Week 36: Japan Missionaries GO CRAZY for Brazilian Steakhouse (tabehodai!)

11 May, 2026 eli 0 Comments 1 category

Hey y’all! How are you doing? I love to hear from you. It brings me so much happiness!

Today, we went to Kobe for P-Day. It was super fun. It’s crazy how much it feels like what I envisioned Japan to be like before I came. So beautiful, right next to the ocean. And the food was so delicious! We visited the pier and Chinatown before eating at a Brazilian all-you-can-eat steakhouse!! It cost ~$30 😱. So expensive for Japan, but SO WORTH IT!! (I ate until I was over-stuffed, haha). It was right next to the pier as well. Incredible experience, and easily one of the most beautiful, must-visit cities in Japan!!

This week both my comp’s and my phone absolutely stopped working (hence no email last week), which was not fun. I wanted to give up, but we decided to keep persevering and we saw some real miracles. The work goes on! This week we met with a yakuza (his name is Yoshida, and yes, he lost three fingers on one hand) who was basically YELLING at us to be baptized!?! And a new Chinese family (Jo) pulled up to Eikaiwa and said they’d come to church next week (the Jesus Christ flipbook works!!). And then we met with Ayu three times and had a blast teaching him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he even ended up going to Kobe with us! Recently, we’ve been getting a little discouraged with finding and such (even in the big Osaka, can you imagine?) but we’re getting better and better each week. My comp and I are both a little young for Japan missionaries, so we’ve both been trying to build up each other’s confidence. That being said, I love working with Elder Russo. He’s pushed me in ways that I’ve never been pushed before, but also is just such a funny and enjoyable guy to be around.

Today, I wanted to share a little miracle. This Saturday, we had a little extra time that wasn’t going to be productive, so we figured we should contact one of our members, Dan. This member is one of my favorites in the Abeno ward (partially because he’s so strange), but he sadly deals with a little addiction. But at the time we contacted him, he told me that he had just begun to take too much medication. He said he knew that God had prompted us to reach out to him, and so we asked if we could come over and share a little spiritual thought. We talked about the love that God has for each of us and we invited him to speak with the Bishop the following Sunday, take the sacrament, (and one from me personally, speak with a doctor about the aforementioned medication, haha). We also shared the following scripture about the purpose of the Church and repentance:

32 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them. [3 Nephi 18:32]

I know Jesus Christ can heal us when we come to Him with a full purpose of heart. He wants us to be happy in this life and in the one to come. I testify of the power of His commandments and the truthfulness of the joy that repentance brings when we come unto Jesus Christ and follow His example. There have been times in my life where I worry about even my own ability to change. But I have seen that through God, daily repentance, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I am able to always change for the better. God loves us all so much. Jesus Christ made it possible for us to return to Him. In Jesus’ name, amen.