9/4/2011

 

Hellur Ev`rbody,

Goodness, can I just tell you all that this week was pretty insane? Typhoons, Kobe, people getting hit by cars, miracles and gray hair...I`ll update you all on that later.

But first, how are all of you guys? I`m way glad to hear that life is going smoothly for all of you guys. I can`t believe that fall semester has started already for all of you guys! Life is just rollin on isn`t it? Thanks for the pictures by the way Dad, I didn`t know that the Grandview stake has been up and runnin for a full 40 years. I enjoyed seeing you having the time of your life wearing white socks and sandals. bahaha. Anyways, the festival looked all "Americ-UH!" Ah, I can`t believe that Calvin is already home! I way びっくり when I saw his picture in the email. Tell him I say "hello, hello." Good old Grandview. I`m telling you though, I am going to freak out when I return back to America and that ward. I forgot how church is like in English...

 

Chelena, whats happening with your health lately? You`re going to be grandma by the time I get back there. Don`t worry, I`m taking on age at a rapid pace now too. So, this past sabbath day, I was styling my rather luxurious hair when I realized something shining on my head. No, it was not my scalp, but rather a single strand of hair. Full with curiosity, I was able to single out the strand of hair and pull it out. After a good inspection of the hair...I came to realize that it was indeed a gray hair. At that point, I spent a good 30 seconds screaming infront of my mirror because I came to a realization that my life had now taken its turn down the steady slope of old-ness. But whatever, I don`t care.

Well, so this week. I don`t even know where to start...so I`ll just start from the begining. (spell check please) Okay, so let me just tell you, we had an awesome zone leader conference this past Tuesday! Good old President Zinke and all the enlightenment that he offers. It was a very fantastic training. Okay, so this is where everything starts going crazy. We get home Tuesday night after a long bus ride from Kobe with some of the Matsuyama Elders. The second we get home, I saw that my phone was ringing and it said President Zinke. I figured that he just was calling me to check if we were able to get home safely...but I was wrong. This is just about how the conversation went.

President: "How are you Elder Saito?"

Me: "Oh, I`m doing good, how are you President?"

President: "Good, good. So one of your missionaries in your zone just got hit by a car."

Me: "...what?"

And thats how the story unfolds. Turns out one of our sister missionaries was riding her bike in the dark in a more inaka part in the area when a car backed out and she hit into the car and flew off into some ditch. Yeah...our other sister started freaking out because she thought her companion was dead, which is understandable...so she called President Zinke. So pretty much the rest of the night consisted of a frenzie of me calling our sister and comforting her, calling branch authorities to go and help them out, listening to sirens in the background of the phone calls, talking to President Zinke and of course a good amount of prayers. But, thank goodness missionaries have a special blessing from the Lord. Our sister missionary was able to walk away from the accident with a bloody elbow, banged up body and an even stronger will to dendo. She is an amazing missionary! While she was in the hospital, she was talking to the person who hit her about, guess what? The Gospel! bahaha I love the sister missionaries in my zone! In the end, the Tokushima sisters went over to Kobe to spend rest of the week in the mission presidents house so she can heal up and our beloved sister missionary is returning to her area today to resume the work. She is a TANK!

Anyways, that was a real scare for the whole zone..but thank the Lord that she`s okay! Speaking of scares, there was supposed to be a huge typhoon over here in Takamatsu. I mean there was one...but it wasn`t as bad as I expected. Last months was much worse. The winds were pretty bad the night before but during the day it wasn`t too bad. And yeah...we did dendo the day of the typhoon. Sorry Mom, I just like dendo too much...and even better, we found a new investigator that day too so no worries. Plus, it was Brother Hamada and Takanashi`s birthday so we had to bring a cake to them! I bet Hamada and Takanashi Kyodai must of thought we were crazy. I mean, there we were with our rainsuits in the blustering wind and rain...holding a cake and a birthday card for them. But they seemed to be very happy about it so thats all that matters!

Well...this week was awesome. Seriously saw a lot of miracles! I`d love to write them all but the P-day is calling me. We need to go to Okayama tonight so we gotta get things done yo! Thanks for everything you guys! YOU ARE ALL AWESOME! I love ya!

Mucho Amor,

Elder Saito

PS that lady in the picture is Sister Dambara. She`s awesome.

8/21/2011

Hola,

Hey family!

Well, another week has passed by quickly over here in good old Takamatsu. It was a pretty eventful week I would have to say. Lately, we`ve decided to leave the city while dendo-ing and trying to reach out to our brothers and sisters in more of the inaka areas. You may ask why? Why go outside the city when you have a big Shotengai you can dendo in? Well, I shall tell you now. I`ve been in Takamatsu for such a long time that mostly everyone in the Shotengai already knows me. Its really interesting because we`d contact a good amount of people in the Shotengai and I could almost guarantee that A. I`ve already talked to them. B. They`ve seen me talking to someone. or C. I`ve talked to their friend, relative, neighbor. Of course I`m exaggerating quite a lot, but I swear this happens a good amount when we`re in the Shotengai. I guess that`s one of the results of really trying our best to talk with everyone about the gospel! Plus, its all good because I`ve really gotten know a lot of the locals in Takamatsu over the last half of a year.

For example:
Man with Puppy: 60 year old male. Has a cute puppy that he takes on walks with his bike. Always stops and talks to you about politics and how young people are becoming uneducated and more rambunctious. Usually has a cigarette in his mouth.
Skatergirl: 25 year old female who love skateboarding and bmx biking. Usually wears a tank top while skating, has a tattoo on her wrist and always yells and waves "Hey boys!" to you when she rides past.
Metal Gear Solid: Angry Caucasian male in his late 40`s. Always riding a bike, wearing dark sunglasses, a hat and an aloha shirt. Guaranteed to say "Get a !"$#%&* life" whenever he rides past you. Whenever you try to stop him, he will always ride past you and throw up the middle finger. During contacts, he rides past you and tells the person you`re contacting to "be careful, they`re dangerous"
Flamboyant Smoker Lady: 60 year old female who wears very interesting clothing. Usually found smoking in front of the Mini-stop in the Shotengai or sitting on a bench. Always texting or watching television on her pink phone.
Punk: 18 year old male who is very fashionable with bright neon colors. Usually found riding his bright orange street bike through the Shotengai at night. Wears a Jaws beanie and owns a bright colored backpack. Rides past you and does tricks on his bike when you try to contact him.
Magician: 24 year old male who performs magic in the Shotengai. Very kind and humble. Also very talented at magic as well.

Well, there are more...but you get the point. I love the people of Takamatsu! Especially all of my friends. My goal before I leave is to stop Metal Gear Solid and share with him the message of the restored gospel! But, now its time to reach out to the elect who don`t spend most of their day in the Shotengai. I actually like switching things up, mainly because we`ve been finding pretty interested/interesting people in the inaka areas. Takamatsu is so amazing because the center is pretty city but the moment you get out...its pretty darn inaka. Housing, as many experienced missionaries know, always yields miracles and interesting experiences as long as you have faith that is. This week we were able to talk to a certain mother who happens to love Mother Teresa. She really enjoys learning about the concept of love and charity and feels that she really wants to learn how to develop those two attributes. And what better way to do that then through Jesus Christ?! It was great because we shared verses about charity and love from the Book of Mormon. She was way excited to receive a Book of Mormon that out of her excitement, she gave both of us surprise hugs...I would have to say it was pretty awkward for us because we didn`t have the courage to tell this excited woman that we weren`t aloud to hug females. Oh well, that will hopefully be the last experience I have of random women hugging me during my mission. haha

Oh yeah, on a more spiritual note. Takanashi is now confirmed a member!!! YEAH, GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST!!! I love that guy.

Anyways, I gotta go now. My P-day is disappearing...so I must go and do. Thanks for the emails family!!! I`m way excited to hear from all of you guys next week! MUCHO LOVE!!! Peace.

LOVE YA,
Elder Saito

8/8/2011

Hey Mama,

Looks like the good old dream vacation came to an end! Now its back to reality instead of chilling on a nude beach or walking down the streets of Barcelona. How`s the semester looking for UVU right now? Are you going to be pretty busy? Hey, so you should teach me how to really speak Japanese once I get home. I got to translate for this weeks zone conference and I realized how inept I really was in Japanese. Well, it didn`t help much that President used 5 billion scriptures but whateves, I still need to learn the language better. I did a decent job though, I kinda of winged some of the scripture parts though. But rest of the translating I felt comfortable. Hopefully they can start using me as a translator for the Hiroshima side of the mission or something, that would be way awesome! But as of now, I have to sharpen my Japanese skills so I can translate better you know? Yeah, you know. Hopefully President will hook me up with a Japanese companion somewhere along the line. But that won`t be for a while cause I`m going to be in Takamatsu forever!

Anyways, I`m glad to hear that things back in Provo are...well normal. Haha does anything change in Utah? Oh my goodness, I can`t believe that its already been a two year anniversary for Selena and Richard. THAT BLOWS MY MIND! I swear it was yesterday that I was wearing my fly black Jordans at the wedding reception and getting pulled over for speeding towards Sam`s house. Bleah, I guess this is just one of the curses of getting old. OH MY GOODNESSx2 can you believe that I hit my year mark this week? Man, unbelievable. But its a good week to have a year anniversary because its Obon! Good old fireworks and everyone being busy. Is Dad already in Japan? I kinda forgot to ask but I need some good ole American toothpaste. But its okay, I found one under the sink so I think it will last me a good month or so. Oh and some white short sleeve dress shirts...but its probably too late. Oh yeah, I was thinking of sending a few things back to America, is that anyway possible? I`ve got clothes that I know I won`t wear...but I can probably care about that half a year from now. Ah...nevermind!

So yeah, lately we have been seeing so many miracles throughout the mission! This last zone conference, President really focused on the Spirit and working more effectively with it. I definitely would have to say that it is effective! Without the Spirit, you literally cannot do the Lord`s work. Everything hangs on the Spirit. Granted, we can convince and persuade people to be baptized, but it states clearly in Doctrine and Covenants 50 that it wouldn`t be the way of the Lord. Without the Lord and the Spirit, the work doesn`t move forward. Period. You`d think that I would`ve learned this a long time ago but you know me, I`m way stubborn, hard headed and impatient. But, turning to the Lord for help in all things is surprisingly a very humbling experience. I mean, it entails a lot of things on your own side such as patience and accepting/unifying with the Lord`s will. Its a way awesome perspective of dendo. I`ve always relied more on my own talents and abilities for the work...but relying more on the Lord has taught me a lot of new things. Plus, you see more miracles that way too!

Speaking of miracles, our yakusokusha, Takanashi is looking way solid for baptism! He is seriously a miracle, I`ve never seen somebody progress so quickly in the gospel. He`s a way humble guy who just wants to become a better person. Its that simple. And what better way to improve than accepting Christ? Yeah, yeah! So his baptismal interview is this Wednesday...please pray for him! Its such a blessing to be working in this part of the vineyard right now. So many miracles, so many! Our other yakusokusha is super solid as well! He wants to be baptized for sure...but his parents seem to be a bit hantai. Man, but I have no worries. That kid`s faith is solid so I have no doubt he`ll be baptized. We`re really prayin for him because he`s going to try to talk to his parents again! Worse comes to worse, us and our branch president will jump on a ferry to Shodoshima and go talk to them. But whatever happens is the Lord`s will!

Okay, I gotta go bounce now. Hopefully you guys had an awesome week! じゃ今週も頑張ってね! MUCHO LOVE!

愛してるよ、
斉藤長老より

Rex his losing his weight and giving it to me.

Hey Kazokuzzz

Thanks for all of your emails! Its way good to see that all of your guys are way genki. I can`t believe your Barcelona trip is almost over already Mom and Dad...that was super quick wasn`t it? Bleah but what do I know, I have no concept of time anymore. bahah But I`m way glad to hear that you guys were having a bunch of fun over there. Thanks for the pictures by the way, you guys look way happy! Wait...does that mean the next email I get from you guys is gonna be from good old Provo?

OMGoodness! SELENA YOU`RE SO OLD NOW!!! How does it feel being...23 was it? I`ve lost count. I don`t know how old anyone in our family is anymore...but I do know that we are now all officially elderly beings. Oh well, its all good! Can you guys believe that my year mark is coming right around the corner? Yeah, gross right? Anyways. Sounds like you did nothing on your birthday Selena. Thats cool, at least you got to roll around on the carpet at home for a whole day. But yeah, happy late birthday yo.

Can`t believe how quickly this week went by. It was so busy, I felt like I was running around with my head cut off! BUT we were so blessed by seeing so many miracles unfold right infront of us. It always seems to happen that way, whenever you`re really busy and think that you can`t get anything done...miracles happen. Man, but the mission is starting to change so much! For the better of course. But I can`t really explain it...there`s just a different feel to things. I dunno, I`m just learning so much with all these new ways of doing things. We had our first one-on-one interviews with President Zinke (well...my second actually) this past Tuesday. Actually it was perfect because Tuesday was the day where Shikoku was hit with a big typhoon so we just hung out at the church with President and the AP`s while it was raining sideways. Twas exciting. We had to shove 6 elders into our tiny little apartment. That was a party! Anyways, it was really good to sit down and talk to him about his vision and the way he feels the Lord wants the work moving towards. It was a way spiritual sit-down talk! One of the things the mission is really going to focus on is relying on the Spirit rather then our own talents and abillities. Just beleiving that this is the Lords work and we`re just instruments in His hands. I mean, this is something we all already knew from the first place...but just reinforcing that idea is so inspired. I think thats when I had a good humility punch to the face. Just gotta rely on that Spirit you know? It says in PMG, no matter your ablilites or talents, if you do not have the Spirit, you cannot preach the gospel. I think thats a big thing that I learned throughout the week! I like to learn.

Well, times running out...I just spent the last hour doing reports and the zone vision. Gotta go do some shopping or else we won`t have food for the week! Ah, being poor is awesome. Anyways, I`m going over to Kobe this week for Zone Leader Council so I`ll be able to play with Burns Choro!

bahah anyways, I go now. Life is good! Thanks for everything you do famiry!!!! MUCHO LOVE! Peace.

Luves,

Elder Saito

7/10/2011

Yeah yeah yeah,

Represent! You know I`ll be repping the big 2-0 in a few days. Aren`t you just so proud that your favorite sibling on the planet is becomin a legal man in Japan? Because you should be...fool. Oh and your birthday is coming up soon too...old. I`ll try to send something out for your birthday...but I doubt I will. But I will do my best! Know that I still love you though...bahah

OKAY I LUVE YOU!!!

HEY FAMILY!!!

Uh yeah...I`ve been starting to get really lazy with emails lately so I`ve decided just to send all of you guys just one bulk email with maybe a little bit of personal information for each and every one of you (if I`m not too lazy)!

This past week has just been amazing! I cannot believe how busy it gets trying to balance being a missionary/zoneleader/trainer/human all at once. I`m just grateful that my zone is small so I won`t explode trying to take care of everything. Well, let me just tell you about my new missionary. He is a STUD! I love this kid. His name is Elder Lythgoe from Heber, Utah and he has so much faith and dendo fire. Thats what you get when you got missionaries fresh out of the MTC. Its so great because he`s a way good sport and is working hard everyday to learn the laungage and spread the Gospel. A much better missionary then I was seven transfers ago! But man, I feel so darn old. I`m officially the oldest (transfer wise) missionary in the zone...and I`m only on transfer 8. I mean my birthday and my year mark is creeping up right around the corner. I can`t believe it, I can`t believe it, I can`t believe it. And its funny because I know NOTHING about the outside world anymore. Elder Lythgoe is keeping me updated with everything thats happened in the past year. But I don`t know...I`ve been in Japan for such a long time that it doesn`t sound all that appealing to me right now. Maybe later, maybe later. But now its time to ganbaru! Its also really weird to see a lot of your friends in the mission leave...and then looking at the mission board and not knowing who half of the missionaries are anymore. I guess that is just what happens when you become old like me. Most of the missionaries I looked up to went home these past few transfers and it just made me realize that its time for my generation to step up you know? Step up and be a "true disciple" of the Lord. (new mission theme introduced by President Zinke bahaha)

But as you all know by now...I`m goin to be in Takamatsu for about three more months. Just like what Dad said, I`m spending 1/3 of my mission on "the rock." Well, these past few days I`ve been really thinking deeply on why the Lord decided to leave me in Takamatsu and what he wants me to do. I don`t know, I mean we were able to see a bunch of success and help the branch out...so I have to ask, what else is left for me to do? I was thinking about it a lot ever since the transfer calls. But during sacrament meeting I was sitting next to one of my investigators and it just kinda came to me. I don`t know why the Lord kept me in Takamatsu, it could be for a lot of reasons like theres still a lesson I need to learn, helping Elder Lythgoe become a dendo machine or getting the man sitting next to me baptized. There are a lot of possible reasons but I do know that there is indeed a reason for everything. The Lord has chosen us to work in a certain part of His vineyard because each missionary has the potential to reach out and find those who are elect and are waiting for the truth. I have a feeling this transfer is going to be more like me finding the reason why I stayed in Takamatsu. And until I find that reason out, I`m going to do my best and dendo like crazy with Elder Lythgoe! I`m so stoked for this transfer! We`re gonna see so many miracles!

Well, I gotta go now. We need to get my son an electric dictionary for him! OKAY I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

7/3/2011

Chelenes,

Sup.

Gracias for the email fool. Sounds like you`re effectively spending your time cleaning up the garden and the house, keep it up little one. Oh, and I`m way relieved to hear that Pochi`s bump on his stomach isn`t really anything. I is so happy that my puppy is genki!

How`s that intern going? I`m surprised you haven`t been kicked out of the program yet. bahaha I joke, i joke. No, but thanks for sending me the pictures too. Good thing your eyebrows look drawn in in the picture of you and Richard at Allen`s weddin. My eyebrows are probably one of the thickest in all of Japan. How much money would you give me if I joined all of my Japanese brethern and shaved my eyebrows? It better be a lot...

Bah, things have been so darn busy this past week. So many things occured all in a short time! We got our new mission president, President Zinke, on Thursday. We got to go all the way to Kobe to meet and greet with him and Sister Zinke. They`re both way awesome and way hakujin. And I love that guys vision about missionary work! He gave a way inspirational testimony of how the work in the Kobe Mission is just going to explode and we`re gonna take this mission to waaayyyyy new heights! Its way crazy to think that I`ll be working with him for only a year...which reminds me. My year mark is coming up! Bleah. Its way too fast...

Anyways...President Zinke brought in a bunch of new ideas and policies...which will take time for me to get used to. For example, he has a vision that missionaries should stay in their areas for longer periods of time. Which I figured out today...because transfer calls were today. AND GUESS WHAT?!

Well I`ll tell you...I`m staying in Takamastsu again. But this time I`m guarnteed to stay until September. Why? Because I`m going to be training a new missionary! bahaha and there is a new intense training program for new missionaries where the new missionary and the trainer have to work together for two transfers. Hence, making my stay at Takamatsu 5 transfers at the least. I have no idea what in the world President was thinking to make me a trainer/zoneleader and stay for 5 transfers...but I know he`s receiving revelation from the Lord and he knows what he`s doing. So, I just gotta suck it up and get comfortable for two more transfers in little Takamatsu. bahaha but I`m going to go pick up my little son this Thursday at Kobe. This next two transfers is going to be CRAZY!!!

Anyways, I honestly don`t know how to feel right now. Its bitersweet, I`m not going to lie. I was almost sure that I would transfer out..but God always seems to kick me in the face once I start assuming. Whateves, life is still good. I love Takamatsu yo! It just means I get to see more miracles and spend more time with my new converts bahaha

Well, i go now. Email me back yo. And write me a letter for once! Its a bummer when the only consistent letters you get are from other missionaries or your grandma! I kid!

Okay peace.

Love ya!

Elder Saito

some pics