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