Little Miracles Everyday

Here's the picture we sent Grady of his sister, Lenzi's, wedding. She was so sad that he couldn't be there--but not sad enough to wait 17 months for him to get home!!

November 22, 2009 Hey family! How is it goin! Sounds like the wedding went well. I am glad Lenzi was so happy. Ya, it is kinda a bummer that I couldn’t be there, but there is a reason for it. The picture you sent was awesome! Thank you. It sounds like it is pretty cold there. This week has been super cold here. It is kinda like Idaho weather because it changes so quickly. But it is a wet cold instead of a dry cold. I think that it might be colder here. I wear the big Patagonia coat everyday! It is way nice! I’ll answer some questions first. Right now I have about 15 investigators. They are from Japan, Nigeria, China, New Jersey, etc. We have three types of investigators. Other, progressing, and investigators with a baptismal date. Progressing means that they are keeping commitments and reading and praying about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. To help people progress, reading and praying are so vital. One of my favorite things to experience is someone praying to God for the first time. Just imagine a child trying to say his first prayer and it is very similar. It is awesome to see them progress. Oh, and we do a lot of streeting but there are a lot of other ways to find God’s Children. Member work, housing, eikaiwa (English Class), Japanese class, Outreach activities, etc. In an ideal mission the missionaries shouldn’t even have to find people. The investigators should come from the members. Every conference many apostles talk about it. Pres. HInckley gave a good talk about member work. I love the Abeno ward but they aren’t to the point of giving out referrals yet. I love going to their homes and mogiing with them. A mogi is another word for practicing. We will usually teach one of the lessons together, or teach them how to confront their friends, etc. It is way fun because I get to know them better. Many of the people in Japan are converts and first generation members. They have strong testimonies and I love hearing there conversion stories. Moriya san is the only investigator with a baptismal date. He is scheduled for the 20th. Things are looking good for the other investigators. They are really great people and want to know more. Last night I thought back on my first three transfers in Japan. I have seen so many miracles it is ridiculous! I know that the Lord’s hand is in this work. His power is unbelievable. There are little miracles everyday and when I look back to every investigator it is a miracle that they listened to what I had to say. No. I haven’t seen someone get raised from the dead or anything but even small simple miracles turn into eternal things. Baptism is only the start of following the Lords straight and narrow path. Eternity hangs in the balance for every investigator. It is humbling to know that I am simply the Lords instrument. Oh, and I had transfer calls this morning. I am staying In Abeno! I am way excited. This will be my 4th transfer here. Ill end up being in Abeno for over 6 months! Time is really flying. I’ll tell you guys about a little experience I had yesterday. I was at the church way early for a meeting with the ward mission leader and one of our investigators showed up. His name is Shimazu and he is about 70. He is one of the sweetest old men I have ever met. He has a heart of gold. Me and him walked into the chapel together and we were the only people there. Immediately the spirit was there. He looked me in the eye and said that he felt very happy and he wanted to cry. Both of us had tears in our eyes as I explained that that feeling was the spirit. I have witnessed how powerful the spirit is many times and I know that it is key in helping people realize that God exists and this is his restored gospel. Well, I am sorry that I have talked so much but I love you all and tell me about school and how it is with two high schools. Oh, and mom I got the invitation and the card thanks. Have you gotten my package yet? 　Again and I love you all. Till next week!

Praying for the Missionaries

I'm not sure, but I think this is part of Grady's district. He doesn't always tell us who are in the photos!!

November 15, 2009 Hello Family! How is everything goin? Dad it sounds like the Fed Ex job is pretty sweet. Oh, and ya, the older the car is the more the insurance is here. I never see old cars anymore. I’ll see one in a garage once in a while. I haven’t seen a Subaru 360 yet but ill let you know.
My bike is good now. It glides just like moms old red Schwinn. It is sweet. It is bright blue with blue tires too. It is pretty funny because Elder Budge has an all white bike and Elder Escalante has an all red bike. Together we make the American flag. It is pretty sweet. From here on out it shouldn’t be too much upkeep. Just new brake pads every couple transfers. They are 20 dollars for four. I write in my journal everyday so it should be good. What do you do with the pictures I send you? And are my pictures all right? Please let me know. Well this week has been pretty good. I met with a couple of investigators this week. One of them is named Jay. He is 43 and from Nigeria. He is huge! Probably like 6`4 and close to 300 pounds. He dwarfs me. He is way cool but very busy. He really wants to know if the Book of Mormon is true so he is reading and praying about it. Yesterday at church I had a cool little experience. Ishiba shimai, a Phillipino lady in the ward said the closing prayer in sacrament meeting. Her prayer really touched me. She prayed for the missionaries, which included me. I know you guys pray a lot for the missionaries but I guess it was just good to here it from someone here in Japan. I love the members here. You can talk with someone for a while and say wow, they are a great person. I have found out that if the spirit tells me the person is great it is much better. My mind can’t comprehend all things, and that is why we need the spirit. I am so blessed to have an opportunity to feel the spirit everyday. Sorry Mom about the late birthday present. It should be arriving shortly. Well, I love all of you and I am very thankful for how good you all are to me. Oh, and in the next email send me how you were blessed by following a commandment. Oh, and Adri is in Jeruslalem?! I didnt know. That. sounds sweet. But anyway, thanks again and I love you all. Till next week.

Sweet Reminders

November 9, 2009 Hey everyone! Sounds like everyone is doing great! Happy birthday Mom! Hope is was fun. I am glad the kitchen thing went well. Sounds like everyone really worked well together. It is the same way with missionary work. Me and my companion do everything together. The other day I was a little riled up because of some comments an investigator made during a lesson. I let it get the best of me. After, as me and my comp were walking, I didn’t have the spirit so we stopped and said a quick prayer. The spirit came back and we could go try to find people to teach. Another example is right now. Today has been a little wild. It was exactly like one of our car projects gone bad dad. A long story short, I know what I want for Christmas this year. LOL. My bike acted up and I started switching things and nothing seemed to work out, even the people at the store weren’t helpful, and I spent more than I wanted to. I am fine though, sometimes life is like this. This is definitely just spilt milk. I always remember that saying, “Don’t cry over spilt milk.” Because of the troubles with my bike I was thinking about it too much. The Lord really comforted me and I know it will be all right. I know it kind of sounds silly but I use that thing everyday. So for Christmas I really don’t need much. Just some extra money in my personal fund. I’ll answer the questions now. I read mostly in English. I only understand bits and pieces in Japanese, if that. I have one investigator committed to baptism. His name is Moriya. He is about 45 and has a family. His family lives in Kobe and two of his daughters are baptized. He is a pretty nice and funny guy. He is really fun to talk to. I usually eat at a members house at least once a week. Sometimes they try to make American food because they think we don’t like Japanese food. They are so nice and thoughtful of us. Other times we eat Japanese stuff. I really haven’t had anything way gross or anything. The only time that I almost threw up was when I had to eat a chicken bone. I didn’t want to be rude and spit it out so I just chewed it the best I could and swallowed. I don’t know anything about Christmas yet. I don’t know if I wasn’t paying attention or what but ya, Ill get back to you on that one. The Japanese love Christmas. Everyone celebrates it! It is really funny because they have know Idea who Christ is. I think it is cool because it is an in for a conversation starter. The dictionary is sweet. I really like it. I learn a lot of vocab from it. O and don’t forget to invite Travis Hall to the wedding. I think he would love to come. I have a pretty experience that I had this week if I can get through it without too much trouble. I’m sorry, it will make you cry. An investigator didn’t show up for an appointment at the church but he lives across the street from the church so we decided to try to find him. After a couple of kekkos an old man answered the door. He let us right in and gave us drinks and food. His name is Bansho. He is 60 years old and has Parkinson’s. The apartment was very clean and very familiar for some reason. After a minute or two I realized that it smelled just like Nana and Papas houses. You all know that smell. It is pretty distinct and I love it. After a couple minutes of chatting Bansho grabbed a picture book and showed us his life before he got Parkinson’s. He still looked very kind and a really happy person like he is today. He was a really good golfer and he loves golf. He can’t play anymore but he still loves it. This is what really tore me up. In the pictures he looked just like Papa. always smiling and he even swung the golf club like him. As I looked at Bansho more the more and more he looked like papa. Of course he is Japanese but for some reason it was like I was talking with Papa again. I started to cry pretty bad because the spirit was really strong and it was like Papa was alive again. I know this sounds kinda crazy and I don’t know why it happened, but the Lord knows why. I will never forget this experience because it might be the closest I feel papa until after I die. This really has made me think how important this message is. It really does go beyond the grave. The restoration isn’t just a good way to live life, and it isn’t just the best church on the earth. It is restored truth through a prophet of God. This is a message of eternal truths and eternal life. I know that what we do in this life is very important and going on a mission for two years is the least I can do. Things are looking great in Japan! The people here are very hard workers and I love them. I love you all and I am excited to hear from you again next week! Saranara

We Are All Children of God

November 1, 2009 Hey family! How is it goin? Sounds like everyone is very busy. Lenzi and Jon’s house sounds sweet! Older homes look so much cooler. I am glad that they are both happy. Dad is a pretty good guy. That story reminds me of the story about when Jesus was performing miracles on the Sabbath day and the Pharisees didn’t see why that was important. They only saw that Jesus was maybe working on Sunday. I hope I can keep on improving my concept of the Sabbath day. O and before I forget, when you send the scriptures please send my photo cards back. Ill answer your questions first. My rain gear is great! I have had no problems. Anthony has been very hard to get a hold of. His phone stopped working so now we stop by every other day or so. His girlfriend is always there and she is very shy. She doesn’t help out all that much but things are looking up. The futons are sweet. I sleep really well, especially because it isn’t hot anymore at nights. I haven’t gotten sick at all. I feel pretty good everyday. I just got this flu shot thing the other day at the doctors. They really freak out about diseases here. A little flu will close down schools and stuff, and everyone starts wearing the masks. It is kind of funny. This week has been great! FHE has really been fun. My Chinese friends showed up again. At first it was the 6 missionaries, 1 member, and 2 investigators, but then 4 Chinese people came. The investigators make everything so much more fun because they like to have a good time. We are currently teaching two of them about the gospel. Activities are way nice because it is easier for someone to come and have fun rather than sit down and have a one on one lesson right off the bat. The Osaka stake is really coming around too. They are really excited about the outreach program and started assigning leaders and activities. The outreach program is kind like mutual. It is for young single adults. We eat, have a message, and play a game. It is really a great place to build relationships and bring investigators. The youth here are great! They really have to make a lot of sacrifices. Some people have to ride there bikes for an hour to come to the activities. I have really learned about how to love people since coming here. There are so many less actives in Japan. There was a time when they were baptizing like 100 people a month! It was pretty wild. It actually grew too fast. They just weren’t prepared for it. Because of this a lot of people fell away and have long since been forgotten. We meet with 2 or three less actives regularly. I always feel the spirit so strong when I meet with these people. They really have great hearts but just struggle with something or another. I love to see the progression every time we visit. Everyone really is a child of God. I feel this everyday talking with people I have never talked to before. I automatically feel close to them because they are my brother or sister. Pres. McIntyre said something that stuck with me the other day. "You missionaries aren’t here merely to make friends, My purpose is to make eternal friends." This really put it in perspective to me. This message and truth that we know goes beyond the grave. It is a marvelous work and I love sharing It everyday. Thanks for all the emails and tell Grandma and Grandpa thanks for me. I love you all and have a great week!

Sleep-talking (in Japanese!)

October 25, 2009
Hey family!　Thanks for all the messages! They were great! Ill answer the questions first. Ya your scriptures will be fine. Thanks a lot. He will really like them. I have never checked how long it takes. Sorry? The only things I would need would be like toothpaste, socks, boring stuff like that. I am bad at ironing pants so maybe a little drawing of how to do it like the pros. The only thing I spend money on is really bike repairs. Today I bought new tires, and brakes and stuff. So I guess money for that? I am sorry I really have no use for a lot of things.

My schedule is:

5.30>wake up and study Japanese (read the Bom in Japanese etc)

6:30>exercise

7:00>shower and eat

7:30>read the Bible and Book of Mormon

8:00>personal study

9:00>Companionship Study

10:00>Japanese Study

10:45> Leave apartment During this time it just depends I guess. I usually just go streeting. Streeting is walking or riding around trying to stop everyone so we can talk with them. If I am not streeting I may be visiting less actives, teaching lessons to investigators, having meals with members, etc. We also astarted up an FHE for the youth and anyone who wants to come. It has been a good success. During this time I also eat Lunch and dinner. Yes you heard me I eat three meals now. My companion likes his meals a lot and I just make the best out of it. I am not gaining weight though.

9:00pm> Back in apartment and plan for the next day

9:30> call investigators and Potential Investigators

10:00> write in journal, iron shirt for tommorrow, and get ready for bed

10:30>Lights out and in bed(futoon)(This is not the American futon--it is a mat on the floor!)

O and dad to answer your question about the signs; the Japanese people all do the peace sign in photos so I guess it is just natural for us. I think it is funny because every Japanese person knows the peace sign. from 1 year old to 100 years old, they all know it. The language is going well. I really love speaking it. I am starting to think more in Japanese. I speak in Japanese from 10:30 am to 9:00 at night sometimes. Of course I talk to my comp in english and some other people but there arent really any breaks. It is person after person. It is weird not to talk to someone every 3 minutes or so. It is usually very fast paced and fun! I didnt know if I told you guys but during my first transfer in Japan I would teach lessons in Japanese in my sleep. I would sit up in the middle of the night and start talking in Japanese. It has been quite a while since I have done that but I though you might get a kick out of it. This week has been great! A lot of new investigators and busy with the usuall stuff. Anthony didnt come to church this week or last week so he cant get baptized on the 1st. We havent been able to meet with him since then either. I is kinda a bummer but I am looking on the bright side. He is reading the Book Of Mormon everyday and praying. He also found a job so he will know his schedule and we will be able to meet. The Lord really works in mysterious ways. Not everyone will be baptized perfectly on schedule. Baptism, really is in the Lords hands and the individuals free agency is very powerful. I had another experience this week that made me realize how powerful free agency is. Me and elder Cobur were on an exchange. He is from Driggs and he just got in Japan a couple of weeks ago. Because both of us are pretty new it was pretty hard to understand everything people were saying. He had to look to me for help because I was the more experience missionary. It was a fun day. At about 8:00 we were streeting and we met yokouchi. He is 20 and is staying with his friends family in Osaka for a while. He wanted to be taught right then so we walked to the church together. We taught about Jesus Christ and the apostasy and then got to the restoration. To teach this we watched the Restoration DVD in Japanese. It has perfect Japanese, not like mine and the people understand it really well. The spirit was there very strongly and during and after the film. He said he felt something different during the film. A good and peaceful feeling. We explained that that was the spirit. He understood well but when we aked when he could meet next he said he couldnt. He wouldnt even give us his cell phone number. There is an Elder Holland quote in the PMG that goes something like this, "when your investigators dont keep commitments you should be devastated! There is peoples salvation at risk" I was devasted. In times like these I do feel down because one of Gods children may still be lost. It is sad to see people recieve that powerful witness and then walk out on it. These experiences help us to grow. It makes me even more determined to study harder and be worthy for the HOly spirit. The mission is great and these people are awesome. Everyday I feel the Holy Ghost and try to heed its promptings. I love it hear and I love you all. O and dad, I dont care what they say, you look good in purple! Thanks again for all the messages! Till next week! Sayonara

Listening to the Spirit

October 18, 2009

Hey family! Sounds like all is well. Olivia! Chet Eh! Hope you had fun. Happy early birthday! Lenzi sounds happy and ready to get married. Rudy, your westy looks sweet! That is funny about the YMCA! Good luck. Hopefully Butch doesn't fix everything but the problem,LoL. He is such a good guy. Well dad to answer your question, the family unit in Japan is very strong but the fathers work so much. The grandparents usually take care of the kids and the grandparents usually hate Christians. These are all generalizations but pretty true. I like talking to families but there just aren't very many walking around when we are streeting. The younger generation is more open to new ideas so we focus on them but the spirit really tells us who to talk to. K ill answer the rest of the questions. Friday needs English ones. I think he is coming to church next week! And I don"t need Peanut butter or cds, Thanks though. It would be nice to have those stickers with my address on them. I lost the ones you sent me. Thanks My companion is great! I was transferred last Thursday! To the other room. My apartment has 4 elders in it. I am now companions with elder Nicerio. He was in the same apartment last transfer with a different companion. He is Phillipino but grew up in Australia. Ill send pics. He is very nice and a good guy. This is his last transfer. I was a little disappointed because I wont really be seeing my old investigators anymore. This will be my third time starting from scratch pretty much. I am very excited to find more people to teach. My old companion Elder Budge is training a new missionary in Abeno too. His companion is from L.A., Elder Escalante. He adds a little Spanish flavor. My prayers really have been answered this week. We need people to teach and that is exactly what the Lord gave us. We met Anthony last Friday. He is from Nigeria and very large. We met him outside his apartment and he wanted to be taught right then. It was the smallest apartment I have ever been in. It was a little bigger than a queen sized bed. I know this because he had one in there! All three of us sat on his bed and talked about the Restoration. He understood very well and he accepted to be baptized on Nov. 1st! He is a great guy and I am excited to see how his life will change. Other than Anthony we found a couple other new investigators. God really does answer out prayers. I just hope that through my words these people will feel the spirit and know that they are children of God. I can honestly tell you guys that I haven't had a bad day. Last night was a little rough though. During streeting to stop people I say "sumi masen" It is like excuse me in English. Sometimes the people will say "Kekko desu"　which means like im not interested. We were by a crowded train station with tons of people and like 20 people Kekkoed me in a row. It was like bam, bam, bam, bam. I feel so bad because they really don't know how important the message of the Restoration is. When little things like this happen I know that there is someone out there that is ready to here. I love it here. The people are so nice and are willing to listen. Remember how I told that I have been trying to follow the promptings of the spirit but it seemed like everyone I was prompted to speak to wasn't interested? Well I have seen just the opposite lately. Last transfer me and elder Budge talked to a man named Takao san last transfer but we didn't get his contact info or set up an appointment. after he left we felt prompted to go find him. We looked and looked but couldn't find him. I felt awful but went on. As we were talking to another guy Takao san came out of nowhere. We got his contact info and a return appointment and now he has a baptismal date. Anthony was the same way. We were riding our bikes home and I was behind elder Nicerio. It was dark so I couldn't see well and it didn't help that Anthony blended in. He is way dark. again I felt prompted to turn around and now he is getting baptized. Miracles happen everyday. It really is a miracle that we receive guidance from something that we have never seen. The Holy Ghost is very powerful. The mission is great and I love it! It really is the most important thing I could be doing right now. Thanks again for everything! You are so nice to send that quad for Friday. Love you all and see you later!

Investigators from Around the World

Grady and Elder Budge with Yamamoto Shimai. He hiked in his Chacos!

Grady with Hiroki. He is an eikaiwa student (the English class that the missionaries teach)

October, 12, 2009 This was another great week for Grady. He's learning and growing in ways that I never could have imagined. I love the way he expresses himself in his letters. And I especially love that he still has a sense of humor!

Hey Family! How are you doin? It was good to hear from you again. Sounds like this last week was pretty eventful. Ruddawg! Wow, I can't believe you don't have a broken rib or face! I'm am sorry. But it sounds like God was looking out for ya. (Rudy had a rough week. He and Gus were changing out the motor in Rudy's VW van and Rudy was underneath the car and the motor fell on top of him--it's a miracle that he wasn't hurt or worse! Then, the next day, he fell flat on his face while skateboarding, and another miracle--he didn't knock his teeth out--he just got a big, fat lip!) Dad, Happy Birthday! How old are you now? That is crazy that you are a Fedex driver now! Do you get to wear the tight shorts? If not you should anyway. Good luck, sounds like it is a good job. The man next to me in this Internet cafe has been snoring way loud for like 10 minutes. It is way funny! But someone just woke him up. I'll answer the questions first. I am getting a dictionary today and my watch cost me one dollar. It is way sweet! About the food thing. I get a lot of money each week from the mission home. It is plenty for food. I can only spend this money on certain things. I am eating pretty good but just not as much as before, which is fine. I feel great and there just isn't time for 3 meals. I am way too busy. But thanks a lot for the concern. The language is coming. I feel like I can understand more now. I haven't gotten discouraged and I learn everyday. I love learning new languages! It is way fun. We dropped a couple of our English speaking investigators this last week. Right now is Caliph, Lal, Barth,and Godwin. Lal is from India, Caliph is from San Diego, Godwin is from Ghana, and Barth is from Congo. Pretty large variety. There are a lot of foreigners here in Osaka. Ya McKay wrote me today. It was good to hear from him. Oh and about the little typhoon thing. Other than a little rain, Osaka really didn't get hit. Everyone was scared but it was nothing so I was happy. That is exciting for Lenzi. I am way excited! Today Me and elder budge hike a mountain with a member and a her nonmember husband. They are way nice. Ill send pics. It was so nice to be in a forest again. It felt like home. I was in my chacos and had a great time. General conference was very cool. I was so blessed this week in many ways. Caliph came to the Saturday afternoon session and loved it. Through the speakers that spoke he really understands Jesus Christ's perfect gospel teachings. Things are looking up for him. I got many things out of general conference but what stuck with me most was love. Right now we have 3 mentally or physically or both investigators. They just have learning disabilities or something minor. They are so great but need special needs. It really hit me that I just need to love them. People here in general don't receive or show love to one another. These people really need to feel the Saviors and Gods love for them. This is through the restored gospel. We are supposed to become like little children. They are already like children because they are very accepting. Having them feel the spirit is very key. I know that by loving people by teaching them the restored gospel we are so blessed and their lives are also blessed. I am sorry I am running out of time. Tomorrow are transfer calls. I might stay or go. Ill keep you posted. Elder Hollands talk was pretty powerful. I feel the same way about the Book Of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is what converts people. I just introduce it to them and bear testimony of it. It really does change people in every way. I love you all and the mission is great. I feel so blessed everyday. It is comforting to know that I have control of my attitude in every situation. I love it here! Till next time. see you later!