Address

Our apartment!

Sagaken-Sagashi

Ootakara 4-3-1

Kuresuto Bo-Ju #201

840-0811

Japan here i am 2 of 2

First authentic Ramen shop... Mmmmmm

They don`t call it the land of the rising sun for nothing! This was just off our little balcony

And my Bike! Ain`t she purdy??

 Oh ya, and this guy! This is my Trainer. He doesn`t look this goofy in real life but his personality definitely shows in this picture! ha.

 So, it`s no secret, I am now in Japan! It`s amazing here! So many crazy experiences I`ve had so far! So, because I don`t have much time, I will do a rapid replay of the last few days!

MTC:

- Got everything packed up and ready to go, had some final "hurrahs" and goodbyes and we were on a bus at 3:35am

- Got to the airport, got all checked in, called my parents and found out that my sister was having a baby! Ya, I cried in front of people on their way to New Jersey, what of it??

- Got on the plain and Headed to Oregon

Oregon

-Got off the plain and everyone was in Oregon State colors because it was the day they played Ohio State or something

-Had a quick bite to eat, jumped on the plane!

On the plane to Japan:

-So... it was a long flight

-Studied a lot, didn`t really sleep much, and watched the little animated plain on my monitor fly over the ocean and get closer and closer to Japan!

- Landed, got off the plane, went through customs and all that good stuff and then waited for the plane to Fukuoka

Plane to Fukuoka:

- Took off, fell asleep, and then got woken up by the flight attendant saying that we were preparing for landing

Fukuoka:

-Got picked up by the Mission President and the APs, headed to the Honbu which is literally underneath the Fukuoka Temple. That was a little weird! Got there, had a quick bite to eat, and then we all crashed pretty hard.

- Got up, had some training and interviews, and then we went out and proselyted for the first time! It was raining but we met some awesome people and got to bear some simple testimonies. :) Had dinner at a nice place, and then we got to help teach english class!

-When we got back to the Mission home, we found out who our trainers were and where we were headed. Saga Japan here I come!

The Next morning

-Woke up, and like a small fish in a giant tank of water they dropped us off at the train station with just enough money to get to where you needed to go and a number you could call if you got lost (Ya, stress level was... about an 11.5)

- Made it to Saga safely and was greated by the happy face of my trainer! Elder Christensen and my two other roommates

Now, since i`ve been here, we`ve been doing the work and we`ve been doing our best! It`s been great and i`m so excited to be here! I sent a lot of pictures to fill in the gaps but truely, this is the true church and we need to share that message with everyone! Love you all, send me your emails, send me your prayers, Until Next week!

Brower Choro

Japan here i am 1 of 2

Alright, i`m going to let the pictures do most of the talking. First off, awesome sunset at the Provo Temple

These other two pictures are pretty self explanatory. These are some things that we heard right before we left the MTC. Members need to be involved in missionary work and no matter what mission you go to, you need to believe that you can baptize!!

Our last class picture including our awesome teachers!

The Fukuoka missionaries

And just a goofy picture that we took together with some of... whoever jumped in the picture!

 My last time walking out of our classroom building

My first in-flight meal

And my first time seeing the land of the rising sun! It`s Japan!! Welcome to Fukuoka!

The Fukuoka Temple and the Mission President and his wife

And our first time our proselyting (This picture turned out pretty cool:))

 

 My first authentic Japanese meal

Finding out where I was heading and who my trainer was going to be!

 Nato for the first time... look it up... it`s weird but I didn`t hate it ;)

Funny things that the Japanese put on their packaging in english...

And my new official nametag!

In Japan

We are here! Alive and well. Thank you for all of your prayers! Everything is going really well and I'm excited for this experience. The mission home is literally underneath the Temple! We've gotten some good food and we are getting strait to work. I will receive a companion tonight and be on my way to my area tomorrow! Wish me luck! Love you all! 

My last week at the MTC

This is the last email before I make my way to Nihon! So I'll try to make it good!

This week, we've been really focusing on solidifying all of the language that we have learned in stead of working on learning new things. It's amazing how far you can come in a language in this short amount of time with help from the Spirit! There is much growth to be had over the remaining 22 months!!

Last night, we had the opportunity to talk on Skype with an actual Nihonjin in Nihon. Our sister was actually living in Africa currently but it was an amazing experience and i'm so excited to get to japan and be able to immerse myself in the language and culture.

On Tuesday, the Young Woman's General President came and spoke to us. She spoke on a talk about The Current Bush by D. Todd Christofferson (please check the spelling for me). This was one of the times that I was able to go back to my residence with a new drive and a better understanding of my trials. Look this talk up. Everybody, even the Prophet, can stand to hear this message again because It applies to everyone. If you don't feel like doing that, there is a short Mormon message on the talk. You have no excuse. God has a purpose in all things. I had a long span of time when it seemed like everything was pilling up and I had no idea why certain things kept happening and why my life was so "hard". When I made the decision to come on a mission, I was able to recognize that God's plan is perfect and that all of the expriences that I had in my life and all the people that I met helped me become the person that I am today. Without all of my experiences, even the bad ones, I don't think that I would be here. Gain an understanding that your afflictions are concecrated! I promise you that they are and so does Lehi! 2 Nephi 2:2 "...and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain." I know this to be true. I've had an opportunity that has allowed me to come to this truth: the MTC is a spiritial high nearly all the time and through that, the spirit is more easily heard. While being here, my testimony has grown tenfold if not more. I made the decision to come on a mission but it has turned into so much more than just "doing my time" because I was commanded to give it. This mission is my life's tithing (i've been given 21 years and I owe Heavenly Father 10% of that). In reality, i'm not giving anything up because God is blessing me so much for my service. God is so generous. Recognize this in your own life. If you begin to think with a selfless heart, I know that you will recognize God's love and blessings in your life. He is waiting for you to make this decision. You are robing yourself of the happiness you can recieve if you are not giving this your effort. It is worth it! Pray. Read your scriptures. Do it diligently. And the blessings WILL come.

I have no apoligies for being bold. I know this to be true.

Thank you all for your prayers on my behalf. I strive to be worthy to recieve the blessings from those prayers. For those of you that sent me Christmas cards, thank you so much for keeping me in mind.

And thus it is...

Brower Choro

New Years Day

Wow, what a week! 

This Christmas season, I have really been reminded about what Christmas is all about. It wasn't just on Christmas day, it was Christmas week and then some. Since i've been here, we've watched the "He is the Gift" video over twenty times and it never gets old. This video has such an amazing message to share; it is the same message that I am going to share in Japan! And speaking about that, I got my flight plans yesterday! I head out on the 12th... less than two weeks away... I can't believe it. Through being here, i've learned so much and to be honest, I'm a little nervous to be in the world again when I reach Japan because here at the MTC, you are on a spiritual high nearly all the time. It's an amazing experience here. 

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas! On Christmas day, we woke up to snow!! What a treat! I was a little worried because it hadn't snowed hardly at all before hand; I remember trick or treating in the snow!! After we woke up and got ready, Elder Russel M. Nelson came and spoke to us. It was a great talk about 9 facets of this gospel and how they all work together and create something beautiful. That day we also had a talent show which was really funny; some elders and sisters have some crazy talents that you would never have known... :) That night, we watched Ephraim's Rescue which was an awesome film! They know how to take care of you here especially when you are spending the holidays away from family.   

The best day that I have had here at the MTC was three days after Christmas during our sunday night devotional. I always thought that it would be so cool to be able to sit in the conference center alone and have someone play the organ and just sit and listen to the music. I love the organ! And during that devotional, Richard Elliott came and played the organ for us! He plays the organ for the Mormon Tabernacle choir and he played some fun pieces and gave the organ a work out! It was amazing. What added to the night was David Archuleta came and spoke to us and also sang to us. I was all ready to brag about how I got to see David Archuleta live but it was really way more than that. Through music, the spirit is so strong and both Brother Archuleta and Brother Elliott brought an amazing spirit to our devotional. It was honestly so incredible; i wish you all could have been there! If that didn't make my day good enough, the talk that we watched that night sure did the trick! "My soul delighteth in the words of Elder Bednar." He gave a talk here in 2009 called "Recognizing the Spirit." It was perfect. All week, that has been my study topic and Elder Bednar is an inspired man! If you are wondering whether or not something is from the spirit or a thought of your own... QUIT WORRYING ABOUT IT! If you are a good boy/girl, keep the commandments, and honor your covenants, you will be provided for. Every good thing is of God. If it is a good thing, it is of God. Thank him for these things! And quite worrying about it!!

Our new years was fun and it is nice to have New Years Day be our P-day. Last night, we got a special treat. At midnight, someone was setting off fireworks and we could see them right out our window!! It was a nice surprise and helped us have a little celebration. :) Love you all! Thank you for your prayers, letters, emails, everything! Talk to you soon!

ブロワーChoro

Great Missionaries!

Our Fort

The best Pears ever!

My Flight Plans

Look DAD it's your tie!

Christmas eve

Things are great here at the MTC and over the next few days (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years) the MTC has a lot of awesome stuff planned for us! On Christmas, we get to hear from Elder Russel M. Nelson on Christmas Day! General Authorities are great and I can't wait to hear from him! They also have a bunch of other things planned as well; talent show, Christmas program, and plenty of devotionals! This is going to be the most spiritual Christmas I've ever had! I'll have more to report on how everything went on my next P-day.

This week, our district came to a pretty crazy realization; we basically run the MTC. For one, our district has been here the longest out of anyone that is currently here! Second, we know the inside scoop on the devotionals and things because our district always helps to set up and take down the gymnasium before and after devotionals. We are the grandparents here at the MTC... 

This past week, we have had the opportunity to get to know our kohai better and they are a great group of missionaries. Their room is right next to ours so we get to talk to them and hang out after a long day of studying. It's crazy to think that we are the ones that they are asking language questions to and we are able to answer them... It's amazing how far we have all come in the language so far.
An experience with that this week was when we got the chance to mock-teach a less active member. We went into the lesson only knowing that she was 50 years old and that she was baptized when she was 21 and became inactive 7 years ago. As you'd imagine, you can't plan much for this type of lesson because you don't know the needs of the investigator so you have to be ready for anything and follow the spirit as far as what to say and teach. As we got into the lesson, we were able to find out a lot more about her and identify her problem and teach accordingly: keep in mind that we were able to do this all in Nihongo! Saying things and understanding are both very hard but we were able to do both in this lesson! We shared a great message and bore awesome testimony and when we left, we were both filled with gratitude for all that we have been provided with being here on our missions. It's amazing what you can accomplish when the Lord is on your side and the Spirit is with you! I love this language; it is hard but I love it!

Merry Christmas and if you haven't remembered, He is the Gift! Watch the video!

Brower Choro