July 22nd, 2013 Letter

All right folks I have the full time but I am way behind on everything with mail. This one will be good but next week will be even better! You guys are so lucky.

The East Front 1030 Monday

 

Moral: High! I am loving life and でんどう　(dendo) which means missionary work. My biggest worry is that time is going by to fast! I feel like I got here yesterday and its been almost a month! I figure there is worse problems to have!

 

The BBQ is good but a lot less manly. Watermelon costs $50 each!

Our desk. He is really busy but I tell him it is no excuse.

Best shower on earth and sassiest drier on earth but I still love her.

Language: Lately I have been trying to work more on grammar. They never really use the words "I" or "you" because at the end of sentences there is a word or cognition that tells which direction the verb is going and with what emotion attached. That was a horrible explanation but you get the jist. It makes listening really difficult but once you master just one its really a fun and a beautiful way to talk. My English has definitely gotten worse then then my Japanese has got good, but that's called sacrifice right? ;-)

 

Gospel: We have a family that is really coming along and wants to receive baptism. They were even asking if they could do baptism for there dead parents some how (golden!). They came to church this week and brought their son who is 7 and has special needs. He looks totally normal but doesn't really like to talk to people and likes to bang stuff including his head on things. He is sooo cute but it was a huge burden for the family and I feel like they felt embarrassed by the noise in the silent sacrament meeting. He doesn't like to color or anything (I will explain later. Mom do you have any ideas on how to keep a little guy with a ton of energy busy that long? He is super strong and super smart and will destroy anything not made of metal... like destroy.). Other then that it is going really really good!

 

This is a picture of the boat parade we went to.

 

 

Food: I could talk for literally hours... so I am going to give you one food fact every letter from now on ( as a disclaimer I might be making some huge assumptions because I am only pulling from the 8 Japanese people I live with and they are all early twenties). Fact of the day is: there are no real rules on what you eat for what meal. For example, in America you eat omelets or pancakes for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and steak for dinner. People break the rules all the times here and there are tons of exceptions but in general there is a pattern. In japan you normally eat the left-overs from the dinner the night before for breakfast.  "Over", my companion always says that after we finish something. It sounds way better in Japanese but he thinks it translates right, and it does, but I giggle every time.

The whole place here is either rice fields, concrete and steal, or crazy forest!

 

 

Spiritual Message: Today I go to the first (really the second but no one cares except bishop stones) letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13. Read it, love it, dig into it. I fell in love and found sooo much clarity into the biggest questions in my life, about the gospel and everything else. My thoughts to you today are this, our many goals: becoming charitable, forgetting ourselves and serving others, becoming as god is, every attribute of Christ (e.i. humble,patient, wise), knowing truth, knowing all things, becoming like God, becoming perfect. they are all one. The path is charity. The path is loving others, the path is following the commandments. I don't care how you say it they are all the same. I have known this deep down the whole time but now I see it clearly. I see it and I set my sails for it. I am a horrible sailor but I have a map and the ultimate teacher is ready and willing to answer my questions.

 

I will hopefully send a bunch of pictures in 5 seconds.

 

This is my companion. He is so great! He has the best heart of any out here!

 

Funny Story: In Japan pens and pencils are very very important. I don't really know why except the kanji are sometimes so tiny lines and they need to be clear and distinct or its impossible to read. Any way, very important to the Japanese heart. For example my companion practically made me buy a 10 dollar pencil. It is pretty dang awesome but they are a little crazy for my taste. So... remember the super cute little boy that went to church? well... the fist time my companion ever met the family he had a pen in his shirt pocket like always. The little boy is Japanese, therefor he has a Japanese heart, therefore he loves pens.... LOVES pens. He jumped on Takeshita Choro`s chest and grabbed the pen and like a navy seal dismantling a gun dismantles the thing in 5 second. But the gun was not the navy`s seals gun it was the enemy's gun. Shattered, broken, destroyed. Sad day. So now Takeshita Choro always hides all pens before he knocks on the door. But this is not the funny story! the funny story takes place at church.

 

Takeshita Choro has a sister that has special needs as well so he is soo awesome and loving and good with the kid. Takeshita Choro knew that he loved pens he carefully selected one of the finest make, no screws no latches, no moving parts to rip off. Perfect! During church the two of them would just lovingly sit in the corner and draw together while I was trying to figure out the theme of the talk (that is my goal and it is super hard). So drawing time came, the pen was given and Takeshita Choro grinned as an attempt at unscrewing the tip was made. No screws. Takeshita Choro grins at me... an attempt at pulling the back off is made. No ledge. Takeshita Choro leans back... the genius little guy they proceeds to take the felt tip between his teeth and pull the interworking of the pen out for all the world to see! 10 dollar pen dead. The battle of frantic Japanese that went on between the two of them was the part that I loved the most. Takeshita choro had just watched his son be torn about... ahhh!

 

Picture of the district leader I went on splits with and old faithful.

 

 

Life is good! and my pencil is alive and well!

 

Love each other for me!

Law Choro 

Current Address

Elder Cameron Law
Japan Sendai Mission
3-1-5 Yagiyama-minami
Taihaku-ku
Sendai-shi, Miyagi
982-0807 JAPAN

July 14, 2013 Letter

You guys are going to kill me but i forgot my camera. But it wouldn't really matter because I dont have much time again. ahhh! Next week for sure! Not really for sure but i hope. :-) probably... I will have the whole time next week and you will get lots of pictures and info. Mom I will write you a real letter today with tons of info in it.

 

Today we are going to an island that has a carnival for todays holiday. At least that is what I think is going on... I am stoked either way! Hopefully I will have some sweet pictures from it!

 

Missionary work is awesome! tatoeba... ("for example" I use that word a ton!) we had a sister say she wants to recieve baptism and to go to the temple so her mother who passed away so she can recieve baptism... pretty much the coolest thing ever!

 

Fun fact of the week is: In japan the only garbage cans they have for you to use are in your own home. Crazy! Like in the church there isnt a single garbage can, on the streets there are no public garbage cans, and when you eat at someones home (tatoeba they give you a juice box - which they realy like and are super good here- most of the time you drink the juice then you put the wrapper straw and box in your back pack and throw them away at home). The cool part about all this is it is super hard to through away stuff but the country is soooo clean! It's really cool; they have japan pride, I like it.

 

Spiritual thought: Short because I am out of time. Ammon, (not the lamantite missionary but the one that went searching for the people of zenith) gives my favorite scripture of all time on prophets. It's in Mosiah 8 (towards the end, like verse 18 or something) the point of the message is that he was not a prophet or insanly rightouse above us. However, because he was trying his best and doing what he was suppose to he was able to recieve amazing revelation. I know we all have the same potential to recieve amazing revelation from God through the Holy Ghost. God loves us and wants to tell us things that will give us help and understanding. All we have to do is live worthy of the Holy Ghost and ask and seek for that guidance!

 

Next week will be better on the mail side! I promise and love you all!

Law choro

 

Also... Mom can you send me the recipe for crepes, french toast, chicken broccloi cassoral, and anything else you think I could make

July 7th, 2013 Letter

Ok the good news is I am in the Mission President's office on his big awesome chair! The bad news is I only have 15 minutes left. This letter will strictly be an answer to all my momas questions in her last letter.

Japan: I love it! Everything is super small and super polite. The saints are the strongest I have seen and every day I learn 50 new things about the place that make me like it more

Food: I have eaten the best and the worst here. I like rice more and more everyday (I got over the rice hump... I made up that phrase). The best thing I have eaten is squid with like a ball of deep-fried vegetables that tasted like onion rings. The worst was probably the fish (seen in the pic below) but they aren't meant to be eaten like chips so that's not really fair. Miso soup is kinda weird.. did I already tell you that?

 

 

Bed: Futons are super awesome and while not so soft you still sleep really well on them. However, I only slept on a futon for two nights because since I am in the big area I get a bed. Moma I am soooo glad you made me bring those sheets. I was so itchy the first few days and wondered why. I try not to think about what it was...

Apartment: big for Sendai. There is lots of room because twice a month we have about 10-15 other elders come stay here. But, it is soooo gross in some places. The aps, district leader, and service missionary are the only other people there and they are soooo busy even on pday that they never deep clean. I found some mold that would make even mom cry. It's bad mold, but I "have the powers of a woman" (that is the direct translation of the saying they say about me) and I have been making it look awesome.

Appliances: everywhere has a dryer which is super rare in Sendai and all of japan but a huge blessing. the stoves are gas, the oven tiny and we have a toaster! life is good in that department.

Companion: Awesome! One of the best missionaries in the mission. The district leader of this area has to be a stud because he is the "go to guy'' for not only the mission president but also the aps. He is super cute and extremely smart. Slightly chubby but has the legs of a beast. He is also sooo kind to me and gives me way to many compliment.

 

Side note: Nobody cares about my blonde hair or blue eyes, its my forearms. Young and old male and female they stroke my forearms and say "tsuyoi" which means strong.. its a bit odd and I still get all blushed but its ok. just weird.

Laundry: love the dryer! I ate crap on my bike yesterday. I am totally fine except my hand but my suit has a bit of blood... cold water and rag or dry cleaner?

Do I need anything... some poor chaps mom sent him a bunch of American candy and he had to transfer so I have been feasting on craft caramels but sugar is what I crave here. I can buy most anything I crave because they have it but at a steep price... which is good! It keeps it special.

Love you all tons! I went over time and have to leave!

Law Choro

June 30, 2013 First Letter from Japan

the east battle ground

1036 hours

 

I know its Sunday there and that is soooo weird. its Monday here! haha so they are redoing the mission office and we only have a laptop in the mission home kitchen to share so our time is cut in half but that is all good! So its going to be short confusing and full of information.

 

Barracks: I am in the heart of the mission, its in sendai but not the downtown big part of the city. I live 10 feet from the mission home and my roommates are the a.p.s and a service missionary and my companion. Yes you are all correct my companion is a nihongin. His name is elder takeshita and yes.... he knows.... and he likes to cover up the "a" with his finger and laugh and laugh when I give him the look. My companions just have weird names. He is a super obedient, hard working, crazy Japanese guy. His testimony is strong and he kinda babies m,e he is so nice. He is from by Tokyo and loves rice. like loves it. you cant understand.

 

language: my companions English is improving a lot faster than my Japanese but mine is improving today is nihongo dake hi so we only speak Japanese. Most of the time he can explain stuff to me like what is going on in English but I am trying to get him to do less broken English and have me do more broken Japanese. He loves English though. At night instead of writing in a journal he just listens to moron tab and sings out of a little ego hymn book. Its kinda cute. I really like him. The aps and the service missionary are all Japanese so I hardly hear English except in the office because the president and his wife and the senior missionaries speak English.

 

 

Food: I have had some of the best food I have ever eaten and some of the worst! its really odd! but in general I am a happy camper! Weirdest thing for me so far has been miso soup (super common you eat it a ton) tastes like someone took a bowl and scooped out some of good ol moses lake. looks like it too! hahhaah its not actually that bad but its weird to me... tofu is awesome!

 

Missionary work:

I have knocked on doors for like 20 minutes one day when a member appointment fell through and we didn't have enough time to ride home. We are super busy with weird stuff. my doriyo is the district leader so we have a lot of meetings, and English class (soooo fun) and home teaching and all sorts of good stuff! The church here is all day! they work all day everyday but Sunday so they put all meeting on Sunday. Imagine your entire week being all work all day and then when your weekend comes you give every second of it to the lord. These people are amazing.

 

Time:

I feel like I got here an hour ago. I am afraid it will all be over and I wont even have learned Japanese. The ward here is the biggest in the mission with nearly 120 members! super cool! there are some awesome people! I said the opening prayer in church. I am sooo bad at Japanese. like seriously. but the people are so nice!

 

I haven't bought anything yet because we haven't had time tell today to go to the post office. (that is where you get money here) but I will let you know how it goes.

 

Physical fitness: my butt... ( I will refrain from the 50 awesomely funny and inappropriate jokes that come to mind) hurts. When I got called here the other trainers all gave me a sympathetic look and said good luck on the bike. We are in the hilliest region I think in the world. Either 100 miles and hour downhill or straight up the other side. You will not get a door slammed on you or yelled at once in japan let alone mugged in an alley (I see 5 year old girls on Iphones walking down the street by themselves all the time! its not even rare!) but you will die by a car. Especially if it rains all the time and you brought black pants and black rain coat and your backpack is black and its night. My bike was prebought for me and I pay them back! its a sweet cool mountain bike that I put this basket on because it embarrasses my companion.

 

Funny story:

We arrive in the Japanese Airport and after a very long journey arrive at the next obvious destination, the bathroom. As we walk through the entry way we stop in our tracks! There is a sign baffling us. After 5 minutes of staring and discussing we agree that it is in fact a picture of a little butt getting sprayed with water. Foolish Americans, proving that we had never seen a badae before. Once the sign no longer puzzled us we continue in and are startled to find a hole in the ground for relieving oneself of abominations, highchairs in each stall for children, and a GIRL cleaning while men are using the facilities. The situation was more than I could bare and I resorted to my usual form of self preservation and begin giggling nervously, no doubt pulling on my blond curls as well. Thayne Choro is disgusted with me once again for foolishly showing everyone around us we are foreigners.

 

I am sorry I didn't give a spiritual thought! I have an awesome one for next time though!

love you all! The church is true and brings happiness! love each other for me!

-Law Choro

June 26th, 2013 Letter from Mission Mom

We wanted you to know that your missionary arrived in Sendai last evening safe and sound.  The group was tired but very happy to finally arrive in the mission after 24 hours of traveling.  You can see from the pictures attached that they were all healthy and full of enthusiasm.  We are thrilled to have each one of them in our mission.

We spent most of today with them in orientation meetings and introduced them to their first companion/trainer.  Maybe you can imagine what an exciting moment it is to meet your trainer for the first time.  After a short training session, they all left to go to their first area of service late this afternoon.

Preparatiion Day is on Monday which will probably be the day you can expect an E-mail from your missionary. (That is Sunday in America). Thank you for sending us your missionary.  We already love them and are looking forward to the next year together.

Much love,
Sis. Rasmussen
Sendai Mission Mom

Cameron is in the back row, second from the left, next to the mission president

Cameron is in the bottom right corner

June 22, 2013 Picture Update

This is how I expect to come out the barbers in japan.. looking like goku. I hear the hairstylists are pro! They also know it and charge like they are pro.. I hear 50 dollars is average.

 

We kneel a lot in our district because you kneel while you teach people...I challenge you to kneel for just 15 minutes, tops of your feet plat on the ground and butt on your heels.. hizamazuku that is what it is called.. pretty much we are Japanese. ;-)

 

talia uli shimai and johnson shimai (I don't think I showed you talia uli shimai yet) she is the winker...

 

riley bruneel!!! we spent running together! it was actually a morning walk because they didn't want to run but it was still fun

 

me and thayne choro with reading sensie! he is soooo cool!

thayne choro's balance isn't as fantastic as my own