Okay so I feel like I didn`t email much last week which is kind of true, but I never have time to say everything or to really respond to all the great support I get from such an amazing family! I Love you! It really is the greatest to know that no matter how crumby things get around the world, that there is always someone looking out for you. That help is just around the corner so to speak. So yes mom and dad I ate the sugar cookies on Halloween and they were great! We don`t really have counterspace here so we cleared off the table the four of us eat at, (a little smaller than the average card table) and rolled out and cut our pumpkin shaped sugar cookies and frosted them with Nucrema which is basically Nutella, but not quite the same. We had to cook them one by one in the toaster oven here because nobody has real ovens that I know of. We then ate them while listening to Big Pumpkin and life was a little happier. Throughout October I put a Halloween sticker on each day in my planner about the size of my thumbnail, and Elder George told me I wasn`t focusing on the work and I told him to Rub a Monkey`s Tummy with his Head. Missionaries can be normal people who look forward to Holidays and can celebrate them too!
So I found the joy of Ramen this week. Not that cheap instant crap, but REAL ramen. I don`t think I will ever go back. It was delicious, I have had chinese style ramen with pork and other deliciousness, and then after district meeting I had a spicy ramen that burned the back of the throat just enough to warm your whole being, but not too hot that I didn`t want to eat more. Basically they need Ramen in America. Also one of the members of the Bishopric here owns a ramen and a tempura restaurant and gave us a `free meal pass` that we can use whenever we want as many times as we want! I am so happy about it!
Rebecca it`s crazy that all of your friends are starting to come home! I`m sad I miss it. That`s so exciting though!
Yes in case anyone was wondering I am too hard on myself. I don`t know why but I just am. I just expect myself to be better than people around me and that competitive spirit is really motivating, but also frustrating. I have decided to measure my own success rather than let other people tell me what I am good or bad at. I know what I have to do, but if I don`t do it for myself, I will just be bothered because I don`t like other people telling me things I already know I`m bad at. I am almost finished with my `training` on the mission which is pretty exciting, but I will miss that extra hour of companion study. I just am really scared I will have to train next transfer and that is not exactly something I feel capable of doing. I finally got some rain pants and as goofy as they may be, I love them because now I am not soaked all day! So since in our apartment are two companionships and both Elder Kemp and mine`s companion are zone leaders, they go on exchanges fairly frequently, meaning Elder Kemp and I are here in Yonago doing the real work. 2 second transfer missionaries yay! So friday was that way, after district meeting we had two lessons to teach, first to Yamaguchi and second to Brother Tanaka, so we survived the first lesson, Yamaguchi San is extremely kind, and old, so we can teach very slowly and simply and it just makes sense to him and it isn`t awkward because he`s old. However we were afraid our lesson with Tanaka San would not be as good. We taught him about God, why we are here and why we need a savior. As we taught him about Jesus Christ his eyes began to fill with tears. He felt the spirit so strongly and began to read the book of mormon again. He has come to church the past two weeks and yesterday he and his wife came together and it was great! the hymns were the best part, first was Rejoice the Lord is King, then I Stand All Amazed, and to close I Know that My Redeemer Lives. It was just an answer to my prayers that 1) those hymns sung by the whole congregation testified of the exact same thing that had pricked his heart earlier this week. and 2) that they sang my favorite hymns in sacrament meeting. Later that day we taught him and his wife and answered all their questions about church and they both could not deny the spirit they had felt. So please make sacrament meeting a spiritual oasis from the world, it makes all the difference. If you remember this is the same Tanaka that had been really frustrating earlier until I nearly barked at him in our lesson on prayer. The Lord is helping him. I wish I could say more about all the cool and not so cool things I`m doing, but alas...
Thank you for all the letters and support! I love all of you! Is Olympus in the State Championship for Football!?! I told a recent convert in our ward who is a futsal player about my soccer experience and how Olympus took State my junior year (hoping I would get a chance to play, but alas) I see high school teams practicing all the time and I just really miss soccer and sports in general sometimes. I wish I could write everyone individually and thank them for everything but for now THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND LOVE AND PRAYERS!!!
Love,
Jonathan, Elder Pace
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