Less than One Month till I'm in Nihon!

I realized that I've learned SO much more than I thought I had.  So, it’s coming along well (: I have an insane amount left to learn, but don't worry, I'll be fluent eventually!  I've got the spirit on my side.

Clark Chourou and I decided we wanted to try speaking Nihongo Dake (only Japanese,) as much as possible, and as soon as that decision was made, we saw four Nihonjin sisters talking to a Nihonjin teacher.  They wanted to take pictures, so I offered to take them for them, and it was the best thing ever.  They were the most gracious, genuinely sweet and modest bunch I've ever talked to.  Only one of them spoke English (their missions are in Japan, they're just coming to this MTC for 2 weeks.) Clark Chourou and I talked to ‘em for nearly a half hour (which probably wasn't beneficial for them, but helped our Nihongo/excitement IMMENSELY!)  Aw man.  AW MAN.  I came out of that just so ecstatic.  I want to talk to more of those people, I already love them so much!  Now, whenever I see those sisters, they're all super nice and try to say the few English words they know to greet us.

So, Chinain funny of the week. (I feel like that's been a theme and will prolly continue to be,) Someone called someone else a "dweeb." So, Riggs Shimai and the rest of us all tried to explain what that meant in response to her puzzled face.  A few hours later I pushed my glasses up in a funny way and she said, "Stout Chourou, you're a Dwib!" Everyone started laughing super hard and asked what she had just said, to which she replied, "I said dwib!  Is that how you call it?"  Needless to say, sometimes we refer to one another as Dwibs.

LESS THAN ONE MONTH TILL I'M IN NIHON.

Swenson Shimai is GONE ): I'm seriously so sad about it.  Our last lesson with her was so powerful.  We bore our testimonies and I almost cried, and the spirit was so thick, and it was amazing.  She gave us her email though, so we're definitely emailing her!  We've joked about her sending us packages of donuts and Jello and earplugs now that she doesn't work here anymore!  Well, ok, only I've joked about this... on one else likes Jello and earplugs.

Mama!  I saw Sheri Dew this week!!  I thought of you.  Me and Clark Chourou flipped out because both of our mommies were fans of hers.  I shook her hand and told her that, to which she winked and said, "Eh. Tell your mom to shoot higher, she can do better than me." Her talk was on engaging in a spiritual wrestle.  In all things we do, we're going to have to wrestle for truth.  Are you willing to do that, or will you settle for nothing less than God serving answers to you on a silver plate?  If you're not willing to put in the work, you aren't ready to receive the answers.  But ALL revelation is difficult.  Have faith.  Ask for help.  Every one of us is entitled to ask for the help of angels, and Heavenly Father will pick the best ones to help us.

I also heard from Elder Nelson O.o So cool.  It was super formal and we got to sing "Be Still my Soul," for him.  It was so powerful.  Partially because that's my favorite song... He's been having a hard time recently, being so suddenly called to lead the quorum of the 12!  But he only mentioned that for nearly half a sentence in saying, "Isn't it comforting to know that The Lord's church is so organized that he already has the next leaders picked out?  Well... unless you're next in line."  We all laughed.

For everyone reading, I'm really sorry I haven't written you from last week.  I'm a lot slower at typing than I thought I was... Please be patient with me (:\ I'm going to finish this letter up with a quote from The Lord of the Rings, which I really relate to right now in the MTC.  However, in order not to defile it, I'll just ask that your imagination rather than my keyboarding replace the word "Mordor" with "Japan."

" 'Does . . . Mordor . . . actually exist, Mr. Frodo?  I feel . . . like . . . we have been . . . here for [farming ever].' . . . Sam declared.

 'My dear Sam," . . .  Frodo smiled . . . 'would you . . . [freaking chill] for . . . like . . . five {seconds}? . . . Mordor is . . . [like] right there!'

 'It doesn't feel that way,' Sam sighed. . . 'No, it doesn't,' Frodo gasped. . . 'I don't recall the taste of [ramen noodles] or the smell [of warm miso soup with seaweed and tofu] . . . even a [little bit.]'

 '[Yeah, this] food [is decent,] . . . but I miss [mom's] . . .  cooking.' Sam clenched his stomach.

 . . . '...[Dang] same.' Frodo said.

'Ai, ai!' Legolas exclaimed. "

Love you more than life itself! (: AISHTTEIMASU!

-Elder Stout