Fortunately, Jordan is able to email us a nice long letter and answer all of our questions! He is lucky to be able to get letters in the mail or through DearElder.com every day, but emails only come once a week, so they are a treasure to us.
These emails are a source of love and support from our missionary ~ It is nice to know that he is in a great place, surrounded by the Spirit and other Elders who are studying the language and the Gospel.
He writes in part: (I have added my thoughts in italic parenthesis)
--> "Thank you so much! I really appreciate the package. The scarves are great. I will definitely get more when I get to Korea, to match the ties I have. (Jordan is a collector. Sunglasses, ties, and now it will be scarves) Scarves and sweaters will save me. I haven't used a sweater yet, but I know they'll be good. The coat I use is great, and I am staying warm, so don't worry.
Also, thank you for for the food, belt, and everything else! I really appreciate it. Food seems to be a curse here. You're never really hungry because they feed you so much during lunch, but everybody gets food in the mail, so people will walk the halls at night offering food to everyone. Usually people turn down the offer, but when they see your food, they quickly change their mind. They LOVE your cooking, and of course I do too. I told them to wait for thanksgiving, your rolls are to die for. (Sweet! It's nice to know my cooking is not only being appreciated by Jordan, but other Elders as well! Rolls are definitely going into the next package!)
My companion is great, Elder Smith is from Kaysville, and he is great at memorizing vocabulary, so when I fail to remember, he's right there to remind me. (I'm so grateful he has a companion that helps him!) We get along great, he's really nice. He's a little quiet, but he's opening up. He's sassy, which is hilarious. (Jordan is a social and fun person, so I'm glad he and his companion have hit it off well.)
This will be a great 12 weeks. My district is great, there's just a few elders that aren't as focused as they could be. But we're only 2 weeks in, they'll find their focus. (He is already showing signs of a good leader; recognizing the potential in everyone.) I haven't taken many pictures yet, but I'll send them probably next week. (Please, please, PLEASE send pictures! I am crossing my fingers big time....)
Our whole building is Asian [speaking] (Chinese, Korean, and maybe some Spanish elders, but I don't know why they're in our building. And we got some good snow too. An Elder in my district hasn't seen snow before, he is from Florida. (It would be fun to see this Elder's reaction to snow!) We got around 7 inches maybe? It was nice. I hope it snows more down here. "
His schedule? He writes in part to his Grandpa the following:
--> "My activities are generally the same from day to day: Wake up at 6, shower, study, eat, study, study, lunch, study, study, study, dinner, study, gym, study, bed at 10:30. Those study times are either Gospel study (studying the scriptures), or studying Korean. It's about half and half. They definitely keep you busy here. I can't wait to get to Korea. My Korean is going well, I am able to read at a slow rate, introduce myself, pray fluently, and bear my testimony. I just wanted to let you know how much I love this gospel. I'm so glad to have your support, and I appreciate everything you do."
Love, Elder Jordan Franchina
Thank you for posting!
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