Transfer 4 Comes to a Close

Halleluja! I have a giant bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Barbeque Sauce ALL to myself. . . But I'll probably share with my companion ;) Elder Kajiuchi had his first pack of pop-tarts. Oh they are so delicious! Hey, can you send me some good recipe ideas for the cream of mushroom and chicken soups that don't require chicken? We can buy chicken, but it's kind of a hastle to deal with. . .

Oh, random side thought: I went to Yonago on Monday night. Elder Bronner had this book "Where's Mom Now that I Need Her" It's like the ultimate cook book with laundry tips, maintenance help and more! Pretty funny.

Yonago! Excellent! We had a lesson with this man named Kondo San, who had been taught by Sister Mortensen (from my MTC district) when the area was run by Sisters. I met him back in Transfer 2 at Yonago's English class on the day of a Zone Meeting, and there was a noticable difference. Since that time, he started reading the Book of Mormon, and I got to see once again the power this book can have in someone's life. Like Umetani san! These two people are my first in-field example of the Book of Mormon's power. The light and joy it brings. . .

During the exchange, we went to visit Elder Nakatsuka of the Seventy. He came to Izumo a few weeks back. What a spiritual powerhouse. . . That visit boosted me, and strengthened my resolve to overcome my fears and talk to more people. And I have been! Yeah, I'm still passing a few people by, but we're trying!

We went to Unnan City, Kakeya town again. . . But this time, we took a route through the mountains. Yes, it was shorter, and took about half the time. . . But WOW it was in all reality uphill BOTH ways. I didn't think I would be able to make it up the mountain on the way back. Sure enough, upon starting up my strength was about to crash. But I felt a very literal flow of the atonement's power. It was similar to my hardest moments at Boot Camp. When my strength is exhausted, and I can't do any more, with faith, Christ helps me and gives me strength. This was a physical example, but that just goes to show that the Atonement is eternal and all-encompassing - Emotional, Mental, Spiritual, Physical. . . all difficulties can be lessened and/or overcome. That was one of those lessons that I've needed to learn multiple times.

On the way back, we stopped to try and visit an investigator, but were greeted by a man from China! He was very friendly, and started talking to US. He asked why we were in Japan, which led to a very good conversation about Christianity and the church. He said a couple of times that he was thinking he might like to become Christian, and told us that we had given him a very good impression of Christians. Man. . . If I transfer this week. . . too bad!

We also met with our investigator from Bangaladesh. He's doing well, and the meeting was great. I called him to see if we could stop by to give him a Japanese Language book, and we ended up having a discussion about Jesus Christ. Wow, he was once again very kind, and at the end of our visit told us that he considered us close friends! He wants us to pray for him.

Things in Izumo are becoming quite wonderful. I've been trying not to think about transfers too much, but we'll see what happens.

Thank you SOOOOO much for that wonderful package, and mom, that letter was just what I needed. I haven't opened the Sauce yet, but eagerly await that long awaited barbeque taste!

Well, time is growing short. Know that I love you, and am thankful for your prayers. I love being here in the land of my dreams . . . I love these people, the food, the scenery, the weather (even though it's hot!)

Love you,
Elder Peterson

Raining Ramen Noodles, for Real!

Holy COW! We got completely soaked yesterday, EVEN with our rain suits on. . . The rainy season really is intense here, and I think the rain is daitai onaji (about the same) with Irish Rain. . . Wow.

Well, Umetani San will still be baptised, but turns out that her husband wants her to wait a couple of months to see if she's serious about joining the church. He doesn't seem opposed to it though.

My relationship with Elder Kajiuchi seems to be doing alot better. We had some good, honest conversation this week, and I feel that we are on very good terms right now. And wow, he makes SUPERB ramen noodles. No, I don't mean the store-bought dry kind. I mean, REAL ramen noodles! He didn't make the actual noodles, but he got a package from his family a little while ago. SO gourmet, really, you have not eaten Ramen noodles until you have tried fresh Ramen from Japan! We ate at a Ramenyasan (ramen restaurant) a few weeks ago, and wow, it was delectable too. Sugoi!

We were finally able to meet with our Mongolian investigator (fluent in Japanese) this week. It seemed to go pretty well. I've been trying to participate more in lessons lately. I'm understanding a little more now adays, but it's still a bit tough to understand what's being said, and respond. I'm working on it!

On Saturday, we biked out to Lake Shinjiko. We've been spending a lot of time around central Izumo lately, and I wanted to try to find some good locations for naturally conversing with people. Wow, the ride was a lot longer than I expected. But it was a good trip. And we stopped every once in a while along the way to talk to people. We knocked on a couple of doors, talked with a 20-ish year old man. . . As we approached Hirata Town (close to the lake), we asked for directions from a woman tending a road-side graveyard. Wow, she's been to Kajiuchi choro's hometown, and she has some kind of connection to Utah. She recognized us as missionaries, thanked us for coming to this part of Japan, and wished us good luck. She had met missionaries before, that greeted her friendly. Cool. The lake was beautiful! I don't know how often we'll be going out there, probably not too often. . . But hey! It was a good day!

I made Pizza this week. I messed up on the dough some how (too much water?). I tried the 60min. roll dough recipe mom sent me. Wow, it was SO good, almost like Dad's! Just. . . a little different. But hey, Japan seems to get the "Pizza" sauce right. Too bad the bottle wasn't bigger. . . But hey, I tried some Roasted Sesame Seed Dressing as the sauce for part of the second pizza, and wow, that worked out too!

Thursday was awesome! Brother Junior (the unexpected Brazillian member that moved here last week) had us over for lunch, some DELICIOUS brazillian strogonoff. . . Mmm. . . And he shared with us some of his amazing guitar ability! Wow. I feel connected to some of the people here.

Church: Elder Nakatsuka from the quorum of the seventy and Brother Watanabe from the stake presidency (he came to Branch conference a while ago too, the one that lived in Utah and went to UVSC) came. I was asked to speak before them. . . I was a bit nervous. . . My topic was the Love of a Family or something like that (In Japanese: Kazoku no Ai). I tried to translate A Family is Forever, and sang it at the end of my talk. It was a good experience. Wow, Elder Nakatsuka was awesome, and I actually understood parts of his talk!

Sunday night, we had dinner with the Sato family. Pres. Swaisey built their house, it was American-style, and once again like stepping back into America. They have this cute little 3 year old daughter, Yuria-chan. What a beautiful family.

Well, I better go, but I love you, and who knows, maybe I'll be writing from a different location next week (transfers are on Thursday) Take care, Elder Peterson