Furukawa train station
Family!
I swear these weeks have been dragging on between emailings. There still hasn:t been a full week between emailing too! Sigh. Whatever. So let us begin our random assortment of details.
This week I hit my 6 month mark? Right? Crazy. I still can:t decide if its been fast or like forever. For 1 it still feels like I have everything to learn and to do but also feels like I:ve been doing this for my whole life.
So the APs came on Wednesday to watch Eikaiwa. (STRESS!!!!) Only one non-member showed up. We had 1 member, 1 non-member, 1 member who is deaf basically (But he gets used as a joint a lot, I think because since he can:t hear he just sits there) and then 4 missionaries. Not the best showing. Because of this whole holiday thing no one came. Anyway, after Yamatani choro asked Lay choro (ap) if there were any recent baptisms. I kinda was tuned out then I heard *Aizu* My heart skipped a beat then it occured to me that it was Itosan who was Fukata Choro:s investigator. Anyway then Lay choro says, *Oh wait......Koriyama* Huh? No one is in Koriyama....only Aizu elders go.... I scared him with how fast I flipped around *Sakkaisan!!!!!* *Oh yeah that was her name* Apparently Sakkaisan got baptized on the 30th. I missed it by a week and teaching her 1 commandment. Talk about a bitter sweet moment. Super glad she got baptized but man. I, personally even since Shinno choro threw me to the lions with her, taught her every lesson. Whatever, all is well. Sigh.
So we went to a store the other day and they had a whole wall of Totoro merchandise, oh dear was it amazing.
So the other day we got a letter from the Honbu (mission home) and what did is say, Elder Oaks is coming in Feburary! Yay. Shall be awesome to hear from him in deed.....thats about all I have to say about that.
So this last week we have been visiting a bunch of old people from the area book. Talk about learning the importance of keeping records. If I ever meet some of these old missionaries I will have a few words to say to them. The funny thing is how ridiculously old the records are here too. I had never seen records from the 90s until here. Kinda fun because we have like half the members old records so you can see where they had problems....sometimes I feel evil with all this info.
Ok so we were trying to visit this person and he didn:t have a room number in this apartment complex so we just decided to start ringing doors (the beauty of being a missionary, you are never lost, sometimes you just find you an *unexpected house*) So we ring the first door and a man answers and I say my name and he looks at my name tag, normally a sign of *I:m about to slam the door* but he just flips around and starts setting up chairs then invites us in....well I think we found the place. Ha. So we sit and listen to him talk (literally he gave us no time to talk) and in this speech he gives us he tells us this powerful testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon, of our callings, of all this church stuff and in my mind I:m thinking, *Well lets get you in the font* but then I look at his table, hm cigerettes. Then he answers my question. *I would be baptized but I:m Japanese and I can:t give up tea because I:m japanese and since I:m drinking tea anyway I still smoke* Ha. At this point his teaching record flashes in my mind. Oh yes, you are the person that told the missionaries to go talk to the first presidency and say Japanese people don:t have to follow the Word of Wisdom. Very interesting. And of course when we share this experience in our PEC like meeting on Sunday everyone laughs because they have met him. Fun stuff.
Something crazy and awesome. Since arriving in Furukawa we have been fed 13 times. Just saying. Thats not normal.........at all. I have heard of people being fed 10 times during their whole mission time.
So lately since Yamatani choro has not been so in on the whole finding I have been running it. Basically super frustrating. These maps are SO HARD to read. Then add on top of that they are covered in Chinese characters I can:t read but japanese people can. I have been proud of how much I have been able to find but the Japanese address system needs an update.
Which brings to my next one. My companion. I have seen him teach and he teaches good but even when teaching sometimes he just shuts off. This kills me because its normally when a person asks a question I don:t know the meaning of a single word of. He just sits there. I give him the whole not subtle nod to answer. To say anything and he just sits there tuned out. Same thing with a lot of companionship studies. He just sits there. On a good day he will say lets role play and I will be the investigator and while I try to teach he will clip his nails or something. He refuses to do a lot of things. Not out right, he just sits there. Planning is like pulling teeth. I have started treating him like a bean at times and he won:t even react like a bean. So planning is alone most of the time. I ask for advice get none. Although sometimes when we are in the middle of an activity he will then tell me that I:m doing it wrong and what we just did had no meaning. Sigh. I:m trying. I even begged him to critique me during companionship inventory. That actually went ok. The way to bug me the most as a missionary is that you don:t do something that you can do. He does this all day. Must love, must love, must love, must love.
So there are a lot of Christians in this town, just saying.
I found three americans the other day within like 30 minutes. They are so hard to talk to about the gospel. *Hat tip to Mandy*
Tell this Steven to watch out. I have Button as Mandy:s dating advisor in Logan and Lyssa as her dating advisor in Washington, all men have to go through them.
I knew Lindsay wanted to get a job at the MTC, didn:t know she did. Cool.
I:m glad mandy still has her attitude with this whole *That wasn:t helpful* response to her fathers blessing.
Wel that is all for today. I:m ok. don:t think this companion thing is bringing me all the way down. Hopefully we can get things smoothed out soon. Lots of flashbacks to my setting apart as you explained and The Best 2 Years. Both those seem to suggest all will be well, just takes work I guess.
Love,
Elder Carter
