A MONTH AND A WEEK'S WORTH

I'm so sorry about the delay in the blogposts. A lot of exciting things happened to Jordan while I was recovering from surgery. Enjoy!!!

SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

HELLO FROM THE CITY OF PAPER PEOPLE...OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT

Still not sure exactly what hirakata means. 枚方. The first kanji is the counter of paper and flat objects, and the kata part is like, a respectful way to say person, or it can be like, a way too. like direction or something. Cant figure that out yet.

So yeah, this week was pretty exciting! while I was still in the city of tall wisdom (kochi 高知), I was having a party with Marquez Choro! We were preparing our investigator, Keiko san, to be baptized. It was sad that I had to leave, but she will be baptized next week, which is really exciting! We also helped a lady in the branch move. She had a like, awning thing in her backyard that she didnt want, so she pulled out all these tools and asked us missionaries to destroy it. so that was fun, but also a little terrifying cause we werent sure if it was going to fall on her house or the neighbors house. but we knocked it down successfully! 

So yeah, Hirakata is pretty good. Its not like, downtown Osaka, but its still pretty big. I found out that my district is actually just the four missionaries that live here in Hirakata, because we changed zones this transfer, so its a little weird. But yeah, Steers Choro is my new companion, and he is the man. He is on his second transfer, so I'm still training this transfer, but thats alright, I can hardly tell! While he doesnt have a perfect grasp on Japanese, there is absolutely no fear of speaking any where in his personality. He tries so hard to talk to people, and its awesome. Everyone loves him, and we have like a million friends down at the train station. Its weird that in such a big city, we see the same people all the time.

So, one cool experience was taking one of our investigators to a baptismal service in the area next to ours. Even though it was raining, (it was like a typhoon I think. We almost got hit by lightning, it was awesome. Like, only 1-2 seconds away.) but we headed to the other area and saw it. It was great because our investigator kept telling people that he was going to be baptized on the 28th, which is his goal.

well yeah, I love it here in Hirakata already! Its going to be a really fun transfer! Osaka is cool. But osaka ben is mecha hard to understand. I barely could understand kansai ben, but this? dekihen. :P

Well yeah, so its really great! I'm excited! I hope that you are all doing really well this week! love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love you!

Elder Casper

( ^_^)人(^_^ )

High five!

 

this is my farewell party as I got on the bus to leave Kochi!

 

 

 

This is harimaya bashi, a famous place in Kochi

 

 

 

This is Keiko san, me, toyora kyodai, and marquez choro. She will be baptized next week

 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2013

聖徒よ。我々を保護して下さい。

Hey hey! Whats up my favorite family members ever? this week has been pretty interesting. We taught a lot of people here in hirakata, which was pretty fun! And guess what? I finally got brakes on my bike two days ago. It was pretty abunai before that. It was like a lightning bolt. really fast but couldnt stop at all. And it doesnt help that the Hirakata apartment/church are like a city set upon a hill. Literally, they are at the top of a giant hill. We call it "shinko no yama" or the mountain of faith. Its hard going up, but it was scary going down with no brakes. But my companion Steers Choro is super Otsukaresama, so he helped me fix my bike.

Speaking of being Otsukaresama, we also worked on building a gate for one of the members in our ward. That was way fun. 

This week, we had some interesting lessons. We had a lesson with an investigator named Maeda. She has had problems with tithing for like, a year so she wont get baptized. We testified of that for ever and all her other problems, and invited her to be baptized 8 times, but she hasnt committed yet. But we wont give up! :D

 

Oh yeah! Let me introduce to you the District! 

First up is Elder Steers, my companion! He is 22, from California / Denver, and he is awesome. Hobbies include surfing, rugby, and crying repentance until the people. Also naps. He makes food for us because he is super nice, and he isnt afraid to try his best and speak 日本語 to all the people we meet. He is a 2nd transfer missionary. He says the funniest things sometimes, like "saints preserve us!" (see subject line of this email. We translated it.)

Then we've got Elder Rasmussen, who is from Canada. He just turned 21, and he is way cool. He is pretty solid, and likes to have fun. We speak to each other in funny Japanese sometimes, like being super polite or whatever. Its great. Sometimes we joke around about him being from Canada, but its great. I guess they have curling on tv there, not just on the olympics.

OH! Speaking of the Olympics, if you didnt hear, they just decided yesterday that the 2020 Summer olympics will be held in Tokyo. so yeah, thats a thing. Lets all go. 

Ok, and then Elder Rasmussen's companion is Elder McCarty. He is from Michigan, kana? I guess he moved around a lot, so no like set hometown. He's from a family of 10 children, and he was MTC companions with Steers Choro, so they have seen each other everyday since they entered the MTC. He is a man of a million hobbies (Thats a direct quote from him) and is really good at the piano. He's 19. 

So yeah, together, we are the District. We all live together in the old Osaka Honbu. I'll have to take a picture of it sometime. Yeah, its really cool. Osaka is way cool. Its way different from Kakogawa or Kochi, because those were like orem or provo. But here in Osaka, people are out all the time, and there are so many of them. Its pretty crazy here. We are in a ward. 

 

well, I'm glad that you are all doing good! Love you all! I'll try and get a letter sent out soon, even if its short! Love you

Elder Casper 

(^_^)v    o（>w<）o

also, we realized that together, Steers choro and I are Elder Cow and Elder Friendly Ghost. also someone couldnt pronounce our names, so they called us Steve (steers) and Gatsby (casper), so that was funny.

 

random kid we met at the eki!

 

 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

 

To my KAZOKU, not my KAIZOKU

Just in case you didnt know, Kazoku means family in Japanese, and Kaizoku means pirate. So thats a thing! 

 

Before I proceed, I just want you to know that the investigator that Marquez Choro and I taught a lot back in Kochi got BAPTIZED yesterday, so thats GREAT! :D :D :D I'm so pumped. Marquez Choro baptized her, because he is a super stud. 

 

So right now there is like, a typhoon going on here in the mission, which was interesting because it was raining a ton last night, but now its super nice outside. We cant decide if its over or if its just the eye of the storm. 

 

Um, this past week, we had some adventures! We did some surfboard fin dendo, where Steers choro asked people how to say surfboard fin in Japanese (he had one in his bag. He is a huge surfer.) and we talked to a group of kids (actually the only time we did surfboard fin dendo) and we ended up sharing about the Restoration. They all go to a christian church, and they were like "We have devotionals every once in a while. You guys should come and speak to our school!" so they're going to ask their school if we can go. HAHA. That would be hilariously awesome, just saying. 

Also, we taught our investigators, one of which will be baptized next week. He's such a stud, so I'm excited for that. They are all doing pretty good. Some of them were hard to meet with this week, but we are going to do a better job of that. 

I also gave my first district meeting as District leader on Friday. I was actually pretty sick this week, just with a bad cold, but no stupid cold is going to hold me back! Although I was coughing a lot, I gave a good district meeting, and I think we all came away from it with a new desire to go out and work. 

 

Don't worry about me though! I'm mostly better. Just got a nice old man wheeze going on. But whatever, thats alright!

Well, that was this week! Also I got to go to Kobe for a district leader council thing. That was good. 

 

Here, I'll slap on some pictures here!

Steers Choro and a bike that he rescued from the gutter. Its a long story. 

 

 

Some space food that we ate for dinner one night that we were working too hard to come back for dinner. (Dont worry mom! Usually we eat more dinner than this. :P )

This is an old picture of me, Onizuka choro, and Hayashi choro. The week before I went to Kochi, we were a tri-panionship in Kakogawa.

 

Well, thats all! Love you guys!

 

Elder Casper

 

( ^_^)／□☆□＼(^_^ )

hey also I hope you all wish Dad a happy birthday.

お父さん! たんじょうび   おめでとう   ございます！

SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

HEY, HEY!!

Whats good, family? things are way fun here in Hirakata! This past week was pretty exciting. We worked pretty hard, and guess what? One of our investigators is going to be baptized next week! So thats cool. Today we are headed to Abeno, and also Nanba, the biggest shopping center in Japan (from what I hear) but I dont really have anything I want to buy so mostly its just for fun. this upcoming week will be pretty interesting because I'll be going on 2 exchanges, and going to kobe, and just having fun here in good old 日本.

So lets see, what were some of the cool things that happened this week? We found a member from utah while we were on the street. Theres a huge foreign language school here and he is studying Japanese. He asked where the church was and came this week, so that was cool. 

Also when we were teaching the guy whos getting baptized this week, we invited him to stop smoking and he was like "ok! sure!" and then Elder Steers was like " do you have any tobacco right now? Can I see it?" and the guy took it out and handed to Elder Steers, who promptly crumpled up. haha it surprised him, but then he was like "YEAH! no more smoking!" and he hasnt smoked since. 

Yeah, I got your package! I've been eating / sharing all the stuff thats in it because there was so much. it was pretty great though! Thanks! :D Going to have some sloppy joes and tacos this week for dinner, haha. 

Yeah, so I turned 20, but I honestly didnt remember about my birthday that day. I remembered before I went to bed the day before, but then when I woke up, I forgot and started getting ready and stuff. And then someone wished me happy birthday and I was like, oh yeah! so yeah, that was funny. 

I hope you are all doing alright! Keep partying and stuff. I hope you all enjoy hunting this week. Whos all hunting?

Also, tell Ty that I'm super excited for him to be baptized! its such a great choice. :D Hope he's having fun too, and enjoying minecraft. :P 

 

Well, hope everyone is good. Love you all! Thanks for everything!

Elder Casper 

（＾－＾）ノ

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

HELLO ONCE AGAIN!

 

well this past week was pretty crazy, but I dont remember what happened! Let me try and remember.... Ok, so last week we had some mexican food at a restaurant. It was alright. Mostly just cool that we found it.

We also had a barbecue on saturday, so that was pretty fun.  we had some investigators come, and we all had to fan the BBQ and stuff, japanese style. Pretty tasty too. way different from American BBQs though.

I went on an exchange with Elder Rasmusen, our resident Canadian. We had a great day where we found a ton of good people, had like an hour long discussion with a Christian lady who became christian the year dad was born. We tried to give here a book of mormon but she said she only read the bible. So we both testified a ton and I promised her that if she read it, it would change her life. And she was like "Alright, I'll take it" so that was interesting.

My district has made symbols to represent ourselves on calenders and stuff. This is our district. (mine is a ghost, duh)

 

 

Also Japanese English is my favorite thing in the whole entire world. It makes my day every time I see it. (side note, when we took pictures in front of this, a random russian guy took pictures of us. we talked to him afterwards, haha.)

 

 

Ok but the biggest news this week is my man Tanishige! We've been teaching him since I got here, and he has been progressing really well. Its super great, and he is way cool. His desire is to go to the Celestial Kingdom, and because of that, check out what happened this week

 

 

Yeah thats right, he got baptized! it was way cool! and he's going to get the gift of the Holy Ghost next week! It was great. and Elder Steers was pro and baptized him like a champ. It was a great day! 

 

hmm lets see... what else? I'm going to buy some new Japanese scriptures that will be more benri I think, but I can do that with my missionary money, so dont worry about that. I've been working hard to learn Japanese, and I feel pretty good about it. I think I'll start studying some kanji soon because its a pain to not be able to read anything, so thats one thing. 

 

So yeah, that was my week! Sounds like everyone is doing really good! :D Thanks for the family update!

Yeah, its definitely true how important less active work is too. it might seem a little hard, but remember that when you do that, you'll be doing the same kind of the work that I'm doing, helping the Lord's sheep come back to the fold. Its as important as bringing new people there, and you can always be comforted by the promise the Savior gives Joseph Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."  So dont worry. Of course there is a burden, but the Lord will be there to help you, and His angel will bear you up, I promise!  And so, once again quoting D&C, "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."  Theres some scriptures for you!

 

Well, I'll end this letter here, but yeah, keep up the work family! you're the best. Its probably getting cooler in Utah, but its still warm here. Not blazing hot, but still hot. It will be getting cold soon though. Love you all! can you believe I've already been gone for 10 months? CRAZY. Well, see you next week! 平安と愛

 

Elder Casper

 

OCTOBER 6, 2013

 

HELLO! TRANSFERS DAY...

 

Yeah thats right, he got baptized! it was way cool! and he's going to get the gift of the Holy Ghost next week! It was great. and Elder Steers was pro and baptized him like a champ. It was a great day! 

 

hmm lets see... what else? I'm going to buy some new Japanese scriptures that will be more benri I think, but I can do that with my missionary money, so dont worry about that. I've been working hard to learn Japanese, and I feel pretty good about it. I think I'll start studying some kanji soon because its a pain to not be able to read anything, so thats one thing. 

 

So yeah, that was my week! Sounds like everyone is doing really good! :D Thanks for the family update!

Thats too bad that Trixy is moving, but you can still hang out with her all the time. Yeah, its definitely true how important less active work is too. it might seem a little hard, but remember that when you do that, you'll be doing the same kind of the work that I'm doing, helping the Lord's sheep come back to the fold. Its as important as bringing new people there, and you can always be comforted by the promise the Savior gives Joseph Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."  So dont worry. Of course there is a burden, but the Lord will be there to help you, and His angel will bear you up, I promise!  And so, once again quoting D&C, "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."  Theres some scriptures for you!

 

Well, I'll end this letter here, but yeah, keep up the work family! you're the best. Its probably getting cooler in Utah, but its still warm here. Not blazing hot, but still hot. It will be getting cold soon though. Love you all! can you believe I've already been gone for 10 months? CRAZY. Well, see you next week! 平安と愛

 

Elder Casper

 

OSAKA, HERE I COME

MAN! these past 6 weeks have just flown by! I'm so surprised that it is already over. well, its transfer week again, and so that means that we got our transfer call (really an email) today. And guess what? After just 6 weeks being here in cool Kochi, I am transferring to the booming metropolis of Osaka. I'm headed to Hirakata, the area that was the old Osaka mission home. There, my companion will be a 2nd transfer missionary (who apparently speaks german and spanish) and I will be the district leader! I'm sad about leaving Kochi, because I have enjoyed it so much these past 6 weeks, and I'll be sad to leave my Marquez Choro, because it was always a fiesta with him! But, the Lord has called me another way, so next week, I'll be in the heart of the big city. Osaka is the 2nd biggest city in Japan, and so it should be pretty crazy I think. Not sure though.

So yeah, this week was really interesting! We worked a lot harder than we did in the previous week, so we found some really good potential investigators, which was good. Its too bad that I'll be leaving because one of our super awesome investigators will be getting baptized in two weeks. She is so nice and kind, and I'm sure it will be an awesome experience for Elder Marquez.

Its interesting that I'm going to the old Osaka mission home, because that was the mission that Mr Park (my Japanese sensei) went to. Pretty crazy! Plus its a huge house for the missionaries. Its a 4人 so it should be a party. Its also the area that Hayward Choro was in before he came to Kakogawa with me, so that should be cool!

I hope that Grandpa gets better soon. I'll be praying for him!

So is Arynn going to start working at a hospital or something soon? Or do like, the Medical explorers? that would be cool. what classes is Lauren taking in Jr high school? and I'm sure Meghan is just a super popular kid, she just has that personality. Is she still planning on going to orem high?

Well, today I've got to pack my bags again, but that is helped by the fact that since the kochi apartment is so tiny, i never unpacked in the first place! Next stop, Osaka! Going to Hirakata. Well, love you all! I'll try and send something home from Kochi! There are like 4 really famous things here in Kochi, and the festival was one of them. Well anyone, next week I'll be emailing you from Osaka! Love you all! Goodbye!

Elder Casper

キャスパー長老

IT'S ALREADY MONDAY AGAIN????



Well, it is already Monday again, so it’s time to send you an email again. Want to know what else is crazy? It’s the last week of the transfer, so next week, once again, I'll have news on whether or not I'm going to a new area or getting a new companion or not. How crazy is that? The time is going way fast!Well, so this week was pretty interesting. Last Monday we went to that festival, so I can send home some pictures about that. And then we also went to our investigators home (which was forever away) and she made us tamales! Pretty nice change from the Japanese food that we always eat. We also kept teaching one of our investigators who is progressing really nicely. She wants to be baptized, but she's been afraid of the water. No matter how much we explained or described it, nothing worked! We had members talk to her, which kind of made it worse. So we were really lost on what we should do. As we were planning, a crazy idea came into my head. We could show her a video from some dvds that we use as missionaries to study about being a missionary. So we did that, because it was a perfect video of someone being baptized. She watched it, and was like "oh, that’s not what I thought baptism was at all!" and hasn’t been afraid since, so that was a cool experience.

This week we kind of had a hard time finding new investigators, but we are still working hard. I really like kochi, and I love the members here. It will be interesting to see what happens at transfers next week. Lately, new missionaries have been having two different trainers, so I'm not sure if I will still be with Marquez Choro next transfer or not. We'll see.
So, it was great seeing pictures! I'm glad that you are all having fun. Sorry that most of my pictures don’t have me in them. Usually I'm the one holding the camera.
Anyway, love you all! Hang in there and keep having fun. Enjoy school! It seems like just last month that you were starting it, but now its almost been a whole year. How weird is that? Well anyway, love you! Good bye! 

Elder Casper
ι(´Д｀υ)ｱﾂｨｰ
its very hot lately.

AUGUST 11, 2013 – ZONE CONFERENCE AND YOSAKOI
So hello again! This week was pretty interesting. we had zone conference in Okayama on Wednesday, so Tuesday was spent travelling there by bus. When we got there, we stayed in the old Okayama mission home with a bunch of missionaries, and then we went to zone conference the next day. It was pretty nice, but man, bus travel takes ALLL day. It was also the last time that I'll see Hayward choro for a while, because he's going home this transfer. You could say hi to him maybe when he goes home.
Another crazy thing that is going on as we speak is this huge matsuri (festival) that is going on here in Kochi. It’s called Yosakoi, and it started on Friday. I guess that it is one of things that kochi is known for and it’s pretty well known throughout the country. It is soooo loud. They have things like floats from parades in America, but like, the size of a semi-truck or small bus or something, and they just load it up with HUGE speakers and drums and decorations, and play crazy loud music (like, traditional Japanese music styled rock or something. I don’t know how to explain it.) and a ton of people in costumes dance behind it. They are taking up the shotengai (like, malls that are also streets.)  that we usually work at. It is sooo crazy. And then a ton of stands that sell food, shaved ice, candy, beer, and what looks like pirated video games or something. Interesting stuff.  We are going to go to it and take some pictures as soon as we are done here emailing. That’s funny that you thought the magnet was an eraser at first... I thought the same exact thing! :D Well anyway, let me send some pictures today. Love you! Elder Casper