Alright, this week has been a good one! There is just so much learning to do! The Japanese language is just... completely different than English. I guess I can talk more on that subject. Japanese is not Latin based, so       E V E R Y T H I N G is different! The sentence structure, the alphabets (yes, that is plural), how you say things, the content of the sentences (for example, the subject is often implied so it is left out if the people talking know what they are both talking about) etc. There are essentially three alphabets. One of the alphabets is for words and phrases that originate in Japan. I can read and write this now which is pretty cool but it's crazy because there are 48 characters in this alphabet (i think i counted right) but there are also variations of a lot of them that make different sounds so really, there are a lot more! There is another alphabet, Katakana, that is for words that don't originate in Japan (for the most part). I recognize this alphabet but I've been focusing more on vocab mostly and haven't dove into this one completely. And then there are the Kanji... which is more than 2000 symbols which are shared with Chinese. I don't know any of them really but i'll learn those more in the field so that I recognize that i'm going into a noodle shop rather than a laundromat! ha. One thing I am thankful for though is Romaji! This is just a way of spelling out the sounds of the characters in Japanese and writing them in roman letters.

My language is growing and basically, everybody in our district speaks Nihonglish (Nihongo + English). It makes for some funny conversations! I'm able to actually bear testimony that isn't memorized because, well, I know what I want to say and without getting too complicated, I know how to say it! And it's only been two weeks! I can also pray and I know most of the vocab that we use in the first lesson (The Restoration of the Gospel) and also the vocab we use most every day in class. It's crazy to think about the difference from my first day to now! Japanese doesn't sound or look so foreign anymore; i'm becoming more familiar with it every day! It is a lot of work to learn this language and I find myself on my knees telling Ten no Otosama (Heavenly Father) that I know that I can't do this on my own but I am trying the best that I can and if it be his will, to help me basically have a sponge for a mind! A really smart sponge! ha.

Things are going well! Except for the fact that we the people with P-day on thursdays, don't get half of their P-days while in the MTC. Thanksgiving... on a thursday. Christmas... on a thursday. New years... on a dang thursday! We barely have time to email and do our laundry!! I just try to think that we are the best and hardest working missionaries so we get extra blessings from not having as many P-days or something like that!

A short akashi (testimony) that I want to share is the power of testimony and *while singing* Scripture Power! Yesterday, we were surprised with having to teach a 15 minute lesson to a new investigator and we had twenty minutes to prepare for it. We had like no background information AND we had already prepared and taught a lesson earlier in the day to our current investigator! Here at the MTC, these lessons are the biggest source of stress for me because, in short, I don't speak Nihongo very well yet! And if they have questions, how am I supposed to understand AND answer that question?! When we got this news, I was "not happy, Bob; not happy!" The only thing that we knew about him was that he got in an argument with a church member a long time ago and hadn't been to church since. O boy, I was ready to call him to repentance! Helaman 5:12! This is a personal gospel; don't let others ruin it for you! It was going to be great! He WAS going to get over it and go to church and read his scriptures and pray from that day forth because I had a fire going in my chest and I was ready! When we got in there, it came down to the fact that he was embarrassed and wanted to go back to church and believed in God and Jesus Christ and wanted to go back to church but he was embarrassed about what happened. My fire went out pretty quick because of his soft heart. This is where I gained a testimony about testimony. I was able to tell him how important I know that this gospel is for him personally and that he needed to remember that and not let things keep him from allowing himself that happiness.

Whew, and real quick, personal study time is the best time because I get to read the Morumon Sho! I am getting more out of the scriptures than I ever have before and they are great! I'm in Alma 13 right now. I have to tell you, I was laughing out loud a couple chapters before when Amulek and Zeezrom are having a battle of wits and words about the gospel. Light outshines darkness! Amulek is pretty Awesome! And so is Alma! I love people in the scriptures and in this church that speak with boldness and Alma is one of them. What an awesome instrument in the hands of our Heavenly father he was! Anyway, read the scriptures and R E A L L Y read them and not only will you enjoy them but your testimony will grow and you will learn more about yourself!

Love, Brower Choro

Let the good times roll!

AWESOME!

 

The one picture of me was like the best day ever

nihonjin (native japanese missionaries) here with us!