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