Michael's Good Experience: This week from a crowded train corner wall!

Dear Family,

Well this week was pretty good as well! We got 3 new investigators this last week, and from phone contacting of all things! They were my first phone contact appointments and they turned into investigators, it was way cool! So the only investigator that wasn't new that we were able to meet with his last week was Hikaru San, the rest of our investigators made time for this week but not last week. Some were able to meet with Watanabe, Sudeep, and Tarik San this week. Funny thing about all of that is that only one of them is Japanese. Watanabe is the only Japanese person of the 3, Sudeep is Nepalese, and Tarik is from Pakistan, so go figure we'd have that much diversity in a mission in Japan!

Hikaru is doing as good as ever, he read the Book of Mormon's introduction like we asked him to, but he said the sentences are too hard. It's kind of funny, because of the differences in comic book Japanese and scripture Japanese, most people have a really difficult time reading the scriptures at first. I guess that's the same with English too, but it seems more prevalent here in Japan. Hopefully he will keep progressing like that, especially after his English program with us ends, because after that we can't teach him English anymore but if he wants to continue then he can keep learning about the gospel. So I'm hoping for that. Sudeep San was a phone contact, who said he had met some missionaries before and had been to the church once or twice, so we met him and gave him a tour since he hadn't ever done that before, during the tour we set up some decent expectations such as baptism and stuff like that, and he said he would really like to learn about it and come to church as soon as he can, so that's really cool! Watanabe is also a phone contact that had been met housing and the previous missionaries had visited a few times, but deemed that he didn't have interest so they dropped him. So we called him from the former investigators section and he said he would be interested in a church tour so we gave him one and he said he would like to learn to know if it's true, what we said so we have a meeting with him tomorrow. And Tarik was a guy we met while housing, he lives about 5 minutes from where we live. We rang his doorbell and said who we were and he came out to say hello. He spoke fluent English surprising enough. But that wasn't the last intense part. We asked him where he learned such good English and he said "Oh, I lived in Seattle for 10 years!" To which I told him I was from Seattle and asked if he knew Auburn, from which he said that he used to go to the supermall frequently, and that he had been inside the sports authority where I used to work. So that was a small world moment for sure. But because previously my companion has done a lot of religion study and has read the Koran, they were talking about that and the Book of Mormon and he said "if you can show me that the Book of Mormon is not true, I will become a Muslim." And Tarik seemed way excited about that, so we are bringing him a Book of Mormon on Thursday, because unfortunately I hadn't restocked my backpack at the time with a 4th English Book of Mormon to mark so I didn't have one to give him. But we got a follow up appointment out of it so it was good. It will be interesting to teach him this next week as he will probably tell us we are wrong a lot, but maybe one day when he has finished the Book of Mormon there will be a big change in him. We'll see!

One way cool miracle we saw this week though was on Tuesday, we met this man named Akaiwa San, which is red rock in English, so he introduced himself that way "I am red rock!" So red rock has a way sick Afro and a difficult case of depression, but we talked to him and gave him a Book of Mormon and became friends a little bit. Then on Sunday we left missionary correlation meeting to go to priesthood, and bam there is Akaiwa San standing in the doorway. So we have him sit down with some members. And he goes through the entire church service, and during it told me to stop asking if he has questions because he wants to put it together first in his head then ask questions after. The lessons that Sunday were incredibly well done for a first time church goer so it worked out very well, and then there was a big meal party afterwards at the church. So there he was just becoming a social butterfly telling us how kids in high school used to yell out their car windows "hey!! Crazy boy!!" Because he would introduce himself that way to be funny. Anyways, he talked to more members than most new missionaries do even! Afterwards I asked if he could come next week and he said he would come every week. So we are really excited to work with him. Although the crazy thing about him is that because he has depression he is on some intense antidepressants that have guidelines not to drive or ride trains or anything while he is on it, so he walked from his house to the church on Sunday. That's a 2 hour walk!! It was incredible, it was even raining!!

As far as funny things this week, we've been yelled at by some drunk people, had a few doors slammed, and Elder Dunn and I have been having fun doing random things in the apartment, so it's been good. At zone conference this last week President Wada was talking to me and saying "your junior companion days, there getting pretty short now!" So I'm not sure what to expect with next transfer! We'll see. Anyways, it sounds like everything back home is going well, Morgan is still passing out, dads still taking pictures, mom's getting the schedules running, Emilee and Ryan are going to St. George, and Meagan still doesn't like water! Sounds like life is still rolling on at a nice pace.

Right now I'm on the train to the temple while writing, and man most of the family wouldn't be able to handle a commuter rush hour train, I have a wall on 2 sides and I'm pressed up in the corner, and I'm back to back with a guy, and there's a lady on my left arm and another guy getting pushed into the corner with me, it's a party over here! Emilee would have flipped out already, I've been in this position for 30 ish minutes already! Haha way fun! It's not usually this bad though. Anyways, love all you guys, have an amazing week, do fun stuff and make some new interesting stories. Always remember the power of prayer when you're struggling or don't know what to do, I know it helps. God loves us, and he shows us a million times a day, we just have to look.

Love,

Elder Gailey

Elder Poffenberger and Elder Gailey at Zone Conference