February 27, 2011

Dear Family,

It`s nice to hear some questions to answer and I`ll try and answer the best that I can.
I feel like I`ve gotten use to the food and that my choices have expanded with healthy food. I`ve also noticed that I haven`t been able to eat a lot of sugary stuff, because it quickly becomes too much for me. So that`s been an interesting change. We often eat curry each day because it`s easy to make and is good. We also have stew, ramen, oyakodon(oya is parent and ko is child and don just means its on top of rice), and yakisoba. Those are a few of the ones that I think we eat here and there. Sometimes eating with the members they will do a yakiniku and just yesterday with some investigators we had okonomiyaki. Sometimes I have miso soup at member`s houses or restraunts, but I haven`t really had it very much at our apartment.
For proselyting I`ve been in a lot of the countyside areas and have mostly done housing, but sometimes do streeting. Here we`ve usually done streeting at night.
The ward in Otaru only has a couple of youth and only one is a priesthood holder, so we always have some elders doing the sacrament.
The ward in Otaru is probably about 30 to 40 people and in my past areas it was about 40 people and my first area we had about 80 to 100 people in the ward. All the church building that I`ve been to have been really nice, but they are a bit smaller than our church at home. but a couple of churches that I`ve been in have had 2 floors and they look nice on the outside.
My english is okay with a little bit of japanese mixed in with it. Sometimes when I`m typing I feel like typing a japanese word here and there, but that`s only happened a little bit. I have said a few interesting english phrases to my companion and it`s been funny to hear them. I trying think of some, but I can only think of once saying We`re thinking good. It was something like that. It will be interesting to see how much japanese I`ll accidently use when I get back.
So for a few things that have happened yesterday I talked in church about obedience and it went well I think and I felt like God was helping me know what to say. I talked about the different reasons we obey and they were because we don`t want punishment, so we can receive a reward, and because we love God and want to serve him. The best and most joyful way to obey is because of wanting to serve God. It`s been amazing to see that happening my life and just wanting to serve God and show my love for him.
Well I have some annoucements that I`ll have to add on to next weeks email. So I`m transfering, but I don`t know where to. Crazy right? So they are going to whitewash Otaru(if you don`t know what whitewash is, it means that both missionaries leave and 2 new missionaries come into an area) So just on friday I got a call and President Daniels told me that I was transfering and that my companion Elder Robertson was transfering too. So he left on saturday to his new area and I`m still in Otaru and just showing the new missionary around Otaru, before transfers happen, but President Daniels still hasn`t told me where I`m going, but by next week I should be in my new area and be able to tell you where I will be. So we`ll just have to see. Well I love you all very much.

Love

Elder Daniel Gandy