こんにちは! お元気ですか? 引越したいですか？

This week.... we didn't do much. It started to get REALLY hot here. 
It reached 30 and 31 degrees. I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit, but it feels hot! And the humidity is SO strong. The sweat is just dripping off. Or is it rain? Because it's also the rainy season in Japan. America doesn't have a rainy season, but just imagine rain, everyday, for like a month. My rain suit needs to be re-water proofed. Luckily I found some stuff in the apartment.

Oh, and I did get the package last week. Thank you! The PayDays are all gone, and the granola bars are also gone. This month we didn't really keep track of money that well. We get more money on the 1st, but until then we have to scrimp and save. For food today we are going to just buy veggies. We have food in the apartment, but we don't know if it will make a meal. But I think we can do it if we have veggies. I have enough money this month, but my poor bean-chan has no money. For the 1st transfer in the field the mission office took about a hundred dollars out for her helmet, futon sheets, etc.

Yeah, and this month we got a hair cut, and went to the temple. Money is super yabai.

Okay, Japanese lesson 42. Bean-chan. New missionaries are lovingly called green beans. They're a little green around the edges... yep.

-chan is a suffix to show affection, usually used for friends and children. For example, Liu Shimai's 1.5 year old boy is called See You - kun. The kun is like chan but for boys. Anyway, that's why my new missionary is called a green bean, or bean-chan. Next, yabai.

See the end of the previous paragraph. This is not a word you would say in front of the bishop, but it's not a bad word. It means that something is on the verge of being scary/dangerous/something bad. As you can see, there is no word for it in English. For example, I got a mosquito bite on my left hand. Japanese mosquitoes are super mosquitoes. Or maybe I'm just way more delicious than all the Japanese people around me. I am like insect repellent for my companion. Well, today I forgot my anti-itch stuff. Yabai!

My companion made me pizza this week. That was nice, except it was JAPANESE pizza. That means it had corn on it, used ketchup instead of pizza sauce, and had tuna on it. GROSS. Okay, actually it was okay, but it was not my idea of pizza. I thought I took a picture of it, but I don't know where the picture went. Can I have a 5 dollar pizza when I come home? A nice pepperoni, or one with real veggies (not corn) on it?

Her other recipes are tasty. Look up yaki-soba. Or somen. Then we have something we call Saijo Special, because it is made with spices someone left in the apartment. We fry some veggies, then add soy sauce, and mirin (which is sweetened vinegar), and chicken bone soup powder. If we feel daring, we add some Chinese Fire Sauce, which is SUPER spicy. Jay, you might like it. We then eat Saijo Special with rice. Yummy!

Well, now that everyone got baptized, we don't have any investigators.  We meet people on the street, and pass out information or a Book of Mormon, but they don't quite become investigators. I guess it's only a matter of time.

Well, I'll try to go do something fun this week. We arranged for a service project on Thursday to go rip the mold paper off the wall.  It's impossible to clean it. Japanese people's walls are all papered.  They don't paint. My companion was confused and asked, 'why do you paint the wall?' Anyway, we're going to strip the two front rooms.

We saw a real change in the mom this past week when we came back a week after the service. She wants to teach her children to pray.  Then she wants them to get baptized when they are 8. We told her that first they need to come to church. One step at a time.

This service project this week is for the missionaries and the Young Single Adults in the area. We don't want the old ladies with their own families to see the house. The mom will be too embarrassed, but it's low stress when young people come over.

Well, until next week.

Okay, just one picture this week. My battery died so I didn't take many pictures. This is Liu Shimai, and her year and a half year old son, Seeyou. Yes, it looks like see you, but it's "seih yuu". Ha ha.
Anyway, he is the hardest child to get into nursery. We had to ask one of the members to watch him in the nursery room so Liu Shimai could get the gift of the Holy Ghost. You could still faintly hear the screams through the prayer. Then on the train ride back home, he cried every time the doors opened. There are about 7 stops between the church and Liu Shimai's train station. He may be a year and a half, but he knows that when the train stops he can get off. He really doesn't like the train. Recently they shaved his head. His head is HUGE! Everyone wanted to rub his head, but I don't think he liked that. It was just great to see Liu Shimai, who would go through all the pain just to come to church. Yeah, she's doing great.

私は日本人ですよ。

So this past week was go go go go go go. Thursday was zone conference, again. Well, because Elder Aoyagi Choro came last week, the Mission President didn't have time to do interviews, so he had to come all over again. Then we did companion exchanges, and I got to be companions with Nakano Shimai for the 4th or 5th time. We are always working next to each other. We just keep following each other around.

We continued to clean up the mold on Friday. Crazy mold. We couldn't get it all. But at least we emptied the room and sprayed it with bleach. This less active's commitment (as a missionary we always have to leave a commitment behind) was to wipe down the walls after 5 hours. Then spray it all again with bleach. Like I said I'm just worried for the two little girl's health.

Saturday we went to the temple with the ward. Our recent convert, Nishiyama Shimai, went and got baptized for ancestors that died without the opportunity. As with everything with her, you just kinda have to hold her hand and push her every step of the way. I wonder who will do that when I'm gone. We'll be doing Family Home Evening with her this evening and we're working on getting her to talk to her hometeachers and make that contact. I think she'll be fine. 

Then we did an endowment session of our own, and then I got to see the sealing of the Son Family. The Son family is Chinese, but have been in Japan for over 10 years. They met the missionaries and got baptized a little over a year ago. Now they were sealed in God's temple as a family for time and all eternity. After the ceremony, you know how the groom is supposed to kiss the bride? Well, in China that is super awkward.

Like really not done. They don't even hold hands or anything. I think it was most embarrassing for the wife. Then they brought in their two little girls, 6 and 4, and were sealed as a family. Cute!

Don't worry, my desire to get married isn't any stronger, but my desire to have cute little kids is stronger. (Editor's note, not sure that is at all reassuring....)  During all of this, Nishiyama Shimai was in the waiting room holding a 4 month old baby girl so the mom could go in the temple. Nishiyama Shimai probably thought that was better than doing proxy baptisms.

We got home around 9 at night, then left again in the morning before 8 to get to church. I somehow managed to hand make a book cover for a Chinese Book of Mormon to give to Liu Shimai at her baptism. There was no stress there at all for me. Well, except that they had to dunk her 3 times to make sure all of her hair and stuff got into the water.

The priesthood holder doing the baptizing was Son Kyodai (see the eternal family in the above paragraph). This was his first time, and he forgot the Amen part at the end. Twice. Oops. Liu Shimai's testimony made the bishop cry. After the service the members came up to me at said congratulations. Now they see why sisters are in the middle of nowhere Saijo. But honestly it wasn't me. I didn't do a thing but tell them what God's commandments were. They did the following part. It was very very cool. Liu Shimai got flowers and said that she was happier than she was at her wedding ceremony.

Training a bean-chan (new missionary) is hard work! But just a few weeks ago the church came out with an in-field training program for new missionaries. This paper tells me what to study, and when, and we watch parts of a movie, where real missionaries teach real investigators. That's her favorite part.

I was kinda having a hard time until I realized, wait, she is shy.  It hit me all at once. President says not to push it or anything, that it will come naturally. Just by being around me she will naturally become more outgoing. I've never been shy in my entire life. Ever.

Have I? I have no problem standing in front of people and talking.

These were never any problem for me. Poor bean-chan. I make her happy by using her name kanji (which is super hard) and letting her wash my dishes. Her hobby is cleaning. Too bad she has a mold allergy. Ha ha.

Well, I want to send pictures. Then the people at this community center place where we are doing email want me to check her English on something. Ha ha.

Sister Lemmon

Liu Shimai's baptism.  Mom, as per your request, this is the normal face pictures.  But don't worry, I also have the funny face picture.

Son Family as an eternal family

MOLD - the BEFORE shot. Zooming in is highly recommended. Mom, be careful! Who knew that mold came in so many different varieties.  Brown, black, navy blue, etc. Don't worry, we wore a mask and plastic gloves as we cleaned.

 

MOLD - the AFTER shot.  Still not done, but see the before shot below.

Saijo Saijyo Saijyou (It's all the same)

It seems that the Lord is planning my life for me after my mission.
After my roommate proposal from Meg, I just had to secure a job for the Fall. Well, I got an email from Daryl, my old boss, who cracked into the MTC system and figured out my email address. Okay, it's not that hard. It's my name. Ha ha. Of course the MTC department has changed since I was there last. He is the manager of IT Governance, which is more like product control. I'm just glad I don't have to answer the phone and solve people's problems. That is literally the bottom of the line of fun. Daryl was a ton of fun and the best boss I've ever had. The team is me and Bryan (the guy I interviewed, hired, and trained as a replacement for my position when I left). I had to laugh at that. There is one other girl there now that is graduating. I'm really excited. So, yep, I think that's my whole life for the Fall figured out. Dad, have you signed me up for classes yet? Jay, are you going to buy me a computer like I heard you might?

John, after you get unflooded from your apartment, do you think you'll have money to buy me a iPhone. Pweeeeeese? Remember, this is Christmas. Ha ha. I'll be sure to get you a really good present for Christmas.

The highlight of this week was helping a Less Active clean her house.

My last companion kinda talked to her, and she said that she might need some help cleaning. Well, with transfers we couldn't quite do it until this last week. Every time we visited the apartment we could smell... something. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. She lives in a danchi, which is a Japanese ghetto, only nicer. Well, at least all the other ones I've seen are nicer. This one was a little sketchy. They lived on the bottom floor. The less active is a mom with two girls, 5 and 3. The dad is almost never home. And when he does come home, he's drunk.

Well, to get to the point of this story, there is a mold problem.

Ever since the family moved in 6 years ago, the front two rooms kinda smelled like mold so they don't use it. The rooms just became trash rooms. Literally. We said we would like to help her, and she said that she would like us to break down the boxes in one of the front rooms. The boxes were empty, and literally packed to the ceiling. I don't think the mom has stepped into that room for years. As we started breaking down the boxes, we dug deeper and deeper into the room. The boxes started getting softer and softer, then they started turning black from mold. It was so gross. So gross! My companion turns out to have an allergy to mold, and her head started hurting.

It hurt for the rest of the day. Once we got into the room, it was so bad. My socks turned black. There was this one cardboard box in the corner that disintegrated when I picked it up. Seriously. But we got all the trash into trash bags, all the boxes wrapped together for disposal, and the room was empty. There was a few things she wanted to save, and we put those into the closet in the room, which magically didn't have a mold problem. The room was totally empty. Except for the black mold growing on the walls. Then we had to put all the trash (at least now they were in trash bags) back into the room because it wasn't trash day.

Now here is the real kicker. She will probably never throw out the trash. First of all, she doesn't know how to clean. coughJaycough.

Second, there are about 20 bags of trash and it won't all fit in the little dumpster that apartment uses. The mess was, of course, not just in that room, though it was the worst. I snapped a picture of her gas stove for cooking when she wasn't looking. It broke a while ago, and she had a new stove in a moldy cardboard box in the trash room that we found. We hooked up the new stove for her. The new one really is brand new. Good. The rest of her house is small pathways to walk between important things like the bathroom and TV. The rest is just piled towers of things in plastic bags. I have no idea what all that is.

The ward wants us to continue to visit her, so I plan on cleaning one room every time we visit. Haha. My companion will have to live with her mold allergy as we scrap the walls. Maybe then the husband won't be against the church and then she can come to church.

Liu Shimai is doing great, and will get baptized this Sunday. She said things like 'why did I find this church earlier?'. Her faith is super strong. She has always believed in God, and when she first came to Japan she learned about Jesus Christ, and believe in him. She just couldn't find a good church. Well, how about the restored church that Jesus Christ established? Her faith is so strong. She is Chinese, but her Japanese is great, so the lessons are in Japanese. Though she prays in Chinese. I have no idea what she is saying. I think Chinese sounds like mumbles. I can't even make some of those sounds! Her name is Liu Chang, but the Chang is more like Chon with a soft ing sound. Way hard. As you know, there aren't churches in China. And church members are expected to live the laws of the land, so when she eventually goes back, who knows what will happen. The temple people in the Hong Kong Temple can help her find other members in her area, and sometimes they gather and partake of the sacrament in members homes, but it's kinda hard when the country doesn't recognize any religion. But it's only a matter of time until China is open to proselyting and then the church will explode. So many prepared people live over there.

Well, I'm out of time, and I want to send pictures. Until next week!

the trash bags from cleaning the Less Active's apartment

My companion and I with the Aoyagi Couple.  Elder Aoyagi is in the 2nd quorum of the 70.

We had a eating appointment at a member's house. 

Faye Shimai is Fillipino. 

She made the best food ever.

The stove.  The white stuff is mold I think.

(Editor's note, no, it isn't Sarah's brother, Jay's stove -- we think)

Week... 789 in Japan

Okay, so it feels like week 789 in Japan. I've been here FOREVER. I only have one more really hot summer in Japan. So hot... I just remember being wet all the time. But this time I have control over the AC unit. Ha ha.

Okay, as for the highlights this week...

Friday night/Saturday morning at 2 am I felt my first earthquake.

Talk about a freaky feeling. Have any of you ever felt an earthquake before? I sleep on my stomach (it's just comfortable, okay?!) and when I woke up I felt like I was swinging from head to toe. It probably lasted a total of 10 seconds, but for creepy! At least I don't have to worry about a giant tidal wave coming my way. We are totally surrounded by mountains on all sides. It would take the entire Pacific Ocean in one giant tidal wave directed exactly at Saijo to make it over the mountains. Anyway, my little tiny 10 second earthquake just kinda put into perspective the GIANT EARTHQUAKE THAT IS EFFECTING THE WORLD. Sorry for the all caps. I can't figure out bold on this computer, but I wanted the effect. But of course a giant earthquake in Japan is going to mess up the weather all over the world. I'm not blaming El Nino, but the earthquake. Yep. Did they ever figure out exactly what is causing the flooding in America? What made this year different? Anyway, through all these natural disasters you kinda wonder where in the world you can be safe. Well, nowhere by the fault lines because of earthquakes, nowhere with trees because of forest fires, definitely not next to a giant active volcano (I don't know what the people down in Kagoshima are thinking), so you would think Kansas, of all places, with the most boring freeway that is super straight, would be safe. But there is flooding there. Well, if nowhere is safe, then you might as well live next to a giant active volcano. At least it looks pretty.

Other fun thing this week was a ward activity where we played softball. We had the invitation with a map, and the real map, and we still walked around for 30 minutes. Ha ha. My companion felt bad because I gave her map duty for the day. For the most part I can read a map, but some people just don't have that gift. I thought I would give her the practice and learn... well, I'll have to give her another chance another time. But we got there after calling someone, and softball was fun. Hey, guess what? I totally hit the ball. 3 times!

That seemed like a success to me, okay? And I wore sunscreen, so I didn't turn pink like one of the Elders did.
I'm good on sunscreen for the summer, maybe. I have the really good stuff (Neutrogena Sports Face) for my face, the other American stuff with the blue lid for my arm and feet, and the milky Japanese stuff for re-application (because it's the smallest bottle).

But mom, do you have room to mail me another bottle of Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash?  I think I need to start taking care of my teeth soon. Dad, could you get a job that could cover my dental care? I have a feeling I might have a few cavities when I get home. Japanese people definitely do NOT care about teeth. At all. I've seen some of the ugliest smiles in my life here in Japan.

Mom, do NOT go down to Provo again, okay? I got a letter this week from Meg, my freshman year roommate, asking to be roommates again.

I've seen the house and it's really nice. She and I will be in the back of this house, with our own bathroom and kitchen, then we share the living room with 4 other girls that have their own bathroom and kitchen. I saw the apartment before I left. Her current roommate got engaged and has to sell her contract. The back part of the house was recently torn down and then rebuilt. It is $250 a month, plus utilities. I forgot the letter with the address on it, but it's on the south east side of campus, a little south of Campus Plaza. It's not quite where I'd like to be, but I'll have a bike and its close to the bus stop. And I'll be next door to Amber, another friend of mine, who got married before I left, and is currently pregnant. Her baby is due at the end of this month. Maybe I can babysit! :) As for that bike, I think I can find one of Craig's List before classes start.

Anyway, Meg should be contacting you, dad, with the details. She is currently working the summer in Italy as a nanny, taking care of 2 little kids and teaching them English. How cool is that? She comes back to American the day before me. We became closer friends after Freshman year, so I'm excited. Only she could handle a roommate with post-mission problems.

Nishiyama Shimai received the gift of the holy ghost. She is preparing to go to the temple for baptisms for her ancestors in a few weeks. Yep, she's fine. The moment she got confirmed as a member, she asked the bishop for the little green book that Japanese people use to pay tithing. She couldn't wait to start paying tithing. Yep, I'm not worried about her. Liu Shimai is going to get baptized on the 19th (Sunday). She came to church with her year and a half old son, Seiyu-kun. He was LOUD. I think he was tired and wasn't having a good day. He SCREAMED like a little kid throwing a fit at the check-out line at a supermarket because his mom wouldn't buy him a Kit Kat. Liu felt kinda embarrassed and left after Sacrament Meeting.

Ha ha. Little does she know that ever other mom in that church has gone through the similar things to keep their children quite at that age. How did you two keep 3 kids quite during sacrament? Oh, that's right, we were all naughty children that would talk and stuff. Ha ha. It's impossible, right? Well, Liu doesn't quite know that yet. And putting Seiyu-kun in nursery 2 weeks ago was impossible, so he just squirmed in her lap. Ha ha.

Well, sorry, but I didn't take any pictures this week! Sorry sorry sorry! I'll be sure to take some this week as we have Zone Conference. Elder Aoyagi is touring the Fukuoka Mission. He comes tomorrow. Oh, he is a person that is in the middle page of the conference edition of the Ensign, below the 12 apostles. He is also interviewing all the senior companions before Zone Conference. >_<

Okay, well, until next week!

Busy busy busy busy week

I'm sorry I can't think up better Subject lines for my emails. Maybe I should start doing stuff like numbering them 1, 2, 3, etc.

Let me start chronologically, since so much has happened. On Tuesday Cruz Shimai and I went to the A-bomb stuff in Hiroshima. Holy Cow.  Seriously.

We got off the street car (it looks like the little trolley on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood) and saw this giant thing called the A-bomb Dome, or the genbaku domu if you're in Japan. It has been renovated a few times over the years to keep it looking scary.

In this area, less than a mile from the epicenter of the a-bomb, this was the only building that survived. The only reason it survived was it was basically made out of concrete and such. But the heat wave from the a-bomb just melted most of it. There are metal things sticking out at crazy angles that are melting, and concrete shapes missing.

Jay and John, do you remember the video game Psychonauts?  Sorry, I can't spell anymore (not that I was that good to begin with).  Well, do you remember that level with you swinging up scary stuff to get to the top... of what I think is a dome? I think it's at the end of the game. Anyway, that level was totally based on this crazy dome.

I'll be sure to send pictures.

We worked our way to the paper crane statue, where there were too many school kids on a field trip to see much, but people make art out of a thousand paper cranes. I have a good picture of one that I'll try to send. There was a girl that got sick from leukemia due to the radiation of a bomb. There is a folk story in Japan that if you make a thousand paper cranes then you're wish comes true. This little girl desired to become healthy again, but only made it to about 600 or something before she got too weak and passed away.

Then we went into the actual museum. There was a big replica of what this area looked like before the bomb and after the bomb. You can see the little dome on the replica. Then you go to another one to show you more than you ever want to see. My companion and I didn't really like it because you could feel the propaganda in the voice of the audio tour and the stuff around you. There was stuff like some guy had his hand out the window, and the heat wave melted the fingers on one of his hands. When the fingers healed, the fingernail still grew, but it was black and gross... and had a blood vessel in it, so it bled when he cut his fingernails.

They had the fingernails on display. Super gross. They even had some wax-like statues of flesh melting off the bodies of those who were coming away from the blast. That was too graphic for my companion who literally couldn't sleep that night. It was pretty gross, but I didn't lose sleep over it or anything.

Afterwards, we headed back to the genbaku domu and both agreed that it was the best part of everything. It is almost like art.

Wednesday we prepared for transfers and Thursday morning Cruz Shimai headed back to Tokyo. She was bummed because she is going to end her mission without being a trainer. She was also bummed because she went back to Tokyo-to, which is the down-down-down town part of Tokyo area.  There are millions of people in her area. Tokyo is the biggest city in the world. Second is Mexico City.

Thursday I got my new companion, Sister Furusawa, which means old swamp. If you want to use other translations it could mean aged marshlands, but I like old swamp best. She is fresh from the MTC, and claims she doesn't know how to be a missionary, but then does great the moment she opens her mouth. She is from Miyagi ken, which is where the tsunami was just a few months ago. She has pictures of some of the destruction - pretty bad. Cars were on top of what used to be a house, and stuff like that. Her house was okay from the tsunami because it was high enough on a mountain, but there was still some shaking damage. She doesn't talk about it much, even though the first thing out of people's mouths when they hear her hometown is 'was it okay?!?! Is your family okay? Your house?!'

Friday and Saturday were simply prep for the baptism on Sunday. A baptism service is so stressful. This is someone's salvation!! Well, she had to get dunked twice to get all her hair under the water, but it happened! It was well attended - maybe partly due to the fact that this ward is about a hundred people. Yeah! Then we went to a eating appointment with her to the Tanaka Couple's house. That was fun, as we watched the Bishop and one of the Elders jam out on the guitar.

Maybe I should take up guitar... you know, when I have time. HA HA.

With the random organ in our apartment, I've been trying piano, but I think I've hit my piano wall. I can't get any better unless I invest a thousand hours, which I don't have. So I guess I'm stuck in the simplified hymn book that we also found in the apartment.

Liu Chang also came to church and saw the baptism. The plan was for her to come to the train station by the church, then call us, and we would walk together to church. Well, I forgot the phone. Yep, right on top of my desk. Well, we waited outside by the train station in a tsunami with our cute umbrellas until we had to head to the church. I felt bad. Well, she walked it later with her 1 year old son in her arms. She said that she came a little late because of the rain and took a taxi. Wow. She has a baptism date on the 19th but wants to study with her husband and get baptized with her husband, who we haven't met yet. Well, Liu spoke with our other Chinese member, Haku, so maybe it will work out with a really great eating appointment. Yeah for Chinese food! I've heard all about Haku Shimai's cooking from the Elders. Needless to say I am jealous.

Okay, now I will send some pictures.

レモン姉妹

 

Nishiyama Shimai's baptism.  Kishimoto Kyodai, a convert of about a year, did the ordinance.

The dome.  Zoom in for all the details on melted metal sticking out.

Me at the dome.  Yes, I was really there.  Zoom in on this picture too.

A picture of the dome made out of a thousand paper cranes

last Eikaiwa.  It was fun.  Liu Shimai is the second from the right, with her hand on her nose.

Saijo week 5?

Through a set of miracles this week, we have two baptism dates. One is next week on Sunday. Nishiyama Shimai wants to get baptized.  If she passes her interview, which I'm not worried about, then she can get baptized. Phew. This of course all needs to happen before next Sunday. I'll be busy this week, especially with transfers on Thursday.

Cruz Shimai got her transfer call last night. She is going back to Tokyo on Thursday and will go to the heart of Tokyo. The biggest train station in the world is in her area. There are millions of people in her area. She is transfer trunky, and is focusing on saying her goodbyes to everyone here. Despite the rocky start in the beginning, when we couldn't meet our investigators and the apartment was messy, we have both come to love this little area without a church.

The other baptism date we set was with Liu Chang. She is a new investigator that we found through Eikaiwa. She is Chinese, and is here studying at school. She is 32, married, and has a one year old cute baby boy. Years ago she and her husband searched for truth, and studied with the Jehovah Witnesses for a while. When she went back to China she got a Bible as a present from one of her college professors, but her college professor explained how the Bible has been changed over time, and how various religions have made mistakes in how they interpret what is written. Basically, this friend of hers told her that it was truth, but not pure truth. She and her husband gave up.

But then she met us at Eikaiwa and felt like she had her chance again. :) We taught her the restoration of the gospel - how Jesus Christ perfectly set up God's church but after His death the teachings were changed, and people interpreted it differently. Then we told the story about a young boy who was searching for truth, and wanted to know what church to join. "I have the same question!"  Well, we said that he prayed and met God and Jesus Christ. Of course, he asked his question. Their answer was that all of the religions/churches at that time were only part truth, but not all truth. When we said that, Liu Chang freaked out. "Well then, what should I do?!" She was very frustrated.

Well, we quickly explained that God restored his truth through the prophet Joseph Smith and how through a modern prophet this truth will never be lost. She was genuinely happy. I cannot image someone that has been more prepared to hear this message. Okay, maybe Nishiyama Shimai, who is getting baptized next week. Maybe Saijo is just full of prepared people. Yep.

Mom, I was sorry to hear about your car accident, and now your car that doesn't work. And I especially feel sad since you were looking for an apartment for me. Well, maybe you should stick to Craig's List or BYU Housing website and stay inside for a bit. Plus, those Utah drivers are the worst. You should see  Japanese drivers on roads smaller than the width of a car. Okay, maybe an inch wider than a car.

Dad, where is your email? What did you cook for dinner? How am I supposed to live my week without knowing what is for Sunday dinner?  :) You know you miss my snide remarks. :) (Editor's note, the email was quickly sent -- this letter was about 3 hours earlier than usual.)

Okay, I'll mail pictures now. Enjoy!



レモン姉妹



This is an LA with her two girls (NOTE, editor has absolutely no idea what an LA is, sorry).  We put our helmets on them and took a picture - missionaries can't resist this kind of thing.  Seriously.

Miyajima arch.  This taken from the ferry to get there.  It was low tide, so there are people by the arch and stuff.  Cool, eh?  So pretty!



This is me at the foot of the arch.  You know it's big when you get this close.

a giant piece of petrified wood. Dad, I thought you would like this picture. People throw money at everything in and around shrines.  Kinda gives it a decked-out shiny look. This thing is bigger than I am!

We go to the A-Bomb Peace Park tomorrow.... if it's not raining.

I hoped they'd call me on a mission, when I had a grown a foot or two....

Wow, I got an email from all 4 of you at once (Jay, John, Mom and Dad).  Happiness!  I feel like I have a family or something.  For weird...

Anyway, this week in Saijo... absolutely nothing happened.  Okay, so that's not true.  I have some pretty funny pictures I will mail you here in a bit.  My companion's favorite hobby is taking pictures, so I have some pretty good ones two.

Okay, so today we are heading down to Miyajima, which is the place in Japan with the giant red arch thing.  It's apparently one of the prettiest places in Japan.  I have my camera armed and ready.  You should research Miyajima in Hiroshima and see what you can get.  Next Tuesday my companion and are going to go to the Peace Memorial Park, and the other nuclear bomb stuff in Hiroshima.  Yeah, so I can feel like a tourist for maybe a little bit, or something like that.

Our awesome investigator is Nishiyama Shimai, or Sister West Mountain. Nishiyama is 61, and has been searching for the truth her entire life.  We hope to tell her all her fears about being baptized are all invalid this week.  I think she is ready right now.  She's been to church twice now.  Yesterday she said today seemed shorter than the week before.  She got used to 3 hours of church pretty dang fast.  She doesn't think the Sunday School teacher is so scary, she tried to sing one of the hymns together with the other members.  Way golden, as the phrase goes.  She wanted to study the material before church so that she would feel better about all the people in the class that knew all the answers.  She even bought a skirt to come to church. 

Anyway, her fears about baptism include things like she doesn't know enough, she is too old, etc.  All completely different from the real requirements of baptism like a broken heart and contrite spirit and stuff.  It's funny because she will just talk and talk and talk, and we just nod our heads.  She is super lonely.  We talked on the phone for about 1 hour because she couldn't stop talking.  She told me her life story, which was less than friendly to her.  She had medical problems and had to get her uterus removed and is now on medication and stuff.  Yes, I learned the Japanese word for uterus.  Thank goodness for electronic dictionaries.  Anyway, she is doing great.

So yes, I plan on going to school right after my mission.  Otherwise I'd turn into a bump on a log without any purpose in life.  We work close to the Hiroshima Daigaku, and I just want to go walk the campus or something.  I LOVE college life.  I LOVE the agency to go to class or not to go to class and not have the judgement of God on my shoulders all day if I wake up a little late or something.  Anyway, I'm just glad I have something to go back to. 

Mom, if you find a good apartment, let me know.  Try Craig's list.  Look for something that says they have to sell their contract because they're getting married or going on a mission.  That's usually key that they will give you a deal and pay for part of it.  As for classes, Dad, I trust you know when to register.  I guess I need to figure out what Japanese class to take or something.  Gross.

Anyway, Out of time, but not out of LOVE

レモン姉妹



the dragonfruit before we cut it open.  This is truly the strangest fruit out there.

the dragonfruit after I had eaten the insides.  We found it in the supermarket and had to buy it.  The flavor wasn't very sweet.  It kinda reminded me of a kiwi.  A CRAZY PINK kiwi.

Kinki university is one of the universities in the area.  Ha ha.

Kinky.  Ha ha.  Anyway, apparently it's a nice school.  We have a member that goes there and is studying airplane engineering.