Thinking in Japanese

Whazzzzaaah?!

On the Tsunami Wall

So ya, I'm a trainer again. It's kind of crazy, because my new companion is Elder Suzuki from Saitama prefecture, near Tokyo. That's right, folks, I got me a real, live Nihonjin bean-chan. He is super fun and loves being a missionary. When he came out of President Baird's office to meet me, he ran and jumped onto me. We have been having some good adventures this week. And I speak 99% Japanese everyday, so sometimes I think in Japanese. It's pretty different having a Japanese companion. And Elder Suzuki is a new missionary, so we learn a lot together. But it's a ton of fun. We went and played down by the tsunami wall and water breaks yesterday. See attached picture.

I am already sure Elder Suzuki is needed in Fuji. We had a lesson with Inaba-san on Saturday. We haven't met with Inaba-san for a long time. Now that a native speaker has come to Fuji, Inaba-san has changed a lot. He definitely feels that the Gospel is important and I think that Elder Suzuki and can be a big instrument in Inaba-san coming to the Gospel. We also had a lesson with Brother and Sister Uematsu who are both less-active. We committed them to live the Word of Wisdom and they put a sticky note defining their commitment on top of the coffee can to help them not drink it. We asked to take the coffee from them, but they were worried about what to do when company comes.

Elders Suzuki and Sanderson

We got a new investigator this week! We had an FHE with the Yamawaki Family who are all members except the father. We told him that we want to share the love, joy, and peace that comes from the Gospel with him and he said it would be alright, we got a return appointment and had a prayer, and now he's a new investigator.

I was riding my bike yesterday to got to the Yamawaki's house and I saw a Japanese guy that looked exactly like Robert De Niro. I thought he was gonna turn to me and say, "You talking to me?" when I said "Konnichiwa" but no such luck.

We have a spike of 45 missionaries coming into our mission this summer, so we have leadership training on Tuesday. Basically anyone who is transfer 6 or higher and all the sisters are going to become trainers if they aren't already or if they're filling a leadership position. Actually, that doesn't even disqualify them. Right now two Zone Leaders in the same area are both training. Crazy.

Well that's kind of it for this week. Good night and good luck.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

I am your singing telegram...

Dear Familyses,

Zone Pic

This week was great! We had at least one lesson per day, got a new investigator, and got a soft yakusokusha! We found a new investigator this past week and his name is Yamashita-san. He is home all the time so we have had two lessons with him already and another appointment on Friday. Wada-san accepted the invitation to be baptized when she knows the church is true. We hope to set a date with her soon, but until then she is reading the Book of Mormon and praying. We had a great interaction with a member and her non-member husband, the Hirano family. We went over for dinner last night and just talked to the husband. After dinner, Hirano Shimai (the wife) turned to her daughter and said, "You are a member, so you've never seen a missionary lesson, right?" Then she turned to us and we just jumped into the Restoration. We taught all of Lesson 1 and involved the non-member husband really well. He would've been a new investigator had we set a concrete return appointment. But I don't think it will be difficult to meet with the Hirano Family again soon.

Sister Baird's (Mission President's Wife)  Birthday Pic

So it's getting pretty hot in Shizuoka prefecture right about now. We're counting down the days until we retire the suit coats. Short sleeves are gonna be nice. We already wear short sleeves under our suits because its warm.

One awesome thing about Japan that I will probably be complaining about America for for the rest of my life is that Japan doesn't do daylight savings and America does. I figure God made the world, so let's just let it turn and not change the amount of time I sleep. Sounds good to me.

So we had transfer calls today...

I'm staying in Fuji and Tsukamoto Choro is headed to Inuyama. It's kind of sad to see my baby leave me behind, but he's gonna do great. My new companion is... Actually, I don't know yet. Because I'm training again! I'm like the freakin' Brady Bunch, missionary style. My third baby with two in a row. I'm still district leader, too. My district is changing a little bit. Sister Breck is going to open up Kanazawa Sister area with Yamada Shimai, a sister who came to Japan with me. (We call that "doki") Yamada Shimai is in my doki. Fujisawa Shimai in Shizuoka will be training again. So two more beans in our district and The Numazu Elders (Roney Choro and Perkins Choro) are the same. It's gonna be some good times down here in Fuji District.

Well that's kind of the headlines this week. Oh, I almost forgot. Happy Birthday, Sister Baird! Happy Birthday, Hermana Sorensen!  (I don't know if they'll see that) Love you all.

Love,

My favorite companion, Elder Perkins,  and me

Elder Sanderson

Hoya!

This one might be a bit shorter than others. We had our mission conference. It was really fun to see all the other missionaries and meet the new ones. Elder Callister taught us some awesome stuff about the Plan of Salvation. Elder Aoyagi also said that there is no reason not to be happy because we have the Gospel. My companion and I set some goals to level-up our dendo here in Fuji and we're seeing blessings already. We had a great conversation with a younger guy on the street yesterday talking about the Restoration and what he believes about God. Hopefully we'll hear back from him soon.

The night before the mission conference we went to stay with the Elders in my bean area, Kasugai! It was pretty fun. One of the Elders in Kasugai is Elder Gillespie, so both my babies were in the same place. Cool, huh?

So there has been news floating around the mission recently of a bajillion missionaries coming in soon. I overheard President Baird talking to Sister Breck in our district and he said that all sisters in our mission will be at least senior companions by July, if not training a new sister. Pretty sick. The Tokyo Mission split is becoming bigger news among the church members, too. They are pretty excited about it but it won't affect Nagoya Mission boundaries at all. Shizuoka-ken will still be Nagoya territory. (Yes!)

We met with Wada-san again this week. It has been a while, but she read the Book of Mormon and she wants to know if it's true! We committed her to read from the beginning and pray to know the truth. She also said a great prayer to end our lesson and said that she felt good when she prayed. Other investigators are doing well, but we could use some new investigators in our investigator pool.

That's kind of it this week. Short and sweet. Bye Bye.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

It's Been a Year?!

Dear Kazoku,

That means family. It doesn't feel like it's been a year at all. Now that I'm past the year mark by a few days it has set in a little more that I'm on the "downhill" slope of my mission. I put quotes on "downhill" because I want to improve everything as I get closer and closer to going home. Japanese, finding, teaching, working with members, etc.

 I had no idea that so many new missions were being formed. Nagoya mission's boundaries will not be affected at all by the creation of the Tokyo South mission, so I'll gratefully be a Nagoya missionary until I die. You heard about our new mission president too. Elder Yamashita is actually a member of the Seventy and he will be serving for only two years. But how cool is that?! Our mission President is going to be a Seventy! And he's Nihonjin!

I was on a companionship exchange with Elder Roney when we got the news about the new President and stuff. Elder Roney and I were agreeing that every new missionary went "Shoot." when Roney Choro and I went "SICK!" Japan Nagoya mission is gonna be pera pera (fluent) quick. Roney Choro and I had a fun exchange even though we had a little bump in the plans due to an umbrella getting caught in the spokes of Elder Roney's bike. But we managed to visit a less-active member, Ohashi Kyodai, before the day was done. Ohashi Kyodai has been coming to church a lot recently. He is progressing well.

My companion and I invited Ogasawara-san to baptism this week. She said she doesn't want to join the church, but if anything else, it helped us understand her situation and needs better. She also is praying every day this week and reading the Book of Mormon. Our lessons with Ouchi-san have been very good lately. He has been studying the doctrine very diligently and is committed to pray everyday to know if the church is true. We found another new investigator through 10x this week and we will visit her on Tuesday.

I had a really cool experience with Haseruka-kun this week. A little background info: he is probably 15 years old and when we found him, he said he is a little interested. We thought "Even a little is enough." We weren't able to meet him last week, so we just went to his house without an appointment. He answered the door and let us come in. We asked him if he read the pamphlet we gave him and he said that he liked it. It kind of surprised me. I ended up sharing a scripture about the purpose of life with him from the Book of Mormon (Alma 34:32) and gave him the Book of Mormon. He committed to read it and we got a return appointment. I tell ya, sometimes God is just too good. I believe God has prepared Haseruka-kun. I believe God is preparing the world.

Back to the note of General Authorities, we have an all-mission conference this Friday. Elder Tad R. Callister will be speaking. The mission is buzzing. I really feel like Heavenly Father just brought down some Gospel heat! I was talking to my companion recently about how Japan will probably be six missions for a while and then like three days later I get word of Tokyo splitting. cray cray!

We are part of the Lord's Kingdom. It's sweeping the earth and the hearts of men are being softened. This is the best thing that anyone can do for our Father in Heaven. You don't even need an official call to do it either! The Gospel is true and living and Heavenly Father loves His children.

Keep the faith and may the Force be with you.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

Hey everyone!

It's email time again! This week was good. We had to go to Nagoya again for trainer training. I am now on my second transfer with Tsukamoto Choro, but this transfer is only four weeks so we have no idea what's gonna happen at transfers in March.

We found another new investigator! Woohoo! His name is Takayama-san. The work is picking up pace for sure. We got an email from the Mission office saying that 45 missionaries are currently assigned to come to the Japan Nagoya mission and that doesn't include the Nihonjin who will be assigned as well. In June and July we are supposed to get 30 new missionaries. It's gonna be crazy!

We are headed to a matsuri (festival) today, if the weather is good. It is for the Daruma. He was an old Indian Monk that came to Japan a long time ago and Japanese people use his totem to bring luck, health, fortune, love, etc. to their lives. It happens every year near the beginning of the year. We are going for a district activity! It's going to be fun!

Lately we have been teaching a woman named Ogasawara-san a lot. We meet every week and she is receiving our message well. She is very Buddhist and doesn't want to join the church right now, but she reads the Book of Mormon and prays. We showed her the Restoration DVD last visit and it was really good for her.

We also have been meeting with Wada-san every week. She lives with her boyfriend and has a ton of interest in the gospel. She is our Kinjin (literally translated "Gold Person," means golden investigator). She just says yes to everything we say and has interest in coming to church. We gave her a Book of Mormon this past Thursday and she's gonna read it. I tell you what, God is great.

There is a member in our ward here that is going on his mission in March. We get to dendo with him sometimes. He came to two of our lessons on Saturday night and they went really well. One was with our eternal investigator, Ouchi-san and the other was with Otsuka-san. Being a missionary is awesome.

This week I was reading in the LDS Addiction Recovery Program about counseling with the Lord rather than counseling the Lord. In other words, confirming your actions with the Lord instead of telling him what you want or what you are going to do. I made an effort to really apply those principles this week. It has been amazing to see the difference of the guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life. That was something cool I thought I should share.

Well, tata for now!

Love,

Elder Sanderson

Earth, Wind, and Dendo Fire

Hoya!

This week was great. We found two new investigators! My companion and I didn't want to 10x after visiting Ouchi-san, but we knew that meant that we should. We set some goals, said a prayer, and the first two doors became new investigators! God is great! One is a boy in junior high named Haseruka-kun and the other is a middle-aged man named Otsuki-san. Otsuki-san is actually a former investigator that moved and lost contact with the missionaries. It was a literal miracle that we found him!

I conducted a companionship exchange with Elder Perkins last week. It was really fun to be in Fuji together again. We were able to visit some investigators that hadn't been contacted since he left and now they are back in "the loop". We also had a good lesson with Inaba-san. He still wants to be baptized but his goal for the 17th of Feb kind of disappeared. He is super busy lately and we can't meet with him again until March. I asked him if he thinks the Gospel is important and he said, "Yappari, taisetsu desu ne." (Ya, it's important, isn't it?) I guess we just have to help him feel the importance a little more.

We had Zone Conference and found out we'll be having another mission conference in March with Elder Tad R. Callister and Elder Koichi Aoyagi of the Seventy. It's gonna be hot!

Today is my one-year-to-death day! Whoa! Where did that year go? We had transfer calls today, but no one in my district is transferring. Sister Hunt is going home tomorrow, but other than that it's just us six still. Hooray! Transfers are crazy sometimes.

So looks like things don't stop changing. I was stalking Elder Beau Sanderson's blog and saw he dropped some weight and looks down right studly now. That's what missions will do to ya, folks. Look at Evan. What, three months and engaged? Tell me that's not the Lord's work.

OK, ja, Bye bye!

Love,

Elder Sanderson

Nosredsan Redle

Red 5 Reporting In

Things change super fast! This past week went by fast, but looking back it seems like the span of a year. We had an emergency transfer in our district. An emergency transfer happens when companions don't get along, so they switch things around. The only person who transferred out was Prestwich Choro in Numazu. But I did an exchange with him on Tuesday, so it feels really weird that he transferred. This transfer's urgency wasn't as bad as some have been, but President Baird gave the okay on it, so stuff changed a lot. Prestwich Choro went to Nakatsugawa, Gillespie Choro went to Kasugai, Parra Choro went to Toyota, and Perkins Choro came to Numazu!! Perkins Choro is in my district!!!!!! Wooohooo, Yeah buddy!!!! I'm so stoked!!! Yesss!!!

This week was great. We got two new investigators. One, Watanabe-san, is a referral from Numazu. She has been taking discussions for about a month or so, but she lives in Fuji so switched to us. We had three lessons with her and she came to all three meetings of Church! The other new investigator is named Wada-san. Totally prepared for the Gospel. I asked her at her door if she ever wondered what the purpose of life was and she's like, "Ya, but I didn't find an answer." So we have an appointment to talk with her about that on Thursday. Things with Inaba-san have unfortunately slowed down since he set a bapt date, but we have another appointment on Saturday. Ouchi-san and Ogasawara-san are doing well and we're working on our other investigators.

So, I hear it's Super Bowl Sunday. I guess I'm gonna have to choose a side, huh? 49ers for old time's sake.

Well, this week will be good. My companion and I are making dinner for a member, a less active, and her potential-investigator boyfriend. We're having katsu curry with some fruit and strawberry parfait for dessert. It's gonna be sick. In other news, this week is Zone Conference. I'll get to see all my old district from back in Nagoya East zone. Well that's it for this week. Bye bye.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

P.S.  It was so warm this week. I wore short sleeves! It reached into the 20s! celcius, of course