This week's highlights:

-Our less active family came to church! We've been working on them for two transfers and the finally got here. They didn't stay the whole time but they got to be here for sacrament meeting and take the sacrament and that's what's really important. We also went to visit last night and their house was super clean and their absolutely insane children were calm...so everything is going good with them right now. That's the best thing that happened this week. 

-The sisters are teaching two Peruvian families (well technically they're one family because the dads are brothers) and we accidentally found another branch of the family on Tuesday, so we're teaching them now. Basically it's this giant Peruvian family of like 30 people who are all investigators now. That was really cool.

Lowlights:

-We went to find a former investigator Thursday night. On the way there Elder Schmeil told me a story about a period of 3 weeks when he would get a collect call every hour from someone who would just say "Henrique Schmeil" over and over until he hung up. We got to the FI's house and it was this apartment building in the middle of a bunch of other abandoned apartment buildings. It was pitch black and we got up to the door which was surrounded by old chairs and trash and rotting onions. By this point we were way freaked out. We knocked once, no one answered and booked it out. Japan is haunted.

-We showed the "Finding Faith in Christ" video to one of our investigators. She laughed at all the crippled people that Jesus healed and then started freaking out during the Atonement/Crucifixion part. So that's the state we're in with her.

-I don't know if this is a lowlight or highlight. But Thursday we went to teach an english class for the company that the Ward Mission Leader works for. The last time missionaries did that, it was two missionaries that are no longer here, so I didn't know what they taught last time, and I went with a Japanese missionary who doesn't really speak English, so it was all me. I went in planning to talk about families, and turns out that's what they talked about last time! So it was way awkward and I kinda just winged my way through it. It turned out ok. 

Also Japanese companies are terrifying. There's so much protocol and customs that you have to follow that my Japanese companion did not prep me for. Luckily he knew what to do and I could just kind of follow him but I was way worried about offending someone. 

But it was a good week. I hope everyone's doing well. Love you all

Elder Callahan

Service at Brother Usui's house

Sister Ashikawa, the mom of the family that came to church this week.

Trains

They're not real, Japan has no freedom.

Okazaki Okazaki

Letters from children are always nice (even if they're a little disturbing).

Another good week. We've gotten in contact with almost everyone in our area book and have seen a lot of good come out of it. There are some people who didn't know why the missionaries stopped visiting and were really happy to see us. So that's been really good. That also involved a lot of biking. I don't exactly know how previous missionaries found some of these people, because they live far. We've been out 8 or 9 kilometers from our house by bike which is a long bike ride. But it's been fun. It's good to see how the Lord blesses us when we are really working hard to accomplish our goals and the mission's goals, and His goals. I've been thinking a lot about how lonely people can get sometimes. We have seen some pretty lonely people this week and talked with some people who just don't feel like anyone cares about them. These are the people I think that God is watching out for the most and that Jesus Christ is with most often--they just don't realize it. That's always been a component of the gospel that I really really love, that we are never ever alone. Even when we are at our lowest points, when we feel like even we have abandoned ourselves, we have a Friend and a Comforter there. It's so comforting to know that we will always always always have somebody there for us no matter how lonely, sad, or worthless we feel. God loves us. He knows us. Christ knows everything we are feeling and suffering and is always waiting to help us. Always. 

That's a pretty hopeful message. I'm really grateful to be able to share it. Gospel's true, y'all.

Elder Callahan

We went to the rice fields outside of town.

Sometimes when we speak too much English in the apartment, Elder Yamamoto does this.