Mom and Dad,
Wow. I`m in Japan! It`s absolutely amazing to be here and
doing the Lord`s work! The area I`m in is called Kochi. If I`m not mistaken,
it`s the largest area in the Mission. Getting here took about 5 hours on a bus
from Kobe. The weather has been nice, it`s not super humid here, but humid
nonetheless. It`s been pretty clear this last week, but it`s been raining
pretty good today.
At the moment I`m in a threesome.
Elder`s Day and Nakatsuka. Elder Nakatuska is called to a mission in Florida,
but he hasn`t been able to go to the MTC in Provo because of an issue with
obtaining a visa. He`s been in the Kobe mission since January, I think. He`ll
be leaving for the MTC next
Sunday. Elder Nakatsuka is Ni Hon Jin and is an amazing
missionary. He`s so much fun and he works very hard. His English is excellent,
and he`s a pretty good cook as well. Elder Day is my Trainer. He is awesome!
He is a very relaxed fellow, but works hard and has been a super good example
for me. He is from American Fork and will be returning home in June.
The
apartment is pretty semai (small). I didn`t expect much, but Elder Day even
said it`s the smallest apartment he`s been in. There`s a room for the toilet,
another for the bath and shower, a small kitchen with a small 2 burner stove,
another room where we sleep, and another room with 2 desks where we study. It
was pretty dirty though, so we spent a little extra time this morning
doing some cleaning. I forgot to take pictures of it, but hopefully I will
before next Preparation Day (which, just FYI are on Mondays).
Things have
been good and busy this last week. We`ve had lessons everyday this past week.
The first one I got to teach in was on Friday. We
taught an older lady about the Plan of Salvation in a member`s home. My
Japanese is far from perfect, but I was able to bear my testimony about how a
knowledge of the Plan of Salvation has helped me and how prayer has helped me.
The second lesson I got to teach was on Friday and it
was with a middle aged man at the church building. It was in English and that
was a little strange because I didn`t practice many of those in the MTC. He`s
from Congo and in Japan getting his PhD and studying cancer or something (he`s
super smart!). His first language is French, so his English isn`t perfect. It
was such a sweet experience though, when at the end of the lesson as he was
leaving he said his heart was full and he is always so happy after meeting with
the missionaries. We were able to bear testimony that those feelings are from
The Spirit.
Streeting and Housing has been good. It always makes me a
little sad, though, that so many people shove us off when we are offering them
truth. We are offering them happiness, peace, hope, and most importantly
eternal salvation. However, I take comfort in something I heard from the last
fireside and from a video of Elder Holland I watched while in the MTC: The
reason why people aren`t lining up outside of the door of our apartment to
receive the truth of the Restored Gospel is because salvation is not a cheap
experience. It never has been, and it`s not intended to be. Something Zinke
Kaicho has had a huge focus for us is on gathering the elect. As it says in
D&C 29 (I think) that we are supposed to gather the elect, or those who are
prepared to receive it. We will find, or the Lord will bring to us, those who
are prepared to accept the Gospel and enter by the gate of baptism on to the
straight and narrow path.
It`s so good to hear about everything and
everyone at home! Have fun in St. George, and tell Marisa I say good luck!
Tell Josh French Ganbate for me! Kelsey`s going to California? Sugoi! That`s
so exciting! Tell her I say congrats and good luck! Anyway, I`m doing just
fine. I`m happy, healthy, and doing the best work there is to do!
Love
you!
Elder Kyle Hutchings
P.S. It`s all right for my siblings and
Grandparents to e-mail me. Everyone else should send a letter. Just another
reminder that if you`re going to send anything to the mission home, it needs to
be done through Government mail services only.
