Weekly Just Waiting for a Goat Mail

So there's this bridge with a bit of land off to the side with this random goat just chilling there all day long, and I can literally think of no idea why he's there. But he loves taking photos with us.

Awesome spiritual experience this week! After our lesson on the Restoration with our progressing investigator this week, we met with her to answer her questions about why she needed to be baptised if she has already been baptised in a different church (which she no longer goes to). So we prepared and everything, and as we met her, I just felt like.. her countenance had changed. There was something different about her, and I just felt this warmth.. she told us before we even really started talking that she had a dream where she was baptised by going completely under the water and coming up out of it. She said she feels like that's what she needs to do, what God wants her to do. And we didn't even talk about what we were going to originally! She is excited to progress and she enjoyed Conference this week. We are planning for May, which is super quick for Japanese people apparently, but I feel so much joy in sharing with her what I know, absolutely know, to be true - from everything I have seen in my life to everything I see day to day here in Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan. This is a wonderful work and I am glad I get to share it all with you!

Love from Elder Wheeler

Photo 1 - the island of the goats home

Photo 2 - my main man, G.O.A.T.

Photo 3 - everyone from mainland Japan is sending these sweet photos of beautiful trees and blossoms, so I want to feel included. I love the scenery here, it's probably just pretty average to a lot of you, but every where I look reminds me of anime I watched as a kid, so a little bit of fanboying goes on here and there.

Weekly Hastening Mail

The work is really going ahead here in Ishigaki. After a wonderful lesson yesterday, our progressing investigator is right on track to be baptised in the coming weeks. We taught the Restoration with the Branch President and his wife, and the Spirit was so strong. It was like I was being nudged to just bear my testimony at every opportunity I could. We watched the Restoration video too and she was crying, and said she believed it to be true! She is happy for April 26, her baptisimal date, but thinks the ocean might be a bit cold then, so we'll be praying for good weather! 

 

We also met a man early in the week who we have taught twice now, and he came to church and is really excited about meeting with us this week. We have a few investigators now, and, again, the work is definitely going ahead here on this beautiful island. We are seeing miracles every day, and my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel is increased every hour here.

 

The Yonaha family are moving to Brazil soon, but we had an awesome lesson with them this week - they pretty much make up half the branch. Every missionary says some family in their ward they're serving in is the best, but let me tell you, they do not know the Yonaha family!

 

Thank you for your time! No funny things this week. I'm too busy Nihongo shite iru and telling people I'm not American (such an insult). ;)

 

Love you all!

Elder Wheeler

 

 

Weekly Icanunderstandpeoplenow Mail

So I have a new companion! The breaker! Elder Lefrandt from Hawaii who is half Japanese and has a bit of French in there somewhere (hence his name) who has been out for almost a year. He is fully sick! So far it has been great seeing and doing things differently with a new companion. It has also been pretty crazy how much my Japanese has improved over the last 6 weeks, and I only realised it this week really - when I started finding that I was able to actually carry conversations on my own for once! Haha. And understand people too! I can actually understand the change in words now, instead of everyone's sentences just sounding like one long word.

 

Our branch president drove us up to the top of this mountain on Ishigaki this week, and the view was crazy good, beaches, mountains, the city, farm lands, everything! That's where the photo was in the one I attached - Elder Lefrandt it the one by me, the huuuuge Elder is Elder Hendersen from California and he is Elder Mineta's new companion! Elder Mineta is now area senpai, so he rules Ishigaki with an iron first, a pair of chopsticks and his glasses which he broke while cleaning them. Bit of electrical tape fixed them right up - good as new!

 

Before our old companions left, our branch president also took us to this island resort for a buffet lunch. Would recommend, Ishigaki is the bomb.

 

We visited a former investigator who had a baptisimal date who we had to eventually stop meeting with, just to call in and say happy birthday. He let us in and we all sung Happy birthday in english together and it was hilarious! He said to us his feelings about the missionary discussions and again said that he believed it all to be true, but felt overwhelmed by trials and so on. It wasn't really something that he talked with us about before, but all the while, it testified to me that if people are to accept the Gospel and make that first covenant, baptism, it will be at the right time. And I don't know when that is, but every time I think about him, I just have this feeling that things will work out for him. He has accepted it, but needs to act on it. So all we can do is help and serve him and encourage him, and if he doesn't progress any more with us here, I am sure he will when the time is right.

 

We have an investigator with a current baptisimal date - and we went to visit her but I forgot where she lived! And my senpai was no where to be seen! (Actually he is in Kumamoto, which is lightyears away from this little island) But she called us and told us to wait by the post office and she came down and found us and walked us back haha. It was a little embarrassing when I finally remembered where it was, but she loves talking to us, she loves reading the Book of Mormon, and she loves praying, so I am happy to do anything for her. Service makes the world go around!

 

Thank you everyone for reading and as always I appreciate your emails! Love you all!

-Elder Wheeler

 

Yesterday we didn't have access to a computer so we Dendo'd instead of Email, so don't think I'm wamp because I'm emailing on Tuesday!!! haha

Weekly Nihongo Suru Mail

Final week of my first transfer in Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan! The weather is getting pretty hot, it is only barely Spring, and we are sleeping with the sliding doors open with the air con on and everything (sounds like a stupid idea, but its worth it, trust me). 

 

We had to drop our main progressing investigator this week because he stopped progressing which means we had to drop our baptisimal date for him, but in goes his progress record in to the area book, for missionaries to find him again sometime later, and I know that since he was enjoying learning and growing closer to God now that he will again when he overcomes the problems he is facing now which stopped him from progressing, or when he remembers how great the Lord's help was, that initial time he aimed for a life in Christ.

 

We met up with a former investigator who we set a baptisimal date for, and she wants to learn and change which is wonderful, I hope as we continue to teach and testify to her that the Spirit bears witness to her that these things are true and the truthfulness of Christ's Gospel has been restored on the earth in these latter-days.

 

This week we had a record of 3 people at our weekly English class! We have a lot of fun and this week we had an exercise called 'speak like a ___' so Elder Rogers stood up and taught everyone how to speak like an American by saying 'I hate ___' and 'I love ___.' Then I got up and taught everyone how to speak like an Australian by teaching them 'G'day Mate' and 'Cheers Cobba.' Then for the final one we taught them how to speak like a New Zealander, by getting them to say 'churr ayee boo ayouuwaae!' (I had some NZ friends who used to incorporate weird noises into their sentences which somehow gained meeting, so we were just making fun of them really). And the Japanese people loved it. Hopefully some day when they meet a New Zealander they have an opportunity to use that one. 

 

We also met a lady who spoke in tongues (scary), and I also told someone in Japanese that Jesus killed their sins.

 

Fun in Ishigaki! As always I appreciate hearing from all of you, take care.

Love Elder Wheeler

 

Weekly Language Crisis Mail

Another amazing week in Ishigaki, this week we went to zone conference up in Naha which is on the main island of Okinawa and I got to catch up with one of my MTC companions Elder Inagaki! It's awesome to see just how much we have changed in only a month, I think it's same to say we both have a greater insight of service which I know for myself has in turn boosted my confidence in being bold in sharing what I know to be true. Because how else will people know of this greatness we have if we are too shy to share it? So to every one out there - let's be bold and courageous together!

 

Another short email this week, I really need to get better at using my email time wisely.

But! Our Stake President came to Ishigaki for the first time this week and he is awesome, couldn't ask for a better President. We have some ideas to try and get the missionary work moving a bit quicker so I am excited to see what we can do this week with hard work and prayer.

 

While in Naha, Elder Rogers heard some people speaking Chinese, so we walks over to a group of people and says some missionary phrases in Mandarin, and in perfect English one replies 'we are Korean.' Even though we are in Japan, the trick is to not expect people to speak either of the two languages you think they speak. And that's my deep thought for the day!

 

Love you all! 

Elder Wheeler

 

Elder Inagaki

 

Weekly Cow Tongue Mail

Jen was set apart as a missionary so I spent waaay too much time writing to her saying how proud of her I was, SO, I have just a few minutes left of the clock just to remind everyone that I am still alive and kicking and that Ishigaki is the best place on Earth.

 

This week has seen the reactivation of a sister in our small yet cosy branch (we average about 17 people every week at church); our investigator being knocked down and has jumped right back up, testifying to us the strength of the atonement and how the desire to change gives strength from our loving God who wants us to do our best; we met a bunch of amazing potential investigators, one of which said in our first meeting with her that she believed our teachings to be true and is super excited to start studying the Book of Mormon for herself; a random man on the street stopped us and bought us lunch one day when I was hungry; we cut grass with scythes; I gave my first cohesive lesson; and we ate at a place called 'Gasto' where I unknowingly ate cow tongue.

 

This week has brought so many blessings and I have seen some wonderful miracles because of the service to the Lord. No matter what situation we are in or what our beliefs are - service is the greatest thing we can do for anyone, because love is what makes us human.

 

Love Elder Wheeler

 

Sugoimail

Super short weekly email today! Yesterday we were walking to Church and saw the first gaijin (foreigner) I have seen in a week on the way who was all `I guess Im going the wrong way` which we thought at first he was mocking us, but nope, he was from Idaho, just backpacking and camping his way around asia, from Taiwan to Ishigaki. So this meant that I wasn`t the only one at church that day who didn`t understand everything! He didnt speak Japanese. And to all my friends in Australia, I was looking at him all day wondering who he reminded me of.. then it hit me! He is the doppleganger of James/Clint, the `just waiting for a mate` guy! I almost burst out laughing in priesthood meeting when I realised. 

 

We visited the coolest family ever who talk to me in crazy Japanese that I may never understand and are cool when I just smile and make bad japanese jokes in bad japanese. I had a few awkward door approach moments when I forgot what I was saying because Im just that much of an awkward guy who forgets what language he is speaking. we met an awesome investigator who has the craziest kid ever who followed us like hundreds of metres away from her house, we were like those ex-millitary guys in movies who get stuck looking after some little kid. but we got her back safe haha.

 

Elder Rogers my companion is red headed, and you know what that means? It means japanese people asking for photos, makes us feel like superstars! we had this group of kids run after us yelling `photo! photo!` and so we were like `eh what the heck` haha so somewhere on facebook theres probably a photo of a bunch of Japanese kids with two gaijin giving peace signs haha. 

 

this week in lost in translation, this old dude was saying this long thing while chuckling, and I had no idea what he said so I smiled and said `ahh sugoi` (meaning `cool`) and after an awkward silence my companion whispered in english `no, not sugoi, his family died`

 

Thanks for reading and thanks for your emails! My awesome girlfriend is going to the MTC next week, serving the temple square mission, so I spent all my email time telling her to find all my friends there haha, which is why this is so short and all over the place! 

 

Love you all, Elder Wheeler