WAHOOOOO! I'm in Japan

Well, first off, Japan is baller biest rebel sin crazy awesome!

It`s so much fun. Nihonjin are so nice and super polite. At the Tokyo Airport, the lady printing my boarding pass called me "Sanderson-san Ian Derik-sama." I was like "What?!!!" Number 1: The title "san" at the end of a last name is very polite, but usually used for people older than yourself. Number 2: the title "sama" is super polite and very honorific. God in Nihongo is "Kamisama". Jesus Christ is sometimes called "Iesu Kirisuto-sama" or "Iesu-sama". I was blown away at how polite they were. Every time I ride past a cop on the street, he`ll stop the traffic as we cross and say thank you to us. And everyone says you`re good at Nihongo even if it blows super hard like mine. It`s funny too, because no one here takes a compliment like Americans do. In America, when you compliment someone, it`s polite to say thank you. In Nihon, you say "no no no no no" and then contradict their statement. They are very humble and loving compared to Americans.

So anyway, the flights were good. To Seattle was fun. Across the Pacific got a little long, but it was okay because I slept a lot. Then the flight from Tokyo to Nagoya was like nonexistent. I remember being in the Tokyo airport and watching all the vehicles move around on the tarmac. I felt like I was on Yavin 4 in the Rebel Base from Star Wars as we were loading up ships to go liberate a planet. When I boarded the plane in Tokyo, we had to wait to take off, but I was out like a light. I remember waking up for about 45 seconds to tell a flight attendant "Yes, I would like some apple juice." I then drank it, thought to myself "This apple juice is terrible," and then fell back asleep. When I woke up we were on the ground in Nagoya. Some people thought we were still in Tokyo. It was pretty funny.

When we got to Nagoya, we were picked up by Baird Kaicho (President Baird) and his wife and all the APs. We then did some proselyting on the trains back to the mission home. You`ll get a video of it sometime that the APs made for us. There is a scene where I am on one side of a man talking to him with Jones Choro on his other side. That`s the first time I thought, "Holy crap. I`m in Japan talking to a real Japanese man about the gospel in Japanese!" It was such a great experience. And I`ve had more too!!

My trainer is Duarte Choro. He`s from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is a beast thug G. He is super loving and way funny. He loves doing the Lord`s work and he works me to death everyday. But it`s really good. He is a great example of relying on the Lord because he has been out here for a year and a half and has learned Japanese and English. He`s pretty much fluent in both.

We`ve been teaching investigators, visiting members, and contacting less actives. It is so much fun. Since I`ve been in Japan we have met two potential investigators. One is from England and his name is Raji. Another is an American named Katherine. They are both excited to have someone to speak English with. 

Well anyway my first area is Kasugai. It`s like a thirty minute bike ride from the Nagoya Mission home and is already really hot. But hey, I`m in Japan! My apartment is pretty big for a Japanese abode. It has a full five rooms, although small. My bike is being special ordered because (surprise surprise) they don`t have one big enough for me at the bike shop. Right now my comp is riding a loaner bike and I`m riding his.

 I`m taking lots of pictures, and I`ll send them home sometime soon. Thanks for the emails and such.

 Oh by the way, packages need to be sent via US Post Service so they can be forwarded to my address. They also need to be sent at least a month before the intended arrival date. If that makes sense.

Well I gotta end now, so love you all. Stay true to the faith.

Sanderson Choro

Mondays are P-day, so you`ll get my emails at about midnight on Sunday there.

Nihon ni ikimasho!! (Let's go to Japan!!)

Heyya! I actually get to write today because I have a two hour lunch break. Today we are doing In-Field Training. They teach us about our purpose, finding investigators, coordinating with members, and some other stuff. It's pretty cool to learn about all the stuff I will do on a daily basis to talk to people about the gospel.

The last couple of days, we have been looking at all of our teachers' pictures from their missions. I am getting super excited to go! They share a lot of cool experiences that I can't wait to have myself. On Monday, former Fukuoka Mission President Mills gave us a lesson about our expectations. It was one of those "Whether you think you are going to succeed or you think you are going to fail, you're right" kind of things. It was really cool because we talked about the power of the expectations we set for ourselves.

My mission is starting to get real. The MTC is part of the mission, but it definitely isn't Nihon. I've packed up a ton of stuff already, so I'm realizing what I'm about to jump into. Kore o shimasho! (Let's do this!) It's gonna be sooooo fun to wreck the streets of Japan (not literally). I can't wait to find the Nihonjin waiting for the message of the gospel. It's gonna be so much fun learning Nihongo in constant immersion in the language too.

On Sunday night, Elder M. Russel Ballard came and talked to us. He spoke about expectations too. Elder Archuleta sang "The Spirit of God" for us. It was awesome. He can melt butter with his golden pipes. I was really impressed by the Spirit when he sang "armies of heaven" because that's what we are. We are the army of heaven. We have this wonderful, fantastic, super baller message to share with the world. We are doing the Lord's work. I'm so grateful to be a part of it.

To end our Sunday night fireside, we sang the Called to Serve Fanfare. I described this in a previous email, so you all can imagine how epic it is. I love singing the song like that. I feel the Spirit so strong when we do. Hymns are awesome like that. I love singing hymns and catching a line that I have never thought about before. It's so cool!!

Tuesday we had Elder Gibbons of the Seventy speak to us. I don't rightly remember the topic about which he spake. After, during our district devotional review, Elder Akau bore his testimony. Seven weeks ago he left a devotional review with the intent of packing up and going home. His testimony is so strong. He bore his testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon and how he has come to know that Heavenly Father loves us and knows us. I testify that that is true.

On Wednesday, Panganiban Sensei, bore his testimony to us. He promised us blessings and success in Nihon. The Spirit was like KABAAAAMMM! You could cut it with a katana. (See what I did there?) I love all my teachers so much. They are such great examples to us. They are also really patient and helpful with us.

Anyway, how are things on the homefront? Thanks for the packages, pics, and letters this week. I am always glad to get mail. Mom, I realized that I haven't ever talked much about your mission with you. As I've come to know the sisters in my district, I have thought a lot about what it may have been like back in the days of your mission. Write me about it. How was it in the MTC? What was your favorite part of your mission? I've heard a lot of stories about Dad's mission, but not much more than a couple stories about yours. I'm just curious. (That's Sister Brotherson's catchphrase, by the way.)

I hope you all are doing great and strengthening your testimonies. Have a Jesus filled day. (Teehee)

Lub,

 サンダーソン長老

Hehhhh?! Gaijin desu ne?! (You're a foreigner, aren't you?)

Konnichiwa, minasan!

I got travel plans this week!! Woohoo! Nihon ni ikimasho!!!! (Let's go to Japan!) I leave Monday, April 23 at 4:00 am. I'm super stoked! We talked to a temple worker who went to Tokyo on his mission. It was great to hear about his experience as he first got there and how he came to really understand Nihongo. Today I am on a split with Williams 長老 (Choro) and Jones 長老 because my companion, Koch 長老, is in Salt Lake doing an endowment session there until 3:00. The MTC thinks he is from Germany because his family lives there now. That's why he gets to go there today.

Easter Sunday was baller. President Boyd K. Packer and his son, Elder Alan Packer, spoke to us. President Packer spoke about replacing fear with faith. Something I'll need to do when I get to Nihon, for sure. On Sunday night the BYU Men's Choir came and sang for us. They sang great hymns and also some folk tunes from Israel. They also sang the popular Mexican folk song "La Cucaracha" with fake moustaches. It was phenominal! I realized how strong I feel the Spirit when I listen to music. It makes me greatful for hymns, even though I do miss normal music every once in a while. I really like to sing hymns when I am walking around campus just to keep the Spirit with me.

Tuesday night's devotional was with Bishop McMullin, who was recently released. He and his wife spoke the Holy Ghost a lot. I definitely learned a lot about recognizing the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Bishop McMullin reminded me of Sister McMullin in our ward. Only because of the name, but I think I should say hi to Sister McMullin and wish her and her family well. That was just something I thought I should do.

Tonikaku (Anyway), I hosted new missionaries on Wednesday, and I get to again this Wednesday. It's pretty fun to see families say goodbye to their son or daughter. They are always emotional of course, but one crying mother said to us, "This is the best thing I have ever done." It kind of caught me off guard, but then I said, "He's in the right place." There is really no better place to be right now in a time like this. Doing the Lord's work is so much fun! I get to help people come closer to our Savior. What better calling is there?! I thought about that mother as I wrote in my journal that night. It was interesting to me how she has already recognized the blessings of her son serving a mission. I hope all you guys have too. I know that I am being blessed for sure!

This week (I think it was Monday), Kim sent me an Easter Egg full of Warhead candies. With the candy came a challenge. The challenge was to spray 4 sprays of the Warhead spray and immediately follow it with 5 warhead hard candies. After the sour flavor was gone, I had to throw in 6 sour gummy cubes. My companion also threw in a bonus round of four more sprays of sour spray. Fun times. I'll mail home the pics we took. They're pretty intense. My tongue was pretty dead after that.

Well I hope all is well. If I forgot anything, I'll write home later. I wanna hear about Jill's new wheels, if she got some yet. I hope you all have a nice week. I'll write home on Saturday next week, because we have In-Field Training on Friday next week.

I love you all!

サンダーソン 長老

(Elder Sanderson)

 The Elder Sandersons at the Provo Temple

 Best buds for life!

Beau's district + Ian 

Merry Christmas!

Hello there!

Strange weather eh? I guess that's Utah for you. It makes me wish I had a real coat. A bunch of Elders here have the one from Mr. Mac. It's pretty nice and it has a detachable waterproof liner. One of the Brothers I did sealings with this morning said "merry Christmas" to us. I thought it was because of the snow at first, but then he reminded us that is Christ's birthday. So happy birthday to him. Also Happy Birthday to Seth Wynn yesterday. I hope it was great.

This week was great! (Surprise, Surprise) Elder Beau Sanderson got here on Wednesday! (He's my cousin for those of you who don't know him.) I wasn't able to host for his arrival on Wednesday, but I did see him and talk to him at dinner. We have the same meal schedule, so we see each other a lot. He has two companions and is already learning some Korean. Sugoi desu ne?! (Isn't it great?!) He said he is enjoying the MTC already and it's getting even better. I'm glad he is taking well to the change of pace. His residence is in the building I do service in on Thursdays, so I might see him there too. He doesn't live near me though. He'll get to email on Saturday, but I don't know when his P-day is.

In other news, we got Kohai (juniors) this week! On Monday we got 27 Nihonjin (Japanese) Elders and on Wednesday we got 25ish other missionaries. Our branch has 105 missionaries in it! The whole fourth floor in our residence hall is Nihongo missionaries. It's super fun to practice my Nihongo with the Nihonjin. I had a fairly coherent and comprehendable conversation with Shimizu Choro last night. He is from Kobe and he was washing a stain off of his cuff. With the help of my dictionary, I told him he could borrow my Shout stain remover when he does his laundry. It was pretty cool. Meeting the Nihonjin missionaries makes me want to go to Nihon (Japan) really bad. They are super friendly and have great senses of humor.

How did you all like General Conference. They played it in the auditorium where we have firesides. We watched all of the sessions in there. I too enjoyed the "Stop It" talk by Pres. Uchtdorf and Elder Holland's talk about a similar subject just before that. I have access to all the General Conference stuff on LDS.org so I watched/listened to the YW conference while doing TALL (Tech Assisted Language Learning). I saw you, Jill! You have a beastie close up! Davis Shimai (Sister Davis) in my district said that Jill is really cute. I said that Jill looks just like me. Davis Shimai gave me a pity laugh. Anyway, I enjoyed Pres. Monson's talk about Believing, Obeying, and Enduring even though it was directed toward the young women.

Priesthood Session was baller as usual.I enjoyed Elder Bednar's talk about Honoring the Priesthood. He spoke of how we are entitled to the help and power of God if we live worthy of it.

Two and a half weeks until I'm on my way to Nihon! Super stoked! People keep telling me my Nihongo capability will plummet when I get there. Ha!! I'm sure my comprehension of fluent Nihonjin will be less than ideal, but my abilities will only improve. That's why I talk to the Nihonjin Elders so much. Get as much practice as I can.

My comp's friend had a saying that whenever something awesome would happen, he would say "The Church is true!" He's use it in situations like getting double meat on a sub for free. Now we use it for everything, but we say "Kyokai ga shinjitsu desu!" Our branch pres. said it randomly while we were in devotional review with the Nihonjin on Tuesday night. My comp and I turned to eachother, fist pumped about three times and then fist bumped. It was great!

Well remember that the Church is true. I love you all. Keep on keepin' on!

Ai shite imasu (I love you)

Sanderson Choro

Werr Herro!

Konichiwa!

First of all, Happy Birthday tomorrow, Meg! I can't remember how old you are going to be. 22? Anyway, hope it goes well.

Thanks for all the letters and stuff this week. It's weird to think that I only have about 3 1/2 weeks left at the MTC. Some of our friends from other missions are leaving soon, but BEAU GETS HERE IN FIVE DAYS!!! I'm super stoked! I have been praying to be able to be his host when he gets here, but we'll see what the Lord has in mind. For those of you who don't know what a host is, it's the missionary that picks up the new missionary at the curb. I have some people Beau needs to talk to.

Well I don't know if I included some things in last week's email, so I'll make sure to cover them. I said there is a choir of 364 people going to Gen Conf. I am not, however, included in them. I haven't had enough singing experience. The choir now includes 365 people. Can you guess who the last one is? Yep, Elder David Archuleta. My comp is super pissed! But my comp put nineteen years of car rides and showers as his listed experience, so he needs to get over it. Speaking of Elder Archuleta, he was getting his haircut while my comp was yesterday. My comp talked to him for a couple minutes and was complemented on his good beard genes. When Elder Archuleta walked out of the barber shop, we made eye contact. Sparks flew and I said "Konichiwa," he said "Hola," and chuckled and left. It was pretty hilarious. He's super short and super shy though.

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I was released as district leader about a week and a half ago. Elder "Fly Guy" Jones is the district leader now. He is great.

Anyway, I mentioned stuff about tie trading. It's super fun and missionaries here go ape of paisleys. My companions and I laugh because we all thought paisleys were old men ties. I have been asked to trade the black and green paisley tie, but I won't cuz I wore it to Cori's wedding. One Elder said it is one of my "God Ties." He was hilariously serious about tie trading. He would check the brand and the composition (like polyester or silk) before he even thought about trading. I laughed as he bragged about having to Donald Trump brand ties. Tie trading is serious business, apparently. It is super fun to meet other Elders as you trade away old ties for new ones. I also get to go talk to Elder Ryan Cottle (from our home ward) because he is one floor below me. Thanks for sending my ties, so I can get into the game.

My comp and I had to walk to the BYU student clinic on Wednesday because he needed a prescription refilled. It's about three blocks away from the MTC. It was soooooo weird to be in the real world as a missionary. We saw some scantily clad BYU girls jogging and we were like "LOOK AWAY!" I also passed some girls on the way back and they dropped a paper. I just kept walking past them and my comp was like "Way to go Elder." I said, "I'm a missionary! I don't know how to act around girls!" It made us realize how much of a bubble the MTC is.

Well there's not much left to say. Just wanna say to Jill that I want to hear about her new job. It sounds like that new computer Dad got is pretty baller. I did some sealings today at the temple. That was nice. I love you all. Keep on keepin on. If I remember anything else, I'll write home.

Aishitemasu (I love you)

Sanderson Choro

A letter and pictures!

Whoa!

It's been thirty days already?!

This week was great. In sacrament meeting on Sunday, our new 3rd counselor of the branch presidency spoke. He used to be a physical therapist for the Cougars. His name is Brother Butler and he knows Brother Empey! He told a story about a missionary who went to Oakland, CA and had a great influence on a woman because of the love he had for her. He let his name slip out at the end and I was like, "Wait a tick. Who?" I went and talked to Brother Butler and found out that he knows him. Pretty cool!

Our Branch Presidency is President Krueger, Brother Mack, Brother Wadsworth (Pres. Hinckley's nephew), and Brother Butler. They are some pretty cool men.

On Tuesday, our devotional was with Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve. He spoke about having the Spirit with us when we teach and he also spoke a lot about how the Sacrament helps us to have the Holy Ghost. When we were singing prelude hymns, Elder Oaks walked in and we all stood up. I turned to Elder Carver and said, "D. H. Oaks. Q.O.12 NBD" We were laughing so hard we couldn't finish the verse of the Hymn.

My district is in the MTC choir and yes they are going to General Conference next month. The choir can only have 364 people in it, so they had a survey and chose the best candidates. The MTC choir will be singing on Saturday afternoon.

Beau, it sounds like your farewell went smashingly. It's a good thing you spoke about Moroni's Promise. The Book of Mormon combined with the Spirit are your most effective tools for conversion. Helping investigators understand Moroni's Promise and challenging them to read the B of M will be the best way to help them come closer to Christ. I hope you're not freaking out too much about being in the MTC in a little less than two weeks. It's a great experience and if I can I'll be there to greet you at the curb.

Subarashii tenki desu ne? (Wonderful weather, right?) I'm lovin it, but we don't get much of it because we're in the classroom all day. My Nihongo is still getting better and I can teach a lot of stuff without notes! TALL Lab is very useful here. It's like Rosetta stone, but it teaches how to teach the gospel. It's nice.

Dad, I'm glad you sold my Rodeo. I read that letter to my companion and we were busting a gut! The part with the broken grammar talking about Mom going four-wheeling was the best! I'm gonna miss your brats n tots. My comp and I were laughing at how you were "commanding the elements with your [farts]"

Thanks for the packages this week. I got a CD and some goodies from Sister Moody. Mom, you read my mind with the Super Bowl Party in a box. I was gonna ask for some salty snacks cuz we eat a ton of candy here.

I forgot to include something about the pictures. The picture with my companion and I in our residence with Elder Akau in the background is pretty cool. My comp and I have the same tie and the same suit. My companion, my roommates, and I went to Mr. Mac so we have some of the same shoes and suits. It's pretty funny.

Well I gotta wrap it up here, but that's my report for the week. Love yous guys.

Love,

Sanderson Choro


Ian sent home his SD card. You only get to see 4 though. Apparently he needs to be checked for Parkinson's because the rest are all blurry. It looks like he's doing well though and we're glad to see he's still alive.

I'm not even in Japan yet!

It's that time of the week again! P Day!

Just as a quick sidenote, Provo Temple breakfast is waaaayyy better than MTC breakfast. An Okinawan man named Amos Nashima dished up breakfast for us. My roommates spoke a little Japanese to him so that was cool. I did initiatories today and one of the temple workers was Wayne Newton. Not really, but he looked and talked like him. He was saying my Japanese was coming in handy because I was a proxy for five French people. He's pretty funny.

This week was good. My comp still has a cough, but I'm well. We had a devotional on Tuesday night from Elder Craig A Cardon of the Seventy. He spoke about the mission of the line of Ephraim. I sang in the choir at the devotional. It turns out I can hold my own as a tenor, so I will probably keep doing choir. We sang Lead, Kindly Light. It was fun to sing with my district members and feel the spirit. Another awesome thing we do at devotionals or firesides is the Called to Serve Fanfare. It's sung as if we're an army marching to the battelfront so the first verse is sung really soft as if the enemy can hear us over the hill. The first chorus is sung softly as well but once we come hit the second verse we sing louder like we just crested the hill. The second chorus is a little louder and when we sing "Called to serve our King" we stand up and sing the chorus again really loud. I can always feel the spirit so strong, it's like I'm about to explode. I can always feel the spirit really well through music like Called to Serve and Army of Helaman.

Anyway, thanks for all the letters and packages. I finally finished off those cookies, Lisa, with the help of my district of course. I'm still workin on those muddy buddies. One Elder in my district has A TON of food, so I get lots of goodies from him too. JoAnn/ Sister Scott, thanks for Elder Scott's address. I haven't written him in a long time and it will be good to get back in touch with him.

My Nihongo improves like ereday. Yesterday I learned how to say "have you ever" type questions. I turned to my comp this morning and said "I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?" in Nihongo. It was hilarious when he figured out the translation. I also learned how to say "Who let the dogs out?" We plan to say that to our sensei this evening.

Pics will be coming home this week so keep an eye peeled. I'll also send my SD card so someone can post them on the blog. I love you guys, keep up the good fight at home!

Love,

Sanderson Choro