Week 99 – September 3, 2013

Aloha,
I hope everyone's been great. Everything's going great here.

We had the new missionaries come in late Tuesday night. They were supposed to fly into Narita around 2:00 pm but their flight was cancelled and they ended up coming into Haneda around 11:30 pm like they have in the past. They found out their flight was cancelled after getting to the airport in Salt Lake early in the morning so waited until the afternoon flight. We had 10 new missionaries come in, seven elders and three sisters. Three of the elders are Japanese. They're a great group and we had a good time training and being with them until Thursday afternoon. We were able to get outside and talk to people with them and everyone had a good time. The new missionaries are always the best because they're so ready to just work hard. They don't really know how to do things, but they're ready to give all they can. The first time getting them outside for them is always humbling, but very motivating. We have a testimony meeting after and it's always great.

We're continuing to meet with Jett. He's working a lot with President Wada and the church offices to get a big dance/concert type event going at the church here. We're excited. He says he welcomes the day when the spirit prompts him to be baptized, so we're working with him to further understand and seek after confirmation that what we're teaching is true and that he needs to be baptized.

We had a ward natsumatsuri (Summer Festival) on Saturday and had a great turnout. Almost or maybe even more than half of the people in attendance were nonmembers. The members invited and brought many of their friends and the missionaries did a great job of bringing people as well. Elder Olson and I had a bunch of friends come including Jett and his family. We called everyone we could think of and had a lot more people come than we had planned. It was a lot of fun.

Elder Olson and I went with President and Sister Wada to Yamate on Sunday. Yamate is where missionary work began in Japan, on Fast Sunday September 1, 1901. There was a meeting held from 6:30 am to 7:30 am, so we left the mission home at 5:00 am to get there on time. The meeting was great and consisted of reading a portion of Alma O. Taylor (one of the four elders present at the time of the dedicating)'s journal and a testimony meeting. The hymns were arranged the same as the ones sung on that morning in 1901.

This is the journal entry that was read:
"This being fast day we ate no breakfast, but went out into the woods about eleven o'clock to hold a prayer meeting. After about a twenty minute walk from our rooms, we came to a secluded spot in a small grove situated on the south slope of one of the rolling hills lying to the south of Yokohama and about mid-way between the foreign residences on the Bluff and the bay. Sitting down in a circle on the ground, we opened our meeting by singing, "We thank Thee O God for a Prophet." Bro. Grant offered the opening prayer which was followed with another prayer by Bro. Kelsch. Sang, "Now Let Us Rejoice in The Day of Salvation", after which Bro. Ensign continued in prayer and without changing from our kneeling position our supplication was continued, myself being mouth. The principal features of our prayers were expressions of thanksgiving and praise to God; invocations for strength to preform the duties that rested upon us as missionaries in this land; and also that the Spirit of God would rest upon Apostle Grant to the extent that he would be able to offer up an acceptable dedicatory prayer: for the main object of our going into the woods was to dedicate this land unto the Lord for the proclamation of the Gospel. After the four prayers had been offered up, we sang, "Come Come Ye Saints." We again knelt in a circle and Bro. Grant offered up the dedicatory prayer. After this dedicatory prayer had been offered up, we sang, "The Time is Far Spent.""

Following the early morning meeting we had a meeting with the Yamate ward bishopric, ward auxiliaries, and Yokohama Stake President, followed by dendou chousei shuukai (missionary coordination meeting.) Then we attended the meetings there and were priviledged to have a member from Kanagawa ward (my former area and neighbor to Yamate) tour us around the city. We went around to places like where Elder Grant stayed when he was in Japan and where the dedicatory prayer was offered. We're planning a special mission leadership council in October there in Yamate. This week we're busy getting ready for mission leadership council to be held here in Kichijoji on Friday.

Elder Olson returns home in about five weeks so that means I have just 11. It's hard to believe that time's gone by so quickly. This transfer there will be a few days when both Elder Olson and I have been missionaries for two years, but it doesn't feel that long. We're busy and striving to be more productive servants in the Lord's vineyard. We'll continue to give all we can.

Have a great week! I love you!

Love,
Elder Rindlisbacher

P.S. Attached is a picture of missionaries in Tokyo in 1902 (Louis A. Kelsch, Horace Ensign, Heber J. Grant, and Alma O. Taylor.)

Week 98 - August 26, 2013

Aloha!
We've had a wonderful week here in the mission. So much has happened! Today's Monday and things that happened this past Tuesday or Wednesday feel like they were a lot longer than just six days ago! I hope everyone's been great back home. Are both Kauluwehi and Mikela back home now? I hope Keawe has a good time playing King K soon.

We had a conference for new missionaries (transfer one and two) and their companions this past Wednesday. We spent almost all of the day practicing teaching. There were about 40 missionaries in attendance and we split into groups of about four to five. We had group leaders, who were experienced trainers, zone leaders, or Elder Olson and I, who coached each group of missionaries throughout the day. We mostly practiced how to begin teaching lessons, extending the baptismal commitment, teaching the Restoration using the pamphlet, and reading the Book of Mormon with investigators. Elder Olson and I also demonstrated a bunch of ideas and tips to better find people to teach and trained a little on language (Japanese) study. We had a great time. The missionaries definitely got enough practicing in and hopefully skills have been transferred and they can begin applying them. We're blessed with wonderful young missionaries. Is Elder Hathaway still in the ward? His sister, Sister Hathaway, was at the training as she's training a new missionary now.

We had a lot of time on Friday to be out talking to people and we made a lot of friends. It's always great to get out and talk to people about the gospel. There are miracles to participate in as you exercise faith and open your mouth to everyone around you.

Church on Sunday was good. The missionaries and a few members (about 11 people total) sang in Sacrament meeting. We sang 'Nearer My God to Thee'. We had an eikaiwa student, a boy that comes to our sports night each week, and an investigator who really likes music come to hear us sing. Sunday evening we had a devotional with Brother Matthew O. Richardson, second counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, and Brother Randall L. Ridd, second counselor in the young Men's General Presidency. It's great to serve in here Kichijoji because the church building accommodates more people than any other in the country and almost all large devotionals are held here. We had a few hours to be outside talking to people before the devotional and when we got back to the church there were two Chinese people we had met on Friday waiting in the foyer. They had been shopping nearby and decided to come stop by the church, not knowing about the devotional. So they stayed with us and we also had Jett come as well. He really enjoyed it and made friends with many members and church leaders after it finished. We're going to begin planning a big inter-faith concert type thing with him and a bunch of the church leaders to be held here in Kichijoji. Hopefully it can become a regular thing. By the way mom, I wonder if you've received a call from Brother Richardson? If not, you might. We talked with him for a little after the devotional was over and he took your phone number down to possibly give you a call and say hi. The talks given were great and I took a bunch of notes.

Tomorrow we have 10 new missionaries arriving. The time between each group go by so quickly. This time, though, we're having them fly into Narita instead of Haneda so they arrive at about 2:00 pm instead of 11:00 pm. It's a farther drive than Haneda but it should be nice because we can get everyone back in time for them to interview with President and have dinner and a testimony meeting before getting to bed by 10:30 pm. Everyone won't be so tired on Wednesday that way.

I'll end with a thought from Brother Richardson at the devotional last night. He gave a great talk, I'll just share one thing he said, "If you go against what you know to be true, you will always be searching for something to fill you." I believe that's true and know that on the contrary, as we do and follow what we know to be true, we will feel peace and inner joy. For example, we know that chastity and morality is of God and true. If we separate from that, and God, we will begin a journey of trying to fill a void that can't be filled without repenting and doing what we know to be true. The days to say things like, "I'll be good in the future, a few years from now." are long gone. We need to do now what we know to be true. That brings to mind a scripture, which I shared with a recent convert of Elder Olson's we met today, D&C 59:23.

"But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come."

It's true. I know it is. I hope you all have a great week! I love you. Take care.

Love,
Elder Rindlisbacher

Week 97 - August 20, 2013

Aloha!

We took P-day today and went to the temple with Musashino Zone (about 20 missionaries). We've decided to have the missionaries go to the temple each transfer as zones instead of as a mission and I think it's really good. Today was very reverent and spiritual whereas it sometimes got really full and busy when we went as a mission (about 175 missionaries).  

A member family took all of the missionaries serving here in Kichijoji (10 total) to dinner tonight and Elder Olson and I also took two potential investigators as the family told us we could bring anyone else if we wanted. They both had a great time and made good friends with the missionaries. As a message we used the pictures in the Restoration pamphlet to share the message of the Restoration very simply.

Yesterday afternoon we had dinner with an investigator and his wife and the Wada's. It's so nice having President and Sister Wada and their family here. We're always introducing our investigators and friends to them and they really help to love and fellowship them.

Lately we've been busy of course, with things for the mission as well as our own appointments, and it's been really good. Tomorrow we have a conference with all of the new missionaries and their trainers(about 40 missionaries). We'll be doing a lot of teaching practicing.  

The mission continues to improve and improve. The missionaries are getting better at teaching and learning to really love their investigators and receive inspiration for them. Everything is going great. Thank you so much for your prayers and love. Have a great week. I love you!    

Love,

Elder Rindlisbacher 

P.S. Attached are a few pictures from last week Tuesday. We met with a family that Elder Olson is very good friends with from one of his previous areas and had lunch and played a little baseball.

Week 96 - August 12, 2013

Aloha,

I hope everyone's had a wonderful week. We're doing great here. The weather has been fun lately with huge, unexpected downpours and lightning storms hitting every once in a while. Elder Olson and I are blessed to be able to drive places if it's raining; normally we'd only have the choice to either walk or ride bikes. We try to talk and take the trains as much as possible because that way we can talk with a lot of people, but sometimes we don't have time and use the car.

This week we said goodbye to five great elders. They've each worked hard for the past two years and have been blessed to participate in many miracles. It's bittersweet to let them go. Most of them were elders that Elder Olson and I were in the MTC with. Elder Olson and I are the oldest companionship in the mission at transfers 15 and 16. We don't feel that old, though. Of course we feel like we just got here as we still have so much to learn and do.

I went on exchange with Elder Ige this past Friday to Saturday. Elder Olson and I went down to an area called Odawara (almost two hours by train from Kichijoji) and worked with their companionship for 24 hours, myself with Elder Ige and Elder Olson with Elder Ige's companion, Elder Staheli. Elder Olson and I both agreed that it was one of the best exchanges of our missions. We had an amazing time. Elder Ige and I had a great time reconnecting and working together. We haven't worked in even the same zone since we've been in the field so it was really good to work together in a companionship. We saw miracle after miracle as we worked hard to find people to teach. We ended the exchange with long lists of new friends and soon to be friends. 

Elder Ige and I were walking down a street and there was a man sitting on the side drinking a can of beer. We went to talk with him and he was very nice. We learned that he had been working at a big company but had gotten sick and couldn't continue to work. Then he and his wife divorced four years ago and he hasn't really been living for anything since. He told us he really wants to come to church on Sunday and we exchanged phone numbers. Later as Elder Ige and I were passing out flyers for eikaiwa we met a few groups of high school students and one of them really liked us and invited us to come to a school festival they have coming up. On Saturday we were passing out flyers again and a Japanese lady with her young son walked up to me and said with surprise, "A Mormon missionary." We talked and ends up she used to live in Rochester, New York about 20 years ago and attended church there each Sunday and has read the Standard Works. She and her family moved from New York to England and they began attending another church nearby because of convenience. Now they're living in Japan again but not attending church. She said it had been about 20 years since she'd read the Book of Mormon so I told her it's time to read it again. I explained where the nearest church was and hope she will begin attending again. While Elder Ige and I continued to meet many great people, Elder Olson and Elder Staheli were doing the same. They met two younger Filipino boys who were excited to attend church this next Sunday. Overall, exchanges just go really great when the missionaries are 'on the right path' in a sense. When they understand their purpose and do all they can to fulfill it, there really is true joy to be found, and exchanges are just great fun. 

Later that day, Saturday evening, we had a great devotional with Brother Brad Wilcox of the Sunday School General Board, to make the day even better. It was a truly wonderful devotional where I felt great appreciation and gratitude towards the church and the opportunities I've had in my life because of it. There was much humor and laughing as well as great spirituality and humility. I really enjoy the things Brad Wilcox has to say. I've read the talk he gave two years ago at BYU, 'His Grace is Sufficient,' probably about 20 times now.

Some of the things he shared (as the devotional was geared towards parents raising families):

"Sometimes I feels like we're testifying of the best breakfast cereal, but nobody eats breakfast anymore." We live in a world where the majority thinks and believes that there is no need for church. The youth are greatly influenced by that, and sometimes don't realize the greatness of the spiritual blessings of the church. Thus he outlined many of the temporal blessings of the church that we must be sure to help the youth know and understand. He began his remarks with a story from when he was a mission president in Chile. There was a mother who had been less-active for many years. The missionaries visited her and she ended up returning to activity. Her young son who wasn't baptized soon desired to be baptized. His mother was overjoyed, however his father said, "If mom wants to be a part of a crazy church, that's her problem, but my son will not!" The elders went to then President Wilcox pleading for help to convince the boy's father that it was okay for him to be baptized. He said he'd do what he could and set up a meeting with the father. They met, shook hands, and the very first words out of the father's mouth were, "So what does my son get for being a Mormon?!" President Wilcox shrugged his shoulders and said a little sheepishly, "Salvation." That didn't convince the father much because really any church can promise that. Anybody can say that in the world to come there will be roads paved with gold and lined with mansions. So President Wilcox put the spiritual blessings, which are immense, to the side and did his best to explain the temporal blessings of the church. He doesn't really remember exactly what he said to the father but it must have done something because the boy was baptized. The father was at the baptismal service. The boy was dressed all in white. One of the elders all in white as well. The boy's mother beaming with joy and a few tears. And as President Wilcox watched the boy's father as the baptismal service went on he knew that he was feeling the spirit. A few months later there was another baptismal service in that ward, this time for the father. President Wilcox walked up to him and said, "So what do you get for being a Mormon?!" The father looked around and said a little sheepishly, "Salvation." The focus of the talk was on the temporal blessings of the church, things such as an international network of friends, a stronger family and better marriage, and a culture focused on education. It was a really great talk. Elder Olson and I were able to have a friend of ours, Jett, whose Gospel music class we went to, and his wife in attendance and they had a great evening. They were befriended greatly by the church leaders in attendance. President Wada thought the evening with Jett went so well he asked me to document the experience, so I wrote a small article type thing:

"Jett’s a middle-aged man born in North Carolina, moved to California, and lived in Japan for almost the past two decades. We first met him on the street. It was later in the evening and already dark when we called out to him as he was with his wife and their daughter on bicycles. He told us he was busy saying he, “didn’t want none of our Jesus talk.” We persisted a little and he stopped long enough to tell us he’s very Christian and that he teaches a Gospel music class every once in a while. We traded numbers and off he and his family went. We called him the next day and had a great time at his Gospel music class the day after that. In return, two weeks later, Jett attended a sacrament meeting and an hour of Sunday school where he really seemed to enjoy himself. We sat with him and a great member on the third row of the chapel during sacrament meeting, and he met Sister Wada as well as she happened to be attending meetings here in Kichijoji.

Since that Sunday we’d been in touch with him a little but not yet able to meet again. Then this past Saturday we were blessed to have Brother Brad Wilcox of the Sunday School General Board speak at a wonderful devotional. A few nights before the devotional we gave Jett a call to invite him to hear what Brad Wilcox had to say. He was excited and ended up coming with his wonderful wife.

The devotional was really great as Sister Wilcox, Brother Wilcox, and Elder Whiting, (newly called to the Area Presidency,) spoke. Jett really connected with Brother Wilcox’s talk about “What you get for being Mormon.” Along with spiritual blessings and salvation, Brother Wilcox outlined many wonderful temporal blessings such as an international network of friends, amazing role models, and a culture focused on education. Brother Wilcox was very animated and Jett was laughing for much of the meeting. Elder Whiting ended the meeting on a very humble and spiritual note.

The truly amazing part of the evening, however, was actually after the devotional ended. President Wada asked the church leaders present to talk with Jett. In turn, he was able to not only meet, but really become friends with, Elder Ringwood, Elder Whiting, Brad Wilcox, Bishop Martini of the Senzokuike Ward, and President and Sister Wada. Jett told Brad Wilcox, “Who wouldn’t want to be a Mormon?!” and Brad Wilcox replied, “I’d love to attend your baptism!” They exchanged email addresses and plan to continue communication via email. President and Sister Wada also set an appointment to have him and his family over for dinner this next week.

Our investigators need to be converted not only spiritually, but also emotionally, intellectually, behaviorally, and socially. Remember that that is how they continue through the entire path of the gospel. This night was a huge step in Jett’s conversion. He felt the Spirit, he understood many of the blessings of the gospel, and he enjoyed good company and made many great friends in the church.

Some lessons to be learned from our experiences with Jett thus far would include: Love and do things for your friends and investigators. Attend their Gospel music class if they have one. Bring your friends and investigators to meetings and other events. There’s much growth and progress to be made when surrounded by wonderful people listening to a wonderful speaker. Ask members and leaders to talk with your friends and investigators. One member to fellowship is good, but it’s amazing when a group of members, church leaders, or even an entire ward lovingly befriends an investigator. There is power in church meetings and events. There is power in the fellowship church members and leaders can provide.

This is the wonderful work of salvation!"

Saturday was just a really great day. I wrote in my planner at the end of the day, "One of the best days on my mission."

This week will be another good and, of course, busy one. We have two two-zone conferences coming up this Wednesday and Thursday. We'll basically be reviewing all of the training we've given the zone leaders. I know that there is true joy to be found in the world. I know that that is within families centered on the gospel. I know that there is great joy to be felt through sharing the gospel. I know that we are children of a loving Father in Heaven. I love you!! Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Rindlisbacher

P.S. Pictures:

0023 - Dinner with Bishop Hasegawa and family (8/12/13)

0010 - Dinner with the Matsushima Family (8/6/13)

0003 - With Ryuichi, investigator from Nakano who came to see us here in Kichijoji (8/3/13)

Week 95 – August 5, 2013

Aloha!
We've had a great week. Elder Olson and I have had a good amount of time outside vs. in the office and it's been a lot of fun. I received the book. Thank you so much for sending it. It got here really quickly. And I did also receive Mikela's email. I remember (Elder) Keith. He's from Canada and I think he's married now.So many things happen in just a day it's so hard to keep track of everything at the end of a week. Elder Olson and I are always asking each other, "What happened this week?" But when we sit down and do our best to think about it(and take a look at some of the past pages of our planners) sweet memories and great experiences are relived for a moment.

Elder Olson and I went to the temple on Wednesday because one of his former investigators was going through for the first time. We thought it'd be better to go by car, but we ended up getting stuck in some traffic and didn't make the session. We were able to do a few Sealings and then wait in the Celestial Room. We also had another Mission Leadership Council on Thursday. We've been having them so often lately. I guess in reality we've only had three in the past six-ish weeks, but time goes by so fast it feels like they're all just a day apart. It was a great council though, maybe the best since the mission has opened. The zone leaders have so much to cascade to their district leaders and zone members because we've just been teaching and training them so much lately.

We taught Ryuichi with President Wada on Saturday. Ryuichi's actually an investigator from Nakano who came down here to see us. It was a really good lesson and it's always great to learn from President Wada as he's a great teacher. Hopefully Ryuichi will be baptized soon, he's a really great guy and has been an investigator for a while. It's been great becoming his friend.

We have a lot of potential investigator friends that we're working with. Our goals is to find 95 potential investigators before the transfer ends in a few weeks. With making so many friends we've been able to start having more appointments and lessons. The 'cream rises to the top' in a sense as we start to see who is truly interested in the gospel. We've been doing things like going to lunch and/or playing sports with potential investigators a bunch lately. It's a lot of fun and it's really great being able to share the gospel in a very natural way.

Anyway, the work is great. I'm having a great time and we're safe here in the wonderful Japan Tokyo South Mission. I love you and am so grateful for you. It's great to hear that everyone's doing well. Be sure to read that book. Take care!

Love,
Elder Rindlisbacher

Week 94 – July 29, 2013

Hello Everyone!

Elder Olson and I have had a great week here. President Wada was actually in America this week so we used it to go on companion exchanges. I was able to go to Machida, Atsugi, and Kanagawa.

My time with the Machida Elders (zone leaders,) was a lot of fun. We worked as a three-man and I tried to teach them to always be talking to people whenever and wherever they were. I know that great friends and investigators can be found through that. Elder Olson is a great example. We found many new potential investigators and saw a great miracle as we were ending the exchange. At the station waiting for Elder Olson, we met and talked with a small group of teachers from a nearby international school. They invited us to come and visit their school next month and meet their students!

My exchange with the Elders in Atsugi was really interesting. Elder Hoshino and Elder Takaya aren't zone leaders or anything, I just felt like it would be good to go on exchange with them. I've actually been on exchange with Elder Takaya probably ten times now, but this was my first time working with Elder Hoshino. Atsugi isn't a very metropolitan area, but still not extremely rural. On my mission I've been used to always having a lot of people to talk to, but walking down the streets in Atsugi, there are a good amount of buildings and homes, but not really anybody in sight. I guess they all head into Tokyo for the day to work. I think we all got to know each other better and learned and grew.

With going to Kanagawa, I worked with my former companion, Elder Hill, and Elder Olson worked with his MTC companion, Elder Young. Elder Hill is a great missionary and I was inspired, as always, by his faith and diligence. We had a great time preaching the gospel together.

Other than our exchanges this week, yesterday Elder Olson and I went out and had a bunch of great conversations. We had about four hours on the streets and met many great people. We received six phone numbers from strong potential investigators and hope to begin meeting with them soon. We also had an investigator, Jett, attend sacrament meeting and Sunday School and have a great time. If you remember, he's the one whose Gospel music class we went to. Anyway, we've been trying to always have our investigators sitting on the third row with a member and it's been working really well. Sister Wada also attended the meetings here as President Wada was away (they're normally at different wards each week speaking) and she fellowshipped Jett and bore great testimony. We're hoping we can have him and his family to the Wadas' home for dinner sometime soon.

Last night Elder Olson and I went with Sister Wada to pick President Wada and their youngest son (of two,) Takuto (who's 15 going 16), up at the airport. We got back and to sleep around 1:00 am. I guess that might not sound so interesting to you as you don't have a curfew to be in bed by 10:30 pm, but after getting up at 6:30 am and going to sleep at 10:30 pm every day for a year and a half it gets pretty crazy to stay up until 1:00 am. Not getting much sleep has caught up and I'm pretty tired today, but will probably get some good time to rest. Hopefully, at least, as this week will be another busy one! 

We have a few appointments with investigators this week. In addition, we'll be having a training for a few missionaries to improve their translation skills for upcoming conferences, we'll attend the temple as one of Elder Olson's former investigators will be going through for her first time, and we'll be having another mission leadership council. Also, this Saturday is Elder Olson's 21st birthday. This week, as all others, will be as good as as hard we work. That's normally how it works, the more you put in the more you get out.

I have one favor to ask of mom. I'll send in another email the username and password I'm using to apply for BYU because I'll need you to help get transcripts from Kamehameha Schools and UH - Maui sent. If you also see other information that you can enter in it would help out a lot. If possible, would you be able to have that done by the end of the week?

Other than that, is there anything anyone would like to know? If anyone has any questions about my area, the mission, Japan, etc, I'm sure I could make my letters a little more interesting. Anyway, I love you all so much!! Thank you! Have a great week! 

Love,

Elder Rindlisbacher

Week 93 - July 22, 2013

Hello,

It sounds like everyone's doing good. It's been an eventful week here in the mission. I've been driving a lot and I'm sure by the time I head home it'll take a little while to get used to driving on the right side of the street again. Driving on roads not as narrow as these will be nice though. It's like a video game every time we get in the car.

On Tuesday Elder Olson and I were able to register ourselves as now living in Kichijoji and I was able to pick up my license. That night the new missionaries flight was supposed to arrive at Haneda International around 11:00 pm but it was delayed and ended up arriving around 2:30 am. We left the mission home a little before 12:30 am and waited at the airport for a little under two hours before the missionaries, 4 sisters and 3 elders, came through customs around 3:15 am. We arrived back at the home at 4:30 am and got to sleep around 5:00 am, as the sun was beginning to rise. Then it was up at 6:30 am to begin the day! We had an amazing breakfast made by Sister Wada and President Wada trained through the morning. Sister Wada had a great lunch made and Elder Olson and I trained through the afternoon. We sent the missionaries out onto the streets for a little so they could do some of their first proselyting and give a few copies of the Book of Mormon out. They gave it their all and came back excited and with a stronger desire to be 'more profitable servants in the Lord's vineyard.' We had eikaiwa Wednesday night and the new missionaries all had a great time. The trainers came in Thursdsay morning for breakfast, we announced companions and trained a little, and sent everyone out to their areas around 12:00 pm.

The next day we had mission leadership council with all of the zone leaders and sister training leaders. That was great of course. We had a full agenda, but the main focus of the council was to teach the zone leaders and sister training leaders how to teach the Restoration using the pamphlet. The Spirit was felt strongly.

Our Saturday evening was spent first in Hibarigaoka where we went actually to have our pictures taken for a new flyer the church office will be making advertising family eikaiwa lessons. We hear it's supposed to come out in about a month or so. From there Elder Olson and I went to Machida, Sagamihara (one of my previous areas), and back to Kichijoji, as an elder had hurt his feet and will need to stay in the mission office for a few weeks until he's able to return to proselyting. So we went to pick an elder and his things up to transfer him to Sagamihara, then brought the hurt elder with us back to the mission home. We got back and in bed by 12:00 am that night.

Other than all of these various events and things going on Elder Olson and I have been making as much time as we can to get outside and invite people to learn about the gospel. We've met and made friends with a lot of people and hope to start seeing who of them have the most interest and who we'll be able to begin teaching.

 The work is great and I'm excited for all that the future has in store. Of course we always want to become, as President Monson said, "more profitable servants in the Lord's vineyard," so it's an ongoing process of work and growth. It feels like the time's gone by very quickly, but at the same time it feels like it's been a good while since I've been out on my mission. I've definitely grown and learned a lot. The memories and, best of all, friends I've been able to make here are wonderful. I have a testimony of the gospel and know it's true. I love you and pray for you!! Take care!

Love,

Elder Rindlisbacher

P.S. The address of the new mission home is:

Japan Tokyo South Mission

1-7-7 Higashicho Kichijoji

Musashino-shi Tokyo

180-0002    Japan