Date: 4/4/2016
Area: Aichi Ken Kariya City
Companion: Elder Bradshaw
日付: 2016年4月4日
赴任地: 愛知県刈谷市
同僚:ブラッドシャー長老
Hmm. I haven't written anything in a long time! So I will quickly go
over the highlights.
And it came to pass that Brother Hyodo decided to be awesome and took
us out to go play on an island for our P-day! It was incredible! He
drove us down to the bottom of the peninsula, we hopped on a little
ferry boat and we went to the island. The island is called Shinojima
and is extremely small, only a few hundred yards wide in some places,
and it was beautiful! We rode around on rented bikes (super rusty,
sketchy mamacharis. It was awesome) and then went on a short hike! We
also got to eat to eat some fresh, raw sashimi and it was amazing. We
played around in some tide pools and also went to the beach (it was
freezing cold so no one was in the water haha).
It was an amazing trip!
Recently we have been blessed with some really cool lessons. Our
friend, Moriyama, came with us to Institute in Nagoya last week! It
was super cool! All of the peoples there did an excellent job of
making him feel welcomed. All of the institute kids have very strong
testimonies and testified hardcore to Moriyama. The Spirit was
definitely there. I hope Moriyama didn't feel overwhelmed by it all.
But he made a lot of great new friends!
３月３０日
えーっと、、、最近ちょっとサボって何にも書いてなかったですね。ということで、主に起こったことを省略して書きますね。
兵頭兄弟が、私たちの休みの日に、篠島へ連れて行ってくださいました！最高に楽しかったですよー！知多半島の端まで車で連れて行ってくれ、それからフェリーに乗り換えて篠島まで行きました。篠島はすごく小さくて、一番幅が狭いところでは数百ヤードほどしかないんだそうです。とっても綺麗でした！自転車をレンタルして島巡りをして、（めっちゃサビキったママチャリでした。もうサイコー！）ちょっとハイキングもしました。採りたての魚の刺身もいただき、超おいしくて、大満足！タイドプールで遊んだ後、ビーチにも行きました。（すごく寒かったので、さすがに泳いでいる人はいませんでしたがw）楽しい日帰りの旅でした！
ここのところ、とても良いレッスンを教える機会がいくつかあったんですよ。友達の森山さんという方が名古屋のインスティチュートという教会のクラスに先週来てくださいました！やった〜！インスティチュートの皆さんも親切に声をかけてくれました。インスティチュートの皆さんは強い証しを持っていて、森山さんにも証しをたくさんしてくれて、とても強く御霊を感じました。森山さん、ちょっと圧倒されちゃったかも、、、沢山友達はできましたけどね！
夕陽に向かって、いざ！
Also the other day, we hung out with Jun! Jun is a high school kid and
speaks perfect Japanese, Chinese and English! So we went and played
ping pong at his house (Elder Bradshaw DESTROYED us both) and then we
went to Brother Hyodo's for Family Home Evening! We had a quick
Spiritual Message on why we should follow Jesus Christ. Jun had some
really good questions and he seemed very sincere. It was a great
lesson.
そういえば、この間、じゅん君と会いました！じゅん君はまだ高校生なのに、日本語、中国語と英語がペラペラなんですよ。彼のお宅でピンポンをし(ブラッドシャー長老に私もじゅん君もボロ負け)、その後兵藤兄弟のお宅へ行って、家庭の夕べをしました！なぜ私達は主に従ったほうがいいのか、というちょっとした霊的なメッセージのレッスンをしたのですが、じゅん君はいい質問をいくつかしてくれたりして、とても誠実な態度で参加してくれました。良いレッスンになりました。
Two days later we went and played basketball and soccer at a park near
Jun's house and we got to meet a bunch of his friends! They were super
cool! Then we went over to Suzuki Shimai's for dinner and a lesson! We
had a really great discussion and the Spirit was definitely there.
Unfortunately, Spring break ended and Jun had to re enter the
torturous rigors of the Japanese High School system. Also he goes to a
boarding School on the far side of Okazaki's area.... So we probably
can't see him for a while :(. He is not allowed off campus and can't
even use his cell phone on weekdays. Hopefully we can see him again
sometime during Golden Week.
Anyways we love Jun and we will miss him!
その二日後、じゅんくんの家の近くの公園でバスケとサッカーをやって、じゅんくんの友達に沢山会うことができました！みんなとってもいい子達でしたよ！それから鈴木姉妹のお宅へ行って、夕飯をよばれてからレッスンをしました。とても御霊を感じました。
残念ながら春休みは終わってしまい、じゅんくんは日本の厳しい教育システムへと戻って行きました。彼は岡崎の向こう端の方の高校で寮生活をしているので、しばらく会えないと思います。学校から出ることは禁じられており、週日は携帯を使うことも禁じられているんだそうです。ゴールデンウィークにあえたらなぁ〜と思っています。しばらく大好きなじゅんくんに会えなくて、寂しくなります。
AND THEN SAKURA SEASON HAPPENED!!
Two days later we went and played basketball and soccer at a park near
Jun's house and we got to meet a bunch of his friends! They were super
cool! Then we went over to Suzuki Shimai's for dinner and a lesson! We
had a really great discussion and the Spirit was definitely there.
Unfortunately, Spring break ended and Jun had to re enter the
torturous rigors of the Japanese High School system. Also he goes to a
boarding School on the far side of Okazaki's area.... So we probably
can't see him for a while :(. He is not allowed off campus and can't
even use his cell phone on weekdays. Hopefully we can see him again
sometime during Golden Week.
Anyways we love Jun and we will miss him!
その二日後、じゅんくんの家の近くの公園でバスケとサッカーをやって、じゅんくんの友達に沢山会うことができました！みんなとってもいい子達でしたよ！それから鈴木姉妹のお宅へ行って、夕飯をよばれてからレッスンをしました。とても御霊を感じました。
残念ながら春休みは終わってしまい、じゅんくんは日本の厳しい教育システムへと戻って行きました。彼は岡崎の向こう端の方の高校で寮生活をしているので、しばらく会えないと思います。学校から出ることは禁じられており、週日は携帯を使うことも禁じられているんだそうです。ゴールデンウィークにあえたらなぁ〜と思っています。しばらく大好きなじゅんくんに会えなくて、寂しくなります。
AND THEN SAKURA SEASON HAPPENED!!
桜のシーズン到来！！
Ishikawa san took us and the shimai out to a castle to go see the
sakura (Cherry blossoms). The cherry blossoms were incredible but
unfortunately the castle had burned to the ground just a few weeks
ago. Yep. That's awkward. Anyway, afterwards Elder Bradshaw and I
decided to go try to contact people as they looked at the flowers.
I looked out the window and what did I see? Drunk people. LOTS AND
LOTS of them!
This matsuri is seriously one of the coolest things I have ever expereinced!
I love Sakura
I'm so grateful that God let us see a miracle and that He is blessing
the lives of the Makishi family through us. It's incredible that we
would even run into each other!
I have been Spiritually preparing a lot this transfer and have seen a
lot of change in myself and I can see it starting to affect the kind
of missionary that I am and how I do missionary work. My goal is to
just be worthy to do God's work and let Him work through me.
A mission is an incredible experience. The purpose of life is to
change, to become the best person we can possibly be, and I have had
no greater changing experience in my life than these last eight
months. Through the good times and the bad times, I have learned so
much. I'm grateful for all of my friends' and family's support from
back home.
I love you guys
Elder Johnson
Ishikawa san took us and the shimai out to a castle to go see the
sakura (Cherry blossoms). The cherry blossoms were incredible but
unfortunately the castle had burned to the ground just a few weeks
ago. Yep. That's awkward. Anyway, afterwards Elder Bradshaw and I
decided to go try to contact people as they looked at the flowers.
I looked out the window and what did I see? Drunk people. LOTS AND
LOTS of them!
石川さんが、私達と姉妹達を神社まで花見に連れて行って下さいました。桜はとっても綺麗でしたが、神社の方は、残念ながら数週間前に火事で焼けてしまった後でした。残念〜！お花見客の皆に話しかけようとしたんですが、周りにいるのは酔っ払いばかり！
このお祭りは、最高に素敵でしたよ！
The Japanese cherry blossoms are a wonder to behold.
They only last for about a week and a half or two weeks usually. This
year, we had a rainstorm so Sakura season only lasted for about four
or five days. Which meant that there was only one weekend for everyone
in Kariya to go see the flowers and get drunk off their faces. So we
asked Suzuki Shimai for recommendations on good places to go see the
sakura. She told us that Kijou Park was a really good one so we hopped
on our bikes and headed over there. The place was PACKED. The entire
park was teeming with people! It was a full out matsuri! So we walked
around and talked to people and made a ton of friends! As night time
approached, more and more people got drunk and the party escalated.
Which meant that it was easier to make friends but also that we got
mooned by this one guy. We passed out a ton of English class fliers
and got a handful of phone numbers and saw a lot of success!
They only last for about a week and a half or two weeks usually. This
year, we had a rainstorm so Sakura season only lasted for about four
or five days. Which meant that there was only one weekend for everyone
in Kariya to go see the flowers and get drunk off their faces. So we
asked Suzuki Shimai for recommendations on good places to go see the
sakura. She told us that Kijou Park was a really good one so we hopped
on our bikes and headed over there. The place was PACKED. The entire
park was teeming with people! It was a full out matsuri! So we walked
around and talked to people and made a ton of friends! As night time
approached, more and more people got drunk and the party escalated.
Which meant that it was easier to make friends but also that we got
mooned by this one guy. We passed out a ton of English class fliers
and got a handful of phone numbers and saw a lot of success!
日本の桜の素晴らしさは、全く目を見張るものがあります。通常は1週間半から2週間くらいもつそうなんですが、今年は大雨のため、4-5日しかもちませんでした。という事は、刈谷の人々には、今年はこの週末しかお花見しながらお酌をする、という機会がなかったのでした。鈴木姉妹に、お勧めのお花見スポットを尋ねたところ、亀城公園がいいとの事だったので、早速自転車に乗って向かうことに、、、。公園はめちゃくちゃ混んでいて、どこを見ても人ばかり！お花見祭りの中を歩き回り、いろいろな人たちとお喋りして、沢山友達ができました！だんだん夜が更けてくると、酔っ払いの人たちがだんだん増えてきて、パーティーも最高潮に、、、こうなると友達も作りやすくなるんですが、悪ふざけを仕掛けてくる人も、、、。英会話のパンフレットを結構沢山配って、電場番号もいくらかゲット出来たので、大成功でした！
A miracle happened as we were getting onto our bikes to go home. As
soon as we had gotten our helmets on, this brazilian guy comes up and
starts talking to us. Turns out he was a member and had been baptized
back in Brazil but had been looking for a church since he moved to
Japan! His name is Brother Makishi and he has been looking for a long
time. His wife and 3 kids are not members. So we talked to him for a
little bit and exchanged contact info. HE CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY!
It's been so long since we have had an investigator in sacrament
meeting, let alone an entire family! Our beloved Yakushiji and Silva
Shimai taught them after sacrament meeting and made them feel super
welcome! The wife us super receptive and accepted a Book of Mormon!
I'm so so excited for this family! Man I better start learning
Portuguese. Only Brother Makishi can speak Japanese!
A miracle happened as we were getting onto our bikes to go home. As
soon as we had gotten our helmets on, this brazilian guy comes up and
starts talking to us. Turns out he was a member and had been baptized
back in Brazil but had been looking for a church since he moved to
Japan! His name is Brother Makishi and he has been looking for a long
time. His wife and 3 kids are not members. So we talked to him for a
little bit and exchanged contact info. HE CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY!
It's been so long since we have had an investigator in sacrament
meeting, let alone an entire family! Our beloved Yakushiji and Silva
Shimai taught them after sacrament meeting and made them feel super
welcome! The wife us super receptive and accepted a Book of Mormon!
I'm so so excited for this family! Man I better start learning
Portuguese. Only Brother Makishi can speak Japanese!
さて帰ろうと自転車に乗った時に、ある奇跡が起こったんですよ。私達がヘルメットをかぶっているところへ、あるブラジル人の男性が声をかけてきたんです。彼はブラジルでバプテスマを受けたのですが、日本に引っ越してきてから、この教会を長い事探していたんだそうです！マキシ兄弟というのですが、奥さんとお子さん達3人は教会員ではないんだそうです。ちょっと話をして、電話番号を交換しました。そして昨日、家族で教会に来てくださったんですよー！もうここんとこずっとしばらく求道者が聖餐会に来てくれる事がなかったので、家族で来てくださるなんて、夢のようでした！大好きな薬師寺姉妹とシルバ姉妹が、とっても親切に聖餐会後のレッスンをして下さいました。奥さんはとても興味を持ってくださって、モルモン書も受け取って下さいました！この家族、これからが楽しみです！さあって、ポルトガル語学ばなきゃ〜。実はこの家族、マキシ兄弟しか日本語が話せないんですよ。
I likes flowers 桜 大好き
I'm so grateful that God let us see a miracle and that He is blessing
the lives of the Makishi family through us. It's incredible that we
would even run into each other!
I have been Spiritually preparing a lot this transfer and have seen a
lot of change in myself and I can see it starting to affect the kind
of missionary that I am and how I do missionary work. My goal is to
just be worthy to do God's work and let Him work through me.
A mission is an incredible experience. The purpose of life is to
change, to become the best person we can possibly be, and I have had
no greater changing experience in my life than these last eight
months. Through the good times and the bad times, I have learned so
much. I'm grateful for all of my friends' and family's support from
back home.
I love you guys
Elder Johnson
神様が私達に奇跡を見せてくれた事に感謝しています。神様はマキシ兄弟が私達を見つけられたという事を通して、マキシ家族を祝福してくださっているのです。あそこでばったり出会うというのは、本当に凄い事ですよね！
この転勤で、霊的に準備をするように努力をしていて、その成果が出てきているのを感じています。私の目標は、神様の御業を出来るように、ふさわしくなれるようになる事です。伝道って本当に凄いですね。人生の目的の一つは、自分が向上し、個人個人が自分のベストに到着できるようになる事です。その向上が今までの自分の人生で一番著しかったのが、伝道に出てからのこの8カ月間でした。楽しい事や辛い事を通して、いろんな事を学びました。故郷の友達や家族のみんなのサポートに感謝しています。
皆さんを愛してます。
ジョンソン長老より
Us missionaries and our new friends! 花見祭り伝道!
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