Monday, October 24, 2011

Reporting In

Dear Mom,

Well, goodness gracious I open up my mailbox to like 6 emails!!! HOLY COW! That was pretty exciting I have got to say. It has been crazy to say the least so I will answer your questions then tell you about 2 of my investigators.

My first day in Korea was spent at the mission home, that was pretty nuts. We just kinda chilled and got a bunch of orientation. Not a whole lot went on, we interviewed with President Furniss and I have decided that he is just straight up the best. He is so cool and so powerful yet at the same time he's just like a really close friend already. It is way awesome and I have a feeling I am just going to come to love him more and more.

My first area is called 첨단 [Cheom Dan] it is the 광주 [Gwang Ju] city and it is WAY cool. [NOTE FROM KRIS: If anyone knows the English verison of these names, we would really appreciate it if you'd let us know! - Follow up: Thanks to Helena who gave us the names of these cities!!] I love the apartment, it is small but we have a sweet shower where I can shower as long as I like and we have our own washer so all is well there. Weather isn't all that bad at this point although my guess is that it is going to get really really cold REALLY fast.

Next up YES, I am much taller than about 90% of the people that I've seen. The only ones that have been taller are the ones in my mission and the occasional GIANT Korean person. So ya, and do people stare... Yes... They don't stop.... like ever... OH and they also run away when they see us coming (at least the students do, especially if we have talked to them once already). We don't do much knocking doors, just street contacting because we would like have to get permission from an apt manager to knock doors because everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) lives in an apartment here. There aren't any houses that I know of.

When my companion and I teach it actually is really balanced. Apparently according to Elder Dodd I speak and understand better than any new missionary he has known so when we teach it is really balanced and we try to play off each other. My problem largely is understanding what the 구도자's [investigators] say because I have to like understand accents and stuff. So ya that's fun!

My day is spent like as follows:
6:30 Wake up
7-11 Study (We have 2 hours of companion study most days because of the infield orientation stuff the MTC gave us)
11:30 ish We eat lunch
12:30 ish We are out to appointments and 전도 [street contacting] and visiting members and stuff.
5 We eat Dinner
6-9(9:30) More appointments 전도 and such.
10-10:30 Try to stay awake till Elder Dodd gets out of the shower (I fail at this a lot)
10:30 BED

My ward is the 첨단 ward. We are the only elders in the ward and they are a sports ward. Like epically competitive and ya, we actually had a big stake activity this last Saturday that I have a funny story from. When we were at the activity we were doing a game where we did piggyback ride races. Long story short, I took two steps, leaned too far forward, and now I have a gauze pad on my right knee because I straight up died. It is actually pretty gross, it like leaks this fluid all day and is kinda nasty. I am getting better though; as long as it doesn't get infected at all I should be fine (at least that's what Sister Furniss says) so I should have a pretty sick scar when I get back. But ya!

So the two investigators I wanted to tell you about are a mother and her son. They are SO cool. She grew up with a member and he has explained about the church to her all through their lives together in school and all that. She is WAY interested in the Gospel (Interested enough infact that she took us out to dinner at OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE. It was like amazing I have got to say). She is so awesome. She basically said that she knows in her head that the LDS saints are good people and she just wants to know in her heart. SO! We have just got to get her to feel that awesome spirit. I am so excited and we should get to meet with them pretty soon actually so I'm excited!

That is about the gist of my week. I love ya all so much and thank you for the Christmas present! I love it so much, it is a big help. I am using it often and it will be a big help in the future (especially after I finish pass-off which is this program that the Mission President gave to us so that we can learn Korean better, I think I'll get to use it even more after I get that all done!). It has been fun and I am looking forward to some letters one of these days! Hopefully one of these days mail will come! Oh, and if you are happening to be sending me a package soon I could use some cereal, it is CRAZY expensive here and it is what we eat for breakfast hahahahaha!
I love ya so much and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Elder Josh Crowther

[Josh sent a separate email to his dad answering his questions. Here is some of that:]

Daily diet is pretty sketch, a lot of rice but we eat with members WAY often. In fact, we eat with members ALL THE time. It is pretty nice. I have already eaten like squid and stuff it's pretty odd.

Language is coming slowly, I have to do pass-off first but then I think that it will really take off because I will understand more and can learn new words instead of just memorizing stuff. It is pretty scary to speak Korean but I think it will get easier. My understanding is coming, it is definitely better than it was but ya I just gotta keep at it!

I teach all the time! We see the other missionaries on Mondays and Tuesdays (Mondays because it's P-Day and Tuesdays is District meeting) I actually met a missionary who is a friend of San Ha's! So I somehow gotta get a hold of that kid :) If you could help me out that'd be awesome!

It takes about 2 weeks to get letters to me (I think I'm not sure. I haven't gotten mail yet). The letters first go to the mission office, then they forward them out so it is a bit delayed but it still does work. My companion got mail just the other day so I know it does work!

6 comments:

  1. 첨단 Cheom Dan

    광주 Gwang Ju (down south--that was my greenie area!)

    구도자 investigator (gu-do-ja)

    전도 proselyte (usually street contacting) (jeon-do)

    The ㅓ vowel, which gets romanized as "eo," is pronounced kind of like a short u. Like the vowel in "young," but not exactly.

    Are you related to the two Sister Crowthers who served in Korea just recently?

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  2. Thank you so much for this information! I (Elder Crowther's mom) maintain this blog for him and it has been driving us crazy that we don't know what city he is in. This helps alot!

    I don't know any Sis. Crowther's related to us who served in Korea. Are they still there? That would be cool for my Elder Crowther to meet them.

    Thanks again!

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  3. He is doing so well. I love reading his activities and what he is doing everyday.

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  4. I believe both Sister Crowthers came home a few months ago. They're sister--one was in Daejeon and one in Busan mission. I think they're from Colorado.

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  5. Helena - we have Crowther family in Colorado springs but their daughters served missions in Europe.

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  6. looking good josh. hope he is having a great time :D

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