Sunday, February 02, 1992--Day 761

[We] had another--my last--inorikai up in the mountain, [then I] came back and slept more.

There was no dendo chosei shukai, so we left and got to church late. My dode was screwing around with his bike on the way there and fell over. I was right behind him; I stopped as well as I could but not before my front tire hit his thigh.

His handlebars were way offset and his rear basket was bent out of recognition. The buch was there to admire it all once we got there.

I was [the] first to walk in and sat down behind who I thought was Mika and friends but [who] turned out to be Matsuoka Yuriko and friends. They called on folks to be sustained, and Mika was up on the stage/stand, being sustained as a Sunday School pianist.

[She's been] called already! I asked her later when she first found out about this; [it] turns out [that] she's known about it for a couple of weeks. [It's] kind of funny, for last A.B. lesson we talked all about accepting and magnifying an eventual call.

Since Brother Salway is off on a company play day, I took over as Sunday School sensei. It felt a bit like Eikaiwa, for those are the only times [that] I'll teach a group.

But before this: It was testimony meeting, and I made a point to bear mine since it was my last chance to do so in Japan. I talked about how I've come to experience real joy through dendo, and I thanked everyone for making my experience in Meito-Kita so great. I extended two special thanks: One to my companion and one to Yogo [Mika] Shimai.

I [then] sat down. The last person to bear testimony was Yogo Shimai herself. She talked about how before she met us she had interest in Christianity due to messages from the Bible that Christian relatives would include in letters, etc., but [she] knew nothing about it. She also spoke a little about how she wrote a postcard to a friend after she'd been baptized, asking how she was, etc. This friend had been about to commit suicide, and she said that that postcard (or letter) saved her. Had she not been baptized, she probably wouldn't've had the words to say to this friend, said Mika.

Wow! However indirectly, my efforts seem to have led to someone's life being saved.

She next expressed appreciation at how no matter how hot or cold the day was we always met her and walked from Kamiyashiro to church and then back again. And next she said thank you to Oshiro and I for everything.

That was it. She was bearing testimony along with the best of the Saints. Once the meeting was over, Shimizu Shimai caught me crying again.

As Sunday School sensei, I talked about how we can make church warmer and friendlier, among other things. "If you want to be loved, then love," I taught through experience.

As we ended, they asked me to tell them one thing [that] I've learned from my mission. [That was a] hard one; since I've learned so much it's tough to pick just one [thing]. But I said it was "the importance of free agency." If the commitment doesn't come from inside, [then] it's not a true convert baptism.

After the meeting, Nomura Shimai (Sanami-chan) had me sign her new Bible like I did Mika's. What an honor! She wanted me to sign a many-thousand year history of God's sacred word! She chose me, of all people!

I wrote a lot, using the best Japanese [that] I could. She was happy. In fact, she told Brother Kubota right in front of me that she wishes she'd switched [wards] from Minami to Kita earlier so she could've been here with me longer. Talk about a compliment supreme.

Junko had some weird guy there who's a member, and they asked us to go and eat something with them. So we walked a ways and got curry (on Sunday?). I counseled Junko on how to get along with [other] members better. Man, the other guy there was a strange one. [He was] strange-looking as well as strange in the head. Ugh. He had us each pay for our own [meals] although it was their idea, he asked me to write him several times although he never gave me his address, [he] wants me to visit him in Osaka, [he] kept telling me to get closer to Junko 'cause we make a good pair and ought to get married, etc. etc. etc. [Did Junko put him up to that last part?] What a total dork.

Yoshie and me in front of her front door. Yep, it was pane glass, since her father was a doctor and his practice was housed in his, uh, house.

Saturday, February 01, 1992--Day 760

Oshiro and Pollard had to go to Kasugai, and so Cook and I went to ABC [Eikaiwa] to have two Americans there. After that we came home, got ready, and took off to Okazaki to meet Yoshie.

I had asked her in a letter to bring a friend for Cook, and when I told him about it he got all nervous and called me names. [I was a bit surprised by his reaction; I thought he'd be happy.]

[It] took longer than expected, but we finally got down there and Yoshie was waiting for us since I'd called her from a station we switched trains at. Honey.

We went and picked up her friend first off. Then we stopped off and got some bread for our dinner, and stopped at the auto teller [i.e., the A.T.M.] so [that] I could have money for the trip home.

It's been 16 months since I've seen the streets of Okazaki [my second area]. When I left for Inuyama, I never thought [that] I'd see them again.

Finally we got to her house, a pre-war structure that's pretty big. [The fact that her father was a doctor probably didn't hurt when it came to the house's size.]

[We] piddled around there for a minute, then went to pick out a video. Cook made a joke about getting an adult video, and they both laughed and pointed him to that section once we got there. We finally picked out "Robin Hood" [the version with Kevin Costner].

Back at Yoshie's house we looked at some more of her pictures, some of which dated back to March of '87. She had shorter hair and a different style. She's definitely gotten better-looking with age.

She was a bridesmaid for a gaijin family in America, and believe it or not she looked better than the Americans did.

She'd made us lasagna, [the] sweet thing. I ate one helping but couldn't finish the next one. That's it, I know that all this starving has made my stomach smaller, for in America I could eat at will any amount, almost.

Next she brought out some Jell-O, but I couldn't eat all mine then, either.

I helped her wash the dishes, then [we went] into a different room to watch the movie. I got to talk to her mom for a minute; she's totally cool.

The movie started, and Yoshie's friend fell asleep after not too long. Once again, it felt very nice reclining in the dark next to her [i.e., next to Yoshie, not next to her friend!][/b]. We were fairly close, it was great. Oh, honey.

"Robin Hood" was a kicking movie to say the least. Yet in the last half I got to worrying about the time and what to say we did if Pollard or the buch asked. Plus the fact that I'm still a missionary kept me from enjoying myself too much (dang it).

Finally it ended. [It was a] good ending; it pumped us up. Then we got into her car again and [it was] off for the eki. It was pretty sad. She wants me to come back to Japan to see her, but the way she was talking ("[It's] probably the last time you'll see these streets," plus the fact that she came right out and voiced it on Monday), she doesn't think it'll actually come to pass. It makes me sad hearing that, 'cause I want to come back and visit her bad. When I'll be able to is a different story. She's coming to America though, so all is not lost.

Saying goodbye, I kissed her lightly on the forehead then again on the hand. I wanted to give her a hug, for I'm not sure when I'll see her again, but I wasn't sure whether or not she was with it, so I didn't.

[We] rode the super fast train to Nagoya, then the subway to the other line and finally the slow one home. We were an hour late and had called Pollard from Nagoya, but once we were in the apartment no one even asked a thing.

Yoshie. Oh, my heartstrings are getting entangled. She's on the brain. Honey, honey, honey.

Friday, January 31, 1992--Day 759

I opened a letter from Mom and out fell $20.00 in U.S. cash. It wasn't as much as I needed, but since I'm flat broke every little bit helps.

[We] went and visited Kobayashi-san in the hospital again. Otake-san showed up too, being her usual happy and fun to be around self.

Out we went in the rain to teach Mika the rest of A.B. [Lesson] #3. Yamaguchi Shimai picked her up and drove her from Kamiyashiro, so we didn't walk to or from there like usual.

More special transfers and a "getting sent home" occurred. This mission is going to Hell. I'm glad [that] I'll be getting my tail out of here like a bat out of Hell. Two [more] weeks.

Thursday, January 30, 1992--Day 758

We had service again, and one of the women in the baby room invited me in to work with them. One of the other ladies from before was outside strolling some of them around as we came up, and she asked me how that "Kofuku no Kagaku" (Ryuho Okawa) thing was. I said [that] the guy was neurotic and you've got to have something wrong with your head to believe something like that. [Is there a trace of irony here?] She agreed.

Sonoda-san was in there singing her Kofuku no Kagaku songs and chants to the babies as she fed them. She didn't preach to me then, but afterwards as we were walking off she appeared and asked if we wanted to go to a nearby park. Neither Pollard nor Oshiro could be talked into it, so I took Cook and we rode in her car to it.

We walked around some, then she began preaching about a bunch of stuff I already know. I never could figure out what she was getting at [or] what her point was (the earth being alive, etc.).

[We] visited Kobayashi, then [it was] off to Eikaiwa in Meito again. Before that, I got four letters. One [was] from Daren in which he said [that] he made out for three hours straight on New Year's. Dang, I'm jealous!

Also got a sweet one from Yoshie.

After Eikaiwa, I wanted to talk with Tomoyo about last week's poem, but there were people in the way, barging into the conversation, etc. We both were a little disappointed about that, but we'll talk next week.

Aki-chan called me tonight about my going home. Volleyball is coming up, so I'll get to see her one last time then.

great work Darthj!

If you have the time, I think your Italianic theory of the BoM would be a great addition here.

I think there's another way, also, to be a 'religious atheist,' and that is to simply be an atheist still in the closet about one's lack of faith. I enjoy going to our church, (not Mormon, we are never-mo's), for the service, music, community, and even 'religious experience,' but at the same time I am at most an atheist, at least an agnostic, in my personal belief structure. I find more personal harmony with reality that way.

Ha! Yes, considering the times we live in, I thought it best to clarify. :-)

A stereotype, and an incorrect one at that.

Could have been different back in 1990 though. That was almost 20 years ago.

I'm glad you clarified that the access you had to Sisters Woodward and Cordner was merely social access. ;)