Predetermined Sentiment

        Well this week was pretty great. Living with another set of  missionaries is pretty interesting. We have a lot of fun. Sometimes it  is a good thing that we live on the ground floor and there is no one underneath us. (^^)

         Anyway on Monday, we had to pack. Because I transferred so far  away!!! Really we just had to make sure that the apartment was ready  to have the sisters move in. So we packed up and cleaned.

         Then on Tuesday, it was just a lot of making sure that everything was  ready. We cleaned more, were companions with Elder Kariya for a little  bit, then went and got Elder Greer, and got everything out of the  Sister's apartment. We also had one of our many eikaiwa classes that  night. It was pretty fun.

         On Wednesday, we had our normal run of eikaiwa classes and the  sisters finally came. And we have a beanchan!! I love having new  missionaries! It would have been more fun if we had a  beanchan in our  apartment, but this is good too. It was fun making her teach some of  eikaiwa that night. The look on her face when we asked her to do so  was priceless.

         Then on Thursday, we met with the Sisters and the other Elders and  had a planning meeting. Yay. And that night we got to go to  volleyball!  It was way fun.

         On Friday, we had our weekly planning and went shopping with the  other Elders for food. It was way cheap with four people! Then that  night we went to one of our service activities. We go to this free  cram school and help kids that have tough situations study for school.  I usually get to help them with math and writing in the Roman  alphabet. Sometimes, if I am lucky, I get to help the first graders  with Kanji. One time there was one that I didn't know though, so that  was a little embarrassing. Then we had ping pong night. That was fun.  Except one of the eikaiwa students is mad at me because on Tuesday we  played 20 questions and she had said that she hates it, and the reason  we played it was because someone else requested it and we thought that  since everyone is an adult at eikaiwa we could just play it.  Apparently we were wrong. She is really mad at me for that. It is  actually kind of funny. So she didn't come on Wednesday and then she came for ping pong on Friday, but she was super mad still. So it was funny playing ping pong that night.

         On Saturday, we got to go to the church and meet with all the ward  (pretty much) and Sister Bills came with her brother and sister in  law. It was really fun. She sang for everyone and it was a good time.  Then, that afternoon the Sisters had an appointment, but Sister  Swanberg (the beanchan) hadn't bought a bike yet so the borrowed my bike and we walked to a members house who recently hasn't been able to  come to church recently. Well, she wasn't there. (>_<) Then we went  housing! That was really nice! Because last transfer my companion didn't really want to do anything, so we didn't try to find anyone to  teach really. But this transfer we are going to go a lot. I decided.

         Then on Sunday we had church! And there was also a shokujikai and  that was way fun. Then we had a little time before a FHE that was at  the church. So I got to play Shogi with one of the YSA in the ward that we are working with and it was way fun. I only learned how to  play on Monday and I held him off for quite a while and we finally called it a truce. All of the members were amazed that I know how to play. It was way fun. Then we had the FHE and made takoyaki and then we had made an appointment to close to the end of it and had to leave early. But we went to the Hibino family and talked with them. It was super fun. And the son, Keita, served in Tokyo and knows my good buddy
Nic from High School! That was fun to see pictures of him and stuff.

         Well that is about it for this week. We are working, and it is great.  I enjoy that a lot. Also I learned a lot about pride this week and centering our thoughts in Christ and the salvation of others. I love this gospel and know that it is true. Sometimes life is hard, and sometimes stuff happens that we don't like, but the Lord has a plan for us and will make us fail. He is trying to help all of us to return
to Him and become who we need to become. He loves us, even if we fail.

        Have a fantastic week!

                Elder Richardson
 Pictures
1)Companionship Love
2)Seeing Sister Bills off
3-4)Takoyaki
5)Shogi (check out the speed of that move!)(^^)

Jennifer's the worst! Stop dating her!!!

Well, this week was transfer calls. Yep. However, to all things there is a season, so we will wait to tell you that one. This week was really good, it feels like we didn't really get that much done, but the things that we did get done were good.

        On Monday, as you already know, we had district activity. Yep, that was about it. And I finally got hair gel when we went shopping. So now I don't look like a slob.

        Then on Tuesday, we had our New Eikaiwa class (for the second time) and since the only people we have really been able to tell about it that are interested in English were the people that come to normal eikaiwa, they were the only ones that came. It is quite different than the other class though, so I think they liked it too. And at the end of this one, being a mission school program, we get to share a message at the end and we start and end with a prayer. So that was a little awkward the first time, but it will definitely be better as time goes on.

        Then on Wednesday, we had normal eikaiwa. It was pretty fun and it was funny seeing the same people two days in a row. And especially since we do self introductions every class, that was really funny to ask people's names and such.

        Then on Thursday, we had a koukan. This one was really interesting though. Because Elder Whited went all the way downstairs and Elder Kariya came upstairs. It was way fun though. Elder Kariya is a super missionary and he is super fun to talk to (especially because his English and my Japanese are on similar levels). So that was a way fun koukan. We got our apartment inspected, were taken out to lunch by a lady in the ward who wanted to give us a referral (the guy who owns the shop). Then we went and talked with a member who's Japanese is impossible (even Elder Kariya was struggling) and read and talked about the scriptures with him. It was super fun, because I like reading out loud in Japanese, and also because we got to talk about a topic that I usually don't get much practice on: Perdition and Outer Darkness! We talked about the story of Cain and Abel in the book of Moses. Also, that day was way fun because I was sick, and Elder Kariya was sick (and also has really bad hay fever). So we kept coughing and sneezing and could hardly get a sentence out. (^^)

        Then on Friday, we had DTM, and we did an activity where you draw all the people there. (Pics will be included). I looked like an alien. Or Gollum. Or apparently Rumplestiltskin. Everyone turned out beautiful. Then that night we had Ping Pong. And we took a video of our antics during our warmup before anyone came. So that will be included.

        On Saturday, the other Elders had two appointments at the same time and we were going to do our weekly planning, so we did a split and I got to go with Elder Otsu and meet an awesome friend of the other Elders. She was super funny and we had our amazing Ward Mission Leader, Yuichi Sama, and his wife and child there, so it was a super fun time. Unfortunately the girl is moving to Tokyo, so thats a bummer. The good news is that she really wants to be baptized and has a way strong testimony. It was really cool. And she caught Elder Otsu up on Attack on Titan and I learned what has happened the most recently without seeing the first season. *I know, I'm a sinner*

        Then on Sunday, we had church and then after that, we had organized to do mutual with the youth. It was way fun and so we are going to try and get mutual to be at least a monthly thing. And I made the famous Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and all the people loved it. It was fun.

        Also on Friday night, we had our transfer calls come. We are both transferring! To downstairs. There are going to be sisters coming in and so we are getting kicked out of the sister apartment and are going to live with the other Elders. But Otsu is transferring (not that big of a shock) so our crew will be split up and Elder Greer, my companion from last transfer, is coming down from Nanao.

        Well thats about all for this week! I hope you have a great time! And Stuff!

Elder Richardson

 

Pictures

1) DTM terror
2-4) Eikaiwa

 

Video: Elder Kariya (right) and Otsu (left) acting out Yugioh for charades

 

Two Rounds of Taco Rice and the Plague

Well, if you cant tell by the title, we had an interesting week. And if you don't know what taco rice is, you may not have any experience with tacos, or rice, or Japan. 

Anyway, on that note let us begin. On Monday, we had quite the day full of playing ping pong whilst emailing, then going to the Taira family for an FHE that night, that was round 1 of taco rice. It was really good, and they are such a fun family. Their little baby had been sick for a little bit, but now he is back from the hospital and he is super genki! What a cute little guy. And they have two really cute little girls too. Such a fun little family. 

 

Then on Tuesday, we started (finally) our new eikaiwa program that focuses on the eiken (or English proficiency) test. So we decided to go and see if we could pass out some flyers beforehand to get some people to come. So we went to the place where all the cool kids hang out...McDonald's. Well, unfortunately that was a real dud. There was hardly anyone in the joint. And when we looked outside, it had started snowing. That may be the reason why there was no one there. That or maybe the fact that we also just learned, that it was just graduation. So the kids were probably there, just not at the normal time. You have failed me yet again McDonald's. 
 

On Wednesday, some of the members wanted to take us out to sushi. I think that I lost. Usually I am ok with most different kinds of sushi, so I like playing what we call "sushi-roulette" where you give each other a number and then you have to take that number when it comes around. (Ex. I give you 8, you take the eighth plate). Also I like taking the things that the members tell me to, because then I try things that I would never try otherwise. So the members were ordering us all sea urchin. And Elder Whited and I were playing the game. Right around the same time as the urchin came, he gave me a number and it turned out to be natto. Now I am not that big of a fan of natto sushi, but I can eat it. However, when it is paired with sea urchin, I almost died. At least there were plenty of other things that could kill the taste that had coated my entire mouth. I was extremely grateful for salmon and shrimp. All in all, it was a good time with Yamaguchi Shimai and Ono Kyodai. 
 

Then on Thursday, we woke up. And saw that it was 9:00. We must have slept through the alarm. Oops. Other than that, it was a good day. We made cookies and were going to give them out to members, but we started doing that kind of late and it ended up being too late to give them out really. So we ended up saving them for DTM the next day. 
 

On Friday, as stated, we had DTM.  It was pretty good. Then we had a pretty normal day.  Then on Saturday, we had an awesome day! We spent a little time in the apartment, but it was worth it! We made taco rice for the guy that we met the week earlier when we were walking around with Brother Matsuoka. We had promised him that we would get him some taco rice at some point, so we just decided it should be soon. We made it and it was super awesome. I will attach pictures because I am pretty proud of our handiwork. When we went over there, there were no lights on, except his headlights, and so we were a little worried that they wouldn't be home. When we went up and knocked, his wife came to the door and she was, a little expectedly, confused as we tried to explain why on earth there were two Americans with Mexican style food on her doorstep. She decided to go get him and he came out and was super surprised. Also, he was very grateful that we noticed that his car, Yusuke from this point, had its headlights on. And he checked to see if Yusuke was ok and if he could run. We ended up giving him the food and a family proclamation pamphlet and he was a little worried that he didn't have anything to give us. So he went in his house and then gave us choco pies. Which are a lot like moon pies. 
 

On Sunday, I woke up and found out that I have the plague. i just didn't feel good at all. I have since then developed a good ol' cough and probably a sinus infection, I think. Anyway, it was not fun. It still isn't. We had a good time at church, and then they had the seminary opening social and I was supposed to bear my testimony about seminary. I don't know if I really was the right person to talk about it because I always had it easy and got to do it during school. But I still know that it is definitely a great thing to do. It was way fun too. Then that night we went and visited the most awesome member ever. Patrick Kyodai! He is from Nigeria and is so converted. He said that he doesn't watch movies anymore because he cant feel the spirit as strongly if he does. So he watches different church videos and seminary visual resources for entertainment. 
 

Today, if you were wondering why I emailed so late, is because of district activity. We went and played basketball. It was pretty fun. And it was really fun to have lots of friends that I have known from various times and places on my mission. 

Well that is it. I hope you have a good week. And such. 

Elder Richardson 

District Activity

Funny Pic

Taco Rice

Picture from an eikaiwa student

With Patrick Kyodai

DTM 1

DTM 2

DTM 3

True Culture

 

Video of Sunday School (we talked about sins)

 

Breaking the Law of Chastity and saying Tabereru is like the same thing.

S othi swee kwa sinterestin. Gw edi dlot so fstuf. Fan di twen tb yreall yfas. T

        Anyway, we did do a lot of stuff and it did go by really fast, but I  don't know if you will find it that interesting. We shall see.

         Well to start off the week, we had Monday. Usual order of events thus  far, but once we get in the middle you might be interested as to how  things turned out. On said Monday, we were both sick. I was feeling  kind of ok (C) but Elder Whited was out of it. So we called and got  permission for him to rest. I ganbarued really hard and studied and  did all sorts of things, but still ended up falling asleep at my desk  as well. I didn't really want to, but you know how tiresome texting  the same 3 people and reading the scriptures can get for extended  periods of time. And so we slept and then we woke up and ate and then  in no time at all, it was bed time. That was fun.

         Then on Tuesday, Elder Whited was feeling well enough to go out and  so we did! And it was just a normal day. But then at night we had a  lesson with a kid who goes by Kevin. Unfortunately, he does not look  like a Kevin. Poor guy. (^^) He has really good English though, and he  almost got "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could  chuck wood?"! It was really funny. He is really a good kid, but then  he doesn't really want to know if God is really there, he just thinks  that it is cool what we think about God. Interesting.

         Then next was Wednesday, the day that our schedule is always rather  full. We have set service appointment in the morning and then we have  kids eikaiwa and regular eikaiwa for essentially the rest of the day.  Always a good time though.

         After that Wednesday, we had our Friday. We got to go down to  Fukutoku and we had a zone conference. It was awesome. I got to see  lots of new people and a few that I knew. At the end there was a  portion that members were invited to and of all the members that came,  68.75% were from Ichinomiya. This ward is super awesome. (And yes we  counted and did the math). Then we went back to our respective areas  and had weekly planning. So essentially we had a few hours of Friday and then a few hours of Thursday with some train times in between.

         Then the next day was much like unto Tuesday. We went around and it  felt like Saturday, but everyone was still in School so it was a lot  more like Tuesday. At night we were a little busy because our member  asked us if he could change our appointment from 6 to 7 and we had to  negotiate with him and settled on 6:30. Well ping pong night starts at 7:30 and we created it, so we kind of have to b there. So we had the  other Elders set up and they were there at the beginning, we came a  little late and got to clean up. Also it worked because we have  different Schedules. We have a schedule choice where everything starts  half an hour later and end half an hour later. And because almost  everything that we have done in Ichinomiya (and really Japan for that  matter) has ended at nine. So this just gives us some extra time to  stay to the end of a thing and then go home. So that night was a  little rushed anyway.

         Then we finally had Saturday and things were back to normal. And our  Ward Mission Leader called and asked if he could come and dendo with  us. It was awesome. And we have this rule in Japan where elders can  only OYM males and so we don't talk to girls really, but he was like,  "I'm a member, not a missionary; I can do what I want." So he just  OYMed the girls and we OYMed the boys. It was great and we met some  really cool people. We met this old man who is 91 and he was still  just out in his garden tilling away. Crazy. He said that the secret to  life is to talk to people and to make sure to talk about what they  like and what you like. Then you will be happy and stay healthy
longer. And it has worked for him, so probably good advice. Also we  met this man who was just out having a smoke on his porch and he had a  pretty cool car, so we talked about that and, it turns out, Japanese  people don't give their cars nicknames. It was a good way to enter the  conversation and lighten up the mood though. Pretty fun. He said that  he works in Toyota and goes there everyday and comes home every night.   He was really cool. And he had interest in English and a motive to
come! He said that sometime, he wants to go work in Mississippi, why  Mississippi, I don't know, but that is where he wants to go. And he  asked to make sure if that was in America. (^^) Well it came up that I  used to work in a Mexican Restaurant and so Yuichi Kyodai volunteered  that we would make them Mexican style food. (Taco Rice) He said that  it would be ok if we came back and we found out that he has every Saturday and Sunday off. Crazy. After Yuichi had to go home. (So he  lives really far and he said that he couldn't use his car that day;  and when he said "I've gotta run" he literally ran down the street in  a suit and then still stopped to dendo a kid nad give him an eikaiwa  chirashi. Crazy man). Then that night we went and visited Brother  Patrick. He is from Nigeria and sometimes talks really fast and it is  hard to understand, but he is super chill. When we went he was reading
his scriptures and listening to hymns. And we didn't have an  appointment. We just kind of went. #突然 Well, we talked with him about  a lot of things and really got to know him. He is really funny. And he  studies the scriptures way hard. He said that next time we should make  an appointment so he can make us Nigerian food. *Victory Arm Pump* I  don't think that I have ever had goat meat before and he said that we  will have it. Cool.

         Then on Sunday, we had our usual hectic day after church of trying to  set up appointments with all the members and also trying to have  lessons with the ones that we set up last week. Also various members  wanted up to do other things like help them remember people that used  to be missionaries here so they could invite them to the Facebook  group that they newly made for the ward. Also to type in our parents  names so they can join the group as well. (Sorry for all the Japanese  on the page Mom(*^-^*)) and yeah it was a regular Sunday. We got out  of church around 4:30. It ends at 1:00. Good times, good times. Then  we had an appointment with Kevin and he forgotten it, so we ended up  watching the Face to Face event with Elder Holland and President  Eyering. It was good.

         Well thats about all we did this week. All in all, it was good. I  learned a lot this week. I especially learned at Zone Conference that  you don't fail from falling down. You fail from just lying there  afterward. Heavenly Father still loves us when we mess up and He wants  to help us get better. In the words of Elder Porter, "All throughout  the Scriptures, it talks about bringing to pass the joy of man, so it  is nowhere in God's plan to bring ourselves down. There's no room for  it." The Lord wants us to succeed. In Gospel Doctrine, President  Joseph F. Smith wrote, "Jesus had not finished his work when his body  was slain, neither did he finish it after his resurrection from the  dead; although he had accomplished the purpose for which he then came  to the earth, he had not fulfilled all his work. And when will he? Not  until he has redeemed and saved every son and daughter of our father  Adam that have been or ever will be born upon this earth to the end of  time, except the sons of perdition. That is his mission. We will not  finish our work until we have saved ourselves, and then not until we  shall have saved all depending upon us; for we are to become saviors  upon Mount Zion, as well as Christ. We are called to this mission."  What an awesome thing! The Savior surely isn't resting and neither can  we! Not for our own soul's salvation nor for that of others' souls! We  can always work to get better! We have the resources! (The scriptures:  ancient, old, and new). I am so grateful that we can improve all day  everyday! It is so great!

         You know what? Have a great week! You deserve it...probably.

                         Elder Richardson

Fotos!

1) 10:00 Pancakes!(because we felt like it)

2) Me and Brother Imai (from Gifu)

3) us and some of the members from Ichinomiya.
(And special guest star Sister Bills)

4) We took a picture of the Ward yesterday after church!