Week 9

AAAHHHHHHH  I only have 2 weeks left in the MTC.  How mega crazy is that?  So time is going by super slow and super fast at the same time.  Just yesterday I hit my 2 month mark!!  So unfortunately this week's episode of Sleepwalking has been cancelled.  I didn't do anything dramatic or crazy this week. And as far as anything else goes, really it was a rather hmmm not to say a boring week, but we didn't have anything exciting or crazy happen.  We had Elder Kevin B Pearson of the Seventy come and talk to us.  We also now have a new group of Nihonjin here that are terrific and so much fun to talk to.  So I'm jumping all over the place because I'm running out of time.  Unless I'm mistaken  I get my flight plans by the end of this week.  And then I'll be calling from the airport.  So yeah that's what's happening in the life of Elder Keith.  Just to say if you want a letter from me then the best way to get that is to write me : Hope you all are well

 

Elder Keith

Week 8

Ohayo gozaimasu,

 

So this week was full of good points. I'll start with the sleepwalking story of the week. (I guess I should start having one every week eh?)  So Sunday night I had a dream.  That in these other elders room that there was a door that I really urgently needed to get into.  So in my dream I opened the door and looked in and upon seeing that the door wasn't there I was disappointed.  That's all I remember.  So the next morning, I was thinking "Wow, what a vivid dream" and I asked the Elder who's room it was, if they locked their door at night.  He said no and then laughed and said "Are you the one that opened our door last night? I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and the door was open."  So I guess I didn't only dream it.  The funny thing is though, that this elders room is a good 30 metres or so down the hall, so I made quite a trek. 

 

So the other cool thing that happened this week was that we had Nihonjin (Japanese people (missionaries)) arrive yesterday.  There are 3 Elders and 8 Sisters!!  It was so cool to be able to talk to them.  And comparing these Nihonjin to the last group I understood tonnes more and was able to respond.  It's kinda funny though,because there was an Elder and a Sister Kishi (brother and sister) who arrived.  But when they say his name it sounds more like "kish" (keesh) which is really close to my last name in Nihongo "kisu" (kees).  But it's still awesome to have them around.  But that means I only have 3 weeks left in the MTC and 1 week until we get our flight plans!!!  AAAHHHHHH!!!!

 

So I can't say that this week was totally full of good points though.  I did have to deal with a couple bad days actually.  For various reasons.  And I guess that's life.  Being a missionary doesn't prevent you from getting angry or being in a bad mood.  But I do work my best to not have those days and it really does pay off.  They don't happen that often.

 

 

Tonikaku...  The final point I wanted to mention was that last Tuesday we had yet another Member of the Quorum of the 12 come and talk to us.  4 in a row!!!  I wonder what it is that we as missionaries need to learn for them to send us 4 Apostles in a row.  We were assured though that there wouldn't be another one this week, which is kinda disappointing but it means that we got to finish with one of my favourites.  David A Bednar.  He is probably the one that I've enjoyed the most too.  He came and talked to us about doctrines principles and applications.  It was terrific.  It was also truly spiritually uplifting to me because one of the things I've been praying for is how I can make my scripture study more effective.  When we were in DDR (district devotional review) afterward that's when it hit me that his talk was the answer that I'd been seeking.  That, that was how I was going to make my scripture study more effective.  You just can't describe the feeling you get when that happens.  You really can see that the Apostles are truly inspired men.  I feel so privileged to have heard some of their words.  And with this I bid you Sayonara til next week

 

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Elder Keith

Week 7

So the end of week 6 brought some pretty interesting things.  First I'll start with the lighter stuff.  So last night I was just chilling in our room and chatting with a couple other elders and I looked at the bottom of my foot.  And I began to wonder "what are all these little red dots?"  So I asked one of the elders who was there "is this athlete's foot?"  and he's like yeah.  So I have athletes foot.  One of the elders in my room had some stuff to spray on so I put it on last night and this morning to get rid of it.  The other thing is it's kinda funny to realize just how much I sleep walk.  The other night I woke up (but didn't really wake up) in the hall outside my room with my blanket balled up in one hand.  I can't seem to recall how I got out there or how long I was out there.  My companion was like what's it gonna be like in Japan?!  Ummmm let's see what else...   Oh yeah I'm up to weighing 182 now.  It's funny because I never though I'd put on weight but I've done nothing but that since I got here.  Besides studying and sleep mind you.  The thing is that I don't show the weight that I've gained.  However it turns out that the pants we bought, while they fit, sitting in class with them all day got to be kinda tight around the waist.  So I had them expanded.  (sheepish grin)  heh heh heh

 

So the next thing is that we got new kohai.  Kohai means junior and it's the term we give to the senkyoshi (missionaries) who came here after us.  There's only 6 of them though.  4 Elders from various parts of the states and an elder from Thailand (the first ever missionary from Thailand going to Japan) and a sister from New Zealand.  So it's pretty cool to see.  And it's very empowering to think just how far I've come since I got here. 

 

The last thing I wanted to mention was that last week marked Sannin Shito!!  Meaning 3 apostles.  Last week we had Elder M. Russell Ballard come and talk to us and he gave a tremendous talk.  It was really inspiring.  At some point I'll get around to copying and sending the notes that I took home, that way you all can read them.  It was terrific.  He really is an inspired man and you can just feel the aura that radiates from him.  He reminded me a lot of Grandpa Keith.  Maybe because they look alike.  But also just because of they way they are. 

 

Well I must conclude with the statement.  I have less than a month left until I'm headed to Japan!!!  Aaaaahhhhhhhh.  Time really does fly by here at the MTC.  And I would highly encourage anyone planning on going on a mission to do so.  It's the best experience ever and you can feel the spirit so strong.  I miss you all and you all are in my prayers.  Mata ne

 

Elder Keith

Week 6

So wait, it's November already?  Goodness gracious where does the time go.  This week, like all the other weeks went by soooo fast.  We had a lot happen this week.  The first thing was that last Tuesday, October 26th, we had Elder Richard G Scott of the Quorum of the 12 come and speak to us.  It was soooo incredible.  You can really just feel the aura that radiates from him.  He spoke to us about the Spirit and following it's guidance.  It was such a good day. 

 

So after that life returned to normal.  We wake up, study, eat, go to class, eat, go to class, eat, and then go to class some more.  Oh yeah we get an hour of gym time somewhere in there too.  It's funny what my definition of normal has become.  So we have this thing called the TRC (the Teaching Resource Center) which we go to every week to practice teaching and to practice different tasks.  The different tasks take 15 minutes and have always been in Japanese.  Then we had lessons in English that lasted for 35 minutes.  BUT because last week was week 5 (which makes this week week 6 which means I'm more than halfway through the MTC ahhh) we had the task in Japanese and then we had to teach the first lesson in Japanese!!!!  For 35 minutes!!!!  We say the difficulty level is "kyu sen ii jo!!"  Which translates to "it's over 9000"  To be honest I probably only caught about 35-40% of what the guy was saying, but I was able to respond a lot of the time and the rest of the time I just tried to look like I understood what he was saying and then moved on.  It's really an eye opener but I'm going to have to get used to it because from here on out the rest of the lessons are going to be in Japanese.

 

So the last 2 things I was going to mention was (one of them) that I have started learning Kanji.  That's right and so far I think I have about 25-30 memorized.  Only 1970 more to go.  I'm on a roll. 

 

The last thing was that I discovered that I'm allergic to something that they have here in the cafeteria and I've narrowed it down to either Strawberry Orange Banana Juice or Caffeine free coke.  I say this because the other day I had both and that night my upper body erupted with hives!  Just like that one time when I was at home.  The only difference being that this case was worse.  So then I thought it was the juice at that point so the next day I had a glass of coke and then later that night I found that I had sporadic little patches on my arms and upper body.  Luckily one of the Elders in my district had some Benadryl so I was able to take some of that and just go to sleep.  The second day me and my companion skipped gym to nap because he was feeling really sick and I had hives on my legs.  But by the end of the day I was completely free of them.  So now I seldom have more than water and chocolate milk and I'm avoiding coke entirely. 

 

So that's the story of what's been happening here in the MTC.  It's hard to believe that I'm already more than halfway through my MTC experience.  Tomorrow I become a Senpai.  One of the seniors here at the MTC.  So also I have to say that my Halloween experience was probably the lamest one I've had in my life.  I was a missionary!! Which isn't lame but...  So I hope everyone is well :) Ai shite imasu.

 

Elder Keith