Hey everyone,
Once again, I'm way
sorry about last week. We mistimed our
thanksgiving activity,
so I had next to no time to email anyone. With
that said, I've got
plenty of time today, so I can tell you all about
it! And about the
weather, because it's about to be December, and we
are still out in shorts
and short sleeves for pday. We also got
transfer calls today,
and after four months on Amami, I'll be leaving
Elder Zeller and the
island behind. Not to fear, starting on Friday,
I'll be moving to a
different island, the island of Ishigaki! It's the
farthest south point in
the Japan Fukuoka mission, and actually closer
to Taiwan than mainland
Japan, so it should be an adventure! My new
companion is named Elder
Arnold, he came into the mission with Elder
Zeller and Elder Ehlert,
so it will be fun to keep working with him.
Also on the island is
Elder Yanada, who I lived with on Amami, and
Elder Watanabe, who
Elder Ishizu trained after I left Okinawa, so I'm
really excited for the
upcoming transfer!
Of course, moving on
means that I'll be leaving Amami, and all of the
great people that I've
meet here. If I tried to mention everyone, I'm
sure I'd miss many a
person, so I'll keep the list short. One of my
favorite people to work
with has been Miwa and her family. She has
known missionaries for a
long time, and is really supportive of us,
acting almost as our
mother away from home. The main reason I want to
write about her this
week though is a question she asked us about
baptism, about our
purpose. To quote, roughly, "When people believe
that they are right,
does that excuse them from their actions?" She
has been asked many,
many times by missionaries about when she will be
baptized, because the
missionaries know it will help her. But she
hasn't had her answer
yet. It was a testimony builder for me because I
was able to share my
purpose, which, above all, is to bring others to
Christ. Of course,
baptism is an essential step, and I recommend it to
all those seeking
comfort and solace. But just because she isn't
baptized, I don't think
time with Miwa has been wasted. To bring
someone closer, to bring
even a little more light into their lives,
that is why I was
called. And I've felt that with her.
She is just one of many
people that I think I was sent to Amami for.
Another person is
obviously me, for personal growth. And another thing
might have been our
thanksgiving party. In Japan, instead of grilling
hot dogs and hamburgers,
you yakiniku, which translates to grill meat.
Knowing it was
thanksgiving, as the four missionaries, we planned an
all you can eat yakiniku
party, which turned into a huge success. For
exactly what it
entailed, you can look at the pictures, but suffice it
to say I felt American
again. Not thanksgiving American persay, but
definitely a good time.
Sorry to skip out last
week, but I'll make sure to email again with
picture of my new
island! Love you all!
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