether they believe in Christ, Buddha, or just themselves, there are truly great people everywhere, and I'm so grateful that people can overlook differences and make sacrifices for others. Especially being a missionary, it's so nice when you have someone that doesn't even know you bring you in and buy you a nice hot ramen. We didn't know any of these people, and yet they gave us so much food, love, and the leftovers. Can't forget the leftovers. That's another thing I'm grateful for, is leftovers.

 

We haven't gone to the temple again so far, but we'll go soon, so I'll get some names done then.

 

SSM is still working 12 hours a day at his mom's motel, so we haven't seen him in a long time, but he said he'll start having free time around the 15th of Dec, so he'll start meeting with us then. We're excited. Sam's awesome.

 

SN is still busy with work and will continue going out of town for family until mid January. But after then he said he'll get baptized.

 

Our old guy, KJO, is good, he came to church but had to leave right after. So we'll go over to his house later and talk to him. We're still planning on him being baptized on the 15th of December, but we'll have to reconfirm with him.

 

We met two more guys, one is mid 30s, and another is 59, and they're both great. One is a former investigator that we called, and he decided to meet with us because he is going through a rough time. Fist fights with  neighbors, his job is in danger, and he has no family or friends. At the age of 30. That's lonely. He just wants friends. We taught him a little, then when we asked what he needed, he just said a warm hug. So of course we obliged. The other guy is 59, and he comes to English class. He said he went to a few churches a long time ago, but they're all pretty 'solitary'. You go, silently worship, then go home. He's looking for a community. He said no matter what he hears about our church, he always hears that it's like a family. So he came to us, like the other guy, and said, 'Find me a friend in your church. Someone to talk to.' He said he's willing to learn about our gospel because there seems to be something special about it. He wants to make an educated decision, because he wants to attend a church until he dies, and he doesn't want to change churches later, so he told us to teach him why our church was so friendly. He loves it and will start coming to church weekly.

 

Those were some great miracles we saw this week. It is still surprising to me to see people, middle aged or even old, that will come to a 19 or 20 year old, and say, 'help me.' They look to us for support and advice. Sometimes I think, 'I don't have any of these answers. I'm just a kid.' But then as we continue to talk and become friends, I realize that maybe I can help in some way, and, most importantly, this message can help them the most. They truly become happier if they willingly choose to learn about and follow this gospel.

 

I love you all and I'm so grateful for everything you've done, and for all of the sacrifices you have, are, and will continue to make.

 

Elder Franchina