'Twas the Week Before Christmas: Week 57 in Japan

This past week was all over the place. I sang for 3 days in a row. I swear I can sing all four parts to every Christmas song found in the hymn book. Also lost my voice on Sunday it was really funny.

So for starters, I may or may not have bought a katana out of a small sketchy shop tucked up in the mountains. Luckily if you ship something by boat it's decently cheap. It just takes 3 months to get to The States. Hopefully it'll make it through customs.

I'm gonna name it!

We ran up a Mt. Takao on Saturday with Yokosawa Kyodai, he's a counselor in the bishopric. He's a crazy man. Im not sore but I wasn't prepared for the cold air and it left my lungs BURNING. Its all good though, he does it every Saturday morning so we may be joining him every once in a while, also gives me an excuse to run more in the mornings. I actually asked him what he does when he's not running up Mt. Takao. His response killed me, he looked at me, smiles, and said, "I just find a really steep hill and sprint up and down it until I get really tired." He's a wild man. Never a dull moment with him around. Also I'm stealing his workout.

I was dyin', man! He's way fast!

So last year around Christmas I was still in the Machida Stake and we had a huge crazy concert in Tama that had a big professional set up with speakers, amazing singers, and I skipped around the crowd while jingling bells. Well this year was no different. Literally did the exact same thing and as expected, it was amazing. We decided to round out the same evening I had a year ago by going to get ramen. You wanna talk about De Ja Vu, I'll tell you about De Ja Vu.

Another concert in Tama.

We spent a lot of time caroling this week, and despite being in 2 decently large concert groups my favorite was on Sunday after church. We got together with some families in the ward and went to a couple nursing homes and sang in a small, slightly out of key group. I love to see people smile. A lot of the people at the nursing homes could barely move, or even talk. But you can't ever stop someone from smiling when that Christmas Spirit is around. I love this time of year and what it means. I love that I have this belief in Christ and the peace it's provided in my life. And as satisfying as it is to have this direction in my life, it doesn't even come close to the satisfaction that comes from seeing someone else experience that peace and direction in their lives. What can I say except that I'm happy to be here.

メリークリスマス！
Elder Cuff

Smooth Sailing: Week 56 in Japan

Good Ole Jitensha Taxi

This week flew by. We've been working hard, found some people, and just been teaching. I've been learning a lot from Elder Call. He's a really down to earth guy who has already taught me so much Japanese. It's been an absolute blessing to have the companions I've had and I attribute a lot of the fun times I've had on my mission to being able to work with them.

I have the best district leader!

We've been blessed to be able to teach a lot of lessons this past week. Been getting Elder Call really broken in on a bicycle. This area has some decent sized hills so hopefully we can stay in decent shape despite the holiday season.

We've been working with members a ton for the past little while and they're honestly the best. They're not only great people but they provide a lot of support and help with a lot of the missionary efforts. If it wasn't for them we would really be struggling with the work. It's a big strength to my testimony to see such strong members be excited to share this positivity with others.

Speaking of members, the 2nd counselor in the bishopric here is a triathlon runner and runs up Mt. Takao early in the morning on Saturdays. After hearing about this from another member we ended up making plans to run with him on Saturday at about 5:00 in the morning. I'm so incredibly excited, more updates on that next week.

Also we went to Costco today and got a ride from a member. Last week we spent a decent amount of money on a bunch of fruits and veggies. Being that we're all incredibly intellectual teenagers we decided to balance out our fridge with a couple birthday cakes, a cheesecake, and a rotisserie chicken. Also Costco muffins. You always need Costco muffins. We don't really eat out so we're actually very ahead on our budget! Yay for learning how to work with finances and building savings! (Shout out to the Loftus couple)

The member that took us to Costco (you're the man Misu Kyodai) also showed us this park in the mountains right by our apartment, and get this, there's a zip line! Needless to say we will going there throughout the week for our morning exercise. They've got a big rope climb, pull up bars, plenty of trails to run on. You know. The works. There's just been a lot of fun discoveries this week and a lot of laughs. Usually missions have a lot of Up and downs to them but this week has just been a lot of good times. A lot of laughs, a lot of faith building moments, a lot of learning, a lot of humbling, a lot of joy, and just a lot of being a missionary. Just know that I'm having the absolute time of my life!

愛を込めて、
Elder Cuff

We played at the park today.

Minor Detail: Week 55 in Japan

Hey just noticed that I totally forgot to let everyone know about some somewhat significant info but I'm currently training. I've been assigned to help out this wonderful guy named Elder Call. He's originally from the Bay Area and moved to Provo later in his teenage years. His mother is Japanese and they spoke it in the home and he
attended San Francisco Japanese School every Saturday where it was regular school but all in Japanese. So in other words his Japanese is better than mine haha. He's come to Japan a few different times before so it makes my job as a trainer really easy. I don't have to help him adjust to Japan or teach him Japanese so that's a pretty big weight off my shoulders. He's a way laid back guy who knows how to crack a joke or two, so things ain't too bad at all!

We're still in Takao where things have been going wonderfully. Elder Call came off the plane on Wednesday, and although he was pretty sick and jet lagged, he was able to hang in there and teach a decent bundle of lessons all through the weekend. Right now the situation in Takao is that we have very minimal finding time, mainly just a lot of good 'ole teaching, planning, and studying. Elder Call played some pretty critical roles in teaching this weekend and has been an absolute blast to work with these past few days. Luckily he's getting a bit of a breather on P-Day today. Our main man Yamaguchi San came to church in a suit this weekend and looked way sick and as usual we've been having a blast with him. He's been doing some renovations on his house and I ended painting some closet doors for him and then he took us out to sushi.

On Thursday I had to go to the mission home to do some trainings and then pick up Elder Call. We had lunch there where they grilled some good ole American cheeseburger and hot dogs. It was accompanied by Red, White, and Blue jello and some Christmas colored Rice Krispie treats. That was the first real burger and hot dog I've had in a while and it was absolutely heavenly. As usual things have been absolutely wonderful out here. Christmas time is approaching which is really weird because I feel like 2017 has gone by waaaay too fast. Time as a missionary still makes absolutely no sense. But take advantage of this wonderful time of year and participate in some service! Give a little more to someone with a little less.

愛を込めて,
Elder Cuff

Apologies in Advance: Week 54 in Japan

Here's a quick list of highlights. I'm sorry.

- We tried to climb Mt. Jinba last week. We didn't find out until we almost there that the road was closed. But it was a long ride that was really pretty!

- We went on an adventure to Uenohara! There were tons of college students and it was a lot of fun. Kind of expensive though cause we have to take the train! But compared to the city everyone there was way nice.

- Yamaguchi San is doing awesome! He came to church and the YSA FHE and loved it. He's still super Genki and super fun to be around.

- We had Thanksgiving week! The other elders and I got talking. Why wait for one day to have giant delicious meals. We decided to schedule out a bunch of meals and feast throughout the week, it ranged from burgers and grilled cheeses to Nabe and gyudon. Needless to say I'm a happy man and a few pounds heavier.

-Sorry for the lack of material this week. It was good, it was productive, and I had a really good time. Learning everyday!

Noodles For A Brain: Week 53 in Japan

Zone P-Day

Alright. So the Takao area has a small section of city that our apartment is in and the rest of it is literally just mountains. On our map we have stickers that mark where church members live and also less active members. There is one infamous number on our map known as Number 7. Why is it infamous you may ask? Because it is significantly farther than literally everyone else in the area. Like I'm talking way deep into the mountains. Much farther than last weeks ramen shop escapade and entirely uphill.  Bear with me, this info applies to later on in the email. 

So my beloved companion ended up getting a pretty gnarly cold and stayed in the apartment. At that same time our district leader Elder Tree also went down for the count. So Elder Wayas and I decided to take off for the day. As usual our Tuesdays were blank. We were about to plan a regular day around the city. But then we both looked at the map while recalling last weeks shenanigans at the ramen shop. We both looked directly at that little green dot with the number 7 on it. The rest is history. 

A work in progress...

We visited Yamaguchi San along the way, helped with his car a bit, and then took off since it was raining. The rain got heavier the deeper we went in the mountains. Finally we arrived at this shack in the middle of the woods. We knocked on the door and... no one was home. But there were some neighboring homes and we went to the house just up the hill. An older man opened the door and we had an amazing talk with him about life. After setting up another time to meet we asked for his name before we left. Our jaws hit the floor as we realized that this man was in fact the number 7 we were looking for. I guess there was a slight mix up on our part with the address haha. He doesn't remember being a part of our church but then again he also forgot our names and why we were at his house soon after that, and we basically had the exact same conversation twice. So now we may or may not be working with an Alzheimer's less active. 

Number 7

On the way back down it became night time and the mountain roads aren't exactly lit. So we ended up spending some time in what seemed like a horror film until we came across a lonely home with the lights on. Although the old lady there was surprised to see two soaking wet Gaijin at her door step she was very kind and gave us some encouragement before telling us that she wasn't that interested in some of the cleanest humble Japanese I've ever heard. Although we were freezing it was a very good night of knocking on creepy homes that have really nice old people inside. Also on the way back down we went to go visit last weeks arm wrestling champion. He said he's glad we came to visit. But to come back when it's bright outside. That we will do.

While making our way back to the city Elder Wayas and I were frozen and hungry. We ended up stopping at this really fancy looking Soba Restaurant. It was so fancy it had a glass room at the front where you could see them traditionally make their hand made Soba noodles. Elder Wayas and I were actually incredibly surprised at how decent the prices were, and also the portions. While deciding whether or not to go in two Japanese grandmas came out and told us that it's cold outside and low key strong armed us into the restaurant. Although the prices were decent they were still kind've high for a missionary. When I expressed my concern to Elder Wayas he looked at me dead in the eyes, still kind've shivering, and said, "treat yo self". The man is filled with wisdom. It was delicious. After we finished we noticed that we were the only ones left in the place so I did what I always like to do whenever I go somewhere really traditional and has delicious food. I ask them how they make the soup. Next thing I know Elder Wayas and I are in the back kitchen where they showcase the process and ingredients they use to make delicious food. The head chef came out and gave us samples of all the different ingredients they use and how they are only the finest of ingredients. They invited us to come back when we have some free time and they'll teach us how to make their special hand made Soba noodles. Then they gave us a discount and called us hard workers. They were Buddhist, but expressed a lot of respect for what we do as missionaries and would love for us to come back so they can teach us how to cook. Elder Wayas and I celebrated our wonderful evening with some cheap convenience store ice cream. 

Before finishing up this email I just want to express that I know The Gospel is true. I've seen it change lives including my own. Sometimes it's really hard to explain, but it always makes sense in the end. It's made so many positive impacts on my life and encourages me to help and support others. I'm so glad I'm out here. Be excellent to one another, and always keep your head up. Life ain't too bad. 

Party on,

Elder Cuff

Thank You, John Muir: Week 52 in Japan

Looking back, I've realized that some of the happiest moments in my life have taken place on the top of some mountain, in the middle of nowhere, and with little to no people around. Although I've felt I can deal with them, I don't ever remember being too fond of crowds or big gatherings. Being in the Tokyo area for the past little bit has been a bit of a change, but I had a great escape this past week.

My good friend Elder Tree and I went on splits this past week and our schedule was completely blank, so we had a decent chunk of finding time ahead of us. That morning while we planned Elder Tree proposed the idea that we hop on our bikes, take off for the hills, and just knock on doors of all the farm houses up in the mountains until we find someone. I turned into a giddy little school boy in that moment. I knew it was gonna be a good day, but I had no idea how good it would be.

First we decided to visit a less active that neither of us have met before that lived that direction. While winding out way through a small mountain path we came across a small, frail looking old man walking who we decided to stop and talk to. Upon saying hello he looks dead at me, smacks his arm, points at me, puts out his hand, and says, "try." In English. I grip his hand and immediately he starts to arm wrestle me. Upon stopping his attempt at conquering my ego, we reset into the start position. He grunts and says, "one more." And Again the match continued. But alas, my arm stayed upright. He releases grip and says, "mmm, very strong. I show you my home". We followed him back to his small ranch where he showed us his fields and kiwi orchard. He then introduced us his exercise routine and how he does 100 pull ups every morning, although he is 87 years old, he was very proud of his health. He asked that we come back some time. But we weren't just coming back to visit. We're coming back to work in his fields. So Elder Tree and I were laughing about this whole situation, but it got better. Turns out this arm wrestling champion was the father of the less active we intended on visiting in the first place. So we are
definitely going back at this point.

Then at that point we hoped on our bikes, said goodbye, and took off deeper into the mountains. We weren't having much success so we decided to stop for dinner at a small, sketchy ramen shop in the middle of nowhere Japan. As expected we were the only ones in the shop where they had a TV playing a Korean soap opera. We ordered our food and while eating the lady who ran the ramen shop started asking about what 2 white dudes were doing in this part of Japan. After some discussion and a good little chat we ended up setting up another time to come back and teach about God and The Purpose of Life. She handed us 2 free pepsi's while we left and asked to be safe as we travel back. Elder Tree was ecstatic to be teaching the mountain ramen shop owner.

Before heading home that night we realized that we still had to complete our language study time for the day. The road leading through the mountains goes along a stream. So we dropped down to the stream, kicked off our shoes, found a rock to sit on, dipped in our toes, popped open a Pepsi, and studied some Japanese before finishing the night back in the city.

The rest of the week wasn't near as exciting as that day. But I did get to help our man Yamaguchi with his car this past week. It was a lot of fun playing in the garage with him. I'll get a picture of the car next week because now we're going over to his place once a week to help with the car and then teaching a lesson on top of the other times we meet. So things are going really well with him. Things have been cooling down which feels really good. The foods delicious, the people are amazing, the work is moving, and I get to learn something new everyday. I can't complain.

Don't forget to love one another! Also take some time to escape to the mountains this week or go on a hike or something. It's good for you.

"The Mountains are calling and I must go"

愛しています、
Elder Cuff

Congo Line: Week 51 in Japan

For starters Halloween happened! It's not really a thing here in Japan but some members and investigators gave us candy so no worries. Thanks for the letter Grandma and Grandpa! Yes I was a missionary for Halloween! I went the whole nine yards, slacks, white shirt, tag, even all the way down to the dress socks. Really proud of my outfit this year.

Our good friend Yamaguchi-San who doesn't street drift is getting baptized! He wants to take things at a bit of a slower pace since he doesn't know anything about even general Christianity but he really wants to discover more and has a wonderful heart. He's already gotten into praying daily, morning and night, and he LOVES IT. Such a fun guy.

We can use this app called Line now which is a messenger app that EVERYONE in Japan uses and it's made contacting people soooOoOOoo
easy. Literally everyone responds.

Cool thing. Our Ward Mission Leader busted up his hand pretty bad at work. So of course we were all like, "oh wow that really sucks". But for some reason his response really got to me. He said, "yea it hurts, but at least it was just my hand." It just got me thinking about how many little things we as humans use to complain about and make excuses from. Sometimes I think that we really get caught up in the negative and make things seem like their a bigger deal than they are. I don't know, just something that made me really look for a positive end in even the smallest of mishaps. One thing I remember President Hinckley talking about was having a sense of humor and learning to laugh. Even if it's at yourself. Something I felt I'd share.

Much Love,
Elder Cuff


We went to an old castle ruins tucked up in the hills. Got burned down by a bunch of Samurai about a hundred years ago. Really dark and detailed history as to what happened but hey it was a pretty looking place!