Happy Valentines Day!!! Japan is pretty much the greatest when
it
comes to Valentine's Day. Here, it is switched! The girls give
the
guys chocolate! So yesterday at church the young women gave out
a ton
of chocolate! But, there is a catch. They call it 義理 チョコ which roughly
translates to obligation chocolate. If you are given chocolate
on
Valentine's Day, you have to give three times as much chocolate
back
on White Day (a holiday in March), or so the tradition goes.
Haha, it
sounds like we're gonna be buying a whole lot of chocolate in
March...
😂
This week has been insanely busy! Every single day has been
packed in
with member visits, less active visits, finding, teaching, and
everything in between. We have been all over the place! It is
difficult because Nagano is so large, we have to take the train
and
then walk to get to a lot of members and less actives houses. A
lot of
trains makes for a lot of close calls. My trainer and I seem to
have a
habit of cutting our train times way too close. I am pretty sure
I
have run more this week than I have in my entire life! I
realized that
I am SOOO out of shape... And of course Baldwin did cross county
and
is pretty much a 6'4 gazelle. I'm sure we looked quite
interesting as
two white guys running across the beautiful landscape of Japan;
Baldwin in front with perfect form and me in the back trying to
suck
in enough oxygen so that I don't pass out. From this I have
learned
that instead of getting in shape, I am going to make sure we are
early. I feel like that's the easiest way to go. 😂😂😂
This week was Nagano's annual Tomyo Festival! It was gorgeous!
The
Tomyo festival is held every year in order to celebrate the
olympics,
and the world peace that they symbolize. They line up wax paper
lanterns all along the road leading up to the local Buddhist
temple
Zenkoji. They also light up the temple with all of the colors of
the
Olympic Rings! It is way cool and way pretty! My favorite part
was
hands down the lanterns, though. The whole area of Nagano gets
involved. Professional artist as well as students of all ages
can make
cutouts that are placed on the lantern. The light then shines
through
and illuminates the negative space and creates a beautiful work
of
art. I loved the children's ones just as much as the
professionals. It
really struck me how important the theme of peace should be in
the
lives of everyone, including children. I have always questioned,
and
still do, why everyone can't get along. Why there has to be
wars, and
contentions, and fights. Where did the light of Christ go that
is
inside all of us? Nowadays, you can see the hatred people have
towards
others everywhere you go, especially on the news. A lot of
people
don't think that peace can be achieved in our day in age, but I
am a
firm believer that it can. I think we all just need to realize
that
the positive effects of peace and resolution far outweigh the
consequences of anger and hatred. In our personal lives, we may
not be
faced with wars and large scale acts of violence, but the small
stuff
is just as important. Are you holding a grudge? Are you clinging
to a
small grain of anger? I promise you that it is not worth it. I
promise
you that no matter what has happened, and no matter how much you
have
been wronged, the blessings that come from forgiveness are
immeasurable. Follow Christ's perfect example of love and your
life
will soar to heights that were previously unimaginable. Haha,
sorry
for the random rant, but I feel very strongly about the idea of
peace.
Our new Brazilian family, the Dias family, are doing well! We
went and
visited them yesterday, after they said that they wouldn't be
able to
attend church. We talked to them and realized that we don't know
Portuguese, and they don't know enough Japanese or English to
teach
them. But we are doing our best! We are going to start teaching
them
soon, so hopefully it goes well!
Anyways, that's about all I have for this week! I will attach
some
pictures from Tomyo! Love you all!
Carpe Diem
パシー長老
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People
are ballers here in Japan! Just check out this sign!
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These
lanterns are beautiful!
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