Monday, February 18, 2013

Hey how is everyone doing??  Did Brendin just get home from his mission?  I miss that guy, I feel like he is coming home soon, right?

We just got back from Costco!!!!!  I had to renew my card which was a pain to do in Japanese, but it's all square now and we got our muffins and meat!  Wahooo!  There are a lot of foreigners that work at the Costco's in Japan.  Who knew!  But it felt good to be back in my element, with my hard working people again, haha. :)

Matsudo dendo is fun. Very fun :)  We have had quite a few dinners with members, we have one planned tonight, played soccer on Saturday (I'm not super good at soccer and like everyone there played in high school and stuff), had a Valentines party Saturday (our investigators from Liberia came to that and they are way funny.  They were always like, "Man I'm so biiiizy in Japan.  So biiizy!"  We would laugh every time they said the word busy.  The didn't like the food.  No joke, they were like, " Man, I like Fried Chicken and steak.  I don't eat none of this curry, I need some good fried chicken wit some kool-aide like they done do in America ya know!?"  And we just laughed and we're like,  "We feel you man", haha, but they said that they are coming to church next week so that is good).  Basketball is next Saturday and we are also meeting with the bishop's family for dinner this week.  We are going to hound him hard to start giving referrals and to get him to baptize one of his friends or something.  "If you don't, the ward don't!", that is our new motto with him, haha.  It's true though, the ward's lack of dendo fire or rather the ability for the ward to gain dendo fire will spawn from the Bishop and his actions. 

Because we only have a few investigators, we spend most of our time doing everything but teaching, haha, which is interesting.  My purpose is to teach, and if I don't teach then at the end of the day I don't really feel like a missionary a whole lot ya know?  I love teaching!  I'm even learning Japanese Sign language so that I can teach a lady that was baptized a year ago, haha.  I'm pretty good.  I can hold a basic conversation and commit someone to baptism, haha.  I'm gonna learn the Sacrament prayer and help do that for her on Sunday, but there are like 15 people that are fluent in the ward so we can get lots of help. 

Elder Anderson is way legit.  We have too much fun together, haha.  We are always laughing and making jokes. The Sisters are way funny too.  One of them kinda can speak a little English and the other one can't.  The one who can't knows Spencer Norawong cause he was her zone leader in the MTC.  And she speaks Kansai Ben Japanese which idk is like the equivalent of a thick southern accent.  When she gets excited I have no idea what she is saying, haha, it's way funny. 

Our members are way legit.  Basically everyone speaks English. Our EQP served in LA a few years ago.  Most of these people went to BYU Hawaii for a few years. 

But they don't give referrals!  It's way frustrating. 

When we go out streeting or housing, it's a weird experience.  Almost no one will talk to us, like, we get blatantly ignored by almost everyone.  It's nothing new, but it is more apparent here than in other areas.  It's like, the Lord doesn't want us to go out and have to talk to all of the people that aren't interested, He wants us to teach people's friends and more prepared people!  I believe He wants this area to transition into an area like that.  If we go out and find tons of great new investigators just as the missionaries, then the members will continue to have the attitude that " i don't need to dendo. That's the missionaries job.  See, they can find people themselves", ya know?! 

Hopefully, we can start seeing some great miracles here and the members will step up their game.  The ward's theme right now is Member Missionary Work.  MMW!  But the past few transfers have been spent pushing for that and they haven't had a baptism in over 5 transfers.  We told President Budge that if things don't start turning around here, then he should pull missionaries out and let the members dendo, haha.  I think he actually might, haha. 

But hopefully it will not come to that and we can turn this place around!!!!!!!  With the Lord all things are possible! (Matt.19:26, Mark10:27, Luke18:27) it's true! 

I started studying kanji the other day.  I've learned like 320 kanji so far.  Just another thousand or so until I'm fluent!  Yikes!

Well, that's about all!

See you guys next week, well, not really, but... 

Love you,

Elder Crandall