A Little Bit Frustrating

January 1, 2012

Elder Parry with one of his Christmas packages.

One of the awesome treats in his package!

Darth Maul Light Saber Chopsticks!

It sounds like a pretty exciting week at home! I can't believe Sister Eyring had her homecoming, I saw her the day she went into the MTC, time has just flown.  Good for her, and I'm excited to see Dad's talk.   Yesterday was Elder Hollister's birthday, so I called him to wish him a happy birthday.  He said I have a ton of stuff in the honbu (mission home) including a packaged item from dad, so I'm excited for this week.  No, I felt no earthquake, what happened?  Fun little fact, the guy who plays Napoleon Dynamite served in this mission.  Ya pretty awesome.

So this week had its many ups and downs, mostly frustration.  This week was not a highlight.  We had some good things happen though.  I told the others that we need to host a Family Home Evening every week so we started last week! Only three other people showed up, but we did Jenga, shared a short message and had a small treat.  The Bishop announced it in Sacrament Meeting, so more people should come now.  We told everyone to invite friends or neighbors that have interest.  I'm thinking this will help things pick up here in Kariya.

We had a great new family come to eikeiwa (English class)this week.  Self referral.  We had a fun time at eikeiwa, which is good because that day was not an enjoyable one.  But the guy loves sports and working out.  He has a league for over 20 baseball.  He wants me and Hiruta to come play for him! He said, you can wear your tag over the jersey so you can still represent hahaha I'm so excited.  We have been playing catch in the mornings and I have the church's bat and I take some practice swings haha its awesome.  He shows a real interest in the church, which is better.

This lady in our ward, who already gave me a huge blanket for Christmas, gave us a bunch of furniture this week! She moved houses and the new house came with a bumch of newer stuff.  It's awesome, our apartment feels a lot more homey and has a lot more space.  We also have gotten a TON of food from people, including Taco Bell sauce and seasoning, peanut butter, and other American foods from a member.  So great.

We met with a new investigator, his name is Romero.  He is the nicest guy I have ever met.  He took us out to lunch at a small Italian cafe.  He kept ordering food and is just so nice.  He speaks very simple Japanese and English.  We asked him how his Book of Mormon reading has gone, and he said in broken English "I love this book.  When I read it, I feel so peaceful and happy.  I feel like I am flying".  I felt the Spirit so strong.  He actually does sky diving as a hobby which is cool.  He has to work 16 hours a day to support his family, so he doesn't have a lot of time to meet or go to church.  I KNOW HE WANTS IT, he just needs a little help from the time God above. Because of him, Elder Momose and I are going to learn how to do a simple prayer in Portuguese.  It will be very short and simple, but I think it will touch his heart if he hears it in his own language.

So New Years was....yeah.  Japan didn't prove any parties or anything.  It wasn't any different to me, less of a party than America.  We had nabe Saturday night at a members which is good, but nabe is bad news for a white shirt.  It was a long ongoing battle.  New Years Day was probably the worst day of me mission so far.  Church was church.  Then a member took us to his house to eat.  The food sucked, everything was raw, vegetables, or tasted like soggy bread.  I always get `amari` and `zen zen` and those kind of adverbs mixed up, so I guess when she asked me if I didn't like all the food I said yes.  The brother got angry and said it was Japanese culture.  I felt so bad.  First, they should understand I still can't understand.  Second, I had a companion who didn't back me up or help. I was super angry.  Then, we were there until 9:00 and we showed up at 3:00.  It sucked.  It really wasn't fun at all and I was frustrated.  I kinda figured out that the second week of transfers is just no good, and frustrating.  Hopefully it improves.

I love you all, I'm glad New Years was fun and enjoyable.  I really do love you all.  Thank you for all the love and support.

The Elder Shortboob