Onward and Upward: Week 80 in Japan

This week was pretty stellar! Our main man Kouta is getting baptized the first week of July and he is so stoked for it!

This week was pretty routine, just going to work and having a good time. Couldn’t ask for anything more. We went on splits with the other Elders in our apartment and Elder Israde and I had our own personal fiesta. Some spanish, a few bike rides, and some good laughs and learning experiences along the way. Also I’m starting to grow a dislike for birds here in Kamiooka. I got pooped on by a pigeon. But their poops aren’t as big as crow poops so it’s okay. Still got some fun looks while I found a bathroom to clean up in since the apartment was a decent bike ride away. 

Also while on splits with the elders from Yokosuka we had a great time. The Yokosuka elders had an investigator that’s been having hard time and they’ve been having trouble staying in contact with him. Even though they came all the way up to Kamiooka from Yokosuka, we somehow ran into this man on a backroad in our area. Couldn’t have planned that no matter how hard we tried. But how cool is that! Elder Poulsen was able to talk to him and see what’s been going on and this guy just let him know and they got things worked out. Man God’s timing perfect! It’s a good thing He’s in control of things cause I don’t know what I’d do without Him. 

We also had an awesome guy from England named John came join us at church. We talked with him after and he’s just such awesome guy with questions similar to me when I really decided to start coming to a better understanding of this Gospel. It was just such a strong testimony to me that these things are so true. I know so many people have those questions, but I appreciate people like John who is not afraid and has the humility to express his concerns. I know I’ve come here to be a part of these guys’ lives. It’s so incredible. Despite all the funny experiences, stories, learning a language and culture, food, friends, and wonderful connections, nothing beats the experiences I’ve had this week. We taught truth. And we taught it to those who were ready to listen. Being lost kinda sucks. But on the upside there are answers! 

愛しています、

Elder Cuff

Elder Renlund Conference: Week 79 in Japan

Last Monday I kind of had a head cold going on but then by nighttime came around it got pretty heavy. Woke up Tuesday morning and was absolutely slammed with a fever. The steaks over, I got sick for the first time out in the field. Tuesday was spent inside and video calling into district meetings. But then we were back on the streets on Wednesday; I'm still recovering a bit, but no worries!

Also some other sad news, our main man Kouta teaches at a tutoring school and got slammed hard this week. Luckily he's still hanging with YSA's and we're meeting this week. He's still solid but in not being able to meet this week, he also missed out on the open conference they had with Elder Renlund of the 12 apostles.

Mission Conference with Elder Renlund.

As far as other cool things we had happening this week, Elder Renlund came to our mission and we got to have a conference with him as a mission. It was absolutely amazing. He talked a lot about not only going to work, but in keeping a positive attitude as we do so. He told us he was guilty of it too, but sometimes we go to work because we made a commitment, but we're not always keeping a positive attitude while we do it. In that, we've been talking a lot lately as a mission about choosing joy. Choosing to be happy despite circumstance, or disappointments. This week wasn't absolutely spectacular. Some things happened that I wish wouldn't have happened. But I choose how I react to it. We have the amazing gift of Agency. One thing that we can choose with that agency is to be happy. Some days are harder than others, but that's all right, prayer helps too. I'm so stoked to be here!

...And the members made us cake! 

Happy Mother's Day; The Mom's Point of View

I took opportunity to video the tail end of our chat with Elder Cuff. I asked him to share something in Japanese for his nieces and nephews.

Then I asked Asuka for a translation! 😊

"Hello everyone! I am currently serving in Japan as a missionary.  It’s been a great opportunity to serve as a missionary. If you ever get a chance to come to Japan, please do.

We can love and serve people like Christ does and it’s a wonderful thing.  My life has been changed because of this. The way I think and pretty much everything  I do is focused on Christ now and I find more happiness in my life. And that’s wonderful. I love you all. Let’s do this!"

Happy Mother's Day: Week 78 in Japan

This week was a pretty good time, lots of just plain missionary work. We got a decent amount of rain this week, but it's helped me get more comfortable with wet socks. 

As far as people goes, Kouta is an absolute rock. He got his work schedule switched around to come to church and was able to come this week and the weeks to come. We were a bit worried because he sometimes doesn't respond to us as fast as before during the week, but it turns out the reason he hasn't been replying is fast is because he's been hanging out with all of the YSA. Elder Renlund of the 12 Apostles is coming for a devotional and the YSA are already taking him and want us to join for dinner before we all go as a group. Saturday's gonna be sweet. 

We got a lot of good finding done this this week so we should start working with some real cool guys soon. 

I video called my parents today so sorry for the short email this week. They're the best! I know mothers are a blessing and Mothers Day is one of those days that just makes sense to celebrate. Have a great a week everyone!

愛しています、

Elder Cuff

Sorry this is the only picture this week...

Mom's Always Right: Week 77 in Japan

So in regards to last week, we had a great time. One of our investigators picked us up and drove us out to Costco. After taking us to our apartment to drop everything off he brought us back to his place where we had a great lunch and listened to MoTab. Right after that he took us over to the church where we met with an Eikaiwa student who drove us in his Cadillac to his home where he played violin and guitar for us. We talked to him about helping his family connect better and then took us back to the church just in time for us to shoot off a quick email before continuing the work. On the ride back he was wondering about the meaning behind Hotel California by The Eagles. I called up my good friend Elder Wayas who actually explained this to me a few months ago. He reminded me and we had an awesome chance to relate it to The Gospel which made perfect sense to our student. The Lord works in funny ways sometimes.

We had MLC this week and I ate a bunch of Costco muffins. Big win for the A team. Also got to translate. MLC involves a lot more discussion compared to Zone Conferences so it was a bit harder than usual but hopefully things were understandable.

I got pooped on by a crow. They have big poops. Luckily on the way back to change my clothes it helped some people laugh and we were able to share The Gospel a bit so it all worked out for a positive purpose.

This might be a silly thing, and my mother is going to love that I finally caught onto this despite her telling me all the time, but I've found how nice it is to live in a really clean and organized apartment. I felt like I've kept pretty good care of the apartments I've lived in so far, but Elder Salamanopoulos helped push me to the next level. We spent the mass majority of today just deep cleaning, decluttering, reorganizing, and overall tossing out tons of junk. And the apartment looks, feels, and smells great. I had a really cool moment though. My lovely companion hopped in the shower and I took a moment to set up the speaker and turn on some soft music, opened up the windows, and sat down on the couch. It just suddenly hit me out of nowhere but I just really felt at home. I felt so comfortable and great. I think The Spirit is felt in a lot of different ways but right now I'm straight up testifying of not only spiritual, but temporal cleanliness. We have so many awesome gifts and blessings in this life so we should take care it. I love the little things in life, and I'm glad I've really grown to enjoy them. There's a lot of ways to learn and grown and I think The Lord has given me the best means possible for whatever situation I'm in.

愛しています、
Elder Cuff