8-18-14

Hello,

So this week was pretty quick since it was the first week in my new area. A little stressful actually. Just super busy but at the same time not really. 

So we have 2 progressing investigators right now. Both around 60 years old. 

The one is gospel interest and not an English program but he really likes English so he ends up asking many questions so it is pretty much an English program. He comes to church and super loves our church. He says it feels like a family here and he says he will get baptized....sometime. We tried to commit him to a date but he didn't really give a yes or no, kind of just said that he would..sometime. Yesterday at church he said that he wish he could have been in the church since he was a kid just because he thinks it is so good! He likes the classes and the doctrine and everything. He even took notes in church. He really likes learning. I am not sure if he is necessarily feeling the spirit or just the idea of the church and it's structure, but the fact that he likes it so much makes me think that it is all the spirit. 

The other investigator we do an English program with. He is super nice and really just wants to find faith really. He kind of believes in God and Jesus Christ but is really wanting to know. He came to church the day before I came but didn't come this week for some reason. We will find out next time we meet. We meet him 2 times a week for the program and then he comes to English class 2 times a week as well.

On Friday, it was Korean Independence day so the branch had a branch activity. We went somewhere about an hour away and had like a picnic thing next to a little river. All the kids and some adults went in the little river, played with water guns, threw buckets of water at people (the water in the bucket, not the bucket itself). Good way to start the transfer getting to know the members. There are lots of kids in the branch so it is pretty fun to be with them too.

The weather here was supposed to be hotter than everywhere else but it was very cool this week. Didn't even really sweat while I was outside. Plus it rained like 3 days so far out of my week that I have been here so that was great.

The apartment is about the same size as my last one but it is a nicer layout. I have a good yo this time. There is one bed but it is my companions. I sleep on like 5 yo's though. It is great. I finally get comfortable sleep.

That is it for this week!

Love,

Elder Frampton

8-10-14

Hello!

So big news is that I am in a new area! It is actually the area Elder Shaw came from before he came to Sacheon and also I am replacing my MTC companion, Elder Pickard! My new companion is Elder Brower and he has been serving for about 20 months I think. I don't know anything about him yet. I am in an area called Gyeongsan. North of Busan but south of another main city called Daegu. Small area. Branch of about 25ish members, a tiny bit bigger than Sacheon. Daegu is the hottest place in South Korea apparently, and many of the people here say that it is hotter here than in Daegu city....I will see, either way I will probably sweat a lot. My replacement in Sacheon will be a new missionary meaning Elder Shaw is training. 

So this week was a lot less exciting than last week teaching wise. Monday our friend, the one guy that drinks a lot and we taught him word of wisdom, well we tried to meet him and went to the place where we agreed to meet...he wasn't there, he had gone home already. He had called us before and said he could meet. He was also just rambling and rambling..We called him when we didn't find him there and he just rambled and rambled again..It doesn't seem like meeting him is the best option, one because he is drunk when he wants to meet, and two he wants a Korean missionary so they can understand and so we can communicate...well that won't happen so we really can't meet him anymore.

My last Sunday, yesterday, the less active/recent convert student, Muhyon, we had been working with came to church to see me! He walked in right after sacrament ended but at least he could hear my good bye testimony! It was so great to see him there because we couldn't get him to come before but him coming to see me is a start...hopefully he will come out on a more regular basis at least once a month...it is hard for him because he lives in the city where the church isn't...that was why he never came before so it is really hard for him to go. The members really treated him well and were glad to see him and encouraged him to come out more often. He is so awesome! I will really miss him!

After church we had a branch activity at the branch president's house. We all drove there and had lunch and talked and then we had a musical talent show type thing. It was super fun, many of the members sang or played piano. It really felt like a family gathering. I will miss them all so much.

That is really it for this week! I am super tired right now because I had to get up at 4:30 to get to Busan this morning for our meeting!

Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Frampton

8-3-14

Hello!  

So this week was probably one of the best weeks I have had on my mission!  

So last Sunday our member said that he had someone to refer to us! A little background information. Our member was studying to become a pilot and he was like in the last stage of testing which is why he came to this area. Well he failed the test and now has a lot of time. He had a friend that was in the same situation as him and so he asked his friend if he wanted to listen to our message. He told him that we came to Korea to share our beliefs that our important to us but we don't have anyone to teach. So his friend was willing to listen. We met him for the first time on Tuesday and shared our prepared message about the Atonement (we didn't know what to expect going in to the lesson so that was all we prepared). He doesn't have any religious background so it is all new to him, he isn't necessarily looking into going to church or anything but he says he is willing to listen. After listening he was like "Is that it?" expecting something more and longer...So our member was like, "Nope they can teach more if you want, hey Elders teach more." So we taught the whole plan of salvation and it went well without specifically planning for it beforehand. I think we were blessed to have that run as smoothly as it did. We set an appointment for the Thursday but then in the middle of the day Wednesday we got a text saying that they couldn't meet on Thursday and wanted to know if we could meet that night   (Wednesday). So we met that night and taught more. Also he had read the Book of Mormon reading assignment we gave him. During the lessons he would mainly just listen to us when we talked but when the member, his friend, said anything, he listened intently and would respond to and ask him questions/test his words. I could see the importance of member’s words and presence. People will listen to their friends, so find someone to refer! Anyways whenever we gave scriptures to read while talking, he would read it aloud then to himself again so he could understand. He seemed so willing to really try to understand and know for himself if what we taught was true. I really felt that my companion and I were fulfilling our purpose as missionaries. Teaching with power, by the spirit, and inviting people to change and follow Christ. This morning is where the sad news comes in. We got a message from our member saying that his friend was feeling a little pressured by taking the lessons so for now we cannot meet anymore. We hope and have faith that it will change and we can meet him again!

This Saturday we finally experienced a typhoon. Apparently its name was typhoon Sakuro (or something like that). Well it wasn't too big or anything but there was a lot of wind and rain on Saturday and a little less on Sunday. Yea our church somehow had a leak and we had a puddle in the one corner of our room that is the chapel. We had 3 buckets for dripping water right there...pretty sketchy for a nice church. All during sacrament meeting there was just dripping sounds in the back where the water was dripping.

We also met the one guy I mentioned last week. The one that gave us dinner. Yea well we met 2 times but unfortunately he was pretty drunk both times. The first time we tried to teach him but as we started he said his head hurt. At first he said it in Spanish then Korean. Still weird. Well so we couldn't teach him anything else that first time. That time though he was there with his friends and they said that he should go to church (one reason was because he might find a wife.....no possibilities at our branch...) but they were pretty good at supporting him to meet us. They told us to keep trying and working on him. The next time we met him he was too drunk to let us talk much. He couldn't focus on what we would say at first. He offered us some alcohol (usually he doesn't because he knows we don’t drink, but he was drunk enough this time to not remember). We actually taught him about the Word of Wisdom and the principle of obedience and we committed him to trying to not drink or smoke for one week......yea he didn't accept. We never planned to teach that, but that is what came up, and pretty much the lesson didn't really turn out well, except for the fact that he asked for a Book of Mormon and said he would read it. I really felt love for him as we talked and invited him to try and change. I think I saw his potential to become and I have a lot of hope for him in the future.

We met another guy too! He was someone we met once before. Well we just talked and found out a lot about what he believed. He is Buddhist and pretty much he told us a lot about it. How meditation is a big part of it and that it is through meditation that he feels the most happiness. We helped him understand better who our Savior is and why he is important. He is pretty open to what we have to say, and he says he is willing to try this whole learning about Christ and his restored gospel.  

Yea so this week was just super good and I learned a lot. I am super thankful for the many miracles I have seen this week!

Hope you all have a good week!

Love,
Elder Frampton

7-27-14

Hello!

So I am trying to think about what happened this week....

So we went to a market to follow up with a potential investigator on Tuesday and we didn't get to talk to him because this other guy had stopped us. This guy was super weird. He was a little intoxicated and he didn't communicate very well. He was using a little bit of English, Spanish, and Korean, but only little phrases. I don't think he said a full sentence the whole 20 minutes we were talking to him. He would say his phrase and we wouldn't really understand so he would just sigh/moan in frustration....He understood that we were missionaries and before we left he said he wanted to buy us dinner as service to us...We didn't have time that night, but we got his number and set up an appointment with him to meet the next day. Wednesday night when we called to find out where we were meeting, he said some restaurant name and told us to ask around...nobody knew, so he told us to ask about another restaurant that people helped us find. From then he was just standing in the street but was wayyyyyyy down the street outside the other restaurant that was a little hole in the wall place. Probably the most hole in the wall place I have ever eaten. Anyways he was a lot more understandable this time, and we were able to talk about our purpose as missionaries and about Christ and a little about how knowing him has helped our lives and our family. He seemed pretty interested and is willing to learn more! But we haven't been able to get another appointment with him yet, but every time we call he seems super nice and willing to try and meet. He is quite weird but really nice.

So one of the things that I did a lot this week was show people my family picture. The one from Mike's wedding that is just mom, dad, Mike, Anna, Brian. Well anyways one person said dad looked like a movie star, other times they just said he was very good looking. People said mom was super good looking and that I have very beautiful parents. Everyone always said Anna was gorgeous. Some people thought I was Mike, apparently we look alike. Other people said that I was a combination of Mike and Brian. Family pictures really help in Korea! haha I was able to easily talk about missionary work with other people, especially when they realized that I was not in the picture. I just thought it was funny that someone called Dad a movie star.

  

So while walking on the street one day we passed by two grandmas that are usually sitting outside and that day they called us over and gave us somewhat warm milk....Elder Shaw didn't want to drink the milk but they made him. haha. One lady kept saying nonstop that we were 'pretty', she just kept saying it over and over and over and over and over. It was pretty crazy. We were just like sitting in front of these ladies houses on the ground eating apples and drinking milk with two super old ladies. One believed in Jesus and let us read a bible verse and pray with her but the other one just said she doesn't pray and kind of walked away so we could pray....yea she came back before we got to pray so she was there during it but she just stood there. Super weird experience. Oh they were drinking milk+alcohol, but they gave us just milk.  

So we have a few potential investigators but when we try to meet them they usually are too busy, or we make an appointment and then something comes up on their end and they cancel:( That is okay, we will be able to meet with someone eventually!

Well that's it for this week! Have a good one!

Love,

Elder Frampton

7-21-14

Hello!

So this week best news is that the sister that got baptized last week received the gift of the Holy Ghost! Branch president delivered a wonderful blessing.

So the craziest part of the week was Friday, it rained super hard. Actually the hardest rain I have seen so far in Korea! We were in the middle of a lesson that wasn't going super well just because the guy just wasn't interested, and rain just started pouring and got harder and harder. When we left, luckily I had an umbrella, and we walked home to get some things and figure out a change in schedule. The rain was so hard that as I walked the bottom half of my body got soaked after a little. Later after the leaving the house after getting some clothes to do service that didn't actually happen because of rain, it was still raining and my pants and legs were soaked and I was to the point that I didn't even avoid puddles because avoiding them or going straight through them made no difference. Yea so no one was on the streets really for those few hours.

Another thing that as super weird this week was that these young kids were talking to us on the street, they were 10. In Korea you kind of address people with titles according to your age and they called me as if I was a middle aged man.....it was super weird because I am not that old, but I guess to them I am old. It made me feel super old.

So there is a man in my branch that his family lives in the US in Virginia and I was just talking him and of course found out that  the temple he went to is the DC temple and I actually found out that his daughter who is my age is going to college and U Penn. Pretty interesting.

So a scripture I found in my studies this week is Matthew 5:45. Super good scripture. Just simply put, we have the potential to become as God because of the things we experience in this life. Just read that and think about it!

Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Frampton

7-13-14

So best part of the week was yesterday and the baptism! 18 year old (Korean age) girl that was a referral from the branch president. We had to go to the other areas church in Jinju because we don't have a baptismal font. We ended church then all rode up there and had the baptism! It was super great. The missionaries (2 sisters and us) sang "When I am baptized" for her during the service and the spirit was super strong! She had started to cry while we sang and it was just such a great moment and I could really feel the Savior's love. Elder Shaw baptized her and so he didn't have to do it more than once he really put her under the water a lot. She bore her testimony at the end and it was super nice, you can really see the change and happiness that the gospel brings in her. :DD

We had interviews with President Barrow this week. The meeting was very different than how we did before. The APs just prepared a "watch video clip, think, and share your thoughts" type of meeting while president was interviewing. I found that President Barrow is very straight forward and to the point.

We also had a branch picnic this week! It was on Saturday and it seemed like we just went to a park grounds or something for it. We had a lunch and just played some sports as a branch. We played kickball as a branch. I found out that Koreans call kickball "foot baseball." They also brought volleyball and we were hitting it around for a few minutes then one person caught it and was holding it and then randomly it popped. Super weird.

So pretty much July 3-July 9 it rained everyday...we then heard that a typhoon was supposed to come, and when it was supposed to come, it didn't rain and it was really nice today. Turns out the typhoon apparently turned before getting to Korean and Japan got most of it?

Another thing this week was that we got new pamphlets for proselyting. One is "Who is God?" and one is "What to expect" but the Korean to English translation for that one is actually "the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saint missionaries" they gave each of us one of each and told us not to give them out to people. We are supposed to just read through them and see what we like and don't like and think about how they could improve them. Kind of like a prototype I guess. I think they could really help in introduce who we are and our purpose. Should be really different.

Well that is it for this week. Have a good week!

Love Elder Frampton

7-6-14

Hello

This week was pretty interesting. Lots of things happened.

Tuesday we met our new mission president. He seems pretty good, just talked for like 20ish minutes and we also heard from his wife and son. He is very different from president Gilbert, more quiet, strong testimony and knowledge of the scriptures and seems like he is ready to lead this mission to do great.

Thursday was an interesting day. We went to Namhae again but since we were going from our home we first took and inner city bus for 40 minutes then we had to hitch-hike to the town square/city place. The hitch-hiking took 2 people to get where we were going. We actually got to teach about the Book of Mormon and stuff with the first guy that picked us up. We got in the car and he was like 'what is the difference between Christians and Mormons?' good ride, next person just did some small talk with them. Fun experience. In Namhae we went and visited less actives with our branch president. One was an old guy that couldn't really hear very well and pretty much couldn't speak, he would just mumble too hard to understand because it wasn't really actually words. Sometimes branch president knew what he was saying and sometimes he just put words in his mouth pretty much. Branch president also took us to this nice restaurant out in the middle of nowhere next to the coast, pretty cool, delicious.

Brother Choi took us to dinner on Thursday. He took us to a really good meat place and pretty much spent 100 dollars on us. We had two different types of meat in two rounds. After this first round I was already full, after that I was just so full it was super enjoyable anymore, oh; and then after the second round he bought some of the first meat again, just a little, so we could eat it with cold noodles...but was already so full I couldn't really eat any of it. It was all super delicious though. Bad thing is he got a little drunk...Then he was supposed to come to church and he was going to come a little late because he had a shipment that was supposed to come at 930 but it came super late so he ended up not coming:/

Another drunk person story. We were talking to this old guy that still knew some English and after talking to him for a little he wanted to shake my hand and he kind of pulled me in closer to talk to me and then a few moments later he ended up kissing my cheek. He kind of just put his lips on my cheek and didn't kiss, but pretty much I consider it a kiss....super weird.

Best news this week is that the girl with the baptism date is supposed to be baptized this coming Sunday 13th and the sisters taught her everything that was left to teach yesterday. And the only problem that was left was getting permission from her parents and Branch president had gone and was able to get verbal permission so she just has her interview on Wednesday and then she will be getting baptized! From what the sisters told us about the lesson yesterday, she really wants to be baptized but it’s hard that her family doesn't really support her much. Like the gospel is making a big change in her life, so many blessings she is seeing, but the fact that she can’t be partaking of them with her family makes her pretty sad. She is so great!

That's it for this week!

Love,

Elder Frampton