the one with an old friend

"Boom, you looking for this?"

Starting with Monday, we went to a meat buffet (しゃぶしゃぶ) with some of the sisters in our area. After we finished eating, we went to the church and played ping pong, chilled, and talked with everyone. Again, it was another light P day.

Tuesday, we had District Council, and then at night, we went to kobe for exchanges with the APs. We spent the night there and it was pretty fun because there were a lot of missionaries in the apartment.

Wednesday, I was on exchanges all day! I went with Elder Holmes, and we used to be comps back in Uwajima (the promised land😉). We had a pretty good day and found lots of people! At night, we went to institute and before we did institute we played a bunch of different games and sports for about an hour. While I was playing some games, I saw an old friend walk in the door... Makoto 姉妹！She was the first person I was able to see get baptized in Japan! It was all the way back in my first area about 10 months ago! I hadn't seen her since I left, and it was SO good to catch up with her! We talked for a while, and she was surprised that I could actually speak Japanese now 🤣🤣🤣. The rest of the day was good, and we stayed the night in Kobe again, and it even more missionaries came, so it was a blast!😆

Friday, we had Eikaiwa, and it was a lot of fun! We played 'would you rather' the whole time and would talk about why some people would want to pick one thing over another... It was really funny because I asked a lot of very unserious and random questions. It made for a fun night.

Saturday, we had a game night, and our friend Chika came! We played soccer, ping pong, football, and basketball, and then after we all went to McDonald's together (this week was better.... We only went like three times). Chika is super awesome, though, and I could see her get baptized next transfer, so let's hope for the best!🙏🙏

Sunday we watched General Conference!!! 😆😆

We watched the Sunday sessions from last week, and it was so awesome!! 😁😁 I especially loved Elder Holland's and President Nelson's talks!! They were both SO good, and I loved also hearing about the 17 new temples that were announced!! The rest of the day, we had lots of calls and meetings and stuff, but for dinner, I made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy for all four of us! 😋😆😆 They all loved it, and two of the guys had never had gravy before, and they loved it so much 😁😁

Spiritual Thought:

Alma 41:4

And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other 

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

—C. S. Lewis

Well, that's all I got this week! Feel free to email me! 

That's all, folks. 

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy😋😋

Back at it with the old comp, #76

McDonald's with the gang

Service day last week!

the one with the big jump

 "Boom, you looking for this?"

Starting with Monday, we started out the day by calling the fam and then met up with some other elders, and we were planning on spending the day with them. But, they came by train and didn't have bikes so they had to walk everywhere so they hung with the other elders all day and my comp and I went to some stores and then McDonald's for some milkshakes. We ended up going to a park and played a bunch of football and soccer so it was a fun day. We ended the day by meeting up with everyone and went to McDonald's for dinner. Solid day.

Tuesday, we were on exchanges, and I went with Elder William. He's from Indonesia and a pretty fun dude! We had a pretty chill day and saw a lot of success together! We also had District Council, and it went really well! It was really nice not being the one planning it anymore😁😁 That night, we all met up for dinner and went to McDonald's

Wednesday was another day of exchanges! I went with Elder Marntinson (he's one of the elders that we live with), and it was a lot of fun! We had a good time talking (in English, which was a nice change of pace) and did tons of stuff! It was a really good day, and it was fun to work with him for the day. That night for dinner, we hit up McDonald's.

Thursday was a pretty normal day. We did studies, went to find people, and planned for the week. At the end of the day, we were a little hungry, so we decided McDonald's was a good idea for dinner.

Friday, we were sick of getting McDonald's for dinner, so we instead went for lunch. We also had English class and a couple of lessons, so it ended up being a really good day. We were super busy, and it made the day fly by... 

Saturday, we got up early and went with a member to do some service... He picked us up, and we drove over to the place. While he was driving, we hit a straightaway, and out of nowhere, Jump by Van Halen started BLASTING in the car. The member just shouts, "HERE WE GO" (in Japanese), and floors it. We were picking up speed for a solid 10-15 seconds before we hit an absolute RAMP in the pavement... We got like two and a half feet of air and came CRASHING down... After we hit, we all had to collect ourselves and calm down a little since we basically just flew. So, it took us a minute to realize that one of the wheels was clearly scraping against something and that the car started to smell pretty bad. So we pulled over to see the damage, and one of the hydraulics had been slammed all the way down, and the tire was scraping on the fender. The member had done this before, but he forgot to account that one of the missionaries was pushing 260 pounds and another one was about 230 lbs. Plus, two more missionaries, his two kids, and himself. Yeah, we were lucky that car didn't shift earth's gravity and knock it off its axis when it landed. To say the least, he had to leave us four missionaries in the middle of nowhere, (because we weighed too much and the tire was scraping because of us) and take his kids back home and pick up a new car. Yeah.... We didn't make it to the service project. But it's okay because we had another service project after that, and we made it to that one. We were weeding a member's farm, and the mosquitoes were BAD. I ended up getting just over 20 bites, but I got to rock my Noah's Ark overalls, so it was worth it... After service, we were pretty hungry, so we hit up McDonald's for lunch. After that, our ward had a Halloween party, so we played lots of games and did tons of fun stuff! We had 3 of our friends, and one returning member came, and they all had a lot of fun! After the party we (all of the missionaries and then two other friends from the party) met up with one of our other friends, and went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner! I've got lots of pictures and videos from today, so go check them out if you want to see my costume and stuff. 

Spiritual Thought:

Mosiah 18:8-10

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; 

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life— 

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you 

But, it is said, "If belief in Christ is the way, why is peace so elusive in the western world where people profess belief in Christ?" The answer is simple: Professing is not enough. Men must accept him for what he in fact is—the very Son of God, man's Redeemer. They must have sufficient faith in him to take upon themselves his name in the manner he prescribed. Specifically, the believer must (1) repent of his sins—that is, bring his conduct in harmony with Christ's teachings; (2) enter into a covenant with God, that he is willing to take upon himself the name of Jesus Christ and always remember him and keep his commandments at all times and in all things and in all places. This covenant he must solemnize by being baptized.

All who, through faith in Christ, conform with these requirements receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

—Marion G. Romney

Well, that's all I got this week! Feel free to email me!

That's all, folks. 

A flick of all the missionaries

Lunch after district council,

A flick of some of the boys

My Guy ryota 😆😆

I got the costume from a member... I was obligated to use it... But yes, it is from an anime😭

One of our friends Chika!

Lots of flicks at the party!

Mission Leadership Conference

Zone Conference Okayama

the one where he met up with Kai

 "Boom, you looking for this?"

Starting with Monday, we went to a super dope member's house and ate lunch together. We also may or may not have watched some football😆😆

We spent pretty much the whole day there and we had just enough time for some shopping at the end of the day! 😁

Tuesday was a pretty normal day, but for dinner, I made some fire chicken sandwiches! 😋😆😆 But I made more than I realized, and they lasted for like 3 days😂😂😆

Wednesday, we met up with some of the sister missionaries that go to our ward, and we all did some streeting together... They are both pretty young, so we were showing them what to do and to say. After that, we had English class and we just played mafia with everyone the whole time😆

Thursday, we had ZONE CONFERENCE!!! 😆😆

Zone Conference is a lot more stressful as a zone leader, but it ended up all going really good! We had a training about teaching simple and extending specific invitations, and it went better than I thought it would! Overall, Zone Conference was really good, and now that I've done one, I won't be dreading the next one nearly as bad😉😆😆

Saturday was a fire day!!! We started by making a cake for a member that has been sick because it's her birthday and tried to give it to her but we couldnt find her house😅😅 After that, we met up with one of my favorite people from Osaka, Kai!! He's super dope and has made tons of friends with all the missionaries, and he was in the area, so we went to dinner with him and his mom! 😆😆 It was so fun and good to see him!! 

Sunday, we had a pretty normal day as well! Church was good, and we spent the whole second hour talking about missionary work and the member's special "miracle project." They have a goal of doing A LOT of ancestors' names in the temple, and they are getting help from all around the world! 

Spiritual Thought:

Mosiah 23:21-22

21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. 

22 Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people.

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

—C.S. Lewis 

Well, that's all I got this week! Feel free to email me!

That's all, folks!

Dinner with Kai and his Mom! 😁

#73

Chicken Sandwiches and ranch😂😋

めっちゃ美味しいよ😆😆

Okayama Zone Conference

the one with uno

 "Boom, you looking for this?"

Starting with Monday, we had a pretty chill P day. We just called the fam, got lunch at McDonald's, got groceries, and then kinda chilled the rest of the day. At night, we went to a members house for dinner! One of our friends (Jennifer from Bangladesh) also came, and we all ate, played games, and had family home evening together! Their family had a lot of young kids, and we all played uno, and it was SUPER chaotic... Really reminded me of home🥹🥹 Hands down the best member meal I've had to date😁😁😆

Wednesday, we had MLC (Mission Leadership Conference), and since I'm now a Zone Leader, I got to go! We go to the church right next to the mission home for it (which is in kobe, about 3 and a half hours away) and met up with tons of missionaries! I got to see lots of people I hadn't seen in a while, and it was just a good time. We talked about goals for the mission and then talked about Zone Conference as well! Zone Leaders always give a 45-minute training in zone conference, so now I get to prepare, plan, and do that!!😆😆🫠🫠 Right as we got home, we went to eikaiwa and it was really fun! We had lots of people come and it was really relaxed. We spent the whole time introducing ourselves and then playing a little game! It was a good day, for sure! 

Friday, we left our area again to go to a baptismal interview for someone who speaks Portuguese! My companion is from Brazil and was the closest elder to the area, so we took another 3 hour trip down for the baptismal interview! It was also pretty fun, and I got to meet up with my comp from the MTC, so it was good to catch up and see how things have been going! Before we got home, we met up with a friend and got dinner with her at McDonald's (my comp really likes it so we'll be going pretty often I think 😆😆) we gave her a book of Mormon and taught a little lesson at McDonald's and she was super nice and we are hoping we can keep teaching her more! 

Saturday we had a blood drive going on at our church and while people were waiting and stuff we had a band playing for everyone and then there's also these robots that are kind of like Legos just a little more complicated and lots of people in the area brought them and showcased them to everyone! It was a really fun time, and I've been getting a lot closer with the ward members here! 

Sunday was great! We had two of our friends come to church, Jennifer (the girl we ate with on Monday) and her friend Paige (she is from Nevada). They are both in Japan as students and both are fluent in English! After sacrament meeting, we wanted to teach them in English so they would be able to understand more of what was being taught and since my companion doesn't speak English, yours truly was teaching that lesson🤣🤣 It actually went really good and the spirit was super strong! We're hoping they'll want to keep coming to church! 😁😁

Spiritual Thought:

3 Nephi 13:10 

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened. 

—C. S. Lewis 

Holy fetch, I love C.S. Lewis... What a quote 😆😆

Well, that's all I got this week! Feel free to email me! 

That's all, folks!

Flicks with everyone....

Last District P day In Osaka

Playing Uno with the fam😆😁

New Comp, new dogs #70

ロピちゃん

Had a sweet sky... This ones for my mom

Passing out some BoMs while housing

Ah yeah we back in the groove... #71 and #72

McDonald's with Moena! 😁