Week 15: Ups and downs...but mostly Ups (Week 6 on the field)

- October 30, 2018

Hey,

So first of all, sorry for the people I sometimes have to skip out on. When I email on my tablet, the copy and paste function for the email doesn't work. So, I have to skip out in order to have enough time to write. Also please forgive this being on a Tuesday instead of a Monday. I just found out this week that it is a Transfer Week and I didn't know P-day was on Tuesday. It's okay though. I'm not being transferred...yet.

Last week, I forgot to mention a miracle.

So I went to an orthodontist to get my bracket fixed 2 weeks ago (2 days before I left the MTC, I was eating some really hard toffee and it ripped off the bracket from one tooth so it just hung in my mouth and was bothering me for a month). Elder Uhlig and I went to the orthodontist. It's a Japanese clinic so I went up to the desk and explained my problem (all in Japanese BTW). The lady tells me to sit down and wait while she talked to an orthodontist in the back. I expected to make an appointment, so I just thought we'd gotten called to the back and talked to the orthodontist when she had time. So I waited... and waited... and waited. It's about 30 minutes from when I talked to the desk lady and she and the orthodontist came back out and asked me to open my mouth to see the loose bracket. The orthodontist checked and said to have a seat. I waited some more and she came out and asked me if we have a lot of time... we said that we did. So she went in the back again and we just sat there for about an hour longer. She came back out and asked me to go to a dental chair in aisle 3. I got laid back and worked on. I thought to myself, "Sweet, I can get worked on." She then put a towel on my face with a mouth hole cut out and I was like "okay...that's weird." but I didn't complain. I got done in 15 minutes and headed to the desk to pay. The desk lady then said "That's it. You can go." I was totally confused and asked "wait, so I don't have to pay?" And she was like "No. Since it was a simple fix and it's from America, it's free." I thanked them so much and headed out the door.

Next is my bike tire miracle. So last week, I wrote about my broken bike. I was on companion exchanges with Elder Boll and Elder Nakata, and we went to Sports Depot to pick up my bike. It wasn't fixed. I was a bit worried. I checked the back tire and it was still warped and it seemed like it wasn't even worked on. We called the worker over and he said that I'd need a completely different bike tire...plus it'd cost a bunch. I was like "Oh no, that's not good." We asked him if he could do anything and he said he could ask the Cannondale company what they could do. Unfortunately I didn't register my bike since (1) the registration was online, and I can't go online since it is blocked on my tablet, and (2) the dude didn't tell me I had to when I bought the bike. When the worker got off of the phone with Cannondale, Cannondale told the dude to switch out my 2018 bike tires with the new 2019 bike tires and they were both free. I was like "Sick!!!" So, those are some of my recent miracles!

I ripped my pants. I just got my bike that day and when Elder Uhlig and I were riding our bikes back to our apartment to get ready for one of the Young Single Adults in our ward's birthday. We were going to dinner with him so Elder Uhlig and I were rushing home. As I changed gears, my pants got caught on the metal and the bike ripped a foot-long hole up the inside of my leg. I have that problem to deal with now but that won't stop my missionary work. I got changed into different pants and went to the birthday celebration for Brother Tomohiko. We went to eat all-you-can-eat Gyoza for just 1000 yen (10 dollars) per person. It was so good. I'm getting used to Urasoe. I'm so glad I'm here. The birthday celebration was great. We bought him a really nice pocket hankerchief and tie clip. He was so happy. He even wore it to church on Sunday. I'm glad I was able to see that smile on his face.

We finished making the Pinatas for the Halloween Party. Japanese people really like their pinatas. We made 5 and my fingers were painted black while spraying the black onto it. When we were done painting, the black on the finger came off but the paint on the nails didn't. So, I had to Dendo for 3 days with black fingernails. Ugh! There are still particles of black on my nails, but they aren't that bad anymore. That was my week. Full of ups and downs but I'm still really happy. Serving others is fun and it brings joy and peace so much. Serve as much as you can! As you willingly do so, you will see so many miracles and be blessed so much. I've seen so many miracles but it doesn't stop here. My work still isn't done. There are so many people that are in need of this gospel. "And though the heavens and the earth pass away, [God's] word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled" (Doctrine and Covenants 1:38). Keep on working, Keep on serving, stay on the straight and narrow path. You can do this! I know you can!

Love,

Elder Wilson