Week 2 (In Japan)

I know that Grandpa Vern's passing has been coming for a while, but it is still a sad thing. I'm sending you a big strong hug via e-mail, Mom. I found out how to send pictures from this computer, but I forgot my camera. I'll try to send some my next e-mail. I'll send pictures of me and Sis Rogers and my bike and stuff. Could you send me some recipes that can be done with only a microwave or a stove (via e-mail of course)? I've been trying to think of things to make and always think of things that need an oven, but we don't have one. Also, could you e-mail my MTC teachers the link to my blog? I don't have their information on me, but I'll send it next time with the pictures.

Mon
We had a phone conference for the mission. Everyone called in to this number and then Baird Kaicho could talk to all of us at once. He talked about the parable of the 10 virgins because March 1 we have a seventy coming to visit us and he wanted us to be prepared. We bought our lunch from a grocery store bakery. It was delicious. I took a nap and during that nap the Zone Leaders called. Ah well. We had FHE with Brother Tachi and his family. We played charades and it was hilarious. His mother is probably 95 and likes to babble. As he was acting something out, she shouted "Yakuza!" which means "mobster." We all laughed that one of the Stake Presidency would be called a mobster.

Tue
An appointment fell through so we went knocking on doors. We saw a lady working in her garden so we decided to help her. I unfortunately missed a garden stake that was sticking up out of the ground and biffed it in the middle of her cabbages. We all laughed. We handed out a Book of Mormon to a hair salon worker and lots of pamphlets to various people. I learned how to cook pot stickers properly. I'll have to show you when I get back. We taught Rosey, a woman from Georgia who is teaching English to kids here in Japan. She is Catholic and I think mostly interested in hanging out with the missionaries and or just hearing us out, but we gave her a Book of Mormon and I hope that the Spirit speaks to her through it.

Wed
Rogers Shimai plays the violin and so she gave a lesson to a member of the ward. We visited a less active couple. The husband is blind so Rogers Shimai played her violin for him. I made vegetable soup. Yum.
Thu
We rode an hour on our bikes to an appointment. In the midst of thinking "I can't do this, I can't go faster" a voice that was distinctly not my own said "do you think you could go a little bit faster" very kindly. I said "If you give me the strength, Lord, I can do it." I didn't win any races, but I made it through. Guess what happened? The person we were traveling to meet accepted the invitation to hear the lessons. We have a new investigator! We had an appointment by phone, but we weren't any place convenient, so we had a lesson about the Second Coming in the middle of a field. I tore the floral skirt because of the bike ride. Sorry Mom. I'm not sure if it's fixable. Oh well.

Fri
We saw a person dancing by themselves in the middle of a park. I got a creepy feeling about that person, so we stayed on the opposite side of the street. I think that I have mastered the art of going up hills. You build up speed so you can get halfway up, then you power through to the crest where you coast all the way down the other side. We had lunch at McDonalds. They had something called an Idaho burger with shaker fries. Do they have that in the US too or is a Japanese invention of what they think is American? It had a hashbrown, onions, and barbecue sauce on the burger and the shaker fries were normal fries with barbecue seasoning It was tasty. We had extra time from our lunch hour left over at the end of the day, and we had no appointments, so we took that time to sit under the stars and eat donuts.

Sat
Alot happened! Rogers Shimai told me that before I came but after the call that she was getting a new companion, she was wondering why she was getting paired up with me. She asked Baird Kaicho and he said that out of all of the sisters and us incoming bean-chan (as the greenies are called in Japan) that we fit the best together. Revelation! Rogers Shimai also said that she was thinking about being a trainer and all of a sudden she felt that you (my family) were praying for me and for her. Thanks family! We got an invitation from a less active to go to a Japanese instrument concert. Thinking that it would be like 5 people in a cafe and we could talk to this investigator, we went. It was a dulcimer orchestra of 20 people or so in an orchestra hall. I loved it. It turned out that the less active member wasn't there, so we only saw about two songs and then we left. I hope that I can do something like that again on some other P-day. We rode up a mountain to visit a part member family. Maybe it wasn't a real mountain, but it definitely felt like it. As we got to the top, we saw a hunched obaachan (which means grandmother, but you use it for any old lady you see) working in her garden. We stopped and helped her weed and put out straw and hoe rows for potatoes. She gave us her address and 4 heads of broccoli. We're definitely going back! We visited that family and got lots of food. SO MUCH FOOD. Then we had to ride back down the mountain in the dark. It was an adventure. My bike basket came in to the bike shop so we got that installed. Oh, and I got hit by a car.

Sun
We fasted so that our investigators would come to church and 3 of them came! Two of them left right after sacrament meeting, but we taught the one the Plan of Salvation and he accepted the invitation to be baptized! WHOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO! We had a dinner appointment with a family and I ate till I was uncomfortably full. I had sashimi (basically a slab of raw fish), sushi, beef dipped in raw egg, tofu, itokonnyaku (a clear noodle made from potatoes) and lots of other stuff. We then talked about how to recieve revelation.

Yes, I did get hit by a car. I'm perfectly fine though. I was crossing a crosswalk and he was braking, but he didn't brake in time. He was going slow and I was going slow, so all that happened was I tipped over. I have some awesome looking bruises and a scraped knee, but that's it. His car has a paint scratch, but it's also fine. I was mostly laughing the whole time. Rogers Shimai was a little panicked. The man was like "Are you all right? Are you really allright? Ok." Oh what fun. The Lord definitely protects his missionaries.

Thoughts for all you pre-missionaries...

I am here! (Claire) I don't think you bought 51 yet. If I had a dictionary I could probably translate it, but I don't know where Oda lives. Kaicho means president. I do speak Japanese with Sister Rogers (much to her delight because her last companion didn't know much Japanese at all). I'm definitely not fluent yet though. It's hard to understand what other people are saying, but somehow the spirit and my companion piece it all together for me. I flew over in a group of 8 missionaries going to Japan (me, another sister, and 6 elders) and then there were some missionaries going to the Phillipenes on the same flight. Yay for blogs! Here's some mission prep adivice that I have:

1. You can't take water from an empty bucket. If you don't have a testimony that God answers prayers, that he loves you and everyone on this earth, that he WILL help you, go get one. If you don't have a testimony that you can recieve personal revelation, go get one. If you don't have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is a true and powerful tool of God, go get one. If you don't have a testimony of the importance of church attendance, GO GET ONE. If you don't have any experience teaching another person or sharing your testimony, or praying in front of others, YOU NEED TO START NOW. Fill your bucket.

2. Study from Preach My Gospel. If you can, read the whole thing before you come. If you can't, read Ch 3. Also, read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People if you can. It helps straighten out your priorities.

3. Even more important than preparing to go on a mission is preparing to make and KEEP temple covenants. Attend a temple prep class. Talk to people about what it's like in the temple. You can actually talk about a lot of things. Tell people as you're talking to them that if they don't feel comfortable talking about it they don't have to. Especially talk to your bishop and stake president. They know a lot. There was an article published in the June or July 2012 Ensign titled "Preparing to Go to the Temple" or something like that. Read it and the related stuff it reccomends.

4. Be obedient. The mission rules and standards of the church are not made because the Bretheren want cookie cutter members or because God wants us to be special or even because it'll be healthy. The mission rules and standards of the church are for your LITERAL spiritual and physical safety. For example, one rule is to not get up earlier or stay up later than you companion because you want to have some alone time. This is a prime time for Satan to attack you, to whisper things about you, your performance, your companion, what have you. Thus, go to bed at the same time. Be obedient and be happy about it.

5. It'll be hard. A mission is like 50 years of everday membership in the church crammed into a few months. You'll have ups and downs everyday. Don't freak out because of it. It's natural, normal, and everyone goes through it. You are creating an intimate relationship with God when you go on a mission. Because of that, Satan is going to pound you hard. This is one reason you've got to have a full bucket. If your bucket is empty, Satan can crush it. It's hard, but that kind of a relationship with God is definitely worth it. Endure to the End.

Nagoya Mission Video

The Mission Presidency sent us a video and I've posted it to youtube, however we don't have rights to the music so I decided to make it private. If you would like to see it then you can send me a message and I will include you in the circle.

 Claire

(note: you must have a youtube account or on google plus to be included)

Here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFKVDC0aMeg&feature=youtu.be

SHE REALLY IS IN JAPAN THIS TIME! (First Week)

Wohoo! I'm finally here in Japan! The keyboards here are mostly the same as in the states but with a few exceptions so if I make more typos it's because things are not where my fingers are expecting them to be. Answers to questions: Amazingly I do not have jet lag, I do have something to play my cd's on, I did get all of the packages and pictures, my P-day is now Monday (right now it's noon but for you I think it's 2 in the morning). Do you still need my credit card number Dad? Has anything been started with my mission plaque? If not, don't worry about it right now. Wait until Claire's wedding is done and then do it. I have two weeks worth of writing to do in about the same amount of time, so I'm going to be brief.

 Tue

We had two new bunk beds put in our room so that the MTC can hold more sisters. I have no idea how they are going to fit all of their clothes into 4 closets and 4 desks, though.

Wed

Elders came with mattresses to put on the new beds. They looked like ants with marshmallows going from the truck to the building and up the stairs. I got the cupcakes, they were delicious! One was red velvet, yum, one was chocolate with a malt ball on top, double yum, two were cherry with actual cherries in the center, one was mint, and one was vanilla. I didn't eat them all myself, I did share with others.

Thu

In-Field Orientation. Longest day ever. It went from 8-5 with one break for lunch. It was interesting and they had a lot of good things, but I think it could definitely be shorter. Instead of doing our "personal gym time" we packed and the kohai sisters sat in our room. We each shared how we felt when we got our mission calls and why we decided to go on a mission. It was uplifting.

Fri

I had an enormous salad for dinner. It was good. We finnaly got 4 shimai in all 4 squares in 4 square. At last my dream has come true.

Sat

Took lots of pictures, but I didn't cry. We did our laundry as a zone (at least those of us who were leaving) and so we just hung out with each other until our laundry was done and then we went back to our rooms to pack.

Sun

Lots of devotionals. Departure, normal Sunday devotional, sacrament meeting farewell. I got a blessing from King choro before we left (the other shimai got blessings too, and actually the choro gave eachother blessings). Packing is always stressfull.

Mon

Only got about an hour of sleep. I went to bed on time but I couldn't fall asleep for the longest time. Woke up at 3 to put away pajamas and toiletries and such. I hugged a lot and Miller Shimai just kinda held me for a while. Riding through Provo very early in the morning reminded me of 100 Dresses and riding to the elementary schools. Had a nice view of the temple as we got to SLC. I wish I could have talked longer. I tried to call back in Detroit but my phone card said I didn't have sufficient funds. Stupid phone cards. At least Mother's Day is soon. LONG LONG LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG flight.

Tue (well, kinda Tue. In Japan it was Tue night)

Got off the plane and felt the humidity. Wonderful. Met President and Sister Baird, Brother and Sister Barney, and the APs at the airport entrance. After the presidency greeted everyone they vanished and the APs took over. We got on a train and had to practice approaching people on the train. We met one lady who had read the entire Bible and one man who had been Christian in the past but when his parents died he didn't practice anymore. We got off the train and went to the mission home. They had heated toilet seats there. I was still full from the plane, but the fed us dinner. I did my best to eat as much as I could, but my system rebelled. I was nauseous the whole night. As such, I didn't get much sleep that night. The bed was extremely comfortable, so I wish I could have enjoyed it more.

Wed

We had breakfast and a little orientation. We had a short interview with Baird Kaicho and learned where we were going. I am in a town to the west of Nagoya (across the bay) called Yokkaichi (it sounds just like it's spelled) and then met our trainers. Her name is Jolea Rogers. She is from Brisbon, Australia. She's been out about a year and trained once before. She has a good relationship with the ward members and investigators. We had a small testimony meeting then off into the world! We registered as foreigners and then had lunch at an Indian restaurant. It was delicious. We got on the train and went straight to a lesson where we taught English. I wasn't sure what I was doing at all. Getting off the train inYokkaichi felt like being home. It really did feel like being in Indianapolis. I'm not sure why.

Thu

We taught an investigator over the phone. We went to the bike shop and bought a bike. It is white with a hard seat. I have to face my fears every day, but I suppose that is why a mission makes you a different person. We got groceries. I had no idea what most of the vegetables and packages were. My suitcases arrived and I unpacked. We went out and pushed a few doorbells. We visted an old grandmother (a member) and talked about things. I only understood about 30%. Still full from dinner at the mission home.

Fri

Met the 4 chorotachi in this district: Ito (DL), Seipel, Jones, and Wilkinson. We traveled 45 min on our bikes to an appointment. It was also raining. Ugh.

Sat

I lost sight of Rogers Shimai on her bike and as such just wandered back and forth on the street trying to see which alley she went down. It was only for like 2 min though. She found me quickly.

Sun

I introduced my self at church. We taught a lesson to an investigator during Sunday School. Everything he talked about makes me think he is one of the white fields ready to harvest. The trouble is getting an appointment with him. Had daikon radish for the first time. It is much like celery or waterchestnuts, watery, little flavor, crispy. It was Ito choro's birthday, so we ding dong ditched their apt with a present.

 

I love being in Japan (my nose finally doesn't hurt because there's humidity now!), I love my compainion, I love our apt, I love Baird Kaicho, and I love you!

Leah

Week 10 (almost done!)

So here's the scoop on flight plans:

I report to the travel office here at the MTC at 4 am on Monday. There's 6 of us total going to Nagoya this trip, but I'm the only sister in this group, so I'll have two elders be my escorts. We then drive up to Salt Lake and fly to Detroit. We have a two and a half hour layover in Detroit and then we fly straight into the Nagoya, Japan airport. 20 hours total flying time. I may have time to call you from Salt Lake, which would be about 7 am Indiana time or I may call you from Detroit which would be about 1 pm Indiana time. Most likely it will be from Detroit since we have so much time there and I'm not sure how much time I'll have in Salt Lake. Also, because I leave before next Tuesday, I'm not sure when my next e-mail will be. Once in Japan, it's go go go!

Wed

Tsuchiya sensei, one of my professors from BYU Japanese classes, was on a training video here at the MTC. I was like "I know him!" and couldn't stop smiling through the whole video. More kohai came. We're now grand-sempai. We hosted again. I had one sister from Texas going to California, Spanish speaking, one sister from Arizona going to Chile, and one sister from Utah going to Russia. I accidentally lost one of the sister's key cards as we were moving around. It's not a big deal and it can be resolved quickly, but I felt bad that it happened on her first day.

Thu

My cold died! Yay! One of our teachers had a class that he needed to go to, so he asked another teacher to sub for him. Unfortunately, that teacher forgot that he was subbing and so we didn't have a teacher for about 2 hours. Another teacher came in our room and paged the front desk because he couldn't get a hold of his supervisor to tell him of the situation. That teacher, instead of saying "I'm a teacher for a different room reporting that this room doesn't have a teacher" he said "Um, there isn't a teacher in this room..." Once he said that, he realized that he was a teacher, in the room, and that he just sounded like one of us missionaries. He got red and just sidled out of the room and let us handle the rest of the talking. Eventually, the supervisor was reached and he came in and taught us for a while. Then the actual sub showed up and took over. I dunno what's going to come of this, but I think it's a funny anectdote. Abraham Shimai was giving the orientation speech to the new kohai, but Miller Shimai and I needed to go pick her up because the new kohai live in another building. Between the end of class and the time we had to pick her up, we had about 20 min of gym. Rather than change out of my clothes just to change back into them in 15 min, I just exercised in a skirt and boots.

Fri

We got our flight plans! Rust sensei told us that he's found a ring for his girlfriend, but he hasn't bought it yet because it's so expensive. Tano choro got cupcakes from the Cocoa Bean and he let me have one. It brought back good memories.

Sat

I took a grammar assessment and got 86% right! Wohoo. I found out one of the new kohai is from Columbus. He's going to Sapporo. He says he knows Parley and Shelby and that lot. I don't remember his name though...At TRC, we had two live volunteers. It was hard catering to two people's needs when we're so used to teaching only one person. Rust sensei served in Nagoya too. He told me that about 5 months ago, about the time my call was being decided, that Sister Baird (the Nagoya mission president's wife) sent him an e-mail saying, "Rust choro, did you know, we're getting another missionary from Indiana. Her name is Sister Hodson and she's from Indianapolis. We're so blessed to have another missionary from that state." That made me feel special and like my mission president really does know who I am and is looking out for me.

Sun

Watched a recorded devotional by Elder Bednar. He is so funny! He said that in General Converence, it is not the time to pop off (his words, not mine) so don't be surprised when general authorities are more funny than you expect. He said that one of Elder Oaks favorite jokes is "I (Elder Oaks) was going about my day with a pocket sized version of the Book of Mormon in my shirt pocket. A man with a gun came up and tried to rob me. The man shot, but the Book of Mormon saved my life. The bullet stopped at the Isaiah chapters." Elder Bednar's talk was about spritual promptings. It was so wonderful. I wish that I could show it to you or e-mail the transcript to you, but I can't. See if you can find "Recognizing the Spirit" online. Basically he said "How do you know if it is just you or if it is the Spirit? Quit worrying about it. Quit fussing, quit stewing. Be a good boy, be a good girl, keep your covenants and keep the commandments." He then shared three experiences he had with promptings. Loved it. I bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting entirely in Japanese. The Japanese missionaries sung the EFY medley Army of Helaman/Sisters in Zion. I felt their testimonies through their singing. In the big mission conference, one of the presidency's wives gave a talk about cookies. It seemed a little cruel to do on a Fast Sunday. We had a meeting of all of the Japanese shimai, just us, President Mack, and Sister Mack. Sister Mack shared that when she was an addiction recovery missionary, they would ask the people who/what God was like. They then asked if they could create a God, what would he be like. Almost always the one they "created" was more like the true character of Heavenly Father than the image they had in their mind. She said that when we are struggling, it's almost always because we have an incorrect view of Heavenly Father. "This problem is too small to take to Him" or "I have to do this on my own" or "this isn't gospel related, so He doesn't have an opinion" or something like that. I appreciated her comments.

Mon

We now have only one gym time remaining because Wed, we're hosting again, Thu there is only personal gym time not official gym time and Sat we're packing. Friday is the last time. Sandberg sensei rapped a grammer lesson for us. I did the beatboxing and she freestyled the rap. We were laughing so hard by the end. At gym, one elder (not one of ours) passed out and wasn't moving or waking up so they had to call an ambulance. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm pretty sure that he's ok. We had a seminar by Brother Mills who is the international director at this MTC. He was also the mission president of Fukuoka Japan and back in the day he served in Nagoya. What he shared really pumped me up and gave me faith that I can accomplish much in Japan. He shared about Roger Bannister, the first person to break the 4 min mile, and how back before the 50's people thought that it was physically impossible, but today it is the normal average racing time. He said that Heber J Grant, when he dedicated the land of Japan, said later in his life that dedicatory prayer was the greatest prayer he ever gave in his life. Heber J Grant also said that the work of the gospel in Japan would astonish the world in the years to come. I felt the Spirit witness that that was true. I'm so ready to go!