Elder Cuff: October 2018

In my title I was trying to copy “Seasons of Love” from RENT, but the syllables aren’t really lining up with the song timing... You win some you lose some I guess.

Seasons of Love (In case you didn't know Elder Cuff's reference)

Sorry for the lack of letter last week. I’ll make up for it today.

We have 3 guys named Seiji, Masaya, and Emmanuel that we’ve been teaching who have been absolutely amazing. They’re all on their way to baptism and have become great friends with the members, we’re very excited for what the future holds for them.

We found a guy in our area Book that lives in this section of Machida tucked in the hills where there’s a lot of farms. His name is Yu. He’s one of the funniest people I’ve met in my life, and honestly one of my favorite persons. He’s in his 30s but helps his mother run their bonsai tree farm/business since his father passed away. He’s gone all around the world and visited every continent, except Antarctica, by boat. The man has never ridden a plane. He worked on a circumnavigating ship where he learned English. There’s one thing he told us that I loved. He said boat is much better, because as you stop in different nations, the change in people, skin color, and culture is much more gradual, and you see how much the world actually connects. The man has seen and heard a lot and I honestly want to right a biography about him. But anyways, we decided to help him out on his farm last week since it’s just him and his aging mother. We all ate a delicious super Japanese lunch together and went out to the fields. I’ll tell you what, Japanese soil is a whole lot softer than dirt in Vegas, and a lot more fun to work with. Also smells really good. I’ve also never seen so many types of bugs in such a short amount of time. Luckily Yu knew what all of them were and explained some cool facts about them. Why? Because Yu’s the man, that’s why. So working with him has been awesome, we’re biking out to his farm tomorrow and I am so incredibly excited.

I don’t know if anyone remembers him, but there’s an Eikaiwa student named Lieutenant who feeds the missionaries every once in a while. Including the time from when I was first here I’ve gotten to go 5 times now. But anyways we had dinner with him and it was a rather good time. He’s in his 80’s but still attends Eikaiwa regularly and tries to learn new things. It’s inspiring to be completely honest. I hope that if I ever get that age I just continue to try and develop and
learn.

We had splits in Hachioji and had an awesome little miracle happen. When I was there previously we had found this guy named Wes who’s a professional basketball player. I was with Elder Matsunaga and as we were walking, I was talking about contacting Wes and seeing if we can meet. As I said that I looked up just in time to see him walk around the corner on the other side of the street. I called out to him and he was happy and slightly surprised to see us. My Frogger skills kicked in and we ran across the street to go talk to him. We had a good conversation and I got to see him before taking off. One could say it was coincidence, but after seeing a lot of these “coincidences” in such a short amount of time for the past 2 years, I’ve learned to stop calling them that.

I had my final interview with President Warnick. He’s such an awesome guy and works so hard. I suggested that missionaries should get Segways. He said he’d bring it up with the area seventy but he’s not too sure if it’ll go through haha. But it was a grand time. We reviewed a lot of things from the Mission and things that were learned. Then we talked a bit about the next phases of life. One thing I’ve really come to understand is the timing of my mission call. I know I was called to serve with President Warnick at this time. He and Sister Warnick have been such major influences in my life up to this point.

Since this I my last letter I just want to express that these past 2 years have been so absolutely critical in my life. There’s been a lot of things I’ve had the opportunity to learn over the past little while, but the thing that’s been most important to me is coming to a better knowledge of who Jesus Christ is and the sacrifice He made. And on top of that, I’ve been able to come to a better understanding on how I can be more like Him. I don’t plan on making an exhaustive list on the things I’ve started to right now in this letter, but there is one thing I really want to emphasize. Throughout the entirety of my mission I’ve sought a lot of help on how I can be better. A better missionary, a better person, a better friend, just overall better. And in a lot of that study and asking questions, the thing that I’ve come to understand in that aspect, is the importance of turning outward. In all things. I’m not just talking about looking for opportunities to serve in a literal sense, although important, but rather doing everything for the benefit of helping others. In Gospel studies, turn outward. In college studies, turn outward. In managing finances, turn outward. In exercising, turn outward. In working, turn outward. Taking all aspects of life, to an extent, and putting someone else into consideration. Obviously sometimes there are personal decisions that need to be made at one point. My order at McDonalds may not always be based on the benefit of someone else. But the general idea is doing things for your fellow man, always seeking to uplift, inspire, and encourage them, and fulfilling your role in that to the best of your ability. I love the time I’ve had (and still have) in Japan. I love being able to serve the Japanese people and really come to know them.

I’m excited to see everyone, but Japan will be missed. Thank you for all the continuous love, support, and updates on life for the past couple years. Keep on keepin’ on!

愛を込めて、
Elder Cuff

I’ll send pictures a bit later! Don’t worry!

(The Mom will post said pics when they arrive.)