He's living by the ocean and loving it!

Hello! 

  

Shonan is fantastic! The people are super nice and it's right on the beach! We walked along a walking path by the beach a couple days ago. We talked to a bunch of people. It was so nice to be able to see the ocean again! It literally just feels like Hawaii. Especially because one of our kind of investigators is like a hula god here. He has hula studios all over the country! He had a big event in a park next to the beach. So we went and supported him for a little bit. But the palm trees and hula and the smell of the ocean and it being right there felt so much like Hawaii. And while we were sitting there and big Hawaiian guy came up and gave us some free pork on rice! 

  

I'm still not sure if I can go to his baptism or not. (in his old area, the man he was teaching)  It depends if we can take an investigator with us. But there is also like a billion other meetings on that day that is just making it harder and harder to go. I have a meeting in Kichijoji that I don't have to go to if I can go to the baptism. In the morning I have zone meeting. Around 3:00 there is a baptism for a family here in Shonan. Lots of good things.  

  

That's so relieving about the chemo! Man they are good at detecting it early and getting it out quick! I guess not always but I'm sure glad they did for you.  

  

Hahaha that is so cute! Man I wish my teachers would have done that. (we gave Allie a baby shower in her class) Mrs. Devore just left and gave us a sub the whole time! Haha. Just kidding. I remember doing something like a moving party for Ms. Leeper I think. Do you have any contact with her? I wonder if she is on Facebook. That would be so fun to get in contact with my old teachers! 

  

I'm so excited for Mother's Day! Yes I will try to call on Monday at 9:00. I have 40 minutes! If there is a loss of connection or something don't worry, I'll make sure I get my 40 minutes. But can we do the same thing we did last time? Maybe have like the first 10 minutes with everybody and they can all ask me questions and what not and then I can talk to you and dad? I want to make sure I talk to you guys enough so if you want more time we can just take some time out of the first ten with everyone. I love everyone so much. I just want to make sure I have enough time to talk to you and dad, Audrey and the immediate family.   

  

I had a nice easy transfer to Shonan from Kamiooka. I'm hoping and thinking that this was my last transfer! I hope I'll just be able to end my mission here. One because I like the area and two just because it's so nice to not have to pack and unpack. But I have gotten my packing system down to a science. I can get packed in about 2 hours and unpacked in about 30 minutes or less. I just keep all the stuff I probably don't use in one suit case and all the stuff I think I would use in the other.  

  

The Apartments not so bad. It kind of is if you compare it to the apartment in Kamiooka haha but it really isn't too bad. For some reason I've been sleeping so so well here! It's great!  

  

I had an interesting insight this week pertaining to the Plan of Salvation. Our existence was not made to end on the earth. There will be a time when we will look back on our life on earth and it will be just that, in the past! When I had that realization I thought of some other things as well. One being trials. They are just pieces in our life. They were never meant to be the end result. We go through them and then they are in the past and we learned from them and we move on! It's hard sometimes to see past the present. I know I'll be home in 3 months but it's hard to imagine it being a reality, yet I know it will be my reality once I get there. It's hard to see the other side of a trial we are going through. Yet once we get there we will understand. It's hard to see past this stage in life, that being our existence on earth. But the reality of it all is that his is not the end, there will be a next stage  and even though we may not be able to fully realize that now as a reality, we will one day. I know that's true and I'm so thankful to know that there is a purpose to us being here and going through all the things that we go through everyday.  

  

I love you all so much! 

 ドレーパー長老 

  

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