Dear Family,

So this last week has really been a lot of fun. For p-day we went to this awesome park that had an obstacle course and a pirate ship. In Oita there are a lot of pirate ship styled parks I'm not exactly sure why but its cool. I also got a haircut from Elder Peterson its a little short but that's alright because it was free. Another thing we got to do this week was play Ultimate Frisbee! We have an investigator who plays frisbee in college and he invited us to come play with him and his team. It was great. I feel like its been a long time since playing a game. I hope everyone is still doing frisbee thursdays back home.

One of great/funny experiences of this week was we started teaching a recent convert's mom. We decided to call him and see how everything was going and he said he wanted to share the gospel with his mom but didn't know how. So he invited us over and we got to teach her. It was a good lesson afterwards they took us to one of those places where they have the sushi coming around on conveyor belts. Its funny I'm beginning to like most sushi and I enjoy eating nato. Anyways while we were there the mom basically told me that I was good looking and wanted me to date one of her granddaughters. That entire time I had no idea what she was saying but apparently she kept giving me compliments. It was really funny because we didn't know how to respond and then she just kept going and going. I think they are probably some of the funniest people I've met so far.

So yesterday we had church and I got to bless the sacrament in Japanese for the first time. It was great (and yes I only had to do it once). I always enjoy participating in the sacrament. It is such an important thing that we get to do every single week. I like being given a little bit of time to really sit and think about all of the different things the Atonement means to me. It was also Father's Day so there was a primary program. After all the kids sang they went and handed cards they made to their dad's. Then some of them made and gave cards to us. It is amazing to think about how much we mean to all of the kids here. They really think of us as superheroes. I just want to try my best and to be that superhero that the children think we are.

Things are going so well and it really is so much fun. Well right now we are headed off to Kumamoto for a zone p-day and then zone conference tomorrow. So that's really exciting. I love you all very much and keep you in my prayers.

Love, Elder Gandy
ギャンディ　長老

p.s. I think Joshua would be interested in hearing that a typhoon or hurricane is coming right towards us. So this will be a first for me and apparently it is supposed to be pretty big so that is exciting I guess. I'll let you know how it goes in my e-mail next week.

I just received a couple of pictures along with this message from another missionary mom who saw one of my posts in ldsmissionarymoms.

Gayleen is this your son? if so i met him at the mission home when his ward came to temple night. I think he was brand new and seemed very happy to be in Japan.
His comp Elder Everett is a great guy. My son, Joel Farb,the guy in the white shirt (It was the first day they could take off their jackets so he did!), was in his district before and they enjoyed going on splits a having a great time working together. They were in the same zone and met every week in his last area in Saijo. So as you are probably aware, your son got a really good trainer! You can tell by the smile on their faces, can't you!

Dear Family,

It's so exciting to hear about everything that's going on. I can't wait to hear where everyone's going on their missions. I also want to hear when they are leaving to see if any of them have to wait as long as me. I'm so excited for them. Being a missionary is the best.

June in Japan has been pretty good. It's hot. The rain season has apparently already started but we don't really get it that much where I'm at. There are some of the biggest and strangest bugs all over the place though. Oh and the bees and spiders here are huge. Apparently there are a lot of cockroaches too but I haven't seen any yet.

This last week has been really good though. So we had transfers and me and my companion are still in Oita. Its great I love it here. The ward members are amazing. But the exciting news is that they made my area into a four man because of how big it is. So now we have Elder Peterson and Elder Tipton with us. They are both older missionaries getting close to the end of their missions. We had to spend a lot of time at the beginning of the week trying to find more room in our apartment for two more missionaries. We got it to work even though its a little tight. The work here is just going fantastic. We are being so blessed everything is exploding here in Oita. Yesterday we had one of our students from english class come to church. It was actually really surprising. It was awesome because we might be able to start teaching him now. It is great seeing all of the people that are being prepared to hear and receive the gospel.

I've learned so many different things this week. One thing I learned this week was when we recognize and notice the blessings and influence that Heavenly Father has in our lives how it can strengthen our testimonies about his love for all of his children. I love everything that we do. I love all of you and pray for each of you.

Love Elder Gandy
ギャンディ　長老

p.s. I haven't heard where anyone is going on their missions yet. But if they're sending a letter I can wait a little longer.

I would just like to start off by saying Happy Birthday Mom! Everyone in my district also wishes you a happy birthday.

Its funny thinking that a year ago I graduated from high school. Sounds like "drama" is living up to its name. Personally I think the Sound of Music is much better than Cinderella anyways.

Well everything here has been going really well. Last week for p-day we went to this place called Round 1 they have bowling and a bunch of different sports you can play. It was a lot of fun. I also had real legit sushi for the first time. It wasn't bad but definitely not one of my favorite things. I think it was mainly the texture that got to me. Speaking of food when I first got here I could barely eat anything but now I can't stop eating. I've gained a little more then ten pounds since I left and most of it was gained after coming to Japan. Elder Everett says its because he is from the South.

One funny thing that happened this week was we were standing outside of this house saying a prayer and this older lady walks out in the middle of our prayer. It was really awkward because she was surprised and we didn't know what to do so we just kept praying. We did talk to her but she was in a hurry out the door. During this past week though we have been having a lot of success with the less active members. Yesterday we had six of them come to church. It was great seeing them there having a good time. They really have to overcome a lot of different problems and challenges they're facing. Its amazing to see how the church really does help everyone.

Some other news we have is this week is transfers so who knows I may or may not be in Oita next week. This transfer has gone by really fast. So much has happened we have seen miracles, come closer to Christ, learned lessons, and helped change lives. Life as a missionary is so great. It can be tough at times but we can always receive the help we need from our Heavenly Father. There is no better way to serve Him then by serving our brothers and sisters here.私は神様と御父の子供の皆のために伝道しております。I love you all so very much and keep you in my prayers.

Love Elder Gandy
ギャンディ　長老

Preparing for companionship inventory.


Overdose of Pokemon.


Some of the delicious food we experiment with.


A week in the life of a missionary.

Dear Family

Everything has been going super well. I have now been in Japan for a little over a month. Time is so crazy it seems to be going really fast. So much has happened in just this last week. Zone conference was amazing I learned so much.We have about 18 missionaries in our zone but it covers about the second biggest areas in the mission. It was funny we had 14 Elders all stay in just a four man apartment. Some even had to sleep on the balcony it was so crowded. We also did some exchanges this week also. I actually went with a Japanese Elder for a half hour or so to do some streeting. He knew a little bit of English but it was amazing at well we could actually communicate. Then Zone leaders came over for a day and it was amazing. We had set some pretty good goals. Halfway through the day we completed almost all of our goals. We met so many different people who really seem like they have been prepared to receive the gospel. Being a missionary is so great. I feel so blessed for all of the opportunities we have to tell people about the church. I'm so grateful for all of the time we have for study also. I learn so many different things every week. How you study in the morning really kind of sets up the day for you. Countless times throughout the day I'll be reminded of what I studied that morning. Recently I've learned more about the power of prayer. Through prayer we can do so many things like receive revelation, guidance, and physical/spiritual strength. We seem to be praying for everything. Something I learned in seminary was to always have a prayer in your heart. Now I finally understand what it truly means to have a prayer in your heart. It honestly seems like I'm praying every minute. I'm so very grateful for all the prayers that are being said for me. Thank you all. I pray that all continues to go well. I love all of you so much.

Love Elder Gandy
ギャンディ　長老

Dear Family,

It was great getting your e-mail. It sounds like everything is going great. That is so awesome that Joshua won those awards but its not very surprising やっぱり he is very talented. That is why I always brag for him and still do.

I think that is so fun that my friends still come over and hang out. Seems like they are all doing really well. I can't wait to find out where Ferrin and Shorty are going on their missions. We figured it takes about 10 or so days for a letter to get here. Usually when we check the mail we just get a bunch of pizza coupons that make the price half off which is still double the price of pizza in America so its not really worth it. Speaking of food this week me and my companion made some fried chicken it was so good.

So earlier this week I went on my first exchanges. It was a lot of fun. They only had three bikes and since I was the smallest I had to ride on the back of one of the bikes. We had several people that looked at us kind of funny. I first went with a missionary who actually reminds me a lot of Mikey. It was really fun. He has only been in Japan for one transfer more than me so we both don't know the language that well. It was great though because we actually taught a lesson and gave them a book of mormon with our very simple japanese.

There have been so many miracles I've seen. I love mission life it is so great. This week we actually have been having a lot of success with less actives. We are also meeting with an excommunicated member. We have found out that they all still believe in everything that church teaches. They just don't know if they can do it but we know they can and we are always there encouraging them. We actually had three less actives come to church and we met some more that people haven't seen in forever.

So yesterday we had a Baptism!!! It was an amazing experience seeing her take this step in her life. This was my first baptism! YAY!!! I felt so honored to be a part of that special ordinance. Afterwards she bore her testimony and it was just so amazing. She has a real desire to learn and grow. I loved seeing her grow and progress as we taught her. It is so great being a missionary I have honestly been so blessed and I'm so grateful for all of the prayers. We also taught the lesson in priesthood meeting the other day and we talked about prayer. The power of prayer is amazing it has been so helpful to me. I know that Heavenly Father listens to our prayers and answers them. He will always be there we just have to make sure we make that time for him and always make it a special experience. Now I'm actually getting ready to go to my first zone conference. I love you all so much and pray for you everyday. Thanks for all of your support.

Love Elder Gandy

p.s. here is a picture from the baptism.

Note from Gayleen

In Joseph's last e-mail he suggested that I sign up with ldsmissionarymoms.com. Actually it was a suggestion he passed on from his companion's mother. After I signed up I was really excited to receive an e-mail from her. She sent me the following paragraph that her son wrote about working with Joseph. I thought you would all enjoy reading it. This is what Elder Everett wrote:


So Wednesday, after a long day of wondering who in the world I'm going to be with I finally learned that my next companion for the next 6 weeks, at least, is Elder Gandy (pronounced Gyandy, which in Japanese sounds very much like candy), from West Valley Utah. He is a brand new missionary, fresh out of the MTC (so fresh that he was actually in the MTC choir at the Saturday Afternoon session of General conference.... I know; I found him!) and full of what we call here, "Dendo Fire" or, a desire to work. I really don't know what it is, but in the past 5 days we've really seen at least a miracle a day! New investigators that magically speaks English so that Elder Gandy can bear his testimony to them, self-referrals that come to church asking if they can join, running into a member randomly on the street and getting invited to dinner the next day, getting in contact with a less active member for the first time in over a year, or the investigator who finally got her job to give her a break to come to church; we really have just seen a ton of miracles every day.