Week #15: Tako Yaki and Haircuts

Today we went out with an investigator, and a member to lunch at an awesome barbecue place, it was awesome. It was tabei hodai, meaning all you can eat, but in 90 minutes, the Japanese places all have time limits, but normally we are done by then, an hour cuts is close sometimes but, it was awesome tons of meat to grill.  They had some more tako yaki, i got a plate of that because, because of course I love it. Then one of our investigators fought with us and took the bill is was suppose to be bestu bestu (separately) but he payed for us all, we kept trying to stick money in his pocket secretly but all in vain. We followed to teach a lesson to him and another investigator,  played the Joseph smith game with him, got haircuts at his house because, well first companions hair cutter broke, then as we got to a haircut place people said we are closing he said you can do it at my place and well we did. With trash bags and anyways, we taught him, simply about after baptism how we can go to the temple and receive more blessings showed him the Tokkyo Temple and how one day we would like to go through the temple with him. It was great to see him, and was sad because he has to go far back to work, but we keep in touch by calling.

On Friday,  we woke up 15 mins early 6:15 to make it to the conference with Elder Bednar at the honbu (mission home? I think).  Elder Bednar asked us questions for the first hour and a half then we ask him questions for the second hour and a half.  It was amazing!  He taught us how to listen, ask questions and find answers and showed by example, a loving nature of helping us learn and improve, and what we are to do after we ask these questions.  We are not just to ask the question and throw it away, but seek the answer.  He might say get a copy of the Book of Mormon, a paperback copy, read it and pay close attention to that question, highlight it and take notes and when you are done, write down a summary of what you learn.  Get another, and do it again compare what you learned till you have a set of Book of Mormon's on a bookcase full of answers, with varying perspectives. Now when you hear this you think that would be a lot of work, that there is no way I'm going to be able to do that. And if you say that then maybe you didn't ask with enough faith that question, because one wasn't willing to act, or maybe go and do, and the lord with strengthen you. I learned a lot this day and was awesome to hear him and see him listen. I say that because I think he listened better then most ever do.

Follow up training, eikaiwa (English class), another flat tire, this seems to happen quite often, not sure what I am doing wrong.


This week all the missionaries who arrived 6 week ago, came together for a follow up training to review what we learned and be retrained, along with trainers.  We all traveled to the mission home and was great to see good friends from the MTC.   As we were there we talked about obedience and they really drilled that, then gave us some awesome lasagna.  I think I will always relate obedience with lasagne now for the rest of my life.

At eikaiwa (english class) which is always amazing because we get to have some nice English conversation with friends, which is kinda awesome when everything is in Japanese all the time, and sometimes my head wants to explode.   But one of the students there came up to me and said my face had changed since I got here, I wasn't sure what he meant and if that was good or bad. I didn't understand what he meant, but he said something about how I seem more happy and relaxed, not as serious as when I had arrived in the area.  I never thought I was too serious, who knows. Maybe that is a sign of progress I am making or finally getting a little more comfortable.

I am loving our investigators and excited for whenever we get to teach.  Things are looking great and hope they continue. It feels really awesome as you see the joy that comes from someone learning of the gospel and how close friends we become, and how awesome it is one can learn about this truth more and more together.  I see how it changes us. One of our investigators said her friend asked why is she so happy and she told her its because I've been learning from the missionaries. Now her friend said she wants to hear too!

Japanese BBQ