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頼もう！

Lot of fun this week. We got to pet a saint bernard. It was heavier than me! Easily the biggest dog I've come across. Then we had a combined district council with the Atsugi/Hodogaya district. 16 missionaries..way more than I was used to this transfer. 

On Thursday, we did some park service with the Kamakura elders. We planted some seeds and had some good talks with the other volunteers. Then we had blitz with the Fujisawa/Kamakura district. It started to rain a bit, but it was still a lot of fun! We were able to talk to quite a few people. 

Recently, we've been invited over to a few members' homes cause it is my last week. I also bore my testimony in sacrament meeting. I can honestly say that serving amongst the Japanese people has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've had. There were many hard times that I felt would never end, but now I can look back on them with confidence for the future. I met a lot of great people and I've learned how to love them as the Savior does. I didn't get to see any of my investigators receive baptism, but I saw others experience the joy of the gospel and as a result, I got to as well. Many of the members I met here decided to serve a mission. Truly a wonderful sight! 

Serving a mission has taught me how to turn outward and serve others. I am sad that this opportunity as a full-time missionary is coming to an end, but I know there are more great opportunities ahead. I am so thankful for President and Sister Warnick, their dedication to their calling, and their love for us and the work. I am thankful for all the wonderful members and friends that I've been able to meet and work with. Japan will always be a big part of my life. I know that the work will continue to press forward here in Japan. Thank for all the love and support. I love you all. Stay strong!

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

Blurry, but I hope this puts into perspective how big the dog was

Combined district council

Last blitz!

The best 伝道主任

The 中部 family!

T'was an interesting week. Lot of rain. And a typhoon. But we are all good!

We had to say goodbye to our third link this week, Elder Hansen. Selling a bike took much more time than anticipated; lesson learned. We then went on splits with the zone leaders. Elder Knapp and I went to good ol' Kamakura for district council; I forgot what it was like to have more than 3 people in your district haha. After making it back to 藤沢, we celebrated Elder Hansen's birthday at Tonsai, a tonkatsu restaurant. We filled ourselves up and then parted ways. After finalzing some packing the next morning, we went to the 本部 to drop him off. It was a sad goodbye but I know the Lord will watch over him as he enters the next chapter of his life.

Had some pretty awkward conversations with people on the street. One guy stopped after I asked for some good restaurants to eat at. He paused, as if he was thinking, looked at my nametag, then my companion's, told us to wait for a bit, put back his headphones on and then dashed away. I was blown away. Luckily, I've gotten used to that kind of treatment but wow, seems like my nametag is like a gun or something haha. 

We did meet some really nice people though while housing, including a kid from Brazil. He accepted a Book of Mormon and we'll probably be stopping by to visit him and his family this week.

Sunday was a busy day. My companion and I had to split for the 3rd hour of church because I was to be part of a missionary fireside in Yamato and my companion and I were assigned to give talks in the Zama branch. I talked to the ward members about using social media to do missionary work and then booked it back to Zama, in time to catch the last 5 minutes of my companion's well done talk. I went up next and talked about some things that I have learned on my mission, including the guidance of the spirit and loving others. This was the first time I had spoken in sacrament meeting in English since I left, so I didn't know how it would turn out. I pretty much ditched what I had written and kept going. I don't remember too much but many of the members thanked us after and Sister Giles had told us, with tears in her eyes, that what needed to be said today was said. I was a bit surprised but I remembered that it was not me that spoke, it was the Holy Ghost. I am so thankful for the Holy Ghost and his guidance!

Well, this is my last full week in Japan, as much as I hate to admit it. We have a lot of work to do with the ward and branch members this week. I'm super excited! 

Also, if there is anyone wanting to know more about my homecoming, please contact my mom, Montira Chab on Facebook!

-Elder Chab

Follow Him

I had my last interview with President Warnick this week. We reviewed my mission and he gave me some advice and counsel for the next stage of my life. T'was a spiritual time!

We also got to meet with ゆうたさん, who we found while streeting the week before, for the first time. We got to do a church tour and as we did so, he told us that his family is Christian! We had a fantastic lesson about the restoration and he gave a beautiful description of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He said that if he came to know the Book of Mormon is true, he will get baptized! It was testimony to me that God is preparing people to receive us!

There was a baptism yesterday for りなちゃん, one of the primary kids in the ward. After her baptism, she shared a simple but powerful testimony and shared her desire to follow Jesus Christ. We also sung "I am a Child of God" together and it really brought in the spirit. I was reminded that we are all God's children, no matter how old we are, what we have done, or what we think of ourselves. We can be clean and made anew if we choose to follow Christ. He will lead us, guide us, walk beside us, and teach us the way to return back with him. I know that's true. I encourage all of you to think about that this week! Have a good one! 

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

We love biking!

Last view of Yokohama!

Yoinked Saitama Samurai

It's been raining a lot recently! And it actually gets cool now!

Our week was full of crazy adventures so I'll do my best to keep them brief!

On Wednesday, I went to my last zone conference! I gave a training about teaching, testifying, inviting, promising blessings and following up. It turned out to be a pretty good training and we all learned together. On top of that, we got trainings from President and Sister Warnick. It was a super spiritual time. It's gonna be hard to leave everyone.

The next day, we made a journey to Saitama, which is outside our mission. Elder Hansen needed see a doctor so we got permission to go. It was a two hour train ride. Lots of great sights on the way and the doctor spoke a little English too, making it easier on me to translate. 

The Pistner family came to church yesterday and they said they enjoyed it! It was a miracle! After church, we scrambled to the stake center for a mission prep class. We have 3 members preparing for a mission so we helped out a bit. It was a really good meeting and I wish I went to something like that before I left. Then we rushed over to Zama base to have dinner and DCS with the Hyde family. They fed us bratwurst and Thai curry! They are a wonderful family and they work so hard! He drove us home afterward and we talked about our investigators and how to help the branch. We usually go with a purpose of helping members when we visit any member, but I think they are the ones helping me. A true display of the fruits of the gospel! I'm so thankful for this opportunity as a missionary!

We went to Odawara Temple today and we became samurais! It was funny cause as we walked around in the samurai outfits, a ton of people took pictures of us and thought we were workers. I wouldn't mind working at Disneyland or some place with a costume some day haha. It was quite a long trip, but worth it! 

With these last few P-days, I'll be preparing to return...with that said, if you send an email and I don't get back to you right away, I apologize! Anyway, have a good one!

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

Last zone conference!

Lunch in Saitama before the doctor's!

Odawara Castle!

Samurai Battle!

Odawara Temple

This is my castle!

Off in the distance

Welcome to Thailand!

Again, no time to write emails this week so this will be short. 

On Saturday, we had a Luau party for the stake. Elder Cuff and I were the only ones here for the previous Poly Night so we got to help with some of the dances. We did the haka and slap dance with me drumming again. A lot of people showed up and it was a lot of fun. 

The next day we had both sacrament meetings again. We had a little bit of finding time after church so we went to Yamato station. While we were over there, I met some Thai people selling food. After talking to them, they have us some food. How nice of them!

We returned to the church and began making Thai green curry. So some background; while I was in Machida, we had Curry Night once a month with the ward. I suggested the idea over here and they decided to do it. We were expecting 30 people but at least 80 people showed up. We served Thai Green curry and normal curry; it was like a soup kitchen haha. They all loved it, even though it was spicy. It seems like it really helped the relationship with the ward. I'm glad my Thai roots could come in handy on the mission! 

Remember to set your light on top of a hill, so that others may see it and choose to follow the Savior. 

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

One of the most open parks I've seen in Japan

The comps!

I love nature!

Green Curry!

Atsugi crew at the Luau

Curry night! I'm an amateur Thai chef.

Elder Mayo and I!

Gun + Tear Drops= Prank #QuickMath

Transfers went pretty smoothly this week. Elder Mayo is a stud three of us have been working pretty hard. There are no more sisters in the area so we are teaching their investigators now. 

We finished DCS (a meeting with missionaries and ward mission leader) a bit late. We go to the basketball court after and found Yさん(I won't say his name) crying. We talk to him a bit and then we play basketball. As we wrapped up, I invited him to go get some Indo curry with us. I saw something that looked like a gun in his bag but I ignored it. He then asked Elder Mayo if he could talk with about something private, in which Elder Mayo refused. We get to the restaurant and Yさん begins crying again. He shows us a picture of his girlfriend, telling us she broke up with him. After saying he wants to die, he reaches in his bag and begins to pull out a gun. Elder Mayo stopped him, and told him to talk about it outside. We go outside the restaurant and he explains a little more, still crying and upset. We both comfort him and then go back in.

We begin eating our curry and he continues to cry and reach for the gun every now and then. Eventually, as we finish our food, his countenance changes. He tells us that everything was a prank. The picture of his "girlfriend" was a boy, the gun was fake, and he doesn't want to kill himself. He left after telling us that. Man, were we upset. Thankfully, we all had the patience and cared enough to not put him down on the spot. One doesn't joke about things like that, especially if it involves a gun and life.

Despite that crazy experience, I got to go to two sacrament meetings; one for Yamato and one for the Zama Military Branch. It was pretty odd hearing only English. Everyone was so friendly though. It's such a blessing that I get to work with two great groups of people! 

Have a fantastic week!

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

Last time with Elder Nielson! We recreated a photo from over a year ago!

Throwback to February of 2017!

Last district meeting with the sisters!

I Found My People! - Transfer 16

What's good!!?

P-day always ends up pretty tiring. Not sure why. I'll just make a quick summary of the week:

-Elder Bird went to the mission office to be the new tech staff. His companion, Elder Hansen, joined our companionship and we've been a trio since. We also have 関根長老 join us a lot so we are basically a group companionship. Super OP

-We 伝道'd with a youth planning to serve a mission!

- Fei came back from his vacation and we set up a baptismal date for Sept. 15. Coming to church is still a bit difficult but we are working on it

- The ward had the annual summer festival. We were in charge of the game booths; the kids got a kick out of that. There was also fried chicken, yakisoba, taiko drums and dancing. It was a great turn out!

- The missionaries sang "I'll Find You My Friend" in sacrament meeting

- We met the guy who recorded the original DBZ soundtrack! Shortly after, we ran into a Thai couple. Using my poor Thai skills, English, Japanese, and some help from God we were able to exchange contact info! We will meet them soon!

Transfer announcements came..I am staying in Yamato! My son, Elder Ormond is going to 小田原 and Elder Hansen will stay with me. We'll also be getting Elder Mayo in a few days. So I am staying in a trio! The sisters are being closed, meaning we'll teach their investigators. That'll be a first for all of us! That's all I've got for now, so stay cool!

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

Good ol' bowling

First adventure as a trio!

Dinner with Yoshiki-kun!

Party on the Weekend

The Festival!

My Thai brother!

Shabushabu with the district!

Not Enough Asian

This week was a pretty good week for contacting people. Elder Ormond is getting more adjusted to missionary life, the culture and language at a pretty good rate so props to him. The tricky part has been exchanging contact info so that we can meet up again. Not a whole lot of people are open to exchange contact info right away, but we'll keep trying!

Elder Stevenson from the Quorum of the 12, Bishop Davies, Elder Gay and our area presidency met with us this past weekend. Elder Stevenson served as a mission president in the Japan Nagoya mission a few years back; it was a pretty cool connection. He speaks great Japanese too! 

As we were finding this week, we met a few people from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao, and China. I talked to the people from Thailand and Cambodia with my less-than-mediocre Thai and Khmer. They lit up and started talking real fast. I picked up a bit of what they were saying and tried to respond. After that, I realized that one needs to be familiar with all those cultures and languages before finding in that area. Making me not enough asian haha.  It was quite the experience! 

Elder Bird is leaving us to be the new tech staff...meaning that his companion Elder Hansen will join us. We'll be a threesome until transfers next week. Another adventure! 

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

Fei and his family!

Pikachu Party!

What's good! 

We've been doing a lot of finding recently cause the people we've been teaching are disappearing off the face of the earth. A lot of people just stopped contacting us. One of our investigators, こうき is moving back to his hometown so he came to church one last time. Feiさん is off to Okinawa for a week or so. 

I got to go on splits with Elder Nielson. We were in the MTC together for a little while, so it was quite the opportunity. We met a guy while housing that was way down to talk. He knew missionaries already cause they always say hi to him while he's going to work. Greetings go a long way folks. 

We went to Yokohama today and it was just packed with people. There is a Pikachu parade going on throughout the city. People dressed in pikachu costumes were walking down the street. I'm pretty sure there was at least a half million people out there today. 

Gotta catch 'em all!

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

Walked down to the beach on splits and talked to a few people there! Pretty nice

Dinner with the Silvas

We got free Pikachu hats!

I’m So Fancy.. You Already Know

I'm officially out of interesting titles... I hope you know where this one is from. 

We finished closing the Zama apartment this week and then had dinner with the 関根家. 

Fei兄弟 is doing great! We began teaching him the Plan of Salvation and he made some amazing connections. He also expressed that he ever since he's been taking lessons, he wants to improve his life more. Its amazing to see the power of God work through others. Now we just have to get him to church!

There was an open base summer festival at Zama camp this weekend. We did some 伝道 around the base, especially passing out fliers. We talked to a good amount of people.  

And on Sunday night, there was a smaller festival near the church. We talked to a few families there and enjoyed some culture. Our mission president's counselor played the taiko drum pretty hard haha. 

Today we went to Enoshima, an island off the coast. We had some nice Hawaiian burgers at Kua' Aina and then toured the island. It's been nearly two years since I've been there so we did some photo recreations. Lot of walking though and I'm ready to crash. 

Something I was able to re-learn this week is that God knows each one of us. He knows our joys, our sadness. Just like a parent cares for each child and wants them to succeed, Heavenly Father loves all of us and desires our happiness. He knows what will bring us true joy in this life and the one to come. All we have to do is pray, choose to follow Him, and act righteously :) Never forget that! Love you all!

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

The District

After park service ice cream!

Zama camp..looks like America!

Summer Night Festival?

So I've been in the Fujisawa stake more than half of my mission. Sometimes I wonder why. And the best reason that I can think of is the fact that I know Spanish. I ran into a guy on the street one night and he said he was from Peru. Then I asked him in Spanish if he spoke Spanish and BAM! He went ham! I hadn't spoken in a while so I was a bit rusty but that's when the gift of tongues kicked in and we were able to have a decent conversation! 

We had zone conference and helped out clear an apartment this week. Pretty tiring physically and spiritually haha. We did some more Rubik's cube 伝道 and it turned out real well. Also, a typhoon passed by and the whole mission ended up having to stay inside the rest of the day. The rain didn't hit us too hard but the wind was pretty solid. 

Sunday night was an adventure! The advantages of having a Polynesian companion is that they are huge and people recognize them. One guy we talked to loved rugby and told my companion that he's got a great body for it haha. 

Shortly after, I met a young guy who was carrying an instrument. I took a closer look and it had a DCI (Drum Corps International) logo on it. For those that don't know, it's basically like the NBA of marching band. Anyway, I ran over to him and talked to him; we connected instantly after I showed him a picture of when I marched back in 2015. It was way cool experience cause people that even know DCI are rare in Japan. I was just glad that I could use some pre-misison stuff to introduce the gospel to someone! 

On the way home, we biked passed a summer festival. We heard some drumming and went to check it out. Many people were doing "bon odori" which is a traditional Japanese dance. It was quite the experience! I love the culture!

Have a fantastic week!

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

We had some shaved ice during ward FHE!

Zone conference!

Me, my companion, and the zone leaders!

Surprises!

Sushi run!

My DCI brother! He wants to join SCV!

Some festival drummers!

Like Father, Like Son

頼もう！

I take back what I said last week about being exhausted. I really experienced it this week! 

Before transfers, we cleaned our apartment, had a few district meetings, SPM, 英会話 and a few lessons. A lot of members from one of my previous areas, Hodogaya, were at SPM. I was super glad to see them. In one of the lessons, we met with 英一郎さん. He's a  new investigator with a lot of potential. He agreed to be baptized on August 26 when he knows this is true :) 

Transfer day came and I went to the 本部 to go pick up my new missionary. It was announced that I'd be training Elder Ormond, from New Zealand. We were both pretty excited. He's a big dude with a big heart. Over the last few days, we've been working hard and he's got a lot of enthusiasm for the work. After getting home the first day, we had a lesson with Feiさん, which was in English/Japanese/Chinese. Quite the day. I took him to go buy his bike the other day as well. All of it reminds me of when I first got to the field, pretty 懐かしい!

One night during all of this, I sat down and just thought about all the work I haven't done yet. I had things to organize for the district and ward while training Elder Ormond. I was feeling pretty stressed and didn't know if I could handle all of this. But after taking a step back, I realized that just with all callings and assignments, God knows how much we can handle and what will help us grow. I'm not a perfect missionary nor person, but with God's help, I can do all things. 

With that peace, everything's just been a breeze. I've received a lot of guidance for the district and I'm excited to apply it! We have a lot to do this transfer and many of them will be new to my companion, but that's the fun of it! 

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

Last district picture before the transfer!

Elder Ormond and I!

Bike shopping!

La Fiesta! Transfer 15!

Lot of adventures this week! 

I went on splits with Elder Bird on Thursday and Elder Palmer on Friday. Elder Bird and I tried something new. We filmed us teaching about prophets and sent the video to 智彦さん, who has been quite hard to meet recently. Technology has helped our 伝道 so much! Also, as we were walking home from the station, it started to rain cats and dogs! There wasn't a cloud in the sky before that, so we weren't ready. We ran in the rain and made it home, completely drenched. We had district dinner later on at Sukiya, where I got a king size of gyudon. It was a lot of food but I finished it. T'was quite the experience. 

Later that night, we taught Feiさん over LINE video chat. 高村兄弟 from 保土ヶ谷 helped us out with the Chinese. Feiさん is making a lot of connections with what we've taught. We are hoping to set a baptismal date with him for August 25th! 

Elder Palmer and I had a wild time out in the blazing hot sun. We talked to a lot of people and had some Indo curry. Although we've known each other our entire mission, we never served together until now. And unfortunately, he's finishing his mission this week. Lot of dying missionaries, but I'm not trunky one bit haha. 

We had a fiesta on Saturday! About 350 people came! The decorations and costumes were fantastic! Lot of work was put in to make it happen, and it was a great turn out. I got to do a dance from Argentina and speak some spanish to people that came. What a great day to be a missionary in Japan!!

Transfer calls came and I'll be staying in Yamato! My new companion will be a brand new missionary and I will be a district leader! Quite the combination. A lot of missionaries are going home this week and our mission is shrinking. Zones will now consist of entire stakes instead of being split in half. I'm entering my last 12 weeks and my new companion will begin his first 12. Going to be fun! 

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

wanchai.chab@myldsmail.net

#RaiseTheBah

Technology makes lessons possible wherever people are!

Fiesta with two of our investigators!

Base bowling!

Bowling on Atsugi base! 

They Don’t Think it be as it is, But it Do

I don't know what happened this week, but I'm exhausted. And a whole lot darker haha.

We had a long day on Thursday. We went to MLC, where we learned a bit more about the upcoming changes to 英会話 and had a really good training on "Joy". We had a lessons with 礼一郎さん, who we met about two weeks ago on the street. He was excited to learn and even said he would be baptized when he knows it's true. Then we had a lesson on LINE video chat with Fei, our investigator from China. He's been reading the Book of Mormon and he connected a lot of the things we taught, as well as some things that we did not teach. Both are doing great and it's been fulfilling to see God work through them. 

We had a nice day in Yokohama, walking around and checking some shops. Pretty hot though. Next week is my companion's last P-day so we did some prep. Gonna be a great week! 

-Elder Chab

チャブ長老

#RaiseTheBah

The Brashear's fed us some American dinner!

Good ol' Yokohama

A temple in Chinatown