Mission Life

Okay. 

First some Japanese lessons that I should've thought you all at the first of my mission. 

San= Mr. or Mrs. Or Miss. 

Cyan= is for little girls (or close friends.... or when you make fun of someone) 

Kun= is for little boys. 

Sama= is for God and samurai warriors. 

Church titles

Kaicho= is president 

Kyodai= is Brother 

Shimai= is sister

Choro= is elder 

also dendo means missionary work, or mission, or preaching. its a verb and a noun.... 

We call investigators blablabla-San, and members blablabla-kyodai or blablabla-shimai. 

Sorry about that... 

Things this week are great! 

Yokoyama-san is doing good. He didn't come to church again... But we did get a lesson in with him. Hopefully this next lesson will boost up his faith. 

Momoru-Kyodai, our branch mission leader is doing good. 

He's doing DCS (where we review the progress records... that meeting thingy) 

The language is jumping up quite quickly... I think. I still make mistakes, but my English is broken... It's getting more and more difficult to think in English. I really try to think in Japanese, and it starting to happen. It's slower, but meh. it's coming. 

I recently found an amazing kanji book this week that has helped me so much. It's memorizing kanji using your imaginative memory. Every kanji and symbol get's a story... I memorized the meaning and the writing of 100 and something kanji this week. In about fifty days I'll know 2,000. 

The first book teaching the basic meaning of the kanji and how to write it only, the second book teaching how to read the kanji, and how it compounds with other kanji, or so I believe. 

Well, charity-ne. This week, I had a good chat with my companion, and I think I gained some of his respect. I just told him straight up, "yep sometimes I have no idea how to say what I'm thinking in this language. It's not because I'm stupid that I can't speak, remember, this isn't my native language. If you could, it would be amazing if you could have patience with me when I'm speaking. If you don't understand, or if I can't find a word, just help me with patience." 

That seemed to do something. He's an amazing Elder. I've grown to respect him so much. 

Sean-ne. Sounds like a champion. How long is he in the Marines for? 

I was thinking about joining the Air Force, but that's a story for a different time. 

I hope Sean's Dad gets feeling better. 

I walked into the kitchen, and I looked on the wall and found a new friend: "gokiburi!" 

Cockroach.... 

I grabbed a paper towel and aproached my enemy, an enemy that I have never yet faced before in my life time. 

I pounced attempting to grab it in my paper towel, and it zipped across the wall like a rocket. I struck twice more like a viper trying to kill my prey, but each time it, evaded like lighting, and then shot though the crack in the door into the other room. 

I told my companion, and asked him two questions, the answer to which, brought me no comfort. 

"If there's one does that mean there's more?" 

yes

"can they fly?" 

to my second question he put his hands up in the air and wiggled his fingers making a "zzeezzp" sound... Which I assumed meant; yes... 

But they don't bite. :) 

Man it's a good thing we don't sleep on the floor... Oh wait. 

We did kusatori, or weeding twice this week. In total it was 7 or 8 hours of pulling weeds. But then the sister took us to get steak. 

Here were focusing on doing lessons with the members. 

Eventually the plan is to build members up to the point that they'll fulfill their missionary responsibilities. It's starting to work I think. 

We split the members into three groups so that we can focus on them, and we're doing lessons with each of them twice every month, just like the district president wanted us to do. 

We'll challanging them to read from the PMG, and the Power of Everyday Missionaries. 

Everyone has a copy here. 

I'm focusing on the Branch President and the Branch Mission Leader and am going to meet with them next week to discuss how we can bring build this branch- and unite our visions. ... 

It's going to be sweet. 

The Zone Leaders are amazing. 

I feel so much power from the Lord as of late.  

We're going to the beach... Got to go! Bye!

Elder Wheelwight