Week 16: Halloween Riot!! (Week 7 on the field)

- November 05, 2018

Hey,

The Halloween Party this week was a HOOT!

There were about 150 kids who came to the church. It felt like a riot. Hahaha! We had so many games and stuff set up. It was actually a great time. Elder Howell left the day before, so Elder Palu and Elder Howells came to Naha to stay the night. We had a great time setting up everything, and during the party, we were just stationed around everywhere. Elder Palu got the facepaint of a scary clown and went to "Help out" with the Haunted House that the Young Men and Young Women created (Elder Palu would jump out and scare people as they rounded a corner). I was dressed as Mario and had on a mustache that I bought at Daiso (It's pretty much a Japanese Dollar store). So I wore that. A funny thing was that random people came up to me and took photos with me. I even heard some girls talking about me a bit aways and they were like "That Mario over there is so Kakkoii" (means "Cool" or "Hansome"). I looked at Elder Nakata and laughed since he was standing right next to them. I had 4 girls came up to me and asked for a picture. It was kind of weird but I said I would do so. I also had Eikaiwa (English lesson) students come up and take pictures, so that was nice. We had tons of Eikaiwa students come. It was great. I talked to one dude for 30 minutes, and he was interested in volunteering. He had questions about what was good and bad to do as a member of the church and also how to get called on a mission. I told him about the mission process of having to have and interview after receiving a certain type of authority. I then talked about prophets and how they call us to specific places in the world through revelation. He then asked me about if we had food restrictions like pork or meat and I told him about the Word of Wisdom and how we believe that in order to be healthy, we shouldn't do drugs, drink alcohol, drink coffee, drink tea, and smoke. I spoke to him about how as we follow this, not only does our body benefit from it, our minds are clearer, and we're able to gain more knowledge and wisdom (just like the name suggests). He was interested in some more stuff, but I was called to help out with other things so that was cut short. He's gaining an interest in volunteering so we'll see if he can help serve somewhere. So, back to the Halloween Party, we then set up a game where kids would have to jump up and grab candy from a pole that was hanging horizontally and then run to the next station where they would bob for apples + candy. The final thing was the pinatas that we were working on for weeks. They were so stiff, and they couldn't break. No one could break the first one. It ripped but the candy didn't come out since the hole was small. We didn't have that much time so what we, missionaries, did was broke the 5 pinatas with our hands and threw out candies like we were on a parade float. It was so fun. Oh, also, we housed into this one family and the mother's name is Megumi. She has 3 kids and is such an awesome person. She comes to Eikaiwa every week, and even brought her friend and her friend's kids to the halloween party. Elder Uhlig and I believe that it'll just be a quick second before we start teaching lessons with them. I'm so glad that we've gained that good friendship with her and her kids.

I got my pants fixed yesterday. It was sewn by a kind church member who was willing to help. I handed it to the Relief Society President since she said that she could find someone last week. I brought the pants and she said that it "would be finished and brought on Sunday" and asked if that was okay. I said that that would be great and so that's what I assumed. Elder Uhlig and I were Dendoing yesterday, and at 8:00PM, a member called us on the phone, and said that the pants were done and that they were bringing the pants at that instant. They were so Otsukare (hard working). They lived 30 minutes away by car and drove to our apartment to drop them off. I gave him some food as a token of my appreciation. It was much, and was all the food we got yesterday from the "fruit basket" at the church. On Fast Sundays (It's the first Sunday of every month where, in our church, we sacrifice by skipping 2 meals in the day-that means no drinking or eating for the span of 2 meals), over in Okinawa, the members bring food for the missionaries as a sacrifice of their own food and we call that the "fruit basket". I'm so grateful to be placed in such an amazing ward and the country. Japanese people are so nice. I love the food, I love the culture, and I LOVE THE PEOPLE! Japan is such a great place and people are always so polite. I'm glad that I get to spend 2 years with these people.

As for my bike status, the wheels are doing great. The bike is working well and I won't have to buy a new one. We've been showered by rain these past 3 days so a bunch of my clothes and shoes have gotten soaked. Even in rain showers we still dendo, and it's great. The rain is cool and refreshing.

I love and appreciate you all!!

Elder Jacob Wilson