BEHOLD! TWO NEW FANTA FLAVORS!!

BEHOLD! TWO NEW FANTA FLAVORS!!

To fully appreciate this discovery, one must understand FANTA here in
Japan. You see, Fanta in Japan is about twenty-billion times better
than in America. You want to know why? I'll tell you why: Seasonal
flavors.

Every new season (Fanta operates on a different set of seasons), Fanta
releases a seasonal flavor for a very limited time. And the seasonal
flavors are SPOT. ON. They taste literally just like the fruit. Over
my mission period, I've seen/tasted

-Melon
-Orange
-Grape (I didn't drink this one, because I don't like grape flavored
things, but it needed to be included.)
-Flat lemon (Sik Waza/Citrus depressus. Aka, the Sad lemon. Not
really, but seriously)
-White Peach (Shiro Momo)
-Asian Pear (Nashi)
-Grapefruit (My number one favorite so far)
-Japanese Plum (Ume)
-Strawberry Cream Soda)

So today, we got to see the Ume and Strawberry Cream Soda
flavors. We took like, eight of them home to stockpile.

My journal, for the week

11/15 月 sun

Todah, we tried to clean our futons. But to no avail--the mold needs
bleach and the coin laundry to remove its disgusting stains. The
battle continues. Now to find a member with a car to bring us/it to
the coin laundry.

After life, etc, we went to see one of my favorite members in the
entire world. :D We see her every Sunday, but they decided to treat
the chouroutachi (elders) to pizza (homemade), so we went. And it was

actual pizza. For all you non-Japan-goers, the Japanese pizza is...

different. I'm not entirely sure how to describe it, but it's...different. But
this pizza was very good, and it was authentic. She said that a
senkyoushi from New York taught her how to make it. It was very good.
I was about 75% through the pizza when I had to throw in the towel.
G. shimai made it 90%. The chouroutachi ate everything and looked
like they were in moderate pain.

Then we went back to the church for calls. It was exciting.

11/16 火 mon

So today, I had the opportunity to meet a man who was freed from the
foolish traditions of his fathers. He gave us an argument that
was...actually almost Korihor's exact speech, word-for-word, but
without the "no one can know of the future," and with the added modern
twist of "there's no archeological evidence of the 40 years in the
wilderness, so it could not have happened." It's been almost a year
since I've head a false dichotomy verbalized in English, so that was
exciting. We left him with our testimonies, a smile, and the promise
that if he ever wanted to believe in God again, our doors were wide
open.

I also got to enjoy 500 ml of a "Premium Peach Drink." It was pretty
good. I don't know that it was premium.

At the beginning of the day, I ate the rest of my pizza before I
realized we were visiting our friend and fellow-member, T-shimai. I
love her to pieces. She loves giving food to the missionaries, and we
have very similar taste in music (not that I can listen to any of it;
but we can talk about how much we love it). Well, it wasn't bad at
all, thankfully (the amount--her food is always tasty :D), and we had
a very deep conversation on the nature of the Godhead. She talked
about how important it was to know that there was a devil, and talked
about how wonderful it was that she had been found by the
missionaries. It was really touching.

11/17 水 tues

So today, we had the chance to visit an investigator that we only get
to see like, once a month. Her parents are from Kyoto, so she speaks
like she's from Kyoto, which means she doesn't speak Japanese at all.
I mean, the words they say are Japanese, but they speak in code.
Tatoeba,

The normal Japanese person: Would you like a glass of water? (Means:
Do you want a glass of water?)
The Kyoto-jin: Would you like a glass of water? (Means: Get out of my house.)

You might be laughing here, but what I gave you is an actual example
of their Kyoto-an code. Seriously. I thought it was a joke until
someone actually said it to me.

But anyways, we had a good lesson with her.

We also found a gem in the gym today: a manga of Christ's life, done
in classic manga art style. It was fantastic--provided my douryou (companion)
and I with five minutes of gripping entertainment before we pulled
ourselves away and got back to work. Later in the day, because of the
rain, we decided to make a couple of necessary calls. We saw an
interesting name in the phone's phonebook and rang her on a whim. She
actually picked up! Not only that, but when we, not knowing exactly
what to say, invited her to the Primary Program, she was like, "Okay,
sure. I'll come."

Man, that was so exciting. I don't know if I've ever had that happen, before.

Also ate the Lotte Nashi ice that we found at Tamade. God bless Tamade.

11/19 木 wed

So, somehow or another we taught five lessons today. That was a big
surprise, because the day itself was very normally-paced, other than
the fact that we got up at 9 for seminary.

We had a lesson with T-shimai that we prepared for, and we made the
no-bake cookies that S. chourou (elder) taught us. However, for some
reason or another, they didn't harden like they were supposed to, so
we just wrapped them in foil and brought them to the church. Our
doseki came and we talked to her for a bit. Then we found out T-shimai
wasn't coming after all.

Well, darn. So we shared a small message with S-shimai and sent her
on her way. Right after, we visited E-chan with the Primary President.

It went really well, and the two of them formed a kankei (relationship)
pretty much right there. E-chan's a little hazukashii (bashful), so
she wasn't jumping out of her seat, but it was really cute to watch
the two of them. On the way home, N-shimai gave us a cheesecake.

I... well... I was very touched. That was very sweet.

Afterwards, we talked to a couple girls on the way to the conbini, and
visited another member family. They were super, and gave us cake :D

Later, when we started planning, we got a call from T-shimai and got
to share a small message.

11/20 金 thurs

So today was actually kind of incredible. Something happened on my
mission today that has never happened before.

We had a really good district meeting where H. chourou talked about
working with members. and he gave an awesome sports team tatoe, where
you have, say, 15 people in a branch. 5 are your starters (great
dousekis, dendo fire), 5 are 2nd string (more worried, less familiar
or inclined to share the gospel), 5 are bench (relatively
unwilling/able to keep commitments or share the gospel). Your job is
to give them commitments based on where they are in the team--the
fastest way to sour a relationship with a member is by giving them a
commitment that's too big for them. By doing that, you can make the
starters into coaches, the 2nd string into starters, and the
benchwarmers into 2nd string. Then of course, you can pull the
spectators or the towel-boys from the stands and make them into
benchwarmers. It really lit the Abeno district fire.

Then we went to indocurry, and I had pumpkin curry and blueberry
lassi. On the way home, we said hello to an old man, and he kept
looking at us, so we went back and talked with him. He was kind of
like, "Hey, well I'm going home, so come with me."

...So we went with him... Then we got there and were like, "Is there a
wife inside? Do we go in? Do we stay here?" Well, it didn't feel too
creepy, so we went in after we saw there was a wife. Then we taught
them the first lesson. He was uninterested and pretty much kicked us
out (half-good-humoredly), but the wife was a little more open and
almost accepted the Book of Mormon. We left and I was amazed. That
had never happened to me before. It was really interesting, and
altogether, not a bad experience.

Afterwards, we came back and told the chouroutachi of our victory,
then we sat down and reviewed the Abeno lineup.

Afterwards, we went to our LA, C-shimai's, and she gave us hot
chocolate and more cake. We still have to eat the cake from the
M-kazoku, too. Haha, I guess because I don't have time to hit the cake
shops like I did in Imabari, the cake is coming to me.

Altogether, not a bad day here in Osaka.

11/21 土 fri

Today, we spent all day doing SKK (weekly planning). I felt like we
needed to be at the church by one-ish, so we headed out a little earlier
than planned and got there at about one-ten. Just as we got through the
door, we got a call from an unknown number. It was a person named
A-shimai, who had been contacted 2 or so months ago by the previous
sister missionaries, B. shimai and G. shimai. She was like, "Hey, wanna
meet up sometime?" And I was like, "Yeah, we'd love to meet you." And
she said, "Okay, well, I'll call you later." So that was exciting. Really goes
to show that there is no effort wasted on the mission.


We finished up SKK until the chouroutachi came and fixed G.
shimai's brakes again, then we had dinner. This was cut short by a
phonecall from our beloved E-chan's mother, B-shimai. The gist of the
message was "I can't take E-chan to church, after all." but it took
something of an hour to say. When we parted ways, I looked at the
clock and saw that it was late. And we needed to find a ride for
E-chan.

Fantastic, fantastic ward members eventually took the wheel, and
things were taken care of.

11/22 日sat

Today was so darn fun. :D

90% of why today was fun can be summed up in two words: Primary
Program. Best thing in the world. It also brought a lot of new faces
to church. The woman we called on Wednesday ended up unable to come,
but she said that she wanted to come next week, so... tanoshimi.

It was also a dear member's birthday on Friday, so we sang happy
birthday to her. She got teary--it was really cute. We also shared a
message with another kaiin, and went to our beloved S-shimai's house
for cooking class.

At cooking class, we have two investigators: One progressing, the
other who frequently declares she cannot progress. It's a tiny bit of
a worry, but it worked better when we focused on our progressor.

We were talking about prayer again, and following up on their
progress. We called them every evening this week (permission gained
beforehand) to remind them to pray. We asked them how it went. Our
progressor had a couple of wonderful experiences, and our
non-progressor had not. We asked if the phonecalls helped after the
lesson, and if it would be helpful to continue them next week.

Us: So was it a meiwaku? Do you want us to do it again?
Her: *kind of knits her eyebrows and tilts her head to the side* Well,
I'm going to pray even if you don't call me, so...

GOOD.

Then we hopped on a train and went to I-shimai's. We got to know her,
recieved a referral, and came back late because we got there late
becasue we missed our stop. Gaaah. But anyways, we got to Teradachou
and had to walk home (it would have taken longer to stop at Tennoji
and bike back). It was a 20 minute walk. We had twenty minutes. We got
there in 10.

Very tender mercies from the lord this week.

Ponderize for last week was in 2Nephi 31. It's the one that goes, "How
can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep his
commandments?"

True that. It's like saying "I honor my mother, but I don't listen to
her and I don't do anything she asks." Christ has asked us to follow
Him. How can we walk after him if we don't follow his footsteps?
Christ is the Light and the Way. Christ has never broken the
commandments. If we want to be like Christ, we have to do our best,
too. As we do, we will find a greater, far greater world in the world
beyond, and a very satisfactory one here.

Love you all,
Sanzu shimai

My way of thinking has changed

Today can be summed up in one word: Tabechatta. [This is Syd's mom.
I believe this word means something like "completed it / finished it", but I
will have to check with my Japanese speaking missionary on that one.]

We finished up our studies, and went to N.'s for food. We get in, take our

mandatory picture, and come into the kitchen to find an enormous (quick 

note: G. shimai, my companion, has the most adorable laugh.It's seriously 

the cutest thing in the entire world.) plate ofomuyakisoba with our seats 

marked by respective "UT"s and "LO" (forUtah and Rotterdam. XD So 

adorable!)

I hit about halfway through the omusoba before I realized that I couldn't 

eat it all. Despite G. shimai and I being shimaitachi (girls), N. did not give 

us lesser portions.

Anyway, it was a serious battle today to finish that omusoba. It got
worse as he pulled out the spice cake and yogurt. It was rough. But by
slowness and steadiness, I won. And thank heavens.

Afterwards, S. chourou and E. chourou gave a really good lesson on 

forgiveness. And I said, "N. Forgiveness isn't something you do for 

the benefit of others--it's something you do for yourself. Just a little 

bit ago, you talked about cancer. Grudges are like spiritual cancer. 

When you forgive someone, you accept the love of Christ and it heals 

you. You can't heal others. That's their choice to make." And he stopped 

talking and thought for a really long time. After a moment, N. began 

punctuating the silence with "Oh, I see." and "That makes sense." Then 

he looked at me and said, "My way of thinking has changed." And I was 

really happy--you don't get one of those kind of compliments every day.

Then we filled the rest of the day with SKK (weekly planning).

Oh, wait, we also met D and W again. That was fun. It always gets
really intense in their lessons. But they want to know like, super
deep doctrine, which is awesome and fun, but doesn't help anyone
before they have the basics down. But, they're super and I like them,
so I guess I can't complain too much. I just gotta pray hard to have the
spirit with me, and not just my pot of Gospel Trivia.

*******

I love you all--have a great week and I can testify that as
you live the gospel right, you will be happier that you are. There's
always something more we can do to be something more.

Love,
Sanzu shimai

He's attractive in American culture as well, but he is BEAUTIFUL in Japan

Thursday of last week, we met the new transfer, E. chourou (elder). He's...
genki [This is Syd's mom, I had to look up this word for the translation.As far
as I can tell, it means 'healthy, energetic, in good spirits, fine, in a good mood'].
And a man who is eager to share his many talents. And he and S. chourou [the
other elder here] look EXACTLY the same from afar. [Scandanavian] Same
coloring, same bike brand... It's scary. S. chourou loves his new companion, E.
chourou. Though of course we were all attached to ***o chourou, the previous
companion who E. chourou replaced, and miss him. S. chourou actually forgot
***o chourou had transferred, and was answering a question and said, "I don't
know, but,***o chourou, does anyone--" He looked back expecting to see his
old companion, stopped, and his shoulders sank a little as it dawned on him that
his old companion was gone. It was really cute and really sad. ***o chourou,
you are in a better place, but we'll still miss your passing (To Marugame).)

On Friday, we were on our way back from an appointment when we passed
by a couple gaijin (foreigner). Now, I love helping gaijin. There's  always
something to do. It's incredible how many people come to Japan without
knowing Japanese (which, is understandable, I guess. I came to Japan without
knowing Japanese). But anyways, they were looking for a coin laundry, and
we were happy to walk with them. It was really fun. He was from Germany,
and wanted to move to Japan because he loved it here. I don't blame him too
much. There's a lot to love in Japan.

On the way home, we ran into a woman and began teaching her a lesson
because... well, we will teach to anything that lets us. It was interesting
though.

Her: I'm Buddhist. (I love that they say that all the time. Little do
they know, it's fruitless as a deterrent. Everyone in Japan is
Buddhist.)

So we taught her a lesson. She didn't commit to praying,but she did agree
to go to Mormon.org and she committed herself to read the Plan of Salvation
pamphlet. So that was super. She was so cool and super suteki.


This past Monday we went to the Pokemon Center in Umeda, and taught two
lessons,so that's why I didn't have time to write y'all in my free/off time.
Gomen, ne. But we had to email the mission president, so we stopped into
the church for just a minute to use the wifi. As we were typing out our report
in the chapel, alone (we thought) , suddenly this head peeks up and over the
pews in the very front.

Us: ;OAHWAF AFVDHKS;A;WAEIHL;EFILSLIHAVXVSAFIS;EH;!!!!!!
        Startled the mess out of us.
Him: Um, I lost my SD card.
Us: *wiping the foam from our mouths* ...? Um... Okay.
Him: I think it's somewhere around here.
Us: ...
Him: Somewhere around here. *motions*
Us: ...Oh! *go to help him*

So, turns out he's a LA, K-k, and asked us if he could take the
lessons. Still not entirely sure what he was doing in the chapel.

Then, on Tues, we came downstairs and out the door to find that my dearest
douryou's brakes were grating and grinding. So, we took a look at it,
she dug a gigantic piece of metal out of one of the brake feet, and we
called the chouroutachi (elders). They, wonderful people, came down to our
apartment and spent the next two hours trying to get my douryou's bike
back on its feet.

Then we were late to our lunch appointment with I. shimai. We
called about an hour ahead of time to warn them that we were largely
without transportation and would likely be unable to get there on
time.

And we didn't. We were an hour late. I have no doubt that I now have
the worst reputation among the Abeno ward members. But they said that
they had just finished cooking, and so it all worked out well. The
food was delicious, and E. chourou and S. chourou were a hit.
Mostly E. chourou. He's attractive in American culture as well,
but he is BEAUTIFUL in Japan. It's Very funny. Anyway, the cute,
middle-aged ladies cannot stop talking to him, and he is a people
pleaser, so he's very responsive to that.

We also taught [pew/SD card] K-k. We'll pass him to the chouroutachi
(elders) tomorrow.

I was dancing on the way home

11/2

On Monday morning [(the only free/personal/"off" time we get on our 

mission)], we cleaned our apartment really well, so I had a fantastic 

time just rolling around on the floor. After procrastinating for forever 

(went through the shotengai - an enclosed shopping center-tunnel-thing 

etc. - ), we went to check on the transfer verdict.

I'm staying. Whoot. It looks like I have something left to do in Abeno 

after all. When I first got here, I didn't think I would stay for more than
a transfer, but it would seem that I have a work to perform in this
tabernacle of clay.

So we went through the shotengai and made friends with all the
shopkeepers. We ate tempura, including a sweet potato doughnut. Super
exciting. We also picked up a PI when G. shimai bought a vest for
more wintry wear. His name is T., and he was very interested in
English.

So, G. shimai's brakes have been screaming for the last while, so this 

week we finally took it to the bike shop where she bought it. We got lost
though, so it took a good long time to find. Thankfully, we asked for
help from a gentleman from a 7/11, and he took us all the way there.
It was very sweet. I gave him a Book of Mormon as a thank-you, and he
was like, "Oh, wait, you're Mormon?"

Me: Yep! How do you know about us?
Him: You guys are super kibishii (strict/unallowing), right?
Me: Eh? Strict?
Him: Yeah, strict.
Me: Why?
Him: You don't do alcohol and stuff, right?

I told him that was true, and he was like, "Okay, well, I'll take this
and head out. Bye." So that was interesting.

And on the way home, we found a coconut-milk soda. ...It tasted like a
watery, melted snowcone. ...Not my favorite in Japan.

Later, we went to a member's house and had Philippino food. It was
very good. We talked to the son about going on a mission. He's really
super.

Then eikaiwa!! I was talking to one of our students about our 30/30
program, and she was like, "I think I'll just keep doing this. But I
bought an (abridged) New Testament. What's a 'sheperd'?"

So we taught a brief lesson on Christ, God is Our Loving Heavenly
Father, and prayer. Right after we taught prayer and explained that
God is our Heavenly Father ("Oh, naru hodo (I see).") and that he
wants to talk to us, she was like, "Oh, okay. I'll go home tonight and
pray, then."

...Needless to say, I was dancing on the way home.

Behold, I have given you my commandments, therefore keep my commandments.

10/30 金


Today, I felt like I was dendo (preaching the gospel) fire, which 

made me really happy. After an awesome ZTM (zone meeting), we 

went down to Q's mall for indocurry, and we got to hand out a 

couple of chirashi (flyers) and taught a lesson to someone who

wasn't terribly intent on receiving a lesson. It felt really good. I
always forget that when you do it, getting rejected doesn't hurt too
badly. It's only afterwards, when you're not doing anything, or
getting ready for the day, that the Adversary makes it seem like a bad
thing. "Hey, remember when that guy rejected you? Everyone's going

to reject you. It's easier to stay in bed. You've worked so hard for all
the other 395 days of your mission, and you've seen no results. It's
just going to be another day of rejection. Again."

And you know what the solution for that it? Hop out of bed and get 

to work. It's only the transition that's hard. Once you're going, you
don't stop until you collapse on the floor after planning. So here's the 

rundown on today:

Indocurry was, per usual, delicious (it was pumpkin curry, and
it was really good), and we got to see an eikaiwa (English class) student
there. There was also like, four flavors of Lassi (yogurt drink). I got the

pineapple one, my companion got the blueberry one.

On the way back, we taught a lesson to 3 chuugakusei (middle-schoolers) 

coming back from a field trip to Nara. Their sensei passed us and they kind 

of laughed and shook their heads like, "Gaijin." (foreigner)

Gaijin.

But anyways, on the way back, we got stuck walking behind this little
old lady. We were konnichiwa-ing (hello-ing) everything that moved, and 

she like, pulled over. We walked past and turned around. We hello'd her 

and asked how her day was. She put a finger to her lips, went "Shhhhhh,"
and waved us away with a motion like she was pushing dishes off a
table. We grinned and gave her a cheery goodbye and went on our way.
When she was out of sight, we burst out laughing. Nihonjin (Japanese) 

women are strong.

So, we finished most of SKK (weekly planning), and by 7:40, we were like,
"Okay, let's go home and eat dinner." but we hit the lobby and I got this
immediate feeling that we were not supposed to go outside until 8:10. I asked 

G. shimai (my companion) what she thought, and  after, like, 20 minutes of 

discussion and prayer (and a cameo from the chouroutachi/elders) G. shimai 

said that we she felt that we needed to go home by a specific route, which 

involved a quick loop. We left at about 8:05, took the loop which delayed us 

a little longer, talked to someone who wasn't interested, then just before we got 

home, a gaijin (foreigner) who we had never seen before, a few buildings down, 

stepped outside to check his mail. [It’s very unusual to see foreigners in this 

area.] We were like "EH?" and stopped, talked, and he was interested.

We now have a tentative appointment for Monday.

Let me tell you what I learned from last week's ponderize (ponder/memorize)

"Behold, I have given you my commandments, therefore keep my
commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly
testified of me." 3Ne15:10.

God really does give us so much, doesn't he? Scriptures, family,
talents, blessings of all shapes and sized. How often do we make use
of the commandments he's given us? How often do we remember that the
entire purpose of the commandments is to point us to Christ? I've told
you before about looking for the truth in a world that feels like
you're falling through the White Rabbit's rabbit hole, but I've come to
realize that it's really the commandments that are our iron rod. If we
hold fast, it will not move, and it will assuredly guide us to Christ,
for all the law does is truly testify of Him.

I'd like to add my second witness and say that He lives, and He has a
great plan for us. If we use it, we will never be lost or alone. In
the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sanzu

Gepetto's whale (the slippery beast)

This week, we were at the church, and the elders came in and were like, "Hey,
there's a present for you."
G.shimai (my companion): Is it a pony?
elder: Nope.
Me: Is it a whale?
elder: Close!

It was a gigantic fish. It was a salmon that could barely fit in the

church freezer. It wouldn't stand a chance in ours. We stared at it
for maybe two minutes.

Me: ...What do we do with this?
G. Shimai: ...Mount it on our wall?
Me: Play baseball with it?

We left it there, until we could decide what to do with it.


…Day two of worrying about the fish in the freezer.
…Day three of worrying about the fish in the freezer. (I found out my dear junior
does not like fish. So I am left to eat it on my own.)

THE FISH.
Take one, and...action!

After teaching and meeting people and working pretty hard, we decided to stop by the church and take home the fish.
This thing is gigantic – a meter long - so we string it under the flap of my shoulder bag and get going. (Now, I understand all you fishing professionals/Alaska frequenters are like,
"Please. We catch 5-foot salmon on bad days." but when you have no room in the freezer, the sink, or your non-existent bike basket; no way to cook it and not enough time to get home, you may as well strap Gepetto’s whale onto your back) We do pretty well until we turned off the main road and the monster fish slipped out of its holster and almost assaulted a passerby.

Me: *dismounts and picks up the blunt weapon* Sumimasen. Shitsurei
shimashita :) *apologizes and returns the fleshy ice block to its temporary home*
*remounts*

THE FISH.
Take two, and...action!

About five minutes later, the jostling disturbed the beast and it once again escaped face first onto the sidewalk. A man walking by stopped and picked it up. With a smile, he handed the monster to us and said, "Good fish."     In English.

M. shimai took the now-melting aquatic ice club and stuck it out of a plastic bag on her handlebars. This bag was a third of the fish's size, but we went on.

THE FISH.
Take three, and...action!

Another five minutes later, as we biked in a straight line, the fish leaped from its confines and bounced on the asphalt twice before finally resting as we met another passerby. This one, we used the fish as an opportunity to talk with her and had a fairly good, if short, lesson. Nothing came of it (Not today, at least ;) ), but with that, we finally got to take the fish home by wedging it between M. shimai's back and backpack.

THE END. (I'll tell you later how it goes when we figure out how to cook it.)

A member of every club on campus

10/26

After eikaiwa (English class), we've been talking with a student who's been a 

gem, and who seems interested in finding the truth. She asked what the

difference was between spirit mediums and feeling the Holy Ghost, and 

something clicked that I had realized since coming here, but had never 

really thought about :

The way of Japanese Buddhism is a little like being agnostic.
Everything's true. It doesn't matter what you believe. People believe
things that make them happy, and so long as it makes you happy and
doesn't conflict with those around you and establishes your inner
peace, then not only is it worthy of a pat on the back, it's true.
Your truth is true. My truth is true. Mediums see spirits. Joseph
Smith saw God and Christ. Buddha saw his past lives. In that mindset,
it's all true. But believing in every religion is like being a member
of every club on campus. It really just means that you're not a member
of any of them. Certainly, they love blood types and Horoscopes and
spirit mediums and zodiac signs and whatnot, but "religion" is really
just a set of traditions that you do on New Years and Obon. Unless
they're super intense in their sect, no two Buddhists look the same.

Because of that mindset, an actual, sole "truth" is something that is
foreign to a lot of people. In a way, it's nice, because there are not
any conflicts about religion and whatnot, but when someone is looking
for truth, there is nothing to grab on to. No handhold, no ledge, no
help. It's hard to tell which way is up.

Japan needs missionaries. Not to force all the Buddhists into the
font, but to catch the hands of those who are looking for
something--anything--to hold. It's given me a new perspective on
missionary work, and a new appreciation for my role.

I love my mission, and I love the people here. The Gospel's true, prayer
works, God loves His children. In the name
of Jesus Christ, amen!

Pray for us and this little girl!

Today, I got a special present for myself: A SCRUB BRUSH!!!! YAAAAAY!
I'm so excited to clean the bathroom with something that works :D Earlier
today, I took apart the disgusting tub drain (and became very
glad that we only had time for showers), and wished very badly for a
scrub brush. Today, we got a scrub brush and an edge brush that I used
to clean the filter for the shower vent :D What a happy day.

This week, we passed by a 7-11 and saw a gaijin (foreigner)! What on earth

is a gaijin doing in Japan?! So we talked about deep things and whatnot, and 

now he wants to know more. :D So we set up a meeting on Fri with him and
friend and wife. Unfortunately, the wife wasn't able to come, and it's against rules to be alone with equal #'s of the opposite sex, so instead of doing a lesson inside, we just took them on a church tour.

They were really cool and had a lot of deep doctrinal questions. I was
braced for Bible-bashing, but it seems like they honestly want to
learn. I'm excited to keep working with them (I get distracted
though--it's been a while since I talked to someone who likes the
Bible.)

This week we got to meet with someone who we've been having a lot of phone 

lessons with. And she's totally 110% prepared, she just doesn't know it, yet. So that  was fun. And, we met a LA's daughter, who's really really REALLY wants to be baptized, and the only reason she hasn't is because of church attendance. She's young, so she can't go by herself. But we picked her up with a kyoukaiin, and she came to church. During sacrament meeting, she looked through my gospel pictures and fangirled every time she saw Jesus. It was really cute. She also told us her life plan after church: baptism, sister missionary, temple marriage, exaltation.

Sounds like a plan.

Pray for us and this little girl! We love you all and hope you have a
great week!

Love,
Sanzu shimai

P-day pictures at the temple

It was like a movie

Wow. Today was a six-lesson day. Truly a miracle. What was more of a miracle was that these 6 people were all taught on a day where we had district meeting, and then lunch, so we didn't get out until about two. 

For lunch, we went to Q's Mall, to a tabehoudai (all you can eat) place called Shabu Shabu, and ate a good bunch of meat. (Note: at these kinds of places, they give you a salad and side and stuff, and it's extraordinarily rude if you don't eat it all. With the style of Shabu Shabu that we ordered, it came with two eggs that we were expected to eat, raw, with the meat. But I'm not so fond of raw eggs, so I boiled them in the table's pot and smuggled them into my bag.

As we went to teach our lessons, we had to cross a big bridge. On the underside of the bridge was a bicycle path overlooking the rest of the river. The sun was setting on the horizon, and the sky was just turning orange. It was like a movie.

For our final appointment, it took a little over an hour to get to our member's house, and they fed us kabocha- (pumpkin) flavored cake. We shared a small message, but their testimonies were powerful. It was a good visit.

However, we had only 45 minutes to get home. We said a quick prayer for speed and safety and set off.

We hit. EVERY red light. The entire way.

I played in my mind, as we were braking for yet another light, how I would console myself if we were late for curfew. I would pat myself on the back and say, "You worked hard, you gave it your best shot. God will forgive you. You can't be perfect all the time. It can't be helped." At the same time, I thought of 1Nephi 3:7. I thought of Gideon, and the deliverance of Alma and his people. Now, my life wasn't in danger, I would certainly get out of the experience without emotional trauma, but I would be breaking mission standards and commit an act of disobedience. God didn't want me to be disobedient, and he certainly knew about the abnormal streak of red lights. I knew He heard our prayer because He's heard all our others. So I decided this was a trial of faith. I couldn't change the lights. What I could do was pedal fast and remember the God who created the time I was racing against.

We were five minutes away from home when I looked at my watch and saw we had a little more than a minute left. We got home with fifteen seconds to spare.

God heard our prayer. God hears all our prayers, but sometimes, like the tale of Gideon, I believe he stacks the odds against us. Sometimes he says to us, "The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the [the enemy] into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." And he stacks the odds, not to make us uneasy, not to hurt our feelings or shake our faith, but to make His deliverance unmistakable. When the odds are stacked against us, we don't need to worry. Rather, "dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

I'm a daddy!

I felt incredibly incompetent listening to people speak today. Just when I had gotten the hang of how people spoke, I was moved to a place where people speak entirely differently. I feel a little like I've moved from Canadian French to Morocco.

TRAINING. I'm a daddy! (2nd transfer trainer) [My new trainee/companion] G. shimai is super cute. She's definitely used to taking care of other people, and she's a fast biker--first time I've met a trainee who's faster than her trainer. (Not that she was faster than me... but... okay, yeah, she was faster than me. But only because I'm not used to the bike!! ;) )

So, we were walking to the apartment, and I stopped to look at a decorated manhole cover with what looked like the Osaka-jou on it, but I wasn’t sure.

Me: *points* What's that?
GS: *glances at it* Oh, that's a manhole cover.

XDDD She's wonderful. She also gave me a tour of the conbini (convenience stores that exist on every other block in Japan) and walked me through the making of Mabudofu (a missionary necessity that is learned around 1st or 2nd transfer – several transfers ago for me). I love her so much. She's so funny. She's very sweet, too, and really wants to really love the people.

We're in for an exciting transfer :D

At Tennoji, I got to see two of my favorite people (previous companions) in the whole world: P. SHIMAI AND F. SHIMAI!!! Oh, that was so wonderful! I was so happy :D And everyone looked well. F. shimai looked healthy. P. shimai looked a little apprehensive, but I was so happy to see the two of them. :D I can't wait until we can just hang out together after the mission (that is, if I don't stay a missionary forever).

Speaking of old companions, Z. shimai would be proud – This week we got some mold-killer and got pretty serious today in our souji. HOORAY! I was glowing by the end of it. Got vacuum bags for the vacuum, bleached the sink, washed one of the five towels that I've kept from Imabari... MAN! Glad that’s accomplished!

Still speaking of (most recent) old companions, I wrote an Ode to W. shimai

O W., dear W.,
My incredibly competent protegee
How wonderful, how close to my heart.
O W., dear W.,
The Kobe mission has never seen before
The glory of which you are made;
The angels fashioned
The stars aligned
And thus became
The W.

Thank you, W.shimai, for sending my suitcases. I love you. <3 Thank you, parents of the W. shimai, for birthing a child who does everything better than I ever could.


Altogether, I'm really excited to love the ward here in Abeno, and my new companion is very sweet and a very valiant soul. I'm looking forward to see what we can teach each other.

Life is exciting and the gospel is true. I love you all!

Love, Sanzu shimai

The candles looked a little like incense for the dead, and they very comically turned out to be impossible to blow out

Sept 28

Farewell to Imabari


Monday we climbed a mountain :D Mine, companion, and WS's goals were "Go tell it on the mountain," "Go tell it on the mountain," "Go tell it on the mountain." respectively. Unfortunately, it was not told on the mountain, but we got to see a really big, cool shrine on the Ishizuchi mountain.

Then, all three of our packages came, but one at a time. That was very funny. Especially because at the beginning, WS was like "You know what'd be funny? If he only had one package, and had to come back three times."

Well, it wasn't the same guy, but it was three separate guys in three separate visits. That was interesting. Took me like, fifteen minutes to open the package my friends sent, and they sent me...candy.

Good heavens. It's only by the grace of God that I have not ballooned on my mission. Six months to go...

Altogether, it was a good day :D

So we began Tuesday by going to N-shimai's to learn calligraphy. She is SOOOO nice--let us do three kanji three times, then gave us boards to write on so that we could have a little bit of kanji in our homes. I did 風、真心、and 望--wind, sincerity, and hope/desire. Then she signed our works with little kanji that she decided fit us. she gave me 志、which means aspire/motive/hopes. So, I feel, like, super privileged. The experience was really pearls before swine.

[This week we taught so many sweet people. They were so kind and generous.] One family that we taught has the cutest little boy, and he was the most cooperative in the lesson. He even recognized the whale I drew in panel five!

Him: “KUJIRAERERA!”
Me: “That's right! Kujira!” (whale)
Parents: surprised (whether at the fact that it could be recognized as a whale, or that the 3-year old knew what a whale was, I'm not sure.)

At the end, I had drawn two hands (male and female, for the 6th day of the creation) holding each other, and he recognized those, too.

Him: “Hands!” reaches out
Me: reaches out and holds his hand
Him: so super excited that we're copying the picture. It was really cute.

We also stopped by to say hi to one of our favorite LA's. He wasn't home, but his mother was. And thus began a chapter I'd like to call "Let's argue about the purpose of prayer and chakras." In short... My chakras were poked. All of them. We spent the last five minutes saying nothing but "We understand what you're saying, but we believe differently." It was... exhausting. I have since repented and have decided to say that from the get-go if it ever gets like that again.



[I found out, sadly, at the end of the week that I’m being transferred.] Abeno Osaka area. I have gone from the suburbs to country and now to city. To drink our problems away, we went to the nearest Hamazushi and got cake from a place by the station. It was really good.

Then we did FHE with our LA, and she has really come so far. So far since I first met her six months ago. I was so happy. It was really a good, solid lesson, and then I said my goodbye. But before I left, our dear member was like,

Her: “Wait.”
Me: ?

Then she went off and came back with cake. Four big nama rolls from a great bakery (aka: Darn good quality cake) and lit a couple candles for me and they sang "Happy Birthday" to me. The candles looked a little like incense for the dead, and they very comically turned out to be impossible to blow out (everyone was surprised at that), but I was so touched. I was so touched.

The next day, an older family took us out for a goodbye lunch, which TOTALLY surprised me--I had no clue that they actually liked me. But they were super sweet and gave us a couple towels. (Towel count: 23. ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Towel Magnet.)

Afterwards, we went down to visit our people in the old neighborhood, [and to say my goodbyes, and witness a string of miracles.] We went to the house of the BBQ family and said goodbye. Unfortunately, the wife wasn't there. So I said my goodbyes and waved goodbye, then thanked Heavenly Father that we actually got to see them, for like, the first time for the past two transfers. After we prayed, the wife pulled into the driveway, and I said goodbye to her. Then we dropped by R-chan. She and her mom weren't there. That was very sad. So we sighed and began getting on our bikes. Then a car pulled in and lo and behold! It was our R-chan and her mom. We said our goodbyes to them and hopped back on our bikes and visited M-chan. M-chan and her mom weren't there. That was too bad. So we sighed and remounted. Then a car pulled and and lo and behold! It was M-chan's mom! So we got to say goodbye to her as well.

Then we went to our favorite cake shop and the owner was like, "Today's a Tuesday."
Us: ??
Her: You usually come on Wednesday. Today's a Tuesday.
Me: Oh. I'm transferring.

And she actually looked sad! I felt loved. I'm gonna really miss that cake shop. But W shimai's totally got it covered, and like a pro set up a 30/30 English appointment. Man, she's so cool.

We had an incredible lunch with the W. gofuufu (I'm gonna miss them so much). Then we went to one of our LA's and said goodbye, and then, we got to meet our two girlies!! YES!!! I had sent them a text previously, trying to feel out if R-chan is okay enough [she had hurt her leg badly] to come see me off, but she was still healing, poor girl. I told them that I was transferring and would leave a letter for them with W. shimai. Then I got the most amazing text:

R-chan: "WHAT?! You're leaving? When?"
Me: “4ish.”
R-chan: “We can't stay after 12, but can we visit you in the morning? I've talked to S-chan and we want to see you before you go.”


God. Is a God of Miracles.

So we met with our two girls and had a great time and committed them to baptism. My last act in Imabari. Yes. YES. I wanted so badly to leave Imabari better than I left it, and I can truly say I have. Thank heavens. Thank heavens.

Then it was like one big party. Our neighbor and friend came and gave me a handkerchief as a parting gift, a LA who wouldn't talk to anyone came to the church to hug me goodbye and gave me a Mikan-chan coinpurse. Her sister, whose testimony I saw flourish, gave me a plushie of the Imabari mascot and a bunch of Bari-san stickers. The girls gave me a letter and a home-made cheesecake (and W. Shimai got another appointment like a pro), and I just... Man. I felt really, truly loved by God and the people of Imabari.

It was a wonderful week.

Everyone's just waiting for me to get in, lie down and die.

9/14

The funeral march

Everyone is preparing for my departure from Imabari. I still have at least two more weeks here. I may even have another transfer. But seriously, the hearse is ready, the tombstone is slated, the procession is lined on both sides of the streets and the coffin is open. Everyone's just waiting for me to get in, lie down and die. Even my trainee's got the embalming fluid ready. Geez. At least wait for the announcements. I could very well stay another transfer.

Tuesday, we taught a really, really good lesson with our recent convert. It was on fasting, and he had read Eyring's talk as homework. We asked him what he thought about fasting, and he gave a really good, solid answer: something like "It's a time when you miss two meals, pray and exercise self-discipline, and become more pure and feel the spirit more." He's so cool. Then we went through, then stood up and made a list of all the pros and cons of fasting on the whiteboard. At the end of the lesson, we asked him what he thought, and he was like, "Man, I'm really excited for next fast Sunday!"

He's so cool. We also had Kodomo eikaiwa (children's English class) for the first time in a long time. And one of our investigators came! :D

Wednesday, another investigator came to our normal eikaiwa (adult English class) and had a lot of fun :D Our class, we were talking about a talent show and the Word of Wisdom came up (long story). One of the other long-time students was like "Oh, they can't drink tea."

Now, the Word of Wisdom is something that most people only know a little about and often have some miscommunicated information, so we were like "Yeah, that's right! Here are the other things we can't have." *list on the board* "What we can have is" *list them off* (Sorry, I'll go through it more thouroughly next time for my readers. Time is running low.) "Any questions?"

And we got a lot of really good questions answered. It was a really solid discussion. And better yet, problems were fixed before they began! That's my favorite thing in the world! Problem prevention! Yosh!

Later in the week, we went and hung out at the A's, the resident Area Authority. He and his wife taught the Pre-Mortal Life and the Creation. A. chourou mentioned something very interesting: he was looking through a book on Chinese Mythology, and came across an interesting picture of the Creation. In Chinese mythology, apparently the god that created the world was half-man, half-woman, and half snake. Like a centaur, but with two bodies coming out of it. The man was named Seiji or something, which means "Obedient to righteousness." The woman was named Jouka, which roughly translates as "Calamity woman/Woman that causes wrong/calamity." But the most interesting part was this: The man was holding a square (the thing that looks like an L), and the woman was holding a compass (the drawing tool that looks like a V). ...Sound familiar?

Then we ate the most amazing pumpkin croquettes I have ever tasted in my life and nashi :)

Annnnd…Hooray! Birthday day for Sands shimai! It's really weird, since being on a mission is like living on another plane of existence--seriously. You live only for one thing: preaching the Gospel. That's what your entire life is centered around. So you spend every day all day serving others, teaching, planning to serve others, planning to teach, fellowshipping members, going to church, living every day in a skirt... It's like a completely different world. But I can confidently say that it was the funnest of my life :)

PRESENT SHOUT-OUT to everyone here who made my day special -THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE! You probably won't read this, but I love you!!

And to any and all family and friends who are not of this faith and people who are of this faith and deciding whether to go on a mission: I love it here. I am so blessed to spend a year of my life serving the Lord. There is no greater reward, no fulfillment more lasting, no effort so exquisite and sweet. So long as you throw yourself into the work, you will not regret a second of your mission. I don't regret a moment of mine.

I love you, family, I love you, friends. Have a great week.

Love,

Sanzu shimai

Wakakunaku nachatte iru n ne. Try saying that one three times fast.

9/7

WELP. Soon, I will be less young then I currently am. Although this
happens every day, I will soon hit two milestones: my birthday and

the 1yr mark of my mission.

In the US, the adult years that we celebrate are 18 and 21. In Japan,

it's 20. Twenty-year-olds actually celebrate their twentieth year in February

in an event called the Seijinshiki. Not sure if it's a holiday or if you just pick

your favorite day, dress up in a kimono, and take pictures of yourself
looking traditionally adorable.

****

On P-day, we went and had another blueberry snowcone at Japan's
fourth-best snowcone shack in the nation. Everything in Japan is
naturally more intense than in America. That includes, but is certainly

not limited to, snowcones. This snowcone is 720 yen, which is

approximately 7 US Dollars. It is a sit-down, choose-your-favorite-from-

our-five-famous-flavors miniature restaurant. I would rate the snowcone's

actual value at 550 yen, but it's good enough that this is the second time

that W. shimai and I have gone there. Because some things are just

important in life. Snowcones--intense, real-fruit-and-syrup snowcones—

happen to be one of those important things.

We also stopped by a pretty solid recycle shop and found some pretty
amazing Engrish shirts. Man. Engrish is one of God's gifts to mankind.
Made our week.

This week, the SGG (English speaking Japanese) members treated us

to a “welcome” lunch at the Gaikokujin Hotel. It's pretty fancy, and they

were so sweet for treating us (This, by the way, is my 3rd “welcome” lunch.

The 1^st “welcome” lunch was for me, then the next one was for P. shimai,

and this one was for W.shimai.)

After, we went to the church and waited for our (recently engaged) person

to show up for a lesson. He didn't show up. Later, he called us.

Him: I'm so sorry! I forgot it was Tuesday!
Me: No, don't worry, it's fine.
Him: ...
Me: ...So, do you have anything fun going on later tonight?
Him: *Burst into a set of nervous giggles* ...Yes.
Me: Ah, okay, have fun. *hangs up*

There was no need to ask what it was. I just wonder if I'll still be here
when they get married...

On the way back, we decided to stop by and see a woman who sometimes

comes to church. Her shop was closed, so we gave her a call, and her son (who

we’ve been teaching), picked up the phone, told us that she was in the hospital.

We asked if there was anything we could do for her, and he said, "No, I think

we're okay. Just keep praying for her, and that's fine."

Us: Speaking of prayer, are you praying?
Him: Of course.
Us:  :B

Highlight of the week.

I'd like to end by saying that this gospel is true and it's important.
It matters and will truly affect and improve every facet of your life,
every aspect of your personality, every wound, weakness, strength,
talent. It can ease fears and lift you when you're downtrodden. It can
heal you. It can improve you. I know from personal experience that it
can and does answer any and every question that has any kind of
longstanding importance. Yes, it can save you. Even when you don't
know that you need saving. I love this gospel because I've seen it
change people and more importantly, I've seen it change me. It's true.
It is the Truth. Prayer works, God loves his children.

I say these things in the name of our perfect Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

No, you don't understand. I have this $250 picture on my wall. I can't take your lessons.

Aug 31

So... This week. This week has been one where I've really been able to feel led by the spirit in what I've taught. (EL GASP--am I getting good enough at Japanese to be able to say things that make sense? From my heart? Answer: No, probably not ;) But thankfully there's a member of the Godhead serving beside us, and he's a lot better at Japanese than I am.)

Monday, we taught an awesome lesson to a wonderful lady who doesn’t come to church often. After feeling out her retention level again, we decided to teach a Plan of Salvation overview with her. It was very, very simple, and we basically just named the parts as we put them down. But it worked really well with her. She was actually asking questions and making remarks about what she would do when she was resurrected. She was talking about how exciting it would be to see all her ancestors again (she relates teachings to the Buddhist beliefs she was raised with), and this is the first time we've seen her respond so well to a lesson. And she actually agreed to come to church for my birthday.

Tuesday--There was a typhoon going on, so our SGG members (group of Japanese English speakers) told us to absolutely stay home and do not go anywhere, because it will get worse. It did not get worse--it was another wimpy typhoon. So we went out, and on the way back, we ran into a woman who was having issues with her bike, so we stopped to help. Not much we could do--didn't have oil, which is what we needed, but struck up a conversation with her.

Us: We're missionaries.

Her: I'm Bukkyo.

Us: That's okay.

Her: No, you don't understand. I have this $250 picture of <Buddhist god> on my wall. I can't take your lessons.

She made sure we understood the full, $250 value of her investment several times before thanking us and sending us away, but before we left, we managed to squeeze in a question:

Us: There's a lot of different religions, aren't there.

Her: Yeah, there's a lot in Christianity, too, right?

Us: Yeah, there are. How can one truly know the truth?

Her: *laugh* No one can know the truth.

Us: Yes, you can. By this thing called prayer--

Her: No, you don't understand. I have this $250 picture...

So we gave her a picture of Christ. Because salvation. It's not $250, it's free. The truth. It can be known. But only if you experiment on the word. If you don't try it out, you'll never know.

 Wednesday (8/26)

Karaage (fried chicken--Japan-style) at my favorite Karaageya. But before that, we stopped by to meet a lady that someone from church asked us to meet. We were told that she's suuuper busy, so we came early and when we saw there was no one parked in her store lot, it was like "RUUUUUUUUN!!!!" So we said a quick prayer and ran in.

News: She's really busy. She does want to hear the gospel, though, and we taught her a lesson on prayer. She took it in extraordinarily well. It was pretty cool to see. W. shimai gave her a quick demo prayer and she was like, "Can I ask God to do things for me?" (We had asked for blessings on her, in the prayer.) Us: Of course. Will you pray every day this week? Her: Yes!

Then she thanked us for teaching her prayer and she was grateful that we swept her floor and thank you and come back and goodbye! (She's a fun one--really friendly, very gaijin-poi (foreigner) voice.)

Friday, we went to District Meeting and W. shimai tried her first beef bowl. Yum :) Then we did SKK at the church until our miracle girls from last week came. They were an hour late, but they came. And you know what? We taught an AWESOME lesson on the Godhead. Well, more than our ability to teach was their ability to learn. R-chan is so visually receptive, and S-chan is very thoughtful. They pushed each other to accept our invitations, and in the end, they said their first prayer. I love listening to first prayers. They're really so sweet. Any prayer, really, helps you look into the heart of an individual. I love listening to people talk with God. That's the time when I know most that the gospel is true.

Afterwards, we had about two hours left, so we decided to visit the lady I found with F.shimai who cried when we prayed for her. She was home! We met her as she was going inside and said hello.

Us: Did you pray this week? :)

Her: No, not really. I read a bit of the pamphlet, and I don't understand it much, but you see, everyone in Japan is Buddhist. So we pray in our own way...

She had a few problems: 1.) No solid belief in our image of God, 2.) My prayer is my prayer, your prayer is your prayer, 3.) There are so many religions, 4.) No one really knows where we're from or going, 5.) The pamphlet type is small.

We found those problems out in that sequence. So, we taught the beginning of the Plan of Salvation. I had just laid down the pieces of the Premortal life and Earth, and said, "Before we came to earth, we lived with God as spirits. He is our father in heaven, and…”

She looked like she was about to object, and I thought to finish, but she stopped me.

Her: Wait. Wait. I need to tell you this--When you said that--"We lived with God as spirits"--I just---I just naturally... *hand motion from head-down* Whoosh. That kind of feeling. I believe now. I believe in God.

Then I smiled, and said, "You felt that way because this is true."

And it is. Don't believe me? Try it.

By the end, we had somehow answered all of her concerns, and when we wrote out the prayer houhou (method [address Heavenly Father, thank Him, ask for righteous things that you need, and then close the prayer]) and invited her to pray, she looked at us with an incredible smile and said, "I'll pray."

Sometimes I can't believe that God lets me be one of these people's missionaries.

Tell you about Sunday later.

Love you

Sanzu