Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

December 18, 2011

Hello!

So this week sounds like it was a crazy one for the fam. It was also a very crazy one for me. To start, I'm so sorry about Sister Shinoda. I was shocked to see that email. She has called several times since I have been in Kariya. She wanted to go get food. I hope Brother Shinoda still wants to, we would love to take him.

So as I said, this week was crazy. Elder Kishi became the comesarian (supply elder) so he left on Wednesday to get special training at the honbu (mission home). So I got put with the other two elders in my apartment until today. I'm staying in Kariya. My new companion is the one Kishi is replacing, haha yes he is nihongin (Japanese) too. He is very cool. I've met him several times. This should be very fun. I know he will wanna get right to work since he has been in the honbu since before I started my mission. He goes home pretty soon too, so more motivation to go! and my Japanese will continue to improve.

Well, we kinda had a funeral too this week. Sad to say that now. Elder Kekauoha is going home today, so for district meeting we did an awesome testimony meeting and had a little funeral party. It was fun, we left and got some food afterwards. Oh ya, and since Kishi left, I had the phone. I didn't want it but I had it. I ended up talking to Elder K like every night, it was awesome. I will miss him, he was so fun and an awesome missionary.

We had two Christmas parties on Saturday. One for the ward and one for a member's school. She teaches English at a school for like 4th graders age. So we had some fun playing games and helping her out. Our ward one was like any regular one in Utah, not too special. And actually we had another party on Wednesday for a Homes Without a Father Organization. It was great to introduce the church to them and just to give service to them. We had to make almost 200 sandwiches for the party.

Talked to Sefa yesterday at church for a long time. Talked about his mission. He gave each of us a Mon ($100) for Christmas haha, I might go buy a new suit. It was pretty awesome. I'm glad everything at home is going great, I love you. Here's the info for calls next week. Either we talk on mine or your Christmas. Yours would be better. The call can only be about 45 minutes. So there you go! Let me know!

Elder Parry

Visit from a Seventy

December 11, 2011

Are you kidding me?! Pujols to the Angels!?!? That is just crazy. That's not as big of a deal as I thought he was gonna sign for.  He's in the AL now, tough goin'. I want the AL to come back and be the best league again.  I'm done with this NL crap haha, sounds pretty exciting.  I had no idea that Europe was even on anyone's minds.  A ton of Japanese people here want to go to Germany.  I think that's a weird tourist attraction.  But whatever, they all want to.

I'm glad everything at home is going well, this was for sure a week to remember.  We had Elder Gary E. Stevenson come talk to our mission last Wednesday.  We all got to meet and talk to him before.  His wife is a Higley (Sam's teacher's husbands are her brothers) so it was a great connection.  They said they love the area where we live.  She wanted to move there, but he got called an area 70 so they live in Tokyo haha, quite a difference.  The meeting was amazing though.  I seriously have the best mission president anyone could have.  He brought the spirit in so strong and it was so great to listen.  Elder Stevenson was the best too.  He said a lot of things that were answers to my prayers. Those experiences are ones that I will never forget.

So next a quick sidenote, I was looking at the conference Liahona, and Dad, is that your friend Henry from Colombia? It's in the first half. I saw it and knew it looked familiar.  And another thing, some people from the Okazaki Ward yesterday said you were in a Liahona years ago and that you are famous. What is this?! Awesome, my dad is famous everywhere.

We had a pretty fun ping pong party with some investigators and recent converts.  I am getting so good haha, it was a lot of fun though.  Japanese are way good at it. They consider it a sport, pathetic.

Elder Heo got a $150 package of kimchee the other day.  It smells awful.  He was so excited.  He said it was real. I had it and it tasted no different from any kimchee I had had.  Everything smelled so awful.  Yesterday, I had a drink of milk and it tasted like kimchee.  I got super angry.  You know what I do when I'm angry, I took all the kimchee and threw it out on the deck and said to him in a raised voice to never bring the kimchee back in the apartment.  He was bummed and angry all day, but the other elders were really happy I did it too.  Japanese people are too conservative.

I went on a pretty fun exchange on Friday.  I went with Elder Kekaouha.  He is from Hawaii and he goes home next week so I was his last exchange.  It was a lot of fun.  He served in Kariya for a while, so we visited people he wanted to see and did TIM TAM SLAMS! Best things ever.

Saturday, I had to take him back to Nonami, then go to Toyohashi, then to Meito and back home.  So since you don't know how long this is, it was about 7 hours on a train and almost $70 of train tickets.  It was a very long day.  But it was fun to go around and see places.  I have been to every area of this zone. Pretty cool.

We went to go watch the Christmas devotional yesterday.  Good thing we only made it for President Monson's talk and I was the only English speaker.  It kinda made me angry, Japanese people have the worst sense of time. Yes, worse than Mormons and Polys, haha oh well. As you can see it was a pretty fun week.  I love you all, haven't got the package yet.  Enjoy Europe and home, talk to you soon!

Elder Parry

200 Oranges & a Vinegar Museum

December 4, 2011

Sounds like a very exciting week! I do wish I could've been there to experience it and help out (major wind storm and clean up).  That would've been fun to do.  But to be completely honest, not a lot happened this past week.  We started out by going to an all-you-can eat sushi place last Monday and using the Sefa Mon.  It was amazing.  Have you had ebiabocado? It's shrimp, lettuce, mayo and avocado.  BEST THING EVER!!! I loved it and it was sooo good.  I had probably 10 plates of  just that. So yes that was very fun.  One of our ward members gave us about 200 oranges, so we made homemade orange juice with them.  We ended up with about 6 or 7 gallons, so that was fun too haha.

We had a six-month party last Thursday! I can't believe how fast it has gone.  It has been one awesome ride.  We had ton katsu and homemade orange juice, of course.  I cooked dinner five times this past week! I made some way good sweet and sour chicken but the nihonjin said it was too sweet, haha it was really good though. 

We have been getting a lot of calls from the APs this past week about my companionship, one of our investigators and a lot of stuff.  It is crazy. I feel like we are in the middle of everything in the mission.  Even President Baird has called a few times.  In this situation, as a missionary, I don't like having the spotlight like this.  Usually the spotlight is great, but not like this here.  It's hard, but I think it will stop this week and things should improve.  Transfers ends at the end of next week and I can't believe it, I swear it just started.

 

So I had an argument with the other elders on what is better, American or Japanese girls haha. Obviously it's American haha, it was pretty funny though.  We had some fun meals on Saturday.  We made this way good chicken, then this member called and said he was coming over to pick us up and take us to a less active's house.  So we ate way fast, but it was way hot, so we kept burning our mouths and just going haha.  It was a funny scene.  Then when he came, he had Big Macs for us, so we struggled through those.  Then this family took us to an all-you-can-eat Italian Restaurant.  We struggled through that.  Yes, that was a difficult day haha.  The member ended up taking us to a vinegar museum.  Ya, it was weird.  I didn't know vinegar deserved a museum, but when the tour ended, all the nihonjin ran for the store and bought a bunch of vinegar.  It was entertaining.

Well, that's the update from the big easy over seasy! I hope things clear up over there.  Sounds like an adventure though!  Love you all so much!

Elder Parry

aka shortboob