Chris' Weekly E-mail

Sent this article to Chris:
TOKYO - Swarms of giant Nomura's jellyfish are expected in the coastal waters around Japan this year, a "jellyfish typhoon" that threatens to inflict massive damage to the fishing industry.

His reply:
Fetch. If this makes the price of sushi go up I am gonna flip.

So here is my week in a nutshell.
Saturday after I emailed, we went bowling with Sister Traveller. The bad news is that my camera ran out of batteries, so I didn't get any good pictures. Baba took some so maybe I can steal them from him. So yeah, I got 4 strikes in a row. Can you call Jason and let him know? Tell him "omg nub i liek toally gotz fore strikez in a row n it was liek way eazy n stuf cuz i am so pro n i pwned teh otha nubz i waz playin with lulz luz."So yeah, then that night we went over to a members home to just share a simple message,
and we streeted the whole way. I stopped this father and his little boy and taught them a lesson, he said he had interested in Islam because of the people he works with but no real interest in Christianity. Our short message with Morita shimai was way good, she gave us some good tips on dendoing the young mothers around here, so we set up a FHE for her to share more with us and to do some practices.
Sunday was bomb, Ando came to church as well as Kenji. We did a lesson with Ando and taught him about Faith in Jesus Christ, then we talked about the WoW. Yeah, he has a HUGE WoW problem... fetch. He is breaking all of it, and he told us "most people who smoke know that it is bad and they want to stop, and most try to stop at least a couple times. I know it is bad, but I have never wanted to stop or never even tried to stop." FETCH! Hahaha, its all good. We are strengthening his faith and he will be fine. The spirit was way strong the whole time we taught him, so I know that everything will be okay and he will be able to overcome it. Kenji came in the middle of sacrament meeting, he is kinda a weird dude but is nice. I went and sat by him when he walked in, and we talked about baseball a little, listened to testimonies, then I bore my testimony and that was pretty much my Sunday in a nutshell. The ward did a Ward Keikakukai (planning meeting) after church, and shared with us the 4-year plan they have for the ward. It was pretty funny, Japanese people are way funny when it comes to meetings and stuff. They had some sweet powerpoints and stuff, way good deshita.
Monday we had staff meeting, then went up to Kasugai to finish picking out an apartment for the elders up there. At night we met with Hachisuka family and shared a little spiritual thought, then we met with Moritas and we studied PMG together then did some role-plays. It was way bomb, I feel like I learned quite a bit from it so I am happy.
Tuesday we worked in the office all day, then peaced out and did some hardcore finding. The only problem is, that no one wanted to be found. =( We talked to a bunch of people, but weren't even able to hand out a book of Mormon or get any phone numbers or return appointments. Rough day, but it felt good working hard.
Wednesday we had training from some dude in Tokyo all day, LAAAAME. It was so boring, this dude was the dullest dude in the world and he just kept telling us stories about missionaries who have done stupid stuff in the office and driving the cars etc etc. without actually training us at all. I wasn't too stoked about it, so I asked if I could just do other work since he was focusing it all towards Katanuma, so that was nice. At night we had Eikaiwa, and it was pretty bomb. Lots of people came, we had a fun time, and afterward we taught two lessons. Kenji san showed up, so we taught him a lesson about the Book of Mormon and the importance of it. He is hard to keep focused, but when we prayed to begin the lesson, he was focused all the way through the end. Prayer is the bomb. After his lesson, (we had Ando san stick around and play the piano until after) we did a lesson with Ando san. We talked more about the word of wisdom. He still doesn't understand why sake is considered bad because Japanese people all think it is good for your health. I told him "I cant give you a good reason why because I have never actually drank it before and I know that most people say it is good, but I can tell you that Joseph Smith was a prophet that was called by God. As God's prophet, he received revelation from God and was told not to drink sake. Because I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and I want to keep Gods commandments, I don't drink. I am blessed abundantly because of it. It is an act of faith to follow the commandments when you don't completely understand that, and I know if you do that you will be blessed." The spirit was way way way good, and he said "thank you for giving me your honest feelings and answer, that means a lot to me that you would tell me that you don't know why but that you are still keeping that commandment. Thank you." Sweet!Thursday we partied like rock stars all day, we went to Nagoya to drop off a taikai box (its a box with a bunch of items in it that missionaries can buy, and it also has the liahonas and planners and that kind of stuff in it too) and then we went to the electronic store next to the eki in nagoya to get printer supplies. Holy fetch, I am not gonna lie, I got kinda trunky walking into that place. There are all kinds of new Apple stuff, new Adobe CS4, all kinds of new computer gadgets and so I just put up my blinders and tried not to look at any of it. Haha! Japanese Electronic stores are pretty crazy, it blew Best Buy out of the water any day. It was 5 stories tall, haha. We then went and ate at Yabaton, that was pretty delicious. That night, we went with Ando san, Kenta kyodai, and the Traveller's out to eat at Hongotei, it is a way tasty ramen place. We had a good time, then went back to Traveller's home and did a lesson. We all took turns bearing testimony and focused on how we gained a testimony and how it helps us keep the commandments. Ando san is way bomb, he asked President after we were finished, "should I stop it all at once or do you think I could do one at a time?" President said it was his choice, and he said "well I am gonna stop coffee from now on, then we will do sake and tobacco." I asked him to read Alma 24 and talked about burying our weapons, and he said "well dang, it looks like I have 3 weapons I need to bury." Haha.
He is keeping the word of wisdom! We followed up and he said after his 10pm-9am shift of work, he was craving a coffee worse then ever, but he thought of the Traveller's faces and our faces and he realized he couldn't drink it, so he didn't! Sweet.
Friday we worked like normal, then we went to the batting center with Kenji san and did some batting. I didn't do so hot, it has been so long lol. I got a couple good hits, but most were just strikes. =P After that we lessoned with him at church then played badminton. We committed him to read and pray and be baptized, and he said yes. Pretty cool huh? =) We will set up a date when we meet at church this Sunday hopefully.

That's it. Glad to hear everything is well at home, have fun at camp next week! Be safe! I love you all, tell Jon I say hello! I am outta here, hope you got the pics I sent. I checked out Shir's site because I was curious so see if she was still running it, looks like she has updated it with a lot of pics since I left! Way bomb. Tell everyone back home that I love them. I really wish I could write letters to my primary class, to the priests quorum, to all our neighbors, and even to my own family, but the dendo is too crazy and I am tsukaresugiteiru (exhausted). Sorry! I love you all, and I am so grateful for all your love and all your great examples to me!
Love,
KUN

Q & A

How is Ando san doing?
I will tell you about him in the big email, he is doing pretty good!

Any other baptisms scheduled in your district?
Yeah there is a little 10 y.o. boy named Yasu kun who should be getting baptized pretty soon, but he needs to ask his Dad for permission (his mom is a less active member)

Did Julius tell you I sent him an email?
Yeah, it was on like the same day you sent it, me and Elder Muniz went to visit him. He was way happy. He hasn't been around lately, it's a bummer.

When are the next transfers and do you expect to be moving?
July 25, nope, I am stuck here for one more, I don't think president would leave me less than 3.

Is there a particular area that you would like to serve in at some point of your mission? If so, why?
Takayama. Hehehehehe, I would love to go up to Kanazawa Zone or Nagano Zone. I miss being in the inaka. (country)

Any dinner yet with Jim Hill's sister's family? What kind of home/apartment do they live in over there and how do they enjoy the culture, etc.?
Of course not. They are way good though, they help teach Eikaiwa which is the bomb.

Do you ever see any Japanese TV? We used to always watch it when we would eat at people's homes, because they would leave the TV on. There used to be some really weird stuff on TV and they had lots of variety shows with lousy singers and stuff.
Yeah its a lot of weird game-shows. I think they are pretty dang funny, and now that I can understand what the people are saying I think they are even funnier.

Have you seen some interesting malls or shopping areas there in Nagoya? We used to dendo in the malls, but I'm not sure if they have you do that any more.
I have been when I am around the Eki running errands, but we don't dendo in any of them.

How do you enjoy speaking Japanese now? Are you much more comfortable with the language now?
Its pretty bomb, I usually don't speak English unless I am talking to Sister Traveller or the Gurr's. I am getting comfortable, but I realize that I am still missing a bunch of words in my vocabulary.

Any fun events planned for this week?
Nope, not that I know of. Traveller's are having Ando san over for dinner again on Monday, that's the only thing we got planned I think.

What do you plan on doing today on your pday?
I don't think we have anything fun going down, maybe sister Traveller will want to do something though. I wanna sleep.

Are there any general authorities expected to be visiting Japan in the near future?
Yeah but Elder Oaks is going to Tokyo for a Single Adult conference. Its pretty funny, in Japan there is no YSA, it is just SA, because so many of the singles here are over 30.

I cant believe Jon got home, fetch! Way cool though, I love you all, hope everyone is well!