Dada DAAAAAAAAAAAA! Letter!

Dear Humans that can read,

This week, this week, this week,

was good.

 

So, the Assistants showed up outside of my apartment, and we chucked everything into the van and headed out for the four hour drive to Iwaki.

It was just me and them.

One of the Assistants, Nepia Choro, sat in the back with me and said that I could ask him any thing about dendo. (missionary work)

Wow.... I learned so much. One thing particularly:

He talked about how sometimes people argue, and if it becomes an argument then it is always purposeless.

He said when you need to reprimand someone softly, you do it clearly, and the other person will ether do one of two things:

1. They humbly accept what you say and try to change their actions.

2. They'll give a reason (a justification) for why they can do what they can do.

He said it doesn't matter how stupid the reason that the other person gives, once they have set forth their reason, they very rarely will change it.

Instead of arguing- do... He used a good example that illustrated it perfectly:

One of his companions would sleep past six thirty. Nepia Choro tapped him on the arm and told him to get up. He said he was praying while laying in his futon. (despite his snoring, etc.)

Nepia 長老 said, "oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you were doing that. That was my mistake."

Then he said you explain your feelings. "I just thought you were sleeping in."

 Then you propose a compromise "It would make me more comfortable if you could show me some sign that you were awake while you prayed (laying down). Do you think that when you pray you could criss cross your fingers and put then on your forehead while you pray laying down, just so I can know you're awake?"

He agreed and a few days later he started getting up at six thirty and praying kneeling down.

 

Nepia Choro is a stud. He said honest discussion is excellent, but arguments rarely (if ever) help anything.

 

We got to Iwaki. And yep. It's a city. I love it.

We started driving up the hill to get to the apartment, and allow me to tell you, that hill is a beast. The apartment is on a hill just outside of the main part of the city. Every night we bike up that beast. Okuda Choro (Iwaki was his bean area. (bean means first)) named it "saigo made taishinobu" or "Endure to the end". And yep. The car couldn't take it. The engine started freaking out. So we parked it at the bottom and called the Iwaki Elders to come help us take my stuff up the hill.

I still have no idea why I've emergency transferred. Sorrenson 長老 and Breinholt 長老 seemed like best of friends. They're both super cool, and super genki.

The Assistants couldn't get the car figured out, so they left it that night in a shop, and spent the evening with us. Nepia 長老 after finishing daily planning just started cleaning the apartment, and scrubbing down the walls, even though he'd never even been in the apartment before. He's awesome.

They got everything figured out so they left the next day.

My new companion and area are amazing.

They both big.

Time has run out... Here's a little thing about stop lights.

"I love being a missionary, and I love Iwaki. 

My favorite thing is that there are so many people here. An excellent trait that Ohori 長老 did his best to instill in me was talking with everyone. He told me once, despite his natural Japanese humility: "I am not good at many things, but I am very good at talking with people."
I've been doing my best to emulate his example. 
Japan in general, but especially in Iwaki, we have the privilege of having an abundance of stop lights. And, as it often is, what initially appears as a hindrance, is actually a great blessing. Every red light that we stop at, is a green light for missionary work. 
Our light waiting partners are perfect targets. You're both standing right next to each other in a totally natural setting. 
Those couple seconds to a few minutes are perfect for improving people's image of the church, practicing Japanese, inviting people to English Class, or (most importantly) sharing a little bit of the Gospel. 
I do my best not to let a red light switch to a green, before I open my mouth and talk with people. 
I love talking. "

So we've been talking to a crazy amount of people. I love it.

Well, time has gone... So

I'll write more next week!

Emergency.... transfer?

Dear Family-friends,
So yep, the I was just writing in my journal last night that nothing interesting had happened that day when my phone started to vibrate.
Japanese phones typically have part of them that will flash certain colors when someone particular calls or texts. For a couple people, including our investigators, and certain alarms I had it set to flash a particular color depending on what I perceived to be the mood of the person or alarm was.
It was flashing red.
And I didn't remember setting red for anything.
I flipped it open and there I saw: Rasmussen 社長
I didn't believe it but I answered, thinking that maybe the amount of time that I had not payed for my bike was unacceptable to the point that the President needed to get involved.
Nope.
He asked me how I was doing and tried to have a casual short conversation, but it's kinda difficult to have a chill conversation with the man who's calls change realities.
And then it did.
I'm getting emergency transferred.
I'm getting sent to the second biggest city in the mission to be co-senior companion with an Elder a transfer ahead of me.
Wo... That's different.
The AP's are coming on Thursday, to throw me, my bike, and my bags into the mission van to head to the southern most part of the mission.  (MAYBE I'LL BE ABLE TO SEE TOKYO FROM THERE!)
So yep, Moffat Choro just pointed out that it's as far south from here as it is from here to Aomori, the end of the island.
Pfftstssss....
So that's probably a littler different.
It's just going to be me and Brineholt Choro in a small apartment, with four Shimai (sisters in our district. Woo. I wonder if that'll be lonely.
I'm going to miss young Okuda Choro.  He's probably my favorite person ever. Oh.  Well so it goes.
Sorry it's not as intense as Austin's Emergency Transfer.:

"Guys... I've got not time... They're watching me. We're on the run.  I may or may not be okay."
 -Elder Austin Lewis Wheelwright

Okay I'm exaggerated a little bit, but with the way Mom acted... (I LOVE YOU ALL)

JAPANESE CULTURE:
Hanami (or 'flower watching')

The cherry blossoms only bloom for a week or two before the rain and wind comes in and flings the peddles in a wave so thick that Ryutaro said he couldn't see the soccer ball when he was playing soccer.
But this week was not the point of the blossoms death, but the week of their full blooming.
For this cultural event, Japanese people often take a date and go to the park to watch the flowers, there's couples everywhere, and because of the excess of people the festival guys come with their stands full of toys, candy, meat on sticks, and my favorite, sweet bean paste filled battered fish. (Taiyaki)

Not just couples alone view the blossoms, but everyone, from every age and every size, and often people from other countries as well. (All of Japan has cherry blossoms (I think) and start blooming in the south and work their way to the north as spring set in)

This being said, it makes this time one of the most perfect times to dendo. (Do missionary work)
By our district leaders permission, we take out our cameras and take pictures, and talk with people.  And I  don't think I've ever talked with so many people... ever...
Also during this event, many families and groups of friend will put out tarps between the Sakura (cherry blossoms), and as night comes, and the lights draped from all around the park glisten and twinkle in such a way as to make every Christmas tree jealous.....

 They get out beer and meat and drink, eat and talk. 
I looked over at one of the huge clumps (usually about twenty-ish) of people and whispered to my companion:
"Man, How cool would it be if we just walked into one of those and just talked with all of them?"
Then, a few minutes later, as we were walking by a group of around twenty-five people, a few of them started staring at us.  "Oh! Here's my chance!"
And there I went.  Talked to all of them.
They were firing questions at us like crazy, and questions toward us, are missionaries' best friends. We told them what we were doing here and we invited every single one of them to come to Eikaiwa (our English class).  I just passed out a stack of fliers for all of them to take.
Being nice, the nice Japanese woman that she was, tried to force a beer into Moffat Choro's hand.  The look on his face is something I'll never forget.  Laugh.....
The lady next to her saved him, by pulling her hand down and reminding her "he's only nineteen!" We having previously told them our ages.  Unfortunately the legal drinking age in Japan is exactly the age I turned last month: 20
And then both of the women tried to offer me beer.
I just laughed at the whole situation, and being somewhat glad that I'd had opportunities in my life, where I had to turn down the same offerings.
Upon my adamant refusal, one of the women, who was Chinese, offered me some homemade Chinese gyoza (what you guys call pot-stickers), and a little thing of chips.
My companion was in the refusing mood, and turned his set of gyoza and chips down, which he later regretted.  I saw nothing wrong with it.... The gyoza was the most amazing gyoza I've ever had ever.... The woman was way nice.  When I told her my sister-in-law was of Chinese decent, and what her name was, she started speaking an Asian language that probably sounded like the whole conversation that I'd just been having to you.  I didn't understand a word she said,  Oh Tim Peay, if only you were here. (Oh Tim, by the way, good job at conference.  I pointed you out to some of the sisters in the branch, and they all thought you were handsome.  Hope you're doing well with the ladies!)
Ah... There's so many interesting stories from this week.  Me being called Harry Potter by a man selling fried chicken skin, talking with a woman about what true religion is on a park bench, running in Takeya-san accidentally twice and being invited over to his house and teaching his parents and getting ramen  brought to us like pizza and convincing him to allow us to teach him three times a week from now on, and inviting a random man, with a recently(ish) converted member to come to church, who had a camera that cost well over 5,000 dollars, going to the ocean, and running into a high-school exchange student named Zac from America, who despite the usual reaction of meeting other English speakers in America, was actually a really cool guy. (We kept running into a group of English teachers in Japan, who ignored us completely every time we passed and said hello.  When I finally got to "Hello, again, again" they finally started responding.
But this week was some good stuff.  It's a good last week.
Here's something of a more spiritual nature:

 

" I rejoice in this opportunity to serve in a different area.
It proves that the world is always changing, like the waves of the Japanese sea that we have up here. 
I've been memorizing the location of a scripture every day on the back of my language study card (for more spiritual ammo), and Helaman 5:12 popped into my mind: "And now, my sons, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation..." 
Though standing on the outside a gate to a new world, where everything on the other side is different, I can rejoice that despite the uncertainties, there is something sure and consistent that I can hang on to. That is, of course, the Lord. 
I loved what President Uchtdorf said about how there seems to be something inside of us that resists endings, and how that it is because we are made of eternal stuff. The Lord is the same. His power is eternal. It's just as real here, as it is in Utah, England, China, or even beyond the curtain that we call death. It's as real for you as it is for me, as it is for my investigators. 
I love the consistency. Ideals and men's standards bend with the ages, and the styles and habits of the times, but God doesn't change. He cannot, for then He would cease to be God. 
The members here are amazing, and I'm going to miss every one of them. My heart has changed a little bit; and instead of turning in to satisfy my own desires, it's becoming content being concerned about others. I've still got a long way to go, but the progress is uno month, year to year. 
I love ceramics, and I feel like clay in tdeniable.. Like a plant growing, the change isn't evident in the day to day viewing, but looking back from month the Potters hands; day to day, spinning on this wheel we call life-- having bit by bit tempered by Him, He smooths out the rough places and cuts off the unneeded parts. Ah, so many similes. 

But all is good here; I've just got quietly step off the stage quietly, and let the other missionaries carry on with the show. 
I've noticed that too many missionaries just get scared at the last second and do what I like to call a "Fukuin Blast" or trying to shove all of the gospel down their investigator's throats; this often scaring them off and making it harder for the next missionaries.
The only reason I could possibly see people Fukuin Blasting their investigators is because they weren't living every week as they should; feeling like they've gotta make up for it before their gone. 
My MTC Sensei said a quote that's now written at the top of my Weekly Planning section of Chapter 8: "This week is the most important week of your mission." 
If we apply that, we as missionaries will never have to worry if we've done enough. Just as the Prophet Joseph Smith said in D&C 123:17- if we "cheerfully do all things that lie in our power" then we can "stand still, with the utmost assurance" that we will "see the salvation of God, and... his arm [will] be revealed." "

Well my font has changed a little bit. But meh. 

I love you all wherever you may be. 

Feel free to write me. 

I'll be able to respond to individual letters probably next week. 

Love you!

Elder Wheelwright

読んで見て (To see to read)

Alright, I'll cut out a little bit of my personality for this letter,

just to show I can.

Dear Family and Friends,
This week was excellent. We recently received the transfer phone call
last night, and none of us are going anywhere. (Not serious me: It was
probably the most boring transfer call I've ever gotten.) It appears
that my time in Tsuruoka is going to be prolonged. I receive this
knowledge with joy, for I had been praying that the Lord would allow
me the privilege to stay in this beautiful town a little longer.
(Time to talk about the weather!) The skies have been clear for the
most part this week. We have had some of the chilling Sea of Japan
winds push though the city this week. It makes riding a bike rather
difficult. At one point I realized that I was not in fact moving forward
as my mind had previous perceived, but rather, that I was heading
backwards. (Okay, that whole last sentence was a lie. But one morning
we were running late for seminary. It was 5:55 and it started at six.
So... I pedaled
harder and faster than I ever have before in my life, luckily the wind
was also the strongest it had been in a while. What would take a
normal Japanese person 15 minutes on a bike... took us... 2 minutes. I
almost couldn't even walk after. But we made it on time. The teacher
asked me if we had any recent missionary experiences that we wanted to
share, and I, almost breathlessly told a story... The transition is
too perfect, I'll tell you now: We'd taken the train down to Sakata (I
suppose I should say we took it "up" to Sakata because it's north.)
And Sakata, is a beautiful little city (that's probably bigger than
Tsuruoka kana? (I wonder)). Apparently Sakata has a free bike rental
thoughout the whole city. However, the bikes are absolutely
horrible... However... I loved them. I raised the seat as high as it
could go, and still my legs were almost to my chest. It was a cute
little maroon cruiser with a basket on front, that you might picture an
old woman or a little girl riding. It was amazing. It had one gear.
I'm not being sarcastic when I say I genuinely loved it. It was
probably the most fun I've had in a while because I felt ridiculous.
Man... I love that bike. Anyways, not related! (that's what they say
in Japanese when you get off track "That has no relation!"... this is
ironic) We were riding to visit an LA that translates the Book of
Mormon and bible into like 6 different languages at once for his
hobbie. He's got pictures of Christ and Joseph Smith, pioneers etc,
but he just doesn't come to church. But we got another LA woman from
Sakata to come. Side side side (side?) story: we went a HUGE
apartment complex, and had to go though a crazy gate system where she
had to okay us to come in, but she did thankfully, and I talked with
her for a while about tennis (which she loves) (She's like 60's) and
she showed me all of her 'soft tennis' rackets. Soft tennis is totally
different, but... still tennis. So we talked for a while. We shared a
scripture and invited her to come to General Conference.... SHE CAME!
Yay!..., so back to the original side side story: We're riding to the
Book of Mormon man, and we ride past a park. There was a man, in his
30's, just sitting there on a bench, with tangled hair, all by
himself.
The Spirit: Stop and talk to that man.
Me: Na... my companion is clear ahead of me, and we've gotta hurry so
we can visit everyone we've had planned
The Spirit: Talk to that man.
Me: Alright. "MOFFAT CHORO, we need to talk go back to the park and
talk to that man."
So we did.
He greeted us with a smile, and we started talking to him about
sports. He loves basketball, and he knew the Utah Jazz, and said they
were his favorite team...
I asked him what he did for work and he said he couldn't work. He,
translated directly over, said "My body is half-broken." And I noticed
a cane on the other side of the bench. He was only 32. 
"Do you believe in God?" Moffat Choro asked.
"... Hum. That's a hard one... Probably not. But if God does exist,
there's one thing that I wonder." and paused for a moment, as tears
brimmed in his eyes "Why do all these bad things happen?" He asked.
Looking up, directly at me, in a pained smile.
I shared with him Ether 12:27, and I testified that to be honest, I'm
not exactly sure why, but that I know that though overcoming
hardships, we can be strengthened, and that God loved him. He nodded,
and smiled grimly, and said "Thank you" in a way that felt like
"Thanks for trying." (Gave him an I am Mormon card and told him to
call us.) -I finished the story-
Then I told that single uncaring seminary student that memorizing
scripture mastery is like having ammunition to battle many of the
trials, questions, and temptations of life. She didn't care. やっぱり.
The Murakoshi-San Story:
"This week was amazing. As you probably know, I've been praying for
Murakoshi-San a bunch. And as we were planning our lesson, we felt
like we shouldn't teach what we had planned to teach during our weekly
plan. We prayed that we'd be inspired about what to teach her.
We prayed, then acted. Thinking about all sorts of different ideas,
none of which seemed to fit, we talked until companionship study was
out and we had to move on.
We finished our studies, ate lunch, and had district meeting, all the
while thinking about her. I felt calm, knowing the Lord would provide.
After district meeting, we felt good about teaching her a little about
modern prophets and having her read some of their words from the
Liahona. Moffat Choro found the excellent quote by President Monson

 from last General Relief Society Meeting, when he said essentially
that God's love was unconditional, "It never changes. It is just
simply there."
When we shared that with her, she read it over and over, marveling
at every sentence.
She looked up and asked: "Where do they have this meeting?" We told
her the details and said she could come on Saturday or Sunday to the
church and watch it. To my faithless surprise, she accepted and instead
of us convincing or coxing her to come, she pushed forward herself.
Instead of us filling her with information, she was pulling the
information out of us. "What kind of clothes do I need to wear?" "Is
the church by [this] building?" etc.
Saturday rolled around the next day, and there she was looking as
happy as ever.
After all of this time we've been trying, the Spirit had finally
worked on her to the point that she came, that she'd left her house.
The joy was sweet, and it was in it's own way, a small victory, a battle won;
Another set to which the Spirit spiked it into her heart.
It's a good feeling knowing that we're on the winning team, and I'm
totally happy with only making assists....
General Conference was glorious. The Spirit of the Lord was poured out
upon me particularly, and He taught me all of the bad habits and
weaknesses that I have.
And instead of a feeling of anger or worthlessness coming upon me, as
I often act when corrected, I rejoiced in the opportunity for growth
that I have. There is joy in looking forward to the harvest of the
seeds being planted now. If there's anything that I've learned from
growing up in the middle-of-no-where, Utah, is that in order for
plants to successfully grow, the ground first must be broken. And we
are, through this mission, breaking ground in Japan, and the Lord,
through the same mission, is breaking ground in our hearts."
Madamada fukanzen desu kedo, sukoshi zutsu, seichoshite imasu. )
Yep. Looks like I couldn't be serious for an entire letter. But bla,
"I can't change... It's just who I am." (FIRE WRATH FROM CONFERENCE
TALKS UNHEARD!!!)
I feel like life is to enjoy, as well as act justly. I believe acting
justly is often enjoying life. Why limit oneself to bore when he has
the power to soar? Man now I'm just making up weird stuff.
I can now get across almost everything I want to say in Japanese, but
still there's a long way to go.
Just about everyone in the Branch is my friend.
Now you're saying: "Elder Wheelwright, that's only five people!"
I say: "Wrong, we have six."
Times six...
Take care my family and friends!
Elder Wheelwright
I have a question for you all, I've been trying to figure out what to
tell my English Class,
But what defines American culture?

Letters that make words and words that mean something

SOooooooo!
It's the last week of the transfer. Man.  That went by quick. But that's what everybody says.  I love Tsuruoka.  I really hope that I don't get transferred, but God's will be done.
This week I went on splits with our district leader.  Before he came to Tsuruoka he had quite a few Japanese companions, so, from his own words "I hear the words, but only one language my brain inside. nope. That was wrong."
So he's usually fine for the most part, but apparently when he get's tired he just kinda loses his English.  I think it's a common thing to lose language speaking abilities when you're exhausted, because my Japanese is the first thing to go.
None the less he said some pretty gunny things.
He said, "You guys are" Talking about my companion and me "geometric cereal."
Me: I paused "Hoops Choro, do you realize what you just said?"
Him:  "Oh. Now that I think about it... Wait a second, cereal is like a food isn't it? Woops."
I helped him find his words.  He meant: "Geometrically similar".
We had family home evening at the church.  I was joyous eating my food, when I decided to be curious about what I was eating.  I 'd eaten it before a couple of times, and it didn't taste awful, so I figured it was time to know what it is.
I turned to the guy next to me (Which happened to be the Secretary of the Area Presidency over Japan) and asked him what it was.
"What do you think?" He asked.  And then we went into a guessing game, where every hint he gave me made me more worried.  The hints were as follows "Animal. Pig. Pipe."
Yep. It's tripe. Pig intestines! Yay!
But it wasn't bad, because at least, as opposed to many Japanese delicacies, it wasn't raw.
And to be honest, the Japanese food is never bad.  In fact it's usually good. but when it comes to ripe, I'd probably not ever whip it up myself of order it at a restaurant.
Man.  My brain is a little fried.
We have seminary in the mornings now,  There's only one student, who kinda doesn't want to be there, and then we have three teachers, and two of the missionaries that come to support.  So, I never thought that extra hour of sleep would do so much for me. 
We had the Secretary of the Area Seventy come and visit our branch.  He taught me some things I didn't know.
he talked about salvation.
He asked us where salvation was? Of what our own personal image of salvation was.
There were hands shooting up "Peace" "Having hair!" "Being with my wife" "A perfect place with God" etc.
He explained that salvation is not some far away place, but...that it is a seed inside of us right now.
he went into a lot more detail, but I'd never actually thought about that before.  Salvation is a seed inside of us that we must learn to cultivate and grow until it finally becomes as God is.
Kind of interesting.  We not only need to get baptized, we need to do all that we can do, and become perfect. (2 Nephi 25:29-30) (3 Nephi 12:48)

So, anyways.
We finished helping this one member in our branch move.  He's an awesome guy.  He's deaf, so we speak Japanese sign language with him.  He's teaching us little by little by signing something and then writing it on the board in (Hiragana, (mada, knji yomnai). ) Japaneses. For the first two months that I was here I only knew one sign in Shuwa (Japanese sign language) and it was the sign for Naruhodo, or 'Oh I see' or 'I get ya' or 'indeed'. so he calls me Naruhodo now.  For some reason he thinks I'm absolutely hilarious.  I'll talk to him a little bit in Shuwa, but mostly I end up acting out what I want to say.  I try to make it as ridiculous as possible, and he just cracks up.  He can't hear the sound of his own laugh, so he starts making a squeaking/screaming sound, that makes all the rest of us bust up laughing as well.  Man he's great.  Anyway, we helped him move.
He's not very good at cleaning.... So.  it was kinda a little difficult.  He hadn't dusted anything, of cleaned anything in the fifteen years that he's been there.  So dust formed colonies that stacked up to two or three inches high at some parts.  We helped him with the Elder's quorum President.  It was a little crazy getting everything out and to his other apartment, because he had a ridiculous number of desks, tvs, and dressers. (probably more than our whole house.) But he had such a tiny apartment, so there was almost no room for him even to lay down.  (In fact I don't think there was room for him to lay down...) Plus Japanese apartment buildings (this one especially) are super narrow, so needless to say, it was an adventure.  It was long (From 9-3:30) but for some reason I never didn't want to help, or didn't even fell less than happy the whole time. :) Man.  I'm guessing that means the Lord is boosting me up, or he's changing my character; because I'm pretty sure cleaning 15 years worth of dusty things and moving them down narrow hallways, wouldn't have caused me to be happy seven or eight months ago.  (I don't even know how long I've been out here...?)
I love the Lord.  And I love you guys.  Thanks for everything you do for me.
Take care of yourselves.
Elder Wheelwright

I loving finding English in Japan