NAGANO!!!
I have had probably THE strangest first week in recorded
history...
Get ready, because this is gonna be a long one!
When we arrived in Japan, we actually had to stay the night in
Tokyo
because we missed our connecting flight from Tokyo to Nagoya! So
that
was fun. We were put up in a way nice hotel that had
complimentary
buffet meals and that was pretty much the best thing ever. It
was
really relaxing, and I was super happy because I was dead that night.
So the next morning we got all packed and headed to Nagoya! It
was a
short flight, and I got to sit next to a Japanese sister going
to
Nagoya as well! She was way cool! Her name is Owada Shimai! We
basically went through the the whole catalog and I asked her a
ton of
questions about all of the items in Japanese! It was super fun!
Then
we landed and I met Ishii Kaichō! He is seriously the coolest
guy
ever! Him and his wife seriously crack me up! Also, random side
note,
I met up with Whitney Wilcox here!!! She was a trainer for a
sister in
my dōki, and so I got to talk with her a ton! She is the bomb!
But
yeah, all of the missionaries going to the far off places in the
mission got to stay the night in the mission home, like me!
Also, my
trainer is awesome! His name is Baldwin chōrō and he is flipping
great! His Japanese is AWESOME and he is really cool. He has
been a
way rad trainer so far too! We are already good friends!
So the next day we took off early in the morning for Nagano!
Nagano
was the exact place that I wanted to get called, so when I heard
it, I
was so relieved! Besides the fact that it is way cold here,
Nagano
reminds me a lot of home! We're in a mountain valley, and there
are
ski resorts all around! You could mistake it for Utah! I love it
so
much. We got to the apartment and got all of my stuff situated,
and
then had to go to an appointment! The appointment was with a
woman who
my trainer hadn't really ever met with before, and no one really
knew
why she wanted to meet with us, but being missionaries, we
obviously
met with her! And oh was it a strange first day in Nagano. We
showed
up at the post office where she told us she wanted to meet, and
we
eventually found her and went into a restaurant because it was
way
cold outside and we wanted to talk. The whole situation felt a
little
strange form the beginning, but because I am a new bean I didn't
say
anything. Long story short, this woman turned out to be a member
of a
small Buddhist extremist sect (interestingly enough, they were
accused
of bombing some sanctuaries because they felt like foreigners
were
changing things too much... Yeah. Sketchy huh!?) and she wanted
to
throw down hardcore! She brought in backup too! Her religious
leader
showed up and started calling us to repentance! Luckily, neither
of
them spoke any English so when I would ask for my trainer to
explain
he would be like, "I have no idea what is going on... It's
getting way
freaky." And I would just nod my head as if he were
explaining it to
me... It was scary. We politely excused ourselves when it
started to
get really heated and then basically booked it out of there. As
we
were hurrying away, we actually ended up getting lost in the
dark side
streets of rural Nagano! We wandered around for a while, and
eventually figured out where we were. We had to walk so far in
the
cold to get home! That was Thursday.
Friday was a little sketchy too. It started out great when we
went and
read the Book of Mormon with a recent convert named Okada kyōdai.
I
realized then just how bad I am at reading in Japanese. It is
flipping
hard! So I have been practicing everyday and I am already
improving a
lot! But yeah, Okada kyōdai is a great guy. He doesn't have a
lot of
friends, so we stepped into that role. I sat by him during all
of
church, and we talk a lot. Haha, we even have a handshake that
we
made! It's way funny! Hahahaha after we finished reading with
him, we
decided that we were going to go and buy me a bike. We decided
to go
to a Trek store, but it was way far away! We had to take a train
halfway across Nagano, and then walk a couple of miles to get
there!
It was already dark when we showed up. We went in and I was
super
stoked to get a bike finally! I found one that I liked and
brought it
up to the man working the register and told him that I wanted to
buy
it. He looked at me, then down at my bike, then back up at me,
and
then started yelling out this super fast Japanese at me. I could
tell
he wasn't pleased. I looked at my trainer and he looked as
confused as
I felt. Basically, this guy thought that this bike wasn't big
enough
for me, so he wouldn't sell it to me. I again told him that I
liked
it, and he proceeded to come and grab the bike from me and took
it
into the back of the shop, all the while motioning for me to
follow
him. I was a little nervous at this point. We went into the back
of
the shop and he pulled out this measuring tape and started
measuring
everywhere on me and then diligently writing the numbers down.
Once he
was finished, he brought his clipboard with my whole body's
measurements on it to show us. I was like, "Cool. I want
the bike."
And he got more mad. He started doing all of these equations and
calculations and you would have thought this man was trying to
one up
Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawkins! All in all, he was trying to
show
us that I was around 174 (I can't remember the units) and the
limit
was 175. He didn't think that was good enough for me and so he
wanted
to order a new bike for me. But I was not going to walk home.
The bike
felt good (it actually fits perfectly we found out because I
have
shorter legs than most people my height... Weird huh?) and so I
told
him that. This guy was raging! I thought he was going to start
throwing punches! So I pulled out my credit card, and told him
again
that I wanted to buy it. He got the message that time, and got
super
quiet. It was actually scarier than when he was yelling at us.
It was
super tense and awkward as I bought the bike and then left the
store.
My trainer was like, "What the heck just happened. I have
never seen
that before." And we all just started laughing. It was a
strange
Friday.
Saturday was amazing! We met again with Okada kyōdai and read
from the
Book of Mormon. That is when I noticed that I had actually
improved in
one day! It is cool how much you can do with God on your side,
isn't
it? We read, and then after we had a small English lesson. It is
hilarious because Japanese people cannot pronounce the sounds
right.
But it was fun. Right after that we met with an investigator
named
Naoki, and he is unique because we only talk to him in English.
He is
obsessed with learning English, and we are pretty sure that is
the
only reason that he meets with us. His English is way good
though, and
he says he practices everyday! We gave him a Book of Mormon to
read
and told him to find ten words that he didn't understand, and
that is
what we would talk about next time. We're praying that as he
reads it,
he will see the truth in it. Then came my favorite part. THE
WARD
CHRISTMAS PARTYYYY! It was so cool! I got to meet all of the
ward
members, and their kids. So the children here in Japan are
probably
the cutest ever. It is awesome. I was playing around with all of
them
and now they all know me by name. They all yell, "Pashy chōrō,
Pashy
chōro!" Whenever they see me. It is great. So we all ate
this good
food that the members brought, and then came time for the
devotional.
I was lucky, because I got to be SANTA CLAUS! I dressed up in
this way
ghetto outfit from the 90's, and then charged into the chapel
yelling
English. Don't worry, they told me to speak only English. I was
actually impressed with my ability to chuckle... Hahahaha
everyone
formed a line and was going crazy, including all of the old
people! I
gave them all candy and told them merry Christmas! Of course
everyone
recognized me, so after the party everyone came up to me and was
calling me Santa. I was jokingly telling them that I was just a
missionary, not Santa. Hahaha oh, and the cutest thing happened
ever!
I was sitting down after being Santa, and one of the little boys
(he
was probably five or six years old) comes up and grabs my hand
and
looks me in the eyes and said, "Thank you." In way
soft and kind
English. My heart literally melted as I said, "You're
welcome." He
smiled a toothy smile and then ran back under the table with all
of
his other friends. That's what it is all about guys. Family.
That's
why I am here, in Japan, spending two years of my time learning
a
foreign language and living in a foreign place. So that families
can
be together forever. It was a great Saturday.
Sunday was pretty good too! It was very...intimidating...to say
the
least. Naturally, our mission president, Ishii Kaichō, decided
to stop
by our ward this Sunday. So, being new, I had to speak in from
of a
bunch of people, INCLUDING MY MISSION PRESIDENT, in Japanese.
That was
freaky. It was only like eight minutes long though, so it wasn't
too
bad. I just introduced myself and bore my testimony. I am
actually
proud of the fact that my Japanese didn't suck! I attribute it
to my
amazing MTC teachers! Thanks so much Norawong Kyōdai, Carlile
Shimai,
and Babcock Shimai! I am not a failure after all because of you
guys!
;) hahaha, but the rest of the Sunday was good. We had a bunch
of
meetings, and then later that day we went finding! In Japan, it
is so
important to OYM (Open Your Mouth) to everyone that you pass. We
found
two new investigators ON THE WAY to the place where we were
gonna go
finding. You never know who has been prepared by the Lord's
hand, and
the only way to find out is to OYM! We came home feeling
successful on
Sunday.
Today is our P-Day, and right now we don't have any major plans.
Tonight we are meeting with Samuel, one of our new
investigators, and
my trainer is leaving it up to me to invite him to be baptized!
AHHHH!
I guess we'll see how that one goes!
That's about it for now... Hahahaha I love EACH AND EVERY SINGLE
ONE
OF YOU! Thank you for everything you have done for me! The work
is
needed here in Japan, and I am so grateful that I get to share
the
gospel. The Japanese people are phenomenal, and I already love
them so
much. So here we go! It's time to save some souls!
愛しています！
パシー 長老
Also, here is my mission address... Sorry I forgot to put it in
last time!
Japan Nagoya Mission
1-304 Itadakai, Meitou-ku
Nagoya-shi, Aichi
465-0028
Japan
Hopefully that's right... Also, I will try to send another email
with
pictures! The email situation is way weird right now... Oh well!
I'm
working
on it! :)
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Stuck
in the Tokyo Airport
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This
is our ward Christmas Party
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