Week 50

Mon

Nothing especially special happened that I can recall. We spent the day inside. I spent most of it writing more letters. We went out streeting and didn't meet many willing to talk. We tried housing, but it turns out the complex we chose was an assisted living place for old sick people. Oops.

Tue

We decided that we would make cards out a part of Elder Nielsen's talk from General Conference and give them to members to help increase their desire to do missionary work. We hope that the members feel a fire in them to do the work because we certainly can't do it alone. We met with a less-active who was happy to see us, which made us glad. She has some unfortunate circumstances that prevent her from going to church each week, so hopefully we can build her up to going at least more often. 

Wed

I went on a companion exchange with the Gokiso sisters. Sister Fowles and I had a really good time talking about missionary work and experiences and how to recieve revelation and the plan of salvation. We swapped stories about Sister Rogers because she trained both of us. Then we taught an after baptism lesson to a convert of about three weeks. She gave me a hair tie that looks like a wedding corsage. There are a lot of people on the streets in the Gokiso area! It's the smallest area in the mission but there are a lot of people packed in there.

Thu

We swapped back and Sister Hansen and I went to visit a less active. Unfortunately, their whole family had the stomach flu that week, but thankfully we went on the day that everyone was starting to heal up. The grandma made us rice pudding. I think that it was the first and possibly only time that I liked rice pudding. We asked her to write her testimony on a piece of paper so that we could put it in a Book of Mormon to give to a Potential Investigator. I think it helped her feel the spirit a little in this time that is hard.

Fri

DTM was fun. The Gokiso sisters got a call on the phone but they didn't know what the person was saying so they passed the phone over to me. Glad to be a sister training leader. We had an appointment with an investigator in mind, but they canceled last minute, so we housed. Some nice people, some not so nice people. We went to deliver a card to a member. She said that we came at the perfect time because it was her son's open school night where the parents come and see their kid's art and such. We went and admired and actually had some people ask us about Eikaiwa. Overall, a good way to spend the evening I think. The Yokkaichi sisters beat us to our apartment. They were staying over because the next day we had..

Sat

Leadership Training! All current leaders and potential leaders got together and had training from Brother Heaton, the manager of the MTC. We talked about having a worm's eye view and a bird's eye view in comparison to a missionary and God's view. We then talked about how to help investigators progress through recieving revelation by study. It was a Spirit filled day. Unfortunately, Sister Hansen caught the stomach flu (probably from the Less Actives we visited). However, I did get the box! The clothes fit. The only trouble is that the non plaid green dress is too big in the shoulders. I think I can make it work though. Thanks for the bike lights. I appreciate the Japanese children's songbook CD's. I listened to them yesterday.

Sun

Home all day because companion is sick. I kept busy by writing lesson plans and making cookies and studying the Plan of Salvation. I just hope that I make it through the week without having been to sacrament meeting.

 

Love you all,

Leah

Week 49

Mon

We had a district activity where we went to the Nagoya Science Museum. It was much like the children's museum, but in Japanese so not quite as interesting. They had a static discharge room with two giant tesla coils by which they made "lightning." Very loud. We wanted to get into the planetarium, but unfortunately the tickets were all sold out. On the way home we stopped by a convini and bought ice cream. I bought something that I hadn't ever seen before. It turned out to be tirimisu flavored. Oops. It did taste good though. Then we went to a family home evening with some members. Remarkably, the whole family was there for one point. It was only for about 3 min however. We made potstickers from scratch! Tasty.

Tue

We had a companion exchange planned with the Yokkaichi sisters, but both of our schedules changed last minute so there was some hasty planning and power walking to the train station to make it to our appointments. Thankfully it all worked out. I was with Sister Omine, a Japanese missionary from Okinawa who just got here three weeks ago. She is doing great for how long she has been out. We visited a former investigator. I think that investigator only likes Japanese missionaries because when I went with Hansen shimai it was a completely different reaction. We finally met this one Less Active! After four and a half months being here we finally went to her house at a time when she was home. She was glad to see us and said that she would like to meet with us again, but three of her kids are taking big tests (along the lines of the SAT or ACT) so once those were over she would have more time to talk. She is a girl scout troop leader and she wants to hear lots about what girl scouts is like in the States and what we did when we were girl scouts.

Wed

No one we visited was home. Met with a lot of refusals at doors. But, on the up side, the bishop brought us Pizza Hut pizza for dinner! There was only one beginner student at Eikaiwa, but that's ok.

Thu

We brought cards to some members who had birthdays this week. (Thanks for the stationary, it really helps!) Whenever we brought cards, they gave us something in return, like cookies or fruit or something. It suprised me because I usually just keep everything on my birthday. They are very generous. We had about 30 min extra time at the end of the day, so we decided to go to the train station and talk to people around there. We went at the time where no one was out, so we just sort of waited by the exit till another train pulled up. I was looking at the map of the street when people started coming out. I guess it must have looked like I was confused or lost or something, because this one girl stopped and asked where we were going and if we didn't know she would take us there. So I said that we were going to the library (which wasn't true, but she was willing to walk and talk with us so I picked someplace). She spent a year in New Zeland as an exchange student and went to church there. She learned a lot and really liked how she felt there. She said that when she came back to Japan she wanted to find a church but she never got around to it. So we said, hey, there's a church right there and we go to it and you should come. She is a college student and this is mid-term season for Japanese schools, so she said that she would go with us once midterms were over. We are praying that she does and that we can meet with her again before that.

Fri

We had District Meeting. It is much more fun with 8 people than with 4 people, but it is also easier to get off track. We went to curry with the elders before we headed back to our own area. We visited one sister who recently returned from visiting Iran. She said that the food was great and the weather even better. Her house was in this area with lots of tiny windy streets. It was fun to ride our bikes through there.

Sat

We had a good group of kids for Kid's Eikaiwa. If each week was like that, I would look forward to teaching it each week. But, I can't control who comes. It was a warm day, but at the end of the day some rain blew in. Thankfully we didn't get caught in it. It did ice over the streets at night, though.

Sun

The ward mission leader didn't show up for the weekly mission council. Hmm. We talked about temples and family history work in Gospel Principles. Thankfully some members were also there with the less actives and recent converts to help explain and provide experiences. If the same group comes next week, I think we should drop in on the family history class so they can learn how to do it themselves. We went over to a returning member's house to make a cake after church which turned into several hours of listening to her life. I was happy that she is friendly enough with us to invite us over and talk about things, but another part of me thinks about what else we could have done with that time, but another part of me thinks that if those things were really pressing, we would have left earlier. Ho hum. It was an enjoyable visit nonetheless. And the cake was good.

 

Love,

Leah

Week 48

Mon

We spent the first Monday in about two months at home. I was finally able to write some long due letters. Unfortunately, no one was free to go to the FHE at the honbu, so we spent the night looking up Less actives near Nagoya station. We were only able to actually talk to one person. Oh well. The sisters working in the Fuji area came to our apartment because on the next day

Tue

Leadership Council! We went an hour over because there was so much to talk about. I think we did talk about issues that are of importance however, so I was ok with it going over. We served ourselves lunch this time so I didn't walk away feeling over-full. We got back and only had a little bit of time, so Sister Hansen and I talked to people on the street. We came back home but satisfied with our work.

Wed

Rain. Cold cold rain. We planned to visit people living far away by train because we had a lot of time, so Sister Hansen didn't bring an umbrella. She got soaked. We stopped at a convini and bought an umbrella. By the end of the day all I wanted was to hold a cup of hot chocolate while wrapped up in a dry blanket. So I did.

Thu

President Yamashita wanted all missionaries to get flu shots, so we went and got them. The paper work at the beginning was the hardest part because not only was it in Japanese, but it was medical Japanese. The gift of interpretation of tongues was definitely at play that day because we managed to fill it out. It didn't hurt too bad. We did weekly planning and then delivered cookies to an investigator. She didn't answer the door so we thought we would leave them in her mail box but they wouldn't fit through the slot, so we just jammed them in. Crumbly cookies are still delicious.

Fri

We had ZTM and then I went to Gokiso on an exchange. We taught a lesson to a friend of a current investigator. The lesson was spirituall for all I think. I hope that the friend continues to meet with the missionaries. I ate a lot of candy there because they have alot still left over from Christmas since the elders gave them all of their candy.

Sat

We had an activity with the Relief Society where we made macrobiotic food. It was delicious and easy to make. Then we taught family eikaiwa. The mom read the Book of Mormon a little! We visited a less active from the Philipenes. She gave us key chains that look like frogs because they are made from frog skin. It's...interesting.

We spent most of the day with a recent convert having a winter picnic. While we were eating, many neighborhood cats started circling us. None of them were brave enough to come too close, but we did feel a little uncomfotable with six pairs of eyes watching us.

 

Love you lots

Week 47 Mochi Making

Mon

We finally went to the aqarium! It was basically like the aquatic part of the Indy zoo with the exceptions of killer whales, belugas, and a mackrel exhibit. For the mackrel exhibit, they had a bag of fish food on a wire that they would plunge into the tank so the mackrel would swarm in their silvery tornado to that point. Above the tank they had spotlights in various colors so the fish reflected those colors. For our entertainment they set it to music. It was actually pretty, but the novelty wore off after a few minutes. One poor penguin had no feathers on its head. I'm not sure if it was sick, if it got picked on, if it was born that way, or what. I finally filled up my first SD card! I have now switched to a new one. I don't think that I will fill this one up by the end of my mission unless I take a lot of videos. We went with the elders to their recent convert's house for a going away party since Elder Richard was transferring. We ate a lot of meat, which is rare in Japan.

Tue

We went out for the day, only to find Sister Hansen's front bike tire flat. I have tire patches, but no pump, and the elders have no pump, and all of the stores were closed for New Years (which is about as big as Christmas is in the States). So we had to do with no bikes for that day and for all day Wednesday. We had just finished lunch when one less active texted us and said "I'm so excited to meet with you today" and I said, oh no, I forgot we were meeting her today, so we had to rush out the door and catch the train. She then fed us second lunch and read our fortunes from what color nail polish we chose. She's a funny lady. Then we had to catch the bus and then walk to a member's house. Unfortunately we were late, but they were very understanding. We had cheeze fondue again. Maybe it's the thing to eat on holidays in Japan. Then we roasted marshmallows over the table stove. We taught a lesson about baptism and the spirit using pepper and soap to help their seven year old get ready for baptism.

Wed

The biggest holiday in Japan, but not a lot of pomp or commercialism or partying, just families visiting the local shrine and spending the day together. We went to the shrines and talked to people there. Saw some interesting things there that only get shown on the first, but no pictures of them because that's rude. The bishopbric asked us not to go housing this week because it is such a big deal in Japan. Imagine getting our doorbell rung on Christmas by Jehovah's Witnesses. But, it was hard not to because there were so many families together and at home. We spent the evening watching the Work of Salvation Broadcast since Sister Hansen didn't get to see it when it first came out.

Thu

We got Sister Hansen's bike fixed. There was some strange metal sharp thing that poked a hole in it. Then we went out to find some less actives. Most of the addresses we had didn't have apartment numbers, so we asked the people living in the apartment complexes and just guessed. We went to Denny's for lunch, but it is not anything like American Denny's. The only thing remotely close to breakfast food was salmon cakes on pancakes covered in holandaise sauce (which I got, it was good). Everything else on the menu was completely Japanese, like fish egg rice bake.

Fri

We met with a returning member whose circle of friends just got smaller because they got on the wrong side of the law. She was worried about various things, but we talked, and just as we were finishing up, the elders came and they gave her a blessing of protection. She said that she had been praying for help and that the missionaries coming to her house was a recognizeable answer to her prayers. As we were riding home, we ran into one of our investigators. We stopped and said hi, when the person with our investigator was like "hi, do you remember me, we met once in April. Here's my phone number, give me a call." I know that Heavenly Father put us there at that time so that we could meet with this former investigator once more. I know that he blesses others through us.

Sat

We went to a mochi making activity held by the ward. Mochi is pounded rice that is then topped with or filled with various things. See attached pictures. I ate so much mochi I had a stomachache. We visited with the bishop and got a betty crocker brownie mix from them. We were very delighted to take it off their hands. When we made it, I was only able to eat one because it was so sweet. I guess I have turned Japanese.

Sun

No investigators at church, but four less actives came. Yay! We found the first house to actually stump the missionaries. The first floor is the parking spot for the cars. The second floor is their business. The third floor is their house. There is only one stairwell and only one doorbell, which means that if you want to visit with the less active, you must disturb their business. They got the better of us this time. But we will be back!

 

Love ya,

Leah

Week 46

Mon

We went to Atsuta jingu (the fourth largest shrine in Japan) with an investigator family. See picture. It was very large and well kept. We then went to a mall and I found a new watch for $3 because Iost my old watch. After that, we went carrolling with a member and then went to an FHE with a member. I thought that a dinner-y type thing would be provided, but I was mistaken so we just had chips for dinner. But recently that's all that we've eating. There is a lot of junk food in the apartment and I've told myself that I'm just going to eat it until it's gone and deal with the consequences later because it't the holidays.

Tue

We went to help out a member clean her workplace because she had been asked to do the whole place on her own. Apparently the manager got a little upset that missionaries were helping her. I believe that any service done with good intentions is only in the service of God, but I do understand how it could be misinterpreted as the missionaries staking out new territory or something. Then we went and had dinner with a recent convert and her daughters. See picture. We had cheeze fondue. It was a little strange to be eating so much cheeze because dairy in Japan is not common.

Wed

Opened my box. Thanks for all the wonderful presents! Talked to you people. Then we went out and delivered the last of the cookies from the relief society to less actives. Then we got everything ready for the Eikaiwa party. About 20 people came, which was expected. We played pin the nose on the reindeer and talked about candy canes and ate a lot of food. Over all, it felt like a normal day. It really felt just the same as any other proselyting day.

Thu

Christmas had been building and building so it felt like it wasn't over, but it was. We taught lesson 2 and 3 to a family. The kids think that it's all true but the mom is still full of doubts. By the end of the day, it was raining, so we donned our rain suits and headed out to visit FI's and members and such. No one was home, but we pedaled anyway.

Fri

Went to a member's house to help her do her spring cleaning (except in Japan they do it in January). I am always so happy to do service. Then we went to a member's takoyaki shop. Then we went to a less active's house which was in the opposite direction of the takoyaki shop. Basically, we rode our bikes for about two hours straight. But there are no hills pretty much, so it was easy riding. We got a referral from the honbu! She met some missionaries on the train. They asked her about Eikaiwa and she wasn't interested. But she was interested in the church. Haven't made contact yet, but hopefully soon.

Sat

It snowed! The elders both thought they were going to die. I thought it was beautiful. I am very glad that we have hats and gloves and coats and such although. The ground wasn't cold enough for it to build up, so it was just wet. I was much happier that it was snowing than raining because then it wasn't as wet as it was on Thursday. Transfer calls: no change. Elder Richard is transferring however. No one came to kid's eikaiwa. We helped a member move out and then we went out to sushi with some members. We then took down the Christmas trees at the chuch and put them in the closet. I'm not sure how they are usually put away, so next year when they pull them out again they may be a little confused.

Sun

I heard an interesting theory from some members. Apparently the Japanese emperors all speak Hebrew. Wheneve Jews come and see events where they hear that language being spoken, they all say that it is Hebrew. Then, on the back of Ise-Jingu, the largest possibly the most famous shrine in Japan, is written in Hebrew "this is the place of the Messiah" or something like that. Therefore, many members believe that the emperors know that the Japanese are decendents of the Hebrews and that if they told the populace, many people would be baptized. Apparently there are books written about it. On Sunday we went out with a member to visit a less active. I think it went well. We also had delicious food. I finally found out the answer to my long pondered question "where do tomatoes and potatoes come from?" The answer is: they both come from the Andes mountains and were exported to Europe and other places when Columbus and other explorers returned home. I wish that we could do missionary work with members all the time. It is the better way.

 

Love you all,

Leah

Week 45 Christmas Eve!

I can't believe that it is almost Christmas already! I still feel like it is the beginning of December.

 

Mon

After we e-mailed our families, we went and delivered cookies from the Relief Society to Less Actives. We soon discovered that many addresses are either incomplete or incorrect. I wish that I could go in and change the information on the ward rosters, but I am not the Ward Clerk, so I can't.

Tue

We made cookies for a carroling activity. We made plain sugar cookies and the holiday fruit drops. The member that we made them with was so suprised to put dried fruit in cookies. Then I went to Gokiso on a kokan. Their apartment is actually an entire house. The downstairs has been remodled because it used to be a store of some sort but the upstairs is very old fashioned Japanese style. They also have a landing on the roof. I went to teach a family with Sister Nielson. Their son had a freak stroke at a young age and so he is bed bound and un able to talk, but still responsive. When we came in the door, he began to smile uncontrollably. The care worker who was there on his weekly visit said that it was the first time that he had ever seen the boy that happy in the entire year that he had been coming. We started the lesson in the next room over and the boy shifted himself so that he could be facing us. The worker and the parents were all suprised. It just seemed to me that it goes to show that anyone can feel the Spirit and everyone has spirits within themselves. We visited the former stake president unnanounced and his wife decided to feed us. I was very thankful because we didn't have time to eat dinner that day. I asked him when he was stake president what were the most effective missionary programs. He said that members creating a list of people they would like the Lord to bless, (specifically in chances to hear the gospel) ad then they prayed each day for those people. He also said that the ward having monthly activities for investigators or less actives was also effective.

Wed

We ended the kokan and went straight to a member appointment. It was raining and I didn't have an umbrella so we got pretty wet. And cold. But thankfully we didn't catch a cold. We then went To try and visit a less active, not home, so we bought dinner from a convini and ate it before Eikaiwa.

Thu

We finally got hold of an investigator that we have been trying to meet for a very long time. Yay! Her response at seeing us was better than I expected. We set up an appointment for the next day where...

Fri

She said that she wanted more time to think about baptism. She said that she had been feeling a little bit of pressure, so I said yes, it's ok to have some more time. Then another investigator called us up and said that she would like to meet because her schedule opened up and she had enough time. We talked about the Law of Chastity using the Family Proclamation as a tool. She seemed a little confused as to why this was an issue because she's already doing it. Then we went to a recent convert's birthday party. He pulled out his book of mormon and told pretty much all of the people who came about it and why it made him so happy. We have a few good potential investigators from that party.

Sat

We had kid's eikaiwa, prepared for the ward Christmas party, taught family Eikaiwa, and then went to the ward Chrristmas Party to help set up. I think that for the people who came who were not involved, it was fun, but for the members it was nothing but stress. Elder Richard played Santa. He is about as fat as a cow coming out of a famine, so he had to bulk up with jackets and bags, but it still wasn't enough. I laughed very hard when I saw him.

Sun

We had carrolling with a member for most of the day. It was very fun. Suprisingly, my voice was actually a little raw by the end. We had delicous cake with her.

 

Lots of Love, talk to you Wednesday!

Week 44

Mon

We went to Komeda's coffee, a popular cafe here in Nagoya. We had iced hot chocolate, danishes, and egg sandwiches. I left full enough to last me the rest of the day. We then went to visit a member who is moving. She gave us some stuff that she didn't want to take with her to give to another member who is struggling to make ends meet at the moment. Then we went with the elders to visit a family in the ward who lives very far from the building. She said that it was the first time in 3 years that missionaries had visited their family. We didn't have much time to do the things that we usually do on PDay, including buy groceries.

Tue

Christmas conference! We watched a bit of the christmas devotional from Salt Lake and then we talked about various things that we can do to achive higher goals. We also talked about continuing to push hard so that this success continues on past Christmas to January and beyond. For lunch we had a more Westerny-type meal of mashed potatoes, chicken breasts, carrots and broccoli with cheeze soup. As soon as I had the cheese soup it made me think of Mom's cooking so I think they got it right. We had jello and brownies for dessert. Yum.

Wed

Kokan with the sisters in Yokkaichi. We met with two less active families and had a good conversation with both of them I think. Our English class turned into listen-to-a-teenage-girl-go-on time. I wasn't sure how to politely say that it was English class time so stop talking.

Thu

The Yokkaichi sisters were a little late coming to meet us, so Sister Aoki and I went into a takoyaki shop and ate stuff while we waited. When the Yokkaichi sisters got there, they bought metarashi dango which is sticky pounded rice balls covered in a sweet soy sauce and then charred. Neither of them liked it, so I got to finish theirs off. I was very happy. We got a text from an investigator saying that she couldn't meet with us until January so I took some time to write a bunch of texts so that I could just hit send instead of taking time each day. On the one hand I think it has helped, but on the other, I think that taking small bits of time each day might be more effective.

Fri

We made flyers for activities coming up in the ward. I feel like we spent too much time indoors this week, but on the other hand I think that what we did needed to happen. As we were riding to a less active's house, Sister Hansen and I got separated. I didn't realize it for a very long time because whenever I looked behind me I saw bike lights so I though that she was right behind me. I turned around and searched for her for a while but since I wasn't finding her, I said a prayer and went in one direction. I went to the end of that street and felt like I ought to turn around. So I did. Just as I was passing a convini, a phone call came. Sister Hansen had asked someone for their cell phone and called the phone. Turns out she was in the convini by which I stopped. I know that was directed by Heavenly Father.

Sat

We taught the plan of salvation to our family Eikaiwa people. It seemed to go over fine, but I don't think that it sunk in for them. They offered to take us to a famous place here in Nagoya on the 23, so we'll be able to spend some time with them and perhaps have a bit of radioactive happiness come into their lives. One investigator prayed for the first time. I hope that the answers to her prayers come in a way that she can recognize them.

Sun

We had ward council and then the christmas broadcast then we got asked to help decorate the church for Christmas so we ended up spending 9 hours at church yesterday. But it felt good. We had dinner and a lesson at a member's house. Delicious okonomiyaki (cabbage filled pancake like things) and ice cream for dessert. I appreciated their willingness to meet with us and feed us. I hope that they continue to do so with the future missionaries.

Mon

We went to the aquarium...to find it closed. Oh well. We'll try again another time I guess. So we went to Nakamura Park instead. (see pictures).