Transfers Again

Well to keep it kind of short I'm transferring to MAINLAND!!! I'm so happy for that. I love Okinawa but mainland is just completely different and I love it. I'm also going to the countryside to a place called Saga. I'm excited because I love the country, plus it's flat. And colder than here. So that's fun. I already know my companion and my old companion Elder Ishizu is in my district and so it's going to be real fun! It's sad to leave but it's alright.

So last week on pday we went to a way good burger place an hour and a half away. Way fun. Best burger I've had in my life. This week we were busy and worked hard. We knew it would be our last together. Me and elder Stucki, so it was fun. I love this kid and he's grown to be a
good elder. I don't really remember much about this week but it was a good one.

I'll just put tons of pictures because I forgot and plus everyone likes pictures more so here they are!

Bishop's house 

Caves the Japanese hid in when the Americans invaded in WWII

 Just chillin at Eikaiwa

The beach before burgers because it's an hour wait to even get into the restaurant

 Service at a member's house

 Sushi with the sisters

Sleepy

I'm super tired haha like I guess the mission does that to you, I'll put some pictures my comp takes of me at the end. I'll have you know though that I'm only actually completely out in one of them.

So this week we had a couple cool things happen. So we were out walking and we saw a McDonald's and anyone that knows me knows I don't like McDonald's that much. Like really at all. Like usually I would rather throw up than eat it. But randomly I had a craving for a crispy chicken sandwich. Like that's not normal at all. So I told my comp and we went well we walk in and there's a white guy and he starts talking to us and he wants to sit down with us  and chat so we're like okay and it turns out he knows tons about religion and is interested in them and we were able to talk with him for an hour and a half and teach the plan of salvation to him. Like how cool is that? We may or may not be able to meet him again but it was definitely a cool miracle all from having a craving for food I don't even like. Also when I say WE taught the plan of salvation, I mean my comp did because the guy wanted him to participate more in the conversation and so he taught it and drew it out and it was all good. We all left feeling good about that meeting. The Lord works in mysterious ways, doesn't he.

Besides that just the regular work. Day in day out just working. We were able to make three return appointments on Saturday and they're all for the next Saturday. That happened after we dropped a treat and letter off at a members home. Maybe because of service and love we were able to do that. I'm not sure. It will definitely be interesting to be at the judgement bar and see the results of everything that we have done in our life. See the relationships between our choices and the results. See how we've been blessed or led and other times that we weren't necessarily that will be such a cool thing to see. So just make the right choices here and now and you'll have good memories to look back on. And what's the best way to make the right choices? Keeping the commandments of Jesus Christ, of course.

Next week is transfer week and I'm probably out of here but we'll see. Anything could happen. But probably my last full week here in this area. Hope not, it's really grown on me. Sorry kind of a short email, were going out somewhere an hour and a half away in a car and hiking and whatnot so we're leaving shortly but here's the pics!

 

Famous Japanese sunset but my comp took too long messing 

with his camera and not taking pictures so it set more haha 

silly photographers just take the picture

Performance

So this week was cool and pretty busy including getting sick once but like it's all chill so here's the rundown.

PDAY we went to the mall and had okonomiyaki and just hung out and whatever like it was fun and really chill.

Tuesday we had to practice for our song which involved getting two of the Okinawa elders down here and then practicing. Also, sister Sakamoto taught us how to make Chicken Nanban after district meeting and it was super good. Then her bean got hit by a car and we had to fix her bike haha she's okay just some bruises. Reminds me of when I got hit by a taxi. Pretty much the exact same thing but her bike got messed up and mine didn't.

WEDNESDAY Elder Whiting of the Seventy, our Area President came and we had a conference that was like six hours and we did our musical number. It was super good. So I never told y'all about this musical number so I will now. President Egan called about a month ago and told me to do a musical number with my district and two Okinawa elders and so we practiced a bit, and then performed it and it was really good. Personally I didn't really like the song choice but they wanted to sing this song called "The Olive Tree" and so that's what we did and it was super pretty. We put it together really well. However the entire conference I had this nasty migraine and it was terrible and so we went home in a taxi and then I just laid down at 5:00 and didn't wake up until 8:40 and then I just laid there for another hour. It didn't go away. It was probably the worst headache I have had in my entire life. I'm not even kidding my pulse was pounding through my skull it was awful and I don't know how or why I had it. But now it's gone. So I'm okay now.

That's pretty much all the good stuff that happened. We've been helping the sisters a lot with just little things to keep them going good. I think everything is getting better and we're so grateful.

Sister Egan said she was so grateful for everything I was doing to help sister Sakamoto out. I asked sister Egan if I could buy a kettle so I can make my own teas. She said yes. The mission owes me ¥7600 for different things like taxis and kettle and stuff like that.

Honestly I'm just really tired right now and don't really want to Email but life is going well, the beans are doing okay, Sakamoto is doing okay, everything's okay and we're all working hard and teaching.

Oh our investigator is progressing but I can't tell if she's crazy. I'm really good at Japanese and only understand about 60% of what she says when she goes on weird rants but whenever we talk about spiritual things she is locked in and loves what we teach. She said she would get baptized after she prepares better. She's scared to come to church. She gave us coconut cookies and told us to give the sisters some too because she saw them riding their bikes and she assumed they were from the same church.

Also can someone figure out who one the Japan All Stars v. Hanshin Tigers baseball game Friday night?

 All of Okinawa. Elder Whiting is in the middle so his wife

 

 Me and my boy Elder Colton. He's an AP. Stud. 

Found a jinja and there wasn't even really anything in the shrine at the top.

 

From the top

 Okonomiyaki

Interviews

Well honestly this week was pretty boring and not much happened and we had interviews with the president and that was like it and it went pretty well. Just the same old.

One of our investigators likely dropped us. She said "yeah I'm busy this Sunday so I'll let you guys know when I have time to meet again" so pretty much she probably won't ever call us.
Another had car problems and had to cancel her appointment. Another said he can't meet until after March 14.

That all happened on the same day ha it was terrible but it happens and at least two are still investigators that just can't meet for the time being.

But despite all that we have a new progressing investigator named Rumiko. She's this way cool 49 year old lady that loves alone in this way sketchy communist looking apartment that you can hear everything that's going on but really all that's going on is her TV and she leaves her door open. Anyways so she found scriptures she liked in the Book of Mormon and loved it and said "sorry I've only read to here this week" and she had read the first ten chapters and it was super good and she remembers the story perfectly. She turned down the invitation to come to church for the time being saying that while we were nice that she really doesn't know if she can trust church organizations and went on a thirty minute thing about organized religions and evil religions. She's a big big big talker and it's hard to teach her because well say like two things and she'll go off for a half hour haha it took two lessons to teach the restoration but we did it and she's progressing. So we're happy. Plus she's so nice and gives us food and cookies and cake and Mugicha and so she's super cool. We're teaching her once a week and she made it herself so we go back every Wednesday at 11:00. How cool is she?

That's pretty much the highlight of the week.

Now to some cool stuff learned. So sister Sakamoto wanted a blessing on Friday night before the left to Naha for exchanges but it wasn't looking like time would add up because we had an appointment 40 minutes away at 7 and they were leaving at 8. Well so she said never
mind it's okay, you know how girls do that which never means it's okay and so I told her if she needs a blessing the Lord will give us a way to be there at 7:45. Now this is what happens. Our person wasn't home (of course ha that's typical) and so we booked it home and every single light we hit was green and we were able to make it to the senior couples apartment at 733. 1. That's a new record by 7 minutes and 2. We could have gone faster and 3. The Lord prepared us a way and we were able to do what we needed to do. That's one thing I've learned on my mission. I've been studying a lot about Joseph Smith lately. Well kind of. I've been read the Church History in the Fulness of Times institute manual and it's really good and up to now has been all about Joseph smith and one of the things I take away from him is that even though he was imperfect, he always was able to do what the Lord wanted. Even if things were looking bad. Even in the face of opposition. Even while the Mormons were being abused and killed, he always stood tall with unwavering faith to do what's right. That's kind of what this felt like. As soon as I told her that if she needs a blessing we'll be there, I knew we'd be there and never doubted that and we were able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. If we put aside ourselves and just put our trust in the lord and allow ourselves to be humble, we can do anything and He will help us. He won't tell us
to do something and not help us. The times we feel like we aren't being helped is actually when we aren't doing our part. It's simple.

Love you all!

Elder TschirkiLast night we had dinner at the former Bishop Arakakis house with a lot of the YSA in the nearby wards. Me and your boy taught a way bomb lesson about prayer and everyone was laughing because I'm funny but the spiritual part aka most of it was super good. Ft Thomas who's just a marine that came to have fun haha. He's so funny. I bet you can't find him. Actually he's trying to learn Japanese so he's way cool.

 

Rumiko's freaky apartment

 Yakiniku with the sisters

 

We went to Shuri castle with some military members but here's my district it started raining 

 The castle

 A good pic for mom (I told him he looks so silly in many of his pictures...)

Second Try

Well the reason this is second try is because the first one didn't send and got deleted and it isn't in my trash folder so I have to type out is super great yet terrible and heart wrenching but super spiritual and awesome Email again. So here it goes. Everything starts on Friday when me and my comp went to eat yakiniku and when we do that we use our lunch and dinner time for it because it's 90 minutes and because you're completely full, and then we work for the rest of the day. Well after yakiniku we both had to stop and use the bathroom so
we go to this one Lawson and there's tons of apartments and it starts raining. I was going to take pictures of this place because I know the sisters haven't been there and I always take pictures of good places for the sisters to go. Well it rained so I couldn't and we left and
did work for five hours straight and it went fine, nothing too spectacular. So then after we have to go to the bathroom again. So my comp wants to go to this Family Mart and I use my trainer authority and say no we're going to another Lawson. Lawson's anywhere are better
than Family Mart, just automatically. And this one Lawson I had in mind is one of the nicest in Okinawa. So we went there, went to the bathroom and then got a little snack before leaving, and then all of a sudden the sisters roll up out of nowhere and were so shocked to see us there and we talked and they are getting treats too well guess what they don't know where they're going that night because their maps stopped working and then like so we look it up and it was the exact same place I was going to take pictures of and show them. The exact same spot. So we were going to this other apartment and it turns out the sisters were trying to visit this recent convert that lives there but she wasn't him in the exact same apartment building that we were going to. How cool is that? So we do this apartment building and make a return appointment in the second floor, and then "accidentally run
into" the member on the first floor, teach her a lesson and then she volunteers to help us in our lesson next Friday. How cool is that? Miracles for days! 

Now what about the sisters? Well they didn't end up the best like we did. So apparently the met this lady that talked for an hour about a bunch of crazy stuff and now sister Sakamoto is all freaked out and all this stuff I can't really tell you guys and so she's been having a super hard time since Friday and it's obvious and we've done our best trying to help her and keep her going and stuff and like she'll get there but honestly she's just scared. Just scared. And like all this crazy stuff so we gave her a blessing on Saturday and it went well and then whenever we're all there helping her she's okay but whenever she's at the apartment she feels vulnerable and scared and stuff well last night after reporting with the sisters I just prayed so hard like I've never prayed so hard in my life if I'm being honest. It's like just I don't know what to do. I've talked to them so much and don't know and so I was literally pleading and frustrated with God about is whole situation because I am lost and she is lost and we're all worried. Well so I'm asking God what to do and this answer comes immediately "just love her." And I was thinking well I do that anyways and have for 10 weeks so what do I do differently? And he said again immediately "just love her." And I'm getting his point now and I ask is there anything else and again immediately "just love her". That whole time was full of the spirit so strongly, almost indescribable. I know God was telling me what to do to help her. So I came out of my conversation with God full of peace and strength. I felt like everything was going to be okay. The fear and anxiety at least in that instant were gone. There's probably a million things that she needs right now and if God is only telling me to love her than that's what I'll continue to do. He knows how we all need to be loved and when I asked how, he told me just to do it. I don't think he really cares as much about how but rather just that we try. He loves all of us and we are used to help other people and love other people and bring them closer to God and help them feel His love. That's our purpose here and we just have to do it.

Love you All!

iPadから送信

The church bought us all new phones and I had to sync them all, etc. 

My comp made this on Tuesday haha. 

Four Missionaries

Well we had transfers this week and the sisters turned into 2 and then just me and my comp so my district got super easy. It's like just us four and a senior couple so like way easy. Oh also me and my comp stayed the same and then Sister Sakamoto became a trainer and her bean (I forgot to tell you that a bean is what they call new missionaries in Japan haha) and she is American from Hawaii so like this is fun and she has red hair so like that's chill but like yeah it's just like this little district of four people and there's other districts that
are like 12 people. So I'm loving life right now. We're all just like chilling emailing so I'll take a picture maybe to show you everyone.

This week was fun it was like transfers and we had to help with that and stuff and made cute little stuff for the new sister and put it on their front door so when they got here it was fun and they were pumped and then we taught some lessons and it was really cool and actually
super cold. So February in Okinawa actually drops down a lot like it was 12 degrees celsius and so cold. Like sweater, coat, neck warmer, gloves, etc. weather. And so windy. My English is turning bad because this is how Japanese people speak English. So funny.

Well I'll share a cool experience I had this week. Well a little while ago we had a Korean lady call us in English and set up a time to meet with us. It didn't work out because she went to Korea but last week I called again and set an appointment and we were just planning on
having the sisters come and they ended up transferring so I was like shoot what do I do, on Tuesday night. The lesson was Wednesday. So I suddenly got this idea that there's a super strong Korean lady in the military branch and I should call her. So I did and she was pumped and was like "you have a Korean investigator?" So then we get to the lesson on Wednesday and it turned into mostly Korean and there's no problem but it turns out she's golden and the member shared an experience. She was praying on Monday to have an experience to share the gospel to someone. And like we called the next day about a Korean
and so she knows that her prayers were answered and it was super good and the investigator goes to Korea next week so we are meeting again. That's pretty much it haha good times. Miracles happen and God is
real.

Love you all!

 Buying bikes for new missionaries

The one Sakura tree we found. I missed Sakura both years of my mission lol.

Me with my beautifully decorated door.

Last day with the old district.