Elder Bryson Viehweg's Mission: November 30th, 2015

Hello family,

It sounds like you all had a wonderful thanksgiving which I am very thankful for haha. I committed a heinous sin and actually forgot it was thanksgiving until Koyama Choro told me that we just had our thanksgiving meal as we left a "pizza" place. I just slapped my face and laughed.

Dad, Hotta Kyodai sent me a package of kaki, mikan, spaghetti and sauce, apples, and a hand written letter in English. I was beyond shocked. You worked for one of the best, dad, that is for sure. Over the past week I have been working on a response in Kanji and managed to scrawl out a half page of something. I'll send it off to him this week. I also have pictures which I will send. Still no package from you at home, but we had transfers the day it arrived so it's is probably on its way from the honbu. I was glad to hear about the win for BYU and I am angry at EVERYONE for not skiing. Being in a place without mountains has made me go a little crazy hahaha.

So this week has actually been tough. I know you probably all want to hear about miracles and ministering of angels but the fact is a mission is more often than not NOT like that. I'll skip the details but my companion is really struggling with some personal and testimony related issues. We have been calling the mission president regularly and the missionary schedule this week has had to be changed somewhat to help him get his feet underneath him. I love this elder to death I don't want to let him go home while he is with me, but please pray for him. He really is a great man, and has such strong faith for what he is facing right now.

We met with Yuuta one time this week and still were not sure exactly what needed to be done for him. He still hadn't repented for his "big mistake", because he feels fear and anxiety inside each time he attempts to pray about it, but he shared with us what it is that has really caused him so much worry. Just some cool stuff about Yuuta; he loves to walk and has walked six hundred kilometers before over the course of two weeks. He walks to different cities, finds jobs, and lives there for certain time periods then leaves for another one. He is a really unusual Nihonjin and has a lot of really great qualities. Anyway, some years ago he walked clear to Kyoto and met and married a woman there. They had a child but things went south and they got a divorce. I didn't understand the details, but he has never seen his three year old daughter's face because he fears causing pain by re-assimilating into their lives. It was a sad story, but we reassured him as best we could. He has tried calling before, and has also been faithful with child support so he is doing all he can to make restitution, but it is difficult for him to see that. Anyway, after that he expressed interest in wanting to really know the life of Christ, so maybe we can help him progress more with that. On a really good note he asked his boss to change his work schedule so he can attend the year end priesthood holder party, and the Christmas party. He loves the ward activities but still won't come to church because of his job. He needs more prayer and faith! Please pray for him.

This week we had a zone blitz in Matsudo which was so fun. The companionships all split up into three areas in the mission, and our Kamagaya area was selected as one of them. We spent the previous day planning where everyone would go and what we would do to prepare for it. Yuuta had said he wanted to meet the same day so Koyama Choro planned on meeting everyone else later on after the lesson. This past week a young missionary named Adachi Choro came home from his two week trial run mission in the Tokyo south mission for one week before heading off to the MTC. He had some health concerns which I guess qualified him to work for two transfers there before "officially" going out. Anyway, we called and asked him if he wanted to attend the lesson since he can't do much as a set-apart elder, and he said sure! However, Yuuta had to cancel so we tried to call Adachi Choro and let him know, but couldn't get ahold of him. From there we broke into our splits for the day, I was with an Elder Judd from Salt Lake which was super fun. We walked out of the church right in time to see sister Adachi pull up with Adachi Choro in the car. Shoot. They got out and I just said, "Surprise, we're gonna go do dendou!" (proselyting) Hahaha. He was more than willing, but his mom was a little apprehensive letting him go work with two gaijins. (foreigners) I don't know why because Adachi Choro turned out to be one of the boldest missionaries I have ever worked with. Whatever his concerns were before, he should have no problem serving a mission now. Anyway it was a good day of work with those two and lots of fun.

The next day Inoue Kyodai invited us to go visit the Adachi's with him as their home teachers. It was a great opportunity because the father is inactive and we haven't been able to meet him yet. The visit went very well and we were able to send off Adachi Choro with a good talk about missions. Funny story--he knows Brett Spackman very well. He was a year younger than me in high school and is currently serving in the Tokyo South mission.

Sunday was good. After church we had a big meal to celebrate the marriage of two YSA's in the ward. They seemed very happy and ready to start their life together. That night we went out with Inoue Kyodai again to visit less actives. None were home but I know that no effort is wasted! I am just happy there is a member willing to help us out once or twice a month haha. He really is a great example though and loves missionary work. The only downside is his driving is absolutely horrid. He has nearly wrecked several times haha, but I think the Lord takes special care of us when we are with him so no worries!

I love you all and am very thankful for your letters and support. Happy thanksgiving.

Viehweg Choro