Hey
So yeah I guess it sounds like everyone is up in arms about the whole earthquake thing. Wasn't really that big of a deal for us, didn't even feel it in our area but I guess some did in other parts of the mission. My back bike tire had exploded and we were in a dept. store getting it fixed when we got the call from pres. telling us to stay away from the ocean since our island had a really big tsunami warning. We live on the 5th floor of our apt so no worries but we just housed closed to the apt in case we had to head back. One of the sisters in my district is actually from Sendai but she was able to get a hold of her family and everyone is safe and accounted for and no damage to their house so no worries but it took a few days until she could call them so it was scary for a bit and we did a fast but things all worked out.
So yeah it was an interesting week with all of the earthquake stuff. This week we had a lot of finding time. I mean honestly, I think we spent at least 4 to 6 hours a day doing finding but it payed off and we were able to find 7 new investigators. We had a few lessons but they were 30 min away and the only way to get there was to ride our bikes along the coast which we figured probably wasn't the best idea in the world due to the tsunami warning so we had to cancel a lot of our lessons this week. Also the Tachibana's got sick and ended up canceling their lesson too.
On Sunday we had a bit of a miracle and we had 4 people come to church. The Tachibana's ended up getting well again and all 3 of them were able to come to church. Also Hashimoto finally made it to church. After church he gave me a call and told me that he wants to start up the lessons again. Guess he has some friends up by the earthquake and it made him think a bit so it had a positive side for us also. He has some major problems but hopefully we can help him with it and he can get baptized in the next few weeks. We are going to try to set a date with him tomorrow.
Um well other than that not a lot really happened. Everyone is talking about the earthquake stuff so its a good way to start up contacts and get people thinking about their families and stuff. I am way glad that all the missionaries up there are safe and sound. Sounds like it was a pretty big one. This next coming week should be pretty good. We have a lot of lessons and will be pretty busy. Thanks for the email and I hope that you didn't worry about me too much.
Love you tons
Cam
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Hey
Well it was another great week with a lot of miracles.
Monday - We had a good prep. day. Not a lot of stuff really but when we went out and dendoed we were able to find 2 investigators. and also taught a lesson to an eternal investigators. that we will probably give a break for the next transfer. pretty good night.
Tuesday- Found out that me and Schramm were getting split up. My new comp. is Elder Moffatt he is a cool guy and is from Washington. I think that we will get along well this last transfer. We were suppose to have 2 appointments and both of them fell through which was disappointing but it worked out. We had English class that night which was pretty normal.
Wednesday - Most of this day was spent packing and visiting members. Later that night we had a lesson with the Tachibana family. We had decided to try to get the kids with a baptismal date because they seemed to be so interested in baptism. We both were pretty nervous and didn't want to come off pressuring them or anything but felt like it was the right thing to do and wanted to get a date for them. We taught about fasting and connected it to the Gift of the Holy Ghost and how it can guide us in our lives. We then committed the kids and they both said yes to a date. When we asked the mom if that was ok she said that she had been on facebook talking to her nephew and found out he was a member and he really gave a great testimony. She said she has been feeling that this church is the right one for her and said that she wanted to be baptized on that day too! They ended up not being able to do it on the day we committed them too and moved it to April 24 to get baptized as a family. Sadly, I probably won't be there but I don't care as long as they get baptized. The spirit was totally in the lesson and really strong. I was really nervous when I started the lesson but when I committed them to baptism it just felt like the right thing and I was able to do it really smoothly and it felt like the spirit guided everything I said. I really hope we can get them baptized soon. It was a great way to end the transfer.
Thursday - We got our new comps and spent most of the day planning. Did some finding but not a lot of luck
Friday - Had a member visit and lots of finding but not much luck again.
Sat - We were able to find one new investigator who actually did a home stay in Utah. She knows all about the church and we are hoping to get a few good lessons with her next week. We tried to do game night but only one member showed up this week. Better than last week where no one showed up but I don't know if we can keep doing it or not.
Sun - Good day at church. We had a really good day finding and were able to find 3 new investigators through housing which was a surprise. Turned out to be a really good day.
This transfer is starting off great and I am sure that we will see tons of miracles. I can already tell its going to go by fast because we have tons of meeting and events and good investigators to teach. Still can't believe that its my last transfer but I plan to work my hardest and see some miracles.
Love you all
Cam
Well it was another great week with a lot of miracles.
Monday - We had a good prep. day. Not a lot of stuff really but when we went out and dendoed we were able to find 2 investigators. and also taught a lesson to an eternal investigators. that we will probably give a break for the next transfer. pretty good night.
Tuesday- Found out that me and Schramm were getting split up. My new comp. is Elder Moffatt he is a cool guy and is from Washington. I think that we will get along well this last transfer. We were suppose to have 2 appointments and both of them fell through which was disappointing but it worked out. We had English class that night which was pretty normal.
Wednesday - Most of this day was spent packing and visiting members. Later that night we had a lesson with the Tachibana family. We had decided to try to get the kids with a baptismal date because they seemed to be so interested in baptism. We both were pretty nervous and didn't want to come off pressuring them or anything but felt like it was the right thing to do and wanted to get a date for them. We taught about fasting and connected it to the Gift of the Holy Ghost and how it can guide us in our lives. We then committed the kids and they both said yes to a date. When we asked the mom if that was ok she said that she had been on facebook talking to her nephew and found out he was a member and he really gave a great testimony. She said she has been feeling that this church is the right one for her and said that she wanted to be baptized on that day too! They ended up not being able to do it on the day we committed them too and moved it to April 24 to get baptized as a family. Sadly, I probably won't be there but I don't care as long as they get baptized. The spirit was totally in the lesson and really strong. I was really nervous when I started the lesson but when I committed them to baptism it just felt like the right thing and I was able to do it really smoothly and it felt like the spirit guided everything I said. I really hope we can get them baptized soon. It was a great way to end the transfer.
Thursday - We got our new comps and spent most of the day planning. Did some finding but not a lot of luck
Friday - Had a member visit and lots of finding but not much luck again.
Sat - We were able to find one new investigator who actually did a home stay in Utah. She knows all about the church and we are hoping to get a few good lessons with her next week. We tried to do game night but only one member showed up this week. Better than last week where no one showed up but I don't know if we can keep doing it or not.
Sun - Good day at church. We had a really good day finding and were able to find 3 new investigators through housing which was a surprise. Turned out to be a really good day.
This transfer is starting off great and I am sure that we will see tons of miracles. I can already tell its going to go by fast because we have tons of meeting and events and good investigators to teach. Still can't believe that its my last transfer but I plan to work my hardest and see some miracles.
Love you all
Cam
Monday, February 28, 2011
Hey
Sounds like everyone had a pretty busy week. We actually had a pretty busy week ourselves with lessons and things. I left my old planner at the apt. so I will try to remember as much as a I can from what happened this past week but it just went so fast.
Monday was a blast. We went out to eat with a bunch of Elders from our zone and started an exchange that night with the Zone leaders.
Tuesday - I was with one of the ZL's who actually served in Sumoto for around 3 transfers. We went around and visited some of his old investigators and stuff but didn't have a whole lot of luck getting any new lessons started. We had one recent convert who got sick and the branch made him dinner and asked us to take it so we did that and got him to bring his son (Not baptized) to english class.
Wednesday - We had district meeting and I had asked every companionship to prep a little thing and they all did a good job so I was pretty happy about that. We headed home pretty excited to teach a lesson to the Tachibana family but they ended up canceling on us which was a bit of a disappointment. We went out housing and were able to find 2 new investigators which was great. One of them met with missionaries quite awhile ago and even remembered some of the stuff they taught him including the word of wisdom. We are pretty excited to teach him.
Thursday - We had another exchange with the other elders in our district. I went to an area called miki and dendoed with Elder Hale. Really good missionary and we had alot of fun. They are in a really countryside area so we spent most of our time housing but were able to find one investigator which was nice.
Friday - We had a lesson with Hashimoto which we were excited about but it didn't go as well as we had hoped. He said that he just couldn't belive in Jesus christ and has his own personal god. Doesn't really seem to want to keep committments either so we might have to take a break with him for a bit which is a little disappointing. We did our weekly planning session and also took another dinner over to that recent convert.
Sat - It was a really great day. We went over to Hosoda (The lady we just baptized) house and had dinner with them. Her daughter has been a member for 10 years and is honestly one of the best members I have ever met and is trying super hard to share the gospel with her family. 10 years later a week ago we were able to baptize her mom and we had a celebration dinner with sushi and everything. It was really really good. She is already trying to spread the gospel to her other family members and brought her 17 year old nephew Ryo along too. We shared a message and did a small lesson with him but he doesn't really have the desire at the moment but hopefully we can see that change soon. It was alot of fun and we had a great time.
We did alot of finding after that but not alot of luck.
Sun - it was another great day. While earlier in the week the Tachibana's canceled on us they came as a family to church all 4 of them! It was really great to see them all there. The sons are already asking where they can get baptized we just have to get permission from the mom and set a date for them which hopefully we can do this coming week if they don't cancel. They seemed to have a really great time. Also the recent converts son also came to church so we had around 5 people there. We pretty much double the branch numbers this week so it felt really good. I had to give a talk which made me a bit nervous. I don't remember if I told you or not but in Sumoto since its really small they only have church for 2 hours and sacrament meeting is around 45 min. Since its short like that they only have one speaker that goes for 20 min or so. I got through it and last for 20 min.
After church while riding out to the area we were going to house we stopped one guy and he agreed to come to church. Went out housing in a neighboorhood for 2 1/2 hours with not a single ounce of luck then on the way home we found another investigator. Kind of interesting how missionary work goes sometimes but we were blessed and found 2 new people.
So it was another great week. I am way excited for this next transfer were are going to see some great miracles i am sure. Transfers are actually this week and sadly my comp. could end up transfering but we will see what happens. Kind of weird to think that I will be going on to my last transfer.
I am going to send the bap. pic in another email.
Thanks for everything, Love you tons
Cam
Sounds like everyone had a pretty busy week. We actually had a pretty busy week ourselves with lessons and things. I left my old planner at the apt. so I will try to remember as much as a I can from what happened this past week but it just went so fast.
Monday was a blast. We went out to eat with a bunch of Elders from our zone and started an exchange that night with the Zone leaders.
Tuesday - I was with one of the ZL's who actually served in Sumoto for around 3 transfers. We went around and visited some of his old investigators and stuff but didn't have a whole lot of luck getting any new lessons started. We had one recent convert who got sick and the branch made him dinner and asked us to take it so we did that and got him to bring his son (Not baptized) to english class.
Wednesday - We had district meeting and I had asked every companionship to prep a little thing and they all did a good job so I was pretty happy about that. We headed home pretty excited to teach a lesson to the Tachibana family but they ended up canceling on us which was a bit of a disappointment. We went out housing and were able to find 2 new investigators which was great. One of them met with missionaries quite awhile ago and even remembered some of the stuff they taught him including the word of wisdom. We are pretty excited to teach him.
Thursday - We had another exchange with the other elders in our district. I went to an area called miki and dendoed with Elder Hale. Really good missionary and we had alot of fun. They are in a really countryside area so we spent most of our time housing but were able to find one investigator which was nice.
Friday - We had a lesson with Hashimoto which we were excited about but it didn't go as well as we had hoped. He said that he just couldn't belive in Jesus christ and has his own personal god. Doesn't really seem to want to keep committments either so we might have to take a break with him for a bit which is a little disappointing. We did our weekly planning session and also took another dinner over to that recent convert.
Sat - It was a really great day. We went over to Hosoda (The lady we just baptized) house and had dinner with them. Her daughter has been a member for 10 years and is honestly one of the best members I have ever met and is trying super hard to share the gospel with her family. 10 years later a week ago we were able to baptize her mom and we had a celebration dinner with sushi and everything. It was really really good. She is already trying to spread the gospel to her other family members and brought her 17 year old nephew Ryo along too. We shared a message and did a small lesson with him but he doesn't really have the desire at the moment but hopefully we can see that change soon. It was alot of fun and we had a great time.
We did alot of finding after that but not alot of luck.
Sun - it was another great day. While earlier in the week the Tachibana's canceled on us they came as a family to church all 4 of them! It was really great to see them all there. The sons are already asking where they can get baptized we just have to get permission from the mom and set a date for them which hopefully we can do this coming week if they don't cancel. They seemed to have a really great time. Also the recent converts son also came to church so we had around 5 people there. We pretty much double the branch numbers this week so it felt really good. I had to give a talk which made me a bit nervous. I don't remember if I told you or not but in Sumoto since its really small they only have church for 2 hours and sacrament meeting is around 45 min. Since its short like that they only have one speaker that goes for 20 min or so. I got through it and last for 20 min.
After church while riding out to the area we were going to house we stopped one guy and he agreed to come to church. Went out housing in a neighboorhood for 2 1/2 hours with not a single ounce of luck then on the way home we found another investigator. Kind of interesting how missionary work goes sometimes but we were blessed and found 2 new people.
So it was another great week. I am way excited for this next transfer were are going to see some great miracles i am sure. Transfers are actually this week and sadly my comp. could end up transfering but we will see what happens. Kind of weird to think that I will be going on to my last transfer.
I am going to send the bap. pic in another email.
Thanks for everything, Love you tons
Cam
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Hey
It was a pretty good week for us.
Tuesday - We had zone conference which was great like always but what was kind of weird is that it was my last one. On a missionaries last conference they always give time at the end for all the returning missionaries to give their last testimony (dying testimony is what we call it) and most of my MTC district was there cept for Mcburney. It was way cool to hear everyone give their last testimony and the spirit was way strong. It was really weird to think that it was my turn because at every ZC you always see elders go up and give their testimonies and always think that that moment will never come but I guess that it did. Pretty crazy.
Wednesday - We had a pretty long day of housing without tons of luck but found one person which was nice. Afterwords we had a lesson with the tachibana family. The mom still feels like she is not sure about the church but said that if the kids want to get baptized she isn't going to stop them. The kids said they want to but we weren't able to get a date at the lesson but we are going to try again this coming week. Hopefully it goes pretty good.
Thursday - Kind of the same as the day before. Did some housing and found one new investigator. We taught Hashimoto which went alright. Turns out he found an old Bom in his storage and remembered that he use to be an investigator around 20 years ago and has been to church in Kobe. He still wants to get baptized but quiting smoking is really tough for him. We are trying to come up with different ways to help him quit. Other than that nothing is really holding him back.
Friday - We had a great baptism in Akashi. We went out and spent most of our time there. President and Sister Mcintyre came out which got all the members super excited. My comp. did the baptism but since sister Hosoda is pretty old (75) it was pretty hard to get her under and took around 4 tries but finally got her under the water. We were all pretty nervous but she got baptized in the end. He daugther was so happy to finally see her mom join the chruch after 10 years to the day she got baptized. Pretty special baptism. I forgot my camera today so I will try to get the pictures to you next week.
Sat. - We had a bunch of lessons but none of them really turned out to be anything special. We have gotten a bit tired of housing so we decided to go up to the castle and try to do some contacting up there. It will be really good in a few weeks when the cherry blosoms come out but it was pretty scarce and we didn't talk with alot of people but it was still pretty fun. Afterwrods we did some housing without much luck.
Sun. - We had one inv. come to church and later Kensho came to sunday school. Turns out he is going to be really busy and won't be able to continue investigating the church which is too bad. He had a bap. date but we are going to have to drop him now sadly. After church we worked hard but for some reason just couldn't seem to get any good contacts in.
So it was great week with an awesome baptism and ZC. Also I got the package thanks so much. You didn't have to give me so much money but thanks. I think I might buy a new camera before I head home they are pretty sweet out here.
Thank you so much for everything
Love you tons
Cam
It was a pretty good week for us.
Tuesday - We had zone conference which was great like always but what was kind of weird is that it was my last one. On a missionaries last conference they always give time at the end for all the returning missionaries to give their last testimony (dying testimony is what we call it) and most of my MTC district was there cept for Mcburney. It was way cool to hear everyone give their last testimony and the spirit was way strong. It was really weird to think that it was my turn because at every ZC you always see elders go up and give their testimonies and always think that that moment will never come but I guess that it did. Pretty crazy.
Wednesday - We had a pretty long day of housing without tons of luck but found one person which was nice. Afterwords we had a lesson with the tachibana family. The mom still feels like she is not sure about the church but said that if the kids want to get baptized she isn't going to stop them. The kids said they want to but we weren't able to get a date at the lesson but we are going to try again this coming week. Hopefully it goes pretty good.
Thursday - Kind of the same as the day before. Did some housing and found one new investigator. We taught Hashimoto which went alright. Turns out he found an old Bom in his storage and remembered that he use to be an investigator around 20 years ago and has been to church in Kobe. He still wants to get baptized but quiting smoking is really tough for him. We are trying to come up with different ways to help him quit. Other than that nothing is really holding him back.
Friday - We had a great baptism in Akashi. We went out and spent most of our time there. President and Sister Mcintyre came out which got all the members super excited. My comp. did the baptism but since sister Hosoda is pretty old (75) it was pretty hard to get her under and took around 4 tries but finally got her under the water. We were all pretty nervous but she got baptized in the end. He daugther was so happy to finally see her mom join the chruch after 10 years to the day she got baptized. Pretty special baptism. I forgot my camera today so I will try to get the pictures to you next week.
Sat. - We had a bunch of lessons but none of them really turned out to be anything special. We have gotten a bit tired of housing so we decided to go up to the castle and try to do some contacting up there. It will be really good in a few weeks when the cherry blosoms come out but it was pretty scarce and we didn't talk with alot of people but it was still pretty fun. Afterwrods we did some housing without much luck.
Sun. - We had one inv. come to church and later Kensho came to sunday school. Turns out he is going to be really busy and won't be able to continue investigating the church which is too bad. He had a bap. date but we are going to have to drop him now sadly. After church we worked hard but for some reason just couldn't seem to get any good contacts in.
So it was great week with an awesome baptism and ZC. Also I got the package thanks so much. You didn't have to give me so much money but thanks. I think I might buy a new camera before I head home they are pretty sweet out here.
Thank you so much for everything
Love you tons
Cam
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Hey
We had another good week out on the island.
So it was an interesting week. We had a really tough time at the start of the week. We spent tons of time out finding and finding and just couldn't seem to have any luck at all it was pretty frustrating. We had a lot of lessons fall through on us which made it a bit harder but the end of the week made up for it.
On Saturday we went to Kobe to meet Elder Cook of the 12. It was really amazing to meet another apostle. He talked about the importance of missions and really testified powerfully about it. The spirit was super strong. He also talked a lot about charity and loving people. It was a really good meeting and we even got to go up and shake his hand and introduce ourselves. It was pretty dang awesome. We are pretty luck to have visits from apostles and I think that everyone really felt the spirit and learned a lot.
Sunday was probably the busiest Sunday of my entire mission. We were at the church from 9 am to 6 pm. We had 5 people at church and taught them all lessons. One guy named Kensho Okabayashi came and after teaching him the restoration and doctrine of Christ he decided to make a goal to be baptized on the 19th of march. We met him around 2 or 3 weeks ago and exchanged numbers. I gave him a call a night before and he ended up coming to church. We are meeting him again this Tuesday and we have a lot of hope for him he should turn out to be a great investigator. We also had Hosoda's baptismal interview done and she passed so she will be baptized this coming Friday which is her daughters 10 year mark of being baptized. Its going to be a really special baptism for everyone.
We only had 8 members at church this week so with all of our investigators there we almost doubled it so it was pretty fun. We are really being blessed right now and I am way thankful to be here. I saw McBurney at the big mission meeting and we realized that the next time we would meet will be when we go home. Its pretty crazy. I can't believe that Trent will be home this week. Make sure you let him know I say Hi. Maybe I will write a letter or something.
After this we are going to go out for sushi for my birthday which should be pretty fun. I will take some pictures for you.
Thanks for everything
Love you tons
Cam
We had another good week out on the island.
So it was an interesting week. We had a really tough time at the start of the week. We spent tons of time out finding and finding and just couldn't seem to have any luck at all it was pretty frustrating. We had a lot of lessons fall through on us which made it a bit harder but the end of the week made up for it.
On Saturday we went to Kobe to meet Elder Cook of the 12. It was really amazing to meet another apostle. He talked about the importance of missions and really testified powerfully about it. The spirit was super strong. He also talked a lot about charity and loving people. It was a really good meeting and we even got to go up and shake his hand and introduce ourselves. It was pretty dang awesome. We are pretty luck to have visits from apostles and I think that everyone really felt the spirit and learned a lot.
Sunday was probably the busiest Sunday of my entire mission. We were at the church from 9 am to 6 pm. We had 5 people at church and taught them all lessons. One guy named Kensho Okabayashi came and after teaching him the restoration and doctrine of Christ he decided to make a goal to be baptized on the 19th of march. We met him around 2 or 3 weeks ago and exchanged numbers. I gave him a call a night before and he ended up coming to church. We are meeting him again this Tuesday and we have a lot of hope for him he should turn out to be a great investigator. We also had Hosoda's baptismal interview done and she passed so she will be baptized this coming Friday which is her daughters 10 year mark of being baptized. Its going to be a really special baptism for everyone.
We only had 8 members at church this week so with all of our investigators there we almost doubled it so it was pretty fun. We are really being blessed right now and I am way thankful to be here. I saw McBurney at the big mission meeting and we realized that the next time we would meet will be when we go home. Its pretty crazy. I can't believe that Trent will be home this week. Make sure you let him know I say Hi. Maybe I will write a letter or something.
After this we are going to go out for sushi for my birthday which should be pretty fun. I will take some pictures for you.
Thanks for everything
Love you tons
Cam
Monday, February 7, 2011
Well it was another pretty good week on the island. I am loving this area and am pretty glad I get to finish here.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we had an exchange with some of the elders in our district. It ended up being pretty fun. I went over to an area called Miki and had a good time there but we didn't have too much luck finding or teaching anyone. At their english class there was a member(Ami)who had just gotten back from her mission in Sapporo and turns out she knew Brandon. Said he was a way good missionary and was her Zl/DL at some point that he was a ton of fun. Man I swear the church in Japan is tiny.
On Wednesday night we had a lesson with our Yakusokusha Hashimoto and taught him about the Restoration which went really well. He still wants to be baptized and is trying his best to get ready.
Thursday we had another lesson with Hashimoto and taught tithing which went alright but he has some major concerns. He said that he wants to talk to a church member that has a family so he can get some advice on how they are able to support their family and pay tithing at the same time. He has a good relationship with the branch pres. so we are going to set that up for him. He hasn't said he wouldn't follow it yet just that it would be really hard and wants to talk to someone else about it.
We also had a lesson with another Yakusokusha Jindai. He hadn't been keeping any of his commitments and we asked him if he wanted to get baptized. He said no and then asked if he could leave so he ended up being a drop which was kind of disappointing. Hopefully we can help him get that desire and strengthen his faith over the next few weeks.
Friday - So we had one of the most memorable lessons of my mission this day. They have been teaching this guy named Johnny for the last 3 transfers or so maybe a bit longer he is Japanese but really likes English a lot and they always taught him in English. After doing one lesson with him where he refused to come to church and would only read a little out of the BOM I didn't have too great of an impression of him as an investigator. Also his teaching record pretty much says that's what he is like in all the lessons. We planned and decided if he doesn't accept the commitment to be baptized we were going to drop him. Before the lesson we had him read 3 Ne 11 which talks about baptism and the correct way and stuff. We read over it together with him and started talking about priesthood authority and the correct manner of baptism and stuff. He was actually baptized into the Greek orthodox church and has a bit of background there. Anyways, he said that it doesn't matter how you get baptized or by the right authority just as long as we follow christ. I agreed that we need to follow Christ and that its really important that we follow him but that Christ himself said in 3 ne 11 to be baptized by the right authority in the manner he taught. I felt like I had to correct him and not agree with the false doctrine. Yeah, he didn't like it to much... we started into a thing about authority and he said he believes the BOM to be the word of god and that Nephi got the priesthood but wasn't sure about Joseph Smith. We tried to use the logic that if the BOM is true then JS is a prophet but it took forever for him to figure it out. He then said the only way he would get baptized is if he went to SLC and got baptized by the prophet because only he has the authority. We tried to explain that we have it but he wouldn't listen. During all of this he was trying to prove us wrong using the BOM against us but it didn't work out too well for him. After that we explained to him that we couldn't keep meeting because we are too busy but if he would like to learn more he is more than welcome to come on Sundays or Tuesday nights to practice his English. He pretty much exploded on me after that one. Started yelling at me about how rude and unchrist like I was. How he hated my attitude and how I was threatening him with baptism and stuff. He kept on quoting the BOM about how contention is of the devil but he yelled and told me how much he disliked me for about 10 min. We had another appointment so we had to go but he refused to leave the church. He also asked for our mission homes number so he could complain. So we gave him that and opened the door to let him out which he still refused to leave. Finally after getting him out he said that he would be coming back the next week for another lesson and let me know how bad of a person he thought I was. Pretty crazy lesson. I think he was just using us for English and got upset when he lost that chance to practice. Also turns out I get a call from the Mission home this morning and he actually called and complained today. I guess he complained that we stopped meeting him because he didn't want to be baptized and talked about how bad I was. He only would speak in English when he called so they figured he was just using us for our English but called us to see what was going on anyways. We both laughed about it and I guess he even pulled out the scripture on how contention is of the devil and shared it with them while he was complaining about me and saying bad stuff.
Definatley a lesson I won't forget.
Sat. We worked way hard and were able to find 2 new investigators.
Sun - We finished up our lessons with Hosoda. She is pretty much ready to go on the 18th for baptism. Its really going to be great and everyone is really excited for her.
Also found a new investigator and did a few member visits
This next week is going to be pretty busy. We also have Elder Cook of the 12 coming to visit our mission so everyone is pretty excited about it. Should be alot of fun.
Thanks for everything
Love you tons
Cam
On Tuesday and Wednesday we had an exchange with some of the elders in our district. It ended up being pretty fun. I went over to an area called Miki and had a good time there but we didn't have too much luck finding or teaching anyone. At their english class there was a member(Ami)who had just gotten back from her mission in Sapporo and turns out she knew Brandon. Said he was a way good missionary and was her Zl/DL at some point that he was a ton of fun. Man I swear the church in Japan is tiny.
On Wednesday night we had a lesson with our Yakusokusha Hashimoto and taught him about the Restoration which went really well. He still wants to be baptized and is trying his best to get ready.
Thursday we had another lesson with Hashimoto and taught tithing which went alright but he has some major concerns. He said that he wants to talk to a church member that has a family so he can get some advice on how they are able to support their family and pay tithing at the same time. He has a good relationship with the branch pres. so we are going to set that up for him. He hasn't said he wouldn't follow it yet just that it would be really hard and wants to talk to someone else about it.
We also had a lesson with another Yakusokusha Jindai. He hadn't been keeping any of his commitments and we asked him if he wanted to get baptized. He said no and then asked if he could leave so he ended up being a drop which was kind of disappointing. Hopefully we can help him get that desire and strengthen his faith over the next few weeks.
Friday - So we had one of the most memorable lessons of my mission this day. They have been teaching this guy named Johnny for the last 3 transfers or so maybe a bit longer he is Japanese but really likes English a lot and they always taught him in English. After doing one lesson with him where he refused to come to church and would only read a little out of the BOM I didn't have too great of an impression of him as an investigator. Also his teaching record pretty much says that's what he is like in all the lessons. We planned and decided if he doesn't accept the commitment to be baptized we were going to drop him. Before the lesson we had him read 3 Ne 11 which talks about baptism and the correct way and stuff. We read over it together with him and started talking about priesthood authority and the correct manner of baptism and stuff. He was actually baptized into the Greek orthodox church and has a bit of background there. Anyways, he said that it doesn't matter how you get baptized or by the right authority just as long as we follow christ. I agreed that we need to follow Christ and that its really important that we follow him but that Christ himself said in 3 ne 11 to be baptized by the right authority in the manner he taught. I felt like I had to correct him and not agree with the false doctrine. Yeah, he didn't like it to much... we started into a thing about authority and he said he believes the BOM to be the word of god and that Nephi got the priesthood but wasn't sure about Joseph Smith. We tried to use the logic that if the BOM is true then JS is a prophet but it took forever for him to figure it out. He then said the only way he would get baptized is if he went to SLC and got baptized by the prophet because only he has the authority. We tried to explain that we have it but he wouldn't listen. During all of this he was trying to prove us wrong using the BOM against us but it didn't work out too well for him. After that we explained to him that we couldn't keep meeting because we are too busy but if he would like to learn more he is more than welcome to come on Sundays or Tuesday nights to practice his English. He pretty much exploded on me after that one. Started yelling at me about how rude and unchrist like I was. How he hated my attitude and how I was threatening him with baptism and stuff. He kept on quoting the BOM about how contention is of the devil but he yelled and told me how much he disliked me for about 10 min. We had another appointment so we had to go but he refused to leave the church. He also asked for our mission homes number so he could complain. So we gave him that and opened the door to let him out which he still refused to leave. Finally after getting him out he said that he would be coming back the next week for another lesson and let me know how bad of a person he thought I was. Pretty crazy lesson. I think he was just using us for English and got upset when he lost that chance to practice. Also turns out I get a call from the Mission home this morning and he actually called and complained today. I guess he complained that we stopped meeting him because he didn't want to be baptized and talked about how bad I was. He only would speak in English when he called so they figured he was just using us for our English but called us to see what was going on anyways. We both laughed about it and I guess he even pulled out the scripture on how contention is of the devil and shared it with them while he was complaining about me and saying bad stuff.
Definatley a lesson I won't forget.
Sat. We worked way hard and were able to find 2 new investigators.
Sun - We finished up our lessons with Hosoda. She is pretty much ready to go on the 18th for baptism. Its really going to be great and everyone is really excited for her.
Also found a new investigator and did a few member visits
This next week is going to be pretty busy. We also have Elder Cook of the 12 coming to visit our mission so everyone is pretty excited about it. Should be alot of fun.
Thanks for everything
Love you tons
Cam
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Hey
After prep. on Monday we had a lesson with a guy named Yamano. He is an older guy and has read the Bom all the way through. Problem is that he has no confidence in himself and doesn't really have the faith that he can be cleaned of his sins through baptism. It was a really sad lesson. No matter how much we testified to him about the atonement and promised/committed about baptism he just refused to go through with it. they have been teaching him for a little while but we decided it would be best to give him a break since he doesn't really seem like he is going anywhere.
Tuesday - We had lessons with our 2 investigators that have dates. The first one Jindai went alright. He has problems with commandments especially word of wisdom at the moment so we taught about why god has given us commandments and why we have the word of wisdom. He committed to try this week to stop drinking tea and coffee. He has a few mental problems (kind of what you would call slow i guess?) but hopefully he can cope with it and overcome his problems.
Our other investigator was with a man named Hashimoto. He really just wants to be cleaned of his sins and be baptized. He said that a bunch of times and we are helping him prepare for it. He is having a really tough time with some family issues and also smoking but is trying his best to stop. He looks pretty solid right now but might have a few problems with commandments we haven't taught yet but his desire is really strong so hopefully he can overcome those.
We also had Eikaiwa later that night which was pretty fun.
Wednesday - We had district meeting which went ok. Its a little different being DL again but fun. Turns out that alot of ZL's got released this transfer and put as DL's. About half of the ZL's were transferred and 5 were released McBurney was too and put as a DL in Osaka. I think pres. is just trying to prep the mission for when some of the older groups of missionaries go home. Anyways after DM my comp went on an exchange and I stayed with the ZL's for Leadership training. I got to have a temp. comp. that turned out to be Elder Novak who was in my MTC district. It was way fun catching up with him and talking to him about how his mission has been. Out of everyone that was in my MTC District he is the one that I haven't really had a chance to catch up with so it was a lot of fun. We were in Okayama for 3 days but it was a blast. Actually the place where Andrews dad served a mission. I took a pic outside of the mission home and you can send him a copy I am sure it will bring back some good memories for him.
Sat. - We got back to our area sat. morning and started working again. We were able to find 3 investigators and have one lesson with a new investigator named Sakamoto. We taught about the restoration and committed him to read the BOM. Looks like he could turn out to be a pretty good investigator.
Sun - We got a call earlier in the week from a member named Sister Hosoda. She has been a member for around 10 years and has been bringing her mom for quite awhile. Her mom hasn't been baptized but said she would once it warmed up. She had a goal for her to be baptized on the 18th of Feb. and asked for our help. We set up a lesson and taught her mom about temples and how it connects to baptism and how families can be together forever. She said she believed it all and accepted her daughters commitment to be baptized on the 18th. They are already planning the baptismal service and stuff so she looks really solid for that date. We are really excited and have a lot of support from the members. We should see her go through in a few weeks.
After church we went out housing and after an hour of nothing I figured I should say a quick prayer. After saying one, 2 doors later we found a really cool mom that had a lot of interest in families and how Christ can help her make her family stronger. Gave me a pretty good testimony boost of the power of prayer. Also on the way home we were able to find one more guy who is going to try to come to church in 2 weeks. Turned out to be a really good day.
Things are going really well and we are having a great time. I can't believe that we are already 2 weeks into the transfer it just seems to be flying by. We are seeing a lot of success and are really being blessed a lot and I can't wait to see what happens in the next few weeks.
Thanks for everything
Love you tons
Cam
After prep. on Monday we had a lesson with a guy named Yamano. He is an older guy and has read the Bom all the way through. Problem is that he has no confidence in himself and doesn't really have the faith that he can be cleaned of his sins through baptism. It was a really sad lesson. No matter how much we testified to him about the atonement and promised/committed about baptism he just refused to go through with it. they have been teaching him for a little while but we decided it would be best to give him a break since he doesn't really seem like he is going anywhere.
Tuesday - We had lessons with our 2 investigators that have dates. The first one Jindai went alright. He has problems with commandments especially word of wisdom at the moment so we taught about why god has given us commandments and why we have the word of wisdom. He committed to try this week to stop drinking tea and coffee. He has a few mental problems (kind of what you would call slow i guess?) but hopefully he can cope with it and overcome his problems.
Our other investigator was with a man named Hashimoto. He really just wants to be cleaned of his sins and be baptized. He said that a bunch of times and we are helping him prepare for it. He is having a really tough time with some family issues and also smoking but is trying his best to stop. He looks pretty solid right now but might have a few problems with commandments we haven't taught yet but his desire is really strong so hopefully he can overcome those.
We also had Eikaiwa later that night which was pretty fun.
Wednesday - We had district meeting which went ok. Its a little different being DL again but fun. Turns out that alot of ZL's got released this transfer and put as DL's. About half of the ZL's were transferred and 5 were released McBurney was too and put as a DL in Osaka. I think pres. is just trying to prep the mission for when some of the older groups of missionaries go home. Anyways after DM my comp went on an exchange and I stayed with the ZL's for Leadership training. I got to have a temp. comp. that turned out to be Elder Novak who was in my MTC district. It was way fun catching up with him and talking to him about how his mission has been. Out of everyone that was in my MTC District he is the one that I haven't really had a chance to catch up with so it was a lot of fun. We were in Okayama for 3 days but it was a blast. Actually the place where Andrews dad served a mission. I took a pic outside of the mission home and you can send him a copy I am sure it will bring back some good memories for him.
Sat. - We got back to our area sat. morning and started working again. We were able to find 3 investigators and have one lesson with a new investigator named Sakamoto. We taught about the restoration and committed him to read the BOM. Looks like he could turn out to be a pretty good investigator.
Sun - We got a call earlier in the week from a member named Sister Hosoda. She has been a member for around 10 years and has been bringing her mom for quite awhile. Her mom hasn't been baptized but said she would once it warmed up. She had a goal for her to be baptized on the 18th of Feb. and asked for our help. We set up a lesson and taught her mom about temples and how it connects to baptism and how families can be together forever. She said she believed it all and accepted her daughters commitment to be baptized on the 18th. They are already planning the baptismal service and stuff so she looks really solid for that date. We are really excited and have a lot of support from the members. We should see her go through in a few weeks.
After church we went out housing and after an hour of nothing I figured I should say a quick prayer. After saying one, 2 doors later we found a really cool mom that had a lot of interest in families and how Christ can help her make her family stronger. Gave me a pretty good testimony boost of the power of prayer. Also on the way home we were able to find one more guy who is going to try to come to church in 2 weeks. Turned out to be a really good day.
Things are going really well and we are having a great time. I can't believe that we are already 2 weeks into the transfer it just seems to be flying by. We are seeing a lot of success and are really being blessed a lot and I can't wait to see what happens in the next few weeks.
Thanks for everything
Love you tons
Cam
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Hey
Well, I am no longer in freezing Toyooka but ended up transferring. I am in an area called Sumoto which is a city on the island of Awajima. The Island is off of the coast of Akashi my 2nd area. Do you remember the pictures I sent of that giant bridge forever ago? Well that bridge goes to my area. We are the only missionaries on the entire island so its kind of a cool feeling. Its a way cool place and I am really loving it so far. It has recently been opened around 8 months ago so its still a pretty new area. The branch is really small this last Sunday we only had around 8 people there but they are really excited to have missionaries back after not having them for around 8 years and they are trying their best to help us as much as possible. My new comp. is Elder Schram he is from Midvale UT. He has been in Japan for around 6 months but his Japanese is way better than mine. His mom is Japanese and spoke it to him since he was little so he is way good. We have gotten along really well so far and are going to have a great transfer together. I am no longer a Zone Leader but am back to District Leader. It will be fun doing something different again and I feel like I can focus on the area's a little better as DL so it should be fun.
We have seen so many miracles so far just in the last few days its been way awesome. They had a really good transfer this past one and we have lots of people to teach which makes it really nice. We have been able to find around 4 investigators these past few days and hopefully we can get them to progress.
One of them was a way cool experience. We were out housing and this older lady came out of her house. She didn't say much to us but asked us to come inside, so we walked up to the door step and waited for a bit while she went and talked to someone. When she came back she invited us in and asked us to come into the family room where a man was sitting. He talked to us for a bit and it seemed like he had been or lived in Utah for a bit and knew a lot about it. He knew about the Book of Mormon and word of wisdom and stuff like that. He then told us that he knew he could trust us because we were Mormons and said he wanted to talk to us. He told us his life story about how he got addicted to gambling and pretty much lost his job, and soon will be losing his wife and kids. It was way sad. When he was finished he asked us if we thought that the gospel would help. We were pretty surprised and just testified really strongly about Christ and his atonement and baptism. The spirit was super strong and it totally guided our lesson. We committed him to baptism which he wasn't sure on but he accepted the Book of Mormon and agreed to pray about it. We are going to try to go back next Sunday and talk to him more about it. It was actually the first time on my mission I have ever been let into a house and been able to do a lesson so it was a great experience. The spirit totally guided us to him and helped us teach it was awesome.
We were also able to commit one of our investigators to baptism after church for the 12th of Feb. and he accepted. Right now we have 2 people with dates for the 12th so things are really picking up well. I am really excited to finish my mission here. Its pretty crazy to think that I am now on transfer 15, and that my next one will be my last. I am way excited to be here in Sumoto and can't wait to see what other miracles the Lord has in store for us this transfer.
Love you all tons
Cam
Well, I am no longer in freezing Toyooka but ended up transferring. I am in an area called Sumoto which is a city on the island of Awajima. The Island is off of the coast of Akashi my 2nd area. Do you remember the pictures I sent of that giant bridge forever ago? Well that bridge goes to my area. We are the only missionaries on the entire island so its kind of a cool feeling. Its a way cool place and I am really loving it so far. It has recently been opened around 8 months ago so its still a pretty new area. The branch is really small this last Sunday we only had around 8 people there but they are really excited to have missionaries back after not having them for around 8 years and they are trying their best to help us as much as possible. My new comp. is Elder Schram he is from Midvale UT. He has been in Japan for around 6 months but his Japanese is way better than mine. His mom is Japanese and spoke it to him since he was little so he is way good. We have gotten along really well so far and are going to have a great transfer together. I am no longer a Zone Leader but am back to District Leader. It will be fun doing something different again and I feel like I can focus on the area's a little better as DL so it should be fun.
We have seen so many miracles so far just in the last few days its been way awesome. They had a really good transfer this past one and we have lots of people to teach which makes it really nice. We have been able to find around 4 investigators these past few days and hopefully we can get them to progress.
One of them was a way cool experience. We were out housing and this older lady came out of her house. She didn't say much to us but asked us to come inside, so we walked up to the door step and waited for a bit while she went and talked to someone. When she came back she invited us in and asked us to come into the family room where a man was sitting. He talked to us for a bit and it seemed like he had been or lived in Utah for a bit and knew a lot about it. He knew about the Book of Mormon and word of wisdom and stuff like that. He then told us that he knew he could trust us because we were Mormons and said he wanted to talk to us. He told us his life story about how he got addicted to gambling and pretty much lost his job, and soon will be losing his wife and kids. It was way sad. When he was finished he asked us if we thought that the gospel would help. We were pretty surprised and just testified really strongly about Christ and his atonement and baptism. The spirit was super strong and it totally guided our lesson. We committed him to baptism which he wasn't sure on but he accepted the Book of Mormon and agreed to pray about it. We are going to try to go back next Sunday and talk to him more about it. It was actually the first time on my mission I have ever been let into a house and been able to do a lesson so it was a great experience. The spirit totally guided us to him and helped us teach it was awesome.
We were also able to commit one of our investigators to baptism after church for the 12th of Feb. and he accepted. Right now we have 2 people with dates for the 12th so things are really picking up well. I am really excited to finish my mission here. Its pretty crazy to think that I am now on transfer 15, and that my next one will be my last. I am way excited to be here in Sumoto and can't wait to see what other miracles the Lord has in store for us this transfer.
Love you all tons
Cam
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Hey
Well, I am sorry about last week. I actually caught the flu...yeah it wasn't too much fun. It took me 3 days to get over it probably the 3 most boring days of my entire mission but anyways I feel 100% fine now so no worries.
Well over the last 2 weeks we had a meetings and lots of different stuff going on.
We had an exchange with the AP's out in Kobe which ended up being a blast. I went with one of them for the first half of the day and while we were out streeting we found a couple that was super nice and fun to talk to. They didn't have any time to meet later that week so we decided to set one up for that night. I ended up going with the other Assistant for the appointment. It went super well and the lady said that she really wanted to be baptized and feel clean again and all this stuff. It was pretty great lesson except for when I committed them to be baptized the lady said she had one question. She then asked us why is Christianity against Gays and Lesbians because she was bisexual and wanted to know. Yeah I was pretty floored on the spot along with my comp. We explained the importance of families and why God has taught that to us. She still felt that it wasn't right but that it made sense. They were suppose to come to church this week hopefully they did. Since stuff like that in Japan is super taboo we were way surprised and on the way home we were talking about how there are alot of people who really need the gospel and stuff.
We were waiting for the bus when this old drunk as all get out old guy sees us and walks up and saw Elder Nielson (The assistant) and his name tag and then asked if we were Gods servants. We told him yes and then he decided to yell at the top of his lungs and tell everyone else around us. He saw that one guy standing behind us was looking at us kind of weird so he decided to get up in his face and tell him as loud as possible that he should respect us more because we are servants of God. We grabbed him and told him to leave the guy alone which he did. He then put his arms around us while talking about how great we are when he decided to take us out for Kobe Beef. We told him no and that we had to catch our bus when it pulled up. The bus was jammed pack full of people and we could barely step on. The buses here are a bit different and the entrance is in the back and we just stepped in and stood there cause it was way full. The guy followed us and stood in the entrance and kept the doors from shutting while yelling in to everyone in the bus that we were angels of god and to never forget it. The driver got up to get him off and he jumped off while yelling that we were servants/angels and to never forget..then the bus took off. We pretty much laughed the whole way home it was awesome. A pretty memorable night.
We took the branch president to a lesson with Kawami on sat. Kawami pretty much freaked out on us and yelled at us for 1 hour straight telling the branch president that we were too pushy and bad teachers and stuff. He was usually way nice but did a 180. Pretty much admitted that he had been lying to us the whole time and just wanted someone to talk to because he is inside taking care of his wife all day. So he is dropped which was pretty sad but oh well. We don't really have anyone to teach now so we need to do some finding.
After those few days we went to Kobe for ZLC which would have been fun but I had the Flu so it was pretty hard to concentrate and learn but it was good anyways. One thing pres. said was that in the next 3 transfers 3/4 of the ZL's will be going home so he will have to release some to be DL and trainers. I think it could happen to me so we will see what happens it would be way fun to be a normal missionary again but we will see what happens.
So for the next 3 days we just sat in the apt. while I was sick. I hadn't been that sick for a really long time threw up and everything but I got better so its all good now.
I had to go out to a place called Maizuru to do a baptismal interview which went great. She passed and was totally prepared and was baptized and confirmed yesterday.
After that we had to do an emergency exchange with one of the companionships. One of the elders has some major depression problems and they needed a switch so we ended up doing that. One of the elders and I have gotten to be really good friends so it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Later after switching our comps back we had a lesson with 2 high school kids. They both accepted a BOM and a baptismal date for 2/20 but wouldn't make a return apt. which was way disappointing we have their phone number and stuff but we will see what happens.
Kind of had some crazy stuff on Sunday too. So one thing that is a bit different about Japanese and American culture is that Japanese people take being sick WAY more seriously than we do. They freak out about a small cold and stuff like that and are really afraid of the flu. We had to cancel some appointments with members cause I was sick and they knew I had the flu. A few days later I got a call from one of the brothers saying that none of the sisters in the branch wanted me to come to church that week. He had lived in America for a year or so and understood the culture difference and told me that Japanese are way scared of the flu like some people think that they will die from it. He said he knew that it wasn't a big deal and to come to church anyways but had to show them that I was being careful not to spread it. So we didn't teach any of the classes and just sat in the back and I wore one of those stupid mask things that doctors wear in the hospital (They wear them all the time here in Japan) What made me really laugh though is that everyone except for 4 or 5 members came to church wearing those masks because of me. Also one girl sat in a different room and took the sacrament and then took off to take one of her tests for high school but wouldn't even come to the same room as me. Made me laugh pretty hard.
That was pretty much my last 2 weeks. I can't believe I will be going on to my 15th transfer this week its crazy (16 is the last one) I got all those letters this week thanks a ton they were great.
Love you tons
Cam
Well, I am sorry about last week. I actually caught the flu...yeah it wasn't too much fun. It took me 3 days to get over it probably the 3 most boring days of my entire mission but anyways I feel 100% fine now so no worries.
Well over the last 2 weeks we had a meetings and lots of different stuff going on.
We had an exchange with the AP's out in Kobe which ended up being a blast. I went with one of them for the first half of the day and while we were out streeting we found a couple that was super nice and fun to talk to. They didn't have any time to meet later that week so we decided to set one up for that night. I ended up going with the other Assistant for the appointment. It went super well and the lady said that she really wanted to be baptized and feel clean again and all this stuff. It was pretty great lesson except for when I committed them to be baptized the lady said she had one question. She then asked us why is Christianity against Gays and Lesbians because she was bisexual and wanted to know. Yeah I was pretty floored on the spot along with my comp. We explained the importance of families and why God has taught that to us. She still felt that it wasn't right but that it made sense. They were suppose to come to church this week hopefully they did. Since stuff like that in Japan is super taboo we were way surprised and on the way home we were talking about how there are alot of people who really need the gospel and stuff.
We were waiting for the bus when this old drunk as all get out old guy sees us and walks up and saw Elder Nielson (The assistant) and his name tag and then asked if we were Gods servants. We told him yes and then he decided to yell at the top of his lungs and tell everyone else around us. He saw that one guy standing behind us was looking at us kind of weird so he decided to get up in his face and tell him as loud as possible that he should respect us more because we are servants of God. We grabbed him and told him to leave the guy alone which he did. He then put his arms around us while talking about how great we are when he decided to take us out for Kobe Beef. We told him no and that we had to catch our bus when it pulled up. The bus was jammed pack full of people and we could barely step on. The buses here are a bit different and the entrance is in the back and we just stepped in and stood there cause it was way full. The guy followed us and stood in the entrance and kept the doors from shutting while yelling in to everyone in the bus that we were angels of god and to never forget it. The driver got up to get him off and he jumped off while yelling that we were servants/angels and to never forget..then the bus took off. We pretty much laughed the whole way home it was awesome. A pretty memorable night.
We took the branch president to a lesson with Kawami on sat. Kawami pretty much freaked out on us and yelled at us for 1 hour straight telling the branch president that we were too pushy and bad teachers and stuff. He was usually way nice but did a 180. Pretty much admitted that he had been lying to us the whole time and just wanted someone to talk to because he is inside taking care of his wife all day. So he is dropped which was pretty sad but oh well. We don't really have anyone to teach now so we need to do some finding.
After those few days we went to Kobe for ZLC which would have been fun but I had the Flu so it was pretty hard to concentrate and learn but it was good anyways. One thing pres. said was that in the next 3 transfers 3/4 of the ZL's will be going home so he will have to release some to be DL and trainers. I think it could happen to me so we will see what happens it would be way fun to be a normal missionary again but we will see what happens.
So for the next 3 days we just sat in the apt. while I was sick. I hadn't been that sick for a really long time threw up and everything but I got better so its all good now.
I had to go out to a place called Maizuru to do a baptismal interview which went great. She passed and was totally prepared and was baptized and confirmed yesterday.
After that we had to do an emergency exchange with one of the companionships. One of the elders has some major depression problems and they needed a switch so we ended up doing that. One of the elders and I have gotten to be really good friends so it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Later after switching our comps back we had a lesson with 2 high school kids. They both accepted a BOM and a baptismal date for 2/20 but wouldn't make a return apt. which was way disappointing we have their phone number and stuff but we will see what happens.
Kind of had some crazy stuff on Sunday too. So one thing that is a bit different about Japanese and American culture is that Japanese people take being sick WAY more seriously than we do. They freak out about a small cold and stuff like that and are really afraid of the flu. We had to cancel some appointments with members cause I was sick and they knew I had the flu. A few days later I got a call from one of the brothers saying that none of the sisters in the branch wanted me to come to church that week. He had lived in America for a year or so and understood the culture difference and told me that Japanese are way scared of the flu like some people think that they will die from it. He said he knew that it wasn't a big deal and to come to church anyways but had to show them that I was being careful not to spread it. So we didn't teach any of the classes and just sat in the back and I wore one of those stupid mask things that doctors wear in the hospital (They wear them all the time here in Japan) What made me really laugh though is that everyone except for 4 or 5 members came to church wearing those masks because of me. Also one girl sat in a different room and took the sacrament and then took off to take one of her tests for high school but wouldn't even come to the same room as me. Made me laugh pretty hard.
That was pretty much my last 2 weeks. I can't believe I will be going on to my 15th transfer this week its crazy (16 is the last one) I got all those letters this week thanks a ton they were great.
Love you tons
Cam
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Hey
Well, its 2011 isn't it crazy how fast its all flown by? I can't believe I went all of 2010 as a missionary it went by super fast. It was tons of fun talking to you all on Christmas day. I didn't really know what to talk about but it was a ton of fun.
So yeah we got a TON of snow. On Friday we woke up to around 8 inches of snow. We had an exchange planned that day and started off trying to ride our bikes in the snow. It just didn't work out so we headed back home and canceled the exchange and ended up walking around all day but I got some pictures and will send it to you. It ended up snowing for 2 more days and we got around a foot and a half but it rained right after so alot of it melted but its still pretty crazy. I am staying plenty warm though so don't worry.
It feels like I haven't emailed in forever and have a bunch of stuff to talk about. After the phone calls on christmas my comp was still feeling a bit sick so we didn't get to go out and do some of the fun stuff we had planned but its alright. We ended up having a lesson that night with an investigator and eating Japanese Okonomiyaki (nothing like it in the states) pretty much the most interesting Christmas dinner I have ever had but it was good. It was a little sad that no one celebrates it but a good thing at the same time because you don't get caught up in it all and its easy to forget about it. Way good Christmas though thanks so much for all the candy and presents.
During the rest of the week we didn't really have a ton of stuff going on. We had a LA call us and need help moving some stuff out of her old house. We thought it would be like a 3 hour job and it ended up taking up a ton of time so we spent a bunch of time doing that with her son. Her kids are not baptized so we are hoping that we can help them get baptized once the dad gets a better image of the missionaries and stuff.
We also had a few lessons here and there with Kawami. We were able to set a date with him for 2/13 to be baptized. Hopefully we can find ways to get him to church by then and get him baptized. He is a good guy and wants to be baptized he just has the problem with his wife being so sick and not being able to leave the little 2 room apt. they have.
We also had the sports mtg. which was tons of fun. The whole Kobe side came so around 100 missionaries. I didn't get to see everyone in my mtc group because some are out on the Hiroshima side but I got to talk to Akina and Bureger so it was pretty fun. I played soccer for a good hour or so and man I am feeling it now. It took a few hours to get to Ibaraki and back but it was fun playing sports and seeing my old area.
Man thats crazy to think that Brandon is back home. I would get letters from him usually twice a transfer. It was alot of fun hearing from him and I am excited to see him when i get back. Weird to think that Trent goes home next month and a few other guys too. Man its crazy. I was thinking the other day and I realized that my comp and I are the oldest companionship in the mission. (He is one older than me).
All the Christmas presents were awesome i loved them. I think I will probably gain some weight but oh well. Thanks it was a great Christmas
Love you tons thanks for everything
Cam
Well, its 2011 isn't it crazy how fast its all flown by? I can't believe I went all of 2010 as a missionary it went by super fast. It was tons of fun talking to you all on Christmas day. I didn't really know what to talk about but it was a ton of fun.
So yeah we got a TON of snow. On Friday we woke up to around 8 inches of snow. We had an exchange planned that day and started off trying to ride our bikes in the snow. It just didn't work out so we headed back home and canceled the exchange and ended up walking around all day but I got some pictures and will send it to you. It ended up snowing for 2 more days and we got around a foot and a half but it rained right after so alot of it melted but its still pretty crazy. I am staying plenty warm though so don't worry.
It feels like I haven't emailed in forever and have a bunch of stuff to talk about. After the phone calls on christmas my comp was still feeling a bit sick so we didn't get to go out and do some of the fun stuff we had planned but its alright. We ended up having a lesson that night with an investigator and eating Japanese Okonomiyaki (nothing like it in the states) pretty much the most interesting Christmas dinner I have ever had but it was good. It was a little sad that no one celebrates it but a good thing at the same time because you don't get caught up in it all and its easy to forget about it. Way good Christmas though thanks so much for all the candy and presents.
During the rest of the week we didn't really have a ton of stuff going on. We had a LA call us and need help moving some stuff out of her old house. We thought it would be like a 3 hour job and it ended up taking up a ton of time so we spent a bunch of time doing that with her son. Her kids are not baptized so we are hoping that we can help them get baptized once the dad gets a better image of the missionaries and stuff.
We also had a few lessons here and there with Kawami. We were able to set a date with him for 2/13 to be baptized. Hopefully we can find ways to get him to church by then and get him baptized. He is a good guy and wants to be baptized he just has the problem with his wife being so sick and not being able to leave the little 2 room apt. they have.
We also had the sports mtg. which was tons of fun. The whole Kobe side came so around 100 missionaries. I didn't get to see everyone in my mtc group because some are out on the Hiroshima side but I got to talk to Akina and Bureger so it was pretty fun. I played soccer for a good hour or so and man I am feeling it now. It took a few hours to get to Ibaraki and back but it was fun playing sports and seeing my old area.
Man thats crazy to think that Brandon is back home. I would get letters from him usually twice a transfer. It was alot of fun hearing from him and I am excited to see him when i get back. Weird to think that Trent goes home next month and a few other guys too. Man its crazy. I was thinking the other day and I realized that my comp and I are the oldest companionship in the mission. (He is one older than me).
All the Christmas presents were awesome i loved them. I think I will probably gain some weight but oh well. Thanks it was a great Christmas
Love you tons thanks for everything
Cam
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