Hey Mom and Dad!
The MTC is awesome! I'm absolutely loving it!
The food is all right (my stomach has been a tad on the fritz adjusting
to it, but I'm all right) and very plentiful!
My companion is
Elder Hapi, and he is also going to Kobe. He is from Australia, but
he's of native New Zealand descent. He is an amazing guy and we get
along great. He's funny and he laughs a lot. There is another
companionship in our room. Elder Oliveira (from Brazil) and Elder
Jensen (from North Carolina). They are also going to Kobe and they are
so much fun to be around. It has been a bit strange adjusting to having
a companion, but it's a good kind of strange. Like I said, Elder Hapi
and I get along great and we're basically like brothers.
The Ni Hon go is coming along wonderfully! The gift of tongues is
real and the Lord truly blesses those he calls to learn a new language.
I have been learning Japanese so much more quickly than I ever have
before. Beyond that, 2 Elders (Moretti and Oliveira) in my district are
from Brazil so they are learning Japanese (completely new to both of
them) from an English speaking teacher. It has been absolutely
incredible to see how amazingly quickly they've progressed and how
they've been blessed. My sensei is an amazingly loving guy and is so
supportive of me and the rest of the district.
It's really cool that they have us teaching lessons to investigators
already. The first appointment we had with a kyudosha was last Friday,
and it was all in Japanese. My companion and I struggled a bit, but
it's really amazing how the Spirit works through you and you can feel
it's presence and feel it testifying to you and your investigator of the
truth of what you're saying, even when you don't entirely understand
what you're saying.
Sunday was amazing. In sacrament meeting they blessed the bread and
water in Ni Hon go. The talks were in Japanese and we sang the hymns
in Japanese. It was super cool!
Jolly Choro and I have been able
to see each other quite frequently. Beyond seeing him around classes
and just walking him around, I normally walk or run with him during gym
time. It's so nice to have a friend to talk to and share my thoughts
with. Though I'm making many friends I really love being able to have a
close friend around.
Justin is going to Pennsylvania?! That's so awesome! Tell him
congratulations for me. He's going to be an incredible missionary.
By
the way, please keep using DearElder.com. They send me a hard copy of
the letter you send the same day, whereas with e-mail I have to wait
until P-day to read it. It's nice to have letters earlier so that I can
read them and start to think about what to reply to you throughout the
week, rather than having to read and reply on P-day.
I'll try and send you some pictures soon! I love you and miss you all so much.
Elder Hutchings
