26 June 2011

Week 52

Mission Log

I guess you didn't really want to email me this week.  I`'ve been out for so long that you`ve forgotten about me now.  It`s been almost a year.  I`ll just let you know that things are going well here.  I had a good birthday.  It`s really hot and humid all the time.  Today feels like were in a sauna all the time.  Tomorrow we have two people getting interviewed for baptism.  President McIntyre said goodbye to us and the new president will start on Wednesday.  I love you all and wish you the best.  Bye. 

-Elder Isaac Swift





PS   I didn't forget to send Isaac an email.  I sent it to the wrong account by mistake..sorry

Imabari Japan 19 June 2011

Week 51

Mission Log

 

I can`t believe that I`m twenty now.  It`s so weird.  I`m really old now.  I just don`t understand how this happened.  It doesn't make any sense.  I don`t know where my whole childhood went.  In Japan you become an adult when you turn twenty years old.  It`s nice that people on the street won`t say that I`m a kid anymore.  I didn't really like it when people would tell me I`m not an adult. 

 

I have gotten mail.  I got five things today, but haven`t been able to read them yet.  Two were from Japanese people.  Two were from Mom and Dad`s house.  One was from the mission president and his wife.  They drew a picture of me and it was really good.  I've also gotten birthday mail from Joshua and Rebecca, another Japanese person, and the Owens.  Thank you so much for sending things and helping me to feel loved on my birthday.  We went to a big fancy factory and had a tour of it with a member here for my birthday.  It had nice gardens outside and it looked like an Austrian castle.  It was super nice.  We ate lunch there as well. 

 

We had five investigators in church this Sunday.  I think it got the branch really excited.  It sounded like the previous missionaries haven`t really been bringing a lot of people to church in a long long time. 

 

At English class this last week we talked about families and all drew pictures of our families.  Everyone in my picture was a stick figure drawn with pencil (except the blonde people had a yellow colored pencil for hair).  It was such a good drawing that two of the members asked if they could have photocopies of it.  It was kind of weird. 

 

I love you all.  Talk to you later.  Bye. 

 

-Elder Isaac Swift

Imabari Japan 12 June 2011

Week 50

Mission Log

 

I`ve reached the big 5-O in weeks now.  That means that I have officially been a missionary forever. 

 

The front tire on my bike got punctured and we don`t have any repair kits, so we have to walk everywhere today.  With that, and the two teaching appointments we have scheduled today, we don`t have very much time for preparation day activities.  It`s basically just running to try to get across town to our appointments all day.  No bike shops are open yet.  Everything here opens pretty late and closes pretty early. 

 

You can tell Brother Stout that we have plenty of people to teach right now.  Sometimes, I think it`s too many.  When we only have one or two investigators it`s really easy to focus on them and help them progress, but when we have a ton of investigators, it`s difficult to give each one the proper amount of focus and attention. 

 

It started raining a lot.  The last few days have been heavy rain all the time.  I guess the rainy season if here for real now.  When you come to pick me up it won`t be the rainy season.  It will be in July.  It will be really hot humid summer weather.  That`s also the season where Uwajima has it`s big cow demon festival with fire dancers and just cow demons that they march through the town. 

 

I don`t really have much to say this week.  I guess I`ll write again next week.  I love you.  Bye. 

 

-Elder Isaac Swift

Imabari Japan 5 June 2011

Week 49

Mission Log

 

Surprisingly, the weather was really nice this week.  It didn't rain at all.  They kept saying it will rain on certain days, but it never did.  It was supposed to rain today, but it was pretty sunny and nice.  I think we`re just not going to have a rainy season this year.  Just kidding.  It`ll probably get going soon. 

 

You know what`s crazy?  I`m on a mission right now. 

 

I hope the SAT went well.  One of the speakers in church last week said a quote that I really liked.  He said, "No matter what great college you graduated from, I still consider your seminary graduation more valuable."  I`m glad I went to seminary.  I hope that Jarom gets called to the Kobe Japan mission.  I could be his trainer.  It`d be so cool! 

 

I always just read the emails on the computer and I don`t delete any of them. 

 

The mission is led by a mission president.  Then, there are assistants to the president, usually two.  They are in Kobe and they help run the mission.  The mission is divided up into about ten different zones.  Each zone is led by two zone leaders who are companions with each other.  In each zone there are 1-3 districts and they are presided over by one district leader.  The district is usually 4-8 missionaries.  The district leader calls each area in his district every night to see how they`re doing and such.  The areas report their numbers at the end of the week to the district leader.  The district leader plans a district meeting every week.  The district leader conducts companion exchanges with elders in his district to help and train them.  That is how the mission is set up. 

 

This morning we got a phone call and we have to stop teaching another one of our investigators and her kids because the husband got mad.  They were progressing so well.  She had a baptismal date picked out and everything.  We had nine people scheduled to come to church yesterday, but only two of them came. 

 

I`m way way super tired every single day.  I don`t think I`m going to ever not be tired until the end of my mission.  I might fall asleep in this chair while emailing. 

 

We went and saw Imabari castle.  It was really cool.  It had a giant moat and wall around it.  The castle was six stories high and it was up on a big hill.  It was really cool, but the inside was completely modern.  The castle had been destroyed a while ago, so they just built it again in 1980.  It`s all concrete and stuff.  It`s still pretty cool though. 

 

I went to leadership training in Okayama  for a few days this week.  All of my old companions except one were there.  One has already gone home, but everyone else is a leader now and is one this side of the mission.  It was really cool getting to see them all again. 

 

My birthday is coming up pretty soon and my year mark is only ten days later.  Those are some pretty exciting days.  That`s about all I have to say this week.  I hope that everyone is doing well.  I love you.  Bye. 

 

-Elder Isaac Swift