TRANSFER: JAPANESE COMPANION: SAPPORO CITY

August 7, 2016

My dear friends and Family,
Wow so much has happened in just one short week!
Fun things that you should know:
1. I transferred from Suehiro, Asahikawa, and it was sad to leave.
2. I was really excited about my transfer call because my transfer
call was to come to Toyohira, one of the areas in Sapporo! I am
officially living the city life! Pretty busy city life too! It has
been such a cool, completely new experience for me.
3. My companion is Elder Akamatsu!! I got a Japanese companion, which
was one thing that I was really hoping for, and then not only that,
but Elder Akamastu is actually younger than me in the mission by 1
transfer! But because of the MTC, I will go home 3 months earlier than
him! I was really surprised by this because at this point in my
mission, I had always had really young companions, and then obviously
I was super young, and still am, so I kept on thinking that my next
companion would be an older missionary, but then I got my companion
after my trainer, who was one transfer younger than my trainer! Every
transfer I have had almost the youngest, or actually the youngest
(this transfer for sure) Companionship in the mission! It is cool
being a young companionship because it is really easy to change. Once
you become an older missionary, it is harder to change the way you do
missionary work.
4. My companion is a straight G. He is 23 years old, already graduated
from college, and wants to become a teacher after going to grad.
School. He doesn't speak much English, but we have both been helping
each other like crazy, and by the end of his mission, I think he will
be fluent. He has already been helping me so much with Japanese. I
love every minute of life right now, because Elder Akamatsu is
literally such a homie. He is somebody who I totally would have wanted
to hangout with before, or after the mission. Him and I are so alike,
and have very similar ways of thinking. (Exact opposite of last
transfer.) He loves sports, and swam competitively his whole life, and
also competed in college! He is huge! He's a good 3 inches shorter
than me, but he weighs about 10 pounds more than me! Tells me I still
need to get a lot bigger. ;)
5. This area is doing so well, and Elder Akamatsu is such a boss
missionary. Our ward mission leader is my favorite 29 year old man in
the world. I literally love him. He is so unbelievably cool, and he
really understands life, and missionary work. He gets us so pumped. He
served his mission in Nagoya and was such a boss missionary. (He had
to get put into an ambulance one time, because he passed out from
fasting too much...sometimes he was a little bit disobedient by being
to over the top righteous.) Basically his whole heart is in the work,
and he is an amazing example. His also a semi pro soccer player, and
would be pro, but he won't play on Sunday's. He went to BYU Hawaii,
and so he is really good at English too, but I haven't talked to him
really in English yet.
7. On Saturday we went to lunch with our best investigator Noguchi San
(Please pray for him.), and then after that went to play REAL
basketball, with Masashi kyodai (The amazing ward mission leader) and
some other members. It was so fun to play some real basketball! It has
been so long!! It was the hottest gym in the world though, and I
literally thought that my head was going to explode from how hot it
was.

6. I made it to a Yonnin!! (That means that I am in a four man
apartment.) But that's not the best part. I am in a Yonnin with Elder
Skinner, and his brand new missionary that he is training, who just
like me when came, doesn't really know any Japanese! Elder Skinner has
about 5 months left on his mission. He actually trained my last
companion on transfer 7 and 8 and then went AP on 9, and had four
transfers as AP, and now is training again, and I have the amazing
blessing of having him be my district leader, and to live with him. He
is so wise, and is an amazing missionary. He is a half Japanese and
half American, from Tokyo. He is perfectly fluent at both languages.
Wow. I feel so blessed.

7. I LOVE LIFE!!!!!! I HAVE NEVER BEEN AS HAPPY AS I AM RIGHT NOW!
8. The ward members here are awesome, and wow our investigators are
awesome!! We had 3 investigators come to church yesterday, and are
actually able to teach a lot of member present lessons here!! I love
this area!!
9. I know that the church is true. I know that Jesus Christ is our
master. I know that through Him we can return to our loving Heavenly
Father. I know that the Atonement is real, and that we can access it
every day. I know that the message that I am sharing everyday, is
true.
"Keep Smilin, and giv' em heaven." -Elder Birch (my grandpa, AKA: My
trainer's trainer.)
Love you all!
コノバー長老
Elder Conover


Pics:
1. Final sushi for my grandpa Elder Birch. Already back in Hawaii now.
2. Last day In Asahikawa, ate this amazing avocado cheese burger.
3-4.Our hilarious Vietnamese investigator, who doesn't speak good
Japanese, and no English.
5. Eating with our awesome, hilarious super strong investigator:
Noguchi San. He loves basketball!