Practicing Patience

Niihama-- Grady, Elder Kudo and the Sister Missionaries. This is the District and Grady is the District Leader!

September 5, 2010
I'm posting this letter on Grady's blog on Monday, September 6th--his 16 month anniversary! Wow! He's already served 2/3 of his mission and only has 1/3 left! I can honestly say that it is going fairly fast! We all still really miss him, but we love getting his letters and hearing about all the things he is learning. We especially love hearing how much he loves his mission. What a blessing that is!

Hey everyone! Thanks for the emails this week. It sounds like the Middle Fork was fun as usual. I can't believe that you are having a baptism in our pool! Pretty sweet. Have you guys done any lessons with the missionaries? Convert baptisms are sweet. I can`t believe school is starting up again. Everything is going so fast. These last three months have flown by! Transfers are next week and I really don't know what is going to happen. I think one of us is going to transfer but You never know. YOu guys wanted to know a little bit about the city I am in. One famous thing in Niihama is the Breshiin copper mine. It supplied 1/3 of the world's copper about a hundred years ago. Dad you might have interest in that. My area has three cities. Niihama, Saijo, and Shikokuchuo. I live in Niihama and this is also where the church is. Saijo is famous for its water. It is pretty funny. There are a lot of natural springs throughout the city and its free. People are always filling up big containers full of water. Today I was planning on going to Imabari and some islands by bicycle. The plan fell through but next week Ill go. Sorry next week I may not be able to email. Things are going great! I am forgetting English and I don't like speaking it but my Japanese needs work too, so it is pretty wild. When Kudo asks me for a definition of a Japanese word in English I have to think way hard. Kudo wants me to speak more English because his English is getting worse but it is hard. I should be better. The investigators are great. The Ise family came to church and we are planning on having a baptism in the beginning of October. Yesterday was a little miracle. An investigator named Katsumi came to church. His is in his mid 20s and owns a shop called Wild Youth by the train station. He sells clothes and has a bar. He came to church had a lot of interest and accepted to be baptized on October 10th. This is kinda how the commitment for baptism went. When you know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet will you get baptized? He quickly said yes and asked if we could meet every week on Thursday so he could prepare. He seems way prepared and I was way thankful. In Niihama a lot of things have happened that have tried me and Kudo's faith. I have really learned how to be patient. Elder Uchtdof gave a talk about patience and defined it as not simply waiting for an answer but going about and patiently working hard for the goal. I have really tried to become more patient and the Lord has helped. This week was short but I am loving the mission. So many things I can't put into words but to put it simply, awesome. The church is true, the gospel is straight forward and clear, and Christ atoned for everyone. I love you guys and till next week. Peace.