the end of a saga

 "Boom, you looking for this?"

Sorry in advance for the long email, but lots of stuff happened this week!

Starting with Monday, we had district P day in Matsuyama, and we hiked to this crazy 60-foot tall buddah statue. We also hit up this crazy shrine and hit up indo Curry for lunch. We also stayed the night in Matsuyama because we had in-person DCM on Tuesday. The ZL's also stayed the night with us, so there we 10 missionaries in a VERY small apartment.

Tuesday, we started with DCM, and then all went to lunch together. After that, we and the ZL's went back to Uwajima for exchanges. Exchanges were awesome, and I was with one of my favorite elders, Elder Noda. He served in Uwajima about a year ago, so he was very excited to see all of his old friends and stuff. And of course, we got crepes together. At the end of the day, we got transfer calls, and it turns out that I am going to Osaka🤯. I was not expecting to get transferred, so I couldn't believe it when I saw it. 

Wednesday, we finished our exchanges and then played more ball with our boys. It was bittersweet, though, because it was my last day with them. Luckily, for my last day, I hit a nice home run, and it was the perfect end to a saga. I also FINALLY got a flick with the whole gang.

Thursday, we spent a chunk of the day packing and then had eikaiwa, which was great! Our deaf, homless friend, Wada, pulled up, and we had a good time.

Friday, we left to toyo for more exchanges and had a great time with Elder Lau and Elder Anderson. We went to a castle in their area and talked to lots of people! It was another good day.

Saturday, we decided to skip breakfast and lunch so we could have two hours for dinner. We made it back to our area and hit up the all you can eat indo curry place for the last time, and boy, did we GRUB 😏

Sunday, we got up for church and said goodbye to all of the members. I finished packing the last few things, and then we were off! We went all the way to okayama (really far) and stayed the night there with like 14 other elders. 

Monday, we got up and headed up to our areas. I passed through Nishinomiya (my first area), which was cool to see again. Then I finally got to my area and started working...imma need some prayers this transfer. But it could be fun! 

Spiritual Thought:

Alma 13:28-29

But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; 29 Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.

The Lord said we must "pray always." His promises are wonderful. He has told us that we may receive the Spirit by the prayer of faith; that we must "pray continually" that we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear; that we must "counsel with the Lord" in all our doings, night and day; that we must "not perform anything unto the Lord" without praying to the Father in the name of Christ. His marvelous promise is that "he will direct us for good."

–Marion D. Hanks

Prayer is so important!! ESPECIALLY when life gets tough, we just need to pray! I dont have a ton of time, but I emplore to pray always! You will see so many miracles if you do!

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

That's all, folks.

. 5 with the guys--softball gang

Quick foot bath

Super sick area with Buddha statues...but we can't figure out how to get in

We made it to the end of the tunnel

Close up with the statues

Finally made it out of the tunnel

We hiked to a massive Buddha statue

We found a wild book...

Dog #55

Last ping pong night

Another flick of my last ping pong night

Ping pong flicks

New flicks on the bull...

Crepes with my man Elder Noda

Hit up a shrine with Elder Noda

Finally got THE flick...

Our cute little neighbor kids that always come up

and tell us EVERYTHING on their minds

Dogs 56 and 57

Exchanges in Toyo

Gotta flick up with the BoM

Another flick of the shrine at Imabari Jo

Hard to see but I got a firefly on my wrist

Turns out I REALLY like fireflies...

Got a flick of the firefly

All you can eat indo curry...this is just the beginning

First salad

Shish kebabs

Chow mein

Garlic chicken and chicken wings

More chicken

Cheese naan and curry

More naan..

Last curry and nan

All done 😋

Last day at church 😥

Most of our branch members and our homeless friend on the left

Saying goodbye to the uratas

👋

the one with bull fights and festivals

"Boom, you looking for this?"

This was a crazy week so sorry for the long email...

Starting with Monday, we went to the Indo Curry place as usual and then mostly chilled for the rest of the day.

Tuesday, we had a meal with one of our members and she brought two of her non member friends with them and after we ate, we taught them a lesson on faith and it was so great! After that, we pulled up to ping pong night and had a blast!

Wednesday, we had a lesson with our deaf homless friend named Wada and it was awesome! He came to church last week out of nowhere and he is super interested in the gospel! He's been reading the BoM everyday and we always have killer lessons with him.

Thursday we had another short lesson with our eikaiwa ladies and then after we had our actual eikaiwa class and then played ping pong!

Friday we went to play some baseball but when we got there, the lot was full of cars...we found out there was a bull fight going on and TONS of people were there so we pulled up. BULL FIGHTS ARE SICK! It was absolutely dope and I gotta make it to another bull fight at some point. After that, we actually ended up playing baseball and it was good to get back in the groove. After that we had another lesson with Wada and he's really starting to love the church!

SATURDAY WAS SO SICK!! There was a MASSIVE festival and we talked to SO many people. We invited so many people to eikaiwa so lets hope some of them will come 🤞🤞 it was super awesome and I've got TONS of vidoes and pics of the festival!

Sunday, Wada came to church again! It was great and he really loves meeting with us! After that there was a second day of the festival and again we talked to tons of people and saw a bunch of people that we knew as well! 

Spiritual Thought:

Alma 7:19

For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight.

"Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man."

–C.S. Lewis 

"One road leads home and a thousand roads lead into the wilderness."

–C.S. Lewis

Today I just wanted to talk a little bit about the straight path which leads back to God. God, in his infinite goodness, created a pathway to which if we follow, we will live with him and our families for eternity. The path is narrow and sometimes a bit blurred by our perspiration, but if we keep on the covenant path, God will give us blessings hiterto undreamt of.

That's all folks. Feel free to email me this week! 

Gotta hit 'em with the .5

Sick Bull Fight!

Our Favorite one of them all

Samurai Festival

Samurai and demons fighting

More of the Samurai Festival

Parade float that went through the town

All the samurai marching

They're headed up to the castle

More fighting at the castle

Ah yeah our boy

Invited lots of people to eikaiwa!

A couple of our friends were in the samurai suits

A couple more pics of the bull fight

More guys we invited to eikaiwa

Diaper Turtle

Made us some Thanksgiving to break our fast

the one with the boar 🐗

 "Boom, you looking for this?"

Starting with Monday we went back to the Indo curry place but this time we got the all you can eat deal...most all you can eat places just give you one thing thats unlimited and you end up running out of other stuff to go with it. This place is not so. You can get everything on the menu 1 time, and you will run out of room far before you will be able to eat everything on the menu. It was phenomenal, and we ate SO much food 😋 

Wednesday, we went to go play baseball but it was raining again so we didn't play, however on the way back we saw a bunch of kids playing soccer so I asked if we could play and we ended up playing soccer with these kids for like an hour and it was awesome😆😆 also starting today we have a big mission tour. So, a member of the 70, Elder McCune, started going around to a couple of places to talk with all of us. We each have one day of being in person and ours isnt until friday but we have meetings every day until then.

Thursday, we left and started traveling to okayama, which is where our in person meeting is. We stopped and stayed with the toyo elders, but one of our trains got delayed, so we didn't get there until midnight. 

Friday, we had to leave early to get there on time so we were up at 4:45am. Needless to say, I was hekkin tired, so I slept the whole way up. The meeting was great, though! He talked about strengthening member relationships and how import members are in the work! There were tons of missionaries there from all over, and I got to meet up with Sister Guth and Elder Shoplift from the mtc, who I haven't seen in a minute, which was awesome. When it was all over, we headed home, and surprisingly, we made it back to our area that day. 

Saturday, we started out the day strong with making some wild boar for lunch. It's about as good as it sounds, maybe worse, so I didn't eat much. It smelt like a wet dog, and our apartment reeked after we made it. We had to use it at some point, though, because a member gave it to us. The rest of the day was pretty normal besides the fact that back home, my sister got married 🤯🤯 Still hard to believe that I missed a full wedding out here.

Sunday was kinda crazy! First, we had a deaf homeless dude show up to church, so that was dope. We talked to him the day before and told him to come to eikaiwa, and then he just pulled up to church. We also had a member meal that night (my first in Uwajima), and she fed us tacos! Holy, I miss America. Our food just wins

Spiritual Thought:

2 Nephi 33:2

But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught

If nothing, or nothing we recognize comes through, we imagine [God] has let us down and reject Him, perhaps at the very moment when help was on its way. 

–C.S Lewis

It's not always easy to hold on, especially when we feel abandoned by everyone, but remember, remember, God will never abandon us. He would not do that. No matter how alone you feel, never forget that God is always with you. 

"If your prayers don’t always seem answered, take heart. One greater than you cried, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived."

–Jeffrey R. Holland 

That's all I got this week! But feel free to email me! I love hearing from you guys!

Mission Tour!!

District Conference!

My old enemy...Stairs.

Hand-washing station at this sick shrine

Went to another sic shrine

Found some kids and played soccer with them

DOG 50!!🔥🔥--there is a video on the google drive!

And #51

Big spider for my mom 🕷

Finally headed home

Dog #52

the one where your mom got out of bed

"Boom, you looking for this?"

Well, starting with Monday, we had another basic P day... it was raining all day, so we didn't end up playing baseball, but we had indo curry again, so that was fire!

Tuesday was just a regular Tuesday. We had DCM, we went finding, and we ended the day with ping pong.

Wednesday wasn't raining, so we played more baseball, and I'm really starting to get better😆😆

And that night we had a little surprise... we got woken up by an earthquake (hence the title)! It wasn't anything too crazy but our apartment was shaking a lot, and my lego Boba Fett Slave 1 fell off my shelf😭 That was pretty traumatic, but other than that, it was all good

Friday, we went to a city that was pretty far south that we had never been to. Missionaries haven't been down there in a while, and we found out why... nobody lives there. There are TONS of abandoned houses and stuff. Still a fun day, though.

Saturday, there was a big board game night at a community center, so we pulled up, and I steamrolled these guys in every game we played. It was pretty funny and we all had a good time. We invited them all to our ping pong night some hopefully they come 🙏 🤞

Spiritual Thought:

Alma 32:42

And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

"My beloved brothers and sisters, Christianity is comforting, but it is often not comfortable. The path to holiness and happiness here and hereafter is a long and sometimes rocky one. It takes time and tenacity to walk it. But, of course, the reward for doing so is monumental. This truth is taught clearly and persuasively in the 32nd chapter of Alma in the Book of Mormon. There this great high priest teaches that if the word of God is planted in our hearts as a mere seed, and if we care enough to water, weed, nourish, and encourage it, it will in the future bear fruit “which is most precious, … sweet above all that is sweet,” the consuming of which leads to a condition of no more thirst and no more hunger.

COVID and cancer, doubt and dismay, financial trouble, and family trials. When will these burdens be lifted? The answer is “by and by."” And whether that be a short period or a long one is not always ours to say, but by the grace of God, the blessings will come to those who hold fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That issue was settled in a very private garden and on a very public hill in Jerusalem long ago."

– Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 

Yeah, I don't got much to add to that... Elder Holland is just the best. But I'll just add my solemn testimony that in the gospel of Jesus Christ, blessings come to those who are diligent. 

It's been raining a lot most days, so hopefully, it will start to slow down🤞🤞That's all I got this week, but feel free to email me!

"My old enemy, stairs..."

–Po  

the one where he played a lot of ball

"Boom, you looking for this?"

Starting with Monday, we had a pretty boring P day, but we had a super fire lunch! Sadly, it was pretty rainy so we didnt end up playing ball...In Uwajima, it is SUPER rural so they dont have very many restaurants but a new Indo Curry place just opened last week and its so good! We are going there every P day from now on😆😆

Tuesday, we had DCM in Matsuyama, and President Sano came! We did interviews as well because we dont have a Zone Conference this transfer. Instead, we are going to have a mission tour, and a member of the 70 is coming! After DCM, we got lunch and then headed back to our area in time for Ping Pong night.

Wednesday, we finally got a game going the with the お祖父ちゃん which was the first time in and while and boy was it refreshing

Friday, we met up and played more baseball, but not too many of the guys came, so we just practiced for a bit. After that, we went to the worlds best crepe shop and said hi to the super nice ladies that work there.

Saturday, just like last week, we played some basketball with a bunch of guys from the Phillipines, and they absolutely love having us there...its been a ton of fun😆😆

Sunday, we had District Conference, and so we had lots of people pull up to the church! We also had a couple from America come who were visiting because the husband served here 50 years ago. He actually baptized some of the members and opened up the branch, and they were really excited to see him. 

Spiritual Thought:

Mosiah 13: 12-24

And now, ye remember that I said unto you: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of things which are in heaven above, or which are in the earth beneath, or which are in the water under the earth. 

13 And again: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate me; 

14 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 

15 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 

16 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

17 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; 18 But the seventh day, the sabbath of the Lord thy God, thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; 

19 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 

20 Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 

21 Thou shalt not kill. 

22 Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. 

23 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 

24 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.

"It may appear to you at times that those out in the world are having much more fun than you are. Some of you may feel restricted by the code of conduct to which we in the Church adhere. My brothers and sisters, I declare to you, however, that there is nothing which can bring more joy into our lives or more peace to our souls than the Spirit which can come to us as we follow the Savior and keep the commandments. That Spirit cannot be present at the kinds of activities in which so much of the world participates."

–Thomas S. Monson 

Sometimes it can be hard to follow all of the rules God has made for us but, when we follow them, He will give us blessings that will not only help us now, but also in the life to come. And the Spirit is able to comfort us and bring us so much joy as long as we are striving to have its constant companionship in our lives. 

Well, that's all I got this week. Overall, it was a good week, and we are starting to see a lot of success come from the people we are starting to build relationships with! Uwajima is a ton of fun, and I'm loving it here!

The whole Gang we play B ball with

Oh yeah dog #47

#48 and counting

#49....almost at fifty!

One of the boys we ball up with every Saturday