#44         Tuesday, August 25

Dearest Family and Friends,

This week went really well! I don't have very much time so this is
going to be super short, even by Elder Calhoun standards. Some of the
highlights of this week were talking to Ken after Eikaiwa, district
meeting, and the temple today. After Eikaiwa on Wednesday, I had a
really good talk with Ken. He's such a stud. He really wants to be
happier but is having a hard time thinking that the gospel is a
reality and that Christ can really help him. We talked about how the
church is true and that Christ is a very real, living person who
performed a very real, applicable atonement, and although many
different people have varying thoughts or beliefs about this, it does
not change the reality that Christ and the atonement are real, true
things. He said that he would pray this week to know whether or not
the Book of Mormon is true. It's amazing how much I've come to love
the people that I work with on my mission. The times that I have felt
the Spirit most strongly are when I am teaching and feel heaven's love
for the person that is being taught. It's so incredible that the
Spirit is the real teacher, and that as we teach both the hearer and
the teacher are edified and uplifted. District meeting went really
well because of the amazing missionaries here in Nakano. Sister Palmer
did a training over Skype. It was really good. She was and is an
incredible missionary and I have learned and am still learning a ton
from her about dendo, our attitude about life, and choosing, finding,
and spreading happiness. Nori, a super cool member from the YSA group
here, also talked about how we can work more closely with the member
here. He basically just said that we need to show interest in the
members and get to know them and love them. We are going to memorize
all of the ward member's names (which is so hard, Japanese names are
so hard to remember) and do a Book of Mormon challenge with them,
thanks to Sister Palmer. We will challenge all of them to give out a
Book of Mormon within a month, and to share their experiences in
testimony meeting. This will allow us to all work towards a common
goal and for the missionaries to follow up with the members and get to
know them better. The temple today went really well. I have found that
when I go to the temple with a question that I need help with or need
answering, I get much more out of the session. It is a real, tangible
way that Heavenly Father answers our prayers and I am so incredibly
thankful that we have one in our mission. One other highlight was
staying awake in church this week. It was hard, especially because we
have two sacrament meetings to go to, but I did it. My thought this
week is about commitment. I've found that when I commit myself to do
something that I know I can do if I set my mind to it and that God
wants me to do, I do it. When we commit ourselves to this gospel, we
find happiness. When we commit ourselves to reading the Book of Mormon
and praying about it, we discover truth. When we commit our
investigators to do something, they change. When we commit ourselves
to do something that is alignment with God's will, He will help us do
it. It might be hard, but we can do it. That's a really empowering
principle I think. Also, I challenge everyone to read "Absolute Truth"
by President Spencer from the July 1979 Liahona. It's one of the best
talks I've ever read. I love you all, have a wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Calhoun

 Elder Yoshino and his Ferrari background.  Sometimes we 

change the background when he leaves the room.

 Yugi, the man.  He leaves for BYU on Thursday.

Elder Nakaima.  He's awesome.  Sometimes he looks like a Simpsons character.