God sent me my dog Merritt

12/18/09 Email Message to Elder Kingsford from his Mom

Dear Elder Kingsford,

I am so sad to type this but we had to put Merritt to sleep yesterday. She wasn't able to get up onto her hind legs since Sunday. We took her to the vet on Monday morning and she was put on pain medicine. She didn't feel pain but she could not get up and throughout the week she got worse. We've had her on some joint medicine and it has worked for a while. It gave us time to appreciate her and let her KNOW we appreciate her.

Your Dad would get her up every morning, since Sunday, by lifting her back end and then she would go and eat and pee until she fell on the ground again. Then Dad brought her back in to sleep on her pillow. She never cried or made a paining sound.

It was amazing to watch Merritt this past week. Even though she couldn't get up she wanted to live her every day life anyway. She would make me take her outside at her regular scheduled times and then she would hop around the yard doing her thing, Chasing the Sun. At 3:30 the Sun is gone from the yard so I would go out and bring her back into the house to lay on her pillow. She wagged her happy tail the whole time. She has made me see how much she enjoys the simple pleasures life has to offer. Somehow it made me realize I need to do the same.

She has been a big part of my every day life since you left for college. She sleeps in our room and snores her head off. So I've gotten to enjoy snoring in stereo. She follows me all around the house when we are home alone together. She talks to me and she loves all my friends and They love her.

Dad called the Vet on Thursday to ask if there was more we could do for her. Sadly No. She was getting worse everyday. I couldn't bare to take her in to put her to sleep, so Dad took her for us. He said she was given a sedative and then he petted her for a while and he told her thank you for being a good pet and we would see her again. Then she quickly fell asleep. The Vet came in and injected the pink stuff. Within 30 seconds she was expired. Dad didn't cry at all. I cried, Kimberly cried and Kendall cried. Dad was mournful but crying on the inside. I am so glad that your Dad was able to take her in for us. We didn't want to see her suffer and she surely would have if we had waited through the weekend. I am so grateful she didin't suffer. She was a great dog and a big blessing in our lives.

We have been so busy with the Christmas festival this year so it put us kind of behind for Christmas. But we have been having a great season so far. I think Dad is emailing you about scheduling our phone call. YAy!!

Awesome to hear you are receiving blessings from Heavenly Father in your new area. It is always so inspiring when I experience great things beyond my own ability and recognize that it is the will of God and I get to be a part of it.

We got your packages for Christmas. I love that ours is in a hello kitty box. Thank you.

Josh Bell is home. He looks fantastic. So much so that a bunch of my girls think he is cute. He spoke to all the seminary classes his first full day home. At one point he told them about the email you wrote to me when you received a letter from him and how you felt it was like Ammon seeing his brothers in the gospel. And the great joy he felt. They loved listening to him.

Can't wait to hear your voice.

Love You,
Mom


12/21/09 Email message from Brendan

Dear Family,

I have to admit I have been crying for the last few minutes. And I cant quite seem to get the tears out of my eyes. At first I thought it was silly because she is just a dog, but we all know thats not true. Merritt was always more to me than just a dog. Shes a big part of my life. Shes been my friend since I was a little boy. Every boy needs a dog - and Merritt was mine. I could pull her ears and tail, pick her up, roll her over, lay on her, pretty much do anything to her and she never complained. She never jumped on me or slobbered on my clothes. She hated cats just like I did. She let me play with her when I was bored, hug her when I was sad, and talk to her when I needed a friend. Somehow she always knew when I was sad. She refused to learn tricks or fetch a ball - but thats just because all that was beneath her. At the time in my life when I most needed someone, God sent me my dog Merritt. And I loved her. And she was special to all of us. I dont know how many times we've said this over the years but she was our perfect dog. She matched us perfectly. I always felt like God made her for us - and He probably did. We are so blessed to have been able to love her for so long. She was a good dog - and one of my biggest personal blessings. Ill miss her.

But on the subject of happier things...I cant believe that Josh is home! Have you had him over yet? Thats cool that he got to meet Asher. I wonder what life is like for him right now. Probably pretty weird. Next time you see him tell him I said hi. And dont get married before I get home!

I'm excited to talk to everyone this week!

Much Love,
Elder Kingsford

I was totally out of my element

12/7/09 Email Message

Family,

Thanks so much for all of your emails. It was fun to get so many emails all at the same time. It makes for a great P-day :-)

So I dont know if I told you but my new area actually covers three branches. Two of them are Japanese branches and one of them just happens to be the American Misawa Air Force service mens branch. A "branch" of 200 American members. And we go there every Thursday to work with members and teach lessons.

Last Thursday was my first experience with it and it was crazy! We first went to the Branch Presidents house to have lunch with him and his family. I was pretty shocked. Here we were in the middle of Japan, but when I walked into his house I walked into America. Three little blonde haired blue eyed girls, big Christmas tree, knife and fork, English speaking America. I didnt know what to do. After a year and a little in Japan I felt so awkward speaking English to someone not my companion. I couldnt even talk to the little kids! I even asked one of them if they could speak Japanese - hoping I could find someone to communicate more comfortably with - but alas no. I just sat for an hour and clumsily ate my sub sandwich and doritos and tried to hide the fact that I was totally out of my element.

And that was only the start. From dinner another member picked us up, took us on base, and bought us pizza hut - meat lovers and extra cheese with cinna sticks on the side. As my companion handled the family (once again three little blonde haired blue eyed girls) I just held on to my IBC root beer and tried to fit in.

Im not so sure about this whole going home thing anymore. It was scary. Maybe this is good though. I can slowly ease myself back into American life one day a week. Lets hope things go better next time! Of course the three bags of American groceries they sent us home with werent so bad. It was great to have frosted mini wheats for breakfast again...

And thanks for my package! Everything was awesome. Especially the sweats. They are amazing - exactly what I was hoping for. And nice choice on the color - I can fit right in on campus next year.

Also that is so cool that BAMA is going for it all this year! Im so excited! I hope they pull it out. Jason is just going nuts right now. Hes the sports editor for the University paper so he gets a full paid trip to the game complete with press passes and everything. SO JEALOUS!!! Im wearing my bama hoody every day!!

Anyways I love you. I gotta run but I hope you all have a great week! Talk to you soon!

Much Love,

Elder Kingsford

Elder Kingsford's New Area

Hachinohe (八戸市) Japan

As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 238,421.
Hachinohe is located in the flatlands on the east coast of Aomori prefecture, facing the Pacific Ocean. The city has a cold maritime climate characterized by cool summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall.

Even if we dont start a charity in Africa

11/30/09 Email Message

Konnichiwa!

Genki? [Doing well?] I am so cold right now. Hachinohe has got to be the coldest place on earth. I went from Sendai (pretty much perfect weather) to the most northern area in our mission - my first night of dendo [proselyting] was a pretty big shock. But now that Ive broken out my gloves and scarf Im surviving. After this we are going to go buy new ear muffs and gloves - so exciting!

This new area is awesome. There hasnt been much success here lately but Heavenly Father has really blessed us in just the few days Ive been here. Things are looking up. My new companion is cool too. His name is Carthew choro and hes from Australia. Hes only been out a few months but he has so many ideas and a great desire to be a good missionary. Its been fun to be with him and feel his dendo fire.

Also hes super smart and super talented. He went to one of the top private schools in Australia. He speaks french, plays the bassoon, trumpet, guitar, and piano. He also has a great singing voice. Also he started a charity in high school that goes to Africa and builds schools for children that have lost their parents to AIDS. He paid for his mission by starting his own online business that designs and builds web stores for small home businesses. And after all that he gave up a full ride scholarship to the top university in Australia to come on a mission. Which leads to my problem.

After two days with him I realized that I have no talents. Wheres my charity for starving children? Why cant I even read music? What am I doing with my life? With these thoughts in my head we went out to dendo. That night was one of the most blessed nights of my mission. The Lord led us to 3 amazing new investigators and a handful of people with a lot of potential. I was having so much fun talking to people, testifying, and preaching the gospel. But strangely enough, when we got home my companion seemed a little sad. When I asked whats wrong his answer surprised me. "I cant do anything. I cant speak Japanese. I dont know what Im doing. How are you so good? Ill never be as good as you" Thats when I realized how wrong my thoughts had been before.

The Lord gives us specific strengths and calls us each to specific callings. Theres no need to compare ourselves to others. What Elder Carthew said was so not true, but what I had been saying was also completely wrong. I do have strengths - I do have accomplishments. And God is proud of me. We just have to make sure we have the right perspective.

God loves us no matter what weaknesses we have. He'll forgive us even if we dont start a charity in Africa. And Im so grateful for that...but that doesnt mean Im not thinking of ideas for my own charity when I get home. Ill keep you updated ;-)

I love you! Talk to you soon! Have a happy Holiday!

Elder Brendan Kingsford

I'm excited to go back to real life

11/23/09 Email Message

Dear Mom,
Thanks for the pictures. I love Merritt! Isnt it funny how much a part of our family she has become. We all love her so much...Shes a good dog.

The Christmas Child project sounds like it was great. Those are the kind of things that make me love christmas so much. So many miracles happen during the Christmas season. Its like for about a month and a half everyone grows a little closer to the Savior and the world reaps the benefits. I just wish that spirit could last all year.

Was the project done at the church or was it a community project? Im glad you and kendall had such a great time. I hope you have many more experiences like that this season.

About the shoes - tie on comfortable shoes are much more practical than loafers - imagine dendoing in the snow with loafers and tassles. Haha I think regular shoes will be just fine. Preferably black. Im good on slippers, all i want is sweats for pjs, and instead of candy how does chips and salsa sound? Have I ever told you about flyingpig.com? Its a website for Costco in Japan. You can order stuff from CostCo online and then they send it straight to me. Thats how most of the elders in the mission get american products from their parents. apparently its pretty cheap. maybe youd like to check it out.

And ps I have good news. Transfer day is tomorrow and kaicho [mission president] has decided to let me be a real missionary for the last part of my mission. Im transferring up north to a place called hachinohe with a young missionary. Im excited! Ive really enjoyed my time here in the honbu [mission home] and all the experiences Ive had as assistant. But Im excited to go back to real life and just focus on dendo [proselyting] for my last 6 months.

I hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving! Ill be thinking of you a lot during this season. Also we'll be on the phone in just a few weeks. tanoshiminishiteimasu [looking forward to it]! talk to you later!

Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford

But now its my treasure

11/15/09 Email Message

Hello Everyone!

Sorry Im so late - even though its Sunday this is the first time weve been able to email. But thanks so much for all your emails, it was fun to login and see all of those waiting. Ever since I came to the honbu my mail has pretty much died. So it was nice to get so many at the same time. I love you all!

Yesterday we had Someya sans baptism and it was amazing. He bore his testimony during the meeting and it was so good. I just wanted to share a short quote from what he said. At one point he was talking about how he gained a testimony in the Book of Mormon when he said (in english even though he was talking to a room full of Japanese people) "When I first began reading the Book of Mormon it was for leisure. Then it become my pleasure. But now its my treasure." His faith is incredible. Its been such a treat to teach him and be able to see his growth and progression. Even though he just got confirmed today he seemed like a veteran church member. He was picking up hymnbooks, preparing the room for class, talking with all of the members, and participating in the lessons. It was a great day!

Dad, Ill look around for your honten [winter house coat]. I would guess it would be somewhere around 20-30 dollars - but that might be totally wrong so Ill go look first. Also about the sweats - all of the sweats Ive seen here are kind of a weird style. And I cant imagine anything tailor made in Japan to be even close to affordable these days...Ill keep looking but If you cant send some from home maybe I can just find something else that will work here.

Well I gotta run. Love you and Ill talk to you soon! Bye Bye

Much Love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

These members are amazing

11/3/09 Email Message

Family!,

Wow an email from the new computer - how exciting! Did you lose anything when the old one crashed? I hope not - it had so many pictures and songs it would be sad if we lost all of those. But I hope you have fun with this new one. By the way Dad said something about Windows 7 coming with it - is that the new operating system? Ive never heard of that. Whats it like?

Halloween looks like it was a blast! The pictures were great - everyone looks like they had soo much fun! Where did all the kids come from? I think thats so cool that Kendall had a bunch of school friends come and have a clean fun time. By the way Kendall I got your letters! thanks so much. And I have a question - does that girl you wrote about come to church with you? Do you invite your other friends? Since Ive been on my mission Ive realized how easy it would have been to just invite my friends to church stuff - I never really took advantage of that and I regret it a lot. I think thats so cool that Aly invited her friend and helped her all the way through her conversion - that would be such a great experience for you and your friends to have. Have any of your friends ever met with the missionaries or have you ever talked to the missionaries about your friends? If not you should pull them aside this week at church and tell them you want help with your friends. They can help :-)

But anyways the party looks like it was amazing. I hope you all had fun! Im glad even merritt and rocky got in on the action.

So sad news - our party got cancelled. It was planned for the 29th but thats when Sister allred and Sister Dibb came in and had their big conference so it was a no go for the halloween. But i still got to pass out the candy to all the kids so that was fun at least. But we did have a big ward activity a couple days ago. Its called an imonikai - basically a big potato soup festival. We played softball in the morning (our team squeaked by 19 - 18 in extra innings) then we all walked over to the ward garden and picked cabbage, daikon (japanese radish) potatoes and peppers, then we all sat down and ate an awesome lunch of soup, homemade bread, and smoked meat and cheese prepared by the relief society. It was so fun and so Japanese.

These members are amazing. It was so fun to play with them but also to work next to them in the field and see how hard working and down to earth all of them are. It was a great experience. Ive attached some pictures from the day - notice no matter how Japanese I may feel Im still representin my true colors ;-)

Life is good - although it has gotten cold. It snowed a couple days ago for the first time and Im now back to sleeping with three blankets at night. It will be a happy day when Japan discovers double paned windows and insulation - but until then my big three blankets will have to do. Ill be fine until I have to add the fourth layer - then we are in trouble ;-)

I love you! Im glad you are all having so much fun together. Thanks for sending me all those pictures - and dont be afraid to send more! Talk to you soon!

Much Love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

Garden Photos

10/28/09 Email Message

Dad,

Happy Early Birthday Dad! I wrote you a letter and packed you a package but I have not had the time to run to the post office and send it off yet. But just know its on its way. Also know that I love you!

The other day I was thinking about all the times you took us trick or treating on your birthday. Im sure there were probably other things you would prefer to do on your birthday than walk around the neighborhood and watch us knock on doors all night. But you still went. I remember once when I was really little you had some kind of meeting to go to (work?) so you couldnt take us out late, but you came home from work and took us out for an hour or so just so we could still go trick or treating. You probably could have just told us you were too busy and we just wouldnt have gone that year. But of course you didnt. Even though you only had a little time that day to yourself you spent it on us so that we could have fun and be happy. And that may seem like something just really small but it meant a lot to my little 7 year old self. And it just represents the kind of Dad I have. You always put our dreams and wishes before your own. And you are always there when we need you. Thanks so much for being a great Dad.

I hope you have a Happy Birthday. I hear Kendall is having a big party this year - and Im guessing you are clean up crew. Well I guess some things never change. Haha just dont let them eat ALL the trash dip. I love you!

Elder Brendan Kingsford

"I know - Jesus makes me happy"

10/27/09 Email Message

Hello!

Wow those pictures are so cute! Asher is one good looking kid. I cant wait to meet him. Is he going to Kendalls party too? Hes sure got a great costume! I hope Kendalls party is as fun as it was last year. Let me know how it goes. Send pictures!

Things are going great here. We are in the middle of Zone Taikai [Conference] week but weve got a day off today because Sister Dibb, Sister Allred, and the area President Elder Stevenson are in town for a fireside and we are shuttling them around all day. But tonight we are back on the road to our last two Zones. Should be fun!

Another fun thing we are doing right now is apartment hunting. I never thought Id be doing business in Japanese but weve been dealing and bargaining with Real Estate agents and apartment owners for the past couple of weeks. Weve got a new senior couple coming to run a special YSA program called Outreach and they arrrive in about two weeks. Weve gotta find the apartment, sign the contract, and set up the furnishings all before they get here. Everything we are doing is brand new to both of us so its pretty exciting.

Also we had a lesson with Someya san today that was awesome. You can just see the change that has come over him. He used to just look a little dark and depressed - his hair was long and greasy, his clothes were grungy, and he didnt really smile much. But since gaining a testimony of Jesus Christ and feeling the power of the words of the scriptures - especially the Book of Mormon - he has just changed so much. Hes happy and smiling, hes got a little bounce in his step, and hes just so happy. It really is amazing to see. We pointed it out to him today and he said "I know - Jesus makes me happy" It was so cool. Im so excited for his baptism in a couple of weeks. Its been such a blessing to meet and teach him. We are so lucky.

So as you can see things are going great. Thanks so much for sending me those pictures - they really brightened my day. Mom you have really gotten good at editing your pictures. I hope you enjoy your new computer and I hope you get time to play around on it. That is such a good gift to have. I hope everyone has a happy halloween! Dont have too much fun ;-) Hope to hear from you soon!

Much Love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

Life is good!

10/21/09 Email Message

Family,

Sorry I havent written in a while...sometimes we just dont take p-day here because we feel like we just have too much to do. But Dads last email made me realize that Im not prioritizing my time as wisely as I should. Im sorry if Ive made any one feel like I dont care about you because I dont write every week. Ive just been trying to concentrate my efforts on fulfilling my calling as a missionary and helping my investigators and the mission progress. But I realize I still need to keep my family in the loop, so I will make try to write weekly from here to the end of my mission.

So guess what? This week I realized that it is indeed a small world after all. Dad, Im not sure but I seem to remember you telling me a few times when I was little that your mission presidents name meant "cow tail" And if thats true his name was Ushio desho [right]? President Ushio of the Osaka Mission is President Tateokas uncle. Ushio kaichos [president] wifes maiden name is Tateoka - she is Tateoka kaichos aunt. So if I am right your mission President is my mission Presidents uncle. Cool huh?

Also, yesterday I found an email from Bishop Carlson in the mission email inbox yesterday. I didnt know this before, but I found out he actually served in the Sendai Mission. One time when Dad and I went to his house to home teach, he and Dad joked about the kekko [decline] box he had on his front porch. I didnt know what that meant but they seemed to think it was pretty funny and I figured he had also served in Japan but I didnt know where. Apparently he attended church in one of our branches here last week. I thought that was cool. Also he and his family live in Friendswood Texas now - did you know that? Im writing him a letter this week.

Its really cooling off around here now. We are starting to bundle up and preparing for winter dendo once more. Im going to the store today to buy gloves and ear muffs and after that we are going to pick up the first tank of toyu [kerosine] for our heater. Whooh! Fun stuff. Pretty soon Ill be breaking out the winter coat and snow boots and trekking through the snow. Cant wait!

Life is good! One of our investigators is getting baptized on Kimberly's birthday. His name is Someya and he is so cool. The first time we met him we only talked to him for 20 seconds on the street because he was in a hurry but he gave us his number. We called him back, set up an appointment, and on his first lesson he asked us if he could be baptized. He is currently a recovering alcoholic but he says Jesus gives him strength to beat it. Also he has gone from smoking a pack a day to completely quitting in just under a month. He loves the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible - especially when Jesus speaks. I love teaching him because he just feels the spirit so much when we meet. I feel blessed to have been able to find and teach him even with all the other responsibilities I have taking my time away from dendo [proselyting]. We are so blessed!

I love you. I hope everyone has a great week - tell MErritt I said hi! I was sad to hear she is having a hard time with old age - but im glad shes doing better now. Talk to you soon!

Much Love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

And now I understand

9/29/08 Email Message

Family,

Things are going great here. I am so excited for General Conference. Even though it actually happens this weekend, we wont see it until next weekend because of the crazy time differences. But I am very excited. We are so blessed to be able to devote an entire weekend twice a year to just listening to the voice of prophets and apostles of God. I never really appreciated the importance of general conference before my mission. But now that Ive been a missionary, I see just how amazing this church is and how incredible it is to be led by a living prophet of Heavenly Father. So to say the least Im excited for next weekend.

Lately Elder Kawabata and I have been very blessed. Even though we have less time to dendo [proselyte] than we used to, we are blessed to have many people to teach and share the gospel with. And recently it seems like all of our lessons are about the Spirit and the blessings that come from the gospel. And as Ive taught others about these amazing gifts Ive started to better recognize their importance in my life. I have come to realize that the Holy Ghost is something that I have always taken for granted. But as my understanding has grown, my gratefulness has deepened. I have a new favorite scripture - its 3 Nephi 19:9-15. Its kind of long but I want to share it here because I love it so much:

9 And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them.
10 And when they had thus prayed they went down unto the water’s edge, and the multitude followed them.
11 And it came to pass that Nephi went down into the water and was baptized.
12 And he came up out of the water and began to baptize. And he baptized all those whom Jesus had chosen.
13 And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
14 And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them.
15 And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst and ministered unto them.

I have read and shared these verses many times over the past few weeks. Why was the Holy Ghost the disciples' greatest desire? I never really understood what the disciples felt until I became a missionary. But the experiences Ive had over the last year and a little have helped me understand - I have seen that all that is good comes through the Holy Ghost. Every thing that is good in our lives is enhanced by the Spirit. I have been so happy recently because I have been blessed with wonderful spiritual experiences. At times I feel like I am "filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire". And in the midst of that fire I have felt Jesus minister unto me and my investigators. And now I understand.

I love you! Thanks for always being there for me. You are the best!

Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford

With all of that proof how could she doubt?

9/10/09 Email Message

Family,

Hows it going?! Sorry last weeks email was so lame. We were just sooo busy last week. With new missionaries coming in, old missionaries going out, and missionaries transferring around, it was a miracle we even found time to sleep. It was hectic, but I guess thats what makes life fun. But for now Im glad Ive got time to sit down and write - then its back to running around ;-)

Its great to hear all the news about the cousins. Thats so cool that Bobby got sealed in the temple! Im happy for him and his wife. And Jack, Norman, and David are all living in Utah now? That is so cool. Im excited to to hang out with them when I get back. Hopefully they will all still be there. You know we never really got much of a chance to hang out when we were young, but I think it would be a great blessing to be friends now that we are older.

Sounds like the musical will be fun this year! Im glad the kids in our ward let at least a few of their school friends in on the fun - sounds like it will be a great dendo [missionary] activity ;-) Is mom planning on helping out? Should I even ask? Its too bad Kendall didnt get the part she wanted, but Im sure she will have a blast as choreographer. Good luck!

Things are going good here. Like I said, we are super busy right now but having a blast. The Nagamachi ward is incredible. Good things are happening all around us - I am so blessed to be here right now. Lately Ive had some special experiences that have really given me a better understanding of how much God loves His children. Last week was really special. Ayumi chan, a 16 year old girl that we have all been working with got baptized. And her baptism was the most spiritual baptism Ive been to on my mission. Her mom and sister who are both recent converts themselves were there too. After she was baptized she stood at the pulpit and bore her little sweet testimony about Jesus Christ. She said she loves Jesus because He loves her. She said she knows the gospel is true because it makes her happy. When she prays good things happen. When she obeys the word of wisdom she feels good. When she reads her scriptures she feels comforted. When she comes to church she feels love. With all of that proof how could she doubt? Then she said amen and sat down.

Her testimony really made me think. It was so simple but also so powerful. There is no need to argue, or debate, or worry, or reason your way into a testimony. This gospel is true because it is. And anyone can experience it for themselves. You can know it just by living it. Ayumi chan helped me really understand how I know for myself. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior because Ive felt His love. I know the commandments are from God because they keep me safe. I know the Bible and the Book of Mormon are Gods word because Ive read them. I know the Church has been restored today and that it is lead by a prophet of God because Ive heard him speak. And I know God answers my prayers because Ive prayed and He has answered them. It really is just that simple. I am so grateful for this chance to be here and learn so much. I am so grateful for the people that have touched my life here in Japan. I am especially grateful for Ayumi chan for teaching me about my testimony. I just feel so loved by the Lord. I love you! I hope you are all happy! Talk to you soon.

Much Love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

More Pictures from Japan

Duc knows it. And I know it.

8/24/09 Email Message

Family,

So this was a great week. Our companion exchange this weekend was fantastic. I worked with Allred choro. He was my senpai in the MTC and he was actually my Zone Leader there too. I remember when I first arrived at the MTC he was the first senpai I met. He had been there 6 weeks, but from my perspective he might as well have been there 6 months. I looked up to him during our entire stay in the MTC - and last weekend I finally got to work with him in the field. And it was a blast. We found a lot of interested people and had a great time talking with them. It was fun.


And then on Sunday Duc got baptized. And it was a great. His story is awesome, so I want to share that with you. Duc is Vietnamese but he is going to graduate school in Japan to get his PHD in Mechanical Engineering. He began meeting with missionaries about three months ago. He came to church a few times and heard a few lessons. But at that time he just could not believe in the Restoration. He said he could not believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would appear to a 14 year farm boy just to answer one prayer. He also could not believe that the Book of Mormon was true because of "inconcistencies" between its teachings and the Bible's. So after about a month he stopped meeting with the missionaries.

Fast forward to about three weeks ago. In the middle of the day, we got a call from Duc. The first thing he says is "I have had a significant spiritual experience and I would like to be baptized. When can we do it?" We were shocked. We didnt really know what to say at the time, but we set up an appointment to meet and talk about it. We met the next day and he told us what had happened.

For about 6 months he had been working for his cousin, delivering CDs that his cousin had sold over the internet. What Duc didnt know is those CDs were illegal pirated copies. About a week after he stopped meeting with the missionaries, the police came to his home, arrested him, and took him to jail. He was in jail for over three weeks. He cannot speak Japanese so he had no way to help himself get out of his situation. All he could think to do was to pray like the missionaries had taught him. And as he did so, he felt like he also needed to read the scriptures. He called a friend and had him bring him a Bible and a Book of Mormon. And over the next three weeks in jail, he read the entire Bible and the entire Book of Mormon. By the time he had finished he had received an answer from God that everything the missionaries taught him was true.

Through careful study and prayer he received a testimony that the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon was the word of God. He realized that there are no "inconsistencies" between the two, but in fact they actually support and complement each other perfectly. He gained the knowledge that Jesus Christ is his Savior. He also received a burning testimony that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God who actually met Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. At that point, Duc told Heavenly Father that he would serve Him the rest of his life and would follow the Savior and be baptized no matter what happened to him. As soon as the police figured everything out and released him, he called us on the phone. And on Sunday he followed through on his promise to God and entered His church through the waters of baptism. It was such a spiritual experience to witness all of it.


When he got up and bore his testimony at the end of the meeting it was just amazing. He stood up and said very simply what his heart knew to be true. God is our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. The Bible and the Book of Mormon both contain the living word of God. Christs church has been restored in our day through a prophet of God, and we can all be happy forever by living the gospel that has been restored. Duc knows it. And I know it. From the bottom of my heart.

Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford




Duc, me, my companion, Takami choro, and the Hansens (the office couple, who also helped us teach a lot)

The Gift of Tongues is Real

8/13/09 Email Message

Family,

Wow I cant believe all of that happened to Grandpa and he is still alive. I guess he is just too strong. I think this is a sign that I should write him a letter. That will be the first thing I do next P-day. If you talk to him soon tell him I said Hi. And Im praying for him.

I have kind of a cool story from over here in Japan. So in the MTC they drill three little letters into your brain. No matter what you do you cant get away from these three letters. They say it in class, they say it in the halls, they say it in devotionals, they say it in gym, they say it in your dorms, they say it at lunch - its everywhere! After three months in there all you can think about is those three letters. "S.Y.L." - Speak Your Language. Its a little reminder to keep you speaking the language that you are learning at all possibilities and in all situations. They used to promise us that if we kept "speaking our language" one day Japanese really would become "our language". Sometimes I doubted if that was really true.

Well after "speaking my language" for over a year there are a handful of Japanese words that have become part of "my language". Recently Ive been doing a lot of translating at church and other places for the Hansens (the senior couple that is in the office here) The most difficult times are when someone says one of "my words". If someone says something like dendo or kamisama (God) I repeat it back as dendo or kamisama. There have been a few times when they have to look at me and remind me they dont know what Im saying. Sometimes I just dont even know the English translation. Its a testimony to me that the gift of tongues is real. Its a crazy experience thats for sure.

I have a few questions. Did you get my memory card for my pictures in the last package? Also are you going to send my childhood pictures soon? If so please include pictures of high school too. It would be great to have pictures of back home. Also please send my baptism picture and one of me and kimberly in our kimonos. It would realllly help with investigators and in lessons. Please send those ASAP. Also did I tell you I broke my camera? If not - i broke it. Should I buy one here? What should we do? Also one of my suits is falling apart. I need a new one. I can get a good one for about 80 dollars. Also I need to get my drivers license here and we have a problem. I need my driving record from Alabama. Please copy that and email it to me ASAP. Thank you!

Love you all! Thanks for writing me. Talk to you soon!

Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford

Be a Hinckley Scholar. That's all I ask

8/3/09 Email Message to Kendall

hello kendall!

school already huh? crazy. what grade are you in again...6th? 7th? no wait 10?!!! huh? how did that happen!&%! i remember when you were getting ready for your first day of kindergarten. we went to elementary school together. can you believe that! and every time i'd walk past the kindergarten section i'd stop and take a peek to see if i could see my little sister. how did you make it to high school so quickly?

your schedule looks so fun. who are your teachers? i'm glad you are taking a lot of honors classes. you will be happier there. and next year take as many APs as you can. you will enjoy yourself most there. also this year do all you can to make all A's. people may tell you its ok to make B's but they are wrong. dont sell yourself short. also make sure you find some cool clubs to join and don't be afraid to take leadership positions. that's where all the fun is anyway. don't be afraid of doing too much - do as much as you can. do it all. work hard and have fun. and remember you have to prepare to be a hinckley scholar. that's all i ask ;-)

you got to see Tyler [cousin] play baseball? no fair. i wanna see him too. did he play? what position? and kimberly's apartment sounds fun. i'm glad they live so close so that you can see them a lot. isn't family fun? and that is so cool that stephanie came to girls camp and was able to strengthen her testimony. i love that she has learned to recognize the spirit. does she still come to other church activities? tell her i said hey! also tell her i said she needs to get baptized...oops thats the missionary coming out ;-)

so since i came to the honbu [mission home], i've been listening to a lot of music. we have soooo many church cds. but i think i've found a favorite. its an efy cd. the theme is Stand in the Light. I'm not sure what year its from but it may be 2008 or 2007...pretty recent i'm sure. anyway, i think you would love it. it would be a great sunday cd. i like track 1, 4 and 5 especially. 4 reminds me of you. i recomend it.

i love you! you are the best little sister i could ask for. thanks for being so cool. keep makin' me proud!

Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford

Now the mission is on fire

7/27/09 Email Message

Dad,
I can't believe I'm here either. When Kaicho [my mission president] called me last week I was shocked. When he told me I was going to be AP, I didn't say anything for a few moments and he laughed and asked if I was alright. Well I don't know if I can answer that question even now. I guess we will see how it goes over the next few months here. And to answer your question, it's been about half and half since I've been here. Half of the APs have died [finished their missions]as APs and the other half have either gone trainer or ZL for their last 1 or 2 transfers. I don't know what will happen with me though. The youngest AP before me was on his 11th transfer. I'm only on my 9th. At this point I'm not really sure what Kaicho wants me to do in the future. We'll see...

I'm glad you got the package I sent you. It was way over due, so I'm sorry about that. But I'm glad you enjoyed it. Isn't that flag awesome? And you want to know something cool? One of our Eikaiwa [english class] students went to Osaka to visit her daughter and before she left I asked her to bring something back for my dad. So she brought that flag back for me. So that flag is actually from your mission. Cool huh? I thought it was beautiful. I'm glad you liked it.

So this last week was a very new experience. Apart from transferring to the honbu [mission home], I also got my first Nihonjin [japanese] companion. His name is Takami choro and he is from Gifu ken in the Nagoya mission. He's way cool and so hilarious. He makes the funiest sounds all the time and he's a great cook. He pretty much cooks every meal for all of us four in the honbu. And thats another weird thing. I now live with three other Elders instead of just one. The other two are my former Zone Leaders - Oswald choro (from Idaho) and Kawabata choro (from Fukuoka). We speak so much Japanese all the time. Which is awesome because that means I've learned soo much in just a few days. In that regard I'm way excited for this opportunity to work closely with two Nihonjins. I'm expected to be an interpreter for the honbu so I'm going to need all the help I can get. My new ward is awesome too. It's called Nagamachi and it is the biggest ward in the mission. About 120 people come every week. I was pretty much shocked when I walked into church on Sunday. I'm excited to work with the members here.

There are so many good things going on around the mission right now. Recently Tateoka Kaicho challenged us to start committing our investigators to baptism on the first or second lesson. Since that time our baptisms have gone from the lowest in Japan to the highest. In a little over a month we have seen our baptisms and baptism dates triple. And they arent slowing down. When I first came to the mission missionaries saw baptism as some rare miracle that only happened every once in a while. But now we are seeing miracles happen left and right. Tateoka Kaicho has really shaken things up. Before he came the mission was really kind of stale and sloppy. He's brought a lot of changes and really energized everyone. He has really inspired us to be bold and energetic. Now the mission is on fire. Members are excited, missionaries are filled with entusiasm, and best of all those we are teaching are feeling the power of the Spirit like never before. Each and everyday we are going out with power from the Lord and inviting people to come unto Christ. Its really something incredible to be a part of. Its awesome! I am so happy to be here right now. Im really happy for this chance to work so closely with Kaicho and learn as much as I can from him and the other missionaries. I think these next few months will be soo much fun. I cant wait!

I miss you and i love you. Hope to hear from you soon!
Much Love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

I'm doing good (besides being sick to my stomach)

7/21/09 Email Message

Mom -

Im sorry i dont have much time. but the good news is i will have email next week. President called me today and told me I am transfering into the mission home. Hes asked me to be the new assistant. I feel sick. I dont know if Im ready for this so soon. Please pray for me. I wish I could write more and talk to you face to face to get some help, but this is all I have time for. I love you! Im doing good (besides being sick to my stomach) Tell everyone I said hi! From now on youll be hearing more from me, because I will have more time to email. I love you lots!

Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford

I'll never forget that feeling for as long as I live

6/16/09 Letter to Family

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Because the Book of Mormon Proves It

6/1/09 Letter to Family

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Like Nephi

5/18/09 Letter Home

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The senior who goes senior, district leader, trainer all in the same transfer blessing

5/4/09 Email Message

Things are going good here. i wrote a letter last week, but things got crazy and i wasnt able to send it. and now its a holiday and i cant use the post office until thursday. but ill send it as soon as i can! but as of last week's transfer calls life has become insane. kaicho called me last week and told me i was going to go senior...and district leader at the same time...and trainer too! what!? i thought it was a joke.

im only 7th transfer, ive never heard of anyone going trainer this young in this mission. i still feel like i need my own trainer. but its ok. my new bean (new missionary) is cool. Hes from New Zealand and hes scared to death. but he will be alright. its so weird to be trainer. all of a sudden im supposed to know everything and do it all and at the same time teach someone how to do it too. but its okay - as long as I pray alot, try my best, and act like i know what im doing the lord provides the rest.

ever since i was a bean ive heard talk of the "the senior blessing" that you get when you go senior. the theory is that the Lord gives you everything you need to fulfill your calling. therefore, when you go senior the Lord increases your ability to speak, understand, work, and receive revelation. ive been waiting for that blessing for what feels like my entire life. but in this last week, ive needed something even greater. I needed "the senior who goes senior, district leader, trainer all in the same transfer while also only being a 7th transfer missionary in Japan blessing". and the funny thing is on the first full day with my new responsibilities, I got it. I took my bean dendoing [proselyting] for the first time in his life (he was scared stiff). We housed for 4 hours and it was probably the most effective 4 hours of my mission. We found 3 new investigators, 4 potential investigators, taught tons of lessons, and met some incredible people. And the most amazing thing about the whole experience was it was the first time on my mission that ive understood everything everyone said. I was never at a loss for words and i just seemed to know exactly what to say to everyone. it was an incredible feeling. i almost couldnt believe it was true.
Isnt God amazing?!

I gotta run now. ill talk to you on Sunday! I love you all soo much. talk to you soon!

Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford

I'm an Uncle

4/20/09 Email Message

Grandma and Grandpa -

i cant really believe those pictures are even real! Does Kimberly really have a baby? It really is pretty unbelievable to me. He is soo cute. I love the close up you sent of him with his mouth open! What a cute kid. He looks ALOT like austin i think. Maybe he will have curly hair - if hes lucky. I cant wait to meet him. He wont be talking by then will he? Wow what an exciting time! Im an uncle...

Im excited to talk to you in a couple of weeks. How do you want to work that by the way? What time would be best? Let me know so I can start to make plans. We got cell phones a couple of months ago, so i dont know how its going to work this time. we should be getting instructions pretty soon, and when we do ill let you know whats going on.

Things are going pretty good here. We are making great progress with some investigators. Danika chan (the 9 year old) is amazing. If her parents are ok with it she should be baptized sometime within the next few weeks. she is soo cute. ill be sending another sd card home soon so youll be able to see her. also we are teaching a 70 year old man who has decided he wants to set a baptism date. we think he should have a goal by the end of this week so we are praying hard for him. the work is progressing here so much.

It is so much fun to teach these people and see them grow in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I never realized how much fun teaching people the gospel would be. A few months ago i decided to focus on really trying to get lost in the work. the time since then has been the best time of my mission. I dont miss music, i dont miss television, i dont miss girls, i dont even miss sports (most days ;-) ) All i want to do is be a better missionary and teach people about Jesus. The feeling i get after a good lesson is worth everything i have sacrificed. Its incredible! Im so happy to be on a mission and serving the Lord. This is the best time that i have ever had. Im excited to see whats waiting for me over the next few months!

I love you all and im so happy about asher. I love seeing the pictures of him. i cant wait to wrestle with him and hear him laugh! how exciting! let me know what hes like. Ive only seen pictures of him...id like to hear what its like to have a grandson in the family! tell me all

Elder Brendan Kingsford

4/6/09 Letter to Family

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Rising Sun Volume 5

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3/30/09 Letter

Six Photos

This is the apartment where Su san and her friends live. I spent a lot of time here.

We were teaching a lesson in primary and then this little girl (Chiho chan) wanted to stay and talk

We were biking and just had to snap some pictures

Pretty sunset - first day in Tagajo

Had to stop and take a picture. It was so pretty.

Saying goodbye at the train station. Sad day.

Rising Sun Volume 4

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I'll write another letter today

4/6/09 Email Message

sorry!!! but i have no time. the email situation here is tough. i sent a letter last week so you should get that pretty soon. also ill write another letter today. hopefully ill have more time to email next week!!!

I love you more than you know! i hope all is well.

Much Love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

The blessed isles of the sea

3/30/09 Email Message

Family,

First of all have I told you how much i love japan? if not, I love Japan!! When I first got here all i could do was compare it to america and find all of its faults. i dont know what changed, but now when i look around all i see is beautiful amazing japan. my teacher in the mtc used to call Japan the blessed isles of the sea - and now i see why. Japan is incredible. It has definitely taken a piece of my heart. at least once every day Ill just pause and realize how much i love it here. if i need to cheer up all i have to do is remind myself where i am and i immediately brighten up. The other night i started to stress out because i realized time is just flying. Then i thought about what its going to be like to leave my blessed isles and i started to get depressed. But then i remembered i still have over a year left here and i was instantly comforted. 1 more year in beautiful japan. Its funny because this love for japan has just recently hit me. ive always liked it, but never like i do now. I cant even describe my feelings for japan really. all i know is i wake up every morning and think "wow im in japan! today is a good day" - its awesome.

Thats about all the time i have left. im going to send a longer letter with more stuff about my new area. Ive got a lot of good stuff to say, so be expecting that letter sometime soon. I love you all! I hope all is well!

Much Love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

Elder Kingsford's Second Area: Tagajo City

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The people there are like my family and the city is like my home

3/23/09 Email Message

First the good news...I transfered to Sendai city in an area called Tagajo. It is the smallest ward in the Sendai stake (about 40 people on Sundays) but its still really fun. Im now in the middle of the mission and about 45 minutes away from the mission home. There is so much activity going on around here, its kind of weird to be here in the middle of all of it, but its way fun.

My new companion is Elder Mozingo. Hes a cowboy from Hyrum Utah. He is sooo funny and way chill. Im excited to see what we can accomplish the next few months together.

The Bad news...when I said goodbye to Su shimai and Yoriko shimai at the eki [train station] we all just started crying. Su shimai ran off before I got through the ticket gate because she was embarrassed for me to see her cry. I cried for the next half hour on the train. Im really going to miss Nagaoka. The people there are like my family and the city is like my home. Ill never forget the experiences I had there.

The Worst news...I dont have email!! I am in the middle of the biggest city in the mission but I have no place to email. I may be able to find a place every once in a while, but for about the next 6 months it will probably just be mostly letters. It sucks but thats just life.

I love you! I gotta run. Weve got FHE in the mission home in about a half hour. I miss you sooo much, and hopefully Ill hear from you soon.

Love, Elder Kingsford

P.S. - When Kimberly has Asher can you call the honbu and tell them? They will call me and tell me, that way I can know the day of instead of waiting for a letter for two weeks. Love You!!

It made me so happy to realize that Josh is still my brother in the faith

3/16/09 Email Message

Family,

Well its probably my last time to be emailing you from Nagaoka. Its transfer week again and Im almost positive Ill be packing up and leaving to my first new area. Im pretty sad to be leaving but I am also pretty excited. 7 months in one area is a long time for a missionary. But Ill sure miss Nagaoka when I leave. I just hope my next area at least comes close to being as cool as Nagaoka.

This week was good. I got a letter from Elder Josh Bell with tons of pictures inside. It was so cool to hear from him and see how hes doing. It was almost like we were catching up in person. He sounds like hes doing great. He said hes been trainer the last two transfers so things have been pretty busy for him. Also, hes just as shocked as I am to look around and see all the signs that we are growing up. He too feels like we should still be practicing for the roadshow and hanging out at kids kingdom - maybe he and I will just have to hit up kids kingdom by ourselves sometime next summer. But it was really nice to hear how hes doing. I kind of felt like Alma when he met the sons of mosiah. It made me so happy to realize that Josh is still my brother in the faith and that we are both still fighting the good fight. I must be extremely lucky to have a friend like him.

But as for me, my last full week in Nagaoka was really good. We had a Ping Pong Party on saturday for our investigators, members and eikaiwa students. It went really well. Our friends got to have fun with the members, we taught a few lessons, we found one more person who wants to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and tons of people went home with a good experience at church. Not to mention it was tons of fun. Im not going to brag, but I think the Japanese culture is started to rub off on my ping pong skills ;). I may just have to get myself a table when I get home. But weve got a busy P day ahead of us to prepare for transfer week, so I gotta run.

I love you all so much and I hope everything is going fantastically! Hope to hear from ya soon!

Much Love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

Video from Japan

I'll gladly take a swing for my Savior if that's what it takes.

3/9/09 Email Message

Family,

It feels like just yesterday Mom and Kendall were going to Kimberly's wedding shower. Now you two just went to her baby shower? How crazy is that! Its pretty exciting huh? Asher is one lucky little boy. I wonder if he knows how lucky he is? I mean come on, he does have the coolest uncle in the world right?

I hope you do get to go to Gulf Shores for springbreak. I love the beaches down there. They are sooo pretty and the towns around there are soo fun. Make sure you take some good pics. Oh and are you really going to wicked?! No fair. Haha I hope you realize you have to save at least some fun for when I get back. And dont you love the spring time?

Its warming up around here too. I dont even have to wear my winter coat anymore. Yesterday the weather was absolutely gorgeous. And what made it better is we got to spend a lot of time outdoors. We helped some of our Mongolian friends change the tires on their cars for a couple of hours while we talked to them about the gospel. It was a great teaching situation.

We had district conference on saturday and sunday. President Evans (the area president) came and spoke and it was so cool. Also, Su shimai gave her first talk in church and she did great. She was soo nervous to speak in front of so many people, including President and Sister Evans and President and Sister Tateoka. But when President Evans got up and spoke he just praised her for the first 5 minutes. It was cool.

This last week was pretty good. On the first day that it really started to warm up, we went on splits in a different area. It felt so good and I was so happy to be walking around knocking on doors in such beautiful weather. We were out for a couple hours before we came to a particular house. I knocked on the door and a nice looking man came to the door. I introduced ourselves and our message. He smiled and said (in perfect english) he wasnt interested because he was buddhist. Well of course I wasnt going to let him get away that easily, so I asked him if he had ever met missionaries before. Once again he gave me the same response as before (without answering my question). I thought maybe he hadnt heard me so I asked him again. And then he blew up. All of a sudden he wasnt a little smiling Japanese man anymore. He freaked out at me. He started yelling at me (in plain form offensive Japanese). He told me that I was just a stupid American. He told me to go home and that Jesus was a fraud. He said he didnt want me in Japan and that the Japanese people didnt want me either. I didnt really know what to do. I was so shocked that I just stood there. But somewhere in the middle of his rant I just started to laugh. Big mistake. The little Japanese man that had seemed so nice and smily just 5 minutes before took my laughing as an insult, and he didnt like it at all. He stepped out of his house came up to me and took a swing. I was still a little shocked so I couldnt really react quick enough, but luckily I was able to move my head just in time. He missed, barely. He wound up for another swing, but by that time I had woken up out of my shock and was already running down the sidewalk. Apparently my companions reflexes were much quicker than mine because he was already around the corner by the time I caught up to him. Nice to know he had my back. But I guess thats the life of a missionary sometimes. Not everyone is going to accept us. And I guess some people are even going to take a swing at us. But its worth it. Ill gladly take a swing for my savior if thats what it takes.

I love you! Im so excited for everything that is going on. I miss you! But I hope to hear from you soon.

Much love,

Elder Brendan Kingsford

P.s.- I dont really need any cds. all the missionaries have plenty of music to listen to. Id prefer some toothpaste, a new toothbrush, some JIF peanut butter, and some Nutella. That would be a perfect package!