KenGO is GO! Five... :)

Stuff just got real.... Well I'm 5 now and we had transfer calls just barley and I'm.... FOLLOW UP TRAINER, WITH A JAPANESE COMP, AND..... DISTRICT LEADER! What!? Well here we go... Pretty much everything I wanted came true! God is good... My new companion is Murakami Choro from Okinawa! Get the island boys together! He's transfer 3 and all I know about him is he doesn't speak much English and likes to sleep! Hahaha well it's already been hard to not call him Murakami shimai because she's my homie in the MTC and south mission! But... Well work on it! I am so stoked to be able to be senior comp (Senpai) and district leader! I have been writing things down to do as leadership since I got here I'm stoked to be able to put them in action! Big things are coming and I'm STOKED! Here's some nonsense from my week!

How freaking small is this SEKAI!!!!!? (world) Elder Tuttles friend came to visit him because he is going home and he said we could tag along. The guy was way cool! He used to live in our mission but went to Kobe for work. I asked him who was in his ward in Kobe and it was my homie Elder Preciado! Also he was like and before it was elder something and Elder Isaac... And I was like Isaac.... I swear I know him what's his first name... ADAM ISAAC! I went to school with him! What!? This world is so dang small especially in the church! So much craziness! I gave him a little note to give to my boi in Kobe! :) 

We had the SICKEST zone meeting in the whole entire world this week! Ahhhh it was so great and to make it even better it was followed by a zone lunch at Brazillian steak place! Ugh I want to go to the brazillian area in our mission so bad! Anyways why it was so amazing is because for once we didn't just talk about Stats and how bad we were doing at life... But we talked about being the best us we can be! Me and Elder Kuwana gave a training on relaxing and showing your companion love. So I handed everyone out a mint and said sometimes we gotta just take a chill pill! And we had all these pieces of paper that said different things like make your comp a romantic poem or a dance with a song or a rap! Let's just say it got real, real... Real fast! Hahahahah it was so great! The biggest reason why this was the best zone meeting was because in our zone there are 18 people... In a couple days 5 of them go home! So they all talked to us about what they have learned on their missions. You can just feel a difference in these experienced missionaries. They just get it! We all felt the spirit so strong and it motivated us a ton! BEST. ZONE MEETING. EVER! Way sad though cuz our zone is changing a ton this transfer!

We had dinner with Yasuzawa. We followed up with his praying and he says he does it just about every night! Cept when he's tired... Can't blame the guy! Haha but I asked him how he felt when he prayed... He was quiet for a second and he finally said... It's a feeling like no words can describe!! What!? That's crazy! We're still trying to see what exactly he wants. He's way timid and shy but he tells us through email how happy he is. He told us that he gets bullied  everywhere and the people at the church are so nice to him and make him feel apart of the group. I don't think he has ever had at in his life. He mailed us something personal that he is dealing with and yeah... Dude has such a good heart! He came to the stake conference and he said it was pretty good! I'm hoping and praying we can help him out more! 

We had Elder Nelson come talk to Saitama Stake on Sunday! It was too cute he had all the primary kids stand up and sing I am a child of God! It was a really cool experience! Their message was centered around families and it was way good! He had us stand up too and told them to have their kids look to these elders and sister as their examples. That really hit me... These kids are watching us like crazy we need to make sure we are a good example. He also said we teach for free what the savior gave us for free. We get to hear from him on Wednesday and the south mission is coming! Hopefully I get to see Elder Critter this time... Haha 

Challenge! 

Go change something! Yep.... Just go do that... :) the only thing constant is change :)

Tweets!

No one take offense to this I know you guys are hustlin hard but we always talk about #Americanmissionprobs... Like oh no... We only had 3 baptisms this month! We got to try harder! Or we have to eat at 4 members houses today!? We're going to be so full! Dang... And we always say #meanwhileinJapan in our mission we had 3 baptisms this month!!!!!! Crazy miracle! Or we had 4 dinners this transfer!!!!! (We still had to go home and eat something else to get full) but we had dinners! #loveyou... #iminjapan...heresaginza #japanhustlin 

For Eikaiwa (English class) I taught my class Love You Long Time! Hahaha so as everyone was leaving they were all like love you long time! There's nothing funnier. 

Jk.... We taught them during the game at the end what THUG LIFE means and we all just died laughing for the rest of the night everyone would just keeps saying thug life it was so funny!  #thuglife #loveyoulongtime #bestteacherever #JinglishIsLife 

S/O to Matt cuz he sent me a way funny picture and it made me miss his sudden let's do this crazy thing... Times... #missmyhomie #whenafirestartstoburn #imfalling  

Played Shogi (Japanese chess) for the very first time and destroyed this way smart kid! #hespent10minutestalkingtohimselfofhowhecouldhavelost #getmoney #shogiislife 

Yeah... My country is weird -Elder Kuwana #kuwanaquotes 

S/O to Harley cuz... Ahhhhhhhh! #sostoked! #heckyawsista! 

Shout out to Murakami Shimai because she sent me a letter this week and also I'm going to say her name like a hundred times this week trying to say Murakami choro! #murakamiisthebest! 

My mission up until now has been really hard and I haven't really felt like a missionary with new change I have lots of faith that it's going to start here and now! We're going to do big things here and I cannot wait! Here we go! 

Love, Rice and MURAKAMI! 

Siste.... Elder...Murakami !

I SAW AN ANGEL!

Well this week was pre chill :) 

MIRACLE! So this week happened to be splits... With elder Tuttle again. Last time I was one splits with elder Tuttle we met the guy who wanted us to translate his paper and talk to us about his wife and stuff! Like one of the coolest things to happen on my mission. A couple nights before my split Mahino San called us! We just gave him our phone number and said call us anytime you're in the area. He called and said I finished the calendars can I give them to you? I had no idea what he meant by calendar and he said something about our families but I couldn't really understand him because it was over the phone and he's 87 and speaks super proper japanese but we made a time to meet again! We went to see him and he gave us calendars he made of his wife! He also made extras so we could give them to our families! He is the cutest! Every person we saw he told them about how we met last time by chance and how we became friends so fast and just every detail of our friendship! So much cuteness! That's what missions are all about bringing the light of christ to others! He kept saying isn't this funny? God is so there! It was supposed to rain like crazy but it was sunny, we happened to be on splits again... It was simply perfect and something I will remember my whole life. 

This week we worked a lot with the future missionaries in the ward! They are all doing way good and a couple of them are putting out their mission papers this month! In japan they have to hand write everything and it takes a couple months because they have to translate it and send it back. So probably no calls for a couple months but I'm still mad excited for them! 

We had interviews with the president this week... Yeah don't have much to say about it just thought I'd let you know... Haha

We had dinner at Kotas house and he is preparing to go on a mission so it was way fun being able to talk to him more! His English is super good I think he's gonna post up in America! 

We had dinner at the bishops house and they have a bunch of adorable kids! Ahhhh! So he's from tahiti and is married to a Japanese lady and their kids are too cute! When he came and picked us from the church he was dropping of one of his kids who is 16 and they were going on a bike ride for mutual and so I said why don't you take my bike (cuz mines sick...) he was like wait.... Really!? He acted like Christmas came early! We went and had a way good dinner and talk and after... My favorite part I GOT TO PLAY WITH THE KIDS!!!! We had a way fun time and at the end when we had to go one of them came running out and he's went in front of me and spread his arms out and said DAME! Which means like "not ok!" His mom said he has to go and he said no he's moving here! He said I can have his brothers bed and he can sleep on the sofa! Ahhhhhh so much cuteness!! His mom also asked what my name was and he looked at my name tag and said IESU KIRISUTO! (Jesus Christ) bahahahaha no wonder I'm such a good missionary ;) As we were going back they said we haven't had a missionary play with our kids that well for like at least 5 years! That is so sad! I told them I think it's important for kids to like the missionaries and have it be a blessing for their family rather than them being like oh great the boring missionaries are coming... The next day at church he just came up to me and grabbed my hand and walked around with me! hey I don't know if you all know but I FREAKING LOVE KIDS! 

We were walking to the train station after lunch, when I saw this guy and I just knew I had to go talk to him. He was sitting on the ground with a guitar. He was homeless and was missing some teeth but.... I had to talk to him I just felt a light from him. I asked him if he'd play something for me because I love music he said no... I didn't have a beer yet... And it's embarrassing and I'm shy if I play without one. Haha after much persuading I got him to play a song he wrote it was awesome! He was like noooo it was bad if you heard me play with beer it would be better. I said no way that was way too Good! I then asked him if he's ever tried drinking Calpis soda and playing because that's what I do and it makes me sound really good! Haha he talked to me for a long time about how bad beer was and he said I was right and he should try that. But he kept on saying thank you for listening to me and he said you guys have a light it is amazing! I told him no he is the light! I doubt anyone ever listens to him play or talks to him ever... Anyways I am doing a terrible job at explaining this well but, I'm pretty sure this guy Kazuo was an angel sent from above to make my day better. I kid you not he had the light of christ stronger than I've seen for a long time. You could just see it in his eyes. Although to the other elders he seemed crazy and talked a lot and said some weird things I feel like he was an angel that not many people notice. I'm so thankful for these little miracles I get to see everyday!

Challenge of the weeeeek! 

Notice the Angels! I'm convinced that angels are not these people who are clean, pretty, well known... But rather the people that we tend to forget about and not notice. I think God sends them in forms that we don't usually notice because it first takes a accepting heart to receive blessings. God wants us to love all people just as Christ did. I challenge you to go out and notice those Angels because they are waiting to bless you in ways that you would never imagine. If you just looked around with a open heart I promise you will find these Angels!

Twitttter?

I taught the Pakistan guy that comes to ping pong night and English class how to say "everybody in the club" and it has to be the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life! He wears a suit to English class and track suit to pingpong hahahaha! #dontworryirecordedit #pakistandan! #nicestmanever! #Afzal

S/O to the people responding to my "Up yo name tag sticker game!" 

#missiongamestrong 

I got BOW STICKERS! If that doesn't give you incentive to write me I don't know what will #bowdown #stationarygameoffthecharts #thirstyforletters

S/O to Elder Tsuru cuz he's mah melhor amigo! He sent me this last week "You can have a friend like me, but you are not as Lucky as I am, because you are my friend!!!" #Tsuruisthetruth #80%whyilovebrazilsomuch #tsuruismimelhoramigo! 

You might be a missionary if... You see someone chewing gum and you're way jealous... #ididntChewsthethuglife... 

S/O to all the homies on missions because no matter where someone is from I'm like hey I have a friend there doing the same thing as me and we can start a conversation! #armyofhelaman 

S/O to Meg cuz she got married this week... And I'm not heartbroken... ;( #NadirwehavetoDisbandourfanboyclub 

There's literally a million ways to count things in Japanese. My Japanese companion alone with no google thought of 57 counters! Like you have to count it a certain way or it's wrong. There's counters for round objects, flat object, small animals, big animals...Theres even freaking ways to count things like tofu, ghosts, round onions, and for votes! #areyoukiddingme? #japaneseistoohard! #youcancountonme #igiveup #iwouldgetabookoncountersbutiprobablywouldntknowhowtocountit... 

Well that's all I gotta say this week... Pre boring... Next week I'll have an announcement of who my new comp will be! Mission Pres told me I'd prob stay and prob get a new younger companion! If that is the case I can finally do something! If that makes sense... I've just been kinda following around my comps like Pikachu on the gameboy game and they just chuck me in front of them when a wild Pokemon appears in thick grass... I hope I get to be with someone I can work together with and accomplish some amazing things together but we will see! Maybe I will train!!! A lot of my other Homies on missions seem to be training now! Good luck! I don't know but whatever the lord has in store for me I'm excited for! Love you all! 

Love! Rice! And EVERYBODY IN THE CLUB! 

Elder Iesu Kirisuto! 

Bountiful friends!

The Miracle of the Raddish

AHHHH what!? This week was one of the best! I think I really got back to what it truly means to be a missionary, friend, member, and child of our Heavenly Father this week. God has been pouring out blessings to me and I am so grateful! I am so very blessed! Remember the days blessings... Forget the days troubles! Here's my weeeeeek! 

A guy in our ward Masaaki got baptized! I haven't really said anything about him because the other elders have been teaching him but he is so awesome. He met the missionaries like almost a year ago and since then he has been coming to church every week since! He missed one time! He was seriously like the greatest member even before he was a member! He was reading like church books I've never heard of! Anyways there was something holding him back that he couldn't get baptized and last week he just told the elders... I want to get baptized! It was the coolest thing because the ward absolutely loves him! The support and love at the baptism was amazing and you could feel the spirit so strong! When he bore his testimony he held up the eikaiwa flyer he laminated and said this little paper started it all, it means so much to me... SO CUTE! He's gonna be the best member in the world! He already is! Although I never taught him I saw him and talked to him a lot the night of his baptism he texted us and told us all thank you so much for everything! So much cuteness I love him! 

I went on exchanges with Elder Day from Kaysville! I knew him before from another zone so it was pre cool! It was amazing how many people talked to us or said hello back to us! Me and my companion are both Japanese and it's very weird here to talk to people you don't know if you are Japanese ! The day of the split was the most miracle filled day of my mission! We saw way too many miracles I did not feel worthy! I'll share a couple but there were definitely more! 

When we were heading to an area where there is a big university I started talking to a guy on the train and he was immediately very friendly! We had to go but as I was leaving I asked him if he believed in God and he said yes! I asked him how come! He said well there just has to be! Sooo cool! Also met a dude that's like I know an American! Turns out he met with other elders before! 

On the train back we talked to a Indian guy and it really didn't go anywhere because he couldn't really understand us... We were like what church do you go to and he was like... Yes! Hahaha but we got off a station past where we were going and as we were waiting we met a guy and goon the train he was going on to talk to him. He was pretty cool and it turned out the train was a rapid that went way far... So we asked him how to get back he took the train all the way back to make sure we're getting where we needed to go! So nice! After I asked him if he had fun plans for tonight and he was like no. I was like dang.. We're going to karage ramen! You should come! And he was like ok! Hahahaha what!? So we went with him that night and taught him about prayer and God! He lives really far out of our area but it was really good just to introduce him to the church and become good friends!

A few more miracles later we were heading back to do our exchange review and said hi to a guy. We were right outside the church and he was like yeah I've thought about coming to eikaiwa (English class) but then I found out it was free... I figured there was a catch! Haha! We told him the reason we have it is because Jesus Christ was a huge example of service and so we do it because Japanese people love English! Also we love to find people who might be interested in our church. We were like this is kinda sudden but do you want a tour of the church? He agreed and we went in, it happened to be that there were a few members in there and we asked them like what their fav part of church is and stuff! It was super cool! 

After our split, although we saw lots of miracles I wasn't that happy... For certain reasons...lets just say our personalities are a bit different... But this is a good thing! I was kind of looking forward to getting away from my companion for a day but I found that I really missed him and his weird ways. This split was perfect because we found looooots of people we can meet with and I gained a loooooooooooot more appreciation for my companion. Things are going so well now... Well there are still those things but I just kind ignore them! I've been asking God to soften my heart and boy did he pull through! I've got some repenting and thanks to give! So things are going pretty well now! :) 

We went out to see a less active man we've been seeing. He's not in very good health so sometimes he can't talk to us. We got there and he said it's too cold to talk out here sorry. He gave us some radishes though... A lot of radishes... Probably like 10... We weren't sure what to do with them so my comp was like lets give them to the talbots! So we went over and asked if they wanted them they said yes! They said come in for a minute! We sat for a second and they said if you stay for a few more minutes we have a little kids eikaiwa (English class) we teach if you could help us we'd love it! Anyone who knows me knows that that's pretty much like saying Christmas came early and we have all these presents for you...  Ahhhhh it was so much fun! Japanese kids are cute.... But Japanese kids speaking English? Ohhhhhhh myyyyyy Goooooddddnesssss! Too cute! Then after we had ping pong night. There was a little girl there who never comes and was there cuz her mom had to be upstairs doing something for church I came in and she was way excited to see me she wanted to play ping pong with me way bad!! It was too fun then we let someone else have a turn and I showed her how to do kendama and she was like "mi te te! Mi te te!" (Watch watch) every time she'd try and when she got it she'd just look at me wide eyed it was soooo cool! Then she showed me her game thing and she's like mi te te! Ahhhhhh! Yes I'm focused on the work but... That day was probably the most "I want kids soooooo bad!" Day of my whole life!! 

We met a guy two weeks ago... And we'll he took like 30 minutes to write down our email and try to get it on a infrared thing on the phone. But he came to the baptism and to church! He's mad shy but I think he likes the feeling he gets when he meets with us and at church and stuff! He's so great! I sure hope something happens with him! His name is Yasuzawa! We have the same first kanji so thats sick! 

This email is already too long so I won't talk a ton about it but we had a meeting with the bishop about our vision and it was so sick! He said something that really hit me. He said I tell my sons that you should make it your goal to not baptize anyone on your mission! I cannot stress enough how much we are not here to baptize people but in this he means that it is the members job to be the person that baptizes. The missionaries come and go but if it is a member they will always be there to support them and just a million other reasons. I think this is so cool! Obviously there are going to be different situations but for now I'm thinking I don't want to baptize anyone! I hope those of you that kind of cringe at that take a step back and look at what missionary work is. A sister shared with us how people are scared to do missionary work because they think they fail because their friend didn't get baptized... Even if they brought them closer to christ they feel discouraged! Let's rejoice in bringing people closer to Christ! Not baptisms! As is says in our purpose we use repentance baptism the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end to invite others to come unto christ. We use these things to help them get closer to Christ! 

Challenge! 

Last week was talk to an old person! This week is PLAY WITH A KID! And not just play with them but remember how it was to be a kid and how much you wanted to play with the cool older person! Idk about you but I still remember random older people and how cool they were! Be that older person! Haha Also do it for me because I can't really play with them as a missionary... Unless you're a missionary then just give a kid candy. (I carry a bunch of candy in my bag for the only purpose of giving it to kids) remember what good of a influence you can be and think of how those kids will always remember the cool missionary who always gave them candy all the time! 

Tweets of the Week! 

 

All the homies in the America Missions in the East getting lots of snow! Stay safe! #SnowWay #ourfeetarecoldbutourheartsarewarm

Hahahaha we were housing and we started talking to this guy about our church he said sorry but I'm actually sick right now... My comp then says oh! Well you can call us anytime... It's kind of hard to explain but we actually have a special strength that can heal people! Bahahaha you should have seen the look on his face! #toosoon

We met a guy going to Brisbane Australia for 3 months I told him to find people with a name tag. #yoroshiku #brisbanehomiesfindhim! 

When the guy on the train said "there just has to be" I thought of Matt when he was sleep talking asking me if I thought Care Bears were real... And he said I mean they just GOOOOTTA be! Hahaha #eldermeese #steve403 #sleepymatt #gatsbyiscoming 

S/O to Isaac for emailing me! #bestdayever! #peru #youdo 

There is a Pakistani man who comes to our Eikaiwa he literally looks like one of the characters from Fat Alberta when they come out of the a TV! #ballpitfoamcoloredSuit #nicestdudeever #curi!

I imagine sisters apartments just looking like a hobby lobby... #CRAFTSALLDAYSON!

In Japan Dr. Pepper only has 20 different flavors... #iwonderwhatonestheytookout #iwantmy3flavorsback 

Our bishop and ward mission leader are the freaking greatest people! #tetueni #hatori

This week has been one of the happiest if not the happiest of my mission so far! Thank you so much for all your support and prayers they mean the world to me! I am so freaking blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life! I love you! 

Love, Rice, and MI TE TE! 

Elder Kodomo! (Kid) 

Can't catch a break... But I can catch a cold!

Well... I'm sick again... So there's that... Not nearly as bad as last time though! On the up side this week was really good! Mostly because we had a conference and it was the best! 

We had the opportunity this week to hear from Elder Ballard! I absolutely loved it! It was really cool because Elder Ballard and the people he was traveling with didnt have talks prepared they said no one knew what was going to happen when they got there! He got up and said we'll see what happens when! I absolutely love that about him! He just talked to us! No talks or things prepared and the spirit was so strong. I love it because no one will ever experience exactly what we did. Sometimes apostles have talks ready and share the same one in several places. That's great but him just talking to us really made us feel super special and it invited the spirit so well. The south mission joined us during this conference and it was so great! The sense of power behind 400 missionaries all in Tokyo was something I can't ever describe! It was also way too fun to see my friends from the MTC and friends I knew from before! It was weird how everyone can speak Japanese though.... Hahaha! I have such a new sense of motivation now knowing all my friends are out here doing the same thing as me! Even the same place as me!! 

This week we went to the old folks home to spend some time with them and teach them English! There are a ton of people in there that are like 99 and still jumping around! We enjoyed talking to them and showing them our pictures! They are so fun and crazy! Haha 

We go to Japanese class because we have a friend there that as soon as his neck gets better he is gonna come to church but we weren't really sure if we should go but we decided why not and we went. it turned out that some dude that hasn't been forever came to teach. I got taught by both of them and it was pretty cool. He saw my notebook that I wrote my name in and he's like graffiti! Do you like hip hop? I love hip hop they call me t dog! Hahaha He's kinda is a floater... He saves up money and then travels by himself. He lived all over New York for a couple years and he's going to like 3 country's next year just of live there! He seemed mad interested in me and the church and stuff so I told him a little. He then told me he takes Eikaiwa classes right by where we live and I was like bro... We teach free English class... He was like what!? He's coming next week! But he gave a me card with his name and contact and on the back it said "spare time" and had every time where he was free! What!? This is a missionaries dream! Hahaha but as I was telling my comp about what went down and we were stoked. As we walked out he was waiting for us and was like lets go eat! So we went out to go eat and had a way good conversation and he even bought us lunch! We're not too sure about his interest but he is going to come to eikaiwa and ping pong night. He is so awesome! I taught him about prayer and it went really well! We'll see!

This week my patience was tested again... God wants me to learn a ton of patience.... As a zone we have had a goal to give out a Book of Mormon every day. It was getting to the end of the day and lets just say my comp really wanted to hand one out... We met a Brazillian guy and started talking he said he was actually going to church to study the bible! He talked about how his brother is mormon in brazil and as for himself he goes to a different church here that is close by where we live! He studies the bible all the time and was just so awesome. Everytime he'd try to say something or I'd try to say something my comp got annoyed and just started talking about the Book of Mormon stuff that didn't even fit into our conversation. At the end he said he had to go and my comp was like you have to take this please take this... He actually said he had one already... Then he was like but do you have a Japanese one? Please take this one! Yep... I'm fine with goals but when we forget the real reason we are out here they make me kinda mad... We aren't here to hand out book of Mormons were here to use the Book of Mormon to hand out salvation! Yep.... I'll stop talking like this I just had to get this one out... Sorry! 

Challenge of the week! 

Go talk to an old person! What!? That sounds weird! When we think of that it sounds super boring but holy cow it's awesome hearing stories of the past! It's so cool! We have these amazing people living all around us that just want to share their amazing stories that only they know! They are like walking history books! You have the opportunity to make someone's day by just talking to them! I promise it will mean a lot to them and to you to! You never know when they could pass away... Kinda harsh but it's true... So go out and talk to one! 

Tweeeeeeets!

S/O to the South Homies! It was sooooo good to see everyone again! Made me miss my other MTC Homies though... :( #s/otothehomiesinkobesendainagoyaandsapporo

Shouto outou tsu Bryson shimai! #ramenisgood #KoroshitteiruYo! #heysendmeyourweeklies

Is there a translation for Homies in Japanese? #UchiHito? #IeJin? #Kedachi? 

As I was reading in Preach My Gospel I read about fasting and I thought of this... (Someone probably already thought of it but..) We fast when we are spiritually HUNGRY! 2 Nephi 9:51

S/O to Braxton because we had Brush Hour in Japan this week! #BrushHour #missmybrushinghomie #hesmychristucker 

Going out in normal people clothes is the weirdest thing in the whole entire world...  #feelingnormal #thatswhatmylegslooklike... 

Saw a poster for Fault in Our Stars and in Japanese they translated it to... zetai hoshi no sei janai! which is like "its absolutely not the stars fault!" bahahaha #translationftw 

I was walking one day and I just had a thought... If me and Cowan or Addi were comps we'd be jammin every single minute of every day and probably become a mormon missionary sensation! Also probably would convert the world... #Musicmission #jamminforjesus #wheremyboysat? #nagoyaandsendaiaretoofaraway

The world continues to be stupid little! There is a rm sister in my stake who came to talk for our sacrament that lived with my friend in Kobe on her mission and knew my other friends in the Kobe mission! #OhataShimai 

Got told by a new sister from Hawaii we were related... She knew who I was before I met her and was like ARE YOU ELDER ADACHI! #hawaiiansistah #ohana 

Also... Another elder said they met a member who said they were related to an Elder Adachi serving in Tokyo... I'm the only Adachi serving in Tokyo... 

Can we talk about how weird it is that my friends speak Japanese now???? #iknowitalkaboutthisalot... 

Dear Elder Critter... Quit not seeing me places! 

Sincerely, if I don't get to hug you at Nelson conference I'll kill you! 

S/O to Sister Holmgren who goes to the MTC this week! #seeyaintokyo! 

Love you all too much! Hope everything going well! Love youuuu! 

Love, Rice, and Old folks! 

Elder Ie Jin.... Well... I'm sick again... So there's that... Not nearly as bad as last time though! On the up side this week was really good! Mostly because we had a conference and it was the best! 

We had the opportunity this week to hear from Elder Ballard! I absolutely loved it! It was really cool because Elder Ballard and the people he was traveling with didnt have talks prepared they said no one knew what was going to happen when they got there! He got up and said we'll see what happens when! I absolutely love that about him! He just talked to us! No talks or things prepared and the spirit was so strong. I love it because no one will ever experience exactly what we did. Sometimes apostles have talks ready and share the same one in several places. That's great but him just talking to us really made us feel super special and it invited the spirit so well. The south mission joined us during this conference and it was so great! The sense of power behind 400 missionaries all in Tokyo was something I can't ever describe! It was also way too fun to see my friends from the MTC and friends I knew from before! It was weird how everyone can speak Japanese though.... Hahaha! I have such a new sense of motivation now knowing all my friends are out here doing the same thing as me! Even the same place as me!! 

This week we went to the old folks home to spend some time with them and teach them English! There are a ton of people in there that are like 99 and still jumping around! We enjoyed talking to them and showing them our pictures! They are so fun and crazy! Haha 

We go to Japanese class because we have a friend there that as soon as his neck gets better he is gonna come to church but we weren't really sure if we should go but we decided why not and we went. it turned out that some dude that hasn't been forever came to teach. I got taught by both of them and it was pretty cool. He saw my notebook that I wrote my name in and he's like graffiti! Do you like hip hop? I love hip hop they call me t dog! Hahaha He's kinda is a floater... He saves up money and then travels by himself. He lived all over New York for a couple years and he's going to like 3 country's next year just of live there! He seemed mad interested in me and the church and stuff so I told him a little. He then told me he takes Eikaiwa classes right by where we live and I was like bro... We teach free English class... He was like what!? He's coming next week! But he gave a me card with his name and contact and on the back it said "spare time" and had every time where he was free! What!? This is a missionaries dream! Hahaha but as I was telling my comp about what went down and we were stoked. As we walked out he was waiting for us and was like lets go eat! So we went out to go eat and had a way good conversation and he even bought us lunch! We're not too sure about his interest but he is going to come to eikaiwa and ping pong night. He is so awesome! I taught him about prayer and it went really well! We'll see!

This week my patience was tested again... God wants me to learn a ton of patience.... As a zone we have had a goal to give out a Book of Mormon every day. It was getting to the end of the day and lets just say my comp really wanted to hand one out... We met a Brazillian guy and started talking he said he was actually going to church to study the bible! He talked about how his brother is mormon in brazil and as for himself he goes to a different church here that is close by where we live! He studies the bible all the time and was just so awesome. Everytime he'd try to say something or I'd try to say something my comp got annoyed and just started talking about the Book of Mormon stuff that didn't even fit into our conversation. At the end he said he had to go and my comp was like you have to take this please take this... He actually said he had one already... Then he was like but do you have a Japanese one? Please take this one! Yep... I'm fine with goals but when we forget the real reason we are out here they make me kinda mad... We aren't here to hand out book of Mormons were here to use the Book of Mormon to hand out salvation! Yep.... I'll stop talking like this I just had to get this one out... Sorry! 

Challenge of the week! 

Go talk to an old person! What!? That sounds weird! When we think of that it sounds super boring but holy cow it's awesome hearing stories of the past! It's so cool! We have these amazing people living all around us that just want to share their amazing stories that only they know! They are like walking history books! You have the opportunity to make someone's day by just talking to them! I promise it will mean a lot to them and to you to! You never know when they could pass away... Kinda harsh but it's true... So go out and talk to one! 

Tweeeeeeets!

S/O to the South Homies! It was sooooo good to see everyone again! Made me miss my other MTC Homies though... :( #s/otothehomiesinkobesendainagoyaandsapporo

Shouto outou tsu Bryson shimai! #ramenisgood #KoroshitteiruYo! #heysendmeyourweeklies

Is there a translation for Homies in Japanese? #UchiHito? #IeJin? #Kedachi? 

As I was reading in Preach My Gospel I read about fasting and I thought of this... (Someone probably already thought of it but..) We fast when we are spiritually HUNGRY! 2 Nephi 9:51

S/O to Braxton because we had Brush Hour in Japan this week! #BrushHour #missmybrushinghomie #hesmychristucker 

Going out in normal people clothes is the weirdest thing in the whole entire world...  #feelingnormal #thatswhatmylegslooklike... 

Saw a poster for Fault in Our Stars and in Japanese they translated it to... zetai hoshi no sei janai! which is like "its absolutely not the stars fault!" bahahaha #translationftw 

I was walking one day and I just had a thought... If me and Cowan or Addi were comps we'd be jammin every single minute of every day and probably become a mormon missionary sensation! Also probably would convert the world... #Musicmission #jamminforjesus #wheremyboysat? #nagoyaandsendaiaretoofaraway

The world continues to be stupid little! There is a rm sister in my stake who came to talk for our sacrament that lived with my friend in Kobe on her mission and knew my other friends in the Kobe mission! #OhataShimai 

Got told by a new sister from Hawaii we were related... She knew who I was before I met her and was like ARE YOU ELDER ADACHI! #hawaiiansistah #ohana 

Also... Another elder said they met a member who said they were related to an Elder Adachi serving in Tokyo... I'm the only Adachi serving in Tokyo... 

Can we talk about how weird it is that my friends speak Japanese now???? #iknowitalkaboutthisalot... 

Dear Elder Critter... Quit not seeing me places! 

Sincerely, if I don't get to hug you at Nelson conference I'll kill you! 

S/O to Sister Holmgren who goes to the MTC this week! #seeyaintokyo! 

Love you all too much! Hope everything going well! Love youuuu! 

Love, Rice, and Old folks! 

Elder Ie Jin.... 

Subject Line ;)

This week was way fast... Yet it was still rough... Like I said mission time is sooooo weird! But I deff learned a ton this week. Mostly about what kind of person I want to always make sure I am being no matter how frustrated or mad or tired I am especially as a representative of the lord. I think too many times missionaries forget that. Here's some nonsense from the week! 

We were at the train station and walking out and we said hi to someone. He was like wait have we met before? We were like no, we just thought you looked cool! Before we even told him who we were he said my brothers Mormon. He lives in Utah now! What!? He then said he is actually taking lessons from Jehovah witnesses but he said I have no intention of joining their church. If I came back to church it would be to this church. He is actually a less active member! He told us he's been kinda dealing with his mental illness but he is doing a lot better. He said he's actually thinking of coming back! He gave us his address and was like come visit me! That was crazy! Seriously such a cool experience! Many times I've witnessed that God puts people in our path for us to help!

The kid who called us after we gave him our number a couple weeks ago Mizuki came to the church and we gave him a church tour and had a way good talk. He kept on asking the perfect questions and we were able to explain the whole plan of salvation with him! When we ended in prayer he said thanks that was cool! Now let me show you mine and he pulled out a fan and said some stuff and said that's our prayer for showing thanks! It was kinda weird but kinda cool! He told us after that he had some time Sunday and he was really stoked to come to church! We were really excited it seemed like all our hard work finally got us someone to help! But he texted us Saturday night and told us he liked talking about religion but his family is very Buddhist and he couldn't do anything with the church anymore even though he really wants to... That would happen...

We had zone conference this week and we talked a lot about the power of one. It reminded me of the quote I may only be one.... But I am one. The difference one person, one conversation, one flyer, one word, one smile can do is crazy! We never do things all at once if we think like that the task ahead seems impossible! If we do it one by one, step by step we can succeed and through each step we can make a difference! Also... #WEAREONE! #john17:22

One day the wind was way strong and we were out on the street and we saw this old woman fall over. We rushed over to help her up and her head was bleeding! I grabbed some tissues and gave them to her to hold her head. She kept saying thank you and I'm ok I'll just go home. I asked her if there was anyone to take care of her and she said no so I was like no I'm not gonna let you go home! My comp said well the bleeding stopped I think she's ok, but there was a giant crack in her head! He also said some other stuff and well I told him to call the ambulance. She kept saying no please don't I don't want to go back to the hospital and I was like please you need to at least get looked at and cleaned up by the paramedics and she was like no it's ok but she was pretty calm. I then told her well I'm not going to leave you and have to think about if you're ok later so can you stay for me please and then she agreed. There was another lady that stayed and helped her too and they kept looking at me and kept saying isn't he cute and so nice :) She kept on saying thank you thank you random people helping me so nice thank you thank you. She was so sweet! I won't tell you what happened with my comp because it's really sad but idk he just said something's that should not have been said especially in the tone of voice. It really made me think of who we are representing and we need to be careful at all times. It really hurt me... I told him that later and we had a talk. I asked him if that show he would want someone to treat his grandma like that if that happened to her. And what the Savior would do. He said sorry and he needs to learn more patience and stuff so it was good... 

The past few weeks I've been working on strengthening my testimony and my relationship with my Heavenly Father and Savior. I'm gonna be honest it's been hard recently. I've been confused as to why things are happening or not happening especially when they do or don't...Gods plan for me has been really hard to understand right now. I know it's perfect and it's to make me stronger and for things to come but this has been the hardest time in my life to be able to understand that.

Challenge of the Week!

We have those times every week at least where our patience is tested when we lose our cool. Whenever that is about to happen step back and think about what you are about to do. If you think that you will still be ok with your choice after you do it then do it... But if you think even a little bit that you might regret it... It's probably not something you really want to do and you're just tired or frustrated. If we control what we usually can't control we can discover our true character. The opposite is true when we can't control something often enough... That becomes our character. Idk if that made sense. It makes sense in my mind but idk... Anyways in simple terms.... Take a chill pill! 

Twit

Super sketched out about the letter I sent to Honduras.... Hope they find between the boulevard and price smart.... the post office lady was like yeah... There's no guarantee it gets there like if it gets lost there's nothing we can do... #bestokedforyouletterin2monthskenz! 

I need to learn to write shorter letters.... #novels #sorry! #wentHAMonlettersthisweekthough #allcaughtup!   

I bet Valentine's tweets are down 80% cuz im not on Twitter! #singleawarenessday 

You know on like action movies how there's like a montage of someone who is like really good at something... What if there's a missionary like that? Like he "accidentally" falls in front of people to help them or like grabs their wallet and then yells out sir you dropped you wallet! Idk stuff like that... #thisiswhatidaydreamabout #superheroesarentathing #supermissionariesare! #missionaryman! 

We played telephone for English Class and I was up and a sister whispered in my ear will you be my valentine? It was probably the weirdest thing in the world to hear. I was like wow! This is so sudden! We're missionaries sister! Haha #dangerousterritory #33paigi! #page33!

Have I ever mentioned that Shin is the coolest? I gave him a little note and a picture of us and he looked at it and just said takaramono which means treasure :) 

Shoutout to mom for sending me the biggest package of awesomeness ever! #arigatou! 

The trains are magic... Straight up witchcraft! They literally are endless and it doesn't make sense to me! They come like every 8 minutes and only go one way... #nooneexplainittome #itwillruinthemagic! 

Love you lots never forget it! 

Love, Rice, and TRAIN MAGIC!

Elder Kengooooo!

Ue o muite arukou!

Well this was a long week but I have to say that it's helped my testimony grow! I sure am beyond grateful for all the support I have! I love you guys all so much! 

We got played hard... So a few weeks ago we found a guy who was like hey can I have your number and seemed way interested. He actually lives quite a while away so we took the train to go meet him. When we got there we found that his friend was there too. It was unexpected and I was kinda scared how it would work out cuz it's always hard when they bring a friend the first time. We talked to them for an hour about what we believe. The questions they were asking were amazing! Like I was so excited to answer them because they basically just asked exactly what we were going to teach and they seemed like they had prepared questions for us! It was sick... But they actually did prepare questions for us and planned on making us feel good and explain our who religion in 1 hour... After that one hour they were like ok well now we have something to say. They started telling us everything we believe has to be wrong for such reasons. They said the reason we came here is to try to get you to drop everything and Try out our religion. We kept saying we had to go because of curfew but they kept talking. We ended up being late and I was so mad... Wasted 2 hours of our time and like $20 to get to them and get a drink with them... It made me so frustrated! Especially because it was the same day we got our transfer call to stay... But I did learn a lesson on setting expectations. Sometimes we'd meet with people back in my last area that I'd never met and my comp at the time found earlier and as I started talking with them I could just tell they had no idea what we were doing there or they thought we were just trying to be friends and kick it. It was good to be on the other side and see how it felt... Cept we kinda got played a little harder than that.

I had a thought come to my mind during planning that was like we have to visit Hoshi Kyodai tomorrow and so we did and.... HE CAN WALK! What!? It was the craziest thing to see! He rolled in and the nurse was like do you want to show them? Then she helped him stand up and he WALKED! The doctors said he'd never walk again! He kept crying and saying isn't it amazing!? This isn't my strength, it's the lords strength! He is such an amazing example to me that through Christ we can do anything! It was seriously such a cool moment being able to see that and perfect timing because he moved to a less intensive hospital a couple days later! When we put our trust in the Lord we can do ANYTHING! When the world is against us the lord is right by our side helping us push back! I am so dang proud of him and happy for him! 

We went to Japanese class because one of our potential investigators helps teach it. It's basically just like getting tutored cept this time I didn't get taught by him this lady taught me. I asked her at the start how she was and she's like... This year has been really hard. We then kind of just had a vent sesh and we're just like it's ok! We can do it! I was able to share with her a few things that I've learned through church and how God has helped me but I just kinda said it in not church language just normal conversation. She was way happy we talked and I think we helped each other a ton! She gave me her snoopy folder and she was like I hope this brightens your day! It wasn't a lesson and probably won't be anything but I shared a little light with her and that's what I came here to do! It was an awesome experience!  

We went and visited a kid that moved here and is having a hard time being in a new place. He was way stoked to see and talk to us and he told us he is wanting to go on a mission! It was really cool to be able to talk to him about it. That morning he said he was thinking about what he would do after he graduated and he wasn't sure. He was way stoked we came and talked to him! It's so cool that we get to help now 4 guys prepare for their missions! It's so exciting! Makes me think of when I was thinking about it and starting to get ready! So exciting! 

Well that's about all I have to say this week... Mission time is honestly the weirdest thing in the world... Like this week was sooooo long but last week was way fast. It has a lot to do with how many miracles you get to see a week.... Haha but it's been good. Gods really been softening my heart to a lot of stuff I've been dumb about. This week I really tried to find myself... If that makes sense I would tell you the details but it was a spiritual rebirth this week and I glad I had some awesome people support me... Well today and last week but the feeling carries on throughout the week! But I tried something kinda... Different this week and well I don't think I'll tell you for a few different reasons but it was really good for me and I figured some things out! 

Challenge this week! 

I want you to make your prayers meaningful! I want you to try to pray with the mindset of I am speaking with my father in heaven. A lot of the times we get in the routine of dear Heavenly Father were thankful for this day... NO STOP THAT! Make them more meaningful I have tried it this week and it has really helped. At night I don't list off people anymore I pray for people who I feel need extra blessings and it has become way more meaningful! If praying is feeling like a chore that's probably when you have to step back and figure out why you are praying. Try it! I tried it and it was amazing! 

Tweets next level...

So every year on February 3rd in Japan they have this holiday... HAHAHAHAHA I didn't believe it until I saw it in the store but... You get a demon mask and someone puts it on and walks into the house then to get rid of the evil spirit you throw... Peanuts at it! It was too much fun! #itswasNUTS #evil...BEGONE! #thatonewasforyouTerra! 

I hit my 6 month mark! It's taken forever but has also flown by! #missiontime #1/4th #gettinold #February6th

S/O to Judy because she told me something I REEEEEALLY needed to hear! Love youuuu! #asiansistah #thankyou! 

Happy Single Awareness Day everyone! In Japan Valentine's Day is actually when only girls give guys stuff... Hint hint.... #ilikebowsandhearts <3

Next month on the 14th is White day which is when guys give girls stuff ;) #bestoked 

Get to see all the South mission homies in March! Too stoked! #southhomies #whycantwejoinbackup? #ijustwannadohoodratstuffwithmahfriends

Facebook would be out of business if it weren't for Moms posting pictures of their kids and how beautiful they've become, newlywed wives who are posting about their new etsy shop and sponsored posts they try to make look natural and missionaries... 

There's this Karage (fried chicken) Ramen right by our apartment... It is hands down the most delicious thing in the world! Also the most gangster OG old man makes it so... #keepinginRawMan #yummm #OMORI! #OGpapamein 

You know you've succeeded when you have to lean back after you've eaten to avoid falling over because of how much food is in your tummy! #onakaPANPAN! #potchari #FatBoiLyfe 

Had a dream I talked to this nice lady and she was way interested in the gospel but she was from america... So I got a way sick referral for the homies in Alabama! #eveninmydreamsimgettingworkdone! #baptiseher! 

You know you're in Japan when... You talk to someone who is jogging and he tells you he does it everyday for 3 hours and he's 87 years old and you're not surprised. #stillkickinit #87yearoldslook60 #AsiansdontAge 

S/O to Kira for posting the cutest thing ever! #sorryicantlikeit... #homiesforlife #luffyou! 

I can't tell you how much the support has helped me this week especially! Thank you for writing me letters and emailing me I looooooove you! 

Love, Rice, and AH WALK IT OUT!

Love,

Elder Karage Ramen