"Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded." 2Chronicles 15:7

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.

Transfer update - M.shimai and I survived the storm

Transfer update

Ne.

So you know what I said about the "Too bad S. chourou is leaving, but thank heavens we have E. chourou..." thing right? Well, turns out that 1.) Abeno is no longer a zone leader Area, so he moved to Asuka. INAKA. And 2.) S. chourou is a trainer in Takatsuki. ALSO INAKA (as far as I know).

DARN IT.

But on the bright side, we got A. chourou (switched out our Dutchman for a Swede) and MC chourou (half-Navajo chourou trained by my douki friend, R. chourou). Both of them are fresh eyes and ready to work! That's just what Abeno needed.

Also, apparently, a whole ton of people got switched around this transfer, but M.shimai and I seem to have survived the storm. *closes umbrella* *opens the storm shutters* Both of us are staying! This is the first and last time that I will ever be able to train a trainee from weeks 1-12. I feel like this is a slightly bigger responsibility.

Happier, more blessed, and free

Friday, we listened to Choi chourou (one of the 70) and his incredible wife speak. They talked a whole lot about a bunch of really fantastic things. I'll try to organize my notes, but in short, it was really, really good. Our stake president who's already incredible, is in the repentance process and becoming an even more incredible stake president. I'm really excited to see what happens with him. (Also I got to see G. shimai and W. shimai and F. shimai again :D)

Saturday, we did karate with our Ward Mission Leader, who I love. He is SO on the missionaries' side. He loves us so much and wants nothing more for us than to be happy and healthy. He gave us a referral that we contacted that day, and we talked about God with her.
Us: Do you believe in God?
Her: No.
Us: Why?
Her: Because I believe in science.
Me: :D *insert "I love science" spiel* *"God's glory is intelligence" spiel*
Her: Oh.

So we taught her how to pray, and she gave the most adorable first prayer. I was actually really touched.

Sunday! We did a lot. We talked with a lot of leaders, tore a lot of hair, visited a less-active couple, then concluded the day with a birthday party for one of our youth and church with a really good Ward Council Meeting. It... was exhausting.
**

This week, my ponderize scripture was Psalms 119:44-45. "So I shall keep thy law continually forever and ever; and I shall walk at liberty, for I seek thy precepts."

I love that. Obedience=freedom. If we get so caught up over the don't's, we will never see the do's. As we strive to be obedient, we'll find ourselves not only happier and more blessed, we'll find
ourselves more free. I LOVE obedience, and I want to strive to exercise it more in my missionary life, because it's getting down to the wire, but I know that even in this last 12 weeks, Sanzu shimai can make a difference in her little corner of the garden.

Love you,
Sanzu shimai

all I need to do is have a little more faith

1/25 月

So! Things have changed recently, and so we will not be getting any general transfer announcements ever again. We will receive individual calls to let us know whether or not we are transferring. And because it's an individual call and an individual trip (if I transfer, it will be the first time I will have traveled anywhere other than the bathroom by myself since October 2014), the days of travel will also be slightly  skeewompous.

Terrifying.

Calls are assigned Tuesday, so I expect to hear something around Friday.

But! Good news: MY BABY (my 1st of 3 trainees) BECAME AN STL (a trainer)! W. shimai got a call from our mission president today telling her that she would be going to... *drum roll* KAWACHINAGANO! That's 5/8 folks! Five out of eight companions of mine have gone to Kawachinagano, (D., W., W., G., and P. shimai), and the eighth one is still with me. I expect that she, too, will go to Kawachinagano.

Unfortunately, we're 99% likely to lose S. chourou. That's a bummer. For a good number of reasons, but we're happy to still have his American twin with us...kana? I think he'll stay...kana?

DARN TRANSFER CALLS!

I'm probably going to Antarctica.

Actually, my wish is to train for the rest of forever.

Some highlights of the week.

This week, by the way, was crazy. We had two days where we were totally booked with non-dendo activities (Trainer-trainee training meeting and the Choi chourou conference), but we hit higher lessons-taught than I've ever hit in my entire mission. Actually, if you combined my first four weeks of dendo in Japan, that's about how many we lessons we got this week--thanks to the love and care of our incredible STL's. (JUST LIKE W. SHIMAI'S GONNA BE :D)

So, this Monday, we finally went to the Disney store (because it would be a shame to not go with my companion since I'm going to Antarctica soon), and on the way back, we met the CUTEST pair of siblings. The younger sister was super sweet and had a curly head--not something you usually see in Japan.

Tuesday, we went to TTTM, and I got to hear about what's been going on in Imabari--there are a couple rocking sisters there, and it sounds like they're doing a really good job. I also got to see W. shimai and A. chourou for the first time in a long time as well as F. shimai. Had such a great time. Focused a lot more on “Preach My Gospel” and using it. That was cool.

Wednesday, I got to koukan (temporarily change companions) with O. shimai!!!! :DDDDD Definitely one of my top three koukan experiences. She is so incredible, and I learned that people are pretty easy to stop. O. shimai is really an incredible missionary. I'M SO HAPPY I GOT TO KOUKAN WITH HER! She taught me a lot about lessons, one of them being that all I need to do is have a little more faith. (On that note, M. shimai told me the other day, "Sands shimai, I feel like you get bolder every day." I hope so! That's how it should be! Heaven forbid that the boldness in me should die.) My goal for the day was to turn a first contact into a second appointment. No second appointments, but we did so much it was incredible, including running into cute little Tk shimai.

We also placed a Book of Mormon, and found an old man who offered to give a pamphlet to one of his friends. Thursday we found out that he read the pamphlets as well, and said that they had "good things" written in them. We taught him how to pray and committed him to this week.

Learned about inspired questions, contacts, referrals from people we don't know...
And, on that note, that's the first time I've had a companion who's better at Japanese that I am in... well, forever. It offered a lot of security, and I learned a bunch, but I think that overall, I'm pushed farther when my companion speaks no Japanese.

SO FUN!

Lastest thing for Wednesday: on the way home, we met a couple of young men with whom we struck up a conversation. We mentioned what we do, and one of them was like, "No interest. I don't believe in God."
O. shimai: Why?
Him: I've never seen him. I've never gotten help from him.
So we talked about how, like the wind, we don't see God, but we can feel him. And that's what we teach about in our daily missionary lives.
Me: Can we give you a challenge?
Him: Sure.
Me: I can promise you that, if you pray everyday this week, you'll be able to know for yourself whether or not God exists. Then we taught a quick lesson on prayer and committed him.
Him: Sure, I guess. I've never done it before, so I guess I'll try it out and see what happens.

That was a really cool reaction.

Then we stayed inside pretty much all day on Thursday because for training, my companion has to see a whole ton of videos, and, well, we don't have Wi-Fi in the apartment. But we do what we can.

Turning experience into hope

So, my ponderize scripture about a month or so ago was Romans 8:3-5. I
chose it because I wanted to learn how to turn experience into hope.
Because, if experience is supposed to equal hope, I figured that I was
doing it wrong.

I've come to the conclusion that hope, like faith, needs to be centered in 

something. It needs something to be attached to to actually mean anything. 

As we hope in something constant, we will see the rewards of that hope. 

As we hope in something changeable, our hope grows weak.

Hope in investigators is weak. Hope in yourself is weak. Not because
you shouldn't hope in yourself, but you will have bad days, and you
will feel down, and your investigators won't keep all their commitments.

That's fine. That's a part of life. But as we place our hope in something 

higher, it cannot be dragged down by the tempest of the adversary. As 

we hope in Christ and his light and his unchanging love, we will, like 

Peter, be buffeted by the waves and the wind, but, so long as we keep 

our eyes on Him, we will not--cannot--fall. And thus, experience turns 

into hope.

I invite you all to fix your hope in Christ this week.

Love, Sanzu

the day of miracles

1/18 日

The sabbath. Tsumari, the day of miracles.

So, my companion and I got up at 5:30 to make the trek to E-chan's house, but on the way, we called B-shimai. And she was awake! And she was going to meet P-shimai at the eki (station) and come with her to church so that she could make it on time.

They actually came to church. Both of them. Holy cow.

Thanks to S. chourou speaking five languages, he was able to translate for B-shimai at church. It was really incredible to just see her change and brighten in the three hours of church. I think she may have genuinely left a different person.

Afterwards, we had a mochi party, but before that, we got to see one of our investigators K-shimai, come to Sunday school and get hardcore fellowshipped by T-shimai. That's always a pleasure. After church, they were joined by I-shimai, another investigator. And they and all the other cute little old people had a cute little old people party in the back of the church.

As we rejoiced, we also took a minute to talk with our leaders to see what we can do to help the youth in the ward. At the moment, it's a little shaky, but there is something special about Abeno. It's just a little dormant at the moment. Today, I felt like Abeno's breathing staggered just a bit. Maybe it rolled over in bed. But it stirred, even if just a little bit.

So, the mochi party. Now, there is the good, old-fashioned, smash-it-with-a-hammer mochi party, but there's also a machine that makes it. So we did that with the chouroutachi's investigator and his daughter. (The chouroutachi themselves couldn't make it, unfortunately.)

At the end, we shared a message and said, "M-shimai, you've met a lot of missionaries, but would you like to begin actually taking the lessons?"

And...well, long story short, she agreed.

One of my favorite missionary visits so far

Today, during morning scripture study, a Tenryokyou guy knocked on our door (If you translated Mormonism into Japanese, let it sit in a Buddhist temple with some umeboshi for 10 years, then you would have Tenryokyou). We exchanged pamphlets and talked for a bit. He really listened to what we had to say, and I learned a lot, too. It was really fun. One of my favorite missionary visits so far. (I've had maybe 4 or 5 in my missionary experience.)

Then we joined the youth for a New Years Resolution activity, and we
got a free fude pen! :D Score!

Then I got to sit down and write a newsletter for the leaders. We want to collapse the wall between senkyoushitachi and leaders, and since the council is only once a month, we wanted to do something to let them know what we're up to. Wow. Huge wave of natsukashii. It was really fun.

At the end of the night, we got a call from E-chan.

E-chan: I can't come to church tomorrow.
Us: Why? What happened?
E-chan: I'm going to Miya-ken.
Us: ...Can we talk to your mother?

So we had a talk with B-shimai, and for the first time in... I don't know how long B-shimai hasn't been to church, but she has agreed to come.

We'll see.