Dear Family and Friends, Well, I've gotten used to being surrounded by Americans again. We found a lot of joy in our misisonary work this last week. Well, and my birthday was way good. What a great week. What a good welcome into the area. So, let's talk about the work. The work has been going well in Yokosuka recently. It was good to get together with a really nice former investigator, and then we went housing around. We don't have any real investigators right now, accept for maybe one or two. We are working on finding more who really want this in their lives. It seems stange. We're over two whole areas, but the people we have to work with are few. But, I have to say that this area has the biggest English Class I've ever been in. There were 30 some odd people there! Whoa! Everyone wants to learn English here, it seems. Well, that's no surprise, because the base is so close, and sphere are so many English speakers here. Then, he rest of the stuff to talk about is that I had a wonderful birthday, followed by interviews with President Wada, and then spending time at the beach with our friend, which was perfect. Haha. I was talking and testifying about the purpose of life, and then I paused and said, "it's deeper than the ocean." With a serious face, and both Sister Ogawa, my companion, laughed, and our friend said "that's so cool!" Haha.. It was fun. Then we ate at a sweets cafe, which also had real food, too, and not just sweets. It was.. Expensive. I would have cringed at the prices here before my mission. But it was SO GOOD! I loved the parfait we ate. Hey, I have another photo I want to send out, but I'll wait until next week. :) I love everyone. It's going to be a great transfer in Yokosuka, I know it. Sister Blake BTW-! Cockroach was found in our trap! Mwahahaha. We caught it. Now only so many to go (jk, it's not that bad.) 1- interviews, at our apartment! 2- for my birthday, a young women gave me fruity pebbles because she heard it was my favorite! >.< 3- parfait! Mike (my brother) sent me a picture that he drew, and then my companion decided we should take a live version, so we went to a sushi restaurant, and took a picture of the elders posing the same way!
Dear Family and Friends,
Who knew what a difference church would be in English as opposed to Japanese! I was so surprised! Whoa! It was a great week, and I actually didn't transfer until Saturday night. I got a couple of extra days in Shonan Ward. Oh America. Oh Base. Oh what a crazy transfer. OOOOOOK. lets start over. Monday. we tried to visit a lot.. and tried to hurry around to all the people. One of my favorite visits (on Friday) was a sweet older Japanese Christian lady who we met at the station a while ago, and she let us clean a bit around her house. She was so sweet, and sang "Jesus Loves Me" in English and Japanese for us, and then we talked about the Plan of Salvation together. We were there for a while, but a great visit. So, what else...? Well, all I can think of is all the visits with people we had, but then fell through, but one of the best things we did was change what we've been doing with one of our friends. We decided o make a plan and stick with it, and now she is progressing so steadily towards baptism. It may have to be pushed back a whole week, but she will make it. We met every day, and we were able to help her in a hard time, and members were present for every lesson, and it was just a great change compared to how we were moving so slowly with her. I am happy that I was allowed to be there and get that all organized and put in order. I am grateful. I came here on Saturday night, after a Luau activity at Fujisawa Stake Center. Then I went to church and we were there from 8:55-4:50. The English church is 9-12. Correlation Meeting is 12-1. The Japanese is usually 1-3, but there was Relief Society on Fast Sunday, so we stayed there a little longer. :) It was really great. There was one Sister in the Japanese Branch that really was kind to me. I am looking way forward to working with them. My favorite thing I read today was "On Being Genuine" by President Uchtdorf. A note I want to add. I know that the most important things for us to know are written and spoken by the living prophets. I trust in them and I sustain them with all my heart. Sister Blake Dear Family and Friends,
Hey, it's been a while since I've had a full hour and a half for email time. I made sure we're doing it first today. So, transfer emails came. And, I'm transferring. But my next area is going to be a way hard culture shock. Next transfer, I've been called to serve in Yokosuka. My companion and I will be over the Military Ward and the Japanese Branch. Well, it's way interesting. Because that means I'll be attending church in English and then going to church in Japanese. Five hours of church every week, and at least three member meals and tons of American people.... Sighhhhh. I love the Japanese people. But I also love America people. So I guess that is why my companion will be Sister Ogawa! We are going to rock it! I am so excited. President Wada asked what I thought about it, and I told him I was comfortable with it. The Spirit helped me feel that it's where I need to go. It'll be great, I know it! I am learning so much about faith right now. Our faith has the power to change the course of events. And I have been lacking in faith recently. I am sad to be leaving Shonan Ward. I've been here for three transfers, and it has been picking up recently. The work will continue to move forward, and it's because of the members. So, there's a downside to riding bikes everywhere. You end up swallowing bugs. >.< on at least three different occasions these last two weeks, I accidentally swallowed bugs while riding my bicycle. Haha. It's what I get for breathing through my mouth. Well, lots of crazy things happened. First! Last week on Tuesday I was able to participate in a wondeful training on three new pamphlets that were made specifically for people without a Christian background! I am excited to use them! But the best thing about the training was who taught us. When I was at the MTC, I attended a meeting that was for the missionaries going to Japan, and he challenged us to speak only Japanese for our last two weeks, and not speak English. Well, it changed my mission. And not to mention increased my faith. It was him who taught us about using the pamphlets. I was surprised and delighted to see him there. He didn't remember it (it was a whole year or so ago, after all) but he was humble, and said that if anything good came out of it, we know where that came from, pointing upwards. He is pretty amazing at Japanese himself. His name is Brother Mills. So, Happy Father's Day! And this week is Independence Day. I bet in my hometown it already is going off everywhere. Be safe, ok? ^.^ around September is when the fireworks go off here. Everyone's celebrating the end of Summer while they can before school starts. And then you hear cannons go off everywhe.... Oh wait, hold on, I'm spending Fourth of July on a base......... Just when you think you're in Japan. どうしよう😧 Well, I think that's all for today. I testified yesterday at church, because it was my last Sunday in Shonan. President Wada was there on a special visit. And I testified about how Jesus, in His last moments with His disciples didn't focus on how He was leaving, but His main focus was to strengthen them. He was indeed the perfect example. I love Shonan Ward. Love, Sister Blake This is really a last minutes email! Haha. Maybe it's a June thing.
Last year in June I had no time for emails either. Haha. Sigh.. ごめんなさい m(_ _)m Wo transfers being next week, we'll see how much time I get! :) love you all, the gospel is so true! The Lord guides the work. It is such a blessing Dear Family and Friends, Excuse the video at the end of this email. :) it was just what I was feeling at the time. The work is going good now. There are more promised blessings ahead as we continue to open our mouths and share what we know to be true. How is the faith in the world going? What about the way the church is going? I love this church. I love the truth. I believe that the church is true. How do I know? God has told me. He will speak to us if we "listen". Here's a fun fact about Japanese. The word for "listen" also can mean "to ask". 聞く This last week was full of activity. On Monday last week, we cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned, and made our apartment way pretty. Well, then, we had Tuesday, and on Tuesday, we had a really awesome zone meeting, and afterwards went to Tabehodai(all you can eat) Shabu-Shabu(you cook meat and other vegetables in a pot with water, and then eat it with a sauce you make), and for some reason, the Elders who were there ordered the big menu. We couldn't eat it all! ><' But I persevered, and it was all eaten. I think I ate most of it. Haha. Then, we had a lesson with Yuuko, and then we went to District meeting, and then we visited someone the Elders had found housing. It was busy. Well, the lesson went really well. Then on Wednesday, we went back to visit Yuuko with a member, Sister Gaitau ! Hooray! Thursday, weekly Planning and various other things. :) Friday, we visited the lady mentioned before again, taught a lesson, but then she told us not to come back again. So, she said she wasn't interested. It was sad. We did our best to testify, and also relate the gospel to her, but those who aren't ready just are not ready yet. Also! I got to go on exchanges with Sister Magleby!! And I learned a ton from her. She is so dendo Fire! (Mission fire) she knows way well how to House, and sticks straight to the purpose. I learned a lot. I hope to go on exchanges with her again! Also, I got to partipcate in ワクワククッキング in Atsugi, because of the exchange. We made a ton of stained glass cookies with a couple of investigators and the ward mission leader. It was great. I also got to participate in two lessons! It was amazing How well the Atsugi sisters plan. So, Sunday was good, and at church we didn't have any investigators come, which was way sad! We were really hoping that our friend would come, but she decided to not come suddenly. But when she does, it will be amazing! Love you all, enjoy the pictures. Dear Family! And Friends! Dear Family and Friends,
Today, we had zone Pday, climbed a mountain, sang hymns, took pictures, but the best thing was the discussion we had. At the top, we sat under a pavilion and discussed how we can, as a zone, level up, and continue on to he next step. In becoming the missionaries we can become. I loved it. Especially when we all went down the giant slide at the end, one by one. so fun! I had needed that kind of break. Nothing makes you feel better than revelation and feeling the Spirit through hymns. :) sung by a group of missionaries. Well, not too much time today, unfortunately. :) but, I know hat the Savior lives. We had a great sacrament meeting, and there were a couple of other speakers, besides me, who were all able to testify about the atonement. I love the Savior. We can't pay for what we can't do right. We have no ability to do so, but through the Savior, we can. I love this gospel. It has changed my life. I know that God loves all His children. Love, Sister Blake Dear Family and Friends,
Hey there, hi there, ho there. The last week has been a week. It started off on a downward slope. Well, let's just say one word to define the whole of it-- stress. Haha. So, I went from district meeting, to the stake center (takes over an hour from Shonan church to get to the Stake center in Shonandai) and was a half hour late for SPM, which is a meeting with the stake leaders. It's basically a big Correlation meeting wih the missionaries and the stake. Sister Training Leaders and Zone Leaders attend, so I was there! But we hold a meeting before it, which is when we discuss what exactly we want to mention to the stake. And I was thirty minutes late. So we were rushing there, and since both sister Lambert and I would stay the night in Fujisawa area that night, we rushed home to get our bags, and then take off for the stake center, but on our way, my companion realized she didn't have her bag of clothes and whatnot for exchanges! Oh no! I asked her if she wanted to turn back, but she was such a saint. She said she'd be fine, and it was more important for me to get to the meeting. Also, she hadn't eaten dinner yet. >.< ahhh! What a grave and a blessing she was. We got to the Stake center thirty minutes late, and the meeting was already pretty much over, but I came in, (I had my backpack with clothes in it) and went to sit down, but my backpack knocked over the computer on the desk behind me, and it went crashing to the ground. I screamed. And then hid under the table(sort of, not really. I just hid my face). One of the elders immediately jumped up and started taking it apart. To figure out what was wrong. (He is a lot like Jeremy. Way high tech. Knows his stuff about technology. He was the tech staff elder for the mission for a while). Then, the other sister training leader in the zone, Sister Lopez asked if I needed to go get some water and we took a walk. Well, then we all went to the stake meeting, and it went well. It seems the computer was mostly ok, it just won't turn on because the one button that's used to turn on computers is the only thing that broke. But the ward said that they will fix it. 申し訳ない。 But that's my story for the week. I was so stressed, I broke the Fujisawa computer. ^.^ lets just say it probably can't get anything but better from here. Well, then I have another story. My trainer has finished her mission. Sister Padelsky, Sister Hokanson, and Sister Akamatsu, my first three companions, all finished their missions last week. Sister Padelsky actually is still in Japan. Saw her at the temple today with her mother. :) we took one last picture. It was great. She and President Wada have roots back to when he was a missionary. When President Wada served as a missionary in Temple Square, he met Sister Padelsky's mother, gave her a Book of Mormon, and invited her to read it. Then they parted. End of story right? Well, actually no. She went home, read it, met with missionaries and took the lessons and then decided to be baptized. I don't know the whole story, but it is just cool to see how the Lord really does have eternity in mind when He send missionaries where He sends them. Her mom is great! I loved meeting her! Love, Sister Blake Pictures 1,3, 4-- sister Padelsky, Sister Akamatsu, Sister Hokanson. :) Picture 2- lets play I spy. I spy with my little eye Mt Fuji. I spy a rainbow. Hey, look, I spy with my little eye another rainbow! Wow! And the yellow hung off to the right looks like it must be-- "sun!" District lunch Dear Friends and Family, |
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January 2019
Sister Blake
"You are hereby called to serve in the Japan Tokyo South Mission." Categories |