Learning Japanese

This week Grady sounds like he's really been working hard! I can tell that learning Japanese is really difficult for him, but I am so pleased that he doesn't seem to be too discouraged or frustrated. It sounds like he is really enjoying working in the call center and I love hearing how positive he is. I also love reading his testimony each week. I love the way he expresses the simplicity of the gospel. Here's a picture of Grady posing at the temple. I'm not sure what he's listening for??

June 16, 2009 Hey Kozoku. Watashi wa shiwase desu. The MTC has been subarashii. Senkyoshi o ai shite imasu. This week has been really hard but rewarding. Me and a couple other guys in our district have realized that we are behind so we stepped it up this week. We have been SYLing speaking the language more and it has really helped. Our goal everyday is to speak only japapnese. Of the 4 days I have done it I have given myself a 2 out of 4 3 times, and two days ago I got a 3. This is why it has been hard because I have done so poorly but today is a atarashi day. This week was also the first week me and Wiser Choro had to teach in Nihongo. It was a pretty humbling experience. I really had fun with it because I was just throwing out lots of crazy sentences that weren't correct or made sense. But the investigators seemed to get it all right. The coolest thing happened when we got to the first vision. I am in the process of memorizing it in Nihongo so I had to read it. As I was reading it I could barely finish, not because of the fact that I had never read it all the way through before, but because the spirit was so strong that I got really emotional. This really humbled me. I had no idea what I was saying and I stumbled over half of it. The spirit doesn't speak through really nice words or fancy words, it speaks through humble servants that realize that they are there for the investigator. (I love this!) This is the main thing I have been working on, trying to always have the spirit. Almost every week in the TrC the spirit has been so strong for me and the investigator. I know this because I ask them. Without the spirit there would be no baptisms. Another good experience happened this week in the RC, Referral center. I called this lady up to see if she had received a Video about Christ. Her name was Kim. She was awesome! I just started talking to her and she asked me a question that she wanted answered. What is my purpose in life? This was perfect! I had just got done teaching lesson two so I flipped open to Alma 34 I think and the verse said that out time on earth is the time to prepare to meet God. Kim just got sober a month ago so she is looking for direction. This simple answer really helped her. She said she had to go but I made her stay on the line by telling her that I had something she really needed to hear and that it would be really important to her. She agreed and I told her about Joseph Smith. O and I forgot to mention that she said that she felt that I was an answer to her prayers and that God sent me. This really touched me. but anyway I told her all about Joseph Smith and started reading the first vision. The spirit was strong and I knew that she had felt something. I asked her how she felt and she said that she felt something different and that she was happy. This was amazing! I then testified of how I knew it was true and said that I know that it can sound a little crazy but I know it is true. She responded with "no its not" this was a real smack to the face. Kim really has faith and she was a great example on faith. We talked for a little more and then I sent her a BOM. I know she is going to read it and feel the spirit. Keep her in your prayers. Her name is Kim Rathburn. Well I gotta go but I know that Joseph saw God and Jesus Christ. Sorry I didn't answer the Questions. Later.

A Phone Call from the MTC

This week was an especially interesting week. On Wednesday I went to Utah with Lenzi and Olivia. Gus called me and I was busy and I said that I'd call him back in a bit. He said O.K., the MTC just called, but I'll tell you about it later. I almost had a heart attack. Of course I stayed on the phone and he said that they were calling because Grady needed glasses and they wanted to know how we wanted to pay for them! Gus said that he asked the lady to tell Grady not to choose the florescent yellow ones because they probably wouldn't look the best! He said that when the lady told Grady this, he could hear him laughing and it made Gus cry! The next day I got a call from the store where Grady was purchasing the glasses. The lady told me that he looked really good and happy. I wanted so badly to just tell her to give him the phone!! It was so strange knowing he was sitting right next to this woman, but I couldn't even talk to him. It was good to hear her say how good he looked, though!! Here is his letter from today. He's been in the MTC five weeks tomorrow!

June 9, 2009 Konichiwa family! A lot has gone on since last we were in touch. First off the flu and sickness have been going. If you get a chance, read the BYU Newspaper- Lenzi should know what it is. One of my teachers who was sick was interviewed and had some funny things in the article about swine flu. He almost got fired for it. Oh ya, me and my comp are the new ZL's. Now I have more responsibility. This week is the first week we will be doing the calling (this must mean the call center) because the older elders left last night. Its cool to see the diversity in missionaries. In the older group there were quite a few missionaries who were older than 19. They were awesome guys and I could tell that they really saw the atonement work in their lives. O ya, and I have glasses and contacts now. I'm so sorry about how much it cost. I bought some pretty nice glasses and they feel great. It was actually cheaper for me to do it here because the prescription was free and my glasses and contacts were 25% off. I am going in some time this week to get a years supply of contacts. So you might get another call or I'll probably just pay for them with my card. My eye- sight really isn't that bad but it is bad enough to have glasses. I can't see stuff far away. The glasses really made a difference. I was just tired of guessing on the eye tests. The doctor said that I should have glasses. I cant believe I didn't do it sooner. This week at the MTC was great! I feel like i have really progressed. I now try to SYL, speak your language, a lot more now. This has really helped out. Thanks for all the packages! It was sad to hear about Mary Ellen. I always liked her. This Sunday was fast Sunday so we had a combined meeting where all head honchos at the MTC talked. I loved it --the spirit was so strong. This one lady talked about how important it was to plant seeds. She told a story about how her dad didn't get any baptisms his whole mission. But 40 years later a man knocked on his door said thank you. This man was only ten when the Lady's dad taught his family. The ten year old boy felt something during the lessons but his family wasn't baptized. He always wanted to but could never figure out the name of the church. 4o years later the convert got a call from his daughter and she was getting the discussions and was thinking about getting baptised into the Lds church. After 40 years he finally remembered the name and he was soon after baptised. The convert just wanted to thank that missionary that was very key in his conversion. The joy this Lady's father felt was amazing. I cried fromthe beginning to the end of her talk. I loved it. Well I gotta go but I love you and hope to hear from you soon.

I loved this letter! I loved how he threw in that he needed glasses. And how he randomly said that he was a Zone Leader and how he abruptly ends the letter!! I can tell he is very busy and trying to fill us in the best he can. I can tell that he writes what he feels and I especially love the way he expresses his testimony. I loved it that he shared that sweet conversion story. It made me cry, too!

The Swine Flu

We were anxious to get Grady's email this week because we had heard that there were three cases of the Swine Flu in the MTC. Luckily he wasn't one of those cases, but we were sorry to hear that his companion has been sick with the regular flu.

June 2, 2009 Hey family how are you doing? I enjoyed getting your letters. They really make me happy. It sounds like everyone is having a good time. Lenzi, I'm sorry about Florida,but at least you got to go on some rides!?! Tell Jon hi for me. Oh, before I forget could you get me Austin's Davis, Kyle Naylor, and the Greenwoods address? Thanks a lot. This week has been pretty crazy. Everyone is getting sick and I am trying not to. In all 17 elders have the flu, and three of those cases are the swine flu. My companion was one of the lucky ones. He has type A flu, whatever that means and he has been quarantined for at least 5 days. I've just been going with other companionship's. I gave him a blessing so hopefully he will get better. His name is Trevor Wiser. Last night I went to visit him and all the infected people were just looking through the glass like animals. It was pretty funny. It reminded me of "I am Legend." It just felt weird to be that close to all those sick people, so I waved and left quickly. The older group of Japanese elders that were supposed to leave in less than a week have to wait a week more now. Its a zanen (bummer), but they will live. Too many people are sick in the MTC and their district to have them leave. I have been studying the atonement a lot this week. I realized that I don't really know enough about it. I have been reading from the BOM, and it has really helped. I am still enjoying life here and I am still learning a ton! I am excited to leave but at the same time I realize that I still have a ton to do here. I can't wait to go to the temple today, it is always a good experience. By having people realize the simple truth that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and that God loves us, the peoples lives will change and they will be happy. I love you all and hope to hear from you soon.!

I love how he loves to go to the temple. It's amazing to me how his testimony is growing!
Grady also writes to my mom each week and she shares her letters with us. He sends her letters in the mail because she doesn't have a computer. She is lucky because he always writes something to her using the Japanese alphabet. He seems to write really well and it is so fun to see his writing.