04/26/2015 | My First Bike Crash

04/26/2015

My First Bike Crash

Hey everyone. That subject already has you confused doesn't it. Don't
worry, it wasn't to bad.

This week was kind of crazy. We were in Kitami most of the week, and didn't get to do a lot in Abashiri. We went down on Monday, and had a Yakiniku party with our district. (Yakiniku literally just means, cook meat. It was essentially a BBQ where you take the meat directly from the BBQ) Then we played a few other games for the rest of P-Day. Then we went on splits the next few days. Elder Francis is the District Leader, so I got to go on splits with everyone. I went with Elders Call, Stephens, and Tsutsumi. We had a lot of fun. Me and elder call taught this guy about the restoration, and it went over pretty well.

Anyway I know you're all dying to hear about my crash. So me and Elder Tsutsumi were on our way to a less active members house. We were in the middle of the street riding down, going pretty fast, and my bag, per usual, was sliding. So I took one hand off to slide it back, and the next thing I know I'm on the ground. I didn't run into anyone, I didn't run into anything. I'm not sure exactly what, or how it happened, but I fell of my bike going pretty fast. In the end it wasn't too bad. I've got some nasty road burn on my knee, and my elbow, and then I hyper-extended my other elbow. It still hurts a
little when I stretch it, but it's doing better. The largest damage was to my clothes. My shirt, and my pants were destroyed. The first clothes I had to throw away. I had a little bit of a ceremony with it.
Some tears were shed. (I just threw them in the trash while I was pealing an onion...)

But then we did eventually make it back to Abashiri. We did a little bit of Dendo here, and then Yesterday (Sunday) we had district conference in Kushiro. That is far away. There's a picture to show you.

Route from Abashiri to Kushiro

We went down with a member, Brother Tomita, and on the way down, he showed us off in the distance a "secret" lake. We decided if the weather was good we'd go check it out on the way back. We got to district conference and got to hear some good talks from President and Sister Nakatsuka, and the visiting Area 70 Elder Aoba. They were some pretty good talks. After that, Brother Tomita had a priesthood leadership meeting he had to attend. So we went to a near by park, and helped entertain some kids for a while. It was fun. We got to teach them American games, and they taught us some Japanese games. I haven't played with little kids in a park in so long. It was fun. So after Brother Tomita came back from his meeting, we all piled into the car, and headed for lake Mashu. Apparently it is. Famous lake in Hokkaido, and it is far out of the way of any of the missionary areas,
so I got to go see a beautiful lake, that most missionaries will never get to see *fist pump* It was very beautiful, and I got some good pictures.

Lake Mashu

After that we returned to Abashiri, and went and visited one of our investigators. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation, and it went alright, but in the end, he doesn't want to do anything religious wise. He's more than willing to listen to us, and he likes us, but he won't pray, or read the Book of Mormon, or come to church. I still feel like we can get him to do it, we just need to push a little. With that, some faith, and some prayers, a miracle can occur I know it.

Well this week is transfers. There's a good chance I could be leaving Abashiri. I really don't want to. I love Abashiri, and I love Elder Francis, but if the Lord wants me somewhere else, I will go and... (1Nephi 3:7) with a smile on my face.

Hope you all have a good week. It's warming up here. Hope it's doing the same for you. I'm praying for everyone. Lots of love.
Elder Eliot