The Day!!!

                                        

 

I wake up at 6:29am to the alarm on my cell phone, and roll over in my futon (a sleeping bag but the Japanese use it as a bed). I prop myself up on my knees, find my pen and my spiral and begin to receive revelation for the day -the people we are going to teach, where we need to go, what we need to do in order to have the spirit with us all day. And as the Zone Leader I begin to pray by name for all of the members of the zone. Any revelation that I receive I quickly write down, because I am exhausted and might forget later. I then go to the bathroom or get a drink of water before I begin working out in the study. Sometimes, I can be in the bathroom for a long time, especially when I first got here to Japan and wasn`t used to eating so much rice so I sometimes sang the song, "If you’re driving in a Chevy and feel something heavy... (you can finish the rest)". Next, I workout,.  Usually I will focus on building the muscles in my shoulder so that I can wakeboard again someday. But sometimes we like to run to the top of the castle in the city we are working in, or go the park and do pull ups. When I finish working out I take a shower and sing songs of the restoration, I am trying to do more singing in Japanese, but I don`t want any of my neighbors to understand me, and to think I am a terrible singer. Once I finish drying off, I get into the same white shirt and tie that you see every missionary wearing, and I always love being able to put on my badge. Then we are off to the church to start out studying. 

 

 

We study 1 hour by ourselves, then an hour with our companion, and then an hour of Japanese. It goes by too fast sometimes, I never have enough time to learn everything I want to. 

 

We run home, make some lunch, clean up our mess, and then the day has begun, we are doing missionary work; going to appointments, talking to everyone we see. Sometimes, we get to do activities, like teach English, service projects, play sports with kids or the branch members, go on exchanges with other missionaries, train missionaries, and call others to repentance. 

 

 

When 9:00pm hits we have to be in the apartment, we say a quick prayer and begin to plan the next day; who do we need to visit, call, or text. How do we help this person keep commitments? Who is going to do what in tomorrow`s lessons? We open the area book and fill in anything that was taught that day, so that when we transfer, other missionaries will be able to understand what is going on. Then at 9:30pm, I am following up with some missionaries in my zone talking about their investigators and anyway that I can help them. That phone calls finish around 10pm and then I change into my shorts and t-shirt, write in my journal, and begin my evening prayer, confirming with Heavenly Father that I gave him everything I had that day, then thanking him for the opportunity I have to work here, I then ask for specific blessings that we need, and I always ask him to bless all of you. And as revelation comes to mind I am sure to write it down so that I am able to use it later. Then I turn the fan next to my futon to full blast for two hours, roll over and go to bed.

 

That's my day as a missionary.

 

Love all of you,

Elder Skyler Wilcox

Mission Life in Photos

Everything isn't Bigger in Texas???

Yesterday we went out to house (tract). We have been praying to find someone who could be the stake president for the stake we are working so hard to build here on Shikoku. Not that there is any relationship with money and being a Stake President, but we saw a really nice house way up on a mountain and decided that our Stake President probably lived there. We made it our adventure to get there and along the way we would find his counselors. If we saw a house that looked as if there could be a counselor living in it with a great family that could really strengthen the stake we planned on housing (tracting) it. Well, on our adventure up this to this house way, way, wayyyy up in the mountain we had to cut through some rice fields. 

 

 

 

    

 Rice fields have narrow rows between them that are really peaceful and fun to walk through. They also usually have a great smell of fresh nature. But this time as we were riding through I smelt something that brought back many memories, there is a word for that in Japanese なつかしい (nat-sue-caw-shee). It was a blast of something that I hadn`t smelt in a long time!!! COW MANURE!! But my first thought was where in the world do they get their cow manure?  There are no cows in Japan. And if there was cows in Japan why didn`t I know about it? These thoughts were only in my mind for a little while as my focus went back to finding our counselors for the stake president.  But I was distracted once again, as my eye caught the large glassy eye of a beast on four legs scarfing down some dried corn. And at first I was scared and then hurt as I realized not everything is bigger in Texas. I was in the middle of Imabari, Japan and there standing before me with great posture and elegance was one of the biggest cows I had ever seen in my life. A COWWW!!!!!

 

I slammed on my brakes, almost causing my companion to go diving into the recently tilled rice field next to us. I told him our adventures needed a quick break because I needed to take a picture with these beasts that I had been proud to call friends, back in my cowboy days. As I entered into the barn, I noticed that this cow was not alone, he had his family and his mother in law, as well as the families of all his brothers and sisters. It was a herd of cows, probably the only one in Japan and I had found them!!! In triumph I decided to continue to my missionary service by introducing the Book of Mormon and bearing my testimony to the mama cow that I was told had given birth just 30 minutes prior to my arrival. I congratulated her and said that her family could live forever if they were willing to accept baptism. She showed quite a lot of interest. But her husband tried to stab me with his horns, when I asked what his view was. (Really it was kind of scary, the owner/farmer said be careful with that one it has horns, right as it threw its head at me, but I am all good). I believe we can baptize the whole cow family and that will be a great addition to the primary we so earnestly want to create. HAHA it truly was a fun little adventure. And now I know where my milk comes from that is titled Shikoku. Also it was impossible to get up that mountain, so we decided to use our time more effectively instead to just focus on his counselors for now.

 

 

 

Faith

These past few weeks, our mission president has been asking usto rely on the Lord more. Why? The answer is quite simple, this is His work, these are His Children, and He desires that all of his children return to him. This is the work of their salvation. So why not rely on Him more?

 

We had interviews this last week, and as I talked with President, he asked me to consider what would happen, if I gave everything that I had and didn`t see one baptism my entire mission. I told him that I would either have really strong faith, or I would be really mad and hurt and my faith would take a large hit. We then went on to talk about that it is only natural for people to hold things back - to play things safe so they have something or someone to blame. For example, everyone can probably say if I had actually given it my all in high school I could have gotten a 4.0, no problem. Well then, why didn`t you do it? Was it too hard? What were you afraid of? People, (especially me) lie to themselves so that they don`t have to feel pressure or face  that they might not be good enough. They tell themselves, “oh, if I had just studied a little harder, I think I could have done that.”   So my next question is how bad do you REALLY want it? Not how bad do you think you want it, but how bad do you know you want it? This is what I have been pondering a lot recently. For the past few weeks, we have been seeing one lesson as our number. I know that we haven’t been relying on the Lord as much as we should have been. We were out working, but not with a purpose. As my Dad always says  "WORK must proceed the miracle." How true this statement is, but we must define work.

 

Work - going out to serve the Lord with all of our heart, might, mind and strength BELIEVING that the work will move forward in the Lord`s time.

 

So basically this means we need to build a relationship with the Lord that emulates unwavering faith. How do we do this? This question has been mixed in my thoughts A LOT recently. When it comes to being a True Disciple, I should not be like the boy who dipped his toe in the water and then claimed he went swimming. Wishing to see changes and more "personal success" is good; actually making those changes happen and doing is much better.  We cannot lie to ourselves and say we did give it our all if we only dipped our toe into the water. He asks for all!!! He wants this in every aspect of our lives,.  He wants us to rely on Him entirely. Quoting President Holland, "we can`t possibly do this alone, but we do have help. The Master of Heaven and Earth is there to bless you..." He knows everything, he is our creator. We may not know why our situation is the way it is... We may not understand the route our life is taking us... But He does. I as a missionary cannot do this work alone, and neither can any person on this Earth fulfill the purpose of this life alone. "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26). I have really come to believe this. Do I have a perfect knowledge of it yet? No way. But as President Uchtdorf stated in his October 2012 Conference talk, "Discipleship is the pursuit of holiness and happiness. It is the path to our best and happiest self." This is a process not an event. We must work daily, all day even when it is hard to show our faith to Heavenly Father. President Uchtdorf continued, telling the story of when he goes on bike rides with his wife he would like to be a little more competitive and a little more faster, but when he mentioned this to his wife she said, "It`s not a race it is a journey! Enjoy the Moment!" Yes there are so many days out here on the mission when I just want the clock to strike 10:30pm so I can ask Heavenly Father to help me and then climb into my warm covers and go so sleep. But why?!? I should enjoy the hardest moments of life. And that`s where the miracle in Imabari comes in to play.

 

These past few weeks, we have been working, getting out with a smile and doing what we are supposed to. We were being missionaries. But our badge says differently... we are supposed to be missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Missionaries for God`s true perfect and restored Church. My companion and I decided that in order to do that we would keep a constant prayer in our heart, and then, so we could remain humble, we prayed after every miracle, and thanked Heavenly Father. The results, four new investigators, and a young man was able to change his Sunday schedule and came to church and accepted a date for baptism. Did my companion and I do that?! Absolutely not!!! We are simply the instruments of the Lord. 

 

This is something I plan to master on my mission, and then continue to live throughout my life, as I raise a family and help raise them through the power of the Lord. Giving it my all and praying for the Lord`s strength. Because with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible. 

 

-Elder Wilcox

 

November in Pictures and Brighter Days

We're happy to see that Skyler isn't missing out on too many of his favorite things!

 To start off I would like to respond to mom`s question about my emails seeming happier. The answer... the first few months of being out in the field are hard. You have nothing behind you, you honestly feel like this will last forever and you can`t say too much, because the language is extremely difficult. Nobody really wants to talk to you because they see your badge, which in big bold letters says Jesus Christ and for some reason that seems to scare everybody away. Because I could say little to nothing, my mind would wander, and I focused on things like what it’s going to be like to see everyone at the airport when I get home? How much longer is today going to last? Instead of focusing on questions like, how can I be best prepared to answer questions? Or what`s the best way to get somebody`s attention and be able to keep their attention? So the first three months were difficult, struggling with home sickness, missing my freedoms of when I was not a missionary, etc. But now as I do have a little ground to work with, I have experiences behind me that testify that this work is true, I have seen miracles, I have seen really hard days and even hard weeks. I have been rejected many times, but I have learned how to deal with it. I have learned that only through my faith in Heavenly Father can I get through all and anything.  Now, that does not mean that I don`t still have hard experiences but I am learning how to deal with them in better ways. For example, my companion and I got pretty sick this past week (we ate some bad food), but nevertheless we continued to work. We put our faith in the Lord, put smiles on our face and walked around the train stations and neighborhoods for hours trying to make the best of things and do what we are supposed to do as missionaries. Not only were we sick, but a majority of our lessons fell through. We have been merely contacting for the days we were sick. Some may get angry at God for putting them in such a difficult situation. I have grown to know that Heavenly Father gives us hard trials because he loves us.  And there is a difference in believing that and experiencing it. My prayers in the morning and at night have become more meaningful. I pray to Heavenly Father and thank him for these trials. Because through those trials the bright days are so much brighter. We didn`t find any new investigators all week, but we did grow and we talked to a lot of people. There are many things that happen out here that simply cannot be put into words - thoughts and experiences that are personal and cannot be shared. But now that I have a little bit of a footing, and can see what I truly can do, and how simple my task is, I am much happier!!!

I got to go on a kokan this friday to Akashi!! Best day of my life. This is the longest suspension bridge in the world!!! I also got to hang out with all my buddies one last time!!! I love this work!

Transfers are coming...

I taught the employees at my favorite restaurant "hook 'em horns".  I am really going to miss this area!

New Area

The new branch that we are working in has about 13 members, one of which is American!  Because he is from America, we got to have Thanksgiving and I was in charge of cutting the turkeys.  Talk about a blast! There was two of them and I took the first bit and then the American and the branch president also took a turn to finish it all off. We also got to make the piñatas.   I destroyed the last one.  There were so many little kids there and this was their first experience with a piñata.  It was awesome.

 
 

The ward members brought me a costume for the Halloween party.  It was a little on the small side.



So much has happened this week!!! Interviews with president, an investigator`s baptism, and running into Brazilians, Colombians, and many other people from South America, who are ready to hear the gospel, and then a fun Halloween party with the ward.

 



Halloween Party

The weather is getting cold, and we are bundling up. We are living in a constant typhoon.  There has been almost one a week for the past month.  The typhoons haven`t directly hit our area, but we get nailed with a ton of rain!!! That means I got to bust out my super sweet trench coat, which makes me look so much bigger than I actually am, so I can stop almost anybody on the street. 

 



My companion and I also wanted to see if we could live off of $10 each for this entire week, and I am proud to say that we did it!! It was just a lot of rice and some gyoza. Gyoza is a Chinese food similar to pot stickers, but better!!

 

Halloween Party

My Japanese skills took a nice leap and I feel like I am getting closer to where I would like to be. We had a baptism this week, and that was an amazing experience. My favorite part was that even though we explained to our investigator what was going to happen, he wasn`t at all ready to be fully immersed into the water. My companion, who baptized him, basically had to slam him down under the water. We definitely had a fun time teaching him, and it`s a little sad that now we have to step back and let the ward take over. I caught a little glimpse of what it is like for parents to see their kids go off and start their own lives. I felt like my investigator was my kid and now he has grown up and I have to step back and let him figure things out. Even though we still get to be friends, we have to focus our efforts more on bringing many more unto this amazing church.

 



My bike is back!

I had a thought this week that I’d like to share. Here in Japan, the position of a teacher is a very well and highly respected position. The Japanese show the utmost respect to their teacher. While teaching my English class, there would be moments when a lively discussion would be going on, but as soon as I opened my mouth, the room would become quiet as I answered the question. Many followers did the same with Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ answered the questions of life, many would stop discussion among themselves to hear this great teacher speak. This got me thinking about prayer. We teach that prayer is a two-way communication with our Father in Heaven. More often than not, I believe we put most of our focus on what we need to say and fail to take the time to hear what HE would teach us. I do not have to raise my voice for my English students to listen, and neither did Jesus Christ when he taught. Heavenly Father speaks to us in a still, small voice. We all know that Heavenly Father wants to help us succeed and return to live with him in Heaven. Then why not take the time to listen when we say our prayers. "Ask and ye shall receive". This gospel is truly so simple. It brings peace to my heart to know that Heavenly Father, the greatest being that exists, listens to my simple prayer and will take the time to answer me. I challenge whoever is reading this to listen when you finish your prayer, and be ready for the answers to come. 

 I love this work, I love the opportunity to wear the badge. I love you all.

  
 
 
 
 
 
 

Elder Skyler Wilcox

 

What to do when the pedaling gets tough.

Note:  Sorry for the wonky appearance of this week's blog.  The formatting came across in Skyler's email and I can't seem to get rid of it.

Hi,

I loved conference and the reminder that it all comes down to the question, "how much am I willing to sacrifice of myself and go to work?  As Elder Dube said in his talk, "in the sight of the Lord, it is not so much what we have done or where we have been, but much more, where are we willing to go."  I have found this to be true.  And this conference had so many underlying truths that were shared to me.  First, did you notice how diverse the speakers were?  Did you notice that in every talk they mentioned that Heavenly Father loves us?  Heavenly Father wants this work to progress and he needs us missionaries, members, leaders, etc. to share the load of the yoke and move forward.  I too, loved President Uchtdorf's talk, and we actually shared it with an investigator for the lesson, about two hours ago.  It was in Spanish, but it had the same message.  The Lord doesn't care what the tongue, race or nation is.  Everyone needs to hear the gospel and that is what I must do!

 

I have this goal to keep track of one pen for a long time and be able to use up all of its ink. Before my mission I was always losing things and hopefully this will help me become more responsible.

· 

I hope you enjoy my story:

So for the past two weeks, I have really been struggling with riding my bike. It never seems to pick up momentum and it requires me to do lots of pedaling, just to go a short distance. It looked like my back (disc) brakes were rubbing, so I thought that I could just loosen the brakes a little more and be fine. Well, I did it and it helped a little, but it was not the solution.

 

On Thursday we had about an hour bike ride to an appointment, and it was raining.  Being determined to come off my mission with gigantic leg muscles, I kept my gear at the hardest setting and pedaled as hard as I could. Because it was raining I had my rain suit on, which, by the way, doesn`t breathe at all, which results in me being more wet than if I didn`t have my rain suit on. It was so hot, and I was putting in so much effort to keep the bike moving, but we were late and I couldn`t slow down. Of course the entire bike ride I was praying, asking from help, asking that I would receive the strength that I needed to get to where we needed to go. There was many times that I wanted to decrease the gears to an easier setting, but I didn`t want to be a wimp so I kept going. There was no extra strength given, no beam of light shown down to fill me with Heaven`s energy. And once we arrived at the appointment she said that she couldn`t meet today. Ugghhhh!!! I had biked so hard to get to this ladies house, I didn`t receive the strength I had asked for, and I was drenched in sweat, to the point that you could see through my white shirt! And we still had the entire day ahead of us. We decided to grab some lunch at a nearby McDonalds before we started proselyting in the surrounding neighborhoods. I prayed again for what I should do for my bike, the thought came into my mind, that maybe I shouldn`t try to be so tough and be responsible and get it fixed. My companion who can speak Japanese way better than I can, asked the cashier were the nearest bike shop was and after getting directions we started on our way. I don`t think he really understood the directions because 30 minutes later we were lost and I was drenched in sweat again, with crazy cramps in my legs from pedaling so hard. I decided that I was just going to ask someone myself, so after pulling over a gas station, and was told in broken English that my bike doesn`t need fuel, and that gas stations are only for cars (I’m sure he was thinking, “stupid Americans”). I explained my problem, and after talking to his boss he finally gave me the directions to the nearby bike shop (to which we promptly went after biking,  20 minutes back in the direction we had just come from.) After we arrived at the bike shop and had a quick inspection, they came to the conclusion, which I had already figured,  that my bearings were shot, and that my brakes are gone. They need the bike for two weeks or so, so I get a genuine Nihon bike for two weeks. I have attached a picture. Some might ask what have I learned from this experience and I can answer - write things in your journal, because you will always have trials and mistakes in life, when you think the rough times will never end. And it may not be funny in the moment, but once you look back with an open perspective you are able to get a laugh out of most of your trials and mistakes. And oh how I look forward to the next funny story.

 

Skyler

Training Days are Over



The announcement has come, and the mission is basically staying the same.  All the leaders are the same, most people are staying were they are, and that includes me and my companion. So I will enjoy another 6 weeks in the beautiful city of Kakogawa. And my training is done.  I am now a Junior Companion and not a trainee. HOORRAYY!!

 

I don`t have too much to report on this week. We did get to go to an indo curry with an investigator and that was way fun. We got lost in an area with a ton of factories and found a huge supermarket that is cheaper than cheap, basically Costco. We went to Big Boys and that was a weird experience. Everything was Japanese style, so there wasn`t any buns for the burgers, and I still can`t read Kanji, so when I picked the style of my meat I accidently choose rare. In Japan, when you pick rare, you are eating red meat, it was crazy!! But I haven`t gotten sick, so everything is all good. We also almost went fishing with an investigator but he had a job interview so maybe some time in the future. We did a lot of contacting and it is getting cooler, so next week suit season will officially begin. So I will be looking really good in my pictures.





 

Josh (Elder Anderson) looks way happy with his Baptisms. He looks really happy and soo much older in his pictures. I am glad that there are soo many from the ward that are out here serving the Lord. Who has their calls so far? And who all is out on missions? 

 

Love you all,

Elder Wilcox

 

Life is Short and Chingis Han




Chapel

Dang! What a week?  This week just steamed by, which was surprising, and sad. I am slowly realizing the urgency of the work. These weeks seem to go by too quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was writing all of you. And now here I am again, writing to the family about what I did this past week. All in all, I am stoked for General Conference this week. I know it will be a spiritual feast, especially because I will hear it in English.   I love going to Sacrament Meeting and listening to all the teachers in classes but I don`t really understand what is being said. I’m happy knowing that I will be able to listen to the apostles in 2 weeks. We don`t get to listen to General Conference till a week after y’all do, because they spend a week translating it into Japanese. The ward will watch it all together the following Sunday,  as missionaries we will be in a different room, watching it in English. Please don`t spoil anything for me. Have patience and then we can talk about it once I hear it firsthand.

 

To answer your questions -each missionary has his own key to the church building. Most members have a key to the church building when you come to think of it. We come here every morning for personal study and leave the doors open, allowing people to walk in as they please. In our area we are the only missionaries, and each area has their own building. However in our zone leaders area, there are 8 missionaries, so they take turns throughout the day on their two computers. Some areas don’t have computers in their church so they go to an internet cafe and email from there. Most missionaries spend about 2 hours on their email. The older missionaries don’t feel as attached to email anymore, and they spend about 45 minutes tops. Then they just read articles on LDS.org. After emailing, we run and grab groceries and then clean the apartment. We have about 6 hours to do whatever, until we hop back into the trenches and go to work. Sometimes if there is something cool in the area, we go to that and take pictures however in Kakogawa there is nothing cool. It is kind of like Cedar Park, it’s a nice city but has nothing cool. So we just hang out in the apartment, write letters, sleep, study, listen to talks, or we will go out and shop and get other things done.

 

Cool stories of the week:




MTC Companion

I got my hair cut by one of our investigators. He is way awesome, and is from Chile. He speaks great Spanish but not very much Japanese or English. So teaching him is fun and challenging. He did a really good job! The next day, we went on a 2 hour train ride to Okayama to listen to the Mission President train the trainers and trainees. The train ride was soo cool, I got to see  a side of Japan, that I thought only existed in movies, like mountains with trees that grow off the side, that have huge vines hanging down. It was so beautiful, and I am sorry but the train was so packed that I wasn`t able to get any pictures. I got to see my MTC companion, and that was such an awesome treat. We compared pictures of us when we first got to the MTC and to pictures of us now.  In that short amount of time the mission has had an effect and we definitely look older. Later that day went to an all you can eat BBQ, with an investigator of ours who is Mongolian. HE is AWESOME!! He taught us about his culture, and that Genghis Khan is actually called Chingis Han. He is also way goofy, and couldn`t stop playing with the fire. I don`t think I have ever laughed so hard in my life. Other than that the work is going forward and I am having a blast and am super anxious for the cold weather to settle in.

 



This week during Sacrament meeting, when it was time the first speaker there was a bit of scuffling around, which piqued my curiosity. Chairs were moved, a microphone was brought out front, and the room went completely silent. Then an old man around the age of 86, wheels his wife (who is in a wheel chair) to the front of the room. He proceeds to pull a chair around and sits by her to hold the microphone while his wife gives her talk. She starts off with a huge smile, says good morning, asks how everyone is doing, and gives her talk with an enthusiastically, chipper attitude. It was then that I remembered that the husband is in my advanced English class and that he often talks about all that he had been through in his life. He said that he was reading the newspaper and that the average male dies at age 87 in Japan. He told me that his birthday was coming up, and that death is around the corner. Immediately the entire class, disagreed, telling him that he is very healthy and that he will live until he is 100. Of course he just sat there and smiled but said nothing. He and his wife, are always very happy and loving to everyone. He told me to take advantage of my life. He told me that it goes by sooo fast. He told me about when he was younger that he grew up with very little money on a farm. He said that his life experience made him who he is today. He taught himself English. He has done soo much!! We need to remember that life is short. That we need to cherish it. So many people here in Japan are old and super healthy. They take a lot of pride in that. However, they don`t understand, and some choose not to understand, that there is something after this life. This week especially I have realized the importance of my job as a missionary who can teach these people that there is something more. You can be happy and live with your family, and your hard work isn’t for nothing.  It all has meaning beyond this life.  I love being a missionary!

Care Package from home

 

- Elder Wilcox

 

  

"Do I know this place?"

 
 
 

Token photo of food

 

What did I do this week? I'm glad you asked!

What did I do this week? I am glad you asked! I believe the more appropriate question is what I didn`t do this week! So many random things happened this week. Starting with people leaving in the middle of lessons, because they decided then and there that they didn`t want to hear our message anymore. We had people who were begging to learn how to pray and we hope to be able to put on the fast track to baptism. We had many people talk to us, and we had many people that as soon as they saw our badge took off running. We had bike problems, and got lost a couple of times. We even jammed out to a little, “Country Road”. But all in all, the Lord`s hand was in the work and we had a great week.

 

Bike problems - it was Thursday night, after a good weekly planning session at the church and I was turning my key to unlock my bike, when all of the sudden, "SNAP!"  The key broke inside the lock! We attempted to remove the lock with a pair of hedge clippers (my companion`s idea), of course that didn`t work. Haha, so we talked to the member who was in the building, practicing his singing. And he told us that it would be about a 20 minute walk to get to a place that would have the tools we would need. Well we didn`t exactly understand his Japanese too well, but we thought we got the idea of where we needed to go. I picked the bike up, set it on my shoulder and we made the 10 minute walk home, where I parked my bike and we continued to walk to the store. On our adventure, we had a blast talking about friends on missions, and my companion told stories of what he has done so far. After a while we found that the instructions he was gave us were leading us to a pretty sketchy place. So after a little prayer was said, we decided to head back and see if we had possibly passed it or if we could find something else. First we found McDonalds, and then we found a bike store that we were able to go to the next day to get the lock removed.

  

 

 
 

Jammin’ out to a little "Country Road" - There is a restaurant here that is all about cowboys, and we went in the other day to visit with a less active member who is from America. This guy is a liaison, so he is very good with people. There was a little trio concert at the front of this small restaurant, and all of the sudden they start singing in English. The member recognized the song and chimed in. Soon enough he was dancing around the room with the microphone, singing American songs. Apparently the drummer and the guitarist were also familiar with English songs. Then the crowd (all Japanese) wanted to sing “CountryRoad”. And they all know the lyrics!! The member starts singing and everyone is singing along. Of course we feel as awkward as can be, because they want us to sing too since we are American. And the member comes up and sticks the microphone in our faces. First of all I don`t know the lyrics and second of all I hadn`t practiced so my vocal cords were a little off. He told me the words to say and my voice totally cracked sending the entire crowd into a riot, but it was okay because my companion`s voice cracked as well. My companion and I had a blast though, and that will definitely be a night that I will never forget from my mission.

 

Thank you all for the wonderful support, I appreciate the letters that I have received and I was able to write back to most of you, so hopefully your received my letters. I know this church is true! I know that Thomas S. Monson leads it, under the direction of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I support and sustain all church authorities, and I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon through the power of God. The Book of Mormon, isn`t just a book we have been commanded to read, it is a book of answers to some of life`s most difficult challenges and questions. I love it and read it every chance I get! Please do the same and read it as much as possible.

 

Love y`all,

Elder Wilcox

A member gave us some early Halloween candy