Another crazy week in Shibuya!

So, WOW it's been another crazy week in Shibuya! 

Elder Li is so funny and an amazing chef.  He continues to be an amazing missionary and we've been working SO hard!!  We've seen so many miracles.  So far, our time together has been the most productive of both of our missions.  We're doing our best to do all we can and it's insane the miracles we've seen.  I wish you could just see them. I know miracles don't make faith, but...  given I already had faith, the miracles I've seen make that faith unshakable!!

The miracle I'd like to share this week has to do with doing your best to invite the spirit back into your life and being humble.  Back in the MTC I had a similar experience with Elder Clark when we had to settle our differences and make the companionship work.  I think that any companionship that wants to do the right thing will resolve and can work!  Elder Li and I had a little bit of difficulty teaching and carrying out other aspects of the work together (not to anyone's fault, we just didn't quite have the same vision.  His was really good; mine was good.) We had gone tracting with this agitation in the back of both of our minds.  We talked to several people, but nobody even stopped to say they weren't interested after seeing our name-tags.  It was really rough on both of us, so we stopped, stepped out of the streets and just talked it out.  It was a bit painful for both parties.  There wasn't a winner or a loser.  We just realigned our visions and talked out our differences.  At the end of it, Elder Li said, "Well, we still have 10 minutes!  Let's go find a Kinjin (golden person)."

Can you guess what happened when we went out?

We stepped out into the sea of hundreds of business men and sight-seers all busy to get through one of the most densely-populated areas of the world.   The first person we talked to not only stopped to listen to us, he got excited.  "I have interest!  Do you know Jensen??" he asked.  "Yeah, we go to church with him!"  "He's my really good friend!  But, oh no... I have to go to work in 5 minutes." "Can we meet another time?" "Yes!" And he gave us his phone number.

We only had a few minutes, but we met 3 more people all with a lot of potential interest.

I testify that this is God's work and it is SUCH a wonder!  When we do everything in our power to have the spirit with us, The Lord uses us to bring forth His purposes.  It is such an honor to be a missionary of God.  Another huge lesson I've learned lately is that it's not about me.  I'm not even the main character of my story.  It's these people that I'm meeting every day.  It's the people that are right in front of you that need your attention!!  Please keep praying for the people I talked about in my last email as well as for Eren.

I'm really growing to love missionary work.  The tireless hours of finding (we go hard.  That's all I need to say about that ;) the long bike-rides, the stressful night-time calls.  It's exhausting work, but the more tired we become, the less energy we have to worry about ourselves (:

I love you and miss you lots!  Say hi to the family!!

スタウトL老! ^o^

Elder Stout! :D

PS, I'm sorry I didn't respond to anyone else's emails, I don't have hardly any time today!!

"Life is Drama + Money" (the sign behind them).  That's my new life's motto.  What do you think? (;

We gave brother Naillon a blessing the other day per request, and in return they made us eat their entire kitchen basically.  I love this family so much.  I felt like I was at Rachel and Kyle's house again: All American food (I ate 4 hot dogs), two crazy little boys making a mess of everything and attacking us with plastic swords... I think he even sent you pictures! (:  It was awesome and so fun, but man... Elder Li and I were about to fall off of our bikes and die of overfilled stomaches the entire ride home. 

Tokyo Zone Conference

One of the missionaries in my MTC district just moved to Narita and
met my best friend Fuma Kun.

Shibuya & Elder Li

WOW.  This week has been absolutely crazy.  I feel like my entire life has changed, and nobody knows anything about it except me!  So, here's the rundown:

Elder Li

I love this Elder!  He is an amazingly hard worker, he's completely fearless in approaches and wants to be his best because he loves The Lord.  He is so kind and humble and cares so much for others.  He has a lot to teach me!  He is half Taiwanese and half Japanese and 100% American!  He actually was born in Hawaii and spent most of his life in Washington, so he didn't speak much Japanese until he started studying it like crazy last year, and now he's all but fluent in my eyes.  Honestly, I think his Japanese is about where mine will be at the end of my mission, or maybe a little after that.  He's super good at the work!

SHIBUYA.  We're at the very heart of Tokyo and this city is CRAZY busy, big, and... well, just crazy. 

I wanted so badly to come to a big part of the city for even just a brief time when I got my call to Tokyo, so I'm really grateful to be here (: Some things I'm getting used to though are the prices, which are crazy high, and the biking, which is insanely dangerous.  There are so many people in Tokyo that it's actually illegal to ride on the side-walk at parts, so I'm riding in the car lanes for about half the trip anywhere we go.  I've almost been hit by 3 different trucks and more motorcycles and taxis than that.  Wow it's wild!  But I'm loving it and starting to get used to it.  Luckily our apartment is tucked into a little ally-way so the street sounds are all drowned out when we're studying/sleeping.

I love Tokyo so much.  If you've seen the movie Big Hero 6 (or "Baymax" as all the Japanese call it!) that's exactly what this city is like.  It's absolutely gorgeous.  One minute you'll see an old building from 200 years ago covered in moss, then next a massive busy road and skyscrapers.

As you can imagine, I'm basically in heaven. (ISN'T IT SWEET!?  And this is one of the worst angles of this graveyard, I'll have to get a better pic later!)

So, fun story!  A little less magical than your old companion Sister Sugimoto, but a little bit more entertaining perhaps (; Yesterday at a ward lunch after church I met a man named Brother Saito (I think...) we chatted for a bit, and when he told me he had served in the Sapporo mission I told him about you.  At first he didn't recognize you, but I showed him a picture of statue dendou.  His response: "Austin Shimai... WAIT!  Austin Shimai!  Oh yeah, I remember now!!  The day before she left, I saw her at the temple and asked to get a picture with her because I wanted to marry her." my response, "WAIT, WHAT-!?" and then his response, "Uh... not really.  But I will send you the picture later.  Can you receive pictures?"

Mama, you were the cutest sister missionary!!  I love collecting pictures of you as I travel through Japan!  Like I said, you made a big impact here!  If my mission were a video game, then "Photo of Sister Austin" would probably be the collectable items, like stars or fire flowers in Mario Brothers. (;

So, rundown on the people I'm working with:

I wish I had pictures of them, but because I don't, I'll just tell you what I can (I'm running out of time, but I'm sure I'll talk lots more about them soon :)

Tanaka was recently baptized.  He still has super long hair and a goatee and a pierced lip and ear (he needs it to grow in before he removes it or something,) but despite his moderately scary appearance, he is THE KINDEST person I've ever met.  As he listens to me teach he never gets frustrated with my Japanese, and even though I stumble he still nods and contributes to the lesson.  The spirit is so strong there.

Shingo is also super kind and super golden.  He came to church yesterday and Elder Li met him for the first time after doing phone lessons for 2 transfers.  He speaks English to a degree, and already has strong faith even though he's not a member of any church.  As we walked into the ward luncheon, he said loudly in English, "WOW!  We MUST thank God for this GRACIOUS meal."  (Don't worry, I got to say the prayer.)

Daichi is also super golden!  My first lesson with him was super rough because we weren't as prepared as we should have been for it, but he listened intently and did his best to follow along, then played ping pong with us.  He's so awesome!

There are countless other unforgettable people I've met, but that's all the time I've got.  

LOVES!

スタウト長老!  ^o^

Elder Stout! :D

Transfer to Shibuya!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!  I actually forgot what day it was until one of my good friends at church Note San gave me this!! 

How's Davy??? Is he ok?  I didn't realize that much time has already passed!  ええええ, I hope my uncle's doing well.  I love him so much!

So, I am so sorry, today got away from me and I'm out of time because I need to pack— yes, today was transfer calls!!

Elder Crosby is staying here in Narita with one of my MTC "doki" or District members!  (Speaking of whom, my MTC companion Elder Clark is a Zone Leader!!  I'm not one bit surprised, he is such an amazing missionary I love him so much.  Other fun fact, one of my good friends Sister Chinain is switching me places and coming to Narita!  Which means I'm off to........)

SHIBUYA!!!  I’m going to the big city right in the middle of Tokyo!!  Half of my area is English and the other half Japanese, so I'm in for quite an adventure and I'm so excited!!! (:  My new companion's name is Elder Shion Li (Shion as in the Japanese pronunciation of Zion, which is a semi-popular name among members here.  SO cool I think!) He's fluent in Japanese and is a super hard worker; apparently we have 5 investigators near to baptism, so looks like I'll be reaping the work of men better than I again!  I'm a little scared though, my companion is transfer 3, so I'm a senior companion!  AH!!

Saying goodbye to everyone in Narita was the saddest thing ever.  I love and miss every single one of them so much.  Mama, we're coming back here together someday, but I plan to come back for my last transfer like Elder Kitagaki (;

Me and Fuma playing Pterodactyl, which is our favorite game.

I love grandma and grandpa Austin, tell them I'm sorry I haven't responded to their letters yet, but if they email me this week I promise to respond!!

Sorry, this week is a pretty short email, but that's all the time I've got. 

スタウト長老! ^o^

Elder Stout! :D

Katsundo San made gourmet omelets!!!! So good!

Elder Stout's running path in Narita.  The pathway didn't exist a few months ago.

Focused on Being Myself

So, I went on splits with Elder Hugo!!  We met a funny kid who wanted a selfie with the Americans!

During my split with Elder Hugo we met a man who we ended up talking to for 30 minutes.  He
laughed when we told him that the Book of Mormon was a testimony of Jesus Christ from the Americas, but when we explained it to him, his countenance changed.  Elder Hugo offered him a book of mormon and he turned it down.  We testified pretty powerfully and said that if he read it he could learn it was true, and he said, "If God wanted me to know this were true, he wouldn't just send me two kids one time.  Next time I see missionaries, I will take the book and listen to your lessons." Without almost any time but what I felt was the correct thing to say, I said blatantly, "Then if not now, you will meet more missionaries.  I promise you." He half smiled, and than graciously thanked us for our time.  We ran into that man 3 more times throughout the day, and one of the times he gave us directions! I felt he should've taken the book of mormon, but we didn't even offer it to them, because it's not yet his time.  So, that was really intense.
Elder Hugo is a second transfer now, but man, he's come a long way!  The biggest thing about the interview though, was that I saw Elder Hugo as myself throughout the entire thing.  He's exactly the way I was my second transfer, and still is so similar to me, that I had a lot of revelation concerning myself throughout the whole thing.

Recently, I've really loosened up.  I've realized that if missionary Elder Stout and John Stout are two different people, that this mission will do me and everyone I serve absolutely no good.  So I've focused a lot on being myself, and MAN has it made this work 1) Fun 2) Effective 3) Life changing.  I love my mission with all my heart, and I'm trying to become more submerged in it (:

At fast and testimony meeting I kinda said an unofficial goodbye to Narita ward and thanked them and cried a bit.  This place has been the most amazing first area.  If in the next week and a half I learn that I'm moving, I will be so sad.  I hope I can return just like Elder Kitagaki.

Here's a picture of Miyata Kyoudai and three sets of home teachers taking advantage of how close the church is to everyone's homes (;

I MADE SOME FRIENDS!  Today during some down time I ran into these guys and it was a blast!!!  You know me, I'll get pictures with any smily man, koala, or princess I run into.  These things make me so happy even though I know there's just some random person who's REALLY good at acting behind the suit (Japanese people take this job so seriously its AWESOME.  The one on the left was hilarious and the one on the right was super cutesy and shy.)

I'm not in this picture.  But I shared this post on facebook and I really liked it, so I want to share a thought on it!  While the miracle in this picture happened to the girl and was by the power and grace of Jesus Christ, the overjoyed and tearful father in the center of the picture behind Christ's helping hand was he who asked for the Lord's help.  It was his faith that brought The Christ to the humble home.  Our prayers and our faith in behalf of those we love will bring Jesus Christ's help.  I testify of this.  While the daughter was dead, she lived once again.

Love you so much!

Elder Stout! :D