To Joe

Hey there, lovely people!

I hope you like hearing about こうかん... 'cuz there've been two more last week! This time, they were 外人, just like me!

FIRST! I had a こうかん with Sproat長老. From Hawaii, he is. Very げんき, he is. Like Yoda, I speak. All jokes aside though, he is such a powerful teacher! Here's a cool story: we were just doing some street contacting in the evening, near the 福山(Fukuyama)　えき. We came across an awesome kid, Ohio Guy (obviously not his real name), who was just heading to the library to study for his math exam. Completely ignoring his homework, we asked if we could join him and talk a little more about God. And so we did! And it was amazing! Even though we just met him, we all felt a strong connection to each other. The way Sproat長老 taught him about the Restoration just sent chills down my spine -- chills of awesomeness! Not only did Ohio Guy feel the Spirit, but so did I. It was amazing.

THEN! I had a こうかん with Durin長老, from California. That one was really tough, because this time, the こうかん happened here, in Kurashiki. That basically meant that I was in charge of being "the leader" that day. I screwed up a lot. But in the end, it was super awesome. He's a super swell guy. His Japanese is amazing, too!

FINALLY! We had a TTT meeting (Trainer Trainee Training). I got to see my MTC district! I don't think I have ever experienced such sudden glee! I was jumping up and down so much -- they must have thought that the mission had made me crazy, hahah! It was a very educational meeting and I'm super grateful for the opportunity I've had to meet my friends again!

Ran out of time, gotta go. Love all of you. Yes. Even you, Joe. Even you. 

(I don't actually know who you are, Joe. Sorry.)

Have a great week!

~サントス長老

Personal Improvement

Did you know? 今日は(konnichiwa) literally means: "As for this day". Now imagine everyone saying that to each other all the time. Yeah. Japan is crazy. It's crazy and I love it.

AS FOR THIS DAY, EVERYBODY!

I hope your week has been great, because mine sure has! So... let's eat this pie, shall we?

FIRST OFF! We've had some wonderful きかい to help some 教会員 this week. One of them is a very kind おじいちゃん who now lives in a hospital owned apartment. He's very さびしい, so we decided to drop by and read with him in the Book of Mormon. It was a nice experience and he really seemed happy afterwards! Ah... there's nothing like happy old people. Yosh!

THEN! We had another one of those lovely こうかん with the zoneleaders. Crook長老 is an amazing missionary. He has given me a great example of BOLDNESS and PERSISTENCE. Those two are essential to be a successful missionary. This is what I learned:

When contacting strangers, you shouldn't be afraid to open your mouth, even if it's in 日本語. Dodgeball, remember? You have the ridiculously skilled kid on your team. You can do this, as long as there's teamwork. If you aren't willing to pass the ball to him, you won't be pummeling the other team. Make sure the other team gets a good pummeling. With a side of scrumptious defeat. おいしい！

Don't forget.

But that's not all! Crook長老 also helped me overcome some inner trials I've been wrestling with for a decent amount of time... I have received answers and help for personal improvement and I'm really grateful for that!

ALSO! We had a greater focus on visiting less-active 教会員 this week. We have been able to speak with them, get to know them better... and invite them to pray once again and dust off the good ol' Book of Mormon and give it a read. All of the people who we're teaching and who are investigating the church seem to have made progress in one way or another. It's been a very productive week and I'm glad our hard work is paying off. It's thanks to that and, of course, our Heavenly Father, who has been listening patiently to my prayers and answering them in different ways.

(We also got some sweet Japanese flutes called しゃくはち from one of the less-actives. He made them himself. He had a few he needed to get rid of, so we got them as a gift! SWEET! Our neighbors are gonna be so happy!)

That's it for today. I hope you all are doing great!

See you next time!

愛しているよ！

~サントス長老

Teaching & Biking

Hey there! How have you been?

This week has been super tiring!! Even though it's been an average missionary week, we had a ton of stuff to do!

IT GOT PHYSICAL! We went up and down, climbing countless mountains on our fragile little bikes. I wouldn't be surprised if I'd have bodybuilder-legs after my mission. It was exhausting.

IT GOT SPIRITUAL! We taught a ton of lessons. Remember how we found those interested families last week? We taught 'em all this week. Whooh.

I FOUND ANOTHER MONSTROSITY! It's a cute little lobster thing in one of the channels on the side of the road. I wonder if it tastes good.

WE SWITCHED ELDERS! Because it's a new transfer, Hayashi長老 (the one being carried by us) went to Himeji and we got Beck長老 in his place! He's big, he's blond, he's macho, he is awesome. He's from Utah, by the way.

I ran out of time! Sorry for the short update! Have a great week!

~サントス長老

Bold & Fearless

HEY BEAUTIES!

This week has been a BLAST! We've had an EXPLOSION of experiences! Being a missionary truly is the BOMB!

Let's quit the lame jokes and begin, shall we?

FIRST! We've had another こうかん! I went to 福山 to work with James長老. He's a funny guy, that James長老. While working we were just always joking and being a jolly pair of missionaries. It's been fun! I also learned a thing or two about being BOLD. COURAGEOUS. HEROIC!! 

As missionaries, we are called of God to serve as Jesus Christ's representatives. We have the authority to act in His name. Isn't that amazing? We're entrusted with such an important task! God trusts that we can do this! He's on our side! Can you imagine?! It's kind of like playing dodge ball at high school and having that one kid who's substantially better than everyone else, on your team!! We can do this!!

THEN! We had a Zone Training Meeting! The major topics were being bold and fearless (deja vu?) and involving the church members more in our work as missionaries. It's been very educational. The "being bold" thing is something I still have to work on. But it's getting there! Thanks to the ZTM, too! Oh -- and the mission president decided to drop by and attend the meeting with us. What a pleasant surprise!!

ALSO! My first てんきん is over!! Transfer announcements came in today. We got to know where we'll serve next! Santos長老 will be serving in...

...

Kurashiki. I'm staying! And so is my trainer, Carlile長老! Yay!

This week has truly been a blessing for me. We've seen a lot of success in our work and our prayers have been answered. It felt like all those weeks of hard work have paid off last week. As long as we're diligent in our work, we will see success. Our Heavenly Father will bless us. That's a promise!

I love you all. I hope you've had a great week!