Good morning.
It is 9:30 am and a beautiful day in Japan. Hopefully it stays that way. The weather has been nuts recently.
This past week has been almost as gloomy as the weather. We've been cooped up sick...trying to proselyte but it has been tough.
I think typhoon season is almost over.
I got to wear my BRIGHT orange jacket alot this week. It certainly is Halloweeny. Haha...oh goodness.
I think I might go try and find something a bit more conservative to wear during chilly weather.
We turned off the A/C unit this week. We didn't really need it at all. Its been 60 and rainy. We really only need it for dehumidifying purposes.
Enough about the weather.
This week we had dinner at K----- kyodai's home. His twin girls are adorable. They know my name and always say hi to me at church. We ate spaghetti. I always feel really bad because the members are always very concerned when I come over. They always want to feed me something American. As picky as I am though, I really have been easy going about food here. I eat curry and ramen and sushi alot. So Japanese food hasn't been that bad. Granted...when I come home...I might want to eat an American hamburger...but for now I'm good lol.
This week I've been feeling alot of language pressure. I don't know where this transfer has gone...but we only have 3 weeks left.Taneda shimai has been teaching me "kansaiben" which is an accent that alot of Japanese people in the Kobe area use. It's Japanese but super....I don't know...I guess the ghetto equivalent of Japanese. Haha... I guess you could compare it to how people from New Orleans speak English. Haha. So yeah...I'm learning to talk kansai ben....I feel pretty cool when I use it. It isn't used in the Tokyo area and missionaries aren't really supposed to use it...but it is fun to learn anyways.
I have been pretty serious about language study this week...but everyday I find out just how wrong my MTC grammar books really are. Sometimes I'll say something I learned from it and Taneda shimai will just start laughing...apparently...the way our books teach us is just very strange. But then she will tell me how Japanese people will say it. So atleast I'm learning. What will I do when I don't have a Nihon-jin doryo anymore though? I don't know. I'm trying to take advantage of it now.
In comparison to other people in my doki...I think I know about as much Japanese if not more, so I don't feel behind...but I'm growing impatient with it. I feel like I should get it by now.
We had zone conference this week. I like President Budge's new idea called "The Play Book" for teaching lessons. It is just really good for new missionaries learning the lessons. The title was cute too. I love anything with a sports reference. Zone conference overall was good...but I kind of felt really stressed out afterwards...my companion says numbers aren't important...but I disagree. Yes, numbers are not why we are here...but they are a good way to gauge your efforts as a missionary. There's a reason we have stats.
Last night we ate at the T------ family's home. T------- kyodai is really funny. He lived in Europe for a long time and likes to speak English to me. We tried to share our message...but he just kept going off in English about something else. I think it really confused Taneda shimai.
Anyways. This week I did have an experience that reminded me why I'm on a mission.
So we visited this less active woman. Her husband died and she's struggled with depression ever since. Well she was coming to church really well last month...and then she recently stopped coming. So Wednesday...even though it was raining...we took the train ride and then walked another 4 miles to her house. I initially was mad...just thinking..."great, we came all the way out here in the rain...and she won't even be home" but she answered the door and started to cry. She has had a bad few weeks and her depression had onset again...and she said she had just been praying for help...and then we showed up on her door. I know maybe we didn't baptize anyone or anything...but being able to come help someone who is struggling...and to help her heal her heart through the atonement--well that is why I'm out here. And it just made me feel like I was fulfilling my purpose as a missionary, however small of an event it was.
Anyways. I hope you know I love you.
Things are going well.
I'm trying hard. I have an exchange this week and a 2nd transfer missionary conference. So that should be fun.
Anyways. Ai shite imasu
Love, Goose
It is 9:30 am and a beautiful day in Japan. Hopefully it stays that way. The weather has been nuts recently.
This past week has been almost as gloomy as the weather. We've been cooped up sick...trying to proselyte but it has been tough.
I think typhoon season is almost over.
I got to wear my BRIGHT orange jacket alot this week. It certainly is Halloweeny. Haha...oh goodness.
I think I might go try and find something a bit more conservative to wear during chilly weather.
We turned off the A/C unit this week. We didn't really need it at all. Its been 60 and rainy. We really only need it for dehumidifying purposes.
Enough about the weather.
This week we had dinner at K----- kyodai's home. His twin girls are adorable. They know my name and always say hi to me at church. We ate spaghetti. I always feel really bad because the members are always very concerned when I come over. They always want to feed me something American. As picky as I am though, I really have been easy going about food here. I eat curry and ramen and sushi alot. So Japanese food hasn't been that bad. Granted...when I come home...I might want to eat an American hamburger...but for now I'm good lol.
This week I've been feeling alot of language pressure. I don't know where this transfer has gone...but we only have 3 weeks left.Taneda shimai has been teaching me "kansaiben" which is an accent that alot of Japanese people in the Kobe area use. It's Japanese but super....I don't know...I guess the ghetto equivalent of Japanese. Haha... I guess you could compare it to how people from New Orleans speak English. Haha. So yeah...I'm learning to talk kansai ben....I feel pretty cool when I use it. It isn't used in the Tokyo area and missionaries aren't really supposed to use it...but it is fun to learn anyways.
I have been pretty serious about language study this week...but everyday I find out just how wrong my MTC grammar books really are. Sometimes I'll say something I learned from it and Taneda shimai will just start laughing...apparently...the way our books teach us is just very strange. But then she will tell me how Japanese people will say it. So atleast I'm learning. What will I do when I don't have a Nihon-jin doryo anymore though? I don't know. I'm trying to take advantage of it now.
In comparison to other people in my doki...I think I know about as much Japanese if not more, so I don't feel behind...but I'm growing impatient with it. I feel like I should get it by now.
We had zone conference this week. I like President Budge's new idea called "The Play Book" for teaching lessons. It is just really good for new missionaries learning the lessons. The title was cute too. I love anything with a sports reference. Zone conference overall was good...but I kind of felt really stressed out afterwards...my companion says numbers aren't important...but I disagree. Yes, numbers are not why we are here...but they are a good way to gauge your efforts as a missionary. There's a reason we have stats.
Last night we ate at the T------ family's home. T------- kyodai is really funny. He lived in Europe for a long time and likes to speak English to me. We tried to share our message...but he just kept going off in English about something else. I think it really confused Taneda shimai.
Anyways. This week I did have an experience that reminded me why I'm on a mission.
So we visited this less active woman. Her husband died and she's struggled with depression ever since. Well she was coming to church really well last month...and then she recently stopped coming. So Wednesday...even though it was raining...we took the train ride and then walked another 4 miles to her house. I initially was mad...just thinking..."great, we came all the way out here in the rain...and she won't even be home" but she answered the door and started to cry. She has had a bad few weeks and her depression had onset again...and she said she had just been praying for help...and then we showed up on her door. I know maybe we didn't baptize anyone or anything...but being able to come help someone who is struggling...and to help her heal her heart through the atonement--well that is why I'm out here. And it just made me feel like I was fulfilling my purpose as a missionary, however small of an event it was.
Anyways. I hope you know I love you.
Things are going well.
I'm trying hard. I have an exchange this week and a 2nd transfer missionary conference. So that should be fun.
Anyways. Ai shite imasu
Love, Goose