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!
"Two Men Crying"
September 28, 2009 We received another wonderful letter last night. It's hard to explain how much we love hearing from Grady each week. Sundays are always good days, but getting his emails every Sunday night makes the day even that much better. In every letter we can see growth and change and he always seems to throw in something funny! The way he says things just cracks us up! We're so glad he hasn't lost his sense of humor, even though he is completely serious about missionary work!
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!September 13, 2009Time is going by much faster than I thought it would. It seems like every week goes quickly and before I know it, it's Sunday evening and we're all waiting by the computer for Grady's email. We love getting his letters. He always sounds happy and excited to be able to teach the gospel to the people of Japan. He is always so positive and happy and it makes it so much easier for me, knowing he absolutely loves his mission. I see growth every week and he's learning life lessons that it may have taken a lifetime to learn otherwise. Life is so good!!
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
Grady and Mamoru Sakata
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
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