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Saturday, September 29, 2012
Does it count as a week if it doesn't feel like a week? 29 Sep 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Guess who's legal to drive in 47 countries!
I don't know how I ever
thought that anywhere else was a wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey loop, but man, this
life in the mission home is throwing me for a loop. There times where I
don't have a ton of things to do so I work on inventorying the back room or
finding things to do and time seems to take forever, and then there are times
where I have to finalize drafts for the weekly newsletter and get things typed
out, printed, faxed, scanned, and all sorts of other things, and time flies
like lightning! Something about translating into Japanese seems to eat
time like nothing else. It's been a way fun week!
So this week we got to have the grand release of our first weekly newsletter, the FM mini News! Last week I sent you the draft that I made for the previous week, and it's gone through a good number of changes since them. I'm still trying to decide whether I like the layout of it or not, but I've been receiving some pretty good feedback from other missionaries, so I think it's pretty good :) So I think I'm just supposed to be in charge of the whole thing, the spiritual message, the spotlights, ideas for proselyting, missionary quotes, and the peek around the mission.... it's been a great blessing for me so far. A lot of my time is spent going through messages from the brethren, and watching Mormon messages, seeing if there's anything that I can apply in the mission. It's also been a great way for me to get to know people around the mission that I've never met before through the interviews for the spotlight each week. As much stress as it is, it's great! Hey, I don't know if any of you have seen the CES devotional from this past Sunday or not, but I highly recommend it! WATCH IT, it's good things!
I've heard that it's been super pretty weather in North Carolina recently! I'm jealous, it's been kind of rainy here recently. I don't know if I've ever seen so much dry lightning before, but I think it's pretty cool. It's a lot more fun to go lightning watching when it's not raining.... as weird as that sounds, it's been really fun! Also we've heard rumors of a super typhoon coming through Okinawa this week. We have Elder Yamashita of the Area Presidency over Japan and Korea coming to visit next week, so it'll be interesting getting around the super-typhoon Sanba for the APs and President. Luckily I only have to drive around Fukuoka and not from city to city! But I think that that would actually be easier.... Fukuoka is a big city and the streets are tiny.
Oh yeah, I didn't even say it but, this past Thursday we got Elder Watanabe and I an international license that lets us drive in Japan without having to take the notorious driving test! It's way cool and it comes with a little pamphlet that has it translated into 9 languages. So I'm perfectly fine to go and drive most everywhere in the world now :D.
But as far as driving goes, I've so far only driven in the middle of rush hour, so my view of Japan is vans, busses, and all sorts of vehicles streaming past you within inches of your car. Elder Clements told me to remember "They don't want to get hit just as much as you don't want to get hit"... then he followed that with "well, at least that's what I hope they think." I'm not sure if that's supposed to be reassuring or not.
Our baptismal date ended up getting pushed back a couple of weeks. He's still a little worried about changing religions, but we've been helping him focus on developing a belief in Christ and in his role. Because he has work every day it's been hard to meet with him more than once a week, but with e-mail and phone calls hopefully we'll be able to help him have the contact with the spirit that he needs to make the decision to be baptized! He knows this church is good, and he likes the changes it's brought in his life... now he just needs to know that it's true. And prayer is the only way how, and he knows that, and he's doing great working toward that goal.
"You know, someone, in life, someone in the 21st century, someone in all these situations has to live his or her religion. Because otherwise, all we get is a whole bunch of idiots, acting like moral pygmies" ~Jeffery R. Holland (I told you you should go watch the talk!)
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
So this week we got to have the grand release of our first weekly newsletter, the FM mini News! Last week I sent you the draft that I made for the previous week, and it's gone through a good number of changes since them. I'm still trying to decide whether I like the layout of it or not, but I've been receiving some pretty good feedback from other missionaries, so I think it's pretty good :) So I think I'm just supposed to be in charge of the whole thing, the spiritual message, the spotlights, ideas for proselyting, missionary quotes, and the peek around the mission.... it's been a great blessing for me so far. A lot of my time is spent going through messages from the brethren, and watching Mormon messages, seeing if there's anything that I can apply in the mission. It's also been a great way for me to get to know people around the mission that I've never met before through the interviews for the spotlight each week. As much stress as it is, it's great! Hey, I don't know if any of you have seen the CES devotional from this past Sunday or not, but I highly recommend it! WATCH IT, it's good things!
I've heard that it's been super pretty weather in North Carolina recently! I'm jealous, it's been kind of rainy here recently. I don't know if I've ever seen so much dry lightning before, but I think it's pretty cool. It's a lot more fun to go lightning watching when it's not raining.... as weird as that sounds, it's been really fun! Also we've heard rumors of a super typhoon coming through Okinawa this week. We have Elder Yamashita of the Area Presidency over Japan and Korea coming to visit next week, so it'll be interesting getting around the super-typhoon Sanba for the APs and President. Luckily I only have to drive around Fukuoka and not from city to city! But I think that that would actually be easier.... Fukuoka is a big city and the streets are tiny.
Oh yeah, I didn't even say it but, this past Thursday we got Elder Watanabe and I an international license that lets us drive in Japan without having to take the notorious driving test! It's way cool and it comes with a little pamphlet that has it translated into 9 languages. So I'm perfectly fine to go and drive most everywhere in the world now :D.
But as far as driving goes, I've so far only driven in the middle of rush hour, so my view of Japan is vans, busses, and all sorts of vehicles streaming past you within inches of your car. Elder Clements told me to remember "They don't want to get hit just as much as you don't want to get hit"... then he followed that with "well, at least that's what I hope they think." I'm not sure if that's supposed to be reassuring or not.
Our baptismal date ended up getting pushed back a couple of weeks. He's still a little worried about changing religions, but we've been helping him focus on developing a belief in Christ and in his role. Because he has work every day it's been hard to meet with him more than once a week, but with e-mail and phone calls hopefully we'll be able to help him have the contact with the spirit that he needs to make the decision to be baptized! He knows this church is good, and he likes the changes it's brought in his life... now he just needs to know that it's true. And prayer is the only way how, and he knows that, and he's doing great working toward that goal.
"You know, someone, in life, someone in the 21st century, someone in all these situations has to live his or her religion. Because otherwise, all we get is a whole bunch of idiots, acting like moral pygmies" ~Jeffery R. Holland (I told you you should go watch the talk!)
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Hello from the basement of the Fukuoka Temple! 8 Sep 2012
So usually in order to write
these blogs I look at my daily planner for the past week and write things from
it. However, since coming to the Honbu, my planner has become full of
notes and plans for things to do in the Honbu, and less and less full of the
things that I have actually done..... Oops. It seems like so much more is
getting packed into each week now, let's see how much I can remember.
So let's start with Sunday. So church is from 10 to 1 here, just like everywhere else I've been, which is kind of weird now that I think about it..... But it was Fast Sunday so all of the new missionaries (there are 3 of us new in the ward) got to bear their testimony and have a short little introduction. I'm the official translator for the ward now, so when it came my turn to go up and bear my testimony, I was somewhere between 'translate mode' and 'japanese mode' so it came out really awkward. In Japanese I said おはようございました、which isn't even a word.... I meant to say good morning in Japanese, and I mostly got it out, but, man, there's really no good way to explain how wrong it is in English, but I was kind of embarrassed... it did however provide a pretty good introduction to the ward. I like to say that it just showed that they have a fun-lovin' missionary who just came in... yeah, let's go with that one. [Carol’s note: roughly translated it meant, “Thank you very much and good morning!] We ended up having 3 investigators at church that day, and it was a really good Sunday service.
One of the investigators we have actually has a baptism date set for the 15th! He's from one of the oldest families around this area in Japan, and actually stands in line to inherit a Buddhist Temple. So that's one of the concerns with how we're going to work with him from here on out. It is possible to be a Mormon and own a Buddhist temple? He's a super good guy. He really just wants to know the truth and know how he can follow God more perfectly. He said that ever since coming to church that his whole life has been changed. He was like, "it's one of those things that you can't really explain, but you've felt it, and I know you know what I mean." It's true. It's really hard to explain exactly what it is that's different from going and being active in the church, but it's different, and once you've felt the difference, it's hard to imagine life in any other way. "It's true isn't it, so what else matters?"
One of the hardest things that I've been trying to balance is working in the office and still finding time to do missionary work. I just got a new assignment to make a weekly newsletter for the mission. So I've been busy making that newsletter, booking hotels for the Mission President’s crazy schedule, and fixing the data in the computer so that it is up to date, and free of holes. It's been a lot of fun actually creating the newsletter and gathering items for it, but it is time consuming, especially when it comes to translating it into Japanese! But I've been getting a lot of practice translating back and forth from Japanese to English, so hopefully I'll be able to get it right (luckily, I have a Japanese companion who can always correct it!)
Well, apparently it's really imperative that I get my license here in the Honbu to shuttle people around, so, I guess I have to take the infamous Japanese driving test. I've heard it called more of an automotive acrobatics exercise. In Japan, no matter where you are, everyone backs up into their parking space. It doesn't matter if you have to cross over into oncoming traffic to give yourself room to maneuver or not, you're going to back up your car. And the streets here are about half the size of a small street in America, so I'm actually really worried about driving the big van around here. I've heard rumors of getting an international license to get around taking the test, but if I can't even get around the streets, maybe the test would be better. Elder Clements is actually going to take me out to practice driving the big vehicles in the Honbu, so it'll end up being some weird trainer/bean situation all over again, only more than a year after the initial fact. When am I going to see Elder Gandy again and teach him to drive?
Somehow I've become the computer guy in the Honbu, fixing internet problems, busted computers, or being the guy that goes through the church's IT support line. I swear, I've learned more about the ins and outs of microsoft works than I ever thought, or wanted to do.... but it's great.
Have a great week and remember...who you are!
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
So let's start with Sunday. So church is from 10 to 1 here, just like everywhere else I've been, which is kind of weird now that I think about it..... But it was Fast Sunday so all of the new missionaries (there are 3 of us new in the ward) got to bear their testimony and have a short little introduction. I'm the official translator for the ward now, so when it came my turn to go up and bear my testimony, I was somewhere between 'translate mode' and 'japanese mode' so it came out really awkward. In Japanese I said おはようございました、which isn't even a word.... I meant to say good morning in Japanese, and I mostly got it out, but, man, there's really no good way to explain how wrong it is in English, but I was kind of embarrassed... it did however provide a pretty good introduction to the ward. I like to say that it just showed that they have a fun-lovin' missionary who just came in... yeah, let's go with that one. [Carol’s note: roughly translated it meant, “Thank you very much and good morning!] We ended up having 3 investigators at church that day, and it was a really good Sunday service.
One of the investigators we have actually has a baptism date set for the 15th! He's from one of the oldest families around this area in Japan, and actually stands in line to inherit a Buddhist Temple. So that's one of the concerns with how we're going to work with him from here on out. It is possible to be a Mormon and own a Buddhist temple? He's a super good guy. He really just wants to know the truth and know how he can follow God more perfectly. He said that ever since coming to church that his whole life has been changed. He was like, "it's one of those things that you can't really explain, but you've felt it, and I know you know what I mean." It's true. It's really hard to explain exactly what it is that's different from going and being active in the church, but it's different, and once you've felt the difference, it's hard to imagine life in any other way. "It's true isn't it, so what else matters?"
One of the hardest things that I've been trying to balance is working in the office and still finding time to do missionary work. I just got a new assignment to make a weekly newsletter for the mission. So I've been busy making that newsletter, booking hotels for the Mission President’s crazy schedule, and fixing the data in the computer so that it is up to date, and free of holes. It's been a lot of fun actually creating the newsletter and gathering items for it, but it is time consuming, especially when it comes to translating it into Japanese! But I've been getting a lot of practice translating back and forth from Japanese to English, so hopefully I'll be able to get it right (luckily, I have a Japanese companion who can always correct it!)
Well, apparently it's really imperative that I get my license here in the Honbu to shuttle people around, so, I guess I have to take the infamous Japanese driving test. I've heard it called more of an automotive acrobatics exercise. In Japan, no matter where you are, everyone backs up into their parking space. It doesn't matter if you have to cross over into oncoming traffic to give yourself room to maneuver or not, you're going to back up your car. And the streets here are about half the size of a small street in America, so I'm actually really worried about driving the big van around here. I've heard rumors of getting an international license to get around taking the test, but if I can't even get around the streets, maybe the test would be better. Elder Clements is actually going to take me out to practice driving the big vehicles in the Honbu, so it'll end up being some weird trainer/bean situation all over again, only more than a year after the initial fact. When am I going to see Elder Gandy again and teach him to drive?
Somehow I've become the computer guy in the Honbu, fixing internet problems, busted computers, or being the guy that goes through the church's IT support line. I swear, I've learned more about the ins and outs of microsoft works than I ever thought, or wanted to do.... but it's great.
Have a great week and remember...who you are!
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
Sunday, September 2, 2012
The Shortest, Longest Week of My Mission - 1 Sep 2012
I don't know how else to
describe this past week but the shortest, longest, busiest, jam-packed week of
the mission.
This week was a special week for the Honbu (mission home) because we had all of the new and returning missionaries filtering through here. The new missionaries all come in on Tuesday night at like 10:00 and stay at the mission home until they leave for their areas on Thursday. Then the returning missionaries come in on Thursday, go through and do a temple session with all of the Honbu elders, have a testimony meeting, and leave on Friday to head back home. And somehow during all of this, I'm supposed to learn how a recorder works, make the FM news (Fukuoka mission newsletter) and organize the transfer board and the call board.... it was a bit of a busy week! :)
The first couple of days here we went out and met with as many members as we could before we got busy with the transfer schedule. We had a really nice meeting with the Bishop on Sunday and with this family with triplets on Monday night. I really like all of the ward members here in Fukuoka, I'm really excited to work here and I can't wait to see how this transfer goes. People have been telling me that it's really intimidating to work in Fukuoka Ward because there are a bunch of members that are returned APs from other missions, and most everybody has a strong opinion about what a missionary should be, and should be doing. But I think that'll be a great boost to learn from everybody and I'm excited to see some more miracles here in Fukuoka! At the meeting we had with the Bishop on Sunday I shared with them Mom's conversion story and they were all really moved and asked me to share it with everybody in the ward on Sunday. They noticed a lot of similarities between the problems they have as members in Japan (being so small in comparison) and being a member in a small branch being persecuted in the south and have the hardships be the source of your faith. I think it's definitely a message that is beneficial for all the members in Japan, and pretty much everywhere.
I think one of the things I am going to like most about being in the Honbu is the chance to work with all of the new missionaries as they come in every 6 weeks! One of my responsibilities as Recorder is Safety Coordinator for the mission covering bicycles and vehicles.... (I know, who would ever put Me in charge of safety for over 140 people?? 0_0) Which means that I have to get a license here in Japan, which is notorious for being a very nearly impossible test! Not to mention the fact that I haven't touched a car in over a year, the fact that it's all backwards, and I'll be driving a car that we affectionately call the "vanimal". But with the ability to drive, it becomes extremely important for all of the transportation needed for the new missionaries. I got to be part of picking them up, being with them for their first experience of dendo out in the streets, and, of course, getting all the hospitality from the Mission mom with meals every day! (I actually had my first real meal at our house today after being here for almost a week.... ) This group of missionaries is just an awesome bunch of fireballs. It's usual to see missionaries scared or a little timid as they come in, but this group just came out swinging and going at it, I'm really excited to see how they all go!
One of the other responsibilities I have is to do a presentation for all of the missionaries introducing them to all of the things that a Recorder does. The APs have a slide show already set up and I am just supposed to talk from that, but I had never seen any of the slide show before I actually had to stand up and present it. So I was seeing the slide show for the first time with the new missionaries (beans). I think from that slide show is where I learned more about what it is I am exactly supposed to do as a recorder, than from the previous 2 days.... I think the presentation went well though! One thing I'm in charge of is putting all of the data for baptisms in the mission (and essentially all data really) and I told them all that I'll be waiting for a letter from each of them this transfer telling me about their baptisms!
By far though, the best part of transfer week is the last temple session and testimony meeting of all of the missionaries going back home. This time we had 3 people finish their missions and 1 person taking a break for medical purposes. It was a little bit surreal because all four of them were missionaries that I had looked up to throughout my mission and I was so happy to be there at the end and see what their mission meant to each and every one of them. It was a special experience going through the temple with all of them and then having a nice evening with them. The testimony meeting was powerful, especially when the missionary who is going home for medical reasons spoke. He's a missionary that I've worked with closely before and have gotten to know pretty well. He talked about hope, conviction, and expressed a desire to finish the task that he has set out on. His words stuck with me and made me think, "Any missionaries that are struggling, thinking about going home, or having a hard time for any reason; they need to come and see this testimony at the end of the mission." You see the joy, the passion, and the testimony that each of them holds and the power gained from their missions. It's definitely an experience in my mission that I cannot, nor want, to forget.
I'm glad to come and work in this capacity here in the mission home and see the wonderful things that go on in the mission. It'll take a little getting used to the big city (now I'm in a maze again, but this one is with taller walls....) but it looks like it's going to be awesome!
I hope you all have a great week！
This week was a special week for the Honbu (mission home) because we had all of the new and returning missionaries filtering through here. The new missionaries all come in on Tuesday night at like 10:00 and stay at the mission home until they leave for their areas on Thursday. Then the returning missionaries come in on Thursday, go through and do a temple session with all of the Honbu elders, have a testimony meeting, and leave on Friday to head back home. And somehow during all of this, I'm supposed to learn how a recorder works, make the FM news (Fukuoka mission newsletter) and organize the transfer board and the call board.... it was a bit of a busy week! :)
The first couple of days here we went out and met with as many members as we could before we got busy with the transfer schedule. We had a really nice meeting with the Bishop on Sunday and with this family with triplets on Monday night. I really like all of the ward members here in Fukuoka, I'm really excited to work here and I can't wait to see how this transfer goes. People have been telling me that it's really intimidating to work in Fukuoka Ward because there are a bunch of members that are returned APs from other missions, and most everybody has a strong opinion about what a missionary should be, and should be doing. But I think that'll be a great boost to learn from everybody and I'm excited to see some more miracles here in Fukuoka! At the meeting we had with the Bishop on Sunday I shared with them Mom's conversion story and they were all really moved and asked me to share it with everybody in the ward on Sunday. They noticed a lot of similarities between the problems they have as members in Japan (being so small in comparison) and being a member in a small branch being persecuted in the south and have the hardships be the source of your faith. I think it's definitely a message that is beneficial for all the members in Japan, and pretty much everywhere.
I think one of the things I am going to like most about being in the Honbu is the chance to work with all of the new missionaries as they come in every 6 weeks! One of my responsibilities as Recorder is Safety Coordinator for the mission covering bicycles and vehicles.... (I know, who would ever put Me in charge of safety for over 140 people?? 0_0) Which means that I have to get a license here in Japan, which is notorious for being a very nearly impossible test! Not to mention the fact that I haven't touched a car in over a year, the fact that it's all backwards, and I'll be driving a car that we affectionately call the "vanimal". But with the ability to drive, it becomes extremely important for all of the transportation needed for the new missionaries. I got to be part of picking them up, being with them for their first experience of dendo out in the streets, and, of course, getting all the hospitality from the Mission mom with meals every day! (I actually had my first real meal at our house today after being here for almost a week.... ) This group of missionaries is just an awesome bunch of fireballs. It's usual to see missionaries scared or a little timid as they come in, but this group just came out swinging and going at it, I'm really excited to see how they all go!
One of the other responsibilities I have is to do a presentation for all of the missionaries introducing them to all of the things that a Recorder does. The APs have a slide show already set up and I am just supposed to talk from that, but I had never seen any of the slide show before I actually had to stand up and present it. So I was seeing the slide show for the first time with the new missionaries (beans). I think from that slide show is where I learned more about what it is I am exactly supposed to do as a recorder, than from the previous 2 days.... I think the presentation went well though! One thing I'm in charge of is putting all of the data for baptisms in the mission (and essentially all data really) and I told them all that I'll be waiting for a letter from each of them this transfer telling me about their baptisms!
By far though, the best part of transfer week is the last temple session and testimony meeting of all of the missionaries going back home. This time we had 3 people finish their missions and 1 person taking a break for medical purposes. It was a little bit surreal because all four of them were missionaries that I had looked up to throughout my mission and I was so happy to be there at the end and see what their mission meant to each and every one of them. It was a special experience going through the temple with all of them and then having a nice evening with them. The testimony meeting was powerful, especially when the missionary who is going home for medical reasons spoke. He's a missionary that I've worked with closely before and have gotten to know pretty well. He talked about hope, conviction, and expressed a desire to finish the task that he has set out on. His words stuck with me and made me think, "Any missionaries that are struggling, thinking about going home, or having a hard time for any reason; they need to come and see this testimony at the end of the mission." You see the joy, the passion, and the testimony that each of them holds and the power gained from their missions. It's definitely an experience in my mission that I cannot, nor want, to forget.
I'm glad to come and work in this capacity here in the mission home and see the wonderful things that go on in the mission. It'll take a little getting used to the big city (now I'm in a maze again, but this one is with taller walls....) but it looks like it's going to be awesome!
I hope you all have a great week！
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
PS: It feels really weird now that I have to sign official documents that are going to be on church file forever.... Or the fact that I am in charge of everybody's information as a missionary....
PPS: I never realized how much a hassle it was to book hotels for somebody else... especially in a different language!
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