Wow, what a week! It all started out last Monday morning when I woke up and just had that terrible feeling in the back of my throat. It came out of the blue so it was a disappointment for sure. So Monday night and Tuesday night I rested a tad bit but the rest of the week was a go. The throat only hurt the first couple of days. By Christmas Eve I thought I was coming out of it but to my dismay on Christmas morning, my voice was half gone. At least I felt better! Christmas Eve was a split with good 'ole Elder Sato. He has interviews with the mission president that day and had some trainings by him too. After that we went back to the apartment and Elder Sato got a couple of hours of rest because he had a killer cold that he hadn't got rest from in like light years. He used to serve here in Fukutoku before me so after his little time of shut eye we went to the church and had two lessons with two people that we weren't quite sure about their interest level but with Elder Sato help they turned into solid investigators. Pretty solid day. That night the assistants stayed over at our apartment as well because they came to our area for interviews. We bought these cheap stakes kind of things that were super good and we rushed to cook them and eat them in time. I will send pictures later.
Then Christmas came! I woke up that morning a lot like those in Whoville after the Grinch stole all their presents. The package from the family had not arrived in time on that Christmas morning. Usually I'd be distraught but really it is an interesting feel. I didn't stand up, hold everyone's hands, and sing Kum-Ba-Ya Christmas Hymns with everybody nor did a ugly, Green monster deliver the package to me but I did really understand more fully the Christmas Spirit. This Christmas as I sat at my desk just pondering, as cheesy as it sounds, without the gifts and family traditions I was really faced with the question of "What makes Christmas special?" The only answer there was was to realize that it was Christ who loved us enough to come into this world of sin to save us all. I will always remember this as a special Christmas where I for the first time truly did just celebrate Christ's life and birth for us. I will always hold that moment near to my heart...
Yesterday was a whirlwind ride. We had an appointment cancel right after church so we had some free time which had us running around doing random things. Then the sisters last week had visited a less active who lives in our area but goes to a different ward and the less active's son is a non-member and we were invited over to meet him and a couple other people. So, not knowing exactly where it is we head over in the general direction. Turns out we came right up against the border of another area in a city called Kasugai and were a bit lost. We stop at a Circle K and try to find the address. While there, we get a call from a member who was coming to teach with us tonight telling us he couldn't make it. Usually that would be okay but we then couldn't go to the Christmas Party with the lesson active because we would be the only adult aged man there which isn't allowed for us missionaries. Then, we are about to go and I find my back tire is flat and a scrap piece of metal had completely deflated my tire. I am not a fan of Kasugai... The sisters weren't picking up either so we begin our trek to a nearby train station on foot in the cold winter night. It looked like our night would be filled with trying to find our apartment and salvage the night by talking to people on the street. Alas, a super good lesson had fallen through and a less effective back-up would be launched into effect... or not...
The sisters called us in our downtrodden, poor, wayfaring state of grief and told us they had miraculously found a man to come with us to the party! A man from Uganda named Baker had been sitting outside in his wheelchair and stopped the sisters and talked to them! So, they asked him if they could go to the party with and found out he lived inside of the same apartment building as the less active! So, we go to the train station (which is next to the apartment with the party), go inside, and the sisters take us to Baker's apartment. Only us elders enter inside because there are only men inside as the sisters wait outside. Baker is there with his other Ugandan friend Moses and he invites the sisters in. We all tell him they can't and he takes us as racists, sexist Americans who just suppress females but after we explain the whole rule thing as missionaries he understands and lets it slide. Next thing we know we are on the floor above them in a crowded apartment eating sushi with a Filipino family and our two new friends from Uganda who are WAY good at Japanese, like, literally fluent! Moses is way cool and kind of quiet and had a lot of good questions when we were talking about the gospel while Baker was one of those guys who would take 10 minutes to prove his point and would go on tangents and try to teach you how to not offend foreigners living in Japan so we didn't get as far into the gospel as we would have like to. I don't know what to do with people that already believe in God. I might actually have to go in depth into the Apostasy! Weird...
Then Christmas came! I woke up that morning a lot like those in Whoville after the Grinch stole all their presents. The package from the family had not arrived in time on that Christmas morning. Usually I'd be distraught but really it is an interesting feel. I didn't stand up, hold everyone's hands, and sing Kum-Ba-Ya Christmas Hymns with everybody nor did a ugly, Green monster deliver the package to me but I did really understand more fully the Christmas Spirit. This Christmas as I sat at my desk just pondering, as cheesy as it sounds, without the gifts and family traditions I was really faced with the question of "What makes Christmas special?" The only answer there was was to realize that it was Christ who loved us enough to come into this world of sin to save us all. I will always remember this as a special Christmas where I for the first time truly did just celebrate Christ's life and birth for us. I will always hold that moment near to my heart...
Yesterday was a whirlwind ride. We had an appointment cancel right after church so we had some free time which had us running around doing random things. Then the sisters last week had visited a less active who lives in our area but goes to a different ward and the less active's son is a non-member and we were invited over to meet him and a couple other people. So, not knowing exactly where it is we head over in the general direction. Turns out we came right up against the border of another area in a city called Kasugai and were a bit lost. We stop at a Circle K and try to find the address. While there, we get a call from a member who was coming to teach with us tonight telling us he couldn't make it. Usually that would be okay but we then couldn't go to the Christmas Party with the lesson active because we would be the only adult aged man there which isn't allowed for us missionaries. Then, we are about to go and I find my back tire is flat and a scrap piece of metal had completely deflated my tire. I am not a fan of Kasugai... The sisters weren't picking up either so we begin our trek to a nearby train station on foot in the cold winter night. It looked like our night would be filled with trying to find our apartment and salvage the night by talking to people on the street. Alas, a super good lesson had fallen through and a less effective back-up would be launched into effect... or not...
The sisters called us in our downtrodden, poor, wayfaring state of grief and told us they had miraculously found a man to come with us to the party! A man from Uganda named Baker had been sitting outside in his wheelchair and stopped the sisters and talked to them! So, they asked him if they could go to the party with and found out he lived inside of the same apartment building as the less active! So, we go to the train station (which is next to the apartment with the party), go inside, and the sisters take us to Baker's apartment. Only us elders enter inside because there are only men inside as the sisters wait outside. Baker is there with his other Ugandan friend Moses and he invites the sisters in. We all tell him they can't and he takes us as racists, sexist Americans who just suppress females but after we explain the whole rule thing as missionaries he understands and lets it slide. Next thing we know we are on the floor above them in a crowded apartment eating sushi with a Filipino family and our two new friends from Uganda who are WAY good at Japanese, like, literally fluent! Moses is way cool and kind of quiet and had a lot of good questions when we were talking about the gospel while Baker was one of those guys who would take 10 minutes to prove his point and would go on tangents and try to teach you how to not offend foreigners living in Japan so we didn't get as far into the gospel as we would have like to. I don't know what to do with people that already believe in God. I might actually have to go in depth into the Apostasy! Weird...
Anyways, I hope that everyone had a amazing wonderful Christmas and that everyone enjoys the college bowl season for me! I love you all and I wish you a Merry, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Elder Hall
γγΌγ«ι·θ
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Ponderizing Scripture:
"Come unto me... I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief."
- Ether 4:13
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| Chilling with my homeboy Shinji |
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