10/1/08 Email Message
Family!,
You are going to Washington D.C.? How fun is that! Why are you going? Take lots of pictures and let me know how its going. I bet its going to be beautiful.
Transfer calls were today and I found out im staying in Nagaoka! WooHoo! Im excited. I love it here and did not want to leave. So it looks like Im going to get at least 6 more weeks here. Im so glad.
I love the mission, by the way. Last week we went to a special conference with Evans Kaicho our area president. It was so cool. He spoke to us practically all day. I took 6 pages of notes! The spirit was so strong the whole time. I felt so blessed to just sit there and soak up the words of a general authority. Who else gets that kind of opportunity? I love being a missionary. Japan is a hard place to be. Its hard to give up everything I care about for two years to come to a completely foreign country and work so hard all the time. Its harder than I imagined. Much harder. But its amazing! I love everything about it. I wouldnt give this up for anything. Not even for a chance to watch Alabama and Byu win a BCS game. (which is going to happen by the way) Im so glad Im here and Im so grateful for the experience. Its incredible.
I love you! I Miss all of you so much and I wish I could be with you to tell you all the cool things that i have experienced. But I know there is much more to come. I cant wait to sit down with you all and share my mission with you in person! I love you all so much, and Im glad you are doing so well.
Love, Elder Kingsford
P.S. - Kendall I got the albums! thanks so much. They are awesome. My companions were impressed with them, and they were shocked that my sister would make me something so cool. they said their sisters would never do something like that for them. well duh! they obviously dont have as cool of a sister as i do! I love you! Thanks again!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I'm hoping I don't get transferred
9/24/08 Email Message
Family,
Hey! Sorry but I have even less time this week. Im typing this at an eki [train station] in Niigata city on my way to Zone Taikai in Koriyama. Our area president Evans Kaicho is speaking to us tomorrow.
I am doing good here. We are having a great time dendoing [proselyting] in Nagaoka. Transfers are next week and Im hoping I dont get transferred. We are SO busy and are doing so well. I also dont want to leave my trainer, Elder Gross. He is awesome. Its a great luxury to have someone who is fluent in both languages. I learn so much from him all the time. We are up to 23 investigators. When I got here we had 2. We also have 7 progressing investigators. Its awesome! We are to the point where we have to squeeze in finding time between all the lessons we are teaching. We are hoping to extend some baptism commitments soon. Im so excited! I wish I had more time to tell you some stories from this last week, but Ill include it in next weeks email.
This week Ill want to talk a little about the branch members here. They are awesome. There are an average of 35 members every week in sacrament. Some of them travel for more than an hour to get there. One sister walks an hour and a half. They are all so nice. All of them are converts of course except for the children. The primary consists of about 8 kids - 5 of which are from one family. The youngest boy in that family is named Takahiro and he is my favorite member. He is two years old and he is the cutest little kid i have ever met. In sacrament meeting he always climbs off his chair and kneels on the ground during prayers. It is so cute. Hopefully I can send you a picture of him soon. Also there is Yoriko Shimai. She is so cool. She loves the missionaries and takes care of us like she is our mom. She got baptized in december of last year but she is so strong in the church. She calls us every night to check in on us and see how we are doing. I love her! Weve gotten three of our kyudoshas [investigators] through her too so she is also an amazing member missionary. I hope I stay here!
Anyways thats about all the time that I have. I wish I had an hour more to tell you about all thats going on, but next week will have to do. I will also send a letter home soon. Love you! Miss you! Talk to you next week!
ps- Wow if alabama and byu keep this up they could see each other in a bowl game this year. how cool would that be!
Family,
Hey! Sorry but I have even less time this week. Im typing this at an eki [train station] in Niigata city on my way to Zone Taikai in Koriyama. Our area president Evans Kaicho is speaking to us tomorrow.
I am doing good here. We are having a great time dendoing [proselyting] in Nagaoka. Transfers are next week and Im hoping I dont get transferred. We are SO busy and are doing so well. I also dont want to leave my trainer, Elder Gross. He is awesome. Its a great luxury to have someone who is fluent in both languages. I learn so much from him all the time. We are up to 23 investigators. When I got here we had 2. We also have 7 progressing investigators. Its awesome! We are to the point where we have to squeeze in finding time between all the lessons we are teaching. We are hoping to extend some baptism commitments soon. Im so excited! I wish I had more time to tell you some stories from this last week, but Ill include it in next weeks email.
This week Ill want to talk a little about the branch members here. They are awesome. There are an average of 35 members every week in sacrament. Some of them travel for more than an hour to get there. One sister walks an hour and a half. They are all so nice. All of them are converts of course except for the children. The primary consists of about 8 kids - 5 of which are from one family. The youngest boy in that family is named Takahiro and he is my favorite member. He is two years old and he is the cutest little kid i have ever met. In sacrament meeting he always climbs off his chair and kneels on the ground during prayers. It is so cute. Hopefully I can send you a picture of him soon. Also there is Yoriko Shimai. She is so cool. She loves the missionaries and takes care of us like she is our mom. She got baptized in december of last year but she is so strong in the church. She calls us every night to check in on us and see how we are doing. I love her! Weve gotten three of our kyudoshas [investigators] through her too so she is also an amazing member missionary. I hope I stay here!
Anyways thats about all the time that I have. I wish I had an hour more to tell you about all thats going on, but next week will have to do. I will also send a letter home soon. Love you! Miss you! Talk to you next week!
ps- Wow if alabama and byu keep this up they could see each other in a bowl game this year. how cool would that be!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Even though I can't understand Japanese, I can understand the Spirit when He talks to me.
9/17/08 Email Message
Family!, Hows it going?! I love sitting down at the computer and reading all of your messages. My last week in the MTC I read a little talk President Hinckley gave about his expectations of missionaries. In it he said one of the greatest things about a mission is it enhances a young mans appreciation for his parents and deepens his love for his family. That is so true! Every day I have a moment that makes me smile because I realize just how much I love my family. If thats all I gained from my mission I think it would be worth it.
So fall is finding its way into Huntsville huh. That is so cool. I love Alabama in the fall! Nothing beats seeing the trees change colors and watching the Tide play SEC football. Im glad to hear they are doing good so far. And BYU beat UCLA 59 - 0!! Thats hilarious. Everything sounds like it is going so well. Im glad everyone is so happy and enjoying life so much.
As far as things in Japan are going - its awesome! This really has been an amazing transfer. We found 6 more investigators since I emailed last week. And we are teaching a lot. We have a handful of people that are progressing and another handful that is close. We are really blessed right now. But the story I want to share isnt about our area. Last week I went on splits in another area called Joetsu. The last half of the day I went out with an Elder that has been out for a year but is still struggling with the language. We were out housing, but about an hour into it I started to get really discouraged. I felt like we were wasting our time. No one wanted to listen to two American guys who were preaching about God but couldnt really even speak Japanese. I started to really get a bad attitude. But I realized that wasnt how I should be behaving, so I said a prayer and asked God to help us. I asked him to help me calm down and to help us just do the best we could. The very next house we knocked at, a lady answered the door. She was extremely nice and extremely patient with us. At one point I asked her if she believes in God. When she answered I couldnt understand the words she said but somehow I knew the meaning. The spirit told me to testify that God is always there. Even though our lives are hard sometimes God is always there watching and he wants to help us. She looked at me and smiled really big. I asked her if she wanted to hear more of our message at another time and she said she would! It was awesome. She was the first investigator i had picked up on my own. It was soo amazing. I know God is there. I know he answers prayers. Even though I cant understand Japanese I can understand the spirit when He talks to me. This really is Gods work and this is His church. I know it now more than I have ever known it in my life. Im so grateful for the oppurtunity to be here and to strengthen my testimony. I learn things here that I would never learn any other way. It is awesome!
Once again I love you all so much! Im glad everything is going so well. I miss you! Talk to you soon.
Love, Elder Kingsford
P.S. - Go Cougars!
Family!, Hows it going?! I love sitting down at the computer and reading all of your messages. My last week in the MTC I read a little talk President Hinckley gave about his expectations of missionaries. In it he said one of the greatest things about a mission is it enhances a young mans appreciation for his parents and deepens his love for his family. That is so true! Every day I have a moment that makes me smile because I realize just how much I love my family. If thats all I gained from my mission I think it would be worth it.
So fall is finding its way into Huntsville huh. That is so cool. I love Alabama in the fall! Nothing beats seeing the trees change colors and watching the Tide play SEC football. Im glad to hear they are doing good so far. And BYU beat UCLA 59 - 0!! Thats hilarious. Everything sounds like it is going so well. Im glad everyone is so happy and enjoying life so much.
As far as things in Japan are going - its awesome! This really has been an amazing transfer. We found 6 more investigators since I emailed last week. And we are teaching a lot. We have a handful of people that are progressing and another handful that is close. We are really blessed right now. But the story I want to share isnt about our area. Last week I went on splits in another area called Joetsu. The last half of the day I went out with an Elder that has been out for a year but is still struggling with the language. We were out housing, but about an hour into it I started to get really discouraged. I felt like we were wasting our time. No one wanted to listen to two American guys who were preaching about God but couldnt really even speak Japanese. I started to really get a bad attitude. But I realized that wasnt how I should be behaving, so I said a prayer and asked God to help us. I asked him to help me calm down and to help us just do the best we could. The very next house we knocked at, a lady answered the door. She was extremely nice and extremely patient with us. At one point I asked her if she believes in God. When she answered I couldnt understand the words she said but somehow I knew the meaning. The spirit told me to testify that God is always there. Even though our lives are hard sometimes God is always there watching and he wants to help us. She looked at me and smiled really big. I asked her if she wanted to hear more of our message at another time and she said she would! It was awesome. She was the first investigator i had picked up on my own. It was soo amazing. I know God is there. I know he answers prayers. Even though I cant understand Japanese I can understand the spirit when He talks to me. This really is Gods work and this is His church. I know it now more than I have ever known it in my life. Im so grateful for the oppurtunity to be here and to strengthen my testimony. I learn things here that I would never learn any other way. It is awesome!
Once again I love you all so much! Im glad everything is going so well. I miss you! Talk to you soon.
Love, Elder Kingsford
P.S. - Go Cougars!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
9/10/08 Email Message
Family!,
I thought it might be easier to send one big email this time so here it goes! Hows it going?! Its weird that the letter took so long to get to you. Mom said it took 12 days. Thats weird. I got the wikipedia article Dad sent me yesterday, but im not sure how long it took to get here. Hopefully letters will be faster in the future.
Im glad to hear everything is going so well back home! Kimberly saw her baby! How cool is that! I bet its going to be the cutest little baby. I cant wait to see pictures! And your reading the New Testament? I love the New Tesatament. I dont really get the chance to read it much right now though because our mission has a goal to finish the Book of Mormon by Christmas. As we read, we summarize each chapter in our study journals and analyze specific points that stick out to us. Its way cool, but very time consuming so I dont have much time to read much of anything else.
As far as the food goes, its alright. Its good but it seems like everything tastes pretty much the same. They dont really have much of a selection here. You can either have some kind of noodle dish or some kind of rice dish. Haha apparently there are different kinds of each but I cant really tell. And they have this drink here that everyone loves to serve us. Its basically wheat tea. They call it Mugi cha - I call it tobacco water. But i drink it anyways because its cold. Haha maybe Ill get used to it.
As far as things here, they are going much, much better. Its weird to me that I got so homesick. I was not expecting it at all so it really caught me by surprise. But Im totally over it now. I still miss home and everything, but it doesnt effect me like it used to. I know God is helping me to focus on the work - I can feel His helping hand everyday.
I had a great experience last week. On tuesday I went on splits with one of my zone leaders. He is going home after this transfer so we are basically on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. I learned a lot from his insights and experience so it was a great oppurtunity. We went dendoing [proselyting] from 1 - 8pm. It was super hot and super humid all day long. We must have knocked on 1000 doors and talked to hundreds of people. Not a single person had any interest. It sounds like it should have been terrible, but the funniest thing was it was amazing. The more I bore my testimony and tried to introduce Jesus to these people that had absolutely no interest, the more confident I became in my beliefs. Every time someone kekkoed [declined]me, my testimony grew a littlemore. It got to the point were I was walking as fast as I could to each house so I could have the oppurtunity to bear another little testimony. It was awesome! Ever since that experience, Ive been having a great time. We work hard everyday but we still have fun doing it.
We also have 10 investigators! We found an apartment complex that we call China Town. Everyone that lives there is a Chinese immigrant, but they all speak great Japanese so we are able to communicate really easily with them. It seems like every person we talk to there wants to listen to our message. We found 2 of our strongest investigators there. They are both 20 year old college students and they are both always so excited to meet with us. One of them read half of the book of mormon in a week! The other one told us he feels like Jesus is his destiny. It was so cool. They have never even heard about God before so its amazing to see how excited they get to learn more about him. Im really excited to see them progress.
Its so cool to be here in Japan. Everyday something happens that makes me realize just how amazing it is that Im actually here. Usually its something that seems insignificant, but its huge to me. Like a couple days ago we were out housing and it started to pour rain. We had two more hours to be out so we just kept knocking doors. Near the end I was completely drenched and super tired. On the way home we walked by a little house that had a little rock garden out front with a little statue in the middle of it. The garden was covered with bright green moss and the way the rain was falling off the statue into a little fish pond in front of it made it look like a postcard of Japan. It was so beautiful. I said a little prayer of thanks for the oppurtunity to be on a mission in Japan, and the for the blessing I got from being completely drenched and super tired.
Thanks for all your prayers. They have helped so much. I love you all and I miss you. Talk to you next week!
Love Elder Kingsford
I thought it might be easier to send one big email this time so here it goes! Hows it going?! Its weird that the letter took so long to get to you. Mom said it took 12 days. Thats weird. I got the wikipedia article Dad sent me yesterday, but im not sure how long it took to get here. Hopefully letters will be faster in the future.
Im glad to hear everything is going so well back home! Kimberly saw her baby! How cool is that! I bet its going to be the cutest little baby. I cant wait to see pictures! And your reading the New Testament? I love the New Tesatament. I dont really get the chance to read it much right now though because our mission has a goal to finish the Book of Mormon by Christmas. As we read, we summarize each chapter in our study journals and analyze specific points that stick out to us. Its way cool, but very time consuming so I dont have much time to read much of anything else.
As far as the food goes, its alright. Its good but it seems like everything tastes pretty much the same. They dont really have much of a selection here. You can either have some kind of noodle dish or some kind of rice dish. Haha apparently there are different kinds of each but I cant really tell. And they have this drink here that everyone loves to serve us. Its basically wheat tea. They call it Mugi cha - I call it tobacco water. But i drink it anyways because its cold. Haha maybe Ill get used to it.
As far as things here, they are going much, much better. Its weird to me that I got so homesick. I was not expecting it at all so it really caught me by surprise. But Im totally over it now. I still miss home and everything, but it doesnt effect me like it used to. I know God is helping me to focus on the work - I can feel His helping hand everyday.
I had a great experience last week. On tuesday I went on splits with one of my zone leaders. He is going home after this transfer so we are basically on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. I learned a lot from his insights and experience so it was a great oppurtunity. We went dendoing [proselyting] from 1 - 8pm. It was super hot and super humid all day long. We must have knocked on 1000 doors and talked to hundreds of people. Not a single person had any interest. It sounds like it should have been terrible, but the funniest thing was it was amazing. The more I bore my testimony and tried to introduce Jesus to these people that had absolutely no interest, the more confident I became in my beliefs. Every time someone kekkoed [declined]me, my testimony grew a littlemore. It got to the point were I was walking as fast as I could to each house so I could have the oppurtunity to bear another little testimony. It was awesome! Ever since that experience, Ive been having a great time. We work hard everyday but we still have fun doing it.
We also have 10 investigators! We found an apartment complex that we call China Town. Everyone that lives there is a Chinese immigrant, but they all speak great Japanese so we are able to communicate really easily with them. It seems like every person we talk to there wants to listen to our message. We found 2 of our strongest investigators there. They are both 20 year old college students and they are both always so excited to meet with us. One of them read half of the book of mormon in a week! The other one told us he feels like Jesus is his destiny. It was so cool. They have never even heard about God before so its amazing to see how excited they get to learn more about him. Im really excited to see them progress.
Its so cool to be here in Japan. Everyday something happens that makes me realize just how amazing it is that Im actually here. Usually its something that seems insignificant, but its huge to me. Like a couple days ago we were out housing and it started to pour rain. We had two more hours to be out so we just kept knocking doors. Near the end I was completely drenched and super tired. On the way home we walked by a little house that had a little rock garden out front with a little statue in the middle of it. The garden was covered with bright green moss and the way the rain was falling off the statue into a little fish pond in front of it made it look like a postcard of Japan. It was so beautiful. I said a little prayer of thanks for the oppurtunity to be on a mission in Japan, and the for the blessing I got from being completely drenched and super tired.
Thanks for all your prayers. They have helped so much. I love you all and I miss you. Talk to you next week!
Love Elder Kingsford
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
9/3/08 Email Message to Mom
Mom, Haha Im glad you liked rocky so much. Hes a smart dog - he definitely chose the right person to suck up to ;-). Haha I guess he knows whats good for him. And Kendall is freaking awesome. That is so cool that she did so well. I am so happy for her. I hope she has tons of fun; shes going to love it. Things have started to get a lot better here. Ive started to get over the culture shock and get used to being a missionary. Every day I notice little things that Im grateful for that Ive never really recognized before. Im grateful to be a part of something so amazing. Ive wanted to be a missionary my whole life and now I really am one. Its a good feeling. No matter how hard it may be sometimes (especially at the beginning) I know Im doing the right thing and I know its worth it. I miss you! I love hearing from you - it makes my week! Im glad to hear everything is going so well. I love you!!
9/3/08 Email Message to Dad
Dad,
Hows it going! Things have definitely started to get better around here. Its hard, but Im having a good time. Im just working hard and learning a little bit more every day. I feel more useful than i did last week so thats definitely a good sign. And everyday something happens that makes me realize how grateful i am to be on a mission. its hard but i know its worth it.
About the address - i think it would be easiest to just send everything to the honbu [mission home]. I was told that that is the simplest and most sure way to get mail to me. And actually I did get that package you sent me. It was there waiting for me when I first got to the honbu. Thanks so much.
Oh and the Kanji for Nagoaka means long hill. The first character is the same as the first character in Choro and it means long. The second character can either mean city or hill - in this instance its hill. So Nagaoka means long hill. Pretty cool huh?
Im so proud of Kendall! She is just amazing. She is definitely the coolest little sister ever. She is awesome!
I hope you have fun with Tyler and Emily - they are so cool. Make sure to tell them I said Hi!
I love you and I miss you! I think about you all the time. I think its so cool that we get to share this experience together. Even though your mission was a different time than mine, somehow i still feel like we are serving it together sometimes. That has been a great support to me. Thanks so much for being such a great example. Talk to you next week!
Hows it going! Things have definitely started to get better around here. Its hard, but Im having a good time. Im just working hard and learning a little bit more every day. I feel more useful than i did last week so thats definitely a good sign. And everyday something happens that makes me realize how grateful i am to be on a mission. its hard but i know its worth it.
About the address - i think it would be easiest to just send everything to the honbu [mission home]. I was told that that is the simplest and most sure way to get mail to me. And actually I did get that package you sent me. It was there waiting for me when I first got to the honbu. Thanks so much.
Oh and the Kanji for Nagoaka means long hill. The first character is the same as the first character in Choro and it means long. The second character can either mean city or hill - in this instance its hill. So Nagaoka means long hill. Pretty cool huh?
Im so proud of Kendall! She is just amazing. She is definitely the coolest little sister ever. She is awesome!
I hope you have fun with Tyler and Emily - they are so cool. Make sure to tell them I said Hi!
I love you and I miss you! I think about you all the time. I think its so cool that we get to share this experience together. Even though your mission was a different time than mine, somehow i still feel like we are serving it together sometimes. That has been a great support to me. Thanks so much for being such a great example. Talk to you next week!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Elder Kingsford's First Area
Nagaoka, Japan - on the western coast of the main island
The City of Nagaoka, Japan
Physical characteristics
Area
840.88 km2 (324.67 sq mi)
Population (as of July 1, 2006)
Total 282,829
Density
336.35 /km² (871 /sq mi)
Location
37°26′N 138°50′E / 37.433, 138.833Coordinates: 37°26′N 138°50′E / 37.433, 138.833
Nagaoka (長岡市, Nagaoka-shi?) is a city located in the central part of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in the prefecture, behind the capital city of Niigata. Nagaoka is located at longitude 138° E and latitude 37° N.
[edit] Geography
Nagaoka is located in the center of Niigata prefecture and the surrounding Chūetsu region. It is 80 minutes from Tokyo by way of the Joetsu Shinkansen or 3 hours on the Kan-Etsu Expressway. Nagaoka was an inland city until January 1, 2006 when the city merged with four municipalities-two were touching the Sea of Japan. The current Nagaoka now touches the Sea of Japan on the north and after the merger, it is still considered a strategic traffic point in the region. The Shinano River flows through it from south to north and industrial development occurs on both banks of the river. The Higashiyama mountain range lies to the east.
[edit] History
The Tokugawa shogunate appointed Naoyori Hori lord of Nagaoka-han in 1616. Hori established the castle town of Nagaoka and built a castle in the Zaôdô area on the Shinano River. However, this area was prone to flooding and a new castle was built at the site of present-day Nagaoka Station by 1617.
Nagaoka flourished as a castle town under the reign of the 13 generations of the Makino clan of the Edo period. In the Boshin War of 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, clan military general Tsuginosuke Kawai lead the forces of Nagaoka against the Meiji Government. Nagaoka was defeated and the city was reduced to rubble. A gift of one hundred sacks of rice from a neighboring province was sold to finance a new school during the reconstruction of Nagaoka, from which the anecdote of Kome Hyappyo was born.
The town of Nagaoka and surrounding clan holdings became part of Kashiwazaki Prefecture (now Niigata Prefecture) at the beginning of the Meiji period. The modern municipality of Nagaoka was established on April 1, 1906.
The City of Nagaoka, Japan
Physical characteristics
Area
840.88 km2 (324.67 sq mi)
Population (as of July 1, 2006)
Total 282,829
Density
336.35 /km² (871 /sq mi)
Location
37°26′N 138°50′E / 37.433, 138.833Coordinates: 37°26′N 138°50′E / 37.433, 138.833
Nagaoka (長岡市, Nagaoka-shi?) is a city located in the central part of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in the prefecture, behind the capital city of Niigata. Nagaoka is located at longitude 138° E and latitude 37° N.
[edit] Geography
Nagaoka is located in the center of Niigata prefecture and the surrounding Chūetsu region. It is 80 minutes from Tokyo by way of the Joetsu Shinkansen or 3 hours on the Kan-Etsu Expressway. Nagaoka was an inland city until January 1, 2006 when the city merged with four municipalities-two were touching the Sea of Japan. The current Nagaoka now touches the Sea of Japan on the north and after the merger, it is still considered a strategic traffic point in the region. The Shinano River flows through it from south to north and industrial development occurs on both banks of the river. The Higashiyama mountain range lies to the east.
[edit] History
The Tokugawa shogunate appointed Naoyori Hori lord of Nagaoka-han in 1616. Hori established the castle town of Nagaoka and built a castle in the Zaôdô area on the Shinano River. However, this area was prone to flooding and a new castle was built at the site of present-day Nagaoka Station by 1617.
Nagaoka flourished as a castle town under the reign of the 13 generations of the Makino clan of the Edo period. In the Boshin War of 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, clan military general Tsuginosuke Kawai lead the forces of Nagaoka against the Meiji Government. Nagaoka was defeated and the city was reduced to rubble. A gift of one hundred sacks of rice from a neighboring province was sold to finance a new school during the reconstruction of Nagaoka, from which the anecdote of Kome Hyappyo was born.
The town of Nagaoka and surrounding clan holdings became part of Kashiwazaki Prefecture (now Niigata Prefecture) at the beginning of the Meiji period. The modern municipality of Nagaoka was established on April 1, 1906.
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