Cherry Blossoms May 2014

Cherry Blossoms - May 2014

August 25, 2014

Hey everybody! I hope your week went well! Mine was a little crazy!

So this week we had transfers and I didn't really think I'd transfer cause I was only in Shibetsu for one, but then I got my call to go to Hakodate with K Choro. K Choro is a highly muscled Australian Elder who is 18 and came out about 6 months ago! He has a super good Tenor voice and could win American Idol. But we're having a lot of fun and are excited to work this transfer.

But a little rundown of the week, since I didn't have time to make a recording this morning since we're on so early.

Monday: Today we went to Hillside Box for dinner to meet with an investigator(the owner) and an NA who is her friend. So that was really fun to talk to them and we had some good food for dinner!

Tuesday: Today's when we got Transfer calls and it was surprising but I'm super excited to be working here in Hakodate. Tonight we also got to visit a member and I got to say goodbye which was nice! They are such a cute family and the Dad is a recent convert, and they have two cute boys!

Wednesday: Well today I did some packing and we traveled to Asahikawa to go to the Suehiro apartment so we could travel to the Transfer spot tomorrow. We had a fun night talking since it is going to be the last time the 4 of us were together.

Thursday: Well we took the 3 hour bus ride to Sapporo and met everyone at the transfer spot which was fun! I saw a bunch of friends and it turns out that W Choro is Recorder! I was surprised, but I'm sure he'll do amazing! Then we went to lunch with this member who wanted to introduce us to her friend, and it was fun, but it took a long time so then we had to take a later train. When we did that, we ended up getting home at about 9 since it's about a 3 hour train ride to get to Hakodate which is a beach town/city and is a super touristy place so that's kinda fun! 

Friday: Today we had DKK where I heard all about the investigators we have and we figured out how we wanted to work this transfer! Then we had Eikaiwa which went well, and there are a ton of fun students here! 

Saturday: Today we went and visited a potential investigator who said he'd met missionaries like 20 years ago and he enjoyed talking with us for quite a while! We also had Ping Pong! It's been forever since I've played Ping pong, but they do it every week on Saturdays so I got to come to that which was fun! We also got to teach our investigator a lesson afterwards! He loves Star Wars so that's kinda funny. :)

Sunday: Today was church, and the members here are super nice! They also are super helpful with Dendo so I'm excited to work together with them to see some miracles! Then we had a Team up lesson with a member and investigator which went well. After that we went home teaching with a member, but sadly the people we were visiting weren't home. We also got to go to a Fireworks show with an investigator and we met another NA there who is super cool! So that was fun! 

But Ya! Crazy busy week right? But it's been super fun! I love you all, you're in my prayers!

Love you!

Elder Bickel

August 4, 2014

Stephen has just been sending us recordings every week so it's been awhile since he has written a letter.  He was in Eniwa for 2 transfers with two different companions (both Americans) and then in July he was transferred up to Shibetsu to be with another Japanese companion.  He has really enjoyed all of his areas and all of his companions.

Here is his letter for the week….

So this week I didn't have time to do a recording, but I'm going to just type it! This week went well!

Monday: The highlight of today was probably that I had rootbeer floats! We had a Zone P-day activity in Asahikawa where we played games and had rootbeer floats for refreshments which is crazy cause rootbeer is rare here in Japan!

Tuesday: We had our Zone Conference today and had interviews with Nakatsuka Kaicho which was super cool! Nakatsuka kaicho is a super smart, super loving, awesome guy and he gave me a bunch of advice for working here in Shibetsu which he said would also help me throughout my life!  So that was great!

Wednesday: Well today we were supposed to have Eikaiwa, but there weren't enough people so we had to cancel it, but we were able to introduce an investigator to the Free Family English Program and she said she was interested in our church and wants to do it. So that was a major miracle. Also we were able to plan for our Dendo Fireside which we'll be doing on Sunday!

Thursday: So sadly my back's been hurting pretty bad lately, so I decided to use our couch like a bed and sleep on that instead which is actually helping! You really learn to appreciate it when you can bend over and not feel pain in your back! ;) haha

Friday: We went to a ward member's house today, and he likes rubik's cubes and actually has a mirror cube which is not very common, and I was able to do it which was fun! We've been working to get to know all the members and help them all unify so it's been interesting to get to know so many new people so well!

Saturday: We were able to finally meet with the Stake President who is super cool, and super smart! He gave us some tips for working in Shibetsu in particular as well as some things he wants done so we've got some great direction!

Sunday: We had the Dendo fireside which went well! Sadly not all the members came, but we'll be visiting them and sharing the same message. The main theme was PMG and using it as members. If you read PMG and think of what your role in missionary work is, including strengthening the ward, you'll be blessed a ton! It's kinda hard to study, but if you pray and ask for help, miracles will occur!

Well that was the highlights from the week! I hope you enjoyed it, and I love you all so much!  Also thanks Mom and everybody for the package! It was fun to get it! Love you all! have a great week, and know you're in my prayers!