Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Week 27

 I'm  really enjoying being in a 4 man apartment.  It's rather fun.  And one of the Elders in the other companionship is Japanese so there's still the exposure all the time which is nice.  I learned a super lot from my last companion.  My language ability got a way huge boost and it has not left.  I can understand a lot but not everything.  It is nothing like being in Tokyo.  There is absolutely no one on the streets and there is a severe lack of people anywhere.  Trains are wicked expensive here too.   You had a snow storm last week?  =O  whooaaaaa.  what's snow like again?  I'm starting to forget.  Well the mission rules didn't change too drastically.  But it's weird.  Just being under a new mission president and all.  They have completely different ways of running the show.  Like it doesn't really feel like missionary work here in Nagoya because they don't do a lot of proselyting.  But they do tons of member work.  So I'm out of time for this week.
Love you lots.  You're in my prayers.  愛しています
 
Elder Keith
キース長老

Monday, March 21, 2011

Week 26 - New Address

So I have been transferred.  But not the usual transfer that missionaries get.  No, this is an entire mission transfer.  I am now part of the Japan Nagoya Mission.  It's actually just west of Tokyo but it's far enough away that there is no more earthquake danger, no more radiation danger, and the area I'm in is not suffering from effects of either.  We (the Tokyo missionaries who came to Nagoya) Will be here until the end of June at least and then we will either be moved back to Tokyo or stay or go to another mission.  But for right now I'm supposed to be in an area called Seto.  It's small.  About the same size as Tama.  And all the members are super genki.  I really like it so far.  And my companion is the only other missionary in the Nagoya mission who is Canadian. His name is Elder Kutney and he's from BC.  So now it's time to do my best under my new mission president.  And it's going to take some getting used to because not all the rules are the same as they were in Tokyo.  Which means permissions that I had with President Albrecht need to be re-okayed with President Baird and that has yet to be done.  But I am safe and will be from henceforth (and probably forever.  amen and amen xD).  So before I forget.  For the next many weeks my new mission address will be:
1-304 Itakadai
Nagoya-shi, Meito-ku
Japan
465-0028
So I will let you all know what my next mission assignment will be when I get it.  Love you all thank you for all your support and concern
愛しています
By the way.  Who is lucky enough to get 2 missions xD

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Missionary Reassignment Update #2

We received a call very, very late last night from the Tokyo Mission Home.  Elder Keith has been moved to Nagoya.  He will be there for one transfer and then it will be decided where he will be relocated to.  It is a great comfort to know that we have such wonderful leadership looking after our missionaries! 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Missionary Reassignment Update

Dear Parents and Friends,
Many of you may have already seen the press conference that Elders
Holland and Evans held about the recent news regarding the
missionaries in the Tokyo and Sendai missions.  Here are a few more
details to their announcement.
Your missionary is going to be relocated to one of the following three
southerly Japanese Missions; Fukuoka, Kobe or Nagoya. The list
attached tells you which Mission they will be assigned to.
Tomorrow, starting from 09:00am all the missionaries from this mission
will board one of three buses, each going to one of those
destinations.  We expect your missionary will contact you once he or
she has made it to their reassigned mission area.  The length of this
reassignment is still not yet known due to the unpredictable events
that have resulted from the recent earthquake.  There are a number of
factors that prompted this action. Risk of increased radiation levels
reaching the Tokyo area, predicted shortages of fuel, food, and water
following transport disruption and panic buying are factors that have
most potential for health risks, and the health of these missionaries
is the priority. Also, the church wants to provide a place so the
missionaries can continue to work. By moving missionaries we will
relieve the members of the burden of helping missionaries if anything
serious happens.  We would like to reassure you that your missionary
is safe.  There is nothing more important to us than the safety and
happiness of your missionary.  We also want to thank you for your
sincere prayers and concern.
Very best regards,
The Tokyo Japan Mission Office
愛するご両親とお友達の方々へ、
たくさんの方々がすでに東京と仙台伝道部の宣教師たちについて、ホランド長老とエバンズ長老がニュースで発表されたのをご覧になったと思います。彼らの発表についてもう少し詳しくお伝えします:
あなた方が使わした宣教師たちは日本の南の福岡、神戸、名古屋伝道部のどこかに移動することになりました。一緒に送ったリストにどこに送られるか記載されています。
明日、9:00amから全ての宣教師がバスに乗って三ヶ所の内のどちらかに向かいます。新しい伝道地に着いたら宣教師たちが、無事に着いたかどうか皆さんに連絡すると思います。最近の地震によって起きた予期せぬ出来事なので、どれぐらいその新しい伝道地にとどまるのか私達にはまだ分かりません。地震に引き続いて心配されるたくさんの考えられる要素があります。原発による放射線のレベルの影響が東京にも及ぶ可能性もあります。食料や燃料、また水の獲得において困難になる可能性があり、宣教師の健康を考慮すると危険性があります。また、教会は宣教師たちが安全に働き続けることができるよう環境を提供したいです。宣教師たちを移動させることにより、もし何かが起きたときの、家族を持つ教会員の負担を軽減できます。皆さんの宣教師たちが無事であるとお伝えしたいです。宣教師たちの安全と幸せ以上に大切なことは無いです。皆さんの祈りとまた心配に本当に感謝しています。
愛を込めて、
日本東京伝道本部

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Week 25

So this week was rather interesting.  So the biggest thing was probably the earthquake that I'm sure that everyone has heard about by now.  It was pretty intense.  And I guess as a safety precaution, the gas got shut off to our apartment.  And so because we have a gas stove, it not only meant that we had no hot water but also that we couldn't cook anything which is major mendokusai!  So then yesterday we were asked not to leave our apartments because there was a risk of a chemical spill at one of the nuclear reactors and they were concerned that the wind and rain would become a health risk.  But then halfway through the day we were told it was ok and that there was no health risk.  So that was the biggest thing.
 
The next thing that happened this week was also a less than pleasurable experience.  We knocked on this one guy's door and he opened the door.  (which is unusual because usually they just talk through the airphone, or kekko box as we missionaries call them)  So it's my door and he opens up.  I said who I was where I was from and what we do.  Then the guy actually got really angry and because I don't understand Japanese perfectly I didn't catch everything that he said but I did hear the tone in his voice.  He was furious.  And he began talking down to us, which in Japanese culture is very rude.  The word 'anata' meaning 'you' is rarely used in conversation.  Especially with strangers.  He used it multiple times.  He basically said, "You want to help? Yeah? Why don't you pray?! and I caught the word 'taihen' meaning serious/terribly etc but it's also used to mean 'not good/bad/grave'  So then he closed the door in our faces without saying anything to make it polite.  It was kinda shocking to be greeted with such vehement anger right off the bat.  Hopefully that doesn't happen too often.
 
So to make sure that this week isn't only blue news I thought I'd throw in this last little bit.  You know that you're in Japan when you lose 2/2 games of ping pong with a 10 year old girl.  ... I'd like to say it never happened... but...  I was warming up.  And her dad is the best in the ward...  yeah *sheepish grin*...
I hope you all are well.  I thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.  私は神様の宣教師です!だからがんばります。愛しています。
 
Elder Keith
キース長老

Message from the Mission President

Dear Parents and Loved Ones of Japan Tokyo Missionaries:
親愛なる東京伝道部宣教師の御両親とお友達の方々へ:

   Now that things have settled down a little, I wanted to write each
of you and provide an update on the earthquake, our mission and your
missionary.  As you know, the 9.0 earthquake hit Japan at 2:46 p.m.
last Friday.  At the time, we had 60 missionaries in the church next
to the mission home for training.  Fortunately, the missionaries from
the areas of our mission that were were at most risk because of the
Tsunami  (Urayasu and the Chiba Zone) were all here for that training.
 It became obvious very quickly that this was a major quake.  We had
just finished the training and were saying good bye to each other when
it hit.  There is a field of grass next to the church without any
overhead wires and so I had all missionaries go outside and stand in
that field.  The major quake lasted a long time--probably a couple of
minutes.  It was followed by numerous aftershocks, which are still
happening today and may continue for some time, but the aftershocks
are smaller and becoming more infrequent and probably won't cause any
serious damage.

現在、少し状況が落ち着いていますので、私は皆さん一人一人に伝道部や私達の宣教師や地震に関する最新情報をお伝えしたかったです。皆さんご存じの通り、先週の金曜日、2:46pmに9.0の地震が日本で発生しました。そのとき、訓練のために60人の宣教師が伝道本部のとなりの教会に集まっていました。幸運なことに、津波により、私達の伝道部で危険と思われる場所で働く宣教師達(浦安や千葉ゾーン)は訓練のために伝道本部に来ていました。地震が発生してすぐに、本当に大きなものであると分かりました。ちょうど大会が終わって、互いにあいさつをしている時に発生しました。教会の隣に電線など、頭上に危険がないと思われる草の生えた広場がありましたので、私はすぐに宣教師達に建物から出て、そこに避難するように促しました。大きな揺れが数分間続きました。それに続いて、何回も余震が起こりました。今も続いて起こっていますが、次第に小さくなって来ていて、深刻なものはもう起こらないと思われます。

   Because of the size of the quake, the trains all stopped running.
Fortunately, we have a lot of extra beds, futons, and blankets in the
mission home and so we prepared for a big camp out that night.
Immediately after the quake, our attention turned to making sure that
all the missionaries in our mission were safe.  We couldn't reach them
by telephone because the phone lines, while working, were jammed.  A
few months ago, all our missionaries received new telephones with
email capability.  The email provided a lifeline to allow us to reach
all our missionaries.  By 7 p.m. that night, we had contacted all our
missionaries and knew they were safe.  We told them to stay close to
their apartments and away from the ocean and bays.  For the two
companionships we couldn't reach directly, we had the bishops check on
and report that they were safe.  Immediately after the earthquake, the
Presiding Bishopric's Office started contacting us every hour to see
how our missionaries were.  As soon as we knew everyone was safe, we
notified the Presiding Bishopric's Office and then started putting an
email list of parents together so we could let you all know your
missionary was safe.  You should all have received an email from us
the evening of the earthquake.

地震が本当に大きかったので、全ての電車が止まりました。幸運なことに、伝道本部に余分にたくさんのベッドや布団、毛布があったので、その夜の宿泊に備えることができました。地震が発生した後直ちに、私達の注意は私達の伝道部の全ての宣教師の安否確認に移りました。電話が混み合い、彼らへの連絡がなかなか取れませんでした。数か月前に、全ての宣教師が、eメール機能を持つ携帯を電話受け取りました。その機能により私達には全ての宣教師と繋がる手段がありました。7:00pmまでに全ての宣教師と連絡が取れて、安否確認ができました。アパートの近くにいて、海から遠く離れるように伝えました。二組の同僚組は直接連絡が取れませんでしたが、ビショップの報告を通して確認を取ることができました。地震の後すぐに、管理本部は毎時間、宣教師の状況を確認するために連絡し始めました。全ての宣教師の安否が分かるとすぐに、管理本部に知らせ、両親のeメールリストを作りました。そして全ての宣教師が安全であることを皆さんに知らせることができました。金曜日の夜にそのeメールを受けたと思います。

   The next morning, I sent an early email to every missionary in our
mission (which they received on their telephones) telling them to (1)
buy a week's worth of groceries and water for their apartments, (2)
stay away from the ocean and bays, (3) email their parents that day
and let you all know they were okay--I'm sure it is comforting to hear
from your missionary directly, (4) stay away from any downed wires (if
there were any) or broken glass, etc. and (5) let us know of any
damage to their apartments or the church.

翌朝、私は伝道部にいる全ての宣教師の携帯電話に、いくつかのことを知らせるためにeメールを送りました。(1)アパートに1週間分の食物と水があるように買い物をすること(2)海岸や湾岸から遠く離れること(3)その日に両親にeメールし、無事を伝えること・・・宣教師自らが、報告することにより皆さんに安心が得られるように(4)下がっている電線やガラスから離れること、そして(5)彼らのアパートや教会に被害があるか報告することです。

  As you all know from watching the news, almost all of the damage is
north of Tokyo in the Sendai Mission.  Our mission goes north of Tokyo
but not into the major disaster zone.  There are 4 sets of
missionaries who were relatively close (approximately 81 miles/130
kilometers) to the failed reactors in Fukushima and, just to be safe,
I have moved all four sets into apartments with other missionaries
further away.  The destruction from the earthquake and tsunami in
Tokyo was quite minor.  There was an oil refinery that caught on fire,
there was significant liquefaction from the tsunami in one area of our
mission and a few cracks in the walls of some buildings.  But,
miraculously, there wasn't any significant damage to any of our
missionary apartments (two microwaves fell off the counters and
broke).   Our missionaries are back to doing missionary work and
providing service wherever they can.  The biggest service project is
helping people clean up their yards and get their cars out in the
Urayasu Area where the liquefaction occurred.

皆さんニュースなどを通してご存じと思われますが、大部分の被害は東京の北の仙台伝道部の地域です。私達の伝道部は東京の北を含みますが、主要な被害地域を免れました。伝道部には、被害をうけた福島の原発に近い(およそ81マイル/130キロ以内)4組の同僚組がおり、安全のために、私は彼らを、十分に安全と思われる他のエリアに移らせました。東京における地震や津波の被害は、あまり大きなものではありませんでした。火事に見舞われた精油所、ある地域では液化が生じたり、建物の壁に亀裂が入ることなどでした。しかしながら、奇跡的に、私達の伝道部の宣教師達のアパートには、大きな被害はありませんでした(二つの電子レンジが落ちて壊れたのみ)。私達の伝道部の宣教師は働き始め、できる範囲で奉仕に携わっています。最も大きな奉仕計画は、液化が起きた浦安エリアでの、片付け作業です。

   While I am sure the news you are seeing on television is scary,
especially about the nuclear reactors, Tokyo is quite safe.  With
regard to the reactors, on Sunday I was in a church meeting with two
people who are very knowledgeable about the nuclear situation in
Japan.  One is a lawyer who defends the nuclear industry in Japan and
the other is a person associated with the U.S. Air Force security and
safety in the Far East.  Both of them told me that, while the risk of
radiation problems in Tokyo is not absolutely zero, it is as close to
zero as you can get.  They both said that because of the directions of
the prevailing winds, there is probably more radiation risk to Seattle
(although probably not much) than there is to Tokyo.  Tokyo is south
of the reactors and the prevailing winds blow east and north, out to
sea.

皆さんがテレビで見ているニュースが怖いものであることは確かです。特に原発についてです。しかしながら、東京は安全です。原発に関して、私はこの日曜日の集会で、日本の原子力について本当に詳しい二人の方と共にいました。一人は弁護士として日本の原子力産業に携わる方で、もう一人は東方アメリカのエアフォース安全に関わっておられる方です。彼らによると、日本における汚染問題の危険性は全くゼロとは言えないが、本当にゼロに近いとのことです。一般的な風の向きにより、東京よりもシアトルの方が危険性が高いと思われるようです(小さいものと思われる)。東京は原発の南にあり、一般的に風は東に、また北に吹きます。

   Last night I personally called every missionary companionship in
the mission (right now we have 74 companionships) and made sure they
were all doing well and were safe.  I told them for the next month or
so to always keep a week's worth of water and food in their
apartments.  They are all happy, content and working hard.  They are
even getting used to the aftershocks.  The biggest problem we have is
that most of the grocery stores in Japan only carry enough food
supplies for a half a day and are restocked twice a day.  Our
missionaries have all been able to get plenty of food but at certain
times of the day there might not be any bread or milk on the shelves.
This problem will correct itself soon.  Gasoline is also a little
harder to get but that isn't a problem for the missionaries because
they all ride bikes.  Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) was
supposed to be starting rolling blackout yesterday for 3 hours a day
in each area of Tokyo but that didn't happen yesterday and we are not
sure when, if at all, the blackouts will begin.  With several of the
reactors knocked out, there will probably be some power shortages.
But, we are prepared for that and it shouldn't be a problem.

昨夜、私は個人的に伝道部の全ての同僚組(現在74組)に電話し、彼らが安全であることを確かめました。これからの1ヶ月、いつもアパートに1週間分の食料と水があるように伝えました。彼らは皆安心していて、また熱心に働いています。また余震に慣れてきました。最も大きな問題は食料供給についてです。牛乳やパンが店にないような状態ですが、宣教師達は十分な食料を得ています。この問題は時間が解決するでしょう。ガソリンも一つの問題となっているようですが、自転車に乗るので宣教師たちには関係がないです。東京電力は地域ごとに3時間ずつの停電を行う予定でしたが、昨日は行われませんでした。私達はいつそれが起こるか分からないです。いくつかの原発が駄目になったので、電力不足が発生することが考えられます。しかし、私達はそれに備えられています。

    Overall, the Japan Tokyo  missionaries are all happy, safe,
working hard and having a great experience.  We are constantly praying
for the missionaries, members and people north of us.  There is much
disaster and sadness up there but it all occurred 150 to 300 miles
north of us.  I'm sure the news makes it look like all of Japan is
affected (and maybe of you probably think of Japan as a relatively
small island) but we are actually quite far from the destruction and
are safe and doing well.

全体的に、日本東京伝道部にいる宣教師達は皆元気で、安心があり、熱心に働きながら素晴らしい経験をしています。私達は続けて北方にいる宣教師達、会員、人々のために祈ります。本当に大きな被害と悲劇が生じていますけれども、それらは全て240~480キロ離れた所で起きています。私達は安全で大丈夫です。

   We continue to monitor the situation very carefully.  You can rest
assured that the church would not do anything to jeopardize the safety
of its missionaries.  As your son or daughter's mission president, I
will do all I can to make sure the Tokyo missionaries are safe,
comfortable and continue to have a great experience.  The missionaries
in the Tokyo Mission are absolutely wonderful and it's an honor to
serve with them.  Thank you for preparing and sending them to our
mission.   This is a time to pray for those in the Sendai Mission area
of Japan, especially those who have lost loved ones.  I'm sure we will
see continuous miracles both in the safety and the hearts of the
people as the events unfold.

私達はこれからも状況を見続けます。安心して大丈夫です。皆さんの息子、娘さんの伝道部会長として、宣教師達の安全が守られ、慰めを得ながら素晴らしい経験ができるように、私のできる限りを尽くします。東京伝道部にいる宣教師達は本当に素晴らしく彼らと共に働けることに名誉に思います。宣教師を備え、私達の伝道部に送って下さったことに感謝しています。日本の仙台地域にいる人々のために祈りましょう。特に愛する人を失った方々のために。この出来事が起こりながら、人々の安全や心の中に奇跡が続けて起きるでしょう。

President Steve Albrecht
スティーブ・アルブレクト会長

Friday, March 11, 2011

News from Ty

Dear Family,
 
I am ok.  The first and foremost thing, I am ok.  So here's what happened. 
We were visiting a former investigator, on the fourth floor of an apartment complex.  We were doing some housing, knocking on doors, and one of the metal doors that houses electricals and stuff beside us started clanging.  We were a little bit confused and the the building started to shake.  Not just rumbling either, it was shaking.  So we ran down the stairs and outside to what seemed to be the clearest area that we could see.  It wasn't much because we were in an area with lots of apartment buildings.  But when we got out the ground was violently shaking.  Like so much that you could lose your balance just standing there.  It was really scary.  So my companion and I said a prayer and then waited.  It didn't stop right away.  It shook for another 5 minutes and then subsided.  We decided that anymore housing was not a good idea.  So as we were riding back to our apartment, it shook again.  Part of the thing about it was that it knocked out our cell phone so we had no way of contacting anyone.  Eventually we were able to, and let everyone know that we were ok, but we were feeling tremors on and off for the rest of the night.  There was also a severe tsunami warning for the entire east coast of Japan so all the coastal area missionaries were told to get as far away as possible.  We found out that the earthquake originated in the Sendai Mission area and that it measured a 7 on the Richter Scale.  That is the cause for the Tsunami that hit the northern area of Japan and the reason for the severe tsunami warning for the Eastern Coast of Japan.  We made our equipment and necessaries ready before we went to bed and placed them by the door in case we needed to make a quick escape during the night.  Thankfully we didn't.  We were told by the president however to get a weeks worth of food and water just in case.  I don't think we'll be affected this far inland but we will just to be safe.  Things have really slowed down around here right now.  The trains especially.  But besides that Life is the same.  I am grateful for your concern and your prayers.  I love you all and will write you again on Tuesday if I have the chance (I probably will but right now we have to be prepared for anything).  Take care everyone.
 
Elder Ty Keith

March 11, 2011 Earthquake

 This is the email we received in response to our inquiries this morning...

Dear Parents of the Japan Tokyo Mission Missionaries,
Inspite of the severe earthquakes experienced throughout the day, particularly the large earthquake at 2:46pm off the coast of Miyagi, North Eastern Japan, all of the missionaries in the Tokyo Japan Mission are safe. We have contacted directly each of the areas in the mission and have heard from each and are assured that all are safe and unaffected.
All the trains in the Mission area are currently unusable, but otherwise there have been very few other effects that will influence our missionaries. There has however been many serious effects in other areas of Japan. 
We are grateful for your constant prayers for your missionaries and ask you keep them and the people of Japan in your prayers particularly at this time.
Best Regards,
Japan Tokyo Mission

東京伝道部の両親の皆様、
一日を通しての大きな地震、とくに2:46PMの宮城県沖の大きな地震にもかかわらず、東京伝道部の全ての宣教師の安否が確認できました。直接、それぞれのエリアの宣教師と連絡を取り、彼らから連絡を受け全員が安全で何も害を受けていないことを確認しました。伝道部内の全ての電車が使えませんが、ほとんどの宣教師は問題がありません。しかし、日本のほかのエリアでは、多くの重大な被害がありました。
みなさんの宣教師のための祈りに感謝しています。これから、特に宣教師と日本のかたがたのために祈っていただくようにお願いします。
よろしくお願いいたします。
日本東京伝道部

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Week 24

So it has begun.  The transfer where very little English will be spoken by Elder Keith.  And right now it's awesome!  True I don't understand everything my companion says, but that doesn't prevent us from communicating effectively.  Sometimes it does mean we pull out our electronic dictionaries to look words up but it is actually still rather fun.  It really feels like my understanding of Japanese has jumped though.  Like I don't just understand my companion better, I understand everyone better.  Of course that helps only slightly when I need to say something because my speaking skills are as yet a work in progress.  But I'm not worried.  I've only been here in Japan a couple months.  But besides that not too much has changed here.  The weather is getting steadily warmer.  The work is progressing.  It's funny to realize though just how much influence Japan has on the rest of the world.  Like I didn't realize until I got here just how many things from home have Japanese influence until I came to Japan.  Another thing that's slowly and steadily happening to me is I'm starting to speak more and more Senkyoshigo.  That's missionary language.  It's where Japanese and English merge in a missionary fashion.  Like I would say, "Ah so desu ka? Well then let's go dendo!"  Translated into English it means "Really? Well then let's go do missionary work."  So when I come back, not to say expect, but expect Senkyoshigo.  So until next time I say:
 
愛しているので気をつけて下さい。 手紙を書かなかったら、手紙を受けたいと思います。 ありがとうございます!
 
Elder Keith
キース長老

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Week 23

So transfer calls are in.  I'm staying in Tama!!!  YES!  And my companion got transferred.  He's now back in America.  Yeah he finished his mission.  And now I have a new companion.  A guy by the name of Elder Furugen.  He is Japanese.  He's super awesome.  But he doesn't really speak English at all so that means i have to ganbaru (try my best) in Japanese for these coming 6 weeks.  Wow 3 companions in 3 transfers... ordinarily that would be questionable but my trainer had already been in Tama 3 transfers, my follow-up trainer went home, and now my current companion and I are going to ganbaru here in Tama.  He's been out 8 transfers, which is a little more than my 3 but not by that much.  His Japanese exceeds mine though.  Obviously right? 
 
Well far be it for me to say but I saw somewhat of a miracle this week.  We were at the church and we had jut finished a lesson.  Then we were leaving and our investigator flicked water at me.  So I did it back, then he got a cup of water and came after me.  Naturally I ran away  I ran outside and across the (very small)parking lot.  Because it was dark, I didn't see the chain that was stretched across 2 poles.  It was knee height, and I was sprinting.  It caught me just below the knees and caused me to me flip.  I would have landed on my head on the asphalt had it not been for the fact that my backpack slipped forward and ended up being between my head and the ground.  That's the first part of the miracle.  The second part is that upon returning to the church the next day, I realized that had I been running a meter or so to the left of where i was, i would have hit the lowest part of the chain, which would have caught me right around the ankles, which would have resulted in Elder Keith doing a faceplant/belly flop dive onto asphalt.  That would not have been fun.  But I came out of it with a nice looking cut/bruise/indent on my leg(s), and a good lesson learned. 
 
So that's what's what for Elder Keith.  Oh by the way if there are any words you want to know in Japanese or the kanji or anything then email me and i'll post it here at the end of each weekly letter.
So now I close by saying ありがとうございます。いつも、神さまの導きがあるように祈って下さい。皆さん、愛しています。
=D
 
Elder Keith
キース長老