Great Scott! There could not be a larger difference between my last area and this one. I could walk to the church in my last area without meeting anybody. Now I live on top of a subway station/mall and can talk to thousands of people just by going down an elevator. P-Day shopping is literally an elevator ride away haha.
That being said, I feel like a trainee again up here. There's a lot of work to do and I don't know a dang person at all. The last couple days has been hard because my trainee, who is awesome btw, obviously doesn't know much Korean, and I don't know any of our friends 기도해 주세요. We go to church in the mission's office building, which is the first place I went when I got to the mission. I've been there several times now, but I still get PTSD flashbacks from the smell of the building when I walk in. The first day in the field is an experience I don't know how to explain, most fever dream day of my whole life.
My last couple days in Iksan were awesome, as is the case when you leave any area. When you are leaving all of your friends suddenly become so interested in you and you have 4 appointments a day for the last week. That was pretty awesome. Our last English class was amazing. Usually we give our spiritual thought and no one cares much to share, but every single person there shared their thoughts. My friend also knitted me a scarf.
The first day I got to Singal, we had an appointment with a friend who absolutely loves material things haha. At one point he just randomly said, "You should see my salary." And then paused and closed his eyes for about 30 seconds as he tried to do the math in his head, trying to convert it to the US dollar. He eventually gave up and just said, "I show you" and whipped out his bank app and showed us his bread. He was also a sniper for the Korean army and, from the sound of it, there's no PTSD there, just fond memories. (?)
Going to church in a big ward again was weird, especially seeing so many children. I was passing the Sacrament and a member whispered to me that two foreigners had walked in and needed a translator. She asked if I could do it and I told her I would try after I gave my Introduction talk. I've never translated like that before, and if I'm being honest, have never even practiced live translation haha. I gave them a heads up they were about to get 5% of the talk, but when the brother started speaking I realized he was speaking about President Oaks most recent talk, "The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ" which is unironically the ONLY conference talk I have ever studied until I understood the whole thing. Holy, what a miracle!
I met an old man in Iksan before I left and he told me he was a bee keeper. Well I am too, so that won me some credit right of the bat, but then he pulled out a YouTube video of him wearing a beard of bees while smoking. Obviously that asserted his dominance as the King Keeper, but beyond that, I used to watch that YouTube video as a kid. Missions are sooo wild. Such a random person to meet, but that video is kinda famous and now I've met him.
We joined a Stake Choir last night, and oh boy can they sing loud. Koreans have an impeccable ability to be ridiculously loud and not snap any vocal chords.
Spiritual Thought: "We are all as the turkey who wakes up on Thanksgiving morning expecting lunch as usual." - Bertrand Russell
I've heard so many missionaries in my mission say, "I could never fall away from the church, I'm simply too strong!" I have, unfortunately, personally seen friends fall away who had this same mentality. Everybody can fall away if they aren't careful. You have to do the little things, you have to be consistent. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so watch your step." Love you all!!
Current Weight: 185.6 
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