You Have Been Called to Serve...

Good Afternoon Ladies and Germs,

So I bet you are all wondering what happened to me during transfer calls, but first I just want to publicly congratulate my little bro on his mission call to Argentina!!  I know that it`s not Japanese speaking, but we can forgive him I guess.  I definitely did not call Spanish speaking, that`s for sure.

Back to transfer calls; I am staying in Toyota, but Elder Butters is going back to his Bean-chan area in Fujieda just as he requested.  I have become Senpai (Senior Companion) at Transfer 4 which is pretty rare from what I hear.  It should help my Japanese since I will be leading lessons now.  My new companion is Australian and I will be killing him here, so that means I am almost guaranteed to be here for 2 more transfers.  I feel like my mission call has changed to the Japan Toyota Mission.  

The big event for us this week was Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came and did a special mission conference on Friday.  He spoke with Bishop Stevenson of the Presiding Bishopric (prior Nagoya Mission President) and Elder Razband of the Quorum of the Seventy.  It was super good and I got to see all of my friends from all across the mission.  I had the opportunity to listen to Elder Ballard speak three times this weekend at two different stake conferences.  

This week was also super good for our missionary work.  Despite being the last week of the transfer, Elder Butters and I got the best stats of the transfer this week.  We taught our Chinese investigator, Rei, the Restoration and she came to Elder Ballard`s stake conference yesterday.  She said she didn`t understand all of the translator`s Japanese so it looks like we will be trying to do a lot of follow up with her.  She is such a good investigator.

Sweet well that`s a wrap for the week and the transfer.  I am really going to miss Elder Butters.  This transfer has been so awesome and we worked so well together.  I am hoping I can be successful as a Senpai this next transfer.  

Thank you for all your love and support.  Take care out in the big world all of you.

スピードと天使

堅城長老

 

Pic- There were these cool animals...

 

The Last Week In Toyota? Maybe?

Good afternoon everyone,

元気?  Okay so it was another long week and I don`t really know where to begin.  First off: Happy Birthday to my absolutely wonderful Mother!! Last Tuesday we were housing and I found my first investigator alone!  It was super sketchy.  I was talking to the guy through his keko box (a door bell with a microphone) and he didn`t tell me to go away as I was talking and I asked if we could come back and he paused for 10 seconds and said yes.  I don`t even know his name.  Yeah, I`m not super proud, but a gospel principle not and next appointment is a new investigator.

This week I also got to do exchanges with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Yamamoto, who is a super cool guy.  He is from a city north of Tokyo and he has an identical twin in the Fukuoka mission.  I got to practice using a lot of Japanese with him and it was super helpful because he studied English for a year in Provo (at a language institute: not BYU :) ) so if i didn`t know a word in Japanese he could help me out.  We went and visited Morimura together which was a really good experience.  I have been learning and practicing how to translate this week which has really helped my Japanese grammar and vocab and really helped when working with Yamamoto.

We had a really good lesson with a church members daughter who is Chinese.  She speaks excellent Japanese and she can read it too.  She accepted our invitations to pray and read the Book of Mormon and got a nest appointment for this Saturday.  We are super excited and hopeful.

This Saturday is transfer calls.  We have no idea what will happen here in Toyota.  So many things are up in the air right now.  May the odds be ever in my favor.  We also have a mission conference this Friday so I`ll get to reunite with all my friends in the mission.  

I hope you all have a great week.  Thank you ever so much for all your love and support.

スピードと天使

堅城長老

 

Pic- Puppy!

A Game of Souls

Good Morning Sports Fans,

Today is another beautiful day in the neighborhood.  I heard about the disappointing Super Bowl.  That`s too bad.  A lot happened this week so let`s get started.

First off I was inspired while riding my bike last Saturday and created a whole game to motivate Elder Butters and I to OYM.  For explanation of the game please watch the ``Game of Souls`` video on the dropbox.  The game was a super huge help for us and we felt (and were) super successful this week.  We didn`t get any new investigators through OYM, but I am pretty sure we were blessed for our efforts.  Elder Butters did end up winning, but I didn`t feel too bad because he is almost done with his mission and I am still in the beginning of mine.  He beat me 71-51.  He got lucky on his exchange in Okazaki because one day this week he didn`t get any points.  This week I am going to win.

We did a crazy dendo effort right in front of Toyota Co. World Headquarters this week.  In order to get these very uptight Japanese business men to talk to us we did some Eikaiwa 英会話 (English Class) advertising.  See ``Eggo my Eigo`` video.  We handed out a lot of flyers, but what was the coolest experience was while we we holding our sign a man in a car called out to us and told us to wait for him.  After a couple of minutes the man came up to us super excited that we teach free English.  It was super cool and our plan for トヨタ会社 was a success.

Also this week found some investigators through housing which is super good.  We have been steadily housing a danshi for the past two weeks and we`ve managed to get three investigators out of 250 something doors.  I don`t like housing, but when you`ve got nothing else going for you that`s what you have to do.  Butters likes to laugh at me because I don`t always understand what they say and so I keep talking and it`s super awkward.  Sometimes I give up too easily when someone tells me they don`t have interest.  I just have to find the balance.  

We also were in Okazaki (岡崎）this week which is awesome.  Butters served there a year ago and the members loved him.  He has been so happy to go back to an area he served in.  We did a super companion exchange meaning we both went to Okazaki and were just with different companions.  We all had dinner at a member`s home who cried when Butters showed up.  That how good of a relationship he built in 岡崎.  We got some sweet pics with them.

That`s about a wrap for the week.  It was super awesome and we`ll see what this week will bring!  I love you all and thank you so much for your support.

スピードと天使

堅城長老

Pic- I bought a huge sushi roll

 

Winter's Coming

Good Morning/Afternoon sports fans,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!  To Dad, Audrey, Brock.  Ya`ll are one year older and wiser too, so happy birthday to you!

I hear that it`s Super Bowl Sunday and that the Seahawks are definitely going to win.  Yesterday kicked off February which is the coldest month here in Toyota.  So far that statement is proving true.  The wind blows like crazy!  Toyota is also starting to get a little crazy.

First off our suicidal investigator is still alive and after stressing out over him for over a week he decided to drop us because we wouldn`t give him poison.  What the heck!?  We tried to save a life and then he turned his back on us and what will save his soul.  People are crazy.  Since he dropped us we now are down to two investigators, one of which we found last P-Day.  Last week we started housing a ``danshi`` (multiple apartment complexes in one area) where missionaries had never knocked.  I don`t like housing, but nothing has really been working for us.  We just finished 2 of 12 apartment buildings, which was 144 doors (not everyone was home) and we got one investigator.  The statistic for our mission is for every 100 people we talk to only 1 will meet with us again.  All I can say is that we are having to literally start from nothing and we have to start with the basics and we are mixing in some creative techniques as well.

Some good things did go rather well for us this week.  We had interviews with President Yamashita in Okazaki.  It was really good and from what he talked to me about and what he talked to Butters about this next transfer calls could be very interesting and kind of exciting, but I don`t want to talk too much about it so I don`t give people speculation.  But I did get to see my other NZ boy Elder Cowan there and got to talk to him.

I also had exchanges with Elder Orellana from Chile on Thursday.  He is only the third Chilean to come and serve a mission in Japan.  He learned English and Japanese in the MTC, Portuguese in Japan, and his native language is Spanish.  He is only 19!  I don`t think my brain could fit that much in it.  He is a transfer 5 missionary and we had a good time visting Morimura-san.  

That`s about it for exciting news of this week.  Nothing too exciting is coming up except finding more people to teach.  I just want to thank everybody for their love, support, and prayers.  It really does truly mean a lot.

スピードと天使

堅城長老