Week 17- 1/25/16 More Souls!

Hey it's that time of the week again 皆さん! Let me fill you in on everything.

So this week was kind of slow until the weekend but I'll tell you what

happened. We taught and contacted. We've been trying to extend more

baptismal commitments recently, and it's actually really helped us

gauge where our investigators are and what they need help with. We met

with out investigator Nao on Wednesday. We talked a bit about he Book

of Mormon and why it's important to receive answers. We extended the

invitation and he didn't say no. He said he needs to know if this

church is true or not before he says yes. So now we're trying to help

him on the path to do that.

Another pretty amazing thing happened. We extended another baptismal

commitment this week. We've been teaching a father and his children

for the past like 3 weeks. The father is interested in us and wants to

feel the spirit more, because through its influence, he quit alcohol

and smoking, and wants to strengthen his family and wants his kids to

have the spirit. We teach his two oldest English after Eikaiwa and

teach him after we teach his children. This last Saturday, we were

teaching the Gospel of Christ with an emphasis on baptism and the gift

of the Holy Ghost. After testifying strongly, and knowing he felt the

spirit, we extended the invitation to be baptized. Before we even

finished our sentence he said yes. The Lord has been preparing him and

I'm super excited because this is my first time getting a yes to

baptism. We now have two investigators lined up to be baptized (which

is amazing in Japan). We've been working so hard lately and the Lord

came through as always.

To make things better, we had a baptism in the ward yesterday! The

sisters investigator Namatame was baptized!  It was awesome because

Elder Yoshino and I worked with the sisters to make sure everything

was as needed to be. But, things get better. Koda (the father of the

family I was talking about) came to the baptism. We were so blessed in

the final days of this week. Missionary work is hard but just seeing

one person make those necessary changes and steps to eternal life

makes it worth it. I'll attach a picture of us at the baptism! Thanks

for tuning in this week!

モア長老

Week 16- 1/19/2016 We Finally Went to The Zoo

皆さん！ how is everybody. This week was a blur honestly. We were really

busy all week and I don't see a break in the foreseeable future. I'll

highlight some of the things we did.

So, we've been teaching this family for a bit. We teach the son

English. His dad took missionary lessons a while back so he has

exposure to the missionaries. The son really likes us, and the dad

decided for us to teach all his kids. We've been building a

relationship with them for the past few weeks. The other night, during

ping-pong, we got to talking about why he was interested in us. He

said that when the missionaries started teaching the Word of Wisdom,

he really liked it. Through following it, and feeling the spirit, he

was able to quit alcohol. He said he wants his kids to have that in

their lives. We've been talking about baptism lately and will try to

commit him this week! They're an amazing family.

Also, we've been teaching this American guy for the past month and a

half. He came to church last Sunday which was surprising. He's been

more receptive then our main focus investigator. However, after

sacrament he pretty much told us to stop wasting our time, religion

just really isn't who he is. Then he accepted a Book of Mormon. We'll

decide later this week on further action.

Really this week just involved a lot of biking and streeting. We had a

few really good contacts, but none of them have replied to us. We

haven't given up hope though. We talk to a lot of people. We recently

made a goal to go above our normal goal while contacting. Lately,

we've been doing really good.

I guess the highlight of this week is going to the zoo and temple.

Today was a temple p-day hence the email delay. I finally got some

good pictures for all of you. I also ate some pretty good gyoza. For

those of you who don't know what gyoza is, it's a Chinese style of

dumpling, usually with pork and cabbage inside. They're usually fried

on one side as well. Well, that's pretty much it for this week. Wish I

could write more but my brain is pretty much fried. Have a good week

everyone!

モア長老

At the Temple

A real panda

You could get pretty close to the seals

This polar bear was walking around all mad

Otters

The tiger was teasing the lion in the next cage

Penguins. The name of the penguins are actually inappropriate so I can't write them

Red panda

Week 15- 1/11/16 The Wind Doesn't Stop

 So let me give you a recap. We were very busy this week. We taught

like 11 lessons, (half our transfer goal) in one week and saw plenty

of miracles. I also figured out that the wind is always blowing

against us, no matter where we go.

This week was literally non stop work. Since this is Elder Yoshinos

last transfer, we went to Waseda university, one of the leading

Universities the world. He had to get his re-entry interview done.

Also, we had a training meeting. So we took the train to Urawa and met

our new Zone Leader.

Honestly not many cool things are happening other than our

investigators. I'll start with Nao. Recently, Nao has showed a ton of

interest. We usually meet him over ramen and teach him gospel

principles and English. However, this week he surprised us. He said

he's started praying at home by himself every day. We never asked him

to do that. He's not afraid to pray in public either, because he just

offered the prayer for the ramen. Totally blew us away. His faith has

increased a lot and I'm so proud.

Another cool investigator story. Recently, we've been teaching a boy

named Hiroki English. His dad met with missionaries before and their

family comes to every eikaiwa. Recently, they've really become

attached to us. They come to every event we invite them to. Eikaiwa,

mochitsuki, even church. They're an awesome family. To make it better,

the dad gave up coffee and alcohol after learning we don't drink any

of those, without having to give him the commitment. It seems like our

investigators are preparing themselves.

Today, we had a mochitsuki. It's pretty much a party where we make

mochi. Tons of people came, and the members brought friends. Everybody

enjoyed socializing, and I got to show off my strength by pounding the

mochi with a hammer. All in all, it was a good time, and we made a lot

of new people interested in what we teach and do.

I was riding my bike a few days ago, when a car just turn in

front of me. I was going pretty fast but I slammed my brakes and force

the bike sideways. Next thing I know I'm on my feet, perfectly stable,

with my bike a few feet behind. It felt like I was picked up, or

helped up as I ditched the bike. Pretty cool experience.

Anyways thanks for tuning in everybody. Sorry, no pictures this week,

too busy. I'll try to take more next week!

モア長老