Japan Eniwa. Chitose. 17 months 2 week-84

Dinner with the Ikeda Family.

This heart is from a heart attack Elder Tokuzawa and I did to the Ikeda family more than I year ago. It survived the whole winter and is still strong!

dope #yolo

Our district were elves for Halloween. We just look like homeless people.

This was the greatest. It was stake conference this week and so I got to see the Ikeda family 3 days in a row. After Stake conference ended and I was saying goodbye to the Americans (OH YEAH!!! The Americans came to Stake Conference and brought and Eikaiwa student with them hahaha whoops.. forgot!) Well the Ikeda family and the Kobayashi family come and find me and say "Mecham choro, can we take a picture with you?" I love them.

And then I had to put on a hat...

Yuina chan! (her name sounds horrible in English....) This is the Maeda families oldest daughter. They are an investigator family who is going to get baptized soon!!! and we love playing with them.

More Ikeda family pictures. I love them.

This is Kotani Shimai. She is soooo funny. I love her. She would take us on adventures every P-Day when I was in Tomakomai.

I want to see if this sends. It is a video of Elder Kent Dunking a ball for a bunch of elementary girls while we were playing sports with Yuina Chan this saturday. Too funny. Then we went over and played sports with them.

Back in Tomakomai. Where the air is so horrible.

 Tomakomai

 This week was the first time on my whole mission where my body got "depressed". I will still not admit to the fact that I had a fever or that I semi-got "Sick". My body was just Depressed. It just needed to move a little bit slower than normal and needed peppermint tea. Then I was fine.

My body got depressed on Wednesday and then I got over it and decided to be healthy that night. So I was fine by Wednesday night. It was a very smart choice because we had splits in Tomakomai that I had to be very healthy and ready for.

Tomakomai is the second area I went to and some of my best friends live there. I was SO excited to go back. I was loved so much that we never had to make food because the members provided for us. I love them. I went on splits with an awesome elder and we decided to go visit some of the less active members I focused on while I was in Tomakomai. BUT first we went to see an investigator I used to teach. Her name is Mizumasa san and she was so stubborn whenever we taught her. We tried to commit her to baptism so many times and asked her to come to church over and over.

I was especially excited to visit her because.... SHE IS A MEMBER NOW! At first she didn't recognize me, but then after explaining to her how I couldn't really speak, but I drank all of the tea she gave us and I got really excited whenever she gave us fruit, she remembered who I am. We talked for a bit and she told us about her desires to teach the gospel to her family. So we gave her a Book of Mormon and she is going to give it to her daughter who lives 3 hours away this week!

After we visited with her we went to one of my favorite less active members in Tomakomai. I only met him once but I really wanted to go back and see him.

Almost exactly a year ago when my companion and I went back to see him, he was not home but the friends he was living with were home. They invited us in and went crazy. It was the old man who liked drinking, the lady we called a grandma but she was the youngest one, and a lady who just sat on the floor drinking coffee the whole time. Anyways when we passed his house it looked like the member moved and some guy was working on his house. We were about to leave when I decided to go back and ask the worker if the member had moved.  The worker was actually the member, I just didn't recognize him. He invited us in and we talked for about an hour. He told us how the last missionary to visit him was me. He remembered me. We talked for a bit and then the situation changed. He brought up a problem he has with the church and how he can't come back because of that problem.

From there the whole room just changed as the Elder I was on split with and I began to testify to him that the church needs him and how he can be healed through the church. It was really powerful. I remember it being just as powerful last time. Which is why I think he remembered me. In the end we were able to pray with him and the Elders said they would come back with a member next time. It was great to see him again and help remind him that he is loved.

Then I got to go play with the Ikeda family!!!!!!!! I love them so much. Basically all of my pictures this week are of them.

The other great news of this week is Haramai san is getting closer and closer to baptism! Eternal Families! Right now Haramai san is having his parents come down from Kushiro (A six hour drive) so he can talk to them about joining the church. Because Haramai san is the oldest son there are issues with him joining the church, but Haramai san has seen how this church has blessed his family and has a strong desire to be baptized. We haven't been able to make a date with him yet, but we are working to finish all of the lessons and prepare him completely for baptism.

Other than that life is great. I love everything and everyone. ESPECIALLY YOU! (I don't really like spelling though...) Have a great week. Be excellent to each other!

-Mecham Choro.