A Week of Food! (Week 14)

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 for this new transfer. A lot of our people have fallen through on us these past couple weeks, which has been really frustrating, but we are feeling good about these new goals and plans. On Saturday, we went to work and talked to a lot of people. We met a really cool guy named Hiro who was way prepared, but we had to refer him because he is not in our area (which was frustrating). On Sunday, we had a great Sabbath day with Christmas caroling practice and another shokuji. This time we ate with the Sato family. It was so good.

At the shokuji with the Sato family, I had my first real Japanese sushi! It was so good. I don't know if it was any better than American sushi, but it was definitely more real! Anyway, after we finished eating, Poff 長老 and McDonald 長老 had the spiritual message. It was really good, but afterwards Sato 姉妹 shared her testimony about missionaries. It was a very special experience. I won't get into it too much, but she shared a story about her oldest son when he went on a mission. They were converts of about 2 years and he decided he wanted to serve a mission, but they were too poor. With the help of another church member, they pulled together enough money for 1 suit, 1 pair of shoes, 2 white shirts, and a set of scriptures. That story was truly inspiring and special. Then she told us how proud she was of us and how proud our families are of us. There were tears in my eyes as she shared a couple other missionary stories and bore her testimony to us. Definitely a moment I will never forget.

This past week has been quite the experience. We have had so many disappointments and difficult days recently. People don't listen to us and we come home exhausted every night. Through all the trials though, we have these amazing spiritual experiences and it makes it all worth it. A mission is not easy, in fact it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done, but it is so far beyond rewarding. Being able to see the gospel influence someone's life and the light return to their eyes as they find happiness is truly an amazing experience and one like no other.

I am so thankful for my family and for the opportunity I have to serve a mission. I am thankful that I have more than 1 suit and 2 white shirts in my closet. Those experiences help me realize how small my trials really are. I think sometimes we get so caught up in ourselves and our own problems that we forget about every one else and how good we really have it. I would invite everyone to turn outward this Christmas season and lose themselves in the service of others. For he that loseth himself (in the service of others) shall find himself. We have an amazing opportunity, especially during this Christmas season, to serve all those around us. I can promise that nothing will bring you
more joy than helping others find joy.

To all my family at home and all my 友達 in the field, 愛しています! Keep working hard and keep being amazing!

サドラー長老