This week was really, really good. I felt loved and cared for by God and by the members of the Abeno ward.
1/25 月
Today we had dinner with A and C-shimai. It was partially a "Welcome back to church!" / "Goodbye, chouroutachi (elders)!" Party. I really
like watching
the two of them teach--I always end up being the loud junior companion, though,
when that happens. I like teaching with them even more than watching them
teach. They're really subarashii zone leaders :D
Also laid on the ground for a while (in the morning after souji) and ate "100% pure tofu," which had the consistency of pudding, but tasted like tofu. M. shimai liked it, so she got the majority of it. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it...
1/26
So we decided to finish last week's weekly planning. T_T Finished it. Wish we finished it five days ago when we were supposed to. Went to the bike shop to get a light for my bike and a little cap thingy for the wheel. Cap thingy was not there, and the shop owner said my bike would be just fine without it, so we just got the light. The light works.
OBEDIENCE, GET!
Also taught English class. Everyone was very sweet, and asked if I was all better, which thank heavens, I was.
Also got S. chourou's meishi (This is Sydney’s mom – I think that word means “rice”? which is apparently a hot commodity there). E. chourou was like, "You'll see me at ZTM. I'll give it to you then." Sure. Chouroutachiben: It's lost forever.
M. shimai's gotten a lot bolder. She's super. It's stretching my faith, too, but I'm learning to step back and let God take care of it. Gives me a lot less stress.
1/27 水
So today was a pretty darn good day.
Started out with us realizing last night that we had 2 lessons schedule too close together and needed to move one of them. They turned out well, though.We also got to see the chouroutachi (elders) really quick! :D We passed off the manju, harassed E. chourou for not giving us his meishi, and taught another lesson and got a new investigator on the way (we’re hoping she’ll come to her next appointment) and pushed off to go visit M-shimai. We thought that she had made food but she was actually taking us somewhere else to eat ^^;) The entire ordeal was a little messy, but the food was delicious, and overall it was good. As we were leaving the restaurant, we struck up a conversation with this old guy. He recognized us as missionaries and asked if we really followed the Law of Chastity. We said yes, and he was like, "Good for you. I don't even want to think about that, so I'm not going to listen to your lessons." And we were like, "If you knew the blessings, you'd practice abstinence, too." The best part was his friends (he brought two)—they had their heads in their hands as this like, 70ish-year-old man was discussing chastity with a couple of young women. We finally gave him a flyer and told him to come by the church, sometime. I actually really like teaching old men. They think it's funny if I get sassy, so it's easier to talk without worrying about their feelings, etc. It was, all in all, pretty funny. Hm. Yes. After we got to M-shimai’s house, she was like, "Hey, I got these from a friend, and there's way too many for me to use..." AND BAM! Whips out a bunch of face products. We got to take some home, which was truly a Godsend, because I had recently reached the end of my face lotion. God does provide for his missionaries.
Also got cake. :D And sugar-covered anko-candy. Oishikatta. :D
1/27 木
Our new chouroutachi (elders) came in, today!!! We’ll meet them tomorrow. Also got a lot of good contacts while biking, so that was fun :D
1/28 金
Met the chouroutachi! Also walked down to E.'s house and taught a bunch of people on the way. It was really fun! SUPER time consuming, but that's okay, because other than SKK (weekly planning), we had nothing to do. Shimaitachi code: SKK is not finished. T_T
1/30 土
Talked to a bunch of people :D Helped out a Brazillian guy who, frankly, looked French. But he was super nice and we spoke to each other in Japanese, which was fun.
1/31 日
We had dinner at N-shimai's house today with the chouroutachi and their super-solid investigator. He's way cool. We had a bunch of Chinese food, and at the end, N. shimai was like, "Sands shimai, I'm glad you didn't transfer. I was planning on feeding the missionaries today either way, but I was hoping that you would stay and be able to come over."
I felt... I felt really loved.
**
This week has been exhausting, but really fun in a lot of different ways. We've managed to talk to a bunch of different people and help the ward progress, which is huge. I'm actually kind of glad that our new chouroutachi (elders) are groundworkers instead of zone leaders, because they can put all their time into preaching the gospel. Zone leaders are amazing people, but very busy helping other missionaries. Now that we have four people who can focus solely on the vineyard, I'm hoping we'll be able to really help Abeno.
My ponderize scripture for last week was 2Chronicles 15:7 "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded."
I've worked hard this last week, and I've felt really good. I don't know the whole story of the lives of those we touch, but I hope, always, that they change for the better. And I will continue to work until the end.
12 weeks left in the vineyard.
Love, Sanzu shimai.
Also laid on the ground for a while (in the morning after souji) and ate "100% pure tofu," which had the consistency of pudding, but tasted like tofu. M. shimai liked it, so she got the majority of it. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it...
1/26
So we decided to finish last week's weekly planning. T_T Finished it. Wish we finished it five days ago when we were supposed to. Went to the bike shop to get a light for my bike and a little cap thingy for the wheel. Cap thingy was not there, and the shop owner said my bike would be just fine without it, so we just got the light. The light works.
OBEDIENCE, GET!
Also taught English class. Everyone was very sweet, and asked if I was all better, which thank heavens, I was.
Also got S. chourou's meishi (This is Sydney’s mom – I think that word means “rice”? which is apparently a hot commodity there). E. chourou was like, "You'll see me at ZTM. I'll give it to you then." Sure. Chouroutachiben: It's lost forever.
M. shimai's gotten a lot bolder. She's super. It's stretching my faith, too, but I'm learning to step back and let God take care of it. Gives me a lot less stress.
1/27 水
So today was a pretty darn good day.
Started out with us realizing last night that we had 2 lessons schedule too close together and needed to move one of them. They turned out well, though.We also got to see the chouroutachi (elders) really quick! :D We passed off the manju, harassed E. chourou for not giving us his meishi, and taught another lesson and got a new investigator on the way (we’re hoping she’ll come to her next appointment) and pushed off to go visit M-shimai. We thought that she had made food but she was actually taking us somewhere else to eat ^^;) The entire ordeal was a little messy, but the food was delicious, and overall it was good. As we were leaving the restaurant, we struck up a conversation with this old guy. He recognized us as missionaries and asked if we really followed the Law of Chastity. We said yes, and he was like, "Good for you. I don't even want to think about that, so I'm not going to listen to your lessons." And we were like, "If you knew the blessings, you'd practice abstinence, too." The best part was his friends (he brought two)—they had their heads in their hands as this like, 70ish-year-old man was discussing chastity with a couple of young women. We finally gave him a flyer and told him to come by the church, sometime. I actually really like teaching old men. They think it's funny if I get sassy, so it's easier to talk without worrying about their feelings, etc. It was, all in all, pretty funny. Hm. Yes. After we got to M-shimai’s house, she was like, "Hey, I got these from a friend, and there's way too many for me to use..." AND BAM! Whips out a bunch of face products. We got to take some home, which was truly a Godsend, because I had recently reached the end of my face lotion. God does provide for his missionaries.
Also got cake. :D And sugar-covered anko-candy. Oishikatta. :D
1/27 木
Our new chouroutachi (elders) came in, today!!! We’ll meet them tomorrow. Also got a lot of good contacts while biking, so that was fun :D
1/28 金
Met the chouroutachi! Also walked down to E.'s house and taught a bunch of people on the way. It was really fun! SUPER time consuming, but that's okay, because other than SKK (weekly planning), we had nothing to do. Shimaitachi code: SKK is not finished. T_T
1/30 土
Talked to a bunch of people :D Helped out a Brazillian guy who, frankly, looked French. But he was super nice and we spoke to each other in Japanese, which was fun.
1/31 日
We had dinner at N-shimai's house today with the chouroutachi and their super-solid investigator. He's way cool. We had a bunch of Chinese food, and at the end, N. shimai was like, "Sands shimai, I'm glad you didn't transfer. I was planning on feeding the missionaries today either way, but I was hoping that you would stay and be able to come over."
I felt... I felt really loved.
**
This week has been exhausting, but really fun in a lot of different ways. We've managed to talk to a bunch of different people and help the ward progress, which is huge. I'm actually kind of glad that our new chouroutachi (elders) are groundworkers instead of zone leaders, because they can put all their time into preaching the gospel. Zone leaders are amazing people, but very busy helping other missionaries. Now that we have four people who can focus solely on the vineyard, I'm hoping we'll be able to really help Abeno.
My ponderize scripture for last week was 2Chronicles 15:7 "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded."
I've worked hard this last week, and I've felt really good. I don't know the whole story of the lives of those we touch, but I hope, always, that they change for the better. And I will continue to work until the end.
12 weeks left in the vineyard.
Love, Sanzu shimai.
No comments:
Post a Comment