Hello friends and family!
Here is the week of elder Dunn!
月曜日
We awoke at the normal time on and did some sit ups and push ups. Then
had our studies. Right after studies we went to the church and worked
on my companions college application for the next 3 hours. We got a
fair amount of it done. He just has his essays and other parts to
finish up. I found out that my companion was the best in the world at
skeet shooting before he joined the church, then quit so he could go
to church on Sunday's! Talk about a conversion! We then went to
Costco, and spent a ton. My companion and I were kids in a candy
store! We bought all kinds of delicious foods. One of the members Misu
Kyodai drove us so we emailed while in the car. It was really funny
putting 4 giant white people into a tiny car with a bunch of food.
After getting back to the apartment we quickly finished emails, and
ran to the church to send them off. We then had an awesome time of
dendo. We felt like we needed to go down a certain street, so we
headed in that direction. We went down some pretty sketchy streets,
but then we found our guy! We stopped a high school student and were
able to share some of the Book of Mormon with him! He was so excited
to get the Book of Mormon! It was awesome! After that we talked to a
few more people. We invented a game that helps us, "count the smiling
people" it is fun, but kind of sad because the ratio is always pretty
low. So all of you reading this, SMILE MORE, you never know how far a
simple smile goes! We talked to a few more people than ran home to
make curfew.
火曜日
After lunch we went out went to the church. There we went to the
church, there we found the sisters and other elders there. The
district leader was doing the baptismal interview, it took over 2
hours! We left before it was finished though. We began walking by the
eki, and a woman approached us in English. "Hello, are you
missionaries?" she asked. "Yeah, we are for that church over there."
We responded. (The eki is a 3-5 minute walk from the church) She then
proceeded to tell us how she was looking for a church and wanted to
know about ours. Then she set up a return appointment for the the next
day! Talk about a neat miracle. We the continued walking to the other
side of the eki, we ran into a man and talked to him for a little bit
and as soon as we told him our nickname is "Mormon" he became really
uncomfortable around us. My companion then asked, "what do you know
about our church?" To that he responded, "A lot" he responded.
"Really? Like what?" My companion answered. "Well nothing actually."
He was trying to frustrate us and pull us in circles. So we gave him a
Book of Mormon and invited him to learn, he declined though. We then
began our hike toward Nishihachioji which is a few kilometers away. It
was an enjoyable walk, we stopped in every drug store, in search of
insoles, sadly they do not carry insoles, or if they do they are not
comfortable looking at all. Our target was to visit a few less actives
in the area, sadly none of them were home, which was kind of a bummer.
The people we talked to kept rejecting us really badly, it was a rough
day on both of us. We then came home, ate dinner, and listened to a
BYU devotional. After dinner we went Streeting nearby the church. We
talked to a college student who we were able to pray with. Hearing
someone utter their first aloud prayer in possibly their life is a
very special and exciting opportunity, especially when they pray with
real intent. After our lesson on the street we went to the church to
teach ishikawa Kyodai, he is a recent convert so we are teaching the
lessons to him again. We decided to let him teach us the lesson this
time. It was a good lesson, it reminded me of how I taught at the MTC.
水曜日
We had a lesson at 8 so went to the church in the rain to meet Adam.
It was a great lesson, we learned however that we really need a
Chinese speaking member to help us. He understands about half of what
we say, which isn't very helpful to us. We decided to stay and study
there, then came home for lunch. After lunch we went out to go find
people. We talked to a few people here and there. One at a bus stop,
one in a park, and a few others here and there. We really have been
focusing on inspired questions as a companionship. Such as asking,
"what is your life's desire?" Or "Have you ever thought life after
death before?" The responses have been wide and varied and a lot of
the time humorous. However it helps us gauge more easily what people
need to hear. We talked to one man, who was so excited to hear our
message. It startled both of us, because of the stark
rejection-stricken-contrast of the day before. We asked him if he
would learn more, he said yes, but in two weeks, next week I am going
to Korea. However he promised us he would read in the meantime. After
that cool miracle, we housed a very traditional style Japanese house
where an old man came out, we shared a Mormon message with him that
touched him, however he had no interest still. The next few people
were nice but uninterested. We talked with a kid about snakes, that
was an interesting conversation. However it didn't really go anywhere
gospel-wise. He just isn't ready to hear yet. We then walked to the
church, to help the sisters with kids ekaiwa. However the other elders
were there so we were okay. We then went to the second floor to set up
for normal ekaiwa. We were both super hungry so we decided on eating
out at Go! Go! Curry, whose mascot is the gorilla. It is way
delicious. I ordered a huge, I mean huge meal. It was a pound and a
half of food. I felt sick after, but full none the less. My companion
had a hard time finishing his meal too! We then went to the church and
taught Tomo. When we started the lesson Tomo had a surprise for us, he
went to the Tokyo Temple with a friend and took pictures! It was so
cool! We talked about how the Bible and Book or Mormon support each
other and cross referenced it with both books. It was a fun lesson, I
took the lead in teaching. Then we had ekaiwa, it was fun. We asked
really deep questions for conversation class. I think it confused more
than helped any of them. After that we ate snacks with the students
and came home.
木曜日
Since it was our turn for the ward fast relay we woke up and lounged
around the apartment, and got ready, had studies, then had weekly
planning. It was pretty pitiful weekly planning session. We only had
to plan for two people. Everything was the same from last week which
was a little sad. We then went out to dendo. We talked to some really
prepared people. Like our new friend Takiyama who is a English teacher
nearby. He said he has Sunday's off and and is searching for religion.
He invited himself to church on Sunday! It was such a cool miracle! We
then kept walking and met M (I have no idea how to spell his name, but
that is what he told us) he is from Indonesia. I had the hardest time
understanding him. Thank goodness my companion is from the Deep South!
He was a great guy and asked us if he could have our phone number. The
miracles of fasting! We then went to go to a yakuniku place for
dinner, however it was way to expensive for our wallets. So we went in
search of another restaurant, we found sweets paradise which is a
sweets and curry restaurant. It was pretty good, definitely not the
best food I have eaten in Japan. We then went to the church so we
could get the keys to the font so we could clean it tomorrow. While we
were waiting I called a few potential investigators, it is great
Japanese practice. My Japanese cracks my companion up. In fact he fell
on the floor laughing. He is helping my Japanese improve a lot,
laughing helps when learning a new language. The zone leaders brought
the key, and the peanut butter we ordered! Now we have 8 pounds of
peanut butter! Yippee! We then went back to the apartment to drop it
off and house nearby. We ran into a guy around our age, he was really
nice and as we were talking to him, his dad walked up coming home from
work. We shared a little more about who we are, and showed them a
Mormon message! It was a great way to end our busy night.
金曜日
Our studies were amazing. We learned a lot about how to help our
investigators. For lunch Elder Eaton made a concoction. Let's just say
he won't be cooking anymore for us. After that excursion of sorts. We
went to the church to clean the font. Only there were no cleaning
chemicals so we walked to a store, bought some and cleaned the font.
After we came home changed into our Shirts and ties, and got ready to
go! Only I found another hole in my pants! So we glued it shut! Ha!
Take that! It was sprinkling so we took umbrellas. We walked through
the Eki, and talked to a few people of the other side. In Japan it is
actually illegal to proselyte in the Train Stations. We stopped a few
people, some of them were really funny about us. One old man told us,
"I am a Christian, and I love all Christians, but I think Mormons are
weird, and probably not Christians" (we told him our name was
motsu-jitsu saito iesu kirisuto kyokai, or lds) we then told him our
nickname was Mormon. To which his eyes bugged out and he turned mid
conversation and walks away. It was really confusing, and more amusing
than anything. We kept talking to other people, and attempted to visit
a few members however none of them were home. Kind of sad. Then it
downpoured, yippee we get to work in the ran. We walked home, on our
way my companion wanted mabodofu for dinner so we went to seven eleven
to buy some mix, however they were out. So we went to family mart,
which doesn't carry it. So we settled on mini stop! Talk about an
adventure to get it! Dinner was interesting. Elder Eatons
concoction...well...in my companions words, "was more backed up than a
port-a-potty on saint Patrick's day". After than fiasco we went out to
dendo, we went to Misawas apartment, who a week ago came up to us
asking for a Book of Mormon. He had read and prayed! We didn't even
ask him to! It was amazing! He is progressing along that little path!
Wahoo! We then visited a few other people and walked home, soaked.
Overall an absolute great day.
土曜日
Working out didn't really happen due to the Elder Eaton Food Fiasco.
After studies, we went to the church and had district meeting. It was
great. We learned a lot about our investigators, which helped a lot. I
really enjoy our district. We are working really hard. After my
companion and I went to the mall to buy a card for the baptism! It
took us forever, mostly because we are bad gift shoppers. After we
went to the apartment to pick up my companions clothes so he could
perform the baptism. After dropping him off at the church, Elder Cook
and I went back to the apartment to pick up clothes he forgot. The
baptism was great! My companion performed the ordinance for the new
sister. I was surprised at how much I was able to understand! After
the baptism we ran to a combini to grab some dinner, then back to the
church for a stake priesthood meeting. It was really good. I kept a
notepad out for words, let's just say there is a lot I don't know. The
stake president spoke last, he translates for general conference and
is half American so he speaks fluent English. He got up and spoke
about how little we understand in Japanese. Them related it to how we
are all children of God and learn and grow at our own levels and pace,
it was well received! After the meeting we went back to the combini
bought soba and Orange Julius supplies and went to the apartment,
however it didn't work super well.
日曜日
During DCS we got a call from our friend Takeyama-San! He was here for
church! Yoshi! He came to all of church, however he fell asleep during
sacrament meeting. After we were able to teach a really good lesson
about the scriptures! He promised he would read and even promised to
come on Wednesday to Eakaiwa, and to meet before! We then came back to
the apartment, changed, and did our studies. After we went to meet
with Misawa-San we brought him a Book of Mormon with perfectly rested
corners, and we brought him some chocolate. It was a great lesson! We
still aren't sure if he needs baptism or not, but we are working on it
slowly and surely. After we went to the church and Misu Kyodai took us
to shokogi at a members house! The food was so delicious!! We
socialized with everyone, the new member, Yamauchi Shimai was there,
she took a lot of pictures and said I am a "funny boy" but I didn't
really understand her Japanese super well. We played games, sang, and
sister Reeves who is going home at the end of the transfer bore her
testimony. It was a really fun Shokugi!
Keep on smiling!
Love you all!
Elder Dunn
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