みなさんこんにちは！

This week has flown by! I can't believe that it is already Monday again! We were really busy this week and everything seemed to go perfectly. We had a movie night (Meet the Mormons) and invited a ton of people! We even had this guy end up calling us and we invited him and he came! He is pretty cool, probably mostly because he is the kickboxing champion of Japan. But he said he really enjoyed the movie and he wants to keep meeting with us. So great. We haven't had a lot of appointments this week because everyone went to Tokyo for a celebration. It was the emperor's son's birthday or something. Anyway, pretty slow but really busy. On Tuesday, we biked from Gifu to Seki. (Another city in our area) it was a thirty mike trip. It took all day and we talked to a lot of people there. We were kind of disappointed but also kind of glad that we didn't find any investigators up there. Of course if we had, we would have to take the train a lot.

This transfer went by so fast! Transfer calls are on Friday night! Laumatia and I probably won't move at all, because I'm a bean-chan, but stranger things have happened. And I have met a few missionaries
in our zone who have been ripped from their trainers a little prematurely. But they turned out ok.  Haha.

On Thursday, we went caroling with the Ogaki Elders and our Sisters at the Gifu Eki. The Ogaki Elders were staying the night and we had district meeting the next day. And we had a really good time. It ended up being the Sisters singing, and Cline Shimai played the harp, and the Elders were out talking to people. I had a run in with a man from England that was really interesting.  It went as follows:

Me- "Good evening, how are you?"
Him- no response, but then he takes out his earphones that I didn't notice he was wearing and looks at me questioningly. (pretty normal feeling up to this point)
Me- "what brings you to Japan?"
Him- "what's it got to do with you?"
Me- "um? Nothing I guess."
Him- "are you or are you not peddling religion?"
Me- "well yeah."
Him- yelling from this point on, "then back away and keep to yourself."
Me- while backing away "ok, I'm sorry. Have a nice day."
Him- looks at elder Dana, an Ogaki Elder who always is smiling, and says, "you thinks somethings funny?"
Dana- "no."
Him- "why don't you all keep your faith to yourself? It's a personal thing, don't shove it into people's faces that don't want it."
Us- "sorry"
Him- "do you know how many problems in the world have been caused by faith?"
Us- "no?"
Him- "wow, you can't even answer a few basic questions about your own religion and your going around peddling it?"

Thankfully, at this point the crosswalk turned green and people were crossing.

Him- turning to group, "you all should just keep your faith to yourself and stop bothering the rest of us."
Laumatia- who had stepped forward the moment he sensed danger and saw this whole thing start to go down, he always full of rage and he's a Polynesian and bigger that pretty much everyone in Japan, "ok, have a nice day."
Him- in a confused voice, "you have a nice day too" finally crosses the crosswalk.

So yeah, that was pretty great. It made me think that the lesson that I learned there was don't talk to gaijin, but then shortly thereafter, we met a really cool British guy who owns a school and was just the nicest guy ever, he even ended up coming to our movie night. Probably just because he fell in love with Sister Cline. So I guess the lesson is to talk to everyone and don't get too offended when they react in the craziest way imaginable, ok not the craziest imaginable, but still pretty crazily.

On a different note, we met a white guy in the mall who we didn't get to talk to because he was in a hurry and so were we, but anyway, he looked at us and just said, "Hey Elders." That was so cool, to be recognized, all the Utah missionaries walk around like celebrities and we are the freaky, huge, not Japanese people! Haha, I only know because I was a Utah missionary for about two hours! #walkingtosportsauthority anyway it was cool.

I have been having an awesome time here. I have really grown to love this ward. I don't ever want to transfer out of it. I would seriously be ok living here for two years. The members are so awesome, we had a movie night on Saturday and we went to set up and instead found the room et up with the projector and everything and a plate of cookies with a note saying have fun and things like that.  They do stuff for us all the time.  It is so great.

Everyone is so impressed that my parents served missions, and that my Grandpa did when he was young and both sets of grandparents went on missions.  They just think that is the coolest.  Even nonmembers who come to eikaiwa (English class), they are all really amazed that we would come, and then we tell of our parents doing it.  Wow, they love hearing about that.  And they are soooo impressed that everyone up to me in our family have gone on a mission, and the fact that most of our family speaks really similar languages. And then they all laugh that I am in Japan and speaking a language that no one understands except the Japanese.

So this week for DTM, we went out for Indo curry afterwards for lunch. Ok, let's be honest, we always go out for Indo curry after DTM or ZTM. I got a horan curry set. It is like spinach in a normal chicken curry, it was awesome.

The naan is always great.  If we are in a place other than Gifu, the curry places usually have endless naan as long as you still have curry.

Well life is good and I sleep on the floor, drink milk from the carton, look fabulous daily, feel really tall, and they don't sell candy canes in the store. Have a good one and enjoy all the time you have to go see Christmas lights, go to Costco, etc.

まことに、これ​で​わたし​の​手紙を​結び​ます。
わたし​は​神の子、リチャードソン長老です。

Christmas decorations!