Hi Mom & Everyone!

How is life for you?

Oh - Wow! We visited some beautiful places this week! On Saturday we rode over a very large and high bridge near Koganehara cho overlooking a very scenic lake and gorgeous greeneries - it takes the breath away. Oh - and Friday we walked (for housing) in Koya around some beautiful bamboo and big block bushes bearing brown beads... okay... not really, but the bamboo was cool - really thick, and we even saw those trees with the giant roots! We could hear the very noisy Japanese insects doing their mating calls or something and smell the thick, heavy jungle humidity - I love it! I love being in nature, it draws my thoughts to its creator.

To answer Nanny's question, yes, I do sleep on the floor - every night. We sleep on futons (different from American futon). These are just two thin mattresses. I put sheets on it and in the winter (yes, it will be cold - no central heating), I'll have a thick blanket. We fold it (the futon) up in thirds for the day, and fold it out to sleep in. Kind of like a sleeping bag, but quicker to fold up.

No one's asked about bugs (pests) yet - we don't have a big problem - a few cockroaches now and again. But once there was this huge, fast, beetle-looking thing with wings - but it didn't fly - that was running around our futons. We practically tore the room apart trying to get it. Whew!

One Sunday we had Stake Conference. Elder E. Ray Bateman from the 70 came and spoke, as well as our mission President, among others. It was a great meeting. I sat by Carl (inventor) and we had the English translation headset. One thing that was really strange for me was that it was in a public facility (rented, I suppose). So, there were people smoking in the lobby, etc., and the meeting was held in a large auditorium with a stage, etc. Interesting.

Monday we rode the train to Adachi for UDM and as we got off the train and started walking, we came to this HUGE ancient Japanese style building! There were people, and pigeons and shrines (oh my!) And also tombstones (people came to worship their ancestors). But the coolest part was what I heard. Coming from inside the building was the beautiful, resonant sound of a man chanting. It was so cool! Revolving around a single note, but dancing around it a bit (mordants, kind of) - it was cool. 

That day at service, the kids were jumping all over me! It was fun - they'd climb up on my shoulders, cover my eyes and play with my hair. We also did some origami and the kids really liked my paper airplanes and blow-up bunny.

Tuesday we had a mission-wide, all day finding day - nothing but housing all day, and a couple hours of streeting at night. As we started out I was filled with the spirit ready to teach these great people the simple truths of the Gospel. I almost got a couple of return appointments, but no luck in the morning. In the afternoon we gave away one Book of Mormon to a college student. And in the evening, in the last 20 minutes we gave away 2 Books of Mormon! One of them I actually gave away myself! I did all the talking, asking, etc. And my Japanese was horrible, and so were my skills - I was just confusing him, telling him all this great stuff about God and life and joy and the Spirit (good feeling) and the Book of Mormon, but when I told him we are giving these away to people as presents — so here you go - he took it! From my hand to his! He's a freshman in high school (but looks much older) and seems to have real interest. He actually thought about our questions. Most people, when you ask "what do you think about God?" say, "Wakaranai" or "I don't understand." It amazes and saddens me to think that so many people don't even really understand the concept of God. But this kid was cool - it seems the younger people are more open to this sort of thing. Inquisitive minds. My feet were so sore and I was so tired at the end of that day, but it felt good because I knew I had been working for a great cause.

Here's a thought for us all about going the extra mile or enduring to the end: Don't you find that the Lord blesses you the most AFTER your trials? Or, if working towards something, you don't see the results until the very end, or even until you take further steps (extra mile)? As with last night, our greatest success was in the last few moments of work. If we had not worked hard all that day, would we have seen that success then? I think the Lord blesses those who put forth their full effort or go the extra mile, and during that mile, the blessings are increased.

As far as teaching lessons or meeting with investigators goes, we're having little success. We're handing out more Books of Mormon now that we used to, but the Mission President said the mission average was one B of M per week per companion set. He thinks each set could give away 4 per week. We did last week! This week our goal is 5. We‘ve already done 3 - keep working!

The two interested Eikaiwa students are meeting with us next week, too! Maybe they'll become investigators? 

I love studying this Gospel! I've been reading in Acts recently and about what a great missionary Paul was. I've also been reading Talmage's Articles of Faith - the chapter on the Bible and B of M is incredible! I recommend it to everybody! It makes everything so easy to understand (the big picture). (Who would have thought James E. Talmage's books could be easy to understand... : )

This Gospel is wonderful! The simple truths alone can bring one such joy! I love to just think about how cool it is that I am really a child of God, and what that means. And that everyone here is a child of God, how we came here, the potential we have, and what has occurred through Jesus Christ and our efforts for us to reach that potential - truly wonderful!

I love you all! Thank you for your letters and love & support! Keep happy and healthy.

Love,

Elder Pearce