June 29, 2014 Letter

0822 hours THE RAINY SEASON

Actually, this has been a really light rainy season. Rainy season is called tsuyu and it lasts in Sendai about all of June and a little of July, normally. But, it has been pretty mild compared to last year. :-)

Culture Point

 

My companion did Kendo before the mission and he explained it to me the other day. It’s super cool.  You fight one on one and if you strike your opponent in the wrist, stomach or head it’s a point.  The first to 2 wins. In order to have a good strike you have to

1. Move your whole body (legs)

2. Hit the spot with the sword

3. Yell with your voice

The idea is to become united in all three.  You meditate before every practice. Super cool!

Fun Food Fact

Cherries:  So all of those blossoms turned into delicious fruit. (not all but the little fruit bearing trees did) and they are so good and famous! Pretty expensive to buy if you are a poor 19 year old but when you have nice friends, you will be a happy camper! (and don’t worry, you don’t peel cherries!)

Spiritual Thought

Our beloved Ramussen Kaicho (previous mission president) is back in America and we have our new Smith Kaicho. (the new leader of all the missionaries in northern part of Honshu) we haven’t met him yet, but I hear he and his wife are total studs so we are excited. The last assignment I received from Rasmussen Kaicho was the same one he gave my entire area. He asked us to read Beware of Pride by President Benson. I would challenge you all to read it.  I testify that if you are prideful you are not as happy as you could be and if you are humble you can find happiness. At in my life, that’s what I have found so far.

Funny Story

So, if you go way back in my letters I think I once told you about a Hayachi Shimai. She was a missionary that came into my first area my last transfer there and she was so funny!  She is actually a few years older than me but she look about 14 and is just so kind and just a little angle. Anyway, she is in my District again and when we had a musical night, I laughed harder than I have ever laughed in my whole mission and I don’t really know why but I had forgot all my music for the rehearsal but it didn’t really matter because I don’t really sing anyway. But somehow in all the mix up I was reading the lyrics to a song and then they rush us up to the front and the piano starts because a guest came and wanted to hear that song.  As I was singing it, I realized that I didn’t bring my music so whose music was this.... and then I start looking around and everyone has a paper to sing from... what the heck.. but then I look a little closer and Hayashi Shimai just has this random sheet of paper she is pretending to read.  She had like been too kind and shy to ask who stole her paper or that she couldn’t find hers and was just bluffing. I don’t know why but I just died in the middle of the song... and ruined everything.. it’s not that funny but it was good hard laugh.

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

June 23, 2014 Picture Update

June 23, 2014 letter

1828 Hours Somewhere in the West Pacific

Fun Food Fact

Cabbage: I have grown to love cabbage since I came here. The funny thing is a cabbage can run you anywhere from 3-5 bucks which is more than I would have thought.  But I buy it because it’s still way cheap compared to most stuff and it is way good to put in anything raw or cooked! My favorite thing to do with it is chop it up really tiny then boil it for a few minutes then rinse it in cold water and put it in the fridge.  I eat it with a salty chicken soy sauce based dish on rice. So oishii!

Culture Point:

So, I think I have talked about this before, but the words in Japanese for ``you`` are slightly rude. If you have heard someone’s name, then it is pretty rude unless it’s like a really close friend. You can say “anata” if you just met them and of course no one will even blink. But if they can, I’ve noticed thy almost always avoid it. There are a lot of ways to avoid it, but my favorite is they call you by a rank in a family. For example, when people don’t know my name and they don’t know I am a missionary, they call me “onisan,” which is the word for older brother. When I meet a man on the street and I ask him if that is his bike, I say is that “father’s” bike? and so on! grandma, sister, mom, you use anything! I think it’s pretty cool.

Spiritual Thought

Something I thought was very insightful was a talk I read by Elder Bednar (Pray Always) about how every time we pray it is a continuation of our last pray, or to say it better it is connected to our prayers before.  That just like when we pick up the phone to call mom in the morning and then call her again that night, she remembers what we talked about in the morning and so that is how we should talk to her. I really liked that and I think it is true.  We know God is listening and wants to answer our prayers. Let us not forget that relationship. It’s been very helpful to me. It makes me more responsible and is helping build my relationship with God.

Funny Story

You can’t bake in the apartment we are in now. There is just a stove top, a dinosaur of a microwave, and a small toaster oven that you can make two pieces of toast in. (I eat two every morning). Fresh baked goods are therefore a bit of a treasure. So when we found out there was a store making and selling muffins every morning we all got way stoked!! (and paid way too much money for one muffin a piece) We were just having a ball about this. But when we got to the church, Zone Conference started and we got really busy. We had a bunch of meetings after and then a little mishap occurred and it ended up being late in the night by the time we got home. Our beloved Simonsen and Willey choro had been kind enough to wait for us to eat their muffin.  So we get in the apartment and first we need to do some planning. Then it is muffin feasting time! So we are being all spiritual and trying to do a really good planning session and I hear the other Elders come out of their cave and start roaming around the kitchen. (this is about 9:45 at night) and then all of the sudden I hear this howling. If you mixed an baboon call and a small giggle you would have the sound I heard. So I rush into the kitchen ready to fight for someone’s life and at first I was a little confused because the lighting was all off.. like a little too bright for that time of night and a little too orange... then I see these two black silhouettes in the corner by the before mentioned toaster oven. (this is the area the sound was coming from. What was happening is they were trying to blow as hard as they could while having a giggle fit. They were laughing because I think they saw that muffin video on You Tube after the newspaper muffin, and they were blowing because of the old testament style pillar of fire that was coming out of the top of elder Willey’s "strawberry milk muffin.`` All ended well when I added my huff to the fire brigade. The lesson learned by Elder Willey was not to put paper in the toaster oven.

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

June 15, 2014 Letter

0845 hours Northern Honshu

Konichiwa! It's a beautiful day everyone because I am an uncle again!!! Woot Woooot! She is so cute!!! Her name is Adalee Marie Bare. She was born June 13, 2014 at 5:30pm in West Des Moines Iowa weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces and was 19.75 inches long.

 

My sister Christine, brother-in-law Nick, and little nieces Mikilah and Adalee

Fun Food Fact

Uni! I finally ate it a couple weeks ago! It is sea urchin. It's bright orange and comes on a very strong smelling leaf. It is super slimy and slightly chewy, it's weird... kinda like a raw egg and peach's texture mixed together and got a bit stronger. Haha! Everyone says it tastes bad but I thought it didn't have much taste at all; the leaf was much stronger. But in the end I am way glad I ate it for the story but will not be eating it again not because of the taste but because it was way expensive!

 

Culture Point

Mega rock paper scissors! It has no name in Japanese so I gave it that name, but I play this with all the 7 year olds in the ward and its so funny! So first off they use saishogu jyanken pon! then you through out gu pa or choki (which is the same are rock paper scissors). Then to play the mega way whoever wins says 5 of these different lines then points at the persons face and then points either down, right, left, or up at the same time as the person who lost turns their head one of the four ways. If they match up then the person who pointed gets to do whatever they said. The punishments range from a karate chop to the top of the head, to an indian burn, to a weak two finger slap to the wrist, to the special of the punisher... mostly it doesnt hurt at all... especially when you are 5 times bigger then the person you face. But it's fun!

 

Spiritual Thought

I have a sincere testimony that talking bad about people regardless of if it is true or how innocent it seems will lead to no good. And I have a testimony that when you say lots of good true things about someone it will help you be more grateful, more humble, more able to see the beauty in the world, and therefore more able to build a relationship with God and become happier. It's all about the true and happier perspective.
 

Funny Story

God loves me. This morning we were down to one egg and so the breakfast I have eaten almost everyday for the past year was not an option. I remembered the Iida choro special with the peanut butter and honey egg sandwhich and I wanted to freak out Elder Simonsen who is not a fan of weird Japan foods (i love him). So I scrape out the little peanut butter jar. A couple weeks ago when I cleaned out the shelves I found some honey somone's mom had sent them years ago and it was like solid crystal. I through the bottle in the microwave and started getting the rest together. But I had two pieces of toast and only one egg so I went to the fridge to grab the jam and the lid was like jammed shut! One pop turn lid was threaded wrong and I couldnt get it off! First time in my life I couldn't get a lid off! ;-) So I grabbed a rag and got it off which took an extra 5 seconds. Then I go to the microwave that beeped 3 seconds prior and when my hand is like a foot from the door this bomb goes off inside it! I jumped so high! When I opened it up it looked like whiney the pooh had had a plastic melting party in the microwave. The good news was at the bottom was enough honey to get me egg. My face was saved (the microwave is right at face level on top of the fridge) from being uglier then it is now.

 

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

June 8, 2014 Letter

1034 hours Uppercedar

So I am way genki lately. We got a few meetings out of the way and have a bit to focus on the fun stuff like missionary work! ;-) I set some solid goals for the first time in months and am excited to progress from here. In transfers last week we received Elder Willey and lost Elder McClennan. Instead of food and culture I am going to give you an apartment update.

 

McClellan is from Southern California. He served in Misawa for a long time at the beginning of his mission and so we spend many a conversation talking about the people we both knew from there. He loves spicy Asian food. In my opinion he has the best Japanese in the mission... and his ability to write kanji is way insane. I learned a ton from him both of faith in planning, patience, and Japanese!

 

Simonsen choro. He played basketball at snow college for two year, is 6'4", 200 pounds, dunks like a beast, plays any sport like a stud, is always trying to get beat up by me, and doesn't like nato at all. He is 21 and has been in the mission for about 8 months. I teach him everything he knows. Hahah! He is just super chill and can make a friend instantly with any male between the ages of 17-30. His Japanese is really good and he has an interesting perspective on life. I really appreciate his sense of priorities and his laugh. When I need something done and don't want to explain very much I ask him.

 

Willey choro is our new district leader! The funny thing with him is I have kind of watched him grow up; I was the first person that gave him Japanese money on his first day in Japan and told him where to get food. Then I was in his zone when he started becoming a senior companion. He is from Utah and does competitive ski races, long distance running, bike racing, rock climbing and yoga. He wants to go into environmental sciences. He is a little younger then me but has built a solar powered small house. He also bought a 600 dollar Japanese shamisan, which is like a little guitar thing please YouTube some of that music, it makes me smile so big every time I see it in the apartment. He has no idea how he is going to learn it. I appreciate his strength of character and his knowledge of a lot of cool stuff. 

 

Keshino choro. As missionaries we hear a lot of scripture in the opposite language of ours so we learn a lot of funny words... so he calls me his beloved companion. He is the most touchy Japanese person I have ever seen. He loves basketball and rubics cube. He asks the most soul searching questions I have ever heard and He does it with more love then anyone you have ever seen. His favorite foods are takoyaki (octopus balls) and okonomiyaki (cabbage pancakes) but when you ask him and he gives you those answers he explains that while his does enjoy the taste of both the reason he likes them is because both are super fun to make. He is the only missionary I have seen that breaks more rules than me when it comes to playing with kids... he loves kids! bd3543@myldsmail.net is his e-mail if you want to ask him anything (you totally should because he can read English like a beast).

Spiritual Thought:

Something I have been studying a lot is how to find desire. I feel my whole life I have been able to get fire just from the fact that I think it out and the best way is to follow God, no matter how hard it may sometimes be. But lately I have seen people see the path perfectly clear and still not be able to find the drive to walk it, sometimes even the desire to walk it. They desire the happiness at the end, but the walk doesn't feel worth it. Speaking frankly I for the first time in life felt the fire start to wink out a bit. I didn't get way down or anything, but for the first time when I started to kind of get lazy I said wait lets fix this! Then when I searched for what I wanted to do to improve I found no answer. I don't really want to do anything... and I had no idea what to do from there. All the natural things that give you desire require work and if you don't want to work you are stuck in a escapeless pit. But luckily I was curious about why I felt that way so I studied it a bit. I found that the way others overcame this problem was to build a relationship with God. While I think prayer is the best way... the thing that truly found my relationship was beauty in the world from God. It gave me hope and something to fight for. Little kids, rain, sun, music, innocent laughs, really bad food, really good food... color and beauty. It made me feel Him there again, and I can fight for what He stands for. It's just we have to feel that appreciation for what He stands for.

 

Funny story:

It was a hot spring afternoon on the cost of Northern Japan. I was on a stroll through some famous temples in a place called Matsushima. The sun was shining, the trees were green, and the breeze was light. Many a folk were out for a walk that day. Because I was in such a good mood (the fact that i was in a good mood actually changes nothing I always do this anyway) I found the little ice cream shop that was there. As I scanned the long list of flavors I saw some winners... but as I thought of my posterity and how I want to brag about how brave I was in the far east, i chose the most wild. Jelly................

fish. Jellyfish ice cream. And because this is Japan I knew that is wasn't going to be flavoring of jelly fish it was jellyfish in ice cream. All the people in line kind of gasp and whisper as I boldly declare this to the waiter ``kurage!``. You have to understand normal Japanese people don't get the weird flavors either and everyone was way surprised that there was even such a flavor. So I get the cone, it looks kind of like the put a jellyfish in a blender then dumped that into a kitchen aid with vanilla ice cream and mixed for a bit. I draw all the ears of the Japanese moms as I explain how brave and cool I am to my companion and he takes a few pictures. There is like 10 moms watching me. Then Elder Keshino tells me to take a bite and see if the 400 yen was worth it. I take a little nibble and just give out this little bark of pain and all those moms jump about 10 feet in the air and start freaking out like the jellyfish stingers were still hot... but i was just teasing! It tasted exactly like the description I gave in the top: mostly like vanilla ice cream but with chewy chunks... but I made some friends from them laughing and telling me I am a jerk.

 

Love each other for me!

Law Choro

June 1, 2014 Letter

0900 hours shyawa funiki

It's hot and humid! Summer is here!

This is at the zoo and the sign says "human animals" and then has a way funny description:

 

Fun food fact:

Meron pan. So meron is what we talked about before, honeydew, and pan is bread. The funny thing is that is doesn't taste like melon at all. Keshino choro and I think that is got its name because of the shape it is. It is a bun and varies in size, but the classic size is like slightly smaller then half of a small cantalope. It's like a sweet bread with crunchy outside and a soft inside. I talk about it because if I ever come with anyone here I will make them eat some it's so good! Many a missionary's belt size have gone up a few sizes because of this stuff... but if you ever come ask for some!

 

Culture point:

Hair cuts! So I am pulling my information from a hair stylist from the American base and a hair stylist from the Japanese ward I am in now. For boys' hair when we cut it in the states normally you use buzzers and scissors. When you use the scissors you slide in two fingers pull the hair straight and then cut and continue, staying the same length or slowly getting longer or shorter but always using you fingers as kind of a reference point. Well, they do that same haircut in Japan but most of the time for Japanese guys that might buzzer the side like we do; but they have that cool spiky hair so that just kind or like jab in the scissors to the top of your hair and cut cut and kind of look at it and feel then the jab cut jab cut... like it looks so random and dangerous! Then they thin you hair out so much so you can have cool spikes! haha! The hair stylists are waaay good though!

Spiritual thought:

Sometimes I think that hardest thing is finding the desire to change. The strength to want to overcome and move on. It is easy to hold on the vine that is Christ, but it takes much less energy to rot in the mud on the ground. So I have been thinking a lot about what gives us the desire. What I keep coming back to is desire to become good comes from love. Love from and for God and love from and for others. In order to apply this I think we have to pray. Pray for the strength to see how others need your help, to thank God, and to see your blessings. I think a huge help is if you get involved with kids. That sounds silly but in my personal experience you give me some young kids and I will have the strength to overcome my filthy habits.

 

Funny story. 

So this was one of those planned things. Not so much a prank but more of a funny surprise. I have never in my life felt so much anxiety before hand. Like terror. If you have ever hid to scare your mother you know the feeling I am talking about. Our mission president will be going home in 5 weeks and the members of the church wanted to thank him so they threw a farewell thank you party this weekend. Each congregation did a little something on the stage for him. Some sang spiritual songs, some did traditional Japanese dances, others were funny skits... it was all stuff he liked. Our group did a rakuten fight song. It's the local baseball team that won the national championship last year. Our president is a huge fan of them. We all dressed up in the gear sang the fight song, showed a t.v. clip that president was shown in and then brought them on the stage and gave them a jersey! Then the big surprise.... we trapped him in a circle...

 

There is a Japanese tradition with sports: you throw people up in the air its call douage. Now this is all cute and fun with a tiny little Asian man. But our president is 6`4`` and not a pipsqueak (maybe like president Baker build). The group we are with are a bunch of Japanese guys... strong but not over 150 pounds. I was soo afraid it would all end in tears and flames with president going home 5 weeks early for surgery.

 

So we close in... and you see the realization come in his eyes and then... it actually worked pretty good.. he got at least 8 feet in the air I would say... Three times! so alls well that ends well!

 

Love each other for me! 

Law Choro

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