Bing, Water Mouth, and Some Filipino Loving

So this week I left my area in the hands of two elders who just came to Japan a little bit over two months ago. As a missionary that doesn't sound long but I am sure for normal people it sounds even more insanely short. On Thursday I went to Fuji (the city at the base of Mt. Fuji) with Elder Smith who is currently training my bean's MTC companion. Even though it rained on us it was pretty fun. We talked to a lot of people on the street, visited a part member family where the non-member Dad and I discussed some history, and then a lesson with one of their investigators where we talked about Christ's healing power in overcoming his addiction to tobacco. We taught English class after that too and a high school kid we talked to on the street actually came! He had a fun time because Elder Smith is fun teaching Eikaiwa and wants to come again!

When I got back to my area the next day, not only was my area still alive and the apartment still standing but our investigator Mizuguchi San (whose name means water mouth or opening) agreed to get baptized! Elder Silva and I invited him last week but the bean magic did the hard part for me. His date is the 20th of September and while it isn't a lot of time and we have to help him quit tobacco, we should be able to do it. The main concern is meeting with him every other day so we can teach all the lessons and do the interview but we are meeting with him tonight after P-day and will teach again the Word of Wisdom and commit him to meet with us more often. He doesn't have a job or a wife yet (although he is looking for both at the young age of 58) so he can totally do it.; It is weird being the senpai now though because it is my responsibility to make sure all the paper work gets done. Yikes. It should be a couple of crazy weeks with that.

In other news, we had a lesson with my favorite Filipino family who just came back from vacation. We went in and starting chatting and then all of a sudden a young Filipino couple came over. So, we got to know the other unexpected guests and asked if they wanted to join the lesson and they accepted! Our plan was to teach the Sabbath Day but the plans flew out the window as we plunged into an unplanned, English lesson 1 to the whole group. We learned a lot more about our investigators and the couple learned more about us as we testified of the Savior. They live in the Philippines actually so we gave the two of them a Mormon.org card and told them to look us up in the Phillipines. The Bagochays will still be here though so we can keep teaching them. Just a little cool out of the blue miracle!

On Sunday we had three nonmembers come to church. Our goal was seven but our musical number went okay. We asked the bishop the week before if we could sing before the testimony part of sacrament meeting and he said yes but he forgot to announce it so we had to go up after a few people already bore their testimonies so it was kind of awkward but Elder Silva and my rendition of Lead, Kindly Light in three languages went well. Our Vietnamese friend Bing couldn't come but I downloaded all the pamphlets in Vietnamese on my IPad so we are ready to go next Sunday!
Lesson 1 in Vietnamese here I come!

A thought I had this week was about miracles. I think we often think of miracles as things that happen that we can't explain. I can't tell you how Jesus turned water into wine and neither can my magician companion. I've been thinking though, why do miracles have to be defined like that? I just look in my everyday dendo and there are plenty of miracles I can see how they happened. Mizuguchi San wants to be baptized to help him reach his goals of getting married and quitting smoking. Just because I understand it well doesn't change it into something less of value. So everything is a miracle! This IPad I'm writing on, BYU football's last second comeback win over Nebraska, an inner change inside after repenting, or even childbearing! Our life is driven by a God whose ways we don't quite understand completely just quite yet. Life itself is a miracle and every second of existence is too! So be grateful of the miracle of this upcoming week! Keep it chill and be the miracle you are!

I love you all and best of lucking dendoing wherever you are in the world!

 Me and my bean on the train...

Elder Silva and Elder Hall

Miracle on 東間門(Higashimakado)

This past couple of days have been CRAZY!  On Friday and Saturday, we
had an open house (which was out on by the ward and the senior
missionaries here) where everyone could come and get a tour of the
chapel here.  We had big pictures that told about Christ's life and
mission, a room about Joseph Smith and a room talking about families.
It was open to everyone from 11:00 to 8:00 so not even the Japanese
could give the excuse that they had no time!  On Friday we had  a zone
meeting in Shizuoka where we talked about how to better help our
investigators experience the Atonement for themselves and how we can
better help people open up their hearts when we stop them on the
street.  We also got some training on how to put all the records from
the area book into the IPad planner app.  (By the way, from now on, no
more paper records for me, just IPads). Because of the zone meeting,
we only got to the open house at 4:00.  No one was there and nothing
was happening so Elder Silva gets the idea that we should go outside
and get someone to come.  We go out and walk around the church at
around five and our goal is to find someone to come to watch the movie
"Meet the Mormons" with us.  So, after about thirty minutes, we have a
high schooler come!  Endo San!  He said he would stay for five minutes
but stayed for two hours.  He wouldn't give us any contact information
so we had to settle with having him promise he would come back the
next day.

Saturday came and he didn't come and neither did anyone else.  So, we
try for a repeat and go talk to people on the streets.  After some
failure, we said a prayer to find someone to invite.  I could really
feel the Spirit during it, but, even after that no one close by even
gave us the time to go past the fact that we are missionaries.  So a
little bit tired and dejected, we go back to the church and continue
to transfer records into the IPad from the area book.  Our mission
president drops in because he is giving a talk that night at the open
house for us and then our investigator Mizuguchi San comes in.  He had
the tour the other day when we were in Shizuoka so we just chill with
him for a little bit, eating refreshments and Elder Silva showing
magic.  We randomly decide to follow-up with him about reading the
Book of Mormon and one thing leads to another and we get talking about
his smoking problem and how he wants to quit.  Elder Silva pulls out
Mizuguchi San's cigarette carton and writes on it for him in big words
"BOOK OF MORMON AND PRAYER!" (in kanji). Whenever he looks for a
cigarette he'll want to read and pray now!  We had no plan to do a
lesson but no lesson plan helped us just see what we could to help and
it was all about loving him to death so it was really cool!

Mizuguchi stayed then a couple hours for President Ishii's talk on the
family but left right when we all had a potluck.  So, after a cool
thing with him, we go about eating and then we talk and become friends
with the Bishop's co-worker whom the Bishop had brought.  He was kind
of shy but I think we helped him fit in because he really liked to try
practicing his English with us.  After talking with him for 15 or 20
minutes, we get a text from Shige San, a guy we met on the street two
months ago who ALWAYS works, saying he could come.  So, he comes
towards the end and we show him the rooms with Jesus Christ and Joseph
Smith as we teach principles from the first lesson.  At the end, he
opened up a bit and asked us about what we believed in with Spirits.
BAM!  Of course we believe in us having spirits and in the Holy Spirit
too!  He had some knowledge about Christianity because she wife is
Catholic from the Philipines.  We explain a little bit and I ask him
what he feels now.  He caught me off guard and said in the Jesus
Christ room he felt good but in the Joseph Smith room he felt a bad
feeling.  YOU CANT HAVE A BAD FEELING IN THE JOESPH SMITH ROOM!  I
think this so I blame Satan and then retell the First Vision account
again except I use Joseph Smith's personal story with the part of him
feeling the devil overtake him before God and Chirst appeared.  'Shige
San, you have found the truth but Satan doesn't want you to have it
just like he didn't want Joseph Smith to pray.'  We asked again how he
felt and he was feeling good again!  'That's the Spirit Shige San!'
It was so legit!  He is still busy but he told us flat out he has a
lot of interest in this!  So many miracles!  All at our church on the
corner of Higashimakado!

It has made me think though.  Did God answer our prayer on Saturday?
You might say no because we didn't find anyone off of the street to
come inside.  But really, He answered it but in a much different but
better way.  Instead of blessing us with a new person, we gave us old
ones who we could help even more.  If we found a new person to come to
the open house, we wouldn't have been able to help Mizuguchi and Shige
San.  At the moment when we didn't find anyone, it felt like a
failure.  But only after the trial of the faith did God bless us.  So
I think we are prone to get frustrated when God doesn't give us what
we want, even though we ask in faith and with the Spirit after
studying it out in our minds first.  But really, he is giving us
something better.  Sometimes if you ask for a certain blessing you
might be given a trial.  But that trial will make you grow and you
will be even more blessed because of it than you would have if you got
the blessing you were asking for.  We don't see the whole picture but
God does and he will give us what is best for us, all we have to do is
be willing to receive what He has worked so hard to give us.  I hope
you all have a great week and can have the Spirit with you always!

Elder Hall signing out for the week! 

Love you all!

Here Am I...Hungry, Tired and Feeling a Lack of Energy as Usual...

Some random thoughts I had during the week include:

Why does this guy want to be baptized when he doesn't want to come to church?
What is worse, being drenched in dirty rain water or being drenched in salty sweat?
Why spend ten minutes telling me the excuses for how you can't met for five minutes when you could say no thanks?
Does America still exist?

Anyways, I have been going a little crazy this last week as we had no missionary meetings or anything. It has been good and we have been able to get a lot of work done but it has been a week and of half of only seeing my companion and no one else. Now I know why being on the border of the mission is exile! It overall has been a good week though. We had our crazy, English stuttering investigator come to church, but only for first two hours which means everything but sacrament meeting. This Monday we had a lesson with him and he told us he wanted to be baptized next year but we said he could this year. He asked us to teach him the commandments (he is a former investigator from about five years ago who we visited last month who has a lot of knowledge about the church) so we taught him that he needs to pray, read the scriptures and come to church every week. Mizuguchi San was like, "The first two I got but the third one?" Then me and Elder Silva chant "Dekiru!" You can do it! "Dekimasu!" You can politely do it! He still didn't know if he could but said he might. So he did! He came first during priesthood and we sat with him but then for Sunday School, we teach an English Gospel Principle class so he had to go to the other class taught by the senior couple. We hand him over to them, have our lesson and then go to find him but he disappeared! He came though so that was good and we can work from that.

Today's thought (and email subject line) come from an experience I had yesterday. We just had met a Vietnamese guy at the train station after we had church and it was about 4 o'clock so we were tired and hungry and needing a little lunch break. We had scheduled to visit a former investigator a good ten minutes or so away from where we were. I felt we should go but my stomach and weak spirit decided to go home. Right after I told Elder Silva the change of plans, it didn't feel right. So, I did what every sensible natural man would do, turn the way to go to the apartment. We immediately stopped to talk to a guy, nothing happened and then I continued to go. It kept bugging me though so, I took the turn leading away from the apartment and went and visited the former investigator. No one was home but before that we met a cool older man who was walking his dog. He had gone to a Christian school when he was young so I asked him what he liked about it. He said he loved Christ's love for everyone. We shared Mosiah 2:17, gave him a Book of Mormon, and invited him to our church open house this weekend. We also have a lesson with him Wednesday. I shudder to think what would happen if I had let my stomach get the best of me.

The Lord calls upon us many times throughout our lives. The 2015 EFY CD I received from my family is entitled "Here Am I", quoting Samuel 3:4. Many of us remember the story of Samuel the boy prophet as he instantly answered the Lord when he called him in the middle of the night but we forget the preparation it took for him to get to that level. He had served most of his young life in the temple and was always willing to keep the covenants he had made with the Lord. The Lord didn't just randomly come to him. That night might have been the first time the voice of the Lord came unto him but it wasn't the first time the Lord called upon him to serve Him through the Spirit and the words of His former prophets.

 I think our relationship with God is like Wi-Fi. If we are in a hotspot (a.k.a. A spiritual standing where you can feel the Spirit) then you will be ready to receive the call and answer. If your Wi-Fi is weak, you can't receive the call, serve the Lord and be there for Him. Many times even as a missionary, I let the little things get in the way with receiving the call from God to serve His children. I wish I could be in more a position to always answer the Lord "Here Am I" and not to let the little things, like other priorities, friends, distractions, hunger, fatigue or disobedience get in the way. So find out today how you can get the hotspot of the Spirit always in your life and how you can keep those obstacles from clogging up your Spiritual Wi-Fi.  Then accept the call to serve your fellow brothers and sisters! And use your real Wi-Fi to keep sending me emails!

I love you all and here is for living up the last bit of summer! See you next week!

                                       Random college student we met while waiting for a train

                      Been there, climbed that!  All for a former investigator without an address...

                                                         Eating Ramen... Japanese Style

My Top 20 Birthdays and The Family

On Saturday I became an adult in Japan by turning twenty.  We ate out
at Subway and a really good curry place but other than that I would
have to say it was my 20th favorite birthday of my life so far.  We
have a plan to visit all the former investigators that we have an
address for before I am transferred (don't worry, transfer calls came
and we are staying here together for another six weeks) so we had
three in a city called Gotemba that was thirty minutes away by train.
Along the way though, we planned to stop at a couple of different
stations to visit a couple less actives who probably haven't been
visited in ten years.  So, we ate lunch after transfer calls and then
drove to the station, packed up our bikes, and went on the train.
First we went a station too far so we had to wait another thirty
minutes for another train to take us back.  Then we go for a half hour
walk to have the less active to find nothing and then walk back.
Another less active we visited after another long walk was there but
wanted nothing to do with us.  We go to the bigger city of Gotemba,
get hard-core rejected by another less active, and then visit an
investigator.  Our investigator whenever we called for another
appointment had said he only wanted to meet with us if I came alone
but I told him we can't.  So, in order to hear the reason, we made the
trip. He gives us a reason but it is over my head so I ask him to
clarify but then he gets a little frustrated and shuts the door as he
said to come back alone.  So some hard core rejections, a
heart-breaking confrontations with a now former investigator, a couple
lost trains.  It might be my fault though since I think most people
that move far away from the missionaries do it for a reason.

I did get a good birthday present from my bishop though!  He called
Saturday morning to give me a talk in sacrament meeting the next day!
The topic was family traditions which is weird because the English
Class we teach had the topic of family and then Priesthood was on
family and so the Gospel Principle Lesson we taught.  So I learned
some good vocab I hadn't before.  It got me thinking a bit though.  As
a missionary elders have different opinions on their families back
home.  Some try to shut them out so they can focus on dendo.  Others
are too over-occupied about them and aren't on the task at hand.  Some
simply forget about them because they become so busy with
investigators and other things.  It was a good reminder for me of the
importance of families.  Not saying I would necessarily forget them
but they were all kind of out on the back burner.

Prepping for the talk and giving it reminded me how essential families
are.  Not just in birthing and giving them food in the early years but
in the impact they have in general.  I used the analogy of missionary
Dads in my talk.  When missionaries are out trainer, their new
missionary is their son.  So I am Elder Silva Dad.  If I sleep in,
don't cook ever, and never dendo, it will be a lot harder for him to
learn how to be a good missionary.  If I am a good example, then he
will be able to more easily become a good missionary himself.  So it
is with parents.  I also think showing the. Love is important too.  I
tried to show in my talk that even though the Japanese are the most
busiest people on Earth, they still have the time to show their family
love and support.  He told them about how my Dad would wake up early
to go to work at five and come home at 7, having hiked most of the
day.  When he got back, he'd be tired and only wanting to rest.  I on
the other hand wanted to exercise and play some basketball so I'd beg
for him to go out and play.  Only now as a trainer who wants to do
nothing but email on Pday while my bean wants to party so I see how
some days he wouldn't want to.  But, nevertheless, he would take 20 or
30 minutes to come outside and shoot some hoops.  Now looking back, I
can see how much that strengthened our relationship and how that was
an act of love for sacrifices our time.

So I'm grateful for the good example my parents and other relatives
have left with me.  I probably wouldn't be over here in Japan if it
wasn't for those forced scripture readings at night as a family, those
groggy prayers before seminary or those Family Home Evenings during
Monday Night Football.  No families are perfect and everyone has made
mistakes but I am sure blessed and grateful to have a good family.
Even if you haven't had the best family you can all change that for
your family by being that good parent, spouse, or sibling.  I don't
think as many people would be in trouble in life or leave the church
if we all tried to be the best family member.  I testify that the
family is where everything starts and that God places us in families
to bless his children. Harold B. Lee once taught, The most important
of the Lord's work you will ever do will be within the walls of your
own homes.  I think the best thing we can do to help this ever
spinning-out-of-control world is to help build the strongest family
you can.  Here is hoping I can do the best to strenghten the families
of the Numazu Ward and our investigators by preaching them the gospel.

Everyone have a great week and tell your families you love them! 
Love you Mom and Dad and the bunch!

Happy Birthday from the Senior Couple the Oishis!

Subway Birthday!!

Our District

The Gospel Magic (Happy Birthday Mom)

We had a role play lesson with the bishop on Saturday night. It was good food, good learning experience and I hope the Bishop didn't lose complete faith in the Numazu missionary's teaching skills but at least me and my companion taught in unity.  Not really many questions asked during the role play, but at least we are improving.  Anyways, after the dinner, we had that awkward moment where there wasn't enough time to visit the person we planned on visiting but there was still time to do something.  So, we went very original... housing!  Trick or treat but there is no costume and we are the ones giving away the candy. #feastuponthewords  Usually in housing you just go say, "We are missionaries and we do..." and pick something that you want to share. Plan of Salvation, families, Joseph Smith etc.  However, after a couple houses of nothing special, I decide to draw on my companion's talent to make some magic happen, quite literally actually.  "How can we tie in a magic trick into the gospel?"  I turn and ask Elder Silva before heading over to the next house.  We brainstorm and go through a couple of cheesy things but we decided to go with "Do you want to see a magic trick?"

We walk to the next door on the fourth floor of the apartment complex we are at and the door is slightly held open with a door stop. "Sumimasen!", we say and nothing happens. So, I hit the door bell and out comes a mid-20s or so man with a young girl. "You want to see some magic?" I ask. They seemed busy but Elder Silva started with his magic trick anyways and wows them with a crazy trick dealing with changing an ace into a queen of hearts. He is pretty good by the way. Then he finishes and I pop my head in the conversation. "He is a really good magician but he is also a missionary. He came to Japan for two years to share the gospel which makes him happy. His magic made you happy but Christ will make you more happy". At least that is what I hope I said. Silly Japanese... They didn't become investigators but they said we could come back in a couple weeks. So that was definitely pretty cool. We also found a less active who didn't know they were a member but they seemed interested when we invited them to the ward's food party after church for next Sunday.

The weather here is so hot that we sweat whenever we enter the apartment. July is the worst month for weather here I believe and by the end of August it should be bearable. Maybe it is so hot because of the recent dendo fire that has been burning here from my bean. We had another half un-planned lesson after church with our favorite sandal wearing, sunglasses rocking, slightly handicapped from a car accident Mukasa San. This time it involved answering some questions on the three kingdoms of glory. "Because God loves us, he has made an awesome kingdom of glory for everybody! (Except for that outer darkness)". Then we showed how baptism was necessary to enter the Celestial Kingdom and live with your family forever! So, will you be baptized...? The response in English was 'No Sir'. He told us afterwards he thought that God was kind and that he saved everyone and that by Him asking for us to receive baptism was too much. We will keep working with him but the lesson went well as my bean talked a lot.

Oh, and happy birthday Mom!  6.... 29 right? Ha ha... (I am already regretting writing that). But yeah!
Another magical experience is that of the Holy Ghost! As a trainer, I lead but really sometimes I have no idea what is happening. We were invited to lunch today with a member and her recent convert nephew and it was P-day so we didn't really anticipate sharing anything but then she told us in English to share something that would help him commit to come to church instead of work. So, being without anything I turned to my bean and say go ahead.  I didn't think he would do anything and I would take over but he was like, let's share 1 Nephi 3:7! We had practiced how to share a scripture in companionship study and I had used that one to practice introducing scriptures in Japanese. So I gave the background of the story, he told a personal story about when he worked on Sunday decided to go to church instead, and then I ended with the promise. (The Sandwich Testimony Method)  The Lesson I learned today from that was that if we prepare and do our part, the Holy Ghost will tell you the rest. My bean had the answer on what to share on the spur of the moment but I didn't know what to share so I feel like I was nudged to half-jokingly ask him to take the lead and it worked out. Sometimes we don't know where we are going or what we are doing but if we try our best, God will do the rest.  We might think it is magic but really, we just don't quite know how to perform the trick just quite yet and God performs the miracle through his own power.  So study hard, cram it all in, and have God help you take the test that is called life!

 I love you everybody and have a good, wait no, a GREAT week! Enjoy the pics!

Stonehenge or my lunch

Elder Shawn Hall

l

The Lucky Number and New Reign of the King

This past week we had an unfortunate thing happen.  My new fresh outof the MTC Beanchan started counting every single person he talks to on the street. He uses a metal counter and clicks it whenever he is the one that starts the conversation on the street. A week or so ago, he reached the number 16 and that was the first person he talked to that had become an investigator. Then number 32 came along (GO JIMMER!!!) and that person became a new investigator too.  So, we had it figured out that every 16th person that Elder Silva talked to would become a new investigator. This week Elder Silva stopped a guy and I got talking with him after he did his amazing Spirit-filled, Beanchan-level Japanese "Do You Want To Hear Our Message" spiel and we were pretty close but in the end the guy opted out and decided a return appointment was beyond his capacity. So, we ride away a bit disappointed and then Elder Silva clicks his clicker. "Oh, no! He was number 48!" So 16 ain't a magic number, unless you are waiting to date members of the opposite sex. Never fear though, number 57 became an investigator so we are back on track!

 That story basically describes this last week. I have never before found so many people on my mission and they have just been people we have talked to on the street! Yeah, we have met a lot of people that are just being nice and will listen for a minute or two but also people who have given us their digits. Now the problem is we have a ton of potential investigators or people that want to met but have no time! So I have been forced to hit up the phone a lot they recently. Hopefully we can get more lessons with people and not just numbers. We did have a totsuzen lesson after church that I wasn't prepared for. Mukasa (not Mufasa) San showed up to sacrament meeting when he told me over the phone Friday night that he couldn't because he was sick. Luckily the Spirit got my back as I had no idea what to do when the opening prayer was offered. It turned out alright though for the first legit Japanese lesson I took the lead as Senpai for. We committed him to ask a question in his prayers as he had never done before. Will follow up with him tonight to see how it goes so more phone dendo for me!

We went to the big city of Nagoya this week to meet our new mission president Ishii Kaicho. He is not a member of the Seventy but he is still super awesome. We thought he would tell us a lot of changes but I liked his approach of just building upon what President Yamashita has taught us. He did introduce himself and gave these really cool five points about missionary work (and life in general):

1. Obedience is the price
2. Faith is the power
3. Love is the motive
4. The Spirit is the key
5. Christ is the reason

 So cool, right? I especially like number 2 because I have seen the power of faith a lot more with my bean. Before I had the faith, I think, to see success but it was always "I have faith God can do anything BUT me, not so much. or "I have faith that he could get baptized BUT he is no where close." I think the change has been the unqualified faith of my new companion. No is just not an answer for him. Just when I was about to confine myself to being a missionary that worked but never saw a baptism, here comes my bean with "We will find a baptism!" I think we get caught up in excuses or little things that in the end God can take care of. He can increase our weak abilities, influence others to righteously use their free agency, and get rid of obstacles through our faith. Just as the Lord tells us in 2 Nephi 23 "I work among the children of men according to their faith." Faith really is the power for Christ and His Atonement to propel our inner change, our self improvement, and our eternal conversion. I hope you all have have the faith this week to follow Christ and improve in any way possible! I love you and Christ does too!

See you next week!

 Me and my doki (people that came with me to Japan) after meeting President Ishii Kaicho

Fermented Soy Beans, Portuguese Bean, and and Green Beans (a.k.a. America and Canada's Birthdays)

Random note, my bean doesn't like fermented soybeans all that much but
I guess they are just Nato for him.  He also doesn't like boring
P-days so we went and ate at an all we can eat place today.  Sadly, I
forgot about a member dinner appointment with a recent convert in the
ward tonight so my body is going to hate me.  Whateves I guess.  He
does like finding new investigators too which has been fun.  No
appointments really since everyone is too busy or just doesn't
understand what I am saying but we have definitely added to the list
of people to make appointments with.  And I've said some really weird
stuff this week to people on the street.  I learned the five kanji
word for Independence Day and went around the street telling people
Happy Fourth of July!  My bean wanted to tell people more about Joseph
Smith so then I segwayed into religious freedom and Joseph Smith.  I
told a guy that he wasn't Buddhist, I'm not Christian but we are just
all children of God.  A guy told me he won't give me his number
because we aren't friends so I told him to come to church so we could
be friends.  I'm kind of going crazy as senpai if you couldn't already
tell.

Fourth of July was pretty fun.  I wore a red tie with a white shirt
and blue pants.  It was pretty badly matched and you could have
definitely put me on "What Not To Wear" but it was worth it to show my
patriotism.  It was my only Fourth of July in Japan since the last one
I was in the MTC but I enjoyed it. It was weird being the only
American but I think I was obnoxious enough about it when I told
everyone on the street I was happy today because of it being the
Fourth and playing the national anthem on my IPad at night in the
apartment as I stood up with my hand over my heart because I have the
LDS hymnbook app.

Being Patriotic in Japan

This week's spiritual thought is never lose faith, even when you can't
see the end.  We found a guy on the street and swapped numbers.  Elder
Silva was so happy and he bought me dinner that night to celebrate.
So then I call several times throughout the week but it doesn't even
go to an answering machine so I lose hope and figure he gave us the
wrong number.  Then last night, HE CALLS US!  That humbled me a little
bit...  Life is like the terribly confusing streets of Numazu, with
very few checkpoints and so many intersecting small roads without
names.  I ride down streets only knowing a general direction towards
the place where I am wanting to go.  On these streets, I get unsure if
I am going the right way, so I keep on going anyways.  Eventually I
get to a road I know and can find people, the church, or my apartment.
So a lot of times in life, we have to ride down unfamiliar roads and
make choices on our own without knowing the whole picture.  We keep
going and trying our best, and we will eventually run into a familiar
road or into a faraway place which tells us to turn back.  God knows
the road map and we can always ask for directions too.  Just remember
to follow his traffic laws and he will protect you.  I haven't failed
to get back to the apartment so neither will we fail to get back to
our Father in Heaven if we try our best!  You'll always find your way
back home!  Keep pedaling and everyone have a great week!  

Love you!