Transfer week!!!

It's another beautiful day in Japan! 🇯🇵 A LOT has happened this week so let's see begin! Last Monday I found out that I was being transferred to the smallest area in the mission! I was really excited, but really sad to leave my branch in Nishiwaki. I absolutely love the people in Nishiwaki!! So Monday, I spent the day packing bags and getting them ready to ship to my new area! On Tuesday, we spent the day meeting with members, and letting them know I was transferring, and sharing a message with them. Our branch president also took us out to sushi since I was being transferred. Everyone was really surprised that I was transferring already. Normally you stay in an area for approximately 3 months (2 transfers), but the longer you have been in the mission, the longer you stay in areas. Nonetheless, I was really surprised to be transferred, but I was super excited as well! On Wednesday, we shipped my bags to Okamachi 🙌🏼 and then we drove with Mirata Kyodai to Susayama (which is a 2 hour drive, but it is in the Nishiwaki area) so that we could teach a member's Eikaiwa (English conversation) class. We shared a Christmas message and had a lot of fun! When we got back to Nishiwaki, we got a call from Kamurazaki Shimai (a member in our branch) and she asked if we could come over and eat dinner with her and her family and say goodbye to me. The Japanese people are honestly the nicest people and the most generous people and I am so grateful for all that the Nishiwaki people did for me. On Thursday, we got up early and our branch president picked us up and took me to the train station.  Brother Inoue and his wife, and brother Mirata and his family, and the branch president and his wife were at the Eki (train station)🚊to see me off. I sure love those people, and want to go back to see them!! 🐵

We got on the train and headed to the transfer point in Sanomiya. Which is in Kobe. In Japan, you put your bike 🚲in a bike bag, and carry it with you when you transfer. In America you can pretty much just ride your bike onto the train, but in Japan, it has to be in a bike bag. (LAME!!!) It sucked to carry that bike around all day, and cram it onto PACKED trains. When you get into the city areas in Japan, trains are PACKED! Everyone is standing and squished in. So getting a bike on the dang train was a pain in the butt😂 After we went to Sanomiya, and met up with a travel group, we went to tannoji, where I met my new companion who will be finishing up my training with me! His name is Barton Choro and he went to Olympus high school! He is an 11th transfer, and his Japanese is really good! He is AMAZING at the guitar!!!!! 🎸He had a band while he was in Utah, and also taught people how to play. So he is dang good. He is 6'4 and I am about 6'2, so we are two HUGE gaijin (foreigners) walking around a huge city. We get a lot of funny looks, and it actually helps to talk to people 👍🏼 In Okamachi, there are 4 elders and 2 sisters. So In our apartment, there is me and Barton choro, and then Hashimoto choro and motsumoto choro! It's such a fun apartment, and it's nice to have 2 Japanese elders living with me! My Japanese has already improved so much, just in the couple days I have been with them. Though, both of them can speak a little English. 

On Friday, we did our first full day of missionary work. It's completely different than how you do missionary work in Nishiwaki! Nishiwaki is country, so there isn't a lot of people to talk to.....but.... Now I am in COMPLETE CITY. It doesn't get more city than this 😂 We did some streeting which scared me to death! There are people everywhere, so riding a bike through the city is a little sketchy, but dang fun. My companion stopped the first couple people, and then he said I would be doing the next one, but he helped me to know what to say when I stopped the person. So I decided just to do it, and not freak out about it. So I stopped a guy and started talking to him. He was a really cool guy, but not really interested. We did finding most of the day which turned out to be pretty fun! Later that night we taught a lesson to a guy named chinsei at the church about the Book of Mormon. He is struggling to understand the spirit, and to get an answer to his prayers about the Book of Mormon.✨📖 It was a little hard to teach him, but I was able to do a lot of the talking. My trainer is really good at teaching and giving me solid time to speak. 

Saturday, we had plans to meet with about 5 or 6 people and ALL of them canceled 🚫on us. It was kind of disappointing but we ended up doing some finding! We found 3 possible investigators. Later in the day, we were going to the church to prepare for a sports activity, and we saw a dude dressed in full star wars gear walking down the street past the church. We were actually pretty scared of the guy at first, but decided to go ask him for a picture. He turned out to be one of the nicest guys I have met and we ended up teaching a lesson right on the spot! The guy has interest in the church and wants to come! So Barton choro and I were really excited. And it was kind of funny to teach a dude in full stars wars gear. After that, we went to the church for SPORTS NIGHT!!! I have missed playing sports so much! But we were able to play some basketball!! I am in one of the few places that has a basketball court in my mission, so I feel super blessed! 🙌🏼

Sunday we went to the church at 8 am for the people that have to work on Sunday. So before work, they hold a mini sacrament. Me and Barton choro were asked to pass the sacrament to them. In Japan, people are constantly busy with work, the Japanese people work themselves to death! The only way for some of them to be able to partake of the sacrament is if they come early before work. Then we had sacrament meeting where I had to introduce myself and share my testimony.  In Okamachi they are a ward not a branch, so it's a little bigger than I am used to, so I was a little nervous, but I did it! Then that night we helped the ward decorate for the Christmas party on Wednesday. It's been a very eventful week! But I am loving being a missionary. Today, my companion and I are going to go get me a guitar at a recycle shop so me and him can jam together. 🤑🤗He is sooooo good!!! Maybe we will do a little guitar dendo (mission work)as well this transfer ;)! We are also expecting to see a couple baptisms this transfer which I am soooooooo excited for!!!

There are lots of pictures attached, sorry😂😅 Exciting week👌🏼

I hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! Through all of the presents and everything, try and remember the real meaning of Christmas and the amazing gift Heavenly Father gave all of us, in Jesus Christ. Everyone have a safe Christmas, and eat some amazing American food!!! 

That was pretty much my week! 愛してるよ!!!(love you) 

エバンズ 長老