Wun-ju is intense. I seriously feels like I was pushed out of a moving car, and just had to hit the ground running. There is never a minute where we're not busy, or I don't feel this huge sense of urgency to get out and share the gospel. So you can only imagine how I feel when I have to ride a bus for 2 and a half hours to get to special meetings in Seoul. Not just once, but SIX times!
We end up having to wake up at 4:25 in the morning to make it to the meetings on time. So they keep the bus pitch black so everyone can sleep. People riding the bus are so proper and upright when they sleep. They keep themselves dignified, clasp their hands together and assume some type of sunbathing like position. I, on the other hand, am too sleepy to have any control over what my body needs to do to get comfortable on the bus. My jacket, scarves and gloves are tossed around me like a bomb exploded. My face is buried in between reclined chairs, my butt is sticking up in the air like a dog digging for bones, and since I use my arms like make-shift pillows, my limbs shoot out from under me like weeds. Is there such a thing as bus lagged?
Ok, so pretty amazing week. We took one of our young men out for an ENTIRE day of missionary work. We knew it would be busy. And we knew we had a couple of meal appointments planned. But as I said last week, people just keep feeding us. We had FOUR meals... huge MEALS... and I thought this poor kid was going to vomit. We had appointments all day, visited a member in the hospital, looked for non-existent addresses, ya know, usual missionary stuff. As we often have to do, we literally ran from appointment to appointment... fool of food. He was great during the lessons, too. And since he spent half his life in America, he is completely fluent in both languages, which helps me a lot. We met a woman who we thought may be a little hostile. When my companion talked to her on the phone before, she seemed to think our Church was heretic. But what we didn't know, is in between that time, she had picked up one of our pamphlets on The Gospel of Jesus Christ. After reading about what we believe, all of her concerns about us were solved. She was super nice, and just loves our Church, and is excited to learn.
By the time we had the fourth meal we were all hurting pretty bad. But you cannot refuse food, unless you want to lose the trust you've built with your investigators and members. That's just how the culture is. So our last meal was with our Branch President at his house, and we had a family investigating the church with us. I was getting tunnel vision from all the food I was eating. I put my best face on, while my stomach was doing somersaults. To make it worse, the bathroom was right next to where we were eating... not fun.
On the cab ride back I thought for sure Kevin, the member we brought with us the whole day, would ask us not to invite him out again. It had been an exhausting day, and we were all on the verge of losing all four of our meals on the ride back. But to my surprise, he turned to me and said, "So when can I come and help you Elders again?"
In church yesterday, me, my companion, and Kevin all spoke. Kevin bore a great testimony about his experience with us. This work is hard, and in ways you don't imagine it will be, but it's amazing.
There are so many more things that happened this week, but I just can't write them all. Just know that I am praying for you everyday.
I wish you an early Happy Thanksgiving. My Zone will have a Thanksgiving meal with an American family, so I can't wait for that. But I know I will be missing you all, because I can just imagine the family together. So take lots of pictures, and be sure to send 'em my way.
-Elder Reyes
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