Dear family and friends,
This week felt like it was really really long! But not in a bad way! I felt like I am living, and not just surviving! My companion Sister Bangerter is the bomb, we are so similar, and it's crazy. She's like I was, but a year ago. Literally, since she is third transfer, she came the MTC in May, and she will be going home almost an exact year after me. ^.^ legacy. So let's think... What actually happened this week. It felt so long, I can't figure out what actually happened! Haha. Well, to start off, last Pday, I went shopping after sending emails. And I went to Daiso. It is a 100¥ store, and all things there are only that price (not including tax. With tax, 108¥, which equivalent to one dollar-ish). And it is the best place for shopping ever. So, I brought an older version of the iPod Nano with me to the mission (it is more square. Not the rectangle one!). But the charger cord is falling apart! I was so sad, because it wasn't charging right, I thought, so I looked for one at Daiso. And lo and behold. In Japan, they sell them at Daiso. That was something I wanted to share. As expected of Japan, right? Blessings. Talk about blessings, I was talking to my companion today during cleaning, and I offered to let her have my purse that I've been using, and she told me she was afraid it would fall apart on her. Then I realized, I have had this bag since my first transfer when I bought it at a recycle shop for 1000¥ (less than $10) and it still isn't showing many signs of wear and tear. Wow. I felt blessed. Ok, so what miracles happened this week? Well, let me tell you. This week was crazy because we had sooo many meal appointments! So much American food, which is nice, but a little strange. My companion seems to finally be getting over the culture shock of half Japan, half American land here in Yokosuka. On Monday, we had El Salvadorian food, which was really delicious. And we shared a message, and we had a commitment prepared, but the member was so focused on helping us keep time, we didn't get the chance to extend the commitment, haha! But they were so kind. We told them we had plans to go housing in their area afterwards, and they helped us find an apartment building that didn't have a sign saying that people who don't live there or have a relation to people in the building can't go in. So that was great, and that day, there was a thunderstorm! Which are so rare in Japan compared to Missouri, but it was exciting. :) We didn't have a dinner appointment on Tuesday, but there was a lesson with our progressing investigator. She is so sweet. She is my best friend. We are working on helping her recognize the Spirit, and we feel it so strongly in all of our lessons. She is so prepared. She also came to church this week! Kanae San has been taking lessons with the missionaries for a while, but only since January. We want to invite her to go see a baptism in Kamiōoka this Saturday! Which would be so awesome if she could attend! We really want to help her along. And then Wednesday we met with the Sasse (pronounced Zassa) family , and we successfully found their house, and we're there about fifteen hairs past 5. But the Yokosuka Military Senior couple missionaries had gotten lost! >.< oh no! Haha, they found it eventually, though. It's a lot to drive in Japan, especially for Americans. Although most cars will have GPS built into the car, it is most likely only for use in Japanese, which would require understanding the hiragana alphabet. ^.^ hahaha.... Well. Lots of members in the Ward have trouble with it, but they seem to make their way around. And then, oh! Wait. We also met with a former investigator on Wednesday. She spoke to us only in English, because her English is just that good. We asked her if she was interested in learning more, and she outright was straight and honest, and told us no. She was really kind, though, and we exchanged business cards. I hope after the mission too, when I come back, we can meet up. She's pretty cool. So on Tuesday, there was something interesting that happened. We met a really nice lady who also only spoke to Ius in English, and then ran into her again at the food court we were meeting the former investigator at! She was really kind, and said she loves to draw Americans' faces. Haha. So she drew mine, and it ended up pretty interesting. Remind me to send out a picture of it later. ^.^ We've been having ladies who are from Taiwan come to church. They came twice in a row, and the one came to English class, and brought another friend. It was a lot of fun on Thursday, because the one who brought her friend to English class had absolutely no knowledge of English! Wow! She was so excited to learn though. And she participated, and learned, and spoke what she could. We were suprised by her coming to church again yesterday. I hope hey come again. She said that she really enjoyed English class, and wants to come again this week! Hooray! Best ever! On Wednesday, we also met a really wonderful mother and her two boys. They were so cute! We called them the next day, and she had really thought about what we had talked to her about. She didn't want to ruin the relationship with her husband by studying about our religion, so she doesn't seem like she will take the missionary lessons right now. But we became really good friends. I want to meet up again with her! Well, I am being really all over the place today, with this email, but on Thursday before English class, the elders told us to go visit someone, and we did, and the person was home, and she came to the door, asking for us to exchange numbers, so she can call us when she has time to talk! Wow, and we also became friends. Ended up doing weekly planning on Friday, due to a lot of busyness on Thursday. But, another thing that happened on Thursday was Zone Meeting. This zone is really laid back. It's a little strange. But we enjoyed the zone meeting. My training was about the new What to Expect pamphlet, and Sister Wright really helped me out. We did it together. And we used a training that my cousin, Elder Blake used when he was still out here in the mission. My trainer, Sister Padelsky told me about how there's a cup, and a bucket of water. The cup is the investigator, and the bucket is us, and how much gospel knowledge we have. If we try to throw everything we know at the investigator, we might walk away thinking, 'that was a great lesson, we taught them all they need to know!' But really, the cup falls over, and all that's left it not even a tiny drop of water. well, it wasn't as cool as the original, and the cup actually didn't even fall over, but the zone members really got the point, I think. Haha. I "bucket" people, too much! I should learn from my own training. Saturday and Friday were so amazing! Friday, we met up with that same amazing family again, and the lesson was so full of the Spirit. We watched the video of Jesus Healing the Blind Man in Japanese, and it touched them a lot. I hope they went to church in Kamakura yesterday! They told the Kamakura Sister Missionaries they would come to see Sister Kaizaki (one of them) speak in church on Sunday. Saturday, was the Rucker Family dinner, and I found out that Brother Rucker plays the violin! I was so selfish, and I begged them just to let me hold the violin, and they did! I then yesterday spoke with Sister Crowther, who is over the music here, and she said we might be able to pull something together for my last Sunday with the choir and me and Brother Rucker playing the violin! I would be so happy if I could do that! Sunday yesterday was great. Set the alarm for 5:30, and woke up at 6:20 wide awake and ready to start the day. Oh, and this last week, my bike finally made it from my last area safely, after a lot of trouble, and calls to the mission office. They told me it was expensive, but they were able to get ahold of a teleportation device. The only problem is that you can only use it once, I said, and then you have to get a new one. Well, that aside, there's a member who drove it all the way from Hiratsuka to Yokosuka in the middle of the night. I am so grateful for that member! >.< Until now, I'd been using a different bike, but that person needed it back, so it came at the right time. I feel like I have some more humbling to do, but I realize that in my moments of frustration, prayer and writing down my thoughts to try to clear my mind, have been a big help. This work isn't mine alone. Well, I love you all! 愛しています! This week, I get to give my last testimony that all missionaries give at their last Zone Conference. It's strange because it's too early in the transfer. I still have quite a few weeks left, and it feels weird. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
January 2019
Sister Blake
"You are hereby called to serve in the Japan Tokyo South Mission." Categories |