February 20, 2011

Dear Family,

Things are going well here. This week I think the weather is suppose to be warming up. This last week was my one year mark being in Japan. It`s crazy to think of how use to the culture I am and how much I am still learning about it. One of my Japanese companions told me once that I seemed to have a Japanese personality and I thought that was funny. It`s been a very good year in Japan so far.
I`ll see what I can tell you of the life of Elder Gandy in Japan. It`s interesting having an American companion after having a Japanese companion for about 4 1/2 months. With my American companions I`ve spoken english with them and then with the Japanese companions I`ve used random english words here and there to give them some practice, because they are also suppose to practice english. Sometimes I`ve learned random things from my Japanese companions, like one day my companion taught me the names of your fingers, like the little finger, parent finger, and etc. We usually make our own meals and once in a while we get invited for dinner. I`m trying to think of the different things that have happened with Japanese and American companions, but I can`t think of much except that since Japanese people know more about the culture that they are better at warning you about stuff. With foreign missionaries you just get the experience of making the mistake and laughing afterwards. We usually walk around or ride the bus in Otaru, because of the hills, but we enjoy stopping people while walking and seeing their first reaction, because everyone is different. It`s interesting that we have cellphones here and call people, but we have recently been able to email investigators on our phones, and it`s weird type in japanese, because you use different characters, and when you get emails they are usually in kanji which we really can`t read, so we are usually looking up the different kanjis to find out what they are saying to us. I have been surprised with how much I can speak in Japanese, especially compared with the beginning of my mission and I definitely know that it`s through the Lord`s help that I can do so much. It seems that many people are surprised when they ask me how long I`ve been learning japanese. I still have a lot to improve on, but I just need to continue to have faith and be diligent. So far I have just been having a lot of amazing experiences and blessings on my mission, and I`m excited to see what will happen next. I can`t think of much to more to say, but if any of you have any questions about the culture just send an email and ask. I love you all very much.

Love

Elder Daniel Gandy