New missionaries are
awesome. Ok, so here in this district we have an 18-year-old missionary
from Brazil that we are working with. Right now as a District Leader I'm
in charge of the growth and development of all of the missionaries I serve,
with a special focus on new missionaries. He may only be 18 (meaning he
was a freshman when I graduated High School!) but he's got dendo fire that's
contagious. (You should be proud of me in that I spelled contagious right
on my first try)
Wednesday we had a BBQ
planned over in Hiroshima and went with our one active young man, and the
seminary teacher. March 20 is a holiday in Japan (the
vernal solstice) so it was the perfect time for a BBQ and soccer, right?
Well, that's what we all thought; the weather just didn't want to agree.
The entire first part of the event was spent huddled under a tree trying
to cook the meat without it getting watered down by the torrential rain that
decided to fall that day. It very much reminded me of many a scout camp
I've been on... The whole stake was invited but
the participants ended up being half Mihara and Kure branches (the
farthest away) and the other half Yasufuruichi (who planned it!) I was
perfectly fine with it, I knew everybody there (a rare thing for a missionary)
and it was super fun! Just as all of the food was done and everybody was
feeling full, the rain stopped and we had perfect weather for soccer. Me
being me, I had brought an Ultimate disc with me as well, and I think that that
became just as popular, if not more, than soccer! As one of the kids was
leaving I heard him talking to his dad saying, "I think I know what I want
for my birthday..." (Converts to frisbee +1 :D)
After the BBQ and
sports, the contingent from Mihara (all 4 of us) went to this
restaurant called the World Buffet in Hiroshima which was awesome! If any
of you happen to be in Hiroshima (not sure how it would happen) I highly
recommend it. Just don't eat too much, it'll be hard, but make a fixed
limit and you'll be fine.
Tuesday we had a big
mission meeting with 4 zones! We had a similar conference a little over a
month ago and I was happy because I knew everybody at the conference. Now
1 month and 2 groups of new missionaries later, I don't know half of the
mission! The Fukuoka mission is currently under
a revolution! Our number had dwindled from around 140 to 108 at one
point, but with the new announcement in October, we're looking at hitting 240
within a year. Come 1 year from now this mission is going to be
completely different! Elder Mills, an old mission president who
served in Fukuoka, was the guest speaker, perhaps one of the most animated
speakers I've seen at a zone conference yet. We learned about the
importance of short, powerful statements to invite the spirit in as we Find on
the streets, and the importance of doing more effective methods more.
Personally I was impressed that he kept his Japanese up for so long after
his mission, and his presentation was animated and kept your attention. I
think the thing I came most from the conference was wanting to have that kind
of attribute some 30 years after my mission. You could just tell that his
life was the product of his service to God and Christ, what could be better
than that!
Saturday at our
monthly service at the center for people with disabilities went really well.
We play Shogi (Japanese chess) with them and this was their yearly Shogi
Tournament. I lost very soundly, but it was a great time to get to know
the people. Somehow it got around that it was going to be my last time at
the service activity, so the coordinator at the center and his intern (it just
so happened to be his last day too) had us come and talk about American and
Japanese welfare principles, religious beliefs, and life in general! It
was awesome, and if nothing else, they certainly have a great respect for
Christianity and this Church in particular.
Oh Church was awesome.
We suddenly jumped to 36 people, and at the branch lunch afterward we
reached 50! A family from New Zealand was visiting before they leave to
go to Australia, and all of their friends came to see them off. I don't
know if I've ever seen so many people in the church building! That's
definitely a family that I respect, and would be very happy if my own future
family turned out like. We swapped facebook info (which is totally
possible now as I can actually find them within a relatively short amount of
time) and it was a really sweet farewell. Things are moving, miracles
abound, and life is good.
As simple a thing as
listing all the good things in a week can make any bad feelings, any anger,
doubt, fear, frustration slip away. Try it out, it's awesome.
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
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