David's Adventures in the Japan Kobe Mission (Oct. 2015-2017): New Transfer. Same Area. New Companion! Same Companion.

1/31/2016

こんいさわかぞく!

Since I missed last week's email I will try to catch you up on what happened. Sorry to all those I left hanging last week.

Last week was a lot of traveling. Starting Monday morning and going to Friday morning we were all over the place. Yep, we weren't in our area for four days XD We left Monday morning to go to Kobe for our Trainer Trainee Training meeting, which was held on Tuesday. After the meeting on Tuesday we went to Okayama to attend the mission tour with Elder Choi on Wednesday. After the mission tour meeting we traveled to Yonago to have companion exchanges with the Zone Leaders. Then, on Friday morning, we traveled back to Matsue to have District Meeting...*sigh* It was snowing when we woke up so that was awesome. Tsuchia Chōrō ended up getting frostbite on his toes so that was fun. When we got to Matsue it was a snow/slush kind of precipitation, but nothing sticking or anything XD

On Wednesday, Elder Choi talked to us about knowing who we are, who we were, and who we need to become. It was really good! Since TTT I had been feeling like I need to bring up my game a level. I was doing fine, but it was time to level up. As we are making this culture change in our mission we also need to have a culture change in ourselves. And this goes for anything in life. We sometimes need to change something within ourselves to improve and become better than we are. And it's not easy to change. But I am going to do my best.

The rest of Friday was pretty normal dendo stuff [missionary work]. Gotta love knocking on a hundred doors XD

Saturday was awesome because it was snowing on and off most of the day! It was windy though the snow was having a hard time sticking to the ground. We found a couple of nice people while tracting so that's good.

Sunday was flippn' cold! I don't know what the temperatures were but WHOOO! It started snowing during church and didn't stop all day. It increased throughout the day so by the time we returned home they were big flakes! And it started sticking more. By the time we woke up the next day there were a couple of inches covering the streets and walks of Matsue.

Monday was Preparation Day so we were out running errands, eating sushi, getting groceries, forgetting things, running back out to the stores, working on school stuff for my companion, etc. At 6:00 PM we started dendo. We met an Oba-chan the day before while housing and she told us to meet her tomorrow at 6:00, so there we were. We talked with her, got to know her, and talked about God to see what she knew. She believes in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father so that's awesome! She loved meeting with us too! We invited her to church and she said she will try to come...I think XD Hopefully we will see here there! We then tried to meet with 山本 (Yamamoto) Shimai but she wasn't home. However, once we started housing right behind her house we ran into her daughter. Yep, we had no idea she lived right behind her mother. She knew who we were and was very kind. She said that she doesn't have the feeling of belief in this gospel. I respect that, it's important to have that feeling. I hope she continues to do well. By this time it was snowing large flakes again. It was very pretty. It was also super slippery. Imagine me on a bike, going 2 miles/hr, slipping to kingdom come XD That's what was going on XD

Tuesday was a day of logistics. My companion has been working on Visa stuff in order to go back to school at the end of this transfer. We were making calls to people to make sure everything was set up and that we would have the means to get there and back. We have purchased our round-trip bus tickets so no worries, we had the money for it. We will travel to Osaka today, which is where my companion needs to go for the US Commissary (I'm not sure what the building is called, but it's an official US building). We estimate that it will be about three hours of us waiting for him. Which brings me to tell you about the transfer….

So, I am staying in Matsue and so is Tsuchia Chōrō. But now we have anew companion. That's right...SAN-NIN (triple companionship)!!! The new elder's name is Vui Chōrō. We met up in Yonago on Thursday when Tsuchia Chōrō had to go to Kobe suddenly. So I was on splits with Takaku Chōrō for a day. At around 6:00 he came in to the station. We left for Matsue shortly after. By the time we got home we had half an hour left to dendo. So we tried to street contact with little success. Tsuchia Chōrō wasn't able to make it home that night so I had Vui Chōrō to myself. He is from Samoa so he is big. He is bigger than me if that helps you picture his size. I'll send pictures with him in them. But yeah, he is cool.

We picked up Tsuchia Chōrō on Saturday just after lunch at the eki (station). We then met with members and investigators. It was raining the whole day which was great XD I like it. I wonder why XD

Sunday was a good day, as usual. It was also my birthday so that was fun! Both of my companions gave gifts which was sweet of them. We baked a cake that was included in a package Bubba sent me and it actually turned out really well considering we baked it in the microwave. It has an 'oven' feature that lets you use metal. I don't know if the microwave at home (in Oregon) has that feature, but it was pretty cool. We taught the priesthood class a lesson on, guess what...dendo! Go figure! XD After church and lunch we headed out to meet with members and less actives. We also tried to meet an investigator but they weren't home. We ended up being able to meet a couple of people on the streets that we got contact info from so hopefully we can meet up soon! While we were out I got a call from the mission home wishing me happy birthday. To be honest by that time I had forgotten it was my birthday XD It was a pleasant surprise. I read, all of your emails and letters which was awesome! I also read a few of Sierra's Hug and Kiss book. Thank you.

Today we are traveling to Osaka for Visa stuff. We are leaving Matsue at 2:30 to take a 4+ hour bus ride there. We will then do the stuff we need to and hopefully be able to return to Matsue around 8:30-9:00. But before we travel we cleaned, shopped, got haircuts, and enjoyed the semi-sunny weather we have been having. Thank you for the birthday money from you all by the way! It will definitely come in handy.

To answer your question about the mission card Mom, here you go. On the first of every month the card is reloaded with about 120 dollars. The residual money at the end of each month is carried over to the next month. When I pull money out of a non-Bank of America ATM I am charged an extra 2.50 dollars along with the usual %1 international transaction fee. So like if I pull money from a Seven Eleven or the post office ATMs. What I try to do is pull all of the money out at the beginning of the month so I can minimize my transaction fees. This is something that Brother Evelin the financial person) recommended we do to minimize fees. All transportation is reimbursed and I am very good at sending in the reimbursement forms XD

So, just a few questions for you all. How is Dad's book coming along? How is dance for each of the kids? What sport is Jake doing right now, basketball? How is preping for BYU-Idaho going for Sierra? How did Lizzy's Girl Scout fundraiser go? How is Jean Luc doing? How is Smooches and the rest of the cats? How did the three-day workshop go for Mom? Have any of you (besides Sierra) watched anime since I've left? Make sure you grab that double bacon cheeseburger for me from FIVE GUYS XD

Like I have said before, I am trying to make an internal culture change. This has proved to be very difficult (nothing short of what I expected it to be). I am trying to start at a slow pace so I can know how much to accelerate as I go forward. There are parts of me God needs here in Japan. But there are also parts of me He wants me to change so I can be a better tool in His hands. Right now I am figuring out what to change and how to change those things. I want to do this the right way so I am definitely taking time and care. Again, I just want to be the person God needs me to be. As I do this I need all of your prayers. Please pray for me. Ganbarimasu yo(I will do my best)!

Thank you for being the people you are, my dear family. Dad, Mom, Makena, Brooklynn, Sierra, Jake, and Lizzy. You have all influenced me greatly. There has not been a single day where I have not thought about every one of you. Never let go of the iron rod!

Read the talk: Know Thyself, Control Thyself, Give Thyself

あいしています!
Pikoku Chōrō

P.S.
I love you