Japan week #43

This has been such a fun week!

      Transfer calls are tomorrow, and ODDS are that I am getting the boot. I'm four in my current area, and I'm finishing training, and in the Sapporo mission that spells transfer! :P But we'll find out tomorrow. Elder Horne and I are very excited, and he's just a tad nervous. He really wants another cool comp that he'll get along with and be able to work hard with. I remember my transfer call when I got Elder Lee, that was a crazy exciting day! I imagine it'll be similar for him! It's been a crazy fun two transfers with him, and we've seen so many really cool things, and also had our fair share of trials. And I'm very grateful for all of it. I feel very satisfied with the work I've put into Otofuke. All my work with Kozuma died, but I still was able to bear testimony and have lots of teaching opportunities, so that rocks, and Elder Horne and I have found a ton of new people for Otofuke missionaries to work on, so I feel very good about my time here. :)

   Elder Christofferson was AMAZING. It was so gosh dang fun getting to see a ton of missionaries again, and the first thing he did when he walked in was say the he wanted to shake all of our hands! Yes! Definitely have not washed that hand. ;) Just kidding! It was so flipping uplifting. :) I feel like I learned a lot. And one Elder asked him how we can know/ find prepared people, and his answer was AMAZING. He was like, ask em to read the Book of Mormon. It's the great sifter. If they'll read it, they're prepared to some extent. :) Was way cool! 

    I spent most of the time after the conference hanging out with Elder Harper and Elder Lee. Elder Harper and Elder Horne and I most certainly took a family picture. ;) Love the family history and stuff out as a missionary. Elder Harper got a grandson!  And I'm really hurting for Elder Lee right now. He is NOT the Elder Lee I know. His bean going home has REALLY taken a toll on him. He's still working hard, and knowing Elder Lee this is only making him work harder, but man is he having a rough time now. He was very happy to see me, and told me that I am basically his favorite companion, which made me feel great. I haven't had a ton of comps, but Elder Lee's and mine time together was very special. 

     After we got home from Sapporo we hit the pavement on dendo for the last of mine and Horne's companionship. And we've had a ton of fun. We visited an investigator, Mikka San, and we got to meet all of her boys, she has 5 of them. And the second oldest is a stud! He invited us to his school's undokai. It's bascially a track meet, but they don't just run and do track stuff, we don't have them in america. But anyways, he was going to be in it, so he asked us if we could go. So we did, and watched him for about an hour or so. Apparently these undokais are really big. They do them once a year, and the kids families all gather and take pictures and film it all, and we were VERY out of place there walking around looking for Mikka San to watch her son, Taku Kun. I have been stared at a lot, but that definitely was the worst I've EVER been stared at! And after it was over we found Taku Kun specifically so he could see us there, and he was SO DANG HAPPY to see us! He was really excited, wondering if we were actually going to come or not, and of course all those other middle school students came and swarmed the two americans talking to the now INCREDIBLY popular Taku Kun. ;) Love that kid, and we're very excited to keep working with that family. :)
 Thanks for all you do fam and others! :D I love  you all!! :D

   Love, Mike