Take... me... home... take on me, I'Il

 Hey everyone! How are you? This week was so good and filled with greatness. As you know, last Tuesday I was able to go to the Tokyo temple again and do an endowment session. It felt so good to be back in the temple and I'm just grateful that I've been lucky enough to go 3 times here in Japan. After the session we got to play some sports with the zone and go to the mission home which is cool cause it's 14 floors up in the center of Tokyo We played games with the zone and a couple investigators. Spent the night in Temple housing again and the next morning I managed to convince 3 other Elders to go running with me aha. We were originally gonna run to Shibuya crossing but ended going to Tokyo Tower and made it back and ready just in time for 8 o' clock breakfast. Had interviews and ZCM and then headed back.

Alright so we were able to meet with Luiz again and teach him the gospel of Jesus Christ and some other stuff. Lesson was good and guess what he accepted a date for his baptism for July 8th but we are gonna try and move it up a week so President can come. On Sunday he came to church with some members and it was super good. We had everyone from the stake there and they talked to him a bunch. His Japanese was luckily good enough to understand I think so that was good. He was a little confused we used bread instead of sushi for the sacrament for some reason which was strange but other than that is was good!

We also met with Ki San 3 times this week. We talked with him about baptism, read Moroni 6 with him and guess what he accepted a baptismal date for June 17th. The next day we went into the forest with him, harvested garlic, chives, and bamboo, and hiked up a river which I don't have pictures of but that was crazy. Then last night we met with him and he taught me how to be a better cook but after we went over some lessons with him to help him prepare for baptism, he wants to be baptized in a river so we are gonna try and make it happen. 

On Sunday we also had Kagarisan and Kazu come to church! After we were able to teach Kazu the restoration and it was super good he took a Book of Mormon and we taught him how to pray. He also met a lot of members.

Best of all though is we got a whole new bishopric. You see no one liked the last bishop and people were stupidly going inactive over it and he wasn't letting us do ward activities and stuff but he is gone and he apologized that things weren't great with him. Our new bishop is brother Matsunuma😂 my favorite member ever who always takes us to do fun stuff and is always helping us with missionary work. We also have Ooki Kyoudai and another super good member in the bishopric now. We meet with them every week so now we have so much support from the ward and things from her are gonna get really good I think.

Anyways your prayers are obviously being answered so please continue to pray for Ki, Luiz, and Kagari.

As I went to the temple again I was reminded of the importance of covenants. Baptism being the first. I think most of you have made covenants with God before. Don't forget them but instead, please honor them by going to the temple again. The spirit felt inside is a feeling your not gonna find anywhere else.

Until next time - Elder Parker 

Foto divertida😁 -

Zone Conference post by President Cook

 We are always inspired by our Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders, and Assistants and how they teach so powerfully from Preach My Gospel and the scriptures. Equally inspiring are the insights and comments from every missionary. They truly are the Lord's elect!

Our focus for Zone Conferences this transfer has been the importance of members in missionary work, connecting our friends with God, and the doctrine and importance of the Sacrament.

I bless the rains down if Africa.... or something

 Hey everyone! hope all is grooving and moving with ya'll. This week was really good and as always so fast. Right now I'm on a train to Tokyo again! Haha I'm so lucky. I get to go spend the night under the temple again and do an endowment session today. I've had a month to prepare to go again so I'm pretty excited and I'll let you know about it next week. 

So, to start off I want to tell you guys about an exchange I did in Utsunomiya. Utsunomiya is a super awesome city and it was a blast. There were people everywhere and we were able to talk to lots as well as go to this event put on by the city and we met like 3 other Americans there which is always an interesting experience. I feel like I'm in a Simpsons episode or something and they are going, look the Mormons are here haha its interesting but good. Anyways we had a lesson at Casa Blanca in Oizumi this week with our Japanese friend named Taishi. It was are first time meeting actually but he was totally open about religious stuff and we were able to teach him how to pray and about various things and invite him to church. He didn't come but we will meet with him again hopefully this week.

On Saturday we had a lesson with Luiz and taught him the full plan of salvation and a couple commandments. He said he wants to follow the example of Jesus Christ and accepted baptism😵. He said he wanted to come to church and meet the members before picking a date which is good. He will be coming this week for sure to Kiryu ward. We will also meet him the Saturday before and teach him lesson 3 three so if church goes well there is a chance he's baptized in 2 weeks which would be so sweet! Please continue to pray for him. 

Then on Sunday we had a sweet stake conference in Sano and we got 2 of our Chinese investigators to come😵. We rode up with them and they met a bunch of members, missionaries, and president. Now one of them is Ki San and Ki San has been around missionaries for a while and one member asked him why he isn't baptized and he looked at me and goes, I don't know. Then we walk up to President and the first thing President says to him is "hey when are you getting baptized" and then he looked at me again and I'm like, ay you gonna be baptized or what. And President told him he can still be baptized in a river and reminded him that he promised to be baptized before President goes home which is in about 5 weeks so it was super good and we are going to pick a date for him and see what happens so if you could pray for him too that would be amazing.

All right, I think that's all for this week, but thanks for caring and praying for me. 

I finished and restarted the Book of Mormon again and am half way through 2 Nephi. Right in the grit of Isaiah which is tuff but every time I read it I understand more and more. If you have forgot to read lately please pick the book up and let yourself be drawn to it.

Until next time - 

Elder Parker パーカー長老

写真だね！