This email is crap, check the pics and vids

Dang not a ton to report but got a good amount of videos and pics for all of you.

What did happen this week... My birthday was so lame haha. Which is what I expected. Pres. and Sister Wada called me and sang happy birthday and I saw them both a little later in the mission home in Kichijoji for pres. interviews. Man I love them. Before interviews we ate at Stamina Taro, my favorite it's all you can eat meat within 1 1/2 hours. Just go so hard trying to get as much food as possible. You cook your own meat at your table it's way dope. I probably ate too much I couldn't stop sweating the rest of the day and didn't feel good. Our ward mission leader bought dominos pizza for me which is sooo expensive here. During the day I ate a ton of sweets too. So ate a lot that day. The best thing that happened on my birthday by far, was hearing that my other sister Nancy is pregnant!! Both my sisters are pregnant now and on their way to having second children. Way stoked about that but kinda sad I won't meet the kids for quite a while :/

Kinda sad my teenage years are gone honestly... So many good memories. I know there is more in the future but some things will never be the same. That's hard to accept sometimes in our lives. Hit me how old I am getting. Thank you all who were a part of those teenage years (all of you). I'll never forget the memories.

Japan is so hard to explain over email. Their style is so sick but also so weird? We did some shopping today and there are some insane clothes haha. Everything is so wild and busy here but the people are silent and never talk to anyone. You sit in a train and don't hear a word. No one talks to strangers. Like ever. We had a training on Japanese culture and the more I learn the harder I realize this is. Everything in their culture resists new ideas, especially Christianity. The mission has recently had a lot more success lately tho. Japanese people are slowly starting to change. There used to be 1 baptism a month in this mission, now there are about 8? Which is huge
improvement.

In Japan "gay" means the same thing it does in America. I asked these full grown drunk adults if they were good ("genki desu ka") and they thought I said are you gay ("gay desu ka") lol they starting going off on how they aren't a gay couple. I was like nooo genki! Not gay lol.

Today did a ton of cleaning and went to Costco which was soooo great. Always is.

Love you guys

Spackman 長老

Pics & Vids
1. In the morning my comp comes out with his blanket so tired and just passes out on the floor.

2. Went on splits with my district leader, Wolfley twice this week. We worked so dang hard. I loved it. This guy is a good example of the weird crap Japanese people wear lol. This guy is convinced he will be a rock star, seems to be going for the style of The Beatles?

3. "Dogs on food" key chains? Cuuuuute

4. Sushi with the district for mine and sister cooks b day. Chocolate on the lips.

5. The crew together for some b day pizza

6. Costco!

7. The real question: did Hunsaker barf after this? Stamina Taro my fave restaurant

8-9. This HUGE dog we saw today shopping. Pics don't do justice but this thing was a horse. So rare in Japan.

EMAIL HIGHLIGHT: we had a little time at lunch. Made videos depicting the fighting arcade games. My name was smackman, hunsakers was huntingsaker, wolfley's was werewolfley. We have this cd that is primary songs on roids, that's what is playing in the background. So much fun. Videos are hard to send I will cut one in half lollllz



Love You All

Hey family!

Just thought I would shoot you all a quick video. Inumaki gave me a death glare afterword's haha he's fun.

I have said it to a few of you, but again I would encourage all of you to pray for opportunities daily to share the gospel with others, follow the promptings of the Spirit and try to strengthen your relationship with the missionaries in the ward as well as refer people to them (if you feel like you can trust them after getting to know them). Also try hard to find people who may be struggling and ways to help them. Through small and simple acts great things come to pass.

Love you all

Spackman 長老

dis week went 0-100 REAL QUICK

Hey everyone :)

I had thoughts halfway through my week that this letter was going to be super negative. The first half of this week was one of the hardest of my life (zero). Turned out to be a great week tho (one hundred). I have been praying a lot for Jordan, when I should visit him and what I should teach him. I have also been praying to follow the Spirit better. We don't have communication and he doesn't have a perfectly set schedule. I had a strong prompting after prayer the Sunday of last week that I needed to visit him the next day at 6:30. When I put it on the iPad planner, no matter where I put the event it jumped to 6:30. I knew this was an answer to my prayers. Next day was p day. Got caught up in the day and kinda lazy. Didn't get to Jordan's until about 7:30. His sister answered. He happened to have work off that day and had been home all day but had just left. I won't take a spiritual promoting of that strength lightly ever again. At least I hope I don't. 

Then the next three days were so bad. My companion speaks very minimal English. Not enough for me to really understand at least. My Japanese is still pretty rough. He and I were getting so frustrated I just about lost it a few times. I was basically pissed off for those three days at him and the world and became so exhausted. My companion was doing and saying some things that seemed to communicate "your Japanese sucks and you're a bad missionary." Which would have been ok (cause I know it's not true) if I wasn't already struggling. There is more details but it's all irrelevant now because we figured it all out and it was all just a bunch of misunderstandings. He wasn't saying anything close to what I thought. Thank goodness I have 2 elders in my apartment who can clear up confusion through translation. It turned the week around completely.

Despite those misunderstandings, I love the crap out of Inumaki he is so funny and just loves to have a good time. He also is a beast in lessons. More than just simply knowing the language. We work well together. He is nice and loving and definitely wasn't trying upset me. 

This week we saw some funny things. The crows here are giant and there beaks are so freaking big. They like to torture people too. I have had one fly at my head and had to duck, after words he just stared at me and squawked until I was gone. If you stare at them too long they will do that. They seem to be heavily under Satan's control. They really need the gospel lol. We saw one fly over our heads, swoop down and softly grab at this old mans hair as it flew by. The old man turned around at us and was so confused. Then he saw the bird, which of course was just sitting there squawking. Those two definitely had some beef. I would strongly encourage all of you to kill as many crows on the road as possible haha. 

Later in the week I had one of the craziest/best days on the mish. I decided to try a new drink. Didn't realize it was loaded with caffeine haha. It's been a while. I was super happy and energetic the rest of the day. We dropped into a suit store for a little. They had the sickest suites I've ever seen all 200-400 dollars. 2-3 emails ago I talked about the new trend I want to start, jogger dress pants? I sent a picture. As we are walking around... GUESS WHAT THIS STORE HAD-- JOGGER DRESS PANTS!!! I was freaking out. Wanted to buy some but they were 100 bucks. 

After that we saw a bunch of people we know. Which is very rare with so many people in Japan and so many places. We first saw brother Hirai from the ward. As we were talking to him a man tapped my shoulder and it was Carlos. (Who stopped coming to church a while back after he disrupted class super bad and was super rude. Nagano and I talked to him about it and he freaked out on us and started crying. Long story.) Inumaki and I went to McDonalds and found a new investigator and taught him the restoration. It was super cool. We will see if we can meet again. At this point I was just stoked on life (and caffeine) just riding around high fiving random people on my bike. I said hi to this lady as I passed and she jumped and screamed. I am pretty sure she pooped herself, didn't mean to, but scared the crap out of her haha. I was starting to realize how crazy the day was and thought, "man I wouldn't be surprised if I saw the crazy old guy who is in love with me." We are riding to the store and I hear this man yelling "konichiwa!" I look and sure enough... it's him. Then inside of the store we ran into this other crazy old guy who the other elders are teaching. He always calls me "ikemen" and just looses it laughing and repeats this over and over. Man we know some crazy people. 

Later that day we had a lesson with Iwasawa. Which aren't going anywhere. It was probably one of the best lessons I have had but he just doesn't really get it I don't think. Brother Watanabe was there. The three of us have concluded that he has some sort of mental issue and just can't really think deeply, feel, or express himself. He just repeats whatever we say. We think that's why he still lives at home and hasn't ever really progressed with the missionaries. Probably why his parents are so against him getting baptized cause they are worried he is being tricked into something bad. It's sad. 

All in all a great week as usual. This one flew by quicker than any week in my life. I am sure of that. Things are hard with the language but it's pushing me. I love and pray for you daily.

Elder Spackman

Pictures:

1. Jogger dress pants!!!

2. Window replication of Tokorozawa

3. Spack D-O DOUBLE G!

4. Whenever I eat at cocos curry I get soo sweaty. It's not even spicy!?

5. Welcome to Japanese ads on the train...

6. Elder Inumaki singing some one direction lolllz 

Suddenly I am writing lectures not emails? Lol

I am going to speak the things that I learned this week, if it seems harsh just know I am trying to be as honest with myself and you as I can. Sorry for those of you that haven't had a lot of exposure to the church and may not understand some things in here, let me know if you have any questions.

First of all, I'm blown away with the amount I got out of General Conference. We watched it in English but a week later here (probably so it could be translated for the members). The first time I have ever watched all of it, but more importantly put in all my effort to understand, ponder and apply every word of it. My questions were answered, felt the Spirit many times, and in just a weekend my: testimony, faith, knowledge, and motivation all increase. I think it really helped to read along as I listened. That's how I learn though. Whatever your learning style I encourage ALL of you who are "young" (as Elder Holland has said "...young in years of age or young in years of membership or young in years of faith. One way or another, that should include just about all of us.") to construct some serious life questions that you need answered, pray for help in receiving revelation and go through the talks from general conference. I promise you will receive an answer to any question you have about life or the gospel if and ONLY if you put in your all to find an answer.

Don't ever trick yourself into thinking you don't have time for gospel related things as well as anything else important in your life. You make time for the things that are important. With general conference most of these men have devoted the remainder of their lives to the gospel. You are selfish if you can't set aside a couple hours out of your week. These men have also prayed, fasted, and pondered about what YOU need to hear. Get something out of it, then utilize it. As the show I used to watch as a kid called "ZOOM" would say "if you like what you see, turn off your  TV and do it!" (Lolz) Don't throw it all to waste.

We are so blessed with the opportunities we have in Idaho, Utah and America in general. Though most of us do just that, throw it all to waste. We find any excuse to miss church, not read our scriptures, help others, etc. This week a man showed up at church who had walked over an hour to get to there. He is a member from the Philippians and lived here about a year. After some searching he figured out where the church is and came Sunday. He listened to all of Sunday's conference in English not understanding much. Some people, like this man and many more thirst so hard for the gospel or many other things we have so readily, yet we find excuses not to utilize.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how hard it is to give my all in everything I do every day or even just one day. Sometimes I think "man if I could just go hard, 100% effort, one day and do all the things I should (wake up on time, exercise, eat healthy, etc) I would do it for that day, if it decided the rest." Through this seemingly impossible desire I have realized how possible it really is. Why long for a  single day that controls the rest, when we can do all the right things, every single day, and still have the variety of every day life? I am capable and so are you. I encourage every one of you, whether religious or not, to strive to live every day as if it decided the rest of your life as I strive to do the same.

My favorite member here in Tokes is Watanabe. He is one of the members that Elder Ringwood (who has been to our last two mission conferences and I believe currently lives in Japan? Not sure. I met him when I shook Elder Nelson's hand) talked about who doesn't have a large position in the church but is doing a ton behind the scenes to help others. Watanabe doesn't seem like he does a lot on the outside. Though as a missionary I see the things he does. Ringwood said, "the service that counts most is usually recognized by God alone." He sat and talked to this man who walked over an hour to come to church and I overheard him encouraging him to go to the temple. I called him later to ask if he thinks this man needs help. He gave me a detailed explanation of what was discussed as well as the plan he made with this man to get him to church easier and I became emotional with how much he cares about others and thanked him for the service he is doing that "is recognized by God alone." I told him how I have been encouraging my family to get more involved with missionary work and he said his son (who is on a mission) has encouraged the same things. His example and another recently returned elder to the ward (who has been coming to a lot of our investigator events) really makes me want to use the things I am learning here to influence the lives of others after the mission. I'm on a mission for two years but a missionary for the rest of my life. I hope all of you strive a little more to be like Brother Watanabe.

In this conference it seemed to be focused on families, the hope everyone can have with the gospel, sticking true to our faith at all times, and our responsibilities as members. I got something out of every single talk.   Here are some things that stuck out to me: "Every day each of us faces a test. It is the test of our lifetimes: will we choose to believe in Him and allow the light of His gospel to grow within us, or will we refuse to believe and insist on traveling alone in the dark?" "We will not accidentally come to believe in the Savior and His gospel any more than we will accidentally pray or pay tithing." "Just as God rejoices when we persevere, He is disappointed if we do not recognize that others are trying too...If we don’t try, we’re just latter-day sinners; if we don’t persevere, we’re latter-day quitters; and if we don’t allow others to try, we’re just latter-day hypocrites. As we try, persevere, and help others to do the same, we are true Latter-day Saints."

How much are you and I really trying to follow Christ if we judge or don't have patience with others in the church? God has a ton of patience for us as he is perfect and we are not, let's do the same for others.

-----------------
Now as to my week. Haha

I said goodbye to Nagano and welcomed in my new trainer, Inumaki. He is so sick. Love him. He speaks basically no English and when he does its a super heavy accent and it's so funny haha. He loves to sing English songs like: Over the Rainbow, Radioactive, and some One Direction. He is wild. It's frustrating not being able to communicate sometimes, but my Japanese is already getting better, and he is super patient. He's a boss in lessons too.

So lesson with Iwasawa this week. Though Iwasawa is in his late thirties he thinks a lot like a child. It can be very frustrating. Our lesson was an ultimatum basically. We needed to know if he is actually going to progress. If not we needed to drop him. I shared a lot from Alma 32 (favorite chapter btw) it compares faith to a seed and as it grows it becomes a tree. I drew pictures as we read and explained (through a members translation) that he has increased his faith over the last 3 years by meeting with the missionaries and now has a big tree of faith within in him. Basically I said his tree needs more nourishment. This nourishment would be actually doing something, not just meeting with us. After lots of misleading answers, a prolonged "bathroom break", and a picture of a fork in the road drawn by me telling him he either commits 100% or doesn't commit at all to baptism he finally said he would commit for June 6th. He has had many baptismal dates in the past and always finds a way to bail. Really frustrating. We told him he has to prove to us that he is committed 100% or we can't meet with him. That all sounded harsh and unloving but we knew we had to have a lesson like that. His story is way hard to explain.

Our companionship now has two baptismal dates. With the only two investigators we have. Though that sounds good and I have faith that it can be done. I am worried. Iwasawa's date is definitely iffy and Jordan's baptism is going to be very hard now. Considering he has work every day for the next two months. Probably won't be able to get work off for church or baptism. I am praying hard for some miracles. It's tough not feeling that excited about baptismal dates. On a better note, last Saturday our district had a baptism! It's the first one this area has seen in years. Literally years. This is a rough area but it seems to be starting to pick up and we are starting to see a lot of miracles.

I love you all and I hope you got at least one thing you can use from this email. In Elder Nelson's talk "waiting for the prodigal" he talked about how, all we need to do is pray for, love, wait and watch for the people that are struggling in their lives to the true happiness they can find in the gospel. I was the prodigal for sure and I'm so thankful for all of you who did just that as I had hardened my heart. I think you could add "being an example" in there too.

Much love,

Spackman 長老

Pictures:
1. Some kids Nagano and I met and the park

2. It doesn't usually even snow in the winter here and it snowed this week, it didn't stick but it was a lot.

3-4. At church last Sunday I noticed one of the elders taking some pics of me and decided to make them not so candid...

5. Bye bye Nagano :/

6. The guy that walked over an hour to come to church was wearing a Utah State jacket! I was so stoked to see that here in Japan. His dad was a law professor there. Dad, do you think you might now his father?

7. Rockin the shades at English class lol

8. I pic from last weeks sweets party, in the top left you can see my district leader and I taking selfies lol

9. Video of my dropping my ramen posing for a picture a couple weeks ago on splits