Many Changes

Alex got word that he will be transferring to a new area and leaving behind his companion, Elder F.  He doesn't say much about his emotions ever, but I am a bit sad for the people he will be leaving behind. But I'm sure it will be fun to get to know another area of Japan and to meet new people.

The Book of Mormon in Japanese. Notice how their books are read the opposite of ours.

Elder F., Alex's companion that he's leaving in Yonezawa



 

 

The city he will be in is Hachinohe, which is on the coast and very north, so the weather is still cooler there. It was one of the cities that was hit hard by the 2011 tsunamis.

When I asked Alex where they do their laundry, he said that they have "laundry machines" in their apartment. We've seen some changes in his English since he's been there, but told his sister that he doesn't think he'll forget English. I don't know how laundry at the new place will be for him.

People taking photos at the sakura (cherry blossom) festival

This is Alex's letter----

A while ago, I had mentioned that I wanted to learn Japanese sign
language so that I can speak to deaf people here, and now I'll have
the opportunity to learn lots of it! More info on that below (hint:
see Saturday's summary). Also, this week was Sakura (cherry blossom)
week, so I'll probably send pictures of that if I didn't include it in
this part.

This week's kanji is: 時代 pronounced gee-die and means era or time period.

And now for the week's summary (done with out a planner because I
brought the wrong one, so it may not be as accurate).

Monday: we had fun at the apartment, and in the evening tried to visit
some people. We got to go into one of our investigators home for a
lesson, and that was good. We also tried to visit an old investigator,
but it turned out that she had moved, and that it was a guy who lived
there, and didn't have too much interest.

 

Tuesday: we had companion exchanges, and I got to work with Elder
P. He is really fun to talk to, and we had a great time. We went
to visit someone in a neighboring city at her work, and when I went up
to her she started to freak out and was really happy to see us. She
kept on saying "you came!"  She has been really busy with work, but
wants to take the lessons again, so that should happen soon.

Wednesday: I can't remember much from this day, but we went to the
shrine to talk to people, because there were lots of people there
because of all the Sakura they have there. We also had English class
in the evening, and that was fun.

 

 Thursday: we had District Training Meeting with the zone leaders in
the morning, and it was really spiritual. After that went to go visit
a man called Mr. Iwai, which in English translates to "Rockwell"
interestingly enough. He was healthy, and we stayed long enough for
Elder F. and him to get acquainted, and then went and had lunch.
After lunch we went to the church for a lesson with one of our English
class students. She wanted to start getting private English lessons,
so she wanted to do the program we have of 30 minutes English, 30
minute Japanese/gospel for it. She asked a lot of great questions, and
a member who came to help us out really helped out a lot in explaining
things. We also went back to the shrine and the park nearby to talk to
people again.

Friday: we went to go hang a poster up in a high school, and when we
asked they said that the principal was coming to talk to us. We were
both a bit unsure of how it would go, but she was really open and
nice. She talked to us for a while (just normal conversation stuff)
and said she'd hang up the poster. We then went to visit a less active
member. He was nice as always, and we shared a quick message with him
before we left. Again we went to the park (there were lots of people
still).

 

 

Saturday: in the morning we went to a sign language circle. We learned
a lot during it, and I really wanted to learn it more because of it.
That day was when we got transfer calls for the upcoming transfers,
and we happened to be in the signing circle when President Smith
called us. I found out that I will be leaving the good city of
Yonezawa and traveling all the way north to the city of Hachinohe.
There are lots of deaf members of the church there, so there will be a
big opportunity to learn sign language there. My new companion will be
Elder B.  I am looking forward to the experiences I'll have
there. Also, as people have mentioned to me quite often, the Sakura
haven't bloomed there yet, so I'll get to see Sakura twice this year.

We then went to eat ramen at a ramen shop that someone we met a while
ago works at. The ramen was really good, and the ramen I got was
called Yonezawa ramen. I'm not sure what the difference was from other
ramen, but it was good, so I can't complain. From there we went back
to the apartment and I packed some of my stuff and then we went to the
park again. We stayed there for a while, but weren't able to talk to
too many people (we didn't go at a good time to see people).

We then went to play basketball for my last time in Yonezawa. It was
lots of fun, and the boys we play with were sad that I was leaving. I
really hope I meet them again.

I like this close-up of the sakura with the missionaries blurred

I think this is the last photo of the 4 roomies together. What handsome young men. Thanks to Elder F. for this shot!

 

Sunday: in the morning, we went to church. I said goodbye to everyone,
and one of our investigators came, and gave me a cake with a not from
her, and also a picture that was drawn by her three year old daughter
of my face. She gave it to me in a Studio Ghibli bag, because she knew
I liked Studio Ghibli. We then went back to the apartment, and I
packed most of my stuff. We also got to go visit a lot of the people I
knew to say goodbye to them.

 

I hope this email was a good read, and that you all have a great week.

I love you all.
Love,
Elder __________