August 17, 2014 Letter

1400 Hours - the land of the broken heart.

I am transferring and it kinda hurts the old ticker more then I would have guessed... but I am going back to my beloved Nagamachi so all is well. :-D

This is Atsushi! He was an exchange student back in WA. He just happens to be from my area and the internet has kept us in touch. He is such a good friend and I am so happy we got to meet up. It was TONS of fun!

Fun Food Fact:

Wanka soba! It's like a contest. I have a too bad a case of love for competition and dislike of throwing up too participate but basically it's a how much can you eat contest. It's super fun! You sit and have a little bowl. And then a person (normally very kind looking young lady) drops about one solid bite worth of noodles into your bowl. Then you take your chop sticks and just slurp it down. Then she says something witty like "good job!" or "next! keep it up!" and drops in another. Slowly you eat a whole ton load of soba and that nice looking lil' lady turns into a demon that never gives you a break. haha! Elder iida is kinda legendary at it! He did 185... impressive.

Culture Point:

My Moma wanted to know about weddings. I have never been to one, but from what I hear there is a huge western influence in what a "cool" wedding is. So, about half the weddings are just white dress and tux like we think of them. But the other half are kimonos which is what you think of when you think of samurai dress. I have to say I did not appreciate how beautiful they were until I saw some nice ones on handsome guys and beautiful women. It is just (if not way more) money and time put into making them as big dresses. But I have no idea how they do the ceremony and my companion is worthless in that department. I got all surprised he didn't know and he was like "I have never been married man how am I supposed to know". But I think he is slacking as a Japanese citizen.

Spiritual Thought:

I have learned lately that I think there are more then one kind of service and it all depends and how you are thinking. There are times when you actively push yourself to help others and that I think is when we grow the most. There are times when we are kinda forced into it by someone or circumstance and I think that doesn't effect me the most. And then there are times where we actively choose for so long that a small habit forms that we just do it out of instinct. Like a 40 year old man opening a door before he knows what he is doing, a lady smiling at a baby on accident when it is sad, all those "cute" little things. But I think that is when we find the joy in the service, when we become that person. In Matthew 10:39 is a great scripture that I think partly means that if we can completely pull out of ourselves those selfish desires only then can we truly have all the joy. So then I comes to how does one truly change there desires? and that is where Christ comes in I think. We also start with faith in the little commandments. I want to testify that we can change how we influence the world and how happy we are through Jesus Christ; He is our savior. 
 

Funny story:

We were walking home from a restaurant with a friend and the three of us were just chatting away. I was on the far left away from the road, then Iida choro, then sato kyodai. We are just have a jolly time on a hot day at about 1 in the afternoon. Then I hit a mine. In the states I might have got angry but in Japan it was not only the first dog crap I have ever stepped in but the first I have even seen! So mostly it was surprise and confusion on my face I think. Iida choro totally had seen in coming but was bound in a deep talk about the work of our friend and didn't want to be rude and interrupt. And Sato Kyodai is just talking and asking away and didn't see any of this... and I am just like oh not such a big deal just kinda walked so the one leg drags for a few steps and all will be well. But I don't know if it was the humidity or a sick stray dog or something but it was really gross... and the smell was lingering.. so i had to be rid of this! I find out it's stuck between the heal and the sole of my shoe so I start dragging it on the edge of the curb like any poor soul in my situation would do. This is just all gross. The funny part was elder Iida. He is a laugher, you can get him crying just by dancing silly in the apartment. He is trying to be calm as he watches all this develop and by the time I use the curb he is just dying, but sato kyodai just keeps going. So I start to do like leg shakes to fake get it off and Iida just like ceases up. I love this guy; I feel super funny around him.
Love each other for me!

Law Choro

p.s. its a bit of a spiritual rollercoaster for us all.. testimony and then dog poop.... any improvement points?

August 10, 2014 Letter

0840 hours Miyagi-ken

It was an awesome week! I got peaches from a lady at church that loves me!

Culture point:

So I think that I have told you about matsuri; but its giant festivals. The Japanese culture is full of them and everyone just loves them. Normally they are in the summer and the Big one in Sendai is called Tanabata. and it was this week! For tanabata there are tons of fireworks on Tuesday night then from Wednesday to Friday there is a huge street that has these giant ornaments that hang down and you can walk down the road (its over a mile but I am not sure how long). There are tons of shops all over the sides and food and people (lots of people) and if you are there at night (especially the fire work show, then probably 90 percent of the girls and 30 percent of the boys are dressed up in traditional Japanese clothes. It's way fun! I bought a summer one but didn't get a chance to wear it. Here are some awesome pictures for you:

 

 

Yes Jaimyn, I chose this one just for you!

 

Fun food fact:

I just want to share something with you: if you leave cookies out in Moses Lake WA you get these crunchy stale puck, if you leave cereal out in Moses Lake nothing changes. In Sendai in the summer if you leave out a cookie it gets super soft and gooey and falls apart. If you leave out a bowl of cereal without milk, it will begin to get soggy. And I am not kidding or being dramatic!!! You put a lid on it to keep it crispy!!

Spiritual thought:

I just want to share my testimony that Jesus is the Christ. And the reason I feel that way is that I have studied what he has taught and find that when I apply it I am liberated from the sorrow that comes from my mistakes. Especially when I pray for forgiveness through his name. I can testify from experience that you can receive peace and forgiveness. We can be clean and progress through Christ.

Funny story:

If you want your own funny story eat a peach with the skin on in front of someone Japanese... hahah!

But this weeks funny story comes to us from a place we go to for service. It's a hospital where we talk to the people that are living there and don't get to get out much. There are many elderly people there and I have this one table that I totally love, they are mostly in their 90s. They actually are super interesting to talk to. They were in their 20s during world war II and lost siblings in it and had some really hard trails. But for the most part they just compliment the heck out of you, are super bright and make love jokes. I know they are like this so on a split i had a young American missionary go and sit with them and I just kinda watched from a distance. I was just dying. He was just red as can be the whole time and had this nervous smile and strained laugh the whole time. After he came back with all these new vocabulary words he learned like secret lover,  handsome man, stud ect... you kinda had to be there but it turns out you can get harassed in Japan too.. haha!
 

Love each other for me! 

Law Choro

August 3, 2014 Letter

0849 Hours in the place where you don't need to flip the egg to cook it on the sidewalk; it just steams the top too. :-D (I came up with that myself this morning).

Fun Food Fact:

Something about honey from Japan, New Zealand, Austrailia, or Korea doesn't quite match that of Canada or U.S. honey. It is not quite as sweet but still good.

Culture Point: When you ask someone their name you: ask their name, they tell you, then you ask what kanji are used and they describe them! Then you kinda say "wait this one?" and you draw it on your palm with your index finger, and then you say that's a cool name! And they normally are super cool and it's not a lie. If a Japanese person read this culture point they would laugh so hard but i testify it is true!

Spiritual Thought: Family history! We can help our ancestors! Check out first cor 15:29 and then talk to your mormon friend and they will hook you up with a bunch of free tools to research where your ancestors are from! It's way fun!

Funny Story: We called my beloved Miura Kyodai and started randomly singing happy birthday just to mess with him. The first time he just hung up the phone and when we called back he said he didn't want to embarrass us by telling us that we had called the wrong person. That is how nice Japanese people are- haha- I love this place!

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

July 27, 2014 Letter

0846 hours - a place where cold showers never felt so good.

Everyone my brother put in his mission papers!! Woot Woot!

 

Fun Food Fact! 

Umeboshi. I have talked about them before but they are Elder Iidas favorite food. They are the red ball in the middle of the rice bowl. They are actually a plum. But how you make them is: you take the green fresh plum and you take fresh picked and washed shisho leaves and you mix them into a ton of salt. Then you put boards and rocks on the mixture and you let is sit for around 3 days. Then when the taste is right you pull out the leaves and plums and you lay them in the hot sun (you have to remember Japan is sooo humid so its not like they dry to a crisp) for 4ish days. Then you put them in any container or plastic bag or bowl with a lid and you let them sit. Elder Iida tells me he thinks the best ones are 1 year old. The oldest one I have eaten is 4 years old and that is like max life. With age they get more and more sour and they are super sour to start with but I really like them! Sometimes I put them in the freezer for a frozen sour treat. I want to try and make them when I come home!

 

Culture Point:

Hanafuda. It's a tile game! It's a true Japanese game (about half of the really old games played here are actually Chinese but this one is pure in blood). There are no kanji or writing on the tiles, just pictures of different animals and flowers and you are looking for common flowers that give you enough of the same animals or banners to get points. It's actually a gambling game. I am pretty much not a pro but it has a good amount of luck involved in it with a good balance of strategy. I will teach you! 

 

Spiritual Thought:

I went to a baptism of a 75 year old woman by the name of Oyama San yesterday. She shared something so simple but struck me to the bones. She said she was too nice to turn away the sisters that knocked on her door so she listened. They were so nice, but lots of people are so nice so she was just relaxed and didn't think too much for good or bad. But then they started talking about God and the room changed. She said she had never felt anything like it in her 75 years, more than love, more than hope, just a peace, a divine love and correctness. From then she didn't have any questions and didn't have to believe them because God had told her personally. I just want to add my testimony to hers that the Holy Ghost is a real thing and allows us not to have to rely on others to know eternal truth but to know straight from God. It's a huge blessing! 

 

Funny Story:

So I asked Elder Iida if we had a funny story this week and he told me that my veins were the funniest thing this week. He says that because when we went to the old area he worked in on splits he wanted to go to an old friend. We knocked on the door and she opened, said hi, and then introduced me by grabbing my arm above the elbow and pointing at my veins. Then she freaked out and said it was so cool. Because it was her hobby I guess to look at veins.. its super weird. And then he did it a few days later to Sister Ishikawa and she said it was disgusting. So the funny story today is to show you what elder Iida thinks is funny. Mostly it's not funny but his laugh is so funny it will make you laugh!
 

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

July 20, 2014 Letter

0850 hours Honshu

ui-su! (slang hello that drives Elder Mantz crazy when I use it)

It has been a sweet week that was way to busy! I am going to the ocean with Brother Miura today so be stoked for me!

 

Culture Point:

So everyone in Japan knows Disney. All the movies and songs are in Japanese and there is Disney Land and Disney Sea in Tokyo that they love! But there is a childrens' movie company just as old and way more famous in Japan called Jiburi and EVERYONE except me has seen all the movies. So if you are uncultured like me and want to see some amazing movies I recommend these because I have been told to watch them by a million people:

kuranai no buta (something with red pig in English)

mononoke hime (mononoke princess maybe?) - Apparently not for general audiences. A bit bloody.

and spirited away!

The thing is I have no idea what the titles are in English but I know there are English versions so check them out for me and tell me how they are!

Food Fact:

Rice paper. So you don't eat it a ton; but, in an amazing dinner made for me last night by furukawa shimai two of the dishes had it so it isn't insanely rare. The only way I have eaten it is with vegetables wrapped around on the inside with a vinegar sweet sauce poured on top or fried in a pan with cheese and sauce on the inside (kind of like a quesadilla). 

Spiritual Thought:

You know, I have never thought about friends as being so important until I came out here. It gives your fire I think. I think it is because I have never been isolated away from my family for so long maybe, especially my siblings. But those relationships are as hard as nails and can be thrown around at anytime and be expected to be deep and dependable at anytime. I don't know; I feel like the best way to build a friendship lately is when all goes to crap to smile at each other. Then you are bound eternally. I love Iida Choro! He is the bomb!

Funny Story:

So we had a sports activity this last Saturday at the park and it just started pouring... its rainy season and it always rains! So we just said screw it and went for it! There is this friend of ours who is such a pretty boy; he is like 23 and always has way good hair and the cleanest new clothes and just a stud for looks. Anyway, he was playing goaly and was staying perfectly clean in his fitted sports shirt and matching shorts (I totally love this kid and he is totally going to get baptized). All was going well until the offence got a bit hot on the other team and there were like 3 big attempts at his goal where 10 people were stomping all around and it created a mud pit... but he was still clean, in a mud pit. Then came the long hard kick from mid field a bit to the left and when he went for it it all went.... I have never seen a person hit in such a way as him: like a rocking chair it started at his feet then his calves then his butt then back then shoulders then head and hair... until he was upside down. I like cried i laughed for hard! I will hook you up with pictures someday! Love you tons!

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

July 13, 2014 Letter

0800 hours `the most livable city in Japan!`` (that's what they say on the postcards)

ohaiyogozaimasu! (Goodmorning)

Elder Iida is a total beast! We are on top of the world and he says I got crappy at pingpong but that he can whip me back into shape.. it's so easy to be humbled when you are a missionary.. ;-)

Fun Food Fact:

Pumpkin! I might be making myself look like a fool and it's the exact same in the states but it wasn't in my home.. but we eat pumpkin a lot here! It's not like a big orange beach ball; it's normally like 2 liters total volume and it's green! The way I have eaten it the most is chopped up and boiled in nabe which is kind of like stew but less gravy like. Another way I eat it a lot is mashed up and fried as katsu which is really good. It looks like a McDonalds hash brown but thicker and full of pumpkin! oishii!

Culture Point:

My words will not do the difference justice but I wish I could show you how Japanese people deal with notes, letters, or paper communication of any kind. I don't know if it is influenced from origami or just because of their cleanliness or respect but it's sacred. For example if you make a mistake in a handwritten letter to a friend you will bust out the whiteout or get a new sheet of paper. If you glue on anything its done with sooo much care and precision. The way they move is like they are handling something sacred. I always watch my companions do it and I get super peaceful. I cant explain it but you do not give a wrinkled letter or a cards with a few letters scratched out! It's just like a higher level of care. It might sound like a pain and I am sure it is sometimes but the culture around it is more of we do it because we want to show others we care about them, so it doesn't feel like a pain at all. 

Spiritual Thought:

I have seen the power of unity verses when we are not unified recently. First of all it brings less conflict, power in working together, and we can do more as everyone knows. Another thing that I felt recently is that there is a large influence on the individual. When I make goals in a group I feel a much higher drive to accomplish my goals because I am not the only one holding me accountable. I think that there is much more drive to overcome when we do things for others instead of for reward or fear of punishment. I think making goals together is ideal in the family, and not only to assume but to be vocal and truly sit down and decide what you want to do. ``Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you.`` 2Cor 13:11

Funny Story:

We do a lot of different service activities but mostly it's teaching English,  talking to people at nursing homes, cleaning hospitals, or moving people around in wheelchairs. Rarely is it outside manual labor. So when we got a phone call to go help an elderly woman in her yard I was pretty pumped. We get out there and pretty much its gardening; we are moving around some landscaping stones, planting some cucumbers and some basic stuff. Then she asked me to start digging a big shallow hole to put some compost in. I am like sweet and start digging away as she goes in the house, she starts bringing out these big bags of leaves that Elder keshino starts dumping in an smashing them around. We are making trampoline jokes and laughing around just having a jolly old time and then....

 

It's actually a trait that is in my blood, similar to spider sense but when something is about to go wrong or is off, my eyebrows come down and together while my eyes squint a little and my forehead creases up. It's from my father.

 

This happens to me. Something is coming. I look at keshino choro who has ninja in his blood so he obviously felt the same thing (probably even before I did). Right as we make eye contact it hits.

I have experienced many a dark smells in my 19 years, from the rotting skunks at bus stop 43 when I was 10, to the dairies of my teens, all the way to the abomination of week 6... but the creature that fell upon us at that time overcame my ability to keep control and we both started this little cough every few seconds. She then comes around the corner with this plastic bag with yellow death splashing around on the inside. We are her valiant workers and are supposed to be strong so we are holding on but it was like soooo bad! Like worse than rotting meat, worse then chemicals, just like blindingly nasty! When she poured it out it was too much! We started gaging and coughing all over the place and she just like looks up and realizes for the first time how bad it is! She gives us permission to run away and hide tell the hard work is over.. and I just tucked my tail and ran like the coward I was.

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

July 7, 2014 Letter

1700 The Lonely City

My beloved Keshino Choro is leaving us for my beloved Misawa! 

The bit of ray to our rainy season is that my new companion will be Iida choro!! The one I learned ping pong from in Misawa a few transfers ago! He is from Tokyo and is a total stud! 

Fun Food Fact:

Tempura. So tempura can be bought at pretty much any grocery store like you would by bagels in the states (that is a bad example but like it gives you an idea of the different levels and availability of it). It's just battered deep fried food. Normally things like pumpkin, green pepper, egg plant, onion, shrimp, and other sea food and vegetables. The way I feel is the most normal way of eating it is when it comes with a bowl of soba or other type of noodle. So yummy! 

Culture point:

In Sendai 3 years ago this March there was a big earthquake and tsunami. You have probably heard of it. I could talk about the cultural impact of that for a really long time. You hear all sorts of stories about miracles and super tragic losses from people. Really sad normally. :-( 

But an interesting side note (that I learned today after going to the ocean) is that on the coast line, where the tsunami hit, a ton of the beaches are just gone and shrunk to way smaller than what they used to be. I didn't realize how much the coastline changes from something like that. We had our friend showing us pictures of 4 years ago and the beach we were standing on was completely differenty. It was kind of a sad thing but interesting. To brighten the mood I share with you this photo:

 

Spiritual thought:

I have been thinking about the Holy Ghost a lot lately and especially the gift of the Holy Ghost or the second birth by spirit (john 3). The Holy Ghost is the way that God communicates individually to us. He does not have a body so He can speak to us in feelings and impressions. You get the gift of the Holy Ghost by being baptized. When we are baptized we promise God that we will follow Jesus Christ's example and love those around us and that we will follow all of God's commandments. Then in return God promises that He will give us that gift of the Holy Ghost, that direction, comfort and guidance. Everyone can feel the Holy Ghost on occasion. The difference is when we make that promise is that we can have that help all the time so that the things we learn can be permanently woven into our soul, so that we can understand truth forever and never be confused in that area again. It's kind of complicated but in the Book of Mormon there is a really good explanation on page 113-115 (2 Nephi 31-32). I am personally super thankful for the gift in my life because of the peace it brings. I can rely on God for information and know the truly correct choice for things. 

Funny story:

We were at the park today waiting for our friend to come and meet us. We were standing by this big fountain with a pool around the base about a foot and a half deep. There are normally a few moms with little kids that play in the water but today was kinda cloudy and windy so there was only one lil guy running around the fountain in his swim shorts but he wasn't touching the water. So his mom called him over and then she stripped him down and put on his normal pants and shirt because it was a little cold. Then I watch him run straight to the fountain and just jump right in with a little cannonball! He was probably two years old, maybe a little stinker, but mostly I think he didn't really understand. That was super funny on its own but the thing that was killing me was: there are a lot of cultural acts and gestures that don't cross over between languages but some do. The mom was trying to calming explain to the two year why he shouldn't be doing that was exactly like how it goes in English. You didn't need to know Japanese to know exactly what she was talking about. It was fun to watch!
 

Love each other for me!

Law Choro