Elder Myers: March 13, 2016 (out of order)

Well I'm in Nagano now!! I made it! So one Tuesday elder Penninton and I got up and took the nice long train ride all the way down to Nagoya and had to say the saddest goodbye ever. Well I found my new companion elder Baldwin and we took the really long train ride to Nagano. It was a wonderful day filled with long train rides.

So Nagano is really nice and cold. Just when I thought I was past the cold I come here and it's been snowing here. No fun! Nagano is really pretty though! It is surrounded by mountains so no matter where you look you can see pretty mountains. Nagano is also a really mixed area because you have a good amount of countryside and then a good amount of big city so that's awesome. The big city part of Nagano is really awesome and is so different then my last area. Everywhere you go there are just tons of people and huge buildings. It's way cool!

My new companion is elder Baldwin from queen creek Arizona. He is 6 feet 4 inches tall and I look like a midget next to him but it's whatever. He is an awesome missionary and really good at Japanese and I've learned so much from him already. He is also a really funny guy and we have lots in common and can just talk for hours with each other. He also really gets the concept of play when it's time to play and work when it's time to work so that's just awesome and I love it. I'm really excited for the rest of this transfer with him.

In our area we currently have 7 investigators which is so cool. This week I got to meet 3 of them and teach them. One of them was Miyashita, who is a 22 year old college kid and he is way nice and dresses super fancy. I always tease him and tell him he needs to teach me how to dress. He speaks fluent English so that's fun sometimes. He is a great investigator! Next was Hanyu San who feed us dinner on Wednesday. I ate more that night than I have ever eaten before in my life! I seriously thought i was going to die. After that appointment I had to take several breaks while we were riding our bikes cause I thought I was going to die. Lastly we met with the Masuda family. It's a dad and his 12 year old son. They are like the two coolest people I've ever met. The dad owns an american antique shop and is just like ultra hipster. They just crack jokes the whole time and teach us really weird slang Japanese so it's way funny. They love the Book of Mormon and prayer so its good!

On Saturday we had a cool chance to go watch some professional Japanese basketball. A member called us Friday and told us he got some tickets to a basketball game and for us to invite as many investigators as possible. We all had a lot of fun! Sadly the team we were cheering for lost but that's okay. Also let me tell you... Japanese pro ball looks like kids playing high school basketball. I never realized how good the NBA is but yeah I see now.

That's really all for this week! This week was really fun! I love this area and the people here. The branch members here are seriously the best. I feel like I was welcomed with such open arms and just welcomed into this tight family. It's awesome! I think I won't want to leave here once my time is up!

On Sunday I was asked to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting. I was reading my scriptures on Sunday morning and came across this scripture and was really impressed to share it. The scripture was Alma 5: 26 which says " And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" I know it's so important that we are always looking inside ourselves and checking up on our conversion. We need to make sure we are always progressing in this gospel and that we are finding joy in the journey. Never let yourself go a second just stuck on a plateau. Check yourself and change what needs to be changed whether it's better scripture study, praying more often, or making Sunday church attendance a bigger part of your week. I know we can all do this and make ourselves better and always keep improving.

Love you all!! Have a great week!!