Art work from the Desk of Kemp Chourou

Week #17

love the jokes! they always help to give me a laugh.

any way ill send you some pics that i have right now, but the card with he camera was not big enough, 1 gbt only holds 123 pics about and all of the pictures from our trip to salt lake withe he stake president we on there so i took like 12 pics then it said it was full, thankfully i have 2 gbt card that i got so i switched them I'm probably not sure if that will get me even my whole mission though ill probably get another one, i will probably take allot more pics than you think,but any way i do have to express allot of thanks that camera is sick thank you sooooo much! also the Peanut butter made me sooo happy, iv been truly blessed with yasashii sugiru riyoshin- way too nice parents- i cant express that feeling enough, there are so many people out there who's parents really don't care all hat much, but i have never once felt any thing but care and love from both of you, thank you so much and not just for the peanut butter.

 

so my week has been pretty good most of the normal stuff but we also did a junkai- splits-with the elders from yanai, and area pretty close by and ha was a fun time i got ahold of some copic markers last p-day which makes i so i can color things well, which i could never do before without a computer,

to answer you question about he language, yes it is going well I've finally settled down with an easy effective way to study each day, just five new tongo every day and 2 bunpo on a flash card, and i record it in a note book for every day review, I've been struggling to find i way they feel effective for a while and this seems to be working, you said you got that book about japanese grammar, are you studying it, i hope you are because when i see you at the end of my mission I'm speaking only japanese until my welcome home talk, so be prepared, you have done scouting,so i know you can.

 

its COLD here and like emily i feel like a wimp because its probably way colder in twin, but i spent six weeks in Okinawa and it changed me.... I'm still a wimp aren't i.

 

no snow here yet i think that usually gets here about end of january, and i should be in tokuyama for that,

oh yeah to answer your other question about the language i am able to hold a conversation at leased with gospel stuff it starts to get difficult when it leaves gospel, and i still struggle with understanding people cuz hey talk super fast and when they through in other words or grammar i don't know i can get lost but i can get the gist of things usually and my companion is in his last transfer so here understands everything which makes up for every thing i lack. i wont get to do much with leaning to read the language until i feel good about speaking i, i can read there alphabet but not allot of kanji, i can only read and wright like 30 kanji and there are thousands of them. thankfully the scriptures have furigana which is the hiragana reading next to each kanji so i read scriptures usually every language study.

 

I've definitely noticed the payoff for hard work out here, id like to stress the importance of that in my message this week.

dad you already know that well seeing as where you are as far as career, but every one can apply this for anything

especially when you involve heavenly father through prayer, people out here and me as well are always surprised at how good missionary language skills are for only being in japan for a short time, and the reason for that is because the gift of tongues is readily available to those who seek it, meaning working as hard as you can to learn it, focusing on the purpose and praying to thanks and to ask for help, heavenly father wants to help us with our lives but he wants us to make him out main priority and he requirers us to pray and ask for help. apply this to every thing you do and consecrate all you actions unto the lord through prayer before you drive somewhere pray for safety when you are seeking to learn something new ask that you may be able to remember it for are righteous purpose or future use, we can always use our time and talents to server the lord, even I'm able o draw pictures to help explain lessons and exemplify principles, heavenly father will Bless your ability to do these things,i know it

i love you all so much and cant wait to talk to you on Christmas

kemp choro

p.s. you might just be able to come and pick me up here I'm going to talk to kaichou about it when i see him next

Week #16

ah! no mail, you hurt me deep dad, you hurt me deep.

any way, ill give you a bit of a rundown of my week. we've been pretty busy lately we had to teach two eikaiwa casses-english classes, our own and hofu's the sisters there are both nihonjin so teaching ego is a little tough, we also had zone taikai-zone conference, and we accidentally let one lesson earlier in the week go way too long but other than that we've been out doing work work work, which is good, yesterday we had fast sunday of course and i was really good, we had a lesson with a 19 year old student names fujita san he's really cool, and sat in on a lesson with Kojima shimai, she has a baptismal date for this month,but she is struggling a little right now with testimony but she is progressing i can see it,

its coooolllld here its in the 30s right now, which is really cold cuz i've been in Okinawa which is hot, any way thank you so much for the big coat it is so useful.

my companionship is great when we can draw like on p-day, i'm his art sensei which is kind of fun.

so to share a cool experience from yesterday.

we went out to go see a less active member, like a 30 min bike ride out, but anyway, we get to there neighborhood and my comp has been there before but only remembers what the house looks like, so we were using the g.p.s. to find it but wee having allot of trouble. then i had a prompting and i old my comp that we should prey, then that we should just do housing in the \. the first house we go to we start talking o a guy through a kekko box-an intercom. and he said he was Buddhist which is common and i'm just like, "daijobu desu, watashitachi no messeji wa minasan o taskeru koto dekimasu" so he's like "well ok" and he comes to the door and we share a totsuzen lesson- short lesson, and give him a pamphlet he wouldn't take a book of mormon but he seemed interested and especially interested in eikaiwa so it was really cool. so not much happened at the rest of the houses but right as we were leaving my cop looks at a house thats kind of hiding and recognizes it , yes its the less actives house. so this was a really cool experience it gave me a little phrase to live by "when in doubt, do the work" these things happen to often in missionary work for it o be coincidence, and any way i no longer believe in coincidence every thing happens for a reason, never forget that and always try to make the best of he situations your put it. and always, always thank heavenly father for those things.

i love you all my family and my friends alike.

i miss you allot ,but not too much

i think about you... but not too much

 またね

ケンプ長老

Week #15

So, in all honesty dad i am super sorry and its been killing me not having the camera there has been allot of things iv wanted to take pictures of but couldn't, as far as time goes it would probably be best if i got the camera here rather than having it sent, i am really sorry i wasn't as responsible as i needed to be and for that im sorry,

any way this weeks been good if not a little tiring my new aria tokuyama is up towards the top of the mission just under hiroshima so its kind of cold, not as cold as idaho about now, but definitely colder than Okinawa was.

my new doryo no namae wa lawson choro desu. kare is taller than my last doryo but only weighs 20 lbs more than him so i can still pick him up.

its weird being in only a twosome back in nago there were four of us, dakara, its allot quieter now. but its still fun. elder lawson is dieing this transfer, meaning this his last transfer, he likes drawing, therefore i have allot of chances to draw this transfer and help him to get better as well he really likes anime too, so we have allot to talk about.

the language is definitely getting easier i feel like im starting to be able to share my real thoughts on things and teaching is becoming easier. the new ward so far are all really nice its allot bigger than nogo no wado was, i don't have my bike from nago yet, so its allot of walking right now but it should be here soon.

one of the kyodaitachi in the ward is a super good cook, thomas would like him, he made us dinner a few nights ago and guess what we had. ... SUSHI!!!!! it was chou oishikatta desu, and we had a fe other things it was all so good.

our apartment is about as big as my las one but theres only two of us so it feels a little bigger, here are allot of short doorways lately especially in members homes, but ive become good at missing he top of the door.

well thats mostly whats up right now, ill leave you with a little message as usually noticed about myself when i first got to japan and had a real budget, that i took so many blessings for granted because i grew up in privilege you could say,

we have so many blessings we don't notice even really big ones, just because we've known them all our lives, my suggestion to all of you is to take some time to think of all the things your grateful for make it an activity at dinner especially with lots of people and especially when you feeling a little burdened or sad. we all, so often forget our countless blessings, like for me one of the biggest most non repayable blessing aside from the atonement is having the family and wonderful parents that i was born into, i never felt like i would want different parents your not perfect, no one is but yo do your best and really care and thats whats most important, watashi no subarashi kazoku ni kokkoro kara kanshiashitteimasu yo "i am so grateful for my wonderful family" no only that but i also was blessed with wonderful siblings, we fought and argued but as we grew older and i got bigger than you allot of he arguing stooped and i was easier to be around you, though the years iv  realized now i don't know what id of done without you you helped teach me and loved me all these years, you helpless little brother who annoyed you so much, thank you for you patience and help your the best.

i love you all so much kokoro kara aishitteimasu, kokoro kara literally means from the hear and mind, there is no way i would replace anything about you all.

i miss you i pray for you, gambatane.

kemp choro

Week #14

kooooooniiiiichiii waaaaaa mina san 

hello there my wonderfull family i have some cool news, im transferring toooooooo,tokuyama on mainland, 

ill admit im going to miss my cool district here and the people here in nago even if there are allot of crazy people here, i love them all the same though, the ward has been cool too ill miss being able to speak a little ego to members but im still super excited to go to mainland, ill really miss the elders here they were great and, honestly, my copanions not bad its just that he gets a little iritated when he cant understand what im thinking wich is all ways, but anyway we have had some really good days lately.

any way ive seen so many mericles here in nago its been great here, nago has grown so much and ill be sad not to get to see so many come to this gosple but i trust my comp. he will do it well and help them hoever he can.

i went  to the nago castle today it was cool there and i might get pics from one of the elders here and mabe i can send them.

i miss you all allot but im so in this work that p day and at night is really the only time i can think about that.

my little messege today is realated to the commandment love one another more or less, loving every body can be hard but we can all ways show love, we do this through kindness pacience and charity do this and pray to feel how heavenly fatherfeels about his childern, with faith i know that it can happen. and try to think of everyone every single person you see as your brothers and sisters as they are 

iv have and am doing these things and i can feel my love growing especialy for you all, to mom and dad, im sorry, iv been so difficult i was disobedient and rebelious and lazy. iv allways loved you as my parents but i never showed that love as i should have and for that im sorry.

i know heavenly father loves us all more than we can understand, i know christ and his perfect atonement are allways there for us to lean on and to be streangthend by if we have faith our berdens will be lifted.

i love you 

i miss you 

till next week,

kemp choro

Week #13

any way sorry its taken so long for me to wouldn'tright back the computer wouldn't work last week and it killed me not to be able to read and send you guys some e-mails but don't worry it didn't distract me at all.

so things are moving along well here, at least as well as they can.

most day don't change allot but i am seeing some progression in our investigators and thats cool the members here are really cool especially the each family there really cool and the parents can speak ego so thats really helpful.

 

last night we ate at an investigators home and i got to have my first lligitament sushi it was sashimi and allot of it real miso and tempura it was soooo good.

 

i cant believe the transfers almost over, its crazy next week is transfer week i have no idea whats going to happen.

my companion is difficult sometimes ill admit, he is just like briten except japanese, super stuborn and short tempered, but we have our good days, like today is really good, he also knows allot especially about gospel stuff.

one of the things he has taut me and iv noticed with my scripture study is that, since i've been a member all my life iv come to have faith in some things without experience or proof, simply because i know that heavenly father loves me and would only help me, but one thing we must do to teach there people who don't know god or have any background like that we must fin the what the point of everything is at least to give them a base in explainable truth, but doing this allso streangthens your testimony becaus you are allready taking something you know it true and answering the why and how questions, atleast as far as they are explainable, as an example

 

Q: whay cant i drink coffee.

a: well first reason heavenly father tells us not to

second on reason we are told not to is because it has addictive propertiese.

 

theres more to it than that but thats a simple example.

anyway if there is one thing i can leave you with that you should allways remember it is that. i love you heavenly father loves you the main reason for why we keep the commandments should be because he said so and you love him but its not allways where we are at first, so if thats not where you are yet that study it pray about it, knowledge is a great thing especialy when its about gosple things but remember the quote "doubt you doubts befor you doubt your faith"

i love you

do your best in all things and pray for streangth to do more

kemp choro.

Week #11

no worries about the money II've got my bike and an electric dictionary whatever left will do me well enough if i ever get any souvenirs, thanks so much.

 

k ill just start by saying that, the lord hand is in nago so strongly, we have seen so many miracles lately we have a baptismal date with one investigator and and one who we only met two days ago but wants repentance and baptism. and others that are progressing so well. and thats just our companionship the other comp. has great things too. the ward is being strengthened there is a new bishop and the members are being strengthened.

 

for me the language is progressing slowly but surely, i have seen a few thing progressing, even though i don't have much chances to think about it.

my dorio has taken up the responsibility of trying to make me do all the contacting, which is good and i know its one of the best ways for me to get better but ahhh its hard at first. but i know that if i do my best and stay obedient the lord will fill my bind with the words to say and i have seen it happen.

 

it feels so much like home already, i'm stuck right now in that time limbo were it feels like every thing  goes by slowly and quickly at the same time. but i do feel like its crazy that my first transfers almost half over ,SOOO weird. the missionaries here are great, there such good elders and teachers to me. the members are cool too there are like 6 who went to BYU so there like fluent in ego.there all really nice and the little kids think I'm a jungle gym.

 

we do definitely bike allot since most of our time is spent tracting, but an upside to that is that its a good workout I'm down to around 290 so thats good. also i have had a few chances too draw , its all related to the work like i drew a picture of the plan of salvation. and was doing some flier ideas for some ward activities we might plan.

 

i just want you all to know that i love it out here i love there people and i understand the importance of this work, one thing i would like to challenge you all to do is read the book "the power of an every day missionary" its about member missionary work, and just remember this isn't just work for a missionary its the most important work we can do missionary or member. this doesn't mean you need to go tracting or anything just be as active as you can to help the missionaries in the areas and make the gospel, church callings and everything part of everything you do thinking back to what the home ward is like its crazy how big it is we have like around 15 active members and like 50 in-actives but every little things the members do to help is amazing to have. i know this church is true, i know of the importance of every member you all have a part to play, even if it doesn't seem it at times, don't loose sight of the important things and remember were it all comes from. our father in heaven blesses us more than we can comprehend. when you actively search for them and try to see you will, i know it.

i love you all and pray for you

your son and friend

elder connor kemp

Week #10-- New Area!

Side note from Samantha-- this letter made me cry because I am so proud of my little baby brother who's not such a little baby anymore...

THATS AUSOME!!!!

those are the coolest insults are the best ive ever hered, thank you so much for that.

okokok, ill get down to the important stuff,

my first area is nago okinawa its a pritty little area kind of rural and really humid,okinawas one of the hottest and most humid islands,but im getting used to it. cant whait for the time when the tan comes that everyone aparently gets.

my companion is elder Aai he is japanese but he' fluent in both languages so thats nice, he's tiny,he is 5'4" and only a 100 pounds,i sent a picture so you will see. but he's great

the sinior couple taking care of us and a few other arias, are great, there the nicest people, there allready doing everything they can to help me like getting my a thiker pad no matter how much i say they dont need to worry,a bigger desk chair which i kind of do need and doing every thing they can to get me my bike, thankfully there is a bunch of american bases on okinawa so we my be able to get one that fits me. the food is tasty and im going to a ramen shop after this wich is ausome, first time for athentic ramen, but dont worry we dont eat out much.

speeping on the ground isnt bad the pads are prity soft so im comfotable.

the mosquitose are bad enough for me to already have like 12 bites even though i have only seen one, i dont get it.

the apartment is pretty nice and we stay with another companionship there we are the only ones there a two hour bus ride from the next missionaries, the ward here is tiny like 6 people but the there are a bunch of inactives so we will do our best to fix that. we are not alloud to streat contact women but we can at houses wich is kind of funny. havent had the chance to do a real lesson yet because it was canceled but i will soon most all the area hase been tracted but we will keep over laping it i guess. i whent on splits with the zone leades for tracting on saterday night in okinawa that was fun and we found a posible investigator for the missionary's there so that was really cool the little old bike they had extra for me to use while i was waiting for min broke the second time i tride to ride it, thats prity much all for now but ill leave you with a messege.

despite things around you that scaire you, for me the lenguage, allways push through and do as much as you can you are never asked you do some thing you cannot do that is that is the reason my favorite scripture is 1st nephi 3:7 the lord dosnt give commandments that you cannot compliet he will provid a way for me its both the companion of the holy ghost and a fluent copanion. not to mention you never really know what you capable of untill you try. so push aside fear push aside other concerns the fist priority is the lords work, that is true for me and for you. nevere forget you are not allone.

i love you all and thank you all

matane!

elder connor james kemp

Week #9- MISSION FIELD!!!!

hi this letter may be a little short cuz i don't have much time but ill start off by saying ahh this keyboard is weird naze! 

so ya im in nehon (in caps) its supa humid here in fukuoka. the flights were slow and boring so don't even ask but they were totally worth the wait cuz guess what, im in nihon sorry i had to say it again.so since ive been here ive met the mission prez and his wife and sleaped in the miss home, got so much sleep also went through an orientation and right after, went out to the streets for an hour to proselyte or dendo. it was kind of scary but fun and i found out we could only speak to men which is funny.

demo but anyway every thing is small ahhh(also in caps) my head nearly hits the door way at the church and every one says the other houses are worse, but i shall press on.

i just got out of an interview with Gustafson kaisho and he said to tell you that he sincerely appreciates all you have done to prepared me for this and i would also like to thank you for being such an un repayable blessing to me thank you for being such wonderful parents and for every one who is not one of my parents thank you for being such wonderful siblings or friends. 

here is a little story from the airport in portland 

so we spoke to a lady who we found　out was lds and had a niece on a mission but if it were not for my doryo stoping to speak to her we would not have talked to a man who saw us and gave us a back pack of an elder who lost it which had all his stuff passport and all then after that some one asked why we were called elders and we explained then gave him an momon.org card. but any way from that my message today is don't be afraid to open your mouth you never know what the lord has for you to do. listen tot he spirit and push aside fear. i will try to do the same.　i love you and miss you i am safe and and in hihon(in caps) 

ケンプ長老

Week #8--MTC

thank you for that experience you shared it helps more than you know .

im so sorry that you had to go through that i remember when i got one of my baby teeth pulled and thought that if i could feel this it would hurt so bad ahhh!! im so sorry. im also so happy for you that you had a good golf game and im sad i couldn't be there to eat sushi with you but when you come to pick me up in nihon ill take you to the best sushi and ramen and other food places so be ready for that.

so this week being my last is really good scary and exciting all at the same time i want to get there so bad but i also feel like if i go now, no will understand me and i wont be able to teach at all but i also know that as long as i try my best the lord will make up the rest. but its still scary.

so i will be here for general conference which is really cool, its so weird iv never been so exited for general conference exeped for getting to where PJ's all day but ive herd so many talks that are so good that the thought of getting so many more is so exiting, its sad the thought of leaving half of my district in tokyo, demo , i also think that i would much rather go out and do this work that fulfill my own desires. 

we as daisenpai sing a song in sacrament we sang "god be with you till we meet again". that song is always so sad.

iv got my travel plans and yaaa i get tio wake up at 3 am so that will be loads of fun. ill send an email with my call time later.

i had a cool experience with our lesson yesterday we have been told that the best lessons much of the time are when the investigator speaks more than us. and that was exactly what happen the spirit was so strong but it also wouldn't let me talk which i didn't realize till after. i was so confused during feeling like "i feel the spirit so strong but i cant remember how to speak nihongo what the heck" any way after the lesson our sensei told me that sometimes the spirit only wants us to watch so that he can teach, and that made me feel better. anyway even though we didn't go over much other than clearing up a single point it felt like one of the best lessons ever.

so as always ill leave you with a message of sorts

we gave the lesson on sunday to our district, on faith

the opposite of faith is fear, much of the time we are afraid to do the things the spirit prompts us to do because we are af of how we will feel what others will think of us or the other things it will take us from. 

do you notice the pattern with all of those. me me me when we decide we don't matter and turn outwards we begin to have true faith. we will never receive a prompting that will hurt us if we fallow it at least not spiritually, we are blessed when we fallow promptings always, don't be concerned about about what others think the only ones who will think badly of you are the ones who's opinions matter the least the only thing that really matters is if we are good in our father in heavens eyes, and there is no thing more important at those moments that those promptings never let fear stop you from fallowing promptings i have before and it never does you good. there is no greater guide than the spirit he knows so much more about a situation than we ever will,l listen to him.if you do this i know you will not be lead astray. iesu kirisut no mina ni yote o akashi simasu, amen.

i love you all so much 

i miss you and am praying for you

till next time, matane

kemp choro

Week #7--MTC

konichiwa kozoku 

3 weeks left till i leave all i can tell you is im getting so exited, more and more every day

as i start to catch on to nihongo more and more i love that much more. ja, watachi wa have had another subarashi week not to say its easy but i learnd allot and i actually spoke a decent amount in our p.i. lesson i wasnt saying allot before. so come wednsday we will be what is known as a daisenpai evry three weeks we go up a level cohai senpai then daisenpai honestly i dont feel quit ready for to be that far yet but ill do my best so im no longer the DL they switch every 3 weeks my doryo (companion) is the new one.

 id tell you about everything i did this week but you kind of allready know since watashi wa sent the scedual the dake koto chigou (only difference) i would say was language understanding i feel like iv recieved so many blessings this week and in that lesson yesterday i felt the seirei (spirit) so strongly and when ever i work hard its amazing i suppose it also tells me when i did something wrong i feel terrible when i do something that seems little but it seems like a good learning experiance. ahhhh i cant tell you how exited i am to get to nihon i keeps poping up in my head and i just get more exited.oh ya you guys wanted to know how the host thing works. its nothing special, every wendsday new missionaries come in and you can just volenteer to be a host its super easy.

ya ya ya i forgot we got our new name tags in katakana ill send a pic later. any way ill end with a message,

just remember that no matter you activity no matter your physical mental or spiritual state you have a father and a brother in heaven that love you and know exactly what your going through. trust in them pray allways, before anything you do, they want so badly to help you, but they cant if you dont ask always do things that keep the spirit around, help others when you can stay calm in stressfull situations deal with issuse with love and kindness the only 3 thing you should rais your voice for is to call out to someone to sing a joyfull hymn or stoping something of true evil. recognize the little blessings and thank our father in heaven for them it brings so much more joy to your life when you see all that he does for you even though we never realy know. even trully kind kings of the past have expected to be referd to as lord or king, remeber, (to parafraze the video i told you to watch) of all the respectfull titles we could give him he asks us to call him father. i know personaly that he loves and wants to help us, we just need to have the courage to ask.

i miss and love you all 

kemp choro