Mosiah 4:27

Hello everyone,

I've been trying to make sure that I don't try to "run faster than I
have strength" this week. And have finally come to the satisfying
conclusion that it really isn't the end of the world if I'm not "the
best missionary in the mission" or anything like that. I just need to
do what I can.

Elder T...aka and I are doing great. We're both pretty tired most of
the time. But we have fun together. This week, I've been trying to
help him think of good things to do to practice English, specifically
his listening and speaking skills (He, like most Japanese people, can
read English pretty well, due to the way the school curriculum is set
up). It's been a challenge. We still haven't thought of anything great
yet.

As for my language skills. They are great! I think that learning
Japanese has been one of the most enjoyable, satisfying things about
my mission here. I'm going to make a solid effort to make use of these
language skills when I return home too. I've been translating for my
companion and other Japanese missionaries at meetings, and it's quite
a fun experience. We also have a lot of young missionaries in the
District, so this past Friday at District Meeting, I had the
opportunity to translate from Japanese to English when the Japanese
Sister shared a message. I've never had to translate that direction
before, so it was a good experience too.

In my studies, I'm trying to focus on my reading skills, studying the
characters. And it's like a game. It's fun to find that I can read a
lot more signs and things when we are out and about.

As for the work, it's going well. We have a good investigator, and
he's making progress, reading the Book of Mormon and has good
relationships with the church members already! It's exciting! I'm
probably going to transfer from here before he is able to be baptized,
but I'm just excited that I got to meet him and teach him. I've
learned a lot from being able to work with him.