55th week in Japan
8/29/2016
モルモン書 (The Book of Mormon)

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has been a great week to kick start the new transfer.
We got transfer calls on Tuesday morning and sadly my companion Elder
Wheeler was told that he would be headed out of Katsura. He is going
to an area with the only desert in Japan called tottori. He was sad to
leave, but he was also excited to be able to experience a new area. I
remember me having the same feelings when I was a third transfer
missionary getting ready to head to my second area. My new companion
is Elder McEwan. He is from Miami, Florida. Just like Elder Wheeler he
did water polo in high school. He went to BYU for a year and wants to
study statistics when he gets back. He is a really hard working
missionary. We are both excited to set some stretching goals and see
miracles happen this transfer.

On transfer day my new companion, Elder McEwan, and I met at the Kyoto
station. We headed back to our area and immediately got to work. That
night we met with a new investigator in the area named sister
Watanabe. She is about 24 years old and is going to one of the highest
grade colleges in Japan. It is called Kyoto University. She has a lot
of interest in learning about Christianity. We were able to teach her
about the restoration and she completely understand everything that we
had to teach her. It was amazing. When we gave her the invitation to
read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, she said "Of course!" I
truly pray and hope that we can help sister Watanabe reach baptism
by the end of this transfer.

Recently when I have reflected back on that lesson I realized
something that I had not realized before. I realized the it is truly
the basic teachings of the gospel that change the hearts of the
people. This gospel is so simple. Really when it comes down to it, all
we have to know is that the Book of Mormon is true. When we come to
recognize that the Book of Mormon really is a true book from God, then
we know that this church is true. The Book of Mormon is the keystone
of our religion. Everything else about the church hangs on the fact of
whether or not the Book of Mormon is true. I love being able to share
about this book with others. It is truly the most correct of any book
written on this Earth.

I love the promise written in Moroni 10:3-5. I have so much trust in
this promise. I know that it is true because I have experienced it
myself. This is why I have so much love for the Book of Mormon. I
could read the Book of Mormon for hours on end. I am grateful that God
did not leave us without a way of knowing him. We can know God through
reading his words and striving to follow the principles written in the
Book of Mormon. It is truly a precious gift.

I love this gospel. I love being a missionary. I am grateful for the
Book of Mormon. I know that through reading the Book of Mormon our
hearts can be changed. This gospel is true. In the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.

Ponderizing Scripture: Ephesians 6:17

Questions:

What are the main things you do on P-days and what do you like to do the most on P-days?

1. I don't know if we really have a main thing that we do on P-days.
We do a lot of different things to get ready for the upcoming week. We
clean the apartment, wash and hang clothes, get groceries, and email.
I think that it is really fun when we get to go places on P-days. A
lot of times we just don't have the time to do so, but it is fun to
have that opportunity. I think this transfer we may go to a place
called Arashiyama, which has a monkey park there.

Have you met any new fun people lately?  How are the investigators in Katsura?

2. We met a few really cool people lately. The other day we met a guy
on the street named Kyosuke. He is a college student and the day we
met him he was really willing to talk and meet with us again the next
day. It will be fun to teach him. He likes snow boarding and does
Physical Therapy. Our investigators aren't doing the greatest. We
don't have that many progressing investigators. Maybe 3-4 or so, but
we are working on finding those who are actually prepared and
dropping those who are not ready for the gospel yet.

How did transfers go? Any news?

3. Wheeler choro went to tottori and my new companion is Elder McEwan.

Are there many elders that can play the piano in the areas you have been? If so, do they play very much in the wards?

4. Not many of my companions could play the piano much, but there is
quite a few people in this Ward who can play the piano. I think it
would be cool to learn more when I get back.

Have you been able to play any basketball or ping pong lately or any other games?  Do you know if the kids do wrestling at school there?

5. I haven't been able to do that much lately. I would really like to
set up a sports night or something in this Ward, but it has been a
little bit difficult to get things set up. I don't think that they do
too much wrestling, but in Uwajima I heard of a few people who do, so
they definitely have it here.

Have you been learning any new Kanji lately?  Any new funny words in Japanese?  What is something funny you like to teach in English?

6. I haven't been studying too much kanji lately, but I think that
kanji is really cool to learn to read and write. They all have a
specific meaning so that way it is easy to understand what you are
reading even when you don't know the way of reading certain kanji.
Recently I learned that the word of uncool is Dasai. Also hanpanai is
a funny word for like excellent or great. Chabudaigaeshi is a single
word for to flip a table over in anger. It is funny to try to get
people to say parallelogram in Japanese because they don't really have
the letter L or R in their language so it is hard for them to
pronounce. We have to teach them how to pronounce certain letters.

 Is there a store there that you like a lot?  Have you seen any Costcos?

7.  I have never seen a Costco in Japan, but there are quite a few
here. They are mostly in the really urban areas. I don't know if I
have a favorite store or anything, but I always think it is cool when
we travel somewhere and see old Japanese shops. There is a lot of
really interesting things in their shops.

Thank you all for your love and support. I have had such a blast on my
mission so far. I am grateful to be in the service of the Lord. The
gospel is true! Love ya,

Elder Hirschi