Week #6: Crandell Kyodai

Lost of great experiences this week in the MTC, some sweet and some bitter sweet . . .

We had the opportunity to go to the temple to do endowments and it was awesome, it is cool that we get to go every week but I hear in Japan the Tokyo temple might be closed sometime around when we get there. Hopefully we get to go to it idk if its true.    I guess some missionaries never get to go to the temple while on their missions, so I will consider it a blessing if we get to go.

We taught some TRC lessons to some members and was definitely awesome as I felt like when I wanted to say something, I could.  I was able to express everything I thought of and is really cool to be able to use the language, so something must be sinking in and some progress is being made.  I still have much to learn and love it, so excited to learn more.  I received my katakana name tag meaning my name-tag with my name in the katakana characters . . .
ウイルコツクス (wi-ru-ko-tsu-ku-su)or (wilcox tsu )  is wilcox pronounced in the Japaneese fashion... anyways cool we got them and next week we will likely get flight plans I hear.. our di sen pi (6-9 weekers) are packing up and leaving weighing their stuff and what not.  They will be leaving later this week.

Sadly,  Crandell kyodai is leaving.  He is an awesome teacher,  he is going to Boston for an internship for 4 months working with Mitt Romney's son or something, he studies finance at BYU.  He is a very great teacher sad he is leaving, demo a few more days with him.

One thing that I notice in the MTC and it doesn’t seem to be getting better is that I (and others) are sleepy and don’t know what to do because I literally just want to fall completely asleep.  I don’t know if that will every change, definitely tired now I was thinking maybe I should try to go to bed sooner but kinda cant’ do that with 5 other roommates, maybe this is one of the things that prepared us for life, like college roommates, a house full of kids that won’t go to bed.   I hope sooner or later my body will adjust but honestly probably not...

Our sensei game us some advice this week, here are some quick notes:

Notes
• nihongo.
• The capacity to love is a gift given to us by god.
• If ever you feel like god forgot about me and dendo sucks, you lose all motivation and don’t won’t to continue and it happens to everyone, every senseitachi went through it here.
• Jesus didn’t take the easy way he took the long way to places and healed people on the way, even when he was at sea he went through storms he didn’t do it the easy way...
• God doesn’t do easy things, senkyoshi don’t take it easy they take the longer way because they are striving to be like jesus
• Eye single to the glory of god qualify him for the work.
• God sees people with a filter of love.
• Being able to love people qualifies us.


Notes from today our final lesson with Crandell kyodai
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• You don’t feel like a successful missionary everyday... sometimes nobody talks to you... it can kinda suck....

• Everyone has the same problem, its really hard to keep people active, its hard anywhere you go...


• A bad district was having problems, they hated each other... they were like 6 year olds without nap time krandel said.

Matthew 7:4

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

• Society can be backwards in nihon, young people are super motivated and hard working, old people stay up late and dye their hair different colors and pee on sidewalks, but the kids are motivated studying working and and striving.

• It is so easy to hate japan, it is really easy specially as a missionary to be miserable if you allow yourself to, it is much harder to choose to love the people over there but when you do they return the love and love you 10 fold.

• In the mission hardest part was having to say goodbye, but I hope you get your heart ripped out over and over again, because that means you put your whole heart into it.

Crandell  kyodai  was an amazing teacher that was definitely life changing, I  learned  so much more then before and cant believe I never knew or had learned what we were taught. There are some amazing teachers at the MTC they are always return missionaries from a mission by yours and always really are amazing.  It is  sad he left, so many people cried.
I am excited to leave and head to Japan.  The MTC is great and all but I want to  get out and see what the real  mission stuff it all about.

The Nashville Tribute Band came and played again this week.  They do an amazing job.   If i were to describe it, its like a story telling music thing and its super spiritual and emotional. There is one song they played this time and last time that are awesome for sure some really good music and I am not just saying that because I haven’t heard music in forever. They are really amazing and would watch them again and again.  There is one song they sing at the end every time that is pretty dang cool I wish i remembered the lyrics going something like . . . “19 years of dreams left in my room . . .”  I  would google it but can’t [Dad can and the song is linked here]

I loved this week!   My conversion is growing stronger and stronger, and my faith in Jesus Christ and understanding of him and his love through this gospel is remarkable and I feel more ready everyday to leave to Japan and start teaching and serving.