Elder Dylan Sadler's Adventures in the Japan Tokyo South Mission

Another great week in Japan! My first Christmas in Japan and it has been great. I will say, it is nothing like America though. In Japan, Christmas is purely commercial. No purpose, no caroling, no Savior. It is a very strange thing (and a sad thing as well) to experience, but it has provided lots of opportunity for Elder Dowdle and I to teach the true meaning of Christmas. One great experience we had was just yesterday on Christmas Day. We went caroling as a ward in the local Eki (train station). Lots of people were stopping to listen to us and  even recording us with their phones! It was such a neat experience to be caroling in Japanese and still feel the meaning behind the songs and see all the passer-byes get to experience those songs about the Savior as well. What an amazing opportunity we have (not just missionaries) to share this wonderful message about the Savior. In this past week, we have been really busy leading u...

Another week has flown by in Japan! I cant believe its already p-day  again! This past week has been really good! Last Monday we just took it easy and did some shopping around which was really nice. On Tuesday, we went out to eat with our super cool investigator and we got Italian. A great mix up from Japanese food! On Wednesday , we did some housing in a gigantic apartment complex we call the aparto (real creative, I know). Afterwards we had a shokuji (basically just a meal with a member) with our ward mission leader. We ate Costco pizza and chocolate pie; it was so good! Thursday was transfer day. Palomino 長老 and Porter 長老 left, and Poff 長老 and Uemura 長老 came to Fujisawa. They are both great missionaries. Uemura 長老 is on his last transfer and Poff 長老 is transfer 4 (There are 16 transfers in a mission). On Friday, Dowdle 長老 and I did a lot of weekly planning and set a lot of solid goals to help us really pick it up ...

My how the time has flown. We got our transfer emails this past Saturday (my first transfer email!). Elder Dowdle and I will be staying together in Fujisawa, which is great because the Fujisawa members are great with the missionaries (especially for Christmas!).  This next transfer will be eight weeks though (as opposed to the usual 6 weeks) because of the holiday seasons. I have already learned so much and I am excited to keep learning from Elder Dowdle. He is our district leader so he goes on splits with all the other elders in our district every transfer, which is great because I also get to go on splits with every one else. It seems that everyone has sort of their own specialty (i.e. streeting, housing, language, etc.) so I get to learn a lot! Besides all the splits, this past week has been pretty normal. Dowdle 長老 and I are still pushing along to get out of the small drought we are in. A lot of our investigators are falling through, b...

Can't believe it's already week 3 in Japan! Seems like just last week I reported to the MTC! Week 3 has been great so far! Today, we went to Anoshima, which is a small island in Tokyo bay. It was so much fun! We  woke up early this morning and biked for an hour to the coast to do our studies. It was so great to be on the ocean again! After studies we went to check out the island. It was awesome. We went down to some rocks around the bottom of the island and accidentally got our feet soaking wet... it was a ton of fun though. No regrets! P-days [preparation days] are pretty great around here! On Sunday , we had stake conference. It was pretty good, just really hard to stay awake... especially when you don't understand much of anything. Oh well, slowly but surely. Other than all the fun we have, this past week was pretty long. Me and Dowdle 長老 are in a little bit of a rut right now. We had to push back our baptism date to Janua...

Hey everyone! This past week has been great! I am learning so much and  gaining so much experience and testimony. This past week absolutely flew by (it feels like I just sent an email home)!  I know the coming  months and weeks will just get faster and faster! Gotta make the most  of every moment, and that's what Dowdle 長老 and I have been trying to  do! Last Tuesday, we got to go to the Tokyo temple which was awesome! It's quite the experience in Japanese! On Wednesday , Tokyo got snow! It was a lot like Alabama snow where it snows but nothing sticks, it just gets real cold lol. On Thursday , we taught Eikaiwa (English class) again. We had small numbers this week but it was really good! Friday , we spent a lot of time streeting and finding which is always fun but also calls for a really long day. Saturday went really well! We went to buy me a bike but because of international card problems we weren't able to get it at that moment. Thankfully we got it figured...

        Where to even start!? Japan is amazing! I can't understand anything that is going on and I have no idea how to navigate myself through Tokyo. Even through all this, this has been an amazing experience. Who knew dendo (missionary work) was so much fun! We do a lot of street contacting around here (just because that's the best way to get exposure in Tokyo). 99 percent of the people we say konichiwa to, just ignore us. So to balance that number out, we say konichiwa to everyone! Since I've arrived in Fujisawa (my first area) we've already got one baptism lined up for December 17 , and several new investigators. My trainer, Elder Dowdle is fantastic!  He is very skilled at the language and very good at talking to people. We get along really well!         This morning, we got to go to the Tokyo temple. It was super awesome.  I heard that the Tokyo temple is the most expensive pie...

[Note from Barry - We received the following email early this morning.  He looks excited and ready to serve!  We are so excited for Dylan!] Dear Brother and Sister Sadler, Your son arrived in the Japan Tokyo South Mission in good spirits and ready to commence his proselyting assignment. We had a wonderful time with him. Elder Sadler has been assigned to work with Elder Dowdle and they are serving in an area called Fujisawa. Your son can receive his mail at the following address (Mission Home address): Elder Dylan Averett Sadler Japan Tokyo South Mission 1-7-7 Kichijoji, Higashi-cho Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-0002 Japan Attached are pictures of your son with Sister Warnick and me, of himself, his companion, and group pictures of the new missionaries and trainers. We have also included a map showing the locations of the various areas in the mission. You can use it as a personal record of his assignments. Elder Sadler is now adjusting to his new proselyting are...

[Note from Barry - We received the following email from the mission very early this morning.  The mission president, J Paul Warnick, and his wife are pictured on the right.] Dear Parents, This is a quick note to let you know that your missionary arrived safely in Japan on Tuesday afternoon, November 15, 2016 . President and Sister Warnick will soon have dinner with the missionaries, visit shortly, and then send them to bed for a much needed rest. Wednesday is orientation and training day. On Thursday they will meet their new companion/trainer. In the afternoon they will be off to their new area. We will take additional pictures Thursday and send them to you as soon as we get them all ready. Our Mission’s preparation day is Monday . This is the day missionaries can email family and friends. However, when missionaries have a temple day, normally one Tuesday every six week transfer period, this becomes their preparation day. So, expect an email either Monday or Tue...

Elder Sadler and a group of 9 other Japan Tokyo South Mission missionaries are on their way to Tokyo today!  They should arrive around 3:30pm Tuesday (12:30am Tuesday in the Central Time Zone).  The group includes Elders Jones, Chab, Cuff, and Davis from his MTC district.  Elder Sadler and Elder Jones - MTC Companions

Well, this will be my last email home from the United States of America. We got our flight plans last Friday and will be flying out early Monday morning, but because of time differences, we won't get to Japan until Tuesday afternoon. We will be flying from Salt Lake City to Portland and then to Tokyo. I am super excited to be teaching the people of Japan. I have definitely loved my MTC experience; there has been very mixed emotions as we prepare to leave this week. Sometimes I feel as if I am not ready to teach those in Japan (especially in Japanese), but I have to remember that its not me that does the teaching, the spirit teaches, we are just the messengers. This last week, we taught two of our investigators for the last time, it was very difficult to say goodbye. This is the part of the mission that no one warns you about! Sunday was fantastic. Jones Chōrō and I got to bless the sacrament in Japanese. It was super cool!...

Good week this week! Last Wednesday we did our first Skype TRC to Japan! It was super awesome. The man we taught looked a lot like Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid. We asked him to share his favorite story from the Savior's life... We weren't quite sure what he said but it was so awesome and the spirit was so strong. We get to teach our second Skype TRC tonight! Thursday, Jones Chōrō and I got to train the new kohai, it was great. We got two new districts this past week. Training the American district was a breeze, but training the Japanese district was a little less so. Nevertheless, we got the job done! Friday, we taught our inactive member, Yamazaki Shimai. Previously, our lessons have not been going very well with her, but this lesson was the best we have ever taught. We were struggling with what to teach her, but finally just decided to go in and share our testimonies, and asked her to share her testimony with us. The spirit was so strong in that room. Sunday was great as well!...