Out to Dendo Another Day!

Me, Tu Akoi, Avarell Shimai, and Nielson Shimai at the ashiu

Hello from Nagano!

   This week we shoveled snow! Yeah. And we dendo-ed! BTW here's some vocab: Kokan/Exchanges, Tachiai/Member present, Kyudosha/investigator, Dendo/misiionary work, preaching!

     We've been walking everywhere because of the snow and riding trains a lot too. I did buy a bike this week, it's pretty cool, I just need to get back in the hang of riding.

     I am trying to be better at OYM/Open Your Mouth. So I just say hi to people and try to stop them on the streets and Tu Akoi Choro usually tries to back me up, he's way good at nihongo. We also teach Eikaiwa/English Conversation Class, that's pretty fun especially since it's in enlish and I can understand it and it helps a little with Japanese too.

     This weekend we went with the Sisters to downtown and sang primary songs while passing out Eikaiwa hand outs. It was pretty fun and I talked to some people, that's one thing that I have trouble with is just talking to everyone. The shimai are really good at it, Avarell Shimai was just stopping people and theyed smile and talk to her and we'd just get people walking past us and saying thanks. It was pretty funny. So there isn't a boundry line between us and the sisters here, we just talk to the men and they talk to the woman folk. So we sometimes team up. Teamwork! We also have Elders from another ward in our district who we will be doing kokans with soon, so more on them later.

       I suppose I should mention that I have had some interesting and really good food here, more than I can eat at times. The members like to give us a lot of food, I've had yakisoba, yakiniku, ramen, and a bunch of stuff I don't even know. It was pretty fun, last week a member took us out two days in a row and we visited an ashiu where we soaked our feet. There's a picture of it from my doryo.

      So I am learning about faith and how it helps us through our trials. This week we are hoping to find new kyudoshas and hopefully, baptize. Thanks for your prayers. Please write me letters, it takes 12 days to get to me as far as I know, but I would love to hear from anybody and particularly members of my family and my ward.

    I went to church yesturday in our little branch in Nagano and there was a linger longer after. It reminded me so much of Conway just in the characters of the branch and the family that was there. I love my ward at home and the branch I serve in here.

  Hope yall have a great week,
Cullen E. Watkins Choro

Joe, You can't buy me Hotdog Man!

Me, Tu Akoi, Avarell Shimai, and Nielson Shimai at the ashiu

Me and my Doryo at an ancient Japanese place of sorts.

Tu Akoi Choro

Me