This week we started off by taking a trip up what among the missionaries in the zone is infamously called Mt. Fuji. It`s not worth biking up. Many of the members live up there and it`s a nice place (by the way it`s really called dojo ikuno but that`s lame) but people who have interest here, probably like most everywhere else, are few and far between. Our area boundaries are the Kitarokko Ward boundaries and they extend for about 2+ hours away by bike and so we can`t even go to most of our area. It is also hard because many people in Japan don`t own cars, but then on sunday they don`t want to take trains or the bus to get to church and so travel is hard. We currently have an investigator who was a referral from the Kobe Elders, he couldn`t afford to go to the Kobe ward anymore and since he lives in our ward boundaries technically he should come to our ward but can`t because our ward building is too far away from him as well! We`re working with the members on that one.

 

E.J. is doing well, we just hope he doesn`t have any issues with the commandments and he still needs to come to church twice before he can get baptized. We met with the Sakamoto Family again and they must really like us because they offered to take us and spend the day in Osaka sometime (which I really hope we get to!!) and they asked if after we return if their daughter could do a homestay in america for a short while.... She`s 12 William.... hahaha

 

We had interviews with the Mission President this week which were good. But now I`m scared I`ll be made senior companion next transfer! Worse things could happen.

 

So usually Japanese people say `I`m buddhist!, no thank you!` or something to that extent. People usually aren`t buddhist, or even religious at all, but that`s their excuse to get us to go away. They also love to use the excuses, `I`m about to leave` `We`re eating right now` `I`m Busy!` or sometimes they`ll just straight up say I`m not interested. but anyway this week we were housing and ran into something a little different, `I`m Christian!, No thanks!` We then talked to them about that and they mentioned they were 7th day adventists, we talked about sabbath day worship and what not and I told them that we worship on Sunday because of Christ`s Resurrection and they didn`t know what to say. The same thing happened a bit earlier with a Jehovah`s Witness who I asked what the Holy Ghost`s name was. Silence. HA GOTCHA! sadly these people still rejected us. We also ran into an american on the train on the way back from interviews and talked with him a little, no result.

 

One interesting thing I have noticed is that Japanese people DO NOT expect you to know their language at all! They are especially extremely surprised if you write anything. At a ward activity the ward was making cards for the members to invite their nonmember friends to church and so I made one for Yoshinaga to which he could not believe that I had written a note in Japanese. (I don`t get it, we have entire conversations 3 times a week and he didn`t think I could write him a note in the same language I talk to him in!?! Beats me) They are especially amazed if you can read Kanji. Japanese houses often have a name plate where the Family name is written sometimes in Kanji and often in Romanized Japanese. When we talk to the people at their houses and address them by their name (because `you` is too informal) they are like `how did you know my name?` and we are all `well it`s written right here isn`t it?` and they are all surprised like oh I didn`t think you could read that.

 

Anyway I hope all is well at home! I love and miss you all!

 

Love,

Jonathan, Elder Pace

魅力的な男性‏

Family! This week has been good! We finally had more than just one lesson! I like hearing from other missionaries and all, but sometimes hearing from people whose mission experience is so drastically different from mine (especially regarding success) can be quite frustrating and bothersome when I feel like I am working just as hard if not harder here and seeing much, much less success. I mean in America or places where people have a Christian background it`s extremely different. I can`t walk into someone`s house and talk to them about God and Prophets and the Bible, They don`t know what those things are! The frustrating thing is maintaining the eternal perspective that God has a way, and a place, and a time, for each of his children to hear the gospel. People in Mexico or Europe or America (both North and South) already have a HUGE advantage on many of my investigators because they have a God-fearing Christian background. It`s hard to see the drastic difference in success and not think that God must love Latinos or Americans more than Nihonjin, but it`s not true! God loves us all the same and he wants ALL his children to receive the gospel.

 

Sorry for the rant on that but yeah, it is frustrating to not have the success that every missionary wants. I`m glad you got my letter with the passport and what not. I had a dream that night that I had to return to America because sending a passport via mail was a felony and I couldn`t get a job anywhere and my life was ruined because Eliza left her passport in my bag... Funny Dream.

 

I`m really enjoying being here and I feel like I`m progressing as a Japanese Speaker as well as a Missionary and just as a person in general. iPads aren`t needed for missionary work, we were the highest baptizing mission in the Asia North area without any of that. (Hahaha Tokyo who`s top dog now! haha just kidding)

 

So this week we had a really cool experience teaching EJ. We had talked to him about the Book of Mormon and how it connects everything in this gospel and it is god`s promise to us that through reading and praying about the book of mormon, that god will manifest the truth to us through the holy ghost. He had committed to read it before and hadn`t really read, he was busy with New Year`s and forgot... but this week at our lesson he talked to us about how he prayed to god to let him know if this was all true, and then the first verse he turned to was just like God was speaking directly to him. (mormon 9:27) and he is now scheduled to get baptized on February 16th. It was just a cool reminder to me that this is REAL. It`s not just something we tell people, it is the work of God. Heavenly Father knows us all perfectly, and I know that with all my heart.

 

We also had a dinner with Miyawaki this week where he talked to us and had questions about keeping the sabbath day holy, and the word of wisdom (as most people here do after they offer us a drink) and he tried to explain to us that he couldn`t believe that there was just one all powerful, all knowing god, and he shared his view that there is a mountain god, and a river god, and a tree god and a fire god (I`d heard all these before) and a KITCHEN GOD?!?!? I don`t think I will ever understand these people. The Japanese for the most part believe in the existence of A god, or gods, but they look for God in his creations, and struggle to understand the concept of a omniscient, omnipotent being with a body. If they only got that, then teaching would be a breeze, and baptisms would skyrocket. But for now we just are doing our best working hard day in and day out. And things seem to work out for our good.

 

I love and miss you all! Write soon!

Love,

Jonathan, Elder Pace

Talent Show

Well not much happened as far as success this week. But this week we did have Eikaiwa after a two week drought because of Christmas and New Years. Our English Class is very structured, but at the same time not really at all. Anyway aside from that we walked in the rain all day on Wednesday, Planned and had a LONG weekly planning session on Thursday and then went out finding that night and Friday we had New Year`s Conference. For the Conference those who wanted to could come early and play dodgeball and ping-pong, and then the usual conference followed. We didn`t set goals for the year as a mission other that to find, teach and baptize those that the Lord has prepared. And watched a kind of year in review slideshow.

 

I`M SORRY WE HAD TO FILL OUT A BIG MISSION SURVEY DURING EMAIL TIME AND OUR WARD HAD A TALENT SHOW AND A MOCHI TSUKI THIS MORNING WE HAD TO GO TO ALONG WITH OUR OTHER PDAY STUFF AND SO I HAVE NO TIME!!!

 

The ward talent show was fun. I took some videos that you will see when I send my card home again. I have not too much to say but I don`t have time to write it or email today and basically I hate that Preparation day ends at 6:00 and that the whole morning is taken by stupid study time! I`m not in a good mood as I`m typing this as you might have thought. I hope you all are having a good time at home. In Yonago it was nice because there were two computers and so it took half the time to email but here there is only one for the four missionaries here. (mission iPads would be lovely)  Look up Momoiro Kuroba (Pink Clover) it`s a J-Pop band? that a group did a lip sync to for the talent show. I wish I had more time. I love and miss you all!

 

Love,

Jonathan, Elder Pace

正月!‏

Happy New Year! or rather 明けましたおめでとうございます!

 

New Years was a big deal and so everything here was quite difficult as one might imagine. We did manage to get referrals from the meal appointments this week so that`s good.

 

I don`t remember a whole lot of what happened this week honestly. But I will share what I can.

 

So our investigator Kawakami, who is somewhat mentally ill, has it set in his mind that we can only meet with him on tuesday at 4. Good right? here`s the problem. He forgets. He also has a bad habit of turning his phone off. So that said we call him to confirm the appointment on Monday. Phone Off. We call again Tuesday. Phone Off. We go visit him, he says he forgot the appointment, and that we`ll meet next week. We make an appointment for next tuesday, we make sure he writes it down so he`ll remember. Next week, we call to confirm on Monday, same story... I am so bugged with him.

 

New Years was not super eventful. It`s largely celebrated in the families and so people are very busy, but not out and about busy. Missionary work this week was very uneventful other than appointments falling through and investigators dropping themselves.

 

We had lunch on New Years Day with the Tokuno Family and they served us a traditional Japanese new years meal. Shrimp (with the head and all of course) lots of Fish Eggs, Sushi, Anko, which is like a sweet bean paste with a great flavor but a pretty nasty texture, mochi, or rice that has been condensed so much that when you chew it is doesn`t get any smaller and is hard to swallow, and these little fish that you just eat whole and they have a very strange aftertaste. I don`t know the Japanese word for them.

 

I sent y`all a letter today including some items that you have been requesting (Eliza) hope it gets there soon! I have also enjoyed getting Christmas letters for 3 weeks because people in the USA have no idea how long mail takes to get here so a big thank you to everyone who wrote me! I`m trying to be better at writing back more. I also received the Olympus Missionary newsletter thing which was really fun to read and just good to hear from everyone out there! It`s a Small World After All!

 

I finally got my bike fixed! I now have working brakes, a light, and my knees don`t go above the handlebars anymore! Also Abby I got your package and I LOVED IT!

 

Oh! I also learned how to make Takoyaki this week! it`s like octupus corndog balls and is quite good, but is always served SUPER HOT, so someone always burns their tongue on it. I also did some calligraphy this week for new years and I was sad I didn`t know more Kanji, and that I don`t remember anything from Mrs. Wang`s Chinese Class HAHA.

 

I love and miss you all! Happy 2014!

 

Love,

Jonathan, Elder Pace