Take this crappy bike some random dude gave you and ride it through the pouring rain to your member visit, where you end up arriving completely soaked and have to use some clothes from the dad, who happens to wear clothes 20X larger than anything you ever wear! Feel free to blow the tires to the crappy bike on the way back, too! I dunno whose advice I followed, but it was ill-founded.
Heyo everybody!
Ooohhhh shoot.... I just looked at the transfer roster and it's not looking good for Younger Elder Brooksby... Wait in suspense!
Weekly Questions!
How's everything going?
It's going great! Although I'm writing this in a restaurant where some people just canceled on us, so that's a bit of a bummer...
Was I transferred? Did I get transferred?
You will have to wait for my transfer summary! I enjoy the suspense that I know nobody feels but I imagine they feel anyways. It's a game of mine.
Do I want to teach "Muffin" Japanese when I get home?
I would love to teach Muffin! It would help me keep my skills up and keep me from becoming a recluse that sleeps in my room all day trying to recover from a two year mission and no rest!
Have I eaten anything crazy this week?
We had legit American/Mexican tortillas last night! It was great!
Have I been to a castle in Japan yet?
I've been to a couple of shrines and temples, but I dunno if I've ever been to a castle... some of the temples were definitely big enough to be castles, though.
What is my favorite thing to do on Pday?
Chill and sleep, maybe after going to a recycle shop or some other cool store to just look at all the cool shtufts.
Have I been to the beach yet?
Several times. In my first transfers I only went twice, both times for zone p-day, but since coming to Hodogaya we have been in the same district as Kamakura which is right next to the ocean, so I've been a couple of times on splits.
Do I know what the "Northern Japan" missionaries are called?
Aka. Do they have a nickname among us southerners? The answer is no, we don't call them anything special. When we refer to them, we either say something like "Yeah, they went north." or "They are serving in the north.". The missionaries in the far north missions, particularly Sapporo, get the nickname "The Frozen Chosen." occasionally.
What is my favorite Japanese Temple (Pagoda)?
Any that has the Tri-force on it. It's a Japanese family crest and it's quite frequent, but it still makes me think of Zelda every time I see it.
What do I want to do when I'm back?
I dunno yet. My game plan is to ask mom to find me some possible jobs to apply to right after I get back, then go to college somewhere when the school year starts and just pick the subjects I think I would like, and maybe go on a date or two. Maybe.
How're my language skills?
They're alright. I really only learn new words through talking to Japanese people, but I could probably use a bit of practice on speaking without mixing up grammar and shtufts, and I'm not particularly skilled in the art of reading, although I do understand most simple characters. The best way to improve would be to get a trainee and speak only Japanese outside of the apartment.
We had a way good dinner with my favorite member family this week! It was way good lasagna! Haven't had lasagna in forever! We also went to a couple of festivals and wandered around a park cleaning up trash for two hours. It was a good time!
~~~~~TRANSFER UPDATE~~~~~
1. Sister Hokanson stays and gets a new missionary as her companion.
2. Sister Blake transfers to be dreaded jungles of Kofu!
3. Elder Otsuka transfers to Yamato to be companions with Elder Fernilius, my old companion and Zone Leader.
4. Elder Kennedy stays and gets a new missionary as his companion.
5. Elder Bates transfers to Sagamihara, my first area, and gets Elder Murakami, a transfer 4 Zone Leader, as a companion.
6. The mission splits up Zone Leader companionships, so Zone Leaders will be in different apartments from each other from now on, generally with District Leaders as companions. Elder Otsuka and Elder Bates will both be those District Leaders. The purpose of this is likely to train the leaders more efficiently so as to not lose necessary experience through young missionaries.
7. Younger Elder Brooksby transfers to Kanagawa in the Yokohama zone, a whopping 30 minutes by train from here. His new companion will be Elder Parks, known as an interesting missionary for wishing to become Japanese and learn incredibly archaic kanji and Japanese.
8. Along with Elder Parks, an already interesting person, Elder Brooksby will be hanging with Elder Thurman, one whom I have previously managed to thoroughly upset, and Elder Gammon, and interesting fellow in his own right. It looks to be quite an entertaining transfer. To quote Elder Bates "Woah, that looks like a nightmare!"
Yeah, I didn't know who was in my apartment, so I called them but they were getting on a train and never called back, then messaged them and they never replied, but after I asked again I was told just to check the roster. I guess Elder Thurman is still mad at me. Yey.
Random Story Time!
Because we are missionaries, we love service, right? So we headed out Thursday morning to go do some! We wandered through so much humidity and high heat that made it feel quite literally like we were standing under a sauna that was draining as a waterfall over our heads. Elder Bates' shirt actually completely changed colors from light to dark green. It was quite awful, actually, but I had an awesome time regardless! Then, right after that we had another service project where we wandered around and bought cat food with a ton of old people. It was a day of service and one of my favorites.
Dang, it's a massive bummer to be leaving... I knew I would, I actually requested a transfer and President Wada said I would, but it's a bummer nevertheless... Yet at the same time I am way ready to get started on making the next area the best, although I don't think I will ever have another area take first place in my 心 on my mission, because that is reserved for Hodogaya and the persons here. I will miss you and will return to retrieve stolen items, no matter the cost! Peace, you awesome persons!
Loves to you all!
Younger Elder Brooksby
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