Another pic

Just staying busy! 

Pictures of district

Fabulous district

Singing. Who knew?

Logan with Elder Jaycox

4th email and P-day!

hey everyone!  crazy week this week but they seriously keep getting faster and faster....i feel like i was just on my p day! i can not believe that next wednesday will be my first month mark...wild! it is so crazy how fast it can go..and how slow it can go at the same time..but things are so incredibly good!  i really can't believe how fast you can learn some things..i am far from where i want to be in japanese..but i cant believe how much i have learned for only being here 3 weeks! this week the new kohai(newby missionaries going to japan) came in and we were just talking to them and it was crazy that i was now the one who looked like i new everything and they were the ones all stressed out haha! but it was nice just to be able to see my progress and see that i have really been learning more than i have though i have!  it felt good i won't lie!

 

  So yesterday we had a sub for our class because greggory sensei our usual teacher is out of town.  so we had the nihongen (japanese) teacher teach us and it was so intense! he started the class and was just flying in japanese and everyone was kinda struggling for a while..but then we started to understand and he was helping us along.  i kept thinking oh my gosh this is horrible..im not going to learn anything..i was so stressed and worried that i wouldn't get anything out of the class.  i just kept focusing as hard as i could and worked to understand what he was trying to teach us.  we started going over some new bunpo(grammar) and we just recited it over and over.  i thought it was kinda lame and pointless at first..but then the tv screen went off with all the answers and we were forced to do it from memory..we all started doing it really well! i was shocked as we had actually learned this grammar! i couldn't help but thinking of wax on wax off..something so pointless and stupid at the time, could help so much when it mattered!  we then went over parts of grammar that people didn't understand and i seriously felt like i understand most of it now where as before..i was worried that i would get it and that it would just be a wasted class(class being 3 hours long is definitely something you don't want to waste) hahaha but it ended up being so good and i was so happy that things worked out.  just another blessing the lord gave me.  as long as i try my very best, i know he will help me get where i need to be! and thats all i can do!

 

  everything has been really good this week though, not a ton happened, and there weren't any intense spiritual experiences this week unfortunately..:( but it has just really been a great week! i can not tell you how much i love my district though.  it has seriously been so amazing to have such a great group of people to learn and grow with.  i wouldn't pick any other group! i love them all!!! this week day shimai and snow shimai's family sent everyone in the district doughnuts and lifesavers! i couldn't tell you how much that meant to me, the whole district! it was such a simple, yet thoughtful thing to do and i was so grateful for that! they helped the week move along and sometimes we need that!

 

  so i know this really wasn't the longest email...but i am trying to send some pictures this week so i am going to be spending some of my time on that today so i want to make sure i get some to you all!  i do just want to say that i know that the morumon sho(book of mormon) is true..and that i am gaining a stronger testimony of it everyday! i have never read it as much as i have in here..and it makes me stronger everyday. i am so grateful that we have it in our lives.  i testify to you that by reading it, you will gain a testimony of our savior jesus christ, in the absolute truth that joseph smith was and is a prophet of god, and that this church is nothing but the truth.  morumon sho wa kamisama no mi kotoba da to akashi shimasu! (the book of mormon is the word of god!) i know it and i am so grateful for it! i hope everyone has a great week and that you all know how much i love for you! i pray for you every night for everyone of you specifically by name..and i hope you know that i am always thinking of you!  love and miss you!

 

with love your choro,

 

logan

 

Third email!!!!

Dear family,

 

  It is crazy how time flies by.  it is also really exciting.  can you believe that i have already started my third week? its so weird! but things are so good and i am really loving it here! things have gotten much more intense though....we just got two new investigators..so we are now teaching two at once! so we started that this week..and it is really difficult!  we have one named shohei san, and one named komeda san.  it is so awesome to see ourselves growing as we have been teaching for a long time.  i remember when we would barely be able to pray with them..and now we are teaching them how to pray without even thinking about it.  i can almost say anything i want in a prayer at this point..which is really exciting.  i can also bear my testimony almost completely in japanese and i have learned how to put sentences together and i am learning so many phrases that i could use while in the field and while teaching our investigators this week!

 

  if its ok i want to kinda share an experience i had this week that really was incredible for me atleast.  so it was a pretty normal day..im not sure what day it was this week but we had a lesson to teach after dinner around..6 o clock.  we had kind of prepared a lesson we had already taught her about the book of mormon and about jesus christ and we had committed her to read part of the book of mormon.  however we thought we had asked her to pray as well..but that was our other investigator. so when we got to the lesson we sat down and we started following up on commitments asking if she had read the book of mormon, which she had and she shared with us part of that. then i asked her how she had felt as she read the book of mormon and she said that she wasn't sure how she felt..so my following question was well did you pray about it and how did you feel as you prayed.  she then went on to say that she didn't know how to pray..and that she wasn't sure of the order.  discouraging. we ended up teaching her how to pray and then asked her to pray about the morumon sho (book of mormon) and she accepted..but coming out of that room i felt frusturated. i was frusturated and felt that we had taken a step back and hadn't gone anywhere with the lesson and that we were just at the same spot as we were and i was just kind of bummed out. so we came back to class and the next thing we had planned for the night was to go and meet with a guy who is like the boss of the entire korean and japanese language districts.  he was a younger guy..not married but really cool.  we sat down and of course, all japanese, he began to ask us why the plan of salvation was so important and we began having a really good discussion about the plan of salvation.  he had us practice teaching it to each other as companions a couple of times, and had us really focus on the spirit, annndd only explain it using 6 sentences! it was hard..but the spirit built so strong! he then had earl choro (the one mom knows) come up to the front and it was all quiet and the teacher said "earl choro, i don't know why i had you come up here, but the spirit testified to me that i need to learn from you today. i dont know why, but there is something that i need to learn from you today that spirit is telling me so strongly. sit and think, let the spirit tell you what to say and help me today." there was a long pause, and just so you know earl choro is the kindest sweetest guy here, wouldn't hurt a fly, but he isnt the most social and doesn't talk alot. he then started to explain the plan of happiness and about the atonement and about how incredible it is that through that, we can return to live with our heavenly father. he then talked about how nobody is perfect and we have all made mistakes but no matter how big the mistake, we can always find christ, and he testified of that.  the spirit was so strong as the was just a long quiet pause, the teacher started tearing up and he just said arigato(thank you) earl choro. arigato.  i didn't even realize that at this same time im all teared up and i could not help but feel that the heavenly father had brought this strong spirit to this meeting to strengthen me, since i had had a hard day, and possibly other missionaries in our district who i wasn't aware were struggling too.  there have not been many times in my life that i have felt the spirit so strongly.  i walked out of that room feeling so relieved, and so refreshed knowing that jesus christ knows how far we can go..and knowing that when i am struggling and feel like i can go no further i can ALWAYS turn to him.  he knows everything we are going through, and i recieved such a strong testimony that the atonement helps with not only our sins, but with our trials and hardships and anything that we struggle through in life.  i came out of that room with an even stronger testimony of jesus christ and his atonement and the power that it can bring all of us.

 

  so yeah everything is really good here.  i absolutely LOVE  our district. we got so lucky because the other district that came in the same day as us they are all really weird shimai tachi (sisters) and they only have like a few cool choro tachi (elders).  our sisters are seriously so cool and bring the spirit so strong which is so nice! 

 

  well im out of time, thing really are so great here and i am so grateful for such a great support group back home. you all are seriously amazing and pleassseeee keep the dear elders coming.  i will try to write some back today and throught out the week when i have time, but know that i love all of you so much and you give me strength! i know this church is true! im so blessed to be out here! love and miss you all!

 

love,

 

Logan (Cottle choro) 

Logan's District!

Logan's second email!! Amazing!

family! i can not believe that i have made it an entire 10 days in the mtc! it is crazy to think that it has already been that long! they have a saying here..where the days feel like weeks, and the weeks feel like days! it is incredible that it can start moving so fast! but i love it!

  so a little bit about this week, we have been teaching our investigator and it has been awesome! i am sorry that i wasn't more clear..but no the investigator is not really seeking out the church..they are already members and are just helping us! but they still act just like a normal investigator would..most are return missionaries so they know what they investigators are going to be like! but it is a really crazy experience! we have had our first investigator, Tominaga San, and we are already finished with him! we will be teaching our new investigator on Monday! its crazy how fast they go! but our district did awesome and all of us committed him to baptism! the other kohai (new japanese students) district didn't even baptize him so we felt pretty good! me and my companion really did a great job with him i thought! and we got a picture with him haha we were the first companionship to do that, and then all the other companion's started doing it it was funny! so i will try to send some pictures today..i have heard its not very easy...but i will try!

  so as far as my companion...he is alright.  he definitely is a little different..kinda says weird things sometimes but you know i can definitely get a long with him..its not too bad! i really feel like the lord knows i need to learn some things before i get out in the field..so i am really using this as a learning experience! well at least i am trying..lots of prayers! haha i really do feel like things are getting much easier now though.  the first few days were definitely challenging yes.  it was so hard being away from you guys..everyone that i love and just looking at how hard it was going to be for two entire years.  but all of the elders just kept telling me just get to sunday and you will feel better.  so i worked to get to sunday and they were so right! i woke up sunday and felt so relieved..like i knew this is where i needed to be and i didn't want to be anywhere else! the devotionals were incredible and it just really started this week off great!

  
  
  

  so for routine we get up at 6:00 because we have the earliest breakfast schedule at 6:45so we have to be showered and ready by then and the showers get packed! so we get up and after you go to breakfast usually have personal study, so we will usually go to class and do it..i have been reading the morumon sho (book of mormon) in Nihongo!(japanese) haha its slow..and i dont really understand it yet..but my teacher was telling me it really can help alot! so in personal study i do 30 minutes japanese, 30 minutes english book of mormon its been cool! i have really picked up the hiragana and katakana really fast..kanjii is much harder but my teacher says you just figure that out with time. like i can read all the symbols already! its crazy how fast you can learn in here. you truly learn by the spirit it is such a blessing! like literally..i had just finished the hiragana..which is a 46 letter alphabet instead of english's 26? ha so i have that down perfect now but yesterday i started the katakana which is the same alphabet, 46 letters, but they are all different symbols! they are used for things that arent japanese like names, "nephi" and stuff like that.  so i started yesterday and i already have almost every single one! MIRACLE. they are not easy. but you mind is so clear in here..it is amazing and i am so blessed!

 as i have talked to others..i found my experience wasn't has difficult, however when i was in it i felt so alone and like i was struggling so much more than everyone else! it is so nice to talk to people..it really helps relieve the stress of being in here and everything..

  i love the packages and i love the dear elders. from everyone. even if i cant reply right away, keep sending them.  we check the mail every day and it is so nice to have something! you dont realize how much it helps.  i wish that i had more time, but i just want you guys to know how much i love you! i know this church is true and that the gospel of jesus christ is the ultimate source of happiness.  i love the opportunity to be able to teach people and bring that happiness to them! it is such a powerful calling to be called a missionary, and you are continually strengthened by him as you put your faith in him. i have felt it! i love this gospel so much. you really realize how much you love it once you start focusing on nothing but it;) haha it is a marvelous work we are a part of.  there is no where i would rather be.  i am so grateful for all the support i have gotten.  it is such a blessing to be a part of such a great family, and have so many amazing friends as well.  I AM BLESSED.  i love you and i miss you! i will talk to you soon!

love,

logan

Got a hand written letter!

So received a hand written letter today on Friday. He said he likes his companion but that he pretty much runs the lessons. He is senior companion and is enjoying writing out the lessons in Japanese! 

He said they've committed a "tominaga San (investigator) to baptism! I don't know if these are real investigators or just  role playing. I  so proud of him either way!!

He said he is already realizing how much I did for him and how much he appreciates us!!

Next post will be Saturday in email with pictures hopefully! Check back then!!

Logan's first letter!!

Dear Family!

 

I have made it to my first P day!  I can not believe that I am actually here it is incredible and very humbling!  The first three days have been long and kinda tough getting into things..but today has been perfect timing having a p day and getting to write home!  i hope that you don't mind my bad grammar..we only have one hour of writing and i want to get as much in here as i can!  so the first day was long..and very confusing but good!  we got all of our necessary equipment (badges, tags, cards, keys, book, etc) and we were actually able to go to our rooms really quick and take our bags there! once we dropped them off we went to our classrooms and thats where we met our companions! my companion is Von Niederhausern Choro, he is from the beaches of florida and is a pretty cool guy!  he is a super hard worker..and we get along pretty well so i guess thats good since im going to be in here until august! haha so our sensei gregory, will not speak one word of english to us.  so we have been in class for 3 days with him and we have not heard one word of english!  it is all japanese and it can be very frusturating to figure out what he is trying to say.  but i am picking it up.  it is slow..i am definitely not fluent yet hahaha but i am learning and working at it.  things were definitely overwhelming that first day..i didn't know what i had gotten myself into haha but it has been getting better.  and the older elders have just been saying "get to sunday and you will be feeling better!" haha so i am just working for that!\

 

   Ok so we had our first lesson with our first investigator yesterday, wow.  It was an incredible experience! i can not believe that we did it! because the craziest part was..it was 100% in japanese!  we could not even use any english at all because our investigater only spoke japanese! so he wouldn't understand us if we spoke any english!  it was so humbling! we got in there and we had most of our lesson written out in japanese so we first introduced ourselves in japanese, and then we asked if we could pray with him! so we kneeled down and my doryo (companion) offered a prayer in japanese.  it really brought the spirit and then we got up and began to start the lesson.  we asked him what his thoughts were about god and he answered something along the lines of "im not really sure, i think he is good but i don't really know?" haha so i then bore my testimony in japanese to him.  i told him that i knew god was real.  i told him i knew god was true and that he was a living god.  i then bore my testimony on jesus christ and that he is gods son.  it was really short but i tried to bear it with power and with the spirit and i really felt like it came acrossed well.  we then had him read a scripture (which we had to find in the japanese book of mormon which was not easy, moroni 10:3-5) and he read that for us in japanese.  i could not understand what he was saying. but i knew the spirit was there and that was very special.  we then asked if he knew how to pray and we went through the motions of prayer and taught him how to pray.  then after we had showed him, we all kneeled and asked him if he would say the prayer.  he agreed and said a wonderful sounding prayer.  i could pick up on certain words and phrases, ten no otosama, (heavenly father) and kansha shite imas (are grateful for) but i really couldn't understand what he was saying.  it was a great way to end the lesson though and i feel like it went extremely well.

 

   so now it is our p day and so far it has been great! i wrote one letter that i had been working on since i got here that should be coming in the mail if not today soon! i hope that you arent too upset that i didn't get anything out any sooner but it really is true when they say you have NO TIME here in the MTC.  i am excited that we get to go to the temple today! i think about going and i think about you mom! going with you that last time in draper, it is such a special memory to me and i want to thank you for making me go! it was such a blessing! it is a little stressfull in here, so it will be nice to go to a session and just relax and enjoy the spirit in there.  it is crazy because when you have down time like personal study and different things, you can never rest.  you are always trying to improve, either in your knowledge of the gospel, or in your native language and they are definitely long days of work! but the days do seem to kinda blur together and the thought of me already being here 3 days is a little weird. they have definitely been long days, but good long days and when i lay down at night i am exhausted!  thank you so much for shipping my dopp kit! i can not believe i left it..i got it out to shave the morning i left and i completely forgot it so the first two days i was in survival mode! but today was so nice to be able to brush my teeth, shave and all that fun stuff haha! it was kind of nice because it really came as a relief!

 

   well i love you guys so much and know that i miss you!  but also know that i know this is where i am supposed to be.  it is VERY hard.  but i am loving every second of it because even though i think that it is going to be forever long now, in the long run this time is so short and i want to make the best of it and know that i worked my hardest every day.  the MTC is definitely very routine...but it is good and i know that it is amazing and very capable of training missionaries to the best of their abilities, and trains them the best it can for the short amount of time we are in here.  8 weeks seems like forever, but when that time comes and i am getting on an airplane it is going to be amazing to have all the knowledge i receive here and be able to use that as much as i can and even continue to grow.  i know this is the true gospel, if i didn't i would not be here.  if this church was not true NONE of these young men would be sacrafising two entire years of their life.  that in and of itself is a testimony. i love you guys so much. seriously you amaze me we have an incredible family.  pray for me, because you all are in my prayers!

 

with all the love in my heart,

Logan

(Cottle choro)

 

 

Well he's off!!

He spent his first night in the MTC and has his first full day if classes. We are so proud of him and can't wait to hear all about his companion, classes, instructors, etc. He must already want a package because we noticed he left his Dopp kit full of his toothbrush, gel, etc. I guess he'll get a speci delivery today!! Love ya Elder Cottle!