#FirstShallBeLast

Like as in first area shall be last area. Lol. Scripture Jokes. 

 

Well, for those of you who have been tuning in for the past two years, congratulations. I just sucked probably about a day out of your life and you can't get that back. For those of you who just look at the pictures, it was probably only a day or so. So even more congrats to you. 

Anyway, this is the last one. Yeah, I won't send one next week probably. So you'll just have to ask me when you see me next week. Haha. So this is our last full pday and so we are super busy today. Way fun. 

Well anyways. Last Monday we went to the mall and got Baskin Robbins, because it was the 31. Then we went shopping and found some good stuff. Elder Delis and I decided to dendo over there afterward and started to, but then I got a flat tire. We decided to walk to a less active member's house then find a bike shop after that. Well we found one, but it kind of killed our plans for that night. 

Then we did a lot of other crazy stuff this week and it was awesome. We met a lot of people and it was a good time. I also learned a ton this week. So. I hope I don't think I can even type it in an email. But one cool thing we were talking about was Adam and Eve. And then this morning I found a scripture that talked exactly about what we were talking about and it reached the same conclusion that we did. So that was cool. We thought of why this religion believes that Adam and Eve did fall, but it was part of the plan, and why other religions believe so differently about them. Then when reading in Jacob in the Book of Mormon, I read verse 3 of Chapter 4. 

 

Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.

 

In this he is talking of writing on plates which became the Book of Mormon. When they wrote this, they had most of the Old Testament, where most of the knowledge of Adam and Eve comes from (i.e. Genesis). So they wrote in their record of spiritual things about Adam and Eve so that we can think of them with joy. We thought that was pretty dope. 

Well I hope that you have a great week. And I know I said at I won't email next week, but I might send pictures or something. 

 

Speaking of pictures.

DTM 

Going to fireworks

Miyaki was listening to an English learning cd that we found. 

 

 

 

 

So I forgot something that is super important that we did this week.

I checked something off my bucket list that I didn't even know was there. We played four square inside a library this week. So that was dope. I challenge you all to do that in your local library. (Actually you probably shouldn't so you don't go to jail, but haha I did it).

That is all.

Have fun with your potato...and stuff.

Well this week was super great. We have been running our bikes so hard everyday, and it is just great. Elder Delis and I are got home the same day and although we talk about it a lot, it just makes us want to work harder because we realize how little time we have left. It is crazy, we got our flight plans and such...well he got his and the Honbu seems to have forgotten about me entirely. lol.

One great thing we did this week was we went housing and found a lady from Massachusetts or Michigan. Big difference, I know, but I forget. I though Massachusetts and Delis said he though it was Michigan. So you know. We don't know. Also we decided her name was Marcie. (We didn't find out her name dakara). So we knocked on her dorr and she said that she was to busy to be converted right now. Hahaha. Then we knocked all of that danchi and no one answers but the last guy answers
and we talked for him a solid thirty minutes. It was dope.

Another thing that happened was that the Honbu told me I was going to Ogaki, but I wasn't. They completely closed that apartment so I sent my luggage there. That was fun.  We got to walk it to the apartment. Yay.

This Saturday went to the fireworks and that way way fun. We passed out a ton of fliers and stuff.

Also, from Thursday to Saturday we went to Ichinomiya and helped them with the festival. But all we did was sit and hope that gaijin come and ask questions. So we just sat there for five hours. Three times. Yep. I will send a time lapse if most of the second day, but then my iPad died, so yeah it might be a little short.

Well that's about all my life this week. Have fun.

Elder Richardson

P.S. Congrats to all my friends that were married this and last month and like forever ago as well. Good job. (｀_´)ゞI salute you.

 1. Time lapse of train here from some point.

 2. Time lapse of matsuri

 3. Picture of matsuri

 

Pictures and videos from English class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transfers Vol.16^_－☆

Well this transfer comes to an end and...once again I am transferring. Even though I go home in literally three weeks. Haha. So I get to go back to my bean chan ward, Gifu. I have mixed feelings about it all:

1. I don't want to transfer, I am going home in three weeks. 
2. I am not going back to the same Gifu I know. I am going to Ogaki apparently (which is one of the wards that was eaten by another ward) so that is kind of a bummer, and I have to do what I don't want...learn a new area. 
3. I get to go to Gifu! I do really love it there, so I am excited. 
4. I get to be with Elder Delis. We met one time in the MTC and we are going home the same day. Also he is super cool,  in that I have been around him too much on my mission, but he is pretty cool guy. 
5. Holy cow. I am on my last transfer. Pretty crazy. 

Anyway, I am pretty excited, but at the same time...packing is taihen. So I am not excited and this was the time that took me longest to pack. 

Also, this week was good. I don't really remember much if it, but it was a good week. We went and watched Fireworks on Saturday. So happy Pioneer Day. If you don't know what that is, ask the nearest person from Utah. So that was what we did this week. 

Thanks for tuning in. Sorry it was lame this week. 

Yolo week.

So this week stuff happened. We are going to not tell you that, but  instead I will pass my ipad around and there'll the other missionaries to each do a day of the week and guess what I did. Lol.

First off is Monday well.. last Monday I went over to Seto to get a  haircut form the homie Elder Collett. He cut my Rhiannon real= buceabd  shpar. After that I hung with Elder Morgan. He's way dope and comes home a month after me. He's single. And is looking for girls who do NOT want a seriou relationship. If you're interested please contact him at Bryce.morgan!@myldsmail.net.  He comes home in September.  Anyway. I am also coming home soon as well.. we are looking for
candidates for double dating: after that my companion kinda got mad at us for talking with the sisters and playing ping pong within them. Even though none of us have any interest in any of them. Ya. That was fun. I realized on this day of my mission that I need to work on myself to make myself a better husband and father :) wink wink. I've recieved a lot of counsel from my mission president and I've got his guarantee and blesssing that I will be a good father cough cough wink wink.

Tuesday was a wonderful day.  We did a lot of things; I dont nesicarrialy want to explain all of them because I can't really remember a lot of it. It may be the that I have a severe case of amnesia or just that I fell a little too hard off my futon and into the soft tatami floor when I prayed this morning. Either way it must have been eventful in some way but I guess we will never know. Maybe I saw a baby kitten, maybe I got attacked by crazy spiders because Japan and summer. Or maybe it was just a really normal day. Maybe one day God will reveal the truth to us. Unseal the sealed plates or just open our understanding. Maybe all we need is to have faith.  I wish you luck on that journey.

Wednesday. I survived, and am not dead yet (for 29 more days at least). Guess that should make it a goood day.

Thursday:   Has anyone seen the Bee movie? It's kind of like that.

So on Friday I went on a koukan with Elder Collett and that was pretty  good. We went to Yakiniku king and it was way good and we took a couple of videos so that will be attached. By the way if you haven't noticed it is my turn to actually write about my week. So yea. Anyway this day we also found some cool stuff in Daiso and you know what that means. Actually, you know. Mom, I'm sorry that this week you aren't getting any real information. But that's life, so just endure to the end. We also  went and ate sushi and I won a prize just like I do everytime. This time I won the keychain of a crab sushi. They come out every summer. So if you are in the area, make sure that you get the onion rings, they are the secret, you have to put that plate in last. Or at least that is the theory right now. Well we did some good stuff and yeah.

Saturday. So today we got back from a kokan. For those of you who dont know a kokan is a magical portal all of the time in a day disappears into. So basically most of the time got sucked into that. But eventually we tried to visit some members which got really confusing. But that is normal because speaking Japanese. Just kidding I mastered that language before I was even born so it can't be that. But then we went an tried to do some housing before we had to go home. But the magical portal seems to have taken my memory of said housing away too so just try and imagine what that would be like for me. Probably a lot of our house is good and we are fine.

And I'm sorry
Or
My hands cannot talk right now.
Any of those are probably accurate times 10

Fin

Sunday There are a few things you have to know about church in Japan to fully understand a typical Sunday. First, everyone sings the hymns at the top of their lungs and just slightly off. But they're all off in
different ways. It's really a life changing experience.  Second you must understand that nihonjin have three ways to say hello in the mornings. They either say a general hello, a good morning or say wow its hot. Thirdly you need to understand that it was shokujikai which means free food. We had fun. And oh boy yum. Food is good. After church we walked down the street and saw three men that seemed kind of interested in the gospel. We asked them if they if they knew who Joseph Smith was and they said yes we ate lunch with him once. We super explained some things and turns out they weren't interested. We thought about what kind of people we want to find and thought back to
what Ishii Kaicho wants us to find. And we thought yes, young people. So we prayed and what happened after that? We found this even older grandma. It was good. Afterwards we went home and just smiled about our day and the goodness that comes from being a servant of the Lord. It is super fun to be such a good missionary. It's like just such a pleasure to be the kind of missionary that everyone wishes they could be. I love being so good.


Vids from Yakiniku

 

 

 

The following pictures and videos from Elder Hansen's mom that
should have been included a week ago.  Sorry!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Festival of the Weaver Starring Sister Hansen

Hello everybody! This week was full of surprises and also just full of stuff! Also it was one of the most important holidays as well! That of course was Tanabata. Hahah.

Anyway on Monday we had quite a few errands to run, one of which was going to sushi. Lol. So we took some pictures and I found this fish that is super hard to find... I explain in the video. Then we went to Don Quijote and other stores to find a Yukata and found some other dope stuff.

On Tuesday, I spent the Fourth of July with no Americans around me. I had a companion exchange with Elder Ribeiro from Brazil. So we celebrate by having a typhoon. Hahaha. Unfortunately that cancelled a lot of our dendo activities that we had planned.

On Wednesday we taught firemen eikaiwa and that was way fun. And then we went and visited the Takahashis and talked about member dendo and then they took us to Bronco Billy, which is a steakhouse, and when we were there, we realized that it was the Fourth of July in America still when we were there. So that was pretty cool. Then we had eikaiwa and such.

Then on Thursday we had our weekly planning session and that was really long and boring and all that...just like always. Hahah. Just kidding, but it was long. It always seems to suck up our whole day.

Then we had our Tanabata Takyuu Taikai. Or in other words our Festival of the Weaver Ping Pong Conference. It was good. And we also had a koukan this day and so Elder Henricksen came with us to the event. There are lots of pictures if this one, so they will be in a separate email. But it was way fun. I had a lot of almost wins with everything. I almost beat Elder Collett in Ping Pong and then I almost beat Brother Ikeda, our Ward Mission Leader, in shogi. It was way fun. And he wants to play again and so that will be good. Hopefully I will get better. Everyone is always way impressed with me though because they are amazed that I even know the rules, and also, since I play with chess strategy most of the time, they have no idea how to defend against some of the things that I do. Also my former companion Elder Hansen's mom came and that was way fun! Anyway it was way fun. And then that night Elder Henricksen and I had some fun on our koukan. So that was Friday. Also in the morning we had interviews with President Ishii.

 Then on Saturday, we went to one of our young men's basketball game and that was way fun. We taught then some of the easy cheers that we do in America end we learned the one cheer that they do here. So that was fun. And also the team we were there for was killing it for the whole first quarter. Then we left, but we are pretty sue they they won. Then we biked forever and went to the Ishikawa's house for dinner and it was a good time. They had given us some pudding that they had us put Hershey syrup on and then they gave us a glass of milk so for us it was a no brained in what we had to do. So we made chocolate milk with the Hershey's syrup and that kind of freaked them out. It was way funny. So they learned some good American culture.

Then on Sunday we went to church. It was really hot, and it was good. We got to have singing practice and that was fun. We also planned the Talent Show which I will not be attending. It is so weird to have to help plan things when I know for sure that I won't even be here. Then we had a lesson with the Nakano family and that was interesting. I was told they were awesome to teach and stuff, but then we get there and it turns out that they don't have any interest, but were just being
nice because they like the missionaries. Then that night we went to Sister Dominguez house (I know way Japanese name) and we had my favorite Japanese food! Tacos and stuff. (#^=^#) It was a really good time and we had a pretty good lesson...if I do say so myself. And we were able to involve everyone, so that was good.

 

Well this week was pretty packed and I'm sure that I missed some stuff, but most if you don't actually read this anymore anyway. And if you have questions you could always send me a mail and ask...or I guess you could wait a month and then just ask in person...or you could send the mail. That would probably be more time effective. And yeah.

Sushi 

 Sign

 Hats

Cake Starring Sister Porter

Typhoon

 Fireman

 Koukan

Basketball (whenever I filmed, nothing happened)

 

Of Death, Firemen, and Spanish Adventures

Well, this was not the best week of my mission. I don't think it was the worst either though. Last week on Monday morning I woke up and felt awful. I will spare you the details. So pretty much all we did was get ready, go to the church and do emails, then came home and I died on my futon.

Tuesday, I died on my futon and we called some people. That's about it.

On Wednesday, I woke up and felt a little better, so we were able to leave the apartment. So we tried to visit some people and we had another lesson with Brother Takikawa. It was way good! Except for the part when out of nowhere the member started talking about the different ways snakes are symbolized in the bible and in modern society. So that was fun. I wish we could get through the story of Adam and Eve and why it's important with a member present. But, seeing as I don't have much time left, probs won't happen. Lol. We also taught eikaiwa that night and it was way good.

On Thursday we taught firemen (and woman) English and it was hilarious. Also the curriculum isn't the best because we have to make it up and since it has been going on for a little while, we are
running out of ideas. But it is way hilarious and they just want to come and speak English. That night we went to our other eikaiwa class and Elder Collett and I taught the advanced class "real English" aka normal slang like guys, dude, bro, and dope. Then that night we had a koukan and I got to go with Elder Morgan to Seto.

Friday, we were going to visit their investigator Augusto because we had our "Spanish team" to go talk to him. Well, he wasn't home. But we got to use our Spanish super power on a guy on the street named Jeronimo. He is from the Dominican Republic and asked if I was too. Haha. Also, all the Spanish speakers get really excited when we introduced ourselves and we decided that I should just tell them my first name. Haha. They always try and guess where I am from. Also we went to Bronco Billy Restaurant and our waitress was Brazilian and Elder Morgan and I were speaking Spanish and such so she asked what part of Brazil we are from. Lol. Also we had DTM in the middle of the koukan, so that was a little weird.

Then on Saturday we did Weekly Planning because we didn't have time on Thursday, so that took the chunk of the day and we had an awesome lesson with Makoto that night and he was way good and we felt the Spirit guiding that lesson. It was good. We also taught him English slang he can use when he goes to America this month.

Then on Sunday we had church and we ended up hanging out with the Filipino Sisters and it was way fun. And Sister Grace invited us over for dinner that night and since she lives really far, that was all we were able to do. But it was super fun and she is so funny! We had to wait like half an hour for our tachiai to show up, but that wasn't that bad. And she was super happy we came. Then on the train on the way home we met this cool guy who took a picture with us. It was great.

Anyway this week we had quite the time in the apartment for most of it and because of that, we think we can probably get out this week. Pretty excited for that. Everybody have a good Fourth of July (the
most important holiday) and eat lots of food (it's what the founding fathers would have wanted). Also have a great Tanabata on Friday! (If you are still looking, we hear that Yukatas are pretty cheap at
Shimamura).

 Have a great week!

Elder Richardson

Dude we met on the train

 

 

 

Housing Mogi

 

 Firemen CPR Mogi

#Mom-Blocked

Well this week we went around a we tried to find our investigator that went MIA and we actually found him. The bad part was when we got "mom-blocked." Then we went around and visited some members and such and that was pretty fun.

We got to continue teaching Brother Takikawa's after baptism lessons and so we made him teach us the plan of salvation. That  was way fun. And he really understands it all well. Our member got confused part way through between spirit prison and outer darkness, but it ended up OK.

We also visited the Nakashima family and they haven't been coming to church for a little bit, but then the next day he came to church! It was super awesome.

Also we visited Brother Kaneko and found of more about why he doesn't come to church. He said something along the lines of, all the members in Japan are selfish because they can't follow the footsteps of the pioneers like pioneer trek. Made me laugh a little bit. I still don't see how that makes people selfish, but apparently it does. Also he said that he feels it is to late for him to start praying again.

Those were the main things that we did this week. Sorry this one was so short, but to be honest you are all probably rejoicing. Yay.

Have a good week

Elder Richardson

1-3 A random street we stopped at. Sorry these are all I have for this week