December 27, 2015

This week was a very fun week. Elder Pennington and I have been having a lot of fun together and have had a lot of interesting and cool experiences this week. Missionary work always brings interesting stories. 

First off, Monday we went and visited a less active Brazilian family that we haven't been able to see since my first week here. We actually got them to answer the door! We had a nice visit with them and it was really cool. They lost their jobs here too, like all the other Brazilians here, however they are planning on staying here so that's awesome. They have lots of potential to come back so we are excited to be working with them.

Tuesday, Elder Pennington and I attempted to do some caroling. Emphasis on ATTEMPTED! Hahaha! Caroling is something that people don't do so it is kind of odd. We are foreigners so we can kinda get away with doing things that aren't necessarily socially acceptable. So we went to some members and less actives homes and sang and gave them some cookies. It was really fun. One lady told us that we should just sing in English...guess we weren't doing too well in Japanese. Haha! Another lady pulled up in her car as we were about to knock on her door...awkward. We had a fun night attempting though. 

Thursday I probably had the most interesting experience of my mission so far. We got a call from a 17 year old less active young man and he told us he had a Christmas present for us. We were so happy because we have been trying to meet with him forever and then he just called us up, we thought it was a Christmas miracle. Well we show up to this random train station where he tells us to meet him. We are looking around and don't see him anywhere. From all the way across the station we see a girl dressed in a Santa costume and she is waving at us. We start to walk in her direction because we figured the boy was over there in their group of friends. Well as we get closer the girl runs over to us. This girl is in a very immodest, barely clad Santa costume. She has huge high heals and stockings on. Well as she gets closer....it's the 17 year old less active boy!!!!!!! He just hands us our present and walks away like it was nothing. To this day I still have no idea why he was dressed like that, and I am forever scarred. 

Friday was Christmas so that was fun. As missionaries we don't do much cause it's still a normal day. However we went to a really nice restaurant for dinner so that was enjoyable. 

Sunday the Dias family came to church!!!!!!! Yay!! They are getting baptized on the 10th of January and we are so excited. Sunday evening we also went to their house and spent two hours eating and having a good time. We love spending time with them and teaching them. They are seriously my second family. 

This week was fun! Being a missionary is always full of fun times! I know I've said it before but there really isn't anywhere I'd rather be. Being out here serving people, preaching the gospel, and growing closer to the Savior makes me so happy. 

Hope everyone had a great week and Christmas! Love you all! 

Elder Myers

Spelunking (in our apartment)

December 21, 2015

Hello everyone and MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I have had an awesome week. This week was full of adventures and stories. 

First off, Monday was Elder Jenks and my last night together and it was very sad. We became very close and I think of him like a brother now. Also on Monday night I got hit by a car. That was super fun. I am totally fine and so is my bike. Good thing cars are tiny here in Japan. Hahaha! 

Tuesday I went to Nagoya and picked up my new companion. He is AWESOME! His name is Elder Pennington and he is from Tennessee. He is a super silly goofy guy and we get a long super well. He also plays guitar and sings so we have lots of fun with that as well. Really looking forward to this transfer with him. 

On Friday we taught the Dias family and we decided we would take a leap of faith and share a powerful scripture and then challenge them to baptism again. Well that lesson was the most powerful lesson Elder Pennington and I have ever been in, it was amazing. The Dias family accepted the challenge to get baptize and are scheduled to be baptized on the 3rd of January. Elder Pennington and I are so excited! Later on Friday, we went to a less actives house, about 40 minutes away by bike, and as we were leaving to go home Elder Pennington realized his bike tire was flat. That was a nice long walk home. Haha! However while up visiting this less active we came across a super pretty beach that we will definitely be going back to see soon.

On Saturday we went to visit a less active member and as we were leaving we came across a cool little shrine and so we wanted to go check it out. Well as we get closer this little Japanese old man comes out of no where and just starts telling us how this is a special shrine and that it has special water. He told us that we needed to drink from it so... Yeah we did!! It was way funny! So yeah I think we are going to become fluent in Japanese or have eternal life of something now. 

Sunday was also a very interesting day. We had an inactive member whom we had visited during the week come to church. We were so excited and sat him down and started teaching him a lesson during second hour. Well like half way through the lesson a member pulls me out and tells me he is forbidden at church. So we had to kindly escort him out. It was a super interesting experience. Also on Sunday evening we talked to this Indian man on the street and then he told us he didn't have time right then but we could come back and talk at his restaurant. He then ended the conversation by telling us that we are his best friends. It was so funny. I don't know if we will ever see him again but I am glad I could be his best friend for about 40 seconds. 

This week was a very fun and interesting one. I love the mission and am so grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord for 2 years. Christmas isn't a big Holiday in Japan at all. I don't even know if I would consider it a holiday here but I am still so grateful for this time of the year where we really ponder about our Savior. I am so grateful for the sacrifice He performed on my behalf and all the joy and peace I can have because of Him. I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and remember that there is no Christmas without CHRIST! 

Love, 

Elder Myers

My new companion Elder Pennington

A shrine we found this week

December 14, 2015

This week was a fun one!! Can't believe it's almost Christmas though! It doesn't seem real here cause the Japanese don't really celebrate it. Well this is the last p-day of transfer 2. Tomorrow I am officially not a bean anymore! Yay!! 

So Monday I went to the dollar store and bought some Christmas decorations and decorated the house. It's nothing much but it brings a little more of the Christmas spirit here in our apartment. 

Wednesday was a sad day :( the Dias family said they need more time to get baptized and don't want to plan a baptismal date right now. They said it's hard to join a church where they don't understand it all because they don't really speak Japanese. They still want to meet with us and keep coming to church so that's awesome . We will just keep trying our best with them and I know one day they will get baptized. They know that everything we teach is true and they have such strong faith. They love the Book of Mormon and love the church members. They are so awesome and I love them. 

Friday was transfer calls.... I'm staying in Komatsu!!!!! My companion Elder Jenks is leaving though. I'm kinda sad about that but it's okay. I'll get to meet my new companion tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it. New transfer equals new miracles in Komatsu! I'm excited for another transfer here and a new companion will be fun too!! 

Saturday night was our Christmas party and that was super fun. I went around with jolly ranchers and big 5 gum and gave them out to the kids and some of the adults and they went crazy for that stuff. In Japan they don't have super sweet or sugary candy so jolly ranchers just about gave them all diabetes, but they loved it. Funny stuff! Now they all ask for candy when they see me. Hahaha! 

That's all the good stuff from this week!! I love it here! It's getting colder and I think we might see snow this week so that will be exciting. So glad I am out here on a mission, there is no place I'd rather be. This gospel and the opportunity I have to share it everyday makes me so happy. Right now is literally the happiest I've ever been! Just going out and telling people about Jesus Christ everyday, what's better?  It always brings a smile to my face. Especially this Christmas season where everything is centered around Jesus Christ. How can we not just be so full of love and gratitude for Him and his sacrifice. A scripture I've thought about a lot recently is Luke 2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." I love how it says "YOU"! It is so direct. Jesus was born for YOU. He was born for ME. He knows us perfectly and he would have came into this world and suffered just for one of us. He loves us that much! That gives me so much comfort and peace. Jesus lives and loves us, I know that! 

Love you all and hope all is going wonderfully. I Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season! Take care! Till next week! 

Elder Myers

Our little Christmas tree

December 7, 2015

Well this week was a very interesting week! Lots of good stories from this week. This weeks weather has been pretty bad. It's been raining here pretty much everyday and it just keeps getting colder and colder. Going from California where we see rain 3 times a year to having it rain for days straight is pretty weird. I've gotten used to it by now though so it's fine. Next thing to figure out is how to live in the snow...hahaha! 

Well Monday evening we had a interesting visit with 2 Thai kids we found a couple weeks ago. As soon as we knocked on the door they let us right in and sat us down and gave us some of the little food they had. They are living in such humble circumstances it was so humbling to see. Well we sat on the floor and just started talking and then I noticed a guitar so I asked which one plays. Things took off! I asked to play and just started playing and then he played some songs and we were really able to make it into their hearts and really get to know them. They are so fun and so nice and we can't wait to go back and see them again. 

Tuesday was maybe the most interesting day of the week. We had a meeting with a Jehovah's Witness that we talked to on the street. Well he showed up and he brought another friend from their church. Long story short, they did everything to prove that the church is wrong and that the Book of Mormon is fake. It was way interesting. It was by far the most interesting lesson I've ever been in. It really strengthened my testimony of this church and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. 

Wednesday we went to my favorite less actives home and then he took us to some awesome cliffs and we talked and had a lesson there. It was way pretty and the lesson was super interesting. He had some very interesting questions. For example "who would win in a fight Jesus or superman?" .  Me and Elder Jenks of course said Jesus! He sometimes just has the most interesting questions but he is way nice and I love visiting him. He has had a hard life and is currently divorced and the missionaries are pretty much his only friends, so it is really a privilege to go see him and to make his week. 

Thursday we had exchanges I stayed in my area and I went out with a transfer one missionary. So yes, I was the senior companion! It was way fun. It was a little weird being the one who had the most experience and spoke the better Japanese. I learned a lot and it was tons of fun. Highlight of that was that night we were at the church preparing for English class when we saw a huge flash of light right outside the window. Not even a whole second later the loudest thunder sound shook the whole church building. It was way scary! We came to find out the lighting struck right next to the church. It was a pretty crazy experience! The whole building shook and we could just feel our bodies shaking. We both just looked at each other after and were like wow what in the world just happened. Crazy!! 

Friday was my birthday!!!! Yay!! I had a good time! We just did normal missionary stuff of course. I cooked all my favorite food so that was fun! Birthdays as a missionary are just interesting. But that's okay! I'm one year older but I don't know if I'm one year wiser. Hahaha! 

Saturday was really special for me, I was able to baptize an investigator the sisters taught. She picked me to baptize her and of course I was more than willing. It was such an awesome baptism. She was so prepared and is just such an awesome person. It was so wonderful to witness someone taking those steps to follow Christ. I love being a missionary!! 

This church is true!! The Book of Mormon is true!! God is always there whether we recognize it or not. He is always there to help us and he knows exactly what we need. It is so awesome to see the Lord's hand in my life each and every day. That's such a blessing of being a missionary, everyday we see these awesome experiences of the Lord's hand in our lives and in the lives of the people we teach. However, I know that we each can see those moments of the Lord's hand in our lives. We just have to look, ponder, and ask. They will come and we can recognize it as the Lord. The Lord wants to help us, we just have to reach out! It's that simple. We have to be humble enough to ask for help and He will be there. I know this! I have seen it so many times here. I love you all and hope your week is amazing!! 

Love, 

Elder Myers

Cliffs Near Komatsu

The Sisters had a baptism

November 30, 2015

Hello everyone!! Well here it goes for this week! Well recently the weather has been terrible. This past week everyday was raining so that was very fun. Also on Thursday and Friday we had hail. It was crazy! It'll probably start snowing here soon. Yay! 

First off, Tuesday we met with the Dias family and that went super well. Patricia (the mother) has totally given up coffee and it doing super good with that. I gave her a blessing last week and she said that really helped. She actually shared with us a cool experience about the blessing I gave her. So we asked her if the blessing helped and she said yes and then she said that she remembered when I was blessing her just feeling all my spirit go into her. She then said that after the blessing when she looked into my eyes it looked like I had been drained of my spirit and she said she new it's cause I had given it all to her. She said it was because of all of my spirit that I gave to her that she has been able to stop coffee. It was such a cool experience to hear that and to have had her feel the spirit so strongly. I was truly touched by it and will never forget those words. The family is doing really well and we have their baptism scheduled for the 9th but their work is just so crazy we are still working things out. So we will see. 

Thursday I went to Fukui again for an exchange. It is always a fun time to go to another area and do some work. 

Friday night we had a big dinner with a bunch of ward members and the Dias family. We did it so the ward could get to know the Dias family and it was such a huge success. The dinner was huge and in the back of my head I just considered it my thanksgiving since they don't have that here and me and my companion didn't do anything. It was a fun night! 

Finally, yesterday I gave a talk in church which was super fun! My Japanese isn't very good but it was fun to get up in front of everyone and try and give a 10 minute talk. Everyone after said my Japanese was so good, they are probably just saying it to be nice though. Hahaha! It was a fun experience! Grateful I don't have to do it again though! Hahaha! 

 The sister missionaries in our ward have an investigator being baptized this Saturday and she picked me to baptize her!! I'm super excited for that! I never taught her but I talked to her at church and she is way nice and I am super honored to be able to baptize her. 

Well that's really it for this week. Fun stuff!! Missionary work is always fun but it's still work! Sometimes you are just beat up and want to stop but just keep going and that's when we see the biggest miracles. I know it's the same in life. Sometimes we just want to give up or we wonder why things are the way they are but I know it's just something God has placed in our path to help us grow and learn. I also know that after the trial come all the amazing blessings. All we have to do it endure the trial with faith and keep pressing forward with faith! I know that's true! I am so grateful for all who email me and read my emails and keep up with my mission. You're all the best! Have a wonderful holiday season and stay safe! Love you all! 

Elder Myers 

Elder Horio and I in Fukui