DD 12.65 ... 藤さんを見える写真です！！ ...

How is your cold? better? worse? did you get the fever/chills? or the sore throat, cough, runny nose cold? What are you taking for it?

I took some water, honey and cinnamon ... occasionally some sugar as well! ... I is all better nows!!

Do you make your own honey cinnamon milk? or buy it already made? did it help your cold?

We bought the stuff, and then I made it in a cup ...

How is your new investigator doing?

He's good, more below

When is your companion calling his family? are you going to try and call at the same time?

I don't know, we're good whenever.

Did any packages come to you?

Not yet.

Is anyone getting transferred from your apartment?

Nope, see below

Newly remodeled Abiko Chapel

Is the temple there open all time or do you have to schedule a time to go or is it only open certain hours? In other words how busy is the temple?

I don't know ... I only go once a month on a secret time made just for missionaries.

Did you do any sight-seeing on your pday? play any soccer?

Not really, we're really busy.

What sweat pants and hoodie did you take with you?

Swimming pants, and my lifeguard hoodie.

Have you eaten at the Yoyoi-ken, the standing-up-eating noodle shop at the Abiko Station?

Of course. It's like three hundred yen, and way good!!

If you have multiple missionaries working in the same ward, how do you divide up the areas within the ward ... what area do you work in?

We don't ... we storm the whole thing!!

What type of information do you need to find someones home ... do you use addresses the same way we use them in America?

Yes ... we have addresses here ...

Is it cold yet? any snow?

It's cold, but no snow ...

Dear family! Good to hear from you all!! So this week was pretty sweet! ... Well, it was busy. We had meetings all week. Like we were in our area three days out of the seven days this week! We had temple pday, zone meeting, zone conference, and then the new missionary training meeting in Tokyo again! It was pretty sweet! This week was transfers as well ... Abiko is staying the exact same, but we're losing a pair of sisters, Ipson Shimai is going home, and Warren Shimai is transferring .... It should be a fun transfer.  Dicastri Choro and I are together for at least one more! This transfer is a seven week transfer btw. I know that dad is dying to know.

Matsudo North and South Zones Conference

So yeah, Brother K is doing well. He has visions and what not. Still doesn't think that he has his answer, but we're pretty sure that he has. We're trying to meet with him to tell him that, but he's way busy with work. He's so close, though. I understand his desire to know, but sometimes it's hard to understand how he doesn't realize that it's an answer from God! .... but he's still way great so we're going to keep helping Him ... patiently ... might be hard; but worth it.

Sister Mio Kawane, Warren Shimai, Adair Shimai, Ipson Shimai, Mayama Shimai,
Turley Choro, Dicastri Choro, Yoshino Choro, Brother Hirata, Griffiths Choro, Brother Harasawa

Brother A is doing well. He came to church again, he's going to keep coming every week as well. He likes the church, and really wants to understand it too! We had a lesson with our old ward mission leader yesterday with Brother A and he drew down! It was so cool! Brother A is going to pray, like hard core, to find out if this church is true. I'm so excited to teach him next week, because I know that it's going to be awesome. Right now he's in the top ten list. As a district we get together each morning and pray for God and Angels to go and teach ten people in our zone, and we have two people on the list right now! It's awesome!! It's such a huge miracle!!! I love Christmas so much!!

So this weeks spiritual thought!

I only have six months left as a missionary. Still no death letter, but I'm assuming six months left. Which means that looking back over my mission I haven't done as much as I wanted to do. But I have a lot more skills and I'm a way better missionary than I was before. So my thoughts are that I should be able to do more than I've ever done before these last four transfers! So I'm going to get to work. I realized this morning during study that the more I focus on others, the less time I'll have to focus on myself ... in turn making less time for me to screw up. So, I decided to work for a remission of my past mistakes and wasted time, I'm going to do more these last four transfers than I thought possible during the first twelve. I'm way excited, but at the same time, I wish that I still had had this type of motivation my first twelve transfers! I figure the more I work now, the more "forgiveness" I'll get for my last twelve transfers ... I really do regret it, and I feel as though I'll look back when I have only three months left and still regret this time. I feel as though when I get home, no matter how hard I work, I'll always want to go back and work some more! Which isn't a bad thing ... I don't think ...

So what I've decided is that I'm going to make a yearly mission plan when I get home. I want to have specific missionary goals for when I get back. I wanna be the type of member that all the missionaries want in there wards! Because those members seem the best!

This week Brother Takayama Kyoudai-San passed away. He was a way hard core ward missionary! One of our investigators has taken it really hard which has made me want to work even harder. I want to have the same love that Takayama Kyoudai-San had for everyone! I feel as though I could do that; I would be such a more powerful missionary!! He loved everyone so much, and was such an example to me! I look up to him so much!  If you have a chance pray for Sister T, please do! She just lost one of the best husbands this world has ever known.

I would like to invite you all to do the same with me ... maybe get a head start and then when I get back y'all can help me adjust to missionionaring normal people style...

Anyways. That's all I have to say this week really!!!

愛しています！これからもよろしくお願いします！

グリフィス長老

Here's Mount Fuji!!

10759 9385

DD 12.56 ... Six months to success!!! ...

Dad was so excited to see you got money last Monday.  Did you buy something special? Just confirm you withdrew 10,000 yen? right?
Yes, I did.

Did you get to listen to the Church Christmas Devotional?
No, we didn't .

How I teach the Plan of Salvation

What Christmas activities/concerts/firesides have you attended so far this December?
Just the one so far this Christmas. Hopefully some more when the holiday gets closer.

How did sugar free November go??
Pretty good!

Do you have a Christmas tree? Or any Christmas decorations in your apartment?
We have a tree. It's made of magnets on our door.

Back:  Yoshino Choro, Griffiths Choro Dicastri Choro, Warren Shimai
Front:  Mayama Shimai, Turley Choro, Adair Shimai, Ipson Shimai

Have you heard anything about paying for your iPad when you leave and bringing it home? Do new missionaries have to pay for theirs' as they enter the mission field? Or the mission just keeps them and reuses them?
Nope, the mission keeps them and reuses them.

Any word on the Christmas phone call? So excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, I'll send you the link to it as well?

Christmas Call Details

How are your investigators doing? anybody reading the Book of Mormon?
Brother K had a vision...


How are your glasses holding up? We don't see you wearing them in pictures anymore and are wondering if you just wear your contacts all the time now??
I just really hate my glasses ... like I always have.

Do you interview with President Budge every p-Day?
Only once every other transfer.

How are your cold weather clothes holding up? Are you using them yet?
There good. I'm using them a little bit,

Have you done any sight seeing? Any place in Japan you really want to visit?
We hit up the equivalent of D.I. today ... it was way sick!!!

Father! Sun up to sun down inside of the church ... that's way rough, I hope that tithing settlement went well though!

Mt. Fuji from my area!!!

Mother! I love the idea on dad's new phone ... if I had one when I get home you could always know where I was all the time!

TeJay!! Those pictures are adorable!!! I especially like the one of Porter ... he just has the best little grin I've ever seen! That cookie looks way good too!!

Storm trooper ... you talked about poop with a bunch of kindergarteners ... didn't you go to school for four years and learn not to do that? I almost fell over in rain this morning reading it.

So this week was interesting. We went to the Christmas concert with K. We sang in the choir. I've caught a little bit of a cold ... and so my voice is kinda shot. But it was fun. He thought that it was good. And then on the way back, we had a super powerful lesson on some park benches, and committed him to pray from the heart about stuff. So then he comes to church on Sunday and we text him Sunday night after he eats with a member in another ward, and we ask him how his prayer went! And he said that he had a vision, but still didn't get an answer! We haven't been able to meet with him to talk about it yet, but he's certain that it has a meaning, and we're dying to hear more about it! It's all about a palace and doors being closed. We haven't heard the whole thing, but from what it sounds like it's the final push that he needs to get ready before the end of the year!! He's so great!!

We also got a call from a guy that we found. Couple transfers ago. He said that the Book of Mormon was hard to understand and that he would like to go to church to help him understand it ... we told him he could probably come ... so he comes and we do a lesson, and he comments about how most of the other Christian Churches don't really touch on Melchizedek that much, which is sad because he was so great, but our church brings him right up in the Book of Mormon! He's coming to church again next week, and we're very hopeful he's going to get baptized before the end of the year as well!  He's so prepared!!!

This week I got a little sick, and so I'm way tired all the time ... I didn't sleep, for like three nights in a row ... it was pretty bad, but I busted out my sweatpants and my hoodie, and I'm all good in the hood ... get it ... hoodie ... Heheheh ... anyways! It's just a minor cold, and I'm pretty sure that after I drink some honey cinnamon milk tonight it will all be better. But tomorrow, I'm planning on going to bed early, tonight as well ...

Back:  Yoshino Choro, Griffiths Choro Dicastri Choro, Warren Shimai
Front:  Mayama Shimai, Turley Choro, Adair Shimai, Ipson Shimai

Sorry that the picture took so long to get to you guys! I'm really excited about it and for grandma's quilt though!! Take a picture of it and let me see it!!! I can't believe that she 80! I never would have guessed! I'm going to try to write her a real letter for her birthday, but I've been really terrible at that sort of thing in the past ... but I'm gonna try really hard. Make sure to tell her that I love her and think that she's so great!! I could literally ramble on about grandma for so long, but I can't because I only have a short amount of time today ... hence all the spelling errors s ... sorry!

So spiritual thought for this week.

Today we went to the temple ... me being sick and not sleeping at all recently, I was not that "into" the session you could say. So naturally I felt as though I didn't get as much out of it. It was just a gentle reminder, that we only get out of  life, and all that this entails, what we put into it ... if I only put a half awake effort into the temple, I won't get that much more than a very frequently interrupted nap out of the experience; the same can be said of my mission, if I put all I have into this experience then I'm more likely to get a really powerful testimony out of it.! My goal for the last six months is to throw myself completely into my mission! I've been doing pretty good so far, but I want to do more. I'm realizing now how little time I have left, and I really don't want it to be over ... so I'm going to go crazy! All up in here!!!?

I love you all, and am so grateful for all that you do for me!!!

Love, Griffiths Choro!!!

So this week!
10697 9371

DD 12.45 ... 愛する皆さん ...

Is Turley Choro still living in your apartment? or did he get transferred? Sam doesn't believe Dad.
Yep ... he's still here ... see below ... what are you all saying about him? He's dying to know!

Turley Choro & Griffiths Choro

Do you guys buy matching ties often or just that one time?
We wear them to church each week ... we bought some for the bishopric and the dendo shounin one as well.

Do you do anything to celebrate Thanksgiving?
We ate bottomless Indo curry with nan ... and said what we were thankful for ... and then ate ourselves sick!

How is the M family doing?
Good, going to read the Book of Mormon! Soon!!!

Have you heard the new Mormon Christmas message - "He is the Gift"?
Yes, I show it to everyone I meet ... I love it!!

Was it ok that we commented on your FB picture on Thanksgiving? Didn't know if it was ok.?
Yeah, totally fine!! I quite enjoyed it!!!

Any damage from the earthquake last week?
Not quite, it was like hundreds of miles away.

Do you have a 72 hour kit in this apartment?
Yes ... four actually! And a weeks supply of food!

Any big devotionals or firesides planned for Christmas in your mission this year?
Some concerts ... and some firesides and what not.

Do they sell any things that commemorate Christ's birth in Japan? do they have live nativities? or nativities for sale in the stores? 
Not especially!

It's been a while since you mentioned singing for anything, have you had a chance to use your voice as an instrument in the hands of the Lord?
Some times ... we're singing in a big thing in the next couple weeks.

What would you like us to put on your Quilt Square for Grandma ... do you have a quote or thought ... I was thinking of having Abi draw your Name Tag, but we would need a picture of it first? We are making gma a quilt for her 80th birthday. Everyone is drawing, or writing on a quilt square. Would you like us to do yours for you? What should we put on it? We need it back by the 13th of Dec so I don't think we have time to send it to you. Sorry!
I like the idea of the missionary tag ... I'll send you a picture of mine. I don't have a cool one with both English and Japanese, so I'll send you a copy of both and you can pick!!

Father, does peanut butter really attract mice? I'm dying to know! (They downloaded emails earlier in the day and were online sending them when they got mine ... I was late ...) Time is short, I wanted to say thank you, this letter is just what I needed right now, and it helps a lot. Thank you for always being worthy to have to Spirit with you when you write to me, it helps a lot, and I look up to you immensely for it. You're the best father that I ever could have asked for. Got to run, but I just wanted to say I love and miss you ... not enough to come home earlier than I have to, but I do. Thank you for all you do and have done as a father for all of us kids, you are amazing!

Mother dearest. I love that you used FB instead of FACEBOOK! Thanksgiving sounds nice ... not so many salads, but mostly desserts ... sounds like my kind of Thanksgiving!! I'm pretty excited to get to see everyone ... but maybe we could get everyone to bring a different dessert! That sounds great!!! This coming week sounds busy, it should be fun though!!!

Jandee!! Your kids are so adorable!! Sounds like your having a way good time with everything going on down there in Gunnison!!

Sam ... I feel good about this whole TeJay getting in running thing ... and then when you're all feeling cool and in shape, I'll just waltz on home and wreck you all! Sounds like a plan! 

Storm of geddons. I feel really good about this whole five day weekend thing. Maybe you could start your own school as well!! I'm sure you could get lots of kids to sign right up for it! By the way, not having to clean downstairs, sounds amazing!!!

This week was okay, last Monday. we went to Shabushabu with K and Brother W. It was way good! It's raw meat that you put in boiling sauce and then eat it ... it's amazing!! And was all you can eat! Mmmmm it rocked!!

On Tuesday I went on splits with Turley Choro. It was fun, we had some cool miracles!!

Wednesday we had Eikaiwa and we got a way boss lesson with Brother S. He's going to read and pray, and he loved the "He is the Gift" video. He's so prepared, but he's just so busy!!!

Thursday ... We visited Brother W, and he gave us a lot of food after he tried to convert us to become a Jehovah's Witness ... we also went to bottomless Indo curry and ate a lot of food for Thanksgiving! Whooooo!!

Friday, we went to district meeting and learned a lot, and then we got to go finding and found a guy, tried to commit him to baptism, but got shut down by a phone call.

Saturday we woke up at five thirty to go running with the other elders and an investigator for an hour and a little bit. We talked a lot about Christ and the Pearl of Great Price, he's way amazing, but he's hung up on all the little things. We also met with K ... who's also asking really good questions, but also stuck on the little things, like what kind of person God is.

Sunday we had church! It was good, we also taught W again, he's still good. And church was sweet! No one came with us this week, but we were able to get a lot good stuff done while we were there!

And now it's Monday... And yeah, now we're here.

See what my Companion can do ... Dicastri Choro

This was a pretty low key but I will say that I learned this this week!
This week I learned about the power of goals. When we set a goal, we have to decide to stick to it. This week I made a way boss language study plan, and it's helping so much already! My goal is to be able to converse perfectly, although not about everything, I don't want to have any flaws in my speech. I also want to be able to read the Liahona in Japanese... So I get to study kanji as well. It's fun, and it's pretty challenging, so it's a good goal. Turley Choro told me that we should set goals, and then pray over them, but here's what I didn't know already; we shouldn't pray to ask God to help us accomplish our goals, or if we even can or not, we should pray and ask God if the goals that we have set are the goals that He wants us to have. I find it interesting how it always ties back to us trying to follow God's plan for us individually rather than our own will. I think that if we can finally accept God's will, once we know it, He'll let us know so much more. And then, it's a cycle, and it leads us to be more happy!! I invite you all to find out what goals God wants to you to make, and then make them!!

I love you all, I loved dads letter that I got this week in the mail as well. Really good poem btw!!!

Love you all!
Griffiths Choro
10584 9168

#ShareTheGift

The piano guys #ShareTheGift

DD 12.35 ...Bible bashing Christians ... the Matsuoka's ...

How goes the debate on the soup kitchen? Was it for the homeless?

Yes, for the homeless. The Bishop thought it wasn't a good idea as well ... so there was talk of doing a neighborhood watch, but another Brother suggested that we pick up garbage once every two weeks at one or two, so that is the plan.

Do you guys play chair soccer on P days? It is popular here with the missionaries. (sit on a chair, you can run after the ball holding your chair but must put the 4 legs on the floor before you kick the ball). Just curious!

That sounds incredibly dangerous ... no, we don't play such games.

I know you don't want to think about this, but do you have your return date? Just wondering.

Not yet!!! I kinda want to come home at the beginning of the summer to work, .... but I want to stay as long as I can too!

Any plans for Thanksgiving?

Not yet!

Did you ever get back with the non-member who said he would come to church and then didn't come?

Hasn't called yet.

Any illnesses or injuries this week? Hope not!

Not yet!?

Did you feel the earthquake in Nagano? Or was it too far away?

Felt it a little bit. Just a little tremor here and there, nothing too bad!

How is your bike doing? Still holding strong?

Like a boss.

How is the weather there?

A bit nippy.

Have you had any good meals lately?

Yes, Dicastri Choro likes to cook.

Are you wearing your new shoes?

Yeah!!, I Love them!

Do you ever find bugs in your apartment?

All sorts of spiders and flying things, but no scary ones!

Do you ever cook? Who cooks in your apt now?

Dicastri Choro and I usually do!

Dicastri Choro, Griffiths Choro

Have you had to sew anything? buttons? etc?

Nope, no need to yet!

Did you decide that you wanted your other pair of new shoes?

I only wear my new ones on rain days and to church or special meetings right now, hold off for now, and I'll get back to you!

Dad sorry to hear about the primary program ... watching the kids really is the best part, too bad you were behind them. We had our primary program a couple weeks ago ... they were all sooo adorable!!! It's the best!!! As for the earthquake, when we felt it, it was way small ... like barely noticeable small. But  we still felt it. That's cool to hear about the Shimai in Riverton!! Way sweet that they would trust you to do such an act of service for them. Cool!!! Also good plan with work.

Mother ... we read the story about young women's ... we already bought the tape!?  We're way excited to try, how hard is it to do? Like really hard or just a little bit of force and you're good? I'm dying to find out!

Jandee!! Happy birthday to Jayli!! Tell her Uncle Awesome said happy birthday and when she turns three I'll buy a whole gallon of ice cream and eat it with her!! She's so adorable!!!

Smashed Windows ...  midnight premieres and a new iPhone! Six or Five? I'm dying to know, which one! Everyone I know still has the five's ... . unless you got the six, then I'll know somebody with a six ... but that's it.

Storm the Castle. Mmmm, ... people trained in that area can't figure out the problem, ... I'd say that you did pretty well for the circumstance that you were put into!! Thats way sweet!!! I'll pray for the no bed bug thing to go well. If you do get them ... I'll probably just move straight back up too Logan so I don't have to deal with the whole freak out and chance getting them myself ... Fun fact, Japan is bed bug free since forever!! Whooooooo!!! What up the rest of the world!

So this week was fun. We found a the M family ... they don't speak Japanese, only English ... they love the Bible, and are hard core Christian, they want their kids to grow up in a Christian environment ... so I think that they'll fit in well here. We gave them a Book of Mormon and asked them to read and ponder and pray about it, and they said that they would!!! It was all Dicastri Choro too, I was all like, wait you believe in Christ,  and then he was all like ... wait, this book is not just another Bible, it'll change your life! We're visiting again next Friday, and I'm way excited to see what's happened!!!

This week K talked to Nanjo Shimai, who referred him ... he talked to her a lot, and she's a way good missionary!! Like, way boss. She explained everything about the gospel way sweet, he's not quite ready to set a date yet, but he's so close!!! We're way excited about it!!!

This week we ... made s'mores!!!! And after I cooked the marshmallows and took it off of the wok, there as still some goop on the fork, so naturally I put it in my mouth and tried to lick it off ... but my fork was still like a thousand degrees! It burned my lips, tongue and everything, I couldn't taste for like three days ... but its all better now.

Spiritual upliftment!!

This week I've been thinking about self control and what if really means ... I think that it means that our spirit has total control over our body and minds, so not only will our body do whatever our mind wants it to do, but we will be able to control our body and make it do things that it doesn't want to do, like wake up, or run. And not only that, but things that it does want to do, but we know are bad for us, we will be able to control our appetites that way as well ... it sounds way nice. But I think that in order to get that way, we have to fight, like a lion against all of our natural desires. I think that it's way hard to get to that point, but I think that that's what God has sent us here to do!! That's why we need to get a body, and then learn how to use and control it, so it doesn't control us!! Hence, commandments. Like, the word of wisdom and stuff, it helps us avoid addictions!! It's way cool how it all works out!

So my invitation to you all this week is to find something that your body doesn't want to do or really wants to do, but your mind and spirit know better, and then make sure that you control yourself!! It's really hard at first, but I promise that its always worth it!!

Dicastro Choro, Griffiths Choro

Thanks for all the love and support, I love you all and am so grateful for all you do for me!!

Love, Griffiths Choro!
10505 9116