New Companion, Elder Kitagaki

Herro!  I amu fine sank you, andu you?

(; Kiddin'.  I'm doing great!  Whew, these first few days have already been pretty crazy.  My companion is AWESOME!  This could very well be one of my favorite transfers of the mission, based on what we've done so far, so I guess we'll have to watch and see (:

Elder Kitagaki: he's like, the only Nihonjin taller than me, he's super funny, super serious about the work, way more serious about loving others, and is so knowledgeable.  When I sent my trainer, Elder Hibino, off on the train I was so sad, because the ending of an era for me is always the worst.  I'm a natsukashi kinda person.  But stepping off of another train to find my new companion:

I checked out of the boarding platform and was looking around for my new companion when I saw a terrified looking foreigner with a crazy handle-bar mustache fiddling with his wallet.  Suddenly from the information desk walks a professional looking young man who points and begins explaining the all-kanji signs to the foreigner.  I walked up to the young man, and sure enough, it was Elder Kitagaki.  I don't believe there's a better first impression of a missionary than when you find each other solely because he is the one person in hundreds clearly offering selfless service without anyone he knows watching.

We've talked to as many people as we can stop and it's just been amazing!!  I love working with him.  He is so driven and I feel like my missionary work is becoming so much more effective because I'm always linked to my purpose.

So, I'm running low on time; next week's email will have to be much longer! But two things:

1) Elder Kitagaki turned to be during companionship study and said affectionately, "Elder Stout, you are as big as the ocean." . . . . . . . "I mean, your heart."

I about died laughing.  Mostly because, just like you said mama, calling people fat here is super normal and I see it all the time!  Haha, anyway, the second point is a bit more serious.

2) MY MIRACLE!

As I was writing my emails home the other week I got a phone call from an investigator who was struggling with a lot of things and decided to drop us because of it.  It was really hard for me because I really like him and I know he's trying hard and I want him to change, so I was upset.  Elder HIbino, seeing that I was upset, leapt to his feet and said, "Shinkou dendou shimashyou!" (“We're doing faith finding!”) I chased after him as we ran out the door and we prayed.  On the count of three, we pointed and he said, "That way is bright." I had felt something different, but decided to trust his experience over mine.  We took off on our bikes and talked to two sets of teenagers, all uninterested.  After going a while longer he pilled into a side-area of the road and yelled, "Dozou!" it was my turn.  I had seen a guy with a white umbrella a ways back and wanted to talk to him but felt it would be a waste to cross the street and turn around.  However, the way that I had felt "was bright" back in front of the church was toward that young man, and I was in the lead.  Feeling only a tad foolish, I followed that initial prompting and we more or less chased down this kid across two intersections until we finally pulled up next to him.  Panting, I asked, "Do you like English?"

After a short conversation with Elder Hibino, the boy followed us to the church to take a tour.  HE TOOK A TOUR.  He loved meeting the other Elders and promised us he'd be back on Saturday for Eikaiwa.  When he left we were all astonished at the product of our faith.  But it was truly a miracle.  A few days later we received this text:

"I'm really sorry, but I can't come to English class on Saturday". . . “Of course,” we both thought, but then the second half of the text read, "But I'll come to church on Sunday!"  He came to all three hours and loved it and is bringing a friend to eikaiwa this week.  Takahisa kun is truly a miracle, please pray for him!!!!!!

K, I have to go, we have an appointment, sorry to keep things brief!!  I got a ton of emails this morning (like every Monday) but wasn't able to open all of them, so my apologies!!  Have a wonderful week!

-スタウト長老

Elder Stout

I'm either super lucky, or super blessed, or (probably) BOTH!

Narita is SOOO good!  Things are cooling down and it really is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.  You'll be happy to know that I had my third shoukuji (member dinner,) with Sister Sugimoto, your companion. (: And guess what?  SHE MADE US THANKSGIVING DINNER!!!  I didn't think I would get one, but she bought an entire Turkey and everything!!  It was so awesome.  Anyway, so Thanksgiving has already happened for me.  Therefore, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (;

Our awesome district and the Sugimotos!!! The sister at the bottom left is Sister Chandler: she's been here my whole time in Narita and is returning home this week.  It's so sad; she's an awesome missionary!  The missionary behind her is Elder Kuroiwa: he's also leaving and has had an awesome imapact on me!  He reminds me of my Liechty brothers.  I love him so much.

Well, here's the story of the week!

Today was transfer calls where we find out if we're switching areas/companions!  We got the phone call and guess what?!  Elder Hibino is getting transferred to a nearby area called Togane (so I'll still be able to see him at Zone Conference.) But get this: HE'S BECOMING A ZONE LEADER!!!  HA!  That's my companion!  He's been so awesome and I've learned so much from him.  I'm so lucky to have had a Japanese trainer, he was exactly who I prayed for.  This next transfer I was afraid of what kind of follow-up trainer I'd get.  To be honest, I've been praying to have my zone leader maybe get demoted and be my companion because he is such an amazing missionary and I could learn so much from him... So after President Nagano tells my companion his big news and we all freak out, he turns his attention to me: "Elder Stout, you will be staying in Narita.  Your new companion is... Elder Kitagaki!" I've never met him, but everyone else got so excited for me.  All I know is:

1) He's on his last transfer and has already served in Narita where he found or taught tons of our recent converts and investigators.

2) He's just coming out of being a zone leader of several transfers

3) He's a nihonjin who is completely fluent in English.

I'm either super lucky, or super blessed, or (probably) BOTH!  I'm so stoked to have another native companion, especially since I can communicate with him without any trouble (though I'm gonna do my best to speak only Japanese.) So, that was the miracle of today (:  WA!!  I'm so excited for this next transfer!  And so excited for my companion who gets to go and be a zone leader!  He's ecstatic, he's wanted to go to Togane for so long.  He loves this area (Chiba Area.)

So, a more spiritual thought (; I adopted your Ponderize Scripture 2 Nephi 31:20 and what hit me the most while I was reading was the way it says, "You must have a perfect BRIGHTNESS of hope." The definition of brightness is producing OR reflecting a lot of light.  There are lot of ways you can take this analogy, but one is in the fact that we sometimes feel like we aren't very hopeful at all.  However, when you feel hopeless, know that to have a brightness of hope, you may just need to do your best to reflect the hope of others, or to trust in the things you know despite the things you don't.

This church is true.  I know it is because I have experimented on the word and I know that the seed is good! (:

Sorry, I'm out of time and can't send a second email, but I'll try to write a lot more next week!!  (I'll have lots to say about my new companion and my adventures :D ) OH!  One more thing: Last week, immediately after we were dropped by that investigator and I finished emailing you, I saw one of the best miracles of my mission so far!  I want to tell you all about it but I don't have time, so please remind me!

-スタウト長老

Elder Stout

Ps, Tell the Newells thank you so much for the letter :D And everyone else, thanks so much for adding to it!!  The Christmas tree is in my study room.

Have you ever had shabu shabu?  They give you raw meat and you boil it yourself in this big bowl on the table. SO GOOD!!  Without telling me, my companion ordered 100 slices of bacon which we may or may not have slain. Don’t worry, I ate lots of salad too.  And also feel super sick.  It was awesome.  ;)

Exact words Yuki (my cat) said when I left for the MTC.  I hope she's okay! 

I wouldn't rather be anywhere else!

Gooooooooooood moooooorning Americaaaaaa!

Yep, today was temple p-day, so I'm emailing late.  Whew! It’s been a full day!  I apologize in advance, I think this is gonna be a short email because I am exhausted and out of time. \:

So.  First off, the sad stuff: about 2 minutes ago our only official investigator (the one who's having troubles with tobacco and alcohol and pornography) just called and said it’s too hard for him to quit right now, but he'll call us back one day when he's ready.  He's been an investigator for over a year.  So, that was kinda rough.  We've had a super good lesson ready for him for over a week, but he kept canceling up til now.

The material stuff is hard to quit, but pornography is so much worse.  So much worse.  It just gets inside of people and devolves their souls, and I hate it.

Anyway, I'm done with that tangent.  Today we went to the temple!!  I love the temple more than I can put in words.  After 6 weeks of dendo, it is so amazing to just recharge in the most spiritually active place in the world!  In honor of the season, I am so grateful for the blessing of temples that we have today (:

I saw Elder Clark again and we talked for a good 5-10 minutes after our session!  Aw man, he is SUCH a good missionary.  His area is having a super hard time, they just lost everyone they were teaching in one day, but I can tell that he's doing amazing things there despite that.

So, Elder Hibino and I did "exercise dendo" the other day, which is another way of saying "half of our less active members live in a city super far away, so we spent just under 6 hours on bike that day.  YEAH!  I'm being completely serious when I say I loved every minute of it (: It was pouring rain, which makes Japan so pretty.  I felt like every gorgeous view I saw, valleys covered in mist, skyscrapers half obscured by low clouds, explosive sunsets, that sort of epic scenery, was from The Lord to me.

So, right now I feel like a Baggins.  I love home, and I sometimes miss my cozy furniture with my feet propped up, a warm cup of pumpkin spice, and a nice book, but now that I'm on my adventure, I wouldn't rather be anywhere else.

All right, that's about all I have time for.  Here are some pictures!

Here's the sculpture right outside of the Tokyo temple!!

This was just before exercise dendo.  Can't say it made me feel suuuper great.... (;

Temple p-day noodle lunch!!  Japan has the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the world.

I love you all and miss you so much.  If you love and miss me, go share a ponderize scripture on FaceBook. (;

-スタウト長老

Elder Stout

"A testimony is made in the bearing of it."

My first real udon... IT WAS SO GOOD

I'm doing much better.  I haven't gotten any less frustrated with Japanese and kinda feel more now than ever that I'm never going to be able to speak this language, but I'm loving every day more and more. My other study is coming really well, I'm growing so close with my companion, and am finding good ways to influence the area that I've been placed in!  I'm still new to this though ;P

I loved the mission experience you sent earlier this week. I downloaded the copy of the Ensign you referenced and read the entire talk (The Candle of the Lord by Boyd K. Packer, January 1983) and it was so powerful.  It reminded me of some really important things I used to understand so well but have forgotten as I've grown older.  The most important might be that "a testimony is made in the bearing of it." I've realized THAT'S why missionaries grow so much spiritually.  Because we have so many chances to bear our testimonies!

  God's ways all align perfectly.  In few places is it more miraculously apparent than in the fact that--just like we've always known that to receive happiness you must give of yourself, to find yourself you must lose yourself--to gain a testimony firm enough to become a pure knowledge, you must give your testimonies to others.

So, funny story to lighten the mood of things, the other day Elder Hibino was trying to remind Elder Jacobs of one of the sisters they had both worked with, but couldn't remember her name.  "She's... oh...eto... she's... Yeah, you know?  The sister who looks like an Elephant!"  Apparently he thought her long braid looked like a trunk from behind XD

  Another funny story.  Elder Hibino and I were talking about buffalo for some reason (I'm not sure why either...) and to make a distinction between the animals' genders he said, "The horn ones is guys, desho? The horn ones is guys and... the milk ones is sisters!" (Male and Female in the mind of many Japanese church members is "Guy" and "Sister."  Not sure why its "guy" instead of "brother," but I just really love the fact that he refers to every girl whether member, non-member, or animal, as a sister.)

So apparently "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam" is a Japanese HYMN!!!  Not just in the child's song book, no, we sang it in sacrament meeting!!  I couldn't help but sing it just like I used to as a lil' guy, even though all the other members sang it much more professionally: "A suuuuuun... BEAM!  A suuuuuuun... BEAM!"  But translated into even simpler language so as to fit all of the long words in Japanese, the simple message of the song is very uplifting (:  We never graduate from being sunbeams, I think.  We're still supposed to be "lights on a hill."  Recently one of my goals has been to become one of those people that just makes others happy.  You know, the ones who always smile and ask you how you are and make you cookies and stuff!  I've got a long way to go, but I still think that simple kindness is the cure-all to helping any person on the planet.

THE PACKAGE CAME!!  I loved reading letters from all of you so much!!!

And mama, those chocolates are the bestest thing ever.  I love that you sent them, you're the best (: Also, I seriously started dancing in the apartment when I saw that you sent MUSIC.  When I turned it on (an American Heritage Lyceum track) I seriously cried when I heard a band again for the first time in so long.  Letters from you and music are the best presents in the world.  Well, I'm not gonna lie, I'm stoked to eat ThanksGiving Dinner.  Thanks for sending that (;

At Eikaiwa, this little 10-year-old girl has started coming with her mom, and it's been so fun to teach with her in the audience.  I've started teaching loads simpler, and I make goofy gestures and talk in a Mickey Mouse voice a lot.  She laughs at all my jokes which is super good for my self confidence (;  But really, with her there I've realized that speaking simpler and acting a little ridiculous while explaining words helps people learn soooo much better.  It’s given me a chance to let my goofy side out which is sometimes difficult when nobody speaks English, so I've absolutely loved making that new friend.

So, the other night we knocked on the door of someone the sisters referred us to.  We had popped in for just a minute last week and given him a chapter of scripture to read and set up another appointment.  Anyway, I was getting ready to teach him how to pray when he invited us into his genkan and then took off a hundred miles an hour in advanced Japanese just ripping into Elder Hibino.  "Oh great." I thought.  I thought of a million things I could say or do and got frustrated just imagining all of the things he was probably saying, but Elder Hibino never lost his smile.  My companion would respond with short, polite sentences that triggered long huffy responses.  On it went, until the man gave a half smile, nodded to something, and agreed to me offering a prayer.  I have no idea what happened other than my beloved companion followed the spirit in meekness and now we have 2 appointments set up this week.  Oh man.

I'm so lucky to have such a spiritual giant as my companion out here! I love him so much.  When I'm frustrated with Japanese, his English lightens my mood, and when I'm frustrated with other's (though I shouldn't be) he handles it so well.  He's my trainer for a reason and I'm learning so much.

Anyway, I love Japan!!!!!  Gotta go for now, but I love you so much and look forward to hearing from you (:

-スタウト長老

Elder Stout

Happy Birthday Miyata Kyodai

Yes.  This actually happened.  Halloween, we did a "Mario Kart"

activity for the chillins (:

Yaki niku is SO good!  There are lots of restaurants in Japan where

they give you raw meat and you just fry it in the middle of the table

where there's a fire :D