Japan Tokyo South Mission October 2014 - October 2016 東京南伝道部 10月2014年 - 10月2016年
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Another Busy week!
Monday, March 21, 2016
The craziest Member Present lesson of my mission
Monday, March 14, 2016
The icing on the cake for Kichijoji and Kamiooka, they weren't kidding about the hills.
- Elder Choi and I's Eikaiwa Class!
- A view from my new apartment!
- We found Zion.
- A boat graveyard
- Me by the ocean!
- Our apartment this morning! Fuji is in the right top corner, it is kind of hard to see with the camera.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
After 9 months I am leaving Kichijoji. Kamiooka here I come!
- Elder Choi and I at Michaels (he wanted a picture of us)
- Going to a Karage place for lunch. The interior design was amazing!
- Walking back we watched a little kid as he was terrified of a man in a costume.
- The District in front of the temple!
Monday, February 29, 2016
Work, there is no better substitute.
- A notebook I found at daiso I love the English on it.
- Elder Christensen and I on Splits
- This one was really interesting....and kind of disturbing.
- The shoe horn I recovered from Ueki Kyoudai
- The super nice tie from Josey, it has platinum stitched into it.
- Matsumoto Yuta kun in front of the takiyaki.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Getting Better. It's the Climb.
Hello Everyone!
Ready for one of the shortest emails yet?
Monday
I woke up pretty awful but I was able to get a shower and change so we could go to the church. My plan was that it would just pass so all I needed to do was push through it. I worked on the project from president and wrote home. But then my health shot down and we were back at home before i knew it and that was my day.
Tuesday
Elder Choi, poor guy, I don't think he has been around a whole lot of sick people before. He asked me a million times if we were going to go out, I hated to break it to him but when it's 1 in the afternoon and I'm still in bed with a cough and shivering, I don't think we are leaving. I had him call the assistants so they split with us for the day. Elder Livingston stayed with me during the afternoon. It was good for Elder Choi he needed to get out. Then at dinner they switched and Elder Richardson and I were together.
Wednesday
I was feeling a little bit better but during the afternoon Elder Richardson and I split so Elder Choi could get out. I found out the reason why he was so persistent about leaving was because he wanted to get something to eat. I don't think he knows how to cook. After splitting back I took a nap then we went to the mission office so I could be with Elder Kubera who is also sick and our companions could go teach Eikaiwa. Around 8:30 I went to Ward council, they sure seemed surprised to see me! I gave a pretty lousy report mostly because my fever started to spike again. After that Elder Kubera and I were dropped off at the house to spend Thursday together.
Thursday
Elder Kubera and I stayed at the house most the day. At night we were feeling better so we went to the office to see if we could work. Then we split back to our normal companions before returning home.
Friday
I couldn't fall asleep until really late and was feeling groggy so I got up around noon. But after I was up I was "better". We went to the church and had about half of our weekly planning session. We are going to be full swing next week that is for sure. Followed by our weekly district meeting, which was good a lot of exciting things planned soon. Sadly all of the investigators in the district have left or have little to no interest anymore. It is kind of unreal. After district meeting we went out for dinner at a spaghetti place, it was pretty good, kind of hard to finish though. After that we went back to the Honbu and Elder Choi talked to the Wada's for a little bit and I helped Tech Staff out a little bit. After that we opened the package my parents sent to test a new card I relieved however it didn't work. That was kind of a bummer, but when we were walking back we talked to these funny 20 year olds. It was a pretty clever way to strike up a conversation. "Oh look we both have blonde hair. Is it natural?" Speaking to the man with bleached hair. It worked out pretty well.
Saturday
After studies we got on the train to go to Kawasaki for their music night. It was really well done with a lot of good performers. It was really weird not knowing anyone though, that hasn't happened for a while. On our way back home we were on the train and they had just announced the next stop, Kugayama, the station Michael lives at. I had the impression we needed to go, so I grabbed Elder Choi and hopped off the train. He looked really confused as to why we got off the train early. I told him we are following a prompting and we shouldn't delay. He gave me a strange look and we hurried to Michaels in the pouring rain. He was home and boy did he look excited to see us! He told us that his plans had just fallen through and he was going to be at home all night. We sat with him and talked, he is doing a lot better. He talked about how much he wants to meet President Monson someday, that was really cool. We watched the most recent conference address given by him and left. When we arrived back to Kichijoji we went to dinner at a curry house, wrote a report for the ward mission leader, then went home and contacted people out of the old area book.
Sunday
At church the ward mission leader didn't show up, his brother was sick so he had to take him to the hospital. Michael came to church. I noticed how important the Sacrament really can be in our daily lives. During the administration of the sacrament I was pondering and looking around. Then I caught glimpse of one of my favorite ward members, Brother Naka. He was sitting a little far off and hunched over praying. It was a neat example of him remembering those sacred covenants at baptism. It was also cool to see him after a long week of travel (I'm pretty sure he was in Paris), focus on what matters most, his family and his relationship with God. I want to make sure I am able to emulate that in my own life. Then right after the sacrament ended Josey came too! It was good to have them both there. The ward was in a buzz helping Michael which was really good. I've noticed Michael is almost a project the ward needed to help them, it was an interesting paradigm shifter for me. After church we were talking to ward members, and getting to know them better. Everyone kept commenting on how thin my face looked and how pale I was, I'm feeling better I am just trying to get better now haha. We set up a lot of good appointments with members for this upcoming week. My favorite Canadian member, Brother Ishikawa, invited the whole district out to lunch on Monday! There is also a new member of our ward who just moved in from New York City, she is a professional ballerina! After church we went to the house and we made okonomiyaki which was delicious! Then went back to the church to collect stats and big bag and emergency kit numbers. After that we walked around the park discussing out lessons as well as trying to talk to people, sadly no one had much interest. It was pretty cold. After we went to Joseys and had one of the best lessons I have been apart of on my mission. It was superb, he has changed a lot recently and is realizing how much potential he has to serve a mission. It was a great way to begin the week.
Well I'm alive this week!
Big Hearts!
Elder Dunn
- This is Shibuya Crossing! My companion wanted a good picture of it, it is kind of cool in the rain.
- Us with Michael on Saturday night!
- Us with Josey on Sunday night!
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Getting Sick is not fun.
Hello,
Monday
Our day was really messed up. After studies we went to the church to contact a few investigators, then rode out to a lesson with a man by the name of Sakamoto San. He is a referral we received from Michael. He is an interesting man. We was a particle physicist, so talking to him was interesting. It doesn't seem like he does a whole lot day to day though. After that we began our Preparation day. We went to the church and emailed then went to dinner at a curry house. It was alright nothing super fancy though. Then we walked around a few shops and looked around. Since I had ripped a hole in my pajamas (they just got worn out...who knew after 6 years they would die), we went to GU and I bought a new pair of Sweats. They are so comfortable. We then bought groceries. On our way back we met a man named Stewart who was kind enough to talk to us. It was fun talking to him for a little bit. We then rushed home then back to the office to split with the tech elders. President Wada gave me a massive project to get finished.
Tuesday
After studies I worked like the dickens building and creating a new form, PDF a Generator, and Ajax for keeping track of our Recent Converts and Less Actives throughout the mission since its beginning. We took a break around lunch and went to Sukiya and King sized it was so much meat but thankfully I didn't have time for dinner as it was so it made up for any lack of time I had. I worked the rest of the day on the project, thankfully there are only a few bugs left that need to be ironed out.
Wednesday
After personal study we ran over to the church for a district leader training meeting. It was really good. I was able to sit by Elder Leach which was great. I learned a lot about how I can help the district more, and fulfill my role as such also. After the meeting a Elder Choi and I were in the office and a set of Elders walked by with someone they found. They passed him on over to us and Elder Choi and I gave our new friend from India a tour! He was really interested so we hope to help him progress soon! After our in counter we waited to meet with a friend from Taiwan. We introduced ourselves and talked a little bit. It turns out I met him really early on in one of my areas and forgot. Come to find out he is good friends with Elder Stevens who is currently serving in Taiwan! It was pretty amazing! We went out to Dinner and then I got ready for PEC. Eikaiwa was good, we talked about emotions which was exciting, nothing extravagant. However after I went to PEC and reported on our investigators. I think they were amazed with how many people we are teaching, which is great! They told us that the ward wants to help fellowship our investigators more! Yay! They want to help! It is so exciting to see them lit up. They were even offering words of encouragement about our baptismal dates, something that earlier would have relieved a lot of doubt! We just need to keep baptizing!
Thursday
After studies we went to the church and I worked more on the project I was given. I am really close. I just have some issues syncing the server and front side of things. After working on that for a little bit we went to Matsuoka Kyodais house for lunch! It was a great opportunity to meet with him! We enjoyed it a lot. He went to BYU and studied linguistics so his English is amazing, but we switched a lot back and forth. We then went to the church, then home for dinner. After dinner we met up with Zhao who has been helping us with the Zhangs. We went over their house but they weren't home! It was kind of sad. We went back to the church with him and went to sports night. It was a good way to build relationships with members. He was baptized only 4 months ago.
Friday
After studies we went to the church and did some weekly planning! Yay for planning. It took us forever, mostly because we have a lot of investigators, and ideas. We got a lot finished but still need to completely finish. We called it quits after a few hours and went to Michaels house! He is doing so much better! He is seeing straight! His surgery worked! It was so exciting! When we got there he was just reading his Book of Mormon! It is so cool to see the conversion process first hand. We taught the restoration to him again, and asked for referrals. He might as well had given us a phone book haha! It was a great visit overall. He always brightens my day. After that we went home for dinner and then headed to the church for district meeting. Leading a 13 person discussion is exhausting! About halfway through everyone seemed either grumpy, tired, or finished with the meeting. So I got up and shared a farm story about having a vision. It worked really well and turned the meeting around a lot. I feel things are moving pretty well.
Saturday
After studies we went to the Honbu so I could work on the project he needed me to finish. I am somewhat close to being done. I am just have two issues left, one pop up box and a checklist that is outta whack. After that we went to the park to try and talk to people however there were so many people it was really difficult to talk to others. We then went to Maeda's house for a lesson we taught him the plan of Salvation which went really well. He just has a few issues with taking that leap of faith. After that we went out to eat at Sukiya and then tried to visit the Zhangs but they were busy with New Years so we weren't able to meet. After that we went back to the church and worked on getting reports ready for church tomorrow.
Sunday
I think I have finally learned what it means to be in a daze. I work up being probably the sickest I have ever been. Cold sweats, fever, vomiting, the whole 9 yards. It was so bad I didn't get out of bed until 3. I took a bath, but felt so week I was unable to really do much so I laced down again. I was finally feeling somewhat better so we went to the church to try and plan. It was pretty bad still. Not only that but most of our investigators have either blocked our number, don't have time to meet, or have no desire to progress. My health shot down again so we went back to the house and I went straight to bed. Talk about a crummy day.
I'm a little better today, just on a lot of medication.
Big Sick Hearts,
Elder Dunn