Email #37  July 6, 2015

Dearest Family and Friends,

My motivation to write long emails is diminishing more and more each week, probably to all of your great excitement. This week went really well! We were able to get out of the office and do a lot more dendo this week. We increased our lessons by 66% but we're still teaching 1/3 of the lessons I taught last transfer, so we have lots and lots of room to improve. We're really trying to make getting out of the office a priority and going in with a to do list and leaving as soon as it's complete. The biggest news from this week is that we transferred to a new Mission President! The Naganos arrived on Tuesday night, after we deep cleaned the office. We're all fairly sure that the office only gets cleaned once every three years, every time a new mission president arrives. It was really nerve-wracking, kind of like the feeling you get on Christmas Eve. We were all super excited but also nervous. My heart was beating like crazy. We were able to meet them right as they arrived to the mission home and help them get in. They came over and met us in the office after they had put their things away. They are so incredibly kind. President Nagano has a Japanese accent but has impeccable English. He knows more phrases than me. He already knew everyone's name before coming to the mission and a little about them because he had spent time looking at everyone's files. He worked on Wall Street for around 30 years and is incredibly intelligent. Sister Nagano has incredible pronunciation and is so kind and caring and funny. We had an introduction meeting with the two of them and they shared their conversion stories and she talked about how she was baptized in about a month and said that she was golden. She is hilarious and they both have really amazing senses of humors. The Budges left on Wednesday afternoon. President Budge seemed pretty giddy about leaving, while Sister Budge was crying the whole time. I felt like I got to know them better since coming to the office, but I could know them even better after the mission. They were a really amazing Mission President and Wife. They were incredible teachers and at getting things done. That was one of the biggest things I learned from President Budge, just being focused and getting things done. He was also super in tune with the spirit. I feel like I got to know a lot more about him just from being around the assistants, and them telling us about him. They're awesome, and they deserve the rest before he gets called as apostle (probably just joking). The Naganos are seriously incredible. They have a really different feel about them. They are really laid back and calm and welcoming and more personal with the missionaries. President Nagano is using his office here with us, unlike President Budge who used the office in his house. They're seriously incredible, I love them a ton already. They are both from Japan and are both Japanese. They have four kids, a son, a son, a daughter, and a son. The two oldest sons are return missionaries and the oldest is married and lives here in Tokyo. The two youngest are both missionaries! Their son is actually serving in the Japan Tokyo South Mission, which is pretty crazy. The assistants are doing a really good job of helping them know what to do and about the mission, and we just help them with their phone or laptop when they have questions. They help us more than we help them. We had a big barbecue all together today to celebrate the Fourth of July. We were telling them about our plans to have a barbecue and they asked if they could join. They went to the store and bought everyone potato salad and pasta salad and sausage and had everyone over to the mission home and we had corn on the cob and watermelon and it was awesome. We sang the Star Spangled banner. The Naganos are both only American citizens too which is pretty crazy. We had a really good lesson with Yuichi again, and we're having an investigator come over to play ping pong in just a little bit. It was a super fun week. We're working on redesigning the mission logo and portal which is pretty fun too. Sorry, this ended up being longer than I thought. I'm tired and this email is all over the place, but I love you all! I'll end with a spiritual thought at my mom's request. This week I've been thinking a lot about just how practical a ton of my testimony is. I know that there is nothing in this church that makes you a worse person. If I were to follow all of the church's teachings, I would literally be perfect. Craziness. I'm so grateful for the gospel and how it stretches me and makes us all into better people. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Calhoun

 Mission Home Rooftop Selfie #ballers (Shinjuku is in the background)

 This weird dessert Yuichi made for us with mushrooms and stuff that

was all covered in vinegar. We're cooking for him next time so pray

that he doesn't drop us

 Elder Yoshino, my favorite human being on the planet

Me and Elder Cannon. Families with last names that start with C-A

are pretty fantastic

 Our patriotic meal and the Naganos!

The Nakano missionaries with Jordan, a member who's about to serve

a mission but hasn't gotten his call yet. He's half Japanese half

African American but Japanese is his native language

Email #36    June 29, 2015

Dearest Family and Friends,

Another week down here in Tokyo! This past week went well. Elder Alder and I are slowly getting better at using our time. We were able to study at the right time every day this week, but we didn't teach nearly as many lessons as I was hoping we would be able to. We're going to change and improve this week! Tomorrow night, President and Sister Nagano arrive in Japan. It's pretty crazy. We have no idea what they are going to change or how quickly they will change it, so we could be insanely business this next week or only incredibly busy this next week. We're going to have to change everything that has the Budge's name on it to the Nagano's and maybe change the portal and mission logo and stuff. It's an exciting time! It's crazy that the Budges are leaving. I have learned so much from them and I'm super grateful for their examples. They are awesome, and I really love them. But I am SO PUMPED for the Naganos! They seem soooo awesome. It's going to be amazing getting to know them and love them and be around them for the next year and a half or so. We were in the office a lot this week, but we had a couple of really awesome experiences I'll share. We have an investigator named Yuichi who has been investigating the church for 10 years. He was an investigator when I was 9 years old, when President Hinckley was prophet. Crazy stuff. He has been taught by over 100 missionaries and had member presents with general authorities and mission presidents. He's a super good man but incredibly stubborn. He loves the practical side of Mormonism, but not the theological side. He has been getting a lot more humble and teachable these past few months though, he was dropped for a while and was picked back up again right before I got here. He made us lunch on Friday to say thank you for the things we have been doing for him. He took us down to his basement where he had the lunch all laid out, and then he told us to eat for 15 minutes, and then we would discuss service for 30, and then I would talk to him for 15 minutes about free agency and faith, and then he left. He's a character. We finished our lunch and then we started a lesson, and it went super well. We are trying to focus on loving him and talking about service because it naturally transitions into the good stuff about the gospel. We had a really good discussion on faith. He said, "You dare to talk to me about these things" because he doesn't really like talking about them but he respected that we were and it went super well. We talked about the theological side of our religion and how much happier he will be if he just reads and prays. The Spirit was really strong and I felt this huge feeling of God's love for him. It was a really great lesson and a powerful experience. On Thursday, we went on exchanges. I went with Elder Ishikawa, our district leader and the recorder for the mission. He handles baptismal records and a bunch of other miscellaneous things. He's the man, he's so cool. We tried to crank out our office work then went finding. We weren't having a ton of success, but we were able to hand out a few copies of the Book of Mormon. After dinner, we streeted to our bikes and no one was talking to us. Right before we got to our bikes, we stopped to talked to this guy, the only Japanese person I've seen with tons of tattoos. He kept walking but then turned around and started talking to us. We had a really good conversation about religion and the commandments and he took a Book of Mormon and we exchanged contact information. After, we saw a super cool black guy and started talking to him. He was from Ghana and wants to come to church! After that, we started biking home and we pass a guy on his bike and he slams on his brakes and says, "I have a bunch of friends just like you guys back in Taiwan." We gave him a Mandarin Book of Mormon and talked to him and told him about Chinese Night. It was a really cool experience, to go from having no success to having people basically stop us. I know that Heavenly Father rewards our hard work and is directing this work. It was a great week. I love you all, have a fantastic week!

Love,

Elder Calhoun

 Elder Alder doin' him. If you look closely, he also has an Eiffel

Tower necklace on

 Yuichi's basement and lunch for us

 Elder Calpon. They messed up my Japanese name too

We made a garden on our roof today!

 The district minus the APs. The light took a chunk out of Elder

Yoshino's and Sister Hoshi's heads

Tokyo with Skytree in the far left

Email #35    June 22, 2015

Dearest Family and Friends,

I don't have very much time, so this is going to be super short. This
week went well. We are trying to balance time in the office and time
finding and teaching better. It's hard, but we're going to do it! I'll
tell you the highlight of the week. So, last week, we translated for
the less active member who exploded at us at the end and then left.
This week, it got even better! On Saturday, he called the bishop and
was mad about last week's translation and some other stuff and said he
was going to come to church with some friends and bring knives and
stab the bishop, Elder Cannon, Elder Alder, and me. They delayed
church and we had to stay in the apartment until two, when church
started, and they had it on lock down. The cops were there too in case
he showed up. It was intense, but he just gets mad really easily, he
wouldn't actually hurt us. He's crazy. We had a good zone p day at the
most expensive basketball court the church owns. It's in downtown
Tokyo. It was sick. Here's a cool picture, it isn't super built up but
it's an incredibly wealthy section of Tokyo, it's where all the
embassies are. I started to learn coding this week too. It was a good
week. Love you all, have a wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Calhoun

Email #34       June 15, 2015

Dearest Family and Friends,

I did it. I finally did it. As the legendary musician Iggy Azalea once said:
"I'm in the fast lane, from L.A. to Tokyo"

I have finally, after like a 7 year stop in North Carolina, made it
from L.A. to Tokyo. And Tokyo is for sure in the fast lane. This past
week has been a blast, here we go! Last Monday, we got transfer calls
and I found out I was coming to the mission home to be tech staff. I
couldn't believe it because I have nothing to do with computers. On
Tuesday, we did a lot of packing and saying goodbye and transferring
our investigators to the other companionship. It went really well, we
were able to say goodbye to all but one of our solid investigators,
and everyone had a return appointment with Elder Crosby. Thank you so
much for your prayers! The one bummer was that we weren't able to say
goodbye to the Adachis. Sister Adachi got sick and had to go to the
hospital, which in Japan doesn't mean anything because everyone goes
to the hospital as soon as they catch a cold, literally. But it did
mean we couldn't say goodbye, which was a bummer because they're
seriously the best! On Wednesday, we transferred! Elder Scott, Elder
Shimoji, and I all went to the honbu. It was a fun train ride, it was
pretty crazy because we had our bikes and some luggage and stuff and
the trains were packed. After we arrived, we walked our way to the
honbu and I met Elder Alder. He's the man! I'll include a picture with
him. He kind of talks like Jordan and he reminds me of Elder Barnes.
He doesn't really look like an athlete, but he's a beast. He played
basketball in high school and his team won their division's state
championship in Idaho. He went to Provo for a year, and played on the
same soccer team as my MTC companion Elder Erickson! He's a stud. I
went and ate ramen with Elder Shimoji after that because Elder Alder
had already eaten. It was fun to eat with Elder Shimoji one last time.
After eating, I was introduced to my new job of tech staff! Basically,
we have a bunch of stuff to do during transfer week and then after
that we just do a bunch of random miscellaneous stuff and have more
time to dendou. This week has been super busy though! We taught
Eikaiwa that night, and right before we thought we had time to go fix
an iPad. We didn't, but we were able to stop and talk to a guy and
give him a Book of Mormon and get his number. It was sweet because we
literally had 5 minutes to go work and we were able to talk to a super
cool guy! After that, in Eikaiwa, I used the things I learned from
Sister Nitta in Oyama. She was an English teacher here in Japan before
her mission, and was super, super good at teaching Eikaiwa. I tried to
do what she did and it went really well! The students here are super
cool, and one of them told me I look like John F Kennedy and now only
calls me Kennedy San (kind of like Mr. Kennedy but not as formal or
weird) so he's helping their case out a lot. We have a pretty sweet
relationship, I teach them free English and they tell me which famous
celebrities I look like. I'm a big fan. On Thursday, we played
dodgeball for exercise in the morning. It was really fun because all
of the returning home missionaries were there, so there were like 30
of us all playing. It was every man for himself and was a blast. My
arm killed the next day from throwing and my feet were destroyed but
it was totally worth it. We went on exchanges later that day, I went
with Elder Griffiths and Elder Alder went with Elder McKnight. Elder
McKnight, the missionary I am replacing, was going home, so he wanted
to have lessons with as many people as he could before he went home.
Elder Alder went to the lessons so we could have someone from our
companionship there, and I went with Elder Griffiths, another
returning missionary, to try to fix the broken iPad we have. It was
really cool, we went to Ikebukero, the second busiest train station in
the world (right after Tokyo), and tried unsuccessfully to find a
place that could fix the iPad cheaply. We failed, but we did find
something priceless: AN AUNT ANNIE'S. There's an Aunt Annie's in my
area! A lot of you probably don't know about my love of cinnamon sugar
pretzels, especially from Aunt Annie's, but it borderlines obsession.
That was a treat, and knowing that there is one in my area is even
better. Elder Griffiths and I then met with one of his former
investigators. It was incredibly awkward. It was his investigator and
the investigator's member aunt, who he lives with. It was rough, but
we went to McDonald's and I got a soft serve so it was almost worth
it. On Friday, we played dodgeball again, but a much more toned down
version because everyone was tired and had sore feet. We also got
Sister Budge's leftover food for the returning missionaries, which was
awesome. We then took the assistant's bikes to zone meeting because
they had to leave to Niigata right after that. It was so much fun.
They were these compact foldable bikes with tiny pedals so we were
just cruising through downtown Tokyo for a little more than an hour
seeing all the coolest parts of Tokyo. Tokyo is a blast, but it's so
crazy. If Las Vegas is sin city, Tokyo is Sodom and Gomorrah or outer
darkness or something. It's insane. We went to this legit pizza place
before zone conference that was so good. They had standing room only
and it was on this back alley kind of hidden and so delicious. It was
really fun to go with Elder Alder, because he served in Shibuya and
knew all the good places to see and eat. We had a really good zone
meeting, our zone is sick. It has the English speaking areas and is
the biggest zone in the mission and is just a blast. One of our zone
leaders is French, and another companionship has one Elder from
Finland and the other from Hong Kong. It's so cool. After zone
meeting, we went and had Taco Bell. Seriously, Tokyo is the best. It's
the only Taco Bell in Japan off military bases, and it was soooooooooo
good. It was kind of weird though because they tried to make it really
hip so it had dim lighting and was all hardwood and was playing rap
music. Not the Taco Bell I'm used to, but still just as good. Saturday
we did tech all day because the Assistants called us and asked us to
make some stuff. That night we had Chinese Night, and we went with
John, one of our investigators from Taiwan. It went really well. It
was all about Christ and who He was, and the Chinese missionaries were
asking people who their hero was, and John said his was Jesus Christ.
That was really cool. Sunday was good too, we went to the family ward
with one of our investigators, Yuichi. After sacrament meeting, the
bishop asked for our help to translate for one of the members here,
who is a foreigner and only speaks English. He has some small mental
issues like anger management I think because we talked for two hours
and tried to help him but at the end he just blew up and threatened to
burn down the church. It was pretty crazy. We went to the YSA ward
after that because that is technically our area. It was really good,
the YSA members are so cool. I got to talk to a lot of them and get to
know them a little bit, and they're all sick. Yesterday, we went to
downtown Tokyo and ate at this super good ramen place then shopped. It
was fun, but shopping as a missionary is so weird. I would rather just
sleep I think. Sorry this is so long, I kind of just start and ramble
and ramble then finish. Love you all, have a wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Calhoun

 Elder Ishikawa during our earthquake drill. He would have died.

Saying goodbye to Kei and his buddy

   

Me and Elder Miller pre-haircut. He's the man

We caught a huge toad right by the office