Fussa Japan

Hey everybody!!! Freedom is fantastic!

I'm not going to the temple for about 5 more weeks. So that's not today! Allies life seems to be doing great! Getting engaged and getting jobs and what not. Sounds awesome and way exciting! 

So I have about 2 weeks’ worth of emailing. I am mainly just going to tell what's up here in Tokyo! So the first two days we stayed in the mission home in kichijōji. The first night at the mission home, actually we slept in a room in the church right next door. We sleep on futons here! It's great I love them. It's about a 3 inch thick pad on the floor. My first pillow was just a bag full of beans hahahaha. Awesome!!! The Mission home is about a 20 minute train ride away President Wada and Sister Wada can cook some way good meals let me tell you. Kichijōji is huge! Look up Sun Road on Google. That's like right down the road from the church and mission home. We went dendoing (missionary working) for about an hour with some random older missionaries. We talked to and invited about 6 people to church. It's so fun! I'm not too timid at talking with people despite the fact that I have no idea what they say back. My language skills have already improved so much! I had to introduce myself in sacrament meeting! I didn't take notes or anything but I spoke just fine! The ward is pretty small. But they are all way awesome people. The little kids are super funny and nice and adorable! The bishop’s family is super cute.  Afterward the littlest kids all came up and shook my hand. They seem younger than Krue! The churches are nothing like ours. They are tiny! Well mine is. The kichijōji is actually a 3 story and may be bigger than ours. Also pres and sister Wada are SO nice! I love them! We had some culture trainings. If you stab the rice, that means death. You have to set the hashi, chop sticks, on the bowl and they can't point at anybody, that's WAY rude. You take shoes off in the house in a little area by the door and point them to the door without pointing your back or butt to the host. You say "itadakimasu" right before you eat which means "I will kindly receive". You can’t have rice stuck to the sides of the bowl. That's rude. There is a lot of stuff to still learn!

My companion is Elder Laird from Ogden and he is going to USU. He's been here for 11 transfers. My district consists of Elder Fenton and Elder Moua and then Sister Leppänen and Sister Debbie. I am in the Fussa area which is the second largest area to Kofu. We are the only official missionaries in Fussa. The funny part is that our apartment isn't even in the Fussa area! We bike about 30 minutes to get to our area. Two days ago, we biked more than 14 miles! I've taught 2 people and talked to a ton of people. We have Okabe San and Tsujimura San. Both are way good guys but slightly crazy in their own ways. Tsujimura San randomly called us and we've never met him before! But we met him. 

I can see Mt. Fuji on a good day. It's HUGE!

My first day my district took me out for sushi! I had some raw squid and some raw squished crab brains! I have a video but I can't send it because it's in my camera and I only have an iPad not a computer. If you can you should send me a SD card to iPad adapter. That would be great. 

Ya I live in a small town of about 150,000 households which is like 300,000 or so people. Kichijōji has about 450,000 households. My mission has about 16 million people in it and about 150 missionaries! We have the biggest mission people wise in Japan! And the most missionaries. I love it here!

I haven't got my own bike yet. I am getting a free bike from Elder Moua! It's a nice bike just a flat. The bikes name is Jennifer haha, he told me I can't change the name! He, Elder Moua is way way way funny hahaha. 

I don't have much longer to email. We're taking train to kichijōji to get me new bed sheets, because apparently I did need them after all! (He mailed his home, he was told he didn’t need them.) And then get me a smaller missionary bag. Big bags are a pain haha so I'm getting a small one, I need like dang pack size. It kill when you bike with it on all day if it's the size I have. But I'm just getting one at the thrift store here. They have a tone of thrift stores. Tonight I have splits with Elder Moura and he is the funniest elder ever? He's just so casual in his jokes.  Oh we were ont he train yesterday and it was packed and he said that one time it was so packed, and he is kind of small, that he was lifted off the ground and he looked down and was wiggling his feet and totally wasn't touching the ground! 

Anyway that is all for now! I'll send pictures just in a bit! 

Love you all

Elder Draper from Tokyo