2016.7.17 Goodbye Sumoto :( Hello Nabari :D

はいてんきんだす (yep, I got transferred),

They called me right after a lesson with one of our investigators so we let the investigator know. After that we had Eikaiwa, so I told the students. We had s'mores as a class which was pretty good :) Then we met one of our good investigators for dinner. After dinner with them we all got soaked playing with squirt guns. After that we did our sparklers. They also gave me an Indonesian festival shirt which was way sweet of them! And one of the members saw me off at the bus station when I left which was really good to see.

I started my transfer travels at 7:50 and got to my new area around 3:00. I met up with my new companion, Drews Chōrō, in Nara while he was waiting with Vui Chōrō so I got to see him which was awesome! He's my district leader now so I will be able to go on exchanges with him. We got to the apartment and I dropped off my stuff, then we headed out. We checked on a few investigators before going to the church for a couple of appointments. We taught one man who is very good at English and who believes in the Bible and is starting to believe in The Book of Mormon. After that it was time to head home.

The Nabari apartment is the newest apartment I have been in yet. It's normal-sized which is nice. The train tracks are right behind our apartment so we hear them all day and night. But I like it, it's a nice white noise.

We met up with a young Japanese man who met the missionaries for the first time last week. He drove us to his house and introduced us to his mother. Then we went to his favorite spot up by the lake. We talked about all of our favorite things, what is different between America and Japan, and about the gospel. He has a desire to learn which is good. After that he took us out to eat at an indo-curry restaurant which was super good. There was a window where you could see them cooking. After that we watched the fireworks from a library on top of a hill so it was a good view. He wants to meet with us again so I am excited to see how he will progress.

On Sunday I introduced myself to the branch. There were about 24 people in attendance which is about 10 people more than Sumoto. We had the Osaka Stake President visit us and he spoke about temples. It was actually a theme for all of church, talking about temples. The people here really want a temple in the Osaka area. But he only way that is going to happen is if the members do the missionary work, not just the full-time missionaries. After sacrament meeting we went and knocked on doors with the stake president because he wanted to. We met a couple of people but nothing panned out. After church we had a food party which was pretty good. I mixed trap juice and Calpis, highly recommend it XD After hat we knocked on more doors, and more doors...and more doors.

I've been returning to the apartment just beat every night so I have been sleeping well. We have been having good cloud cover so it has cooled off a bit which is way nice.

Nabari is more countryside than Matsue, but more city than Sumoto. There are good-sized hills and beautiful mountains. And, my favorite part, there is a bike shop where I will be able to repair my bike! So, when my bike comes I will take it in, which should be this week. There is a grocery store right next to our apartment which is super convenient.

Drews Chōrō is a good guy. He is a hard worker and wants to teach the people here. I am looking forward to my time here with him.

So, yeah, that's the big news over here. Looking forward to more adventures. Today will be a normal Preparation Day. After emailing we will go grocery shopping and probably hit a restaurant for lunch. We have an appointment later on today so that's what we have going on today. Good stuff. Stay tuned for next week's episode! Fight the good fight and never give up! あいしてるよ!

Sincerely,
Elder Peacock

2016.7.10 Talent Show!!!

かぞくげいんき (how are you guys)?

I hope that you all enjoyed the trip to Utah. Those trips are some of my favorite because of the people I am with when I take those trips. Family and friends are of supreme importance in this life so don't take the time you spend with them for granted. The bonds you make, and strengthen, can last through the eternities. Therefore, show love to all you know and meet.

Well, it's strange that another transfer has ended and another one has begun. I am now a sixth transfer missionary out here. I have really enjoyed my time with Hancock Chōrō here in Sumoto. There are many memories we have made that I won't forget any time soon. Right now I do not know anything about transfers so I will let you all know what happens next week. I don't have any particular feelings, but I think I will stay with Hancock Chōrō in Sumoto for one more transfer. So far I have been in Sumoto for two and 2/3 transfers (because of the emergency transfer out of Sekime). This is the longest I have been in an area yet. Sumoto is a gorgeous city on an even more gorgeous island. When I visit Japan after my mission I will definitely come visit here.

So, I will just hit the highlights of this week.

This week has been about half-and-half sun and rain. The weather forecast keeps saying there will be thunder and lightning but it hasn't happened yet. There were a couple of days where we biked south to Minamiawaji. The second trip we took went all the way down to the southern beaches. We went over a mountain because we wanted to be in the next settlement over so that was fun. We met some college students from Kobe who we taught. They were kind, and we taught them about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. After that we made the long trip home. We hurried because we needed to catch a bus to another area in our district so we could make it to zone training meeting on time the next day.

Zone training was good. There was one thing in particular that I took note of, but a lot of it was good. The one thing was about plans/goals. Our tech elder talked about how, specifically with tech opportunity to use the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I never thought about involving the Atonement of Christ in my plans and goals that aren't gospel-related. Yes, I know, I'm slow to the game every time XD That was the point I learned from zone training meeting.

We had a talent show in Sumoto that we held in the church. It was from six to eight and we had lots of food and drinks, including s'mores stuff that the missionaries provided. Instead of graham crackers we used shortbread cookies. It turned out pretty well. We learned a Japanese dance called auadori. There is a festival in August that is celebrated all through out Japan where people will do this dance. It's way fun but I don't have a video to show, sorry XD There were two Australians that we met before the talent show started and they ended up coming to the talent show. They are way nice and they said we could visit them in port whenever their boat was there. I geeked out with the wife about Dr. Who because she grew up in England. It was awesome!

Yesterday was good. We talked about why we need to go to the temple in Priesthood. Speaking of temples, the Sapporo, Japan temple is about to open to the public and they have pictures on LDS.org. There are pictures of the gorgeous temple on LDS.org that I'm using as my background. Way pretty!!! But while we were at church, Hancock Chōrō started to not feel well so we went home and he rested. Poor guy, he has been feeling ill on and off since we did the spinning teacups at ONOKORO on the Fourth of July. He's a trooper.

Today is going to be a normal Preparation Day. We were going to bike around the island, but with the new transfer we decided against it. Will I ever do it, maybe not on my mission. But, I will definitely do it sometime in my life. We studied, cleaned, and will do grocery shopping after emailing. It will probably be a relaxed Preparation Day compared to last week. It has been a little cooler over the past couple of days. We have had cloud cover and rain which have helped.

I love you guys a ton! Not a day goes by where I do not think of you. Please keep me in your prayers. Fight the good fight and never give up! あいしてるよ!

けいぐ,

Elder Peacock

P.S.

Please send me pictures of the trip, I want to hear and see all about it.

2016.7.3 Happy Fourth of July!☄!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!! ! !!!!!! !!!!!!!☄!!!!

Greetings humans people!

It's been another good week in Sumoto, Japan. I tell you what, it is really starting to heat up over here. We are working hard to bring about the Lord's work in this corner of His vineyard. Success can be measured in many ways, but I know that we are succeeding. This week has been filled with fun, scary, and magical moments.

While this work is definitely grand it can sometimes become dull, that is where our creativity comes into play. We are able to bounce off each other so as to make each day more enjoyable. We talk a lot about how the mission has been changing us and how it will, has, changed our future. It's been great.

We met an elderly couple while trying to find a potential investigator who were really nice. We talked a lot about God, The Book of Mormon, and pre-earth life. Now they want to take us out to eat udon tomorrow. We think they are pretty well off because they have a beautiful home with an equally beautiful garden. I'm excited to see how they will progress. We also found two other men who had previously met the missionaries, many years earlier, and seem willing to meet again. I'm excited for the continued work in Sumoto, and, in Japan.

We were out of our area for a day due to a blitz in our district leader area. I was paired with the district leader's companion. We were able to teach a man who was extended the invitation to be baptized but declined because his wife wouldn't be baptized. He has a lot of concerns about the world that gives him cause to believe that people cannot change. We tried to talk to him about how the gospel of Jesus Christ can, does, and will change people. It was a good lesson, but he is just struggling with those thoughts.

Anyway, those were some of the highlights from the week. Today is going to be busy. We are going to visit a theme park on the island. It has a few things that we thought would be fun. All of the elders from our district are joining us for the day. It should be fun, especially since it is he Fourth of July for us today. And although we are in Japan we are definitely celebrating America :) We will buy sparklers and eat good food together. We are also planning on playing some beach volleyball. I am definitely excited!

Anyways, that's what's up. I hope you guys are enjoying your time in Utah. Please be safe in all that you do and make sure that you have fun for me ;) あいしてるよ!

けいぐ,
Elder Peacock

2016.6.26 Week 36 or 37?

GOOD MORNING AMERICA!

How is my lovely family doing? I hope you are all enjoying the Utah trip so far. Have tons of fun for me, and remember to be safe!

Things have been going fine over here. It's fun, challenging, crazy, tiring, and very good. We have had some pretty rainy and windy days that have been warm. Then we have had some hot, sunny days. We have biked up to Iwata (the north end, right next to the Kobe Bridge) and back three times this past week so we are pretty sore as of now. Needless to say we have been sleeping very well :) A lot of the excitement this past week came from the blitz we had in our area on Friday.

Since we had a blitz in our area we also had district meeting in our area. We decided that the two sisters would take the bus, but the elders wanted to bike instead. So Hancock Chōrō and I woke up at 4:30 and biked up to Iwata, met up with the elders, and biked back down. After district meeting we split up the island for each companionship. I was with Jones Chōrō and we headed further south along the coastline towards a little settlement called Yura. We met a couple of people and taught them. We found the end of the line. Then we headed back to Sumoto. We spent a little more time in Sumoto and were able to teach a lot more people. We met with an investigator who has been sick recently. And we ran into an Eikaiwa student which was great. We invited him to be baptized but he said he wanted to read more of the Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet we were using before he made a
decision.

One of the side-quests of the blitz was to make two new analogies/examples/parables. And we had to do this with the stuff that Hancock Chōrō and I bought from the local dollar store XD We had a gasoline siphon, a wallet, an hour glass, a bike lock (I do not recommend using a dollar store bike lock for securing your bike), balloons, and party crackers. We tied the gasoline siphon to the power of Christ's atonement. We tied a piggy-bank to baptism. It was good, definitely fun! The goal of the side-quest was to exercise our creativity.

At the end of the day we headed to the apartment where we had a massive spaghetti dinner. It was beautiful. The next day we headed back north after lunch because our district leader's bike needed to get fixed. We stopped at the restaurant called 'America' for pancakes and sandwiches. Once we got to the north end the other elders took the ferry back to their areas. People cannot bike or walk across the Kobe Bridge. We then visited a less-active member and headed back. It was raining on there way back which was nice because it kept us cool, but not nice because it was wet for the whole two-hour ride.

By the end of the week we had biked 12 hours just from the trips to the north end and back. That doesn't include the normal biking we do for our close-by investigators and members. So yeah, we have been tired. But we are getting good exercise.

Something that I have been thinking about is how God, our Heavenly Father, is the source of all truth. There are many religions in this world that have good goals and intentions. These good religions have prices of truth. There are many good people of many other faiths. But I believe that our Lord, Jesus Christ, has restored all of His truth through the prophet, Joseph Smith. And that when He did so he established, once more, as in ancient times, His true church. My desire, which is the same as countless others, is for everyone to add truth to the truth they already posses. Please, come and be filled with the love of God and the light of Christ. I promise that as you do so you will be enlightened, that you will never see things the same.

So, that was the highlight of the week. We worked with our investigators a lot. We tried to find more of our potential investigators but many of them were not home. We have a few new investigators from the blitz that we will meet with this week. I'm excited.

Today we are grocery shopping, I'm getting a haircut, and cleaning our apartment extra well because apparently our mission president, and his wife, are coming to our individual apartments for interviews! There may or may not be a certain, maybe large, amount of plastic bottles on our back deck 😅

Anyways, things are going well here in Sumoto, Japan. I'm just doing what I do the best I can do it. Prayers are good, pray for me please :) I'm glad I have you guys as my family. Have fun on your vacation! きょつけて (be careful).

愛しています (love you)!
ピーコックChōrō

2016.6.19 Gaston/Rocky Week

おはようございます (good morning)!

This week has been a good week. We have had fun, made good progress, and are ready to see what will happen. First, I will explain the subject of this email: Gaston/Rocky Week.

So we were singing songs from Beauty and the Beast and Hancock Chōrō's favorite is Gaston's song. There is a line that talks about how he ate four dozen eggs every morning, as a boy, to help him get big. But, after becoming an adult, he eats five dozen every morning. So we thought, "hey, we want to get big...we should try the "Gaston diet". So, we did. Kind of XD What we decided to do was to eat three or four eggs with every meal. And we still have more than two dozen eggs as of now. We even drank eggs raw, like Rocky!!! Three of them. And it had a very strange flavor. It wasn't revolting, but definitely something that would take getting used to. Speaking of Rocky, have you guys seen the new Rocky movie called "CREED"? If you have don't spoil it for me!

Here are some highlights from the week:

Tuesday was fun because we needed to retrieve our bikes from the north end of the island. Public transportation is not reimbursable so we decided to walk the whole way (25 km=15 mi). We decided that as we walked we would teach as many lessons as we could. Someone gave us a ride early on in our walk which cut down our time by about a third. We told him about what we do as missionaries. By the end of the ride we gave him a Book of Mormon and our number. He was nice, but maybe not interested. Later on we stopped at a small shop to grab some refreshment. They had this really good ice cream that they let us have for free. So nice! We are planning on visiting again later. Then we walked for quite some time without any contact with people. Then we went to a restaurant that we had seen before. I ended up paying four dollars for a normal, although very spongy, pancake. Then I paid another three dollars for a bottle of Cake...good job David XD we eventually got to our bikes and headed home. That was the highlight of Tuesday.

On Wednesday we found two new investigators. One of them found us in the parking lot of a convenience store. The other one was found from our potential investigators list. We met with one of them on Saturday and he committed to baptism! We also have another investigator who wants to be baptized, but his situation is a little challenging so it will be interesting to see how that goes. So right now we have two investigators that want to be baptized which is great! We will continue to work with them and help them progress.

As I dismounted my bike on Saturday I bent my rear wheel just from my weight. It's pretty bent up now. I will get it replaced. But my bike is also doing something funny with the pedals. I don't know if I told you before, but when I was in Matsue the left pedal was loosening. Eventually it got to the point that, even though I would tighten it with all of my might, it would still be loose. I even took it to shops and they couldn't tighten it any more. I ordered a replacement part from Yamasaki-San, the man I bought my bike from, and I finally got it last transfer. But that is the part that is having problems now. Same pedal, same side. If it progresses to the same point as last time then I think I will replace it, but I don't know if it will keep doing this. So that has been fun.

We had Kobe Stake Conference yesterday. Elder David A. Bednar spoke to us. However, it was in Japanese so I really understood only, like, 10%. General Conference and church meetings are hard to understand because they use a different set of vocabulary that is hard to catch, even with my iPad-dictionary. After the conference, the Welch's had all of the missionaries over to their house for lunch. But, alas, we were not to eat. We had met with one of our investigators the day before and decided that we were going to fast with him for one day, Sunday. So we didn't eat at the Welch's. We still had a good time because it was like a zone training meeting without teaching, and it was at President Welch's house. It was pretty great.

Today will be us getting my bike checked out, groceries, emailing, haircuts, and then meeting with a member later on. It should be rainy for the majority of this week. It's really warming up now. Everyone is telling me it's only going to keep getting hotter. I will do my best not to die ;) That's the general update on my end. I'm excited to see how the second half of this transfer will go. I'm enjoying my companion, area, and time here in exotic Japan.

Stay tuned for next week's episode of "The Wonders of Japan, with Elder Peacock" XD

あいしてるよ!
Elder Peacock

P.S.
Joshua 1:5. Highly recommend it.

P.P.S.
HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD, I LOVE YOU!!!