Week #95

Just got to use the voice recognition on the iPad, it's actually pretty descent, we've had to make a ton of electronic teaching records with the new area book app, and that's come in handy since it all has to be in Japanese,( much Easier to speak than write )

Not a bad week we ran through our net echoing pool and cleaned out allot of people with less interest after visiting them, have an app with harazono San tomorrow he is way good, he will definitely go far, wish I could be here to see all of it but just knowing he has a humble searching heart, is comfort enough that things will be well. 

Haven’t even started packing yet, good thing I got rid of most of my junk last transfer, but I'm not totally sure when I will pack we're going to be busy what with all the members who love us so much, on of the sisters in the area is probably leaving here too so every one is feeding us, it's great, no need for groceries this week.

Well I'll let you know where I get transferred to, my prediction is as follows, I'll get transferred to Fukuoka be there for five days then get e- transferred to Okinawa then five days in there I'll have a run in with an American with brown hair get in trouble and sent home for his safety, I little specific but ya know how it is.

Any way I'll talk to soon enough, love you with all I got

Stay strong stay faithful stay diligent, and just keep swimming.

Week #94

Definitely did have a good week we have been teaching a bunch of lessons and praying a bunch with people for their first time. And we have plans to blow this week up best we can, the feeling of just wanting to coast to the end is always sitting in the background but I'm just going to keep punching it in the face, and we're going to teach 13 lessons this week 10 of which will be with people who just meet us and they pray and have a great experience. 

We will be talking to harazono San again today and we will find out how the job search is going I'll tell you next week on e- mail or just when I see you.

Btw my friend Zack was curious when I'm coming back in to twin so he can be there too how is that going down are we flying into twin or salt lake or what?

Any way I'll talk to you soon enough.

Week #93

It's funny to see the pictures, I don't feel much different just cuz it was a slow process but I do know, I can do pull-ups now and run much farther, my cloths are too big at least from before, but it's funny to see, just got to get off the last bit. Then get jacked when I get home. 

We did indeed have a good week, finding time was cut short allot but, we got a way solid referral and a few other people really looking into the church hoping to really see some good progress, despite the terrible work lode o Japanese jobs, people really have to work the system hard to get breaks let alone Sunday's but harazono san the referral is looking for a new job, please pray he will be able to find one if you could he really has good intent he just needs a little assistance.

 We also got to meet a lady who is Pilipino so I have to teach in English which feels harder than Japanese, and she is Roman Catholic and feels that all the religions are good and the same, but she wants to read the Book of Mormon, but if you have any advice as to how to teach people with a Christian background (never thought I'd say that) it would be helpful.

Oh yea I have a bunch of stuff on my iPad that I'll want back at home I can other air dry it on to one of your guises phones when we meet or something, tell me if you have any ideas. 

 

 The elusive truck peeks its head out of its den to see if it's shadow still shows, we can expect, that it will soon be scared once again and not, come out and check for another ten years, truly a rare sight, a time to be commemorated.

 

 

 

Week #92

So as for this week, I'd call it a success, I wouldn't say I measure it too different than a missionary in Africa, at least PMG defines success as the effort of the missionary not necessarily the number of people who get baptized, if we try our best the lord promises us success so I know I'm helping his children grow closer to him in some way, that knowledge is enough to keep me going with plenty of energy, my mission has really helped me how to measure success,

We found a new investigator that we should be meeting on Wednesday and we were able to work with allot of recent converts, members, do some service, and eat cake. All the bases covered really.

The branch found out that I was leaving soon so they've asked me to give a farewell talk which is still tree Sunday's off, needless to say I have all this time to worry unnecessarily about it till then it was ways easier when they dropped it on me the Saturday before I gave it when I first got here.

We were at the temple today and I'm able to email here just in time to have Emily drop, the fact of her new boyfriend on me, dad what are you doing about this, I pray often that the things that I would be there to help with will be taken care of despite my absence, so what's going on?!??!?!?!

Either way I'll definitely give it all I got for the last stretch, there is still definitely plenty to do.

Same there I figure so, stay strong stay faithful and stay diligent, JKS.

Love you, 

Kemp chourou.

Week #91

Pictures are fun, I looked so funny right before my mission my neck was all stubby and short. All those cloths are too big for me now but I still have some of them to show you that later
 
I'll be honest I still have no real idea what bunko is I know you use dice but that's about it.

  I may be on my last transfer but I still feel like a bean sometimes, I think it's fun I always looked up to the old missionaries when I was young, thinking they knew so much and did everything right, and now realize that I'm here I'm still waiting to be what I expected, there's nothing different I still have so much more to improve but I guess that's life, if we couldn't improve it would be boring. At least I can speak Japanese in most cases now, so one less thing to worry about. The other thing that you catch onto is how many things you should do but don't feel like you have enough time or energy to do.

 This last week was good we worked hard and exceeded some of our goals, there has been a steady improvement over the last few weeks as we've taken to change anything we are doing from less effective to more so and so on, the change is apparent, but takes time my pace cd is tried but then I'm humble I just hope to see the improvement continue so there really can be merciless I acted in taniyama.

 One fun thing as a side note I occasionally wake up with my comp at 5:30 run to a park and do pull-ups and stuff it's fun, and I'll be so happy to have workout planed for me at school, on the note of school really quick I don't remember, were we able to get a Japanese class?
Well other than those things we had interviews with the new president and now get to use an area book planner app. On our iPads really useful, but we also have to convert all of outer paperwork onto it for an hour a day, it's going to take some time to finish this all up.

Anyway that's mostly what's up here, I ate a food challenge thing too it was good but I was full
Stay strong stay faithful stay diligent JKS.
Connor

Samantha,
Currently of its not hot and uncomfortable it's rainy and uncomfortable, still in the rainy season right now but we've had a few blistering days recently, and just today it's letting all out what it's been holding back no more comfortably dry shoes yaaaaa!

The weeks been good though we been out tracking a bunch and have found some people with good potential but nothing that's come through quite yet, but this week! It will happen!

Ate out a ton this week and did an eating challenge for missionaries it's a big bowl of rice and beef and onions and sauce it was good for the first half but got boring and full half way through, but I ate it all, then climbed a crazy hill when we went trackting, on the hottest day of the month yay!

Week #90

Yay picture are fun, I looked funny in Germany, this week has been rather busy we've been trying really hard to be out and working always and be on time with everything, we lost allot of precious dendou time last week so we are going at it hard from here on, it makes it a bit of a pain so few people are home during the first half of the day members or non members alike Japanese people work a ton, so the first half of the day is always ether lessons with recent converts that have convenient situations or old people and mom dendou with housing.

We had seen some dopes in our ability to teach people in contacts, had fallen into some patterns that we were using too much so we've been trying to change our approaches, and we have seen some steady improvement. You know your being successful when you can feel the spirit working through you and we have felt that much more this week. It is indeed saddening when you can see that people feel the spirit and they choose to reject but be come to see that as that we really love them but it doesn't discourage there's always those who are out there, ready to accept.
   We found a kind young mother just yesterday who's little boy came and answers the door a full minute before her maybe 3 or4 years old. She accepted a pamphlet and said we could come back. It has been a common thing noticed in the mission that most women are more accepting of the spirit especially here. But I know the strong priesthood holders are out there. Even if there hiding behind the skirts of their wives.

    Last p-day we had our only sunny day in weeks and rain ever since but on that day we went to   the volcano island, but due to time constraints only got to do a few things. Like pics expensive ice cream and a foot ones (hot spring bath) it was beautiful weather, I'll send some pics.
On the same day we went and ate okonomiyaki and a shaved ice type thing called shirokuma which means white bear. Was way good.
 On Saturdays we have kids Eikaiwa(English conversation class) asked ball and ping pong activities, so we successfully played some very rainy b- ball and some very intense ping ping, there were two people there that night puss my comp who are way good at ping pong. Needless to say I got wrecked that day, but it was still fun.
Sunday was a great fast and testimony on our end too. Lots of people spoke
Sounds like you all had a nice week too especially with 4th of July, glad to hear it.
Anyway, stay strong stay faithful stay diligent JKS.

Week #89

Has he been using the jeep than? Well that's super unfortunate. I didn't know he had plans to come with you, that would have been cool, I hope everything comes through ok though.

As for this last week it was lots of fun which didn't hardly get out for tracking at all though so were shifting some things around in this week’s schedule so we can get out more. On transfer calls on Tuesday no transfer so it looks like I'm dieting here in taniyama unless I go through another random e-transfer again, but that's unlikely. Wednesday was Eikaiwa ( English conversation class) Thursday weekly planning Friday activity planning for an open house and natsumatsuri ( summer party) and a member dinner that evening, Saturday was pack full, literally we had some morning study, kids Eikaiwa, a lesson, ping pong party with the he young men's our weekly basketball activity, then our weekly ping pin activity, I beat one of our investigators in a jujitsu match cuz I'm twice his size, overall it was lots of fun but loses of stuff. On Sunday we got some dendo time but, cuz it was far away about an hour walk and I have to walk for now because of the bike transfers, I ran or jogged back while my comp rode his bike like and got back in half the time it took to walk there, I love how much more active my mission has helped me to be, it's truly a huge blessing. If have been dead from these last few days normally. But all my stuff was fun I can imagine straight patients for 16 hours then a call night, that's tough. I'll hug you to make up for all the needed ones when we meet. Soon enough.

I did get the new backpack and I'm very happy with it it's totally water proof and should hold me through college as well. Thanks sooo much I'll send some pics.

I take it most everyone in the ward who left before me is home now, anything ingesting happening in the neighborhood?

Love you and see you soon enough I'll give it my best sprint here for the final stretch and pray there will be merciless to fallow.
Love you
Stay strong stay diligent stay faithful JKS

Week #88

Things sounds like true back there, I'm glad things are good, I'm sure with the summer started now there's a lot of opportunities for it. I will agree with those at home it's gone by way fast I can't believe it, but I have an extra-long last transfer for a final push, 7 weeker.

We have transfer calls today so we will see how that goes the way it would appear is that I'm dieting here and Ratslaff is killing me but I thought that about Yanai so we never really know ya know. We will see today. We have like 4 recent converts of the last 6 months to work with so we get to periodically meet with them there way good guys all in temple prep class, one of them named Ogata got made kind of homeless recently I can't really explain all of it but if you could please pray that he is able to find a place to stay and a situation that will allow him to continue to progress in the gospel.

So our area Taniyama is just south of main Kagoshima city, some city but mostly schools housing district and apartments and then eventually farm land, allot like Takasu really. Because of the volcano there is ash all over it just kind of makes things dirty is all you don't notice it till you do, most of the dirt hear is ash.

The branch is great, way friendly people I still barley know them but I hope to get to know them well here soon I really need to start to figure out the area here quick.

We had a shokuji, meal. After church with the whole branch and I got to do some translating for a visiting American couple the wife served here 40 years back and the husband servers in Tahiti so no Japanese, good food lots of fun and had a FHE yesterday with a less active family. The Tabatas, dad and a son, dads a good guy but kind of immature, so it's hard to get him to commit to much of anything, we'll try our best with him though.

Anyway that's mostly what it's like here I'll see if I can send some pics for you.

Love you guys sooooo much

Stay strong stay faithful stay diligent, JKS

Connor