Yucky Taco and Japanese Living

To answer your question, yes, I am in the city and there is no such thing as personal space. I have never felt so uncomfortable in my life. We took the train to district meeting and I was squished inside the train, luckily I am tall enough that I have about a foot of breathing room. Oh yeah, I am huge here. I had no idea I would be so tall. My companion is a little shorter than Josh and it`s so fun to follow him up the stairs to people`s door because you will see the person`s eyes get all big and they will always say, "Wow, honto ne se ga takai" which means he is really tall. I always appreciate that.

 

Here are a few pictures. The one of the toilet is the toilet in our apartment. It has a sink at the top that you can wash your hands in as it fills up the tank. So every time you flush the toilet there is water coming out. But that`s not even the weirdest of the toilets, there are some that have at least 30 buttons that you can push and these are usually found in gas stations. I always have fun with them because they have a button that makes a flushing noise so nobody outside can hear what’s going on in the bathroom they just hear the flushing. There are also seat warmers and yes, these toilets do have the little squirt gun that will spray clean your backside. I haven`t used it yet but one day I will try. 

That picture of the 8 balls, is a plate of octopus, called tacoyaki, for "yucky taco".  That`s not what it actually means, but I can't help but think about it that way. I was only able to get through 3 before I started to gag. The nasty part was that the suction cups were still on them and so were the veins. They just cover it up with a bread coating so you can`t see the nastiness. Nevertheless, I did try and I am glad I did. 

Futons are extremely comfortable and we have a special floor that is really soft so sleeping is very easy, not only because I am tired but also because it is very comfortable. 

Today is p-day and we are going to go to Fushimi Inari, it is a famous place that has many of those cool Japanese arches and I will take a tons of pictures for everyone. It`s raining really hard so we are wearing our rain suits,  but because of the humidity we are still wet, because we sweat so much. Here is a picture of me by my bike in front of the church sign. Speaking of church, church here is awesome but it is a little different. First is priesthood, then sunday school, and finally sacrament meeting. I don`t understand very much of what is being said because they talk so fast and write everything in Kanji but I am trying really hard and do my best and can always feel the Spirit. I love the members, they take care of the missionaries and I feel like they are my family, I feel like I am growing up here in Japan. They always leave us with food, and that is such a blessing, I can`t get my hands on enough food here, I am eating so much, but we are also working so hard. As a mission we have a goal for every area to have a baptism by August 31st and as a zone we fasted yesterday, and I can honestly say that I have never had a more humbling and spiritual experience fasting. I was fasting for the welfare of people`s souls not for the goal, but for these people to be able to understand that they will be able to live forever through Jesus Christ. I have been so blessed with such a sacred calling and sometimes it`s hard when there is an entire day where nobody wants to hear our message but we know that Heavenly Father has prepared a few people out there that are ready at this time for us to come to their door and introduce them to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Well I need to start closing my letter now. Oh, my favorite parts of my day are when the shinkanzen (bullet train) drives by. It's so fast and quiet all you hear is it cutting through the air and it's a quiet peaceful sound.

Raw Shrimp and Leaving for Japan

My Basudae (Birthday) was so awesome!! The gifts were a great treat and I can honestly say, I don't think I have ever been wished happy birthday so many times in my life. I was even sang to by the Nihongin (the missionaries from Japan). They are so small and they love to wave and tell me how tall I am, it's awesome. In all honesty I didn't think I would really seem that tall, but some of the Nihongin are about 4 feet tall at age 20. Of the 6 elders in our district 4 of us are over 6 feet tall. I'm the tallest and the skinniest. We have an Air Force Academy defensive lineman in our zone.. Literally this elder was built for nothing but football.  He is huge, but also the nicest elder you will ever meet I am already great friends with him and refer to him as “frosty choro”. I wish I could show you a picture but he is so big I don't know if I would be able to squeeze myself into the picture.

 

I don't know if I told you my raw shrimp story, anyway… it started one day in the MTC Cafeteria.  As usual, all the Nihongo missionaries sit together and we like to give ourselves little competitions to spice up the life at the MTC. They were serving raw shrimp on this particular day and several buddies of mine challenged me to see how much raw shrimp we could eat together. Quick disclaimer, I like shrimp but I am not so sure that I have ever had raw shrimp before, but because I am a man, I wasn't going to let anyone know that, and because I am going to Japan, I have to get over being nervous to try anything at least a little bimyo (sketchy). So, we start filling bowls of raw shrimp.  We probably had between 150 and 180 pieces of raw shrimp between the 5 of us and we just start going to town. I take my first bite, the entire shrimp, and was surprised that it wasn't actually bad at all. I, however, had already eaten two plates of food and wasn't too hungry so I was only able to get to about 15 pieces.  One of the elders eating with us, was a swimmer and as you know, swimmers can put down food like nothing else. He and some rugby player had 40 pieces of shrimp each, it was unbelievable. This challenge did take a toll on their bodies and I think they're still on the toilet after one week. I love being a missionary!!

 

  

Yes, it is true, everyday of your mission, you are tired. I am already feeling that, I am always ready to take a nice little nap but if I don't focus on it and enjoy my day and work as hard as I can to get as much learning in as possible, or make the occasional joke with my companion or if I am feeling really tired I will go bear my testimony to someone and feel the power of the Spirit and continue to push through my day. Thanks again for everything you do and have done to help make this easy for me. I am going to share a quick little story of one of my sensei's first experience of Japan.

 

This was about 5 years ago, Anderson Choro had one day left until he got to Japan and his companion was being sent home. This meant that he would have to travel all the way from the MTC to Hiroshima alone. He had never been on an airplane before and he didn't have a group of 30 missionaries to go with him, it was just him and the Lord. He successfully makes it from Salt Lake City to Osaka where he needed to catch a bus to Tokyo before he travels back South on the bullet train. His ticket says to get onto cart 4 but the bus only has carts 7-11. He's already begun his great journey. He finds someone who can't speak any English and they tell him to just get on cart 8. As soon as he gets on, the doors close behind him. This little experience scares him and he just keeps praying. His next stop is the busiest train station in the world, and of course for his sake it's RUSH HOUR. It's a shoulder to shoulder sea of Nihongin rushing around trying to get where they need to be. He looks down at his next ticket and realizes he got off at the wrong stop. He was supposed to get off at the stop before. He scrambles to find someone to help him because he hears the bullet train for Hiroshima will be departing in 20 minutes. After his long struggles of trying to figure out where to go he is directed to the ticket office where the ticket agent doesn’t speak any English, except for "switchy, switchy".   My sensei tells the lady, yes and she quickly switches out his ticket which he takes and bolts for the bullet train praying aloud asking for help, because if he doesn't make the train he will be stuck in Tokyo till the next day. He arrives at a fork in the road and a sign says pointing in both directions "Bullet train". Anderson Choro throws both of his hands in the air and yells “why?!!”  He sprints back to the ticket lady and asks which way and she points and he takes off. When he finally arrives at the bullet train he checks his ticket, "CART 2", looks up at the train carts and sees "CART 50". This train seems to be a mile long, and he knows he only has a few minutes, and worries that he will get in trouble if he gets on any cart other than the cart number specified on his card. He puts it into full gear and begins to run. Of course the Lord is always blessing his missionaries and as soon as he steps onto the train the doors close behind him. The train ride is 5 hours long and he is fatigued but too shaken to be able to sleep. When he finally arrives in Hiroshima at 2am, he exits the train is greeted by no one. His mission president isn't there... due to exhaustion he humbly plops himself on a bench and falls asleep. 30 minutes or so later he is greeted by a nihongin, who to his relief is wearing a recognizable badge. He follows the missionary into a car and is taken back to the mission home.

 

Well you don't have to worry about me. I am in a group of 32 missionaries we have very good instructions of what we must do and the mission president will be meeting us at the airport.

 

I have never been able to be a part of so many blessings. The constant flow of the spirit that I am able to feel here, is great and I can't wait for Thursday next week when I get to start proselyting in Japan. I will walk with confidence and even though I can't really speak very good Japanese, I will go door to door with a smile on my face and say as much I can possibly utter out and then bear my testimony. I am not always sure what the Niohongin say to me because they speak so fast but I know through the power of the Spirit I will be able to understand and make myself the missionary the Lord wants me to be.

The Best Two Years FOR My Life

Konnichiwa!!!

We received our travel plans yesterday and our entire district is freaking out! We leave for Japan in 9 days and because we are going to Kobe, we are flying to Seattle then Japan, unlike those going to Fukuoka who fly to Dallas, Texas and then to Japan or the Nagoya missionaries who fly to Minnesota then travel to Japan, so we leave the latest and arrive in Japan the earliest of all the districts. Our longest plane ride from Cali to Nihon is approximately 14 hours. Honestly, the power of technology is amazing, being able to know everything within such a quick amount of time is reassuring. Also, now we get the opportunity every week to  skype someone from Japan and teach them a lesson.  They are volunteer church members from all over Japan that give us about 45 minutes of their time to let us  teach them.  The best part is, their English is impeccable, we can usually ask what something means and they will be able to translate it for us. We learned that teaching the repentance process can be very difficult because the Nihongin don't understand really that they have ever done anything wrong.

Watabe San no Baputesuma is going to be delayed because he doesn't really understand Junketsu no Rippo nor Chie no Kotoba (Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom). We are still working on navigating through the scriptures in hiragana and kanji. Watashi to Watashi no doryo (My doryo and I) read the morumon sho out loud and we have gotten fast, however because there is no spaces in Nihongo we are slowly learning when words stop and where to find them. We have been able to learn a little bit of Kanji but it's kind of difficult because there is so much that we have to remember and learn. Kanji helps though, because there are multiple meanings for words and different kanji to help with the distinguishing of meanings.

Kuwahara San just returned from his week-long vacation and we are getting him started back into his old habits. He loves the gospel and reads so much of the Book of Mormon, it's AWESOME!!! Every day we go to teach him, he enthusiastically invites us in and bombards us with questions. We are learning so much because he challenges our Nihongo and makes us go back and want to learn as much as we can so that we can help him in our next lesson.

The MTC stay has gone by so fast, the funny thing is because we do the same thing every week, I forget what I did the week before. However, I can always remember that I really appreciate the food, that is prepared for us and we don't have to cook it for ourselves. Although, I think I am ready to go to Japan and start cooking alot of rice and stir fry for myself for the next two years.

Of course because the mission is so spiritually uplifting everyone will say it was the best two years. But in one of our recent devotionals, in which we still walk all the way to the Marriot Center to attend, the speaker said that we may not understand it now but this will be "the best two years FOR our life" it will change us into a greater person if we are out there serving with everything we have and I plan to give the Lord everything I have so that I will be able to reap the rewards and blessings of serving the Lord on my mission. I can already see those taking place now, my intelligence level has increased and I am able to retain so much more than I ever have before in my life, I can remember all of this vocab and I have long surpassed the missionaries who have come in with a background of studying Japanese in high school. The Lord works in mysterious ways and I am grateful that I have decided to join his side. For I know the ending has already been decided and the Lord will always come out on top.

I have purchased my pay phone card and I found my cufflinks and I am sending you a picture of my travel plans. If you can be up and awake around 6:30am I will see if I can call you then. I don't know if it will be earlier or later, but please be ready, I am very excited and please beaar with me if I am slow to remember a few English words. It sometimes takes me a little while to think of the word that I want to say in English. I have received the two packages sent for my birthday and I won't be opening them until my birthday so thank you in advance. I appreciate the reminder that I still have family back at home.

I'm so happy to hear from the little guys, their letters come at the right times, when I feel burned out for the day and just don't want to learn anymore, I read one of their letters and that will usually hold me through for the rest of the day. The pictures of me and Dad and the one of mom were hilarious, I had forgotten that we had taken those. That too was also a great boost to my energy for the week. The piano music is superb I forgot how much fun it was, however recently, I have not been able to play as much as I would have like, because I am so busy with trying to tackle the language as much as I can while I still have all the tools I could ever dream of.

I’m not sure if I am going to be able to play the song in sacrament meeting. I am going to practice a little today and see where it takes me, but I am not sure if I can promise anything. I am really working on doing the Lord's work first and I am so glad that I get the opportunity to do so. I hope Riley had a blast at EFY, I would love to hear about it, what spiritual experiences he had. Who his C.O.W. was? If he liked his group or not etc... I want to hear more about Logan's and Fudge's basketball games. And of course I would love more pictures. I want to hear about how lawn mowing is going and if the car is holding up. Fudge, that is so awesome that you are taking the time to work on the car. When I worked on it, I learned so much and it's always a good thing to have more knowledge, because you never know when the Lord is going to ask you to remember that knowledge and help one of his children who are in need.

I would like to challenge you to pay more attention in church, to remember that we aren't basing our testimonies on other people but rather the wonderful example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Remember that he said to Heavenly Father, "Here I am, send me". 1/3 of Heaven did not think that he could live the perfect life, they didn't want to rest their entire eternal lives on that of one man. They knew and understood the natural man and they were too scared to follow that plan. However we had the faith and were so excited when we got the news that Jesus Christ completed what he needed to so that we could all receive bodies and return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. Remember how much faith you had, and continue to apply that in your life. Repent everyday for the little mistakes that you have made, for that reason Jesus Christ completed the atonement process because no unclean thing can enter into the presence of God. Read the scriptures daily and never forget to pray. I have been praying so much, and the impact that it has had on my life is incredible. I feel more awake, I notice more things and the guidance from the Spirit I receive to bring investigators closer to Christ has done miracles. Watch the movie "17 Miracles" and watch the example of Levi Savage, he completely gave up his pride, knew the Lord would provide a way, and kept a smile on his face the entire time. I am trying to become like that, I want to completely lose my pride, always have a smile on my face, and when the tough times come, I plan on facing them with a prayer in my heart and a skip in my stride because I know that by keeping the commandments the Lord's hand will guide my thoughts and the ways in which I need to go.

I am so glad to hear everything is going well at home. Please send me more printed pictures in the mail of things that have gotten done. And just send me more pictures in general I love to see them and it always reminds me that I wear the name Wilcox on my badge to represent the family that has raised me into the missionary that I am today. Thank you for all you have done Mom and Dad, your wise words over the years have done miracles, you are great parents and I will hold our family title high, right next to our Savior's name. I will do my best, and I will submit my will to the will of the Father's.

Ai Shiteimasu,

Wirukasu (Wilcox) Choro