皆さんこんにちは！
I thought summer was supposed to be picking up but there has been a lot of cloudy/rainy weather this past week! I'm enjoying it though!
About getting wrecked... Last Monday night, we went to look for some apartments in Ayase, which is super country-like; there are rice fields everywhere! We were on our way home, biking down some moderately steep hills. I was leading and my companion behind me. There was a pretty sharp turn, so I had to slow down. While turning, my back tire went over a small dirt pile and I lost traction and slid. I couldn't regain control after that. My bike flipped sideways, I was thrown off my bike, rolled a couple times on the ground, and then skidded on my right side to a stop. From my point of view, it was pretty crazy; I just saw colors everywhere. It was like a movie scene haha. I stood up right when my companion caught up to me, nearly unscathed. I got some minor scrapes on my elbows, right shoulder, and my lower right hip(which I later found out was more than a minor scrape haha). I also sprained my middle and 4th finger on my right hand. My fanny pack and white shirt took most of the blow haha. There's a hole in my fanny pack(which I patched up) and a hole in my brand new shirt that I bought the week before. My bike was pretty much fine, it just doesn't shift gears as smoothly. I'm glad it was mainly my items that got damaged instead of me. God definitely gave me some help there :) We got back on our bikes after and rode home, which was a bit painful :)
I went on splits with Magaña長老 from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday in Fujisawa藤沢. He is from Mexico but lived in Canada for several years and he loves golf. It was so much fun to 伝道 with him! We talked to a bunch of people, gave out two Book of Mormons and a couple pamphlets! He is a fantastic missionary! He only has a transfer left :o Wednesday was pouring rain, so we studied in the morning. While heading back to our area, two of our umbrellas got destroyed because of the wind...But I bought a super nice one that is supposed to be "inside-out-proof". We'll see what happens during typhoon season haha :) We had district meeting and 英会話 later that night. My companion and I taught advanced class. It felt a bit weird because I was teaching TOEIC solo in my last area for 2 transfers. But it was still fun!
We met with Masuzawa-san on Thursday evening. He is in his 60s and is an architect. His house and office are the same building, pretty interesting! His lady friend, Aiko, (they aren't married) was there as well. He prepared stuff to make sushi! He taught us how to make our own and man it was super good! Oh and I like shrimp now, so I used a lot of that for my sushi haha :) They talked a lot, so it was kinda hard to get started with our message. We introduced the Book of Mormon to them and gave them a couple things to read. Aiko was really into the BoM; she already finished what we told them to read before we left haha. They are excited to learn more though! We didn't get to set up another appointment with them before we left but that shouldn't be a problem :)
When everyone got home that night, I asked Lind長老 if he could give me a blessing of comfort. It's been a bit difficult getting used to the new area, companion and well, the mission in general. Lind長老 accepted my request and my companion and Gilbert長老 joined in as well. Lind長老's words sounded like they were from God himself; I got the comfort I was seeking :) The blessing was a bit long though (which isn't bad). Before Lind長老 closed the blessing, my companion all of a sudden withdrew his hands from my head. I opened my eyes-unfortunately a bit too late to realize what was about to happen- and saw him fall backward and hit his head on the dinner table. He fainted. Gilbert長老, Lind長老, and I were super confused. I grabbed the phone and we called Warnick姉妹 while we helped him. He woke up a couple seconds later, confused who we were, and then came back. He told us it had happened before and that he has low blood pressure so he can't stand up still for too long and that he locked his knees during the blessing. We joked a bit after, saying that he felt the Spirit too strong haha. But he's perfectly fine now! Definitely a blessing to remember!
We had a baptism for the sisters' investigator, 清美さん, who speaks Spanish。A lot of the 南米(nanbei-South America) missionaries that helped her came as well. The talks were in Spanish(also translated into Japanese)! I never thought I'd make use of my Spanish while in Japan but I was wrong! I was also asked to play piano for the meeting! I played "When I am Baptized" and "I Feel My Savior's Love" as well as "A Child's Prayer" for the special music number, sung in Spanish by the missionaries. It was a great opportunity! Carrasco長老 performed the baptism and Magaña長老 confirmed her the next day in 聖餐会(seisankai-Sacrament meeting). Everyone, myself included, was so happy for 清美姉妹! What a glorious day! I am so thankful for the opportunity as a missionary to help Heavenly Father's children find their way back to Him!
We also had a lesson with 横山さん. 小松兄弟 helped us out a lot! We taught the Restoration, focusing on Jesus Christ. We then gave 横山さん a calendar with the dates and lessons planned out for him to be baptized on July 22! He is super excited and really wants to follow Christ! Unfortunately, he said he was still a bit sick so he couldn't come to church this past Sunday. Please pray for him!
We also had a lesson with 横山さん. 小松兄弟 helped us out a lot! We taught the Restoration, focusing on Jesus Christ. We then gave 横山さん a calendar with the dates and lessons planned out for him to be baptized on July 22! He is super excited and really wants to follow Christ! Unfortunately, he said he was still a bit sick so he couldn't come to church this past Sunday. Please pray for him!
Well, that ended up being longer than I intended, ごめんなさい!! But with as many interesting experiences that come with being a missionary, it's hard to choose what to share! Anyway, I hope all of you are able to have your own adventures this week!
-Elder Chab
チャブ長老 or 茶武長老
愛しています^_^
Rice fields!
You can see Mt. Fuji way in the distance!