2016.11.6 さむいですわ! ️(it's cold)

Hello!

This week was great! I'll start off by telling you that we focused on giving away copies of The Book of Mormon when we were finding people. We wanted to give out a ton and were able to give 17 copies away! With each copy we marked Moroni 10:3-5 and bookmarked it with an "I'm a Mormon" pass-along card that had our  number. And now we are combining giving away The Book of Mormon with holiday message videos. It's been working pretty well and I'm excited to see how it will continue.

There was one night where we called 16 less-actives to see who we could schedule an appointment with. We were able to schedule one at the church for this Wednesday so I am excited for that. Another one told us that he has been wanting to come to church but that because of physical impairments it has been difficult. But he said he would come next week! We also visited a couple of less-actives yesterday and both were good visits.  Asking progress on the less-actives front.

We got a call from our zone leaders Monday morning before we emailed asking if they can come to our apartment. So after emailing we hung out with the zone leaders and the elders from Sumoto for a few hours which was way fun. We had a hair cutting party (I think I sent a video) and I had a really good talk with one of  the zone leaders about how to work with members.

So, for our English class I practiced a song for them to analyze the lyrics. Us elders are in charge of the fluent group and the sisters are in charge of the beginners class. Now, what I didn't hunk about before I started this was that the dividing wall between the two classes is thin since it's one of those room dividers. So I started playing the guitar and singing and got part way through when one of the sister missionaries opens the door and asks me to sing for the beginners class. So I end up singing and playing for a group of about 20 people. 😊 It was fun though. I'm working on making a mission-themed cover of the song which was 'Love Yourself' by Justin Bieber.

The Sumoto elders came over Thursday night and we had a singing competition in Samoan to see who could hit the highest note. It was only a couple lines of lyrics but the chords would move a half-step up the guitar each round. Queiroz Chōrō beat Fa'alute Chōrō who is the Samoan. Then I beat Queiroz Chōrō. But what we all learned that night is that I might be able to sing higher, but Queiroz Chōrō has superior voice quality 😆

We had dinner with an investigator and a member and were able to talk about what the investigator likes about the missionaries and about church. He said that he really likes meeting with us and studying together. Is that awesome or what!? He also likes coming to church but he hasn't recently because of work. We will see what we can do. Before that we had a meal with a member. And before that we had Trainer Trainee Training at the Kobe mission office.

Speaking of Trainer Trainee Training. It was good to see all who were training again. I got to see my two previous companions, Jones Chōrō and Drewes Chōrō. We are all loving training. It is sooooo much fun! I would like to be a trainer until I die #hollywoodending But I want to die in Matsue #hollywoodending

Friday was zone training meeting. We talked about what is difficult about finding those prepared to be baptized. We talked about getting the second appointment, getting contact info, helping the investigators we have, involving the members, etc. What we did was read Mosiah 2-4 and use it to answer our questions/challenges. It was really cool because it is King Benjamin's address to the people. I would encourage you guys to think of a question or a challenge you have and read Mosiah 2-4. Analyze and find the answer. Then do it with other passages of scripture. I promise you will find your answers and be blessed.

On Saturday we went to Himeji to teach a Brazilian family. We taught the Restoration with the Himeji sisters in the Himeji church building. We talked in English and Queiroz Chōrō translated for us. The family really  identifies with the church and they said they would read The Book of Mormon and pray about what we have taught them! Speaking of Brazilians. We met one of our Brazilian investigators in the hospital. He is such a nice man. We taught him the Plan of a Salvation and he said he would pray about it. At the end of the lesson he offered his first prayer EVER to God. How awesome!!! I'm so excited to see him progress further.

Also, we bought too much food last week so we don't need to buy food this week.

Did I tell you it's cold here? It is.

Are takoyaki with a less-active. So good!

Have I told you how much I love fall? I LOOOOOVE IT!!!

My son is becoming a good cook (thank you Mom)!

#missionarylifeforlife

Last night we were riding our bikes around downtown and were meeting a lot of good people. Then we saw a couple walk by as we were inputting a lesson. We decided that we wanted to talk to them. I have never contacted a couple before and I was ready for it although a little nervous. We prayed before contacting them.  As we talked with them they were super nice and respectful. We shared the 'Because of Him' video and the man said that Christ looks like a miracle. We gave them a copy of a The Book of Mormon and they said they would read it. The Holy Ghost told both me and my companion that we needed to stop them. It was sure. And we have changed their lives. Will they call us? I don't know. Will they be baptized right now? Maybe not. But I did what the Holy Ghost told me to do. I know I did. I testify that the Holy Ghost will help us in all things. That is how the Lord directs our paths.

Well, I think that was all for this week. It was a great week and we got a lot done. The work is moving forward  and I am grateful to be a part of it. Fight the good fight and never give up! Until next week. よろしくおれがいたします!

あいしてるわ,
Elder Peacock

2016.10.30 ハピハロウェン (HAPPY HALLOWEEN)!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

I hope you guys are having fun today. It's one of my favorites so please have fun for me wherever you are 😜

This week felt pretty good. We were able to meet a lot of people, find less-actives, and see investigators come to church. The weather continues to grow colder. The leaves are finally changing colors and falling here. Pumpkin-flavored-everythings are popping up everywhere which I appreciate.

Yesterday we didn't have very much time to find people because we traveled to a different ward for our Brazilian investigator family.  They really enjoyed church. The whole time was a translation party because I translated from Japanese to English, then Queiroz Chōrō translated from English to Portuguese for the investigators. It was tiring but way fun. I've never done so much translation before! Turns out that there are a couple of members in the Himeji ward who are fluent in Portuguese so they should be well taken care of there!

But, after that we came back to our church building in Akashi to see who was still there and we were able to set up appointments for later on this week. Then we went to the castle park and were able to give away copies of The Book of Mormon. We were about to head east to meet a less-active but were were notified by a member that the appointment was canceled. Instead we spent the rest of the night with two members and visited less-actives and gave out Eikaiwa flyers.

Queiroz Chōrō have a goal of handing out 70 copies of The Book of Mormon this week (10/day). We think that this activity will help us find those who are prepared to hear the gospel of Christ. Also, it will help prepare others. We also want to hand out a massive amount of Eikaiwa flyers this week. I'm excited!

This week has been a struggle with money because it's the end of the month and we still had to travel. We literally have no money right now. But it's ok because we get fresh MSF tomorrow so we will definitely survive. I honestly though we were going to get stuck between Himeji and here yesterday 😆

I can't believe tomorrow is November! What the heck is happening!? It's too fast!!!

I sent pictures of the Halloween party we had on Saturday. Queiroz Chōrō and I were in charge of an Oreo race where you put the Oreo on your forehead and, without hands, get it into your mouth. Way funny! We were also in charge of a doughnut race where doughnuts were on a string and you had to pull them off. There was also horseshoes, a costume contest, trick-or-treat, and other games. We had an investigator come, so did the sisters. Way fun, loved it! You will see the pictures.

We had a blitz in Kakogawa, that was fun. I was with Fa'alute Chōrō, that's when we had the seven-pattie burger.

Sorry this is taking so long, I'm trying to remember what happened his week. Also, I'm trying to write slow because I know you guys can't read fast (#M*A*S*H)

Have you guys watched any more anime? Watch more anime 😉 

Saw the poster for the new Harry Potter movie, nearly died.

Jake, learn to circular breathe. I would teach you, but I'm here in Japan. 

In case anyone hasn't realized it yet, The Book of Mormon is the best! One draws closer to God through it and your eyes will change. You will see the hand of the Lord in all our lives. I know this is true. Please

read it.

I love you all. Fight the good fight and never give up! たのしんで (have fun)!

Faithfully,

Elder Peacock

Sent from my iPad

2016.10.23 Captains Log #53

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all excited for Halloween because I am SUPER STOKED!!!  We are gearing up for our ward's Halloween party this Saturday. It'll be great. Us elders are in charge of the move-an-Oreo-from-your-forehead-into-your-mouth and eating a doughnut off of a string game...oh yeah 😎 I have really been enjoying the cool weather. We have had wonderful cloud cover the past couple of days with a fabulous breeze. Soon the rain will come. Can't wait!

We actually had an earthquake here in Akashi. It was during a blitz in our area on Friday. Me and Olsen Chōrō were riding our bikes so we couldn't feel anything but our phones went berserk with a siren. We
headed back to the church to gather together. Everyone was fine.  Apparently it was a level three. Nothing was damaged. We got a message from our zone leaders asking if everyone was ok. No other natural disasters have happened.

We had a companion exchange with our lovely zone leaders on Wednesday. I was with Barney Chōrō and we went to Costco with a potential investigator. I was floating on cloud nine the entire time. I can't believe how much I have taken Costco for granted! THE POWER OF THE SAMPLES IS REAL!!! I bout a bag of blueberry acaí chocolate stuff, it was good. Then I got a churro, mango smoothie, and hot dog. Yep, it
was nice.

We had interviews with President Welch on Wednesday morning. Queiroz Chōrō was the first to go at 10:00, then I went in at 10:15. It was basically a reminder that I need to focus more on working with the members. Yep. It is always a good time with President and Sister Welch. Never long enough.

We also got a referral from President Welch who got it from a stake President down in Brazil. Apparently the Brazilian stake president has relatives living in Himeji who want to hear the gospel. いただくわ (I will definitely humbly receive that)! They are a family of three who want to come to church and take the lessons. We went out to eat with them and they love us. Queiroz Chōrō loves being able to speak in him native tongue. I feel like a trainee when he goes off in Portuguese 😆 I'm trying to learn enough so I can at least testify simply in Portuguese.

There was a vegetable festival on Saturday that we ran into at the Akashi Castle Park. So much good food that I didn't buy! They had akashiyaki, karage, candy apples, puff rice, ice cream and gelato, cakes and cookies, and of course vegetables. Way fun. Talked to a lot of people.

I have been studying prayer the past couple of weeks. On one of my follow-ups with my district leader I told him about how I want to pray more but that I don't think to do it. He told me that whenever I think about how I'm not praying throughout the day, pray. And since then my prayers have made a leap in quality. It's been strengthening my testimony that God hears and answered our prayers. I know He does.  There have been several times where I have simply prayed to find someone to talk to and then we do. It has been very enjoyable. I will continue to do so.

That's it for this past week. Today we are cleaning, shopping, eating with members, and emailing all you lovely people. I look forward to this week ahead and can't wait to fill you in more on what happens. Fight the good fight and never give up

あいしています!
Elder Peacock

Sent from my iPad

2016.10.17 First full week of training under my belt!

Good morning!

It's been a way fun week here in Akashi, Japan. We have been able to talk to a lot of people about our Savior, Jesus Christ which is great. As a trainer I am trying to give Queiroz Chōrō ample opportunity to speak in a contact or a lesson. He really is progressing so well! Our goal is to have him start, direct, and end a contact by the end of the transfer. I know he can do it!

At the beginning of his week we met a Brazilian investigator that the sisters had been working with but was difficult because neither of them spoke Portuguese. We taught an overview of the restoration and invited him to church. I tried to teach a little bit (I have started studying Portuguese for this investigator) but it didn't work out so well so Queiroz Chōrō took it away 😜 The lesson went well and he is trying to change his schedule to come to church each week.

I have been slowly introducing Queiroz Chōrō to more and more Japanese food. This past week I have introduced him to Indian Curry, Hand-Rolled Sushi, and Udon. I have been teaching him how to cook as well which has been fun (thank you mom!!!)

We had a companion exchange with the Kakogawa elders and I was with another trainee. We were able to teach a few people which was good. At the end of he night we went tracting and ran into a young man who showed interest in the gospel. We taught him the plan of salvation and then exchanged phone numbers. Looking back on the experience it is easy to see that it was completely led by the Spirit. Being directed to see him and what we said to him was directed by the Holy Ghost. It was a testimony builder to me of the power of prayer because I was praying, before we started knocking on doors, that we would be able to meet one person ready to listen.

Sunday was a WAY busy day. I translated for the American family in our ward during sacrament meeting and Sunday school. After church we had two meal appointments with members which were back-to-back. That took up the rest of our time.

I'm sorry this week's email is short but we are on the clock to get to another member's house before 6:00 so off we go. Fight the good fight and never give up!!! あいしてるわ!

Faithfully,
Elder Peacock


Sent from my iPad

2016.10.9 #training+#happyhalloween+#humpday

Heyo peeps!

So, I'll get the big news out of the way. I'm training!!! My new companion is Queiroz Chōrō. He is 25 years old, technically an American but really a Brazilian, and he got to Japan last week Wednesday night. It's been sooooo cool to see a new missionary in Japan. It's the flip-side of what I experienced in a Matsue. I LOVE IT! I took him to Sukiya after priesthood session and got him a "king-size" gyuudon. It's been fun. He has such a strong desire to serve the Lord and learn the culture and language of Japan.

We have seen some pretty cool things recently. Last week, just before my previous companion transferred, we met a Brazilian named Lucas. He came up to us and said that he wants to learn about our church. And then, just today, we met a young man at a 7Eleven who we taught the Restoration and gave him a tour of the church building. We will also be teaching an investigator that the sisters had, but he is Brazilian and it's hard for them to communicate, so Queiroz Chōrō will help teach him. Yeah, a lot of it has to do with Brazilians 😜#thinkingofyoumatt

Also, fall is making a stand here in the Kansai area of Japan. It's been cooling down a LOT the past few days. It's been way nice! Blue skies, cool wind, the leaves haven't changed colors yet, but just wait a couple of weeks.

I will hit my half-way mark this week and it's strange because I still feel like I'm a fourth-transfer missionary. It was definitely a year, but it was fast. I look forward to the progress, fun, and service that this next year will bring. I am definitely fighting till the end. No letting up on this train 😜

General Conference was this past weekend for us in Japan. One of my favorite talks was called, "The Lord Jesus Christ Teaches Us To Pray", by Elder Juan A. Uceda. It hit home with me. I want to make prayer a part of who I am. The Bible Dictionary says that many of he problems we have with prayer disappear when we realize, remember, and learn about our true relationship with God. That is, that we are His children, and that He loves us. Yeah, it was way good. It was packed with revelation. I watched half of it in Japanese, yeah, not the best idea because I couldn't appreciate it the same. My companion wanted the language study though 😆

So, yeah, that was the week. Love you guys. Fight the good fight and never give up. あいしてるよ (I love you)!

Sincerely,
Elder Peacock

At the Festival

Elder Queiroz

Queiroz Chōrō eating his first "king size" gyūdon at Sukiya after
priesthood session!

Festival!

2016.10.2 洲本交換が当たり(Sumoto exchange, etc.)

Heyo!

So this week had some rough patches, Imma be honest. There were some really high points and a couple of low points. There was some exhausting bike rides that we did, a couple of companion exchanges, and a visit from a former missionary. Let me get to the details.

Because of rescheduling issues we had two companion exchanges. One was on Wednesday and it was with Sumoto! We decided to wake up around 5:00 to take the 5:40 ferry over to Iwaya, the northernmost settlement on the island of Awaji. We got there a little before 6:00. Now, I have biked from Iwaya to Sumoto (or vice versa) about 10 times so I should be super used to it, right? However, probably because I haven't done it in a couple of months, it wiped me out. There was also a strong head-wind. We got into Sumoto at 7:25. We were soaked in sweat when we got to the apartment. Everything was super nostalgic on the exchange, especially being Hancock Chōrō's companion again. I saw several members and investigators which made me supper happy! One of them honored me with a mega-deep bow and super honorific language which nearly made me cry. すごくうれしかった (it was way awesome)! We met a potential investigator who has a 140 year-old house which was way cool to see. She doesn't have interest but told us to stop by again. We found a man who said he will come to Eikaiwa and bring his girlfriend. Overall, it was a good exchange.

We woke up at normal time the next morning and got dressed to ride (sports clothes). But before we left we attended a missionary meeting with the senior couple and one of the members and we studied from chapter one of Preach My Gospel. The member is absolutely on 🔥 now, it's amazing!!! After that we left for our area. He videos I sent were of us traveling back to our area (except for the one where it's dark outside, that was on the way over). We got back to our apartment around 1:30 and had to rest because we were about to die. After that we tried to do some weekly planning, tried to meet with a new investigator but hat fell through, then sped over to the other end of our area to meet with a member. By the time we returned to our apartment we were so tired. I'm sure I fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.

Our other exchange was on Friday after zone training meeting. Which was awesome by the way. My  companion, Jones Chōrō, gave some great training on finding new investigators. Takeaways from him were: 1) teach to find, not just to mark a lesson and 2) observe how the person you are talking to reacts to the Holy Ghost. Even with having talked to me before about what he wanted to say I learned new things.

Anyway, the exchange. I was walking with my exchange companion while my companion was with the other elder. We were eating dinner early so we could switch off the bikes when we got a call from my companion.  Apparently, someone got in an accident and did a spectacular swan-dive into the middle of the road. It's ok, no one was hurt. However, my bike was. Then, soon after, that same elder slipped on my bike and busted my bike light. He felt way bad and apologized and I have nothing against him. It was raining very heavily at the time and it was dark. It just means I have about 100 dollars in repair costs this week...yay... I have to get a new rear tire and new light.

My companion bought me Baskin Robins which was way sweet of him. We got Holloween flavors!!!  #Halloweenisthebest 👻 🎃 🍭 🍦

Then came the hard hit of the week. A former missionary came on Sunday to visit our ward. And we had some less-active members come and the sister missionaries had an investigator come so all four of us missionaries had to split with members of her ward to cover everything. I was assigned to teach Gospel Principles for a new convert. I decided to focus the lesson on The Book of Mormon. And my Japanese is nowhere near perfect so I was struggling a little bit, but he former missionary, and his wife, were there and they helped me out a little. After that lesson we went to priesthood. And right before it started the former missionary came to me and said that I speak Japanese like a child. He said that as soon as I start speaking like an adult people will take me seriously. He told me that everyone will just think of me as the cute little foreigner who is trying but can't speak. Needless to say I got way ticked off. And that was all I could thing of the rest of the day. He also told my  companion how to do dendou here in Akashi. I'm sure he wasn't trying to make us feel incompetent. It just got us both riled up. After that we were able to eventually cool down and work just fine. But boy was it hard for me not to blow up in his face.

In other news: we got a new rice cooker. It's awesome!

Aside from that things have been fine. My companion and I are trying hard to find new investigators. When we contact people we try to set up a second appointment but no one has yet. We are focusing our teaching so that we can find those who will want to learn more. Also, we are trying to use short, powerful statements that explain our purpose and promise blessings at the same time. And we are doing much better at sharing speaking time. About half the people we contact are willing to stop and talk. But of the people who stop and talk, none of them have been willing to meet again. We will keep doing our best though.

There is a section in Preach My Gospel that I keep coming back to again and again. It's in chapter one and it's the section called "A Successful Missionary". I have read it a few times throughout the week. None of us are perfect, we aren't supposed to be. That's why we need to rely on Christ and the power of His atonement. The section "A Successful Missionary" describes the things I need to do so I can have the confidence that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. Some days we feel like we can take on the world, other days we are down in he dumps. Some days we are under house arrest because we are sick, and other days we feel like we can reach lift-off on our bikes. After the visiting former missionary episode on Sunday I read this section and was reminded of what I need to focus on now. I want you all to read this section.

So, anyways, that was my week in a nutshell. I'm sorry there was a lot of not good news. I'm doing fine. My health his good, no worries there. My companion is awesome. The weather is definitely cooling down which is nice. The rain is nice too. I'm learning. I love you all! Fight the good fight and never give up, yeah? I'll do the same 😀あいしてるわ (love ya)!

Sincerely,
Elder 孔雀

P.S.
HAPPY OCTOBER!!!

2016.9.25 It's officially Fall and we we’re in our area for about half the week

 Ohakonichibanwa (good morning+hello+good evening) 😜 No, Japanese people do not actually say that, but my companion sure does.

It's been a fun week over here in Akashi. We have had some rain (typhoon) and cooler weather coming in which has been nice. Yeah, we had a mini-typhoon come in on Tuesday. We got weather alerts from the cellphone carrier saying that we should got to a strong structure and that there were going to be "sand and dirt disasters". We stayed in our apartment for most of the day to wait out the rain and wind, but other than that nothing happened. We had Eikaiwa later that night so we were fine.

We found a new investigator on Wednesday. He is a college student studying drawing. He wants to hear more about our church so we set up an appointment with him. I'm excited to see how he will progress. Speaking of new investigators. We had an exchange with the Zone Leaders in Amagasaki. I was with Reber Chōrō who will be going home next week. We talked to a couple of people before dinner which was good. But the highlight came when we went to MacHouse (McDonalds) for dinner. There was a young man across from us that we wanted to talk to. We started a conversation and found out that he has actually been thinking about converting to Christianity. The only thing is that he when to a Christian church one time and it was not a fun experience, a little scary he said. We invited him to come with us to the church building because we were heading over to do some music practice. He readily came with us. The whole time we were practicing we had fun and goofed around and he loved it. He had a smile on his face the entire time. By he time we left his view of church had done a 180 degree turn. He said he was going to post all over his social media that church is awesome. How cool is that!? I'm excited for his progress even if he isn't in my area.

We did an exchange with the elders from Kakogawa. That's where the pictures of the sunset, devil hornets, and shrines came from. I was with Matsuhisa Chōrō and we were trying to teach as many people as we could but there were so few people out on the street. It was good though. We met an older man who can speak English very well and had been to the missionary's Eikaiwa before. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and he really seemed to like it. I hope he meets with the missionaries again.

I gave a talk on Sunday. Talked about preparation. Related it to missionary work, school, etc. The stakes here have the goal of working towards a temple here in the Kansai area. It went fine. Then we sang Lead Kindly Light with the Sister Trainer Leaders here very suddenly. That went fine. Yeah, Sunday was good. We had a couple visit the ward from America. The husband served in the Akashi ward as a missionary in 2000. One of the people he baptized is currently the Ward Mission Leader. He really liked seeing that. We all had dinner together at the Ward Mission Leader's house that night. Way fun, loved it.

Over the past couple nights I have fallen asleep early. But both nights I woke up around 10:00 and was acting funny. Just like I do when I wake up tired and disoriented. My companion got a good laugh out of it 😆

I made a new language study plan this morning. Yay! We cleaned our apartment a little more. Yay!

HAPPY 🍂 EVERYONE! I can't wait for 🎃 👻 !!!!

Yep, there you have it. I'm sorry if I forgot anything but I don't think I did. I'm doing well and I hope you all are too. Thank you for the updates! Fight the good fight and never give up! 愛してりよ!

Sincerely,
Elder Peacock