P-day at Rainbow Bridge

I can't believe another week has gone by.  Sorry, I know that's unoriginal, I prolly say it just about every week, but it always catches me off guard.

I'm really enjoying myself more and more every day!  The things I've started to improve on most recently are probably 1) Living in the moment and loving it, and 2) Focusing on others.  I've never been good at that first one (you can testify to how impatient I've been my entire life ;) and I used to be really good at number 2, but I've felt like I've been super stressed lately and because of that I haven't given others the attention I should.  Two of my favorite quotes apply to these two improvement points I've given myself: "Love is the one thing that everyone needs, that no one can find on their own, and that everyone else can freely give."  And, of course, "We've not a moment to lose."

Even as I just talk to Elders who are having a hard time in the evening instead of minding my own business for the whole night, I come out even less stressed and much happier.

YES!  Tsukagoshi san's baptism date is this next Sunday!!!!!!  We're so excited for him and he's so excited too!  It's going to be a wonderful evening.  We had a baptism for a new Chinese member in the Hiroo ward (remember where I serve there are two wards, the Japanese where I serve and the English ward where the other 4 Elders serve,) and it was such a wonderful experience.  I love baptisms.  Listening to the elders sing primary songs makes me nastolgic ;)

Ok, I know it's not much this week, but I hope the videos make up for it.  We're running late as usual and I have to wrap up.  

Take care, and I can't wait for Mother's Day either! :) I'm looking so forward to it!  I love you!  

P-day this week was awesome!  First the temple, and the Odaiba.  It was like being in a dream, and I accidentally took a million pictures.  I hope you enjoy them. . .  If not, sorry ;)

We had these goofy lil scooters we had to attach to our bikes or they wouldn't let us walk across the bridge.  Maybe a bit dangerous.... ITS SO HIGH UP!!! I was in love with this bridge.  I wanna go back right now.

Cho Chorou caught a baby crab!

This thing is huge!

スタウト長老! ^o^

Elder Stout! :D

Every investigator needs a best friend

Today was interesting.  It was our p-day, but we had a lesson planned like every three hours.  It didn’t really feel like a p-day.  Two of them fell through, but because they fell through less than an hour before they started, it really threw off our day.  But we met an awesome new guy named Seisukei, and he wears a really cool hat.  I decided I want one of those hats.  Japanese style is just really cool. 

Tsukagoshi San is so cool.  I wish all of you could meet him, because you would all love him so much.  He’s the nicest guy.  Two days ago we went over all of the baptismal interview questions with him, and there was like one topic we hadn’t quite covered, but other than that, the rest of them, he was just like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”  Only he said more than that.  He is almost ready for baptism.  He is so awesome.  He knows that God is there for him.  He knows that God is his father, and he believes in Jesus Christ and the Atonement, and he wants to change his life.  We are expecting him to be baptized in the next two-ish weeks.  He could be baptized sooner, but the ward mission leader and the bishop feel like they want to get to know him a little bit better. 

The next one is Shingo.  This week we had a lesson with him at the ward mission leader, Hamada Kyodai’s house.  They bought us this super good traditional Japanese food.  It was AWESOME!  It’s called kamameshi.  Shingo got along so well with the family.  They plan to go to dinner and stuff. 

We’ve really been trying to find our investigators real friends in the church.  In Preach My Gospel, it talks a lot about the transition from being a non-member to being a member of the church.  The church has its own culture.  Like there are so many little things that people have no idea what we are talking about if they haven’t been a member.  Every investigator needs a best friend.  They don’t just need people to say “hi” to them and sit with them once a week.  They need a real friend in the church.  So we’re working on that now.  It’s something I didn’t understand until now.  So my challenge to everyone reading this letter, befriend your ward’s missionaries’ investigators.  Be their real friends.

We met Daiichi by his house.  Normally we just do Skype lessons, but we got to meet him.  It was awesome!  Daichi is going to be one of my bros, even after my mission.  I’m going to write him and stuff.  Hopefully I will be able to come hang out with him.   He is awesome. 

We are trying to be exactly obedient, and it’s been good.  So I started a goal journal.  I want to do it for 55 weeks, for a full year.  Every week I write focuses, things I need to improve, like obedience or like my relationship with my companion or developing a particular Christ-like attribute.  I write those focuses and then goals attached to them.  I have four sections: 1) Spiritual, 2) Physical health, 3) Personal quirks and things I am working on, and 4) Japanese (it’s coming).  It’s been awesome.  I’ve done it for three weeks so far, and I feel so much progress.  I’m starting to see how many goals I make and don’t follow through with.  I think that’s been the biggest thing.  So this week I’m working on diligence, following through with the things I set. 

I’ve learned that I love to cook.  Sister Nagano gave us a bunch of recipes, and I’ve started to try and make them.  And while I’m not a great cook yet, I do love it!  It’s a lot of fun. 

I’m so excited to Skype next month.  I miss you all so much and I love you!

Friends, I love all of you.  Family, I love you so much.   And Mama & Dada, I love you the most.  And also, Grandpa and Grandma, I love you the most.  That’s why I bought this:

Bye bye!  Take care!  Have a good week!

スタウト長老! ^o^

Elder Stout! :D

General Conference

I remembered just the other day that we have Mother's Day coming up pretty soon here and we'll be able to Skype again!! :)

Today Elder Li said, "Wait, hold up!  Is it the 11th?" "Um... yeah, it is!" "That means I've been a missionary for 5 months!!  WOW." I can't believe how fast my mission is whisking by.  When I counted on my hands for like 3 minutes (it's been a while since I was in a math class,) I realized, "It's been 9 months and 11 days since I've been a missionary!" Pretty soon it will have been a full year since I left, but I honestly, no joke, still feel like I just barely got into the field.

So, things continue to go pretty well!  This week was fairly rough in one way: we've had to drop almost half of our investigators because they just don't answer phone calls.   But I know that we found them for a reason.  I'm confident that one day in the future, various missionaries will call each and every one of their phone numbers and they will all have been ready to accept the invitation, which Jesus Christ extends to all people to learn of Him and become truly happy.  It was an honor being lead to them and to try to strengthen them to the best of our abilities!

OH!  Just a random little thing: I like natto now!  (The nasty looking slimy fermented beans in a little Styrofoam cup with mustard!) I've started eating it almost every day.  It's super healthy and tastes really good once you get over the initial sliminess. Although, something I like a liiiiiiittle more than natto is the MARSHMALLOW MATEY'S A MEMBER GAVE US FROM THE US MILITARY BASE AROUND HERE!  I've eaten way too many of those in way to short a period of time, but sweet goodness American Cereal might be my favorite kind of food.  Also, it reminded me of how when us kids would go shopping with you we wouldn't get anything, but when we went with Dad, he'd always break down and buy us tons of cereal ;)

Cherry burger.  It tasted like America!

This lady knew Tim & LaNae!!  We met her at the temple on splits (this is me and district leader, Elder Morris.  Stout family, you may recognize him as the Elder Morris who went through the temple for the first time the same time as Todd did :D )

Sekuba is a young adult in our ward, he's awesome XD

The highlight of this week was definitely conference!  Tsukagoshi San was able to make it to two sessions and a pasta dinner after one of them! :D Despite General Conference being a little difficult for him to understand, he really liked it.  The Lord's blessing him as he does his best!!  We've pushed his baptismal date back a little bit so that he can internalize all the lessons and so that we can teach everything, but his desire is still strong.

The highlights of conference for me.... wow, I don't even know.  #1 highlight was just the way I felt throughout the whole thing.  General

Conference helps me to feel the spirit more than almost anything else, and I've truly come to love the words of our inspired prophets.  But, if I had to make a top 4 favorite moments and thoughts list....

1. Elder Holland's talked, particularly the idea that we get credit for trying.  I needed this talk as I'm sure so many others did.  I've felt so inadequate lately, but I know that it's in The Lord's plan that we're imperfect, and he doesn't expect us to get everything right the first time.  That was Satan's plan, one where we had no agency or happiness.  We need to mess up to learn how to be happy!

2. The miracles we heard about and the reality of the Priesthood which was attested to.  President Neilson's talk especially was so powerful for me.  Sometimes we forget of the reality of the power within this church.  We are so protected and have the ability to do everything The Lord requires at our hand IF we do our best to keep his commandments and don't get lazy.

3. President Uchtdorf tearing up immediately following the talk about service to those truly in need, our immigrant brethren and sisters. The talk made me think deeply, "Well, I don't know if I know any immigrants..." and then I saw the look on President Uchtdorf's face and I couldn't hold back tears myself.  We all know someone who began at the lowest point a person can be in this world and who is now a devoted servant of our Heavenly Father serving hundreds of thousands of His children.  I want to help them in every way that I can and I hope you do too!

4. President Monson's talk.  It sounded almost identical to a talk he's given before and it made me think really deeply why that was the message The Lord asked him to deliver.  It occurred to me that The Lord teaches line upon line and precept upon precept, and if we were ready for the next line, President Monson would have delivered it.  I wrote down the question in my notebook last week, "What lack I yet?" and one part of my answer was that I need to heed the words of our living prophet and take his simple powerful messages much more seriously.

All right, that's my time for today.  I love you so much and pray for you every day!  I hope everyone is well back home. :) Take care of each other!!

Love you so much!!

スタウト長老! ^o^

Elder Stout! :D