Transfer 5! (Week 36)

So we just had transfers this week. And I have been gone 8 months! that's a third of my mission! Way too fast. Its been exciting. Lots of stuff went down. Good stuff. Hard stuff. Happy stuff. Sad stuff. So I am still in good old Ishigaks. Thank heavens. I love this place. Though I really wouldn't call this being spoiled. Ishigaki is great but I pretty much just work the whole time in the hot humidity. So dad. I'm not spoiled. Elder Munro did transfer away. To a city called Chikushino near Fukuoka. That was hard. I love Elder Munro. He was great. I had three transfers with him. And now I'm on my fourth transfer in Ishigaki. Can I make it to five? We will see. So I got a new companion. And his name is Elder iino! 飯野長老。He is in fact a Japanese man. I love him so much. He was my zone leader for the past three transfers in Naha. I was so excited when I got the call telling me he was my new companion. So excited. I love him so much. And it has been so fun already. We are working hard and he is Japanese and we have been having fun and he is Japanese so I really can't speak to him. But I try. And we figure out how to communicate. Its fun. But now I have no one to translate for me if I don't understand anything. So  this will be good. There were two Nihonjin I wanted to become companions with. Elder Kusakabe who I lived with in Okinawa and Elder Iino. I am so happy. We are going to have such a good transfer on the little heavenly island of Ishigaks.

So we went to look for some less active members that no one has met in forever last night. And that was fun. We went to a house that was absolutely black inside. The sun had gone down and everything so it was dark. It was one of the scariest houses I have ever seen. And no one answered the door. So we booked it out of there as fast as we could.

So last P day Brother Tagawa took me and Elder Munro out to eat and see stuff. It was cool. Ishigaki is so beautiful. And we ate Yakiniku. My very favorite. And then later that night the relief society took us to a steak place. And when I say relief society don't imagine a huge group. There are only three. Actually like five but the other two were busy I guess. And I ate the best steak of my life. It was so so good. I can't even describe to you how good it was. And we were told that Kobe beef comes from Ishigaki. Kobe beef is like super good I guess and the cows for Kobe beef are raised in Ishigaki for a while and then shipped to Kobe. So it is really Ishigaki beef. And it is so good.

What do you call the cloud thing that follows after the airplane? Someone asked me because we saw one. In Japanese it is called hikokigumo. which means airplane cloud.

So this weekend was a festival or holiday thing called Obon. It was three days long and ended on Saturday. It was hard because people were way busy and didn't want to talk to us but it was also fun. I don't fully understand the obon. it is an only Okinawa thing. So Iino 長老 doesn't fully understand either and no one speaks good enough english to really help me understand. So all the explanations were in Japanese. It is like when their ancestors come back from the spirit world and visit and they put out food and stuff for them to eat and things like that. And then to end it we saw some people walking and singing all dressed up with their shamisens and their flutes and drums and we followed them. And then we watched a cool dance and then a weird dance and then a scary dance. It was weird. It was way cool though. Japan has so much way cool stuff. And I have been able to participate in a lot of it. I love the Okinawa culture. They say its different up north. So I'd like to go there but I think Okinawa is my favorite.

I did get the pictures from kate and the picture of my future self made me laugh. I knew exactly what it was when I saw it. I'm excited for my future.

We did have a bit of storminess this week with one of the typhoons. But it wasn't bad. And since then it has just been way hot. I appreciate dad's knowledge on typhoons. I only know what the Japanese people say and I can't really understand them yet. So I don't know much. So thank you for your knowledge sharing. I'm glad the tailgate went well. It sounds like fun. I wish I could have been there. Maybe someday. And I'm glad BYU won. Thats good. And dad. I have really been craving some cold stone ice cream lately. So if you could eat that for me that would be great.

Well. I think I might get going now. Its been real. Have a good day. Pray that I will learn Japanese.

I love you all. I hope all is well. I want you all to be awesome.

Love 利怒瑠長老

P.S. that is kanji that fits my name. Ridoru. It means profit, anger, and sapphire. The anger on is in a lot of bad Japanese guys names. So I'm the rich angry guy who makes his living with sapphires. Heian soto.