Meant to be Japanese!

January 1, 2010 Happy New Year! Thanks for the Email again. Sounds like the Christmas break was way fun. Have you gotten my package yet? Is it snowing a lot in Idaho this year? How has the skiing been and how is everyone? Transfer calls were today and I am transferring to a new area. Maizuru is the new areas name. It is at the top of the mission and is super cold. It is right along the coast and it snows a lot I guess. It is supposed to be super pretty but very rural. It has a small branch so I think I am in for a big surprise. Change is good but it doesn’t mean that I wont miss Abeno. My new companion is Japanese and he doesn’t speak any English. I guess I was meant to become Japanese or something. I am very excited and I hope that Suzuki is prepared to show his new companion around and take care of the investigators. I am thinking about the questions that you asked me and it is hard to tell you. I have had so many good experiences and I cant really put my finger on one. In the last year baptisms have tripled for the Kobe mission so it is improving. Pres. McIntyre’s focus for his first half of the mission was to get the missionaries pumped up for missionary work. But now he is going to still focus on the missionaries but put more emphasis on helping members. More than 3/4 of the baptisms were found by the missionaries’ own efforts. It is working but there is a better way. The missionaries shouldn’t even have to find investigators. They should be teaching people all day. I know it sounds kinda crazy but this is the way Gordon B. Hinckley explained it. Maybe tell about Bansho, the older man that looked like Papa. That is very special to me. Or you could say how sweet the toilets are! The majority have heated seats. I hope I haven’t said anything negative about my mission because it has only been good. I have really felt the Lord’s love and help in different ways than before. Advice for the young people? Missions are sweet but they shouldn’t wait to do missionary work. They should start right now. I would give anything to have one of the young members in my ward bring a friend to church or invite them to have the discussions. It is the missionaries’ obligation to help anyone in the ward with anything especially missionary work. The overall theme I think of my mission would be love and patience. I really do love this people. I still can’t understand half of what they are saying to me but I can feel their love. I have also learned to be patient, especially with myself. Sometimes things don’t happen exactly as planned and you just have to pick yourself up and run with it. You guys are awesome and I really do love you. _The mission is great and thanks for all the support. All I really need is a new belt and maybe some warmer gloves like snowboarding ones or something. It is pretty cold. Next time I talk to you I will be in the arctic of the Kobe mission. Till next time! Love you all. O and tell the ward thanks for all the letters and stuff. They are so nice.