My joy is full!

AH! The baptism was the best day ever, and this weekend was great, too. I'll write more about the confirmation in a bit :) But it's so true mama. He did look different. He's always had a special spirit, but after his baptism I felt like he had become perfect. And he basically had. Ah! It was so amazing. From day one, Bu has had the desire to be forgiven of his sins, and become a follower of Christ. I'm really feeling connected lately to the scripture we all know from Doctrine and Covenants 18:13-15. Bu felt so much joy on that special day. He told us that he felt bright. He felt the spirit.

"And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!

Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people.

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!"

My joy is full.

But with this great joy, also came something a little bit sad. The very next day, Elder T. Stout was transferred. You asked me, Mama, if it was hard to say goodbye to Elder Stout. In truth, it was among the saddest moments of my life to let go of him as my companion. I don't believe another missionary has ever been so heartbroken at a transfer. There were a lot of tears shed. I really feel like that final day as companions marked the end of our childhoods. 

Not only that, but the end of a truly great period of change in the Sanjo Branch which has become possibly the most special place in the world for me. When I hugged him goodbye and he got on the bus, what I felt was something akin to how I felt the day I said goodbye to you and dad and Megan and Hudson at the MTC. It took me by serious shock, and I was a bit out of sorts for the next several days. In fact, I probably still am. It was sad knowing I probably won't see him again for a year and a half, and a lot will change in that time. I can't put into words how these last few months have impacted mine and Elder T. Stout's lives. I am eternally grateful to him and the Lord for allowing us to experience it all together. The Lord is kind. :)

But Elder Ulrich is here now. He's an amazing elder!! Full of the spirit, he's obedient, kind, really big and smart and a great natural leader! He's actually been to most of my past areas :D

His first area was in Chiba (same zone as Narita,) next area was Sanjo (where we are ;) next was Shibuya (that's when we became friends! Actually, fun fact, when he was going to Sanjo the first time, he and I traveled together and he dropped me off in Shibuya before he left.) then he went to Sakado and then Urawa (both in Saitama, part of it being while I was there!) and then he came back here. So we have a lot of connections! :D It's been way cool. I forgot what it's like having a companion who's not your childhood best friend. Sometimes the apartment gets like... quiet. It's weird. But I'm getting readjusted to the old life-style of getting to know my companion! And it's been a lot of fun.

Update on our kyudoshya's!

Asako is now a third of the way through Alma, committed to finish as soon as she can. She's meeting with the sisters. She is very busy, though, with I think two jobs. so pray she can make time! She said she wants me to confirm her if I can, and for Elder Ulrich to baptize her if he can!!!! AKA, she needs to get baptized in like 5 weeks. And she knows it. So that's the plan! More to come later.

Okamura san met us today and is looking really good to get baptized this month! :D He always takes great notes, and currently has a stack of church materials including: the Book of Mormon, several pamphlets, a priesthood class manual, and a Hymnal! He loves the church and we sat next to each other yesterday in Sacrament meeting. Woot woot!

Sister Hoshino's husband (the member who I mentioned earlier,) has met with us consistently once a week for nearly a month now. That's a new record for the last several years!! He's also finally really making progress because we're taking it really slow. In the past, we've moved too fast. We're now realizing he's missing key Christian ideologies that make it impossible to understand the Book of Mormon, even though he reads it daily. So that's our focus. Please pray he can make it to church this week :D

Met Mark and his Mom and they were both so happy to see us. They said we can come over again. Still haven't been able to share the message with them for various reasons, but I think that this week that'll change!! Please pray for them too!!

Toshiki is struggling right now. Yui is getting really really close. They're together in the hospital. Lots of prayers would be helpful. I also pray that they'll both be baptized before I leave, but it's hard to tell as this point.

(Gomen, sorry for asking for so many prayers )

Thanks so much for your support! :D It was truly the best kind of experience. Yesterday, Bu came to church early and I explained how the confirmation goes down and what all of the words mean, directly following that, I was able to perform the blessing in Japanese. It was a first, and kind of scary, but one of the most sacred and powerful moments of my life, when I placed my hand on Bu's head, and then President Nakagawa and his counselors, Brother Tsuchida and Brother Kumagai, and then Elder Ulrich and two other Melchizedek priesthood holders joined. A sweet member named Sister Hoshino wrote the blessing down and asked me to rewrite it from kanji into hiragana so that Bu can always have it as a memorial. :) What a sweet experience.

We got dinner one more time with Bu, and it was unreal. He told us that he already has a builder's license and lots of experience with buying property, and also has made enough money here in Japan to be well off when he returns. He plans to build the first Mormon church in Myanmar. In his words, "There are a lot of Buddhist's who need the gospel. And Myanmar people would love it! They've just never heard it.  We can do this! We can do this..."

His referral, Mrs. Taguma (or Sandy) is preparing with the Niigata Sisters now to be able to be baptized in the next month or so. She's so golden!!! It was a pleasure to work with her as much as we did.

What else? Anything else...? Um, I think for now, that'll have to do. I'm loving the work so much right now! We're sprinting to the finish line here in Sanjo!!

I love you more! ;) Thank you for your wonderful letters :) I miss you so much. Glad to hear you're doing well and had a great mother's day. I love you so so much!!

Love,

    Elder Stout :D

          🇺🇸  •  🇯🇵

スタウト長老 ^o^

  

Packing . . . 

Locking the door for the last time in 7 months before giving me the keys...

Train snacks one more time. These ones were our favorite!

Bu's baptism!

Yesterday, Bu was baptized. So many miracles went into this event. Last week on Sunday we invited him to be baptized, and he said, "I know that everything you tell me is true, but I don't know if I know enough to get baptized yet..." Just then, the church got really loud and some kids interrupted our lesson and Elder Stout and I looked at each other, and in that moment, if we had said nothing, then that's how it would've ended. But in that moment we opened our mouths, even though it was scary, and said, "Bu, you know enough. When we were baptized, we were 8 years old. We had never read the bible, we didn't know much, but we knew that the Book of Mormon caused us to feel the spirit, and that praying made us feel joy. We didn't know everything, but we knew enough. And it's the same with you."

He thought about it for a couple minutes, and then we said, "Will you pray about it, and ask God tonight if you should be baptized?"

That night we called the entire zone and asked all of the missionaries to pray. I also asked all of you to pray :) The next time we saw him on Tuesday morning, he welcomed us in with a big smile. He sat us down, we laid out some pictures for the lesson we'd prepared, and then he asked, "What time is the baptism?"

He passed his interview with flying colors, at church right after the meetings ended we drove up to Niigata, and at the baptism, Elder T. Stout preformed the ordinance. Afterword, Bu stood up in front of everyone in the Ward and gave this simple testimony in Japanese similar to that of a young missionary:

"I am so grateful for this day. I am grateful to God. I am grateful for baptism. I am grateful for you and your kindness.

"When I first met Elder Stout and Elder Stout, I really wanted to learn about Jesus Christ. But I did not know if I believed. I also was afraid that I would not be able to learn, because I do not speak Japanese. I did not speak English. Sometimes, I got frustrated when it was difficult to understand.

"But now I know that God lives. And I know that he loves me. And because he loves me, I was able to learn. Because I know he loves me, I got baptized.

"Baptism is not an end. It is a beginning. So, everyone, I am looking forward to learning together with you."

It was a perfect testimony. Absolutely perfect. The spirit was so powerful as the piano began playing "I Am a Child of God."

What made Elder Stout and I the most happy is that not only was Bu baptized, but he is converted unto the Lord. He testifies powerfully that when he reads the scriptures he loses his desire to do evil, and feels warmth and peace and happiness. He is so excited for the day that the Book of Mormon will be completed in his language. I'm positive that he will go on to be a great servant of the Lord in Myanmar in two years when he moves back.

I know that this church is true and that through the power of God we can do all things. In my interview with Sister Nagano this week, I realized that the biggest lesson I've learned in the last several months has been about Hope. When we have true hope, we know that the Lord does nothing without a purpose. When we have hope, we can be happy saints even in the midst of difficulty :) All things work for the good of those who serve God.

Ps, funny story, after the baptism we walked out to realize that they didn't have towels. President Nakagawa and the rest of our branch's members/Niigata's members looked at me and asked, "You didn't bring towels?!" Astonished, I responded: "Preach My Gospel doesn't say anything about towels!!!" We were lucky that the Relief Society woman were kind enough to find a bag of dish rags that they used to dry off 

The guy Elder Swenson and I found on the street because of the popped tire last week! He came to church and saw the baptism!!!

The next morning, we answer the phone nervously. It was one of President Nagano's assistants. He informed us that I will be staying in the area with an old missionary who I know very well named Elder Ulrich to finish my mission. Elder T. Stout will be heading off to an area neither of us know anything about: Ushiku. We are both beyond sad to see this era come to an end.
I think this truly marks the end of my childhood. My time with T. Stout Choro has wrapped up the last 20 years in such a sweet way, I'm so grateful to God for giving us such an amazing ending to the best years of youth anyone could ask for. We've both grown a lot, and we both have lots of growing to do in our new areas, and the Lord is well aware of that. I know He'll watch out for him, but I'm going to miss him a lot. Sanjo won't be the same without Elder Todd LeLand Stout. Neither will I.

We made a mural of all of the good times/funny pics we've taken/made. The kanji on there reads "tenkin", or "transfers." We're hanging it in the apartment in a big picture form so nobody forgets who loved Sanjo the most.

Last appointment with the Hoshino's and Elder T. Stout :(

Got yakiniku for our last P-Day!!

The crew's bikes as viewed from the reihaidou (chapel). These are always outside of the church when the four missionaries are in teaching lessons. 

Yui's registered in the hospital to have the baby!! Wait . . .

The red sun. "Blood has been shed this night." ;)

I love you Mama! I will tell you more about this area and the other people next week, so stay tuned :) We've got the final 6 weeks in Sanjo coming!!

    Elder Stout :D

          🇺🇸  •  🇯🇵

スタウト長老 ^o^

Toshiki and Yui are married!

It was so much fun to skype call you!!! :)

I love the craziness of the calls, that's one of my favorite things about them :) I love having the little nieces and nephews running around being funny :)

Skyping the Stouts!!

Skyping Hazy ;)

Oh wow. The day that elder Stout and I saw each other again was really emotional, I can't explain it. A year and a half since I'd seen family.. I have a feeling that seeing ALL of you again is gonna be way way way emotional and super fun, and if it's anything like seeing Todd again, it'll be 3 days of nonstop talking!! I am so excited to see you again, but I'm gonna make the most of my time here while I can! :)

I think God is going to give us the same blessings you wrote about, mama. Toshiki (Okuzawa) went to the city office today. And you know his ex-girlfriend? Her name is now officially Yui Okuzawa.

He's getting baptized soon, possibly this week, possibly on Sunday. We're contacting President Nagano tonight to let him know. Next email, Toshiki may be a member of the church :) The prayers are working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hahaha!

Best buds!

No news on Bu yet, I'll get back to you on that soon!! :)

We're really excited to visit Brother Maeda again and talk with him. Having him at church was such a wonderful experience, the spirit was so strong. :) It wasn't just him though, we had Myla, the lady that approached elder Stout and I at the train station and her daughter came too. They're best friends with the ward and the sisters now, and said they'll be back next week after hugging everyone!! :) Same with Taguma san, Bu's friend. She loved church! It was the most full Sunday I've ever seen in Sanjo. We'll need a new church building soon! :D (they were taking pictures with the woman in the ward and then Myla asked us to jump in...)

My mission has already been the best two years of my life so far, these experiences have changed who I am. I'm so grateful to God for loving me enough to give me such a wonderful life.

I just want to tell anyone who's even considering a mission, "DO IT!!!"

The Lord has been blessing so much as every morning we wake up and do a ward phone call at 7 o'clock and pray together that we'll see growth in the ward as everyone does their best to spread the gospel. (We were asked to do so by Elder Choi, so of course we have been ;)

What a blessed time in Japan!! :D

The matsuri (festival) was the best!!! Matsuri are one of my favorite things about Japan!! The food, the shops, the atmosphere, is just so fun. Being a foreigner makes it even better because everyone just gawks at you and pokes their friends and points and says, "Ikemen!" (Which means, "They're so cool!" Because we're American) it's good for your self esteem ;) I'll send lots of pics!! :)

Chocolate bananas :D Super popular at matsuri.

Tons of good foods!

A bunch of monks gathered at "Lawson" the convience store after their parade.

Haunted house at the matsuri. 

Rice farming 2 weeks ago! :D

On splits with my zone leader, we were with a recent convert coming back from helping on another rice field and got a flat tire, and while walking ran into a debut for a new movie where they had one of the race cars on display. So he demanded that we snap a cool pic. 

I love you so much mama, seeing you and everyone else today was the best!!! :) I love you! Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Always your baby,

    Elder Stout :D

          🇺🇸  •  🇯🇵

スタウト長老 ^o^

Please pray for Bu!

It's amazing how many life changing experiences and revelations I've received on my mission. I know there's a lot more in the "raisei" (japanese for "next life" ;) However, I really have come to understand that there's a lot I DON'T understand, since being on a mission. I have really come to just love every part of life. I'm really loving where I'm at right now! :) Only one more transfer. 8 weeks sounds like a while, but one transfer FLIES by for me. Especially the last 5 transfers ;)
I love Japan so much. I loved it before my mission, but now it feels like home. I've become completely obsessed with virtually every aspect of the culture. I'm far enough in the spoken and written language to want to go all the way and just completely master it :) I get really sad thinking, though, that I probably won't spend much of my life here. It would make more sense to live in America close to family. But every day that goes by, I love this place more and more. I haven't said it to anyone but my companion, but I almost just want to go to college here in Sanjo at the Niigata University and then help the missionaries and branch to become a ward! Haha, so, your letter was perfect for me to here. What you said about most of my life being ahead of me... well, it's very true :)
I'm so grateful for the wonderful examples of saints you and mom are to us kids. I'm also way grateful for the efforts you've always put in to apply what the brethren teach: family night, weekly PPIs, daily scripture study, letting us make decisions for ourselves, etc. . . You two really are the best parents in the world.

Yep, I'm just doing my best here. I'm remembering that many of the apostles never saw a baptism on their mission. What you said about Elder Maxwell made me feel better, because he's grown to be a hero of mine (and in Elder Bednar's words, "a modern Isaiah," in the eyes of many,) kind of in the same way that hearing that President Hinckley almost came home earlier helped me overcome selfish thoughts in the beginning of my mission. I just really really want to be able to see some of the people that I teach enter into the waters of baptism for several reasons. 1) The church in Japan has been on the decline for sometime, and I want so badly to change that, because I love this country and these people with all of my heart. 2) I know the joy that the gospel can bring, and just want people to accept that!! There was a time at the beginning of my mission that I had a hard time testifying because I was just nervously following a script I learned in the MTC, but then I was hit with revelation that every single good thing in my life happened because of this church and you (and mom) deciding to raise me in it. From then on, it became very easy. I want others to understand that too!! 3) As a missionary, I want to fulfill the measure of my creation. And I've thought for a long time that I couldn't unless I was baptizing people. Some missionaries in other countries say that, "It was when I gave myself up and wanted it more than anything else that we baptized 2 families!" And sometimes, even that isn't enough to see baptisms in Japan. But What I do know, is that the blessings I've received from my mission are endless. I've changed so much and have the fire that I'm sure many other young men have when they come back, where I want to be a super good young men's adviser, scout leader, mission prep teacher, and home teacher. What I want to be can be described by the documentary about President Thomas S. Monson on the Gospel Library App. I don't mean the impressive callings at all, though, I just mean when he was called as a young men's leader it wasn't just good for those boys, the program exploded in size. I want to be that kind of dedicated servant of the lord! No matter what I do, make it something great.

So even though sometimes it's hard, I've realized that I am fulfilling the measure of my calling as a missionary, and am doing exactly what the Lord wants me to do. If I weren't, I wouldn't see daily miracles. It's amazing the difference I see in my life now from what I was like before my mission. I still have a long way to go, but a slightly shorter way than before ;)

This week was awesome. I don't even know where to start. Maybe with something funny.

Today we went out to eat with Toshiki and his brother Ren. We got playing Tic-Tac-Toe, and then after a hundred rounds wanted to raise the stakes, so we started a game of it that was made of 9 smaller games. If you won a game, you filled the whole thing in. Sadly, I won. After that, we started talking to Sister Okuzawa and Yui, and then I glanced back to see Toshiki going crazy trying to figure out some strategies. He fills in an X (his shape,) then a O (my shape,) and then an X, and then a O, a third X, and then a third O, then pauses, realizing he had cut himself off making a win on either side impossible.

He looked around uncomfortably for a split second, and then quickly sketched an X on top of the O. 

 I about died laughing. Realizing that I had watched, he got a little embarrassed, "Yeah... I lost against myself...."

We asked them about their wedding. Everyone just got a little awkward saying they still haven't contacted his grandmother. I think there's probably a lot more to it, because... weddings are kinda a big deal ;) But I think we should keep praying that they'll be married soon.

Bu is the most prepared person I've ever met in my life. I'm just gonna keep saying it.

After our dendo fireside last week he introduced us to his friend Taguma Mieko. She and her daughters came to mission school last week. Well, we also met on Sunday (sadly due to some issues they weren't able to make church, but they'll be coming this week for sure!) We taught the Plan of Salvation which she was really interested in, and we made plans to meet again this week! For Bu, we have met 3 times, and haven't taught him the commandments because of Taguma san being there... We're grateful that we have a new friend to teach, but he is right on the edge of getting baptized, so we decided to just show up at his house tonight to see if we can teach him a little bit! If all goes well, he will be baptized the Saturday after this one on the 20th. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PRAY THAT HE'LL MAKE IT!!!

Oh! For the mother's day call, let's do it on Japan's May 15th at 10:00 AM (Tokyo Time.) Does that work for you? :) I can't wait!!! It can only be 40 minutes, so we'll need to watch the clock. I'm seriously so excited for this call, I can't handle it!! :) Can you believe Stouto Choro and I will be here for a second one?? It's gonna be awesome :D

Okamura san is doing great! :D He's come to church two weeks in a row, and has committed to continue to do so. He's doing super great! We love teaching him.

Yes, I got a nice and long letter from Grandpa and I can't wait to share it with Maeda Kyoudai! :D We won't be able to until about Wednesday because we've been very busy, but I'll get his number as soon as possible!!! Tell grandpa I'm so grateful for 1) His help and support and prayers 2) His amazing stories that I absolutely love to hear!! It makes me so happy that we shared a mission area :D Also, I didn't know he was companions with his brother!!! THAT'S SO COOL!! Just like me! :D

Also, I wrote a good deal about my feelings of coming back to Japan with you four. Suffice it to say: YES. I'm gonna give you the royal tour of my mission, and it's gonna be awesome. Also, dad has to record the whole thing as the ultimate record of the best two years of my life so far with lots of footage and interviews on public trains and in front of church's and at members homes and stuff ;)

Haha, those pics of the recital were so cute! :D I wish I coulda been there for lil' Lylah Grace. I'll go to her recitals later on in life, though! I love our family so much! I'm glad you had a great time. 

I also really love hearing your insights from woman's conference. It's become a favorite past time of ours to look up devotionals and study them during dinner and after 9 o'clock. I've come to be really good at studying. In the words of Elder Morris, "Man, that zone conference was only 3 hours, it was so short! I like the 6 hour ones more. Wait.... what did I just say....? What happened to me?!? 3 hours of church used to be so long!!!"

I love you so much too! :) Talk to you soon :D :D :D

Your favorite child,

    Elder Stout :D

          🇺🇸  •  🇯🇵

スタウト長老 ^o^