Week 10: First Week in the Field: It's essentially EFY
Hey y'all
So for this week, there has been a lot of stuff going on. First, I left the MTC on Tuesday, September 18th. That was sad, but it was amazing that all of our MTC Zone came to see us off. They all woke up at 2 am to see us off. I miss them already. Then, I boarded a plane to LA then Tokyo then Fukuoka. It was sad seeing my district mates go. We got to Tokyo and pretty much dispersed. I can't wait to see them at the district reunion!!! So Sister Gallarde and I are "The last survivors." We got placed in the same area. I'm on the Island of Okinawa in a town called Urasoe. It's super hot here, and they don't get a winter so...yeah.
My new companions name is Elder Uhlig. He is from Germany. It's been great to get to know him. He's an awesome trainer. On the first day, he was super nice and even brought me an ice cream. We waited in Hakata Staton where I was able to see the fellow missionaries going down to Okinawa. I saw Sister Jorgenson. She is apparently related on my mothers side. She has seen my family multiple times, but I just couldn't remember her.
I've been here for 5 days and I've already seen so many miracles! We went and got my bike the 2nd day in Okinawa. Most missionaries get a "Giant" bike, and apparently it's the best with the cheapest. Also, there are these bikes called Mama-chari (Mom’s bike), but they are horrible bikes though somehow Japanese people love them. I got this bike called a Cannondale (It's a really good bike and it went on sale as we entered the bike section). A sales person made the bike $100 dollars cheaper, and this was the only day they would've had the bike too —since on Saturdays, they'd be all gone and the newer, more expensive bikes would be coming out. I'm glad!
I gave out my first Book of Mormon at the Hombu (headquarters). It was a day out off leaving the MTC and we went out and proselytized. We got a lot of “Kekko”-s (Which is a Japanese way of saying no thank you), but there was this one dude…. I walked up to him and told him about the Book of Mormon. He was very interested. Actually he had had a Christian background. It was sweet!
Unfortunately I also had a giant heartbreak. I was in the Honbu at this time, and so we went to this busy park and proselytized. We walked up to an adorable man and asked him if it was okay to talk to him. He looked at the Book of Mormon in my hand and asked what the book was. So, I explained it and the importance of it.. How this book blesses families and that we can find peace and happiness through this book. We asked him if he's thought about God before...hasn't thought about it. We asked if he has a family...not really. We asked him about his Job and he was a vegetable vender. We then asked him if he would like this important book since it is a way for all of us to become happy, but he kept telling us (Elder Lee and I at this point) that it was too precious to take and how he doesn't want that book to be given to such a person as him. So with some tears in my eyes, I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of the book and... still the same response… so, we just gave him a flyer and he headed on his way..
In Urasoe, it is very Inaka (countryside) so we only have the chance to House proselytize (In Japan, people work till very late so by the time we're out proselytizing, it is either dinner time or after--that's 6-9pm.) When we were doing a door approach, we met a mom and her daughter. The mom’s name is Megumi. When I saw them, I waved at them, and they were very cute and waved back. We spent like 30 minutes talking about them and getting to know them. It's great! We talked English to them since they were trying to learn English. So, we gave out an English class flyer, a plan of salvation pamphlet, invited them to the Halloween party we are having at the church, and told them that we would be there if they needed help or had questions. I'm glad that God is looking over everyone and knows who needs help at what time. I'm glad that every time we go out and find someone, we might be able to make the person find the true happiness. I learned that one of the most important things during missionary work is sacrifice. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we can return to our Father in Heaven again. When we sacrifice, we see miracles.
I've also cooked! Elder Uhlig is a good cook so probably we won’t eat out much.
Sorry it was short, but I'm in a rush to do service.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Jacob Wilson
Oh, BTW, I forgot to say why it's like EFY:
1. Miracles happen everyday
2. It's focused on the gospel
3. You'll meet friends that will last a lifetime
4. You sing the EFY medley (I'm singing with the youth next week and I get to sing the song in Japanese!!!)
The "EFY" stands for Especially for Youth. It's an inspiring special week long program that is provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It helps youth build strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and strengthen their faith in Him through a lot of fun activities and gospel studies. --- I love the program so much, and I strongly suggest that all youth attend!!
Missionary work is also a great service program that the church has provided, and it is not only a way to build our testimonies, but also help others to come to the light of Christ. It's way fun, and it is not a week long, but it is 2 years!!!
So for this week, there has been a lot of stuff going on. First, I left the MTC on Tuesday, September 18th. That was sad, but it was amazing that all of our MTC Zone came to see us off. They all woke up at 2 am to see us off. I miss them already. Then, I boarded a plane to LA then Tokyo then Fukuoka. It was sad seeing my district mates go. We got to Tokyo and pretty much dispersed. I can't wait to see them at the district reunion!!! So Sister Gallarde and I are "The last survivors." We got placed in the same area. I'm on the Island of Okinawa in a town called Urasoe. It's super hot here, and they don't get a winter so...yeah.
My new companions name is Elder Uhlig. He is from Germany. It's been great to get to know him. He's an awesome trainer. On the first day, he was super nice and even brought me an ice cream. We waited in Hakata Staton where I was able to see the fellow missionaries going down to Okinawa. I saw Sister Jorgenson. She is apparently related on my mothers side. She has seen my family multiple times, but I just couldn't remember her.
I've been here for 5 days and I've already seen so many miracles! We went and got my bike the 2nd day in Okinawa. Most missionaries get a "Giant" bike, and apparently it's the best with the cheapest. Also, there are these bikes called Mama-chari (Mom’s bike), but they are horrible bikes though somehow Japanese people love them. I got this bike called a Cannondale (It's a really good bike and it went on sale as we entered the bike section). A sales person made the bike $100 dollars cheaper, and this was the only day they would've had the bike too —since on Saturdays, they'd be all gone and the newer, more expensive bikes would be coming out. I'm glad!
I gave out my first Book of Mormon at the Hombu (headquarters). It was a day out off leaving the MTC and we went out and proselytized. We got a lot of “Kekko”-s (Which is a Japanese way of saying no thank you), but there was this one dude…. I walked up to him and told him about the Book of Mormon. He was very interested. Actually he had had a Christian background. It was sweet!
Unfortunately I also had a giant heartbreak. I was in the Honbu at this time, and so we went to this busy park and proselytized. We walked up to an adorable man and asked him if it was okay to talk to him. He looked at the Book of Mormon in my hand and asked what the book was. So, I explained it and the importance of it.. How this book blesses families and that we can find peace and happiness through this book. We asked him if he's thought about God before...hasn't thought about it. We asked if he has a family...not really. We asked him about his Job and he was a vegetable vender. We then asked him if he would like this important book since it is a way for all of us to become happy, but he kept telling us (Elder Lee and I at this point) that it was too precious to take and how he doesn't want that book to be given to such a person as him. So with some tears in my eyes, I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of the book and... still the same response… so, we just gave him a flyer and he headed on his way..
In Urasoe, it is very Inaka (countryside) so we only have the chance to House proselytize (In Japan, people work till very late so by the time we're out proselytizing, it is either dinner time or after--that's 6-9pm.) When we were doing a door approach, we met a mom and her daughter. The mom’s name is Megumi. When I saw them, I waved at them, and they were very cute and waved back. We spent like 30 minutes talking about them and getting to know them. It's great! We talked English to them since they were trying to learn English. So, we gave out an English class flyer, a plan of salvation pamphlet, invited them to the Halloween party we are having at the church, and told them that we would be there if they needed help or had questions. I'm glad that God is looking over everyone and knows who needs help at what time. I'm glad that every time we go out and find someone, we might be able to make the person find the true happiness. I learned that one of the most important things during missionary work is sacrifice. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we can return to our Father in Heaven again. When we sacrifice, we see miracles.
I've also cooked! Elder Uhlig is a good cook so probably we won’t eat out much.
Sorry it was short, but I'm in a rush to do service.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Jacob Wilson
Oh, BTW, I forgot to say why it's like EFY:
1. Miracles happen everyday
2. It's focused on the gospel
3. You'll meet friends that will last a lifetime
4. You sing the EFY medley (I'm singing with the youth next week and I get to sing the song in Japanese!!!)
The "EFY" stands for Especially for Youth. It's an inspiring special week long program that is provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It helps youth build strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and strengthen their faith in Him through a lot of fun activities and gospel studies. --- I love the program so much, and I strongly suggest that all youth attend!!
Missionary work is also a great service program that the church has provided, and it is not only a way to build our testimonies, but also help others to come to the light of Christ. It's way fun, and it is not a week long, but it is 2 years!!!
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| With Elder Uhlig |
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| Curry I Made |
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| My Homemade Omusubi (Rice ball covered in Dry Seaweed) |
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| Plane View |
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| Urasoe City |
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