The Last Email!

May 22, 2011~~ Wow! This is Grady's last email before he comes home Friday, May 27th. It's been an amazing two years and we are more than excited to see him!! At the same time, we have loved all the wonderful things he has learned and the ways he has grown! What a blessing this has been for all of us!

Hey everyone! Thanks for the last email of my mission! It is kinda weird that this is the last one that I will do too. Before I forget I have some things I need to ask for. I am going to be throwing away all of my garments so if you could have some ready for me. I like the dri lux and I guess I am just not a mesh guy like Mark Dad. Sorry, LOL. O and the first chance I get I really want to go to the temple and of course Moab. I haven`t thought to much about what I am going to do for those couple of weeks. Anything is good. Well about this last week. Yesterday a couple of good people came to church but Kurata, the guy supposed to get baptized tomorrow didn`t come. We have lost contact with him. It is a bummer but I know he will get baptized. This last week I also went on a split with Dave Nielson. It was way fun and we are both way excited to come home but of course mixed feelings. It was nice to talk to someone who understood exactly what I was feeling. I kinda just want to tell of all the miracles happening in Japan right now. As of today the mission has seen a total of 102 baptisms this year so far! In Pres McIntyre`s first year as a mission president 3 years ago the mission had 40 in a whole year. If you just look at the numbers as numbers it means absolutely nothing but these numbers are people. The whole missions attitude has changed. I feel that Japan is on the verge of something amazing! The members and missionaries are catching the fire and showing a lot of faith. God is blessing the land of Japan by many ways. Since the tsunami I have felt a big change in Japan. I feel it has affected the whole country and many people are prepared for the gospel. The missionaries and members are showing more faith by inviting others to come unto Christ. I want to talk to you guys more about this but I am so happy to have been here during this time. I love these people and the experiences I have had. I am really excited to see you all and talk a lot with you. I love you all and I will see you soon!

P.S. Mom, I haven`t had lasagna or that good italian bread with that vinegar dip stuff for a while. It might be good?

Busy, Busy!

May 1, 2011

Konnichiwa! Thanks for the emails this week! I really enjoyed them. Today I had to do a lot of Zone leader things on the computer so I really don`t have much time. Sorry. We`ll have to talk more on Your guys` Sunday. If you called me at 7P.M. your time on my cell phone that would be dandy. My number is 080-2149-6220. I am excited to talk to you guys again. It is kinda wierd because I will be in America a couple of weeks after the call but it will be nice. This week was awesome because Sugita got baptized! The baptism was great and he is an awesome convert. I am excited to see him excell in the gospel. He is 25 and is thinking about going on a mission. He really was prepared to accept the gospel. This week was short but I am doing great and I am actually going to Tony Roma`s for the first time today with the zone. Nielson will be there. I love you guys and I'll talk to you this next week!

An Urgency in the Work!

April 24, 2011

Hello! You　guys sound great! Oakley is way cute and I am way excited to see her. Dad, your new business sounds pretty cool, and that Land cruiser should be good. Nice find. Well you guys are probably just dying to know what happened to me. Well I transferred. I am in my last area and it feels weird. My area`s name is Katsura in Kyoto. Probably the most famous place in Japan. Kyoto is famous for ancient temples and things and it is a big tourist place. Tons of people everywhere and way fun. I am a zone leader over 21 missionaries and it is a pretty big job. One of the District leaders is Elder Nielson which is way fun. It is pretty cool that we get to spend the last 6 months together on our missions. O and before I left Kobe Ryu Koto got baptized! He was baptized on Wednesday and he got the Holy Ghost yesterday. It was a miracle. Lisa went to church yesterday and she still looks good for baptism. She is awesome. My new companion`s name is Elder Bunderson. He is half Japanese and from Utah. We are having a lot of fun together and this coming Thursday a guy named Sugita is getting baptized. He is awesome! He is 25 and works at a bread shop. He makes bread and pastries. I have only met him once but he was a great guy. I am excited for his baptism. The ward I am in is about 50 people. The bishop is awesome and the ward seems really excited for missionary work and the upcoming baptism. These next weeks are going to fly and I am really working hard on focusing. I feel that I have been prepared to focus here by being in the mission home for so long. There were tons of distractions there and I learned how to cope with it. Now I need to cope with thoughts about home and other things but I am doing fine. The mission is great and I think I am still in shock of how many miracles I have seen recently. I know that lots of people are waiting to be baptized here in Kyoto. My time is ticking down which scares me but there is an extra urgency about the work. I love you all and until next time. O and Rudy, Happy Birthday! Your birthday present will be a month late when I get home. Lol

April 17, 2011~~

Hello! How is everyone? You are right mom, time is flying. I can't believe I am on my last transfer. Oakley sounds great! I can't wait to meet her. You guys are awesome! Mom thanks for filling me in on my BYU classes and stuff. It is a relief that I don't have to do it while I am here. I thought of one thing though. I want to work this summer and it might be a good idea to look for a job for me. I would of course like a job where I could use my Japanese but The Import Auto was a way fun job that payed well. I know it might be hard but if you could maybe look around for me. Oh, and Elder Nielson isn't finishing his mission in New Zealand. He is finishing it here and then going to New Zealand to visit his parents. Rumors in the church are funny. Me and Elder Nielson had a good laugh over it. We have become way good friends these last couple of months. This week was awesome! 3 people got baptized here in Kobe! I'll send you the pictures. One was O. He was way exctited and he loved it. After he got baptized he bore his testimony and he said that he was excited to become more faithful together with everyone. He is probably one of the funniest people I have ever met. He is always smiling and way happy. Another miracle was that on Saturday me and Einfeldt found 4 new investigators. Two of them came to church. One's name is Lisa. She is 3/4 Japanese and 1/4 British. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts. She is way cool and she came to church. She saw 4 people get baptized which was sweet! A little 8 year old boy was also baptized in the English branch. She is way prepared to hear the word of God. She is getting baptized on May 8th. I am way excited. I hope I don't transfer. I witnessed another miracle yesterday. Ryu Koto, the other Chines investigator, is getting baptized this Wednesday! He was supposed to get baptized yesterday but he had a problem with tithing. Yesterday he came to the baptism and he felt the spirit and a member testified to him about tithing. He accepted to live the gospel and his interview is tonight and his baptism is on Wednesday before I transfer. Yes I am probably transfering. I feel way blessed to be in the mission office. I find things out early sometimes. I know that Christ lives and miracles are wrought through him. I love you guys and until next week.

"Wow! That was Fast!"

Somanta Chan's Baptism!

April 10. 2011~Hello!

You guys are great! Oakley is way cute and I loved your emails this week. Dad, that was a wonderful story about the road trip. I enjoyed it. Somanta Chan got baptized yesterday and it was awesome! Somanta is his first name and Chan is his last. He has so much faith. After he was baptized he said, "Wow, that was fast, I thought I would be under for 30 seconds." Somehow a misunderstanding had occurred and he thought we said 30 instead of 3 seconds. After he was baptized he gave a sweet testimony. He said that he was thankful that God loved him enough to give him the opportunity to repent. What he said was very powerful and it made me think a lot. I am blessed to have the opportunity to repent. There are thousands of people who want to be clean but don't know where to find it. I am so thankful for Somanta's example. If you sent me the letter I could get it to him. Next week there are 4 people getting baptized into the Kobe Japanese ward. One is our investigator and his name is O. He is chinese and really ready for the gospel. I am so thankful for all the blessings that I am experiencing. General conference was awesome. In the priesthood session when Pres. Monson talked about marriage and the temple I thought it was awesome. Just in Kobe ward there are about 10 active young single adults who need to get married. In Japan everyone seems to wait to get married instead of following the counsel of the prophet and it doesn't work out a lot of times. I know that I am experiencing a lot of things for a reason and they will help me later in life. I love you all and I know that the Church is true. I feel like my emails are getting shorter but I am still just as happy and loving the work. My light isn't dwindling and I love Christ. Until next week!