Knock on Wood

So you know how I said that bike wrecks seemed like a transferly thing, WRONG, two more this week, with two pairs of holy (holes in them) suit pants to go with! I am fine, the bicycle I was riding has been since deemed unsafe and I am now riding a different one until the dangerous one is either fixed or replaced. I really am just so done with bikes and hills but oh well.

Home life seems as hectick as it ever was in December. I have received both the Christmas packages you sent although the element of surprise has been ruined by customs declarations... I tried not to look I promise! haha anyway. Everyone here in Japan is really busy, or at least they love to tell the missionaries they are because it`s a super easy way to not be direct (which can also be interpreted as offensive in Japanese) and so everyone just claims `busy` as their cop-out excuse. Once on an exchange with Elder Kemp in Yonago we even had a gaggle of High School age kids ride past on their bikes in unison shouting at us in English, `I`M BUSY!` We were quite surprised to say the least, laughed about it for a bit and then chased them down and invited them to English Class. But yes everyone here is very busy, especially witht the semester ending for all those in the rigorous schools over here which aren`t quite as `user friendly` as American schools.

So details on the call home. I don`t call you family, you get to call me! And so you call me on YOUR Christmas Day so I will actually be talking to you on the 26th. (my exact 6th month mark) so about that I am either 15 or 16 hours ahead I`m not really sure which sadly, but you make an international call to the companionship cell phone and we can talk to each other! MERRY CHRISTMAS, hee-haw, -Sam.  So yes I don`t know how that works with Abby but no I cannot skype and a 3 way call would be almost impossible so sorry Abby I can`t talk to you til next year.

This week being Papa`s Birthday and the christmas season and other significant days and memories running through my mind I really had more trouble with homesickness this week than I have had for a while but I am fine don`t worry.

My companion has started a bad habit of pulling out food so it looks like he is going to cook for the both of us (like I do for him when I cook) but then he eats it all and doesn`t tell me he isn`t going to share! lame, lame, lame, lame, LAME! but anyway I am doing fine. My companion has one of those `know it all` attitudes which doesn`t exactly help him personally or as a missionary. Although I do love doctrinally proving him wrong as terrible as that may be. (Just because I may not seem like it in Japanese I am not stupid pal!) He loves to think that his way is best and doesn`t take well to advice or correction from me or our mission leaders. 

I BEAT A REAL JAPANESE PERSON AT PING-PONG!!! I`m so proud of myself. They all hold the paddle upside down like it`s chopsticks and it`s not a paddle its a `ラケットraketto` Every church here in Japan has at least two ping pong tables. It`s the equivalent of a ward gym in the USA. But yeah every Saturday the ward has a sports activity which is usually Baseball (Boo) but it became too cold so now it is Ping Pong which is more fun anyway.

Abby that`s awesome with Roberto! I laughed when I read about `Roberto the Beautiful` because basically all Japanese names have a direct meaning from their Kanji which is sometimes quite interesting. For example Elder Sekiguchi`s name, Sekiguchi means `mouth relationship` and he didn`t think it was very funny when I called him elder kiss once haha.

Yoshinaga San this week we taught about focusing on the spiritual aspects of life because he understands all the doctrine perfectly, and he understands the Gospel logically, but doesn`t really believe it and so he doesn`t really want to be baptized and yeah. So we talked to him about how we are half spirit and no matter how smart we might be, if we don`t accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, that we can`t progress to know the mysteries of God. He likes meeting with us and realizes that we have something of value for him, but he is too blind to notice that it`s just right in front of him. He always comes to chruch but he comes late (after the sacrament) wearing some warm up suit type thing and studies mechanical physics during sacrament meeting! GRR, he missed the entire purpose of the lesson! People just don`t get that if it`s true they should get baptized and follow Christ`s example. We`re working with Yoshinaga so he can gain that confirmation, but it`s a process.

People here in Japan just don`t have a concept of truth regarding religion. They don`t see a need for it and so whether or not our church is true has no importance to them. They just don`t see the big picture. And they often don`t care to which breaks my heart. I just want to be like don`t you get it?! but sadly it is a completely foreign concept to these people and we have to start from square -1. We can`t teach lesson one straight off because they don`t have any idea who god is, they probably think he`s a rock for all we know, so to them returning to live with god and our families forever doesn`t make any sense. They don`t know who Jesus Christ is, they`ve never heard of scriptures before and even if they have they probably have never read them. This is hard for these people to accept. But nonetheless it is the truth.

I am excited to talk with y`all in a few short days! Have a Merry Christmas!

Love,