Elder Chab's Adventures from the Tokyo South Mission: Week 3 Desu!

SUIYOBI (WEDNESDAY) 9-28-16
It was a nice P-day. Updating the blog is still kinda difficult, especially with pictures. I think I've figured it out now though. I fixed my first week's post so feel free to check that out if you want to see the pictures from that week. Jones Choro and I studied some Nihongo and then prepped for TRC (Teaching Resource Center). Basically, we teach people that are already members of the church instead of investigators. We teach in full Japanese; it can be difficult at times but my companion and I are really picking up on the language. Most of the time, the people are return missionaries that served in Japan. TRC went so great! We taught about praying often and obedience. The two people really got involved in our lesson. I'm sure it'll get better from here. I tried to take a nap earlier in the day but I couldn't because there are some noisy elders-not the Japanese elders though- in our residence hall.

MOKUYOBI (THURSDAY) 9-29-16
A much more relaxed day..It consisted mainly of studying Nihongo and the gospel. We were supposed to teach a lesson but plans changed because of the upcoming General Conference. For exercise, we played beach volleyball with the dai senpai (Missionaries that have been at the MTC for 6 weeks or more) one last time before they leave to Japan on Monday. Kamae Choro, one of the dai senpai, came to our room after our last class and played ukele and sung for us. We had a nice jam session. He's a great guy!

KIN'YOBI (FRIDAY) 9-30-16
Cuff Choro and Davis Choro woke up super sick so they stayed in bed most of the day. We also didn't teach lessons today because our teacher, Waddell Shimai, had to get her wisdom teeth pulled out. We had a sub, Collyer Shimai, instead. I played volleyball again; it was one of the funnest games I've played because no one was playing aggressively; we all just had a good time.

DOYOBI (SATURDAY) 10-1-16
The 186th General Conference began today. I'm not much of a note taker but I sure did learn a lot! One of the talks that stood out to me was by Kazahiko Yamashita. He spoke about a missionary with a prosthetic leg who got called to serve in Japan. The elder did not want to serve somewhere that would require him to ride a bike because it would be difficult for him. However, he did it anyway because he knew that's what the Lord wanted. Despite his prosthetic leg breaking and the pain, he never complained. Eventually, he was reassigned to a mission in which he would use a car for transport. However, his diligence to serve and endure is inspiring. Yamashita Kyodai also mentioned some other missionary advice, including "being ambitious for Christ". The MTC choir also performed in the afternoon session of conference. I believe 19 missionaries from my zone was in the choir. They sung 4 songs but my favorites were "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" and "Hope of Israel". One of the greatest moments was when the camera zoomed in directly on Kamae Choro's face lol. After the choir sung, everyone sung the missionary theme song, aka, Called to Serve. The afternoon session was amazing; I felt it was meant for us missionaries. I'm glad I got to watch it at the MTC with about 2100 missionaries!

NICHIYOBI (SUNDAY) 10-2-16
The Sunday sessions were also amazing! After conference, we had one of the most entertaining devotionals! BYU's "Vocal Point" came and sung for us as well as talk to us. Vocal Point is an a cappella group with amazing talent. They are all return missionaries! If you haven't heard them sing, you're missing out! My favorite song was their version of "Nearer My God to Thee". After devotional, we watched the 3 new segments of "Meet the Mormons". The last segment was about a Japanese, family-based, vocal group called Bless4. All the Japanese missionaries especially loved it because we got an insight of what Japan is like. When we went to the residence hall, we had our last zone devotional with the dai senpai. They gave my room all of their food and laundry stuff because they couldn't take it with them on the plane. Sundays are amazing here!

GETSUYOBI (MONDAY) 10-3-16
We got someone new to teach. Her name is Yamazaki-san. She's a return missionary who has fallen away from the church. Our teacher, Chau Shimai is roleplaying as her. Our lesson with her was decent. However, our lesson with Ota-san, played by our teacher Strauss Kyodai, was great! We talked about Christ and prayer. And then we gave him a pamphlet about the Atonement. We had Chic-fil-a for dinner. I was craving their chicken sandwiches since I've been at the MTC lol. It was soooooo good. We played volleyball again; it was our first game without the dai senpai. They left at 3AM and 6AM. I got to say goodbye to them before they left. I'm gonna miss them a lot as they were wonderful examples to us kouhai. I know they will do great in Japan as well as after their mission. The senpai have now stepped up to dai senpai and us kouhai are now senpai. The love in branch 5 is just amazing! It was a rough day though because I kinda caught the cold that's been going around the MTC.

KAYOBI (TUESDAY) 10-4-16
We taught Aoi-san today and it went great! At some point, Aoi-san asked us why it is important to pray and what is the Book of Mormon. Then Cuff Choro and I just started making up our own sentences in Japanese instead of reading off of our script we had made. It was so cool! The gift of tongues and the spirit was definitely there during that lesson. A new teacher came into class today, Tsukamoto Kyodai. He helped coach us. For devotional, the Relief Society General President and her husband spoke to us. They spoke about the "Mantle of the Lord" and how we should be diligent missionaries. One of the Nihonjins came in today. I don't remember her name yet but she's awesome! She joined us for our district's devotional review. We are getting 2 more Nihonjins tomorrow!

As a sister from my district, Lockett Shimai, always says, "It was a week of miracles". So many things happened this week that couldn't have been accomplished without the Lord. I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I arrived at the MTC. It's weird because the days go by slow but the week goes by faster. Even though its tough here, I will not give up. We are giving it our all to become the best missionaries we can be. I hope everyone is doing great! See ya next week!　あいしてます！