Business man Haydon!

Hello there mother!

This week was really hard. It was stressful and really sad. Very very long too. But it was great at the same time!!! I love hard work! I love the feeling of accomplishment knowing that the lord helped you the whole way through. It's a fantastic feeling. So this week was transfer week so that means me and Elder Belnap sent to the transfer calls last week and then this week we got the new missionaries! There were ten new missionaries but two didn't come on the first day because of visa issues. But they only came a day late. The new missionaries came and we went to the Wada home immediately for dinner. It was just like when I got here my first day! It was so cool to see it all over again but from a transfer 6 perspective rather than a transfer 1 perspective.  Can't believe it has already been that long ago that I came to Japan! Me and Elder Belnap gave our training. It was good. He is a very funny guy so when he gives trainings he is really funny about everything and people love it. I may be funny sometimes but my overall air is a little bit most serious, especially when it comes to trainings and presentations. So my trainings will maybe be not like his so much. But they all loved the videos that he made! We got fed every meal for like three and a half days this week because of the new missionaries and the going home missionaries, with them we ate at the Wada home. I still hadn't figured out the problems with the iPads. I had called the church headquarters like 3 times and each time they either didn't answer or told me to call tomorrow. After much prayer and faith and miracles, and doing lots of random stuff, 6 out of the 10 started working! It was great! I put all the cases on and I'm really good at putting in screen protectors now! Bubble free! Then the going home missionaries came to the office. That was a big mix of feelings. I had to erase all of their iPads but it was so weird being still a transfer 6 missionary in a room full of 12 missionaries going home the very next day. It was making me homesick but I got through it. The hardest one though was Elder Masaki. He was only my companion for three weeks but man it was tough to be there as he left. The day they left president Wada gathered them all in a circle and told them all how much he loved them and for them to give their parents a big hug from president and sister Wada. He started to tear up because this is his last wave of going home. He leaves the 28th of this month! Me elder Richardson and elder Nichalson drove the car to the bus stop with their carry on stuff while they walked with president Wada and sister Wada. Then we unloaded  their stuff and they got on the bus and left. I did more than that this week but it's just been all hectic and stuff. 

But now I am the Tech Staff! I think I'll do fine but it's just a little nerve racking being the only one now. My new companion is Elder Nichalson , who has been in my apartment the whole time who is the recorder! Soon we will be joined by Elder Hattanda who is being trained to be the commissarian right now. Is commissarian even a real word? I have no clue because it always puts a red squiggle line under it! 

I had a business meeting yesterday with President Wada and two other business men about the mission portal. I'm going to be the only one who has knowledge about our mission portal website when the new mission President comes. It was way weird because I'm just a missionary but I was like in a business meeting with a presentation and everything! Way weird.

Oh dear I love that he (Krue) is speaking so much now! And that's so cool that Tripp gets to do real baseball now! I'm sure  he's doing great!

Oh my goodness! I didn't hear about Willow! That is SO exciting!!! We will be neighbors! Do you know which mission is hers!? Elder Roses little brother just got called to go to Korea so it may be the same mission! 

I hope you get the package! It's got some priceless things in there! Of course they are just objects but they have really good memories attached to them each. 

Well mom, it's been 10 months since I got out of the car on the curb and started this adventure. I've been through a lot already and I have learned more than I had ever expected. I'm not in a third world country like Tanner like I always thought I would be, but it doesn't matter, I love this work so much. I love Japan and the 日本人(Japanese people)that live here. They may be mostly hard hearted, but I know those have been prepared are out there. We look hard for them. We just found two investigators recently! One from Taiwan and one from here. (He told me that they proselyte when they can and work around that schedule) I have come to know that when it comes to having true joy, true success, true love and all things that are worth while, the only thing that works is to turn outward. When the soul needs healing, that healing will only be found if we turn our focus outward and not inward. The more we focus on ourselves the less we are able to accomplish the things God has in store for us. It's true that we need to take care of ourselves and make sure our own lives are inline and that we are doing al we can to learn and progress towards where our Heavenly Father is, but it is all worthless unless we turn out to help out here along the way. The feeling you get when you know you have helped someone come closer to God is unmatched. I love this work and I love my Heavenly Father and I love all of you for supporting me and for being patient with me as I learned for myself the truth. 

I love you all so much!

Elder Draper

ドレーパー長老

Fun fact: He said there are 150 missionaries in his mission.

His lunch. It's called Tonkatsu and he bought it in a vending machine.