Well I'm in Korea. It's pretty crazy. I'll just go through everything we did this past week and give you a quick update. So we flew into Incheon on Tuesday night. We got there around 9:30 or 10 and of course our luggage didn't make it with us. So we all just kind of sat around while the natives talked with the airport people and told us what to do. Then we met Pres. Lee and his wife and the AP's. My mission president is really nice. He always has a big smile on. And he speaks English pretty well. Usually they take us out to dinner that first night, but since it was so late we just went to the place where we were going to spend the night: THE TEMPLE! It was sweet. They have a whole room of bunk beds and showers and stuff like that. By the time we got there it was midnight and we were all exhausted from jet lag so we just crashed. The next morning we got up and got ready and our mission president picked us up again and we went to a member's restaurant for breakfast. We all sat crossed-legged on the floor and had this Korean soup dish and kim chi. It was pretty good. Except my legs are too long to fit under the table so it gets a little uncomfortable. The heated floors are amazing! I love them. My feet get cold if we're outside walking around a lot so it feels really good to get home and take off my shoes. Oh yeah, I'm in a city called Tae Baek. When we got our assignments, Pres. Lee told us it is the coldest area in the mission. He wasn't lying. It's freezing here. And to make it worse, there's thermometers around town that keeps reminding you how cold it is. The coldest I've seen it is -13 C. But that doesn't take the wind chill into account. That makes it worse. Tae Baek is about a 4 hour train ride outside of Seoul. Not only is it the coldest area, but it's also the farthest away. It's out in the mountains and country side of Korea. Before my mission, I thought it would be cool to serve out in the country, but I didn't think about serving there in the winter. It's really bringing out my thick Idaho blood. There also aren't very many people here. The population is about 50,000. So it's a pretty small town. Basically everything you image Korea, it's the opposite. It makes street contacting tough. Especially since we can only talk to men and a lot of people have cars here. The branch is really small too. There were ten people at Sacrament meeting yesterday. Plus me and my companion. Apparently that was huge. We have a branch president and my companion is the first councilor and I'm once again the branch pianist. I gave a talk yesterday as well as this other really old guy and my companion. Then after church we worked on the branch records and such for a couple hours. To say the least, it's a tough area. The language is super tough too. I just feel lost and confused everywhere we go. Luckily this is my companion's last transfer, so he speaks Korean really well. It comes in handy. But I kinda feel useless because I don't know what anyone says. Anyway. My companion's name is Elder Rowe. He's from Atlanta. Like I said, he's good at the language and he knows a lot of tricks of the trade. So I'm learning lots from him. Tomorrow we're going to Seoul for the Chinese New Year. I'm really excited for that. We're having mission conference so I'll get to see all my buddies again. I'll have to let you know how that goes. Well that's about all the cool stuff. I did get my luggage a couple days later. That was nice. Except one bag is kinda torn up. Grr. Thanks for the emails. It was nice to hear from home. As far as letters and such go, I guess you just send everything to the mission office still and then the zone leaders get everyone's mail and gives it to them. Also what should I do with my debit card? I told the bank I wouldn't be in Korea until February 12th. Do you think it's ok to use or should I just wait until then? Umm I thought I had another question for you but I can't remember it now. I guess I'll live. Well I'll talk to you next week. Tell everyone hi for me.
Love, Elder Dorius
PS here's a few pictures. One is me at the temple. One is me and my companion making our Chinese New Year gift to the branch members. And the last one is an awesome one from the MTC I thought you might enjoy.
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