September 29, 2013

Hey, so it's still hot over here....which kinda worries me because we start suit season tomorrow. I hope it cools down just a little bit.

 

So, yes....the new camera is pretty sick. (Yes, I still say 'sick'......judge me. ;))

 

Click on any photo to enlarge.

 

 

 

 

 

900 year-old tree

 

 

Isahaya, Japan

 

Also, this week, we've been working super hard with R. We met him a couple times this week and he is doing pretty great. I do have one concern. He told me he will never ever give up tea. He says he's preparing to be baptized and that it's what he wants. He said that he cannot give it up if there isn't a reason to give it up......but we haven't taught him about the Word of Wisdom yet. We are going to really focus on how it's not just our physical benefit but also our spiritual benefit.

 

His other big problem this week was hilarious. We were about to teach English class and he stormed into the church and told us he had a problem. He opened up to the picture in the Book of Mormon of Lehi and his Family on the boat.....you know the one? Well, in the photo, there is a picture of a little boy and he is JACKED. He is so built. His arms are monsterous. R pointed to the picture and said 絶対うそだ! He said there is no way that kid is that strong. That's BS and stuff like that. Haha, I was laughing so hard. He wanted me to call the branch president to get it fixed.....he was kinda joking aroung though. He makes me laugh.

 

He also told a stake leader that he really wants to be baptized. So he's doing great.

 

 

Prep for English Class

 

This week has been pretty rough though....We worked super hard, but didn't get any new investigators and a bunch of our appointments didn't work out. I think my companions might be getting a little discouraged. It's hard to be super Genki all the time.

 

In the apartment

 

 

 

Looks like chicken, but who knows.

 

 

We have no idea what this is.

 

 

But we had a cool dinner appointment with one of our members. Here name is Sister Kita. She's really just a fire ball. I found out that she used to be a Jehovah's Witness.....Yeah. Pretty crazy. She says that they come to her house A LOT! She just tells them that she found the truth and that she's not interested.....I was pretty impressed. She says it started with Love. This church teaches love.

 

 

 

Anyway, this is the last week of the transfer. Tomorrow, I'm teaching district meeting about being Christlike missionaries and how we need to always remember whom we represent. I hope it goes well. Also, next week you'll get emails on Monday (I'm sorry) because of transfers... I Love you all. Thank you for all the emails. I was super happy to see a letter from Jessica and Jake.....I'll be honest. It kinda made me jump when I saw the name Jessica Low.....Haha, Love you all.

 

Elder Low

September 15, 2013 - An Awesome Week

I'm pretty pumped right now.....so, this week, I taught my first District meeting ever. I was FREAKING out. I made a lesson plan about Baptismal invites and then I got a call from the ZL's saying that the AP's were going to sit in on my DM......SO I kinda freaked out and decided to make a new lesson plan about miracles! I talked about how we have a low expectation for our zone and how we can triple our numbers in a week if we look for miracles. I talked about how we see miracles. The three things I mentioned was Faith, Love, and Enthusiasm. It turned out WAY well. I showed the little youth video from last year about the girl who goes grocery shopping and needs money to get to church and miraculously finds extra money. The spirit was super strong and I felt WAY good about it.

 

Then, this week, our District alone received 15 New investigators in a week. It was the highest number of New investigators in a week for the entire mission. I got a call from the recorder who asked me how it was done. I told him and there was an Article in the FM mini news that was sent to all the missionaries in the mission. I was sooo happy. We are expecting a lot more miracles in the future. This is just the beginning.

So, we had an excellent week. Also, R was telling me how he doesn't agree with all the church's teachings but that he wants to open his heart, because if it is closed, God can't get in there. Haha, I was so happy with him.

Anyway, I'm about to go to the Bomb museum for District P-DAY. We're celebrating our huge numbers.

Love you all. thank you for your prayers and Support

Elder Low

September 1, 2013 - Hello From Isahaya

Yes, I was transfered. I miss Okinawa. However, Isahaya REALLY needs help. Here is the big news. 

 

I am training again....and I have another junior companion. That puts me in a threesome. On top of that....I am the district leader over ten missionaries. 2 of which are the zl`s which scares me. President must trust me a lot. It freaks me out.

 

My companions are Elder Just from Orem, Utah and Elder Anderson (the bean) from Logan. They are both super sick. I love it. I`m speaking more Japanese than I thought I could. I have to talk A LOT. Elder Just has really good Japanese, but I still have to say the difficult things and that is...hard. Haha, but I love it.

 

Today, I called all the district for reports.....nobody has investigators. We do in Isahaya, but nobody really has any.....We are currently the zone with the least investigators. I was shocked by our numbers....it is time to get to work

 

Yesterday, We had a district conference in Nagasaki. Elder Nakatsuka came again. He`s a beast. He is so freaking awesome. President came as well. Both of them got everyone in Nagasaki pumped to do missionary work. SO I was really happy. However, Elder Nakatsuka had all the DL`s stand up. He then asked my age. Haha, He asked everyone in the congregation to think about how much Heavenly Father trusts a 19 year old boy to decide whether or not a person is worthy for baptism....kinda freaked me out.

 

BUT, it`s been great here. I miss Elder Alger and my investigator Y-san. The last day I talked to her on the phone. She started crying and told me how scared she was of her cancer.....I really didn`t want to leave, but I know that Elder Alger will take care of her.

 

Our big Investigator here is a guy named R. He is half black, but speaks zero English. He is so hilarious. He`s like a sassy black guy.....but Japanese. I love him. We had a great lesson with him the other day about faith and he`s progressing. Here`s something about him. He says　だいじょうび　He`s says it`s not funny if he just says things normally so...why would he say 大丈夫．　He‘s great!

 

Other than that, I just started out here. I saw the wedding pictures. It looks like a blast but......I miss my roommates! AHHHHH They all have beards! haha, Tell them I love them and miss them.

 

I`ll keep pushing and finding people to teach