Wrong trains and crazy intense lessons

March 30, 2015: Week 23
Area: Hirosaki

Companions:  Canepari Choro and Larsen Choro

Hey everyone! It was so good to hear from all of you! I can't believe it's pday again; this week went by so fast! I have some crazy stuff to tell you guys about what happened this week. Some crazy stuff went down. So I'll get on with it.

So last Monday was probably the worst pday I've experienced on my mission. After we emailed, Anderson Choro from the hombu came up to Hirosaki to help us move apartments. We thought it would be a couple of hours but it ended up taking till 9 o clock. There was so much stuff at our apartment that we had to take to the church to store and throw away. It took a ton of loads cause he only brought a mini van and we couldn't fit a whole lot. One dumb thing happened too. I was loading a gas heater into the car. I asked if it was completely empty and they said it was, so I stacked it on top of all of the other stuff into the van. Well, when they were driving over to the church, the heater tipped over and spilled gasoline on the carpet. He was kinda mad at me and said he would charge me money out of my msf account. I'll find out in a couple days if he did that. I'm hoping that he forgot. So basically our whole pday was robbed.....it was unfortunate.

The next couple of days were spent cleaning and organizing everything and a bunch of planning because we just got all of the sisters investigators plus our investigators, so we have a lot to do. I think we have around 14 investigators which is crazy for this mission. We will be very busy this transfer.

On Thursday, we had district meeting. Because they are only three missionaries in Hirosaki right now, our district is combined with Odate, so we had to go to Odate by train Thursday morning. We were a little late to the train station, but we barely made it to our train on time (or so we thought). The first red light, we started going north instead of south, but we figured it would eventually turn and go towards Odate. But then, I began to recognize all of the commuters we see on the train when we go to Aomori. Our concerns were made certain when we pulled into Aomori station. We had boarded the wrong train!!! It was a pretty funny phone call to the district leader when Canepari Choro says,"So yeah.... We have some bad news... We are in Aomori right now." It was pretty funny. So we had to board another train and go back to Hirosaki for about an hour, and then board another train to Odate which takes another hour. After all of that, we finally arrived in Odate. Let me tell ya, this town is in the middle of nowhere!! It is the tiniest down I've seen in Japan. I'd compare it to a Japanese version of Granstville or Tremonton. It's tiny and the only people who live there are super old. I don't think I saw one person there under 85 years old. We walked to the church and had a district meeting and then we headed our separate ways for splits. I was with Elder Anderson from West Valley. He is a cool guy and it was fun to work with him. He goes home in three transfers so he is a veteran. He planned a pretty sketchy day for us. We had to teach an Eikaiwa class in some sketchy town that neither of us had been to before. So we had to ride a twenty minute train to this town, and then some sketchy dude picked us up at the Eiki., and drove us to the building to teach Eikaiwa. Neither of us had been to that town before so we had no idea what we were doing. This town was basically Japanese Kamas. It was tiny and in the middle of nowhere as well. The class was fun to teach. About 6 ten year old girls showed up and we taught them some English.

The next day, we returned to Hirosaki and did weekly for the rest of the day. The next day, we had to go back to Odate for the iPad training with President and Sister Smith (we actually got on the right train that time). We had a really good training on the iPads and then they gave them to us. It is really interesting to learn the church's purpose behind the iPads. Of course we will use them for dendo, but they have a bigger purpose. They said if we can learn to have good habits using technology now, we can carry those habits after our missions and stay safe from the evils that technology can bring. It's very interesting, the training was not just about how to use the iPads, it was about the importance of families. It was a great training. But here is the crazy part. After the training, President Smith drove us down to Hirosaki. The day before, he called us saying after his morning prayer, he felt a strong impression that he needed to visit someone in Hirosaki. He asked to think and pray about it to know who it is. We did so and we three felt it was the same investigator. So when we arrived in Hirosaki, we did a joint with President Smith. It was the most intense and spiritual lesson I have ever been apart of. This guy has been an investigator for years, so we thought we should be a little bold in the lesson, and boy was it bold. We talked about baptism and the Book of Mormon, and how Christ is our Savior. My comp was crying, I was almost crying and it was just crazy. And when President Smith testified, I felt like the building was going to collapse because it was so powerful. It was crazy! We invited him to be baptized and he said he has a couple of concerns but he won't tell us. We invited him to pray about it to see if it was the right thing to do. He said he would. President Smith invited him to church too, but he kind of laughed and scoffed it off which kind of disappointed  me. He still refuses to come to church. We don't know what to do with him. If he won't progress after feeling the spirit in that lesson, we don't know how to help him. Hopefully, his heart will soften.

Well it was a crazy week. Not many missionaries get to do a lesson with their mission president. It was a way cool experience. It was a testimony to me that he really is called from God and he receives revelation for this mission. It was awesome! Well that was my week.

Lots of crazy stuff, but it was a lot of fun! I love you guys! Have a great week!! Talk to you next week!

Love,

Elder Nathan Didericksen

Moving week!

March 22, 2015: Week 22
Area: Hirosaki

Companions:  Canepari Choro and Larsen Choro

Hey Everyone! I can't believe it's already been a week since I wrote last. We were super busy this week with us moving apartments and going to Sendai. And Happy Birthday Dad!!! I hope it was a great one! I'm sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate it with you!

So to start off the week, Monday night, Nagano Shimai took us out to this way good restaurant on her birthday. Only a Japanese person would take people out to dinner and pay for it on their birthday. The cool part was, while you eat, they had this stage where they had a couple of people play these Japanese style guitars. I can't remember what they are called, but they are so cool. It was a way fun night. I even ate some cow tongue, which was delicious!

Wednesday morning, we had to say goodbye to Dowdy Choro. It was actually pretty sad; it was kinda hard to see him go, especially since I probably won't see him again. Two missionaries whose companions were also going home came down to Hirosaki and we went on a two day split. I was with Moffat Choro, the Aomori ZL, and Canepari Choro was with Koide Choro who came to Japan with me. With Dowdy Choro being gone, I had to kinda take the lead on things cause I've been in the area the longest, so when Moffat Choro and I were visiting our investigators, I was able to lead everything, which was kinda cool. Even though its sad to see my trainer leave, it's a good opportunity for me to speak a lot more Japanese and really grow as a missionary and I've already started to see improvement.

So for the most part of Wednesday and Thursday, we spent it packing up our apartment and cleaning it and such. It was a long, exhausting couple of days. Hirosaki is a pretty old apartment, so we had to throw out crap left by other missionaries from who knows how long ago. We are still not done with it. We are probably gonna spend the rest of our pday doing it unfortunately.

Friday morning, we took a bus to Sendai. I really enjoyed the five hour trip though. Last time I rode from Sendai to Hirosaki, I was super jet lagged and there was a blizzard so I couldn't see much of the landscape. But this time, the sky was blue and the landscape was beautiful. This mission really is the countryside of Japan. There were so many rice fields and little farming towns we drove past. It was beautiful. I can't wait to see this country when spring is in full bloom. We finally arrived in Sendai around 7:30 at night and let me tell ya, the city is awesome. It makes Hirosaki look like Grantsville. It was huge and all lit up and there were people everywhere. I hope I get to serve in that area someday. After we were dropped off, we walked to the Kamisugi church where a lot of the missionaries were gathered. I got to meet up with one of my best friends from the MTC, Elder Erickson. I also got to meet one of the recent converts in the ward and I talked to him for like an hour with Elder Erickson. He was a way cool guy. It was cool to see me and him talk to a Japanese man for an hour and have a good conversation because three months ago in the MTC, it was near impossible. It is pretty cool to see the growth in everyone. Finally, it was time to go back to the apartment. We managed to stuff around 12 missionaries in a tiny apartment, which was a success. I even got to meet Earl Choro for the first time.

The next morning, we got up early and went to the church to attend the conference. It was awesome to meet all of the missionaries. I finally got to meet Elder Mike Anderson. It was pretty cool to see him after a year and a half. That guy is awesome. The conference was awesome. We heard from Elder Evans of the Seventy, and Elder Aoyagi from the Japan area presidency. It was a very good conference. A lot of it was talking about the ipads and how we can stay safe with them. The spirit was definitely strongly present. After the conference, we boarded our bus and went back to Hirosaki.

So now we are a lone trio of Guyjin in Hirosaki. I'm with Elder Canepari and Elder Larsen. We are pretty excited for this transfer because we have a lot of investigators and a lot to do.

Church was also pretty good as well. I'm trying to talk a lot more to members and to build relationships with them now. Dowdy Choro talked most of the time, but with him gone, I'm trying to step it up and talk a lot more. I think it is helping my Japanese and my confidence. I think I'm starting to improve, which is awesome. I'm starting to understand a little bit more as well.

Well that is about it. It was a crazy week and we were super busy, but now we can focus on Dendo this week. I'm excited to see what this transfer holds. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be here in Japan and work with and serve with these wonderful people. I really have learned a lot from them about love, charity, and kindness among other things. Some of these people are the most Christlike people I have ever met. It is an amazing opportunity to be with them. I love you guys! Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Nathan Didericksen

 Dinner with Nagano Shimai. These guitar things are awesome!

 The streets of Sendai

 Japanese sunset taken from the bus

 Me and Elder Anderson

 Reunited with Elder Erickson from the MTC

This is from a few weeks ago, but I thought it was funny. This is the Nagano Family

I'm Staying in Hirosaki

March 15, 2015: Week 21
Area: Hirosaki

Companions: Dowdy Choro and Canapari Choro

Hey Everyone!! I can't believe it's pday again; this week went by really fast. And I can't believe I'm in my third transfer already, hitting my five month mark yesterday! Time is flying.

This week was pretty fun and we got a bunch of crazy news. So first of all, I'm staying in Hirosaki for another transfer! I get to see Sakara! (cherry blossom festival)  Also, since there are so many missionaries going home and no one to replace them, all of the sisters got transferred out of Hirosaki and we are gonna move into their apartment this week *a much nicer and newer apartment*! In other news, I'm staying in a trio. Its gonna still be me and Canepari Choro, and Larsen Choro from Salt Lake. He's the same transfer as me so it will be two missionaries fresh out of bean hood and a 12th transfer missionary. We are gonna be so busy this transfer. Hirosaki is a big area for only one companionship! It's gonna be crazy.

So this week, Japan decided it wasn't done with winter so it dumped snow on us for about three days at the start of the week. It was soo cold. All of the progress in melting snow started all over again. It was freezing though. For example, on Wednesday, we walked in a straight up blizzard for about two miles to a members house. It was so cold, soo much snow.

So the highlight of the week was on Saturday. First we had Ekaiwa. Dowdy Choro normally teaches the kids class but since it was his last Eikaiwa, he wanted to go to the advance class. That means I had to teach the kids class with the Japanese sisters. Let me tell ya, its pretty difficult teaching a crazy 3 year old Japanese girl. I was just chasing her around trying to get her to calm down. It was actually pretty fun though. After that, we had a talent show where a bunch of the members came and performed random stuff. Me and Dowdy Choro attempted to sing "Good Riddance/Time of your Life" by Green Day on the ukulele. It was good until the end when we tried to harmonize; we slaughtered it. It sounded so bad! It was hilarious though. A little bit later, Narita San wanted to sing a Beatles song; he and the elders sang "Its been a hard days night" by the Beatles. It was pretty bad, but we had fun. The coolest part was when we did a dance called Otage. Takaya Kyodai wanted to do it with the missionaries. It is kinda like in America when you tape glow sticks to yourself and then the lights turn off; it looks you are a stick figure. So we did a dance with glow sticks in the dark and everyone loved it! It was pretty awesome. It was a way good activity and a lot of people showed up. It was a ton of fun.

Yesterday, after church, the branch did a huge lunch for Dowdy Choro and other members that are leaving. It was delicious! Later that night, we went to the church to watch a devotional. Elder Evans and Russell M. Nelson came to do a devotional in Tokyo and we got to watch it. They spoke in English too with Japanese translators so I got to understand everything, which was great. At one point in the talk, Elder Nelson told all of the missionaries wherever they were watching to stand up, and talked about how awesome missionaries were. I felt like a boss. It was a little awkward standing there, but it was cool.

Well those are the highlights of my week. A lot of our investigators were a little busy this week so we weren't able to teach a ton of lessons. They are doing great though and they are all awesome. Akimotto San is doing well. He is reading from the Book of Mormon and is asking a lot of questions.

Erin!

Darn, I totally forgot about pie day! I love Pi day! No, Japanese people don't celebrate St Patrick's day. They have no idea what it is. So yeah. And we are definitely going to see the new Zoolander movie! I'm excited. Thanks for your quote and advice.

Todd!

That's so cool you got to see the Jazz so close!! Man I miss basketball and watching the Jazz. It sounds like Gobert is turning into a monster! They will be fun to watch when I get home. Hopefully all of the those guys are around when I get home. And we definitely will teach Daxton basketball and you will teach him football. Then he will go to high school and play sports and get girls. That's the plan.

Matthew!

Those tunnels sound awesome. We should go up there when I'm home. Climbing up those towers sounds pretty sketchy though. Thanks for your example.

Mom and Dad,

Thanks for all of the support you give me. I wouldn't be able to do this without you guys. I love you so much. I miss you and I can't wait to see you again, but being here is an awesome opportunity to grow and to also learn to love the people and serve them. Yesterday, after Sacrament meeting, all of the sisters in the ward sang a Japanese hymn that is kinda like God Be With You Till we Meet Again. It was beautiful. I couldn't understand the words, but the spirit was so strong and I realized how much I love the people here. The Japanese people are so friendly and caring and loving towards everyone. They are a great example to me. And their singing isn't too shabby either! So this is an awesome opportunity for me.

Anyway, thanks for all that you do for me! I love all you guys! Have a great week! Talk to you soon!

Love,

Elder Nathan Didericksen

Here is one of the talents from Saturday. A bunch of Japanese people dancing around in mustaches. I'll send you more with me in them next week.

Well that was awkward...

March 8, 2015: Week 20
Area: Hirosaki

Companions: Dowdy Choro and Canapari Choro

Hey Everyone! Its crazy I'm already emailing again; this week kinda flew by. Our week was pretty good. It wasn't near as crazy as last week, but we were still pretty busy.

On Tuesday, we visited our American investigator named Nick. He's in another Christian church, but has some questions about our church. He is a really nice guy and his faith is really strong. We talked about how he came to know God and Jesus Christ was real and we related it to how we can know the Book of Mormon is true. We shared Moroni's promise and asked if he would try it. I don't know how interested he actually is, but hopefully the spirit works on him. After that, we were posting some ekaiwa  posters in stores around the city which was pretty fun. I like doing that kind of Dendo. It was a little dangerous though cause it was graduation or something for a big girls school, so there was a bunch of newly graduated teenage girls walking around wanting to get pictures of us.

The next morning, our Japanese class had a cooking class. We made different kinds of fried shrimp, okanomiaki, and other stuff which was really good. While we were eating, they were asking us why we were in Japan and we were able to tell them our purpose and talk a little bit about the church. Later that day, we visited "Japanese John Williams" This guy is awesome. He lives in this massive, way nice house. He was telling us stories of him playing and directing music and things like that. I guess he was on a homestay in Sacramento around twenty years ago, and had stayed at a bishop's house. He even went to church in Canepari Choros stake, so he knows a little bit about the church already. The funniest part was when he was telling us about his old fancy container that held tobacco powder. He poured some on his hand to show us. We thought he would just brush it off when he was done, but he ended up snorting it right in front of us! So basically, I saw Japanese John Williams do drugs right in front of us.....We should probably teach the Word of Wisdom some time huh?

Thursday, we went to Aomori again for zone training meeting. It was a good meeting, but it wasn't all that spiritual; they just had a bunch of business to go over. The STLs did share a pretty good song about how God is just a prayer away and then they linked it with Elder Uchtdor'fs talk when he said that God doesn't wait for us to overcome our imperfections and our faults before he will love us. He always loves us no matter what. After the meeting, we went to an Indian Curry place run by people from India. It was good while you ate it, but it ended up destroying us and making us all sick later. I think I'm gonna stay away from Indian curry from now on.

Now this is probably the most awkward moment of my life. On Saturday, our Japanese grandpa wanted to take the district out for lunch cause Dowdy Choro is leaving. When we showed up to the restaurant, he had these four women there who are probably twenty years younger than him. Apparently, he is quite the bachelor. He told me to sit at his end of the table, so I did. Turns out all of the women were sitting there too, so I ended sitting by myself with all of these Japanese ladies while the other missionaries were all the way on the other end of the table. I felt like I was on a four way date with the ladies. Man it was sooooo awkward. All of the other missionaries were laughing at me the whole time. It was pretty weird. I had to talk to all of them by myself for an hour while watching them flirt with our investigator. It was a weird, bad situation. I was so happy when it was over.

Things are kinda slow with our investigators. Most of them are eternal investigators. They have received all of the lessons and they will still meet with us, but they won't progress, so we are a little stuck with them. We are just trying to pray and know what is best for them. Wish us luck!

Well that was our week. It was a pretty good week with a lot to do. And the weather is getting really good. We are able to ride our bikes and do a lot more, which is awesome. I can't believe this is the last week of my second transfer!! I'm almost done being a bean! It went by fast. Hopefully, I start to improve quickly cause I'm gonna have to do a lot more now that Dowdy Choro is leaving. Pray for me!

I love you guys! I miss you guys a ton and I love hearing what is going on in your lives. Sounds like things are going great. Have a great week! Read Your scriptures!

Love Elder Nathan Didericksen

    We saw a bunch of the big floats for the Neputa Festival they have in August. 

                                                                                         
                                   

                                                            They are HUGE!

    

                                                             My hand was eaten!                    

We were at McDonald's and Japanese Ronald McDonald came in. 

It was pretty weird.

Beef Jerky and Secret Planets

March 1, 2015: Week 19
Area: Hirosaki

Companion: Dowdy Choro and Canapari Choro

Matthew that if his date is who I think it is, she is really cute. Our week was super tiring and crazy, but the good part it.......we hit the standard of excellence! We taught 21 lessons! It was pretty hard and we were riding our bikes all over the place at the speed of light, but we did it! I'll now tell you what happened.

On Tuesday, we started the day visiting the member who is breaking a ton of commandments but I don't think he's realized it yet. Instead of chastising him about commandments, we decided to talk about the blessings he's received from the gospel. We all shared the blessings we have realized from the gospel. It was pretty good. After that, we visited an old woman that Dowdy Choro met on splits. We talked to her for a while about God and her beliefs. She was really nice, but wasn't really interested. She said a couple of way weird things though. She told us when she looks at us she sees Jesus. We thought that was kinda cool, but then she told us when she was young back in the day, she had "a lot of fun of guys when she was young." That was pretty awkward, little bit funny. Anyway...

The next day, we went to go visit our investigator from Ghana. We rode a while to his house and we tried knocking on his door, but no one answered. Right as were about to leave, he came to the door wearing a Muslim Toga or robe or something. He said he was doing one of his daily prayers. He invited us in while he finished praying. So we sat there in awkward silence while he recited his prayers. After he finished, we shared the restoration. After I recited the first vision, the spirit entered the room. Every time we share the restoration that happens. It's pretty cool. After we finished, he asked us some questions and told us about his beliefs. It was good; hopefully he will gain some interest in the gospel. After his lesson, we rode way fast to another investigator's house. She is an old woman, so we as elders can't teach her in her house, only in the Genkan. We had one of the members to come join with us, but she ended up talking the entire time for like an hour so it was kind of a disaster. Oh well.

Thursday, Canepari Choro had splits with the Zone Leaders so it was just me and Dowdy Choro for a day again. We taught our Japanese grandpa about repentance. We showed him a Mormon message about God's love for us; it definitely invited the spirit. We don't really know exactly what he needs to get over the hump, but every time he reads in the scriptures, he tells us it makes sense and that it will make him a better person. After his lesson, we didn't have a ton of time to dendo cause we had another appointment we had to go to that night, so we decided to hurry to visit one of our PIs who works at a store. We went into his store and he was blasting Def Leppard over the speakers. It was fantastic, I love that band. We talked to him for a little bit but he's not interested in the gospel that much which is too bad.

The next day was filled with appointments too. We were tired all of the time cause we were everywhere all week. We went to go visit our friend who is the Kendo Sensei. We were sitting in his house and were about to start a lesson when his friend came over. After that, we couldn't really bring up the gospel. 

Now for the highlight of the week. We were going to teach one of our referrals Saturday night. Hanada Kyodai brought his friend to the church to have a lesson. And let me tell ya, if this guy isn't a good example of why not to do drugs, I don't know what is. Holy Crap this dude was fried. Basically a vegetable. And he smelled like beef jerky and some weird drug. He was telling us his beliefs and they were crazy. He said he reads a bunch of Science Fiction books and that is where his beliefs come from. He pulled out this paper giving a diagram on where we came from and where we are going. Apparently, Africans came from reptiles, and after we die, we go to a secret planet that is hidden behind the sun which no one knows about. It was probably the weirdest experience I've ever had. It was hilarious though. After the lesson, me and other two were just dying of how crazy that dude was. Don't do drugs.

Last night, we went to the Fujita family's house. They are so nice. They have three daughters who are absolutely hilarious. It was a pretty fun night.

Well those were the highlights of our very busy week. It was tiring and difficult, but we did accomplish our goal. We actually rewarded ourselves by going to that burger place for lunch today..

The food looked great at the party!! I had gyoza the other day, I'm sure yours was better; mine wasn't that good. That is kinda crazy in all of the sports news. I would have never thought Lone Peak would lose in the first couple rounds. Layton is a pretty good team though so props to them. It's crazy to think that its already been a year since the state tournament. I think a lot about those days and how much I miss it. I'm very grateful I was able to have those experiences. I'm very grateful for this one as well. 

Dad, thanks for the excerpt from that letter, 'cause I'm gonna be honest, this is pretty hard. The level of inadequacy that I feel sometimes is pretty high. The thing I heard before my mission was right; it will exceed your expectations. It will be harder than you think, but more rewarding than you think. I still feel inadequate in the language a lot of the time, but there are way awesome moments too and a lot more awesome moments to come. Like you said, just relax, breathe it in, and have faith. 

It was great to hear from you guys! I hope you all of a great week. You are all in my prayers. Love you!

Elder Didericksen

Summer is on its way!

February 22, 2015: Week 18
Area: Hirosaki

Companion: Dowdy Choro and Canapari Choro

Hey Everyone! I cant believe its already pday again. Sometimes, time flies by in the mission. It was great to hear from all of you guys; it sounds like you are doing well. We had a pretty crazy, weird week this week.

So I'll just start with the big news, I am in a trio companionship with Canapari Choro and Dowdy Choro. Basically, the other elder in Hirosaki left so its just us three. We are actually pretty excited to work together for the rest of the transfer. We all get along and have a really fun time. Its gonna be a little hard to figure out how to teach in a trio. I hope this doesn't really hurt my development as a brand new missionary; it will probably be okay. It will be fun to work together for the last couple weeks of this transfer.

On Thursday, we had a zone taikai in Aomori where the whole zone gathers together and President and Sister smith come as well and we have one big training meeting. It was pretty good. President Smith talked about Lynn G Robbins talk from Octobers conference titled *which way do we face*. It talked about how we need to focus on pleasing God more than man. Sometimes we face a lot of peer pressure and are pushed to turn towards man and please them instead of God. We need to always remember who we face and what we stand for. It was a pretty good talk and training.

The day after the zone meeting, and our first day as a trio, we had two lessons in the morning. We taught Handa Kyodai and Hanada Shimai. They are a less active couple. Its kinda creepy teaching them because his wife is deaf and is creepily obsessed with foreigners, especially Dowdy Choro. She just stares at us and giggles, It's kinda weird. After that, we taught Akimotto San. He is such an awesome guy, my Japanese grandpa. He told us that missions would be more fun if we were allowed to get girlfriends in each area and then dump them when we transfer. It was hilarious. It makes sense to him; he's a lifelong bachelor.

Japanese wise, this week was a little hard. I made a lot of mistakes and said some dumb stuff on accident. Its just embarrassing sometimes.I know its supposed to be hard and take a long time. I just lack patience sometimes, but I'll get there eventually.

The sisters recent convert who just got baptized hasn't been to church since she was confirmed which is kinda worrisome. The sisters need to get on top of that. Akimotto San came to church yesterday which was great!! We haven't met with Japanese Jwill, We will visit him this week cause we just got his information. This week we set a goal to get the Standard of Excellence and one of those ways is to teach over twenty lessons in a week. Its pretty tough to do, but I think we can do it! 

So, the snow is starting to melt and spring is approaching! We are pretty excited cause we are sick of walking in blizzards all day. In answer to your question, there were a few earthquakes reported but we didn't feel them in Hirosaki. Usually, you don't feel them very much when you are in Aomori prefecture; as you get closer to Sendai you feel them stronger and more often.

Well other than the drama that happened within my district all week, not a lot happened. Sorry this is kinda of an uneventful email.

Erin, Avery sounds like she is aiming for the stars for her future. She can come to Japan to be a mailman; they are pretty funny. They all ride on little mopeds, no matter the weather. They are troopers.  

Matthew, I just want to say it's awesome that you served a mission and say thanks for your example. Cause they are pretty hard sometimes, investigators not progressing, learning a difficult language,etc. Thanks for always giving me your advice. I hope to become as good of a missionary as you were! I started riding bikes today and it really made me miss biking with you! When I get home, the first thing we are doing is going to bike slick rock! 

Dad, Thanks for the usual sports update! That is one thing that is hard to miss is the sports season. I really miss it. Go PG! I love it when I hear that we bring down Lone Peak. That is awesome! 

Mom, It's crazy to think I'm approaching my third transfer and my fifth month mark. Its going by pretty fast and I heard time only gets faster. I miss you guys a lot and I'm excited to see you guys in nineteen months or so, but I have a lot to do here. Thanks for everything you do for me and the rest of our family. 

Well sorry that it's an uneventful email. Its been kinda a weird week. Have a great week everyone! Read the scriptures!! *There's my missionary side* Love you guys!

Love,

Elder Nathan Didericksen

p.s. This week's word:  Shitakaburi. It means *know it all* So when you are talking to someone who thinks they are the smartest and its bugging you, just say Shitakaburi.

The trio with Akimotto San, my Japanese Grandpa.