Street Vending Machines

Vui choro spent a good 5 minutes ripping the apartment apart looking

for his name tag the other day before we left. -Don't worry, he found

it because he was already wearing it...

  One of my favorite things about Japan is how simple it is to get a

drink no matter where you are. There are literally vending machines on

every corner. Sadly, the drinks are not as big as the drinks we have

in America, but nonetheless, they work. -About 5 weeks ago, when it

was still a bit cold outside, I lost one of my gloves in between the

apartment and the church. I figured it was a lost cause, but it was

okay because it was starting to warm up. Well, the other day, I was

feeling a bit thirsty, so on the way home we stopped at a vending

machine to buy a quick drink. I got my drink, and started to gird up

my loins to bike away, when all of a sudden I saw my missing glove

right below me, set nicely on a little electrical pole. The Japanese

people are amazing. They don't take what isn't theirs, even if it is

just a glove. Even 5 weeks after losing it, I was still able to get it

back. How cool is Japan? The sad part is that it is warm now, and I'll

never need that glove again haha. It's okay though, Japan is still the

best.

    My companion also is really good at following the spirit when it

comes to going to McDonald's. He is really good at timing it just

right, so we are there when the Lord needs us. The other night after a

bowling activity, we were starving so we took a quick stop at a

McDonald's for a bite to eat. As we were sitting there, a lady walked

up to us and asked if we were the Mormon church. When we said yes, she

sat down at the table and explained that she used to take the lessons

and because of a couple thing before her baptism, lost contact with

the missionaries. She asked us if there was a way that she could meet

with the missionaries again, and take the lessons. We told her no and

to go home.... just kidding. We exchanged contact information and sent

her over to the sister missionaries in her area. The Lord works in

funny ways, even through a hungry Samoan and McDonalds.

  Ryo, the kid that walked into the church last week asking to be

baptized is doing AWESOME! He wasn't baptized yesterday because we

found out that he lives on the border of our area, and another Kyoto

area next to us which is technically the other area. So we are working

to get him more acquainted with that ward, and his baptism will be

held Saturday May 13th. We were able to meet with him almost everyday

this past week, and he even had a baptismal interview on Friday and

did wonderful. I've never seen someone take in the gospel like Ryo

has. He is such a great guy, and I'm so excited for him to be baptized

in a couple weeks! It's the perfect example of member missionary work.

His friend had already taught Him so much, so when we met him, he was

ready to go. I've learned so much about member missionary work since

coming on my mission. And seeing examples like this makes me want to

be so much better. You never know what's going to happen if you just

invite a family member to hear about the gospel. You might just get a

big surprise! The worst thing they can say is "no".

    Thank you all for the birthday wishes this past week! I actually

had forgotten it was my birthday until I woke up with Vui choro

jumping on top of me screaming happy birthday at the top of his lungs.

It was a great birthday, and I'm glad I was able to spend both of my

birthdays on my mission with Vui choro, who has become one of my best

friends.

Kyoto is great, life is good, and I don't want to be anywhere else! I

love you all more than....shoot. I'm out of ideas. But I sure love you

a lot.

Evans choro

Culture party at Eikaiwa

Lesson with Ryo during splits with Elder Mecham

Ryo after his baptismal interview