New Comp; into 3rd transfer

Wow, my second transfer is officially over! I am no longer a "bean chan" (well, technically I'd say I still am, but according to the mission norm, I guess I'm not.)

Last week we had two lessons on the day before transfers after we received our call from Isa Kaicho. First we met with Gana San and Branch President Yamane at the Church. Gana San is our Potential Investigator from Mongolia. The lesson went really well and she really wants to come to church. She wasn't able to make it yesterday, but we're going to offer the help of some church members to provide rides for her and her children. We've spoken with her husband over the phone a little bit, and I detect absolutely no opposition from him. It appears that they're both from a Christian background. I'm excited to see where this goes.

UMETANI SAN! She came to Church with Haruna Chan! I wasn't sure if she was going to come because she had been trying to gain the courage to talk with her husband about this religious stuff. But, sure enough, she asked him and he easily said it was okay for her to come to church! Now we'll have to see about whether or not he'll give her permission to be baptized, but then again, maybe Mr. Umetani will be willing to start meeting with us as well.

Wednesday, after our second lesson (with Yoshioka san) Yamane Kaicho drove us by the Umetani residence for Atkin Choro to say goodbye. Haruna-chan was so sad. It was heartbreaking; Atkin Choro was a really good big-brother figure for her. Umetani san herself even shed a few tears while they waved as we drove away. It's hard, but they're doing okay now.

Kajiuchi Choro is awesome! He's a very patient, open, enthusiastic companion. He really wants to learn English and has been working hard on it thus far over the year he's been on the mission. Wow, he even PRAYS in English every once in a while. This is so cool!

I still think it's amazing that I have my second Japanese companion already, but that's okay. I want to learn a lot from him, not only missionarily, but with Japanese and cooking too! Sugoi!

Our lesson with Umetani san on Friday morning went really well. We had prepared to teach her about the law of tithing (complete with the giving-of-cookies-and-requesting-10%-back example [thank you peanut butter chocolate chip truffles!]) but, as missionary work usually goes, you make your plan and then something else happens. She wanted to hear some scriptures that could help her find courage. So we talked and shared scriptures. Little by little, I'm understanding more and more... Not quite there yet, but I think it's close! I hope!

We did a bit of Area Book Dendo; we have a LOT of former investigator records, and many without any reason for why the person was dropped. So, we're going to be working with it a lot... Oh, and after Kajiuchi choro tried to call one to no avail, the person called back, and we have an appointment with him this Saturday at the church! AMAZING!

Question: when a recipe calls for one packet of yeast, approximately how many tablespoons is that? It works a bit different here in Japan -- no packets, just big amounts.

Ooh, while waiting for Kajiuchi choro, I warmed up the oven again and made an Apple pie!! Atkin Choro's recipe was a bit Japanese-itized, sweet but not too sweet. But wow, following the recipe from the old Okayama Mission cookbook, it's like American apple pie! And I made it without help! Ooh, then I did peanut butter truffles again. . . ;)

By the way, next time I send home a memory card, you'll be able to see my video tour of the apartment, complete with a showcase of my Apple pie. . . Tee hee. . .

I will email you next week! I'm getting over a bit of a cold, but I'm doing great!