April 13, 2014 Letter

1305 hours my favorite place ever!

 

Transfers... (do that sound dad makes when you hit all the coordinates on one of someone's ships in battleship) I am leaving my beloved Misawa... I am headed back to the heart of Sendai but this time I will be as big as it gets right next to the big train station. It's called Kamisugi. My companion will be a few transfers ahead of me and his name is Keshino choro. I know him kinda and he is awesome! Having a Japanese companion is part of the silver the lining to the cloud and I am now a zone leader so I get to go sometimes and do missionary work in Nagamachi!!!!! (my first area) so all is well!

 

Food fact:

Sakura tea! Sakura are the cherry blossoms (still waiting for the fresh ones) but one thing that is done is they take the blossoms and salt them and then you put it in hot water on special occasions and they like bloom in the water and you drink them! (it wasn't a special occasion but kimura san made us some because she is awesome) its like a really salty cherry taste! And you drink the flower! So fun and pretty pretty.

 

Culture fact: 

Tea. There is so much I could talk about with tea culture but one thing I learned recently was about the cups. On the inside of the fancy cups like the inner rim is sometimes painted a flower or leaf or ssomething pretty. And when you fill up the tea and give it to your guest you make sure the flower is on the side of the cup closest to you so that they can see it when you give it to them. and then when you finish the tea you turn the cup to face them and say how wonderful it was and thank you... kinda fun!

 

Spiritual thought:

I really loved conference this weekend! (we watch it the next weekend) and i especially loved the talk by the prophet Thomas S. Monson about having the courage to do what is right. no matter the pressure from friends and family, from politics and popular opinion from our own pride and lusts... just to have the courage to do what is right because we love our god. I think that is simple but it really have given me a little extra umph when the moment comes to choose the best or choose something else... i recommend watching it if you have a few minutes i promise it will impact and have relevance in your life because he is the mouthpiece of the lord to his people today. 

 

Funny story:

so there is so prepping this story but our favorite sister in the world ate lunch with us at a different members house (it was soooo good) and then we all left on the way home. and on the way down the hill she is a little older and has a cane normaly and it was a pretty steep hill so she told elder mantz to help her and they held hands all the way down the hill. like its so natural and a good thing to do that we would do every time but it was just so cute and in the spur of the moment and she just teased him the whole time that is like made me smile for days after! i am getting all not wanting to transfer just thinking about it... ahh! god is good!
 

Love each other for me!

Law CHoro