DD 2.35 ... but still, I fog him to stop ...

How is Williams Choro as a companion? Can you give us some details?

     He’s pretty chill, just the usual new missionary stuff, he went to BYU Idaho ... that pretty much sums it up.

Has it snowed yet? Let us know when it does!!

     It has not snowed yet.

Do you carry your Kangaroo Pouch with you everywhere you go?

     No, I do need to get a copy of my passport from honbu though. They have my passport.

If so, what do you have in it? And where is your passport?

     At the mission home still, they knew we would lose them.

The parentals think it would be nice if you wrote a letter to Watanabe Choro’s parents after you get transferred. Do they read English? Do you have an email address for them?

     I am not sure if they read English or not ... I should probably ask him. His brother just got an award that only three others have ever gotten, he is going to an awards ceremony in San Diego, he has also been accepted into Harvard ... so I’m sure he speaks English.

Do the church computers have USB ports? Can't you use them to upload pictures?

     We are still working on it.

Do you have an English to Japanese electronic dictionary yet? Jeff Mack mentioned it when you went there for dinner, apparently they are super cool.

     No, I just use the dictionary we received at the MTC, its way good and has everything I need.

Have you had any incompatible power problems with electronic stuff USA vs. Japan? (I think the only electronic thing you took was your camera. can you charge it OK?)

     Everything I brought with me is fine, It looks like they use the same power here (USA=120V –vs- Japan=100V), the same two prong outlet, one side slightly larger than the other. Most power supplies can handle 100-240V.

How is the 12 week language training going? Still learning? Did you start the 12 weeks over when you got a new comp?

     We continued with the training with me, and whoever is here next transfer will start over and do the first six weeks with Williams Choro. By the way, it is not language training; it’s how to be a missionary training.

Do you have access to a printer? Do the church computers have printers?

     We use the copy machines at the convenience stores and the church if black and white is good enough.

Why did you ask about the death/funeral thing? Did someone have a family member die?

     Chase’s little sister died and his brother didn't come home for the funeral; I don’t know, I just felt like I should ask under the circumstances ... kind of scary right?

Health: hair, teeth, stomach, neck, any really bad issues this week? How are they all?

     They are all good ... I think. My neck has gotten better; I think that the stretches are helping.

Did you wash your white pants w/ the green shampoo? How did it go?

     It went really great! They are almost perfectly white! Again!

How are your 3 possible baptisms going?

     Interesting ... they are not all progressing as fast as they can ... I think that they just don’t have a lot of time to meet with us.

Did you ever decide what to do about a rain jacket? Just making do for right now?

     Right now I’m just making do. I haven’t decided what to do yet.

Did you buy a different shoulder bag for your stuff?

     NOPE! I’m going strong!! Just going to work through it.

What do you carry your Japanese scriptures in? Did you ever find a case for them or should we send something?

     I carry them in a plastic bag to protect them from the rain ... I bought a new smaller pair though, I will buy a case for them while I am here.

So when you say that the government shut down, what does that mean?

Chuck Keeton (USU)

Thank-you for all of the emails this week! They are way great! I look forward to conference. I heard about USU and Chuckie yesterday in church ... I almost cried, but I figure he has two years to get better and destroy everyone again before I get back, here’s to hoping that he knocks the pride right out of BYU next year, I’m just glad that I’m not in the country to listen to all the crap that’s probably going down.. Sorry about that Storm, you will survive, just give it a few weeks.  We must accept it, BYU won and USU lost ... that is always a bummer.

Sam, what are you going to do in your new apartment for internet access ... are you going to take Joan (Sam's 7 year old Computer)? I’m dying to know. Things here remind me of you guys too, unlike watching TV or driving my car or running;  it's more like wow, Sam and Abi would think I'm way dumb right now ... I should probably stop doing what I'm doing... and then I realize that what I'm doing right then is awesome and that its way effective missionary work.  So long story short, being my self and doing things that would probably embarrass you guys is what helps bring souls to Christ ... so this week I had a conversation with a man that started with are you a successful business man? Then we talked about what I should do with my life ... and then why I am in Japan, and then why he should come to church ... yea, apparently he doesn't have a lot of time ... ever!!! So I asked him if he had time to eat food? He said yes, and then I said, well so do we!!! Lets meet for lunch ... then it got all awkward and he said he had to catch the train but he would call us if he had time! He never called ... but still, I fog him to stop! I am excited to watch the new season of HIMYM, let me know if it is good or not, and like funny good not morally good; because  know that when I get back it won't be morally good at all ...

So about this test package, I found a flash drive here for 1200 yen and it is four gig, will I need a bigger one, probably because we are doing this thing called the playbook for the mission now, it’s where we get all of our visual aids and record what we taught and when we did to, so I don’t know what I should do, how much does one cost in the states? If it is cheaper than that maybe send me one, maybe let me know right now as you read this if you have an idea or a guess.

I was asked this week if there was another Elder Griffiths that served in Japan, I don’t think that there has been, but I’m not sure, so maybe let me know.

This week I was going on splits with two missionaries that were younger than me... it was actually way great, we found a referral for the sisters, and then received one, we also all had conversations in Japanese.... yeah. and then the next day we had to ride the trains back down to Oyumino by ourselves... me being the senior had to do it because no one else had the knowledge of how to work the cell phone... that’s right, I led three missionaries around Japan on the trains just fine ... well I accidentally stayed connected to the internet on the phone the whole time, but we were safe and didn't get lost at all! Wahoo go me!!!!!

Also this week I just want to thank all of you for raising me to be a good church member, it amazes me that there are times when some people just don’t go to church continuously; all their lives; especially at college. Or that their idea of fasting is to "not eat during church" yeah major respect level down there, but I just realized that the only reason I actually do those things is because I was raised and taught of the blessings that come from them. it hurts my heart when people treat the gospel lightly or with frivolity, and I wanted to thank you all for helping me realize that ... this is salvation. it’s a pretty big deal ... so yeah, there’s my spiel; thank you for all being good church member that converts and the missionaries can look up to. And speaking of missionaries, try not to kill any of them, even if they want to major in girls ... I mean he did say that he wants to go to USU, which is a plus! That’s hilarious though!!!! I can believe that mom and dad didn't see it ... oh well, lesson learned!

Not much happened this week, things are going good, we lost one of our baptismal dates because he has work all the time, he goes in at like 7 in the morning, gets home at like 8 at night ... apparently the company where he works is a Japanese and Chinese company that makes games, and right now the countries aren't on that good of terms, and so their workers who speak Japanese and Chinese are doing a lot of overtime ... and the worst part is they are not getting paid for it!!!! RIGHT??!!?!?!?!?!?! Ridiculous! So we haven’t met with him in a while, but hopefully soon we will be able to!!!

Not much else to say this week, thank you guys for emailing me all the time! you all rock and I love you guys so much!!!  I'm really dying to know what is on my blog, but I am not able to look at it at all ... once a week could you send me some of the posts that are added to it, I would like to know what actually gets put on the internet after it has been though your and moms editing and and then dads un-editing ... yeah, I would be interested. Let me know what you think ... just an idea though!

Things here are pretty good, I'm not really homesick ... as a matter of fact I'm not sure that I'm ever going to come home ... its pretty great here!
1221 2318

183rd Semiannual General Conference October 2013

Note from Dad: ... enjoy Japan while you are there ...

I realize this may be a distraction, but I am going to encourage you to enjoy Japan while you are there; don’t forget why you are there, but take some time to sample the culture and enjoy your visit; besides you could likely do some Japanese Garden dendo while visiting these sites. Here are a few places, within your current area that are available for a minimal fee.  You don’t have to visit all of them, break 'em up and visit whatever sites you can fit it in … for your consideration.

Chiba (千葉市 Chiba-shi?) is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. Chiba City became a government designated city in 1992. As of 2008, its population is approximately 960,000.

Chiba City is also one of the Kantō region's primary seaports, and is home to Chiba Port, which handles one of the highest volumes of cargo in the nation. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses located along the coast. There are several major urban centers in the city, including Makuhari, a prime waterfront business district in which Makuhari Messe is located, and Central Chiba, in which the prefectural government office and the city hall are located.

Chiba is famous for the Chiba Urban Monorail, the longest suspended monorail in the world, as published in the Guinness Book of World Records. Some popular destinations in the city include: Kasori Shellmound, the largest shellmound in the world at 134,000m2, Inage Beach, the first artificial beach in the nation which forms part of the longest artificial beach in Japan, and the Chiba City Zoological Park, popular on account of the standing red panda Futa.

1st stop on today’s tour:  Mihama-en Garden, down by the water front, near Chiba Marine Stadium, is walking distance of the Kaihinmakuhari Station. This is Japan’s only traditional garden that intentionally uses skyscrapers as its background imagery.	After you visit the garden, just north of it is the convention center, Chiba’s Makuhari Messe … cool buildings and landscaping.
2nd stop on the tour:  Inage Ocean Park, likely very active in the summer and on the weekends, but it will likely be less crowded on a Monday in the fall, there are some neat looking gardens and buildings … the beach is likely off limits, but the beach is part of Japan’s largest man made beach.	3rd and last stop on the water front:  Chiba Port Tower and Chiba Port Park; this looks like it could be pretty cool; it is located in an industrial area and is associated with the port.  I would check it out.
4th stop on the tour takes you back into the city:  The next three stops are all close to the Chiba Monorail system; Chiba Park is right next door to the Chiba Velodrome; a nice place to see the cherry blossoms in the spring, but may have some colorful leaves in the fall.	5th stop is the Chiba Urban Monorail’s Central Arch … it is just cool architecture.
6th stop is really close to the Central Arch:  Chiba Shrine Chiba-Jinja (千葉神社), likely a place you would not do much dendo, but a place to get a feel for the culture of the city, the country, and the dominant religion in the area.	7th stop is at the other end of the monorail line, Chiba City Zoological Park.

This last recommendation is based on the assumption that you will only serve once in a Zone; it was that way in my mission, it may be different in yours. I would consider asking if the Zone could go to Nokogiri-yama (鋸山ロープウェー); it is in the Kisarazu area, specifically Kanaya, Futtsu-shi, Chiba Prefecture; it is about a 2 hour train ride south … it may be too far to go … but it is way cool. Although it is most famous for one of Japan's largest Daibutsu (statue of the Buddha), it also offers panoramic views of the area.

From Chiba Station take the JR Uchibo Line to Hamakanaya Station. From Hamakanaya Station, turn left along the main road and walk for about 10 minutes until you reach Sanroku Station. A ropeway system runs from here to the top of the mountain (Sancho Station).

The Buddhist temple located at the top of Nokogiriyama is called Nihon-ji and was founded in the year 725. It has fallen in and out of ruin numerous times and has belonged to various Buddhist sects but is currently associated with the Soto Zen sect. It costs ¥800 to enter the temple grounds; it is worth paying to see Nihon-ji's two most important treasures - the 30m stone Daibutsu, which is Japan's largest pre-modern stone Buddha, and the 'Hyaku Shaku Kannon', which is a huge relief carved into the mountain.

Instead of returning to Hanakanaya Station, consider going down the mountain on foot and walking to the next station on the Uchibo Line - Hota Station. The walk takes about 30-40 minutes.

Kanaya, Futtsu-shi, Chiba Prefecture	Stone Daibutsu, which is Japan's largest pre-modern stone Buddha
Along the trail are 1500 Rakan Statues from the 17th century	Mount Nokogiri which literally translates to “saw mountain” is a spectacular view from afar. While standing at the edge, the view below is comparable to what the Japanese called as “a peep of hell” (Jigoku-nozoki).

 

DD 2.25 ... he wanted to meet with the missionaries ...

Our cell phone

One day we pulled it out & showed it to a policeman

as we walked by, they pulled out their'

and we became phone buddies.

I don't recognize the brand of phone we use, it is made by Sharp ... imagine a Nokia brick on steroids ... only the police and the missionaries use this type of phone ... you could say that its pretty durable. We use an application called EZNaviWalk, it is a GPS type application to identify where we are, what trains and stations to use and how to get from here to there using the least expensive route.

I only wear my rain pants when a tropical storm comes through … (like tropical cyclone 22, which is passing along the eastern coast of Japan) ... which, it turns out is quite often here actually; we have lots of tropical cyclones, less than half become typhoons; along the Asian coast we get twice as many typhoons as the Caribbean has hurricanes.

The commissarian’s wife fixed the hem on my slacks, I have yet to wash my white pants, and it still has a blue stain. I now have three futons to sleep on … I used to only have two … they are all right, more comfortable than I would expect, but I really miss my bed back home … actually I really miss my bed @ school too, that one was pretty nice too! Not as nice as MINE at home is though!!! It is still my bed.  I have noticed I am starting to develop a gap between my two front teeth. Can you floss or brush too much? Maybe its from the toothpaste, or from my retainer. Any research on this would put my mind at ease.

Williams Choro, Watanabe Choro, Griffiths Choro at Makuhari Station

Bike Lot at Makuhari Station

Experience has its benefits ... Williams Choro was able to get his bike the 1st week here; we were able to get his cash with no problems, much easier than when I tried it … turns out the District Leader’s companion called when his card didn't work, I got his problem resolved too … go me!!! When I said the other missionaries took our Internet, I meant to say they took the Router with them when they moved to a new apartment in Oyumino. There are five computers at the church, so we can all get online at the same time, and we all use the 90 minutes that we get. They say that we are all getting tablets and new internet soon, but they have been saying that since before I arrived in Japan; so it looks like we will be going to the church to use the computers for a while. I was able to modify the camera so it now takes smaller pictures, thus it won’t take as long to upload pictures into emails … butttttt, we can’t get any of the cameras onto the church’s computers … I know frustrating, right … sorry about no pictures!!! Speaking of church, we give a lot of church tours, it’s pretty great actually, we do tours to introduce the people to the church and what it stands for and what we do.

The photo book is just fine the way it is; I am going to start taking it to family dinners and stuff, we don’t really use it that often, mostly we use it to introduce ourselves to the ward members.

I would like you to send me a copy of my missionary call … apparently its really inspirational and stuff ... I haven’t read it in a while and apparently we are encouraged to read it every once in a while. If you could just send a copy in your next letter to Japan, it would be nice to have.

I’m pretty sure that Williams Choro was between Watanabe and me in the big group picture … maybe!!! His name tag should say Williams Choro on it … ohwaititisinJapanese and only I can read it!!!!!! MWAWA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parentals, sorry that it snowed, I know how much you all like winter! I hope that things are going good and that you are able to deal with Sam moving out all right. I would really like a email or letter of peoples birthdays, so I don’t miss any more...like Axton’s. Sam, sorry that I can’t do the Ragnar with you this year... 2015 for sure!!!!! By the way, I am now inhaler free for 4 months now ... and we ride our bikes pretty hard every day … :-P I also loved the picture you sent at the bottom of the questions. I propose you go home each week and attach one picture every week along with the questions ... that talk that you sent in the letter with the boys stuff was way good!! I loved it!!! And I read it all to. Abi, squid and octopus are actually quite good … and they are pretty healthy. Just throw on some wasabi, don’t touch it with you tongue, and its really good actually, I am glad to hear that you are doing missionary work in the confines of you apartment!!! I almost forgot to comment on my nephew's letters included with Sam’s talk on the 28th. It was so great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it so much!!!! I plan on keeping it my whole life!!! I really want to show them to Waylon when he is preparing to go on a mission ... and turning in his papers … and preparing, because I know he’s already preparing like none other ... he is seriously such a boss! Axton too!

AXTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY From ALL OF US TO YOU!!! WE WISH IT WAS OUR BIRTHDAY SO THAT WE COULD PARTY TOO!!!!!!!!! LOVE YOU BUDDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As for me, I am doing well. Mom, I don’t have a stain-stick for my white pants, I do have bleach and shampoo though, what should I use? Please help me .... Dad’s dear elder that he sent on the 13th, I received it on the 24th, so it took about eleven days ... a normal letter takes about twelve, so I say do whatever is cheaper ... also in that letter... I really wish that we had mattresses that I could swap ...

I realize I don’t speak the language … like at all ... but that’s alright. Last week I was talking to a guy, it was just me, we were passing out fliers, and such. But I have no idea what he is saying I just kept saying that the Book of Mormon is awesome and that he should come to church … I know, (read with sarcasm) this is really effective dendo work; actually it was a little better than that, he has a friend from Canada and he is from Japan, so he wants to come to our English class; he hopes that he can communicate better with her … yeah. So after a while of this, me trying not to laugh, cuz I have no idea what’s going on, we go over to Watanabe and talk to him … to see what's up; turns out he’s not in our area and we have to refer him to the Tokyo area Choros; but he was pretty interested ... so a couple days later we get a call from the Tokyo Choros, they just wanted to say thank-you for sending them such a prepared person, he said that he wanted to meet with the missionaries because I was trying so hard and had, “pure eyes and a great attitude.” Right! Who knew that my not being able to talk would be such a blessing in finding people ... well that’s my Divine Rendezvous for the week, you only have to try, the Lord will take care of the rest. I hope that all is well in the good ole state of Utah. Oh, I almost forgot, we have three baptism dates right now, one on the 20th of October and two on the 27th of October ... two of them are pretty soft dates, but one on dad's birthday is pretty solid ... so that will be a nice gift, right? A new member of the church!

Watanabe Choro, Kondo Choro (DL), Bischoff Choro

Griffiths Choro, Williams Choro

My companions are doing well, they are both, way great; I will try to send a picture if I ever get to use a computer that will let me again … maybe I can figure something out ... I don’t know! It will be interesting!!  We found a sushi restaurant where it is only like fifty yen a roll … yeah, I’m now poor and fat cuz sushi is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know, I feel wrong saying that … it goes against everything that I stand for as an American from Utah … of all places … let alone that I hated fish before I came here ... but its actually way good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! except that texture of tentacles ... the little rubbery pads don't really feel that great on your tongue …… but it tastes all right! Here are some pictures, Watanabe, Kondo, and Biscoff at the sushi shop, don't worry I promise I will never bring this to Thanksgiving,  unless my wife does, and then I'll be with Sam and the Peanut Butter Fingers.  Kondo Choro is our district leader, he is transfer four, while Watanabe is transfer five, he is the oldest in our district.

As you guys know, I didn't really date much before I left on my mission -- I guess Griffiths Choro is way cooler than regular Trenton. We do this thing called mitsutaikai, where we pass out fliers for our English class. Normally we are not allowed to talk to any one of the opposite gender, but during mitsu its alright because it is obvious that we are not hitting on them.  Anyway, these two girls, 16 or 17 in age, are walking across the station a good 20 meters away (I know, right, the metric system got me) but they are totally checking me out, so I nod my head; that was all I did, I swear!  Then they go talk to Williams Choro ... and then to Watanabe Choro ... by now I have realized my mistake and now I am freaking out ... when they leave, I go talk to Watanabe Choro to see what's up. He just starts laughing and says, "They just think that you are so FLY Griffiths Choro," by the way, they are coming back in half an hour to take some pictures with us ... way sketchy right? Well yeah, they come back and Watanabe Choro takes their picture with me and Williams Choro; then they just start taking pictures of me with their phones ... anyway ... I just thought I would clear up any awkward pictures that you may find, of me and my companion, on the internet. I would like it if y'all could give me some advice on how to control my "flyness."  I think this story is pretty funny/awkward/terrifying.

Thank you for all that you do!!! I hope that the girls will go home and visit the parentals sometimes, mom seems a little sad about everyone moving out ... hey, enjoy the food she makes for you! You never know when you're not going to be able to eat it anymore!!!

Love, your Little Brother who is just too Fly for his own good!

924

DD 2.15 ... fan the flame of your faith ...

Last week’s typhoon turned out to be pretty mild; lame actually; we stayed inside, no riding in the rain for us. I have considered getting saddle bags for the bike, it's tough to say...can't tell for sure yet.  My neck pain is getting a little worse, I have started to do the neck exercises, we’ll see if this helps ... I will look into the saddle bags, and maybe a different bag, I don’t know ... I’m thinking about it, I’ll let you guys know what's going on!  I am still debating about buying a rain jacket, it is only my sleeves which don’t repel rain so I’m still not sure if I need one or not.

I like the idea of a package coming my way, yes on the toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and the thumb-drives. I don’t really need anything else.  Let’s keep it simple and we'll see if I actually get everything. Can you put a copy of my call letter in the package? Or in the next letter you send?  And in our next communication, can I get a list of everyone's birthdays?

My talk on Sunday was actually pretty great; I told a whole story in Japanese!!! I didn't know I knew that much Japanese--and it was quite moving too! Or at least I like to think it was...

Sister Montana Law serves in the Japan Sapporo Mission. She went into the MTC the same day I went in but I never had the chance to meet her while I was in the MTC; now that we are in Japan, she will always be way north of me, on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Circled:  Watanabe Choro, Williams Choro, Griffiths Choro
There are now 161 missionaries in the Japan Tokyo Mission
114 of whom have been here less than six months.

Watanabe Choro and I got a new companion, and we mean brand new from the MTC; he is from the Detroit area, his name is Williams Choro; he’s pretty chill, I hope that I get to know him better this week.  Training a new missionary is pretty cool, I think Williams Choro was expecting to find new people every day and to be fluent when he got here (sounds like me); and we are not finding every day, and he barely understands anything; sounds like normal to me … but he’s a little frustrated ... I try to help him, but its hard.

General Conference April 2013
(after the Priesthood Session, pre-mission)

We do get to watch General Conference, it will be one week later than normal, and I think that it will be in English. Let me know what your favorite talk is, who its by, and when it is so I can make sure to get all the good ones.

We have an app on our phone which tells us which trains to take, when to change, which station to change at, even where to go; kind of like an electronic Holy Ghost. It changes frequently based on which route is the cheapest. Dad’s guess is mostly right about where and how we get to places (The Inage Station on the JR Sobu Line is the closest station to Trent's apartment … the Keiseiinage Station on the Keisei Chiba Line is the closest station to the Stake Center … the Hiroo Station on the Hibiya Line is the closest station to the temple ... and ... We can't decide ... which of the following Trent uses ... the Shinekoda Station on the Oedo Line for the Mission Home ... or ... the Higashinagasaki Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line for the Mission Home). We usually get on at Inage, but then we switch lines and stuff ... we follow the phone; since I have only been here for a little bit I don’t really know what the station names are when we get off for the temple or the Mission Home. I’ll try an pay more attention to some of those details and pass them along.

I ate most of the Life-Savers when I was in the MTC, I didn't bring them with me to Japan … I didn't have the weight, so they were left in the goody box for the next set of Elders arriving in the MTC to take our place.  I have not had any other walnut, or other allergy events; which is always great!!!

I did receive the family letter in the mail, it arrived on the 17th of September … oops, I forgot to write when it was sent, I hope you have it somewhere. Dad’s monthly letter has not arrived yet, however, I did get one from the Stake Presidency.  I am currently 75 kilograms or 165 pounds; yeah I did all the math.  The commissarian is Harrison Choro, he does all the finances for the mission; his wife, Harrison Shimai, is the one who has offered to help fix my pants!!

Parents! I loved the traditions!!! I love hearing the news about home, I hope the fence will be way nice!!! I hope that all is going well in school!! I really do treasure all your letters and emails!!! Hey, thanks for the camera settings letter, it helped me out a lot!

Glad to hear about Waylon’s part in the Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting, that’s a hard scripture, I’m jealous I did not get to see him! Hope all is going well and Axton gets to be a doctor and football player when he grows up. They do have a league here in Japan, he could play here if you are concerned he would get hurt playing ... he is probably already bigger than some of the players here; I’m not that tall and I still stand above the crowd, literally.  Sam I love the engineering pictures!!! Sooooo funny!!!! I hope that you made a decision about the apartment! I loved the quote by Holland Choro in the letter. I am sorry that dad bought chunky peanut better, I have actually grown to like it quite a bit ... but that might be because it is my only option right now.  Storm ... sorry you had to go on Timp ... that must have been rough. I hope that school is going well and that things are going better with your roommate!! I hope that Tiff has been reliable!!  Paige knows you are in her ward now ... she asked me if it was you; so she recognized you!!!! It sounds like she might be interested in going to church together if you need a friend.

Sorry about today's short email, we have a lesson at 2:00 that we have to get to; we no longer have internet in our apartment; so now we come to the church to do our email.  The Choros in Oyumino moved out and took the internet equipment with them, hence, the visit to the church.  Watanabe Choro thinks 45 min is enough email time because we have so many other things to do today.

Wasabi - Watch Out!!

This week was way sick!!! We set two baptism dates; one of our investigators, took us out to Sushi! It was way crazy! It cost him like ¥8,000, and he paid for all of us!! He must really like us, right? It was way good too! I actually ate shell fish and octopus, I chickened out on the tentacles, I think i'll try them next time. I did try everything else, and it was all way good! Wasabi is way weird though; it burned my tongue and almost made me cry ... it was way bad!

The first week I was here, we baptized Brother C, he speaks Japanese and Chinese; he is from China. Today we taught a lesson, us speaking in Japanese with him translating it to Chinese; this brother that we just taught is the closest to baptism out of all the investigators we have ... it is a miracle that we have Brother C; we are now teaching three people from China; Brother C joins us for all of the lessons. What are the odds of us finding Brother C when the Lord needed to bring the gospel to three others; a tender mercy of the Lord. If only I could be as good a missionary as Brother C ... if I can, I know that the Lord will have made good use of me ... seriously though he is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love him to death!!!!!  I just thought that I would share this experience with you guys!!! I love being here and I am excited to be helping the church open up in China!!! I love the gospel!!!!

In closing I wanted to say that I found this way sweet quote by Elder Holland! “First and forever, fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe!” This has helped me out so much this last week! I really do love Holland Choro!!!

Sorry this letter is short, the keyboards here are terrible, and they are made for Nihongo so half the buttons switch me to kanji ... its muzukashii!!!

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