November 24, 2013 Letter

8:55 PM - From where sun meets ice 1154 hours

 

Weather:

There is actually no snow here and I totally lied in that first post! I guess this fall has been SUPER mild for the area. We have only had snow once and it was like 2 inches max. It normally stays around 7 degrees (C) for a high and it gets cold at night but i don't know how low. It's good football weather! :-) We will be rocking a turkey bowl for Thanksgiving morning and we have investigators and L.A.s and members and missionaries coming! It will be AWESOME!

 

Big News:

My camera was body slammed and killed by an out of control bicycle. But I am excited for the change that will bring! Everyone likes new toys! ;-)!

 

Fun food fact:

Sake. Alcohol. I don't really know that much about it because I am a missionary and personally don't think we need alcohol at all but I do know it is waaay more common then beer, wine, or hard liquor. It is pretty much a rice vodka from what I remember from a modern marvels I watched when I was like 12. But the thing I wanted to talk about is I actually buy and use it a lot! You cook with it! Mix it with some soy sauce and throw in a bit of sugar and fresh garlic and you have some way fast yummy teriyaki going!

Look how huge that bunch is (not normal in Japan either) and the guy in the background is my beloved Elder Anderson who I trained for a whole 3 weeks

Culture point:

Heating. There is no house wide central heating units in Japan, at least that I know off, and that is in the super rich huge houses too. I don't know if it is because electricity is so expensive, or it seems wasteful. There are a lot of space heaters. In the South they were all electric and were the same units that the air conditioning came through. With an occasional plug in and burn down your shop kind. But up here in the North I haven't seen any like that. Everyone still has the half air conditioner and heater variety, but mostly what you use are these little portable kerosene stoves. They are good and heat up a room pretty fast and you have your little tea pot of mogicha bubbling away on top! We are so cute and if you are richer then the missionaries you can have natural gas heaters that aren't mobile. They are cool because they don't smell as strong (not that the kerosene in bad but you occasionally need to air out a room or you kind of get a headache. Yes we have CO detectors and know all possible problems and are super safe.
 

Spiritual Thought:

There is a parable in the 21st book of Matthew taught by the Savior in verses 28-31:
28 ¶But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go ^awork to day in my vineyard.

 29 He answered and said, ^aI will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and ^awent ^bnot.

 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 

There are about 100 things to learn from this but the one Iw23 wanted to share was how important it is to be humble. Pride has pretty much gotten me into every tight corner I have been in and so I have such a burning testimony that I, and everyone else, will be happier when we humble ourselves and do what the lord (who loves us, has all knowledge and wants us to be happy) would have us do. That if we made a decision like the first son and said "NO" for whatever reason, I wont, or don't think I should, I am different.. it doesn't really matter, but repent, change yourself to be happier. Because it's just like a child who says he wont work but then comes back and does the most. The father will love him! I testify we all can improve through Christ!
 

Funny Story:

   So in my early missionary life there was a common theme of Elder Thayne well I've got a feeling that through my childhood of missionary life you guys are going to get a lot about the sister who I told you about last week.

   There is a one hour break between the English ward and the Japanese branch (between the two services) and for the first half hour of this break we have a meeting, then the last half if we don't have anything we like to eat our little Bento that we made. So the sister that chewed out Breinholt Choro is always there really early (because she is an angel) and she will be in the kitchen waiting for us when we show up. My first week that this happened she made us all give her a piece of our bento and try it to see how it was. That was super funny watching the Elder Kawamura squirm as she stole from him... a way funny story for another time! But it isn't as bad as you might think that she steals our food because she brings food for us too (which I didn't know)!

   So last week there is a potluck after the stake conference for the English ward and we just feast on chili and salad. Yeah I can eat salad with dressing now; the dressing I will pound is sesame ground up in sesame oil and a bit of sugar and probably more but its way good! So then we go into the kitchen and there she is waiting for us and she has a feast that she made for us to eat this time! Rice balls with tuna and this big green Tupperware in the middle of the table. We were Way full but because she had done all this amazing work and to show our love we ate it. They were very delicious rice balls. As we are about half way done she grabs that green Tupperware that has been lurking in the back of my mind the whole time I ate my rice ball.. vinegar just wafts from the depths of this container (I can eat it now but I still feel the same way about it.. no use.) So I just pull my little bowl higher on my face and just eat that rice ball with all my heart. But Breinholt choro is not as wise as me and he is sitting right next to her and so he just plops his foot right on that bear trap and asks her what it is! She reaches in with the chopsticks and pulls out this gnarled pickled old whole baby mouse!
...
No I am just teasing it was a gnarled flower root! But I want you to remember how you felt when you read that because you will then be on the same level as us with the stomachs that were about to explode. Then she throws is on his plate and says " 食べなさい。which means "EAT IT!" in command form grammar (so its super strong! Like as a missionary I only use command form with a dog or my companion. For all of you who know Grandma Donna, when you were a little kid or grown man and she would say low and  almost bark like "EAT IT!"... like that but in Japanese). So he just throws that sucker back like it was a Scooby snack (please remember she is not close to 5 foot and in her 80's and he is 6'6'' and spry). Then she asks him (I will translate this all into English)

"how's it taste boy?" she challenged

"delicious mam" stuttered the poor missionary as he quickly bowed his head over and over again in terror.

"ahh... delicious ehh? well in that case.."

she then proceeded to dup about ten of the (this is when as a writer I regret copywriting the word abomination(see week 5)) broken creatures onto his last little rice ball. And then underscored his complete inferiority with another "EAT IT!"

to which he pitifully obeyed.

    I had rice coming out my nose I was laughing so hard in my little bowl in the corner. She is so awesome though and has missionary fire! Go be like her and share the truth and peace with your friends! Love them! Love them! (command form)

Much love,
Elder Law