Email #61 January 11, 2016
Dearest Family and Friends,
This past week was great! Last Monday was transfer calls. After
transfer calls, we went to zone p-day in Urawa. It was great, I beat
my arch-nemesis/good friend Elder Burch at every sport we played. It
was oh so sweet after all of our smack talk. I love Elder Burch, he's
a great missionary and guy. We played ping pong and dodgeball and
basketball as a zone, and we found out that they are combining Saitama
East and West zones, which will make zone p day even more fun because
twice as many people will come. I'm also really excited because Elder
Yoshino is in my zone now. I love that man. Tuesday went well, we did
a ton of walking. The mission home never sent Elder King his bike,
probably because he was transferring, but it made us do a ton of
walking when we were together. We did some good finding and taught
Kaneko Kyoudai that night. He's a great guy. He's a recent convert of
a little over a year, and he is working to get the Melchizedek
Priesthood right now. We've been reading the Isaiah chapters with him,
and it's been going well. On Wednesday, we did some more finding and
had a good Eikaiwa. Transfer day last week got moved to Thursday
because the new missionary's flight got delayed. We met with Ien that
morning and talked about the Book of Mormon, then went back and
finished packing the other Elder's stuff. We went to the train station
and I saw Elder Unsworth and Elder King off. Poor Elder King only got
one Sunday and one Eikaiwa here and then had to transfer. We were
pretty surprised when we found out. He's a great missionary and super
cheerful and funny. Elder Unsworth is going to Matsudo with my buddy
Elder Chou from Taiwan. He's going to have a blast, Elder Chou is the
best. Elder Unsworth was a great missionary and I loved him and
working with him. After seeing them off, I met up with Elder
Faganello, my new companion. He's great! He's one transfer below me
and speaks Japanese really well, so it's going to be awesome to have
someone who can help me and help my Japanese. He's from Victoria,
Canada, and loves to draw. He's a really gifted artist. Since he came,
we've taught a few recent converts and found some nice new people. We
found a super nice guy named Sultan from Saudi Arabia. He said he had
lived in America and loved the Mormon missionaries because of how nice
and cheerful they were, and loved the Mormon church because we believe
in one God and don't eat pork, just like him. We could see the
disappointment in his eyes as we explained the word of wisdom and the
Godhead, but it was a good opportunity to get his phone number and set
expectations to meet again so we can explain our beliefs. On Friday,
we had to go to a training meeting in Urawa. We got on a train that
was about to leave, and as the doors closed we looked around to see
who we could talk to. To our great surprise, we got onto an all
woman's car. We were the only men in the whole car and it was packed
with women, all staring at us. It was pretty embarrassing, but
thankfully it was only one stop. I'm not sure how we didn't notice
that there were only women in it the first place, but it was a good
conversation starter to talk to people on the train the rest of the
week. Elder Faganello also ate Coco's Curry House level 10 spiciness.
It's hard to describe how hot it is. It's for sure hotter than chili
pepper or habanero, it's super hot. The worst part is that it just
takes so long, because it's this thick curry with rice. He took it
like a champ though, eating it slowly but surely. I'll include some
pictures of the ordeal. It was a great week!
I've really been thinking a lot about the scriptures lately. Never
before in my life have I realized the depth of learning that can come
from reading the scriptures, or just how wonderful and beautiful they
are. PMG talks a ton about the importance of study, and it nearly
always specifies to study the scriptures. I have never read more
slowly, but more insightfully, than I have these past weeks. I have
been reading in Mosiah and have been really loving the opportunity I
have had to read and learn from the scriptures. It is amazing how much
doctrine and just amazing things are jammed packed into the
scriptures. I am really starting to realize the import of two
scriptures I love:
1 Nephi 6:6
Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not
occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the
children of men.
2 Nephi 4:16
Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart
pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.
There is seriously nothing in the Book of Mormon that isn't of value,
and more I find that value and the realize the depth and beauty and
importance of the scriptures, the more I delight in the things of the
Lord and find true happiness in my work and in the gospel and in who I
am. The gospel is amazing, and i am so grateful that we can learn
about it in the scriptures.
This upcoming week is going to be great, we're going to be meeting
with some good potential investigators we've found recently, build our
relationship with the ward, and really work our hardest and have faith
that we can help the Lord build our area! I love you all, have a
wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Calhoun
This past week was great! Last Monday was transfer calls. After
transfer calls, we went to zone p-day in Urawa. It was great, I beat
my arch-nemesis/good friend Elder Burch at every sport we played. It
was oh so sweet after all of our smack talk. I love Elder Burch, he's
a great missionary and guy. We played ping pong and dodgeball and
basketball as a zone, and we found out that they are combining Saitama
East and West zones, which will make zone p day even more fun because
twice as many people will come. I'm also really excited because Elder
Yoshino is in my zone now. I love that man. Tuesday went well, we did
a ton of walking. The mission home never sent Elder King his bike,
probably because he was transferring, but it made us do a ton of
walking when we were together. We did some good finding and taught
Kaneko Kyoudai that night. He's a great guy. He's a recent convert of
a little over a year, and he is working to get the Melchizedek
Priesthood right now. We've been reading the Isaiah chapters with him,
and it's been going well. On Wednesday, we did some more finding and
had a good Eikaiwa. Transfer day last week got moved to Thursday
because the new missionary's flight got delayed. We met with Ien that
morning and talked about the Book of Mormon, then went back and
finished packing the other Elder's stuff. We went to the train station
and I saw Elder Unsworth and Elder King off. Poor Elder King only got
one Sunday and one Eikaiwa here and then had to transfer. We were
pretty surprised when we found out. He's a great missionary and super
cheerful and funny. Elder Unsworth is going to Matsudo with my buddy
Elder Chou from Taiwan. He's going to have a blast, Elder Chou is the
best. Elder Unsworth was a great missionary and I loved him and
working with him. After seeing them off, I met up with Elder
Faganello, my new companion. He's great! He's one transfer below me
and speaks Japanese really well, so it's going to be awesome to have
someone who can help me and help my Japanese. He's from Victoria,
Canada, and loves to draw. He's a really gifted artist. Since he came,
we've taught a few recent converts and found some nice new people. We
found a super nice guy named Sultan from Saudi Arabia. He said he had
lived in America and loved the Mormon missionaries because of how nice
and cheerful they were, and loved the Mormon church because we believe
in one God and don't eat pork, just like him. We could see the
disappointment in his eyes as we explained the word of wisdom and the
Godhead, but it was a good opportunity to get his phone number and set
expectations to meet again so we can explain our beliefs. On Friday,
we had to go to a training meeting in Urawa. We got on a train that
was about to leave, and as the doors closed we looked around to see
who we could talk to. To our great surprise, we got onto an all
woman's car. We were the only men in the whole car and it was packed
with women, all staring at us. It was pretty embarrassing, but
thankfully it was only one stop. I'm not sure how we didn't notice
that there were only women in it the first place, but it was a good
conversation starter to talk to people on the train the rest of the
week. Elder Faganello also ate Coco's Curry House level 10 spiciness.
It's hard to describe how hot it is. It's for sure hotter than chili
pepper or habanero, it's super hot. The worst part is that it just
takes so long, because it's this thick curry with rice. He took it
like a champ though, eating it slowly but surely. I'll include some
pictures of the ordeal. It was a great week!
I've really been thinking a lot about the scriptures lately. Never
before in my life have I realized the depth of learning that can come
from reading the scriptures, or just how wonderful and beautiful they
are. PMG talks a ton about the importance of study, and it nearly
always specifies to study the scriptures. I have never read more
slowly, but more insightfully, than I have these past weeks. I have
been reading in Mosiah and have been really loving the opportunity I
have had to read and learn from the scriptures. It is amazing how much
doctrine and just amazing things are jammed packed into the
scriptures. I am really starting to realize the import of two
scriptures I love:
1 Nephi 6:6
Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not
occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the
children of men.
2 Nephi 4:16
Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart
pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.
There is seriously nothing in the Book of Mormon that isn't of value,
and more I find that value and the realize the depth and beauty and
importance of the scriptures, the more I delight in the things of the
Lord and find true happiness in my work and in the gospel and in who I
am. The gospel is amazing, and i am so grateful that we can learn
about it in the scriptures.
This upcoming week is going to be great, we're going to be meeting
with some good potential investigators we've found recently, build our
relationship with the ward, and really work our hardest and have faith
that we can help the Lord build our area! I love you all, have a
wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Calhoun
Goodbye to the Three Muskateers. I'm looking fly with my waist strap
Elder Faganello experiencing the pain progression of level 10 Coco's curry
Eating dragonfruit
My favorite place to ponder on the way to church. We always stop here for a few seconds to look at the fish and enjoy a little bit of nature. It's rejuvenating
We made mochi a few weeks ago.
Love you all! Have a wonderful week!
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