Happy late St. Patty's day! This week has had many things in it, as weeks out here tend to do. Again, I apologize for the lack of detail on my part, but I try to give enough pieces of this puzzle that you can figure it out on your own. Problem is, there's a lot to tell, and time is a resource I'm in short supply of, so I'll do my best to tell what I can, and I hope that my Facebook fills in the rest. General Conference is on its way yet again, you all know what that means: Yet another general conference abridged session is inevitable.

I'll include some previews of the new and improved dead end with this email, but it's not digital yet, so the art isn't in color like it will be when it releases, but hope you like it anyway!

So now, an update on the questions you've all been asking:

How did the Japanese Lesson go?

Well, it kind of went? We didn't actually end up having the appointment, and the lesson fell through. The good news is that the person we were going to teach is already a member, and the thing we were supposed to help her with is getting to the temple. We were able to meet her anyway through a dinner with a member in our ward. Much Japanese ensued. It was sort of a roundabout way of getting there, but it happened, it was cool, and it took place entirely in Japanese. The lady was an older person, so Elder Durrant and I had to use formal Japanese when talking to her. It was very difficult, mostly because at Mikuni I only ever really spoke informal, and me and Elder Durrant speak to each other in informal Japanese all the time, so catching myself and correcting what I was about to say to be more formal was a bit of a challenge, but it was very fun. I was very very happy during that lesson of sorts, and we'll definitely be teaching her more to help her get to the temple. I was nervous I was going to say something wrong, but all went well, thanks in no small part to the spirit I suppose.

Next up: What's it like to speak Tongan? I don't know, I don't speak Tongan. Elder Taka is fine with speaking for me and Elder Durrant, and though we try to learn, we only pick up a bit. Elder Durrant is better at it than me, the only words I know are "io" and "tiki tiki". Don't ask me why, I just do. Missionaries have a weird way of teaching you things.

Finally: What's it like in a tripanionship? Cramped. So I'll be sending a lot of things home. The pad was small to begin with, but even though it's cramped and can be a little hectic at times, for the most part we all get along really well. We're going out and working with new and amazing people every day, and we've been working super hard. We're working with a ton of new people right now. I'm not as stressed as I was before, and I find that I'm actually enjoying my mission experience more. We find that music is our common ground. Often we spend our spare time singing together to whatever song is stuck in our heads that day. I'm not talented, so I do my best to sing while the others play the uke. So far our favorites to sing are Hallelujah, Somebody that I Used to Know, Kataomoi, Sukiyaki (Ue wo Muite Arukou), and Hey There Delilah. And hymns. We can't forget the hymns.

Solomon's baptism went well, and the spirit was super strong. He's really made an effort to change this life. When he had his baptismal interview it was taking a long time, so the three of us were a bit nervous but we later learned that the reason it took so long was because Solomon was bearing testimony on each of the questions. Apparently it was a super spiritual experience. He decided he wanted to be baptized as soon as possible, so instead of Saturday he ended up getting baptized on Friday at 7:30pm. It was my first baptism in a while and I'm honored I get to work with Elder Durrant and Eder Taka with Solomon.

We've also been working with a girl named Tiani and her younger sister. I love getting to teach kids the gospel. They're so honest and innocent...and curious. They always ask the most interesting questions, and they love to learn. My first lesson with Tiani was on the plan of salvation and now she knows it well enough to relay it back to us!

So there you go! Comics, companions, abridgements, and more!

I hope you all have a great week!
I'll talk to you all later! じゃね!

Solomon's baptism