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

He’s probably not interested in meeting with us again, but he does really, really love his family. I kind of wish we taught him how to pray.

Aug 23

We actually finally got some rice from a member!!! For those who don't know--because I'm pretty sure only P. shimai knows--but when I came to Imabari, we had our rice, the previous chouroutachi's (elder’s) rice, and an extra bag that I don't entirely know the source of. The time it took to eat those (about 20-30 kilos, 50-75 lbs): 2 1/2 transfers. So I was languishing without rice for the past five weeks, wondering what one could eat in Japan without rice, when EL GASP! Rice from a member :D The downside: It is only 2 kg. Haha... So we should have rice for the next week or so... I think I'm the only shimai (sister) on the mission who has had to actually buy rice for herself.

Dendo (missionary work) is hard.

Speaking of dendo, we experienced a good number of miracles this week. I was actually floored by the amount that we taught. Goes to show what you can do when you talk to anything with a pulse. Which is what we did, and which is what I hope to do every week of this transfer and all the ones after this.

Analysis of the W. shimai (my new trainee): I like to tell people that I got her from the pre-trained line of trainees. Her Japanese is really incredible for her age, and she's burning with a desire to improve it. She's excited to be here and be a missionary and is fully embracing the challenge that I gave her the first or second day of our acquaintanceship: fight me if you want to speak to the nihonjin (because it so happens that I also happen to be excited to talk to the nihonjin, haha). She's progressing at an incredible rate, even in the little time that I've known her. I haven't told her that most trainees don't teach as often as we do, or as well as she does, and I don't plan to. (If she wants to know that, she can go back and read my blog.)

My subgoal for my dear companion is the grand food tour of Japan. So far, we've eaten a good number of Japanese things, and a good number of other things that I myself have never tried (Hey, mom, we made okra fries. Cut 'em into halves/fourths, threw them on a frying pan, then added Zatarains. Thank you, mother. I kept forgetting to ask you for Zatarains seasoning, but it would seem that God has heard my cries and that you heard Him. It is a godsend.) It's so fun to watch her try all the new foods. :) I usually don't know whether or not she likes them until after (I know that it's good when she records it in her journal. XD)

Here's a quick record of most of our week: 

8/20 木

Today was magical. I didn't think it was going to be--we spent a couple hours doing service and whatnot. We met a couple of really interesting people, and taught several lessons. After, we had dinner, then met our neighbor on the way to her apartment, taught another lesson and then returned home. On the way there, we bumped into a friend and said howdy. She was very very friendly and very grateful for our little notes and whatnot and hasn't kept her commitments but wants us to meet her family. She's very, very sweet. I was surprised that she still liked us, but she remembered me very well (and you, P. shimai!) and really, really appreciated it when we prayed for her.

8/21 金

Today we met K-shimai's husband :D He was very nice. Then we talked with her and gave her a brief overview of the Plan of Salvation. Her poor kid had strep, and he was in pain the whole time (when he wasn't playing with W. chourou, that is.) But she's really started to like praying.

Rest of the day was an SKK day :) Then we got a nikuman and ice cream :)

8/22 土

Today we met T-shimai's family :D The husband has a Mormon co-worker. :)

Then we visited Y-san who was beyond busy, so we decided to turn around and go to a member's basho instead. As we were biking, we passed a bridge and saw a man sitting down and resting. We made it to the far stoplight before I said, "You know, let's turn around." So we did and talked to him taught a quick lesson, and gave him a pamphlet. He’s probably not interested in meeting with us again, but he does really, really love his family. I kind of wish we taught him how to pray.

Then we visited La S and got free ice cream :D, then went to the house of a woman we know from church, and shared a quick message. As we were heading back, we bumped into a pair of girls we saw biking, before. One of them called out to us and they came over. The first's name is S-chan, and her English is remarkable--especially for having only studied three years. Her friend's name is R-chan, and she's super sweet. We gave them an English class and family flyer, and when they flipped it open, we pointed out the picture of Jesus and they were like "Wow!" They had never seen a picture of him before. So we did a Christmas/Easter lesson and showed them the Because of Him video and they are interested in learning more on Friday :D

So on the way home, we were totally clicking our heels, and we came across a really cute family and gave them an eikaiwa chirashi (English class flyer) and invited them to come.

Then we ate cake and got to read DearElder letters. (THANK YOU LORI HURLEY! 愛しています！) It was a good day.

8/23 日

We had a rather unproductive day at the area of the old apartment, which was sad, but on the way back, we ran into an old face that I honestly never believed I'd see again. His name is M-kyoudai.

Him and me: *give each other the Where-is-my-hairbrush-look*

Me: Have we met? Last time, I was with a Japanese companion named F. shimai.

Him: Yeah, I know you. (This was before I cut my hair, and we met him once.)

Me: ...T-kyoudai?

Him: No.

Me: ...What's your name?

Him: M-kyoudai.

Me: Ah. Oops. Sorry.

But he is still open to us teaching him, so we'll try to visit again and now I actually know where he lives.

put a little special effort into your prayers this week

[The most exciting thing that happened this week is that we] got to visit a couple who is uninterested, but likes socializing and listens to our lessons so long as they don't know that they're lessons. (Don't get me wrong--we don't water down the doctrine or give them weak commitments, but...it's interesting.) Last time we saw her, we committed Y-shimai to pray every day for that week and she agreed. Today, we dropped by and she said, "Sorry, we're just leaving, but thank you for teaching me the prayer thing. I had a really bad headache the other day, and then I remembered what you said about prayer. So I prayed and it just went away!"

BOOM BABY. That was very exciting. I actually couldn't believe that she had 1.) followed up on herself, 2.) remembered the event and remembered to tell us and 3.) understood its direct correlation to prayer.

Well, that's it for today. Our lessons, thank heavens, haven't been down, but they have largely not been with people we usually teach. But, if we learned anything this week, it's that prayer works.

Love you all and I'd like to challenge you to put a little special effort into your prayers this week. God hears them. He is the Creator of the universe and our beloved Father. He wants to speak to us. He wants to give us blessings. The bible dictionary says that "prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings." (Italics added)

I love the Bible Dictionary and I love all of you. Prayer works. The Gospel is true. God loves his children.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Sanzu shimai

The gospel is true, God loves his children.

Okay, this week, we pulled on our big-girl panties and finally went to the church and, each  taking a deep breath, pulled up our destiny on the internet. Transfer announcements. The slating: I would stay in Imabari and become a trainer. P. shimai would join forces with my 1^st companion in another area. There was much sorrowing and rejoicing on both ends.

Wednesday, opened the package from Mom (I'll send you a report soon) and we waited like, an hour and a half for someone we were suppose to meet, who didn't come, then went to someone else’s store and taught a quick lesson and took pictures with her and her son. He's super. Then we got on a train at 4 (which was really too late to go to Akashi. I was actually planning on going to Okayama. But Akashi was the direction given, so we went to Akashi. Me: Akashi? Where the heck is Akashi?!)(I was really sad we weren't going to Okayama...) Then we found out the Akashi missionary sisters don't actually live near the Akashi station. You have to hop a local train to a station with twelve syllables in its name. We were trying to find out how to get to this train station when our phone died.

All alone in Akashi. Trains left: 2. Time until last departure: 20 minutes.

Somehow, we got a payphone and called our mission president to ask for the sisters’ number. Called the sisters and managed to board the last train and make it to their eki. Cut it a little close that time. God gave us a lot of help on that one.

The next day, P. shimai and I had our misty-eyed goodbye as she transferred, and I went with Z. shimai to the honbu (HQ) to receive my new trainee/companion.

Trainee has been received. Her name is W. shimai. She's an inch taller than I am with red hair, majoring in music and theater. Her Japanese is probably the level of a late-2nd, early-3rd transfer, although she claims to have never studied it before her mission. She's very diligent, and very outspoken with her opinions. I would say she's pretty much perfect missionary material. There's not too much I have to do with this one, but I'm trying to find ways to push her out of her comfort zone.

So, haha, I've been biking faster than I have in a long time. She's holding up pretty well--I've only lost her twice.

On the way back, we went to the bus station (MUCH cheaper than trains) and after circling between three bus lines for two and a half hours, we found out that the next open bus to Imabari was at 6 P.M. on Friday.

Forget that. We're going to Okayama.

So …the missionary sisters there had changed their number. They didn't know we were coming until we were at their step saying howdy. It was really crazy. Okayama has changed so much. I, of course, nosed in and interrogated them about the faces I knew and loved. There was plenty of sweet and plenty of bitter. The less-active who pulled an all-nighter to see me before I left was now fully active and blessing the sacrament each week. And at one point, B. shimai mentioned 3 new people who they had started to teach, "M-chan, C-chan, and--"

I stopped her right there. My heart was hammering. Me: “Wait, <full name of both girls>?”

B. shimai: “Yeah. You know them?”

Do I know them? In my first eikaiwa (English class), M-chan, 10yrs old, came up to me and said, "You are beautiful." She brought her BoM to every class. C-chan was super interested in the gospel as well. M-chan wanted to marry a Christ-like person in the temple when she grew up. My companion (D. shimai) and I had asked if they wanted us to teach them about the gospel, but there was a problem: the parents were hantai (completely against the idea). I was heartbroken. I prayed so hard for those two--in Okayama and Imabari. What I would have given to be their missionary.

But here they were, taking lessons from the new Okayama Sisters. L. shimai had found them in the Area Book and met the family. (For those who need a refresher, LShimai is the one with super powers--my first STL.) I almost cried. I'm here writing this email and I still might cry. This is truly the best thing I could have ever hoped for. I feel like God had given that miracle just for me. I feel a little (just a little) like Alma the Elder when the angel comes to his son in Mosiah 27.

"Behold, the Lord that heard the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that though mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore; for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith."

It's true. The gospel is true, God loves his children. He works miracles even when we can't see them. I'm so grateful that he has answered my prayers concerning two of his most adorable children. I'm so grateful to L. shimai and B. shimai for being the missionaries through whom God worked. I'll keep you two in my prayers for a long while yet.

It's scary because you don't *believe* in the ball

8/17

 Saturday, we had yet to do SKK (weekly planning), so we decided to do it at the church for some reason or another. We had just sat down when we heard someone come in. It was one of our branch's two young families, and they had come to clean the church. Of course we helped. :D Then Y-shimai came for a lesson with her tsundere child.

For those who do not know manga/anime, a tsundere is a character (usually female) who says [harsh/unpleasant/pessimistic] things, but really has a golden heart (in theory.) They are usually stick-shaped in build with short hair (the closer it comes to a Bieber bowl, the more tsundere they are). I had not thought that they existed anywhere besides manga, but  Y-shimai's daughter fits the description perfectly. The only thing in the world she does not actively pretend to hate is soccer. She even has soccer videogames for her DS (although I've not watched her play them. It's like a mix between Digimon and the Mario soccer game. It's pretty fantastic. I've never played interdimensional soccer, but it must be quite the trip). So, there is very little chance of teaching her a lesson, so we built kankei and kicked the ball around the church parking lot. This cute kid, N-chan finally gets fed up with our inability and comes up to us and says with a straight face, "You don't understand soccer. Aren't you a team? Soccer is about teamwork and helping each other."

So she tries and fails to teach us a little while longer. Once again, she walks up to us and goes, "Was the ball scary?" (She had very recently kicked it at P shimai's head.) 
Us: Yes :D 
Her: *does the exact eyebrow-mouth-tandem-twitch thing that the super cool character does in anime when he gets finally gets fed up with the incompetence around him--it was incredible* 
Her: It's scary because you don't believe in the ball. 
Me: *diaphragm lunges and stops* *trying not to breathe, because it would unavoidably come out as laughter* 
P.Shimai: :)? *watching me fight a very intense inner battle* 

She's sooo cute XD Later, when she found out that I was leaving (I actually didn't, I just thought I was going to). Her: *takes off her little rubber Rilakkuma* bracelet* *casually tosses the gift at me as she leaves the room* Ageru.

Man. She's a cutie.

Then we went to another little matsuri and a stranger bought us cotton candy :) We gave him a chirashi (flyer).

Sunday, we said goodbye to the ward, and I got a big hug form a woman who thanked me and said "I started coming back to church because of you." I was really touched. She's very sweet. We really hadn't done anything more than greeting her when she came and sitting by her, but that shows how much you can do with just a little bit of love.

On our way back from Betsumyo, I saw a little house that we had knocked on and been kekko'd (refused) at. I was like, "Mah, I'm leaving anyways, so let's just give it another shot." So we did, and knocked and a teenager opened the door. We talked with her for a little while and taught her about prayer and talked to her about school, and then her mom pulled into the driveway. We went 0__0, because her mother had a look on her face that didn't quite say, "We're saved! Messengers of the truth!" I felt a stone form in my stomach, and I was just like "Oh no. Not that face."

Then, miracle of miracles, she got out of the car and the first thing out of our mouth was "Suteki desu!" (Attractive/fashionable, etc. But I want it noted that I never give a compliment that isn't true.) And she one-eightied. Soon we were all smiling and laughing, and petting the abnormally large cat that they have and promising to come back later.

Good Sunday.