Hey its great to hear from you.
Well I did transfer to a new area, I am in a place called Habikino its in Osaka about an hour away from where I was last transfer so not too far. Its one of if not the smallest area in the mission so we don't have to ride bikes that much which is nice. My new comp. is Elder Draper he is just going on to his 2nd transfer so I am still doing a bit of training with him. He is a cool guy.
I was really sad to leave Ibaraki, Akina has been one of my Fav. comps in the mission so far and Elder Murphy was awesome too. I heard from them yesterday and I guess some Part member mom showed up to church and asked them to baptize their 2 kids who are 8 and 10 in the next few weeks. Of course that happens right after I leave but I guess thats how it goes. Since we lost a lot of missionaries this last transfer all of the 4 man apts. went to 2 mans except for one that is a special assignment spanish speakers so the area got combined for the next few transfers. I will miss those guys but am excited to start here.
Anyways I got here on Thursday and we had a big planning session. After planning we went out to do some dendo and were able to find 2 people which was an exciting way to start the transfer off. My comp. is new so I have to do most of the talking but I was impressed with how well he could dendo still and how much faith he has. I think we will see some success this transfer hopefully.
Friday - We got stood up at an appointment but while we were waiting we talked to a few people and got 3 investigators right off the bat which was way cool. I will take one for 3 any day. We dendoed for the rest of the day and I unpacked my stuff.
Saturday it rained all day which was no fun. We were able to find one guy which was cool.
Sunday - We had one investigator come to church. His name is Hashimoto and it was his first time coming. He really had a good time and I think that he is our best bet for a baptism this transfer. He stayed for all 3 hours and we were able to make an appointment with him for Tuesday. We are going to try to nail down a solid date for baptism with him. Hopefully we can pull it off.
I also got to meet a lot of members. They were all pretty cool but I was impressed with the bishop. He really seems willing to work with us and wants to see some more baptisms in the area. The last 2 transfer they have had 1 each but one of them is already less active. We are planning on visiting him soon.
After church we headed out and found 2 more investigators which made 8 in 4 days, most I have found on my mission so far. We have 5 progressing too so I am pretty happy with how the area is doing I just hope that we can see some of them get baptized we will see what happens I guess.
So yeah Its a good area for the most part, Ibaraki had a lot better places to street but I am finding more people here which is awesome. I hope we can keep it up on this pace. Thank you for all of your prayers I can feel them out here.
Oh and for the package I was thinking about a few things. I am no longer district leader, Pres. said they were going to give me a break so i have a lot of free time at night now and want some more study stuff. Could I get a Kansai Ben book? I will get it passed by so I am good to have it. Also if you see a book on amazon or something that you think looks interesting or is suppose to be good to help study japanese grab one (Just one). I am really tired of studying the same stuff over and over. Make sure that it isn't a basic book because I have most of that down but if nothing looks interesting don't worry about it but i do want the kansai ben book if you can find one. (Mark or Dave do you have any suggestions?)
Also I sent you that list of music do you remember? Could I get one or 2 cd's please that are on the list. Thanks a ton. As for shoes I am ok if i need new ones i will buy them out here. i do want some new toothbrushes though that would be nice. Thats all I can think of thanks a ton
Love Cam
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Hey I am way sorry I have no time today to write a proper email. We had a sports meet today a lot of fun but we got back a bit late and don't have a lot of time.
I have been on my mission for around a year and 3 months now. I have around 10 months left and it seems like the closer it gets to the end the more and more I want to stay and am loving the work more each day. I have really had a lot of great experiences in Japan so far, from eating food that I didn't know what it was to getting lost in train stations and not being able to speak Japanese.
I have made a lot friends among missionaries and also the members here are great and alot of fun.
While I have had a lot of these experiences there is one thing that I have learned and that it is we will all receive happiness from the gospel. While the people in japan may be halfway across the world, with a culture completely opposite to ours back home we really are not that different. We have the same worries and problems which can be solved through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have seen it change my Investigators, Less Actives, Members, and myself. I know that through the gospel and this great work we truly can find lasting happiness for ourselves and our families.
We truly are all Gods children and we all have that same common trait among us. We can all benefit from the gospel in ways that can and surely will bless our lives. I love being able to go out on the streets and talk to people to tell them about our great message. I have learned that there really are people out here waiting for us, and I have been able to see quite a few miracles that I cannot deny that it was the Lords help. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of god. Joseph Smith was a prophet and truly did meet God the Father and the Son. I gained that witness through the Holy Ghost multiple times and I have seen others do the same. Christ did die for us because he loves us. Through him we can change if we are willing and can become clean again.
I am so thankful to be here in Japan sharing this message with the people. I have ten months left still and I can't wait to see what the lord has in store for me. Thank you all for your support it helps a lot.
Love
Elder Homer
I have been on my mission for around a year and 3 months now. I have around 10 months left and it seems like the closer it gets to the end the more and more I want to stay and am loving the work more each day. I have really had a lot of great experiences in Japan so far, from eating food that I didn't know what it was to getting lost in train stations and not being able to speak Japanese.
I have made a lot friends among missionaries and also the members here are great and alot of fun.
While I have had a lot of these experiences there is one thing that I have learned and that it is we will all receive happiness from the gospel. While the people in japan may be halfway across the world, with a culture completely opposite to ours back home we really are not that different. We have the same worries and problems which can be solved through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have seen it change my Investigators, Less Actives, Members, and myself. I know that through the gospel and this great work we truly can find lasting happiness for ourselves and our families.
We truly are all Gods children and we all have that same common trait among us. We can all benefit from the gospel in ways that can and surely will bless our lives. I love being able to go out on the streets and talk to people to tell them about our great message. I have learned that there really are people out here waiting for us, and I have been able to see quite a few miracles that I cannot deny that it was the Lords help. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of god. Joseph Smith was a prophet and truly did meet God the Father and the Son. I gained that witness through the Holy Ghost multiple times and I have seen others do the same. Christ did die for us because he loves us. Through him we can change if we are willing and can become clean again.
I am so thankful to be here in Japan sharing this message with the people. I have ten months left still and I can't wait to see what the lord has in store for me. Thank you all for your support it helps a lot.
Love
Elder Homer
Monday, June 14, 2010
Hey,
Hey how are you doing? Sounds like everyone back home is having a good time during the summer doing all sorts of fun things. Morgan with softball, EFY, and Art city days.
So this week wasn't quite as good as last week but still pretty good.
Monday night we were able to talk to a guy named Matsushima and he had heard of Mormons before. He tutors a guy who did a home stay in the US and stayed with a mormon family. He knew who we were and at first didn't seem to have much interest but after talking to him for a bit he warmed up to us and decided to meet again next monday (Today) at the closest Mcdonalds so that we could introduce our stuff to him. I really hope that he shows up tonight.
Tuesday - We were able to meet one of our new investigators that we met the last week. He was from China and we had high hopes for him but it turns out all he really wanted to do was to try to speak english. Both Japanese and English was really tough for him so we ended up talking to each other by writing Kanji back and forth which he could understand but it didn't work out too great. He said he didn't have interest besides english so we invited him to come to Eikaiwa and couldn't set up another appointment. We talked to alot of people but we just couldn't seem to get anyone to stick which was a little frustrating.
Wednesday - I had an exchange with Elder Murphy. It was really fun, we headed out to another college where we were suppose to meet a new investigator but he didn't show and wouldn't answer his phone. While he didn't show up we were able to find 2 more new people so that was good. Hopefully they will come to their appointments but we will have to see what happens with them. We headed back to the church and taught Eikaiwa which was pretty normal.
Thursday - We had interviews and District Meeting. My interview with Pres. went pretty well. 4 Transfers ago Ibaraki had 4 baptisms and the only one that is still around is one that moved to Takatsuki ward so Pres. is pretty worried about whats going on over here with the members and fellowshipping. Its been a major problem that we have had here trying to work with people who aren't too interested. It sounds like takatsuki and Ibaraki might merge into 1 area for 1 or 2 transfers while the missions merge. If it does happen it will be a little sad but we will see what happens. From what pres. told me I should expect to transfer out this coming week. He said he was going to put me in a place where I could see miracles so I am pretty excited. Who knows I could end up staying too so we will see what happens in the next week. After Interviews we had a bball night which ended up being pretty fun.
Friday - We worked all day but just had a day where we didn't have much luck and didn't find anyone.
Sat - I had another Kokan with Elder Kudo this time. It went alright we got stood up on another lesson and weren't able to find anyone.
Sunday - We had a mtg in the morning that is just starting up so that we can get some more communication with the members going. I just am afraid it took too long to get going and that we might be gone next transfer. No one came to church unfortunatly. Rainy season has started and it rained all day so we didn't have much luck dendoing.
So it was a pretty good week. We were able to find 3 more people but not as many lessons as I was hoping for. We just seem to be having a problem getting people to stick. My good friend Elder Mcburney had a baptism this last week which was pretty cool. It sounds like things are going pretty well for him.
Anyways say hi to everyone for me, Thanks for everything
Love you
Cam
Hey how are you doing? Sounds like everyone back home is having a good time during the summer doing all sorts of fun things. Morgan with softball, EFY, and Art city days.
So this week wasn't quite as good as last week but still pretty good.
Monday night we were able to talk to a guy named Matsushima and he had heard of Mormons before. He tutors a guy who did a home stay in the US and stayed with a mormon family. He knew who we were and at first didn't seem to have much interest but after talking to him for a bit he warmed up to us and decided to meet again next monday (Today) at the closest Mcdonalds so that we could introduce our stuff to him. I really hope that he shows up tonight.
Tuesday - We were able to meet one of our new investigators that we met the last week. He was from China and we had high hopes for him but it turns out all he really wanted to do was to try to speak english. Both Japanese and English was really tough for him so we ended up talking to each other by writing Kanji back and forth which he could understand but it didn't work out too great. He said he didn't have interest besides english so we invited him to come to Eikaiwa and couldn't set up another appointment. We talked to alot of people but we just couldn't seem to get anyone to stick which was a little frustrating.
Wednesday - I had an exchange with Elder Murphy. It was really fun, we headed out to another college where we were suppose to meet a new investigator but he didn't show and wouldn't answer his phone. While he didn't show up we were able to find 2 more new people so that was good. Hopefully they will come to their appointments but we will have to see what happens with them. We headed back to the church and taught Eikaiwa which was pretty normal.
Thursday - We had interviews and District Meeting. My interview with Pres. went pretty well. 4 Transfers ago Ibaraki had 4 baptisms and the only one that is still around is one that moved to Takatsuki ward so Pres. is pretty worried about whats going on over here with the members and fellowshipping. Its been a major problem that we have had here trying to work with people who aren't too interested. It sounds like takatsuki and Ibaraki might merge into 1 area for 1 or 2 transfers while the missions merge. If it does happen it will be a little sad but we will see what happens. From what pres. told me I should expect to transfer out this coming week. He said he was going to put me in a place where I could see miracles so I am pretty excited. Who knows I could end up staying too so we will see what happens in the next week. After Interviews we had a bball night which ended up being pretty fun.
Friday - We worked all day but just had a day where we didn't have much luck and didn't find anyone.
Sat - I had another Kokan with Elder Kudo this time. It went alright we got stood up on another lesson and weren't able to find anyone.
Sunday - We had a mtg in the morning that is just starting up so that we can get some more communication with the members going. I just am afraid it took too long to get going and that we might be gone next transfer. No one came to church unfortunatly. Rainy season has started and it rained all day so we didn't have much luck dendoing.
So it was a pretty good week. We were able to find 3 more people but not as many lessons as I was hoping for. We just seem to be having a problem getting people to stick. My good friend Elder Mcburney had a baptism this last week which was pretty cool. It sounds like things are going pretty well for him.
Anyways say hi to everyone for me, Thanks for everything
Love you
Cam
Monday, June 7, 2010
Hey
Well, it sounds like everyone had a really good week. Morgan had a softball game that actually had a hit in it? Sounds like big news. Sounds like everyone is staying busy and having fun back home. Is it as hot out there as it is back here?
Anyways we had a good week this week.
Tuesday -
We just went out and dendoed but didn't have much luck.
Wednesday -
We had District mtg. in the morning which went pretty well we had a good time. Afterwords there is usually this hamburger place that we go to that has really good burgers but its really expensive so we decided to try to make our own this week. We bought all the hamburger and toppings and headed home and made our own. Man they were way good and only cost around 5 bucks. Ton of fun. After words we did some streeting then had Eikaiwa.
We have had this new lady come to Eikaiwa for the last 3 or 4 weeks and every time she comes she brings a new friend and she did the same thing this week. Its way cool and is really making our Eikaiwa a lot stronger now so its a little exciting considering most Eikaiwas I have been to just have old people who have been coming for 5 plus years or so.
Thursday -
We had a Split with Elder Monson. He is a new AP and is actually Elder Akina's trainer. He is a really really great missionary and we decided to take him out to a really big college area. We ate lunch out there (All you can eat Indian curry) and started to street. By the time we were done we were able to find 2 people and set up appointments. We came back and ate dinner and headed back out again to find 2 more investigators. I was really impressed and felt like it really wasn't that hard. We just needed to talk to more people and Elder Monson really kind of showed us new ways to dendo and got us really pumped up. 4 investigators in one day was the most I had ever found in one day so we were pretty excited.
Friday -
We woke up in the morning and realized we were out of TP so before study we went out to grab some. We walked out of the apt and started to get on our bikes but we couldn't find Elder Akina's bike. After looking around the area for a bit (theres a ton of bikes) we realized it had been stolen overnight. I was pretty lucky considering mine was right next to his unlocked. After study we had to go to the police station and report it which took forever and ended up renting him a bike so we could get around. We headed out to a far place called kamishinjo and streeted out there. After talking to alot of people the last guy we contacted ended up becoming an investigator. He is from China and we will be teaching him tomorrow hopefully he shows up. Elder Monson and the Takatsuki Elders did a split and they also ended up finding 4 new investigators.
Sat - We were invited to go to an ice cream party with the primary in the morning and answer their questions they had prepped to ask us before hand. Things like whats your fav. food, stuff like that. It was a lot of fun and a lot of them were really funny. We did a little lesson with them afterwords and finished up. Afterwords we went out with our ward mission leader to hand out fliers at the train station. As we were handing them out 2 older ladies came up and started talking to us in english. Turns out they have interest and we were able to set up an appointment with them in a few weeks. I hope they come they seemed to have a lot of interest.
Sun -
After I got out of my Ward missionary meeting a member came up to me and said 'Elder Homer I have something for you and I think your going to be really surprised' He walked me down the hall towards one of the rooms and when I walked in I saw Brother Deardon! Man, I was blown out of the water. To tell you the truth I thought something might happen because you asked me that stuff last week but still I was way surprised. It was really great to see them all. Sister Dearden is still funny as ever and gave me a great big hug from you. We got a picture together (Of course Sister Dearden and I have our eyes closed) out in front of the church. Mine didn't turn out too well so you will have to get one of the ones they took. They went to the other wards sacrament meeting and then had to leave a little early to get to Nara on time. It was awesome seeing them and really fun.
After church we ended up going to a members house for a FHE with some of the widow sisters in the ward. There is this one old lady that is 81 but the most energetic, funniest lady I have ever met in Japan. She had everyone go around the room telling her when we thought she was going to die and stuff. Man it was funny. After dinner we went out and did some dendo but were not able to find anyone.
At then end of the week we were able to find 7 new people to teach, the most I have ever found in one week. We were pretty happy and can't wait to see how many more we can find this coming week.
So it was a great week. As a zone we were able to find 49 new people and as a mission over 200 when our goal is around 125 a week. Everyone is really excited and trying hard. Hopefully we can keep it up like this every single week because I don't see why we can't. This next coming week is going to be busy with new people to teach and dendo time. Everyone is excited to get going and its really great. Oh and I also got your package this week. Thanks a ton everything was really great. Its weird to think that this next week I am going to be in Japan for 1 year. Its gone by really fast and keeps going faster and faster.
One thing I was hoping I could get from you would be the Norway mission homes adress. I don't know how they do it out there but if i could get the address so I could just send it there then they forward it to burns and drew and spence I would love it. If you could get that for me it would be great.
Thanks a ton
Love you
Cam
Well, it sounds like everyone had a really good week. Morgan had a softball game that actually had a hit in it? Sounds like big news. Sounds like everyone is staying busy and having fun back home. Is it as hot out there as it is back here?
Anyways we had a good week this week.
Tuesday -
We just went out and dendoed but didn't have much luck.
Wednesday -
We had District mtg. in the morning which went pretty well we had a good time. Afterwords there is usually this hamburger place that we go to that has really good burgers but its really expensive so we decided to try to make our own this week. We bought all the hamburger and toppings and headed home and made our own. Man they were way good and only cost around 5 bucks. Ton of fun. After words we did some streeting then had Eikaiwa.
We have had this new lady come to Eikaiwa for the last 3 or 4 weeks and every time she comes she brings a new friend and she did the same thing this week. Its way cool and is really making our Eikaiwa a lot stronger now so its a little exciting considering most Eikaiwas I have been to just have old people who have been coming for 5 plus years or so.
Thursday -
We had a Split with Elder Monson. He is a new AP and is actually Elder Akina's trainer. He is a really really great missionary and we decided to take him out to a really big college area. We ate lunch out there (All you can eat Indian curry) and started to street. By the time we were done we were able to find 2 people and set up appointments. We came back and ate dinner and headed back out again to find 2 more investigators. I was really impressed and felt like it really wasn't that hard. We just needed to talk to more people and Elder Monson really kind of showed us new ways to dendo and got us really pumped up. 4 investigators in one day was the most I had ever found in one day so we were pretty excited.
Friday -
We woke up in the morning and realized we were out of TP so before study we went out to grab some. We walked out of the apt and started to get on our bikes but we couldn't find Elder Akina's bike. After looking around the area for a bit (theres a ton of bikes) we realized it had been stolen overnight. I was pretty lucky considering mine was right next to his unlocked. After study we had to go to the police station and report it which took forever and ended up renting him a bike so we could get around. We headed out to a far place called kamishinjo and streeted out there. After talking to alot of people the last guy we contacted ended up becoming an investigator. He is from China and we will be teaching him tomorrow hopefully he shows up. Elder Monson and the Takatsuki Elders did a split and they also ended up finding 4 new investigators.
Sat - We were invited to go to an ice cream party with the primary in the morning and answer their questions they had prepped to ask us before hand. Things like whats your fav. food, stuff like that. It was a lot of fun and a lot of them were really funny. We did a little lesson with them afterwords and finished up. Afterwords we went out with our ward mission leader to hand out fliers at the train station. As we were handing them out 2 older ladies came up and started talking to us in english. Turns out they have interest and we were able to set up an appointment with them in a few weeks. I hope they come they seemed to have a lot of interest.
Sun -
After I got out of my Ward missionary meeting a member came up to me and said 'Elder Homer I have something for you and I think your going to be really surprised' He walked me down the hall towards one of the rooms and when I walked in I saw Brother Deardon! Man, I was blown out of the water. To tell you the truth I thought something might happen because you asked me that stuff last week but still I was way surprised. It was really great to see them all. Sister Dearden is still funny as ever and gave me a great big hug from you. We got a picture together (Of course Sister Dearden and I have our eyes closed) out in front of the church. Mine didn't turn out too well so you will have to get one of the ones they took. They went to the other wards sacrament meeting and then had to leave a little early to get to Nara on time. It was awesome seeing them and really fun.
After church we ended up going to a members house for a FHE with some of the widow sisters in the ward. There is this one old lady that is 81 but the most energetic, funniest lady I have ever met in Japan. She had everyone go around the room telling her when we thought she was going to die and stuff. Man it was funny. After dinner we went out and did some dendo but were not able to find anyone.
At then end of the week we were able to find 7 new people to teach, the most I have ever found in one week. We were pretty happy and can't wait to see how many more we can find this coming week.
So it was a great week. As a zone we were able to find 49 new people and as a mission over 200 when our goal is around 125 a week. Everyone is really excited and trying hard. Hopefully we can keep it up like this every single week because I don't see why we can't. This next coming week is going to be busy with new people to teach and dendo time. Everyone is excited to get going and its really great. Oh and I also got your package this week. Thanks a ton everything was really great. Its weird to think that this next week I am going to be in Japan for 1 year. Its gone by really fast and keeps going faster and faster.
One thing I was hoping I could get from you would be the Norway mission homes adress. I don't know how they do it out there but if i could get the address so I could just send it there then they forward it to burns and drew and spence I would love it. If you could get that for me it would be great.
Thanks a ton
Love you
Cam
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