Mission Adventure Letters 12

Hi everyone! 

This is week 1 of the transfer! Elder Jödicke was able to get packed and get his luggage off to the airport and then we cleaned the apartment in between lessons. We had a good last week with members and saying bye to investigators. On Thursday everyone was able to transfer safely and we ate at Nio for lunch and dinner. The people in our apartment now are my companion, Elder Sumsion from Kaysville (in Grandma and Grandpa’s Stake), and Elder Jones from Eagle Mountain, Utah. 

We had a good leadership training for all of the new mission leadership in Kichijoji and then SPM immediately afterwards. 

Game night was good, but no where near the numbers as last time. It was still fun. We had to find all of the Infinity War stickers that someone put on the back of chairs though before sacrament meeting. 

Sunday was good, we got to spend time with the Primary while everyone else got to learn about Ministering. Today for P-day, we didn’t do much, we just got to walk through half of the malls in Tachikawa, we didn’t buy anything until we got to Daiso because we actually needed stuff from there. 

We will have a great week with all of the new districts and half of MLC got changed around, so I am looking forward to seeing how the mission will grow. 

I hope that you all have a great week! See you later!

Elder Murphy 

Mission Adventure Letters 11

Mission Adventure Letters 10

I miss Hibarigaoka so much...

It was really hot this week. Everything is sweating

Nice quote from a Japanese couple.

We should walk around like this.

Splits and a Birthday Party

Fussa Yokota district meeting. Can you find us?

Our mission artistically! By an artistic missionary, who is not me 

Mission Adventure Letters 9

Hi everyone, I hope that you liked the pictures! I had time to pull the 100+ pictures from my camera to give to the zone, so it is just a sampling. If you want to see more, you will have to write me and ask for it! (Scheme achieved!)

This week was really busy and it ended with General Conference, which was amazing! You know, usually when I write these, I use my planner to help me, but I forgot it at home.... sorry. I will try to think.

This week: 

Monday: Lesson with Miracle and the newly moved in new member. Went well. The Miracle Girl lives in Hachijoji though, so we will pass her off to the sisters if we can. 

She will go to Institute this week. (Me writing it as this Monday, she really liked Institute and will go again next week!)

Tuesday: I don’t know what happened on this day. I tried writing about it and it turned into Thursday and Friday combined. 

Wednesday: Zone Conference: Learned about Buddhism, Shinto and Confucianism, which really helped us on Thursday with the Police Man! We learned about using pamphlets better when teaching, how to teach those without a Christian Background, and how to start conversations more effectively with a bonus of a TED talk on rejection. That is the 1st YouTube that I have seen in a really long time! Then we did Eikaiwa and I gave the spiritual message on finding Spiritual truth. Everyone liked it even though it was not the video that I had wanted to share, we went with it and taught some new people. 

Thursday: taught the Police Man, went to Fussa/Yokota district meeting, they gave us Easter Candy! Did some weekly planning, and made lots of plans and lesson outlines.

Friday: Splits: Taught The Animator, visited Mai at Nio 仁王 (The Ramen place), and taught the other elder’s less active friend. He needs a lot of support and he calls them maybe 6 times a day. He even seems to know when they are at the church and then he uses the church phone to talk to them. We have no idea how he knows that they are there. 

Saturday: Study in the morning, then straight to open up the church for General Conference! Highlights from Saturday include: Brian K. Taylor: “Am I Really a Child of God?” (YES, you are!), Elder Neil A Anderson: the role of a prophet, Elder David A Bednar: Meekness (that was an amazing talk (Saturday afternoon, 1st talk)), Sister Bonnie L Oscarson: I love how she gives talks. , Elder Dale G Renlund: two brothers and how they were brought together, Elder D Todd Christofferson:  again, the way that he gives talks is amazing and the talk was very good. . Afterwards we ended with me making a traditional milkshake and doing language study. (I miss DQ)

Sunday: Again, early start with DCS, then General Confernce, this time in Japanese. Highlights include: Sister Reyna I Aburto: we need to be united to serve., President Dallin H Oaks: Christ gives us a “lively hope”., President Russell M Nelson: we need to listen to the Holy Ghost to be united., Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf: What day most changed the course of History?., Sister Jean B Bingham: I love how she talks too and that Ministering is not just a one time deal., Bishop Gerald Causese: This is not a Sunday Church., President Russell M Nelson: our message is for all of God’s Children on both sides of the veil; and a temple in Russia and India! 

After confernce, we went to a members house and had Family home evening with them and we got to play Catan, which I have not lost that skill, so Mom and Dad should be ready for when I get back! 

Ok, I hope that you all enjoyed a review of Conference and my scattered thoughts about the week! It was hot, then cold, and now it is hot again, but Japan is beautiful and doing great! 

I hope that you all have a safe week and have fun at school and work! 

バイーバイー

マーフィー長老

Mission Adventure Letters 8

Hi Everyone! How were your weeks? Mine was BUSY! I hope the weekly email is a good end to your Sunday and Easter.

Monday: 

After our Hanami in the park, we met up with a new member/recent convert who has been helping us out a ton and did a mogi of what to do when at work, everyone asks you to go drinking with them. He really appreciated it because he starts work next week. Then we went to McDonalds for dinner for the first time in forever. We saw the other Elders investigator and he was really surprised and came and ate with us too. 

Tuesday: 

Crazy day. We accidentally planned 2 lessons at the same time, with the Animator and with the Policeman, but luckily, our doseki’s were able to come early and we did splits so I biked up north to teach the Animator. It was a really good lesson and we just followed up on Jesus Christ. She is getting more comfortable with us and being more open in her comments and questions. Way good lesson. Then Elder Jödicke gets dropped off in a car to where we met up, and he doesn’t have a bike, so we had to walk home for 45 minutes. Actually, I just sat on my bike all of the way home, so it was nice for me. Then we did Companion study with the APs and that was good to see Elder Poff and Elder Morris. Then we did a huge planning session to try and get ready for what we had in the week. It kind of worked. We set up Eikaiwa, did lesson reports, planned more lessons, and contacted PI’s and members to set up events. I also painted Easter Eggs the wrong way, but the member that I gave them to really liked them anyways. 

Wednesday: 

Fussa District meeting first thing in the morning, good train ride. Then we went to the far side of our area and meet a members husband, the Writer, who is not a member and he taught us calligraphy and we had a hanami. It was way nice and he is really cool. His wife is a calligraphy master and she even has a different name because of that. Then we had a lesson with an Eikaiwa student who would like to be baptized, but is waiting for her husband to give her permission. Eikaiwa was great, and we played Mango, Mango, Mango, which I will teach you when I see you. 

Thursday: 

MLC in Kichijoji for all day...  yeah. It was good, just long. When we finally got home we ate dinner and did all of the contacting and planning that we didn’t get to do on Tuesday, or at least most of it... long day. We got in contact with a new person who called the church and wants to meet with the missionaries #Miracle.

Friday:

Met with the Miracle girl who already seems to know all of the lessons. Wow. That has never happened before! It was a way good lesson with the new member (Computer Whiz). Afterwards, Brother Computer Whiz fixed the church printer in about 3 minutes and then we went to our next lesson, which was the German Girl, who is learning German from Elder Jödicke. It also went really well, we taught about Easter and she opened up about wanting to know more about what happens after we die. Then we went and Elder Jödicke taught some members the violin while Brother Computer Whiz and I messed around with an Electric Base Guitar. We also spent 20 minutes looking for some picks that never showed up. Then we assembled the dendō team and did a good kubari followed by tasty curry and cake and then a surprise lesson with the Pilot! Our specialty now is having 5 dosekis at all of the lessons and using 30 inch TVs as our iPads. Way more effective. Everyone can see. Then we raced home after a good lesson.

Saturday: 

Kunitachi District Meeting was good, we got some good district goals going, then we went and ate lunch before fasting with the Writer, his wife the Shodo master, and our best member friend. They tested us to see how much we could eat, so even though it was a cafe, we ate a ton. Then we took a bus that they showed us to Fuchu and did District meeting there too. We gave a training on Follow up. Then we got home, did language study and contacting and then Game Night, where a lot of people who don’t usually come came and we had a great time! 

Sunday: Easter and Fast and Testimony meeting. Was good, Miracle Girl, Animator and Eikaiwa Student came to church and had a good experience, then after church we taught 2 lessons again on member splits (I wonder if the Elders at home do that?). They both went well, but then we had a 2+ hour DCS with our new Dendō Shunin, and the bishop and the 2nd counselor in the Stake Presidency. It was great, but we were all hungry. So we went home and wanted tempura, but when we finished making it, our favorite member called and said that she wanted to feed us at her shop, and we said that we had made tempura, but she said give me your order and bring the tempura with you, so we ate too much. It was really tasty though. Then we did a 3rd planning session, so hopefully this week will go well for our investigators! 

Long letter, wow, that is huge, I hope you all read it all of the way through. It is already April. Time is flying and we are super busy and I already feel like the summer is coming. 

I hope that everyone enjoyed conference, we can’t wait until next week for it to be translated. 

Have a great week! 

BYE

Elder Murphy