February 8th, 2016: Yes, I do know that my hands are warm

Haha, so some backstory. Here in Japan, EVERYONE has cold hands. I kid

you not. So, every single time I shake someone's hand, they always

comment and say that my hands are warm. It's pretty hilarious because

then they shake my trainers hand and flip out (the kid's hands are ice

blocks) because they're so cold. Then, most people come back to me and

shake my hand again just because it's warm... So yeah. I guess that's

a win? Hahahahaha

This week we met with our 89 year old investigator. It was a very

bittersweet visit for us, because at the end, he basically told us

that he couldn't learn any more about religion because he has too much

stuff in his head already, but we aren't giving up on him yet! I still

have faith! That was the bitter part. Now onto the sweet part.

Fukazawa Sama has been an artist his whole entire life, and when we

first went to his house I saw and commented on all of his paintings

that he had hanging up. We always love talking about different forms

of art. This time, when we showed up, he told us that he had gifts for

us. He pulled me aside, and gave me an amazing gift! He gave me some

of his watercolor paints and brushes, along with some sketch books to

practice on. Inside one of the sketch books, he had written out a

bunch of different forms and styles of painting, and his advice and

techniques on them. I was astonished! He had taken so much time to

teach me all of the things that he had learned over his life! The only

problem is that it is all in Japanese. And it isn't easy Japanese.

It's in kanji. So I will have to translate it all, but I am so

excited! He also sketched out Fuji San for me on one of the pages of

the sketchbook. It was a magical experience to see this 89 year old

man use a gift that was undoubtedly given to him by God, and with

shaky hands sketch out a major symbol of his culture and heritage. I

don't think I will ever forget that experience. I had him sign it, and

treasure his gifts more than gold. After this life, I want to meet him

again and see the masterpieces that he has created in heaven! My

trainer and I talked about how this life is just too short to find all

of your talents and gifts from God. I hope you all will go out of your

way to try something new. That's the only way we can find our gifts.

This week my trainer and I are going on another double date! Hahaha we

are going out with Naoki and Natsuko again, and this time we are going

to Nagano's annual Tomyo festival! They have done it ever since the

Olympics in 1998, and it is a light show at the Buddhist temple

Zenkoji. They have all the colors of the olympics showing to symbolize

peace. I love that. Peace is something that is lacking so much these

days. It should be a ton of fun, and we are hoping to make Natsuko one

of our investigators. She is amazing! She understands a lot, and

seemed to have a lot of interest the first time that we met her! She

also speaks English, which is pretty nice! Expect some good pictures

next week!

This week I went on my first companionship exchange, and it was way

fun! We went and played soccer with a bunch of college students!

Japanese college students are freaking hilarious. They were also way

good at soccer! They play twice a week every week, therefore they are

way bomb! I suck at soccer, so it pretty much turned into me trying to

mess with them enough so I could steal the ball. Turns out Japanese

people are super ticklish, so I definitely used that to my advantage.

HAHAHAHA, life is hilarious. I've got a funny picture from that that I

will attach later.

A couple of days ago, Baldwin and I visited the border of our mission!

In Nagano, we border the Tokyo mission, and while we were visiting

some families, a member drove us to see it. It was on the very top of

a mountain near a ski resort! We were up in the clouds, and there was

a crap ton of snow! It was so pretty! We had a lot of fun.

On the way to the border of the mission, we stopped by our new recent

convert family the Dias Family! They just moved in and speak

Portuguese... We don't speak Portuguese. Yet! Haha, so we are still

learning Portuguese, and as a missionary if I could sponsor an app, I

would pick Duolingo. It has helped us so much already! Hahaha, so we

are using that, and the scriptures, PMG, and anything lose we can find

in Portuguese to learn! It is fun, but hard!

Overall, this week was a lot of fun! I have definitely learned a lot!

Thank you all for everything!

愛しているよ！

パシー長老より

February 1st, 2016: He is Always There

This week has been crazy! We have been super busy, and I have learned

so much this week. This email is probably going to be small... I don't

have a ton of time today. Sorry!

The first thing I learned was that I know absolutely no Portuguese.

Haha, why is that relevant? Good question! This week we received a new

member family (they got baptized about two weeks ago) who moved to

Nagano! They live about an hour away, which makes it a little

difficult. They're name is the Dias family, and I already love them.

We went with some members yesterday and visited them! It is a mom,

dad, and a daughter. The mom speaks pretty good Japanese, which was a

life saver. She sort of translated for her husband and daughter. But,

it is our task to teach them the after baptism lessons... And we can't

do it in English or Japanese... So we're learning Portuguese! Hahaha,

I am so excited to try and help teach this family in another language!

If anyone knows Portuguese and has some study material/advice, we

would greatly appreciate it! We don't have a lot of study material, so

it is difficult. We are going into it with faith that if we try our

hardest, God will fill in the rest. It was cool to see just how much

Japanese I already know. I have such a strong testimony now that we as

missionaries are called to speak in a specific language, and God helps

us learn and speak it. I'm just hoping he will make an exception for

us! HAHAHAHA 😂

Yesterday, my trainer and I had a very... Existential... Experience.

One of our recent converts, Okada kyōdai, has gotten sick. Really

sick. But he isn't able to go and see a doctor. He lives with his

mother usually, but she has been gone for a little bit, so he has been

completely alone. We gave him a priesthood blessing earlier yesterday,

but Baldwin decided that we should bake him something. We made him a

chocolate black thunder cake! I was actually really impressed with how

well it turned out! Men can cook! Haha, and we decided that we would

bring him the cake and a loaf of bread that some members had given us,

and go and doorbell ditch him. We prepared it all, wrote him a note,

and then went over to his house. We set all of the stuff on his porch,

rang the doorbell, and then ran off and hid. He opened the door and

saw the cake. He looked very weak and sick. He read the note, and then

looked up and out into the dark where we were hiding. In-between

gasps, he yelled out, "Thank you! Pashy and Baldwin! Thank you very

much!" Baldwin looked to me and I told him to be quiet. We didn't

write our names on the note, but Okada knew who it was from. If we

would have answered, it would have ruined the purpose of what we were

doing. While we were sitting there, I had a thought. That is like our

relationship with God. God blesses us all the time with cakes and

bread and other things that we need, metaphorically speaking. They

randomly show up on the porch steps of our lives. We know who it's

from, and in our prayers we desperately yell out our thanks into the

darkness. And He always hears us. But if He were to answer, it would

ruin the whole purpose of us being here. It was a unique feeling. We

rode home in silence, and all the while I was yelling out my thanks

into the darkness. I PROMISE you that He is there, and He is earnestly

listening. Just like we did, He delights in blessing you. Open your

door, and see the blessings on your porch.

That experience hit me really deeply. I hope that you all can find

chances to serve others. There is no greater feeling than helping

those in need. It is our job and duty to help others at every

opportunity.

I love you guys so much! Thank you for everything!

Love,

Luke/パシー長老

January 25th, 2016: This week has been a roller coaster!

I don't know why, but apparently I have a habit of getting myself into

some unique situations. Hahaha, and I love it. This week was no

exception! We went on a housing tour, were taught how to pretty much

kill people with a bamboo sword by some Japanese children, found an 89

year old investigator, met a ninja, saw all of the missionaries that

came in with me, got transfer calls, got called fat by my branch

president, had my first bike accident, and a bunch of other crazy

stuff! Life is hilarious. 

This week was transfer calls, and with it came some bad news.

Currently in Nagano there are 4 elders, and it is split up obviously

into two sections. It's the same geographically, but there are four of

us. On Saturday they told us that for an hour we would have to wait by

our phones to see if we would get transferred. Holy cow it was

stressful. I haven't felt that anxious in a long time! But after an

hour, none of us had gotten a call! We were super stoked because that

meant that we would all be staying in Nagano! But, after that our

district leader called the other elders and asked how they were

feeling. None of us knew what was going on, and so they said they were

stoked to be staying. But, apparently the AP's forgot to call them.

So, they got called and they're actually closing the Nagano 2 area! So

as of tomorrow, it will just be me and my trainer over all of Nagano!

How crazy is that!? We also get a whole apartment to ourselves! It is

going to be a lot more quiet from here on out. It has been super sad

because we all became really good friends and it is hard to see them

leave. But we are excited for them!

This Sunday we conferred the gift of the Holy Ghost to Nagumo! It was

cool to be able to stand in on an ordinance like that, and to hear it

all in Japanese! Also, we have seen the biggest change in Nagumo. She

has never looked happier. Especially her eyes. On Sunday, they were so

bright! Like, my trainer and I just talked about it and we both

thought she was wearing contacts or something because she was

absolutely radiating. It was amazing to see the light of Christ shine

so brightly from someone that we taught. If that isn't the best form

of motivation, I don't know what is. We will soon begin to teach her

the after baptism lessons, and I will be taking the lead role in

teaching them. It will be a cool experience, and I am excited to

practice my Japanese!

So, some fun stuff that happened. Last week we met an 89 year old man

named Fukazawa San while OYM'ing, and he invited us into his house. It

was weird because most people do not let you into their house. But he

sat us down and started to feed us candy. I wasn't complaining! Haha,

he then kept asking us if we drink ocha, which is green tea, and we

kept turning him down. Anyways, we thought he had dementia so we gave

him a Book of Mormon, invited him to read it, and then left. This

week, we decided we would drop by and see how he was doing and whether

or not he would remember us. When he opened the door, he looked at me

and said, "Pashii (my name in Japanese) San!" My trainer and I were

caught off guard, but apparently because I had left my business card,

he remembered who I was. Haha, but he forgot about my trainer. 

Anyways, he let us in again and we went and sat down. He loaded us up

with more candy, and then walked in with the Book of Mormon that we

had given him and a notebook. He told us that he had been reading from

the book and taking notes! We were astounded! We then taught about the

restoration, and he seemed really interested. He was Buddhist his

entire life, but decided that he doesn't believe in it anymore, so he

wants to learn about Christianity. The hardest part for him will be

gaining the faith to believe. We taught him how to pray, but he had a

hard time with that as well. I really like him. He is an artist! He

has paintings hung up all over his house, and he keeps telling us that

he wants to give us some. He also is a pro at those way cool wall

scrolls with kanji on it, and next time we come he is going to teach

us how to do it! I am stoked. Him and I talk about art all the time. I

am grateful for a mother who is an art history major, and that I read

art history textbooks growing up! I am praying that he will find the

faith to accept baptism.

On Saturday we were out try to visit some members, and while we were

biking we heard this really loud yelling coming from a gymnasium. Me,

being me, told my trainer that I wanted to check it out. Haha, so I

went and walked up to the door and found a man standing there. I asked

him if it was alright if we watched what was going on, and he let us

in. We walked into a war zone. What we walked into was a kendo

practice. Kendo is a Japanese form of fencing using two handed bamboo

swords. I was elated! It was so cool! After the kids did this warm up

stuff, they picked up their swords. Also, in kendo, you have to yell

whenever you hit someone. Apparently it is for the intimidation

factor. That is what we heard when we were biking past. The kids then

suited up in their miniature samurai suits and started hitting each

other on the head! I kid you not! I have videos! It was undoubtedly

one of the funniest things I have ever seen! It was just a bunch of

kids yelling at each other then smacking themselves on the head. I was

dying. I'll attach some videos. Then, they started sparring! It was

way cool! Oh, and this is where we met the ninja! He was an

instructor, and the man looked so scary. He showed no emotion, and

didn't even flinch when sparring. He scared me. But he was a cool guy

when we went and talked to him! He let me play sigh his sword, but

sadly I don't have any pictures. He taught me how to use it, and how

to scream like a samurai. Let's just say that I wasn't impressed with

myself... Haha. The videos are gold! 

Overall, this week has been a roller coaster. It's been up, down,

left, and right. It's been funny, sad, spiritual, difficult, easy, and

everything in between. My trainer and I are becoming really close, and

I am so grateful for that. He is a good missionary. We struggled this

week when it came to finding. We have been trying to house more

lately, and with that comes a lot of difficulties. We knock on so many

houses! One night this week we were feeling a little down, and while

we were at the top of a huge housing complex, we looked out over the

city. It was beautiful. I told my companion that out ere, somewhere,

was someone that needed to hear what we have to say, and it is our job

to find them. No matter how many people turn us down, we have to have

the faith to find the one person that has been prepared. I have

learned a lot also about prayer. I invite you all to study out prayer.

When I did, I realized that I had been praying wrong. Study it out,

and personal revelation will come flooding into your lives!

I love it here, and I love the gospel. Live life, because every second

counts. Serve others. If you are trying to find yourself, first lose

yourself in the service of others, and there will you find who you

really are. I love all of you! Don't ever give up!

Love,

Luke/パシー長老

Random selfies at eikaiwa...