The Gospel is True

Heyya!

Well it was another good week. I'll admit, because of Golden Week it was a little slow in terms of lessons and there was a point where I was wondering if what I was doing was effective, but I was trying to put my shoulder to the wheel. In the end we were blessed. We got a lot of appointments scheduled for the upcoming days and we also got a new investigator.

We have been working with Hirano Shimai lately to help her husband receive the Gospel. He isn't hantai at all and they have prayers when they eat meals, so he has some pretty good exposure to the Church. We got to visit them last night and Hirano Shimai's husband is now an investigator! We committed him to pray with Hirano Shimai, with him saying the prayer.

We also had a fantastic lesson with Ouchi san last Saturday. We all felt the Spirit so strong. It started with us expounding some scriptures in Helaman (where Ouchi san is currently reading) and it moved from there to the Plan of Salvation. It got to the point where Suzuki Choro and I knew we needed to invite Ouchi san to be baptized. Ouchi san recognized that it was coming, so he told us to not invite him to baptism. We continued talking and eventually found ourselves reading Moses 1:39. The Spirit was thriving in all of us at that moment. I could tell Ouchi san felt something because he said if what we read is true, then we need to live the Gospel. We helped him recognize the Spirit's presence there that night, but we couldn't get much else out of him. He has been an investigator for 20 years. I didn't know how to help him, so I fasted for him yesterday. In Priesthood meeting the teacher was sharing his conversion story. I wished so bad that Ouchi san could have been there. I did, however, receive revelation to help Ouchi san. It was a really neat experience.

So ya, Skype call. I will call on Monday here, so it will be your Sunday evening. That's the plan. 7:30. Can't believe another call home is already here. I'll have one left after this one. Eep!

Recently we have been finding lots of Brazilians that we can't communicate with. They are usually pretty interested in the church too. So, I have started studying Portuguese. It's pretty funny to say phrases in the apartment and Suzuki Choro gives me a strange look. I can say that I'm a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that I don't speak Portuguese. I can also refer them to someone who does speak Portuguese. But this week I am getting more language material, so that will help. I am still mainly studying Japanese still though. I have also figured out recently that if ever there is a large word in English that I don't know in Japanese, I can just say it in Katakana (the Japanese alphabet used to turn foreign words into Japanese ex. Komputa=computer). If I say the word in Katakana, it is usually understood. Of course you can't just speak in Katakana. For example, I didn't know the word "reaction" so I said "riakushon". Boom, Japanese. Big words like that often have a Katakana equivalent, I have found.

This week we found out that we have been okay'd to take the Bullet Train to Nagoya when we have conferences now. I'm super stoked. It will only take us 1 hr 10 mins to travel what used to take us 3 and a half hours.

Kind of random stuff, but I get my excitement off of these things. The life of a Missionary.

Love you all.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

So I'm in Japan

It's been a year in Japan now. Good golly time flies. I say that a lot these days.

How is everyone? Things are going well in Fuji. We had a great Stake Conference yesterday and President and Sister Baird were the guest speakers. It was really cool. I learned a lot about conversion, which was the theme of the conference. It was really good. Ouchi-san wanted to come, but he had company coming to his house so he couldn't. Shucks.

We found a new investigator! Her name is Fukita-san. She studies with the Jehovah's Witnesses sometimes, so she said she would listen to us. We hit her with the Restoration and she seemed really interested. We had a prayer and got a return appointment and now she's an investigator. Yes!

We also visited Inaba-san. He was doing really well until recently he seems to just humor us with our visits. He doesn't keep commitments either, so we need to work with him more. Shimizu-san, an older woman who lives near the church finally met with us again. She likes the Book of Mormon and it took a little pushing, but we got her to pray. And she liked it! She said, "I want to pray when I read the Book of Mormon now." We were like, "Perfect, go for it." It was cool. I think that will help her start to progress a lot.

Mother's day is coming up, so you know that means I get to Skype! I will be on the computer at about 10:30 am here, which makes it about 7:30 pm there. Let's have a chat!

Well, things are going better and better here in Fuji. My companion and I went to a cool Matsuri (festival) the other day and I took a cool video of one of the performances. I'll attach pics of it and the Blues Brothers Diorama.

That's all for this week. Love you all.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

Revolution Number 10

It's a new transfer cycle! My 10th to be exact. I have 7 transfers left including this one. (Gulp!) Time flies.

So things are going good. Not any super huge amazing things happening this week. We did meet with a less-active member, Urushibata Kyodai, who hasn't been visited in a while. He still reads the scriptures, but due to health issues he doesn't come to church. Watanabe Shimai came to church (she is another less-active member). She lives far away, but she said she wants to meet with us to study the Gospel more. Nice! We committed Ouchi-san to pray to recognize Heavenly Father's influence in his life and Ouchi-san is going to start reading Helaman this week.

Suzuki Choro and I are in Fuji for one more transfer together. (Yay!) Perkins Choro is transferring and Roney Choro is becoming a trainer in Numazu. Watanabe Shimai and Fujisawa Shimai are still kicking it in Shizuoka, but the Zone Leaders moved to Shizuoka. Now there are eight people in my district with two Elders and two Sisters in Shizuoka. Cool! District activities are gonna be a party!

My companion and I are getting along better than ever. He is so stinking funny and he is finally used to missionary lifestyle, so we're hitting our groove. This transfer is gonna be really good, I think.

I will mail my other SD card home soon chalk full of pictures for y'all. I found a model of the scene from The Blues Brothers where Jake and Elwood are flying through the police barricade in Chicago. It was $60 or else I would have bought it.

It's a short and sweet one this week. Love you all.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

The Words o' The Prophets

We had a neat experience with OYM (Open Your Mouth, to share the Gospel) this week. Actually a lot of neat experiences. Elder Roney and I had a companion exchange on Tuesday and when we were riding the train we talked to a new college student. He wasn't giving us any ways to guide the conversation where we wanted it to go, so Elder Roney just said, "Well, we're missionaries and we talk about the church. Do you have a religion?" It was really cool because we started teaching him Gospel truths on the train, gave him a pamphlet, and said, "Let's meet again sometime." Later that afternoon we were going to an area that was a little far away so we set a goal to talk to 1-3 people along the way. Long story short, we talked to four people and found two potential investigators. And one of them had met missionaries before. We called him again and said we can meet sometime.


Then last night my companion and I were riding our bikes and we stopped at the crosswalk to wait for the signal to change. I looked at the couple next to me and made eye-contact with the woman, who said, "Hi." This wasn't a Japanese "Hai" it was a "Hello" kind of "Hi." I asked them if they spoke English and the man said yes and asked me where the Kappazushi restaurant was. I told him it was close to our church which was close by and we walked them there. They were from Singapore and Elder Suzuki and I talked to them about the Gospel and showed them our church. It was really cool.

We made contact with Wada-san again this week. It had been a while, so we reviewed lesson 1, renewed her commitment to read the Book of Mormon and pray, and set a return appointment for tonight. She is doing great. Unfortunately she has work on Sundays, so she couldn't make it to General Conference. We also dropped by Inaba-san's house on Saturday after Priesthood session for a lesson. He is always very nice and lets us in, but he doesn't exactly want to apply the Gospel to himself. He regularly sees Watanabe Kyodai, our ward mission leader, at the onsen and he has been to church. Inaba-san thinks the church and its members are great, but he doesn't want to keep commitments. We're still working on figuring out how the Gospel can change his heart.

Well, Mom asked about Fuji and President Baird. I think I'll be in Fuji one more transfer to finish Suzuki Choro's training but transfer after that. Where to I have no idea. President Baird goes home in July. Everyone misses him already. He is continuing strong and keeping us in line and helping us be better. We have interviews with him this Wednesday. Maybe our last, but maybe not.

Conference was great. I felt the Spirit so strong. Lots of talks were good. I liked President Packer's talk and President Uchtdorf's talk on Sunday morning. Like always Elder Holland didn't disappoint. It's so cool to have a living prophet and other men called of God to lead us.

Anyway, gotta wrap up. Love you all.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

Ya Big Cheaters!

You guys all watching General Conference before me... We don't get it until next Sunday.

Anyway, this week was a little slow. We worked hard, but things just weren't working out. Well, on the investigator side of things anyway. Ouchi-san and Ogasawara-san are regular appointments now, so it's nice to teach them. They seem to be learning the Gospel just for the knowledge, however, not so much for the real benefits. Our tachiai, Kawamura Shimai, gave us some good guidance on how to better help Ogasawara-san, though. Ogasawara-san is quite religiously Buddhist. She often goes to shrine and pays respect to her ancestors at the hotokesama in her house. So, Kawamura Shimai suggested we talk about temple work and how we can do ordinances for our ancestors. Elder Suzuki and I think it will be good for her. I think it could be the key to change her attitude about the Gospel.

Last night we had a dinner appointment with the bishop and his family, the Ogawas, at their home. After dinner the bishop asked about the progress of our investigators. I said that everyone is kind of mada mada and the one's who have the most potential are hard to meet with. He asked how we do finding and I said housing. His wife said "That's the least effective way." I agreed and the bishop said that referrals are the best. Then he asked how FF was doing. (FF is the method for helping members fulfill the prophecy of member missionary work in Japan that is catered specifically to the Japan Nagoya Mission.) I told him of the success that we have been having with the Wakatsuki family and how they are praying for and introducing their friends to the Gospel. I also told him that we visited them this past Friday and got some more referrals from them. I think it sparked something in the Ogawa family. They remember doing FF with a missionary a while ago and talked about how missionaries stopped meeting with them and how they got busy and how they stopped praying. Then Ogawa Shimai said, "Young people are best," then turned to her daughter and said, "Do you have friends you can introduce to the Gospel?" Saya-chan said she hadn't really thought about it, but her friends have a lot of questions like why they're here on the earth, etc. So we shared scriptures from 2 Ne 2 and D&C 31 talking about the importance of sharing the Gospel and following the Spirit. We ran out of time, so Ogawa Shimai said, "Ok, come back and we'll do FF." I can feel things are gonna pick up quickly here in Fuji.

We had a fun district activity this past week. We went to look at the Cherry Blossoms and played some games. See the cool pictures attached. I was wearing that sick shirt you sent me, too. Elder Perkins busted up when he saw it. The picture of us all from left to right is Elder Roney, Elder Suzuki, Sister Fujisawa, Elder Perkins, Me, and then Sister Watanabe.

It's a little short this week, but that's it. I'm excited for conference now.

Love you all.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

Happy Birthdays!

It's Megan's Birthday in America and Suzuki Choro's Birthday in Japan!  Happy Birthdays!

It was a slower week this week, but we had some good celebrations. I had a kokan with Elder Perkins and I shared with him a scripture I found in D&C 94 that talks about everything working for our good. We had a good heart to heart and I think we both learned something new.

Uematsu Kyodai, a less-active member, has been doing fantastic with the word of wisdom this week! He loves Elder Suzuki and Elder Suzuki is able to help Uematsu Kyodai a lot. Uematsu Kyodai came to all three hours of church yesterday in his suit and tie, too! He's also reading the Book of Mormon and praying everyday. He is recognizing the help he gets from Heavenly Father to overcome his addiction to tobacco too. His countenance has completely changed as well. When we visited this week, he said he was, "Genki, genki, genki," meaning "I'm good, good, good," and did this cool fist pump thing. The Gospel is true!

Ogasawara-san is really loving the Book of Mormon. She is enjoying it for more of it's story content rather than spiritual applications, though. She is reading between every visit and she keeps her appointments every week. There is a former investigator here in Fuji named Tomiko-san. She got really busy recently and couldn't meet with us, so we had to drop her. On Saturday morning and at lunch, I tried to call her, but there was no answer. Then in the afternoon, she called us and thought that she might not know who we were because the missionaries may have changed. I told her it was still me and she promised to come to Eikaiwa starting in April. I invited her to church after explaining briefly about Easter and she said she would come to church if she could. Unfortunately, she couldn't make it, but she's back in the pool of PIs.

I also was able to conduct the baptismal interview for Minaki-san this week. If anyone was prepared for the Gospel, it was that man. I asked him if he was willing to obey the commandments and make the baptismal covenant and he said, "Doryoku shimasu," which translates to something like, "I'll give it effort." I was filled with the Spirit and promised to him that that is all our Heavenly Father asks of us, our effort. When he said the closing prayer, he also prayed for protection and said, "Heavenly Father, I want to serve thee." He was baptized yesterday, Easter Sunday.

I got the other package with more shirts in it. Thanks! We also have a district activity today in Fuji and we're gonna look at the Cherry Blossoms and play games. I'll send pics next week.

He is risen. We had a good session of church yesterday. I was drawing the garden tomb on my electronic dictionary yesterday and the when I wrote the words "He is Risen" I felt the Spirit testify to me the reality of the Atonement and of Jesus Christ as my risen Savior. I had those words come to my head a bunch of times yesterday and the Spirit just kept burning in me telling me the truth of this Gospel.

Love you all.

Love,

Elder Sanderson

I'm on the Radio

Well it's been another good week. I hope you don't think my weeks are perfect when I say that every week. We're taught in the Book of Mormon that there must be opposition in all things, so of course there are downs to every week, but the ups make it all the better and all the worthwhile.

My companion and I were on the radio this week! A member in Fuji works for the radio, so we got hooked up. I was super nervous speaking Japanese over the air waves, but it was really fun. The radio personality, Taguchi-san, was really fun, too. I got a pic to prove it. We went on air to advertise English Class. Taguchi-san said she remembers since she was a little girl seeing foreigners riding mountain bikes in suits and bike helmets. When we were riding home, a man came up to us and said he heard us on the radio! If Taguchi-san didn't say what she did, that guy wouldn't have given us a second look. It was so cool!

I got the packages from Megan and Cori this week. Thanks for the shirts and the goodies. Feel free to keep 'em coming. ;)

We invited Inaba-san to receive baptism this week. He's still mada mada about it. We did learn a lot about him from it and he is meeting with us on a weekly basis now, so there's an upside. We also were able to meet Shimizu-san for the first time in 2 months and she is ready to meet with us more now. She said her Monomi no To (a Christian religion) Bible she has is harder to understand the Book of Mormon and she wants to study the Book of Mormon. We have been meeting with Yamashita-san at least twice per week and we meet with Kawai-san about once a week. Our schedule is full, so we have some good teaching going on. It's just a challenge to help investigators keep commitments. Still working on becoming a Master Teacher.

We had at least one miracle this week. We have recently received a list of all the less-active members of Fuji ward and we usually go to visit one and 10x. On Saturday morning we went to visit a less-active member and then began 10x-ing. We knocked on the apartment next door and a woman who we found out couldn't speak Japanese or English answered the door. I said "Brazil?" and she said something regarding an affirmative response. So I told her the name of the church in Portuguese and she recognized it. I gave her a pass-along card with Elder Milder's name and phone number on it in Fujieda because he is Brazilian. When we got home for lunch, I got a call from Elder Milder saying the lady called him. She is a member that used to live in Tokyo, but moved for work. She wants to come to church and wants us to visit more. It's a good thing there are members who can communicate with her in our ward. I might pick up a little Portuguese, too.

We had leadership training this week and found out that every sister in our mission is going to become a trainer by the end of the summer. Pretty crazy. Our Sisters are going to double.

That's kind of the report for this week. Hope your week was good, too.

Love,

Elder Sanderson