Sunday, January 18, 2015
Subject: New Area. Welcome to Fujisawa
Date: Jan. 18, 2015
From Elder Conner Carlini
Hello family and friends. This past week was fun and heartbreaking
all at the same time. I have now fully transferred over to the
Fujisawa area and it is beautiful. If only I could take my apartment
mates from Hibarigaoka here, it would be awesome. Last transfer was a
ton of fun with those Elders. I also wish I could take the apartment
from Hibarigaoka because now im back to the dumps, haha! Although
because it's got the same layout of my first apartment in Kamiooka
(that was also old and moldy, but now they have a new apartment) it's
like coming home. Just, to a more moldy and pretty messy version of
it, haha. But yeah, I have no problem with it. Anyways, because I've
been in Hibarigaoka for the last 7 1/2 months, a new area was kind of
expected. And boy does it look nice! I've only been here for about 4
days now but I really love what I've seen so far. We have a beach! It
was great seeing the waves and all the surfers out there enjoying a
good time. We also had the chance to talk to some awesome people that
were looking at the scenery as well and met a man who is the manager
at a nearby beach shop. He was really friendly and I had a good long
talk with him and a friend of his that also showed up. It's great when
I can finally connect with some of these people and really find out
there interests and what they want more of in life. It makes me feel
like I can make a bit of a difference for them and obviously as a
missionary, give them a chance to hear the gospel. Although everyone
may not want to hear our message, it feels great to just make
someone's day a bit better. I love making these Japanese folk smile.
Even when their teeth look terrible sometimes.
Anyways, my new companion is American and his name is Elder
Fenton. He is only on his third transfer (in the field for a bit over
3 months right now) so I am helping to train him up a little bit and
help him get out of his comfort zone hopefully. His Japanese is pretty
solid for a transfer 3 but he still feels like it has to be way better
for him to talk to people. I'm sure he can have simple conversations
and invite people to things so I'm going to do my best to help him go
for it. Its also a great opportunity to go completely out of any shell
I have and talk with all types of people. Slowly but surely, my
ability to start random conversations and make them meaningful is
going up. And whats better is that there are a LOT more students and
kids around our age here to talk to compared to Hibarigaoka. I like
talking to Grandpas and whatnot, but there's nothing better than
bro'ing it up with a Japanese teenage guy and inviting him to church
because it's "cool". I can see some good things going on in this area
soon.
So although the area looks great, I do have one slight foreseeable
challenge to overcome this transfer. And that would be...some of the
missionaries I'm around. I hate to say anything bad about others, but
I just happen to have a different way of thinking then some of the
others here. Mainly my apartment members. I'm not gonna say much, but
they just don't seem happy. They do good missionary things and go to
find people to teach whenever they can, but it's just different being
around quiet, not so happy looking people. Quite different from my
last apartment. I was able to enjoy the work, and enjoy being at the
apartment with my roommates. But anyways, I see this as a great
opportunity to find happiness from within for whatever I do in life.
I'm learning bit by bit that when we have hard times and look for the
opportunities to grow from them, God will help us that much more to
get through it. And then we can make the best of each trial we have.
It'll still be rough, but I can see the chance to change for the
better through it. I'm sure the transfer will be over in the blink of
an eye anyways. So might as well grow from it!
That's all I can think of for now, but I'll send pictures and stuff
from my last week in Hibarigaoka to my first in Fujisawa. I am
incredibly grateful for the things I've learned on the mission and the
people I've met that will change my life for the better. I hope you
all have a good week and here's to a full one in a new zone! Fujisawa
✌️
多分何回もこれを言ったけれど。。試練によって私たちは成長と改善する機会があります。
皆さん頑張ってね。私も頑張ります。
Elder Carlini
カーリニ長老
Date: Jan. 18, 2015
From Elder Conner Carlini
Hello family and friends. This past week was fun and heartbreaking
all at the same time. I have now fully transferred over to the
Fujisawa area and it is beautiful. If only I could take my apartment
mates from Hibarigaoka here, it would be awesome. Last transfer was a
ton of fun with those Elders. I also wish I could take the apartment
from Hibarigaoka because now im back to the dumps, haha! Although
because it's got the same layout of my first apartment in Kamiooka
(that was also old and moldy, but now they have a new apartment) it's
like coming home. Just, to a more moldy and pretty messy version of
it, haha. But yeah, I have no problem with it. Anyways, because I've
been in Hibarigaoka for the last 7 1/2 months, a new area was kind of
expected. And boy does it look nice! I've only been here for about 4
days now but I really love what I've seen so far. We have a beach! It
was great seeing the waves and all the surfers out there enjoying a
good time. We also had the chance to talk to some awesome people that
were looking at the scenery as well and met a man who is the manager
at a nearby beach shop. He was really friendly and I had a good long
talk with him and a friend of his that also showed up. It's great when
I can finally connect with some of these people and really find out
there interests and what they want more of in life. It makes me feel
like I can make a bit of a difference for them and obviously as a
missionary, give them a chance to hear the gospel. Although everyone
may not want to hear our message, it feels great to just make
someone's day a bit better. I love making these Japanese folk smile.
Even when their teeth look terrible sometimes.
Anyways, my new companion is American and his name is Elder
Fenton. He is only on his third transfer (in the field for a bit over
3 months right now) so I am helping to train him up a little bit and
help him get out of his comfort zone hopefully. His Japanese is pretty
solid for a transfer 3 but he still feels like it has to be way better
for him to talk to people. I'm sure he can have simple conversations
and invite people to things so I'm going to do my best to help him go
for it. Its also a great opportunity to go completely out of any shell
I have and talk with all types of people. Slowly but surely, my
ability to start random conversations and make them meaningful is
going up. And whats better is that there are a LOT more students and
kids around our age here to talk to compared to Hibarigaoka. I like
talking to Grandpas and whatnot, but there's nothing better than
bro'ing it up with a Japanese teenage guy and inviting him to church
because it's "cool". I can see some good things going on in this area
soon.
So although the area looks great, I do have one slight foreseeable
challenge to overcome this transfer. And that would be...some of the
missionaries I'm around. I hate to say anything bad about others, but
I just happen to have a different way of thinking then some of the
others here. Mainly my apartment members. I'm not gonna say much, but
they just don't seem happy. They do good missionary things and go to
find people to teach whenever they can, but it's just different being
around quiet, not so happy looking people. Quite different from my
last apartment. I was able to enjoy the work, and enjoy being at the
apartment with my roommates. But anyways, I see this as a great
opportunity to find happiness from within for whatever I do in life.
I'm learning bit by bit that when we have hard times and look for the
opportunities to grow from them, God will help us that much more to
get through it. And then we can make the best of each trial we have.
It'll still be rough, but I can see the chance to change for the
better through it. I'm sure the transfer will be over in the blink of
an eye anyways. So might as well grow from it!
That's all I can think of for now, but I'll send pictures and stuff
from my last week in Hibarigaoka to my first in Fujisawa. I am
incredibly grateful for the things I've learned on the mission and the
people I've met that will change my life for the better. I hope you
all have a good week and here's to a full one in a new zone! Fujisawa
✌️
多分何回もこれを言ったけれど。。試練によって私たちは成長と改善する機会があります。
皆さん頑張ってね。私も頑張ります。
Elder Carlini
カーリニ長老
Monday, January 12, 2015
FROM: ELDER CONNER CARLINI
DATE: 1-12-2015
SUBJECT: TRANSFER WEEK!! AND I’M TRANSFERRING!
Helloooo. So this week went by really fast and we got to do a few fun things I'd like to quickly write about. So the first thing in the week (that I remember) was on Thursday, going out to eat and talk with our friend Sato. He is a really nice guy who happens to be a strong Catholic member. Which let me tell ya, just being Christian in this country is quite rare. So we went to a new Gyouza shop he found and talked about things he had been doing lately as well as the similarities in our religious beliefs. He's really cool and loves to hang out with us. But he's not exactly interested in our beliefs and I'm alright with that. He enjoys being Catholic and seems to be quite happy with where he is at. And although the gospel may not seem right for him now, I'm sure he'll see the blessings we can receive from it in the long run.
Another thing that went on this week was a bye bye party for Elder Miyazawa. He has completed his mission now and will be released as a missionary this Friday. So a few Ward members put together some money and we had a little shabang at the church with pizza (well, Japanese pizza) and games! It was a lot of fun and that's where we got to watch Brother Suzuki (in our Ward), a.k.a. The King of Shogi, play Shogi against Brother Nakamura (who is also a really good Shogi player. By the way, Shogi is like Japanese Chess, and it's quite strategic/fun to play. Anyways, watching them play was crazy and I really want to teach my family and friends this awesome game upon my return. It's quite fun, and I bet Dad would love it.
And the last thing I want to mention is our Mochitsuki event we had today at the church! Mochi is pounded rice and it tastes pretty solid. So we got to pound that up with the Ward today and it was a lot of fun. I got kind of a last chance to talk to some Ward members because now I know that I'm transferring!
So now I'll explain that a bit. We got our calls late Sunday night and it surprised both me and Elder Aoki quite a bit. They've always done them on Mondays since I've been here so it was quite the mix up having them call Sunday night. Anyways, it has been decided that I will go to Fujisawa, which is pretty south of where I'm out now. My good man Elder Loboccaro served there for about 10 1/2 months so he knows the place quite well. It sounds like a pretty great area overall so I look forward to that. However, the apartment itself sounds kinda crappy and because I've never even seen my future companion Elder Fenton, I'm only slightly nervous. Going on to different and completely new things is always a bit nerve wracking but I'm sure it'll be a good experience in the long run. Also, just because I'm leaving the apartment I'm currently in, which was probably the Funnest set of Elders I've lived with on the mission, that's a little sad...however, it's time to move on to bigger and better things! The mission goes fast, so ya gotta make the most of it! Anyways, that's all I'll write for now. I'll be heading on a train down south this Thursday. Wish me luck mates
愛してます！
Elder Carlini
カーリニ長老
PICTURES
This is some of the Mochi we made and ate up today. Several different flavazzz
VIDEO
This is one of the last songs I'll sing with my good companion Elder Aoki.
DATE: 1-12-2015
SUBJECT: TRANSFER WEEK!! AND I’M TRANSFERRING!
Helloooo. So this week went by really fast and we got to do a few fun things I'd like to quickly write about. So the first thing in the week (that I remember) was on Thursday, going out to eat and talk with our friend Sato. He is a really nice guy who happens to be a strong Catholic member. Which let me tell ya, just being Christian in this country is quite rare. So we went to a new Gyouza shop he found and talked about things he had been doing lately as well as the similarities in our religious beliefs. He's really cool and loves to hang out with us. But he's not exactly interested in our beliefs and I'm alright with that. He enjoys being Catholic and seems to be quite happy with where he is at. And although the gospel may not seem right for him now, I'm sure he'll see the blessings we can receive from it in the long run.
Another thing that went on this week was a bye bye party for Elder Miyazawa. He has completed his mission now and will be released as a missionary this Friday. So a few Ward members put together some money and we had a little shabang at the church with pizza (well, Japanese pizza) and games! It was a lot of fun and that's where we got to watch Brother Suzuki (in our Ward), a.k.a. The King of Shogi, play Shogi against Brother Nakamura (who is also a really good Shogi player. By the way, Shogi is like Japanese Chess, and it's quite strategic/fun to play. Anyways, watching them play was crazy and I really want to teach my family and friends this awesome game upon my return. It's quite fun, and I bet Dad would love it.
And the last thing I want to mention is our Mochitsuki event we had today at the church! Mochi is pounded rice and it tastes pretty solid. So we got to pound that up with the Ward today and it was a lot of fun. I got kind of a last chance to talk to some Ward members because now I know that I'm transferring!
So now I'll explain that a bit. We got our calls late Sunday night and it surprised both me and Elder Aoki quite a bit. They've always done them on Mondays since I've been here so it was quite the mix up having them call Sunday night. Anyways, it has been decided that I will go to Fujisawa, which is pretty south of where I'm out now. My good man Elder Loboccaro served there for about 10 1/2 months so he knows the place quite well. It sounds like a pretty great area overall so I look forward to that. However, the apartment itself sounds kinda crappy and because I've never even seen my future companion Elder Fenton, I'm only slightly nervous. Going on to different and completely new things is always a bit nerve wracking but I'm sure it'll be a good experience in the long run. Also, just because I'm leaving the apartment I'm currently in, which was probably the Funnest set of Elders I've lived with on the mission, that's a little sad...however, it's time to move on to bigger and better things! The mission goes fast, so ya gotta make the most of it! Anyways, that's all I'll write for now. I'll be heading on a train down south this Thursday. Wish me luck mates
愛してます！
Elder Carlini
カーリニ長老
PICTURES
This is some of the Mochi we made and ate up today. Several different flavazzz
VIDEO
This is one of the last songs I'll sing with my good companion Elder Aoki.
Monday, January 5, 2015
FROM: ELDER CONNER CARLINI
DATE: JANUARY 6, 2015
SUBJECT: IT’S A NEW YEAR!
明けましておめでとうございます！Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2015 already. I didn't realize it until I was reminded, but I will be returning home from Japan in this year. Holy heck that goes by fast. I've had so many experiences that I know have changed me and met so many great people that I can't even imagine not knowing them all. There are truly, awesome people in the world. And I'm happy to have crossed paths with so many of them. Also in this last year, I have discovered a new kind of love for a people I've never had the privilege to be around so often. That is of course, the Japanese. They have a whole different style of life (and food) that I wasn't used to, but over this past year, I've really grown to appreciate and Love Japan. I am far better off with the experiences and people I've been able to meet then if I hadn't come out here and I am so grateful for that. Quite a blessing, mates.
Yeahh, so let's jump into what's gone on this week. By the way, today was Temple P Day and that's why I'm writing now instead of yesterday. It's been a nice day. Im tired. But anyways, we had a lot of fun this week since it was the week of the New Year in Japan. They don't really do anything at all for Christmas, but when it comes to 正月 (New Year) they get serious. Haha, obviously as missionaries we don't get to go out at midnight with friends and have a little party, but we did what we could with 4 Elders and an apartment. Pretty fun night. But the cool part was actually the next morning (the morning of the actual New Year). Apparently a lot of people go out somewhere to see the sunrise of the New Year but since we're in a not so popular/good sightseeing area, we didn't see too many people out. However, you bet we still went out and found a good view ourselves! Unfortunately there were clouds from our viewpoint, but I was able to get a good video and some pics with my man Elder Loboccaro from the MTC. Cool stuff.
Also, because our Ward is way cool and loves to celebrate the New Year just like any other Japanese family, the missionaries were invited to several dinner and lunch appointments. We basically had one every day for 6 days. That's quite rare here. But yeah. Dang it I am gaining some extra, very much unwanted fat. But once it warms up outside I'll get some running going on again. Dang I hate running...but yeah! We had lots of those and it was great chatting with all the awesome members we have here in Hibarigaoka. Oh and I forgot to mention, but near the train station in Hibarigaoka, there was a group of some pro status drummers (on New Year's Day). We got there right before it started, and then they just started jamming on these drums with an awesome beat. I took a video. And although it might not seem so great in the video, it was incredible in real life. One of my favorite seen and heard things in Japan. Holy cow I wanna get pro at drums now. So, I'm gonna get this email wrapped up real soon.
But lastly, one more fantastic thing happening here in Hibari is our miracle man Amada (Sarunosuke) さん is getting baptized this Sunday! We've been meeting him almost everyday since we've met him and he has improved so much. We set a baptismal date for only a couple weeks in the future but man does that time go by fast. Already the man is ready to enter the waters of Baptism. His baptism should be great. Also, because one of his problems has been with drinking Sake (alcohol), we bought him a whole bunch of Orange Juice (because he said its his favorite drink) and wrote 信仰 (Faith) on the side. Then told him that whenever he feels the need to drink sake, to pray to God for help, and drink a nice glass of Faith! It's been good for the few days so far. He already drank the 4 cartons we gave him and we went and bought more with him yesterday, haha. Good man
That's it for now. Have a great year!
良い年を過ごしてね！
あなたたちの皆さんを愛してます！
Elder Carlini
カーリニ長老
DATE: JANUARY 6, 2015
SUBJECT: IT’S A NEW YEAR!
明けましておめでとうございます！Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2015 already. I didn't realize it until I was reminded, but I will be returning home from Japan in this year. Holy heck that goes by fast. I've had so many experiences that I know have changed me and met so many great people that I can't even imagine not knowing them all. There are truly, awesome people in the world. And I'm happy to have crossed paths with so many of them. Also in this last year, I have discovered a new kind of love for a people I've never had the privilege to be around so often. That is of course, the Japanese. They have a whole different style of life (and food) that I wasn't used to, but over this past year, I've really grown to appreciate and Love Japan. I am far better off with the experiences and people I've been able to meet then if I hadn't come out here and I am so grateful for that. Quite a blessing, mates.
Yeahh, so let's jump into what's gone on this week. By the way, today was Temple P Day and that's why I'm writing now instead of yesterday. It's been a nice day. Im tired. But anyways, we had a lot of fun this week since it was the week of the New Year in Japan. They don't really do anything at all for Christmas, but when it comes to 正月 (New Year) they get serious. Haha, obviously as missionaries we don't get to go out at midnight with friends and have a little party, but we did what we could with 4 Elders and an apartment. Pretty fun night. But the cool part was actually the next morning (the morning of the actual New Year). Apparently a lot of people go out somewhere to see the sunrise of the New Year but since we're in a not so popular/good sightseeing area, we didn't see too many people out. However, you bet we still went out and found a good view ourselves! Unfortunately there were clouds from our viewpoint, but I was able to get a good video and some pics with my man Elder Loboccaro from the MTC. Cool stuff.
Also, because our Ward is way cool and loves to celebrate the New Year just like any other Japanese family, the missionaries were invited to several dinner and lunch appointments. We basically had one every day for 6 days. That's quite rare here. But yeah. Dang it I am gaining some extra, very much unwanted fat. But once it warms up outside I'll get some running going on again. Dang I hate running...but yeah! We had lots of those and it was great chatting with all the awesome members we have here in Hibarigaoka. Oh and I forgot to mention, but near the train station in Hibarigaoka, there was a group of some pro status drummers (on New Year's Day). We got there right before it started, and then they just started jamming on these drums with an awesome beat. I took a video. And although it might not seem so great in the video, it was incredible in real life. One of my favorite seen and heard things in Japan. Holy cow I wanna get pro at drums now. So, I'm gonna get this email wrapped up real soon.
But lastly, one more fantastic thing happening here in Hibari is our miracle man Amada (Sarunosuke) さん is getting baptized this Sunday! We've been meeting him almost everyday since we've met him and he has improved so much. We set a baptismal date for only a couple weeks in the future but man does that time go by fast. Already the man is ready to enter the waters of Baptism. His baptism should be great. Also, because one of his problems has been with drinking Sake (alcohol), we bought him a whole bunch of Orange Juice (because he said its his favorite drink) and wrote 信仰 (Faith) on the side. Then told him that whenever he feels the need to drink sake, to pray to God for help, and drink a nice glass of Faith! It's been good for the few days so far. He already drank the 4 cartons we gave him and we went and bought more with him yesterday, haha. Good man
That's it for now. Have a great year!
良い年を過ごしてね！
あなたたちの皆さんを愛してます！
Elder Carlini
カーリニ長老
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