Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  There was a guy putting Christmas lights his roof.  We walked up to him and I asked him if he knew why he was doing that.  He said for fun.  I told him it was for Christ.  I explained the star and all the things he was doing.  He didn't have interest but  it was pretty funny haha.  Our investigator, I-- prayed for us.  It was amazing.  He was saying how he was so thankful for the missionaries being here and he just wants to understand.  It was heartbreaking hearing a 50 year old man sound like a child.  So amazing and he is little by little learning.  We had to split investigators with the new missionaries so we've been doing tons of finding.  I got all the ward letters.  So cool hearing from my hometown.  Sorry that I cant answer individually, I wrote down answers for everyone but I don't have time.  So basically this will answer them all.  Yes, Japanese is hard but it is improving gradually day-by-day.  I decided to go on a mission because I know how everything good in my life has come from Christ's true gospel so I want to tell other people and help them feel the same way.  The food is great.  I just get hungry because sometimes I don't eat that much because of time.  On Sunday we rode our bikes to a members home, an hour there and hour back on or bikes.  He is a rice farmer and has a 200 year old rice mochi maker thing.  We got this huge hammer that was heavy and smashed the rice into mochi.  Apparently Niigata, the prefecture Sanjo is in, has the best rice in Japan.  So best in the world I think.  Its known for being the best in Japan.  You can literally eat it by itself.  Just white rice and it's amazing.  The other day the weather was very bad and we got hailed in the face - a lot this week.  Not good for finding people because no one wants to talk to you as they are getting hit by hail.  Not too fun riding a bike in it either haha.  So we've been housing a lot.  I made my first joke in Japanese when someone turned us down.  It was funny.  Always good to have a good attitude while housing.    I love payday candy bars I learned.  Hint hint.  Probably need to stop eating so much candy though haha.  The mission is great.  The ward Christmas party was fun.  We had to throw it together at the last second because the lady doing it was going to be late so they told us missionaries to do it.  We did it though and it turned out great.  I cannot wait to Skype!!!!  I love your emails.  I love you all!!!!!!!!!!

 

Love,

Elder Mason Proctor

 

 





The Finished Product

 

Well, my first transfer change happened, my former companion went to be Zone Leader and I got a new companion. My new trainer/companion is amazing!!!!!!!!He is from Hawaii.  He has got me doing all these language study games and a new structured language study plan!!!!!!!!!  I am learning so much faster.  He is also giving me a lot more responsibility so I'm learning faster.  At ward council or whatever its called in English where you talk about all the people your working with, he had me talk about everyone.  It went great.  I spoke the best Japanese I have yet.  So awesome.  Also, he has me carry the phone around so I have to at least try to talk to the people.  Most of the time I get it to work but sometimes I'm just like: nope, haha.  So we've had a weird week with transfers.  Our apartment now has four Elders (2 companionships).  Elder R--, my trainer.  Then the other companionship is elder K---, Nihonjin:), and Elder N--- from Canada.  He's brand new and looks just as clueless as I was, haha.  Elder K-- is great, he's fluent in English, so basically I have two great trainers because I'm with them both a lot.  Elder K--- can tell me what sounds natural and that's great.  He said my pronunciation is great.  Thank you Rosetta Stone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Thank you so much for that dad and mom.  It really has made a difference.  I know some everyday stuff and my Japanese is better because of it.  

I got the ward gift.  Best homeward in the world.  I love Nacogdoches with all my heart.  That's a good poem sister Ault and thanks Nicholas!  I haven't been able to look at the whole package yet.  We went to an old folks home Saturday.  The same one as last month.  We performed a talent show for them.  We sang and stuff.  They wanted me to do something with basketball.  So I got Tatsuhiro the 8 year old crazy Japanese kid and spun the ball on my finger and I tried to spin it on to his.   The old people loved it!!  So funny.  Then we played a Japanese patty cake/rock paper scissors game with them.   The lady who cried last time when we came balled her eyes out the whole time because we came again.  She was so happy.  Tatsuhiro asked me if I was a basketball Champion in America.  Those were his exact words, in Japanese obviously, but that's what he asked.  I told him no haha.  Thanks to the Datin girls.  Their letters really get to me.  They make me happy. We trudge through the snow now.  Can't ride bikes and of course can't drive a car so I walk and walk and walk.  I got sprayed by snow the other day by a car.  Soaking wet, not cool but whatever, haha. 

We invited I-- to pray and do all the commandments for 3 weeks and tell us if the church was true and if he felt the spirit.  I called him Friday and he told me ever since he prayed he felt the spirit and is getting strength!!!!!!  Wooh!  So he might be our white Christmas baptism. 

I love you all so much.  We had a little get to know you meeting in our apartment on Saturday.  Elder K-- talked about how he loves his family and how Japan needs to know the gospel.  So he loves his people.  He's district leader by the way.  It made me tear up.  I have a new slogan that I tell my self.  Make Japan your 3rd family.  So that's what I do.  Elder K--- got teary eyed a little because he was happy I want to help him with his country.  I love you all so much.  My Nihongo (Japanese) has spiked upward in the past couple of days.  The gift of tongues is real.  So real.  Peoples faces are shocked when they learn we have only been studying Japanese for a couple months. 

I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh yeah, a drunk 70 year old guy on a train came up to me and started bowing to me the other day and telling me thank you and stuff.  grabbing my hand and doing deep bowing.  Sooooooooooo funny!!!  He thanked me in Japanese and in English, hilarious

 

Love,

Elder Mason Proctor

今日は! (Hello!)

 

So many things to tell all of you all, so here it goes.  First of all, I rode the Shinkansen two weeks ago and forgot to tell you.  That's the bullet train and yes bullet is the right word haha.  It took us 13 minutes to get to Niigata when it usually takes 45minutes :)  so that was cool.  We went to Sado on Monday.  We rode the Jet Foil over the sea of Japan to get there.  Then we took the ferry back.  So I've basically ridden every possible means of transportation in Japan in 6 weeks haha.  Not many missionaries even get to ride one of those.  So at Sado we saw a miracle.  I was working with the Elders in Sado while my companion was interviewing their investigator. We were housing (tracting) when we, all three of us, saw a shooting star.  It was cool and next they asked me where we should go next, because I was visiting.  I thought for a second, trying to feel wear to go next so I was like - well that shooting star was out of the ordinary so I said follow the star.  We followed it instead of our original plan.  We found an apartment complex.  We heard music being played in one of the upstairs apartments.  Went to it.  Knocked on the door and a gaijin (foreigner) answered?!?!?  A white guy with blonde hair haha.  So shocked.  He is an English teacher apparently.  We walk in and he is definitely prepared.  He said in the last month he has read the bible more than ever.  He loves Christ.  He just said he has been looking for more of God's word.  When he said that I was like "OHH YEAH!!!" in my head.  I kept my cool though.  Gave him the Book of Mormon which one of my split companions just "coincidently" brought an English Book of Mormon that day.  The guy is doing well.  They met him again and told us he is progressing:)  I- came to church :)  he is progressing and we just got back form teaching an amazing lesson:)  His name is T- and he's in his 20's.  I told him how if he follows the word of God, he can know for a fact that He is real and not just a thought.  He wants his girlfriend to hear the message too:)  Other than those things a normal week.  Weird looks at us on trains, rain pouring all the time and its cold.  I get soaked and its all fine.   People speak Japanese that I don't understand but I am now at the point that I can hold my own by myself.  If the conversation goes in a normal direction, work, sports, family, I can hold my own.  Still confused a lot of the time though haha.  Its alright though. We got transfers calls today and I'm staying in Sanjo.  I'm getting a missionary with a Spanish last name but I'm pretty sure he speaks English.  Also we will be a four man apartment.  Two companionships.  The other companionship has a Nihonjin (native Japanese Elder) so he can help me a lot. That is all for now. Keep praying as it helps sooo much, I love you all:)  さようなら (Bye)

 

Love,
 

Proctor Chouro

Branch member's son at a dinner appointment. Most American phrases aren't quite right, lol

Hangin with the "locals" - We eat waffles here.

Riding the JetFoil on the Sea of Japan heading to Sado Island. Selfie with another members son. He's a funny guy.

 

I'll try to tell you as much as I can.  So today we are going to Sado.  It is the island off the coast next to us.  The leaders there have a baptism and Elder Pronk is interviewing so our Pday is basically non existent today.  Sado will be cool though.  Last Monday, I read Mormon 1:15 in personal study.  It specifically says when Mormon was 15 he felt the goodness of Jesus.  I had that scripture in my bag of tricks just to be prepared.  We ran into 4 15 year olds. :)  Taught them some stuff, so cool.  Tuesday I went on splits with Elder Shibuta from Brazil.  He is a zone leader.  He speaks 4 languages now.  His dad owns a language school.  I didn't even know he spoke Portuguese.  He's so good at English.  So I learned a lot from him.  Cool story, it was pouring freezing rain like always and we were about to go home for dinner for the night.  We thought we had done all the houses but I just checked again, you know how OCD I am.  So glad I did.  Saw one we thought we had knocked but hadn't.  We decided to put off dinner and try.  Found a family named "A".  The A family.  We are teaching them Wednesday.  So excited and they have 3 little kids.  I also tried to speak a lot more this week.  I'm improving but man is it hard.  There's a lot of different ways to speak Japanese, so old people are impossible to understand, kids voices are really high, but teenagers and 20s and 30s are the best.  Kids are so adorable.  So funny them saying the same English sentences but in Japanese.  One girl at church was trying to pick up a chair and was like "dekinai!!" which means "I cant do it" then she started telling us a story and since she was 3, I could sort of understand haha.  Oh yeah, a couple of days ago it snowed!!!!!  So cold.  In Japanese you don't walk up to people and ask how they are doing.  Its just weird.  The way you do it is comment on the weather and then if they talk, you're in haha.  So sometimes I feel like the official Sanjo weather reporter.  I spend all day saying: "Samui desu yo ne" (It sure is cold)  "Ame ga taihen desu yo ne"  (Its rainy today) Then when they stop we teach.  Sunday we ran into a bunch of chugakuseis (middle schoolers) who were 14.  They actually pulled out there phones and took pictures of us gaijin (foreigners) immediately haha.  Elder Pronk also does free running so he did a backflip for them haha.  In Sanjo there's no gaijin so we always get looks haha.  On trains its hilarious.  I always am like, I wonder how many people are staring at me right now haha.  I'm 188 cm and I tell it to people a lot.  Housing (Tracting) is hilarious because the people are always shocked.  One old lady just stumbled backward and it was so funny.  Our investigators are doing alright.  This family is probably our focus now.  People in Japan just don't want to offend anyone so we never are exactly sure how interested they are. Thanksgiving we ate Ramen, so basically not thanksgiving haha. The other day I got soaked in freezing rain but hey, I'm used to it by now haha.  The gospel is true and Japanese is fun but constantly stressful but I'm doing it and with Heavenly Fathers help. I'm improving everyday.  I love you all. 

 

Ai, (Love)

Proctor Chourou (Elder Proctor)

 

 Ramen for Thanksgiving - yummy!