한국에 오신것을 환영해요! (letter of 6 October 2013)

[Editor's Apology: I know some of you have been waiting to hear about Sam's first weeks in Korea. I was in Belgium last week and unable to post his first letter at that time. Here it is, complete with some pictures he sent this week. -- Kristin (Sam's mom)]

Good day to all, wherever you may be! It is a beautiful day in Seoul! I am just so happy to be here, and feel so blessed for the opportunity.

There is, of course, an extraordinary amount that has happened this week, but I will attempt to talk through the basics of how I got to be sitting in Seoul with wonderful companions, trying to figure out how to use a computer in a language that is still quite foreign to me.

We left the MTC at 3:30 Monday morning for the airport, and took a bus up. It was pretty simple getting through everything, and both of my 51 pound suitcases were checked without any trouble. I don't know how I have so much at the start of this adventure! I guess that I picked up a lot of books in the MTC. [Editor's Note: Yup, he did! And that's even with having sent home a big box full of books as well!]

Neon-lit bus on the way from the airport to Seoul

Going through security at the airport, there was a woman with a Chinese passport that I struck up a conversation with. She is from Shanghai, and when she found out that I had never been, she insisted that I need to go visit. She was very cool, and spoke no English, so it was a fun challenge to try to communicate with her. As we went our separate ways, I sat down and found a Chinese pamphlet about the Restoration that I had decided at the last minute to throw in my suitcase, so I got it out and went and found her and talked for a while about it. It was so fun just to talk about the Gospel, and the first contact of the mission was Chinese!

We had a layover in Detroit, and then took off for Incheon! The plane ride was not bad: I wrote and talked, and tried to sleep, and it was fun. The food was surprisingly good. I sat next to a few Koreans, and we talked for a while about whatever I could. In my experience so far, Koreans are just so nice, friendly, warm, and fun to talk to! When we arrived in Incheon, we were feeling the weird "what time is it really" feeling, but we all got out, said our goodbyes to our friends in the Seoul South mission, and went our separate ways. Our bus was lighted with rainbow neon, and we drove to the temple, where there was a chapel where we had a meeting and met our mission president and his wife, the Christensens, and got ready for bed.

 

Sam at the Seoul temple

The next couple days were full of meetings, and street contacting in Gwanghwamun, an area in central Seoul. We also went to a very cool museum about King Sejong, who invented the Hangeul alphabet. I also had an interview with President Christensen, who is really cool. He is very intelligent and experienced. We talked for a while about environmental issues in Asia, the reputation of the Church online in Korea, and a few other things. He will be wonderful, and I'm blessed to have him to guide us. On Thursday, we got our campanions and started to work! I am actually with two companions for this transfer: Elder Suman, who has been out for nine weeks, and Elder Clearwater, who has been out for a year and a half. Both are wonderful! Elder Clearwater is absolutely fantastic: his Korean is superb, and he is a great example in every way. He was just released as an assistant to the President, and before that served in other leadership capacities. I have a lot to learn from him. Elder Suman is also great, and a lot of fun to work with.

 

If this is King Sejong, it looks like he was good with
both the alphabet and the sword. As, no doubt, is
the Elder Sam South standing in front of him.

We are in an area of Seoul called Dongdaemun, in central Seoul. It is a great area! Koryeo Dae, one of the nation's top universities, is in our area. We started off with no investigators, so we have been doing a lot of street contacting, which has been great Korean practice!

We did have one new investigator come to church yesterday, a man from China. He is so cool, and has been such a privilege to get to know. We've had a few lessons with him already, and will continue to meet with him.

Okay, well, I am out of time. I should have a bit longer next week; I'm still trying to figure everything out.

Everything is wonderful. The work is great, the food is delicious, and the people are incredible. I am loving it here. It is such a privilege to share what I love so much with such wonderful people. I love you all. Already some incredible things have happened, and we've had some fun stories that I will try to share next week.

All my love,

Elder South