My dear family,
It was so fun to talk to you on skype! Loved it!! You all seem
to be doing so well! This week was awesome!
I had a great week!
Monday
we wrote Christmas letters to investigators!
Tuesday we went as a district to the neighborhood Christmas
party of a less active sister and helped out. We did games and activities
together. 5 little 6th graders ran the activity. So cute! Then the sister drove
us back to the church where we set up for the ward Christmas party and then had
a lesson with a recent convert (Kato shimai [Sister Kato]) on faith. She really
misses institute and can't wait for it to start back up again. Then we had the
Branch Christmas party! LOTS of Eikaiwa [English class] students and their
families came!! Lots of games and a few musical numbers so it wasn't really as
spiritual as I had hoped but it was good for the Eikaiwa students to build
friendships with ward members. Really fun. I know [want] to know them and their
families better. They are really good people and seem to connect well with the
Branch members here.
One thing I learned as I was studying the gospel of Jesus Christ
[lesson in Preach My Gospel] this week (faith in Jesus Christ, repentance,
baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, endure to the end) was that these aren't just
arbitrary hoopes to jump through to get back to God; they are how we change to
become like Him. So we need to not be missing that as we do these steps! We
need to be changing to become better through following this process.
Wednesday was Christmas Eve! We had a mogi [roleplay] with
wonderful Sister Saito. She fed us lunch, printed pictures of our Eikaiwa
students who came to the Branch Christmas party for us to give to them, did a
mogi with us, and drew a map for us to get to our next location. So kind!! Then
we biked to the hospital to visit Kie-chan (19-year-old investigator) but they
wouldn't allow us to visit or contact her and wouldn't say why. So we went
across the street to where Shion-chan (RC [recent convert]) was working at Moss
Burger and bought ice-cream from her and made her smile (she said after that it
was the first time anyone has ever visited her when she was working). Then we
had the Eikaiwa Christmas Eve Party! No class, just activities; White Elephant,
Charades, Nativity videos, and Santa giving out CDs of church music. Then 2
students did talents. Really effective dendo [missionary work]! It was exciting
how intently the students watched the Nativity videos. Great potential there!
The students we asked to do talents were so thrilled and happy. They asked if
they could do talents again and all the students said they wanted to do an
Eikaiwa like that again. I think it was really effective! After Eikaiwa we got
a call from Kie-chan (the one we were unable to visit at the hospital) and she
said her doctor banned us from visiting her because we're missionaries. :( So
we can't teach her until she's out of the hospital. I hope she gets better
soon!
Also on Christmas Eve I opened the rest of my Christmas
presents!! WOW!!! Thank you thank you thank you!! I've already studied part of
the Japanese book, am listening to the music, using the hairbands and clothes,
eating the food, and loving the paper cutter and makeup remover wipes and tiny
scripture set!! Thank you! Thank you!! I hope you get to see the before and
after pictures. :) Lauren, thank you for the necklace you made! It is so
pretty! Very happy Christmas!
Thursday was Christmas! We got up early, went to the church, and
SKYPED!!!! It was SO FUN to talk to all of you!! It was just so fun and happy!
Highlight of my Christmas!
After that, we (as a District) rode a train to Misawa for
Christmas lunch with the Larsen family. Very fun! Chips and dip,
potatoes, pretzel jello salad, bean salad, pork, rolls, and then cheesecake and
ice-cream. So fun! We actually had to wait a while before lunch because their
pressure cooker wasn't working so we played games with the kids. Sister Lauren [Larsen]
is a grade school teacher on the Misawa military base. They gave all of us
Christmas stockings with peanut butter, etc. So kind!! Then we came back to
Hachinohe and taught a Free Family English Program Student at the church
(Yamashita-san and her daughter).
Friday morning we did service at a members home and then came
back and did study. Then we had Fun Friday; the students all really enjoyed the
spiritual message Elder Moo and Elder Hansen gave--a blind maze.
Saturday we went as a district to an early morning fish market
with an Eikaiwa student and ate fresh raw fish for breakfast. Yum. Came back to
the church and studied and then had District Meeting and then Ward
Coordination, and then visited a less active family that Iwahashi shimai's [Sister
Iwahashi’s] Mom knows. Total miracle; the house looked like no one was home.
Then a woman answers the door and says 'I know who you are and I don't want
you.' BUT SOMEHOW she stopped, listened, didn't close the door, and ended up
giving us apples as we left. Total miracle. AMAZING. Iwahashi shimai was so
brave talking to her! Amazing! Came back and had Eikaiwa.
Sunday we taught Gospel Principles at church and had dinner with
the Kimura family. We did the spiritual message on how everyone has worth and
everyone had fun and loved it. Then we went to the church for Iwahashi shimai's
skype. So cute! Very genki [energetic] and fun.
Yes, I am default thinking in Japanese, haha. You all speak very
good Japanese inside my head.
You wanted to know more about Hachinohe. Hachinohe is a big
branch with about 60 members who come to Sacrament meeting. The apartment is a
15 minute bike ride from the church across a big river. There are 3 bridges by
our apartment and they are very pretty with all the stars at night. We can see
the ocean when we go shopping so the members feed us lots of seafood. Iwahashi
shimai said there are some pretty places to see it here. It feels a lot smaller
than Sendai--my first week I kept saying to Iwahashi shimai 'There are NO
people here!' haha. Its a very nice town. Probably bigger than Greensboro. Our
apartment is very nice and very big for two people. We could each basically
have our own room with 2 desks each as our closets but that would be too lonely
so we just each have our own closet and study in the same room. There are 3
other companionships of sisters in our Zone (in Aomori, Hirosaki, Odate) but we
only do splits with Aomori and Hirosaki. We will do those splits the 2nd and 3rd
week of January. Brother Ono is a very nice ward mission leader. He is 50 and
single and the missionaries are his best friends.
Christmas was so fun! Now it's the time for goal setting. Goals
goals goals. Thinking thinking thinking! Exited to hear about how goal setting
family home evening goes!
I loved 12 days of Christmas! Thank you so much!
You asked what I want when you come to Japan in February. The
only thing I've thought of so far is toothpaste. :D
I am so excited to make New Years goals! I have learned so much
this year about how to use the enabling power of the Atonement and how through
it we can change and become better and I am so excited to apply it! I want so
much to become more Christ-like and to become the person he wants me to be. I
love my Savior and hope to more perfectly testify and teach of him in his way
and to be a window to his heavenly love.
Have a wonderful week and New Years!!!
I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Bellows shimai :)
No comments:
Post a Comment