We spent the day with Fabio! I love that guy! We went to see Koyama
Shimai, a lonely old grandma. She was way sweet! Then we went and
visited a less active but she wasn't home. Then we went to Xio
Nishida's house. We kinda wasted a lot of time there and I felt really
bad. Then Fabio took us home. He's kinda like the missionary
babysitter sometimes. I feel really bad about today. We could have
been a lot more effective. I wanna make sure we don't have more days
like today.
Bruna and her mom! And Fabio ブルーナさんと、彼女のお母さん！そしてファビオさん。
Wednesday, May 25
The Paulson fufu came and inspected our apartment today! I love the
Paulsons! They were so nice and were really fun! I had forgotten what
real Americans were like so it was fun to get to talk to them about
their first time eating sushi, getting used to bowing all the time and
the perpetual hunt for tortillas (every missionary is in a constant,
dire need of tacos but tortillas pretty much don't exist here).
My sweet grandmother called me and said that she had a package for me
from my family in America! She delivered it to me with her own
thoughtful addition to the package, fruit juice and a little honeydew
melon. Out here in the mission, opening packages or mail of any kind
is like Christmas morning. My amazing mother sent me a bag of protein
powder (now I actually have to work out a little harder haha), several
packets of gum (my favorite kind even, she knows me well) and a new
tie! I didn't even know that I was dying for new ties until I received
this one. I LOVE IT.
Moms are great. To everyone reading this; stop
whatever you're doing right now and go give your mom a hug and tell
her you love her. If she's far away, then send her a message right
now! DO IT NOW. If you're older and she's no longer living then say a
prayer for her. DO SOMETHING AND DO IT NOW.
Transfer calls happened on Saturday!!!! Elder Sheppard is going to
Fukuroi with Elder Chin!
I'm staying here and GETTING A BEAN!! I'm going to train a new
missionary!! Also I went district leader!
I'm way scared
Also last night we met with the Ang family!
I love them so much! They're my favorite
Last Monday, we went to Alice Gerivini's for haircuts! She gave us both really nice haircuts and talked to me in Portuguese the whole time (haha I definitely didn't understand all of it but I'm getting there.) Then she got out a therapy bed thingy and I was thinking to myself, "hmmm I wonder who she is giving a massage to," and then she told ME to lie down! Haha I soon discovered that I was receiving a facial treatment. Hahaha I love Alice!
Then the next day we had companion exchanges with Ichinomiya Elders! I got to be with Elder Miranda and we went and visited far away people. It was awesome! We also stopped at a Brazilian store to buy stuff for an investigator. I got to hear a lot of Portuguese! We had one of the best missionary made meals I've ever had that night. Canned Feijoada, beef and cabbage on rice. It sounds simple but IT WAS WAY GOOD. I love the Brazilian foods! 次の日は、一宮の長老達と交換伝道の日でした！私はミランダ長老と組むことになり、一緒に遠くに住んでいる人々を訪問しました！すっごく良かったですよ！途中、求道者に何か買うために、ブラジルのお店に寄りました。今日は、たくさんポルトガル語を聞くことができました！その食べた晩ご飯は、今まで私が食べた、宣教師が作った食べ物の中で、一番おいしかったです。フェイオアダの缶詰とお肉とキャベツをご飯にのせたもので、シンプルな感じですが、これがすごいいけるんですよ。ブラジル料理が大好きです！
Exchange with Elder Miranda!! It was SOOOO fun! We worked hard and ate well :)
ミランダ長老と交換！すっごく楽しかったです！よく働いて、よく食べました。
Then we ended the exchange on Wednesday and then had Zone Leader exchanges on Thursday. I got to be with Elder Farias and we worked so hard and had so much fun!
I had been trying to set up some Brazilian appts for that day and had gotten a couple but as we worked throughout the day, more stuff just kept falling into our laps! We biked all the way from Inuyama to Minokamo and met Sister Ferreira, then we went down to Kani and met Joy (Elder Farias baptized her in Okazaki and then she moved here!). Koukan miracles are definitely a thing. I have been trying to find Joy for THIS ENTIRE TRANSFER and she just happened to be home when we visited with Elder Farias. It was awesome! 水曜日にミランダ長老との交換が終わり、木曜日はゾーンリーダーとの交換をしました。ファリアス長老と一緒に伝道し、いっぱい働いて、とても楽しかったです！ その日は、ブラジル人のアポを出来るだけとれように頑張ったんですが、何とか取れた数件から始まり、日が経つにつれて、何件かアポが空から舞い落ちるように入ってきました。犬山から自転車で美濃加茂まで行って、フェレイラ姉妹のところを訪問し、その後、可児へ行ってジョイさん宅を訪問しました。（実はこのジョイさんというのは、ファリアス長老が岡崎で伝道している時にバプテスマをし、それから可児へ引っ越してきたそうなんです）交換ミラクルって本当にあるんですね。私は犬山に来てからというもの、ずっとジョイさんを探していました。ファリアス長老とたまたま来た時に、ジョイさんもたまたま在宅中だったのです。今日は、本当に良かった！
I'm eating a lot better this week - leftover feijoada and salad 今週は良い食生活を送っています。ファイオアダの残りとサラダ
Then we biked BACK to Minokamo and met with Alice Gerevini and while we were there we got a text from Bruna saying that her mom wanted to meet the Brazilian missionary so we dashed from Gerevini Shimai's to Bruna's Mom's house and Elder Farias taught her the Restoration beautifully! It went so well! And by then it was after 7pm and we had been biking like mad in between appointments and hadn't had time to eat or drink anything all day. So then as we were biking down the street, looking for a store or something we just happened across a Brazilian restaurant (our Brazilians tell us that they usually aren't open on weekdays). And it was open! So we went in and had the best Brazilian food I've ever had and then we biked the 45 minute ride home to Inuyama and collapsed. It was a bomb day!
Exchange with Elder Farias! The food was incredible and the graviola com leite drink was amazing :)
ファリアス長老との交換！料理は美味しかったし、ドリンクも最高でした
Then we back to back exchanged and I went with Elder Allred for the day! I LOVE ELDER ALLRED. We biked to Kani city again and Luana taught us Portuguese! そして次の日は、オールレッド長老と交換！オールレッド長老、大好きです！可児までまた自転車で行き、ルアナさんがポルトガル語のレッスンをしてくれました！
Elder Allred - one of my favorite humans オールレッド長老と
Dendo-ing(missionary work) with this guy was SOOO fun!オールレッド長老と一緒に伝道できて、すっごく楽しかったです。
On Saturday I finally got to dendo with my own companion! It was Sister Gerevini's birthday so we went with one of her sons, Bruno, and bought her a cake from Fujiya and some flowers from APITA. The minute we walked into Fujiya and I immediately realized that I am an idiot and cannot function in the cake world. First off, there were only about 4 cakes to choose from. Second, they were all JAPANESE SIZE (really really tiny but still expensive). And then when we asked them for a bigger cake they said you had to pre order that kinda stuff the day before. Haha yep we're idiots but we bought the biggest one we could find and took it Sister Gerevini's salon. It was great!
And then Sunday happened. Since Elder Sheppard has been here in his bean area for six months he's pretty much guaranteed a transfer call. So he went about making a ton of appointments at church and so now we have a ton of member appointments. Yay!
A lovely bike ride home through a valley between Inuyama and Kani. Riding while taking pics is kinda sketchy but we don't have time to stop so.... 可児からの帰り道で。自転車乗りながら、写真を撮るのはちょっと難しいけど、写真撮るためにわざわざ止まってる時間がないので、、、
And then after church our wonderful Ward Mission leader, Hermano Salas, invited us over for lunch! So we went with Hermano and Hermana Salas to their apartment (Fabio came too!) and had a wonderful meal! Haha I finally got to know our amazing ward mission leader and his wonderful wife! They taught us a lot of Spanish and we had a lot of fun! They don't speak a ton of Japanese but they speak some English and Hermana Salas speaks Portuguese so we were able to communicate ok. :) The Salas family is seriously one of my favorite families in the mission! They are so nice!
集会の後、サラス兄弟がお昼ご飯に招待してくれました！サラス兄弟、姉妹（ファビオさんも来てくれました！）と一緒にアパートまで行き、美味しいご飯をよばれました！やっと我がワードの素晴らしい伝道主任と、素敵な奥さんと知り合いになれました！いっぱいスペイン語を教えてもらって、とても楽しかったです！彼らはあまり、日本語がしゃべれないんですが、英語が少し分かって、サラス姉妹がポルトガル語が喋れるので、なんとかコミュニケーションをとることができました。：）サラス家族は本当に親切で、伝道部内で大好きな家族のトップに入っています。 Also this week I got to see my grandparents again! They took us out to a really good sushi place and it was awesome! I love my grandparents :)
Ok it's been a SUPER good week! I love you all! Be awesome
Maybe you heard but we no longer meet at the golden clock at Nagoya station for transfers anymore! But we had to transfer train lines in Nagoya so we took a final picture with the golden clock
もうご存知かもしれませんが、これからは転勤の時にこの金の時計台のところで、集まらないことになりました。今日は、名古屋で電車の乗り換えがあったので、最後の記念にと思って、ここで写真を撮りました。
This is easily the most beautiful place that I've ever OYMed. I ended up talking to this cool old Japanese fisherman who apparently just travels all over the world fishing! He has been to over 30 countries! He plays the Shakuhachi which is a traditional Japanese flute made from bamboo. Pretty much, he just made me really want to get one and learn how to play it. Haha
今まで伝道したところで、一番美しいところと言っても過言ではないほど、きれいなところでした。ここで、世界中を旅している漁師のおじいさんと出会いました。３０カ国以上も行ったことがあるんだそうです！尺八を吹くそうで、私もすごく吹いてみたくなりました。ははは
Another selfie on another ride through the countryside in beautiful Japan
この美しい日本の田舎で自撮り
(ED: This little restaurant is located right close by his mom's high school. His mom used to go there quite a bit after school. Her favorite was "Milk Cream Kintoki (sweet red beans)" shave ice. She did take him there when he was little (Elder Johnson was 8 years old) and ordered her "usual". This little place brings back so many fond memories for his mom. :) (By the way, their shave ice is really soft and good!)
（注：この小さなお店は、ジョンソン長老のお母さんが通っていた高校のすぐ近くにあって、よく学校帰りに寄っていたところです。お母さんの大好物は、そこのかき氷の「ミルククリーム金時」で、ジョンソン長老が８歳の時に連れて行ったことがあり、その時もいつものそれを注文。お母さんにとっては、とても懐かしい場所です。（ここのかき氷は、氷も柔らかくてお勧めです！）
Wow I haven't written forever! Things have been awesome here. I LOVE INUYAMA. The members here are amazing, the mountains are beautiful and the weather has been good.
We started off the transfer by looking for a bike for elder Sheppard. His got stolen a week or so before so we made a few trips down to Komaki and bike shopped. It took us a while but we finally found one that he liked!
We have spent most of our time in Inuyama trying to track down referrals from the Sister missionaries and also trying to contact all of the recent converts (because they all disappeared somehow.) we have been able to contact some of them and it has been good! Our main guy was George. He started taking the lessons from the sisters a little while ago, and then when the sisters had to leave Inuyama we started teaching him. He's super cool! We met with him quite a bit until two weeks ago, then he went home to the Philippines.
この転勤は、シェパード長老の自転車探しから始まりました。シェパード長老の自転車は、数週間前に盗まれてしまったので、小牧まで何回か通って、やっと気に入ったものが見つかりました！犬山に来てから、姉妹宣教師から紹介された人たちを探したり、最近改宗した人たち（なぜかみんな消えて何処かへ行ってしまったので）を探したりの毎日です。数人と連絡が取れ、そのうちのジョージさんという方がいるんですが、姉妹宣教師たちからレッスンを受け始めたんですが、姉妹たちがいなくなってから、私たちが引き継いでレッスンをしています。とってもいい人で、ちょくちょく結構会っていたんですが、２週間前にフィリピンに帰って行ってしまいました。 Last week we spent most of our time meeting the members and going to events and such. Also I got to meet my family! My grandparents showed us their new apartment and then took us out to Shabu Shabu (GOOD SHABU SHABU) and my aunt and uncle came as well! It was really good to get to catch up with my aunt and uncle because I haven't seen them in ten years! We just got to relax and talk for a bit and it was awesome! Then my grandpa drove Elder Sheppard and I out to where his company shop is and showed us the machines and stuff. It was super cool. Man I love my family!
先週は、教会員たちに会ったり、イベントへ行ったりで過ぎてしまいました。そして、家族にも会えたんですよ！祖父母が、新しいマンションに連れて行ってくれて、その後、しゃぶしゃぶを食べに連れて行ってくれました。おじさんとおばさんも来てくれたんですよ！おじさんとおばさんには１０年ほど会っていなかったので、久しぶりに話に花が咲きました。のんびり話ができて、本当に楽しかったです。それから、おじいちゃんが会社までシェパード長老と私を連れて行ってくれ、機械やらなんやら、見せてくれました。本当に良かったです。私は家族が大好きです！ Also I got to meet the Ishida family! They were friends of my mom. We got to help them plant their rice field and then they fed us barbecue!
あと、母の友達の、石田家とも会うことができました！もみまきを手伝って、BBQをご馳走になりました！
Rice planting and plastic skirts ビニールのスカートを履いて、もみまき
BBQ with the Ishidas! 石田家とBBQ
We also got to go with the Ang family to a Filipino festival! It was really fun and we made friends with a ton of people.
We went and visited the Mizuno family a few days ago and they let me play their violin! Elder Sheppard played their piano and we got to jam out to some Ludovico Einaudi music. I haven't been able to jam for so so long! It was really fun but I've gotten really rusty haha.
アン家族と、フィリピン フェスティバルも行ってきました！たくさん友達ができて、楽しかったです。 水野家族のお宅に、数日前お邪魔したんですが、そこでバイオリンを弾かせてもらって、シェパード長老がピアノ担当で、ルドビコ・エウナウディの曲を一緒に弾きました。久しぶりのジャム セッションで、とっても楽しかったけど、かなりバイオリンの腕が落ちていることに気づきました。ははは Oh I almost forgot! We had a mission tour by Elder Choi of the Asia North Area Presidency! It was a very inspirational conference and it motivated me a lot. Pretty much, he told us to take things we don't like and to just LIKE IT. His focus was on natto but he really said to just take anything you DONT LIKE and then LIKE IT. He also had a lot to say about marriage. Haha as soon as he brought it up, in my mind I was like "NO STAHP I STILL HAVE TEN TRANSFERS LEFT!" But by the end I left kinda wanting to get married as soon as I get home haha.
The Ang family brought their cousin to church yesterday and we got to teach him! He's super cool and the lesson went really well! Brother Ray (we have an American in our ward!) helped us a lot in the lesson. We had our first coordination meeting with Hermano Salas! He's so cool! I love him so much and he has a lot of good ideas for dendo! The only problem is that I need to be able to speak Spanish in order to communicate with him. He also understands Portuguese as well, which helps a lot. Haha whenever I talk to him it just comes out in a garbled mix of my very very poor Portuguese and the little Spanish I remember. I don't think I make any sense but I did ask him yesterday how I can learn Portuguese and he thought for a second and then said to me, "teach the Gospel in Portuguese." Haha I love Hermano Salas! His advice is simple and sound.
アン家族が、昨日、いとこを教会に連れて来てくれて、レッスンを教えることができました。とってもいい人で、レッスンもとてもスムースにいきました！！レイ兄弟（このワードにはアメリカ人がいるんですよ！）が、立ち会ってくださって、たくさん助けてくださいました。サラス兄弟と、初めて伝道調整集会もしました。彼はとってもいい人で、大好きです！伝道に関して、いろんないいアイデアも持っているんですが、問題は、彼は、スペイン語しかしゃべれないということです。彼は、ポルトガル語もわかるので、ちょっと救われています。ははは 彼と話をしようとすると、めちゃくちゃ下手なポルトガル語に、かすかに覚えているスペイン語がごちゃまぜになって出てきます。片言で、どうやってポルトガル語を勉強すればいいかを聞くと、ちょっと考えて、「ポルトガル語で福音を教えればいいです。」と答えてくれました。ははは サラス兄弟はさすがですね！彼のアドバイスはシンプルだけど、堅実です。 Yesterday we went about delivering chocolate to moms around the ward. It was fun! And then today I got to skype home and talk to my family! That was definitely the highlight of my week. My family always knows exactly what to say to lift me up. It just gave me a much needed mental reset and I laughed a lot! My amazing mother challenged me to actually cook and eat real food a couple times a week. So now I'm going to be including pictures of food from here on out (haha I'm gonna feel like a mommy blogger but oh well, I LOVES FOOD).
