This is not quite my last email. It's my second to last. But I'm still not trunky. Funny enough I did pack my suitcase today. But I've still got the missionary mindset! I'm all in for the last week! It's funny to think how I thought that 2 years was going to be like this eternity and it would never end.....and now it's about to. I'll talk about that later.
For this week it was still raining a lot, which has become my least favorite thing ever. We couldn't find anyone outside and people didn't want to come to the door so we figured they must all be inside playing on their phones. So we looked through our records and started calling all the people that used to have Baptismal dates or were really good investigators. Most of them were still really cool! They remembered missionaries and were happy to talk again. Almost all said they'd love to meet again sometime and if we can get a specific date on that we'll really have something going! One lady we called came to our Halloween party and brought cupcakes!
Even though it was raining we decided we'd better go visit our friend Lee at his work, Bamboo Grill. So we went just as his shift started and there were no customers. It turns out that even though he starts work at 6 most people don't come until 9 or 10. So he just sits there bored. He was way happy to see us and naturally he fed us for free again. I wonder if I'll ever have to pay there? I asked the price and was happy it's always free. We were able to answer some of his questions about Resurrection vs Reincarnation and Degrees of Glory vs just Heaven or Hell. He said he'd love to meet again and keep learning!
One annoying thing that turned into a miracle happened on the day we had scheduled to do District Meeting with the Zone Leaders. I went to get on the train and this lady who was probably a new worker at the train station runs down the stairs and stops me from getting in the train. She said You're not allowed on this train! When I asked her why she told me I had to break down my bike smaller so it could fit in a suitcase. That's not a thing by the way. Japan makes bags specifically for putting bikes that don't fit into suitcases in. Anyway, I told her I had done this at least once a week for about a year in Kisarazu and never had a problem. Plus, the bag I had was made in Japan for that purpose. She still wouldn't let me on the train and so I decided I'd just run around once we got to the meeting because we had to go. I asked if I could leave my bike and board the train without it and she made me take it out of the station to a parking spot. So of course we missed the train and I had to put my bike outside. We come back and the next train gets us there late for the starting time of the meeting. So I call the Elders and ask them how we should work it out and they tell me there's an extra bike at their apartment but I'll have to run over to get it. It's a 10 minute run if you go pretty fast in church shoes. So I made the next train and ran to get the bike. We made it to the meeting an hour late. And I was in charge. Whoops! We subsequently ended late, but only a little bit. Then we went out to eat at a place of my recommendation together. While there this lady sat down at the counter next to me and another Elder I was eating with. As we walked out of the shop she followed us all and said, Are you Mormon? In the end she became a new investigator and decided to come to church! If I hadn't missed the train and been so late we would've never crossed paths with her! There really are no coincidences.
Then to finish off the week we had our Halloween party. Takashi and Elder Otani worked way hard to make a riddle, puzzle, Book of Mormon story game and it turned out way awesome! There was food, costumes, a hard mystery game, it was sweet! I made pumpkin pie with the can of pumpkin my mom sent me last year and my own recipe I made up and it was not disgusting! It was actually surprisingly good. I'm sorry, I don't have any of my own pictures. I only have pictures I got from other people.
And today we went with Brother Sugimoto to collect spring water for his family. Then he took us for a drive to a famous waterfall that looks like a heart when the light comes in from the right angle. After that he drove us down to see the ocean in Kamogawa, they'll do the surfing Olympics near there. The we went around to Tateyama to get Sushi. And finally he drove us back home and we saw Mt. Fuji. Then I was full and tired and fell asleep in the car. It was way nice and I was so happy he did that for us.
I love the people. I love the place. I love the weather today (unless it's raining right now and I don't know it). I love that my friends are here and that they're so nice to me and fun to be around. I love that I still get to be a missionary and serve the Lord full time for the little time I have left. I'm so grateful for the 2 years I've been blessed with and even though I complain about it being cold and wet a lot I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm glad I decided to come, and I'm even more glad I decided to stay. I try hard not to cry when the young missionary in my District makes jokes about me ending because you really do get attached to the lifestyle of a missionary. You don't want to stop helping people. But the truth is it has to end sometime. The good news is that you never have to really stop helping people because anyone can make a good difference in the world. You don't have to be rich, famous, or wear a white shirt and tie. Just bringing a little sunshine wherever you go is enough to brighten someone's day.
Elder Rogers
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