Sunday, December 13, 2015

Another week has flown by laboring in the Lord

私の愛する家族と友達へ



Tuesday

We all woke up early and headed off toward the temple. We planned to stop at the McDonald's by Kichijoji eki, but it doesn't open until 8. So we went to the one in Hiro-o instead. The trains were stuffed as always. Elder Gerard lost his name tag. The temple was great, I enjoyed the time spent inside. After we wrote emails, went grocery shopping. Then ran back and forth to the house and the church to meet with a man we set an appointment up with, Ishikawa-San. He is a great old man, we went out to dinner with him at the big gioza shop and had a little lesson about what to expect from us, to set some expectations with him. However we must have been in the gioza shop to long because they got upset with us for being there too long. Aver the lesson we went to visit some less actives but couldn't find any of them, instead we got barked at by a viscous dog, and yelled at by old men. Kind a different end to the day. 


Wednesday

After a good study we headed over to the church to find some less actives. We found an area that was really sketchy...this apartment was completely run down, paint chipping, rotting wood, no lighting, and had a Buddhist man chanting very loudly. We got out of there quickly I'll tell you what. Then we found a bunch of other crazy places. It was just a crazy day of finding. After dinner we set up for Eikaiwa and taught our students about American idioms which was great. As we went down for the game, we saw a man who was outside the room and looked lonely so we talked to him and set up an appointment to meet him later on in the week. He has a lot of potential, and needs to feel love a lot.after we rushed to PEC where I reported on our efforts for the week. 


Thursday

We began our morning after personal study at the old apartment where we helped close the apartment. It is a pretty dang sad apartment. The office hired a trash company to take all the large (unburnable) items out of the apartment. It is surprising how quickly they are able to pick that much stuff and make the place all slick and span! After we went out to lunch with the Sato family! He is in the bishopric and is hilarious! He told us about an experience he had on his mission where he drove a milk truck! Missions sure we're different back then. What I loved most was his appearance. Japanese fuka which is traditional Japanese garb, with tabi boots, and a Rolex. You kit have to look it up to actually get an idea of what it looks like. After our lunch at a super fancy French restaurant we went to the church to weekly plan. It was normal, after we saw the Adamsons! They came back from America! It was great seeing them again! When we got home for the night Elder Jennings and I began splits! We planned to go visit some less actives, but got lost after we hopped a barrier to find an apartment complex. Japanese addresses are so screwy. When we came home we had some great catching up since the MTC. Crazy thing is in the MTC we hated each other, but now we are practically brothers. It is neat to see how i've grown up a little bit. 


Friday

For language study Elder Jennings and I made cinnamon rolls for district meeting. Then headed over to the church to drop them off. Then off to Ogikubo! It is the craziest place I have been in Japan, just a bunch of strange people. We went housing and got lost so a man helped us find the address, he was saying all kinds of funny things in Japanese as he did it. Then he brought us to the sketchiest place in Japan I have been. It was an abandoned apartment complex. The first three floors had no one except one person, so we went to knock it and we hear the Piano man by Bill Joel playing in the black ground so we look in the open window and say hello! An old woman creeps from behind he corner and begins blabbering....literally....blabbering...we had no idea what to do! We just stood there, and then Sophie pulled up a chair and continued. Somehow I understood what she was saying and she told us that they evacuated the apartment complex for mold or something...either way we booked it outta there. Then if that wasn't enough we went to get some kabobs for lunch and met this lady who was a former investigator! She lived in Turkey and told us this crazy story about her brother who was gone because of his sons death fighting the terrorists! Just nuts! Great kabob though. Delicious. We then ran to district meeting, it was pretty normal, nothing special. Then questions of the soul, we went with two of our investigators, Micheal, and horie. President Wada related it's a wonderful life to our normal lives. I had never seen the movie before so that was interesting. After I got called into the Honbu to help with transfer calls..


Saturday

We went early to go help with transfer calls. The other Tech Elders tried over complicating it so we had to redo it but it all worked out. I am staying in Kichijoji and will have a transfer 2 missionary as a companion, almost the same position my second companion was in! It'll be a blast. He has been living in the same apartment as me so it'll be pretty cool to be companions. He is from the D.C. Area and a way smart elder. We will get a lot done together. Then we went to indo curry, and elder Jennings explained all about buddism since he has recently been learning a little bit to help investigators. Neat stuff! Then Elder Ishikawa and I went to teach Micheal! It was a great lesson! We committed him to baptism on the 9th of next month! He is way down to meet too! After we went to the church and elder Jennings and I went on splits again to go an teach the craziest lesson of my mission. I wish I could explain more about it but I can't. I'll just tel you that things were very thin, and I never before have seen someone totter back and forth so much in my life then say no to baptism. Just an out of this world experience. 


Sunday

DCS was great! The ward mission leader is starting to realize the importance of members in he work! Yay! Then we had a great 3 hour block of church. I love the members of this ward! They are starting to seem normal to me! Crazy! After church we went home ate lunch the. Came back for the Christmas devotional! It was so great! Even in Japanese the spirit of Christmas is so strong! I loved it. Afterwards we were talking to some members and they were asking me what I used to shoot on the farm. Guns are illegal here in Japan so they think guns are amazing. I told them about a potato gun I made in high school! They got a big kick out of shooting potatoes haha. Then we ate dinner and ran back to the church to sum it baptisimal dates and run back home for conference call. 



My week has been a doozy! But I have felt a lot of peace and comfort in reading from the Book of Mormon in Alma. In it I have been focusing a lot on the bravery of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis, they were so righteous that they would rather die than break a commandment they made with God. It really has put diligence into a new perspective for me. 


Have a great week! 


Big hearts,


Elder Dunn


Sketchy apartment building



Another sketchy apartment


Teen drivers beware, this could be your next car!











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