Of weight loss and kittens...

Claire's Note. 

I have had a few people ask how Sister Hodson lost so much weight. From February to June she has lost about 35 pounds, that is 15.9 kg for anybody who follows the metric system. Also I want kittens (plural) and so this is her response.

Well, first there is 30 minutes of exercise in the morning. We usually just walk along the nearby canal because I'm too much of a zombie in the morning to actually play anything. Then I eat breakfast which is usually small, like an apple and peanut butter. Throughout the day we usually bike from 1.5-3hours in various terrains. However, this is broken up into small chunks. The most we ride in one chunk is an hour. So that we don't die, we drink a lot. Like at least 1 Liter, sometimes 2 of liquid each day. Or maybe that's just me. Lunch is always the biggest meal of the day. Dinner is usually small again, like tofu and a cup of soup, unless we are eating at someone's home. In Japan, you eat very little dairy and meat and saturated fats. There are many things made with oil, but very very few with butter or other solid fats. In the States the main grains are breads and potatoes, sometimes pasta. In Japan it's rice and non-white-processed-flour noodles like udon and soba. So that takes out another chunk of fat. Desserts are small and not eaten every day. The Japanese stick to the 1/2 cup ice cream serving and it actually is very satisfying. I think the thing that has helped me the most is the bike riding though. Definitely the change in diet has helped some, but being active is the biggest thing. 

Keep in mind that two little kitties make two little piddle puddles in your two little shoes. They also eat two little book marks and scratch two little scratches in the wall paper. But I like cats just as much as you do so I understand the temptation. Yay, yay, animal shelter, and good luck.

 I keep seeing One Piece stuff and thinking "should I buy this for Claire?" Usually I don't because it's after the two year break so they're all wearing the different clothes or it doesn't seem useful or like something you would use.

week 19

Mon

We pulled weeds for a less active as a service project. There was still a lot of weeds left so hopefully we can go again or better yet get the ward involved and have them go. After that we had crepes and ice cream.

Tue

Itakura Kyodai called us up and asked "would you like to have lunch with me and a recent convert so that you can build up their faith?" Unfortunately we had an appointment already, but if we could have, I'd have liked to have gone. One less active seems to be improving. She wants to read the scriptures, which gives me hope that she'll progress even more.

Wed

Rain! I got some rain boots a few weeks ago because my normal black water resistant shoes would get all used up in one day and then they'd have to take a day's rest so the next day I'd have no water-friendly shoes. In any case, my rain boots worked insomuch that they kept the water from the street getting my feet wet, but the rain would trickle down my legs and into my shoes so they got filled up from the inside. Lesson learned: wear rain pants with these boots so that the rain gets put outside my boots. We really want all of our recent converts to go to the temple, but there are specific problems for each of them in the way. If we could go with them, I'd love it, but we can't. Sigh.

Thu

Lots of bug bites! They don't itch though. We dropped one investigator. She and her husband are truly wonderful people with strong faith in Christ, but they aren't willing to read or pray about the Book of Mormon. If we weren't missionaries, I think we might be friends, but as we are missionaries and our purpose is to invite people to Christ through the restored gospel through faith, etc. it makes it hard to do so when the key to the restored gospel is the Book of Mormon.

Fri

We had the last conference from President and Sister Baird. It was wonderful but bittersweet because it's goodbye. Since the next mission president and his wife are Japanese, Sister Baird took all of the American food from the pantry and gave it to the missionaries. As such, I got some Crystal Light and a fruit roll up. Also, I got the package! Thanks for everything. We have already made some Mexican food and enjoyed every second of it. We have also been listening to the cd almost non-stop. He has such a beautiful voice and he seems to bear his testimony with each song. We got a flyer at the conference that listed all of the people that were baptized between March and June. 25% of those baptisms were from Yokkaichi.

Sat

A member and a recent convert and the two of us traveled around the area visiting recent converts and less actives and members. I was so appreciative of both of their sacrifices. We talked with a lot of people that night. There were some people who were THIS CLOSE to being investigators but no such luck. We also had sushi. We ate pickled kelp and octopus and eel and fish eggs. Everything except the kelp was good. The kelp didn't taste bad but it looked gross. Once it was in your mouth it wasn't too bad but when you are looking at it on the end of your chopsticks, not so much.

Sun

One recent convert hasn't been to church in three weeks. We're kinda worried what's going on. In Relief Society we talked about restored keys and another recent convert was pretty confused. It made me realize how much knowledge God has given to His church. As missionaries you teach the basics. But in between the basics and a regular member of the church is a lot of vocabulary and history that they need to learn. There was a talk on Sunday given by a member. I really liked it but I was rather worried what it would seem like to the recent converts in the audience. He talked about how he wants to believe in Christ even when there aren't blessings and then he talked about a bunch of experiences where people prayed or fasted or what have you and the blessings didn't come right then. I was worried that our recent converts would take it as "even if you're good and keep the commandments you won't be blessed" but I liked the member's point that if you have faith when you see, you are blessed, but blessed are the people who do not believe and still have faith.

 

Love ya,

Leah

week 18

I've discovered that I don't have much time any time of the day so I don't write down what's going on as much as I used to. Oh well.

Mon

It has suddenly gotten hot! It was nice and fine and then out of the blue it's hot, humid, strength sucking summer weather. It's hard to picture it getting hotter than it has been this week. We did a family home evening and I did the object lesson of dye that gets cleaned up by bleach as a metaphor for baptism. It worked surprisingly well. From the family and recent convert's reactions, I don't think they had ever seen that lesson.

Tue

We didn't bring our rain gear because in the morning when we left it wasn't raining, but by the afternoon it was pouring. So we got very wet. It was actually pretty fun. Since Sister Vincent is from Draper, she loves rain because she doesn't get to see it that often. We had a lesson that seemed to go better than the previous lessons. At least, it seemed less fiery. Still, she said very clearly that this is what I believe and this is what you believe and I have no interest in changing. The Lord can work miracles, though.

Wed

Two of our investigators passed their baptismal interview! I was very nervous for them. The wife is very strong and has few doubts, but the husband has some pretty big questions and doubts and concerns, so it truly is a wonderful thing that he passed. He loves music. He cries when he listens to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir because he feels that it has power. Dad, would you write your testimony about music and e-mail it to me? I want this investigator to hear it. Don't worry, I'll translate it.

Thu

We had an all sister's meeting to help strengthen us because of all the changes that are coming. We had a testimony meeting and scrap-booking and enchiladas. I kind of had a melt down in the middle of my enchiladas which was sad because they were good enchiladas and you never get Mexican food here. Mostly I was feeling overwhelmed with the responsibilities of being a trainer. But there were many sisters who comforted me. It helped me see that there are lots of people who care about me here in Japan.

Fri

I said in my personal study that I really just needed help and since then Heavenly Father has helped me be cheerful and less stressed even though the circumstances haven't changed. There are some changes down the pipe with the changes in mission presidents, so it'll be interesting seeing the change. We had sushi for lunch. Yum. We had a lesson with a recent convert but I forgot that we set up a time, so we had to cancel. I felt bad.

Sat

One of our investigator's parents passed away so we can't meet with her for a while but I hope that she takes this chance to turn to Christ. There is this one place in our area and every time we go up there I feel like someone is waiting for us but I don't know where. We've been housing up there once or twice, but no fruit yet. I had a donut filled with a cream flavored like a popular soda here in Japan. It was actually quite delicious. One of our recent converts asked us about the daily life of Jesus and Joseph Smith, like if they had families and what they were like. I wish that the Joseph Smith movie was in Japanese because there are so many people that I want to show it to! And we saw another turtle.

Sun

Two of our investigators got baptized! (see picture) We were running all over the place trying to make sure everything was in order, like practicing the cello and helping them get dressed and making sure the program people were there. We unfortunately forgot towels for them but a member stepped up to the plate and brought some from her home. They were baptized by their friend who is a member of the ward. I felt the Spirit so strongly when he said the baptismal ordinance. From now on it's working so that they don't become Less Active. The husband had to leave right after sacrament meeting because of work, but the wife stayed for all three hours of church for the first time. In Relief Society we talked about the temple dedication ceremony. I think it was a bit too much for a person who doesn't even know what a temple is let a lone a capstone or the word Hosanna. We got a hold of a Potential Investigator who seemed interested in meeting us, so we'll see if something goes from here.

 

Lot's of Love!

Leah

Week 17 (week 1 as a Trainer and Senior Companion)

I couldn't figure out why there was only one e-mail for me this week and then I remembered that Mom and Dad are on vacation. Well, I definitely need to by an electronic dictionary because I need to look up kanji when people send me texts. They are very hard to decifer if I can't tell what half of the words are.

 

Tue

I was very nervous and full of dread all day. I wasn't sure how I could handle being a trainer. At the end of the training meeting, President Baird read aloud a short bio of each of the coming people. My new companion is Sister Anna Vincent from Draper, Utah. She is 21, very pretty (see picture) and excited to be here. After the training we went to the sister apartment near the honbu to spend the night. They had oreos, which was a tender mercy for me.

Wed

We had nothing to do until 10:30 when we met our beans, so I felt a little cooped up. So a couple other sisters and I went and took a walk in a park. Then we went back to the honbu and I met Sister Vincent! We had to rush back from the honbu to teach Eikaiwa, so we only had time to eat at a convienence store. Sad first taste of Japanese food.

Thu

We had a lesson with an investigator. She said that when I walked in I had the aura of a Senior companion. I've certainly felt help in carrying on conversations and understanding people, but I don't feel confident in deciding the day's activities yet. Our mailbox is kind of like a safe where there is a box with a combination you enter to open it. Usually we just keep it unlocked because Japan is a pretty safe country and we usually only get flyers anyway. Someone shut it and I don't know the combination to open it. So far we've been getting our mail out by sticking our hands in the slot and trying to pull things out.

Fri

We bought a bike for Sister Vincent. As we were standing in the bike shop I got a call from a member asking where we were. Apparantly we had an appointment with her but Sister Eguchi forgot to tell me and then she transfered. Oops. We got fed by some of our investigators. It was delicious curry.

Sat

My knee is still oozy and not a pretty color. I wash it every day and I try to expose it to the air when we are in the apartment. We visited a member and then she took us around the neighborhood and introduced us to her friends. I felt so supported by this member trying to help us missionaries. I had been feeling kinda stressed out for some reason and then we visited a member who recently had a baby. Walking into that home it was like a wall of the Spirit protecting that family. I felt so much peace there.

Sun

Two investigators came to church, but they only had 10 minutes after church to talk so we did a quick lesson about the Sacrament. The next lesson is going to be a whopper of a lesson. We went to visit a member who had't come to church that day. I couldn't figure out the map on the phone, so I think the Spirit guided us to the home because it certainly wasn't me.

 

Also make that 35 lbs lost (see picture).

Love you

Leah

Week 16

Sorry this didn't get to you sooner, but the story is at the bottom of the page.

Mon

I got called a princess by a lady in the food court.

Tue

We ate homemade yogurt. It was an interesting texture. I'm not sure I can put it into words. It was like a cross between normal yoplait yogurt and raw egg texture. But it tasted good anyway. One of our investigators absolutely refuses to accept a Book of Mormon. Sigh.

Wed

Rain. There was a turtle in the middle of the road. I wanted to stop and take a picture, but we had to get to our appointment. I think he was just taking a stroll out in the wet weather. He probably lives in the canal that was close by. We asked one of the less actives in the ward what she thought about prayer and she related to us an experience of when her father passed away, she heard very clearly an angelic voice tell her that everything was ok. I think that goes to show that no matter what kind of spiritual experiences you've had in your life, even if you still have a testimony, you can still go in-active. Almost every less active we talk to has a testimony and has had spiritual experiences, but because of something or other, they fall off the path. At the same time, maybe remembering this experience will help this lady come back.

Thu

One appointment called us and canceled on us as we were standing on their doorstep. I got a letter from Sister Wilson, tell her thank you for me. We wrote a letter to an investigator who is hard to get appointments with. He asked about evolution. Writing the letters helped me figure out my own thoughts and helped me take a stand. An investigator asked some very left field questions such as "who created God" and "If God ate the forbidden fruit, would he die?" The spirit really helped me see things from her point of view and treat these questions seriously. I said that because we are like God, this life is a prototype for Heaven, he probably had the same experience that we did. I didn't get a chance to answer the second question because the discussion went other places but if I do get the chance I will say that because God has a perfect, immortal body, no he would not die. He gave that commandment for Adam and Eve's knowledge and so that they could have agency. If the only choice was to eat the fruit or if God made Adam and Eve already in their fallen state, there would have been no agency. In order to make the Plan of Salvation a plan that tests us and helps us progress, agency, choice is necessary. Therefore, there was a choice at the very beginning.

Fri

A recent convert is going through some tough times. This is definitely Satan trying to get her off the path while she is still new. I nearly fell asleep in a lesson. I'm not sure why it came tumbling down on me right then, but I could hardly keep my eyelids up.

Sat

A lady stopped us and asked us where the bus stop was. We pointed across the street and said "the bus stop is the place where all the buses are. Yes, the place where those 5 buses are parked is the bus stop. It seemed exceedingly obvious, but for whatever reason, she and her husband couldn't figure it out.

Sun

We got a lot of food from the members. We pretty much don't have to go shopping this week. They are truly a generous people. We went to copy a Liahona article, but the copy machine said please wait. So we waited, and as we waited, a black cloud started puffing out of the paper spot. When we opened the drawer, a large black plume of ink came out to greet us. Apparantly, someone incorrectly installed the ink cartrige and we were the lucky people to discover it.

Mon

Transfer calls. I'm staying in Yokkaichi, but...I'M A TRAINER! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! We went out to eat with the elders for a last goodbye. It was delicious. As we were leaving the restaraunt, I tried to get onto the sidewalk. Unfortunately there was a curb. Either I came at it on my bike at the wrong angle or it was too big, but either way, I became an angel for a few seconds and then came back to earth with a very unhappy thump. I fought the curb and the curb won, I fought the curb and the curb won. Nothing broken, but a few nasty scrapes. Scar #4 for my right knee. And the one from before had just healed too...In any case, the one on my knee was pretty deep and we weren't near our apartment, so Sister Eguchi insisted that I go to the next door hospital and get it cleaned out. Therefore, we didn't have time yesterday to e-mail. I got a blessing from the elders and I really am fine. I did cry yesterday, but it wasn't about my scrapes it was about becoming a trainer. I know that the Lord does not give us things we cannot accomplish and I know that because he has called me to this he will qualify me for the work. I can do this! Wohoooooo!

Love you all,

Leah

Week 15

One week left of this transfer. I got two letters in the mail last week, I just forgot to tell you. The answers to your questions are:

• I don't need a poncho
•  Eguichi shimai is different from Rogers shimai, but not bad
• she's struggling with her own weaknesses right now
• she has been out 1 year and 3 months
• she has been a member her whole life, her parents are converts
• exercise on the bike led to weight loss I think
• We biked in the dark in the winter a lot, you kind of have to when gets dark at 5 oclock and you have 4 more hours of proselyting, but now we try to be home before it gets dark
• I feel like I am going to transfer
• mountainous areas are cooler but the make up for that in hills

Mon

I got a my hair trimmed. The man who did my hair looked like a throw back from the 80's with bleached hair and black jeans and a band t-shirt, but he was very nice, "soft cream" in his words.

Tue

One of the members invited us to his house where we baked homemade pizzas with an investigator. So delicious. The investigator opened up a little during the meal, yay!

Wed

A married couple of investigators accepted the invitation to be baptized! WOHOOOO! Their date is for the 7 of July. As we were teaching the lesson, I was bearing my testimony and I wondered to myself "is this the time where I invite them?" and I felt a very clear and strong voice say "Yes." So I invited and they, without hesitation, said "Yes." Nothing else, no complications, just yes. Thank you Heavenly Father for your Spirit. Because that lesson went longer than expected, we had no time for dinner. Oh well. It was worth it. We met another investigator on the way home. On the way to the lesson I had the thought we ought to stop in and say hi, but I thought it would be better to be a little early to the lesson than stop. On the way back, she was out walking her dog, so we said hello/goodbye. I guess Heavenly Father really wanted us to see her that day. I also saw two crows picking on a heron. The heron would fly from bank to bank of the canal and the crows would fly after him and peck at him. Kinda sad.

Thu

Elder Michael Ringwood of the Seventy came and spoke to our mission. It felt like a very personal message to me, and everyone else we talked to said the same thing. That's the Spirit for ya. I unfortunately, that day of all days, forgot my name tag. Oops. I finally finished Jesus the Christ. It makes me want to re-read it, but there are other things that I need to read. Also, I saw an old lady with vivid bright blue hair.

Fri

We went to a flower festival with a less active (see attatched pictures). There were roses the size of my face! I also ate rose ice cream and vinegar soda. The vinegar soda was actually pretty good. Imagine a very fruity, sugary red wine vinegar with light fizz.

Sat

I had a small bought of the stomach flu. Do not worry, I am fine. It was not something I ate. I am over it now. I have medications and I took them to feel better. NO PANICKING, FUSSING, OR WORRYING. I was feeling well enough to ride our bike to an investigator's house. When we got there, we met her father who was absolutely wasted. He tried to give me money, but we hastily got back on our bikes and rode away. It was a classic experience: missionary meets drunk.

Sun

We haven't been able to get an appointment with an investigator, but he did give us several concerns or questions that he has been thinking about, so we wrote our replies and scriptures to back it up and plan to drop them in his mailbox every so often.

Mon

Elder Hiruta is going home on Monday, so today we ate lunch with the elders and visited the shrine and then ate ice cream.

 

Love ya,

Leah

P-Day at the Shrine