1 Apr 2012 (2 Apr In Japan) Otsu

Silver Sand!!!

  Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavilion) in Kyoto.

This is Ginkakuji!!! All the above pictures.

Bamboo!!!

The street in front of Gikakuji.  I bought a delicious bread thing with custard on the inside from a vendor. 

My companion, Elder Meyers

Me when I`m sick

Me when I`m better again

Week 91

Mission Log

April Fool`s Day passed by quite uneventfully.  I guess Japanese people aren't really the type to play jokes on each other.  It seems like most people know what April Fool`s Day is, but whenever I asked people about it, they all seemed like they had had bad experiences with it in the past.  Like, a joke had been played on them and things got out of hand.  The people I talked to didn't really seem to like April Fool`s Day very much. 

Last Monday, we went and saw Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavilion) in Kyoto.  It`s nice being in the Kyoto zone again so that I can go see an  ancient temple on each preparation day.  Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavilion) was actually built by the son, or some relative, of the guy who built Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion).  It has lots of beautiful, very neatly raked silver sand that according to legend turns into silver when it`s under the moonlight.  Unfortunately, the place is only open during the day, so no one can confirm if the legend is true or not.  I`ll just assume that it is. 

I also got sick for a while during the week, but I`m mostly better now.  I`m going to try to send some pictures now.

-Elder Isaac Swift

25 March (26 in Japan) 2012

Week 90

Mission Log

 

It`s a beautiful sunny day here in Otsu.  The weather was actually pretty crazy for the past few days.  It would be really sunny one moment, but then rainy the next moment and get sunny again really soon.  It was back and forth between rain and sun for all of Thursday through Sunday, except Friday.  Friday was just straight rain.  In Japan, it always rains a lot at the change of each season.  The big rainy season is at the change from Spring to summer, but there is another smaller rainy season between Winter and Spring, Summer and Fall, and Fall and Winter.  Yesterday was pretty cold.  It even had some snow with the rain.  Today however, is looking like it will be very nice. 

 

Last Monday, we got my bike fixed in the late afternoon.  There are bike shops all over in Japan, but my companion and I both bought our bikes at a bike shop called Asahi, and we got insurance with it.  So, if we go to an Asahi, it is a lot cheaper to get it fixed and they always do a really good job.  Asahi is pretty much the biggest bike store chain in Japan.  Most stores around are just small self-owned businesses.  Asahi always has any parts you need and it`s very reliable.  The problem is that there isn`t an Asahi close to our apartment here.  There is one in Otsu City, but none in Kusatsu City.  We had to go all the way to Otsu to get my bike fixed.  On Tuesday, we had an appointment in the morning.  So, we were coming back for lunch after that, and my companion`s tire went flat.  We thought it was just a normal puncture in the tube and we were pretty close to the apartment, so we just walked it back.  After lunch, we picked up a puncture repair kit from the dollar store and began trying to fix his tube.  Neither of us were very good at fixing punctures, so we were having some problems and it was taking a while.  Eventually, we got the puncture fixed and we started to get going.   We didn`t even get out of the parking lot before noticing that it wasn`t just a normal puncture in his tube, but there was a big slash in his tire.  We ended up having to walk back to Asahi and get his tire replaced as well.  It was a pretty interesting adventure. 

 

 

I heard from someone that there was another earthquake in Japan, but I haven`t heard anything about it since then.  We didn't feel anything down here.  I didn't feel anything when the big earthquake last year happened either, but I did feel some of the aftershocks.  Nothing super serious though.  This area of Japan has been pretty safe.  I hope that some exciting stuff happens in the upcoming rainy season and Typhoon season. Typhoon is actually a Japanese word that is pronounced the same way, except without the "n" on the end of it. 

 

On Thursday, I went to District Leader training in Kobe.  It was fun to see everyone else from around the mission, all the district leaders at least.  The training was also very good.  I also ate at a Burger place in Kobe that is known as the "Burger Pit".  It`s a tiny burger shop that is run by a Canadian who lives in Kobe.  The coolest thing about it is that the burgers are made with Kobe beef (the best meat in the world).  They were pretty good.  On Friday I went on a companion exchange in Joyo.  That`s an area that I went on exchanges on a year ago, so it was fun seeing it again.  Finally, Saturday was district meeting.  We normally have it on Fridays, but this week had to be a Saturday.  It went pretty well. 

 

I think that`s about all of the exciting stuff that we did this week.  It was a pretty fun week.

 

-Elder Swift

18 March (19 in Japan) Otsu Japan

Week 89

Mission Log

 

Otsu is a way awesome place.  It`s in the same zone with Kyoto.  It only takes twenty or so minutes by train to get to Kyoto.  The biggest lake in all of Japan is here.  It is called Lake Biwa.  The city of Otsu is really big.  If we go by one of the train stations in the early evening, there are more people around then you can count.  There are just tons of people everywhere.  I thought I was back in Osaka on my first day here when we went by the Zeze station around six thirty.  The church is really close to that station.  But, we don`t live in Otsu city.  We live in a city called Kusatsu and have to ride our bikes to the church in Otsu.  We have to cross over a huge bridge that goes over part of Biwa Lake.  Kusatsu is also a pretty big city though.  It`s easily bigger and has more people in it than most of my areas have.  It has two pretty big universities in it. 

 

Last night, when we were just riding down the street minding our own business, we heard this way loud noise like a gunshot.  Everyone turned and looked at us.  The front tire on my bike had exploded.  What makes it worse is that we were all the way out in Otsu.  I`m walking around for today until I get the tire replaced.  I knew it was going to happen sometime, because the back tire exploded like two months ago, and you could tell that my tire was falling apart just by looking at it.

 

Elder Meyers has been in Japan for about four months.  Otsu is his first area.  He is from Seretoga Springs, Utah.  He`s a way nice guy.  It should be fun to work with him this transfer.  I`m excited.  The ward here has about sixty members in it.  They were all very nice and friendly.  What`s funny is that on Sunday, a couple from Fushimi ward (Brother and Sister Hishii) was here because she has a stake calling and she was speaking here.  It was really cool to see them again. 

 

I`m going to go look at some classes for BYU now.  I got permission the other day to go on the BYU site.  I`m thinking about business management or something like that.  Do you have any ideas? 

 

I`m loving being here in Otsu.  It`s a wonderful place.  I`ll write you again next week.  Bye. 

 

-Elder Swift

11 Mar 2012 Sennan Japan (12 Mar in Japan)

Week 88

Mission Log

 

Hello, Everybody!  It`s another beautiful Spring morning here in Osaka, Japan.  In Kobe, however, it was snowing this morning.  What`s the weather like over there?  I wonder what the weather is like in Kyoto.  This morning, got a phone call from the assistants announcing the next transfers.  I will once again be transferring.  On Thursday, I will be going back to the Kyoto zone.  I will be in a city called Otsu.  It is actually in the Shiga prefecture (the one next to Kyoto), but it is very close to Kyoto, so it is one zone and one stake.  My old area, Fushimi, is going to be in the same district with me, and I will be the district leader.  So, I can go there on companion exchanges all the time.  My companion is going to be Elder Meyers.  I hope that it will be a lot of fun.  It`s sad to have to say goodbye to all of the people here that I`ve grown to care about over the last four and a half months, but I`m sure I will meet many wonderful people in Otsu as well.  Sorry that I don`t have a whole lot to say this week.  I`m working hard out here.  It`s hard, but it`s a lot of fun at the same time.  I`ll write you again next week.  Bye. 

 

-Elder Isaac Swift

4 Mar (5 Mar in Japan) Sennan Japan

Week 87

Mission Log

 

Sennan is still going pretty well.  I`ve been here for quite a while now.  I`m on my third transfer here, which is tied for the longest that I`ve been in any area.  Next week Monday there will be another transfer announcement.  I wonder what`s going to happen.  I`ll probably go to one more area for the last three transfers of my mission.  I wonder where it will be. 

 

It was really warm all of this week.  I didn`t wear a coat or gloves or anything just like usual, but what`s not like usual is that I didn`t find myself wishing that I had put a coat or gloves on later in the day or at night when I got cold.  It was just really nice all week.  I`m pretty sure that winter is over and Spring has begun now.  It rained yesterday and it is still raining today.  I hope it doesn`t last too long.  In June is the rainy season.  Once that is over, it is super hot.  Even for a little while before the rainy season and all during the rainy season it is hot.  July and August are probably the hottest.  It gets really really humid in the summer here.  It`ll be fun. 

 

I`m completely use to sleeping on a futon.  It`d probably be weird for me when I try to sleep on a bed again.  I never really had any problem with them.  When I first got here, I thought the futons were just fine.  Some missionaries do take some time to get used to them though.  Some people don`t like them at first.  They aren`t as thick as that futon bed/couch mattress that we had back at home.  It`s like sleeping on top of a couple of blankets.  Did you say that we are staying at the temple one night?  Do they have hotel rooms at the temple?  I`m excited.  I want to go through the temple in Tokyo.  Kathrine got married?  To whom?  Malcom came back home?  When?  When is Tyler going on a mission? 

 

I`ve started teaching a lot of older people this last week or two.  Before, I mostly just taught people in their twenties or teenagers, but just recently I started teaching a bunch of people in their forties, fifties, and sixties.  I don`t know how or why that happened, but it`s interesting.  It`s completely different from teaching people that are around my same age.  Maybe I`ll try to find some more young people this week.  I`d really like to focus on trying to find some families that we can teach.  When a family joins, they can strengthen each other and the retention rate is so much better. 

 

I have to get going now.  I`ll write again next week.  Bye. 

 

-Elder Isaac Swift

26 Feb (27 in Japan) Sennan Japan

Week 86

Mission Log

 

Everything is still super awesome here.  The members here are all really nice and they pretty much all speak English.  I never speak in English to any of them, but they would all understand if I did.  It`s really weird.  In most wards there is one or two people or families from a foreign country (like the US), but everyone else is Japanese and doesn't know English.  This ward is backwards.  There aren't any foreigners, but pretty much everyone seems to be able to speak pretty good English.  In part, I think it`s because there are so many returned missionaries here.  A lot of times, Japanese missionaries will end up picking up English on their missions, even if they serve in Japan. 

 

 

We had a zone conference this week where the mission president and the assistants came and gave training.  We`re trying to focus more on finding and teaching families now. Also, we changed the way we add up our numbers each week so that it`s a lot harder to find "new investigators" now.  The conference was in a church that is right in downtown Osaka.  It was pretty fun going into the big city. 

 

It`s gotten quite a bit warmer now.  It isn't even cold normally.  I don`t have to wear a coat or gloves anymore.  The only exception is when it is windy.  The wind is really cold, especially when riding a bike. 

 

I went back to Wakayama on a companion exchange this week.  It was really cool going back there.  There is a person there named Sister K.....  About twenty or thirty years ago, she went less active.  She didn't just stop coming to church.  She moved and changed here phone number to that the members wouldn't know where she lived.  About seven months ago, the missionaries ran into her while tracting, and they started teaching her.  She wouldn't go to church or talk to any of the members, but she was fine with meeting with the missionaries.  Elder Burhoe and I taught here many times.  Right before Wakayama closed, we told her that it was going to be our last Sunday and that she needed to come this week.  I think she always wanted an opportunity to go back sometime, but she just needed us to give her a little push.  She came that week and we were so happy.  Then, we left Wakayama and I didn't hear anything for three months because there were no missionaries there.  This last week when I went down to Wakayama on a companion exchange I went to her place and visited her.  She was way excited to see me and let us in right away.  I noticed right away that on a shelf by the door, there was a framed picture of two missionaries and one of Mary and Jesus that she`d taken from the Liahona.  Upon going in and talking with here, I found out that she has been going to church every week ever since that day she came with is.  She read the Liahona and scriptures all the time and she is working so that she can go to the temple again.  She was so happy when I saw her.  It was great to be able to see how she turned her life back around and how happy it made her.  It made me happy too. 

 

That`s about all I have for this week.  I`ll write you again next week.  Bye. 

 

-Elder Isaac Swift

19 Feb (20 Feb in Japan) Sennan

Week 85

Mission Log

We had another good week.  I got to go on another companion exchange with Elder Kawamura.  It was cool because we were companions exactly one year ago.  We were working together on Valentine`s Day and reminiscing about what we did for Valentines Day last year.  It was also fun to work in his area.  His area is north of ours.  It`s closer to the big Osaka city area.  It was a crazy feeling to see big buildings all around and people everywhere.  Osaka is such a big city.  I always thought that Seattle was a pretty big city, but in comparison to the size of Osaka, it`s like nothing.  I can`t imagine what Tokyo is like.

The Bishop had us over to his house last night to have gyoza (potstickers).  Gyoza are so good in Japan.  I don`t remember them being this good back in the United States.  You`ll have to let me know.  Are potstickers in the United States any good?  I wonder if I`ll still be willing to eat them or ramen in the United States after getting used to how good it is here.  There are restaurants all over the place that are dedicated to just gyoza or just ramen.  Those are actually two foods that are eaten together quite often.  It`s because they are really both Chinese foods that Japan adopted from them. 

 

It`s gotten quite a bit warmer recently.  During the day time it isn't even cold most of the days.  It did snow just a little bit one day this week, but even while it was snowing, it didn't feel all that cold.  The days are all significantly warmer now.  But, once the sun goes down, it gets freezing cold super fast.  Riding a bike at night is unbelievably cold and my hands get painfully frozen each night, but the days are nice. 

That`s about all I have to say this week.  I`ll write you again next week.  Bye. 

-Elder Isaac Swift