My Story

This week was more packed with action than one of those old batman tv series shows. BAM! WHACK! Yeah, it was pretty crazy. Thursday brought interviews with President Traveller, where we had a good talk. He is such a good and inspired man. That night the assistants came down and we power-dendoed this one neighborhood for a while. It was way enterteining - lots of good people the talk to. We also taught English class up in Yokkaichi since the other elders had an appointment they couldn`t reschedule. I was with Elder Derney. We taught them three essential phrases: 1 - Holy Cow 2 - Pretty cool, huh? 3 - That`s what I`m talkin` about. It was pretty excellent.

Elder Smith and I are woking like pack-horses and seeing some good things, and teaching lots of people. We`ve really been working on teaching and testifying, and I`ve been able to feel a difference.

Then came Sunday. The crazy day. Church was first - I translated everything into english for a very nice Phillipino member. We also were able to participate in the confirmation of Luciana and Fernando. Elder Smith did Luciana`s upon request, in Portugese (he`d written out some stuff prior to doing it). That went well. After church ended, we headed up to Yokkaichi for a four o`clock baptism of Gladis and her son Marcos. Braian, the other son, had been baptized a month earlier, and now the mom and brother were ready to follow the youngest`s example. It was such a powerful service. Gladis`s husband left her a while back, and she used to cry all the time and just be so bitter. She had every right to, it wasn`t good. But through the gospel, she now prays and reads the Book of Mormon everyday with her family, and doesn`t cry anymore except for joy. She said that this past week she prayed for three hours for forgiveness of sins - and that she felt she was on the right path. I don`t know if I`ve ever prayed for three hours. Luciana, who was just baptized a week ago, gave the talk at the baptism. She talked about the Holy Ghost. She said that she was prety skeptical about it - that when she would be confirmed if she would really feel anything. However, she said that as hands were placed on her head, she felt a heat...or rather a light... go from her head all through her body to her feet. She said that she still had that feeling, and she was happy. So was Gladis. I can only say a few words to these people, but I love them so much. They are my brothers and sisters. And they are found.

Well, then after the baptism, next came the musical fireside. A couple of other Elders and I had come up with the idea and arranged this fireside so that we could bring some non-members and have a good time, as well as all the members too. The Stake President and President Traveller and his wife, and the assistants all came to see it. I played my Sax for a couple numbers, other sang, and others played the guitar. It went very well - lots of fun, and around 70 people came in total. It was called "My Story - Looking back and Moving Forward". It was a success.

Today I started packing - and sent off 30Kg worth of book sand letters towards America. It`s sad. It`s also exciting. But this next week will be another one filled with miracles.

It`s unreal how fast it went, and how some days were so slow as well. Most of all, it was such an experience to see prophecy fulfilled, prayers answered, and lives changed. Mostly my own.

My mom is arranging for when my homecoming talk will be, but it would be so nice to see all of you there. God loves us. God know us, each and every one. I love you too.

Always,

Elder Alexander Todd Fuller
Japan Nagoya Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The Waters Of Mormon

This last saturday - June 21st 2008 - marked two years since I entered the missionary training center in Provo.

Arising early in the morning, we jumped on a train to a local mall. Gathering with some members in the parking lot, we got ready to travel a campground up north. Leading the convoy, Luciana and Fernando in their car, and then about fifteen others in three other cars, made the way into a beautiful area in a the city Kameyama, to a place called Sekisuikei. Once arriving, Luciana, Fernando, Elder Muniz and I changed into white, and we walked to a nearby watefall with everyone else. It was absolutely beautiful. The water pooled at the bottom of a fall, and trees and mountains surrounded us. We gathered on the rocks and opened the baptismal service. I played `The Spirit of God like a Fire is Burning` on my saxophone as others sang along in Portugues. After a brief talk and their testimonies, we headed to the water. It was so cold, and yet so clear. So pure. I was nervous saying the prayer in Portugese, but it felt like someone was there helping me. Luciana came up crying. It was such a sacred site.

Getting to that point took all week and a score of miracles. During her baptismal interview, I later heard that she cried saying that she should have been baptized six years ago, but so many things had just kept getting in the way. It was time.

Luciana`s husbandFernando is almost more of a miracle. He hadn`t known anything about the church just three months ago. He actually didn`t want to read the Book of Mormon at all - but when he found out he could listen to the Book of Mormon mp3 online, he had no problem with that. He wants so much for he, his wife, and their three month year old baby to be together forever - and his faith is such that I believe they`ll make it.

Thursday was zone conference, and Elder Smith and I had a blast giving the training. Before it was our turn, we both went out in the hall to the bathroom and put another white shirt and tie on, on top of the one we were wearing. It looked perfect, no one could tell. Then we came back and waited for our turn. As we led a discussion, and talked about the joys of dendo (missionary work), Elder Smith (a football player) got really intense, and then ripped off the outer shirt - buttons flying and all. He was joyful. Then, I asked him to share that joy with me (pretending to be a normal member) to which I then took off m outer shirt as well (I should have ripped it more intensly looking back). It was pretty funny - and it woke everyone up/got their attention. That`d be pretty fun to do sometime in the future during a boring business meeting.


I read a scripture I liked a lot today. Mosiah 27:29 "My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more. "

Pained no more, what a great feeling.

I love you all so much. What an adventure, what a journey. I pray for you, please continue to pray for me.

Love always,

Elder Alexander Todd Fuller
Japan Nagoya Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

No Time, But Love

Dear family and friends,

I don`t have any time today, but I just wanted to say how much I love you and how unbelievably amazing a mission its. I am having such a great time and still seeing miracles each week.

This past sunday was Branch Conference in Suzuka, and a big meal afterwards. As everyone talked with one another, I felt such a feeling of joy at how much the branch has changed and grown since I`vbe been transferred here. There are upwards of ten people that have started coming regularly to church since the time I started here. Of course I had little or nothing to do with them coming - but simply seeing and being a part of the change in their lives has been increadible. I relalized how much I loved each and everyone of them individually. I shall never forget the other members of my family that live here - Japanese, Brazillian, Bolivian, Chillean, and Peruvian.

What a joy life is. What an adventure. That we continue our adventure firm in the faith that He is walking with us is my prayer.

With love always,

Elder Alexander Todd Fuller
Japan Nagoya Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Churrasco

Churrasco is Portuguese for Barbeque - and we had the best barbeque ever!

This past saturday, shortly after my companion Elder Smith`s birthday, we had a barbeque extranvaganza at the church here in Suzuka. The Brazillians provided the barbeques, the Japanese members brought the rice and some other food, and the church (via the missionaries) brought a hundred dollars worth of meat! In total, about twenty members and fifteen investigators showed up and helped out. Even with many language barriers, everyone got along well, made friends, and had fun. We all sang to Elder Smith for his birthday and ate some cake that Heliane made (which was increadible). Man, if only missionary work was that fun everyday!

So that was a huge success, helped all our recent converts, investigators, and long-time members build some bonds with each other outside of a sunday service atmosphere. Really, a lot of times it just helps the branch to come together when everyone has fun together.

This past tuesday brought us to Nagoya for a final meeting with President Traveller and a great zone leader council. An idea that Elder Smith and I piloted is being put into place throughout the whole mission. It`s called the `missionary focus report` and has to do with helping make each area successful in a controllable way. I`m sure it doesn`t mean much to anyone outside of the mission - but it was pretty exciting coming up with the idea - presenting it - and then seeing it put to use. When things work out like that, it just feels good knowing that you`ve been able to contribute.

Well mom is a hundred times more trunky than I am about coming home. Everyone keeps talking to me about it, but it still seems so unreal. It`s almost like a dream how each day floats by so peacefully. Those hours from 11am to 9pm are so short. And yet, dozens of times, those ten hours have changed the course of my life forever. Experiences within thos minutes have shaped the way I look at the world. From visiting those in need, to those that don`t need anything, it`s just so increadible.

Today is zone soccer here in Suzuka - I`m proadly wearing my Brazil soccer jersey that I bought in Shimizu and a half back. Brazillians like me when I wear it :)

This past wednesday, Elder Smith and I were going around like normal, when we rang the doorbell of a very nice young mother named Michiko. We introduced our message and she was quite interested. We listened for a while to what she believed - and then talked about prayer for just a minute with her. We went back the next upon her request. She was so prepared, but that night she had talked to her husband about it. Her husband advised her to first study Buddhism for a while and make sure that that wasn`t correct, and then from there she could study Christianity. Well, we`ll give her a couple months - maybe I can drop by before I leave. No one can argue that she wasn`t prepared though.

While in that same neighborhood, we found another kind lady - in her later years, who has been a Christian for about forty years. Finding a Christian is always fun - they are less than one in a hundred. She was very kind, talked with us for quite a while, and said we could come back this next tuesday. We gave her Book of Mormon and asked her to read a bit before we meet again. She was a good Christian lady.

Yesterday was probably the most fun as far as dendo goes for this week. We visited a member family whose mother is Fillipino (speaking English and Tagalog). She doesn`t come to church a whole lot because she doesn`t know Japanese - so we visit her to make sure she is doing alright. She always feels a bit guilty for not coming - but I can`t balme her too much - church was pretty hard for me back when I didn`t understand anything at all. Even now I don`t quite follow some of the talks at times - of course you get that in English as well :)

Anyway, on the first floor of this family`s apartment (their name is the Ueharas), is another couple Fillipino families. The other family always said hi to us when we visited the Ueharas, and even though they can`t really speak English - just Tagalog - they tried to talk to us a bit. So while tlaking with Sister Uehara, we said, "Hey, can we go with you talk with that family downstairs." She agreed and they invited the three of us in. We introduced the Tagalog Book of Mormon that we had brought to the two families living in that apartment, and Sister Uehara translated for us. Then, after a minute, she interrupted and said "I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon too, can I tell them?" "Sure, go for it," I relpied, and she gave a ten minute dicourse on a whole bunch of things (Tagalog sounds like gibberrish, so I have no idea what she was saying). We left to make our curfew, but she stayed behind and talked with them and made friends. It was a great, all-around positive experience for us, Sister Uehara, and the two families we met with. It just feels good when everything works out.

Well the big excitement for this upcoming week is the baptism of Fernando and Luciana - if there papers get here from Brazil so they can get married (that`s a crazy fun situation). The other twist is that the baptismal font that we normally use is under contruction, so we`ll either being doing it in the sea, or by a waterfall up in the mountains. We`ll see what happens - what an adventure.

Thank you all so very much - I love you. My prayers are with you.
May His Spirit guide you always.

Yours,

Elder Alexander Todd Fuller
Japan Nagoya Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Toys 'R' Us

Well, Elder Smith and I went on an adventure today. We travelled the lands to reach the wonderful land of Toys 'R' Us. It was a daring journey, and casualties were had (I forgot the umbrella at a recycle shop we stopped at). However, we pressed on, and at the point in which hope was almost lost, we viewed the giraffe`s head in the distance.

Yeah, so we actually travelled to the area below us today and walked to some stores. We were pretty excited - but after about three minutes of looking around, we both kind of looked at each other and said, "well, it`s kind of cool, just all really expensive...and all really not that different than America." Well, actually it`s different, but not in a good way. Instead of power ranger toys, they have ultra-man toys - which are even sillier. ANd instead of a song being played about barbie, it`s a japanese song about baabi - how you pronounce it in japanese. Notwithstanding the let down - I was determined to buy something, for we had travelled far. And then...I discovered it...

Swords!! Foam swords made from the same materials as the noodles that you use in the pool. Three dollars and you have a instrument to beat your companion with leaving low to mild damage. Elder SMith refused to buy one on principal that they are just silly and that as twenty-year-old we should not play with such things. So I bought two.

We left the store and after about ten minutes he said to me, "okay, I`ll pay you for one"
Ha, I got him.

Actually that was the plan all along, his birthday is this thursday, so I had to get him a good present, and what`s better than a sword in which to defend yourself from my sword. I hope you agree with me.

I also got a robotic bug thing. It`s pretty amazing - it has antennas on it so that when it walks into a wall, it turns around. Also, if you clap your hands, it changes directions or whatever. I mean, you could have actual cochroaches in your apartment, or you could drop some money and buy mechanical cochroaches. Except mine is green. Maybe I should hav just bought some green spraypaint.

And my final purchase, a Disney Cars movie coloring book. It`s pretty amazing - and pretty in Japanese.

So I have a serious problem IPve been thinking about all day long. My white shirts have some serious issues in the armpit area - they aren`t too white. Elder Smith blamed it on the anti-perspirant deoderant - citing that his pits are sparkling clean because of what he uses. I shall be attacking them with bleach tonight, I think.

Last week we shopped at this store called Gyoumu super, which is kind of like the closest thing you get to sam`s club in Japan. We bought this big bottle of "Spicey Chili Sauce for Chicken" which comes from Thailand. It is the most increadible sauce in the entire world except for maybe alfredo sauce. I think I could probably drink it. Maybe I have tried to drink it by the time you read this.

Last night we were talking a little about what a theme could be for the zone this transfer. Elder Smith suggested "The Come Back Kid" like Billy the Kid or something - with a western theme. I liked it a lot, I`ll try to get Sister Sasaki, our resident artist, to try and draw the zone as cowboys - about two months ago she drew us all as soccer players for our theme back then, "Winning Eleven."

A couple of other things we planned this last week are some giant family home evenings at the church (one might actually be when Dad comes over here, so he could meet everyone), and then a musical fireside. We`re still bouncing around ideas for the fireside, but I might be plaing over the rainbow on my saxamaphone. Such a beautiful song.

Last transfers scripture that I choose for myself was Proverbs 24:10 - "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small." Today I found the focus for the rest of my mission, also in Proverbs. 27:1 "...thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" I like that thought a lot - the power in one day. "Today could be the best day of your mission," as President Stevenson said. Focusing on today and now, and leaving the morrow to later. As important as the destination is, the journey is most of the adventure.

I am happy here in this peaceful land. I feel at home. Indeed, I could see my self here until I die. I would love to be buried with a little bit of Japanese soil - and their tomb-stones are a thousand times cooler than American ones. What a joy it`s been to serve in the vineyard - and as the work continues, only more miracles await.

I send my love and offer my prayers in your behalf. Thank you for yours as well. May you have the Spirit of peace,

Always,

Elder Alexander Todd Fuller
Japan Nagoya Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints