こんにちは！
I did it. I finally got to pull some weeds out of a yard in Japan! The 林家 invited us to help clean their yards and man, it was fun! We don't get a lot of service opportunities like that in Japan, so it was pretty special (The old me would think I'm crazy). We got down on our knees, yanked some weeds for a little over an hour, and then had some tacos for lunch!
We later had a basketball tournament with some members and friends that day. We invited a ton but not too many showed up. The ones that did were super good though. We had a blast playing with them!
We talk to a lot of interesting people as missionaries. One guy working for a bar yelled "Chōrō(Elder), I know Chōrō!", came up to us, and tried to invite us in. We told him we don't drink and a little bit about the Word of Wisdom. He doesn't drink either but loves to smoke. We asked him to give it up for a week. He said it was too hard but he would try a day at least. Talk about calling others to repentance haha. We also met a hiphop dancer who gave us some Japanese advice, a professional basketball coach, and a runner that can do 100m in 10 seconds.
I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting about following King Benjamin's example and doing missionary work. I mentioned that the easiest way to share the gospel is by being an example. Having passed the sacrament with members just before the talk, I felt like a member of the ward. I love this ward!
Had a pretty cool experience while grocery shopping this morning. As we were wrapping up, I asked my companion what we should do for lunch. A couple seconds later, one of my favorite members, 橋本兄弟, comes out of nowhere, puts some food in our baskets, hands us money for it and then says "Here's your lunch". The Lord isn't joking when he says "Ask and ye shall receive". What a blessing!
Something I forgot to mention last week was an invitation from Elder Renlund. When people come to us and say things like "I hear your church has ~~" or "I hear you church isn't fun", rather than explaining ourselves, all we as members have to say is "Come and see". Simple. Effective. Invitational.
For those that may have questions about the church, I invite you to "Come and see" what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is about. I wouldn't be on a mission if it wasn't true :) I'd love to share more, including about my week, but frankly it just can't be put into words! I love you all!
-Elder Chab
チャブ長老
#RaiseTheBah