Transitions

Good morning,

I'm doing great. I think I finally did something that helps me more
than anything else. And that is realizing that everything is going to
be fine. And that a mission is something good, and is going to be of
benefit to the rest of my life, but it's not everything. It's only two
years out of eternity. And it's not a saving ordinance. And anyway, I
am here. And I'm doing what I can, so who can ask anything more?
Especially when I have occasionally thought that perhaps just going
home would be a better choice. Who can complain that I'm still here
trying my best?

There are some things that I don't think I will ever get used to about
the mission field. Like just the way that they encourage us and ask us
to do things. Or the way that it seems like we all need to become like
the same person in order to be good missionaries. Or the fact that I
just don't feel like me or my difficulties are understood very well by
my leaders. But God knows. He made a point of telling me that twice in
a blessing that I got a while back. And, I'm relying less on my
judgement, and more on the words of the scriptures, so I've been much
more successful in recognizing bad thinking patterns and replacing
them with good ones.

The senior couple missionaries in our area are leaving tomorrow, so
things are going to be a lot different. And President and Sister
Isshii are going to leave for the MTC this week, and are going to be
going to Nagoya to replace the Yamashitas in two weeks. So a lot is
going to change in the next little while, but it's good. I think I'm
ready for a change.

I really don't have that long left, so I'm trying to make the best of
the time I have. The next five months are going to go really fast.

Transfer calls are this Saturday, and I don't really want to transfer,
but I'm hoping for the best. And I'm sure I'll go or stay wherever I'm
needed.

With love,

Alex

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.

Went Hiking This Week!

Hello,

I'm doing good. I'm understanding more about myself. And even though
dendo is kind of frustrating and emotionally draining, I'm improving
myself. And even though it's still not seeming to effect the way I do
missionary work in a significant way, that is what I wanted to do when
I came on a mission. I wanted to be a better person. So far, I've been
extremely successful with that. I'm a lot different now. I feel a lot
better than I used to.

Anyway, I went hiking with the young men last week. It's the first
time I've been hiking in two years and it was quite fun. The view from
the top was gorgeous.

Something I've been especially aware of lately is the importance of
understanding one's limits. We are weak, imperfect beings, due to the
fall of mankind, and thus we do set limits. There is kind of an
unspoken culture opposed to that in the mission field. A feeling like
we just have to kill ourselves over our work, but what I have come to
understand is that the Lord doesn't enjoy just watching us suffer. In
Mosiah it says this:

"And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is
not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And
again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he
might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order."

We don't need to exert ourselves more than we have strength, but we do
need to do what we can. Even if that is only a little bit. I've had
many difficulties during my mission, many of which have restricted my
abilities and made proselyting very difficult and even painful. But I
know that the Lord is pleased with what I have done, because of where
my heart is. The Lord is aware of my every step. And is not
disappointed in me. God knows that what my dad told me many months ago
is true, that "a mission is a marathon, not a sprint." And so I need
to be careful, take care of myself.

I witnessed firsthand a very clear demonstration of this principle
last Saturday. We had woken up early to go play softball with some
members. I was in the outfield while we were doing batting practice.
Someone hit the ball, and it came rolling near me. I wasn't feeling so
good; I was pretty exhausted. But I ran after the ball as it rolled
quickly past me, pushed myself really hard, missed the ball and fell
over into the gravel, scraping up my knee and arm pretty badly.

Perhaps it's not a perfect metaphor, but it seemed to ring true when
it happened.

Anyway, enough rambling. I'm still okay.

With love,

Elder Mueller

Another Transfer Comes to a Close

I'm doing well. This week we had transfer calls, and my companion and
I are both staying, so things won't change much logistically speaking.

But I have good hope for the next few weeks. I'm feeling better. I am
understanding my responsibilities better and I'm more aware of what I
need to do for myself now.

We also have an awesome investigator. He's been sick recently, so we
haven't been able to see him for a long time, but he came to church
yesterday! And he stayed for the baptismal service afterwards (the
wife of the man who was baptized when I had just got here was
baptized) and we had an amazing lesson with him, thanks to a fantastic
member.

Well, I am exhausted. Dendo is very taxing on the mind and on the
body. But I'm sure that I can endure to the end. Just like 2 Nephi
31:19-20, I have come this far only through the grace of Christ,
brought into effect by faith on that name, and it will be that same
grace which will bear me up until I am released from my duties, and I
am reunited with my family.

This life, this mission, is a test. I think it fair to say that I have
been tested greatly on my mission. Perhaps more than most. But I think
it is also fair to say that God allowed me, as he allowed Job (a man
much more righteous and tested far more than I), to be tested thus far
because He knows what I can become. And though he does not allow me to
suffer willingly --what father would needlessly watch his son suffer--
He knows what I now know. That truly "these things shall give [me]
experience, and shall be for [my] good."

It's taken a while, but I'm beginning to truly submit myself before the Lord.

With love,

Elder Mueller

Mother's Day!

From Alex's mom:

We skyped with Alex for about an hour and a half last night. He looks and sounds really good. I took some notes about what we talked about so you can enjoy part of the conversation, too. Through the course of the conversation, we met all of the other missionaries and got to see bits of the church building. He also recited D&C 4 for us in Japanese. His companion (from Sendai) says Alex's accent is "perfect" and Alex says he is working on writing in Japanese.

Q&A with Mueller Choro

What have you been up to?
We went way out on the end of the peninsula to do service for a Brazilian member. We raked leaved until I thought my arms would fall off. Also, last Wednesday, my companion made himself lunch (we eat different things a lot) and he added too much cooking sake. He got himself a little drunk and we had to go back to the apartment until he settled down. :) Toyohashi is great...really nice people and my companion is awesome.

What happened with your bike?
I have a new one. It is much nicer than the old one...that one was kinda lame.

How's the iPad? What do you do with it?
Well, I'm skyping with it! But mostly we use them for reading. We also have access to lots of the church videos. That's it so far. 

How are your clothes holding up? How do you do your laundry?
Clothes are starting to wear out, but my short sleeved shirts are ok and that's what I will be wearing soon. We have a washer AND dryer. In the colder areas, everyone has both. In other areas, you hang your clothes to dry. 

Have you eaten any weird food lately?
Ummm...it's all starting to seem so normal. I did eat eggplant the other day, which I never would have eaten at home. I've also eaten raw octopus.

What do you want to eat when you get home?
Pizza and ice cream. Big. American.

Do you have goals for the remainder of your mission?
Keep going. I've been exercising--there is a small park across the street from our place and I've been running and I do sit-ups and push-ups every day. I also bought a yoga book and I'm getting more flexible! I'm rethinking my future a bit.


Because of the ease of sending photos with his iPad, Alex just flooded us with the most photos since he left. Enjoy!

 

 

 I sent Alex this tie for Easter. I also sent a matching one to his cousin, Nathan, in Italy:

Alex in his natural habitat. Or rather what he wished what his habitat was when he was 5

Alex reciting D&C 4 in Japanese.

Forward Steps

Hello. I'm doing good. I feel good. Not so stressed. Not so
overwhelmed with everything happening around me. Less frustrated by
the fact that people just won't listen to me sometimes.

It's been a bit of a slow week. One of our investigators has been sick
and the other one is having a lot of trouble at work, so we haven't
been able to meet either of them for a while, but we've had contact
with them still and they both still want to meet with us, so that's
nice.

We did have a lesson this week with someone with a lot of questions
about the Book of Mormon that we are pretty sure he got off the
internet, and that was interesting. Luckily, my companion not only
understands Japanese perfectly, but he also went to college for three
years already and had to write scientific thesis and stuff like that,
so he knows how to think logically and how to understand arguments. It
was a unique experience to say the least. We'll see how it goes next
time.

I celebrated my 18 month mark on my mission this week, and my
companion bought me dinner. There are some good Indian restaurants in
Japan. So we went and had some curry.

Taking Things Slowly and Steadily

Hello,

I'm doing better this week. I've been taking care of myself. And I'm
making good strides forward, psychologically speaking. The doctor and
I found the source of my mental troubles, and it is that I have based
most of my self worth on what others think, and it's what I make my
expectations and plans for myself on, so when I don't live up to
those, then I get really really disappointed. But I'm doing better
now. My assignment this week is to write the next chapter of my life,
and to find the new Elder Mueller. It's fun. I've been doing new
things this week that I haven't really considered doing until now. I'm even
rethinking what I want to pursue as my future career. I don't have
lots of access to information, since I'm in the mission field, but I
think I should do something different than I've planned on doing
before.

I am making sure I take things slowly and to make sure I do not "run
faster than I have strength". And I think it's helping. I tend to push
myself too hard and then end up disappointing myself when my performance
doesn't rise to my own expectations.

My investigator's name is M...sawa. He's a really great investigator,
but he got really sick this week. So we haven't been able to meet him
since the music night a while ago. But I really think he will get
baptized. Even if it isn't while I'm here.

We got iPads this week. That's definitely a new experience. I like the
access I have to all the church manuals and things. I have a lot of
reading material. We're still in the primary stages of implementing
them, so there's still a lot of stuff that we aren't using yet, like
Facebook, and stuff like that. We're taking things slowly as a mission
regarding these things.

My companion is the best. Elder T...naka is hilarious. He's also really
patient with me and helps me out when I'm not feeling very good. We're
having a good time together. I'm also helping him a lot with English,
so we talk a lot about language. Other than the gospel, I think
language is the thing that I've talked the most about here in Japan.

Toyohashi is awesome. Although it has many strange things, like the
lingerie store 50 meters away from our apartment. The weather is
pretty good here. It's starting to get kind of hot. Although the wind
is pretty strong a lot, so in the evenings it still can be kind of
cold. It hasn't rained as much this week which is nice. There are lots
of parks here, so we go tracting there a lot. I am a fan of parks.
There's a lot of green here. 

It's been a good week. I'm doing okay.

With love,

Alex

 Softball!

Me and Elder T!