May 26, 2014 Letter

1024 hours upper cedar (translation of kamisugi)

This week was awesome!

Fun food fact:

Noodles- We eat a lot of noodles, they are cheap and taste good! Missionary diets include a ton of spaghetti in Japan because it is so incredibly cheap and normal Japanese people eat a decent amount too. The other noodles that are really famous (and more Japanese) are:

ramen (hot)

hiyashi chuka (ramen without soup) (cold)

soba (cold or hot)

yakisoba (they taste so different i am putting both) (hot)

udon (hot or cold)

somen (only cold)

and there are shops for all of these all over the place! So fast and good...Especially when its really hot or really cold outside and you want to eat something to make you feel the opposite.

Culture point:

So, I have been scouting these out for months but I wanted to go into one before I told you about them. They are called tachiguisoba. tachi is standing, gui is eating, and soba is a type of noodle. So these shops are at train stations or airports places where people are commuting and don’t have a lot of time but are hungry. So, you walk up and put in money into a vending machine thing with all sorts or dishes on it, you push the button for the one you want and a card pops out.  You take the card to the kitchen they take it and then in less than a minute you have your dish and you go eat it. But in the restaurant there are no chairs only counters! It’s so fun! hahah so you stand, eat super fast, then bounce! It keeps people moving and is Delicious!

Spiritual thought:

So almost everyone we talk to has never had any experiences with Christianity. Like they have seen famous pictures of Christ and learned about him in history class maybe a little but it’s like asking Americans about Buddha... some people might know a little but not really at all. So we have a lot of great chances to invite others if they would like to come unto their Savoir and partake in the blessings of peace of mind, strength to overcome our weaknesses, and vision that is real truth that comes from applying the atonement. I just wanted to testify that it is all very literal and real. It’s not something that just sounds pretty or focuses our goodwill, it is very much deity.  The plan of our God.  There is the ability to change for the better. I am so thankful the change it had brought in my life and pray for the love to be able to share it with others. It is for every single person if they would like it and if they understand that, will almost always take it.

Funny Story:

So we do a skit once a month for the ward where we demonstrate somehow how we can be better about sharing the gospel. This year’s theme is applying Christ-like attributes in our daily life.  This month we did a good Samaritan in the work place idea, where someone was being talked bad about. That person was a bit hurt. Then, two other people walk in and they are tempted to just let it be, mind their own business and not interrupt.  Or to do as Christ would do and reach out to the down trodden and help the person. I actually really enjoyed the skit. It was all silent except for an organ giving mood music and emotion. In the skit our tempter (his theme music was “Jaws”) was Elder McClanan dressed in a Satan costume with horns and this trident made out of chopsticks and a broom from our apartment. It was great. But after the skit there was a big pot luck type thing (Japanese pot lucks are amazing) but what was funny was the 6-8 year olds all formed an angry mob and beat Elder McClallan with sticks and rocks and fists until he was out of the church! And they were like chanting devils aren’t allowed in Japanese... it was super cute at first then it got pretty ugly... hahaha but we enjoyed it!

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

May 18, 2014 Letter

Today we have a sweet trip planned to Matsushima so it’s going to be quick!

Culture point:

So when European countries started coming over on ships to Japan there was of course a lots of cultural things that got swapped and also with that some language things! So for my father here are some words that we stole from the Portuguese:

kabocha- pumpkin

kappa- rain coat
tenpura- tempura
kasutera- sponge cake

 Fun Food Fact:

I am starting to forget what I have told you guys about... haha how bout I tell you how to make a super Delicious onigiri?! (rice ball that you put in your sack lunch)
- First, you cook rice.
- Then you dice up half an onion and one bell pepper.
- Open two cans of tuna and mix the fish with the vegetables (drain out the water or oil before)
- Add kupi (Japanese mayonnaise but if you don’t have that probably normal will work)
- Next, lay down some plastic wrap and maybe sprinkle some salt on it if you want it salty.
- Next, smear out the rice on the plastic wrap about 1 cm thick. Then, blob some of the fish and vegetables in the middle and carefully wrap it up into a ball or if you are authentic you can do a triangular prism. Lastly, if you have some, wrap it in dried seasoned seaweed and prepare yourself for something very good!

Spiritual thought:

Sometimes it’s easy to love people and other times it’s a lot harder. How do we feel that love for those that it’s a bit harder to love? There is scripture in the Book of Mormon, page 524 verse 48 (Moroni 7:48) that speaking of charity says ``...pray unto the father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love..`` and I took that principle to heart about a year ago and I have prayed that prayer almost every day for the last year. But honestly I don’t know if it was with all the energy of my heart. I wanted it so badly but like I felt love for pretty much every single person around me so it was like asking for a glass or water when it was pouring rain and I could just open my mouth and get a little all the time. But I had an experience where it was a bit harder for me to love someone and quite frankly I was suppose to help them I was worried I might end up punching them instead.. so I got to do that prayer with a bit more energy.. and it’s funny.. It worked out.. I had a little more eternal perspective that gave me the patience and the vision to have a wonderful time with this person.  I do not think God will always give us the fruit but he will give us a step ladder to climb. We can grow if we ask for it.

Funny Story:

So in our training meeting last week, we took a page out of Elder Packer’s book and did an object lesson his wife did where you take a cake and you ask who wants it. Everyone says oh me oh me then you take a handful and just nail someone, then you ask who wants more no one does, you cut a beautiful piece lay it on a plate with a napkin and fork ask who wants it etc.  Point is how we give something is super important. Love is important in inviting. Anyway, that alone was awesome. But there is this Japanese Sister in our zone that is so tiny, so pure, so quiet and so young looking. Everyone loves her! So we called her and prearranged that we were going to nail her. (we would have felt too much guilt) and so when we did it we about started a riot in the Zone meeting. Everyone wanted to kill us because how dare we hit her of all people! I can tell you about it better someday!

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

May 11, 2014 Letter

0729 hours Miyagiken

ohayogozaimasu! (good morning) summer is coming here and I am stoked!

 

 Culture Point:

Mother’s day! Everyone pretty knows about Mother’s Day here. It is not as big of a deal, I think, as it is in the States, but on that day the prices of all carnations triple and the flowers still sell out. So, I think it is safe to say that it is celebrated.  Also, they are a big fan of the ``all the kids get together with dad and do a service project thing.``

 Fun Food Fact:

Mugi.  so I have talked about mugicha before (cha means tea) but I have never really told you about mugi yet.  It’s pretty much oats. Food is kind of funny because sometimes things that we have 6 different types of they call all the same thing - like melon. They call it melon and we call it cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon. We call it ramen, they call it miso, shiyo, tsuke,... that kind of thing.  So I think mugi actually covers wheat, rye, barley, oats ect. But the stuff I am referring to here is the oats. back in the days of the dinosaurs ;-) they used to make the missionaries eat one cup of it every day so that everyone kept the meat on their bones but now we just eat it if we like it or are low on money  (Normally both).  I eat it in the morning with milk as kind of like a cereal. The Japanese do not eat it like that. Elder Keshino says that pretty much the only way people use it is to mix it in with rice to make for cheaper bigger meals.

 Spiritual Thought:

Someone once told me that you are never standing still. It is impossible to wake up, go through your day and never move closer or farther away from God and his influence. I can’t find a scripture that quotes that word for word but I think it is a pretty reliable principle. Every day if you do a little inventory and think, you can see the little changes.  No matter how good you are or how lost you are, everyday you will either take a step forward or backward. It kind of simplifies things down for me when I get confused. I think one of the best ways to make sure we get that positive step is a sincere personal prayer with Him.

Funny Story:

So this story actually comes to us from a mission in the south through my companion. (it brought back to memory a story I heard growing up a lot) there was a sister missionary (American) that fell in love with mugi. she loved the stuff! It was light on the stomach, healthy, fast to make into whatever she wanted. So she would eat mugi every single day. The problem was that eating so much was getting a little expensive.. not horrible but she figured if she was for sure going to eat it she might as well buy it in bulk to save some money. The next time she bought some she bought this giant bag that was way cheaper per the gram than normal because it was so big. Because she had so much, she freely partook of it every day.

As missionaries we are always with another missionary everyday (we call them doryo) so her Japanese doryo noticed some odd changes in the American. She started to put on a little weight. (not so odd in missionaries but kind of different for her.)  then the poor girl started to grow facial hair! that was not as normal. So the doryo checked on the food that the American was eating and found this mugi. When she read the label she found out that it was cattle feed. This feed was packed full of vitamins and minerals and all things fit for strong healthy cows including maybe some growth hormones and steroids... hahahah so she stopped eating it and I guess all is well now!

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

May 4, 2014 Letter

0856 hours kamisugi

ohayo gozaimasu! (good morning)

Culture Point:

Names!! I can’t believe I have never thought about this! So in Japan you have two names. The first one said is called your myoji and is similar to the Western family name. You share the same myoji as your parents and when you get married the female changes her myoji to that of the husband. Typically you have 1-3 kangi in your myoji and normally it is the name of a place, for example elder keshino my companion now is 芥野　that first kanji means poppy flower and the second one means field so his name is poppy field. Takeshita is 竹下　bamboo and the second kanji means under, so under the bamboo... 山本　Yamamoto which is mountain book... and so on. Typically, it’s something to do with an area and the guess is like the family came from that area originally, but sometimes that name doesn’t have such a clear meaning. So the second name you have is called you shita name, and that translates to under name, (because you write up to down) so your second name is like a first name in Japan. I tell people my whole name is law Cameron and if they really know western culture they know I have a middle name and then I tell them it. But if you are over the age of 25 you pretty much will only go by your myoji not your first name. They say san after it. If you are a little kid or young adult, you will probably go by your shita name and put a kun after it if you are a boy and a chan after it if you are a girl. (the little kids here are sooo cute!)

 Fun Food fact:

Something I really like and you see a lot of but doesn’t really have a specific name that I know of is these vegetables that are bowled and have a little bit of vinegar and soy sauce on them. Normally it has like spinach and radishes and lots of really dark green vegetables and I know that sounds kind of slimy and not so yummy but it’s really cold and really light and fresh tasting.. super good!

 Spiritual Thought:

Christ describes baptism as being born again in John chapter 3 and that has really been in my head lately, that we can take the mistakes and imperfections that are with us and we can make a promise with God through baptism that we will do our best to not do them again and then God promises us that we can have the Holy Spirit to be with us so that we can have the strength and guidance we need to return back to him. A clean slate, complete restart and this time with the Holy Ghost as our constant companion. What a wonderful blessing. It’s really the reason I am here, to tell people that God has again given his authority to perform these wonderful ordinances and that anyone that would like to can partake of the fruit here and see for themselves that it is not only amazing but truly from God. If you haven’t been baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or have ever seen a baptism, I really recommend going and checking out a baptism service. They are way neat!

Funny Story:

So, to update you on Ice Cream Flavors, I have eaten raisin rum (super gross), cheese and strawberry (pretty good), caramel salt (not my first time but way good), and something else that was way funny that I forgot!

The funny story this week was me trying to be cool.  We went to a kind of like buffet place where you pay for everything you grab as you grab it (kind of like a Japanese cafeteria, I think) and I wanted to be a big tuff guy so I got the wildest looking fish I could find and some rice and sat down and proceeded to eat. (mostly I did it out of pride to prove to the people that I was pretty Japanese and the other reason I did it was that I love fish) and it was so good! To be extra authentic, I ate all the bones and all the skin and only the tips of the tail and the rock hard part of the head I wasn’t going to eat. (I eat a fish like this pretty much once a week so I was really actually not thinking that much) but then when I got toward the head of the fish on the bottom side I took a big bite and it was all black and slimy and it was sooo gross.. and my companion just started a giggle fit at my reaction.. it’s like where the heart and liver and organs of the fish are and for whatever reason it was just really bad on this guy... so I am never eating that part again. No amount of rice was saving me.

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

April 27, 2014 Letter

1049 hours Spring!

It's such great weather here lately and missionary work is on fire!

 

Culture point:

Bread stores. It's funny because we think of Japan as being a place where bread is less popular than in America and it is: but, they have these fun little shops where you walk in and grab a tray and then roam around with a pair of tongs and grab all these different little breads ranging from ￥500 to ￥80 and just pile it higher and higher. It can be hard on your wallet if you like food as much as I do. Then you go pay at the counter and they bag up the bread and you go sit down at a table (normally upstairs in the places I go to) and you enjoy your bread with your friends as lunch! Probably not the most healthy of things when you choose the breads I do but way good!

 

Fun food fact:

Bread. So the bread you make toast out of I explained but the bread at the shops is a little different. Japan has pretty much mastered bread pastries. They look insanely perfect. There is everything from the classic croissants, to French bread, to bread filled with care, to filled with seet beans, to filled with cheese, and bead with vegetables, and others with fruits and some with potatoes in them, some with custard... Melon bread (they call honeydew melon and flavor everything from soda to bread with it) donuts, eggs... put sausages in the bread, ketchup backed into the top of the bread... and it's actually all good! I try all the best looking ones and the weirdest looking ones and it is all great. Also different than America is the bread doesn't need to be warm, like we keep it under warming lamps but they like it warm or cold, no difference.

 

Spiritual thought:

I think of all the goals people have in life, all the problems they want to overcome and the things they want to do. If you truly scraped away all the facades and misconceptions you would end up with a thread that runs through almost every one; I think that common thread  is peace. Peace from guilt and regret, peace or fulfilling potential, peace of worth, peace of safety. I am young and naive and maybe wrong but maybe I am right. I think the opposite of peace, that goal of us all, is fear. 

 

In 1 John 4:18 " there is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear" 

 

I clearly understand that pretty words about loving each other sound nice but with actual way to apply they do us nothing and even make us desensitized to recognizing truth. But I think if we come from this perspective I think it is easier to desire that love for others. It not only pleases God when we love others but in the end it will give us our goal. When we have that desire God promises us that He will give unto us according to our righteous desires (Alma 29:4 page 279). I have been praying for this love and through my own actions attempting to show it, and little by little it has been coming and little by little I am more and more happy. God loves us so He is guiding us.

 

Funny story: 

So I bought this awesome shirt... it's the rakuten! The baseball team of Sendai that won the Japan national championships last year (it was an awesome year for law choro with the seahawks and the rakuten). Anyway, I wore this shirt to a frisbee activity we did at the park and on the way home I ooked really good on my bike wearing it. I said konichiwa to this high school student on the way home and then he stands up and starts chasing us! Since this is Japan I stopped because when people chase you in Japan they are not scary at all because this is Japan... It turns out when he saw a foreigner with a jersey on as buff as myself he thought for sure I was a player and he wanted my autograph. So instead we took him to the church and played pingpong with him! :-)

 

love each other for me!

Law Choro

April 20, 2014 Letter

The heart of Sendai 1408 hours

 

Konichiwa! It's like being a new missionary again with all the Japanese that is washing over me! I missed it so bad! My companion Elder Keshino is soooo awesome! Right now three words to get the jist of him are: kind, intelligent, and silly. Be excited! I just cleaned the most moldy shower you have ever seen... and it looks like a boss! It had just got a bit behind because everyone is busy but from now on its getting bleached everyday for a month and then every other day from then on. I am stoked with the apartment too!

 

Fun food fact:

Hayashi rice. If you mixed together tomato soup and curry you would have it. It's a bit more sweet then than curry and less rich maybe. It looks almost exactly the same unless you are lucky and have some fresh tomatoes that you throw in. I crave and love tomatoes all the time now... its so odd.

 

Culture point:

Ohanami! So to makes it polite or honorific, hana is flower and miru is to see so it means going and looking at cherry blossoms! The trees are sooooo pretty! They are everywhere, not only in huge parks where you feel like you came into a pink flower jungle, but also just in peoples yards and on the sidewalk and by the road and at the train station. It's beautiful! At the parks the people just come from everywhere and have picnics! You bring a tarp and food and sake and some Frisbees or balls and they just sit amidst the beauty and have a good time with friends and family! So fun! In fact its so fun that I really didn't have the strength to take pictures... and all the pictures I took don't do it justice... probably google is the way to go.

 

Spiritual thought:

I was talking with one of the elders in the apartment about restarts the other night. The chance to kind of clean slate, set new goals, get rid of old problems, and the joy and freedom that brings. In my limited experience there are two real ways to do that. The first is to take a day and do it, whether its moving to a new town, a new baby, someone dies, new years... big things. That's awesome and really effective I think but impossible to do every week let alone every day. I want that feeling everyday personally, that freshness and clarity, smoothing to give me hope and drive. God wants us to be happy so he gave us a way with prayer. When we talk to God heart to heart, tell Him the good and look at the bad with Him and decide how we will change into what He wants us to become we truly can. All of His commandments are for our benefit.

 

Funny story:

So there is an eight year old in the ward here that is getting baptized next Saturday. His name is Towakun. It's kinda cultural in Japan that before a kid gets baptized they have a lesson with the missionaries (there parents actually teach them everything but its a way to maybe get it one more time from a source that is kinda special so it sinks in just that much more). So Elder keshino puts together this amazing lesson so that he can get the wow factor and maybe make the principles really stick in his heart. He wants to do a object lesson where at the end he writes all over his shirt and then says it's sin and then takes off that shirt and has a clean one under and that is after baptism. Great idea I think! He wears two shirts to church just sweating like a dog and his collar looked super weird all day... then the lesson comes! We go through the scriptures, we go through the comic we made for him, we talk about the relationship in his life, and he is just being a little business man, super professional and has all the right answers (and we are doing are best to amaze him into explanations of wonder) nothing... but we brought the secret weapon so I was not worried at all. So keshino choro starts in and draws this long purple line up his right arm.... that got a raised eyebrow..

 "is that washable pen?"

"no."

the chills....

Then he proceeds to draw all over his beautiful white button up shirt. (it actually had a big curry stain on the front but towakun didn't know that)

and so the excitement kinda dies and he isn't flabbergasted at all..

but then keshino choro is like

"but through baptism..." and just rips that shirt right open and emerges a beautiful clean man. (it was the most insane display of violence and flying buttons I have ever seen in my life, let alone a Japanese person..)

and you know what towakun said?

"i think we need to pick up all the buttons.."

8 year olds are a tuff act.

 

love each other for me!

Law Choro

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