DD 5.25 ... so what does 'normal' mean ...

So, how would you feel if we scraped off all those stickers on your dresser drawers??

I would be devastated ... trying to destroy my childhood now are we? But if it must be done ... I guess I need to grow up sometime ... I should warn you though, I’ve tried, and it’s really hard.

Are there rogue dogs in Japan that chase you?

The only dogs here are Japan sized dogs ... they make Chihuahuas look large ...

Has it snowed again? (Sam read on twitter something about fall being over in Japan, does their winter just start in February?

No, I’m not even wearing a sweater right now cus it’s so warm.

Your ties: do you have enough? Way too many? Wishing you left some home?

I have just the right amount.

How is your camera holding up? Do you charge it often?

meh, I need to take more Pictures.

How was the Elder Whiting conference? Where was it held?

It was here in Chiba with just three zones, he is touring the mission. It was good, we talked about how as a mission we need to get more power ... we also raised our vision ... yeah, what we are doing is not enough ... it hurt, but it means that we can grow; right?

How did your "all in Japanese" interview for baptism go?

He has not had it yet, his daughters got way sick and has not been able to meet with the sisters in a while.

Did the Japanese people have pets? Cats? Birds? Dogs? Fish?

They have birds and fish and other small rodents that resemble dogs and cats, but are really too small.

Do they celebrate Valentine's Day in Japan?

On the fourteenth the boys get candy from all the girls and then later all the boys give candy back, I think that happens in March? I don’t know, but there is a lot of cheap candy happening now cuz of it.

How close are you to the ocean? Are the docks close? Can you buy fresh fish?

Yes, the fish is very fresh ... sometime killed on site ... it’s good though. We are really close to the water front, Asato Choro and I want to run to the waterfront for exercise one day. It would be hard, but we could maybe do it.

Have you ever seen a swimming pool in Japan? Is swimming big as a form of exercise?

It’s pretty big actually ... I have seen a couple ... but they are not really cool. I haven’t been inside to see one, just the buildings ... it’s too tempting.

Are any of your baptisms still on?

Maybe ... we have one date for us and he is good if we could just meet with him.

Parents: I hope that all went well with the Christmas lights ... I’m excited to try out dads new tool ... thank-you for all that you have done, for all of us, these last 35 years. You are both truly amazing!

TeJay: it is always good to hear about your adorable little family ... I am glad to hear that Porter recognizes my picture and such, and also that you are having so much fun at your job, good luck hiring people to do everything for you, should be loads of fun!!

Sam ... I’m dying to see the video of you climbing out the back of Tiff ... I also look forward to this guide book of dating ... I get the feeling I’m going to need a lot of help. Not only was I terrified of girls before I came to Japan, and then it’s like every mission in the world you are not allowed to talk to girls ... so I think that my fear has just gotten worse.  Man the pictures made me die ... I really do miss Oreos.

When Double-Stuff just ain't enough ...

Abi: sorry that Tiff is gone, that’s no good. But I think that she is in better place now ... plus you get to enjoy Clydesdale!!!! WAHOO!!!!! FUN FUN FUN!!! FUN FUN FUN!!!!! Wahoo! I’m glad that sitting criss cross crapple sauce is hard for you too ... it would be really rough for me if I was the only one ... and again ... looking forward to the video of Sam ... good luck with school I hope that your paper goes well!!!

So today we went to Costco and then to H&M, for Nielson Choro and Tuttle Choro ... I almost was peer pressured into buying a cardigan, but then I remembered that I was an American and would never live it down if i did ... good Job ME!!

I also meet these people from the Taoist Church this week. they invited me to the holy blessing, kind of like baptism for their church, but instead of getting baptized you get married ... that’s right!!! God through his chosen "prophet" picks who you will marry, just like Adam and Eve were right? Long story short, I’m very glad that I’m a Mormon and that we have a true and living prophet with the authority to act in God's name ... I love the priesthood!

So this week we went to a curry restaurant; I ate the level ten ... the hottest it can go ... it wasn’t too bad actually ... I was a little let down.

Photo Courtesy of Japan Tokyo Mission Blog

Other than that we had the Elder Whiting conference and learned a lot there. He made and interesting point, when he got home from his mission people always said that when you get back to normal we’ll go do something. So what he thought about was, what is the normal? He had just got back from Japan and being in a completely different culture and learning a not so easy language and was doing all this stuff to better serve the Lord and he had changed to much, and now all these people were wanting him to go back to being normal? So what does 'normal' mean? Being the person that he was before his mission, he said that there was no way he was planning on going back to what he was after he had grown so much … he said a lot of other stuff that I won’t bore you with; but it was very interesting … how often do we have these great spiritual lessons, whether it be a mission, a general conference, or even just a really great talk in sacrament meeting, and then afterwards we go back to being normal; we take what we troubled to learn and then what do we do with it? Do we just forget about it? Or do we just not have the courage to follow through with what we had planned to do afterwards? It was a very interesting train of thought ... I’ll let you know what goes down with it in a couple months ... I think, what, 16 maybe ... time really does fly. Well I gotta run, Love you all so much! It was really good to hear from you all!!

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