January 18th, 2016: FIRST BAPTISM!!!!!

I'll start off by saying that through a lot of hard work, and God's

help, Nagumo San got baptized yesterday! For me, it has been one of

the biggest testimony builders. We met Nagumo San for the first time

at our ward Christmas party (one of my first days in Japan), and over

this past month have taught her all the lessons and have prepared her

enough so that she could relieve baptism. I saw this process from

start to finish, and it was crazy! Let me just say that with faith in

the Lord, anything is possible. Nagumo climbed over mountains because

of her faith, and I realized that anything is possible if he have the

desire to put forth the effort and the faith to align our will with

His.

So something funny that happened this week was I went on my first

double date in Japan! Haha, but instead of a girl, I had to bring

Baldwin... Hahaha, he made for a decent date though!  So

backstory. One of our investigators who we teach English (Naoki)

invited us to go to an all you can eat YakiNiku restaurant. Basically,

you can order a crap ton of meat and you cook it right in front of

you. You can eat as much as you can within an hour and a half time

limit. You can see why missionaries love these places. But yeah, Naoki

invited us to go to a way expensive restaurant with his girlfriend!

Haha, but she wasn't really his girlfriend... Haha, it was odd. But

she was way cool, and actually might become one of our investigators!

We talked a lot during dinner (we didn't really like that because we

were trying to eat as much as possible...) and then after we went back

to the church and talked about the gospel. I know, great date right?!

I was trying to help Naoki out but he is SOOO awkward... It was rough.

Hahaha she was really interested in the gospel! She grew up in Canada,

and speaks way good English. She also has learned a lot about

Christianity there too. We gave her some pamphlets and invited her to

read them. She told us that she wants to go play basketball and get

ramen sometime, so we were way stoked! Also, she wanted to go and take

us to see the Snow Monkeys! Yeah, they are the monkeys that go and

chill in hot springs all winter. They are in my area, but hey are

hecka far away! She said she has been wanting to go, and she had a big

group of Chinese friends that were gonna go. She invited us, but it

was on Sunday, so we couldn't... I know. It killed me inside to turn

that one down... Chinese people that speak English. Snow monkeys.

Potential investigators. Sounds awesome, huh?! But following the rules

is more important.

We met with some of the members in our branch this week, and it was

kind of difficult. Our branch has been having some difficulties

lately, and it has made it especially hard for us missionaries, as we

assume all of the responsibilities that the branch shirks off. For

instance, I met our ward mission leader for the first time yesterday

at the baptism of Nagumo San. In our branch, a lot of the families

have personal resentments to other families, and it feels like a

silent war is going on. No one wants to fulfill their

responsibilities, and so nothing really gets done. We are trying to

get the branch re-energized for the gospel, because right now, a lot

of them are on the brink of becoming less active. And we have a lot of

less actives, speaking of that. Coming into the mission, I didn't

expect to be focusing a large portion of our time trying to fix

problems in the ward. But in my mind, these members need our help just

as much as our investigators do, and so I will do all that I can to

invite them to come unto Christ.

The work is moving along, and we are beginning to see the fruits of

our efforts. I am so glad I am here, and am so grateful for all of

you. Thanks so much for everything! Sorry this letter isn't super

long!

Love,

Luke/パシー長老

January 11th, 2016: El Niño is real!

So I am not even sure what El Niño is, but EVERYONE talks about it! It

is flipping hilarious to hear 日本人 (Japanese people) try and say

Spanish words! Haha, I laugh every time. Right now in Nagano, it

has been one of the warmest winters in a long time! We still haven't

gotten any snow! It also hasn't been dipping below 0 degrees Celsius

during the day, which is crazy. Haha, so enjoy the snow everyone! We

are expecting to get some writhing the next couple of weeks, and then

a lot in February. In Japan, the coldest months are January and

February, so hopefully I don't die! Haha

Alright, so this week was another relatively slow one. We spent a lot

of time and money traveling to and from places for meetings. It

actually kind of sucks. Being here in Nagano, we are the furthest

missionaries in our zone, and the second or third farthest

missionaries in our mission. So, if we ever have Zone Meetings, or if

we have to go to Nagoya for a Mission Conference, it costs A LOT of

money. To get to Nagoya and back costs about half of our monthly

allowance. Yeah, I know right?! And it isn't cheap to get to Matsumoto

for Zone Meetings. Luckily for us, we got to go to Matsumoto already,

and then we get to go to Nagoya later this month! Hahaha this month we

will be cutting it pretty close. Also, funny thing about trains

here: No one talks! It is crazy! When the train stops, it is DEAD

silent. It is super rude to talk on trains, apparently. Yes, I figured

this out the hard way... We were on our way home from Matsumoto and I

was sitting to an older lady who seemed to be nice, so naturally I

tried striking up a conversation. Yeah, I got shut down HARD! I think

I said something along the lines of, "Hello. How are you doing today?"

And this lady turned to me (I was getting excited), looked me up and

down (I was getting even more excited because she looked like she was

about to answer), and then she squinted her eyes at me and turned the

other direction. (.......yeah......) It wasn't very fun... Let's just

say that she made it awkward for the rest of the two hour train ride.

Yesterday we finished teaching all of the missionary lessons for our

investigator Nagumo San! She is ready and still willing to get

baptized on the 17th! She is having her interview this Wednesday! It

is really cool to see just how far she has come since we began

teaching her. She is SO happy now! She gets along so well with the

members, and I am excited to see her get baptized! She is going to do

so well! :)

We have been having some troubles with our branch lately, especially

the members. Right now, our ward mission leader is less active. I

haven't even met the guy yet! It is making it a lot harder for us

because we are having to assume a lot of responsibilities that

shouldn't be placed on our shoulders. It is quite the learning

experience, though. I am learning a lot about how branches operate,

and how to best get things done within a bureaucratic system.

Everything has a plus side if you can find the right angle to look at

it from. It's the same with our trials. This week has undoubtedly been

one of my hardest. It wasn't hard for any particular reason, but

rather just hard in general. As a missionary, it is not difficult to

feel like you have become complacent. Especially as a new missionary

with a trainer. I don't have to do anything. I could literally sit

back and let my trainer do everything, and no one would even question

it. But as soon as that happens, things start to get difficult. I

haven't been participating in the lessons with our investigators as

much as I want to. I love my trainer, but that is one thing that I

have been struggling with. He loves to talk during the lessons. It

makes it hard for me to chime in and add my thoughts. Luckily for me,

we have had some investigators who speak English pretty well, and that

has allowed me to take more of the reins while teaching. We are still

working out our method of teaching, and I expect that it will start

improving a little faster. My 日本語 (Japanese) is coming along so well!

I consider it one of the biggest blessings I have seen so far! For the

most part, I can follow a normal conversation in Japanese. I have a

harder time responding and speaking, but my comprehension is improving

quite drastically! I need to focus more on my ability to speak. Haha,

but I am sure that will come with time, so I am not worried about it.

I am happy with where I am right now. I can read in 日本語 too! It is a

RAD feeling to be able to read in another language. I have been

continuing my daily practice of reading from the Book of Mormon in

日本語. I can understand most of the stuff, but sometimes there are some

kanji that I don't understand. But yeah, on the language front, I am

happy with where I am right now. 

I have been focusing a lot on faith for the last little while in my

personal studies. Faith is a really interesting concept. Especially

for missionaries. I have been associating it with courage. As

missionaries, it is our purpose to invite others to come unto Christ.

We do this through, our examples, actually talking to people, sharing

our testimonies, and a bunch of other ways. It takes a lot of courage

to come out of your comfort zone and stop people in the streets and

tell them that their lives could be better. Especially as an 18 year

old. That is the hardest thing for me. An interesting thing that we

studied this week was that we are supposed to bring up the restoration

of the gospel as quickly as possible, because that is our unique

message for the world. That, and when we testify, it allows the spirit

to tell them that we are true messengers of God. But yo, that is no

easy feat. Preaching to someone while waiting for a light to change is

difficult. But, through faith and a lot of courage, we persist. I know

that there are people out there, waiting for the message of the

gospel. All I have to do is open my mouth to as many people as

possible. When we do that, it shows God that we have faith in him, and

that is when people are placed before us.

The mission is going well, and I love being here. Everyday is a

struggle, and a new adventure. There is no place that I would rather

be!

Love you guys!

Luke/パシー長老

Just some fun while OYM'ing. Notice the name tag. HAHAHAHA

It's not skim milk in Japan... Hahaha

Yes, those are diapers on a manikin. Yes, Japan is weird    

Our zone! It's a lot of fun, and pretty crazy!

When the elders went out to Yakiniku