What did George Washington say in Disneyland?

"Welcome to the Hall of Presidents."

         This week was pretty good, and I finally got a picture of Fuji. So yes now you can all believe me that I am really here. In Fuji, under the mountain, I see fire...but anyway...

         Like the good book says, "If you spit in the air, it lands in your face." It is the same thing as looking at the weather and trusting it. Never trust it. This week the weather app said that it was supposed to rain hard on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Saturday, and the other days would be sunny. So we planned our clothes accordingly and where we would go. Then the weather was the exact opposite. It rained Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. The rest of the days were clear. I was happy on the days that it didn't rain, but it was those other days this week...oh those other days.

         We had some great times this week, and I really have decided that I like my companion. Elder Hansen is truly awesome! His testimony is so strong and he loves what he is doing here. His Japanese is, of course, amazing; and he deals with my terrible Japanese really well. He is a great friend to me, I feel comfortable around him enough that I feel like I could talk to him if I had a problem. We talk a lot (well, I talk a lot).  He listens to my stories almost without complaint and I am working on not getting distracted from the task at hand, not telling stories with everything. We talk to a lot of people on the street and have some interesting experiences.

        One of which, I will share. We were waiting on the train from the Yunoki eki and there was a little old grandma sitting on one of the benches. Now we are not allowed in our mission to talk to women and the sisters cannot talk to the men, or at least we can't start the conversation and keep it going. But we said hello to the grandma because we say hello to everyone still. And then she asked us a little bit later where we are from. And so naturally that struck up a conversation about the fact that we are missionaries. She told us she was a Christian, and that she likes reading the Bible. And somewhere in the conversation, she reached in her bag and gave us some oranges, (because that seems to always be what happens with little old grandma in Japan), and so we were talking about the Bible and we introduced the Book of Mormon and we get her to take it, because no one ever believes us that it is really free, and it was a good time. Then the train comes and we want to go to Fujinomia at this time because we were going to meet a guy named Yuuma there at the eki and we didn't want to bike there. So the little old grandma lady get on the train with us and as the train pulls up I see that there is a guy that is giving me the come here signal. (It is almost the same as in America but your hand is facing down and you are pulling toward you like that). And so I assume that he is a member or something or wants to come to eikaiwa or something like that.

         So we got on the train and I was going to talk to him and then he turns as we get on and talks to the corner, "Gaijin-sama futari imasu." And that's just saying that there are two foreigners on the
train. So the lady that we were talking to just laughed and we were like, "yep that's us." Haha it was pretty good. Then he asked me where I was from and he was then like, "America? Is that by Russia?" And then he turned to a kid who was standing by us and said, "look, he is a gaijin. Do you know where America is? Is it by Russia?" And the kid was really uncomfortable but he was trying to tell him that they are really far apart and that they are different. And then he started talking to me and was like, "where are you going?" And so I told him that we were going to Fujinomia and I pointed on the sign that was in kanji to Fujinomia and then he started to get a little worried and asked if I needed help with the sign. I told him it was ok and so he started reading the entire sign to me and stopped on Fujinomia and told me that was where is was going. Then he would usher people on and off the train at the stops and everyone was very kind and some people even thanked him for that. That was nice to see. Then he got off on the stop before us and he said he would see us again sometime and so I waved goodbye and thanked him for his help and it was fun. During that time, Elder Hansen was still talking to the grandma lady and then another grandma looked at me and beckoned me over and told me that she likes English. So naturally, I invited her to eikaiwa and we had a conversation. It was really fun to be able to talk to people on the train rather than just sit there and do nothing.

         Well this week went by quickly, quietly, and (insert another "q" word here). But all in all, it was good. We worked hard regardless of the weather and in spite of the weather. The people we met were sometimes nice and sometimes they were those special children of God that you just love. We got a nice run in with the Jehovah's Witnesseson Wednesday and the guy we talked to was pretty nice. We had a nice conversation about our beliefs and his beliefs and about the struggles of being missionaries. He too is a missionary and it was a good time. We traded cards and promised to watch each other's video sometime and their video was interesting. It was about what they believe happens
after they die. Me and Elder Hansen talked about it afterward and have decided to remain members of our church. Our plan sounds more fun after we die anyway.

         Anyway, speaking of videos...you should all watch the new hallelujah video that the church just made and the big hallelujah chorus. They're good ones. Yep.

        I hope you all had some opportunities to learn from your mistakes and successes and to see the good in life. This week we have the opportunity to focus on the Savior's teachings and get ready for
Easter. Which is probably the best holiday. We get the opportunity next Sunday to celebrate an event that changed the entire eternal perspective of mankind. Because of the resurrection of Christ, we all
can be resurrected too. Because of this great sacrifice and atonement, we can all gain eternal life as long as we follow the teachings of the Master.

        Have a great week and remember that for you, He is Risen. He came, He died, He rose, and He will come again.

         Elder Richardson

Mt. Fuji!!

Elder Hansen

When you go to a place with a famous mountain...you only get to see it once.

Mina san, konnichiwa!

   This week was great! But it seems way longer than a week! My new companion is super cool! His name is Elder Hansen and he is half Japanese. He loves Pokemon and singing. It is really fun to be with him!

   On Monday, I was still in Gifu with Elder Bunch and we went to all the places that I wanted to and then had dinner at the Shimizu's house. It was fun and sad to go places, but that's ok, because I was
looking forward to Fuji!

   Then on Tuesday, it was transfer day! We (all the missionaries that are transferring) went to the Nagoya main eki and meet at the "golden clock" and it was awesome to see everyone again! After hanging out there for a while (because we had to wait for people who were traveling far) we all said our goodbyes and then left with our new companions. It was really fun, our entire zone travelled with us because we all take the same train. I think that was really great! So after a while, it ended up being only us, the Fuji Shimai (Uchimura Shimai and Wynn Shimai), and the Numazu Elders (Elder Tallent and Elder Baur), on the train and we were getting sick of it. It was a long ride and we had our bikes and it was hot in there. Then we were the next stop and said goodbye to Numazu and then we were in our area! We then walked home and dropped off my stuff, like my "carry on" suitcase and some other things I had (like shoes in my backpack). Then we went shopping for food and got a call from the shipping company that my other stuff had arrived, we just told them to leave it on the doorstep because we were almost done at the store and it was not very far. Then we got all the stuff and put it away and it was time to be home anyway and so we planned and got ready for bed.

   Wednesday, we went to visit a bunch of people that Elder Hansen and Elder Delis (the guy I replaced in Fuji) had talked to and given a Book of Mormon. And we asked them if they were interested, at least that was the plan. Most of them weren't home so we did not ask the question. Then we had our weekly planning session and went to the church to sync our iPads so we had all the same stuff in our schedule. That took the whole day planning and visiting people. But it was fun, I got to see a lot of people and a lot of the Fuji area. And then that night, we went to the Kawamura house and had dinner and a Mogi lesson. It was really fun and I found out that they are the parents of one of
the people I met in the MTC. He wasn't my teacher, but he was a substitute that we had a few times. So that was fun.

   On Thursday, we went and visited more people and then at night we had eikaiwa! It was real different from Gifu, there is only one class and no kids eikaiwa and not many people come. But the people who were there were really fun! We talked about emotions and Elder Hansen became the subject in most of our sentences. (That was mostly my fault, my word was sad and I said, "Elder Hansen makes me sad." And everyone had a  great big laugh at that and then the next girl had
frustrated for her word and said, "Elder Hansen makes me frustrated." And that is how the rest of our eikaiwa sentences went. But only with the bad ones.

   Then on Friday, we went to the church and I taught Elder Hansen how to use the FamilySearch website and how to look up ancestors. He had at least the name of up to his great grandparents that he knew, so we were able to find their records and link them on his family tree. On his mom's side, it was really empty and only went to his grandparents and only had two out of the four there. So he was excited that we were able to find some things and we found that one of his great grandparents had a duplicate and then one of them had information on his parents. So eventually, we were able to find all of his great great grandparents. Then we went out and visited more of the people that he had recently talked to. Then, that night, one of the people that we were going to visit the next day texted us and asked if we wanted to play basketball with him tomorrow. So we were like, "yeah, sick bro! Let's do it!" And we went to visit a guy named Philipe and asked if he had a chance to read the Book of Mormon that we gave him. He said that he couldn't put it down, he even brought it to school and he knows that it is the word of God. Then we ran into the problem (just like always happens when things are going great) his grandma came to the door and asked who we are, and Philipe explained to her in Portuguese (because they are Brazilian) and she said that he already has a church so he is not interested. We were sad, but there wasn't anything to do about it right then.

   So then on Saturday, we wore normal clothes and went over to Mirai's house and we met his mom, and she was excited and wants us to teach her and her son about the gospel and about God. And we went and played basketball with Mirai's and one of his buddies and it was really fun, then we also had a soccer ball and we played soccer. It turns out I am kind of decent at soccer. Go figure. Then, since we had brought the soccer ball, and Philipe lived right by the park, we felt like we should go and ask if he wanted to play soccer with us at the park. So went and asked and unfortunately, he was at  school. So next time, we will get him outside so we can talk and also we will get to play soccer again. Then we went home and changed into our usual clothes and then went and visited some other people. And then that night we went out with a member and visited some people who are less active. It is awesome having someone do that with us because that is how we find out about most of the less active members in the ward.

   Then in Sunday, I got to meet all the ward members and it was fun, we had a good service for sacrament meeting and they talked about family services. We had shokujikai after and so, of course, that was great. As always it was full of the women in the ward telling the Elders to eat more and us using the excuse that we would get fat or that we already got fat.  Then we went and visited one of our investigators, Yoshimura San and gave him a scripture reading calendar that me and Elder Hansen made for him. Then we talked to people on his street until it was time to go home.

   The only bad thing this week was that it rained so much that we could only see Fuji once and only for a little bit. But that's ok, I will be here for at least six weeks! Haha!

   I hope you have a great week and have tons of fun! Look forward for next week, I might have a picture of Fuji! Haha

〜〜リチャードソン長老〜〜

So there was this one time that...

Hello everyone!

This week was really good! We did  a lot of stuff and it was great!  On Monday, as you all know, we went fishing! And then the rest of the day was just resting and gutting fish. It was great!

On Tuesday, we went and met with a man who stopped us one time while we were parking our bikes. He was really nice and speaks really good English! He wants to make friends with gaijin and so he really wants to meet with us. We asked if he wanted to learn about the church, and he said that would be ok. He is really nice and fun! That night we went home teaching with Niwa Kyodai and it was good! We went and visited Ando Kyodai and Ayabe Kyodai. Ando said that he was feeling a lot better. And he wants to make it to church next week. Haha funny guy. Ayabe wasn't home and so we left a note and his door was open, so we closed it.

Then on Wednesday, we had our usual, went to Japanese class and it was great! Me and my teacher talked about family history and how it is important in the church and I gave her a My Family booklet. She thought that was really cool and since we had talked about doing it, she had brought things from her family history. She had a book of photos that her mom had taken from all around the world. It was really cool! And she had a lot of watercolor paintings that her grandpa did in letters and postcards. He would draw a little picture of a building where he was at the time. It was really neat and he was a great artist. Then we told stories about our family, she talked about how her grandfather was in World War II and how he lived in Korea during that time because Japan was occupying it. Because of that, her mother was born there and she has a Korean first name. Then she talked about how they had to move to Japan after the war ended and showed me her grandma's booklet of poems about that time. She was really struggling when they came to Japan and everyone was really poor. I thought that was really cool to see how much the people over here had their lives affected because of the war just like we did.

Then later we had eikaiwa (English class) and of course it was great! We had lots of fun in kids eikaiwa of course and then in normal eikaiwa, we had a great time and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun.

Then on Thursday, we ate sushi for lunch! It was great! Then we had an interview for one of the Shimai's investigators, Fang Fang. It was great! Ishii Kaicho (Mission president) came and did the interview and so we got to talk to Ishii Shimai while he did the interview. It was fun to talk to her a lot. She is really funny.

Then on Friday was DTM! We talked about personal study time and I got to talk about scripture study. It was fun and we had other people doing different topics. Then we went to McDonald's and ate and it was a good time.

On Saturday was transfer calls! I was really anxious, I can't think of another word, and so naturally we struggled a little bit with actually studying during that time like we are supposed to. And then
after that we went and had Yakiniku King! It was great! We ate a ton and it was delicious! But yeah, that was Saturday!

Sunday was fast Sunday, and the last Sunday of the transfer, and a baptism, so it was pretty busy. We didn't have to do much, it just felt a little hectic at times. Then at night we did a few totsuzen
visits and then had dinner at the Imai's house. And it was great because the Shimai were having trouble with trying to ship their luggage and so Imai Shimai was like, "what you didn't get it shipped?
Give me your phone." Then she called seino and the guy on the phone was having trouble with this and she was like, "you guys do this every six weeks for the missionaries! Why can't you figure this out?" And so now the truck is going to come and the stuff can get shipped. It was awesome.

But then this morning, we went to the Sister's apartment to get their stuff because it was too late to put in a new order and so the truck is only coming to our apartment. So we went and got all of
Sister Thompson's stuff and we will be shipping that with mine, but hers is going to Toyama and mine is not. So we went over and got it and we helped her pack up her bike to ship. Sisters are so lucky, they get to ship their bikes. Elders have to take it with them on the train. AHHH! But it's ok.

But today we have really no plans until six. And we don't have to go shopping or anything so we are just going to rest...ah yeah. But I am looking forward to next transfer, and Elder Hansen seems like he is pretty cool. So it should be good. Good transfer in Fuji. Well it sounds cool at least.

I hope you all had a great week and will have an even better on next week!
〜〜リチャードソン長老〜〜

In case some of you didn't get it...I'M GOING TO FUJI! This is going to be way awesome, I'm so excited and I hear my new companion, Elder Hansen, is a total beast! Can't wait , but I still want to stay in Gifu! I'm torn but with good emotions.

My goodbye cake from the Imai family!

Our yogenkai, prophecy meeting, board for transfers.

So there was this one time that...

Minasan, What's up?

         So today was pretty great!  We woke up at 4:00 and went fishing with the Young Men's President and that was awesome! We went and there were a few people there at the place that he wanted to go to and that was ok. All of the guys were really nice...for the most part. And we caught a ton of fish and there is no fish limit so we got to take home all of them, and so now there are about fifteen fish in our fridge. Which is crazy because Elder Bunch hates fish and so I am just the only
one who will eat it. Crazy, I'm the only one who likes fish? Since when did that ever happen? All of the poles were like nine meters long though so it was weird. But Sogabe Kyodai had some short ones, and so I got to fish like normal after trying the giant poles and I didn't like it. But I got to fish like normal after that so I was happy.  But that was super fun and than it started to rain and we were at a little weir on the Nagara River and it turned out the net had broken so there weren't that many fish there after a certain point, and so we left because it was cold and nothing was happening. But it was a good time anyway!

         On Tuesday, we finally got to meet with Ayabe at his house! We had been trying to find him during the week and then he didn't come to church so we were like, AHHHH! And then he wasn't ever home when we visited him and it was also like, AHHH! Then we went on Tuesday and he
was there! We had realized that he hadn't signed the form that says that he got an interview for baptism...Whoops! So we finally got that form signed and then asked where he was for church. He had slept in and woke up at like noon and was like dang it I missed church! So he went out and bought an alarm clock so that he won't forget to go to church this week. Awesome!

                 So on Wednesday,  we got to go on a koukan (companion exchange) with the Zone Leaders from the Fukutoku Area! It was way fun! For a long time I have had to stay in my area for all of our koukans and this was the first in a long time that I got to go to another area! When I got there, we got to go visit an investigator of theirs that is famous among missionaries. He can really get off on a tangent about anything, so it can be really hard to teach him about the gospel. For example, we were talking about the spirit and how we can gain knowledge and answers when we pray and he saw that I was wearing a watch and wanted to know what kind it was and that got him on a huge tangent about all of the watches he has owned in the past. And then he told us another story that I'm not sure what it was about and then another and then another...we ended up being there for a while and got
about twenty minutes of gospel in. He is really nice and really smart and has some interest in the church. I think that having us there is really nice for him and that might be why he tries to keep us for so long. But he has a lot of interesting opinions and the conversation is like a really interesting roller coaster. And I really liked being with Elder Callahan. He was awesome and we have a ton in common! We got along really, really well! It was really good because before this, I didn't really know him that well and now I can really relate with him better during a zone thing. I was really happy to get to go on a koukan and be with such a cool guy!

         Then on Thursday, we went on another koukan, this time with the Ogaki Elders and I got to be in Gifu. Although it was way fun to get to go to another area, I was really happy to be back in Gifu. I got to be with Elder Dana and he is just awesome! We always have lots of fun together. We did all sorts of stuff and biked pretty far! Of course all of that was my choice, but I really like being busy.

       On Friday was DTM!!! It was great! We got to talked about family history! Ishii Kaicho thinks that family history will definitely help us be better missionaries! Especially since all of the people in Japan are Buddhist or Shinto and well, guess what, families are super important to them! Awesome! I hope that everyone can get really excited about this! I really am!

         On Saturday, we had a mogi! With the Imai family! Their mogis are the best. We learn so much cause they have taken all of the mogi lessons that all the missionaries ever have done and they help you make it easy to understand and they can relate it to Buddhism and everything! Super awesome!

        Then for Sunday, we had church (of course). And it was great! We talked about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost in Sunday School and it was a really good lesson, a lot of people had really good questions and they had a great discussion...I think.

         This was a great week, we talked a lot about feeling the spirit and about how we can have greater love for the people of Japan. I think that is great. We always worry about what we will do in lessons, but the important thing really is what they will do after lessons. Our entire job is to get people in a place where they are going to do something about what they are feeling. Some people are really hard to get to act and some already want to act but just don't know how. That's why we give commitments to people so that we can help them to feel the spirit when we aren't there. When they commit to do something, they are promising to God that they will do it and when they fulfill that promise, Heavenly Father will give them the spirit and the blessings that they are seeking.

         I hope that you all had and will have a great week. Don't forget to be cool and to just (as I taught the Fukutoku eikaiwa) roll with it. Matthew 5:6 stay thirsty my friends.
-Richardson Choro

Fishing at the weir

Don't feed the pigeons, their mouths will get tired.

Hey guys!

      This week was great! For the most part at least. We went on several adventures and saw many people, fought off pigeons, ate several times, ate a ton of ice cream, ate a ton of meat. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, if was the season of intelligence, it was the season of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, if was the epoch of incredulity, it was the spring of joy, it was the winter of
despair.  In short it was just a normal week in the life in the Japan Nagoya mission.

      Not much happened this week, but on Wednesday, I fed some crows and started to build my empire by gaining their trust. It was pretty sweet, and some guy said not to feed the pigeons and then we were like what? Because for one thing, I didn't know the word for pigeon and also there were no pigeons there at the time. Then he realized we were feeding the crows and was like why are you feeding them? And we explained that in order to have world domination, the crows have to trust us. Then he was all confused and I said, I like the crows. And he was like ok. But don't feed the pigeons, their mouths will get tired. So yeah that was weird.

         On Saturday, it rained a ton and we got soaked! And then we had a family home evening about Family History Work! Which was way good! And then there was Costco pizza after!

         We had a koukan (companion exchange) this week with Ogaki and Elder Montoya and I were here in Gifu! Yes! So for lunch we went to a all you can eat place called Stamina Taro! And it was funny, because the last time we have a koukan with them we went to Stamina Taro as a yonin (four people) in Ogaki. But that's not what makes it funny! While we were eating, and we eat a lot, there was a couple that was seated at the table next to us. And they were looking at us funny and then they went to go get food. We thought it was just the normal, whoa look it's gaijin, I think they are American! But later I was eating and Montoya Choro had gone to refill his drink and the guy was gone in the couple, and the girl looked at me and asked if I came to Stamina Taro a lot. And I was like, no I've only been three times ever. And then she related the story how they saw us last time when we were in the Stamina Taro in Ogaki. And she was like, yeah you got a lot of ice cream in one of the bigger bowls. And then Montoya and the guy came back and it was really fun! They said they were from Ogaki and that they were just in Gifu and passed by the restaurant and so they came in to eat. It was a good time. Then we were getting ready to go, being full and whatnot, so we decided it was time for dessert and so we both got a big bowl, from where you are supposed to get other food, the ice cream bowls are tiny, and got a big bowl of ice cream with pineapple and strawberry sauce and when they saw us come back they started laughing so hard! Then she wanted to take a picture of us with the ice cream, because she's Japanese, and we did and it was good. Then we ate the ice cream and when we were leaving we gave them a card with Ogaki's phone number on it and we were like that was awesome!

         Also we have zone conference on Tuesday and it was great! Ishii Kaicho and Ishii Shimai came and we talked a lot about Family history and other things that will help us to be better missionaries! It was really fun to see everyone in our zone again and to see the new people and meet them!

         Sorry for the Scrambledness of this email! But hey if you don't like it, don't read it! Haha. (As I put that at the end:)

         This week I have thought a lot about happiness and the things that we all needing to do. One of our investigators asked us what do we want, like what is our hearts desire. Then we were thinking about it and nothing came to mind. She was really shock and then we asked her and she said like peace feeling. Then later the week, the Nephi scripture in 1Nephi 2:11 I think says like what desires to thou? And so I think about it more. I am the most happy than I have ever been before while
I am here doing the rules and talking to people. I am more happy here when I have to ride bike in the rain and forgot my gloves and hands are really cold. I am more happy here doing what Heavenly Father want me to do than when I was doing what I want to do at home. I love the gospel and know that it bless my life. When we pray God listens. He gives us answers and he loves us.

         神さまは本当に私達の天のお父様です。時々人世は大変やお。でも、神様の助け落として私達は何でもできるよ。人世は一番大切時に神様の助けは一番大きいと思います。神様は本当に一人一人愛しています。

〜〜莉茶長老〜〜

My legion of crows.

 

At Japanese class there was a Nepali there named Bibek and he was way cool. Their alphabet went from that squiggle to the other squiggle. Then that's how you write eleven, then 0-10 then Dante Richardson, then Iwamoto Satoko then Bibek Giri it is so cool!

 

It's not junk, it's treasure!

Hello!

Happy Valentines Day (well yesterday)! (And today for some of you)! I hope that you all had fun this week! I had a good time. I feel like not that much happened this week though.

         On Monday, it was New Years (again) and that was fun, we didn't really do anything for it though. We went shopping for P-day and then we went and explored what stores are in a different part of our area that we've never been before. And that was way fun. Our area is so huge! I am always amazed at how much stuff is here, and we go places and we look to see if we are near the edge and we look and we are still like in the middle. Pretty crazy!

         Then on Tuesday, we went and visited some people and then had dinner with a member at Subway! It was really cool. The only thing is in Japan, the five dollar foot long is a five dollar six inch. So it was small, but it tasted good! Then we went home teaching with Niwa Kyodai like we do every week and that is always pretty fun. We get to visit a lot of people, and it is great having a member there, and it is really great that he has a car! So that's really nice.

         On Wednesday, we went to Japanese class in the morning and taught/learned about the gospel. I thought my teacher about the Plan of Salvation and she helped me to be able to say everything better. And she was really interested in what we believe about Satan and what his role is in the plan. Really interesting. She also said that she likes our plan better than the one of Buddhism. She said that it is a lot more friendly and happy and kind. So we talked a little about revelation and how we know that this is the correct plan, and that all of the others are really this, but they lost part of it. She loves that
idea and she wants to talk more about it this week. And she was really interested in temples and how we can help people who died without the gospel so they can have eternal life. Pretty great!  So I am going to invite her to our family history night that we are doing and that should be really good. Then we had Eikaiwa and it was super fun.  Again, because of the rain, only the Hayashi Family showed up and it was great! I love those little kids!
         Thursday, we went to visit Ayabe Kyodai and he wasn't there. So bummer. But it was ok because we found a way faster way to his house this time and then we found out there is a whole other group of stores that we want to check out over there. So that is what we're doing today for P-day. Awesome. It should be good. Then we went and talked to people and ran into Joseph, our British potential investigator, when we stopped at McDonald's for food. It was awesome and now we have an appointment. So revelation can come in the form of cravings and being really hungry. Also being cheap. But yeah that was Thursday.

         Friday, we had DTM and talked about recognizing and acting on spiritual prompting some. Super great! Then we had to go catch a train to go to Gero which is super far away in our area and the train ride takes two hours. Also it is sixty bucks. This is the train ride that at the beginning of the transfer we tried to do and ended up in Takayama. But we made it this time and it was a great family home evening and was so much fun. The Katsuragawa family is the best!

         Then on Saturday, we went home teaching with Sogabe Kyodai and Koshiba Kyodai. It was way good! And we went out to eat with Sogabe Kyodai and he ordered us the biggest tonkatsu ever! It was way too much! But it was delicious!

         On Sunday, yesterday, we had church and it was Valentines and it was fun! The sisters gave valentines to everyone and it was a little origami heart and it was way fun! And a lot of people gave out chocolate. And we even got a Valentine's Day chocolate box from our investigators that night when we went for a lesson! Awesome! And we had a great lesson and the spirit was so strong and it was a great feeling in the room.

         But that is pretty much my week and it was fun! I hope you all have had a great time this week and that you will have a great time this next week!

                         Peace out homies!!!
                                -莉茶長老

Normal district.

 

Silly district. 

Sogabe Kyodai and tonkatsu.

Everybody knows you don't eat the "E's"!!!!

みなさんこんにちは！
お元気ですか？私達は今週間に本当に忙しかったなんですけれでも、とても楽しかったよ。たくさん人々にて話したし、教えたし、英会話チラシを上げました。忙しくて楽しかったよ。

 So on Monday, we had some normal P-day activities of going to stores.

On Tuesday, we had a koukan with the Zone Leaders from Fukutoku! I got to stay in Gifu and Elder Hall came and it was great! He is a way hard worker. We went way far on bikes and it was way fun! Then for dinner we went out for sushi!!! Yes! it was way good!

Then on Wednesday, we switched back from that and then we went to the Oni Festival with Tami, who is one of the sassiest Grandmas you will ever meet. It was way fun! They threw beans from a balcony in packets and you had to try to catch it, and they are lucky. Then you have to eat as many of the beans as the age you are turning this year. And some of the packets had prize tickets inside them and so everyone was trying really hard to get the packets of beans. The crowd was like going to a concert! Then we had Eikaiwa and it was way fun! For kids eikaiwa, only the Hayashi family was there so it was great. They are the best little kids ever! We talked about the different "Hello" words
like "good morning, good night, etc."  It was way fun! Then we taught them how to write their names in English letters. And then Manaho-chan (she's secretly my favorite) asked us how to write Star Wars in English!!! Way too fun!!!
 
For Thursday, we had another koukan but this time it was with the Ogaki Elders. It was great! We got to finally meet Elder Montoya, because he just transferred in from Hamamatsu, and he is great! Then
we went to Stamina Tarou which is an all you can eat meat place and it was great! We were not really hungry for dinner!!!

Then on Friday, we had a good old time doing the normal Missionary stuff. Like housing! I actually love it!  And I love it because it is the only time we are allowed to talk to the women of Japan and they are way nicer to us than the men are. And grandmas will open their doors and say they don't want to talk to you but to take this bag of food with you, but get off of my porch.
Then we met with a guy the previous Elders who were in Gifu met and he was a blast! He was crazy good at magic and he brought a couple of his friends with him and they were way cool too! We want to meet with him a lot! Also we had DTM and then went out for Indo curry afterwards (of course).

Saturday we talked to a ton of people and it was good! And it was way weird because I woke up that morning and thought that it was Sunday!!! So that just made the rest of the day a little off balance for me. And we went to try to visit Ayabe, but he wasn't home. Oh well. It was still good. We got to bike far and get some good exercise.
 
Then on Sunday we had church and it was good. It was fast and testimony meeting and I love it! And there was a member of the Stake presidency there and it was good. Gifu ward is the best! There are so
many cool people to talk to. It is great!

I hope that you all have had a great week and that you will have another one! If you guys do anything cool, send me pictures!!! I want to see it!

I have been asked five times this week if I was Japanese. So yeah. I must look like it or something. And people don't believe me if I say that I am not.   They just ask where in Japan I am from or just straight up say oh you're Japanese.... Yada yana and then they are like ok maybe half or whatever.  So there's a funny thing this week.

Peace out Homies!!!---莉茶長老

Oni Festival throwing bean packets.

 

This is the first sentence that all Japanese people learn of English in school.