Leaving the Office!!!

Hello family and friends, 

I hope this week has been wonderful for you with various thanksgiving parties! My week has been nuts! 

Monday

After studies we went out for big gioza, it was delicious, as always. After we had our normal shopping and relaxed. We decided to change into normal clothes and email in the gym. Elder Yamada played the guitar and Elder Leach threw a football around. I dragged the couch from the mothers lounge and lounged on that and emailed. About mid way through Elder Leach decided to make some faux commercials. Which was a blast filming back and forth! It was a blast! Then we finished emailing and helped president with his iPad issues. After we changed and helped set up for FHE, then during FHE we had to set up the office again. They finally finished all the construction! 

Tuesday

We woke up early for the temple! They needed some other Elders to go since it would be packed soon. I was debating to go in Japanese or English but grabbed a tag anyways, in the hallway I saw a sister who looked panicked because she couldn't find one, neat how the Lord helps you out sometimes. The temple was great, I love going to the temple. Then we came home and had more office work. To be honest I don't entirely remember what was do editing the day. It is all blurring together. 

Wednesday 

During staff meeting President told me it was very possible that it would be my last time for a while in staff meeting. It was bittersweet. He also said that my new assignment will cause me to stretch and grow a lot. That kind of freaked me out a little ill have to be honest. After staff meeting we went to our after staff meeting ritual, Shakeys! It was good, I mean as good as Japanese pizza can really get. I'll never really understand why they put mayo on pizza as a replacement for tomato sauce. After pizza we went back to the office and worked on creating a sheet to travel to any eki in the mission with price included. It is pretty extensive. About halfway through the assistants called me back to the apartment. They had my transfer call...they told me that I'd be replacing my current district leader in Kichijoji, and be senior companion to Elder Ishikawa, as well as district leader. Also that the switch would be happening Saturday. O.O what? I don't know anything about leading a district? Talk about feelings of inadequacy. At dinner, I felt so sick I didn't eat. Eikaiwa was great one of our students gave me an ear pick, and a thing you can wrap your headphones around in the form of a ninja! It was pretty neat! I love my Eikaiwa Class! Afterwards Elder Richardson and I went to PEC, that was kind of nerve wracking for both of us, he is becoming the new assistant. 

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans! I woke up feeling awful, and it lasted most the day. However my day was spent mostly on the 3 floor of the church for zone conference. I'll tell you what, it was a great meeting! President announced that I'd be the new district leader, and elder Richardson would be coming into the office. He then added, I'm keeping Elder Dunn close so he can continue to help the office Elders. President really helped us understand more of the scriptures in our daily lives. Sister Wada had a great demonstration about asking for blessings through prayer. After lunch the assistants brought out the new standards for the mission that we have been working on for a while. It will be exciting to implement them, they are extremely bold, but have the potential to have a lot of miracles seen. At night we went out with Josey to indo curry, it was his first time going, which is amazing since he has lived in Japan for most his life. He told us about the new Star Wars game that came out, it sounds pretty neat. We talked about life goals with him and how he can better his life through them. After dinner we went back and a friend of ours, Tadokuni had an issue about the Book of Mormon, specifically where Nephi is commanded to kill Laban. It can be a deep topic of you try to make it one, but if you rely on the simplicity of the restored gospel, it makes complete sense. 

Friday

Waking up feeling bad still is never a fun day. I worked on packing, and fixing an video for president, I'll tell you what subtitles can be pretty pesky if you let them be. At night we had district meeting, it was good. Elder Richardson is a great district leader. The meeting was just weird to me thinking I am supposed to run it next week. 

Saturday

We woke up early for some missionaries going home, needing to collect various items from them. It has to be hard for missionaries to go home for various health reasons. We then went to a stake blitz in Fuchu, Elder Moua and I were companions, talk about a small miracle! If anyone could help me at that moment it was him. He helped me put a lot, especially being a district leader in a neighboring area! We talked to two men, one is a professional dancer! Talk about a good looking guy! He was way nice and offered to accept our half English half gospel lessons. The other man we talked to knew of the Mormons because he stayed with a Mormon family in California! Whoa! He also accepted our offer for lessons! After the blitz we came home, I threw my stuff into the car and Elder Mukai dropped me off. Easiest transfer ever. When we arrived at the house, yeah, house! It was pretty messy, which was kind of upsetting. Elder Ishikawa and I started weekly planning, talk about getting thrown into straight Japanese practice! It felt good though, I am more comfortable than I was with my last Japanese companion, and he is so easy to love it is great. We then went to the church for Thanks giving dinner with some families from the ward, all of which had lived in America for some time, so it was mostly in English! It was so weird hearing members who normally refuse to speak English speak. Elder Leach and Brother Talmage talked about guns forever haha. He is the great grandson of James Talmage. In the background they played one of my favorite Christmas albums by Micheal Buble, which threw me back to the last thanksgiving at home 2 years ago now! Whoa! Dinner was so delicious but I felt so sick, mostly from the stress, but I am sure some was from being homesick too. After the dinner Elder Ishikawa and I hit the park for some dendo! We talked to a nice couple, of which the woman spoke English and had met missionaries we invited them and kept working. By this time I felt awful, my head was pounding, I felt like I was going to puke, however I had the toughness to make it. We arrived home 15 minutes early and I'll tell you what, I wanted to go inside so bad. However it's during those last 15 minutes that some of the coolest miracles are seen so we kept at it, we knocked around the block with nothing, each person rejected us kindly but with no interest. Then came the last house, we pushed the intercom, nothing....again....nothing. So we knocked! A man answered and said he had no interest but asked us to wait a second. About a minute later a woman came to the door told us she is Catholic but had interest in our message, we asked if she wanted to hear a message from our sisters and she accepted! We thanked her and sprinted home making it just in time. We planned and I hit the hay right away. 

Sunday

I woke up feeling a little better. I was really stressed out over DCS, but thanks to the enabling power of Christ I was able to make it. Sacrament meeting was great, I don't remember what was being said, but I just remember feeling happy. After church we had a big member shokugi (meal). It was wonderful, we sat next to the Akamatsu family! I was really interested in their daughter who is 5. She skyped everyday to the Philippians for kindergarten! It is completely in English! Talk about an interesting way to have school! Brother Akumatsu was baffled by how young my parents were, his oldest child is 8 I think, so an 11 year age difference is a big deal haha. After we helped take down the meal we went back to the house for planning. I was looking at my schedule and I am packed the next two weeks, so much for having a lighter load outside the office. After planning we had "clean up" time with the other Elders. I'll tell you what the house looks a lot better now! After that we went to the church to collect statistics from the missionaries and found a nearby address of a less active. We then went to visit ueki Kyoudai! He is so kind and humble, we shared a simple message about Christmas and the savior a love and invited him to the Christmas Concert on Saturday! We then biked to another less active, he likes computers so we had something to talk about, we shared Luke 2 with him and committed him to read it and come to the Christmas concert as well! As we left we got a call from the Sisters, they just set a Baptisimal date with their Chinese investigator! Yay! Since they were at the church we had them submit ours too, that we forgot. Then we biked home and housed around the house again, but we got yelled at. After planning we had a conference call where I had to report on the district, it was good. Halfway through we got a call from the assistants asking about a tech question. Guess I'll never be finished with the office. 

Okay to recap. I am in the same area that I used to be in only now I am a normal missionary. I live in a very nice house in Tokyo, for the first time in my mission I am senior companion and district leader, Elder Ishikawa is my companion who is actually younger than me too, and I'm having a blast blessing the lives of the people living in Japan! 

Big hearts!

Elder Dunn

P.s. Our P-Day will be on Tuesday next week! Going to the temple again! 

Thanksgiving Dinner

I love the English used here.

Christmas lights!