Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! It was great to talk to most of you on Skype
yesterday. Glad to see everyone's doing well. So today was temple
Pday, which was great of course. This past week we did exchanges in
three different areas called Urayasu, Matsudo and YACHIYO! They were
all good, but it was great being back in my old home Yachiyo. I was
there for 6 months at the beginning of my mission and left about a
year ago. We were there on Saturday and Sunday, so I got to go to
church on Christmas and see all of the members which was nice. It's
great seeing different areas and working with different elders.

So right now I'm actually standing on a packed train headed out to
another area, Takasaki, which was actually my first area when I came
back out! I was only here for a transfer, but it'll be fun to work
there again.

Well, I hope you all had a great Christmas and put Christ at the
center. Love you all, talk to you next week!

Elder Snyder

Awesome baptism!

Hey everyone! It's been a good few weeks. Things are great here and
it's the Christmas season which makes it even better. As I think you
know, Japan is not a Christian country, but during this Christmas
season it gets them thinking about Christ and why so many of us
celebrate His birth. So it's awesome getting to have conversations
with people on the streets about Christ and why He is so important for
all of us. So in the past few weeks I've been able to work in some
different areas. It's great to get to see different areas and work
with different missionaries, but it's especially great to see the hand
of the Lord working in all of the areas. My testimony has been
strengthened as I've seen how God blesses His missionaries as they
work with diligence and faith.

Another awesome thing happened yesterday! Our investigator Brother
Tsunashima, from Tokyo 2nd ward which I just transferred out, of was
baptized. He asked me to do the confirmation so I was able to go back
and see the baptism, then confirm him in sacrament meeting. It was a
great experience and now he joins his wife and 3 daughters as a member
of the church! They were so happy.

So it's the week of Christmas! That means I'll be skyping home. It
looks like I'll be skyping on Monday morning around 10:00, which will
be Sunday night sometime for you. I hope you are all enjoying the
Christmas season and being proactive in spreading your light.

I'm grateful to be a missionary now, especially during this time of
year. Christ is our Savior and we get to celebrate and help others
celebrate His birth! Love you all, have a great week!

New calling... traveling assistant!

Hey everyone!

Sorry, things have been pretty busy the past few weeks so I haven't
gotten much emailing done, but today should be fine! Last week was
temple p-day. It was great. Elder Nitta and I were able to finish off
our two transfers together strong. This past week we were able to find
some strong new investigators with a lot of potential. Mori, Takumi
and a man named Henry are all looking solid and look like they'll
start progressing soon. We have just about finished up teaching
Tsunashima Kyoudai all of the lessons and he's looking good for his
baptism! So today was transfer calls today and I found out I'll be
leaving Senzokuike/Tokyo 2nd wards. I've been here for 4 transfers,
about 6 months, and it has been awesome. I've really grown to love the
members in both the Japanese and English ward. Definitely one of my
favorite places to be. So Elder Nitta will be staying here and I'm
becoming a traveling assistant. So I still don't know exactly what
that entails but I don't actually have an area! My companion and I
will travel around the mission and do splits with missionaries in
different areas, hoping to help strengthen each area while we're
there. Should be a great experience and I'm sure I'll learn a ton. I
sure will miss all of the people here, members, investigators,
friends. Definitely one of my favorite things about the mission is
building these relationships with people that will will last for a
long time. For all you RMs out there, get in touch with people from
your mission, I'm sure they'd love to here from you!

Speaking of, one of the greatest relationships that I've been able to
make is with an investigator named Hirotsugu Iwagi. He's the
investigator that had the accident and is still recovering, but we
became way tight right from when we started meeting with him. He's not
baptized YET, but I'm sure he will be eventually. I've seen how, even
though he's not baptized yet, just applying principles and following
commandments can change a life so much. Another one is Tsunashima
Kyoudai. His wife is a member and he has 3 active daughters. Since
we've started teaching him, living the gospel of Jesus Christ has
changed him. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. I know
this church contains the fulness of His gospel. Remember all, this
Christmas season to live as Jesus Christ and light the world! This is
a great time to help others feel the light of Christ and make steps
towards living His gospel. I invite you to invite! Love you all, have
a great week!

Love, Elder Snyder

                       Here's some grub I probably never would've even thought about

eating a few years ago... Raw strips of beef mixed with a raw egg and

some sauce. Was actually really tasty. The things Japan will do to

you.. Just got done eating sushi with a member too!

 Me with my man Hirotsugu. Love that guy

Elder Nitta and me eating some ramen with a new investigator Muramatsu.

On the street is a "lion dog".

Christmas lights in Japan!