MAY 15, 2016 - So apparently I look old enough to have a 19 year old daughter who is actually my companion.....

Hey y'all! This whole week we were so busy yet we didn't really do anything....sigh. Let's see, Monday we had a district movie day and we watched 17 Miracles which was very inspiring and probably the best acting I've seen for a very long time.  I love the restoration but the video for it is pretty terrible. Or the movie the legacy...if you don't know what I'm talking about go look it up and you'll understand.

We have a pretty cool district. Elder Weakly is our district leader and his comp is an older version of Sister Giron. Oh man...Tuesday we biked everywhere! We biked to Yao and then to Habikino which is an hour bike ride to both places each going in different directions.
And, it rained!  And we stopped for lunch and turns out my comp left a banana in her bag...yeah, that was gross. Last but not least we taught eikaiwa, literally soaked....At the beginning of the day I was soaked because I was hot and by the end I was soaked because of biking in the rain.

I also almost died. I feel like this is a constant though...I was going down hill and this van pops up out of nowhere and to avoid it I pull the breaks and my tire was on a metal grate which are traps of the devil and it spun my tire and I fell off my bike. Except the way I
fell, according to Larsen, was like I fell like I was trying to sit down...I don't know but it was annoying. 

Wednesday I flippin' lost my companion!!! I was biking right and I turn around and she's Gone! No where to be seen! So that was an ordeal. Don't worry I found her. She called from a pay phone. She's like so I got stuck behind a light....when we were reunited we hugged! It was happy. 

We also taught Waka-Chan about The Gospel of Jesus Christ! Oh yeah! We spent an hour
on faith because she likes to go deep. Which by the way my friends, have you ever looked up the definition of the word 'Gospel'? Well I have and like whoa! It means good news! I'm literally spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ or the good news about Jesus! Awe ya....wow
you all probably think I'm weird for how I write my emails....and your are probably right but this is because my source of entertainment is finding out Jesus was a boss at comebacks to the Pharisees and that the church produced the video "The Phone Call" back in the 80's. Now if you haven't seen this I invite you all to go repent and go and watch it. 

Where was I...oh, yes,Thursday we went to go visit my most favorite Sister Fisher and her daughter Lani!  Fisher Shimai always gives me hugs and she's like a mom, and has the brightest smile. She always wants me to help her daughter "discretely" of course. I'm glad I can help her through helping Lani -chan. Also it hit me this week that I'm a year older than my comp and the elders...eww. *Shutters*    After we visited with them and talked about hope, read Alma 34:41 and Hebrews 6:19-which hope we have as an anchor of the soul"- they are awesome and realizing this sentence is turning into a run on, we went and
visited the bishop's wife and had SNOW CONES!   If y'all didn't know that is like my favorite frozen treat. So ya...it was a good day. 

Friday we had district meeting! Whoa! Ya...I realize that you probably have no idea what that is...it's just a meeting to talk about things and then we go get crepes afterwards. 'Bout it...afterwards we went and visited a member and she showed us her wedding photos....oh my, I'll send pictures. Then we biked back over to Habikino and taught English to our Muslim investigator. She keeps giving us things, like food and bangles and she has her absolutely adorable daughter to call us to make sure we keep coming back.....ugh it's hard, I love her so much but it's beginning to be a lot of time not doing missionary stuffs.

Saturday we went to the church to finish planning and this guy just shows up. He asked for the elders and it turns out he's like a recent convert. We talk to him for a bit but we're like this is way weird so we called the elders no answer..we're not supposed to be alone with a
dude. P.S. I'm questioning this last sentence and it's grammar because my English brain and my Japanese brain mix and now I can speak neither language. Anyway, so we talk to him try to help him out and he starts telling us his "problems." Like things that should be told to a bishop not two sisters. It was awkward. So awkward and he was kinda creepy. Not full on creep but just a little off...

Then, oh this is the best, then I get this phone call from my investigator, Jheff!! Saturday was his baptism! He was in my last area. He talked to me and told me how grateful he was to me and Sister Gibson. And he just kept saying over and over again how happy he was, how now he can walk to the church by himself, and how he is so happy he found God and happiness!  He and I were crying on the phone together and I told him how much he
means to me and Sister Gibson and he told me that no one has ever really told him that before...I love Jheff so much and now he is not and investigator but a member!!!! I know this gospel brings happiness because Jheff is proof of that. 

Sunday was uneventful which was nice. Usually our Sunday's are pretty crazy and stressful. It was just nice to calmly meet our new ward mission leader and he's way chill.  Probably the most exciting thing about Sunday was that at the church a bunch of musicians came to play classical music and my heart melted and I miss playing French horn sooo much! Today we're headed to....The POKEMON CENTER!!! Ya that's right!  Today I'm a nerd along with the elders...my companion not so much but she'll join in on the weirdness when we're there. I'll tell you how that goes. Oh, as to the title of this email, that's 'cause some old lady asked if I was my comps mom.....so sad..I felt old.

I love you all so incredibly much and I am so happy! I love my family,
I love this Good news, and I know the truth and no one can take that away from me!

Love y'all,
Oswald Shimai