皆様こんにちは！
I can't even believe that it's
already week 4! AHHH! Why is time going so quickly!?
This week was crazy busy. We
saw so many amazing miracles, I doubt I'll even be able to talk about half of
them! I'm going to go day by day... but a little out of order
today. I want to save the biggest thing for last. :-) I'm going to keep
each day fairly short so I can have enough time for everything though!
Tuesday:
While housing, we ran into these two
ladies walking their dogs. We stopped and were able to talk to them for
about 30 minutes about our Eikaiwa class and they seemed to have a real
interest! Mostly this was just entertaining because of how they treated
us. One of the other missionaries (who is about to go home) was saying
"What am I going to do when I get back to America and nobody looks at me
like I'm a movie star anymore!?" xD That is SO true.
That's how these 2 ladies were treating us. :P
Wednesday:
One of the busiest days of my
mission so far. We had back to back lessons and 2 lessons actually
overlapped a little... I got back this night and collapsed in my futon.
My companion did the same thing. We were SO tired. xD
Wednesday morning we had a big study
meeting with all of the shimai in our Zone and the Zone Leaders at the Senior
Couples house. Oh my gosh it was awesome. We had delicous pancakes and it
was seriously like visiting grandmas house! :-) I loved it. On the
train there, we met a very interesting woman who about died when she met
us. She basically just told us her whole life story and then left.
:P I love being a missionary.
After the study meeting we had a
lesson with Hasegawa姉妹
which was good, but we kept getting calls during it and we didn't know who it
was. Turns it out it was our next appointment (Bi) calling and saying she
couldn't come... So instead we actually had time to prep for Eikaiwa!
(OH! And the Elders got sick this week so we had to do Eikaiwa by
ourselves this week... That was kind of interesting.) Then we headed out
to Mitaka for a lesson with Makita. We met our joint at the eki and then
walked to where we were supposed to meet her. When we got there, I couldn't
help but glance through the window of a nearby resteraunt. (I was hungry.
:P) There was a girl who looked about 16 or 17 sitting there crying...
Right before coming there, we had bought these treats called Taiyaki (look them
up. They're delicious.) and I had the thought come to me "You should go
give her your taiyaki!" So, Long姉妹 and I walked in, went up to this random teenage girl, and
gave her some taiyaki. :P She looked at me and said she remembered
seeing me in the window! I said that I noticed her crying and I wanted to
help her... My goal was to cheer her up... Her reaction was to cry harder.
;) Hahahaha! She thanked us over and over again for the taiyaki and
said she didn't really want to talk about what was wrong. We talked to
her a little bit about things like school. She said that she was really
surprised to see us though... Apparently, just that morning her teacher gave
them all a lecture about how they needed to join a church... and then we showed
up. :-) We gave her our number and told her to call us any time. We want
to help. :-) Then unfortunately we had to leave. I haven't seen her
since, but it was such a good experience anyway.
The lesson with Makita didn't go
extremely well... She left for Chiba for a month to do missionary stuff for her
church... Yeah, we're not sure what to think right now. Please pray for her. :)
My Eikaiwa class had 15 people
today! I was told by several of them though that I was a very good
English teacher and that I should stay in Japan after my mission and teach
English. :-) That was a major self esteem boost.
Thursday:
We had a really powerful lesson with
Yuka. She had a dream on Wednesday night about her Dad who died about 6
months ago. She said that she dreamed he and her mom were in the room
next door and she was worried about them, but then she went to check on him and
he said "Don't worry about me. I'm very comfortable". She
said she felt peace, but when she woke up she realized it was all a
dream. She started to cry and said "I just can't believe that my dad
doesn't exist anymore." We re-explained the post-mortal life
specificially about the spirit world. We said that the people in the spirit
world really are just that close and that maybe Heavenly Father was sending you
a message in your dream. Maybe he wants you to know that your dad really
isn't that far. He's just in the next room and he's comfortable.
He's just waiting. :-) It was such a good lesson. And MIRACLE! She
agreed to come to the church next week to have a church tour! Please
pray that it goes well!
We also met with Naoko and asked her
about how prayer is going. She said that she feels so much peace now that
she's praying every day. You could literally see it. Last time we met
with her she was SO stressed out, but Thursday... she was just relaxed and
calm! She says she knows that God is answering her prayers when she prays
and she says she wants us to keep teaching her how to be happy. :-D
YAY!
Thursday night we taught
Matsuoka-san and her son Tatsuki how to sing Families Can Be Together Forever
in English. They both seemed to really enjoy it!
Friday Afternoon/Saturday:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!!!!
On Friday we had a BIG conference,
after which all the shimai went on kokans (Exchanges). This time I went
to.... URAYASU!!! :-D :-D :-D Sister Lundy and I were companions again
for a day and Sister Facer came back to Kichijoji to be companions with Long
shimai again for a day. :-) On the train ride to Urayasu, Sister Lundy
and I were just sitting around talking about the different experiences we've
been having lately and this guy came up to us. He asked if we spoke
English and said "I'm sorry. I've been watching you both for a while
and I just had the thought come to my head that I needed to talk to
you..." Turns out he lives in Koiwa which is very close to Urayasu
and had an interest in Eikaiwa. We got his number and asked if it was
okay to give it to our friends in Koiwa. I don't know what will happen
with that, but it was a cool experience. :-)
Because we were talking to that guy,
we missed our stop on the train... :P So we got on another train to get
back to Urayasu! Again, Sister Lundy and I were just talking when I heard
a woman behind us say "That's English!" I turned around and
apologized for being kind of loud. Her eyes got big and she said
"You speak Japanese?!" I smiled and said "A little.
I'm learning". (This was all in Japanese by the way. She didn't
speak any English.) She asked what we were doing in Japan. We talked
about how we taught a free English class and she freaked. She said
she's been searching for a long time for an English class! When we gave
her a chirashi for ours she seriously died. I'm not sure which area's
Eikaiwa she'll be going to, but she will DEFINITELY be there. :-)
In Urayasu I was able to visit the
Bishop's wife and the flower shop lady (Chizuko) and KAORI! :-D It
was so much fun. Friday night, we got a call from Helen. She told
us that she'd done a bad thing... She said that she felt REALLY guilty and that
she didn't think that Heavenly Father could forgive her for what she did.
I talked to her for a little while (without telling her who it was) and she
said towards the end that she felt a bit better. I asked her if she knew
who it was talking to her and told her it was me. She got SO excited. I
told her that it was a miracle that she called that night because it was the
only night that I would be in Urayasu. She said she knew that was true. I
hope she's doing okay. :-)
On Saturday we had lunch with one of
the Young Women from Urayasu (Family: If you care, Sarasa. :-D) It was
SO good to see her again. After that, I went back to Kichijoji! Saturday
evening in Kichijoji was amazing though. Elder and Sister Aoyagi,
and Elder and Sister Callister (From the Quorum of the 70) came to Kichijoji
and spoke. All of the talks were amazing, but especially Sister
Callister. Sister Callister stood up and the first thing she said was
"I feel inspired to change my message to you tonight." The
message she gave was exactly what I needed to hear. I won't go
into details (sorry), but I needed it. :-)
Now... The best for last.
Friday Morning:
I woke up at 5:45 with butterflies,
anxiety, and just excitement. We left the apartment at 6:30 and rode the
train for about an hour to Hiro-o (where the temple is). We went to the
Temple Annex and there were already a ton of missionaries gathered there for
the conference. There was a buzz of excitement everywhere. :-)
Then, Sister Facer and I went to where the missionary choir was practicing
because she and I were singing in it together. (Sister Long and Sister
Lundy became companions while we were doing that.) President and Sister
Budge looked REALLY stressed out (and probably were! xD). At 8:30 everyone
was in their seats studying their scriptures, praying - a few people were even
crying already. :P I was just praying the whole time that I would be able
to really feel the spirit and learn what Heavenly Father wanted me to learn
from the conference. Then the door opened. President Budge walked
in and motioned for everyone to stand - which we did - and then in walked Elder
Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. :-) He stood at
the front of the room and announced that he wanted to shake everyone's hands at
the beginning instead of at the end. Oh my gosh. It was amazing.
:-D
I wish I could write about
everything that happened, but I just wouldn't have the time! We listened
to talks from President and Sister Budge, Elder and Sister Ringwood (Of the 70
- also Elder Nelson's daughter), and of course Elder and Sister Nelson.
It was incredibly powerful. (Family: This part is for you.
:-) I have a message for you guys from the Quorum of the 12
Apostles. Especially for Mom and Dad. He said to tell you Thank
You. He said that we were one of the best groups of missionaries
he's ever seen and he knows that our families were a big reason for that.
He called us "Messengers fit for the message".) It was an amazing
experience. Really. :-) There was SO much I learned from it, but I don't
have time to talk about all of it. One of my favorite things said though
was said by Sister Nelson. In the middle of the meeting, Elder Nelson
invited all the Elders to take off their jackets. Sister Nelson said
"What if Elder Nelson had said something else instead? What if he had said
'any of you who would like, come with me right now to the temple. It's time to
meet the Savior'? How would you have felt? It's going to happen someday. Are
you ready?"
I'm so grateful to be a missionary.
:-) I love this gospel. I know that it's true. This gospel
is a message of peace, love, and hope and it will bring happiness into the
lives of all those who receive it. Thomas S. Monson is God's living
prophet here on the Earth. Joseph Smith truly saw God and Jesus
Christ. The Book of Mormon is true and it's proof of our message.
If there is anyone who reads this who is not reading the Book of Mormon - READ
IT. It is God's word and it is true.
I love Japan. :-) I love my
companion! I love everything about my life right now. (Except the lack of
dryers. ;D) I'm so grateful to all of you at home and for your prayers on
my behalf. I feel them. Every day. They help me. Please
continue to pray for me and my investigators. I can use all the help I
can get out here. :-)
I love you all! Have a
fantastic week!
Love,
Christine
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