November 9, 2014 Letter

So 2 angels, that are the other elders in my apartment, are being way too nice. So, I am going to get in a quick letter.

Culture point:

Freeways; there are big beautiful freeways that run all up and down the country. In Tohoku they are wide, straight, and traffic is normally not heavy. They go through those mountains that you see in all the ancient pictures.  There are tons of tunnels and bridges. It would blow my mind to even guess how much went into making them and maintaining them each year. To drive on them is (at least to me) very expensive. You come onto them at a gate and pull a number and when you leave it you pay. An hour cost about 20 bucks, I think... it’s by distance not time. The speed limit is 80 -100 kph but EVERYONE goes 100-140kph. Wild people. ;-)

Fun food fact:

I about died this morning on the way home from the airport, when we stopped by this little bread shop and bought some kare pan (curry bread) I have had it a ton. It’s just bread with curry in it. But this place new their stuff. It was like a fresh cooked scone (like the deep fried dough scone) full of quality meat and curry crazy sauce) 

Spiritual thought:

I had the most wonderful experience meeting someone. they had had something weird happen to them and had to return to the same place like 5 times over a span of months and we had some weird things happen to us and we had to return there like 7 times. But on the time we both had to go back there, it was all a success and we should not need to return. That person was so interested in the message we had, that God loves them and wants to answer their questions and guide them. I know God loves everyone and wants to guide them back to him. We just have to be ready to open our mouths in a sweetly bold way.

Funny story:

 President smith was taking the driver’s test for his permit this last weekend and there is one spot where they want you get up to 50 kph on a straight away. To prove you can go fast and be ok. So he just gunned it at that part and he is going and going, but it just wouldn’t get up there... just kind of hovering at 40 and so he just floors it and it bumps up a little bit but comes back down and he is like wait... the tachometer... his speed was more like 65. Then Sister Smith did the exact same thing! (Their car is set up opposite) and I am sure that the teacher thought American drivers were like insanely fast... I got a good laugh..

Have a great week! Love each other for me!

Law Choro

November 2, 2014 Letter

17:20 the office.

I want you to imagine a Japanese kid comes to your Halloween party. He is kind of small. Can understand most of what people are talking about but when he talks there are a lot of cute grammar errors. He has really bad pronunciation. Someone has dressed him up in a Mickey Mouse costume. He has never even seen Mickey Mouse but he says he likes it because he has seen it all over since he came to America. He keeps doing this whistle and acting like he is driving a boat. He has no idea what it even means but with those ears and his little nose and that tail you can’t help but laugh and coo and vote him to be the champion for the costume party that night. 

That was totally me and I won the costume party as Anpanman. My Doriyo tried to be the Japanese version of Bugs Bunny. (Doraimon) and he made children cry and got no prize. It was a bit of a real heartbreak for him. But the face paint Christine sent was just too real on him, while I looked cute.

Food fact:

Chinese is like the Mexican food of Japan. Maybe even more mixed up then us and Mexico. Pot stickers are called gyoza and we eat them like candy. Ha-ha-ha! Well they are a lot more expensive then candy but taste better too!

Cultural fact:

There are a ton of ways to say the word "I”.  There are punk cool ways like "ore" there are super polite ways like "watakushi" there are informal ways like "boku" there are ways to kind of skirt the rule like saying "personal pen" instead of my pen like "jibun no" It can be pretty confusing at first. Kids don’t know this obviously. What is insane is that a 3 year old will already start the word that a little girl will say, and a little boy will say what a little boy should say. At church this week a 3 year old told me they were Boku`s shoes. and then a little girl (this is soooo cute) she told me it was Miko`s candy. That is like me saying "that’s Cameron`s candy" like talking in the third person but for a little girl its ok and super cute sounding to my foreign ears... :-)

Spiritual thought:

I saw a man that was what a lot of people would call the worst of the worst. Problems with gangs, alcohol, was a race car driver, and a rock star, kind of wild maybe. I saw him pray to God, ask for help, receive guidance, follow that guidance, enter the waters of baptism and become so happy. A light. I believe it only takes one day for a man to change. I am so thankful for that power that is the atonement. I know it is real.

Love each other for me!

Law CHoro 

October 19, 2014 Letter

1600 hours

The trees are changing and its super pretty! Like a rain forest that goes orange and red!

Culture point:

Imonikai! So this is something that is specific to the Tohoku Region! (Tohoku is the top 6 prefectures on the big island of Honshu) (Which is the area that I can transfer within) So if you translate it, it means sweet potato celebration. Kind of like a harvest festival. But the main event that they all have is a Soup that is what you would get if potato soup and miso soup had a child. Its way good!  Everybody seems to be having one these things. Pretty much, I try and make it to as many as I can. :-)

Fun food fact:

So I learned this cool thing from my companion a few transfers back about the "ABC`s of cooking is Japan. They of course use their alphabet.

SA さ - SAto     - Sugar!

SHI し - SHIyo  - Soy Sauce

SU す - SU       - Vinagar  

SE　せ - SEishu- Sake (Japanese alcohol)

SO　そ- miSO   - Miso (a paste made from soy beans)

So these are 5 letters that fall in a row in the writing system. This is the order in which you put things in while you are cooking to give flavor! (Whenever I start talking about food with a mom I somehow bring that up and they are like super amazed, so if you come here I recommend it). They all have a reason for their order. For example Miso is a bacteria like yogurt and so if you boil it for too long it doesn’t quite taste the same. Or if you put sake in fire by itself, it’s for obvious reasons kind of dangerous. I am sure there are about 100 other reasons I know nothing about)

Spiritual thought:

I want to share a story I heard of two kids today. (It was the Grandchildren of the Smiths).

Their dad normally woke up around five, but he had a chance to sleep in till seven. But like we all do he woke up at the normal time and just kind of laid there and relaxed. Then he heard his 5 and 2 year old out in the hall playing by their door. He heard the play flow to a problem, "woody is gone!" so they searched, and looked, but couldn’t find him! Then the 5 year old turns to the 2 year old, "mom said if we lose something, we can pray, and God will help us!”.  So they kneel down and say “heavenly father please help us find woody. Amen" "Amen." They begin searching. So Dad probably feeling like he is in some country song kind of wanders out to watch and they ask him if he has seen Woody. He kind of thought about it, and, it popped into his mind where he had actually seen it. So he told them to check there, So they went and checked and then found him! They were so excited. They went shouting into their mom, that God does answer prayers! She asked them if they said thanks to God and they stopped. They ran back upstairs and said they would. They returned later. "Did you say thanks to heavenly father?" "Yes! And he said you`re welcome!"

I was reminded of the most often promised thing in the scriptures "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." I just want to add my testimony that I know God does answer prayers. Most of the time it isn’t when or how I want it, but it always works out if my desires are righteous. I also have found that the second or third time we continue that previous discussion with Heavenly father, we can get even more answers just like the two kids.

Funny story:

So within a different culture, speaking a different language, I think anyone who has done it will say the same thing but sometimes you have these horrible situations where you want to laugh sooo hard but you shouldn’t because others will completely misunderstand your laughter. I had a really bad one this week.

I was on a trip with Elder Ito and this wonderful couple missionary to a 2nd hand store to try and get some cheap appliances and things to furnish their apartment. They are both American and full of personality and fire for life. I am American. Elder Ito is of course Japanese and in the store was all Japanese workers and shoppers. So to set the stage, we all start looking at space heaters then over to the vacuums. They are kind of discussing what they need and so I might have got a little distracted by the shirts (I am always looking for cool shirts with kangi on them to wear). So I am digging around and then I hear a vacuum start up. Not super weird, but I knew the others had been over there, so I wander on over to see that, they had found an outlet behind a rack of clothes and wanted to try out the vacuum, to see if it works. Maybe a little weird to plug it into the middle of the store in the states but not bad at all, but I thought it might be a bit much for Japan. Sure enough, a cute little professional lady scurries on over in about 3 seconds saying, "Hey, can I help you guys test that out up front? It’s against store policy to do it here." We of course go to the front. (the reason I tell you this part is so you know that because Japanese people are soooo kind she probably felt guilty about making a customer do that and so wanted to be sooo nice and professional the rest of the time.) We go up to the register and Ito Choro and I are kind of standing 5 feet off watching this next scene.

So they plug her in... She comes roaring back to life and they start searching for dust bunnies to test her out on. They are both looking her over good, kind of bent low over it, the helper gal is like straight faces looking forward like a soldier on guard, and are just watching...

Then I start to get this tingle... like a warm breeze when you’re hot. Then the warm feeling starts to go a bit on the soar side. Right when I cock my head he spews the word in his Japanese accent (I am sure my accent is much more funny in Japanese we don’t make fun of each other but all the same it sounds super silly sometimes) that killed my composure.. "Stinky" and he bales out into the forest of cream colored plastic and too short t-shirts. That’s when it gets bad. The vacuum is just puffing out air for days and I start to like cough. The Sister missionary is giving these faces full of pulled lips and concerned eyebrows, her husband is searching all over for the source, and I am just dying it’s so bad! I knew the smell, it wasn’t my first encounter, but it had been a long time. Then Elder Hill ( I normally try and keep names out but they won’t care) looks up straight and with a victorious grin "cat pee." And that when I just die... everyone is dying from this horrible gas the machine is putting off.  Our helper lady is just like the stone soldier. I just started laughing from it all, like tears coming down my cheeks, and no one knew what the heck I was doing! But man it smelled so bad...

Love you all! Smile and love each other for me!

Law Choro

October 12, 2014 Letter

1700 hours; the path of the typhoon.

You need not worry about us too much because in typhoon season it is really not that bad this far north. Just lots of rain and wind. :-)

Fun food fact:

I sent pictures to support my story! So at stores there is normally a section (my second favorite section) where they just have different ice cream treats to eat! This is one that I had never even heard of before coming here. Its ice cream in the middle and is normally vanilla but you can get chocolate or other flavors. On the outside is a layer of what is called mocha, which is beaten cooked rice. Unless you have eaten mochi, it’s really hard to explain the texture. I can’t do it! The closest thing I can imagine is wrapping mom’s pie crust around something and not cooking it, but it sticks together more and doesn’t fall apart in your mouth at all. It’s a tiny bit gummy almost. Anyway, you can eat it about 1000 different ways, but this is one of them! It’s yummy but you always want more after you finish. :-p

Culture point:

 I am 80 percent sure I only imagined telling you guys about his in my head, but, if I did tell you forgive me. You can say thank you while driving to other people by flashing your blights or turning on your hazard lights for a couple blinks!

Random Pictures for your enjoyment:

 Elder Ito's Birthday party

This is what happens when dress slacks meet a ravenous bike seat

Spiritual thought:

It’s kind of interesting be a foreigner in a country especially here for me because pretty much everyone gets that I wasn’t born here.  Everyone will ask the obvious question of why am I here: work? You might be a graduate student? (people in Japan look young until they are 106 so the average guess of my age is 26) and then I say I am a volunteer missionary that teaches people about what I have found to be of great value in my life, and that I am doing that and teaching a free English class for anyone that wants to learn.  They say something super nice because that’s just how they are. Then they ask me why I decided to this. I found a talk by an apostle of Christ that explains the reason and I would like to share it!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/2014/10/come-and-see?lang=eng

Funny story:

We went to a famous park on p-day as a district and were having a merry old time eating good food, meeting cool people, seeing cool flowers. Once we had saw most of it, we found a big grassy area and one of the older elders had brought some balls, a Frisbee and a boomerang. And like any normal human being I wanted to throw some balls, runaround a bit, and play. So I did.  I showed my companion how to throw a football, shot some hoops, threw the Frisbee a bit. I then decided I had to give the boomerang a whack. But this was no ordinary boomerang. It was the expert level kind I think. Very very difficult. With patience, having experimented around a bit, I got it almost to come all the way back to me, it was just a bit short, a bit on the weak side. But other than that pretty much perfect! So being ready for my big debut and wanting to show everyone how cool I am I give the famous, "Hey watch this." So everyone shuffles over to me and stands in a couple lines on either side. I just get the perfect angle and use every bit of strength I got from my feet through my hips and into and whipping arm...

So there is a sister in our district that reminds me a lot of Sarah... she is actually from North Carolina but more soft spoken and less rough and tumble. So just imagine that.

I swear on my life that that boomerang shot straight out of my hand, winked at Newton, and took a hard left.

Right in the face of the admiring Sister... you could hope for a like glancing head shot or something but no... She didn’t even cry or wail or give me what I deserve... but Low Choro got a pretty good laugh out of it.

Love each other for me!

Law Choro 

September 29, 2014 Letter

1700 hours the Eastern Coast

 

I wish you could understand better then this picture, but you see those ancient Japnese paintings with the mountains and the little clouds.. that is exactly what everything looks like once you leave the coast (and in a lot of places the coast too).

 

 

It's transfer week and my beloved Kawamura choro is gone with the wind to the most remote isolated place in the mission to keep him isolated. ;-) hahah But my new companion is Elder Ito who was born in a place kind of close to Tokyo called Aichi. He is too pure for me.. I will corrupt him.. He is 21 years old (the guy that got the pie in the face) and he got baptized when he was 18, is the only Christian in his family which shows you the level at which he is committed to Christ. He also loves Basketball and meat. When he smiles his eyes disappear and he kind of has chubby cheeks with dimples. He also was my first day split in my mission when both of our trainers were at a district leader meeting. But that was over a year ago.. :-P

 

elder ito far left middle is elder Low (way confusing for people in the ward) and the far right is Kawamura

Culture point:

Drivers test. So I have heard it said from someone that has done both that as a foreigner getting a drivers license in Japan on the test is actually more difficult then getting a P.H.d But who knows.I gave it a try this last week... and crashed and burned... hahahah. It actually hurt my little heart more then I was expecting. The bit of sunshine was that the other 6 people with me also crashed and burned :-D so my pride was helped a bit! It is not so much the rules of the road they are strict on but on little things. I failed because I was in the middle of my lane when I made turns instead of hugging the left side of my lane for left turns and the right side of my lane for right turns. But they explained it to me and I hope to not make that mistake again for my next and final attempt on Friday this week. Wish me luck!

 

Fun food fact:

So I have talked about a lot of Japanese food, and I have yet to find a Japanese food I don't like! Of course there are some I wouldn't say I would kill for (they are just normal) but I enjoy every single food I have eaten so far except.... Pumpkin. I never really ate it in America but that doesn't seem to matter for me. I love vegetables, love squash, but normally when I get pumpkin I always had my eyebrows kinda come to together and my lips go to the left (my left not your left) and I would eat it. It's not like its gross, it's too mild to be gross, it just always was odd. But this last week I have been served it three times and the first time was a salad with raisins and brown sugar. I think and it was way good! Then I had a pumpkin pie (I have never seen one made outside of the air force base and I praised that good sister for days for her love) and then I had it just the normal way again, and I liked it!!! So my point is... I think that I am becoming a man.

 

Random Pics (They made me stand in the girl one):

 

Even if nothing else comes out of these two years... teaching a 3 year old how to do this was worth it.

 

 

 

Spiritual thought:

I had a chance to read a talk by an apostle of the Lord named Dieter Uchtdorf called Grateful in any Circumstance. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/grateful-in-any-circumstances?lang=eng I recommend reading or listening to it! But I had a favorite part. He says,

"How blessed we are if we recognize God’s handiwork in the marvelous tapestry of life. Gratitude to our Father in Heaven broadens our perception and clears our vision. It inspires humility and fosters empathy toward our fellowmen and all of God’s creation. Gratitude is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes! A thankful heart is the parent of all virtues.¹⁶ "  That kind of clicked a few things for me. If I am lost, depressed, sick and tired, confused, and stuck, I think the practice of a deep breath then taking in the eternal perspective, the ability I have to be redeemed form death and mistake. The knowledge that I know there is a bigger picture. And just kinda breath that true air, then I can have the vision to choose to love, be patient, become humble or full of hope. Its a catalyst to all Christlike attributes.

 

Funny story:

So I got to see Elder Takeshita again!!!!! He came back to the mission home and nagamachi!! He hasn't changed in the slightest, spent way too much money on me (delicious ingredients for the food I like), made the same jokes and helped the same people. It was way fun. But while he was here for the day he came to church with us! In church there is this 2 year old that is scary cute, like she is cute physically of course but she just runs all around and falls hard all the time and then just laughs and laughs. But she was in third block with her dad standing by his legs just playing around distracting us and then it became a competition on who could get her to just smile at them between Kawamura Choro and Takeshita Choro. They were trying sooo hard for like 5... 10 minutes going way over the top. (they repented for not paying attention in church I am sure) the following pictures is some of their weaker faces...

and this was her reaction for those 10 minutes...

 

I was dying.

 

Love you all! Love each other for me!

Law Choro

 

 

 

September 19, 2014 Letter

2022 Hours Honbu

Hey everyone!! It’s been a really long, busy, fun week, so I am sorry this took so long... I am going to make it good though!

So maybe I will mix up the flavor a little I am kind of sick of Neapolitan.

My Doryo(the person I am with 24/7):

He is from Shizuoka which a bit to the south of Tokyo and he can actually see mount Fuji from his parents’ house. He is 27 years old and feels like he is way older. He graduated with a degree in teaching physical education but actually worked at a newspaper, where he became an editor. He really loves that job and hopes to return to it when he is finished serving as a missionary. He is famous for how much of a smooth talker he is, he can talk to anyone about anything, he loves Ginger ale and mints and also any chocolate based drink. He has a really dramatic back story like a super hero but I am not sure he wants me to tell everyone. He says the reason he originally came on a mission was, that he wanted to have his older brother come back to God. When his younger brother went on a mission it brought him back so he wants to repay the same favor. He has 5 kids in his family and says he wants to get married soon when he gets home and have 5 kids, too. He is also waaay too into basketball and takes this cheesy little fake jump shot about 4 times a day at the most random times. (I have started to do a fake volleyball bump to say I am practicing too) He loves people easy... and I have learned from him, from the first time I meant him about a year ago to now, probably more than any other missionary. He also is blood type A. (that’s a big deal here)

Our mission President and His Wonderful wife:

So, they came here for the first time a few months ago and since I live right next door to them I have got to see them quite a bit. They met at college many years ago, and then he went on a mission to Japan. They kept in touch until he got back. They dated and fell in love all over again.  He went to Israel for 6 months and studied and they kept in contact by letters. He came back and they got married and since have had 6 kids. (If you want a way better much more colorful version I recommend asking Sister Smith.) He was a surgeon that specialized in knee and hip replacements. (Pretty much he is insanely smart, too.) But, they are the most humble people you will ever meet. She kind of in a scary way reminds me of Mom a lot. She like says the things about church everyone kind of feels but doesn’t say because it’s awkward, She knows how to follow the promptings of the spirit better than anyone else. She has a really good example and story for any talk; she is always giving us and buying us way to much stuff. Pretty much I feel like I am at home having mom sneak me fun money behind dads back. hahaha! She is just a ball of sunshine! You know if Sister Smith is in the meeting everyone will leave with a big grin on their face. President Smith is a man who relies on the Lord, and loves God sooo much. He wants to follow him step for step doing his will with as much exactness as he can. But speaking frankly if I had to speak of something to describe what he’s like I would think of this one time when I kind of did something stupid, and kind of lead others into doing something stupid... and I got a phone call from him about it to correct my behavior. Now we are not a business. We are a church, so I wasn’t expecting to get like screamed at or anything, but I was a bit nervous and expecting to leave the phone call with a bit of a sweat. But what happened was I had a very clear explanation given to me of why the phone call was made, where we want to go from here on to resolve the problem in the way with the least pain, and then I had some of the most kindest things I have ever had said to me said. He showed me so much love I felt dizzy. Then the phone call ended. There is a quote by Abraham Lincoln that goes something like “If you would win a man to your cause, you must first convince in him that you are his true friend." And he is a true friend to everyone he meets. Both of them are way too nice, I feel like I am going to corrupt them.

Funny story:

So we had a long road trip the other day and we ended up at McDonalds for lunch (yes they have them here too, but you call it Makudonarudo which is a great tongue twister for English natives) and we were sitting next to this young li’l family with a mom and dad and 1 year old. The one year old had ripped up chicken nugget on his plate and some bread, but all he would eat is French fries so they would give him a couple and then he would eat it and then grunt for some more and then eat. Grunt eat grunt eat... but then his mom was like "No. (go into that slightly too high and the words are slightly too long, in Japanese, but mother language is universal guys) you have to eat your chicken" he gives a few more grunts but once he sees its hopeless, he takes the initiative and starts unsheathing himself from his high chair and making his way for the apple pie box (he knew it was red cardboard) but he quickly learned his mistake and went for the fries and then nestled back into his throne to eat. His parents were both way surprised... (He wasn’t so agile a few weeks ago, but you give a kid calorie packed food like Mickey D’s and they are bound to grow quick) So at this point I kind of think I am all cool going to join this episode (honestly I was just looking for a chance to show off my two nieces) and so I am like "he sure does like French fries doesn’t he" and the parents kind of smile, but the little guy just stops and stairs strait at me... and his eyes go all narrower (I look inside and find my love for Asian levels high enough to make that comment without being racist) and he just mad dawgs me for about 10 solid seconds with his dad chuckling nervously. Then I do the big "hey there li’l buddy" and he just freaks. Fries went flying and he was into his dads lap and up around his neck so fast and just starts crying... not my best moves, but he was funny.

Love you all tons!

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

September 7, 2014 Letter

1800 hours Long City (Nagamachi in English)

The worst thing to have a as a volunteer missionary is a slow week... but this week has been way busy! :-)
 

Culture point:

So I would like to use this picture of my super cute niece to talk about this point! So Japanese people are very clean and stylish. I feel that there is a more formal level (like us riding around on bikes in ties is not weird at all). And also just clean; like your clothes and cars and shoes are just always clean. For better or worse that's just kind of the culture. So while inside sitting on the floor is much more normal in Japan, sitting on the ground outside is a little more odd. Like of course at a park its normal to sit on the grass, but on a curb is pretty odd. So instead when people want to take a break you keep your heels on the ground and sit your bum on your ankles. That is super hard to understand unless you see the picture. But you sit in this position to rest and most foreigners find it really painful and hard to do. I am pretty much a Japanese so I can do it.. ;-)
 

Fun food fact:

I have talked about how people peel their grapes before. Another side note on that is that the best, most expensive grapes you can buy (and the ones most common) are grapes that are like a juicing grape in my mind.(I grew up juicing concords). They sometimes have a grapes that I swear are concords but others called a masukato. It basically can be shot into you mouth by squeezing the skin and are very sweet and have seeds. I pretty much ate a ton of them at this farmers house in aizuwakamatsu yesterday.. they were sooo good.
 

Spiritual thought:

From when I was a pup I always heard that there are three things that will help you solve any problem. At least the foundation are these three: church, scriptures, and prayer. That is pretty much right and so everyone kinda jokes those are the "primary child answers". But I heard from a friend that he likes to think of those fundamentals as being 4. He said that along with those 3 is a fourth way to build a relationship with God that is just as important and I agree with him. Fasting. Fasting is a tool that God gave us so we can focus more on spiritual matters, a way to put more into our prayer than we could otherwise, a way to show we need or want something more. It's a huge blessing! The Savior himself did it before he opened his ministry. I really can testify of the blessings or perspective, peace, and power that comes through our fasting. It is done by saying a prayer and explaining the specific reason why you are fasting and dedicating yourself for that time. You can then fast for as long or as short as is healthy for you and not eat or drink whatever is healthy for you, but normally a fast is 24 hours of not drinking or eating. Then you end with a prayer as well. I really recommend it especially if you have a question or a prayer that you really want to ask. I testify God will answer through our diligence so we can learn and that a way to learn even more is fasting.
 

Funny story:

So I guess that there is some type of weird culture in the church in Japan that you smash a plate of whip cream in someone's face on their birthday (it's a dark evil tradition that I do not yet understand). But the sisters in our district really wanted to do it to Elder Ito - the most kind man on the planet (our district leader)- and I was not especially for it. But we tricked and lied him to come to an area at the right time that they planned on doing it. Then they wanted us to grab him and hold him but no one wanted to (because it is evil) so it got really awkward and slow and he got really confused and then realized what was happening and then ran away a little bit. Then he felt bad for the sisters that prepared so my companion fake held him as they could smash pies in his face. Pretty much he is an angel and women are evil and heartless is what I learned... we all did laugh though..
 

Love you!

Love each other for me!

Law Choro