I'm so excited! I'm not eloquent enough to put words to my feelings but I don think there really are words for this anyway.
So first thing that happened was I got on a train to my old stomping (or is it romping?) grounds in Kisarazu and when I got there.....no one was waiting for me. So I waited for a little bit, thinking maybe eh we're just late, but they never came. So I built my bike and rode out to the church.....and no one was there. So I pedaled on over to the apartment....and no one was home. So then I went back to the station and bought a crepe.......and the crepe guy didn't remember me! I thought we were tight man! Just kidding, but anyway I went to a payphone to try to call somebody but no one picked up. I decided it was time to start looking for someone I knew so I went over to Sensui Shimai's house and she let me right in and gave me melon pan and milk and talked to me while I waited for someone to come looking for me. I called my companion again and he sent the rescue squad, Takashi and Jonivar. We hugged and then hung out at the church while I waited for my companion to come be united with me. He had waited at the halfway point for me and I had gone the whole hundred! Whoops! But then we went and got dinner together and it was so awesome! I really missed these guys.
The next day we were able to bike out rough the mountains to an old investigator of mine, Mikami the rice farmer! He's doing so well! He's taken almost all of the lessons and come to church twice! If he starts coming consistently he can be baptized really soon! I saw 2 different people I knew just biking down the street and they both said hi to me. One of them drove past and pulled us over to talk. We had to send a Elder Atkinson's bags to Tokyo but didn't have slips for he moving company, but luckily the moving truck just happened to come to our neighborhood and we flagged he guy down and he took his bags right then! Miracle! We also got to go over to the Sugimotos' house for dinner and the Kisarazu Bad-daddy was just as cool as ever.
Sunday may have been the best day I've had since I left here. It started off kind of weird with me having to go pick up a lady I had never met at the train station with one of the members because my companion was giving a talk. I saw Wenting in the station on her way to church and said a 2 second hi as I went up and she went down. She looked kind of confused so I just kind of laughed and went on to pick up the mystery investigator. Well we picked her up and took her to church and then had a lesson during second hour. She's Taiwanese so I snagged Wenting out of Gospel Principles and took Takashi with me too because I like him and Umetsu Shimai knew I would need all the help I could get so she came too. I ended up having zero prep time but no one else wanted to take charge so I just opened up the manual and started teaching a super awkward lesson because I knew nothing about his new woman. She waits until the very end to say, "I thought we were going to study English." WHAT! What did you let me go on so long?! That was painful because it's not a normal missionary lesson I teach! What didn't you say something?! I held my tongue but felt like the biggest idiot ever. She went home and I apologized for my ignorance to everyone and they all forgave me. Whew. Then we taught Wenting an AB (after baptism) lesson about baptism and she's still super cool. She literally shines with the spirit, not exaggerating. There is actual light that comes from her! During the lesson though I asked her a question and she zoned out and so I asked what was up and she just pointed at Takashi's shoes. They were the most tattered, destroyed shoes anyone has ever seen! The tops were turned into Holy slippers and they were barely hanging onto he soles by a few threads. Mid-lesson we all just lose it and can't stop the laughing. Once we manage to bring it back I just realized how good my life is here. When I was a kid I loved the Disney movie Hercules. In that movie Hercules feels pretty left out and weird no matter where he goes or what he does. He sings a song that I have identified pretty strongly with for a long time. He says, "I have often dreamed of a far off place where a great, warm welcome will be waiting for me. Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face, and a voice keeps saying this is where I'm meant to be. I will find my way, I can go the distance. I'll be there someday, if I can be strong. I know every mile will be worth my while. I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong."
That's how I've felt for most of my life, but here is home. These people are good and I belong with them. I'm so happy to have met them and to be blessed to be around them again. They are like an extension of my family. I can't wait to introduce them to my family too! Anyways, I love it here and I love these people with all my heart. We called Arnold, a recent convert, and taught him an AB lesson and he's amazing. We were able to visit Jonivar too and have dinner at his apartment and teach him an AB lesson. The amazing thing was that they are all different people of Chinese or Filipino backgrounds but their experience with the gospel was the same. They all felt the spirit the same way, they all get answers to their prayers, hey all are supported by God, everything was the same! And we didn't practice answers with them beforehand or anything! That's because it's TRUE! All of it! The gospel is true and it is amazing what it can do for us.
I know I'm meant to be here. I'm so happy I get another 2.5 months here and I'm already scared at how fast that's going to go by. I don't ever want to leave, I want to staaaaaaay. But I need to do my best now and obey what the Lord tells me. Who knows, maybe I'll get extended or something. I don't know, anything could happen. All I know is that this gospel is true and it has brought me the greatest happiness that I never knew I could feel. It has increased my capacity to reach out and love people more than I ever thought I could love. I just can't get enough of this gospel because it just keeps on giving!
Elder Rogers
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