DD 13.25 ... おはようございます！！、...

oh hey im ink would lids some queatipns!!,

How was the rest of your Christmas day?

We did the normal stuff, helped a member clean his yard, and then hit up the town where he lives. We found some less actives who came back to church after we boldly invited them to dendo ... we didn't quite know that they were less active when we were there ...

Did your baptism take place yesterday?

Yes, I baptized a sister, I'll get the pictures from Mayama Shimai later and send them to you!

Did your companion think we were lame? weird?

No, they all think you are hilarious!

How many times on your mission have you eaten nuts?

Like four or five ... oops.

Were any of them scary? to the point of you being worried and getting out your Epipen?

No, I was always calm. The people I was with thought I was going to die though ... 

How the Sisters teach English ...

Do the Japanese have Santa Clause? Does he bring toys?

Sometimes ... not a lot though. People who like America do, but most people just celebrate New Year's Day.

Are you back on your no sugar quest?

Of course not ... I'm almost out of candy though ...

Did you share your hot chocolate with your roommates?

We're drinking it tonight.

Which was your favorite 12 days of Christmas story?

The Santa's Team one

Is fudge the only food that doesn't travel well?

It all travels well!

What homemade treat would you like to try in a package next?

I miss it all so much!

Anything happening special for New Year's?

We're going to some members houses ... maybe. But we're cleaning all day on the 31st and then reading the Book of Mormon all day on the first, and then having a mission wide party on the second.

Do the Japanese celebrate New Year? What is their next big festival?

Yes, it's the biggest holiday of the year.

How's the work? Any new investigators?

Great!! We found like four new people last week, and a random former investigator came to Church and said that he wants to read the whole Book of Mormon before we meet next!

We go so wet ...

Father! Your family outing looks really fun! Can wait till next year when I'll be there!! I just figured out how to see the pictures ... I was in the wrong mode of emailing people ... basic html ... for convenient loading and what not. Thanks for all the letters and packages!? What is Amazon Prime, BTW? I have no idea!

Mother of mine! I'm so glad that I was the best part of Christmas ... next year is going to be a little sad when I have to try and be the best ... it's nice just winning with a phone call! Sounds like a busy week,  sweet  that Sierra is getting married in the temple!!! Yay!!!! I also just got a letter from Budge Kaichou telling me to be a boss for the next six months ... so don't worry about me getting trunky.

Impressive!!!

Sama llama! I like your friends!  Hurry and get better than me at snowboarding. I can almost carve, but if you could teach me when I get home, it would rock!!! Way funny about the bathroom ceiling leaking ... way unfortunate though!! I can imagine having to clean it all up!

Storm! I feel good about the onion ... I like it. If you want my advice on some stuff: pray about it. Prayer literally rocks. Like Elder Scott says, God, the most omnipotent being, King of the whole universe will stop what ever he's doing and listen to us when we stop and pray ... isn't it so cool?!, BUT THE QUESTION IS HOW TO GET ANSWERS!!! In the BOOK OF MORMON!!! Read after you pray and you are guaranteed to get the answer you're looking for! But you must be willing and have the faith enough to act on it when you get it. If you are not willing to act, you'll never get any answer at all

So this week was awesome!!.

Sister I. E. got baptized! We found her a couple weeks ago, and she was so filled with the spirit that after the service, she bore her testimony, and everyone was in tears, not me of course, tearless me was all like "whoa. She needs to teach everyone, like right now! She's a boss!" It was so powerful!!  We had no idea what hardships she was a facing when we found her, and thanks to God, she was able to overcome most of them in like five minutes... I love the Spirit and following its guidance!!!

Then we also found three new people on Friday. We decided earlier that we were going to pray with real intent before we tried to do anything anymore, and then we were able to see huge miracles this week!!! It was so amazing!!

I'm so classy ...

I talked to you all on Thursday, and I got some packages from some other people that I want to go write to, but I just wanted to leave you with this: God loves us and does so much for all of us. The very meaning of Christmas is that God gave us the gift of a Savior. He, who knows each and every one of us and loves us more than we can imagine, was separated from each of us. And thus knows how sad we must be on the inside. Not being with our Heavenly Father, nor could we ever be, because we are all imperfect. How humbling it is to know that Christ was sent for me, that He was sent for my weaknesses, for my trials, for my pains. And even more so, that He was sent for the people that I don't even know, and that because they don't know Him, God sent me to go find them. It's incredibly scary at first but when I remember that He sent Christ for me as well, it all becomes bearable. That to me is what Christmas is all about. Forgetting ourselves, and our weaknesses in order to help others overcome theirs. That's what Christ did. He forgot himself and showed perfect love for each of us! He really is the best gift!! And the best giver!

10955 9570

DD 13.21 ... Christmas Call ...

Christmas Call on christmas morning at 10:30 am (Abiko Time), at 6:30 pm (Riverton Time).

DD 13.15 ... Well la dee da, I got my death letter today! ...

Do you all shower in the mornings? If so, do you have enough hot water? Do you use a tankless hot water heater that heats the water as you use it?

Yes, we all take showers in the morning ... and yes ... it's all tankless ... and yes, it's always 60 degrees ... and yes ... I'm using Celsius ...

Did you get any packages?

So far two!! And I'm way excited, I'm on a sugar fast until Christmas Eve so I'm way excited!!

Was that a picture of the Abiko chapel that you sent us? Is it finished?

The outside is done, they're just finishing up the inner parts now.

When did you start meeting there?

Next month

If you are meeting there, does it make it easier to get investigators to come to church?

It will be much nicer!!

Who were the people who were singing with your missionary group of carolers?Some members!

Who did you guys go caroling to when you went as a district?

We went to an Eki, and then sang to some random people that walked by!

Did Ipson Shimai come out with you or before you? We don't remember her coming out in your group.

We were in the MTC together, she was one of the other 27 people, that came with me.

Are the Sister missionaries who came out with you going to be home for Christmas?

Yes, they went home yesterday!!

How is the mission goal of 100 baptisms for Christmas coming along?

Okay I think!!

How is your contribution to the goal going?

Mmmm, I baptized Sister T-San two days ago, and Sister U wants me to baptize her this weekend as well!

How is Brother A. doing? How about Brother K.?

Okay ... kinda dropped off the face of the earth little bit!

Is the plan for the most wonderful phone call of the year still on for 10:30 am your time and 6:30 pm our time? Or is there a new plan?

Yeah!! Sounds great! So excited!!

Where will you be calling from?
The church!

Did you get Sam's letter yet?

Yes!!! It was so funny!!

How cold is it there now? Snow?

No snow, I wore a sweater and a thermal shirt and was warm.

Are you having a ward Christmas party?

On Tuesday!

Do you all have Christmas plans besides skype calls?

Eat candy and dendo! No one here has a day off, so it's just like a normal day!

Did you get gifts for each other at all? Draw names? Get gifts for everyone? or nothing?

Didn't really get into it this year. We kinda forgot about it.

Is your companion homesick or is he doing ok?
He's totally fine!

How much have you worn your boots? are they holding up ok?

I haven't gotten them out yet this year ... no snow so I don't really need them yet!

Do you ever teach at church? in sunday school?

Every three weeks we teach gospel principles!

Do you go to all of one ward or skip around to different wards for different meetings?

All the areas which I have been in are in a single ward boundary ...

Father! It's always good to hear that you are not suggesting we save candy for a year ... that sounds like a terrible idea if you ask me. Glad to hear that your visiting is going well, I can't imagine what it would be like to be alone this Christmas time of year. I'm in a country where they don't even do anything for Christmas, and it would still be the worst to be alone on Christmas!

Mothers! I've gotten two packages thus far ... don't you fret. The ward also gave us a ton of stuff for Christmas! It's crazy! Like a whole cardboard box, that I could fit inside of comfortably, filled with gifts! It's crazy! And awesome. Crazy awesome. 

Jandee! Your kids are adorable!! I'm excited to be with Waylon as well! I love those kids!   And I will have to have Jayli teach me all the reindeer names next Christmas ... I'm a bit rusty!! Tell them all I love them, and I'm way excited to do Christmas with them all next year!!!

Smashed! Thanks for all the info, I might have passed on the running in the rain as well though. I love the image of you playing basketball!! I like this whole idea of having a party from three to ten at night ... as long as we eat three different times and we get to eat dessert every time!! I love that idea!

Storm ... I wanna eat all that sausage so bad right now ... you have no idea! I love America. But we're getting sushi this week, and ramen like every other day from our friends, so it's all good.

So this week was pretty good. It's like K dropped off the planet.  He's way stressed with work and what not so we're just gonna let him chill for a little bit.  We hope he'll come to church and feel the peace and then he will realize that he can have it in his life all the time!!

Also, this week I was able to baptize Sister T-San! The sisters investigator! She's way great!! Also this coming week, a sister that we found and referred to the Shimai a couple weeks ago, Sister U-San, is getting baptized. She actually has a different story, well she's just  cool, but she did palm reading and stuff. She said its not like mystical and what not, she just used the lines on your hands and then said that statistics indicate this about it.  She said that I was going to be a spiritual servant for a long time. And that God would use me to do cool stuff ... she also said that I won't get married for a little bit because I'll be too busy with stuff of religious importance ... I worry that the discussion about Patriarchal Blessings will become confusing? She said that if anyone but the missionaries had knocked on her door, she wouldn't have let them in, but she felt something!!  She says that she wants to get baptized as soon as she can!! So she's going to get baptized this Saturday, and asked me to do it! She's way legit!

A keeps coming to church, but not to sacrament, not really sure why, but we're working with him. He kinda believes everything we say, but at the same time really likes studying from a historical standpoint, but sometimes he gets hung up on that; but he's still doing good!! I just realize that I use a lot of !!s; like all the time!! (We edit many of them out :-)

Spiritual thought for the week!!!

I did six hundred push-ups this morning!

This week we saw a lot of miracles! And it was all because we were willing to work for it! It was so cool; it was pouring rain, and we didn't want to go out in it and find people to teach! But, that's exactly what we did, and we found people to teach! It was way sweet, I learned that the Lord gives back the same percent that we give back, but His percent is a lot more effective than ours, so us holding back one percent, results in a loss of a huge lot of miracles!!

This is kinda short, but I'll talk to you all on Thursday (Whoo!), but I just wanted to invite you all to find some way that you are holding back from the Lord, and give a little more effort this year! Give a little more to Him and watch the large amount of blessings come from it!!

I love you all, and I am so excited to see you all on Thursday!!

Love you lots!

Griffiths Choro
10902 9529

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

#ShareTheGift

The piano guys #ShareTheGift

DD 4.35 ... Why are you still such a little child ...

Did you get to see Waylon and Axton on Skype? Did that go OK?

Yeah, they were all so good! It was great to see them all and talk to everyone!

What did you do on Christmas Day after the phone call?

We went and housed some houses and then taught English class.

How did your companion's Skype go?

Not as well as mine. We ended up going to the church halfway through because the computer was sketchy.

Was it OK you went a bit over your 40 min?

Meh, not really. I mean no one knows but me and the Lord ... so I guess no, it’s not really okay. I was only a couple minutes, like 1 and a half over though.

As district leader, do you just call sister missionaries every night or do you call elders as well?

The sisters and the people I live with are the only people in my district so I just call them and then talk to the Zone Leader Choros.

How many missionaries are you district leader over?

8 total, 4 sisters, my companion, the Zone Leaders, and myself.

What did you buy to give to your secret Santa person?

It was Dunbar Choro, so I got some boot covers, some pig socks, and some pens that he loves, but never buys because they are pretty pricey.

Did Brother M-San get an answer about the church and decide if he wants to be baptized?

Not yet, I think he’s actually been avoiding us.

Do the Nihongo celebrate our New Year’s Day or do they Celebrate Chinese New Year? (or is there a secret Japanese New Year)

They have a three day cleaning party on the 29th, 30th, and 1st, and then a three day party for the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd ... so yeah, a secret Nihongo New Year.

Have you crashed on your bike at all? (how is your comp doing on his bike?)

Nope, no problems recently ... I may have hit a truck, but it was stopped, and I was fine ... so nope, no problems.

Have you ever met Sister Law?

Nope.

Have you heard from Kaleb lately?

No, not recently.

Parentals: sorry I made mom cry, that’s no good. It was really good to hear from you all though!! It was great to see everyone too ... and yeah, I was wondering about Abi's costume for the nativity,(Abi played the part of the inn keeper) but I’m glad that y’all still did it without all the cousins; grandma and grandpa would be so proud.

Actually I did know that my companion was a really good swimmer. He just missed the Olympic trials by like a couple seconds ... which is a bummer right? 

Children of the parentals ... sorry that y’all lost the Christmas Level ... I just can’t help but be a little competitive ... :D VICTORY IS MINE!!!!!! I’ll probably win the Mother’s Day level too ... Challenge Extended.

Sam and Abi:  The picture of Taylor is pretty great. I hope that all is going well in school and work, I hope that the cake at Sammy's wedding tasted as good as it looked; I heard from mom that it was like a tree in the forest and such. After hearing about Sammy Sue’s wedding, I decided that you can’t get married till I get back ... I really want some of your wedding cake!! Thank you for putting it off; or how about putting some in the fridge until I get home. Sam, who is this B? I think that I might know her, its way cool that she is meeting with the missionaries!

So in the past I thought that it would be really cool to be leader, because that means that God must really trust you right? Well, that was a little prideful of me I realize now!! So I've decided now that God made me a leader because he likes to laugh at me … I’m trying to plan trainings as such ... it’s so bad I swear ... right now I’m mid-planning for District meeting tomorrow and I have no idea what to train on ... I honestly feel like everyone else are better missionaries than I am, so it’s hard to know what to say. Other than that, things are pretty good here on the Nihon front.

I am doing pretty good actually. I haven’t been sleeping lately ... I don’t know why, but then our ward mission leader told me to read the book of Numbers … who knew, it works great! It takes less than a single chapter and you will sleep like a baby.

I feel like I have learned a lot here, mainly about patience with myself when I was a trainee, and then about patience with other people now that I’m training. I have also learned a lot about love, and seeing people as Christ would see them. The ultimate question isn't What Would Jesus Do, but How Would Jesus Feel while he did it? It’s made me realize how far from the Savior I really am and how much I need to improve. It’s hard getting humbled most of the time, but I learned that as long as I’m humbled and not humiliated I have nothing to be afraid of. I’m glad that Christ thinks the way that he does and that he looks past all of my shortcomings ... because let’s be honest, there are a LOT OF THEM. but I've learned that no matter what I do or have done, he is always willing to forgive me, and then later probably chuckle a little as I fall into the same hole and say "you literally just learned that ... what are you doing? Why are you still such a little child?" and some stuff like that. But the reason is that he is our older brother and that he is so willing to look out for all of us.

It was really great to see all y’all on Christmas. I know that it was Christmas Eve for y’all, but it was the best present that I could have gotten! I look forward to continuing this great work that I have been called to do here in Nihon ... and I don't know where I was going with that ... oh, well .... it’s AWESOME HERE! I LOVE THE GOSPEL!!! WHOOOOOO!!!!!!

I love you all so much and I’m so glad that you are doing so well!!

PS. A BYU boy band? Really Stormer? Really?

4583 4227

DD 4.25 ... I'll see you on Wednesday ...

How has your life changed since becoming the district leader?

It hasn’t changed that much; I have to call the sisters every night and talk to them about the dendo that they did that day. It’s very interesting to hear what they do. Lately it has been a lot of caroling at the train stations.

Did you cut your own hair?

Yes.

What was the new insight on charity did you get when you talked to the Assistant Hogue Choro?

Charity is not something that we can possess, but instead is something that we are possessed by; it is the true love of Christ and we should strive to love people as though Christ would love them. Just think, what did Christ go through for that person? There was a lot of other stuff that would take a long time to write.

Are you guys doing anything for Christmas besides calling home?

We are doing a Secret Santa!!!

Do you guys sing when you teach lessons at investigator's houses?

Sometimes

Do you ever sing on the street corners? Apparently that's a thing ...

Sometimes ...

This week was pretty good. We had an eikaiwa Christmas Party and I read The Grinch book. We also had a Zone Conference which was really good, the DL’s had a training with President Budge which was way sweet! We also taught some lessons in English and some in Japanese ... it was really good actually. I did most of the talking and such, but Neilson Choro did a little bit. It was pretty good. We didn’t set a date, but Morot San said that if he gets and answer he is going to get baptized ... so that’s good. Hopefully we can reach our goal of seeing three baptisms in January ...

So not much to say this week ... it might just be better if we talk about it all on Wednesday ...

Januari, thanks for the pics of the kids! They are still adorable! I can’t believe how much they have grown up already!! It amazes me!

Abi sorry about your Secret Santa, that’s rough ... hope that you had a happy birthday!!! It was a pretty exciting day here too, it was Nielson Choro’s birthday on the 22nd so we got some cake and some stuff for him too!

So yeah, I’ll see you on Wednesday!!! Not much happened here this week, I’ll talk to y’all about it more on Wednesday!!!
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DD 4.23 ... Happy Birth-got-a-letter-Day 2 Abi ...

Christmas Card from Griffiths Choro

I know it’s not much, but still, Coolest Card EVER; RIGHT!!!! Seriously, best card y’all ever got in the mail. So by the time you read this, I’ll probably have just talked to y’all on the phone; the thing is, I’m not sure how long it will take for this letter to get to you. I also wanted to send Grandma a letter, but maybe I’ll just eMail the family, have you proof read it, print and deliver to Grandma … just so mom doesn't find out what I’m writing to Grandma … those were the days in the good ole MTC.

Anyway things here are pretty good. Thank-you again for all the packages; I just read that you are sending me 3. I’m not gonna lie … I feel more loved than TeJay … which is a pretty good feeling. The only thing that really feels Christmassy is there is a lot of stress right now. I remember mom and Abi freaking out last year and now here I am freaking out … I really okay though. I know that I’m stressed because I want to do a really good job at whatever calling I have. It just happens that the mission is really young right now, and I just happen to be … well I really don’t know what I happen to be, but it’s someone who gets called on throughout my life … I really do want to thank y’all for raising me right. Seriously, there are a lot of missionaries who are good missionaries, but they all have these stories of how they never went to church as a kid because they really disliked their parents of didn’t want to conform to their parent’s ways. It’s made me realize how amazing and supportive you all are to me. I really can imagine life without an amazing family like you all!! I am also thankful for this wonderful church … like seriously, there are a lot of different religions in this world … for example, the church identifies who everyone will marry because God chose Adam for Eve … Yeah, I got dendoed by one of their missionaries – that was weird, BTW.

I’m so grateful that our church is true and that you all know it too. I love this Christmas time of year where everyone is thinking a little about Christ … I mean it’s literally CHRISTmas … it’s pretty sweet actually. Being a missionary this year has really made me think a lot about the true meaning of the holiday and stuff; and frankly a lot about charity … which has been on my mind a whole lot lately. You know, Charity is an ironic subject. The more I think about charity, the more I realize I’m not yet possessed by it, which makes me want to be more charitable, but I never quite get to it … it’s immensely frustrating because if I ever try to say I am Charitable, I’m not being humble … which is pride … which is the opposite of charity … Anyway … CHRISTmas has me thinking a lot about Christ.

I just want to say that I love you all so much and that it’s always greate to hear from you, but also when I don’t its okay too; it just makes me think you guys are busy … which is really good in my mind.

PS. I sent Abi an eMail, but I also just wanted to say again … Happy Birth-got-a-letter-Day 2 Abi; from Trenton!!!

DD 3.61 ... T-Day ... too busy ... no P-Day this week for us ...

We did not expect a letter on Monday because T-Day is scheduled for Tuesday this week ... no, letter arrived on Tuesday, sad days for mama, who is fighting a cold, no eMail only made it worse.  We read Paxman Choro's entry for the week and enjoyed the spirit of his recent success; also went out and read McAllister Shimai's entry and found this picture of their Zone and gained some insight about last Sunday's Christmas Program in Matsudo ... thanks everyone for sharing ...

Back: Asato Choro (Zone Leader), Dunbar Choro (Zone Leader)
M-Kneeling: Griffiths Choro, Higbee Choro, Macaravey Choro, Lefever Choro, Shimoji Choro, Burgin Choro, Ricks Choro
M-Standing: Kondo Choro, Lutz Choro, Stembridge Choro, Bischoff Choro, Johnson Choro, Rassmussen Choro
Front: McAllister Shimai, Willden Shimai, Dunn Shimai

Good news ... we've got mail ... Thursday evening 8:19 PM (JT) ...

Sorry, this week we have had literally zero time to take a P-Day ... we haven't even bought food for the week, but I just wanted to say, "Hey," really fast while I had some time. This week we had a lot of lessons and did some baptismal interviews for the other areas ... we also blitzed two areas this week and hopefully found some people that could be baptized before Christmas this year.

The sisters in my area are having a baptismal service on Sunday and didn't have anyone yet to baptize her so they asked me to do it. Should be fun, but I'm a little nervous ... not sure why really. But yeah should be a great week.

So we just got back from taking an investigator we have been trying to meet with some melon pan ..  and while he hasn't been that happy with us, today he freaked out tonight, in a good way. He was so happy that we brought him some melon pan ... apparently its like his favorite food ever and so he was really happy ... yeah, go me, my suggestion rocked it way good.

Thats about all I have time to say right now, but i just wanted to say that you are all so great, I got the kids' letters a couple days ago and it really made my day, they are so great! I got dad's letter too!!

Thank you so much for all that you do for me and those around you!!!
Love,

Elder Griffiths
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DD 3.45 ... pie and then stuffing and pie and then some other desserts and then some more pie ...

Please report on the dual mission conference?

It was really good. Elder Evans talked about working with the members and stuff.

How did your song go at the mission conference?

It was really good actually.

Johnson Choro, who sang with you, where is he serving?

Oyumino

Who are you singing with for Christmas? For what? What are you singing?

We are singing for the Matsudo Christmas concert, and we are singing, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” ... in Japanese. It is Chuin Choro, President Noda (from the mission presidency), and me.

Do you want us to send you some sheet music in case you have to sing again?

I have always been given the music ... and hopefully this will stop soon.

Since Japan doesn't have Thanksgiving weighing down Christmas, have they already started decorating for Christmas? Are their lights up yet?

Yes. We actually have a free concert that is always happening here; we have already heard a bell choir preform Christmas songs.

Any snow yet? Twitter says it’s getting colder there. Ski resorts here are open! How cold are you?

I’m still warm ... sometimes really hot. There are some who get quite cold. For example: everyone who has not experienced our 30 degrees below 0 winters in Logan.

How many times a week do you wear your rain pants?

Not much anymore. It stopped raining.

Do you ever use your umbrella?

When it was raining all the time and we walked places; yes.

Have you gone running again with your comps or what is a one-time thing?

Not quite ... maybe just the once, but we do run sometimes to get home in time.

Where do you run at? Just in the streets? Can you guess-estimate how far you ran? (We are very excited at the prospect of you running again!)

We just run in the street, around three miles.

Where was the Costco you went to? What city?

Makuhari-ish.

How did you get to Costco? Who has a Costco card???

We rode a train, then walked, and then bused ... Dunbar Choro has a membership.

What did you buy there? Anything besides peanut butter and hot dogs? Did you just buy stuff for you guys or for your zone?

Just peanut butter and some nutella; then some hot-dogs for lunch.

Do you need more contact solution?

I have already bought some here.

What contact solution are you using? Buying it there?

It’s the complete stuff that is way expensive in America ... apparently its dirt cheap here.

How many sweaters did you take with you? What colors? Black and gray?

I only have the one black one.

Do you have any plans for Thursday? (Thanksgiving) or will it be just another day?

Lots of dendo ... family’s will be together and really thinking about giving thanks to God and how their lives have been blessed ... well that’s the hope.

Do you have any suggestions for your Christmas package?

I can’t think of anything yet.

Any word on the Christmas phone call?
We received this notice from the Mission Office:

This year, Christmas phone calls will be happening in December from Monday the 23rd to Friday the 27th.  You may use Skype, so use that free service if you can. Because of the weak wireless connection, Skype may not work well for everyone and you may encounter multiple dropped calls. As an alternative you can have your family call your mission cell phone. It is very expensive to place international calls, so do not place a call to your family. If you cannot get Skype to work, Have your family call you. (Remember to keep your calls no longer than 30 or 40 minutes as stated in the missionary handbook.)

So this week was pretty good. At the Elder Evans conference they announced that before Christmas our mission will be a test mission for using iPad minis ... yeah, that’s exciting right? So other than that this week was pretty good. After the Elder Evans event we had a mission conference for Christmas ... we got to watch, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and some other home videos for the Budge’s.

Me and the way sick maamaa chaddi I rode on splits ... we tore it up pretty good.

So this week as a companion of the zone leaders I am able to do a lot of splits with other missionaries. This week we had two back to back and out of our area!! Wahoo!! Party!!! It was pretty fun actually; we found these big American dogs at seven-eleven. They are like a giant corn dog, but for some reason, a thousand times better. We also found some way cheap chocolate bars ... mmmmmmm black thunders … I ate a lot of really good food this week. For breakfast after we got back from splits we had no more bread for breakfast, so we made pancakes ... put on peanut butter ... and then some chocolate sauce ... and then DEVOURED THEM WHOLE!!!!! It was quite delightful. Then on Saturday we went to the High Priest’s Thanksgiving day thingy were we had turkey and pie and rolls and pie and mashed potatoes and pie and then stuffing and pie and then some other desserts and then some more pie ... it was really good pie!!! Maybe when I return I will make like a thousand peanut butter pies and eat them all ... maybe I’ll try to make one here. How hard can it be; just mix some whipped cream and peanut butter for the middle and then top it with goodness and then devour it whole ... I really miss eating btw, everything here is good, but they don't really believe in sweets.

This is the deliciousness I had for lunch today

and how much i enjoyed it
to the point of where I ate too much.
Sorry that that didn't make any sense.

So this week was the other district’s interviews with President Budge, we had ours last week and afterwards the ZL’s got to talk to him ... afterwards they said that someone might be training next transfer and then both of them started to laugh; they are just trying to freak me out.

So yeah ... pretty fun week for the most part. We are singing next Sunday at the Matsudo thing. So that should be a fun way to wrap up the week.

We were helping Brother S move & he has this OstrichPillow
you can sleep anywhere with it, especially in the library at school
yea, I will find one ... and I will buy one.

This week was pretty rough missionary wise. We were not really able to meet with all of our investigators. Brother S is moving and so we had to hand him off to the Koiwa Choros ... successfully btw. Brother A isn’t picking up that phone and Brother C has dropped off the face of the earth. J got a little too violent for Brother C’s taste so he said that he bailed to Tokyo, he said he would call us … but he never did ... which just hurts because it was a miracle finding him after he was taught by Miranda Choro ... anyway, that was kind of a bummer. We have been able to meet with Sawada San a couple of times this week and he’s getting ready for baptism and stuff on the 8th. On Sunday night we heard that Brother S made it to church in Koiwa and was a big hit with the members … there is a guy in the ward who is Chinese … has a stake calling ... turns out, they are good friends already … a Tender Mercy, that was big relief.

Asato Choro, Brother S, Griffiths Choro, & Dunbar Choro
Chillin at the park where we just gave him a lesson ... we are some classy peeps

So about y’all, I’m so sorry to hear that Tiff died ... that was for Abi’s benefit ... for the rest of the family I’m so sorry that I was not in the car with Abi when her car died on the freeway, I feel that I would have been able to calm her down/being able to talk to you guys about where she was and such ... sorry, I’m in japan. I hope that Clyde treats her well this week, he is a true stud ... a true..... STALLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What!!!!?!?!?!? I love that car ... people always see him in my photo book and are like "ARE!! KORE Wa yabai desho" and then I’m always like "Hai yabi" so thank you for that wonderful gift that keeps on giving ... and thank you Clydesdale for being such a trooper all these years ... there were some rough times, when your tranny was about to die and we went to jiffy lube everyday ... those were some of the best days of our lives together ... treat her well Storm-a-geddon ... or Gravy, whoever gets to drive my baby.

Sorry that Thanksgiving cleaning hasn’t been going well. if it makes you feel any better I bet that no one really cares what the house looks like; they'll be too concerned with wedding happenings with my cousins ... I’m still a little confused on all this too btw ... who is getting married and when … Can you give me an update?

So I'm not going to lie, I was always planning on getting married at like 27 when I had a Master’s degree and a career. So, Number 1, I don't feel bad unmarried siblings … and, Number 2, at the Elder Evan conference we talked a lot about marriage ... and how we as elders should get married like right when we get home ... for Elder Evans, waiting three months was too long ... so now I feel like I need to repent, I still really like the idea of getting my masters ...

So this week was pretty good; today we had zone P-Day and then we went and ate fish, I had salmon and little salmon babies in the form of eggs ... surprisingly good actually, next up, pictures.

Chocolate Chip melon pan
it was so good I thought I'd send the picture twice

I recieved this white elephant at the Christmas party
right, its like a real gift ...

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