I just want to be with Elder T. Stout in Sanjo for the rest of my mission.

Hahaha, no worries, I was just joking :) Aw man, really! President Dorff is the best!! I love that man. Tell him thanks for me, if you can! :) I really appreciate all he did for me and the other missionaries in Urawa, and everything he still does for this work on a daily basis. He is one of the most dedicated people I've ever met. Is his son Ren living in Utah right now? I knew he had plans to move several months ago. I hope I'll get to see him some day, because Ren is such a cool kid!

Yes! Oh man, I didn't take a picture, but I did buy a Kimono! :D It's just a dark blue one, but it looks way cool. There's no sash for it though, the shop didn't have one... do we have one back home? :\ Anyway, I also got a Miyazaki film statuette that you have to assemble yourself AND PAINT. (Naussica, or however you spell it ;) It was my childhood favorite!) It's going to be boxed for the duration of my mission, but it's gonna be a way fun and cool art project/souvenir! It was a wonderful birthday! Thanks for the birthday wishes, those are always the best part.

Birthdays are awesome. 

Toshiki and Yui!! :D They've been preparing for the wedding. So, here's the current update: They're shooting for the 11th here at the church, and then Toshiki is hoping to get baptized as soon as he can after that. Yui recently saw a small miracle in answer to her prayer, and because of that has told the sisters, "I think I believe!" Which is an amazing start. However, although she wants to be baptized (and especially wants Toshiki to get baptized and receive the priesthood because it's "so cool!!" And "attractive!",) her parents don't love Christianity. There may be a few more complications before she can get baptized, but she's working with the sisters on it!

As for Toshiki, he's looking way good! We did a fake baptismal interview and he passed! He's way ready to get it over with, and has been consistently coming to church and meeting as much as he's able. It's amazing to see the change that's come about in him! We hope with all our hearts that we'll both be here for the baptism, but.... transfers are next week.

I just want to be with Elder T. Stout in Sanjo for the rest of my mission (only two transfers left anyway,) but the odds are not in our favor. However, they NEVER have been, so we're feeling pretty confident we'll be companions ;)

Bu is also doing AMAZING!! We taught him the Word of Wisdom, and he said, "I haven't smoked since I was a kid. Tea makes my stomach hurt. As soon as I started reading the bible several years ago, I've felt like I need to stop drinking alcohol. Coffee will be hard, but if God says it's important, I will stop." And, he said at various times: "Well, you and I, we're Mormons. But my friend....." He considers himself a member. Because he basically is.

He won't make his baptismal date this week because his work got even busier, but its only going to be pushed back 1 or 2 weeks (we'll talk to him tomorrow about it!)

Haha, I expect Mark to be a way good missionary. He's kind of taking a break from the lessons right now, and so it may be a while before he's baptized. But he came to a youth activity last week which was fantastic!! It just felt right to have him as one of the young men (with another non-member there as well, it was a wild success!)

Mark wasn't in the pic cuz he left early for work, but he was there for most of the activity!

Also, as you can tell, the kid between Elder T. Stout and I had the time of his life.

Mission school is doing fantastic!!!!! :D We had our first Saturday meet ever and there were 5 students! All members, but that was still a GREAT start! We're continuing to focus on it, so it'll only be getting better and better! I'll try to take some better pics and stuff to show you next week :) We're hoping that we're gonna be able to find tons of new students soon.

This is Yuji! He's a way cool rocker. He's the son of one of our ward members. We're hoping to get to meet with him a lot more from now on after going to sushi together! So fun!

I can't wait to hear it!! :D Actually, in Japan, we always watch conference a week late, so I'll be viewing it next week. I can't wait! Conference is my favorite thing ever! I can imagine that General Conference for missionary-me is like the super bowl for a crazy sports fan. I get way hyped. The whole time I'm just on the edge of my seat soaking the whole thing in and taking notes and loving it... I can't believe I used to fall asleep when I was younger ;)

Oh wow! When you ask for ideas about the spirit, a million come to mind. But if they're for a little grill getting baptized... let's see....

I think I would say that the spirit is like a fish. Fish don't have legs, right? They can't walk on land! But they can swim. Fish can only live in water. When we are baptized, Heavenly Father promises that he will send the spirit to be with us all the time if we are good little boys and good little girls. Well, the spirit, just like a fish, needs "water" to swim in. And our hearts are like fishtanks!  

That "water" is goodness. If we have no water, the spirit cannot come! If we are not good, we can't have the spirit in our hearts! How sad! But don't worry, we can fix that.

When we are nice to our sisters, we pour more water into our hearts.When we tell the truth to mommy and daddy even if it's scary, we fill up a little more water!

And when we smile and tell our friends that they are smart and pretty, we fill up even more! And when we have lots of "water" or goodness in our hearts, the spirit comes in. And swims around.

He feels like happiness inside of your heart! But it comes one drop of water at a time. Remember to always be nice and kind just like Jesus, and you will feel the spirit every day! :)

Oh man, that sounds like such a fun service opportunity!! How's Mark and Emily's house?? It looks amazing in the pictures! :D Mark sounds way excited, and I am too. On the topic, when are Megan and Dan gonna buy their house, again? And where are they thinking of building it? Everyone's so old!

I love reading your emails, too. It makes me happy to hear that everyone's doing well. I also really enjoy your spiritual thoughts. I can't wait to hear that talk, because I need to work on being a "first responder" too.

I hope that the analogy for Lucy Jo was good enough. There's actually a much deeper version of the analogy in reference to the spirit of Christ and missionary work, but that'll have to wait for another day ;) 

I love you!! :)

    Elder Stout :D

          🇺🇸  •  🇯🇵

スタウト長老 ^o^