Mom, thanks for the great email. It sounds like last week was a week of great experiences and memories. It was pretty busy for me, too. Sister Daniels made sure to call me on the night of the 7th to see how I was. She really is the best.
It is really weird being with a new companion after 12 weeks with Elder Thurber, but I get along great with Elder Willis. He isn't as neat and organized as Elder Thurber, so that tests my patience a little bit, but other than that everything is great. He is a way skilled missionary - his Japanese is great, his finding skills are great, and his teaching skills are great. He will probably go senior companion in Iwamizawa once I leave.
He is from Wilsonville, Oregon, which is just south of where McKay lived when he was in Portland. They may have even been the same stake. He loves soccer and cycling, as well as most other sports. So we have a fun time talking about sports every day.
Being a District Leader is an interesting experience for me. The biggest thing that I have noticed is that my evenings are now full of phone calls, and all of my free time has been lost. So now I right in my journal in the mornings. But I seem to be doing alright as District Leader. I had to run my first District Training Meeting on Monday, which was alright. Usually Districts get together for DTMs, but since our district is so spread out, we have to do it over the phone (on a conference call). That makes things difficult, but I guess that's life.
I am certainly not the best at motivating or inspiring missionaries, but I am slowly learning. Surprisingly, Elder Willis and I had some of the best numbers this past week, so it looks like we're doing something right. Now I just need to help the elders in the neighboring area, who are really struggling. But they have a good relationship with each other, which is a great start to build upon. The other set of companions in our district are one of the Zone Leaders (Elder Tashiro) with the missionary that he is training. Elder Tashiro is probably the best missionary in Hokkaido right now, so I am not at all worried about them.
Yesterday we actually got to go on exchanges with the Zone Leaders, so I had a chance to learn from Elder Tashiro. It was a great day for us, and Elder Willis had a fun time working with our new Zone Leader, Elder Hilton, who is one of his past companions.
Now, a quick note about Elder Thurber's email from last week: unfortunately we haven't been able to meet with Takahashi san again since that first meeting. We have swung by his house a few times, but he wasn't there twice, and the third time he said he was busy. But one day soon we'll teach again. He really needs the gospel.
Anyways, life is good in Iwamizawa. I finally feel that I know what I am doing when it comes to missionary work. Thanks to everyone for their prayers, love, and letters. Have a great week.
Elder Christensen
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