84th week in Japan
3/20/2017
That was fast...

家族友達の皆さんこんにちは！

This transfer has truly been a fun one back with my old companion
Elder McArthur. We have seen a lot of miracles and have had a blast
working together. I am really grateful for his good example and the
chance that I had to learn from him. So, today is the day that we get
transfer announcements. I felt certain that Elder McArthur and I would
be together another transfer because he has been here for a short time
and I just got here. However, this morning we received an unexpected
call from President Welch. He told me that I was going to be training
a new missionary in a new area called Nara.

I have been reflecting a bit about my experience with Elder Philburn
in Uwajima and there are a lot of things that I would like to do
better this time around training a new missionary. It is such a great
privilege to be able to help this new missionary to get a hold on to
the ropes of missionary work. My biggest goal is to help him become a
lot better missionary, by the time he is at his 15th transfer, than
the missionary that I am now on my 15th transfer.

I am grateful to be here in the service of the Lord. I know that the
time is short, but it is of great importance. I know that the worth of
souls is great in the sight of God. For this reason it is our duty to
help our brothers and sisters come to a knowledge of their Savior
Jesus Christ.

Ponderizing scripture: Mosiah 23:22

Questions:

Does anyone there celebrate St Patrick's day? Did anyone wear green?

1. No they don't celebrate in Japan

Are you and Elder McArthur the Kobe zone leaders or is it the Amagasaki zone?

2. We were the Kobe Zone leaders. We are just in the Amagasaki area.

Did you get your package with the Werthers in it for General conference?

3. Yes. Thanks so much!

Do you still have district meetings often? What is your district like?

4. Yes. They happen weekly on Fridays. Our district was way fun.

Was it far to the Himeji castle? Were you able to go up in the top of it? It looked like it from one of the pictures you sent.

5. We did go to the top. It was about an hour and a half train ride
from our area.

Have you learned some new Japanese words lately?

6. Yes. Sorry not too much time to write any but maybe next week.

Have any of your investigators gone to your ping pong nights? How about the English classes?

7. Yes they did come. One of the investigators is really good at ping pong.

Elder Hirschi

83rd week in Japan
3/13/2017
伝道

Dear Family and Friends,

We have had a fun week with more exchanges and the opportunity to get to know more missionaries. The mission is such a blast! It is great to be able to continue to learn new things every day.

Last week we had Zone Training Meeting on Friday. There is 31 missionaries in our Zone so it is currently the biggest Zone in the mission. It is weird to stand up in front of a bunch of missionaries that you hardly know and give a training, but I am grateful that I can get to know all of these new missionaries. We have exchanges with Elders about 2 times a week. It has been fun but at the same time a little odd because I feel like I still don't know my own area very well yet. Exchanges are always in Amagasaki so we just go out and get to work without knowing to much about the area. 

This transfer I have been able to exchange with a lot of younger missionaries. It is so cool to see the faith of younger missionaries. Even if younger missionaries cannot speak the language 100%, hearing their simple, yet powerful, testimonies really brings the spirit. One thing that I want to work on is bearing more simple and frequent testimony. 

Today we went to the Himeji castle with a group of some of the missionaries in the zone. It was interesting to see some of what went on hundreds of years ago in Japan. It kind of reminded me of the scriptures and the importance of keeping records of our history. I am grateful to be able to read God's word written by prophets long ago. I know that even though the scriptures were written many years ago everything applies to us in our day. 

The highlight of the week was that an investigator that Elder Zollinger and I found named Shingo in my last area was baptized yesterday! I wanted to go, but I couldn't make it because we had a missionary fireside. He is going to be such a big help to the branch in Fukuchiyama though. Nobody in the branch is under 40 years old except for him and one other sister. I am filled with joy that he made the decision to follow the Savior and be baptized. It is great to see our brothers and sisters come unto Christ. 

Ponderizing scripture: Mosiah 8:18 "Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings."

Questions:

Have you used your family tree with pictures that we sent with you?  Do they talk about family history much in your branch?

I actually got it out recently to use it while housing (tracting). They have a bit more recently. I want to start filling out the my family pamphlet.

 Did you cook up some Alfredo this last week?

We have not yet. We haven't had much time to do so.

What are some of your favorite people in Amagasaki?

I like brother Usman a lot. He is from Nigeria. I also like our investigators. Sakamoto san and Shirakawa san are good. Brother Ogawa is really awesome. He took us out to eat on Saturday.

Have you or Elder McArthur talked in church lately?

I haven't had to talk other than my self introduction the first week here. Elder McArthur gave a talk yesterday.

Did you get a chance to practice the song we sent you for the piano?

Yes. I tried it out. I could remember most of it, but I was a little rusty.

 Is Elder McArthur pretty good at ping pong? 

Yeah, he's alright.

Do the Japanese people like to go camping?  What do they like to do over spring break?

That is a good question. I actually haven't heard of anyone going camping in Japan. I think that is a Western thing. I'm not exactly sure what they like to do over spring break. Usually just hang out with friends.

I hope everyone is doing well at home. It is great to hear how you are doing. Logan seems to be doing well on his mission. Love you all!

Elder Hirschi

82nd week in Japan
3/6/2017

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been a busy, crazy, and fun week! We have had multiple exchanges with Elders, interviews with President Welch, zone conference, and other fun meetings. I have never been more happy. It is funny how that works. The busier you are in the service of God, the happier you are. 

This week my love for the members has been increased so much. We learned a lot from President Welch at Zone Conference , and one thing that I felt like I want to improve on from the meeting was showing more love to the members. What I have discovered is that through showing more love to members, you feel more love from them as well. I feel that the same principle applies with us and our Father in Heaven. When we show love to God by keeping his commandments, in reverse effect we feel of God's love for us. 

For example, yesterday at church we studied about the word of wisdom. In Japan many people love to drink tea and coffee. During gospel principles one of the recent converts shared with us how stopping drinking coffee affected her life. It wasn't easy for her, but she showed her love to God by not drinking coffee anymore. Through doing so she was blessed with more energy. She felt God's love and the importance of keeping her body physically healthy because it was a gift from God. 

God loves each one of us. Have a great week everyone!

Ponderizing scripture: Mosiah 15:9

Questions:

How was your zone conference and interviews last week?

They were awesome! I learned a lot. My training wasn't that great, but I asked President Welch how I could improve and he gave me a few pointers.

How are your English classes going?  How are your investigators doing?

The English classes are fun. They have changed up a bit. We now share a spiritual message at the end and we teach a little differently. Our investigators are doing fairly well. Shirakawa san got in an accident recently, so it has been hard to meet with him. We have been trying to help him through some difficult times in his life.

What is something you like about Amagasaki?

I like that we are in the middle of everything. It is good to be in an urban area. 

 Do the kids there have any kind of spring break?  Is it starting to warm up yet?  When do the cherry blossoms come out?

They do have spring break at the end of March. It is warming up. The weather has been great the past few days. I think the cherry blossoms come out at the beginning of April.

 Is your bike still doing ok?  How about clothes and things?  Anything you need?

It is great. I have been cleaning it up and trying to take care of it so I can take it home. Clothes are also good. Elder Hanagan, who was my MTC zone leader, gave me a new suit that will fit me better.

Do you learn new things with the language every week?

Yes. I still have a looooong ways to go at the language.

81st week in Japan
2/27/2017
Loving Dendou!

Sorry I don't have too much time to write this week. We have had
another pretty busy P-day. It has been fun, but we had a lot of stuff
to do to prepare for the upcoming week. A member also took us out to
eat for lunch at Indonesian Curry.

We had another exhausting and fun week last week! We were able to find
quite a few new investigators and meet up with some older ones.  I
hope that as we continue to set goals, work on improving ourselves,
and be obedient that we can continue to see miracles in the service of
the Lord. It is great to be here serving him for these two years. I
love missionary work. Well, sorry not much time to write, but I love
all of you. Have a great week!

Ponderizing scripture: Enos 1:12

Questions:

What is Amagasaki like?  Is it similar to other areas you have been in?

1. It is awesome! The ward is probably the biggest one that I have
been in. The members are great and the area is fun. It is very urban.
It is most similar to Okayama probably.

What is the ward like there?  Are there very many youth in the ward?

2. There are a few youth in the ward. We have quite a few young adults
too, but they are mostly women.

 When is your next zone conference? Have you had interviews with the president lately?

3. It is tomorrow! We also have interviews after zone conference from
here on out.

What does Elder McArthur like to do on P-days?  Does he like to cook?

4. We haven't been able to do much on P-days due to being busy with
other things, but we are planning on going to the Himeji castle
someday. He said he doesn't mind it. He likes cooking.

 Do you have a washer or dryer there?

5. There is a washer here. I think there is one in every apartment,
but there is no dryer.

 Do you listen much to your mp3 music we sent you?

6. I actually don't as much anymore. I listen to my companions music
and some that Shawn sent me a while back.

How are your English classes going?  Did Brother Shirakawa come to the class?

7. They are fun. We have quite a few students here. Brother Shirakawa
will be coming tomorrow.

Elder Hirschi