Well, it's that time of the month again where missionaries are all running out of money and trying to figure out what they are going to eat until the next month's stipend comes. And things couldn't be better. Well, they could, but, it's a pretty good situation now!
Ok, so I GOT TO RIDE THE BULLET TRAIN! After being in Japan for 6 months, moving 4 times, and hearing people gripe about having enough money for the Shinkansen tickets, I FINALLY GOT TO RIDE THE BULLET TRAIN! Man, the thing's so smooth, I didn't even feel it when we started moving, and it was great fun to see trees and mountains whizzing by at 8:00 in the morning! BUT, the reason for the trip was to go see Elder Ringwood with the other zones!
So we get to Fukuoka and oh my heck, the subway systems and the bus systems are a maze! We started out with a big ol' group of the whole zone, and by the time we finally made it to the last station (2 train transfers and an underground tunnel walk later) our numbers had fluctuated anywhere from 2 to 5 to 9 to 16. But everyone got there safely, and we all had a really good conference. I got to see Sonntag 長老 again, and a bunch of other elders from around the area that I wasn't sure if I was going to see before they went home! It's way nice to hear how everyone is doing in their areas and hear their stories again!
Elder Ringwood and his Wife were also fantastic. They talked to us about various topics ranging from self-worth and keeping your head in the game, to Mission Pride and not allowing anything bad or inappropriate happen in the mission. One thing we learned about that really kind of blew my mind was about word placement and choice in the scriptures. Sometimes we take for granted the accepted ways that we first understood a passage of scripture, but just because we took it one way doesn't mean that it's the only way to take it. For instance we talked about the "strait and narrow path" that leads to eternal life and salvation. We've heard that, and taught that, a bajillion times, but it never clicked for me that it actually says "strait" and not "straight." A Strait is something that connects two points, usually by water, to join the two together. When you enter into the strait and narrow pass, you are connecting your life, and taking your journey to the way of Eternal life and salvation. Cool stuff.
So that was Thursday. We left early in the morning to get to Fukuoka and were back in our respective areas by 7:00 that night. We had a couple of other elders staying in our apartment getting ready to go to the conference and it was a really good time. Somehow our apartment became the Japanese apartment and the Zone Leader’s was for all the gaijin (foreigners). I was too lazy to move over so it was me and a bunch of Japanese elders in the apartment for the night. I learned how to play Shogi out if it!
The other thing that Okada長老 and I have learned recently is that most all of our Dendo time is done on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We try to do work on the rest of the week, but with our weird little travel situation where we don't actually live in our area and some other factors, almost everything that actually gets accomplished is on the weekends. Which, if they keep going the way they are, I'm fine with that.
We've been meeting with this one Chinese student and he came to church on Sunday! We ended up having a lesson with him during the second hour of church with 7 members of the branch and the Sister Missionaries. We even had the Stake president visiting that day and he helped out with the lesson! Right now he doesn't really know anything about religion or anything related to that but he is really receptive to the message and seems to be progressing really well. Knowledge and Faith seem to be the keys in his success right now!
We also started working with the son of one of our less active members. He's 20 years old and his interests are bowling, anime, and video games. So essentially he's a perfect match for Okada and me. We had a really good lesson with him and he's just really easy to relate with and teach. I can easily see either him or the Chinese student we're working with getting baptized within the next couple of weeks (or months)!
Sadly, most of our potential investigators, (those we met with once and haven't been able to get in contact with again to teach) are downright impossible to get in contact with. I don't know how many mountains I've climbed with my bike now just to find no one home. But, such is the life of a missionary. I'm pretty sure I'm well on my way to developing a nice set of goat legs.
Well, time is running out, we have a train and a ferry to catch on our way to MIYAJIMA! It's ranked as one of the top 3 prettiest places in Japan to visit and it's in our zone! I highly encourage looking it up if you have the chance. I love you all and am sincerely grateful for all the hard work and sacrifice you make in every facet of your lives. Thank you and have a great week!
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
Elder Benjamin Charles Everett
Japan Fukuoka Mission
9-16 Hirao-josuimachi
Chuo-ku
Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka
810-0029
JAPAN
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