Sunday, November 28, 2010

I'm A Senior Now

November 28, 2010

Hey mom! Everything is good still as far as North Korea goes.. I'll be honest we don't hear to much!
Wow Mom! long email!!! so.. good news!!! I was up at the office on Saturday and the package with the cadbury eggs and the Thanksgiving package were here!!! I was so pumped!! I can't believe they make  eggs for Christmas now! Of course right when I leave!! I'm eating good right now that is for sure!! Haha, the one with the thumb drive did not come yet, maybe it got lost on it's way here!!! It sounds like Thanksgiving was pretty good though that is sweet!! The temple is the best! Our church starts at 10 everywhere in Korea!! oh ya and they re built the church here it's super nice now :) it just got finished right before I got here! I'm really excited to get those packages mom! can I open them before Christmas or should I wait?? The TV sounds way sweet I can't wait to be watching football again I miss it a lot!!! It's ok though cause the cowboys are horrible this year anyways! Hurst got his call? that is awesome! he is coming over here by me! haha when does he leave??? he'll feel like a dirtbag when he gets in the MTC and realizes how sweet it is to get mail! (that's how I felt for not writing my friends) ha I'm excited for him though! Chunner told me he saw you that is cool!!! I told him I would send him something in the next package that I send! Dillion emails me sometimes but I haven't heard from Monks at all! I love getting the sports papers they are sweet to read and see what is going on! I can't believe I hit my six month mark. I feel like I got off of the plane yesterday still mom.. It's crazy how fast the time goes by!! 26 days and I'll be talking to you on the phone again!!! I'm so excited!!! I think we can talk to and hour and a half but I'm not sure exactly it might be shorter than that! today we are going up to this way nice church.. it is the nicest church in all of Asia! it has a full court basketball court so were going to play there! It cost 20 million to build this thing it's huge!! Oh we went and ate Thanksgiving dinner with some members in the military it was way cool they are really awesome! In our mission we have a pass off program that test your teaching and Korean and just helps you learn the language.. when you pass that with the aps you become a senior instead of a junior in the mission! I finished mine on Saturday so I'm a senior now! which is cool buy I might have to have a younger companion than me next transfer! which would be cool except for I still don't understand everything! haha maybe I'll get a Korean! I don't really know what else to write about!! I'm learning a lot and I love it so much. I love Korea and I love the people here. Most people don't realize what we have to offer them and it is sad! Everyone is interested in our gospel if you think about it, they just don't know it. because God loves us he wants us to return to him and that is through his restored gospel! If the people would just slow down and take a minute and listen they would realize it! It is awesome when you find a person that is truly prepared by the Lord. I have already learned more on my mission than I ever could have imagined and I'm so grateful for it! I wouldn't trade the time I've had in Korea for anything in the world. I love you all! I hope you have a great week!

Love,
Elder Frei

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Email From Chase!

I had emailed Chase wondering what was happening in Seoul with all of this turmoil with the North Koreans.

One month and you will get to talk to me :) everything is fine though, life goes on as normal when North Korea does stuff, it killed two Korean soldiers though! I'll write you with updates on Monday. I didn't get the letter with the thumb drive yet! I'll let you know when I do!!
love,
Elder Frei


SEOUL — North Korea bombarded a South Korean island with dozens of artillery shells Tuesday in one of the fiercest attacks on its neighbor since the Korean War ended in 1953.
South Korea's military said two soldiers were killed, 17 were wounded and three civilians were also hurt after dozens of shells hit Yeonpyeong island.
Most of the shells landed on a South Korean military base there, YTN Television reported.
South Korea returned fire and scrambled F-16 fighter jets, military officials said.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said it was unforgivable for North Korea to fire artillery shells at ordinary people and warned any further North Korean attacks would be met by "enormous retaliation."
"Indiscriminate attacks on civilians are unpardonable, also in a humanitarian sense," he told a military briefing, according to a pool report.

He had ordered officials to "sternly respond" to North Korea's action but also called on officials to make sure that the "situation would not escalate," according to a presidential official. He asked not to be identified, citing the issue's sensitivity.

YTN television said dozens of houses were on fire on Yeonpyeong, about 75 miles west of the capital Seoul.
'Frightened to death'
The station broadcast pictures of thick columns of black smoke rising from the island. Screams and chaotic shouts could be heard on the video. YTN said between 1,200 and 1,300 people live on the island.
"Houses and mountains are on fire and people are evacuating. You can't see very well because of plumes of smoke," a witness on the island told YTN before the shelling ended after about an hour. "People are frightened to death."

YTN quoted a witness as saying fires were burning out of control.

North Korea bombarded a South Korean island with dozens of artillery shells Tuesday in one of the fiercest attacks on its neighbor since the Korean War ended in 1953.

Yeonpyeong, which houses military installations and a small civilian population, is located off the west coast of the divided peninsula near a disputed maritime border. The area has been the focus of two previous deadly battles between the Koreas.
South Korea responded by firing K-9 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, but a South Korean official declined to say whether North Korean territory was hit.
"This is an intentional and planned attack," Lee Hong Ki, a South Korean defense ministry official, told reporters.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency claimed that South Korea fired first, Reuters reported.
North Korea later threatened to continue launching "merciless" strikes against South Korea if it violates their disputed sea border by "even 0.001 millimeter."

The clash came amid South Korean military drills in the area.

North Korea's military had sent a message to South Korea's armed forces early Tuesday to demand that the drills stop, but the South continued them, according to an official at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
During the drills, South Korean marines on the island shot artillery toward southern waters, away from North Korea, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of military rules.
U.S. 'strongly condemns' attack
The White House said it "strongly condemns the attack" and called on Pyongyang to "halt its belligerent action."
In a statement, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the U.S. "is firmly committed to the defense of our ally, the Republic of Korea, and to the maintenance of regional peace and stability."
U.S. military officials told NBC News that American forces were not involved in the clash. However, the Pentagon was monitoring the situation closely.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Hi mom,

We just got back from the temple and now we have an appointment in forty minutes so I don't really get a p day this week, which is ok because Thursday we get to go to a members house from the military, and at 5 we are meeting with an investigator that we gave a baptismal date to last week! It is for Dec 12! :) sweet huh? Everything is going way good right now! and the temple plays sessions in both languages when we go! I'm really excited for my package to get here, I didn't get anything from you in the mail though I haven't since the one when Zack played PV! um I thought of  couple things I want if you can get them and make it work! I need some soccer cleats, I can't find my size over here anywhere!!! And my ankle weights.. they are the 10 pounds each.. I use to run stairs with them, they should be up in my room in one of my dressers, I want to start walking around with them on so I can get a workout! good idea huh? Could you send them with one of those flat rate box things? I can't believe it is already Thanksgiving and I can't believe that Josh and Jace are both home! I miss those guys so much! me and josh were bestfriends before he left! remember when he would come over and play monopoly? that was fun, it feels like yesterday! thanks for the pictures! I'm glad everyone liked that package, there was some cool stuff huh? the box I got you plays a Korean folk song when you wind it up!! it's really popular! did Zack wear the pocket watch to his dance? He better have! when we went to the temple we got mail and all I got was from another missionary and my favorite family from my 1st area.. I was so happy that they wrote me!! I still am!! I love them so much they are the best family ever! Elder Mortensen is about 3 months ahead of me and he served there his 1st transfer, we are in the same district now so we talk about them all the time about how much we love them!! it's so cool! ?? (bong-Chon) is an awesome ward! my ankle still isn't better but my ward mission leader gave me acupuncture on it and it helped out a little bit!! he's super nice, I love their family they feed us every Sunday and really love missionary work!! i can't believe that Boots only has about a month left until he leaves.. Crazy!! I need to write him! tell him I’m going to send him a letter! A couple of people in this area remember Kristy Hunt! they told me she taught them how to dance when she was hear!! haha it's funny how small of a World it is sometimes!! Well, I have to run! I love you all so much and hope you liked everything I sent you!

Love, your favorite son,
Elder Frei

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Package From Korea Arrived !

This is the man that stopped Chase in the subway and demanded that Chase give him money.










 Families that he was teaching.









This is the Bishop's Family that Chase is so close with.






 

 


This is sweat! 


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

More Picture From Chase !!!!


View of Seoul








Seoul Tower








Chase found this in his bed! They call it Satan.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Transferred to Bong Cheon

Hello family! How is everyone?
So where to begin.. This past week a lot has happened! Since mom loves details I'll start from transfer day! So when we transfer we all meet in a subway station and then you meet your new companion and go to your new area! But before that you use a service that ships all of your clothes and belongings to your new house for really cheap.. however, the huge suitcase mom sent me with was to big so I had to pull it along with me through the subway! (not very fun) anyways.. my new companion is Elder Hoffman! He was born in Japan, but then moved to North Carolina. He's awesome! Even more awesome is my new area!! I love it here! It's on the other side of the river and kind of on the outskirts of the city!! It was a Seoul west mission area! In the bottom of the area is the #1 college in all of Korea!! It's way sweet! The work is going really, really good here!!! We have tons of investigators and some of them are super close to being baptized! We found tons of new people just in the week I have been here too! It's awesome I seriously love it here so much! There are about 80 people in this ward so it is way bigger than my last one! I gave my introduction talk in sacrament yesterday! It went way good! I was a little nervous cause I didn't really prepare anything but I ended up talking for a little over 5 minutes! I sat down and was like did I really just do all of that in Korean? Ha it was pretty sweet! Mom, I've taken almost 600 pictures on my mission already so I'm pretty sure you won’t miss out on to much! I haven't taken very many since I got to this area though! I will get some soon though!! I can't believe that Bre and Blake will have a kid in a few months! When is it Hayley's turn??
Sweet I'm way glad you sent me another sd card! Oh when you send that Christmas package just stuff it full of American candy! I realized I miss like all of that stuff ha Elder Hoffman got a package from his mom with candy so I got to eat some!

Mom, I started memorizing a song on the piano! It's a way cool song! When I finish it I'll send it to you or something!! Well, were meeting up with some other Elders and going to a public bath house! Ha have I told you about those yet? I love you all!!!  My pday is next Tuesday cause we go to the temple so just so you know! My new area is Bong Chon.

Love,

Elder Frei




Chase in the subway when the typhoon hit Seoul.






The soccer team.

Monday, November 8, 2010

What's up with the elk?? Why did we shoot an elk from the ranch? I'm confused! I didn't even know about it! And for that package I don't really know what I miss! I miss so much stuff that I don't even realize it until I think about it! Some reeses puffs would be way sweet! A real football, some of those chunky soup things with beef in them, a cake mix and icing, I'll keep thinking! Pretty much anything American I miss haha.. I definately don't keep up on politics at all but that's way cool! I learned the Korean word for politics a few days ago haha it's 정 치 I remember weird words sometimes! Ha one of my investigators that we just met with for the first time taught me a sweet Korean saying, it's kind of like no pain no gain!! It's sweet! He taught me the Chinese characters for it to but those are way hard to draw! I might be getting transferred to a new area because this transfer is over! Crazy!! I find out tonight so I'll let you know when I find out! I'm going to back up all my pictures today! Oh another thing you could send me is a memory card with more space if you can find a cheap one on Black Friday! Like 8g or more then I can store all my pics on that card and send my other one home! I can't believe Tuscano is home! Ha tell him he can take 2 of my shirts because he gave me two of his when he left! I'm excited to hear that elk story it sounds pretty sweet! Who shot it? and why? Yesterday we had no appointments so we found all day and we ended up walking all the way around our area! We figured out it was over 15 miles!!! We were tired after haha it was cool though! Plus it was fast Sunday so it was pretty epic! Ha were going bowling today for Pday and I need to buy a few more things for the package then I'm going to send it Tuesday I think! Well that's all I have for this week!


I love you all!!
Love,

Elder Frei

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Pictures from Korea

Hey mom!
Sorry to disappoint you on Monday and just a few days after your birthday!!!! How was your birthday?? I forgot to tell you my pday was on Tuesday this week!!! So sorry! And happy birthday last week!


I bought a translator about a month ago, I think! I love it so much! It's a must have I carry it with me everywhere I go! That would be way sweet if you had interns live at our house for a while if you do it! That's sweet I could communicate with them in Korean! haha

My week was ok! We worked really hard but we didnt see the success we hoped for! That's ok though!! Missionary work is hard! So this week we have been doing different stuff and we have two new investigators! They are pretty sweet and way nice to us! Oh have you tried to contact Elder Christensen yet?? You need to get him down to the house!! hmm this is probably my last week in my greenie area and then I'll be transfered out next wednesday! I'm kinda sad and kinda excited because it's just another step!!! By the time I leave my next area I'll have been a missionary for a long time! haha but I hope my next comp is as sweet as my first two!!I've gotten super lucky! I think getting a native would be sweet especially becuase I could learn so much Korean from them now! The halloween party was way fun haha everyone told me I would be a pretty girl! It was so funny!! ha what was Haden for Halloween? Oh I'm almost done with that package now! I'll probably be shipping it next week sometime!!! I saw the deer pictures they looked pretty sweet!! That's awesome! We have zone conference tomorrow so that should be way fun! ha mom I talked to Elder Jorgensen a lot today cause we all went to lunch after the temple! It's crazy he only has 5 weeks left now.. remember when we saw his mom and he had barely been out for a year????? what the?? where did that time go? I couldn't believe him when he told me he was going home that soon. Also one of my new missionary friends is elder Hier! He has like 7 months left so he will actually be here for a while!! haha has anyone else got their calls yet or anything??? I heard the cowboys are doing terrible this year! that's to bad.. well were going to that museum so I gotta hurry!!! I love you! Hhope everyone has a good week!!

Love,

Elder Frei
 Chase and Elder Fisher
 Crying repentance from the rooftops!
 View from the camping trip. The Sea of Japan. Just a hop, skip, and a jump from Elder Ovard !
Gotta love the shirt!
Chase with some Korean friends.