Ohiaoyo!

So this letter will probably be split in half as well. With going to the temple and how crowded it is lately, we have hardly any time to write.

This week has been amazing, as are most of the weeks here. I'm really good friends with everyone in my district and I love each and every one of them. (Even the ones that are hard to love.) ... Ah.. Things have been good.

So just a quick little tip for everyone that every wants to accomplish something, which probably should be most people:... GOALS!!!!!

Goals are how we turn our hopes into action. Let me tell you how this is to be done. - Naaaa, not this week. I don't have much time.

Japanese is going far better this week. My brain is finally adapting to memorizing things. The grammatical order is a little bit hard to get the hang of. Here's an example let's see if you can understand

"I my own right above sun brightness to even superior shining light pillar saw. And then, this light pillar gradually to lower come light finally I fell/poured/ And the, that light me above stay/stopped when I desperately difficult to express brightness and glory have/hold two honorable people my air above standing honorifically of this honor saw. Just then, this inside 1 honorific person I spoke/to call I name referred to, set apart from honorable person point. "This my beloved child is. Him to listen command" honnorifically said."

Yep.That's the first vision.... Yep...

So it's coming, and if it takes being humble to learn a language- then I'm going to learn this language.

My investigators. Well, our second teacher left us. So we taught Nishimura Kyodai for the last time. We tried to commit him to baptism, but he didn't see the reason why we he had to. I tried my best to explain, but I didn't have the language to be able to. But he said he'd think about it. But he prays with such conviction. He prays like he's really talking to someone, and I can feel his love for God and God's love for him. Funny thing: we were teaching him outside and we asked him to say the closing prayer for our lesson and he said this: Translated: "My beloved Heavenly Father, it's hot right now." And I almost laughed. But he said it with such earnestness. I love my sensei, and I'm sad to see him go. He showed us pictures of his mission and told us stories, and I felt every ounce of love he had for Japan. We got to see pictures of the real Nishimura kyodai in white.

So often at devotionals the Spirit teaches you more than the person who is actually speaking- this Tuesday I had a semi-similar experience.

Two Elders behind me the entire devotional were mocking, laughing, and talking throughout the entire devotional. The realization hit me: 'Just because you go on a mission, doesn't instantly make you a good missionary'. Being a good missionary is just as difficult as being a good person in "the real world" because this world is as real as the one you're in. It takes constant work, focus, endurance, faith, charity, hope, etc. to be a good missionary/ person.

I feel more sad than anything else when Elders slack off; when they fall asleep or goof off when it's not okay.

But just so I don't destroy anyone's faith in the missionaries, the percent of the missionaries that I've just talked about is less than 1 percent. Just those few who haven't caught their purpose yet.

Everyone here is still excellent. I love it here so much. So many missionaries have such strong testimonies that it blows me away. I love this mission. I'm already afraid for it to be over.

Truly this is the most joy I have ever experienced in my life, and I haven't even been able to teach real Nihonjin. I love the Japanese people, I love this gospel, I love the Lord, and I love you.

Stay Strong Minasan, (everyone)

Elder Wheelwright