Weekly Mission Email

Yokkaichi: 

Learned basics of break-dancing the first night 

There's a market down the street that sells everything twice as cheap as anything in Ueda 

This place is a city (I mean, Ueda was a city, too, but there are actual people out and about at night) and looks like SO much fun. 

Yup. Four people in one apartment is crowded. Especially sleeping-wise. 

There are about 150 members, a plethora of programs and ready tachiais, investigators, etc. This area has a solid base. 

Our apartment is 100% white American male. 

The new schedule is all whompus, and we're still trying to figure it all out along with the new Eikaiwa programs, and then balance that between a split Zone Leadership's responsibilities and a District Leader on top of that, too. It's busy work. 

Yokkaichi is an actual ward. An actual ward. It was so weird to come and participate in an actual Ward Council Meeting or whatever I'd heard so much of in America at the MTC. I actually may get a semi-normal missionary experience (as compared to the American missions). 

I landed in a musical apartment. We've got music playing all the time here (church themed, of course. For the most part). Speakerphone, music libraries, CD players, the works--we got a bajazzle of party materials and we're not afraid to use them.

Elder Orton had to complete some housing application for the U of U Honors Housing. I didn't know he was going to the U. Actually, not only is he going to the U, he's majoring in Mechanical Engineering--and part of the Honors Program. Basically what I was going to do before switching to Metallurgical. Whoa! Twinners. 

I saw a baptism! Brother Itou got baptized! Whoohoo! Go Yokkaichi! Missionary work is on fire here! 

Funny story: 

We went out Sunday night to deliver heart attacks (for Valentine's Day) to members--hit up four houses. Hahahaha you absolutely cannot doorbell ditch in Japan; the people just aren't accustomed to that. We went to doorbell ditch our first house. First time we ran away and waited a couple minutes but nobody came out. We thought I had just pushed the button wrong--it didn't actually ring or something. This time Elder Orton goes and ditches it. Runs away, we wait, but nobody is coming out. Wha? Orton tries again, but this time waits until somebody calls at the box asking who's there. "The missionaries!" and runs away. Hahaha the father peeps out the window on the top floor and sees him running away, calls after him, and is so relieved to realize that it was just the missionaries. Hahaha he, his wife and family had honestly thought a creeper, thief, or other was playing a sick joke on them and was out to get them. The wife had been with the four small kids towards the back of the house, hiding. We felt so bad! It was all good though; they invited us in, we shared snacks and cocoa, had a improv lesson and bore testimony, and in the end received an invitation to come back for an actually dinner plus lesson later on. Sweet!

The work here is moving forward in marvelous ways. I'm so glad to be a part of it. 

愛しています！ 

カードん長老から

Elder Cardon 

Sweet Yokkaichi view we caught the other day