2nd week in Japan

How is everyone!

Dear Family and Friends,

It is really funny to think that I am going to be sending this email 15 hours in the past to you haha. Also it is so good to hear from all of you. I am so thankful for all of your emails, support, and especially all of your prayers. I can truly feel them strengthening me through the tough times here in Japan. Sorry last weeks email was quick, I had so much more that I wanted to tell you. We have a lot more time to email today, and hopefully I won't make this too long for you ha. Japan is just phenomenal! I have only been here for such a short period of time, but I have already grown to love it so much. The culture is so different from our culture in America, but in a good way. The people here are so courteous and so loving. There are a few little things that I have already had to get used to. In Japan it is illegal not to recycle garbage, and it is also very clean because almost nobody litters here. I eat a lot of rice and noodles everyday, which is awesome because I love rice and noodles. We eat rice with almost every meal here as you probably already know. People always bow when they see you because it is polite so you bow back. It is impolite to slurp down a drink, but at the same time it is very polite and almost good to slurp your noddles (a little odd). We always take our shoes off when we go into peoples homes. Every time before you walk into a home you will put your shoes in a 玄関 (genkan). We also teach some lessons while kneeling down on the floor (which is a little uncomfortable, but it is part of their culture and I have gotten used to it and we don't do it that often). The culture here is so interesting, and I am still learning a lot about it. 

A few things that I forgot to mention last week because I was short on time. I forgot to mention that at the mission home they gave us iPads. They are really useful and I have already been able to incorporate some videos into our lessons. We can watch different videos on our iPads from gospel library. We also are able to do all of our planning on them which is nice. I can read emails / listen to music each night from the iPad. Also if I didn't mention it / if you couldn't tell from my photos, the area I am in is all urban. We are in a bigger city in my mission, and to me it is very beautiful. I will attach some more pictures after the email. The iPads camera is useful because the pictures are slightly better quality than the camera I have. I also wanted to mention my last week at the MTC, I was able to meet up with a bunch of my friends from Pine View and get a picture together. It was so much fun talking to all of them and seeing their smiling faces. They will all make great missionaries! I was able to meet with Isaac Reed, Taylor Monett, Easton Householder, Tommy Cox, Andrew Jackson, and Kelton Jacobsen. It was such a blessing to see all of them and so fun for my last Sunday at the MTC! As heartbreaking as the last week at the MTC was it was also such an exciting time to get ready for Japan. The Saturday before we left our district gathered together for blessings. The sisters came up with the idea that we should give everyone in our district a blessing for leaving to Japan. I told them that I was not too comfortable with giving a blessing. When it came time sister Chipman said that she really felt that I should give her a blessing. I said that I would do it. I have never before felt the spirit bring words to my mind what I should say to her. It came naturally to me what I should say in her blessing. Smith choro also wanted me to give him a blessing. After the blessing we hugged each other and were weeping. I will always remember him as a brother to me. I felt the spirit so strong that night and our whole district ended up in tears. We were all so extremely sad to be leaving each other. We got pictures with our teachers on Monday and said goodbye to them. I will never forget all the memories I had with my district and teachers at the MTC. When I left the mission home in Kobe I was sad to leave everyone, but I knew that they would all be great missionaries and I felt comforted. 

I already love Japan so much! Last week my companion and I went to sushiro for lunch. It is an all you can eat sushi restaurant that is very popular in Japan. I didn't mention to him anything about my dislike for seafood. I told myself that no matter what I am going to have to get used to the food here in Japan, so I figured whatever we eat I am going to try my best to get it down without saying anything bad about it. The first thing that I tried on my plate was raw eel. It looked terrible, and I didn't say anything. I looked at it for a second and ate it in one bite. In all honesty it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Like everyone says it tasted a lot like chicken, just with a very slimy texture to it. We ended up eating 10 or so plated of suishi and I honestly didn't mind it too much. After all I am going to have to get used to it eventually anyways. Also one funny thing in Japan is that people like to drink this drink called mugicha instead of water. It is everywhere and It tastes pretty much like what the inside of a casino smells like. If we go to a less active members home or an investigators home no matter what I will drink it all down, but I definitely do not prefer to drink it haha. In Japan you are expected to eat all of the food on your plate, even in restaurants or it is impolite. Sometimes I feel completely stuffed, but I eat it anyways because it is part of their culture (so much for losing any weight on my mission haha). Also in Japan they do not use toothpaste because they think it gives you cancer. So next a package if you wouldn't mind sending a little toothpaste that would be great. They also have no peanut butter which my companion said would be good to have you send me some next time you send me something. Don't worry about it too much because I have a lot of toothpaste left still. 

We were able to teach our first English class on Wednesday last week which was really cool. It was interesting talking to all of the Japanese people in English. I can't believe how many people in Japan know English so well. In class we had about 20 people. My companion took the advanced class and I took the beginners. It was fun to teach them about our language, and we played some hangman/pictionary also. It is funny because I thought as soon as I got to Japan I wouldn't see or hear any more English, but Japanese people think English is soooo cool. It is on the signs everywhere, and quite a few people can speak a little bit of English. We even have 3 or 4 investigators that we teach to in English because they are fluent! 

On Saturday night my companion and I taught a whole lesson in Shuwa (the Japanese form of sign language). He knows quite a bit of shuwa, and it was such a cool experience. The investigator we were teaching was sooo funny and so loving. We laughed and learned a lot together. We also have a Japanese member in our ward named Ishi kyodai who helped sign for us. Ishi kyodai is deaf, but incredibly he is able to speak Japanese without being able to hear himself! I have no idea how he does it, but he is very inspirational to all of us. He even gives the sacrament prayers sometimes!

Earlier last week Goldhamer choro and I taught a lesson to an older Japanese couple. They are Catholic and got really into depth about our religion. Even though I couldn't understand anything they were saying it was really interesting to see their view on religion. At the end of the lesson he gave my companion a hammer made of pure gold and silver (because his last name is Goldhamer). It is probably worth a lot of money so I was speechless when he actually gave it to him (I will attach a picture of it). Earlier that day we did a service called human with a bunch of the older Japanese people. It was pretty interesting and It was a lot of fun talking to all of them. I can't say much, but we laughed and had a good time together. The day after our service we had a teaching appointment with Takemori kyodai as our member present (土石doseki). He is so fun to be around and always makes me laugh a bunch. We raced him to the investigators house, even though he has a mo ped. He knew that he would beat us there so he stopped to grab us some drinks on the way there. He is so nice and always willing to help us out with our teaching. Later that day we did my first housing, and I was nervous, but my companion showed me a good way to do it. I really want to be able to talk to the people here and get to know them better, but I can't say much yet. The language is harder than I thought to learn, but I know that through faith and constant study, the Lord will bless me with the gift of tongues. 

Thank you for setting up that mission plaque for me. It looks great and I really love that scripture a lot. Also thank you for forwarding my friends emails those were great to hear from! I was able to open the video of Kayli and Brinly. It is so good to see and hear from you. Dad also emailed me about trainers being dads, and their trainee is their son. They still do that! The day we left the mission home Goldhamer choro walked up to me and hugged me and said it is nice to meet you son. I was so confused, but he told me all about it haha. Another funny thing I realized when I came here is that Hashi (Hirschi in Japanese) means chopsticks or bridge. We even got a little stamp at the daiso that says bridge on it. Congrats to Michael on his farewell. I know he is going to make a great missionary! I cannot believe that William got engaged! That is so great to hear! Please send him my congratulations. I also wanted to say thank you for the music mom. It is so great to hear music again after those two months at the MTC. I got your letter the other day with the wristband. It is a constant reminder to keep my faith and endure through the hard times. Thank you so much. I was not able to read the "O remember, remember" talk yet, but I will be able to later tonight. 

Answers to questions: Yes I am still liking the food pretty well. Sometimes we eat some strange stuff, but I am getting used to it, and I eat it anyways. P-days are so much fun. Even though they are really busy we get to do a lot of things. We usually start with cleaning the apartment in the morning (which isn't the funnest, but it is dirty and I have learned that I like to clean/organize things). We then go somewhere good to eat (today we went to the aeon mall). We got my bike last week, and my companion said we will go see the castle in Okayama next P-day. Next week we will get our hair cut from an investigator. We spend some time emailing in the internet cafe. Hopefully we can play some ping pong or some basketball eventually. We got my bike last week, and we also do laundry. I love the bike I got. I wanted it to last the 2 years I am here, and it is really light weight for when I do transfers/etc. For sending I am okay, but peanut butter/toothpaste eventually would be good. I received your letter, but no package or postcards yet. The video worked and I loved it. The weather is pretty hot and it rains heavy every now and then, but it isn't too bad. I am getting used to it pretty quickly. My favorite thing about Japan so far is that everyone is soooo nice. All the members are so sweet, and the investigators are so much fun to teach. I have not given out stickers and stuff yet because we have so many appointments that we have not done much finding, but I am sure I will soon. I am not sure what my address is, but I will find out this week and tell you next email. I got Colby's and Andrew's emails. Thank you so much it is soo good to hear from them. I would love to receive videos yes! I can't open them on my iPad, but every P-day I can. That would be awesome. I hope you are all doing well, and I hope to hear from you more. 

I love you all so much. Thank you for all of the support and your prayers.  I just want to end with a scripture from Alma. Alma 48:17 talks about Moroni. I think that we all need to gain the faith that Moroni had. If everyone had the faith that he did, "the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." Moroni had such strong faith in God. My goal this week is to strengthen my faith like Moroni, and I would invite all of you to join me on it. Thank you all again for everything. 

I love you all and pray for you always,

Hirschi 長老

1st week in Japan

Japan is absolutely incredible!

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, I have no words to explain how amazing it is here. Japan is such a beautiful place! I am so excited to serve here as a missionary. We got to the mission home on Tuesday and stayed there until Thursday afternoon. We started out the first morning there with a game of ultimate Frisbee! It was so much fun, especially because I thought that we were not allowed to play ultimate Frisbee on the mission. We met the AP's and hiked up on this mountain. From the top of the mountain we had the most gorgeous view of Kobe ever. We could see the whole city from there. We played Frisbee together in the morning both days there. The mission President and his wife are the nicest people ever! they were so welcoming and said they would help us with anything. Welch 会長  (President Welch) had so many stories of Japan. He served in the Kobe mission and loves to tell about his experiences. I am so glad that I am able to get to know these wonderful people. My trainer is the greatest guy ever! We have already gotten to know each other really well over these past few days. He has been here for about a year and a half, and he is fluent in the language. It is so much fun talking to him about all of the Japanese culture. He helps me out with the language and pretty much every time someone tries to talk to me because I don't know anything yet haha. We get along extremely well. He was actually just barely companions with Jaden Raker the transfer before I left. It is really cool to be able to talk to him about Raker 長老 (choro). I will also be able to see him soon because he is in my zone.My first transfer is called the 岡山西 (Okayama Nishi) district. This place is just indescribable. We live on the 5th floor of an apartment building. The apartment is actually really nice in my opinion. We have 2 rooms and the kitchen room (I will attach some pictures). We have a really cool view from the apartment of Okayama Nishi. 

I love it here so much already. The people here are the nicest people in the universe. On Friday night I was able to teach my less active members. It was a family of 4. Their names are 恵子姉妹 (Keiko shimai), 花　チャン　(Hana chan), 武雄　兄弟　(Takeo kyodai), and 和子　姉妹 (Kazuko shimai). It was such a cool lesson. I realized how much Japanese I actually did learn in the MTC during that lesson. Even though I feel like I know nothing yet, I do know a little bit. We taught them about family prayer, and I really felt the spirit strongly. We refered them to 3 Nephi 18:18-21. Keiko shimai read the scripture and said that she realized how important family prayer is. She committed to trying her best to have family prayer. I was so glad to be able to teach that family as my first lesson out here in the field. It was so much fun, and the spirits presence was very strong. We also brought a member with us to that lesson named 竹森　兄弟　(Takemori Kyodai). He is truly "THE MAN!" Takemori kyodai is the ward mission leader of our ward. He came and did shuwa for Takeo kyodai. Shuwa is the Japanese form of sign language. Takeo kyodai is deaf, and even though Takemori kyodai is not he learned shuwa. Takemori kyodai was able to give the lesson that we were teaching to Takeo kyodai in Shuwa. He is the coolest guy ever, and he comes with us on a lot of our visits. I hope to be his best friend before I leave the area. I already have developed such a love for these people, and I have only been here for about a week (even less). The members of the ward are absolutely fantastic! I was a little nervous to give my self introduction to everyone in sacrament meeting (in all Japanese), but everyone said I did such a good job. They all told me my Japanese is so great. They are the kindest people ever. I am so excited to get to know them all a lot more. 

The food here is awesome! It is so much better than I thought it would be. We had mabodofu the other day. It is like tofu, rice, and some sauce on top. It was soooo good. I really like all the food that I have had here so far, which is actually very surprising. One more thing before I end my email. I have been reading about captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon lately. He is such an inspiration leader to me. I remember us reading together as a family, and dad explaining to me about all the wars and strategies for the wars Moroni had. He talked about Braveheart, and explained how he was so much like Braveheart. I can really see what you meant now, and I love reading about captain Moroni so much! He has so many cool stories that I remember reading about together during our family reading time. The story of Teancum and how he snuck in and killed the king during the night. The stories of him not putting up with the people in the city. When the people wanted there to be a king over the land. They refused to fight in the army, and Moroni marched back to the city and said you either fight with us or you die. They still refused to fight, and he put them to death. He is such a bold and corauges leader. I have so many memories from reading about Moroni at a young age. I hope that I can gain the attributes that he had (Alma 48:11-13). 

Sorry this letter has to be short because I don't have much time to email this week (we got here a little late), but I promise I will update you on everything next week. 

Thank you for all the emails and support. Hope you had a great Birthday mom.  Keep me updated on things because I can read your emails throughout the week (my next email will be better)

I love you all so much.

Hirschi 長老 

8th week at the MTC

I can't believe it is my last P-day here at the MTC!

Dear Family and Friends,

How is everyone doing! Only 4 days left at the MTC! I am so excited to write to you about this last week here at the MTC! It has been so amazing and full of many miracles! We finally got our flight plans to go to Japan (which I will include in a picture). At first we had plans that we were going to leave on Tuesday next week, and stop in Seattle for an hour or so. It was sad because some of the other missionaries in our zone were going to be leaving on Monday. Afterwards we found out that our plans had been switched so that we would be leaving on Monday morning instead of Tuesday. Everyone is so excited to go to Japan. We are flying straight from Salt Lake to Tokyo. Even though we only have a few days here at the MTC and we are so excited to go because the days are so short, it will be extremely hard to leave all these wonderful people. The MTC has been such an amazing experience for me. My testimony has grown so much stronger here than I ever could have imagined. When I look back at where I was before coming to the MTC I realize just how much stronger my testimony has become. I have learned so much more about the gospel in these past 2 months. It is crazy to think that before coming here I did not know one word of Japanese. Some days I got down on myself a little, but then I realized just how far I have come. My knowledge of the Japanese language has increased dramatically over the course of just 2 months. Through the power of the spirit I have been truly blessed with the gift of tongues. I am so very grateful for the teachers that I have here. I have had so many spiritual experiences and lessons that I will never forget. The MTC has been a life changing experience over all, and it will not be easy to leave. 

Yesterday my companion and I experienced the miracle of a lifetime! Both my companion and I have been struggling to find the needs of one specific investigator we had. His name is Watanabe kyodai. He had a problem with an addiction to narcotics, and we could not figure out how to help him. We had lesson after lesson about how are gospel could bless his life so much. We told him that God loves him no matter what, and that through prayer, reading the Book of Mormon, and attending church we could help him with his addiction. We promised him so many blessings, and all we wanted to do was to help him. Every lesson he would tell us he had been going to the protestant church for help. He said that he did not want to join our church because we had so many more rules, but the protestant church would still let him drink alcohol. My companion and I prayed for help on how to teach him so many times. We prayed for guidance and to be able to figure out exactly how to teach what he needed to hear. In our 2nd to last lesson he told us that he didn't want to hear from us anymore, and that he was going to attend the protestant church. After that lesson I felt completely torn in my heart. Realizing that one of God's children was not going to be able to receive the help that he needed, my heart sank to the point where I was in tears. I felt terrible, and that it was all my fault that he didn't want to join our church because I did not have the faith that was required to teach to his needs. The next day our teacher told us to meet up with the investigator anyway and teach with strong faith in Christ. He read to us 3 Nephi 7:16-18. Nephi taught with so much faith in Christ and so boldly, that it was not possible that they could disbelieve his words. Over the remainder of that day I pondered and prayed about how we could teach with boldness, and great faith just like Nephi did. I prayed with more faith in my heart than I ever have in my entire life. I asked for God's help to be able to teach to Watanabe kyodai, to the point that he could not disbelieve what we were teaching him. It came time to give our next lesson to Watanabe kyodai, and he said that he was willing to let us in to hear what we had to teach him. We taught Watanabe kyodai about baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Watanabe kyodai told us that he had made a promise to the protestant minister that he would get baptized into their church. Immediately my companion and I felt prompted to ask him to pray to God right then, and to ask him what is best to do. Watanabe kyodai had been struggling with praying to God, and told us that he did not want to do it because he didn't understand it very well; however, because my companion and I were able to testify to him boldly about the power of prayer he said that he would pray. In his prayer he told us that his decision to get baptized with the protestant minister may not have been the right decision and that he may had made many mistakes in his life. He didn't understand the church very well, but through the spirit that he felt he knew that our church was the best thing for him. After his prayer we told him that God loves him no matter what. Even though he may have made many mistakes in his past, through the power of the atonement he can become clean of his sins. Watanabe kyodai told us that he felt a powerful feeling that he could not explain. I knew that the spirit had testified to him that this church is true. He told us afterwards that he wanted to receive baptism in our church. The joy that I felt when he said that in our lesson was overwhelming. I can just imagine Heavenly Father looking down on us and feeling so happy that one of his children was set on the right path to return to him. I hope that throughout the remainder of my mission I can have enough faith to teach boldly! 

Our district was able to do hosting on Wednesday. We got to help the new missionaries around to get to their class and residence during hosting. It was a blast meeting so many new missionaries and seeing how excited they were to serve the Lord over the next 2 years. I was able to see 2 of my best friends in high school too! I saw Andrew Jackson and Kelton Jacobsen. Sadly we were not able to get any pictures, but I think we are going to try to get everyone from Pineview together on Sunday to take a picture together. I have seen about 5 or 6 of my really good friends from Pineview here. I was able to get a picture with a few of them which I will send to you after this email. During the morning yesterday for breakfast I had a jalapeno cheese bread bagel, which reminded me so much of home (sounds weird, but it is true). After basketball practice mom and I would go to the Maverick gas station to get a couple gatorades and some jalapeno bread. Even something small like that always brings back memories from home. I don't know if they have placed the scripture for my plaque in our ward yet, but I have a new favorite scripture that I would like to share with you. My new favorite scripture is Alma 33:23. I love this scripture so much because I think it applies so well to our investigators. We cannot be the ones who convert our investigators. The only way that they can be converted is through the spirit. As missionaries we can be the ones who plant a seed in their hearts, but it is only by faith and through the spirit that they can truly become converted to our gospel. I love the last sentence that says "And even all this can ye do if ye will." We have been given the chance to grow our faith and to have our burdens lifted by the savior through the atonement. All we have to do is use it. In the chapter before I love that Alma talks about the seed of faith in verses 28-43. This scripture is so applicable to everyone. All of our faith may just start out as a tiny seed, but through constant care and nourishment we can grow our faith into a strong giant tree. I love reading about the experiences of the prophets of old because all that they teach is so applicable to us. Alma specifically is so applicable to me as a missionary. Seeing his example helps me to learn how to teach and to push through the difficult times. 

Again I cannot believe just how fast the time has flown by. It feels like I arrived at the MTC just yesterday! It has been such an incredible experience, one of which I will never forget. If anyone would like to know I am currently reading in Alma chapter 40. I hope that you liked the letters that I sent, when I get to Japan hopefully I will be able to send you some cool stuff. I am not exactly sure how much money I can spend. I have been trying not to spend too much, but I bought a few books from the MTC store and some stuff that I thought I might need to use. I am not exactly sure if I should be not spending very much money or if I can buy certain things or not. Also I was wondering if it would be alright if I bought a shirt here at the MTC. Thank you sooooo much for the packages! My class loved that package so much! Those sticky notes will help a lot for Japan, and those cards of Jesus are awesome! We had a leaving America party today, and everyone loved all the candy! Those packages were really sweet thanks again so much! Also it will be fun to be able to hand out the little kids in Japan pennies from America, I can't wait! Hopefully when I get to Japan I can send you a package of some really cool stuff there. Well, time continues to go by so fast. The next time that I email you I will be in Japan! It is so cool to think that I will be flying half way around the world in just a few days. Thank you to all of you for the emails and for all of the support. I hope that I can continue to share with you all of my experiences in Japan.

I love all of you and continue to pray for you every day!

Elder Hirschi

7th week at the MTC

Only 2 weeks left here at the MTC

Dear Family and Friends,

I cannot believe just how fast the days are flying by here at the MTC. The days continue to die down fast and now we have less than 2 weeks here at the MTC. As excited as I am to head out to Japan, I do feel really sad that I will be leaving my zone and teachers. I have learned so many things from every single one of them. It is amazing that although I have only been here for such a short time, it feels like I have known everyone here my whole life. I am really enjoying all of the new missionaries that came on last week. This is their first P-day and we all played some basketball together. It is so much fun to be able to play sports with all the kohai. Last Saturday I was able to interview each of the new Elders that are the senior companions. I really got to know all of them so much better, and they are all so excited to be in our zone. We have been playing a lot more volleyball together recently, which I never realized was so fun until I came to the MTC. It is funny that all the kohai think we are so good at Japanese, and even though I do feel like I have learned a lot, at the same time I feel like I don't know anything yet. I know that when I make it to Japan I am going to feel lost. I have been emailing Jaden Raker a little bit from Japan. He and I really hope that he will be my trainer when I get to the mission. I think it would be a really cool experience to be able to teach with him and hear about all of his experiences in Japan. 

Believe it or not I am beginning to enjoy teaching now. Before I came to the MTC my number one fear was teaching/talking in front of people. Now I have learned how amazing it is to be able to share the message of the gospel. It is so incredible how often the spirit will prompt my companion or I on something to share in our lessons. I love being able to share the message that we have with those who need it. Lately we have been doing Skype TRC with actually members in Japan. It is so cool to be able to talk to them about their lives in Japan. I can already tell that I am going to love all of the people in Japan so much. Yesterday we taught a Japanese member during TRC. It is so cool to think about how much I have actually learned in Japanese, and to see that I can actually somewhat understand what they are saying. Even though I feel like they are talking at one hundred miles an hour I can still understand a little of what they are saying. I can't wait to head out for Japan. I know that it won't be easy to leave the MTC with all the amazing people here, but I am so excited to get out there and serve. Yesterday we got our Katakana name tags which is what we will use for the flight to Japan. To me that is just an assurance of how close the time is before I leave. I know that 2 weeks is still a long time, but it is going by very fast. 

Last night Maynes Shimai (our original teacher) came back from her trip to Hawaii. Each of us have gotten very close with Maynes Shimai, so we were super excited to see her come back from her trip. Some of the sisters were even crying just to see her again. It was great to talk to her about her trip, but then she told us she had some bad news. She said that she would be teaching a new district, and all of our hearts sank. She was in tears because she would not be able to teach us, and we would not be able to teach her investigator (Takemura shimai) who we also were very close too. All of the sisters were in tears when she told us the news. It is incredible how well we have gotten to know each other over these few weeks. It was a sad day, and that was just knowing that she wouldn't teach us anymore. I can't even imagine what the day will be like when we leave for Japan. 

I am continuing to learn the language with hard work. As the days die down we have realized that we need to buckle down and work harder on the language. I feel like I have learned so much, but I know when I arrive in Japan it will be as if I don't know anything. Learning Japanese is not the easiest thing in the world, but with constant praying and hard work we have really been blessed with the gift of tongues. Lately I have been reading about Ammon in the scriptures. Ammon was such a phenomenal missionary. I love Alma chapter 17 verses 9-12 because I feel like it applies to me so much as a missionary also. We pray all the time for the spirit of the Lord. Even though I know that I will be going through many trials on my mission, the Lord has comforted me. Also in Alma 21:16 it talks about how they went whither soever the spirit guided them to go. I know that the spirit is constantly guiding me and that it will guide me to the right people in Japan. Being able to read from the scriptures every day is such a blessing. I know that through constant prayer and reading the scriptures that the Lord has blessed me to learn more about this gospel and to be strengthened on learning this difficult language. I hope that as a missionary I can strive to follow the example of the sons of Mosiah. I know that teaching the people of Japan won't be nearly as hard as it was for the sons of Mosiah to teach the Lamanites, but I do know that it won't be easy. I must strive for the constant companionship of the spirit to be able to teach what the Lord wants me to teach to the people in Japan.  

I hope that all of you are doing well. It is great to hear from everyone's letters and emails. I am sorry, but I do not have any pictures with the new kohai. I will make sure to take some before I leave. My favorite thing about the MTC, if I haven't said already, is the people. I just love being able to meet all these new people and how friendly they all are. It is so cool to hear about all of their backgrounds. They are all so nice and they really strengthen my testimony of the gospel so much. The kohai are doing great on the language. Some of them took previous Japanese and they all help out each other. 

Thank you for all you have done for me. I love you all so much. I keep each of you in my prayers every night. 

Elder Hirschi

6th week at the MTC

We finally have our Kohai! (New missionaries in our branch)


Dear Family and Friends,

It is so great to be able to email everyone today! The weeks still continue to fly by here at the MTC. I can't believe that it has been over a month already. It feels like I just arrived at the MTC yesterday. It is so great to hear how everyone is doing and seeing all of your pictures. I really enjoyed those pictures of your family home evening together. I finally found Elder Fesolai!! I am sorry it took me so long, I was hoping I could send you a picture of me and him for dad's birthday. I am so happy that I was able to end up finding him. So to be able to find where he was I went to the front desk and asked them if they knew of an Elder Fesolai. She said she knew him, but could not give me his residence hall number. She did however let me have his meal time schedule and his mailbox unit number. On Friday I was able to send him a letter to his mail box. I did not hear back from him that day or the next, but I knew he would be leaving on Tuesday this week. So I ended up going to his dinner time on Saturday night to look for him. It was crazy to think that out of 300 missionaries having dinner together I would be able to spot out 1 Elder, who I didn't even know what he looked like. I thought I had no chance in being able to find him. Then the craziest thing happened, the first Polynesian Elder we talked to knew exactly who he was. He was not in the same district or zone, but he offered to help us look for him. We walked around for a while until he spotted him. I was finally able to talk to him and get a picture with him. I so glad that I was able to find him, and he seemed like a really cool guy. We talked about how my dad and his dad served together and still visit each other. It took me a while, sorry it was late, but I was able to find him thankfully. It is funny that as I am writing this letter he is now in Africa teaching about the gospel.

The new missionaries came in yesterday! Being the zone leaders of our branch my companion, the sister training leaders, and I were able to do an orientation for the new missionaries. We had a meeting yesterday at 8:00 and told them all about the MTC. It was so cool being able to meet all the new missionaries (there is 48, 33 Elders, 15 Sisters). We introduced ourselves and had them tell us a few things about themselves. I am so excited to get to know each of the new missionaries. We were also able to bare our testimonies about our missions so far, and about how we were all put here to serve the people of Japan for a reason. God truly has a plan for each of us. They are also a new motivation for me to be a good example and to work hard for the few remaining weeks that I have here at the MTC. I feel like I already love each of them so much even though I have only known them for less than a day. It is great to see their smiling faces and to be able to get to know them. It is a such a privilege to be able to serve all these missionaries. I know that over these next few weeks we will be bonding so much, and hopefully we can be as good of zone leaders to them as our zone leaders were to us.

I really love being able to listen to the devotionals each Sunday and Tuesday of the week. This week we heard from Elder Walker who used to be one of the general authorities. At the beginning of the devotional we sang "We are as the Armies of Helaman." That song really hit home to me because that was the song that the youth sang as I left for my mission. I really love that song because it describes just how missionaries are. I feel like every time we sing a hymn in a devotional, I am singing it in my home ward. I always think about singing that song in my ward, and I feel so at home. Elder Walker talked to us about how to become a successful missionary. He listed out 10 different points, but number 3 was my absolute favorite. He told us of the story about President Hinckley. President Hinckley was having some struggles on his mission, and he wrote a letter to his dad talking about how things were not going so well. He was struggling and found it hard to work. His dad ended up writing a letter back which said, "Forget Yourself and Go to Work." Even though the letter was just one sentence long it gave him so much inspiration to work hard. I love this because that is exactly how a good missionary should be. Some days I may feel like I am really struggling and that I am too tired to work, but as I said in my last email I really think about the salvation of the people of Japan. This mission is not about me at all. It is about bringing others to the truthfulness of the gospel. During our TRC this week we were able to teach a real member in Japan. She was the nicest person in the world. I am so excited to get to know the people of Japan, and to develop a love for all of them.  Yesterday my companion and I were able to teach an investigator named Kitamura San. He is struggling with finding faith in God, so we thought we should teach him a lesson on the spirit. We told him all about the spirit and how it can help him increase his faith in God. Later in the lesson he asked us, "If the spirit is true, make me feel it in the next 5 minutes." I immediately had a prompting to share Moroni 10:4,5 with him. After he finished reading we paused in silence for a moment. I then asked how he was feeling, and he said, "I am feeling something that I cannot explain." I felt the spirit so strong in our lesson with Kitamura San, and I know that day he grew a stronger relationship with his Father in Heaven. 

I know I always talk about the scriptures so it may be boring to hear about them from me, but I have grown to love the Book of Mormon so much over these few weeks here! A few days ago I was asking myself, how can I help my investigators develop a testimony that this is the true gospel. As I stated before we have a few investigators who are struggling with their faith in God. They don't know if what we are teaching is true. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon because it always has an answer to everything. A few days ago I was reading in Alma chapter 5. In verses 45 and 46 Alma's tells how he was able to gain his own testimony in God. He says that he knows the things he is teaching are true, and tells exactly how he was able to learn of their truthfulness. I think that one of the greatest tools we can use in helping our investigators develop  a testimony is by sharing our own. When I read Alma's testimony, my own testimony increased so much. This gospel really is the only true gospel on the Earth. I know that through constant prayer and reading the Book of Mormon we can increase our faith. I know that if we develop faith in Christ and use his atonement in our lives that we can return to our Heavenly Father and live with our families for eternity. I am sincerely grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. I know that through the Holy Ghost we can learn the truth of all things. I know that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father love each and every one of us, and I say that in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. I can feel them strengthening me each day. If anyone is wondering I am reading from Alma 16 right now and I set a goal to read 1 chapter a day. That is great that Shandon got his call! Tell him I said congrats, he will make a great missionary. I truly hope that I will be able to find Andrew here at the MTC. It would be so great to see him again before I go out to Japan. Sadly I don't think we will be doing anything for the 24th of July, but it was so great to get a package from you guys! Thank you so much the candy and the quotes you sent! I really love the quote that says, "They were uncertain of their future, they were certain of their faith." That is truly inspiring to me. Yes, their are ten people in my district, 4 Elders 6 Sisters. We are the 'old missionaries' now because we have been here for 7 weeks haha. I have all their emails so you probably don't need to worry about getting adding them to the forward list, if so I'll let you know. Yes, the first day here they gave me all the materials that I would need for Japan. If I can think of anything else I will let you know, but I doubt their is anything else I need. They even gave us like 4 different dictionaries. I have not taught the Elders the creepy crawler, slam bang game yet, but that is a good idea. We played some more pirates dice today and volleyball though, which was pretty fun. I have seen a few people that I know from my high school, but the only close friend that I knew was Isaac Reed, which I sent a picture of me and him already. Thanks again so much for everything, and if I can think of something I need I will let you know. You are the best!

 I do have some advice for Logan and Slade. First I just want both of you to know that I love you guys and I truly hope that you will decide, when you are ready, to serve your missions. The first week in the MTC is really tough. I'll be honest the first day here I thought there is no way that I would be able to do this, and I honestly considered going home. I missed all of my family so much and figured I wouldn't be able to leave you guys for 2 years. I wasn't used to getting up so early and being tired all the time. I wasn't used to being with a companion 24 hours a day and working so hard all day. I didn't know that the language would be as difficult as it is because it really is not easy, but I do know this... that it will all be worth it! Taking 2 years of your life to serve the Lord is not even a fraction of what he has done for all of us. He loves you so much and wants you to share his love with all those around the world. The gospel is true, and I know you will feel so much joy to know that you are bringing families together for eternity. It won't be easy, but it will all be worth it. 

I love you all and pray for you always,

Elder Hirschi

5th week at the MTC

Konichiwa Mina san! (Hello Everyone!)

Dear Family and Friends,

I am so happy to have the privilege of writing an email to all of you today! It is so great to receive all of your letters and emails. I love hearing how everyone is doing, and about all of your experiences. It has been another fantastic week at the MTC! I still continue to learn so much every day here! On Monday our sensei Sheehan Kyodai took my companion and I in for coaching. He told us that we have so much potential! He said that our whole zone can get distracted during our study times, and that he needs my companion and I to be the examples as zone leaders and remain focused. After coaching we talked to see how we could become better examples to our fellow missionaries. The next day we worked hard to remain diligent during our study time. Our whole zone has improved so much since then. I am very grateful for my teachers examples to me. I have learned so many things about this gospel from them. I am grateful for the chance that I have to teach investigators every day. Last Monday my companion and I were able to teach 3 different times throughout the day. Even though I know that my investigators are only people that are role playing to be Japanese investigators I still feel such a great love for them. Each and every lesson the spirit is present and always prompts us on what to teach. I know I told you last week about how I had to teach a whole lesson myself, and how I didn't know what to teach but as I read the Book of Mormon I found exactly what I should teach about. The Book of Mormon continues to be a blessing in finding what to teach for our investigators. Each night as I read the Book of Mormon it seems as though every time I read I find exactly what I am looking for. Just last week we had to prepare talks for Sunday on faith in Jesus Christ. On Saturday night I read about Abinadi. Abinadi had such amazing faith in Christ. He continued to preach to King Noah and would not deny his faith even until death (Mosiah chapters 11-17). I was able to teach about Abinadi's faith in God and how we should all strive to have faith as he did. It is truly amazing to me that even though he knew if he continued to teach King Noah and not deny that the gospel is true, that he would be put to death. Yet he remained strong in his faith in Christ. I am sincerely grateful for Abinadi's example to me, and I strive to gain faith as he did every day. The Book of Mormon is true, and I know that without a doubt in my heart.

On Saturday night our district watched a video about Christ's atonement (of which I wish I knew that name.) Our district leader Smith Choro asked us if we could use the last 20 minutes of our study time to watch the video. The video he showed us on Christ's atonement was so strong. The spirit that we felt in the room that day hit me like a ton of bricks. Our whole district was brought to tears. Just as I though I had no tears left Smith Choro bore his testimony on Christ's atonement in his life. Words cannot describe how our whole district felt that night as he bore his testimony. I have never felt the spirit so strong in my life. I am so grateful for Christ's atonement. I know that all of us commit sins in our life, but through him we can become clean. I am so grateful that I have the comfort of the savior always. Sometimes I feel like my burden may be too heavy and that this mission is really not easy, but when I do I have the savior to lean on for help. I know that anything that I go through he has been there before and he will help me through it. He loves all of us, and he loves us enough that he was willing to die for us. When I think of the savior's atonement I always remember the hymn "I Stand All Amazed." This is my favorite hymn because I do truly stand all amazed at the love Jesus offered me. He suffered so much for each of us so that we would be able to return to our Heavenly Father. I can remember back a few years ago my dad had me mark a scripture Luke 22:40-44. I read this scripture every time I take the sacrament on Sunday and remember about what he did for me and for all of us. I know that the savior loves each of you so much. I know that no matter what we do in our lives he will love us unconditionally. 

After devotional on Sundays we get to watch a church movie. On Sunday we were able to watch the movie on John Tanner. This was the video I was talking about to my family, and said that we should watch it together which we never did. However, I would encourage you to watch the video because it is very inspirational. It is about a man who gave up everything for the gospel. He, like Abinadi, had an incredibly strong testimony. If you find time I would recommend that video to all of you. Some days I really struggle to find the motivation to be a diligent missionary. I feel like we have very little time to rest, and we are constantly working to learn. Some days I feel like my brain is exploding from how much Japanese I try to cram in each day. Then I think about the salvation of the people in Japan. I think about how I will be able to bring others unto Christ. I know that with continual hard work I will be able to bring more to the gospel. I feel like I have already developed a love for the people of Japan, and I haven't even met them yet. On the back of my family photo album my mom put a little scripture from D and C about how "The Worth of Souls is Great in the Sight of God." I know that to be true. No matter what their back ground, no matter what they have been through, no matter what they have done wrong in their lives, God loves them. Even though some days I really feel down on myself and I feel too tired to work hard, I think about how God sees the people of Japan. I think about how God continues to look down on me and says "Justice those people need you." Every day I think of those words in my mind and even though I may feel extremely tired I strive to work my hardest because I know how much each soul means to our Father in Heaven. I also have another quote on my pillowcase that says, "A missionary is someone who leaves their family for 2 years, so that others can be with their families for eternity." I know that this is true. That is exactly what I will be working to do in Japan. I will be bringing families together for eternity.

I am sorry my emails are so long, but I hope that you are able to put up with reading them haha. Sorry that I won't be able to email you personal letters today I don't have too much time, but I am grateful that I get to send an email to all of you each week telling about my experiences here. I am also very grateful for all the emails each of you have sent me and I hope you will continue to email me.That is so cool that Michael got his call to Arkansas. Please tell him that I know he will be a great missionary and that he will have a blast. The mission is a great experience, and I have only been out here for a month. I heard Alex is already getting his Eagle Scout. That is amazing, tell him I said congrats. Also thank you so much for the package yesterday! It is funny because some of the sisters in our district got packages with chips and salsa too. They were planning on having a chips and salsa party today, and then I got your package last night with the same thing haha. Even though the weeks are dying down at the MTC they have not said anything about my visas. Hopefully they will soon. I have not heard anything about the 24th yet, but if I do I will let you know. Yes, I have been able to get the pictures great. Thank you so much. It is good to see how everyone is doing. Sadly I have not been able to find Elder Fesoli yet, but we are always on the look out. I will try my best to find him before he leaves. I will send some pictures in another email.

I love you all and keep you in my prayers,

Elder Hirsch