1/4/10 Email Message
Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu - or as we say in English...HAPPY NEW YEARS!!
That is so cool Josh got to come for New Years and chow down on Dads famous gyouza. Has everyone recovered from the gyouza burps yet? I hope you and he had a great time together. I miss him a lot. Tell him Im looking forward to the 2011 anual Kingsford Family/Josh Bell gyouza party. It will be the first time weve had the whole clan together in a while...it should be fun!
Also Dad thats exciting! Im glad you won the contract. It sounds like you are going to have a lot of fun for the next few years. I hope everything goes smoothly - lets just hope the government stays out of the way as much as possible ;-)
It was great talking to everyone on the phone for Christmas. I think its funny how it seemed like you all were just in the other room. I havent seen my family for over 18 months but when whenever we talk on the phone its like no time has passed at all. If it werent for the fact that theres a new baby that wasnt there before and Kendall now sounds like an adult ;-) I might think nothing has changed at all. It was definitely the highlight of my christmas!
Today we went with a member family to see Jesus's grave. Apparently Jesus and his brother Isukiri are buried here in the mountains of Hachinohe. There are two graves with crosses sticking out of the ground and a buddhist shrine dedicated to Jesus to prove it. It was pretty interesting. But what was really interesting is the village at the base of the hill is called Herai machi and there are a lot of families that live around there named Herai. Herai is the Japanese form of the word hebrew. Also there are paintings from hundreds of years ago that depict brown haired fair skinned village people living in the area. Pretty weird...
But after that we went to a uma shop and had grilled uma and uma sashimi. In case you are wondering...uma means horse. Yep thats right - we ate horse sashimi...raw horse meat. And it was surprisingly really good. It was really soft and actually kind of sweet. Nothing like anything Ive eaten before. Do they sell horse meat in America? I have never heard of it...
Things are going really well. We have a ton of good investigators and we are teaching lots and lots of lessons. Its a fun time to be a missionary right now. One of the most prepared people I have ever met is getting bapized in two weeks. His name is Anjiki san. We met him 3 weeks ago and every time we meet him his faith just blows me away. He is so excited to learn about the restored gospel. He just wants to know everything - he cant get enough. Every time he learns something new he goes home, prays about it, and then comes back and says "I got my answer. Its true. What else can you tell me?" Its amazing. We are all excited for his baptism - especially the branch. They are kind of lacking in able priesthood holders so they are so excited to welcome such a strong faithful potential leader into the branch. We are so blessed!
I love you! I hope everyone has a good time watching Alabama beat Texas! Talk to you next week!
Love, Elder Brendan Kingsford
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
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
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
Saturday, December 12, 2009
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
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
Friday, December 4, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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
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
Sunday, November 15, 2009
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,
Well I gotta run. Love you and Ill talk to you soon! Bye Bye
Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
