weekly mission email

It was a good week in Tsu, but basically I’ll only be sharing one story today. 

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I went on an exchange with Elder Higashi in Ise this week. It was pretty eventful. 

We were out for the evening knocking on doors in the neighborhood of a member who lives really far away by bike. As we pulled up and were preparing to get started, that same member drove past and stopped in front of us at the stoplight, and then rolled down her window and exclaimed her excitement at seeing us! It was a short exchange of remarks, as she was out on her way and the light soon turned green again, and we wondered at the uncanny timing of it. 

Well, two hours later, as we were pulling out of the area, we got a call asking us if we wouldn’t come over for a bit and share a message to the member couple there. That same member. 

The brother was very nice, and the sister talked a day. We received the Okinawa special Ginger Hot Cocoa and some souvenir French Biscuits for our trouble. Overall, a pleasant time. 

After a bit of this, and gleaning information from the elderly couple, we asked if the brother wouldn’t help us in one of our purposes for being in the area that night: visiting a nearby Less Active. The brother ended up being coaxed into it by his volunteering wife. 

We went by car down the road a ways for the visit. We then proceeded to pull into a nice neighborhood off the side of the road, and then into a nice, grand mansion-type house with extended pull-through driveway and several large houses on the property. This was it, we had arrived. 

A little intimidated, we rang the doorbell together and waited for a reply. A large man whom you could tell ate feasts for meals (he had a belly to show it) stepped out into the cold and asked kinda gruffly what we wanted.  

Tenderly, Elder Higashi explained who we were and our purpose for visiting tonight. He introduced the member, and then asked if the man remembered going to church in Ise Branch. 

The man perked up as he recalled a member, then two, and then started listing off names and families, asking about their welfare and happenings. The conversation turned really good at the point, and as it continued we were able to invite him to the upcoming Christmas party, hand him a new copy of the Book of Mormon, and tentatively exchange schedules for appointments. 

This Less Active had refused contact from the church for about 30 years, yet simply having a member whom he was familiar with beside us changed his countenance and led to such great progress. For an upcoming while, the mission will be emphasizing working together with members to accomplish miracles, and I heartedly affirm that this can change everything in terms of success. 

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The work is good down here. We have four people lined up for receiving baptism, and  were recently given a lot of Emergency Foods meal sets as Christmas presents. What more could a missionary want? 

PS(I would bet that the reason behind the meals would be the fact that they expire in January and missionaries will eat most anything. ) 

愛しています！

カードん長老より

Elder Cardon

The emergency food works like you put a chemical pouch inside the ziploc between the two foods (rice and sauce), pour over special water and seal the bag. The chemical reaction creates steam, which vents out the top for about 20 minutes until it’s all cooked. And done!