Hey everybody! I hope your week went well! Mine went great! Things
were pretty busy, but fun at the same time!
Monday we had our District Activity where we planned on doing Park
Golf which is a mix between real golf and Mini Golf, so we were
excited for that, and then it became a bbq instead! It was way fun!
And then we had Volleyball again tonight!
Tuesday we had DTM but since the mission office couple is leaving this coming Friday
(7/10) we made goodbye videos to say thanks for all of their hard
work. They're excited to be the Temple President and Matron, but they
were super surprised and didn't expect it at all!
Wednesday we had interviews with President Nakatsuka which was way
cool! I love him so much! He's such a smart great guy! i also got to
see Elder M and T which was fun! I love them both so much!
Thursday we had companion planning meeting and then had a Family
Home Evening at the church which went well! Everyone seemed to have
a great time, and O san came so it was great!
Friday we met with N san who is actually coming along pretty
well! He's getting really interested in the Godhead and how they're
separate, as well as Agency so it's been good! Then we played
ping-pong with a young man who went to Youth Conference but isn't a
member, so it was way fun! He seems to be pretty interested, so we're
excited for him!
Saturday we visited some investigators and non-attending members who weren't home so
that was too bad, but we made sure we had fun doing it so that people
who saw us would want to hear from us at some point!
Sunday we had an amazing Fast Sunday, and then a member was super nice
and invited us over for dinner which was so good! But they are super
awesome! Also in Sacrament meeting everyone seemed to talk about missionary
work and the spirit was so strong, so it was amazing!
I'm loving being out here so much, and I can't believe how fast it's
going! Only a few weeks left, but I'm sure they're going to be the
best yet! Love you all tons! Talk to you soon!
Elder Bickel
Stephen Bickel's Mission Blog
Monday, July 6, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
June 29, 2015
Well hey everybody! I hope your week went well! Mine was way fun but a
little crazy! But I'm enjoying it a lot so I'm not too excited to come
home... ;) But I'll be home soon enough... A mission really is fast...
OnMonday we had a fun time for P-day just messing around. We also
had a great time at Mini-Volleyball, and one of the people there knows
G, our investigator! So that was fun!
Tuesday we had DTM on helping investigators understand our purpose and
get them to understand that we have 5 lessons so they'll listen to
them all. Then we had bento lunches, and then studied,
and had a great time at Eikaiwa! It was a fun, but super
crazy day! :)
Wednesday we went to Tobetsu and visited A san who was doing well,
so we taught him the full Lesson one as a review, and then visited a
few other investigators.
Thursday we had DKK and then taught O san about Esther and
having faith that God will help us when we stand up for what's right
so he can possibly come to church on Sundays instead of work. He
seemed to really understand and told us he does want to get baptized,
so we're hoping we can get that to work out well. And since in September, Sacrament
meeting is being moved to the first meeting, he'll at least be able to come to Sacrament Meeting! So we're way excited!
Friday was good as well! We taught N san about the 10
commandments and keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. When we
invited him to church, he didn't say no, so we're going to follow up
and make sure it's a yes. Then we went to Futomi and met with this
Referral who is a super nice Grandma and she let us
play this super cool Japanese instrument a little bit in her genkan,
and then we talked to her a bit about hymns and how it helps us feel
God's love so it was great!
Saturday was fun cause we got to do a little service! We went out to
Tobetsu to G's house so we could weed her front yard which was way
fun and then they fed us a bunch of food, which definitely wasn't
needed.
Sunday was exciting! This week, a former missionary, Sister V and her
family came to visit Shinoro, so I got to talk to them for a bit since
they don't all know Japanese very well. But it turns out that her dad went
to Olympus High School and also knows the area where we
live, so it was fun to talk to him. Because they were here, we had a
Shokujikai which was super good! I tried to cut back on how much I ate
though cause later that night we had a Member dinner with a Mom, and
her 22 year old daughter, who have a son out on a mission right now.
He's been out for about a year, but they also invited a young family
in the ward to come as well, with the sister missionaries, so it was a
party! But not only was it a party, it was a taco party! She made real
american tacos which I haven't had for a long time. The shells were the
soft flour store-bought shells as well, so it was the real deal!
But that's how the week went! It was fun! Also today we had a
District Activity, but I'll tell you more about it next week! Love you tons!
Talk to you soon!
Love,
Stephen
little crazy! But I'm enjoying it a lot so I'm not too excited to come
home... ;) But I'll be home soon enough... A mission really is fast...
OnMonday we had a fun time for P-day just messing around. We also
had a great time at Mini-Volleyball, and one of the people there knows
G, our investigator! So that was fun!
Tuesday we had DTM on helping investigators understand our purpose and
get them to understand that we have 5 lessons so they'll listen to
them all. Then we had bento lunches, and then studied,
and had a great time at Eikaiwa! It was a fun, but super
crazy day! :)
Wednesday we went to Tobetsu and visited A san who was doing well,
so we taught him the full Lesson one as a review, and then visited a
few other investigators.
Thursday we had DKK and then taught O san about Esther and
having faith that God will help us when we stand up for what's right
so he can possibly come to church on Sundays instead of work. He
seemed to really understand and told us he does want to get baptized,
so we're hoping we can get that to work out well. And since in September, Sacrament
meeting is being moved to the first meeting, he'll at least be able to come to Sacrament Meeting! So we're way excited!
Friday was good as well! We taught N san about the 10
commandments and keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. When we
invited him to church, he didn't say no, so we're going to follow up
and make sure it's a yes. Then we went to Futomi and met with this
Referral who is a super nice Grandma and she let us
play this super cool Japanese instrument a little bit in her genkan,
and then we talked to her a bit about hymns and how it helps us feel
God's love so it was great!
Saturday was fun cause we got to do a little service! We went out to
Tobetsu to G's house so we could weed her front yard which was way
fun and then they fed us a bunch of food, which definitely wasn't
needed.
Sunday was exciting! This week, a former missionary, Sister V and her
family came to visit Shinoro, so I got to talk to them for a bit since
they don't all know Japanese very well. But it turns out that her dad went
to Olympus High School and also knows the area where we
live, so it was fun to talk to him. Because they were here, we had a
Shokujikai which was super good! I tried to cut back on how much I ate
though cause later that night we had a Member dinner with a Mom, and
her 22 year old daughter, who have a son out on a mission right now.
He's been out for about a year, but they also invited a young family
in the ward to come as well, with the sister missionaries, so it was a
party! But not only was it a party, it was a taco party! She made real
american tacos which I haven't had for a long time. The shells were the
soft flour store-bought shells as well, so it was the real deal!
But that's how the week went! It was fun! Also today we had a
District Activity, but I'll tell you more about it next week! Love you tons!
Talk to you soon!
Love,
Stephen
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
June 21, 2015
Hey everybody! I hope your week went well! Mine was
fantastic!
Although I do kinda feel like more than half of it was
spent in a
chair... Kinda like Honbu... ;) hahaha cause basically,
as a Trainer,
our study schedule is lengthened. Plus this week, we
spent an hour a
day putting the Area Book into our iPads. So it was
kinda cool, but it
was long! ;)
But here's how the week went!
Monday: We went with a member to a place called Sapporo
Satorando
where we played Park Golf. Park Golf, for those of you
who don't know,
is like right in-between Real Golf, and Mini Golf. It's
pretty fun,
and it was nice to get to play something new! We had a
good time with
that though, and then we just did the regular P-day
stuff.
Tuesday: We had our first District Meeting of the Transfer, and it
went super well!
The theme for this month's DTM's is Modern day Ammon, so
i talked
about how he found his "Investigator's" needs,
and taught to them. So
that was good! Then for lunch we went to the Tabehodai
again, but
my companion still didn't have his bike, so I ran from the church to
the
restaurant while everyone else rode bikes, so I figured
I worked off
the stuff I was eating anyway... ;) haha Then we had
Eikaiwa which was
fun, and taught everyone about Directions.
Wednesday: Today we actually had Splits with the Zone
Leaders. I went
with Elder N, and my companion went with Elder
S. But I
went to Kitahiroshima, which is about a 40 min. bike
ride from
Atsubetsu, but the ride is absolutely amazing. The
scenery was
amazing, and it was just a fun ride. We visited a few
investigators,
rode up a massive hill too many times, and then went
back which again
was a great ride! ;) Then we visited a member who I
actually knew in
Shibetsu, but they had sadly forgotten me, so that was a
little bit of
a bummer, but I can't really expect much more, since I
was only there
for 6 weeks...
Thursday my companion was kinda sick, so we let him
sleep to get over
it quick, but I was able to write in my journal for a
while, and do
some more study! Then we went and visited a member who
hasn't been
coming to church to deliver the Teachings of the
Prophets Ezra Taft
Benson book that we use in Priesthood meetings, and he
was very happy!
Friday we got to do our Weekly Planning, and then visit
our
investigator N-san. He's doing really well, and
is coming along
well. He is still super interested in good and evil, so
we're trying
to show him that God's commandments show us what's good
which will
help us be blessed, and not following God's commandments
is evil. So
we'll see if it works.
Saturday we went out to Tobetsu and actually met with
G! We talked
with her for a while and she said she wants to do a
Bible study, as
well as she'd appreciate it if we came and helped weed
their garden,
so we'll be getting some good service in. Also her
husband came out
and talked with us, and while he doesn't really like
religion in
general, he seems to really like us so that was good!
We're probably
going to pass them to the Sisters, but keep in contact.
Sunday was great! We had a way good time at church, and
then went to
the Elder's Quorum Activity Planning Meeting which was
fun. The
Elder's Quorum President asked us to come, so we helped
out with that,
and then actually went with him to visit some non attending members in
the ward which
was great!
But this week's been a blast! My companion is way funny
and we're
getting to be good friends! But I love you all, and I'll
talk to you
soon!
Elder Bickel
June 14, 2015
Well
this week was great! I got my new companion and his name is Elder
L from a place called Kelso Washington which is closer to
Portland
Oregon than it is to Seattle, but since Seattle is still
Washington,
he just says he's from Seattle cause no one knows Kelso!
;)
But he's super nice, pretty funny, and excited to work hard out
here!
But
Monday, we had our District activity and we did a Shuji(Japanese
Calligraphy)
activity, where we got the Shuji stuff, and then did it
at
the church, and went to a All-you-can-eat Buffet which was way fun!
I
ate a ton, and we actually went to the same one the previous
friday(see
last week's email), and then had Dinner with the S
family
for their Family Home Evening. We taught a lesson on Jesus
Christ. They were sad to hear that my companion would be leaving,
but we made it a really fun night.
Tuesday
we partied at Eikaiwa with the students for Elder S's and
Sister
K's last time in the ward. We got to have some good snacks
and
have some good conversations with everyone. We also had Zone
Training
Meeting in Atsubetsu, which actually went a lot better than
we
thought it would. We didn't have any time to really prepare either
of
our workshops, so we just planned the best we could and did it by
the
Spirit But it was great!
Wednesday
I went to Honbu to pick up my new companion and get some
training
with him. I spent the training translating from Japanese to
English
cause he was the only Gaijin bean this transfer! So that was
kinda
cool! Then we had dinner at the Nakatsuka's which was delicious,
and
then the Bean's first testimony meeting in the mission. Then I
said
goodbye to Elder S and Elder T for the last time in a
long
time, cause they're both training and it's not likely I'll see
them
again until long after the mission, so that was kinda sad, but it
was
good to get to say bye!
Thursday
we did companion planning and taught O-san! It was great! He's been
doing
well lately, and we committed him to read the Book of Mormon
more,
so we're hoping it'll help him out. We also went with M
Kyodai
to a sushi place for lunch which was way nice of him and was
super
good!
Friday
we went a few places, including visiting the I family
because
they are going on a couples mission to the Tokyo temple,
well…today,
so we talked with them and then housed for a little bit
and
saw some cool success!
Saturday
we tried to visit a bunch of people in Tobetsu but they weren't
home,
and then went to the ward to start planning a Music night for
hopefully
before I leave... After that, we ran to a member's house to
have
dinner with them which was super nice of them. The member has a
cool conversion story where he was drinking like 2 liters of
alcohol
a day, and was just able to quit it without any problems! It
was
way cool!
Sunday
we had church, and my companion gave his testimony, which was
good.
Then we talked a ton with the members, and actually had Ward
Council.
But that went good, and then we had lunch, went home, and had
our
study time. Because Elder L is in training right now, we have
a
lot longer study time so it's been long, but good!
But
that was the week! I hope everyone's doing great, and I'll talk to you soon!
Love
you tons!
Elder
Bickel
June 7, 2015
Hey
everybody! How's your week been? Mine's been a little crazy, but
it's
been great!
So
first off, Monday: We went to a place called Round 1 where you just
play
a bunch of sports, with a member named M Kyodai who served a
mission
in the Nagoya Mission about 5 years ago, and is way cool! He's
really into movies and stories and stuff, and one of his favorites is
Singin'
in the Rain, so it was fun to talk to him about that type
of
stuff, as well as his mission, cause he was in Honbu for 5
transfers!
Then we went to the Mini Volleyball and talked to a bunch
of
people and did pretty well in the tournament they had this week! It
was
a party!
Next
was Tuesday: On Tuesday we had DTM where I taught about
becoming
good Leaders, and then for lunch we went to sushi at
Matsuriya
which was way good! We also had Eikaiwa where we talked with
everybody
about the Weather and just had a good time. The Shinoro
Eikaiwa
doesn't have a ton of people, but it has really fun people so
it's
great!
Wednesday
was fun! We went to Tobetsu to deliver a picture of Christ
to
G and her family, but no one was home, so we just left it on
their
doorstep. Then we went to A san's but he wasn't home, so we
ran
home, had lunch, and dendoed in the rain! It rained super hard,
but
it wasn't too bad cause we just used umbrellas as we walked and
talked
to people. So it was fun! We also got to visit a member who
hasn't
been coming to church, but was baptized when he was 19 in
Asahikawa!
Then he came to Moiwa, and then to Kushiro, and now lives
in
Shinoro but he knew some people I know so it was fun!
Thursday:
We had companion planning and got a bunch of stuff planned for this coming
week
and for ML Kaigi, and then we went to the church to meet with
O san to watch Legacy with him. It's about the Pioneers and it
was
really fun! He said he was glad he didn't have to go through that,
and
that the persecution has gone down a lot! So I think he's starting
to
count himself as one of us, so he'll realize he needs to be
baptized
quick!
Friday:
On our way to visit an inactive member, we met K Kyodai
who
is a super nice, strong member of the ward. As we started to talk
to
him, he said that the member we were visiting wasn't home, but then
offered
to take us to dinner on Saturday. We said that'd be fine, and
then
he asked about the Sisters. So we called them, and they said they
couldn't
do it on Saturday, so he said he'd just take us tonight then.
So
we met up with him and the Sisters at 6 at a Tabehodai where we
stuffed
ourselves! It was super good and there was a delicious grape
ice
cream! There was also a bunch of really good Yakiniku and cream
puffs,
so I was very satisfied by the end of that meal! ;)
Saturday:
We went to Honbu so we could be there for Mission Leader Meeting! We had a
great
time there and learned a ton and worked hard to help the
mission.
I also got to see some old friends from Honbu, as well as
some
missionaries that are going home next week, so it was really nice. I
also
got to talk to G 長老
who is doing well, and excited to meet
my
family. Then we headed home, and started prepping for Zone Training
meeting
for Tuesday.
Sunday:
We had a really good time at church, and then got to talk to a
bunch
of super funny members about transfers. They really love us and
didn't
want either of us to transfer, but still enjoy joking with us
about
what's going to happen. Then tonight we got our transfer
calls(my
last real one...) and found out that my companion will be
going
to Kitahiroshima with N 長老 to be ZL, and I will be
staying
in Shinoro to be a District Leader and... TRAINER! Ya! I'm way
excited,
but a little nervous, cause I don't want to ruin the poor
Elder's
mission experience... ;) hahaha But it'll be fun. Especially
for
my last transfer.
So
that's the week for you! Hope your's went well, and I hope your
coming
week goes great as well! I love you all tons, and I'll talk to
you
soon!
Elder
BIckel
May 31, 2015
Well
hey everyone! How're you doing? I'm doing well, just roasting
like
a pig all dressed up nice. It's super hot right now! It's like 82
degrees
outside, and we're outside a lot... Don't worry though, I'm
drinking
a lot of water! ;) But here's how the week went!
Monday:
We went with our investigator to this Vegan restaurant(she's
vegan)
but it was actually way good. I started to think about becoming
vegan,
but then realized that I'm a missionary in Japan, and there's
no
way it'd be possible, plus when I'm back, I'll be enjoying steak
and
hamburgers and hotdogs and I realized I just couldn't do it. But
then
we went with the investigator to the Nakatsuka's Family Home
Evening
which was way fun! I got to see everybody and our investigator
had
a really good time so it was great!
Tuesday:
We went to the Toyohira District Meeting to help out H 長老 if he
needed
any since he is a new DL this transfer, but he did great, so we
just
got to sit, listen, and participate! It was great! Then we came
back,
and had Eikaiwa tonight! Eikaiwa was fun and we taught everyone
about
health. It was kinda a hard one, but it worked out ok!
Wednesday:
Today we had our District Meeting where I taught a workshop on being
obedient.
(Man I love Obedience, it's like my favorite topic...) And
it
went really well, and then we went to Atsubetsu to split with the
Atsubetsu
Elders so I could do a Baptismal Interview for one of their investigators. The investigator passed and was super happy. She's deaf,
so I had an interpreter, but she's super nice and it was a great experience.
I also got to see some members from Eniwa-Chitose as well as
one from Ebetsu and talk to them, so it was really natsukashii (nostalgic)! Then
we
headed home!
Thursday:
Thursday we had companion planning and got a bunch of stuff planned out for
the
next week since it's the week before transfers, and we're pretty sure
one of us is transferring since we've been together for 2, but we're
going to be super busy! It'll be nice to be busy, cause a busy missionary,
is a happy missionary. Then we met with O san and taught
him about the Signs of the Second Coming which he thought was really
interesting.
Friday:
Today was good! We met with N-san and had a good
lesson
about Good and Evil and Baptism. He really felt the Spirit so
we're
excited to see him progress! Other than that, not much happened
Friday...
Saturday:
We met with an investigator named G. She is Phillipina
and
is really nice. She has a nice family and we got to talk to them
for
a while. They also were kind enough to do a bbq for us which was
way
good! Also the Dad is a really good guitar player so he played some
songs
for us. So that was pretty sweet. Then we visited the F
Family,
and got to talk with them for a while. They are super nice,
and
are super strong in the Gospel! They're great!
Sunday:
Well as you know, today was the 5th Sunday, so we had a
combined
lesson which the Bishop taught about applying the Love of
Christ
more in our lives! Then my companion taught a lesson about the
Gift
of the Holy Ghost for Sunday school, and then Sacrament Meeting
was
great. After church we went home, visited a bunch of Non-Attending
Members,
as well as the Ward Mission Leader, and the K family who
gave
us a list of people we should go visit who haven't been coming to
Church
lately. Then we headed back and crashed on our futon's and
died.
Well not really died, but after planning and Hokoku and stuff,
we
slept like babies! ;)
But
that was the week! I hope yours went super well! Talk to you soon!
Elder
Bickel
May 24, 2015
Well
hey everybody! I hope your week went well! Mine was really fun, but super
windy and kinda rainy! :)
On
Monday we went to Sapporo so Elder S could get a new watch. Sadly
it was a little damaged(the second hand was off the marks), so we're
probably going to take it back. Then we went to Tobetsu to do the
Mini Volleyball again with the member, so it was way fun! It's
basically
volleyball on a super small court but the ball is like a blow
up beach ball... So it's definitely not the same... ;) But we had fun
with it!
Tuesday
was fun! Since K 長老
is a new DL in our Zone we decided to sit-in
on his DTM and it was really good! Then we went home, and visited a
few investigators and then had Eikaiwa which was fun, and we taught
people about body parts. Then we played a game called fruits basket,
as well as we did a game that tests their English Listening skills,
and reflexes! It was pretty funny! ;)
Wednesday!
We made a Baptismal Date! Yah! So we went out to Tobetsu to visit
our investigator and when we got there, he was just making lunch so
he says to come back later. So we start going around and housing some
places, and then we met this way cool Philippine woman who talked to
us for a while named G. And then we went back to the
investigator's
house, taught him about Baptism and then made a Baptismal
date with him. He is going to be baptized on June 21st! We're
super excited! Then we went and visited our Bishop and talked to him
about various Non-Attending Members and he told us a bunch of
names
to go visit, so it was great!
Thursday
we had our District Training Meeting, and even though it was the 3rd week of the transfer,
it was our first DTM so far, so it was kinda weird, but I taught
the workshop on Understanding and Knowing the Doctrine of the Missionary
Lessons cause we have a lot of young missionaries in our District.
So that was great, and then we came back, had DKK and then went
to a FHE at our Ward Mission Leader's house with an Investigator(O san) and a recent convert. We had a way good time with
them, and taught a message about Heavenly Father. The Spirit was way strong, and we hope it'll help both of them strengthen
their testimonies and become stronger in the Gospel.
Friday
we visited a ton of non attending members that we were referred to us by the Bishop. Then we visited N san who's been doing
well this week, and we tried to make a Baptismal date with him too,
but he kinda ran from that... But he still wants to meet, so
we're
going to keep on working for that. Then we visited the K family
who are also doing well, and they gave us a few referrals as well.
Saturday
we again visited a bunch of non attending members and then went to a Baptism of
an 8-year old in the ward. He had a really good baptismal meeting and it
was just a great spirit. Then we helped a member translate a church video
into Japanese, and then went to the Shinkotoni Music night. We got
to talk to a bunch of members, investigators so it was
way
good!
Sunday
we had Church, and then a Shokujikai afterwards. It was super good!
There was a ton of just delicious food that we had, and then we had
a Temple Fireside from the Temple Missionaries who told us all about
the Sapporo temple. Then we went home, had Companionship Study, and
then we visited a member who is a super cool guy! He is a returned missionary
from Nagoya, but was a convert and went on a mission after only
a year and a half! But he's way cool and we had a great time talking
to him about Dendo and stuff.
But
that was the week, and it was great! This week's looking pretty busy,
so I'll let you know how it went! Love you all tons! Talk to you soon!
Elder
Bickel
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