October 25, 2009
Hey family! Thanks for all the messages! They were great! Ill answer the questions first. Ya your scriptures will be fine. Thanks a lot. He will really like them. I have never checked how long it takes. Sorry? The only things I would need would be like toothpaste, socks, boring stuff like that. I am bad at ironing pants so maybe a little drawing of how to do it like the pros. The only thing I spend money on is really bike repairs. Today I bought new tires, and brakes and stuff. So I guess money for that? I am sorry I really have no use for a lot of things.My schedule is:
5.30>wake up and study Japanese (read the Bom in Japanese etc)
6:30>exercise
7:00>shower and eat
7:30>read the Bible and Book of Mormon
8:00>personal study
9:00>Companionship Study
10:00>Japanese Study
10:45> Leave apartment During this time it just depends I guess. I usually just go streeting. Streeting is walking or riding around trying to stop everyone so we can talk with them. If I am not streeting I may be visiting less actives, teaching lessons to investigators, having meals with members, etc. We also astarted up an FHE for the youth and anyone who wants to come. It has been a good success. During this time I also eat Lunch and dinner. Yes you heard me I eat three meals now. My companion likes his meals a lot and I just make the best out of it. I am not gaining weight though.
9:00pm> Back in apartment and plan for the next day
9:30> call investigators and Potential Investigators
10:00> write in journal, iron shirt for tommorrow, and get ready for bed
10:30>Lights out and in bed(futoon)(This is not the American futon--it is a mat on the floor!)
O and dad to answer your question about the signs; the Japanese people all do the peace sign in photos so I guess it is just natural for us. I think it is funny because every Japanese person knows the peace sign. from 1 year old to 100 years old, they all know it. The language is going well. I really love speaking it. I am starting to think more in Japanese. I speak in Japanese from 10:30 am to 9:00 at night sometimes. Of course I talk to my comp in english and some other people but there arent really any breaks. It is person after person. It is weird not to talk to someone every 3 minutes or so. It is usually very fast paced and fun! I didnt know if I told you guys but during my first transfer in Japan I would teach lessons in Japanese in my sleep. I would sit up in the middle of the night and start talking in Japanese. It has been quite a while since I have done that but I though you might get a kick out of it. This week has been great! A lot of new investigators and busy with the usuall stuff. Anthony didnt come to church this week or last week so he cant get baptized on the 1st. We havent been able to meet with him since then either. I is kinda a bummer but I am looking on the bright side. He is reading the Book Of Mormon everyday and praying. He also found a job so he will know his schedule and we will be able to meet. The Lord really works in mysterious ways. Not everyone will be baptized perfectly on schedule. Baptism, really is in the Lords hands and the individuals free agency is very powerful. I had another experience this week that made me realize how powerful free agency is. Me and elder Cobur were on an exchange. He is from Driggs and he just got in Japan a couple of weeks ago. Because both of us are pretty new it was pretty hard to understand everything people were saying. He had to look to me for help because I was the more experience missionary. It was a fun day. At about 8:00 we were streeting and we met yokouchi. He is 20 and is staying with his friends family in Osaka for a while. He wanted to be taught right then so we walked to the church together. We taught about Jesus Christ and the apostasy and then got to the restoration. To teach this we watched the Restoration DVD in Japanese. It has perfect Japanese, not like mine and the people understand it really well. The spirit was there very strongly and during and after the film. He said he felt something different during the film. A good and peaceful feeling. We explained that that was the spirit. He understood well but when we aked when he could meet next he said he couldnt. He wouldnt even give us his cell phone number. There is an Elder Holland quote in the PMG that goes something like this, "when your investigators dont keep commitments you should be devastated! There is peoples salvation at risk" I was devasted. In times like these I do feel down because one of Gods children may still be lost. It is sad to see people recieve that powerful witness and then walk out on it. These experiences help us to grow. It makes me even more determined to study harder and be worthy for the HOly spirit. The mission is great and these people are awesome. Everyday I feel the Holy Ghost and try to heed its promptings. I love it hear and I love you all. O and dad, I dont care what they say, you look good in purple! Thanks again for all the messages! Till next week! Sayonara
Sleep-talking (in Japanese!)
Listening to the Spirit
October 18, 2009Hey family! Sounds like all is well. Olivia! Chet Eh! Hope you had fun. Happy early birthday! Lenzi sounds happy and ready to get married. Rudy, your westy looks sweet! That is funny about the YMCA! Good luck. Hopefully Butch doesn't fix everything but the problem,LoL. He is such a good guy. Well dad to answer your question, the family unit in Japan is very strong but the fathers work so much. The grandparents usually take care of the kids and the grandparents usually hate Christians. These are all generalizations but pretty true. I like talking to families but there just aren't very many walking around when we are streeting. The younger generation is more open to new ideas so we focus on them but the spirit really tells us who to talk to. K ill answer the rest of the questions. Friday needs English ones. I think he is coming to church next week! And I don"t need Peanut butter or cds, Thanks though. It would be nice to have those stickers with my address on them. I lost the ones you sent me. Thanks My companion is great! I was transferred last Thursday! To the other room. My apartment has 4 elders in it. I am now companions with elder Nicerio. He was in the same apartment last transfer with a different companion. He is Phillipino but grew up in Australia. Ill send pics. He is very nice and a good guy. This is his last transfer. I was a little disappointed because I wont really be seeing my old investigators anymore. This will be my third time starting from scratch pretty much. I am very excited to find more people to teach. My old companion Elder Budge is training a new missionary in Abeno too. His companion is from L.A., Elder Escalante. He adds a little Spanish flavor. My prayers really have been answered this week. We need people to teach and that is exactly what the Lord gave us. We met Anthony last Friday. He is from Nigeria and very large. We met him outside his apartment and he wanted to be taught right then. It was the smallest apartment I have ever been in. It was a little bigger than a queen sized bed. I know this because he had one in there! All three of us sat on his bed and talked about the Restoration. He understood very well and he accepted to be baptized on Nov. 1st! He is a great guy and I am excited to see how his life will change. Other than Anthony we found a couple other new investigators. God really does answer out prayers. I just hope that through my words these people will feel the spirit and know that they are children of God. I can honestly tell you guys that I haven't had a bad day. Last night was a little rough though. During streeting to stop people I say "sumi masen" It is like excuse me in English. Sometimes the people will say "Kekko desu" which means like im not interested. We were by a crowded train station with tons of people and like 20 people Kekkoed me in a row. It was like bam, bam, bam, bam. I feel so bad because they really don't know how important the message of the Restoration is. When little things like this happen I know that there is someone out there that is ready to here. I love it here. The people are so nice and are willing to listen. Remember how I told that I have been trying to follow the promptings of the spirit but it seemed like everyone I was prompted to speak to wasn't interested? Well I have seen just the opposite lately. Last transfer me and elder Budge talked to a man named Takao san last transfer but we didn't get his contact info or set up an appointment. after he left we felt prompted to go find him. We looked and looked but couldn't find him. I felt awful but went on. As we were talking to another guy Takao san came out of nowhere. We got his contact info and a return appointment and now he has a baptismal date. Anthony was the same way. We were riding our bikes home and I was behind elder Nicerio. It was dark so I couldn't see well and it didn't help that Anthony blended in. He is way dark. again I felt prompted to turn around and now he is getting baptized. Miracles happen everyday. It really is a miracle that we receive guidance from something that we have never seen. The Holy Ghost is very powerful. The mission is great and I love it! It really is the most important thing I could be doing right now. Thanks again for everything! You are so nice to send that quad for Friday. Love you all and see you later!
Investigators from Around the World
Grady and Elder Budge with Yamamoto Shimai. He hiked in his Chacos!
Grady with Hiroki. He is an eikaiwa student (the English class that the missionaries teach)Hey Family! How are you doin? It was good to hear from you again. Sounds like this last week was pretty eventful. Ruddawg! Wow, I can't believe you don't have a broken rib or face! I'm am sorry. But it sounds like God was looking out for ya. (Rudy had a rough week. He and Gus were changing out the motor in Rudy's VW van and Rudy was underneath the car and the motor fell on top of him--it's a miracle that he wasn't hurt or worse! Then, the next day, he fell flat on his face while skateboarding, and another miracle--he didn't knock his teeth out--he just got a big, fat lip!) Dad, Happy Birthday! How old are you now? That is crazy that you are a Fedex driver now! Do you get to wear the tight shorts? If not you should anyway. Good luck, sounds like it is a good job. The man next to me in this Internet cafe has been snoring way loud for like 10 minutes. It is way funny! But someone just woke him up. I'll answer the questions first. I am getting a dictionary today and my watch cost me one dollar. It is way sweet! About the food thing. I get a lot of money each week from the mission home. It is plenty for food. I can only spend this money on certain things. I am eating pretty good but just not as much as before, which is fine. I feel great and there just isn't time for 3 meals. I am way too busy. But thanks a lot for the concern. The language is coming. I feel like I can understand more now. I haven't gotten discouraged and I learn everyday. I love learning new languages! It is way fun. We dropped a couple of our English speaking investigators this last week. Right now is Caliph, Lal, Barth,and Godwin. Lal is from India, Caliph is from San Diego, Godwin is from Ghana, and Barth is from Congo. Pretty large variety. There are a lot of foreigners here in Osaka. Ya McKay wrote me today. It was good to hear from him. Oh and about the little typhoon thing. Other than a little rain, Osaka really didn't get hit. Everyone was scared but it was nothing so I was happy. That is exciting for Lenzi. I am way excited! Today Me and elder budge hike a mountain with a member and a her nonmember husband. They are way nice. Ill send pics. It was so nice to be in a forest again. It felt like home. I was in my chacos and had a great time. General conference was very cool. I was so blessed this week in many ways. Caliph came to the Saturday afternoon session and loved it. Through the speakers that spoke he really understands Jesus Christ's perfect gospel teachings. Things are looking up for him. I got many things out of general conference but what stuck with me most was love. Right now we have 3 mentally or physically or both investigators. They just have learning disabilities or something minor. They are so great but need special needs. It really hit me that I just need to love them. People here in general don't receive or show love to one another. These people really need to feel the Saviors and Gods love for them. This is through the restored gospel. We are supposed to become like little children. They are already like children because they are very accepting. Having them feel the spirit is very key. I know that by loving people by teaching them the restored gospel we are so blessed and their lives are also blessed. I am sorry I am running out of time. Tomorrow are transfer calls. I might stay or go. Ill keep you posted. Elder Hollands talk was pretty powerful. I feel the same way about the Book Of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is what converts people. I just introduce it to them and bear testimony of it. It really does change people in every way. I love you all and the mission is great. I feel so blessed everyday. It is comforting to know that I have control of my attitude in every situation. I love it here! Till next time. see you later!
Wishing for two mouths to testify boldly!!
We have the time and temperature for Twin Falls and Kobe, Japan on our computer. It's always so fun to see the difference in weather. Once in a while the temperature is exactly the same, but not this day! The funny thing is, it was probably close to 70 degrees the day before!
These are the pictures I sent Grady. It snowed all day Conference Sunday, October 4th!Hey guys! Thanks for the pictures! They were great! I cant believe it is snowing! It is also getting a little bit cooler here now too. I only sweat for half of the night now! Just kidding it is great. The van looks sweet! I love that green. It is pretty seventies. Good luck on the engine. I am glad that mom feels better and everyone is healthy now. Ill answer the questions first. I got the package and thanks a lot. It will probably be a while before I need some more. My clothes are doing great. I wash the collars pretty regularly and I keep care of my suits. I want to use them after my mission. Harris Choro was very neat and tidy and I learned a lot on taking care of stuff. His shirts were still white after 2 years. I am sorry I really cant think of anything. I am pretty blessed right now and if I think of something later Ill let you know. I would rather you send some presents for my investigators and not me. They need it a lot more than me. Friday the less active member from Ghana could use the big size scriptures like what you have. His eyes are bad and he cant read really well. It is pretty tough. Ill tell you a quick story about him. The ward that he got baptized into gave him 10,000 dollars in total for his rent. Friday was homeless with no job. He didn't know what to do then the missionaries found him. The bishop of the ward was amazing! That ward changed his life and he is a very thankful for it. Friday is preparing for the temple now. I am excited for him. My face is all right. I broke out a little bit but probably from stress or something. This week was pretty wild. It was full of new investigators and dropping investigators. Kawakami was supposed to get baptised yesterday but we cant consistently get a hold of him. It is really sad but miracles happen. We dropped Emanuel because he hasn't returned out calls and there is no way to get a hold of him. A couple of other investigators were dropped but with this came a lot of new investigators. I know that things happen for a reason. But it still makes me think if I could have done something more. I know that if I try my hardest for these children of God to feel the spirit then it is up to them. Free agency is a powerful gift that we have. I am excited for these new investigators. They really seem like real seekers of truth. I haven't really told you how awesome my ward is. They do a prayer list for our investigators which is pretty cool. The other week a lady in the ward came up to me with some French mustard. We had an investigator named Oliver who was from France. She wanted me to give it to him. This was one of the sweetest things someone could do. I got kind of emotional because it was so nice. I had to explain to her that he moved. These little things really make a big difference for missionaries. It is hard trying to teach and keep track of all of the investigators. I am very thankful for great ward members that care about the investigators. Priesthood at church is way fun. Nishida Kyodai is the leader guy( he must mean Elder's Quorum President!) and Nagano Kyodai is one of his counselors. They are Hilarious! I can`t understand what they say but I can't stop laughing sometimes. They love to joke with each other and Nishida reminds me of the owner of the manager of the big Costco on "Employee of the Month". He is way funny. I don`t get to watch conference till next week. I guess it takes a while to translate or something. Ill tell you about one investigator this week. His name is Caliph. He is from San Diego but has lived in Japan for about 8 years. He is African American and way smart. He came here to study the school system but has stayed for way longer than he planned. He speaks Japanese way good and he is probably one of the nicest people I have met. He is Muslim but really accepted to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. He doesn't see Jesus Christ as his savior. To him and all the Muslims Jesus Christ was a great prophet but not the only begotten son, or the Savior of the world. I know through reading the Book of Mormon Caliph will realize that Jesus Christ is his savior. Caliph really is a special person and I really want him to realize that Christ was special and he is our Savior. Ya the Sapporo temple was announced! Everyone here is way excited. The members are way motivated to get a temple. They are really fired up about missionary work. When we were told to prepare for the temple what did we do differently in Twin? I can`t really remember. It would be a good experience to relate to the members. I cant wait till conference. I am really looking forward to it. I love how simple all the speakers bear simple testimony about the Savior. I love doing this everyday to complete strangers. It isn't awkward or silly to me. I really see these people as my brothers and sisters. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to testify boldly to as many people as possible. I love you all and time is flying by here! It is going by too fast. There are so many people here to talk to. I wish I had two mouths or something. I love missionary work and these people. Thanks for all the good emails and pics. I love you again. Talk to you soon.!
"Two Men Crying"
Hey family! What’s up! That is exciting about lenzi! Congrats! I know all will go well. Everyone sounds happy and having a good time. School sounds pretty fun actually. High school was great. a lot of good memories. Ill answer the questions first. Ya we did meet with Emmanuel and his baptismal date is Oct. 11. He has been hard to get a hold of but things will come through. I don’t know if I told you about Kawakami san but he is getting baptized on Oct. 4. He is an older man with some disabilities. He always brings the spirit and really wants to be baptized. It has also been hard to get a hold of him but things will come through also. O and my bike is fixed now. It only cost about 20 dollars so I was happy. It works great. I do kinda miss the Mama chati. I am sorry about the pictures. I haven’t been very good. Ill send the card today in the mail. I promise. I will include the bike pics. Ill tell you guys a cool story this week about a new investigator. His name is Lal. He is from India. Ya he is legit. He looks just like what Aladdin looks like. He is way nice and has a Japanese wife and a little 6 month old boy. After we shared Joseph Smiths first vision the spirit was very strong. I was getting emotional like usual and I asked him how he felt. He said he wanted to cry. After that we just looked at each other and started crying. Two men crying. That is what I told him. That is what the spirit does to us. After that we talked about how he likes helping people and that is what everyone should do in the world. He has a way good heart. He asked me how I help people and I put it very simply and said, I help people receive baptism. Eternal life starts with baptism. It is so important. Before the mission I wanted to help as many people as I could. Now I have the same goal but I have realized that baptism is the most important way to help people. By receiving baptism people grow and progress and become closer to Christ. Then they make a covenant to serve God and Jesus Christ all their lives which means temple covenants and enduring to the end. These steps after baptism are so vital. Right now Friday is preparing for the temple. We visit with him once a week. I can see the gospel changing these people. The only way I can help is invite the spirit and explain simple doctrine. I don’t have to be a genius or anything. The spirit teaches a whole lot better than me. Well I better go now, but thanks for all the love!. O and I might buy a dictionary today. It will be around 200 dollars. But anyway Thanks for everything. The Mission is great. I love these people. They are great! There are a lot of prepared people here. Love you all!
So Busy with Investigators
I'm assuming this is a picture of a family in their ward.
I've never walked behind a man with a monkey on his back!!--But Grady has!
Hey Family! Thanks for the emails. They were great. How is everything going? Sounds like everyone is happy. Sorry about the kidney stones. I hope I never get those. That is cool that Buhl closed and the cars are getting sold. I am glad that your life is less hectic. I’ll answer the questions first. My bike is all right!? I am glad it is a GT because I rode a brand new Giant the other day and it didn’t seem better than my old piece of crap. I like it a lot but the back wheel is bent so I am buying a new one today. I also need to fix the brakes but this will total to no more than a hundred dollars which is a lot cheaper and just as good as a new one. The other day at interviews me and another elder went out to fix the rear tire. You can adjust the spokes and so the wheel isn’t as bent but it made things worse. A spoke snapped and the tire went flat. He didn’t even say that he was sorry but it is all right. I will be working on my bike from now on I guess. This week I have been using Harris Choros old Mamacari. It is what all the Japanese people use. It is a funny looking bike that old grandmas usually ride. It does the job though. Ya the other day My umbrella got stuck in the spokes of the front tire as I was going but I jumped of quick and bailed. It was way funny. (He told Lenzi that when he bailed he was on the ground, laughing so hard and loud, and no one was laughing with him!! He said he might be too loud for the Japanese people!) I really don’t need money. The only thing I spend my money on is my bike pretty much. all the rest is out of the mission money. I have plenty of toothpaste at the moment but thanks. I have stopped losing weight and am staying pretty constant at about 155-160 or so. I have lost about 15 pounds. pretty crazy huh!? I feel really healthy though. Me and my comp get along really well. We definitely don’t click like me and Harris did but everyone has his and her own strengths. I have felt myself holding my tongue more often this transfer but the Lord has blessed me. I am really trying to change to. I could definitely be more flexible and I am trying. The language is coming along. I am starting to pick up more words so today I am also buying a jisho (electronic dictionary). It will hopefully be under 200 dollars. The mission is going great. This is probably the busiest I have been so far. It is hard to keep track of all the Investigators. We have some African investigators. They are from Ghana, Senegal, and Congo. They are pretty cool. I’ll tell you about one. His name is Emmanuel. He is 39, and has a family back in Ghana. We met with him last night and taught about the restoration. He understood well and the spirit was there. He really wants to know. Before we met him God prepared him. He recently lost about 12,000 dollars on a scam that someone did to him. He decided to come back to Japan to work and gain back the money. People in Japan also treated him bad but he decided to forgive and forget. He also decided to start listening to other churches beliefs. It was a miracle that we met him because he is usually not at Namba, the place we met him. He was there and we showed up and talked to him and set up the appointment yesterday. He realized what a miracle all this was and he is a great man because he realizes that we have to rely on God to be happy. We are meeting with him today and going to commit him to baptism. Ill tell you how it goes. I have faith that the spirit will witness to him that this gospel is different than the other Christian churches. It is the restored church and we don’t have to be confused anymore. We have a living prophet. Thanks for all the support during my life. My testimony really grows stronger everyday. Kitaoka is starting to get the priesthood. He passed the sacrament last week. I felt a little like a parent because I have seen his whole transformation process. O and dad I can read peoples through their eyes. The eye is the light of the body. "Matthew somewhere" Every contact I look into their eyes and listen for the spirit to tell me what they need to hear. The spirit is very strong and I am trying to listen more and more. The mission is great and thanks again. Till next week!
Mamoru Sakata is Baptized
September 13, 2009 We received another sweet email this week. A young man that Grady and Elder Harris taught was baptized on Saturday. They turned him over to the other elders a few weeks ago because he was in their area, but Grady was able to attend the baptism--Elder Harris had gone home.
Hey guys! Sounds like everyone is having fun. School is starting, it is probably warm, etc. O last week I got a letter from the Mishlers. I don't remember who they are but they were very nice. I will send them a letter today. Ya that's cool Ill just buy a watch here. It should be fine. Ya just send the camera card. I am pretty happy right now and don't think I need anything. Ill send the next camera card today. I have some pretty good pics I think. But ya Mamor got baptised yesterday. It was really cool. It was in Hagashi Osaka so me and Budge Choro traveled there to see it. Mamor was a little nervous and I think it was good for him to see me again. HE is so nice and humble. After the baptism he changed into regular clothes but he just put a white shirt with a tie over his gym shorts and jersey he always wears. There is Mamor for you. He got up and just started talking and praying and at the end said amen. HE really does love to pray. To every commandment they taught him he was just like, ya ill do that. Sounds good. He really is like a child. But that is what the Lord asks us to do. Become like a little child. Ill forward a picture. I liked the quote you gave me. I have seen that a lot and thought about how the Lord sees what we cant. Our relationship with Heavenly father is really pretty simple but because we are human and imperfect we stumble and sometimes don't have enough faith to trust the Lord. Everyday I get multiple chances to trust in the Holy ghost, Gods tool that he gives to us. I try my hardest but once in a while something happens and I mess up. I feel awful but those feelings make me not want to feel that again. It makes it even more hard when every time I follow the spirit the person I was directed to rudely rejects. The way I see it is that the Lord is testing me and everyone right now so that when he does direct me to that prepared person I will be ready. Or by me talking to that person I am set up to run into that prepared person down the road. What ever way we look at promptings it comes down to one thing. The Lord expects us to listen and follow but he also realizes that we are human and imperfect. His atonement makes up for the rest. The other morning we were doing companion study and I had a rude awakening. I haven't been using the Holy Ghost as much as I should. I contact for hours everyday and I usually talk about the concept of God. This is wrong because my goal is for that child of God to feel their Heavenly Fathers love through the spirit. I go into each contact differently. Now I try to remember this line before every contact, What can I say for this person to feel the Spirit? Me and elder Budge saw immediate success and the people were feeling the spirit. Looking back Kitaoka and Mamors baptisms were a huge miracle. Kitaoka showed up to Eikaiwa after hearing me and Harris choro ramble on about God. It really puts me in my place when the only reason Kitaoka got baptised is because God answered his prayer and he felt the spirit. The same thing with Mamor. He was baptised purely on feeling. He has a strong testimony because of the spirit. Rudy don't beat yourself up. I have spent too much of my life beating myself up. repent and move on. If God forgets it we should too. And I am sure I have done a lot of bad things that Mom and dad never found out about. Oops, I probably shouldn't have said that. But really Forgive and forget. We have to forgive ourselves. Well The mission is great and I enjoy everyday of it. I can feel myself improving a little bit day by day with the Language. God is really blessing me. O and before I forget where are you guys in the Book of Mormon? I was thinking maybe we could read together. I read a chapter from the new testament, and the Book of Mormon everyday. What do you think? I love it hear and I have really felt blessed this last week. The Lord has really comforted me. I feel his love for me everyday. Good luck with everything and till we email again. Saranara
Goodbye Elder Harris, Hello Elder Budge!
Grady, Friday and Elder HarrisSeptember 6, 2009 I love Sunday! Not only do we get to go to church and learn more about our Heavenly Father, but I absolutely LOVE getting Grady's emails each week. This week was no different. He is learning and growing and I can see changes in him each week. It's so awesome having a son on a mission. Here is this week's letter:
Hey guys! Thanks for the emails. Sounds like everyone is great. Dad the job sounds sweet. I was sorry to hear about the Hinkles daughter. That is pretty tragic. I hope everything goes well. Rudy, Olivia and Lenzi, tell me all about school and sports and stuff. Well Ill answer the shitsumons first. I got the cards and they worked out great. Thanks a lot. They must have been expensive. My new companion is named elder Budge. He grew up in Tokyo then went to school at BYU for 2 semesters. His family now lives in Utah. He is one of six kids. He went to the same school as Elder Wiser. They are similar in a lot of ways but different. He sings and plays the guitar really well. He is pretty talented. We are getting along well and we both like tracting. He is almost one year out and he has been in rural Japan for all of his mission. Osaka is a big change, but he is from Tokyo so he likes it a lot. The fellowships are going well. Oscar is still afraid to read the Book of Mormon but he will come along. Friday really needs the gospel. He has forgotten everything. I mean everything. I am really determined to help him come back to church again. He has a Japanese wife and an 11 year old son. She is baptised but I don't think their son is. The tall man is brother Trask. He owns a bar and is from Louisiana. The language is going well. I really haven't noticed a huge improvement but others tell me I am improving. I need to be able to communicate better but the spirit is stronger the words. Oh and before I forget could you send the card back with a couple other items please. I need the nike watch that I sent home at the beginning. Sorry, my leather band watch stinks pretty bad. Thanks. O and send me a list of every ones birthday so I don't forget. Thank you. This week was pretty normal. We do a lot of tracting everyday. This week we have found a good amount of new investigators and things look good. We sat down and transfer goals and we need miracles to happen. But I have already seen miracles so I know they can happen as much as I let them. Mamor is doing well. I still call him a couple times a week. He is getting baptised on the 12th; less than a week! I cant wait to see his life change even more. Ill send a picture of him today. He is the one with the hat and long hair with Harris choro. I don't know if I told you guys before but there are 4 elders in my apartment. It is me budge, Larosse, and Niserio. Niserio and budge are new. Niserio is Filipino but grew up mostly in Australia. Larosse is from Virginia beach. Ill send the pictures that you wanted. The mission is great. In the last two weeks I have actually talked to a lot of English speaking people. It is hard for some people to grasp the concept that God has a way for us to return to him. That is through his perfect gospel. If people cant realize that simple fact it is hard to go on. God wants us to be as happy as possible and that is why his gospel, with his prophet at its head is on the earth. Since coming here I have learned to teach simpler and simpler. With tracting, we only get a couple of minutes to talk to someone. I have to be very simple and to the point. Me and Harris choro were pretty bold. I am not afraid to tell someone exactly how it is because it is simple and to the point. Budge choro isn't as bold but maybe it will bring a better balance. Differences bring about strengths. I have already surprised him a couple times this week by how bold i was I guess. The way I see is that I am called of God and it is my responsibility to promise people blessings. Like answers to their prayers, etc. I have changed since leaving home. I am more bold about certain topics because they are so important to me. Gods work is rolling along through his very young, inadequate 19 year old children. Miracles are happening everywhere. Ill get off my soap box but thanks again for the emails and I hope to hear from you all. Love you
Hard work and Blessings
Konichiwa! Sounds like everyone is doing well. Thanks for the email and the pics. But I actually didn’t get the pictures. There was nothing attached. Sorry. Maybe just send them again. Did you get my Pics yet? When you get the card just send it back and I’ll send the other one. . Oh, before I forget. Remember the lady that couldn’t use her arms very well that I was prompted to go help? Well she and her Family showed up to English class! The Lord works in mysterious ways. But ya Harris choro goes to Kobe this Thursday. I get a new companion that same day. I will miss Harris choro but change is good. We went to a castle in Kyoto today. It was way cool. You’ll like all the pictures. Well, this week was another busy week. We had the baptism on Sat. and it went well Kitaoka san did get baptized! It was a great experience. The sisters’ investigator Yuko also got baptized. The ward is really helping out and I think they will fellowship very well. Speaking of fellowship, we have another one tonight. The first one went way well. Friday, the member let us use his shop after it closed at 8. so it was me and Harris and Oscar and Friday. We taught the restoration. It was good and the spirit was very strong. Tonight we will teach about our purpose in life and the atonement. Mamor is really progressing. Mamor is the guy that didn’t show twice because he couldn’t find the church. We finally got him to the church and taught the second lesson. He is getting baptized on the twelfth. He isn’t in our area so we transferred him over on Saturday at the baptism. He is an awesome man. I’ll send pics of his baptism. Things are great.-- there are prepared children of God everywhere. It is exciting to see baptisms because I know that anything is possible. These peoples’ lives are changing. I am very blessed to be able to see it. I have to cut this short because I still have a ton to do but I love you all. Keep studying! I love hearing that everyone is reading the Book of Mormon. Well I’ll talk to you soon! peace.
Baptism
Brother Kitaoka and Sister Yuko Nagao were baptized on Saturday, August 29th. What a sweet picture!
I'm so glad his hair had grown out a bit! He looks so great! We checked our email I don't know how many times Sunday night and finally we just had to go to bed. When we got up, it was here and had arrived at 2:30AM our time, 5:30PM his time. He must have had a very busy P-day!Bird Poop and Not So Great Japanese
This is another picture Grady sent on his camera card -- we're not sure where or what this is, except that it's in Japan!! (My clue was the cute Japanese man on the left!)
Hey! How is everyone! The Middle Fork looked fun. Good memories. Have you found a business Dad? Oh, and where did you serve your mission in the Philippines? Thanks for the pictures. I am sending my card today because we are going to the zoo here at Toniji. Oh, and sorry. We got our P-day switched because the zoo is closed on Mondays. Pres. Mckintyre is nice. I hope you didn’t cry too much. I’ll answer your questions first. Harris choro hasn’t gone to Kyoto yet. It has the best castle in our mission and I guess it is pretty cool. This is Harris choros last transfer. He is going home in a week. Pretty sad actually. He is a hard worker and is very good with people. We work hard. He helps with the language mostly by how he sounds. He sounds like a Japanese person. I have made it a goal to work on sounding and talking like a Japanese person, but of course still be polite. We still haven’t found Fujimoto san but something will happen. We are meeting with Friday on Wednesday. His name cracks me up. We have handed out a lot of English Books of Mormon because we found a lot of Africans. They all work down in this place we call American town. Friday owns a shop there. They are really humble people. They call church services "fellowship" so we decided to start one. Our first meeting is tomorrow at Friday’s place. We will hopefully have about 3 or 4 there. Oscar, Friday, Timmy, Charles, Junior, and Godwin are some of the guys we have met. They are all from Africa. Oscar studies the Bible everyday and we are trying to help him study the Bom too. Hopefully tomorrow will help. Ya I gave the music to the girl. She really liked it. Thanks a lot. Well I really don’t eat very much and nothing that cool. Sorry. I have oatmeal, toast and an orange for breakfast. And for lunch Ill have either noodles or rice with curry or goma sauce on them. Pretty boring but it works. If I eat dinner it is like an ice-cream treat on the way back or something. The peanut butter is great. I’ll let you know when I need some more. Thanks. This week has been pretty wild. Lots of lessons and trying to get people prepared for baptism. We think Fujita san may have dropped himself because he hasn’t answered our calls. Kitaoka san is getting baptized on the 29th. Everyone is excited. He stopped smoking and drinking teas and coffees he is doing well. When he prayed about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon he got an answer. He felt a burning in his chest. We were supposed to teach the rest of the commandment this morning but he didn’t show so we are a little worried. He sounded good last night but really tired so we think he slept in. He comes to English class every week so we will see him tonight. Mamor is awesome! He has like 6 little braded cornrows things in the front of his hair and really long hair in the back. He has a huge tattoo on his chest and back. He is pretty wild looking. This story is pretty funny but way cool. We were teaching him in the middle of a park where all the smokers go and lots of music was playing. Lets just say there were distractions. It is hard to find a good place to teach other than the church. I was in the middle of teaching the first vision in my crappy Japanese when a bird pooped on Mamor. It was very surprising. Me and Harris choro just looked at each other and Mamor was way cool and he just wiped it off and we went on. After the first vision we read a verse in the Book of Mormon and then asked him what he thought about Joseph’s experience and the Book of Mormo., He said "100 percent true" He said he felt something in his chest. The spirit is very strong. It can cut through anything. My crappy Japanese, bird poop, nothing will phase it if we want it. We have had two appointments. with Mamor but he hasn’t shown up for either of them. He got lost both times so we are going to be better and take him to the church. He said he found it the first time he got lost but we think he found another church. The mission is going great! I really love it. The culture is definitely different but these people are amazing. They work really hard and will help out anyone. People ask why are you here? or why do you believe in God? The amazing thing is that it is because of a simple prayer. I believe in it because of many experiences and things. But it still comes down to the fact that the Book of Mormom is true. Because it is true everything else falls into place. It is very hard for people to realize this no matter their background in religion. There will always be opposition but the Lord has provided a way. The Book of Mormon is why Kitaoka san is getting baptized in a couple of day. It is simple but true. He read and then prayed and received an answer from that higher being that knows all. It is hard to think about sometimes, but my testimony has not been rattled. I am firm in what I believe. I have become more bold since coming on a mission. I say things now that I wouldn’t have said in the past. I am trying to find that good balance and I hope I never cross that line. I met an atheist from Switzerland the other day. I boldly told him that his thinking was wrong and that only through God can we be happy. Harris choro is pretty bold so I am learning a lot. I love you all and I really hope to hear from you soon.(He writes this every week and it sounds like we're not writing him--but I promise we are-and I know he's getting our letters, because he answers our questions! I guess he just really loves hearing from us!) I am doing great! I hope you all are too Matta nei
Sweating, Ironing, but Still So Happy
Grady sent us his camera card, but we have no idea what these pictures are?!? I'm asuming this is a view of a Japanese street!!
Hey family! Thanks for all the emails. They were great. Ya I really only eat breakfast and lunch. It is all right though. I really don’t get hungry. I still can see good and my headaches are all right. That is cool that you all are reading the Book of Mormon. That is impressive. 10 pages a day. Olivia straight A's huh, go get em tiger! Rudy that is sweet that you are playing soccer, and you got a VW! You lucky devil. Good luck with everything and send pics. The language is still about the same. I am working hard still. I haven’t eaten any sushi. Crazy huh. It is expensive and I have to budget these last couple of weeks. Oh, and tell Phillip and Gloria thanks for me. They sent some Reeses and they were good. I got all the peanut butter. Thanks. My apartment is pretty good. We have 4 missionaries in it. Most of the mission only has one companionship but we have 2. The shower has good pressure and everything works well. The toilet seat broke the other day so it kinda hurts to go to the bathroom but oh well. There isn’t a dishwasher but there is a clothes washer. It works all right I think but there isn’t a dryer. We hang dry everything which means I have to iron every morning. Yes, you heard me, I am ironing. We all sleep in the same room on our futons. O and I don’t need blankets or anything. there are extras here. I don’t sleep with anything over me. It is way too hot. There is no insulation here in Japan and we have one little ac unit that works all right. But it gets pretty hot at night. I sweat quite a bit. During the day I use my sweat rag a lot(I keep forgetting to ask what that is--but I read in book about Japan that in the summer everyone carries a handkerchief to wipe their faces so that the sweat doesn't drip! Apparently it is this hot and humid!! This must be what he's talking about. This book said that some men even wear dishcloths on their heads to stop the sweat! I haven't told Grady about this--he might want to try it! ). Oh and dad good luck with everything. Sounds like you are pretty happy. Oh and Lenzi send me the pics when you get married. Don’t forget. (This is my favorite part of the letter, -like we’d forget to send him pictures!) Well I have some pretty good stories for the week. First off Fujimotto san. He is a 24 year old hobo who was ready for the gospel. We taught him lesson I and 2 and he committed to be baptized on the 26. He really seemed sincere and a good guy. He really changed from the first time we met him. He was really happy and was enjoying life more. On Saturday we gave him some church clothes, fed him, took him to a bath house to get shaved and showered up for an interview he had that night. He looked great! He was all clean, his countenance was different. That night he was supposed to show up for another lesson but he didn’t. He said he was coming to church too, but he didn’t show. He doesn’t have a cell phone so it will be difficult to find him. This has been a little rough because he knew God existed. He was reading and praying and God was blessing him through us. He had a job interview, a brighter future, and baptism to look forward to. I don’t know what happened but we are going to try to find him. The Lord wants his children to live with him again. After church yesterday we went dondoeing in our favorite spot called Namba. It is the richer part of town and there are a ton of people there. We ran into a black man named Friday. He was baptized about 7 years ago and is really nice. He is supposed to be coming to our ward but he didn’t know where the church was. We are going to meet with him sometime this week. I can tell he has a strong testimony. So those were the two things that happened this week. I hope both experiences turn out well. The days seem like they all run into each other. It is pretty wild. I love it and I feel very blessed to have everything that I have. I work hard for God and for the Japanese people. I can’t wait till I can understand more and really try to relate better with them. There are prepared people everywhere. I love this work and I love all of you. I guess till next week. Talk to you soon!
Email Number Three from Japan
Hey family! I liked your emails again this week. I'll answer the questions first. Anybody can email me but I can only email family. The language is coming. I definitely can't understand what people are saying but I am improving. I can only pick out vocab and some phrases in the sentence. It is hard because I actually know alot more than what I hear. The other day a sister that knows English was talking to me in Japanese. She said a sentence and I didn't recognize one word. I had her say it slower and I knew every word and phrase. I really just can't understand because I can't hear the prununciation. It will come if I work hard though. Last sunday was a little rough because of the food. I had lunch and dinner at members' houses. At both places I had soumen. It is cold noodles in this watery sauce. It really isn't too bad but I ate a ton of it at lunch because it was fast sunday. Then I barely made it through the dinner apt. Along with the noodles I had this chicken stuff which wasn't too bad. The meat here is a little rough. They don't cut off the fat so everyone just eats it. I can't cut off the fat because I only have chop sticks. I am kind of stuck. It is allright though. I am actually losing weight. I have probably lost 3 to 5 pounds. I was even below 160 for the first time in a long time. They weigh in kilos here. I only eat breakfast and Lunch. The Lord is really blessing me with strength and health. I don't really get hungry and when I eat I can't eat very much. I like it because it is more time to go dendoing (finding new investigators by walking and talking to everyone.) And I haven't gotten the package yet. Maybe today. I hope it wasn't too much. If it is too much just tell me. I can survive without peanut butter and shaving cream. O and before I forget I need another white temple tie. I think I accidentally donated mine to the Provo temple. O and dad I haven't noticed my legs getting bigger yet. I ride my bike a lot. My favorite place to dendo is called Namba. It is like 20 to 30 minutes away on a bike. It usually takes us like 2to 3 hrs though because we stop people on the way. Riding bikes is way fun. People probably think me and Elder Harris are crazy because we talk to and say hi to everyone. I mean everyone. It is really fun. You can really tell that a simple Konnichiwa brightens peoples' days. The other day I saw something that was pretty inspiring. A lot of the moms here don't have cars so they carry their babies on the bikes. It is really common. I saw this one women with three little babies on her bike. She was really happy but I could tell her life was pretty hard. The other day we were at a buffet and a woman was struggling to get her food. Her hands were deformed and it was very tough for her. I helped her out and left. Once I sat down I had a strong prompting to go back, so I did. She needed help with her drinks so I helped again and took her and her daughters food and drinks to her table for her. Her daughter was about 9 or so. She was really cute. I told her about why I was in Japan and about the free English class I teach. She was very happy and I hope I see her again. I kind of broke down in the restaurant because of how blessed I am and how much I really can help others. I made a goal to follow every prompting but I messed up the other night. We were late getting home because we were teaching this British guy. We started riding home and I saw this young college aged kid. We pretty much only contact the younger generation because they think more openly. I had a prompting to stop and talk to him. It was past curfew, very busy with lots of people around him and Elder Harris was pretty far away so I decided to not stop. It hit me again to turn back after I was pretty far away but I still went on. I felt awful afterward and I was beating myself up the whole way home. I know the Holy Ghost prompts us for good reasons. I really messed up and I hope I don't do that again. Peoples' salvation really does depend on my decisions. This is frightening but I know the Lord provides a way. Time is flying! I can't believe that I have been here for almost a month. Time really is going fast. I really am busy all day and I don't really have anytime to rest. I don't see how someone could waste time because this really is the Lord's time. It sounds like everyone is having a good time. I am kind of sad about the car business but I am sure it is the right decision. Give me some details about the new business thing. I want to know. O and dad they have lots of diesel Land Cruisers here. They are pretty sweet. It is cool that Olivia and Rudy have both had good experiences this summer. Well this email is pretty long. sry. It was good to hear from you guys. I guess until next week. Love you
Elder Harris and Elder Bowman and a couple of monkeys!!
Getting Used to Japan
Grady with his trainer, Elder Harris
This is Grady when he first arrived in Japan. I'm thinking that that must be Kobe in the background. He looks so good to me!
Grady was so hot that he had his companion cut his hair--or rather shave it!! I'm thinking they must have finished the top after they took this picture!! He said it was shorter than he thought it was going to be! I like him with hair much better, but I guess he'll be a lot cooler without it for a while. I hope he lets it grow a bit before he cuts it again!!August 2, 2009 This week we received an email from Grady and a letter from President McIntyre with a couple of pictures. It was so nice to see Grady with President and Sister McIntyre and to see him with his new companion, Elder Harris. This week we sent him some pictures in a small phote album, violin music for a less active sister, some peanut butter and some shaving soap with a brush. Gus said it was the kind he used on his mission and he thought Grady might like to use it also. Here's his email from this week:
Hey family! How is it goin? Sounds like everyone is happy. Good to hear. Dad tell me more about the trash can thing. I am kind of lost. Sorry. Olivia how was Girl's Camp? The youth program in Japan is very different. They don't have many youth, so it is hard. I'll get the boring stuff out of the way first. I need photos of our family and some fun stuff we did. Pictures of me in sports etc. I don't have a book thing for them so that would be nice too. Thanks a lot. People here love pictures. I also need some violin music for a member in the ward. She is really good. I was thinking like "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" or Josephs Smith First Prayer". Thanks. She is less active and Ithink this will help her. Other than that I am good. Japan has been really good. The people are nice and are pretty receptive. We have one investigator who has a baptismal date. His name is Fujita San and he is awesome. He is 37 and has never been married. He has a good heart and is looking for a better life. The men work so much here. It has an effect on them and their families. Their schooling is really diferent too. They have to study a lot in high school to enter college. We focus on the younger generation because they are more willing to change. This can be dificult because they are so busy. They want to listen but they sincerely don't have time. The days go by really fast. It was really good to hear from you guys today. It is a different world our here. At times I feel a lot of pressure because this work is so important. The Japanese way of life is very different. They need love. Many people are unhappy. I am trying to find a good balance and the best way to help. The best way to help is to share the gospel with everyone. I love it here. I have to go-- sorry. We are going to a zoo today. Thanks for teaching me well. You are great parents and a great family. I'll try to send pictures but if not I'll send my card in the mail. Thanks again and I'll talk to you soon.
The First Letter from Japan!
Grady and the other 9 new Elders with President and Sister McIntyre--this is how we knew he had truly arrived in Japan!!
Hey family! It was good to here from you again. Ya the plane ride was pretty long but it was worth it! I love Japan! Everything and everyone is so small. I was at the mission home in Kobe for two days then I got assigned a new area and companion. My new companion’s name is elder Harris. He is from Hurricane Utah. He is really funny and likes to have fun. I already like him. He speaks really good Japanese but it is very fast. He laughs as much or more than me. Oh and I actually have two comps for a week now. Elder Neider is the third and he is from DC. His new comp had some complications or something so he is with us for now. He lives in the same apartment. I am in the Abeno, Osaka area. It has the most people in the mission! Osaka is huge. There are people everywhere. There are a lot of colleges in Osaka so there are a lot of students too. We focus on the younger generation because they are the future leaders of the church. Yesterday was Sunday and it was sweet. The ward is really nice and I am really going to like it. It is a pretty big ward for Japan with 100 to 150 coming each week. O and about your questions. Ya I bought new scriptures. I bought another quad but a lot smaller. They are the nice leather ones. I bought them with my money at the MTC. I saved up the whole time for them. I don’t need anything at the moment but maybe next week. I bought the Mission helmet. I like it so I probably wont need another one. Now don’t be mad but I bought a used bike from a missionary for 20 bucks. He kept really good care of it and it should last for two years. The bikes here are so cheap it isnt worth it to buy a new one. My comps bike started breaking not very long after he bought it and he spent like $450. I thought it was worth a try. The last couple of days we have been doing a lot of street time. We just talk to everyone we see. There are some really busy places here so there are a ton of people always. I love talking to people because I am not afraid to make a fool of myself. I cant understand anything they say to me but I am trying. I haven’t really picked up what anyone has said. They talk so fast. O and dad the cars here are pretty funny. They are all so small! They are all like Subaru 360 sized. They even have vans like it. But I have seen a Ferrari and a lot of Porsches. Most everyone bikes or rides mopeds it seems like. Right now we have a couple of investigators and one just committed to be baptized last night. His name is Fujita San and he is like 30. He is a really nice guy. He comes to eikawa, and that is where Elder Harris met him. eikawa is an English class we teach to people. I cant really understand what is going on during the lesson but it has been cool because the spirit fills in the blanks. I know he is going to be baptized because during the first lesson I felt the spirit very strongly. During lessons I just pretty much teach very simply or bear my testimony. I have felt an improvement in my speech since coming here because I like to try. O and on a funny note I just got done using the toilet. Ya the ones that spray your butt. It was interesting but not bad. the seat was also heated. But really I have really enjoyed Japan. The people here cant grasp the concept of a God. I know they aren’t Christian here but they haven’t ever thought about God, there purpose in life, or where they go after they die. Every time we ask someone this question they don’t know what to say. They are for the most part very polite and pretty happy. But they need the gospel. They need to feel love. I look forward to waking up every morning because I know what someone searches their whole life to find out. My job is to find these special people who are searching. I know that I am not wasting my time here. It has been difficult but there are people waiting. It is like finding a needle in a haystack but the Lord will provide a way. I love you guys and thanks for everything. Ill talk to you next week. Matane.
The Call from the Airport
I kept thinking that maybe he missed the plane in Salt Lake or maybe something happened in the airport or maybe he couldn't find a phone to use! Lenzi said that knowing Grady, he probably started talking to someone and forgot to call us!!! (I was really hoping that wasn't the case--that he forgot to call us!) What did happen is there was a bomb threat at LAX so they had to evacuate the airport. I don't think he was evacuated but I think it may have either affected the incoming flight from Salt Lake or maybe they had to stay on the plane when it landed--we had such a short time to talk that I didn't get the whole story. But, most importantly, he sounded great!!! He said he loved the MTC but he was ready to get to Japan. He said that there are eleven missionaries traveling with him to Japan. He also spoke some Japanese and it sounded great to us! He said it was amazing how fast the language came. He said that he isn't very good at either speaking or understanding yet, but he felt like he learned an incredible amount at the MTC. We were especially glad to hear that he hadn't lost his sense of humor. He said that he was always hot and sweating-especially because he had to carry around a 20 pound purse!! He was referring to his messenger bag. The way he said it was so funny and we all had a great laugh, just like we used to do.
I'm so glad he sounded so good. We were all pretty sad after talking to him, but how can we be sad when he is so happy. What an exciting journey we're all on!
Pictures from the MTC
These are four of the missionaries from Twin Falls. Timbrel Essma is to the left of Grady. Grady graduated with her sister, Danielle. Next to Grady is David Nielsen--he and Grady are both going to Kobe and they graduated together with the other missionary in the picture, Jamison Bastow. Such a fun picture!
This is Grady's MTC district celebrating an early Christmas. Grady's teacher, Wilkes Sensei, is in the back row, right side, with the backpack. His companion, Wiser Choro, is behin Grady's right shoulder. I love how happy everyone looks!!
Ready or not, here I come!!
July 14, 2009 Hey everyone! It was good to hear from you again. How is everything? Sounds like the river was fun and Olivia’s tonsils are doing great. Well, this is the last time you will hear from me from the MTC. I am so excited. The MTC has been great but I just feel like it is time for me to go. Thanks for all the food and stuff. I keep on forgetting to thank you. To tell you the truth I haven’t eaten much of it. If I do I won’t be able to fit in my pants. I haven’t weighed myself in a while but I have a feeling that I have gained weight. I just get so much food to eat here in the cafeteria and stuff but I do appreciate it. This week was good. David Nielson and his comp. were called as the new ZLs. Me and Wiser Choro get to train them this week. We had a good talk last night with my teacher Wilkes Sensei. He talked about how most people think that if they have enough faith then everything will go great. He is very honest and tells it how it is. He went to Hiroshima where there wasn’t much success. One of the elders in my district’s brother served there too at the same time. He didn’t get one baptism and Wilkes Sensei said he was the hardest working, most diligent missionary that he ever saw. This missionary woke at 5 every morning to study. Many people in the church have this concept backwards. Faith is the most important thing in the gospel. I know this but our faith doesn’t take away free agency. This would be Satan’s plan. This hopefully isn’t tough for me to grasp because I am hard on myself. What my job is to do is to have great faith and follow the promptings that I receive. That is all the Lord asks of me. This isn’t my work,-- I am an instrument to the Lord. If am like Ether in the Book of Mormon, so be it. Ether didn’t see any success while preaching to the Jaredites and he was a prophet with great faith. Of course I want an Ammon like experience but I realize that after all I can do and if I have great faith it is in the Lord’s hands. This doesn’t mean that I mess around and wait for some answer. This is wrong also. Faith comes by exercising it and making it happen. I hope I won’t struggle with this once I get to Japan. The Japanese is going well and I love speaking it. It will be so nice to have everyone around me speaking Japanese. I won’t be able to understand but at least I will try. . I will be in LA at 10:45 so be expecting a call between 11 and 12. Oh, and I am going to have to send the extra stuff home by mail. It is a rule. I am going to leave now because I might need to send you something later today because I am packing. Thanks again for everything and I love you all.
I had to laugh that he tells us what time he can call from Los Angeles, but not which day!! His Visa Application said that he flew out on July 22, but his MTC address said July 20th so I called the MTC and he leaves Monday, July 20th. I can hardly wait to talk to him!!