February 26, 2013

Crazy week this week. First, Mom bumped shoulders with a bank robber?? I wish she was there when he robbed the bank. She totally would have saved the day. ;) Sounds intense. I'm just glad nobody got hurt.

Saturday was Elder Dolbin's birthday. It was awesome. I got up early and made his bed....haha, He didn't want to make a huge deal out of it, but we all had cake and it was a fun time. BUT! Later that day, we were planning for TRC with our teacher brother Taylor. We were all kinda sleepy because we were doing weekly planning and at this point, we don't really know what we want to learn for Japanese. There isn't much the teachers can teach us as a group anymore. Most of the stuff they are teaching, we can find ourselves in a grammar dictionary. So, we were all kinda quiet. Brother Taylor got kinda frustrated and decided to have us all stand up to wake us up a little....It didn't.....but we woke up after a few seconds. As I stood up, I looked across the room at Elder Rowell. I told you that he has had a couple of medical problems. As he stood up, I watched his eyes roll to the back of his head.I thought he was just tired, but then he fell backward and hit his head on the desk and then hit his head on the wall....pretty hard I might add. Elder Hutchison describes it as the Desk-Wall combo. It was really really bad hit. It gets worse though. We all started walking over to see if he was alright....and then he started having a seizure. All the sisters in the room started screaming. Brother Taylor and Elder Hutchison ran to him and checked his pulse and what not. Unfortunately, when someone has a seizure, you can only let them go. There isn't much you can do. I ran to the wall and called the front desk. It was the scariest thing of the week. The security team came and took him off campus to the ER. He's ok now.

After that, Elder Dolbin and I went to TRC where we taught Watanabe Shimai. She is the mother of a sister in our branch. She brought her son with her who spoke very little Japanese. It was so much fun. SOOOO much fun. i loved it. At the end of the lesson, we asked if her son knew how to pray in japanese. He did not.....so....we taught him. Haha, why not. We do it with our investigators. It was so fun. Then she asked if we wanted her to send a picture of us to our mothers. Haha, of course we aren't going to decline. So, she did. She was so awesome.

 

 

On Wednesday, earlier this week, I got to Host for new missionaries. THAT was a blast. You can probably imagine how much fun I had. I just remember how difficult it was for me on the first day and ever since then, I wanted to be a host so that I could help new missionaries with the same problems I had. There was a lot of tears and screaming. Haha, it was so so sad. It was always scary when I walked up to a car and watched 8 or 9 people get out. Two missionaries coming to the MTC and lots of tears. I guess I was lucky. Anyway, I was Hosting an Elder who was going to Philidelphia spanish speaking. When I walked him to his classroom, I ran into brother Weist. Jake and Jon probably know him really well. He was my temple prep teacher. Probably, one of my best friends in the singles ward. He's just an awesome guy and he gave me loads of advice for my mission. He wasn't allowed to speak English in the classroom so he pulled me out in the hall and we had a quick conversation. Haha, he's such an awesome guy. It was great!

Yesterday, as District Leader, I thought it would be a good idea to get the district working hard on Japanese. Sooo, we decided to have an English Fast. Zero English all day. It was so great. I'm shocked at how much we've learned....however, I know that when I land in Japan, i'll be shocked at how little I know. I don't know. Right now, it feels great. We spoke Japanese all day. It was really difficult, but it was really good.

I'm doing great dad. You don't need to worry about me. I'm kinda nervous to get into Japan, but I'm sick of the MTC. It's getting a little old. I'm so so excited to get into the field. I'm just worried about the priests in the ward. I don't think they know what they are missing out on. This mission is the best. It makes us all work hard, trust the lord, become responsible, and learn to love each other. Since i've been here, i've been falling in love with the hymn "Love One Another". Haha, it's great. I feel so great. I hope I come home satisfied with how I served. I'm doing everything I can to make sure I fufill that wish of mine.

How is Sam and Clint? I'd love to hear from them. Clint's birthday is coming up here. That's exciting! going to be a deacon. :)

How are Brad and Zack? I miss them tons. I miss Brad making fun of me for eating too much ramen and then proceeding to borrow a couple packs of it because.....well....they are the best. :) I hope Zack and Jon watch the voice together when it starts up again. Haha, I'm sure that there will be lots of fun conversations about the voice. I hope that the ward is doing great as well.

I'd also love to hear about mom's school. It's so much fun to hear about.

Anway, I'm out of time. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Randy Kazuhiro Low

February 12, 2013

So, this week was kinda long. Not a ton to report, but enough to fill up my time.

We taught our progressing investigator yesterday. He name is Shimomura shimai (actually Tingey Sensei). It was the best lesson we had taught in a long time. The Japanese was going way well, and the spirit was so so strong. We are trying to get her to ask her parents if they will let her get baptized. When she said the prayer at the end of the lesson, she started crying and begging Heavenly Father that her father's heart would be softened. It was really awesome.

With Sister Uryu, Jon's friend from Machida.

I saw Jon (who volunteers at the MTC) on Saturday. I really wanted to talk to him, but I knew that I would have to say goodbye again....and I really didn't want to do that. I felt really bad. But I miss him tons. I miss all my brothers. I'd love to hear from Sam and Clint. Also, I'm writing a letter to Jake and Jon today, cuz I don't think they get my emails all the time.

The older missionaries left for Japan today. That makes my group the oldest Japanese missionaries. It just makes me want to leave more. The food is getting worse and worse the more I eat it. I want to teach real people! It's crazy. I'm not really getting home sick....but sick of home. As in, sick of Provo. Yeah, sometimes, I feel a little heartache when I think of home and my friends, but as I continue to stay busy, it doesn't hurt so bad. I just have to work hard pray lots....but yeah. I am tired of the MTC. I'm ready to get into the field.

The MTC is packed. So packed, that the lines for food go out of the cafeteria. I hate how crowded it gets. Also, people take off their jackets and leave them on chairs while they go get their food. Then, when the other missionaries get their food, we have nowhere to sit. Arguments have started in the cafeteria about people moving coats because their is nowhere to sit. It's crazy. I hate the cafeteria. It's noisy and crowded and everyone is mad. It's a scary place.

Another Group of Davis High missionaries.

Anyway, I'm out of time again. I miss you all and I'm too excited to get out into the field.

Love,
Elder Randy Kazuhiro Low

February 5, 2013

I have lots to say and not much times so here it goes.

First, I sent a picture of our branch snowman. The zone leaders put me on splits with Elder Pollister in the front. He's from Hawaii and had never seen snow before he came here. I've never seen someone get so excited about snow. It was so fun to see him light up. He was in heaven.

Also last P-day, something crazy happened. My district's service assignment is to clean up after devotionals.....kinda like what I did at UVU. We usually get back pretty late. The branch president just tells us to get to bed as quickly as we can. Dolbin Choro and I had gotten back around 10:12 and were heading to our rooms on the third floor. The snow was pretty wet that day. While we were running up the stairs, he slipped. We both laughed. He felt dumb and got up and kept walking. All of the sudden, I got a really sick feeling and looked down at his shoe. It was covered in blood. I freaked out. He pulled his pant leg up and there was blood everywhere. It was a lot of blood. I ran to the bathroom (which was a few steps away) to get some paper towels. On my way there I ran right past the branch president. He looked confused so I just yelled that Elder Dolbin had slipped. I got some paper towels and a first aid kit. The branch president said that he thought it looked ok and that we could handle it. He was right. We cleaned it up and bandaged it.

Everything was fine, but for some reason, both of us still had this sick feeling in our stomaches. I told him we should go see Elder Wirthlin because he was an EMT. We went up there and showed him the cut. He said it looked fine. We thought maybe it wasn't a big deal. Then Elder Wirthlin asked if he had hit his face when he fell. The answer was no...he just slipped. Elder Wirthlin all of the sudden got really serious. He pointed at Elder Dolbin's face at said, "You have Raccoon eyes. They only happen when the body has severe trauma." We looked and sure enough, there was bruising under his eyes. We couldn't figure it out. We cleaned the cut. It was pretty deep, but it was ok. Then things got crazy. Elder Dolbin in a matter of seconds turned white. He looked at me and said, "Elder Low! I'm going to pass out!" and he dropped. Elder Chung (one of the Elders in the room and our new zone leader) and I caught him before he hit the ground. We all got super scared. Then, the branch president walked in. He said he felt the need to come back and saw that Elder Dolbin had just passed out. He told Elder Wirthlin and I to go get help.

We ran to the front desk and got a security guard. He got there, started playing with Elder Dolbin's leg and it started bleeding like crazy.

Around midnight, we had cleaned his leg up again. He asked me to give a blessing. Elder Chung and I gave the blessing (with oil) and Elder Dolbin went to the doctor the next morning. He's ok. He apparently had cut all the way to the bone so his body was freaking out. He's fine now though.

That's the biggest thing that happened this week. I got a new teacher. Her name is sister Tingey and she served in Fukuoka. She's very nice.

I'm trying my best. Good news is Elder Dolbin and I are learning tons. I love the rest of my branch and the work is HUGE!

So, Elder Mikkola on the right from Finland and his companion Elder Lazorro from Brazil. Lazorro Choro has been here for 15 weeks. The MTC lost his visa. He's incredible.

This MTC is too full. There are too many people at meals. Everyone is always late.

Anyway, I'm out of time. I love you all and miss you.

Hope to make you proud.
Love,

Elder Randy Kazuhiro Low

January 29, 2013

So, before I start, thank you for the package and for setting up that blog.

So, weather. Elder Dolbin said that his mom wrote him and said that there has been 128 car accidents in SLC. On that day when it was super slippery, there were three broken arms in the MTC because of the Ice. Almost everybody fell down. Haha, luckily Dolbin Choro and I didn't. We walked outside and watched people falling over everywhere. Haha, he looked and me and started laughing. We basically crawled to class. It rained the night before and the it froze. It was scary. I didn't get hurt though. Don't worry.

The language is a freaking BEAST. It's so so hard. Every day I feel like I'm learning so much and that I'll be speaking in no time....and then a couple hours pass and I feel like an idiot that can't speak. I am very grateful for my background. Elder Dolbin and I are doing really well with the language. He took 6 years of Japanese before he came here and we're speaking and SYL'ing all the time. It's great. I'm so happy that my companion is here to serve and knows what he's doing.

I got a dear elder from Jon....but it all came as 19873 99018273989 127273782 912983 912793871........And I can't read it at all. Hahaha, so i'm sorry that I can't reply. Also, everyone in Wirthlin choro's district came to me saying they met him. I was super jealous. Haha, that's so cool that he was there though. When my companion and I did TRC, we taught two natives and they were so so cool. They were both from Tokyo and had served in Sapporo. It was so fun. We just had a conversation in Japanese and talked about how things were going. I love this language. Even though It's brutal. It's so fun.

Now, Sam!
Happy birthday. I'm so excited that you are becoming a teacher. You get to go to church early and set up the sacrament. I really would love to hear from you. I don't know if Dad told you....but saying goodbye to you was the hardest thing I did all day. It was hard. I hope you have an awesome birthday.

Jacob,
I'm sorry I didn't send a card or something. I hope you had a great birthday as well. Are you dating someone? I'd love to hear about her. If either of you (Jon or you) get married while i'm gone, I'd at least like to know what she's like. Keep me updated and I hope your birthday was awesome. Tell Brad and Nat and Zack that I love them and miss them. Also, tell the ward that I send my love.

Our District lost Brother Brinley. He started teaching in a new District which makes me really sad. He really was the best teacher. The new district to get him is really really lucky. I' m so jealous of them. The most spiritual moments of my mission have all come because of him. And that includes Elder Holland coming.

He had us read Moses 7 when God is with Enoch talking about the Earth and how they do not love their god. He told us to let that scripture drive us. Do everything for God. And if that isn't enough drive, do it for Brother Brinley. It was awesome. I got way pumped and wanted to leave the MTC and start teaching.

I got headbutted in foursquare yesterday. My jaw keeps cracking. My head aches. I took a pill and hopefully it's ok.

I'm running out of time. I wish I could tell you more. Just know that I'm loving it out here. I miss everyone and I wish I was with you....but this is too much fun. It's so so exciting. I hope you got my letter to the priests. I hope they are preparing to serve. It's a great time to be a missionary.

I love you all.

Love,
Elder Randy Kazuhiro Low

Pictures from Elder Low

Elder Wirthlin and Elder Tano

 

Elder Mikkola is from Finland. He speaks five languages.

Davis High Missionaries

My District

Letter from Elder Low - January 22, 2013

Shoot dad. I have so much to tell you.

FIRST!
My first mtc devotional was last p day and the speaker was Elder Holland. It was the most amazing spirit. I loved it. He said a couple things like, "There may have been or might be a more exciting time to serve a mission...but I do not know when that was or when it will be" and "You ALL BETTER HAVE AT LEAST ONE CONVERT AND IT HAD BETTER BE YOU!!!" He's awesome.

The new missionaries from Japan came yesterday. We got to talk to them for a little bit. guess what. one of them is from Machida and knows Jon and grandma and grandpa. Haha, unfortunately I did not get her name. My teacher is pretty much the coolest guy ever. I love learning the language and I love the spirit he brings. There has been so many moments that I just think to myself, "this is why i'm out here" and it is so rewarding. Like Nephi says at the beginning of the Book of Mormon, I have been highly favored of the Lord.

When you said this language was the hardest language in the world, you weren't kidding. I thought I knew so much.....I found out I don't know anything. Like, anything at all. It's so so hard. I'm shocked at how much I learn and then I'm even more surprised that it isn't that much. It's crazy. I feel very confident about my progress so far though. I'm really working on verbs right now. Hopefully I continue to grow. Tell Jon I'm sorry that I didn't practice Japanese even when he wrote home and told me too...cuz it sucks now. Haha, but the language is cool and beautiful and I'm learning a lot.

The food......is.........good? Haha, I always eat a lot and then sit and look at my tray thinking, "Did I just eat a hot pocket?" It's filling....but sorta gross. sometimes, it's really good and sometimes i hate it. It all just depends. Haha, don't scare any of the priests. Actually, I bet all of them would love it. It's all you can eat. When it comes to food, I realize that I was spoiled with awesome food.

The bedrooms have only two bunks. I was told that the shimai have three though. In their residence halls, they don't have desks. They have mini desks inside their closets....Yeah, I'm really lucky. And get this, I know you won't believe me and I am being dead serious here. I can't stress how serious I am when I say this. I know sometimes I told you that I was clean and I wasn't super clean, but I am way way WAY more clean than my roommates.  We had a room check.....and we didn't do super well.

So, how's Sam and Clint? I miss them so much. I saw the pictures of Sam skiing and I'm so jealous. I bet he's the coolest person at school. Now that he has a phone, I bet all the girls text him. ;) Let me know.

I'm really excited about Elders Hancock. It will be great.

Thank you for all the support. I hope all is well. I'm really excited to get in the field.

Love,
Elder Randy Kazuhiro Low

2012

Once again I have taken forever to blog. I'm really sorry. However, this blog will have most of my missionary stuff on it when I'm gone so don't give up on me yet. ;)

Sunday was my farewell. It felt very very good and it was so nice to have all my friends and family there. I love the Church and I can't wait to serve The Lord. However, it is really hard. I'm surprised at how difficult it had been but I know that it's what i'm supposed to do next in my life.

At the end of the day.....I had a Court of Honor scheduled for me. It really bugged me because I got my eagle...a year ago and had scheduled three different days that I could have a Court of Honor. I don't know. Better late than never, right?

SOooooo, Yesterday was New Year's Eve. Honestly....I was scared out of my mind. 2012 was possibly the best of my life so far. From Beginning to end it was one of the happiest of my life and I didn't want to let that go. However, it is time and there are about to be some huge changes in my life. 

Yesterday, I watched some of my favorite British Sitcom  with Maddy at her house. Then we drove off to my neighbors house. The Hill's had invited Maddy and I over to have some treats. We knew we weren't going to stay long, but we went over anyway. Haha, it was just Maddy, me, Brother Hill, and Sister Hill. It was actually really really fun. Just the four of us. Soon more people came, but I enjoyed it.

We the started our way to a party.  When we arrived at the house, we thought we were a little early so we kept driving. :) We found a spot up by the shooting range that had a great view of Kaysville and some fireworks. We sat and laughed and talked. After a little bit, we thought that maybe we should go to the party.  Unfortunately....my car was stuck in the parking lot. There was too much snow in the parking lot for my car to handle. Maddy got in the front seat and tried to drive out of the parking lot while I tried to push my car out. We were so close, but very unsuccessful. Soon, I called my friends and they came in a truck to pull us out. It was about 11 when we finally got out of the snow. 

So, most of last night was spent pushing around my car in the snow....but it was still a great night. One of my favorites. Why is that? Because I spent it the same way I spent the last year of my life. With Maddy. Having her around has been the greatest blessing. Her support has helped me through so many things and I am so grateful for her. I know while I am gone that she will do amazing things. Hopefully, she is still around when I get back, but what I do know is I will forever remember 2012 as the year I spent with her. I will never regret the time I spent with her.