Elder Nathan Alan 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