서울과 강릉에 갔다 왔다

(Translation courtesy of Google translate: Been to Seoul and Gangneung.)

I had exchanges this week in Gangneung, and also a leadership meeting in Seoul, so I pretty much just spent the whole week in the back of a bus. Wonju is an hour and a half bus ride from Gangneung, and also an hour and a half bus ride to Seoul, so we're not really close to anything. But I got a lot of Korean studied and scriptures read on the bus, with the occasional cat nap.

Bus rides were really long this week.

I went to Seoul with Elder Gardner on Wednesday for a leadership meeting, which was really good. President Christensen and Sister Christensen and the Assistants all gave trainings on companion exchanges and baptismal records and the english program and generally just how to be a good leader. It was really good. Afterwards, Elder Gardner and I ran to Dongdaemun, which is a huge shopping district in the middle of Seoul, with super cheap clothes. President usually lets us run there really fast whenever we're in Seoul to get whatever we need (because Wonju is far away). So I got 3 white shirts and 2 pairs of pants for 50 BUCKS. It was sweet.

Just chilling at the mall.

I have some sort of weird ingrown toenail or something, so my foot has been hurting recently. I showed President when we stayed at his house Wednesday night, and he wasted no time in just grabbing it with his fingers and squeezing it until pus came out. Man, that hurt. And then he shoved some swabs of cotton down there and told me to make sure it stays down there for 6 weeks. Some of you may be alarmed reading this... But President Christensen was a surgeon before he became Mission President, so he knows what he's doing. I just thought it was really funny how he dealt with my toe... "Does it hurt?" "Yep." "Okay." and then proceeded to squeeze it really hard. But it doesn't hurt anymore. :)

President attacking my toe.
I handed my camera to Elder Gardner and told him to take some candid pics.

It was a good week. We also got invited to a potential investigators house... We went, only to find out we'd been invited to a drinking party. They were REALLY drunk. So we stayed for about 5 minutes because it seemed like they would get really angry and try to stop us if we left right then. Drunk Koreans get really touchy (literally... they wouldn't stop holding mine and Elder Hansen's hands or stroking our arms due to Americans having more arm hair than Koreans).

Drunk party. They were really really really drunk.

And then I made homemade icecream at home. It was kind of an epic fail, but tasted okay. The ingredients included milk, sugar, and cocoa. And this Saturday Elder Cook is coming to Korea and we're going to have a combined mission conference and hear an Apostle!!!! I'm pumped for that.

I was reading in Alma 5 this week, and I really loved verse 27. "Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble?" I thought about whether I'm living the best I can right NOW, in order to prepare me for the time outside of this probationary time. Living in the now with an eternal perspective. It applies to a lot of things... "Could ye say, if ye were called to test at this time, withing yourselves, that ye have sufficiently studied?" "Could ye say, if ye were called to go to the dentist at this time, within yourselves, that ye had sufficiently flossed?" (Those last two may or may not apply to my life.) But more seriously... "Could ye say, if ye were called to give a priesthood blessing at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently worthy?" "Could ye say, if ye were called to marry in the temple at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently worthy?" We must prepare. We must be ready now. We must live so that we are ready all the time. "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Matt. 24:44

I love you all!

Love, Elder Edwards

I really like Korean kids.

An old man whom I love.
Not an investigator, but a potential and a good friend.