Week 9

We get our flight plans this Fri! So excited. By the next letter I'll know if I'll be flying solo or with other missionaries. PLEASE e-mail me pictures of the family.

Tue

Elder Evans over the Asia missions spoke again. He talked about miracles and how to get them. The funny thing is that he seemed to know our zone personally. He talked about an Elder Tano from Hawaii and we have an Elder Tano from Hawaii.  He talked about a native Portugese speaker who had to learn Japanese and English simultaneously and we have a few of those. He talked about if you're from Indianapolis and you're going to Nagoya you can still perform miracles. I felt like that devotional was specifically for us.

Wed

2nd wave of the stomach flu. No handshaking policy back in place (not that they ever took it off but we just started handshaking after a while). My district got to host new missionaries. We met them at their cars and took them to their rooms and classrooms. There were 600 missionaries coming in that day, 600 the next week, and 800 the week after that. We're already starting to feel the tidal wave. The sisters I hosted were all from UT. Two of them were going to Alaska and the other to Sweden. Abraham Shimai got to host her best friend coming in. She was very bubbly afterwards. They had pumpkin pie ice cream at lunch. It was yummy.

Thu

During personal gym time in our rooms, the Phillipene sisters worked out with us. I worked them so hard they said that they were sore for 3 days afterward. Sis Miller and I read the BoM in Japanese together and I understood most of it! At least, I got the gist of it. I made it through 50 min of personal study staying awake and then the last 10 min I finally caved. We taught a lesson about the Atonement and we thought it didn't go that well because it didn't seem to be meeting the investigator's needs, we couldn't come up with answers to his questions and we weren't prepared. After the lesson, Todd sensei (the teacher playing the investigator) came up and said that he felt that it did help him and that it wasn't as bad as we thought. He quoted D&C 122 saying that all these experiences in the MTC will be for our good. It picked me up for sure. Nielsen sensei said that he would be leaving us to teach a new district of kohai, just like Taylor sensei. In his place, we get Rust sensei, the Hoosier! Another bittersweet moment, losing a teacher but getting one just as good.

Fri

I stayed awake all day! There was good salmon for dinner. Abraham Shimai had a painful canker sore so she bought some numbing medicine from the bookstore and accidentally numbed her tounge.

Sat

It was Australia day so King choro brought in his Australian flag and hung it up in the classroom. I watched a health and saftey video for missionaries that made me germaphobic and wish to only eat baby food. The presenter was definitely doom and gloom. Our sensei's said that we should practice giving a two-person lesson, so from now on one of us is sitting out in a lesson. I'm not sure how that will work out. Kramer choro caught the stomach flu. I learned how to fold origami giraffes. TRC was on laptops using Google + hangout. Because the headsets would have feedback if you sit next to each other, we had to sit on opposite sides of the room. I taught with Tingey sensei because they had to have equal numbers for the laptop/headset set up. The headsets had an echo of the other person's voice and that was very distracting. The "investigator" was my TA from BYU. I was suprised to see her and she me. I couldn't bring myself to call her by her first name, it was always "Chinen sensei."

Sun

It started to rain on our temple walk. By the time we got back it had turned to snow. We gave the district meeting lesson on baptism and it went over well. We focused on the sacrament and how it is a weekly renewal of our baptismal covenants and that the clean feeling that comes from baptism can be felt through the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost. We watched the Joseph Smith movie in English, but it was a different cutting than the original. It was in chronological order, had some scenes that weren't in the original and left some of the original scenes out. I like the original cutting better. We ran into our Russian friends and chatted for a while. They are leaving the Monday before us so we want to try and get a picture with them. Just as we got back to our residence, the fire alarm went off because someone burnt their popcorn. So we went to the laundry room because it was warm, had vending machines, and we could see our building from the doors. We were let back in 15 min before we were supposed to be asleep. Some sisters were complaining, but ours said "we will be obedient." I'm so grateful for them and their dilligence.

Mon

I caught a cold. Bleh. Because of that, I just laid down on the yoga mats during gym and rested. I didn't fall asleep but I did feel better afterwards. Last day with Nielsen sensei. At least we'll see him around (hopefully).

Tue

I had my hair cut by Stephanie Richey. She says hi and thank you for the crock pot wedding gift. She has a 6 mo old baby girl named Savannah. I'm working on writing down and illustrating my personal gym time workout (basically the Biggest Loser DVD that I did during the summer). I hope that my illustrations make sense.

Week 8 (just 3 weeks to go)

(If you are just starting to read I recommend starting at week 6 because I haven't updated in a while- Claire)

 

So as you saw from the title, we have three weeks left in the MTC. In one week, we get our flight plans. In two weeks more kohai are coming. In three weeks, I'll be writing you from Japan! I have to bite my tongue for saying in the last letter that I was glad you didn't send food...Because I loved the salsa! It was frozen when I opened the box, so at least you know it was refrigerated. I shared some with the chorotachi and several of them said that it was the best salsa they've ever had. I had some at every meal. It was gone in a day. Thanks for sending it. I did some math the other day. Right now, about 15% of the MTC is sister missionaries. Here in Provo there are a little over 2000 missionaries, so that means there's about 300 sister missionaries. By the end of the summer, the MTC president said, the Provo MTC is going to go up to 8,000 capacity and half of them will be sisters. Wow. As for scripture cases, I'd like one from home. The ones here aren't very attractive in my opinion. I could actually do with two, one for my english set and one for my japanese set. The english ones are the same size as Claire and Erin's, but the Japanese are a little bit bigger. I don't have the dimensions on me though... If you can't get them done, don't worry about it. Just let me know so that I can purchase one here. Also, please remember to remind the bank that I will be leaving the country in a few weeks.

Tue

We were doing laundry and decided to fold our laundry and sit in the overflow instead of leave it to be crumpled in order to be in the main building. Of course that night it was Elder Holland. He gave a great devotional despite us being in a different room. He talked about making sure that we convert ourselves by the end of the mission. Dan Jones was one of the first missionaries to England and Wales and one of the greatest missionaries ever. I wonder if he converted the first of the Hodson line, since I know that he came from there. We dubbed the green pajama pants pa-genie pants because they look like genie pants. Sister Watanabe did a dance in them that was quite funny.

Wed

The new sisters are louder still. I read that the applications for a mission went from 700 a week to 4000 a week. I don't know if it's still going like that or if it's tapered off a little, but I know that a lot are on their way.

Thu

AT 6 AM SOME ONE GOT ON THE PA JUST TO SAY "there will be no workers in your building today." Why was that necessary I ask (with no expectation of receiving an answer)? We did a home-style self exercise program in the hallway led by yours truly. It was a lot of fun. A couple of sisters came up to me the next day and said "I'm so sore, but I'm so excited for next Thursday!" I looked at temples online. The San Diego temple looks like a story book castle! The Cardston Alberta temple looks like a fortress. There are so many beautiful temples. Todd sensei and Taylor sensei (YAY) subbed for our class that afternoon. They had to hide their faces because they are the new districts' investigators and the new districts don't know that they are teachers yet. Todd sensei would hide his face behind the manual every time someone walked past the door. A couple of other people got packages so we were all stuffed on home food (like salsa!). I passed off my memorization of the First Vision in Japanese.

Fri

The cafeteria building's fire alarm went off just as we walked in for lunch. We had to wait an hour before we were cleared to go back. Ah well. Se le vie. We had an "English fast" where we didn't say any english all day. It worked kinda well for about half the day and then we broke down and started using english again. It was enlightening to know how little we use Japanese and how much we use English. The kohai found out that their investigators are their teachers. Blew their minds.

Sat

Taylor sensei subbed again! It was nice to teach him again. We taught the same person over skype during TRC. He said that Le Mis was an enlightening experience. I can't wait to see it. Nishimura Shimai got "baptized!" Sandberg Shimai popped in and said "I got baptized! Wohoo!" and then popped out again.

Sun

Our district shared how/where we were when we opened our calls. It was a good bonding experience. We watched a devotional by Elder Oaks that talked about desires. He said that in order to be a missionary, you have the challenge to change, achieve, and become. So how do you become a missionary? Take a CAB. He said that in order to truly do these things we had to have a true desire. I also learned that Sister Oaks and Sister Nelson both served their missions in Japan! I wonder how many others do...The new mission president's wife said that she believes the true lyrics to "Called to Serve" are "Akward, ever akward" because missionaries can be in some strange situations. We finally watched President Monson's B-day celebration via lds.org. I loved the version of "Bring Him Home" and "76 Trombones." During relief society, Sister Wixom (General Relief Society Pres) shared this story: When her husband was a mission president, she would chat with the companions of the missionaries in interviews with him. One elder said "I have to show you this!" He pulled out a paperback Book of Mormon with large teeth marks in it. He said that a dog was coming at him to bite him and it was either his leg or his BoM. He chose the book. The bite went clear through to 2 Ne 17. Sister Wixom said "Ah. Even the dog stops at Isaiah."

Mon

The new Japanese natives came! There are two shimai and 5 choro. We escorted the two shimai around for the rest of the day. They are both very cute and in high spirits. One gave us some dried squid jerky. I liked it, but Abraham Shimai couldn't get over the look of it. Two of the new choro shared their conversion stories. They gave me hope for my work. We ate earlier because the shimai were very hungry from their plane ride. As such, our Russian missionary friends were able to sit next to us, but unfortunately they were doing an "english fast" too. They gave up about halfway through dinner. The first bit was funny, trying to communicate from Japanese to English to Russian. In class, we prepared to teach about faith, but unexpectedly it turned to the Book of Mormon. Amazingly, without any preparation, Abraham Shimai and Miller Shimai bore their testimonies, explained blessings, and over all taught a very powerful lesson on the Book of Mormon. I am so happy for this.

Tue

We did inititories again. Temple food still amazing. I will miss it, but definitely not as much as I am excited to eat Japanese food. In the sack lunch line, an elder just keeled over in a faint. I don't know where his companion was, but no one knew him or if he had any medical problems like diabetes. The campus security and EMT's were called. I hope he's ok. It kind of scared Abraham Shimai. Stephanie Richey works at the MTC barbershop. I bumped into her and she recognized me. She had to get back to her next appointment, but I think I will go get my hair cut next week just so that we can visit.

Thinking of you,

Leah

P.S. Happy early Birthday, Erin

Week 7

Week 7

 

I got the pacakge yesterday, thank you for the stuff. I really like the Ru Yi calendar. Also thank you for not sending food. I'm stuffed to the gills as it is. We get our travel plans Feb 1. So excited! Mom, should I buy a scripture case here or are you still working on one there? The pronunciation for shimai is she-my. All a's in Japanese sound like ah, as in father. All e's are ay's as in bait. All i's are ee like in eat. All o's are oh's as in cheeri o's. All u's are oo as in oops. I didn't see Uchtdorf's devotional but I hope to later this week. Tell those elders they need to shape up! I want to go over there and show 'em how it's done, but I don't think I'll be back in time. About the grape juice/wine stuff, I have heard both. I've heard some people say that it was grape juice, some people say that it was actually alcoholic, but never anyone who says that it was hard liquor. If someone were to bring up that subject in my lesson, I would say, "I don't know what it was back then. I wasn't there. But I do know that Christ has asked us to do this today. I know that Christ wouldn't ask us to do something that is without reason. I know that the Lord provides a way for us to keep all his commandments. In keeping this commandment, you are showing your faith, a desire to repent, a desire to come closer to Christ, and your willingness to obey.I know that it has blessed my life. I know that if I (and you Brother/Sister ____) keep this commandment, we will be blessed for our obedience, blessed in body, and blessed to feel the Spirit stronger. Will you do this?" Also tell them that if they don't have anything else to talk about, testify of Joseph Smith because that brings the spirit and it leads to Christ and He will guide you from there. They have a real life investigator, so don't squander this chance!

Tue

Devotional prayer. We had to eat dinner really fast so that we would be on time. As we got back stage, a large, bald, rather intimidating security guard came up to us and barks "What do you think you're doing?" I said "Praying." He said, "Well, you do that then," and walked away. The devotional was nice. We could read the teleprompters from behind the speakers. He talked about taking the harder route because the easiest path is what makes men and rivers crooked. Elder Fallabella shook our hands afterward. The prayer went well, but I kept having to remind myself not to say things in Japanese.

Wed

New kohai! 5 out of 8 expected sisters showed up. We aren't sure why the other three didn't, but we're glad for the ones who did. Their names are Watanabe shimai, Hansen shimai, Fish shimai, Owens shimai, and Lyles shimai. The last two are 20 years old. They said that they both turned in their papers a week after general conference. The chorotachi are an interesting bunch. There are a group from Brazil, two from Australia, and then the rest of the 20 or so are from the States. At first they were loud and unfocused, but now they are settling in and becoming more dedicated (I think because they have their "investigators" now). I felt a little ill just before bed, but when I woke up it was gone. Thankfully I didn't get the stomach flu like the rest of the MTC.

Thu

The new sisters (not the shimai, but the others) on our floor are not observing quiet hour or lights out time. Grr. They also start blow drying their hair at 6 in the morning. Grr. On Thursdays we don't have gym in the gym, but we weren't sure if we could go to the cardio room or not. Abraham Shimai was in a meeting with Mack Kaicho and the kohai, so Miller shimai and I went to the cardio room. The workers there were like "come here only when you have scheduled gym time." We both just nodded and smiled. We won't go back now that we know. It was a little strange going 3 hours without Abraham shimai. It helped me know how much we have grown together. Our friends the Cambodian elders have moved to another building. Now the German missionaries are across the hall from us. It's WWII all over again! Ha ha. King choro was talking about how mythical a popcorn ball was and all of us looked at him a little funny and said, "Popcorn balls exist. Haven't you ever seen one?" He got wide eyed to know that they do exist.

Fri

Finshed off all the candy from Christmas! The kohai taught their first ever investigators. Todd sensei and Taylor sensei are both investigators, so we get to see them often. Nishimura Shimai is getting baptized on Saturday! Wohoo! Who is the Mary Russell series written by and what are their titles? Sandberg Shimai likes Sherlock Holmes so I thought she might like these. I can do about 10 min of kneeling as of right now, but I need to get up to about 30 min. My legs are asleep for like 5 minutes after I get up.

Sat

In the bathroom, a spontaneous rendition of Moulin Rouge songs occurred. We no longer have workshops, so we're supposed to use that time taking online assessments or watching devotionals online or something like that. What they failed to take into account is that there aren't enough computers for that to be effective. Essentially, it was a flop. I instead spent that time memorizing the 1st Vision in Japanese. Usually on Sat, we teach a member in Japanese. They're usually RM's, sometimes native speakers, and on the rare occasion actuall investigators. Usually it's in a tiny classroom in another building, but we did it over skype using an iPad! I enjoyed using technology like that.

Sun

The devotional was given by Brother Hemmingway who is the advisor for all internet proselyting. He talked about how much of the church members in the early days came not from traditional door-to-door missionary work but from social networking. He said to get members to friend investigators and have investigators post on facebook. The weather has been freezing. We walked up to the temple and took pictures. When I got back, my legs were as pink as my cheeks from the cold. I got called to give a talk on the Atonement in sacrament meeting and to lead the music. Thankfully I was prepared for the talk. Abraham shimai accompanied some chorotachi in the musical number. We found out that our Russian and Cambodian friends are leaving in about a week. Sad day. We got to watch Music and the Spoken word. It was beautiful. I hope we can go again next week. Relief Society was a testimony meeting. One sister from Singapore said how when she came to the States, she thought that she could go without rice. After about a week, she decided that she really did need it. She related it to us and the gospel. How often do we say that we can go without prayer or scripture study or whatever? We truly do need the gospel. So you may think, how can I get more famous than people recognizing me from plays? How can I get more famous than people stopping me 3 weeks after Christmas to tell me that I did well in the talent show? How can I get even more famous than giving the prayer in devotional? I'll tell you how. Being in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. A man came into our classroom after the devotional and said, "Your classroom has been chosen by President Brown to show some photographers from National Geographic what a typical classroom is like. So clean up whatever exploded under your desks, get rid of these oragami ninja stars and paper cranes, clean off the chalkboard and look presentable. See you tomorrow." We all sat a bit dumbfounded and then exploded into giggles and jumping around. And then we cleaned.

Mon

That morning we would all stare at the door everytime someone passed by, hoping that it would be the photographers. So about 9:30 they showed up, and just kept coming and coming and coming. There were about 10 people in our little room. The tour guide told them a little about what the MTC does and how it works and what we do. Then one of the ladies asked why we decided to go on missions. I said that I prayed about it and talked to RM's and everything said that I should go. I said that I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life. Egbert choro shared how seeing his older brothers changed when they went on missions and how he hoped that he would become better too. The photographers asked if we could read or understand yet and King choro pulled out the Japanese Book of Mormon and read a part. One lady asked how it was being paid for and the tour guide said that usually we pay our own way or family & friends help, but if that isn't possible, the church has a fund so that financial status does not bar someone from going. President Brown then spoke up and said that not only is a mission good for the people we will teach, but it is divinely appointed for each individual missionary. The spirit was very strong in that room. I hope that the NatGeo people felt it. They asked if they could take our picture and we said of course. Keep you eyes peeled! I don't know if the article will be published or if it is our picture will be in it, but be on the look out. We have copies of the picture already, so eventually you'll get to see it, unless I lose it.

Tue

We did sealings again. A woman came in and was a proxy for her aunt. That was a special experience. Hansen shimai had a wonderful spiritual time. I'm glad I got to share it with her. Keep up the good work!

 

Love,

Leah

Week 6

 It goes in order. I promise to do as soon as I get her letters from now on.

 

Week 6

 

I love you all! I want to know wedding plans Claire. Even if you don't have full plans, keep me updated. I am still leaving on Feb 11 as far as I know. We won't get detailed itinerary until a few weeks from now. I may call from the airport or I may call from the MTC, I'm not sure. The time I call depends on when we leave for the airport. Could you e-mail me/mail me a picture of the family? Many people have been asking for pictures.

Tue

Zombie apocalypse! The stomach flu hit. They think that a cafeteria worker had it and handled the food which spread like wildfire in these cramped stuffy buildings. Miller Shimai and I escaped, but Abraham Shimai didn't. At the beginning of the day we were all fine. By the end of the next day, about 1/3 of the missionaries were sick. There was an announcement made over the intercom that hugs, handshakes, high fives, even touching your own face were banned until further notice. There is sanitizer at every doorway. Hopefully we're past it, but I don't want to take any chances. We had a devotional via streaming between buildings, but the firewall in the buildings is so strict that the link couldn't be opened. So everyone had to move to another building to see it. We finally tuned in about 30 min after it started. It was by Elder Choi of the seventy. He told us to think of our companions as "the most handsome in all the land." It was a sweet devotional.

Wed

Nothing much happened. I did notice the spirit answering my questions as I wrote them in my journal. I think that is why we keep journals, not for our posterity or for record keeping but to recognize revelation when we recieve it.

Thu

Taylor sensei is leaving! Because we're getting so many new missionaries and his new school semester's schedule doesn't permit him to work mornings, we are getting a new teacher. Thankfully it is Nielsen sensei who is also very good and very funny. I taught Miller Shimai how to swing dance a little.

Fri

We had 3 beginning teachers sit in on our class. It was a little crowded. We have been challenged to memorize the first vision in Japanese. Gulp.

Sat

We had an interesting experience with a mouse. We walked out of our residence building heading for gym. I hear a squeal behind me. I turn and see a large brown blur streaking my direction. Abraham Shimai squeals and dances like a person walking on coals. The poor mouse doesn't know which way to go so it keeps getting under her feet. Sister Miller runs to the still open door to try and stop it from going inside. The mouse makes a break for it and disappears through a crack in the sidewalk. I was laughing and feeling sorry for the mouse. Abraham Shimai was laughing after a little bit too. I'm just glad I didn't find it in my bed. We had the last workshop we'll ever have. Since there are so many missionaries on their way, the workshops are canceled and there are a few other schedule changes, like no PE on Thursdays. Our workshop teacher was French and handsome to distraction. Nice way to end a streak of good workshops.

Sun

We watched the Joseph Smith movie in Japanese. The spirit was present even though we couldn't understand everything. I love that film. It has truly helped strengthen my testimony of the restoration. We found out that we're getting 8 new shimai! YAY! The music conductor was released. He has been in that calling 25 years. The reason he's leaving is because he has been called on a mission to be the director of the Independence visitor's center. We taught the lesson in District Meeting about "How to Recognize the Spirit." It went well again. Hopefully we can keep this streak up. I talked about being worthy to have the spirit and used Pres. Turner's analogy of the bucket and worthiness interviews. Miller Shimai and I have been called as co-music directors. Thankfully some of the chorotachi have stepped up and are willing to play piano and do special musical numbers.

Mon

We cleaned windows and doors and other glass that morning. The windex froze on the doors to the outside so we couldn't really clean it. I tried to vacuum the elevator but it got angry and closed the door several times on me. We had 7 total sensei's yesterday: our 2 regular, our 1 new, and 4 other observing teachers. Crazy. We had an early arriving missionary from Australia arrive yesterday. His name is Elder Happi (pronounced like Happy). He already knows a lot of Japanese and he's a quick learner. For Claire, he also likes One Piece! Our lessons went exceptionally well yesterday. We didn't have much time and we were unprepared, but the spirit was with us. I felt it very strongly in both lessons.

Tue

The temple is open again! We did an endowment session this time. The Provo temple is very beautiful and easy to get lost in. Thankfully there are lots of people around to ask where to go. I fixed one shirt whose buttons were starting to come off. We spent about 2 hours making paper dolls for the incoming shimai. And guess what! I'm giving the closing prayer in devotional tonight!

Tell you how it goes next week.

Miss you all,

Leah

2 Letters in One POST!

(I Claire, am a terrible updater and sister, so here are leah's past two letters)

December 25, 2012

I have a box here with 3 wrapped presents (one from G-ma, one from Aunt Marian, and one from Claire). I am going to open the box and unwrap them in front of the computer and pretend that I am opening them in front of you.
Oh, such a large box, a box a box! I wonder what could be inside...Oooo fuzzy pajamas! how nice! They seem very warm. And fuzzy socks! How did you know? My feet get very cold at night so I have taken to wearing socks to bed. Krave cereal, I know what I'm eating today. And more candy, ooo. We have so much food collectively that we could just eat that and not even go to the cafeteria today. Of course it's all junk food, so we'd feel gross by the end of the day. Some stories from Aunt Mabel, I'll have to read those later. My glasses case, yay! A $25 gift card from the library, I'll probably spend that at the airport. Stationary so I can write people nice notes. SD cards so I can take tons of pictures. Now for the wrapped stuff. First, from Gma...a lovely green, delicate scarf! I may wear this today with something red to look Christmas-y. Next, a box from Aunt Marian...I think I know what this is...swizzle sticks! I don't think I'll be able to eat all of this food! And last from Claire, which I will unwrap carefully because I want to read the comics it is wrapped in...a Gunter sticker and song! Whohooo! Dry erase markers, awesome, no show socks, thank you very much I need those, and in many colors! And a dry erase board to go with the dry erase markers. Thank you. I will use this a lot to practice kanji.
Now for the weekly update:
Wed
I made it into the Christmas Day talent show! I got a card from the MTC. When I first saw it, I thought it was like a 'thanks for trying but we chose someone else' card, but it said "you have been chosen, report Christmas Day to the gym for a mic check." I'll let you know how it goes! This may gross you out, but I have gotten probably a whole entire tablespoon of earwax out of my ears. Weird. We taught the restoration to our investigators, which was encouraging. I wasn't sure how it would go over, but it went well. It affirmed my testimony of the restoration as we taught it. All 5 Japanese sister missionaries did yoga one night. It was envigorating. I lost the back to one of my earrings, but thankfully I have spares. I got the package of food! It was tasty, especially the fruit leather. It was nice to have healthy things to snack on instead of candy.
Thu
I got a package from Aunt Marian (two for two). The 4 American sisters taught our 1 Japanese sister some line dances and the cup game from girl's camp. It was a ton of fun to teach. We sang carols as we got ready for bed. I got a huge bruise on my wrist from playing volleyball. It doesn't hurt, it's just beautiful.
Fri
Sister Johnson, one of the wives of the branch presidency came to visit us. She asked to see pictures of our families, so I showed her the ones on my camera from the airport. I taught Elder Wyndham in a demonstration lesson. I think it was edifying for the both of us. We didn't really go over the subject matter that we were supposed to be demonstrating, but the things that were said needed to be heard. In PE, the buzzer rang to say that PE was over. I threw one last basket and I made it! It was a 3 point shot! Sis Miller got a package from her parents with homemade salsa in it. It was delicious. It made me think of home. I said in class that I would humbly like to partake of Sis Abraham riding a tiger. We all had a good laugh.
Sat
Sis Abraham is a little down. I'm not sure what I can do to cheer her up. Two Elders going to Cambodia stopped by our classroom and chatted. They wrote some of the Cambodian script on our chalkboard. It is very pretty, but I'm not sure how to read it. I have lost exactly two pounds and gained exactly one back. Hurrah. Sis Miller likes to punch the volley ball instead of set it. It's rather funny to watch. In the workshop today, we talked about more effectively using the Book of Mormon. Something that I learned was that 1 Ne 1 is the story of Joseph Smith. A man prays, he has a vision about a book, he talks about it, and he is persecuted for it. There is so much doctrine in those 20 verses.
Sun
Sis Abraham much better today. Abraham Shimai has been called as coordinating sister and two elders from our district (King and Egbert) are the new zone leaders. The older group of missionaries leaves next week. We will miss them. My testimony of the Book of Mormon has grown a lot stronger the past few days since we've been talking about it so much. The Japanese elders and sister had their first taste of salsa. They seemed to like it. We watched a film about the Nephites in the time of Christ's ministry on earth called "The Testaments." The last scene is phenomenal. The rest of the movie is fairly less than expected. The sound design was particularly terrible. Cinematography good, one good actor rest pretty average. Might be worth watching if you can sit through the akward moments.
Mon
The custodial staff have named the vacuums Rasputin and Voldemort. They also brought us cookies for the holidays. Snowed! Gonna be a white Christmas. I gave out my presents to the chorotachi. They're opening them today. Lunch and dinner lines very long because the staff short. We walked in late to the devotional. Ooops. There was a fantastic performance of O Holy Night. They also did a Nativity scene like we do in primary, bathrobes and sheets and all. At first, there was a live baby, but he got too fussy so he got sneakily swapped for a doll. We laughed. Then we watched the George C Scott version of a Christmas Carol! IT was still awesome. We each got a full bag of kettle corn. I couldn't finish it all. The other sisters opened their presents. It was fun. SIs Breck got a Doctor Who shirt. It was cool.

Merry Christmas to you all!
Leah

 

 

January 1, 2013

 

Hello, all. Happy Holidays! Write me more! And now to answer letters:

I didn't get the Nagoya Christmas card, but some of the other people in the MTC did get it and they photocopied it for me. Tianna Breck, Victor Lazaro, Pontus Mikkola, Eduardo Milder, Trever Ockerman, Samuel Richard, Jarem Tano, Jacob Tsukamoto, and Andrew Wilson are/were at the MTC with me. All of them are exceptionally nice except Milder Choro. He's not so nice, but thankfully he's in a different district than us, so we don't have to deal with him all the time. There has been lots of snow here, at least 3 feet, but it doesn't bother us because all of the sidewalks are covered. What did you think of your presents? Dad and Grandma have told me, but what about others? What else did you get? I'm glad you liked the movies and the knife. Good luck in Dallas, Dad! Keep up the good work in the basement, Mom! And good luck on your recertification. Where did you stick the cat tower? How is the new internet doing? The scripture-a-day thing is definitely a spam. I don't get the Ensign out here, but I may get it on my mission. We do have access to lds.org, so I can look up the Ensign if I wish/have time. DO NOT SEND OUT A PHONE. I promise that a phone card will work. It has for hundreds of missionaries before me. I would like your numbers, though.

Tue

Talent show went well. People still stop me to give me compliments. President Hacking (one of the MTC presidency) stopped me after the talent show to say that my personality fit the poem very well. Greg Olsen devotional was basically the talk that mom has on cassette, but he did show a painting that isn't out yet. It is of Jesus and John the Baptist laughing and enjoying each other's company. We watched It's a Wonderful Life, but in color! I fell in love with it all over again.

Wed

We were walking to gym when I noticed something gross on the sidewalk. Abraham Shimai leans down to pick it up and I say "I wouldn't touch that if I were you." She picks it up and turns it inside out...Lo and Behold it is a sock that she lost last week! Far from the laundry room and a week later, Heavenly Father blessed her with a tender mercy. And guess what? Sister Miller, Sister Abraham, and I are famous! A photographer caught a picture of us coming out of  Elder Nelson's devotional and put it in the Deseret News! You can look up the article and picture online, and I'm going to send the newspaper clipping home in a letter (Mack Kaicho gave us the clipping).

Thu

Abraham Shimai got called to the front desk as she was getting out of the shower. We hurried to get presentable and rush there to find that they had found one of her name tags. So we doddled going back to the resdience, looking at the flags of all the countries and the pictures of all the mission presidents. It was very peaceful in that building with no one else there. We have had a lot of subs because of the holidays. One of our subs gave us shimai only praise for our lessons! Whohoo! Miller Shimai made us dream catchers. It is very beautiful. I think it has real eagle feathers on it. King Choro got 18+ letters because they had been piling up in the mail office because of the holidays.

Fri

Mattson Choro (one of the choro from another district) left the MTC. He didn't say why, but he was very upbeat about the whole thing. He said that he hopes to be back soon, but he has things to work out. Abraham Shimai caught the stomach flu. There is an announcement everyday that we should not shake hands or give hugs or even touch our own face. Ha. Sister Miller got a package with party hats and noisemakers. Fun fun fun! We have a running superhero story in our class which I may also send home in a letter, but I may hold off in hopes that it continues to develop. It is quite intricate. The sempai (upper classmen) were leaving, so Breck Shimai and Oi Shimai were sad. It's just the three of us Japanese shimai left in the whole MTC. Here's a fun statistic for you: there are 2031 missionaries in the Provo MTC alone and 327 missions total in the world.

Sat

In PE, I made 36 out of 76 baskets. We made a goal not to write on the chalkboards because they are becoming a distraction/excuse. I'm not sure Miller Shimai can last a whole week without drawing on the chalkboard. The workshop again was fantastic. We three shimai had the opportunity to teach Oi Shimai before she left. It was a little nervewracking, but it went well. Abraham Shimai got a blessing and almost immediately felt better. Not healed completely, but better. It was Egbert Choro's first time giving a blessing. I prayed to know how to help improve the other people in my district, and when I read ch 1 of PMG, I got my answer. The Lord really does answer prayers.

Sun

Sister Eston? Eaton? Black gave the devotional. She talked about Joseph Smith and his family. Apparantly Alvin Smith was quite handsome. Her husband was extremely funny. We took lots of pictures with the sempai because it was their last Sunday. So the Russian missionaries that we talked to on our first day have kept an eye out for us and we've kept an eye out for them. We've made good friends in them. We're beginning to make good friends with the Cambodian misssionaries across the hallway. There is one who is from Burusus (I think that's how you spell it). It is an island near Madagascar.  He has an awesome accent. They had REAL LIFE CURRY for lunch. It was soooooooooooooooooooo good. I wish I could have more. I learned alot about faith this week. We were told the story of a man in England who was arguing with the missionaries just to argue. He said that there was no God and that he could prove it. He said that he could open the scriptures to any page and prove that there was no God. He opened to Alma 30:44 (Look it up). Needless to say he was silent for quite a while.

Mon

Abraham Shimai got snuggies in the mail. We aren't sure what to do with them because the building we live in is always extremely warm. We still have SO much candy. I plan on keeping it for the kohai (underclassmen) that are coming Jan 9. That way I can buy their love with candy, mwa ha ha ha. King Choro got a hold of black licorice somehow. I probably ate too much of it. Sister Miller found a fly in her salad. I hope it doesn't happen again. There was a pie that seemed to be pecan pie, but it litterally burned your mouth when you ate it like sticking a tsp of cinnamon in your mouth. It wasn't cinnamon-y though. Eitherway, none of us finished them. We taught Nishimura Shimai about fasting and she said she'd die if she tried. She threw the tithing and fast offering pamphlet back at us. We were all laughing. We refferred her to 1 Ne 3:7. If there's a will, there's a way!

Tue

Temple is still closed, so we aren't sure what we want to do for all of today...Sleep alot I guess.

 

Lots of love

Leah