Missionary Moments

Well, I have had a very exciting week...

Everything was fairly ordinary up until Wednesday. The Tuesday was a day of fun rejections, getting kicked out of apartment complexes and stuff, it was good to do some solid finding again, and the day went well. But Wednesday we were heading out to attend a Japanese class held in the morning about a 15min bike ride from our apartment (I like going to them). We were about 5 min in and  Elder Gishwiller was riding in front. There is a steep, but brief, hill just near our apartment, which has a pedestrian tunnel at the bottom. There is a big mirror so you can see if people are coming, and so they can see you. Well, Elder Gishwiller wasn't quite paying attention and was surprised by someone right at the bottom, when he was going the fastest and it is hardest to stop. He stopped really well, in fact so well that his bike went stationary very quickly and his body kept going very fast. He flew up and over his handle bars and landed on his face....

I rushed to the bottom of the hill and the kid that surprised him threw his bike away and went to help as well. Thankfully he was able to sit up but there was a lot of blood. I gave the kid my phone and told him to ring the ambulance because I would not be able to accurately explain where we were, and then helped Elder Gishwiller take his helmet and stuff off while trying to preserve some clothing from blood. Poor bloke was a mess. ..... From what I could see he had a really deep cut on the bottom of his chin, chipped teeth and was not able to stand or move. After he got over the shock of it a little he got quite upset and I tried to comfort him a little, ..... The ambulance then showed up and I traded numbers with the kid and went with them to the hospital. They took Elder Gishwiller off straight away to get him treated and I spent the next two hours explaining what happened with Police, insurance people and doctors. They were all super nice though. I called the mission presidents wife (procedure when there is an accident) and then the District Leader and stuff. The sisters heard, and came down with the bishops wife, and so I had 3 female companions for about an hour until we were able to see Elder Gishwiller again. I then had had to get a whole bunch of information together to send the doctor that oversees our mission. Elder Gishwiller had fractured his jaw, and right knee, and a lot of scrapes and bruises. It was a very exciting day all in all. It ended with Elder Jackson (from my MTC group) coming down 'temporarily' from the area next to ours, while we sent Elder Gishwiller to the mission office with the office Elders (who have a car) so they could look after him.

Things then returned to normal, and I have just been dendou-ing with Elder Jackson since then. We got transfer calls today and looks like we will get this next transfer together too. They are sending up a replacement for him in his area (which was a 4). It's good, because we get along pretty well and we are both going to be 12 transfer. Two 12th's together usually only happens if your are a Zone Leader.

I got a call on Saturday saying that Gishwiller doesn't have to go home, which is really good to hear. It will take him between 2-5 weeks or something like that to be able to get around, and maybe a transfer to ride a bike again.

We've already seen some good stuff together (Jackson and I). On Friday night we got a really positive reception from a 20 year LA, who was happy to see missionaries again, and has a family that has possibility of learning too!

On Saturday we got to go to Kyoto and do a stake missionary activity. That was a load of fun too.

Sunday was good, the guy we have been working with a lot lately finally came to Church and had a really good time. His date is set for December 28th, but only because he is a heavy smoker and low willpower, but if things keep picking up he could be baptised before the end of this transfer.

We went shopping today. I finally got new shoes, a shirt and two pairs of the skinnier pants I like. It has been a while since I have done that. It was fun.

Yeah, I cannot remember too much more from this week, but I can assure you we are riding our bikes a lot more careful now!

Some pictures from Elder Rowlings last area of Himeji from a ward BBQ.