Poptarts and BBQ Sauce!

(Not together, of course. Just craving Both!)

Dear Family,
We went and played Volleyball for a while with some Brazillian friends of Matsue's Ward Mission Leader (Brother Oda, he's constantly helping us out; he has a lot of connections in Izumo). I'm terrible at volleyball, but it was fun and a good workout. One of the players even recognized us from having seen us on the streets. It was a good chance to make some friends. Hopefully we'll bump into them again. One of them was named Paul as well, and he lived in the states for quite a few years. It was a nice English interlude ;)

This week was exciting! Once again, we took the bus to Okayama. Elder Atkin seems to be doing really well. He and his companion, Elder Matsuoka are the Okayama Zone leaders, and they have a lot going on right now, very busy, waking up early almost every day.

I learned some important concepts at this conference, one of which is a "40 Day fast" from behaviors that detract from the spirit. Pres. Isa shared a story (originally shared by Elder Holland?) about the Process of Purification. So, Elder Kajiuchi and I started our 40-day fasts after we got back from the conference. Please pray for us. I'm starting to notice a few differences already. We keep having random encounters and experiences that I think are connected to the fast. Investigators who have had trouble meeting with us or coming to church have recently accepted invitations to meet with us (at a party, but still!) and came to church (this week, only one came, but it was great. Gana san, our Mongolian investigator!)

On the flip-side, I had my first real encounter with persecution. I mean, compared to other places, it's probably not that big of a deal, but it made me very thankful to be in Japan, where I don't have to deal with it very much. We were housing yesterday with some members. A woman came around the corner as we were waiting by a door that we had just barely rung. Elder Kajiuchi called over a hello, and "Nice weather, eh?". She came over to us, looking a bit annoyed. "Jehova's Witnesses?" We responded with "No, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints". I tried to follow what the woman said next, but couldn't really understand. She started walking back to where her apartment was. I got a little prompting to tell her about a party we're having on Thursday. Kajiuchi choro gave me a "What on EARTH are you doing" look. . . The woman interrupted me by yelling a swear word and storming into her apartment. She did not look very happy. I mean, I got pretty used to people swearing at me during training, but in Izumo where most people give the very polite "No thank you, Otsukare Sama Desu" treatment, it was a little surprising. Oh well, I got over it. I figure that compared to being held at gun point, stabbed, and/or constantly persecuted as in other areas of the world, I actually have it pretty good.

Friday we biked all the way out to the Hinomisaki Shrine. You should have some pictures, it was the same day Atkin Choro and I went to the Light house. Back then, we couldn't enter the shrine. . . We were supposed to meet an investigator at a festival there. While waiting, we found out that the inner-shrine only opens up one day a year, at a certain time only, and we were there at the right time. So we went in, were given these little, white cloth aprons to put around our necks, were "purified" by one of the [priests?], and then got to walk around. It was pretty cool, and there appeared to be some Mosaic similarities (kind of Tabernacle-esque).

Wow, that bike ride was long and tough, but it was worth it.

So yesterday, we spent some time at the Hamamura household. A less active member and her non-member friend were coming - we helped to prepare a picnic meal to eat while watching the Firework display. I learned how to make Onigiri (balls or triangles of rice). I'm not very good, but it was fun!

Brother Hamamura (our Branch Mission Leader) showed us some pictures from his mission. His scrapbooks had Contact Cards in it too. Darin Palmer (formerly in the 1st ward?) served in his mission (Japan Sendai) around the same time (1985)! He was my scout master back in the day, and I was friends with his son Mitchell! If you see him or happen to get in touch, please say hello. Kazuhiko Hamamura is the mission leader's name. Bro. Palmer might not remember, because they weren't companions, but the did exchange cards.

I want you to know that I'm doing great. Elder Kajiuchi and I have been doing great since we got back from the conference. I think this fast is changing things. Sure, the hard times of missionary work will come and go, but for the time being, we don't seem to really get angry at each other.

Well, tell everyone I love them,

Mata ne
Elder Peterson
ピ－ターソン