Exploring Oiso beach from lastp-day. We have a strict no walking on the sand rule in our misson.
Snow on Mt Fuji
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Week 15 - 11/26/17 - Group Email
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! It just felt like another normal day out here in Japan. We went and ate some ramen but that was the extent of our celebration. I'm so grateful for all the support from my family and friends though and for all that I've been blessed with in my life! Now it's time to celebrate Christmas and I'm pumped for that! They actually kind of celebrate Christmas in Japan so it will be fun. Interesting though because most people don't even know who Christ is so we have our work cut out for us!
Last P-day we went to Oiso beach in my area. We just wanted to go check out the ocean and see what the town of Oiso was like. Japan is so pretty and we had some nice views! While we were housing we found a guy who was down to talk. After a while he explained to us that he fully believes that Steve Jobs is God. It was bizarre but good for him! We gave him a Book of Mormon so we're gonna stop by and see if he changed his mind lol. Also we talked to a high school that thought I was 29. That was a new record! Sometimes when we talk to people we have them guess how old we are and that was the highest I've heard haha.
On Saturday we had our zone blitz in my area. Everyone from our zone came to my area and we all dendoed together around the eki. It was fun and we got quite a few Potential Investigators! Today we will get our transfer emails so I will find out if me or my comp are getting transfered. Most likely I will stay in Shonan with my trainer but anything could happen. It has been getting really cold lately so I'm kinda dreading the winter! We had a lesson with another investigator who speaks spanish this week. I was able to participate more this time because Elder De Andrade translated for me throughout the lesson. We have started sharing the #Lighttheworld message with our ward members. I encourage everyone to participate in that and do some service this Christmas season!
Elder Dean
Last P-day we went to Oiso beach in my area. We just wanted to go check out the ocean and see what the town of Oiso was like. Japan is so pretty and we had some nice views! While we were housing we found a guy who was down to talk. After a while he explained to us that he fully believes that Steve Jobs is God. It was bizarre but good for him! We gave him a Book of Mormon so we're gonna stop by and see if he changed his mind lol. Also we talked to a high school that thought I was 29. That was a new record! Sometimes when we talk to people we have them guess how old we are and that was the highest I've heard haha.
On Saturday we had our zone blitz in my area. Everyone from our zone came to my area and we all dendoed together around the eki. It was fun and we got quite a few Potential Investigators! Today we will get our transfer emails so I will find out if me or my comp are getting transfered. Most likely I will stay in Shonan with my trainer but anything could happen. It has been getting really cold lately so I'm kinda dreading the winter! We had a lesson with another investigator who speaks spanish this week. I was able to participate more this time because Elder De Andrade translated for me throughout the lesson. We have started sharing the #Lighttheworld message with our ward members. I encourage everyone to participate in that and do some service this Christmas season!
Elder Dean
Monday, November 20, 2017
Week 14 - 11/19/17 - Pictures
Yummy Ramen
Made brownies last pday
Dinner with the Tatebayashis last night
Week 14 - 11/19/17 - Group Email
Hey everyone that past week was pretty good. We went on splits with the zone leaders which was super fun! I learned a lot from them and it was a party sleeping over with the Fujisawa Elders. I ate Tonkatsu for the first time with them and it was soo good! On Pday last week we made brownies with a less active who works at a pastry shop. They were probably the best brownies I've ever eat, no lie.
On saturday we had a stake family history fireside for 4 hours. That was kinda rough, 4 hours in a chapel trying to not fall asleep is hard! Especially since I can't understand the talks lol. We went to lunch for my bday with a bunch of other missionaries before that meeting. We ate all you can eat shabushabu. It was $28 haha but was really good! I honestly don't think I've ever eaten that much meat in on sitting.
We were able to find one new investigator this week from Bolivia who speaks Spanish and a little Japanese. We had two lessons planned with our other Latino investigators but both fell through unfortunately. Tazaki san our one progressing Japanese investigator really understands the Book of Mormon well and asks some super good questions!
At church I brought a bunch of candy and gave it out to the kids, they loved it and it made me so happy to give it to them! I love candy, like alot, so when I sacrifice my candy it's hard but I feel good inside lol. I found an awesome quote by Gordon B Hinckley that I really like! "Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve" It reminds me that I need to have a good attitude and be positive because no good comes from being negative! I hope everyone has a good week and chooses to be postitive! Love you all!
Elder Dean
Monday, November 13, 2017
Week 13 - 11/12/17 - Pictures
Checking out a shrine by our apartment.
Everyone rides bikes in Shonan
We rode about 1 hr to visit a less active with our ward mission leader Brother Nagai. They weren't home and we were dead!
Week 13 - 11/12/17 - Group Email
Hello Everyone,
Obrigado (I think that's how it's spelled) means thank you in Portugese! We come in contact with lots of Portugese speakers so don't be surprised when I get home and am perapera (fluent) in portugese too! Jk not gonna happen lol
I'll start off this email with some funny experiences from the week! We found an old guy in the park who I think was homeless. We approached him and I introduced us and our message. When he replied I could not understand a word he said cuz he spoke old man japanese and I still can't really even understand Japanese in the first place. So I just stood there and looked confused then said "sorry, I can't really understand" before I could say anything else he just started talking to me. I thought he said "that's great that you are learning japanese!" but after the convo I asked my comp what he was saying and turns out he said something along the lines of "Why would you come to Japan without learning Japanese??" LOL so that kinda hurt my confidence a bit but only made me want to learn the language even more!
Another funny experience happened yesterday. We saw an old guy on the street and started to talking to him. He said he was Buddhist but he was really nice and seemed down to talk. Once we starting to share our message he pointed to his house where his wife was standing on the porch. Once she saw us she literally started screaming at him to stop talking to us and ran out into the street and grabbed him, It was hilarious! She clearly wears the pants in that relationship haha.
We saw a little success this week which was awesome! First we had two new students in Eikaiwa (english class). My comp said he hasn't seen a new student since he got here 3 transfers ago. We got in contact with an investigator we were about to drop because we coudn't ever talk to him and we taught him a lesson! He only speaks spanish so that was interesting for me. We also picked up a new investigator from Brazil who only speaks Portugese but seemed down to learn about the gospel! We also found a family from India last week that we visited again who seem like they could have some potential, and they speak english, yay!
Last pday we checked out the shrine that is close to our apartment. It's intersting, shrines are all over the place in Japan in the most random spots. They are fun to check out though! One thing that is really weird about this mission is that you aren't allowed to talk to women unless they initiate the conversation or you knock their door and they answer. I think the two Tokyo missions are the only ones in Japan where that's a rule, not completely sure though.
Love you all!
Elder Dean
I'll start off this email with some funny experiences from the week! We found an old guy in the park who I think was homeless. We approached him and I introduced us and our message. When he replied I could not understand a word he said cuz he spoke old man japanese and I still can't really even understand Japanese in the first place. So I just stood there and looked confused then said "sorry, I can't really understand" before I could say anything else he just started talking to me. I thought he said "that's great that you are learning japanese!" but after the convo I asked my comp what he was saying and turns out he said something along the lines of "Why would you come to Japan without learning Japanese??" LOL so that kinda hurt my confidence a bit but only made me want to learn the language even more!
Another funny experience happened yesterday. We saw an old guy on the street and started to talking to him. He said he was Buddhist but he was really nice and seemed down to talk. Once we starting to share our message he pointed to his house where his wife was standing on the porch. Once she saw us she literally started screaming at him to stop talking to us and ran out into the street and grabbed him, It was hilarious! She clearly wears the pants in that relationship haha.
We saw a little success this week which was awesome! First we had two new students in Eikaiwa (english class). My comp said he hasn't seen a new student since he got here 3 transfers ago. We got in contact with an investigator we were about to drop because we coudn't ever talk to him and we taught him a lesson! He only speaks spanish so that was interesting for me. We also picked up a new investigator from Brazil who only speaks Portugese but seemed down to learn about the gospel! We also found a family from India last week that we visited again who seem like they could have some potential, and they speak english, yay!
Last pday we checked out the shrine that is close to our apartment. It's intersting, shrines are all over the place in Japan in the most random spots. They are fun to check out though! One thing that is really weird about this mission is that you aren't allowed to talk to women unless they initiate the conversation or you knock their door and they answer. I think the two Tokyo missions are the only ones in Japan where that's a rule, not completely sure though.
Love you all!
Elder Dean
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Week 12 - 11/05/17 - Group Email
For last p-day we went to the Odawara Castle! It was super cool and it's the only castle in my mission. From the top there was such a solid view of the ocean and all the mountains! While we were streeting one day a japanese man came up and asked where I was from, I was pumped because Japanese people don't usually approach us so it would have been really easy to start teaching him! But right as I said the US he starting humming the national anthem way loud and made a huge seen haha we tried to talk to him after that but he was literally crazy so we couldn't get anywhere with him.
We had dinner at another members house the other night, They are from brazil so they served Brazilian food, It was really good! After dinner the dad asked for a blessing so I was able to give my first blessing! Luckily he said english was okay.
One of our investigators (Tazaki San) Is progressing quite well. We only can meet with him once a week on saturdays and it's hard to get him to commit to coming to church but I think his faith is really growing so that's been fun to see. Since my comp speaks Portugese we have to go a spanish/portugese ward every other week so yay for me I get to understand a tiny bit at Japanese sacrament then absolutely nothing at the other one! We had a baptism in our ward for an 8 year old boy so that was fun to see. Me and my comp gave talks on the Holy Ghost. My ward is so great here in Shonan and I'm super grateful for that, all the members are really nice and helpful!
Overall it's been a pretty good week with lots of meetings and stuff. I hope everyone has a good week!
Elder Dean
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From movie night the other week. Zone blitz in our area. hiked Mount Oyama. IT's pretty cool t here is a huge Buddhis...
