伝道 が 楽しい よ

Have you ever had one of those days where you know it is going to be really hot, you're going to feel sticky all day, and that when you go home you're going to be super pooped?  I have.  A lot actually.  But somehow the days are still fun and I'm enjoying it.

We've been seeing a lot of really good things happening here lately that makes me super excited.  We met this way cool guy who loves English.  So we invited him to Eikaiwa, (English class) and he totally came.  Then we talked to him a little bit after about meeting again sometime before or after Eikaiwa to talk about church things, and he seems to be pretty interested in it.  I think we're going to go see the fireworks with him to keep building a relationship between him and the members of the branch.  Should be a lot of fun.  Hoping that good things happen this week.

We were also able to find a great family that hopefully we'll be able to start teaching this week.  We've met with the mom once but didn't have a lesson.  Then we met her husband and were able to have a short lesson with him.  So hopefully we'll be able to meet with both of them next time and have a lesson with their whole family.  And again our other investigator was able to come to church this week.  Super excited for her.  The members are doing such a great job helping us make her feel welcome at church.  It's just crazy how much influence and help members can be if they just put themselves out there a little bit.  Sure its a little scary sometimes, but its worth it I think.

This week is going to be crazy with the fireworks going on.  I'm super excited!  They are going to be so big you'll probably be able to see them from California.  Maybe Utah, if you're looking hard enough.  Maybe I'll take some pictures to show you later.  Or maybe I won't.  Who knows?

Well since I can't really think of something cool to say before I end this I'm not going to try and be clever and make something funny up.  I'm just going to end this letter all of a sudden.  I hope that is okay with

Love, ウイクソム　長老　　（Japanese computers are so cool!)

Is This What Hot Feels Like?

So down here in Nagaoka its really nice.  It's pretty here, just like it was up north.  I've noticed more bugs down here though.  But the biggest difference is the temperature.  It is super hot down here.  And I've been told by a lot of people that it is just supposed to keep getting hotter.  It's not going to start to cool off until October they say.  I don't know how I'm　going to make it until then.  I guess I'll just have to deal with it.  And deal with feeling sticky all the time.  ALL THE TIME!  I'm so happy our apartment has some coolers and fans.  Or else we would die.

But other than the blazing temperature and the humidity of a rain forest, Nagaoka is a really great place.  The members here are all super nice.  I think the members are just nice everywhere though.  I think Japanese people in general are just nice.  But the members are really great people.  Super helpful too.  One of the members helped us bring one of our investigators to church yesterday.  They are just super nice.  While waiting for our meeting with the Branch President, we got to spend some time with the rest of his family just talking and stuff.  One of the boys and I talked about Pokemon a little and one of his sisters called me a nerd.  I don't know what she was thinking.  But they are a really nice family.  One of the best in the branch and in the whole church.

But yeah, my week has been full of mostly just doing normal missionary work while trying to learn a new area and a new branch.  Luckily I have Elder Kano to help me.  And the members are all super helpful too.  So I'm hoping that I will have a fun time working down here.  Even though it's going to be super hot and uncomfortable all the time.

Now I know what some of you might be thinking.  "Elder Wixom, aren't you sad about leaving Aomori before you get to see Nebuta?"  I'd like to address this question to the people who are asking it.  Yes, I am bummed about missing Nebuta.  It was going to be so epic and such a party.  But I'm actually really lucky to have been sent to Nagaoka of all places because down here, around the same time as Nebuta, they have a firework show that is world famous.  It is one of the three biggest firework shows in Japan.  I'm going to let you at home Google this more if you want, but I want you all to know that I'm super excited for it.

I am pretty sure I've mailed everyone back that sent a letter to me.  If you haven't gotten a letter from me and you sent one, then it's either on the way still, it got sent to the wrong address because I wrote it wrong, or it was stolen by aliens because they don't want you to get mail.  So I hope that hasn't happened but if it has, I'm sorry.  I just can't control the aliens.

Well, since I can't think of anything else I want to say, I'll go.  Bye.

Love, Elder Wixom

What a Way to Start the Day...

So normally when it becomes time to get up, we hear an alarm.  But this morning it was not an alarm, but a phone call.  It was the transfers call.  Now none of us were really thinking that we were going to transfer, but Elder Squire and I were told that we in fact are transfering.  So come Wednesday, I will be serving in Nagaoka.  長岡 　That is how it is spelled in kanji.  Its going to be fun.  I'm going from the very top of the mission to the almost bottom geographically speaking.  But that is how my morning started today.  Exciting, huh?

As for this last week, all I'm going to say is that sometimes missionary work is harder than people think it is.  And since we were travelling a bit for meetings and splits with the district leader, we weren't able to work in Aomori very much this week.  Now just because I said it was hard doesn't mean it wasn't good.  We were able to meet with our investigator and have a lesson with her.  We were able to have a lesson with a less active sister and try to help her out.  So it wasn't a bad week, it was just a harder week.  But this wasn't the first hard week, and I'm sure it won't be the last.  That's just missionary work for ya.

Well, I hope all of you are having just a great day.  I hope the rest of your week is good too.  Until next week when you get to hear about how nice it is in Nagaoka.  I love you all!  (^ 3^) -Chu!

Love, Elder Wixom

P.S.That is a kiss face if you were wondering. And I put it there because I wanted to.

A Normal Week?

As for my week, there wasn't any real big things that happened.  It was just a normal week full of teaching those we could, and trying to find more people to teach.  It's pretty hard to find people with interest sometimes, well more than sometimes, but if we just keep at it and keep looking we may find somebody like the man that we met on Saturday.  He just seemed super normal, but as Elder Squire kept talking to him his eyes just kept getting bigger with excitement.  We were able to make an appointment for next week, so hopefully when we meet, he'll have gotten to read from the Book of Mormon we left him and have some questions for us and hopefully have interest still.  It was super great to run into him.  As for our investigators, we've only been able to meet with one of them for a while.  The other is either avoiding us, or just always gone or sleeping when we stop by.  But as for Mrs. K, the investigator we've been able to meet with a bit, she is starting to show more desire to progress than she has ever before that I've seen.  Which is great.

But yeah, my week has just been busy and fun, but just a normal week for a missionary.  I've only got one more week to be a bean.  It's crazy to think of where the time has gone.  But that's what happens when you're busy all the time.  You don't have any time to just sit and watch the time go by.

I hope that this week will be fun for all of you back home.  Thank you for all that you do.  I really love you all.

Love, Elder Wixom

Oh the Things I Have Eaten...

Well, I guess you already know what I'm going to talk about this week if you read the title of this E-mail.  And sure enough, you are right.  Food.  More specifically, food that you eat in Japan.  And even more specifically, Japanese food that you eat in Japan.

Well let's see... I remember my first meal was pancakes.  In Japan they are called Hot Cakes.  Usually we just use the pancake mix to make biscuts.  But that's besides the point.  My second meal was curry.  You would not believe how much curry I have eaten.  And I cannot begin to estimate how much more I will eat before I die.  But that is one thing that I eat a lot.  Good old Indian curry.  But that's not the thing I eat mostly.  By far the thing I eat the most is, you got it, rice.  Sooooooo much rice.  You'd be suprised though at how much better food is  when you put it over rice.  Or how well meals become if you have a little bowl of rice with you.  We also eat a lot of noodles.  There is spagetti, (I know that's not how it's spelled) udon, ramen, and souma.  Those are just some of the types of noodles I have eaten.  And the best part about pasta is that you can put whatever you want on top of it.  All sorts of sauces, curry, all sorts of stuff.  I've also gotten the chance to eat quite a bit of sushi at  various places.  Usually we have to go out to eat it cause it's hard to make.  But that's pretty good.  Obviously there are some that taste better than others, but luckily I have grown to like fish and seaweed.  So that's good.  As far a meats go, other than various kinds of fish the only "weird" meat I have eaten is probably cow tongue.  It wasn't that bad.  Just a bit chewy.  But to be honest we eat a lot of food that I ate back home.  Like spagetti, hamburgers, steak, cereal, toast and eggs, MacDonalds, and other things like that.  But it is way great to try new foods because there is so many good foods to eat here in Japan.  I hope that answered your question Grandpa. :)

But besides talking about food, which has made me hungry, I had a pretty good week this week.  Nothing crazy out of the ordinary happened as far as I can remember, but it was just another good week of working hard and trying to help as many people as we can.  The language is coming along.  I had a nice little chat about how hard it is to learn a new language with a gentlemen that comes to English class.  It was good practice for the both of us and it shows how helpful it is to be able to practice speaking a language with native speakers.  I'm thankful for all the people who have and who still are helping me learn it.  Mostly I'm thankful to the Lord though.  Because without his help, missionaries would not be able to learn the language well enough to preach the gospel.  I am sure of that.

Well that was my week.  Until next time folks.
Love, Elder Wixom