Weekly Zombies Mail

With Umeda being baptized last week, our lessons with non-members have gone straight down! But that's all good because she is a legend and loves meeting with us.

This week we zuuuutto prepared for our Halloween party which was a huge success, around 50 people came, heaps of non-members and friends which was great. Us four missionaries dressed up as zombies, and I wore one of those cool hats that Samuel L. Jackson always wears for some reason.

Nothing else to report on, so here are some delicious photos

Ja ne!

Photos: 1. Brains! 2. (almos) everyone together at the Halloween party

Weekly Baptism Mail

Let me tell you a little story.

On Ishigaki, my first area, I was transfered just a few weeks before our investigator Nakamichi was baptized, but I wasn't annoyed or disappointed in any way because I knew it was right for me, so I continued singing 'I'll go where you want me to go,' and during my first week in Nobeoka (in June) I saw an awesome miracle! An Eikaiwa student, Umeda Nozomi, came up to me and asked if we had a Church website where she could learn about the Church. Ever since then we have been teaching her, and she has gained a lot of faith.

Through her desire to learn and know, love of the Book of Mormon, countless prayers, hard work on not only her part but of the part of many members and missionaries, and many, many miracles and tender mercies from the Lord, she was able to overcome what was holding her back from just taking that extra step of faith and this weekend... she was baptized.

Elder Wheatley baptized her and I confirmed her the next day, and I have been just extactic. The Spirit was so strong at all her meetings leading up to her baptisimal service, at the service itself and at Church the next day. She even bore her testimony and shared her conversion story at her baptismal service.

The miracle of a mission!

This week was transfer calls, and all four of us are staying here in Nobeoka - this will be my fourth. I will be transfer 7, gettin' old ;)

Mata ne

Weekly Ya'll Haters Is Done Mail

Someone give me a beat, I'm gonna drop this miracle,

So Rieko Shimai, a recent convert from last year, has a young family with two little girls, but for the longest time her husband has been quite against the Church to the point that a few months ago we were careful about contacting her, because we were worried about her husband.

We had a dinner all together last month, and her husband came, and he really connected with Elder Wheatley! He, Takayoshi his name is, was faced with a decision at work that humbled him. One day he came out of an argument with his boss and saw us riding past his work, he waved, and what we found out later was that at that time he thought to himself that he wanted to meet us again. So last week we went over to their place for dinner, he came down to welcome us at the bikes, and during the evening he said recently he has felt that family prayer is an important thing... despite never having done it, or ever wanting to!

Flash forward to now, he has been talking to his wife and he wants to not only meet us again, but wants to hear the missionary lessons. His heart is changing, and it has been a huge testimony builder that the Lord sends us where we need to be, because this change of heart has started to happen both as Elder Wheatley was transferred here, and as the Lord has put certain things in his life for him to humble himself.

It doesn't sound that spectacular, but it is a huge miracle. We have an appointment this week, it's so exciting to be a part of this! Also Umeda has a baptismal date for October 18 but she wasn't sure if she could meet that date, but we will be meeting tomorrow, so there's a cliffhanger for you!

Photos: 1) Elder Just and I bought these sweet gold snapbacks

2) Got some new suteki photos for my wall, what better way to show them off than to pose with my decent sized Kumamon fan and yanki swag?

Weekly Beach Life Mail

We went to the beach last P-Day and we liked it so much that we went back twice! Once a few mornings later for the sunrise and to play frisbee, and again later in the week, but it was just before a typhoon came so it was crazy windy and I nearly got blown into Oz.

Oh yeah so I guess another typhoon came. We went outside to see if it would work if we shampoo'd our hair in the typhoon rain but the rain stopped.

It's all coming together with our investigator Umeda! his past weekend she fasted to recognise an answer from Heavenly Father that this Church is true, and she came to the full 3 hour program for the first time in two months (this was her 7th time to church in a row). Tonight we will meet her and will extend to her a baptisimal invite, to be baptised on October 18! I'm so excited.
I've really gained a lot of love for her, and a long with that, our other investigators. I've learnt patience and in helping her become more Christlike and to look towards God, I have realised that I have done those two things myself!
The miracle of a mission!

Also this older man called Miyawaki has come to Church three weeks in a row, and he read a Liahona from cover to cover so we started teaching him.. and he is pretty funny. But I can hardly understand him, and he thinks I can. That makes for some interesting moments, actually.

Heard some great news from home, particularly about UYC. Send me more photos onegaishimasu.

P.S. No we didn't go swimming at the beach

Weekly Get Pera or Die Trying Mail

Hora! Chanto read this.

Went to Kumamoto, big city with heaps of people, hit up this sick castle, then I got to Dendo with my Dad (Elder Rogers my trainer). It was way nostalgic but this time I could understand and speak that one language. Kind of.

This morning we got up at 5 and went to the top of this mountain with our Branch Mission Leader to watch the sunrise which was cool but I feel like a zombie now.

Our investigator Umeda is the best, she came to Church for the 6th time in a row, and is still reading and praying every day, and has told us she wants to fast with us this week to be able to recognise answers to her prayers (after we spent a great lesson on how to recognise the Spirit and recognise answers).

I asked the other Elders about what we did this week, Elder Just said: Went to a castle, then went broke.

That about sums it up.

Bye. Elder Wheeler.