Yamaguchi - Countdown, 12 weeks

Hello everyone!

Sorry I didn't send an email out last week. I got a little lazy. BUT this week is transfer week! And I am being banished to the most beautiful island in Japan! It's called Miyakojima. I'm SO excited! It has the second most beautiful beaches in Asia. It's going to be awesome!!!

This past week we have found a ton of new investigators! And all of our investigators right now are progressing very well! 

One guy named Tamano has a baptismal date for the 3rd of September and is progressing well in order to do so. Sadly I won't be here to see him get baptized, but he is awesome! 

Yesterday was the dedication for the Sapporo Japan temple. It was very cool to watch that this past Sunday, and see all of the Japanese members be strengthened. 

I'm going on my last 2 transfers, and it is a bit scary. I'm not ready to go home yet (sorry mom). But maybe I will after these next 2. We will see.

Love you all!

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 15 weeks

August 7, 2016

This week has been an interesting one. 

First off, last P-Day, we went to Hiroshima. Interesting story. We met this random guy a couple of weeks ago while we were housing, and he offered to take us over to Iwakuni, which is on the other side of our zone (about a 2 hour car ride). We went and did some stuff there, and heard that tons of missionaries from the Hiroshima zone were going to Miyajima. So we decided to crash their party and showed up. Probably first time in history that has been done.. maybe. Took us 3 hours to get home by train. Very interesting P-Day. 

On Tuesday we had shabushabu. Which is where you get meat and dip it in boiling broth and it cooks it. Probably one of my favorite meals. The problem was, it was all you can eat. I ate WAY too much, and my body shut down. I couldn't go out of the apartment for 2 days, which sucked. 

One of our Baptismal Dates right now is a guy named Tamano. He recently got out of prison, and is wanting a remission of his sins. He is doing very well, and wanting to learn so much about Jesus Christ. Hopefully he will be able to get baptized on the 3rd of September. 

Elder Gatherum and I are doing really well. I'm loving my mission. Every second of it. Yes, I am tired. I don't think that will fix before the end of my mission. But we are working hard everyday, and seeing tons of miracles. 

That's about it for this week. 

Hope everyone has a good week. 

Love,

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 16 weeks

July 31, 2016

Hello! I almost forgot to write this week! Sorry!

This past week was a blast!

Monday. We went and ate at a random guys house that we met at a foot bath thing. It was him and his wife, and they LOVE Americans. She could speak English pretty well too. That was a blast. 

Tuesday. Elder Welch and I planned for out Zone Conference, and then went on Splits afterwards.

Wednesday. We went on Splits with the Iwakuni Elders. I went with an Elder from Park City Utah. He is half Chinese, but doesn't speak a lick of it. He is going home in about 3 weeks. Crazy stuff. It was a good junkai though, we both learned a lot. It was weird being with that old of a missionary. 

Thursday. We had Zone Conference. Our Mission President came and we had an awesome training with our zone. 

Friday. Eikaiwa. The lady from Monday came and liked it. 

Saturday. We taught a bunch of lessons. We had to drop one of our investigators named maki. 

Sunday. 2 people came to church. It was a huge blessing. We were only planning on one person, and then one of our investigators called, and said he was coming. 

Our area is doing really well right now. Things are awesome. Sorry it's short and rushed but love ya!

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 17 weeks

July 24, 2016

This week has gone by extremely fast! We went to Fukuoka on Tuesday,
and got a training from our mission president. We met a lot of cool
people this week. One guy is named Tamano. He recently got released
from prison, and is missing a pinky. But he is a way good guy. When we
talked to him he told us about having a lot of sins. We had a good
first lesson with him, and he will be working towards a baptismal date
for 8/20.

Murata is still doing pretty well. She has been coming to church for
awhile now. The only problem we see with her is that she still really
likes her previous religion and compares everything in ours to hers.

The mission life is doing good. Our zone is starting to do a lot
better as a whole, which is really nice to see.

Not too much changed this week. Sorry it was a short one. 

Love,
Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Coundown, 18 weeks

July 17, 2016

Transfer Week!

This past week was transfer week. My companion and I stayed together. He is an awesome missionary though, so I am way glad. Elder Welch (whom I have already had 2 areas with and lived in the same apartment for 8 months) came up to Yamaguchi, and we are back together gonna kill it again!

This week Murata san has done pretty well. We taught her with 2 members on Saturday and she opened up a little bit about her religion and what is holding her back. It was good to find out her needs. She told us she was going to be busy for church, but that she would try her best to come. And then she showed up! It was amazing. We are also going to teach her two times this week. She is doing good. 

We also met a lot of cool people lately. One lady showed up randomly for church. Another guy offered to drive us to Iwakuni (about an hour and a half away) on our Pday for fun because he likes missionaries. Another guy invited us over to eat dinner at his house because him and his wife like Americans. 

It has been really cool lately, and I have really learned to enjoy my time out here in Japan. The people here are the best. 

Elder Gatherum and I are doing well. We are having a lot of fun out here, and seeing a lot of success in Yamaguchi. Even though it is a small town. It's been a blast! 

Love you guys.

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 19 weeks

 July 11, 2016

Not too much happened this week. On Monday we had a Zone P-day and everyone in our zone went to the beach to play games and stuff. I'm pretty sure EVERYONE got burned. It was HOT. 

We had splits twice this week. One was with an Elder Ngatai, who was in the MTC with me, and the other was with an Elder Parry, who is a lot younger than me. They were both really good. Elder Ngatai's Japanese is amazing, and made mine feel horrible. That's what I get for not studying as well as I should have the past 6 months. I learned a lot from both of them, and it was a lot of fun. 

Murata san is still progressing well. She came to church this last week, and said she feels like she is changing. It is really cool. Her date is still for the 8th of August, and I could see her get baptized then. 

Sorry this week was kinda lame, but I am doing good. Time is running short out here, gotta make the best out of it. 

Love you all,

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 20 weeks

こんにちは！！！！ (Happy 4th of July)

We had a way good week this week. Elder Gatherum and I are working really hard, and having tons of fun. He is hilarious. Like I said he is from Orem as well. He went to Orem High School though. 

Well this week, Murata progressed really well. We had a lesson with her and a member. We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ again. This time I think she understood quite a bit better than the first time, and we set a date with her for August 6th! Right now it is more like a goal so receive an answer, but if she gets that answer, she said she will get baptized! She wasn't able to come to church this week, because she got a bit busy, but said she will come next week. 

Also a cool little miracle. We were streeting one day and ran into a guy who said he met the missionaries before. And last time promised them he would go to church, but didn't cause it started raining. So we invited him to church again and he came! Way cool miracle! 

We have a bunch of other investigators we are teaching right now, but they aren't progressing very well yet, so I will tell you about them another time.

Things are going well here in Yamaguchi. Hopefully we will be able to find a bunch of cool people this upcoming week! 

Have a good 4th of July! And send me pictures of fireworks since I won't get any :)

ありがとう！！

Love

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 21 weeks

June 26, 2016

Well my companion, Elder Lay, got sent up to the mission home to be in the office. So this week I got a new companion! His name is Elder Gatherum, and he is from Orem as well! Small world. We know a lot of the same people, but didn't know each other. So we are exactly half way through the transfer, and I feel like the transfer just started. He is a way funny kid, and it's going to be a fun next couple of weeks. 

We FINALLY got someone to sacrament meeting yesterday. Her name is Murata. She is Buddhist, but is really interested in Christianity. She wouldn't accept a baptismal date, as she thinks she had something similar in her Buddhist church. We are really going to be focusing on Christ, and how He is the only way. (Mos. 3:17) and going to try and help her follow His example.

We also got to go on splits in a place called Yanai. It is one of the smallest areas in the mission, but it was fun to go dendou there. We taught this one guy who has one of the strongest testimonies I have ever seen, but works on Sundays. Even though he has had many spiritual experiences in his life, and knows for a fact that the Book of Mormon is true, isn't willing to put it all on the table. I know it's much easier said than done. But I know that we can always trust in God, and it will always work out. 

Hmm. Well hope everyone has a good week.

love you

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 22 weeks!

June 19, 2016

Time is running low on the mission. It goes by too fast. This week, not too much happened, other than I realized how much I love these Japanese people. Yes, they make their mistakes, and yes they are imperfect like the rest of us. But they have some of the most faith out of anybody I know. The members of Japan are literally some of the best people I have met in my entire life.
Yesterday we had a big broadcast over Japan and got to hear from Elder David A. Bednar, and others. The Yamaguchi District all went over to a city called Ube. For some people it was an hour drive, and for some people just a few minutes. But to be able to see so many faithful people compile into a small chapel to hear from a Disciple of the Lord was amazing.
I only have a few months left until they're making me go home, and it is going to be one of the worst days of my life. If you have never gotten to meet any of the Japanese/foreign members in your wards or stakes, I challenge you to meet them. Get to know them. They are the best people you will ever come in contact with.
My companion and I are still going strong. Working hard, and having lots of fun. We both agreed to take LONG naps today.
I truly know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. And I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and it was translated by Joseph Smith. I know that we have a living prophet on the earth today. I know some people just think I may be lying, or its all in my head. But this isn't something to lie about, and it's not just a belief. It's a knowledge. Read the book :)
Anyways, sorry it was a boring week, and not too much to tell, but I'm having the time of my life! Let me know if I can do anything for anyone over here in Japan!
Love you guys!
Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 23 weeks!

June 12, 2016

As usual, this first week we got to go to Fukuoka for a training. It
was awesome! We got to learn a lot from our Mission President and the
Assistants.
Our training for the zone was about:

Boldness
Unity
Spirit

So we called it the BUS, and did a cool training on that. We had some
volunteers go up in front of the zone and do some soap box dendou, as
well as some fun games for unity, and talked about everyone pushing
together like a Flinstones car, and ended it off on a spiritual note,
talking about planning and such.

As for investigators, this week was not the best one for Elder Lay and
I. All of our investigators became sketchy and it was hard to meet.
But this next week we will work harder and hopefully see better
things.

The mission is treating me well.
Hope everyone is staying healthy.
Love,
Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 24 weeks!

June 5, 2016

We had transfers again this past week. My companion, Elder Hanley, was
transferred to Kumamoto, where the earthquake happened. So he will
have a lot of opportunities to do service.

My new companion's name is Elder Lay. He is from Ogden, Utah. His mom
is Japanese and is from Osaka. He is a way cool kid. He is transfer 8,
and it is very nice to have someone who can actually help me out a bit
with the area. He is way cool, and we are going to have a lot of fun
this transfer.

Last Tuesday we went to the beach for Pday. That was fun, but my neck
got FRIED. It hasn't seen the sun in a year and a half, so it was
expected. We also received our transfer calls, and our zone, since it
was struggling, got changed quite a bit. 9 of our 24 people
transferred. We are really excited for this transfer and for all the
good things to come.

On Saturday we got to do some service for the soccer team. It was
really fun, we just acted like Japanese people, and spoke really
politely as they went into the gate. I'll send some pictures of that.

Other than that not much happening here. Still just finding a lot. We
are teaching a couple of people, but I'll talk more about them when
they get a bit stronger.

Love you! Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 25 weeks!

May 30, 2016

So this week has been crazy as a 3 man! We have been seeing a ton of miracles. And it has been BUSY taking care of both areas, as we have both recently found a bunch of investigators. 

This week we set 3 Baptismal Dates. 

2 were for the other area, and one for ours. 

The one for ours is a guy named Sota. He is 20 years old, and is working full time. He is a way fun guy, but has some not very good habits. We talked about Heaven a little bit, and he said he feels like he is not going there. We talked to him about Baptism, and how we can become clean of all of our sins. Very spiritual lesson, and he agreed to be baptized on July 9th. 

We also went out with a British guy and a bunch of his friends on Saturday night. It was weird. But it sounds like he might have been baptized when he was 10 or 11 ish. He has a lot of interest, in some ways. He is an Atheist, but respects religion. Maybe we can reactivate him :)

An Elder who served here about a year ago visited this area this week, and it was good to talk to him a little bit. We got to go to a members house and eat with him and his mom.

This week is transfers. I think everyone is getting a little nervous about transfers. There could be a lot of changes in our zone this upcoming transfer. I have a feeling that my companion, Elder Hanley is going to be transferring somewhere probably, but we will see.

Things have been good. Everyone has been doing a lot better since Elder Cook came, and seems to be more spiritually ready for their everyday work. From hearing Elder Cook speak, I know that he is an apostle of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it was translated through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know this Church is true.  I have a really good feeling about the work here in Japan, things are starting to take off, and it is really cool to see. 

Love all you guys

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 26 weeks!

May 22, 2016

Another week gone by! It's crazy to think about how fast time goes out
here. I have come to love my mission so much, and will be sad when
that time comes.

Anyways. This past week has been very interesting. One of the elders
in our apartment got emergency transferred to an area close to
Fukuoka, so we will be in another 3 man! It will be fun though.
Yesterday, the entire mission had the opportunity of going to Fukuoka
and hearing from Elder Cook. It was AMAZING. I think he blew
everyone's minds at the end when he bore his testimony of the Savior.
He mentioned some very, very interesting stuff.
It was really cool to see everyone from my old zone, as well as past
companions and such. We have some amazing missionaries in this
mission.

This last week we visited a bunch of our PI's and found 6 new
investigators so far. Pretty cool to see some success from our
efforts.

Yamaguchi is a good place. It is pretty small compared to my other
areas though. It's been fun. They have things called 足湯 while
means Ashi Yu. They are little hot baths all over the city, but just
for your feet. So we go and sit in those sometimes, and talk to he people
about the gospel sometimes. There is also a college here, and they
have an English program, so there is a good amount of foreigners here
(mainly Indian).

Anyways just thought I would share a bit about my life. Love you!

Here is us

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 27 weeks!

May 15, 2016

Hello everyone, thank you for the birthday wishes. If you forgot, no worries, I did too. 

This week on Tuesday we had splits with some elders in our zone. One of them is a big boy, and he ate all of our food. Which kinda sucked. Haha. But it was way good! I went with an Elder from American Fork, who has had a bit of a rough mission. Way good missionary, but doesn't seem to get credit for all the work he is doing, at least not from our Mission President. But he is doing good, and will still do the things he needs to do. 

Last Thursday was my birthday, and we got to go proselyting ALL day, which was awesome, cause we haven't had too many of those days. 

This week we met with a lot of people for the first time. We got to share our first message, but most of them said they were okay. They promised that if they meet missionaries again, they would listen to their message though. 

We had a lot of good finding, and found TONS of good PI's. We honestly don't have anyone strong that we are teaching right now, so we are just doing a ton of finding right now. It has been fun. My companion, Elder Hanley, and I are doing really well. He is from Halfway, Oregon. A town of 500 people. But he is normal, don't worry. 

This week was good. Lots of hard work, lots of cool little miracles. 

Love you guys.

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 28 weeks!

May 8, 2016

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Kyle looked and sounded great.

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 29 weeks!

May 1, 2016

This week we went to Fukuoka and got trained by Kaicho. It was way
good. Very spiritual as always. We also had Zone Training Meeting on
Thursday, and it was good to see the whole zone. Not too much else
happened this week. I really like this area, and all of the members
are awesome!
Right now Elder Hanley and I are only teaching one person.
His name is Hisat. He has a drinking and smoking problem. This
past week we had 2 lessons scheduled with him, but they both ended up
falling through.
Umm. I'm really tired. But things are going well. And I'm loving being
a missionary. I love helping people out each and every day, and being
able to strive to become like our Savior, Jesus Christ each and every
day. I'm thankful for all the prayers that you guys give, and for all
the support I have been able to receive. Thank you for everything.
Love you!

Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 30 weeks!

April 24, 2016

Hope everyone is having a good Sunday. Things are going well here in
Yamaguchi. It is the smallest town I have been at in my mission so
far. But there is a college. So we talk to TONS of college students.
Right now we have one guy with a baptismal date for 5/21. He is
looking really good for the date right now. He has met the
missionaries in the past, but didn't end up getting baptized.
The ward here is amazing. The members here are so kind, and willing to
help the missionaries in any way they can.
Things are still going well with the earthquake disasters. The
missionaries down there are doing service, and helping the people down
there as much as possible.
Thanks for all of your prayers. Everyone is safe and doing well.
Love you much.
Elder Davies

Yamaguchi - Countdown, 31 weeks!

April 18, 2016

Hey everyone. Just to let everyone know, yes we are safe from the earthquakes. 

A quick update for each of you. ALL OF THE MISSIONARIES in our mission are safe and sound and no one was injured. We felt it up here in Hiroshima and were woken up in the middle of the night. 

The areas that were the hardest hit were the Kumamoto, Nagamine, Tsuboi, and Shimizu areas. Though all of us on the island of Kyushu felt a number of quakes and tremors, we are grateful for the blessings that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with.
The Sisters in the above mentioned areas have all been removed from their areas for now and we are hopeful to be able to have then return as soon as safe circumstances permit. The Elders are still there and working hard to bless the lives of the saints there. Please pray for them. 

There have been 41 deaths and over a thousand injured in the area. The Saints in that area are doing fine. We have rushed in food and Water and supplies to them and they are also receiving aid from the church and other areas of Japan as well. From what our Mission President witnessed yesterday they are in good spirits for the most part and rallying around each other. There have been a couple of members taken to the hospital for injuries sustained in the earthquakes. Some families have lost their homes and are currently staying at the churches and are receiving help.
Even in the midst of all the earthquakes, a Sister in Tsuboi (close to Kumamoto) was even baptized and confirmed a member of the church. The work goes on.

Please continue to pray for our members, missionaries, and the Japanese people.

As for transfers. I am getting transferred to Yamaguchi and being the Zone Leader there. My new companions name is Elder Hanley. He is transfer 3. This is the first time in 5 transfers that I will not be training. FINALLY :)

Umm. Yeah, that is pretty much everything exciting happening. Love you all.. 

Elder Davies

April 18, 2016 

Hiroshima (East) - Countdown, 34 weeks!

March 27, 2016
Hey everyone! Hope everyone is doing good! This last week was crazy
busy! We were finding all week, and didn't see much success honestly.
Right now we are still on the search for investigators, so this next
week we will be continuing to find every day!
One exciting thing this week! I got to go on splits with my last
companion, Elder Campos! He was clear up in a place called Hamada.
About 2 and a half hour bus ride north. It is a lot smaller of a city
then what I'm used to, but it was a blast!

Also if there are people that actually read this, can you reply? Just curious if I should actually put more time into this email or not. :) This week I am tired though, so sorry it is short. 
Anyways have a good week. Remember to pray daily.
Love,
Elder Davies

Hiroshima (East) - Countdown, 32 weeks!

April 11, 2016
Conference already?! Where is the time going?! I only have one more, and then I'm going home... WOW!

Things are going good here. This past week I got to go on splits with my first Bean Chan, Elder Barker. We had a way good time, and saw tons of miracles. I also got to go on splits with another Elder from Orem. His name is Elder Ratzlaff. He is a year younger than me, and we went to the same elementary school, and Jr. High School. So weird. We had a good time talking about a bunch of the same people we know. 

Other than that, we just watched a bunch of General Conference, and did a lot of proselyting. Good times. 

We have a couple of new investigators now. First, we have an investigator named Jimmy, who I taught when I was in Takasu, right next door. He moved into our area, and now I get to teach him again! 

Another guy we are teaching is a deaf guy named Daigo. So looks like I will be learning Japanese Sign Language! haha! Too bad it's a bit different than ASL, that would have been nice. 

And another 2 people is a couple, who a member referred us to. He isn't very respectful to her, which is a bit sad. But he will be able to change through the gospel, so no worries there. 

Umm. That's about it. Next week is transfers. Not sure if I will be staying or not in this area, but we will see! 

Love you guys!

Elder Davies

Hiroshima (East) - Countdown, 33 weeks!

...I've somehow lost week 34 email, I'll try to find it!

Alright. Looks like I will spend a little more time on this, and a bit less time in personal emails. Sorry if my personal one is short, I love reading them, and will make sure I try and reply, but yes, time is short in the mission life :)

Well to start off. This past week, on Monday, we had a Zone P-day at Miyajima, and pretty much the entire zone came. It was like 20 of us missionaries. Everyone in my apartment bought a katana from there as well. It was very fun! 

We have been meeting a lot with our recent converts, the Komarus. They are doing really well, and are planning on going to the temple on April 16th to do baptisms for the dead. And I get to go with them! Hopefully they will get a calling soon and be able to help strengthening the ward here. 

We also had many junkais (splits) this past week with missionaries from other areas. On Tuesday I went on splits with Elder Hansen, who I served with in Futenma and now he is serving in Takasu, and it was interesting to see his dendou style. He talks so everyone in English, and then switches to Japanese. Pretty funny to see some of the peoples faces. 

On Thursday I got to go on splits with Elder Lundberg, from Mihara. He is 3/4 Japanese, but didn't speak a lick of Japanese before the mission. It was fun to be with him as well. He is my district leader, and it was good to see how he goes about things as well. We saw a lot of success and were able to make about 4 potential investigators. 

And on Friday/Saturday we got to go on splits with the elders from Saijo. I got to go with an Elder Colton, who is a BEAST. He got here the same time as Elder Barker who I trained in Okinawa. But he is a solid. missionary. Probably future AP of the mission. We learned a lot from each other, and had a way deep conversation. Way cool. 

This past Friday we had a Zone Conference. Which is where the whole zone gets together along with President and the AP's, and have a big training. It was an awesome experience. I can't really explain why, hard to describe, but it was a very spiritual experience. 

On Sunday, we set a baptismal date with a guy named Shibata Yuuichi. He came to church randomly a couple of weeks ago from finding a chirashi. We hadn't seen him for awhile, so we decided to go visit him again. And yesterday he came to church, and we set a baptismal date with him for 5/14! 

So yeah. That was about our week. Any questions, please ask. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Love

Elder Davies