Week 43

Claire's note. I cannot seem to find a way to make Leah's pictures show up on the blog but I will post them separately later.

Leah's Letter, 

The keyboard is broken so I'm having to write this by clicking individual letters on an onscreen keyboard. I'm very glad that they had typing classes in school because I don't think that I could do the whole two fingers thing. Attached are the pictures of Kuroki Shimai's baptism and then one of us at the FHE at the honbu. (Okay, now I'm using the computer Sister Hansen was using because she's finished.)

 

Mon

We were planning on going to Nakamura Koen, but my bike busted a flat so we headed to the nearest bike shop and got it fixed. Not only did the tube burst, but the actual tire got so worn down that it also tore. Just goes to show that missionaries ride bikes a lot. We went to the FHE with Kuroki shimai. There weren't enough seats in the car for everyone, so it was decided to put the kids in laps and drive that way. Two kids+one mom=one sister missionary with a baby on her lap even though the white handbook expresses very clearly that you should not hold children. At the FHE we talked about the meaning behind some of the Christmas type images, like what the star at the top of a Christmas tree means. President Yamashita wanted to talk about the meaning of a candy cane but I stole his thunder. Thanks, Mom, for getting that picture book.

Tue

 Leadership Council. I think that there is never enough time and they need to make it longer. But I think the people who live far away couldn't get home on time if it were like that. President Yamashita and Sister Yamashita heard when they went to the mission president's seminar that they should really push the missionaries to not have backpacks and to follow the missionary clothing standards. Also, President Yamashita wants us to work hard to be outside proselyting and not studying on Sundays. I think there are many people who may be a little resistant to these things, but hopefully everyone takes it with tact.

Wed

We had a first lesson with an investigator. Her older sister is a member and an aunt is part of a different Christian faith so she isn't sure which is true and all that. I talked about the apostasy and the restoration of the priesthood. I'm not sure what it made her think about, but hopefully it answered some things. Because of that lesson, we ended up being late getting home.

Thu

I had a kokan with Stremcha Shimai. We had our last after baptism lesson with Kuroki Shimai and visited some investigators together. We bought bread at my favorite bakery here. Around 6, Elder Richard calls me up and says, hey are you coming to Institute tonight? It's the Takabata missionaries day to come. I said we'd be there, so we hurriedly went to a Less Active member's house where we had toast and eggs (a lot of bread that day) and then dashed out the door to get on the train to the Institute house. We then had to hurriedly ask a member for the address (again) so that we wouldn't get lost. When we were there, we paired up with the attendees and taught lessons to each other. I also got a very detailed plan of salvation visual aid from the teacher.

Fri

Zone Traning Meeting. I spoke about Alma 5 and the Atonement as well as pioneer ancestors/convert ancestors. Then I talked with the shimai about clothes. I think it went over ok, but I'm not sure. We set a goal for 10 to 20 baptisms in the zone for the month of December. It's high, but I think we can do it. Two of our investigators agreed that day to be baptized on Christmas. One of them I think will, but the other one needs some prayers. We made potstickers from scratch with them. Mine were not pretty at all, but equally delicious. Then we got a text from another investigator saying that her daughter was hospitalized and that there was a pretty high chance of her dying. We told the ward members as well as the other missionaries in the zone to please pray for them.

Sat

Another text from that investigator saying that her daughter was doing much better. We have offered to give her a blessing, but still no response. I shared with her my experience when I was 8 and very sick and getting a blessing from Daddy and Grandpa. I think the investigator mistook what I meant to say because she asked if Dad was coming from America to give her daughter a blessing. I said that there are priesthood holders in this area. And ones who speak Japanese. I took some time to contact a bunch of people and write the progress record. One of our appointments canceled, so we traveled back and forth visiting investigators and less actives before our next appointment. We had planned on singing Christmas carols with her. It wasn't as good as we had hoped, but what's done is done.

Sun

The Primary had their Primary program. I had a smile on most of the time because the kids were really cute and they sang with much gusto but not much melody. I was especially impressed at one boy who recited all thirteen articles of faith. We finally have a new bishopric so we wanted to go around and give them a thank you gift. I tried to make no bakes, but something went wrong and they turned out too sticky. Sp we gave them persimmons. Everyone seemed very happy to see us.

 

What time do you want to skype?

 

Love you all,

Leah

Week 42

I'm really glad that Bryan is doing better. And I'm glad to hear that Karen is engaged. And I want to hear about your reactions to your gifts.

Mon

We had plans to go to a large scenic park in our area to take pictures of the fall leaves, but it was raining, so we went to the all you can eat ice cream place instead. We then had a dinner appointment with some members, but the dad hadn't returned from work yet, so the elders had to stay outside in the rainy cold till he got home.

Tue

We got a huge bar of chocolate, 500 g of pure dark chocolate, from a member. I would send you a picture of it but I forgot my camera cord, so next week I'll send lots of pictures. Our investigator passed her baptismal interview! YAY! We also got in contact with a potential investigator and she said that the television show she was watching was talking about the bible at the exact moment we called so she thought it was a sign from God saying that she ought to talk with us. She was sick so she couldn't meet with us last week, but we are hoping to meet with her this week. Then we visited a less active family. Their ten year old basically poured out his heart to two twenty ish year old gaijin girls. We were happy that he opened up but a little suprized.

Wed

I had a kokan with Hammon shimai and Wakazono shimai. We had to do walking dendo because there are only two bikes here in Takabata. But it was a good day I think. A less active couple came to Eikaiwa. Also, one of the students attending my class, upon looking in on the other class, discovered her older brother there. I think Heavenly Father wants that family in contact with this church.

Thu

Hansen shimai and I bought a dozen donughts from Krispie Kreme. I made them last over three days though. Elder Richard out of the blue called us up and was like, we want to have lunch with you. Do you have time? So we all four went to McDonald's. We tried for curry first, but the restaurant wasn't open. Then we had another member appointment. We get there at 6, to hear from that member that she invited another family over and they won't be over until 7. Hmm.

Fri

The church carpets were being cleaned, so we had District Meeting in a convini. But hey, it gave me the opportunity to eat taro ice cream (which was delicious). We finally were able to meet with an investigator that we haven't been able to meet with in a while. She promised to pray out loud, so here's hoping she keeps her promise.

Sat

Only one person came to Kid's Eikaiwa. I'm not sure if everyone was sick, out of town, had tests, or doesn't like us anymore, but it was quieter at least. We had dinner with two of our investigators. It was tomato seafood nabe. Nabe is kind of like soup, everything is really chunky so you just get the stuff and not the broth. In the nabe was oysters, clams, shrimp, and fish. Delicious, but slightly scary to see all those things go in. Also served was liver. I felt like I couldn't turn the food down, so I ate it. Suprisingly good, but still strange to wrap your head around.

Sun

Kuroki shimai was baptized! Again, I'll send the pictures next week. President Yamashita and his wife came in person to see the baptism. Hansen shimai and I were a little nervous singing at the baptisimal service, but it went over well. President Yamashita asked all the missionaries to ask the members in testimony meeting if they have any friends that they would introduce to the missionaries. We all felt like it wouldn't go over well with them, but we did it anyway. We helped put up Christmas trees to put in the foyer of the church. It was fun.

 

What day/time do you want to skype for Christmas? As far as I know, actually skyping on Christmas is fine. If that is the case, then

• Christmas morning for you, night for me,
• Christmas morning for me, Christmas eve for you,
• the morning of the 23 for me, the evening of the 22 for you

are the options as I see it. The morning for me is more convinient for me.

 

Love,

Leah

Week 41, It was a good week.

Mon

My goodbye with Ishihara shimai was less than cinematic. We were waiting in the mission office for the other sisters to come pick me up and then some other people came into the office and then Sister Ishihara got pulled into an interview with the financial clerk so our goodbye was something along the lines of "oh, yeah, see you." The other sisters and I then went out with a member in that area to get them winter coats since both of them are from warm areas. Then we got cake. I got a chocolate pistachio creation that was unbelieavably divine. I made the call for the movers to come pick up their luggage since none of them knew how to do it. Then all I had to do was wait, so we watched Legacy and laughed over all the cheesy parts. Then we did a lot of walking. When we got home, we started planning, so I crossed my legs since I didn't have a desk and I look down to find my ankle a bleeding mess. New shoes-new calluses. But a good wash and a bandaid made things better.

Tue

More walking. I developed some lovely blisters. After the movers came we headed to the golden clock in Nagoya eki to meet with everyone's new companions to find no one there. I look behind me and my companions aren't there either. Thankfully I had a phone and so I called some people. The sisters I came with eventually caught up (they were putting money on their train passes) and the sisters we were meeting were eating lunch. Then we parted ways and came back to Takabata. We met this one girl on the street who agreed to come to church and to have a tour of the building. Hopefully we can teach her. Then, we got a text from a member who is friends with a former investigator that said that the investigator wanted to be baptized! So we called up the investigator and she said that she wanted to get baptized before December! Miracles happening all over the place!

Wed

A Potential Investigator called us up and set up an appointment, so we finally can count her as an investigator. Another miracle! We missed the movers coming with Sister Hansen's luggage the first time, so we called them back and asked them to come between 6 and 8. Trouble was, we Eikaiwa from 7 so we wouldn't be home for half the time. Thankfully they came at 6:45. Unfortunately, because they came then, we were a little delayed in getting Eikaiwa started. I think that because the church was dark until right before it started, some people thought that we didn't have it that day. Oh well. A bunch of elders were staying over in the elder's apartment so we asked them to put Sister Hansen's bike back together. It was funny to see 8 elders huddling around a bike.

Thu

The reason why there were elder's staying over was because there was an all mission conference! It was strange to look at the mission and only know a handful of people because the rest of them are all so young. The speaker was Elder Evans of the Seventy. He spoke at the MTC while we were there and a lot of what he shared then he also said at the MTC. Nevertheless, it was a good conference. We talked about how to hasten the work. He is the director of the MTC or of missionary work or something up high like that. He said that there are going to be some changes made to the white handbook and to the missionary schedule coming soon. I wonder what. Also, eventually, we will have iPad minis. I hope they come before May.

Fri

Two of our investigators agreed to keep the Word of Wisdom without blinking an eye. Yay! One investigator finally opened up on why she doesn't want to come to church. Apparently when she came before, everyone was dressed so nicely and in nice families and couples that she didn't fit in she felt. I hope she can try once more. We decided to put in some time to making the area map. No where near being completed, but progress made.

Sat

We had a lesson with a 10 yr old and two 8 yr olds. They were really interested in the gospel art book. We were able to talk alot about different principles based on the questions they asked about the pictures. One of them asked what the word symbol means. I can't really explain that in English, let alone Japanese. We went to visit a Less Active and discovered the elders to be there before we were. It's the second time in three months that this has happened.

Sun

Lots of unexpected people came to church! A member brought her friend and her friend's daughter to church. That member was just the kind of member that all missionaries hope members will be. She sat next to them and explained things and bore her testimony and was all smiles. Then one lady came to church of her own accord. She apparently drives by the church often because she has a friend that lives nearby, so she decided to see what it was like on the inside. I asked her for her number but no such luck. Then the investigator that is being baptized also came to church. The members were all on top of it in helping her get the baptisimal program figured out. Part of me wanted to say that all investigators and baptisms should be like this and part of me felt like I was being crowded out and I needed to participate more. One member made us nikuman, the steamed meat buns. They were perfect. We were riding our bikes up this hill. At the top, there was a stoplight that was red, so we stopped and panted and when I looked around, the two cars next to us were both members. We had as much of a conversation that one can have at a stoplight and waved them goodbye.  Lots of good things this week. Hopefully we can keep things up!

 

Love you all,

Leah

Week 40

I don't have a lot of time because we have to go to the honbu to drop off Sister Ishihara since she's dying.

 

Mon

I sent my Christmas package and a postcard with my comments on the gifts. You can open the box because they're already wrapped. Feel free to make guesses from my comments. Look for the box and the card some time in the next week I think. Also, any Christmas presents need to be shipped before Dec 1 so that they get here in time.

Tue

We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, but it was a small place and around 2 so we were the only ones there. As we were leaving, a big black SUV pulled up beside us and blocked the road. It was the restaurant owner with something that we had forgotten in the restaurant. We were both suprised that he would ride us down to give it to us. He was very nice.

Wed

A member gave me a three or four pound bag of rolled oats. I'm not sure what to do with it. Ran out of TP. Akward. I taught a Katy Perry song to the Eikaiwa students. I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

Thu

We went to a member's takoyaki restaurant and they gave us everything on the menu for free! I was so full, but it was so good. One investigator dropped us, but we ran into a lady we have been trying to meet for three months and she said please please come back! We took cake to the Korean man that gave us Aquarius. He was so suprised to see us again. He gladly accepted a Book of Mormon and said that he wanted to meet with us again.

Fri

I had cake for breakfast. Pretty much the whole week we were eating at restaurants or member's homes so we rarely ate what was in our fridge. We met a lot of investigators, some progress. I had a pear for dinner. Yum.

Sat

My new companion is Sister Hansen, my MTC kohai. I am now the Sister Training leader for all of Yokkaichi zone. We made a mountain of mashed potatoes for an FHE.

Sun

Baptismal service for Elder's investigator. The we and the elders sang...or rather the we sang and the elders tried valiantly. Then for sacrament meeting we sang with two less actives. Then Thanksgiving themed FHE for investigators and members. No one knew how to cut up a whole chicken so I did it. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

This week has been very cold.

Week 39

Mon

We went out to eat with a member, but most of the restaurants were closed because it was a holiday. We ended up at a tiny little Brazilian self serve restaurant. I think I had intestine soup. I don't recommend it. But to make up for that, we went to an ice cream place soon after and got a strawberry-pineapple parfait. By the end, we were really full, so when we went grocery shopping right after, we didn't buy much because our minds were saying "no more food." That night, we went with three investigators to the honbu FHE. A member drove our three investigators to the honbu, but we had to take the train. We ended up having to run from the station to the honbu (about a 20 min walk) and still ended up 10 min late. Oops. One elder had the game responsibility, but he explained in English so all of the Japanese people were very confused. Our three investigators are all in middle school, so they went crazy over the elders. They took pictures of them and with them and asked for handshakes. The elders were a bit uncomfortable it seems. Yet again we got back around 10.

Tue

Leadership Council. We got halfway to the station before we realized that we had left the phone in the apartment, so we had to go back. We ended up running to the honbu in less that 24 hours, but at least this time we were on time. We talked about effective planning and various things. I think we got closer to a solution that will help us. For lunch, I had blood orange soda and soy sauce mayonnaise chips. Two flavors only found in Japan, both surprisingly good. One of the speakers gave us candy, so the candy plus the soda equaled one big sugar rush. Thankfully I didn't crash during the meeting. I got the shoes, but they are too big! One pair is almost livable but still big. The other pair flops off my feet. Is there a way to get a different size?

Wed

Companion exchange with Sister Brady. We tried to visit a Potential Investigator only to find out that her apt is the kind where you have to dial the room and then they let you in. So we put flyers in their mail boxes and hoped that she would get one. We had some time so we thought we might go to an appointment early, but they weren't home yet so we decided to talk to people on the street. We were crossing the street when an old lady was crossing in the opposite direction. I said to her "that's a pretty button you have on your jacket" and she smiled and started talking to us. She said that we shouldn't have a conversation in the middle of the street so we started to walk the same way as her, but she pushed us in our original direction, so we took that as a sign that the conversation was over. But once both of us had reached the opposite side, she called out to us again, so I scurried back across the intersection...but so did she. When we met in the middle, I thought she would stop, but she kept going to the other side, so I had to run back across to greet her. She then gave us two dinner rolls, slapped our hands, turned around and walked back across the intersection. We thought that we couldn't let a lady that interesting get away, so when the light turned green we hurried to catch up with her. She was suprized and asked us what we were doing. We said that we've never met such a genki old lady and she said that it comes from walking and talking to people you don't know. Then she proceeded to enter a convini and harass the clerks about something. Sister Brady and I weren't sure if it would be okay to wait for her to come out again or to let her continue on her way,but she left the convini before we even figured out what to do. She spotted us, shook her head, and walked away. Funny experience. That night Sister Brady gave my hair a trim. It feels much nicer when I brush it now.

Thu

While we had lunch with a member, she showed us pictures of her mission. She also made squash salad, which is much like macaroni or potato salad but with mashed squash instead. We were blessed because the rain stopped just as we were heading out for the day and when we were leaving that member's house. That afternoon, President Yamashita and Sister Yamashita came to one of our investigator's lessons. I was grateful for their words. They are good missionaries. Afterwords, we went and visited a former investigator that they both know. She was very happy to see us, suprisingly. Hopefully she'll start to want to meet with us again.

Fri

At ZTM, we talked with the zone about the process once you have an investigator who wants to be baptized as well as the things that we felt like the zone needed, as per our kokans and leadership council discussions. After ZTM we went out for tonteki, perhaps the last time that I will eat that uniquely Yokkaichi food. Yummy. At one of our lessons, the investigator's friend showed up partway through, so we invited her to listen as well. We gave a brief overview of the plan of salvation. The lady began to cry because her daughter had passed away many years ago. When we said a prayer before we left, she began to cry then too. She told us where she lives, so we hope to talk with her again. We arrived early to our next appointment, so I asked Sister Ishihara if we could get a drink from the vending machine across the road. As we got to the street, we ran into the lady with the burns. She gave us her number and we hope to get an appointment with her soon. We ran into the elders as we went back to the apartment for the day. It must have been strange for other people to see four people on mountain bikes with white helmets riding together.

Sat

The kid's at Eikaiwa were slightly better. A member family and an Investigator family came, so that was good. Afterwards, we played ping pong with the member and her four year old. She didn't use a paddle, just stuck out her hand and tried to stop the ball. We talked with the investigator's children about prayer and they had a hard time grasping the idea of a father in heaven, but they seemed willing enough to pray. They loved the gospel art book. I taught the pokemon theme song to a seven year old. We had dinner with a returning less active and her son, we asked him if he wants to be baptized, and he said yes! He is getting baptized next week.

Sun

We were expecting lots of investigators at church, but unfortunately half of our investigators and half the ward it seems like is down with a cold. Thankfully, so far, the missionaries have been spared this plague. We made a deal with two less actives to sing in sacrament meeting so we had song practice after church. Then we went to a member's house for an FHE. We helped her make fried chicken and played games with the kids. Once we were done sharing the message, we thought that it was over, but then they brought out a cake because it was Sister Ishihara's birthday! Very good strawberry cake. see picture

Mon

We went with a member to a street mall. There was a shop based on Alice in Wonderland that was SOOOOO COOOOOOL! It had peepholes and hidden cupboards and all sorts of interactive things as well as stuff to buy. I want more stores like that. We also stopped by the local shrine. see picture

Week 38

Mon

The bishop/new stake president's wife called us up and said "Let's go grocery shopping together!" She bought us rice and peppers and chips and all sorts of stuff. Sister Ishihara accidentally stepped on a praying mantis when we visited a less active. It suprised me that I actually felt a little sorry for it.

Tue

A day full of people not home. Thankfully we were able to get a hold of an investigator we hadn't seen in a week. She seems to be worried about the various requirements it takes to get baptized. We both expressed that if we could meet more often those concerns would be resolved. Perhaps she will make some time for us.

Wed

Companion exchange with sister Neilson. She had a full on cold so we kinda took things slow. We tried to visit a member whose son had a birthday, but in the member list, it only had a partial address. So we said we'd go anyway and see if we could find it. After some aimless biking looking at the names on mailboxes, we stopped by three moms talking while their kids played in the nearby park. We asked them if they new these members and they said they didn't but then they started calling all of the people they did know to see if they knew the members. After about twenty minutes of callling, they finally found one friend who did know and we found the member's house. Yay for grape vines! As we were riding our bikes to the train station, we met this one lady who lived in New York for 3 or four years when she was in elementary school. She and her family became protestant there and she has been active in her church since. She was in a house fire and had scars all over her arms but none on her face. She said that she felt like she was preserved by God and that it was an experience sent by God to convert her. She told us rough directions on where she lives, so we hope to do some housing around there and run into her again.

Thu

 Companion exchange with Sister Aoki in Yokkaichi. Two in a row! It really made Sister Ishihara and I realize how grateful we are for eachother. It finally sunk in when I was in Yokkaichi again that it is no longer my area and I have a new place to work, a new section of the vineyard. It made me a little sad, but it helped me realize the relationships in Takabata that I have.

Fri

On the way to change back companions, we talked with two college students who seemed promising, but the conversation got cut short because we had to get off the train. One investigator talked with us for 20 minutes, which is an improvement. Another investigator feels torn between this religion and the one she is going to now because she says that she feels the same in both places. Watched Joseph Smith movie with young investigators. They said they think it is true.

Sat

Taught an 8 year old to pray.

Sun

Ward still doesn't have a new bishop. Planned Christmas party. Taught recent convert and challenged her daughters to read Book of Mormon.

 

Love,

Leah

Week 37

Mon

We visited a less active couple. The man video taped our message and us praying. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it was because he wanted to review our reactions to his reactions or something. The sister gave us onigiri (rice triangles), but she didn't have anything else to put it in so she put it in an empty milk carton. I thought it was cute.

Tue

At the Halloween party, we had a photo booth where they could request the photo to be sent to them by us the missionaries, so on this day we printed out the photos and made cards out of them for those that requested it. We stopped by a member's house and her two year old fed me three sticks of gum. By the time we left I had a huge wad of gum but no place to spit it out so we taught our next lesson with me trying to hide the gum in my mouth. I finally got a chance to spit it into a kleenex when our investigator went into the kitchen to get us drinks. The lesson with the investigator went rather well I think. It seemed more focused on gospel topics this time. She gave us a plastic bag full of junk food that she got from a festival the previous weekend. We dropped by another member and talked about when you know you have completed the repentance process. Then we went to another investigator's house to have a farewell lesson because she was moving out the next week. She believes that Joseph Smith met Jesus and Heavenly Father, and she also believes that Mohammed talked to angels and that Buddha did reach Nirvana and so on. We got enough information from her to send a referral to her new house, so hopefully the missionaries there can talk more with her. She wanted to share with us her favorite song before we left and so we asked what kind of song it was and she said it was a relaxing song. It turned out to be a harp/bubbling stream song so we were safe...until she switched it to Shania Twain.

Wed

A recent convert sent us a text and said can you meet me at the church at 10:30, I want to meet with you, so we of course said yes we'll be there. She shows up in a rent-a-car, proceeds to drive us out of our area to see a craft show. Admittedly, I did like being there (and I did buy some things), but I still felt uncomfortable doing those things on a day other than P-Day and out of our area. We then ate lunch and went back to the church to teach a lesson. It was a good lesson though. She seemed to understand some principles of baptism, enduring to the end, and the Sabbath Day that she hadn't before. Only a few people showed up for Eikaiwa, but among them were the less active couple that we visited on Monday.

Thu

People kept saying that the typhoon would come on Thursday, but the time kept getting pushed back and back and back. Turns out, the typhoon didn't pass over us at all. We got some rain, but that's it. So far, I am unimpressed with these weather events that are supposed to be damaging. So far they've all been weak. I'm sure now that I say this there will be some disaster this week that will strike. Yay, service opportunity! We met with Kato-san, our fantastic investigator and had three tachiai's for that lesson. We got through about half of the Plan of Salvation before we ran out of time. I feel bad for Kato-san because we always seem to have long lessons with her and she is a very busy lady so she doesn't have a lot of spare time. However, she is always willing to listen. Another investigator that we met with that day actually prayed and read the Book of Mormon that week! She seemed much brighter and full of energy when we met with her. I definitely think that the two are related.

Fri

Kokan! I went to Ichinomiya, an area north of ours. Their apartment is HUGE. Two of our apartments could fit in theirs. Few people were home, but that's ok.

Sat

Sister Moore and I made goals to help us achieve the mission standards of excellence. It was a spiritual morning. We watched the Joseph Smith video with our family eikaiwa people and their reaction was better than I expected. They readily accepted a Book of Mormon. Then we hopped on the train to go to Stake Conference. We met some members and some missionaries at a nearby ramen shop and had dinner with them and then went to conference. There were some funny talks and some great advice.

Sun

Stake Conference again. Three investigators and one recent convert came. I also got to see many of my Yokaichi friends. More great talks but the biggest surprise of the day: Our bishop became stake president! Everyone was really surprised. We aren't sure who will be bishop but I guess we will find out soon. We talked with our investigator on the way home about what she thought. She said that the things she heard entered her heart more than anything else she's learned. She wants to know what she needs to do to be baptized and what she has to do after she is baptized. Here's hoping she becomes a yakusokusha soon.

 

Lot's of love,

Leah 

Week 36

This week I took notes, so hopefully it will be better written!

 

Mon

We went with an investigator and her three children to the family home evening held at the honbu for investigators. On the way there, the kids sat in the back seat and pretended that the cars behind them were enemies. I think that game must be universal because I distinctly remember playing that game when we were young. When we pulled up to the honbu, we say the elders and one of their investigators. We were all suprised because we didn't know they were coming. Two of the kids got balloons from a missionary who can do balloon art. One was a poodle and one was a motorcycle. The FHE ended at 9:15 so we didn't get back until 10:00. I think President Yamashita will forgive us since he was the one who talked longer than expected.

Tue

No appointments so all suprise visits. During lunch, the AP's called us up and said, do you have time this afternoon? We said yes, why? They said that they are making a film for new missionaries so that they can see older missionary's dendo style. They wanted to film us doing something. So we met them at the train station and walked to an investigators house and sang her a hymn. I tried to sing harmony but I didn't do it very well. But it's caught on film now. Afterwards, we went to an ALL YOU CAN EAT CAKE RESTAURANT. I got three plates in before I felt like I could never look a cake in the face again. While we were there, there was a commercial for the restaurant being filmed. I would laugh if President Yamashita or one of the members saw me. Also, we got candy from a worker dressed like a pumpkin. We got takoyaki from a member again. As we were making a pinata, it popped, making us start all over again.

Wed

I got the package when I went to interviews. Thank you so much for the art book and the mormon ads! They help so much. The skirts work fine. The butterfly shirt is too big but the other shirts are fine. NO MORE PANTYHOSE. I have more than two sister missionaries could use in their entire mission. After interviews with the mission president, we met with a Brazilian lady and gave her a Book of Mormon, there was some definite translating by the Holy Ghost because we would say things in Japanese and she would respond in Portugese and we all understood each other. She gave us mint tea. I like it.

Thu

Ota-san opened up in our lesson with her. She agreed to be baptized around Christmas. We had an appointment with the referral from President Yamashita. As we were planning for her, two members from another ward called us up and said that they wanted to come to the lesson and share their testimonies. If all missionary work was like this, it would be so easy! Get referrals from other people, members say that they want to come of their own volition, the work would explode! The lady turned out to be a spectacular lady. I look forward to meeting with her more. She said that when she recieves an answer, she'd be baptized. Whoa. We met with another investigator at her door. I'm not sure if she didn't have time or if she just wanted us to leave early. On the way home, we saw a street vendor selling bread. We got stopped by the stoplight at the same corner where he was selling, and then we smelled it...and then we each bought one. It was possibly the melonpan I've had yet.

Fri

Met members as they were pulling out of their driveway, so couldn't talk to them, so we decided to go visit another member but the wife wasn't home so we couldn't go in. So we went out to another member to find out that she had to leave in five minutes to pick up her daughter from kindergarten. Oh well. Such is life. Then we spent the evening preparing for the Halloween party. We left with many things yet to do, so we were anxious that it could get done in time.

Sat

Halloween party. Over 80 kids alone, not including adults, showed up. Thankfully the members helped us set up and clean up so it all went smoothly, except that the pinatas wouldn't break open so we just had the elders dump them over the kid's heads. A former investigator came out of her house to greet us and was very happy to see us. Hopefully she comes to stake conference.

Sun

We visited a less active in the hospital. She was suprisingly genki and full of smiles. I hope that she keeps going that way. Then we went to a less active that we've never met before. We only spoke for about 10 min at the door, but it she is really struggling with her family life. As we left, she said that this was a really nice birthday present for her that the missionaries came and talked to her. We were totally thrown for a loop because we had no idea that it was her birthday. The Lord truly guides us.

 

Please send cookie recipes!

 

Love,

Leah

Week 35! Pictures!

I got a lot of cards this week. Thank you to the ward relief society and the stake sisters who sent them. They made me very happy. I don't have a lot of time to write today, sorry.

 

Mon

Went to a large apartment complex seeking former investigators and less actives. Got there, couldn't find them, called the elders, and discovered that they had moved. So we visited a less active that we knew lived there and talked with her son for about 45 minutes. He showed us some of the artwork he's been doing at school and a game that he likes to play. He tried to show us music videos on youtube but we stopped him there. He seems really happy to talk to people.

Tue

Nobody home and our appointments canceled. A lot of time to ring doorbells. However, we got a referral from a member in another ward and the members came with us to meet her. She is very friendly and open so we hope that we can turn her into an investigator soon.

Wed

Went to a former investigator's house, rang the door bell, and when someone picked up the intercom, we asked if this was the person we were looking for. She said yes. We said we are the missionaries for the church of jesus christ of latter...and in the middle of us saying that she hung up and wouldn't answer the phone after that. I guess that means she doesn't want to meet with us. Yet again no one home and appointments canceled. Only 3 people came to Eikaiwa because it is test taking time for students in the area so everyone was either taking a test or studying for it.

Thu

Leadership Council. Spiritual discussion and much thinking. No conclusions made on the discussions. Afterwards, we taught the lesson for the missionary preparation class at institute. The lesson went very well I think. The teacher said that our lesson gave him hope for future missionary taught lessons, especially sisters. Apparently so far the missionary lessons have been difficult because so many of the missionaries are so new to the field. No time for dinner.

Fri

ZTM. Our Zone got split the last transfer so now there are only 20 people in the zone, 6 of whom are sisters. We are the sister leaders over two zones now, busy busy busy. But I much prefer busy to not busy. We then had a member present lesson that was a good presentation, but I don't know what the investigator thinks. We will follow up soon. Then we went with a member to buy the candy for the ward Halloween activity. We went to a bulk candy story and bought $80 of candy. I wanted to eat some for myself, but no such candy for us. Then we had a meeting with a member because apparently one of her work associates has accepted a Book of Mormon and has been asking her questions about the church. We taught her the Restoration so that she can have ideas of what to say to her friend. Hopefully he will accept the invitation to meet with the missionaries. No time for dinner.

Sat

GENERAL CONFERENCE! SO GREAT! I loved Elder Holland's talk. I cried as I thought of all the people that I know who are struggling with physical and mental obstacles. The missionaries all enjoyed the talk by the seventy that was all peppy and talked about missionary work, exclamation point! We also loved the strength of the seventy from the Carribiean? Africa? Either way, he had so much spiritual power in his talk. Afterwards, we went to a recent convert's house and had dinner. Yum.

Sun

More awesome messages. I loved the talk about the Sabbath day and it's importance. There was a man who came to General Conference of his own accord and we got to talk to him. He gave us his number and his address so the elders plan on teaching him from now on. Several other investigators and less actives came from all of the areas that attended at that building. Then we went to a Less Active's house and had dinner. Yum again. During the lesson, we got a call from President Yamashita. He had a referral for us! She is an associate of his son and daughter living in our area and apparently wants to know more about how to be happy in life. We will gladly teach her moreon Thursday when we have an appointment with her.

 

The pictures are: a funny building that we found one day riding around on our bikes and a construction site near the church.

 

Love,

Leah

Week 34

I forgot my old planner today since it is a new transfer and I am using a fresh one. This will be a true test of my memory.

Mon

I learned how to make sushi! We made it at a recent convert's house for lunch. When I get back I will teach you. And all the other Japanese food I have learned to make so far. We decided not to go to the thrift store (Sister Ishihara wanted to buy some new cardigans) and instead stayed at home so that we could sleep. It was a nice, quiet day in. I drew the flyers for the Halloween Party. It's a good thing they asked me to draw the Halloween flyer because my drawing skills are pretty scary, as you know. Also, a member asked me for ideas for Holiday cookies, so would you send me your favorite Chirstmas/winter/fall/holiday/any-time-of-the-year cookie recipes?

Tue

We tried to find a long lost Less Active but we couldn't find her house because it was an incomplete address. But I saw a tiny turtle in the canal as we were looking! As we went to visite a new investigator, we turned around the corner and saw a lady getting into her car. Lo and Behold, it was our investigator, who apparently forgot our appointment. So we waved to her and said we would come back again another time. We talked with one member about the Halloween party as she made dinner. Her two year old ate three jellos and then started to get sleepy so she put him down. In the middle of us eating dinner, he woke back up and began crying and proceeded to cry until we left for the night. Apparently eating three jellos right before bed isn't good for your stomach.

Wed

We met an investigator's husband for the first time. He was very friendly and gave us cake, but then went into the next room and started watching television. Hopefully we can entice him to listen with her. We invited her and her family to church and to General Conference. I hope she can come so that she can see a living prophet for herself. Decided to eat at McDonald's because it was on the way back, ate my first teryaki burger. Once was enough. We also had chestnut pies, a seasonal product available only in Japan in the fall. Fairly good. As we left, a biker on a sleek cycling bike in spandex biking get-up started up the same hill we were on. I laughed under my breath, put my 7-months-of-riding-a-bike-every-day-all-day leg muscles to work and beat him up the hill. Not a huge victory in the scheme of things but I had fun.

Thu

Companion exchange with Sister Vincent in Yokkaichi! It was strange to be back in the same place with the same companion but not for real. As we met the sisters at the train station this old lady came up to us and said "oh I'm so glad you're here, these two nice young girls said they were waiting for friends but I was worried because this is a town that doesn't have anything but goldfish and they don't speak much Japanese but they are just so nice so I was worried and now that you're here I can leave and not worry about them." Apparently Sister Vincent and Sister Aoki hadn't said much of anything except hello and the lady did most of the talking. She was a sweet old lady. We went with the elders to wish a PI happy birthday. I hope that she can come to church or Eikaiwa or something. We had a few lessons with members and recent converts in Yokkaichi and almost every time they greeted me like normal but then after about a minute it caught up to them that I hadn't been there for a month and then the got all happy and huggy. I was so glad to get to see them.

Fri

We bought bread from the bakery by the train station in Takabata again. I am now thoroughly convinced that anything they have there is delicious and heavenly. The Zone Leaders out of the blue showed up for district meeting. We had fun playing pictionary with them. They just shouted a stream of words until they got it correct. Afterwards we taught an investigator the plan of salvation. I don't think she's wrapped her head around it yet. She did say that she wants to go to General Conference and have FHE though.

Sat

At kid's eikaiwa one kid decided to pull down his pants and show us his underwear. Hmm. At family eikaiwai, we were able to teach another small lesson which went over well. We also got a lot of presents again. In a package of gum, the little boy of the family got a light up pile of poo. Something only a little boy would find joy in, but he loved it.

Sun

Sister Ishihara did a great job of asking the members to come with us to appointments. 3/4 appointments now have members attending. We broke our fast with a member, a less active, the elders, and a returned missionary who joined us via skype. The member and the elders did home teaching for the less active and then we ate okonomiyaki until we were all full to the brim. It was a fun way to break the fast, do missionary work, and spend time with them.

 

Lots of love,

Leah

Week 33

Mon

We got Baskin Robins ice cream from a member. What a healthy, delicious dinner.

Tue

We had a lesson with an investigator that went remarkably well. We were talking about Christ and how he is alive today and it seemed like she had some trouble picturing that so I said let's turn to 3 Nephi. When she opened the book, she turned to the exact page. She said it spooked her because it made her feel like something was there/someone was watching. I said that it was God and He is watching. The Spirit was strong. After the lesson, we bought takoyaki from a street vendor and had it for lunch. Usually there is only tako (octopus) in takoyaki, but this vendor decided to play things up and put in things like white fish and fried crunchy things. It was good though. One of our appointments canceled so we decided to visit a member. When we got there, there were a bunch of neighborhood kids playing jump rope and blowing bubbles and such with the moms chatting nearby. The member walked over to them and said hey, these are some volunteer missionaries from my church. They teach a free english program where they come to your home. Is anyone interested? The moms were a little hesitant at first but they said yeah actually we wouldn't mind. We then played with the kids and talked with the moms for like thirty minutes. If we had just rang their doorbell, I know we wouldn't have gotten the same reaction. Yay for members who help the missionaries! On the way home, it was dark. And there was a dark cat. In the middle of the road. I didn't see it till too late, so I swerved, and unfortunately the cat decided to run in the direction I swerved, so I ran over the cat and crashed. The cat was fine, it ran away before I could get up, but I now have scar layer #5 for my knee.

Wed

There is one less active who we aren't sure if she is alive or not, but when we visited, we peeped through her mail slot and saw new trash on her floor, so we think that she still lives there and is still alive. We went to visit a former investigator and found the lady who only spoke spanish that came to church last week. Apparantly the former investigator is her neice and she was visiting for the week. Funny how things work. One former investigator said that it would be ok if we came back...for twenty minutes...once a month. But we'll take what we can get.

Thu

We had an appointment on Fri, so we had DTM on Thu morning in Yokkaichi. It was so strange to go back. I've only been gone for a month but it already feels like things have changed. The church smelled like Yokkaichi church, though. After that we went to go watch a recent convert's daughters run in their school race. We ran into the bishop's wife there. Apparently her daughter was also running in a race. Then we went to another member's house and talked about dendo and what she's going through right now as Sister Ishihara helped the member color her hair. It was a strange experience. But on the good side, the member came with us to visit a Less Active. We ate sukiyaki together, which was very delicious. The less active's boyfriend was there and he participated in the lesson. It seemed like he was open to hearing more, so hopefully we can meet with them agian.

Fri

Three investigator lessons in one day! Yay! We invited one to be baptized. The answer she gave was a little wishy-washy, so we'll see what she thinks next time we meet. One of our investigator's grandchildren are from Nevada so I got to talk with them a little. I hope we can do FHE with them or something. Then we watched Finding Faith in Christ with a lady who is 78. She likes to talk, so it was a little hard to get her to focus on the film, but she sat through it and at the end she said that she believes that all those things actually happened. Hopefully she'll begin to progress!

Sat

Kid's Eikaiwa was actually manageable this week. I hope that this is a patter that continues and not just a fluke. We did family eikaiwa hoping to share a message again afterwards, but the grandmother of the family bullied us into going shopping. We want them to realize that we are very happy to teach English for free and the only re-payment we want is for them to listen to our message, but I think they think that they need to repay us through taking us places and such. I dunno.

Sun

At 8 o'clock in the morning, it occured to me that we would be teaching the lesson in Sunday School. So I hurriedly looked at the lesson and planned as best I could. I think it turned out pretty good. We had 5 Less Actives come to church. We went out looking for members that no one knows about, found one, but no success on the others. Hopefully we can find more. I like hearing the word of God on Sundays. It's like 3 extra hours of personal study. One member wants to carroll with the sister missionaries in December and wants to start practicing now so that we can do it well by then. Unfortunately, we aren't sure if both of us will still be here by then. Sister Ishihara is definitely leaving because her mission ends in October, and I'm not sure if I'll still be here then because that would be three transfers in one spot. It's happened before though. I would like to be here because I love carrolling. And Takabata is fun.

 

Love to you all,

Leah

Week 32

I need to start making notes at the end of each day again because as it is I don't remember details about the days early in the week.

 

Tue

I finally found floss! I used up my floss about a month ago and thought hey, maybe brushing my teeth is just fine, but for a month straight I felt like my teeth weren't clean, so I looked for floss. We finally found it in a walgreens type place. Yay! Clean teeth! We went to a LA house to introduce ourselves to find that they share the house with another family. The other family answered the door and said please wait in the entry till we talk to them. So we wait and wait and wait and wonder if we've been forgotten, when at last they came back and said that the LA didn't want to talk to us right now. Oh well. I found out that one of the members used to draw manga for a living. She still loves it, but she said it wasn't good for her health so she quit. I want to read something of what she did, but she wouldn't tell us what it was. Two sister missionaries from a far away zone came and stayed with us, so we bought sheets, but they turned out to be too small.

Wed

Zone Conference! I got a package. I seem to be building the reputation of always getting a package. All of the zone leaders and the sister leaders had an interview with Elder Aoyagi of the seventy. We spoke in Japanese during the interview which I think helped understanding on both sides. President Yamashita asked a professional translator who is also a member to come and translate for the conference because Aoyagi choro and his wife and Sister Yamashita all spoke in Japanese and President Yamashita wanted the young missionaries to understand. I learned a lot, but I felt like the verse in Malachi that says that Heavenly Father will pour out blessings so much that there isn't enough room to recieve it. I felt like there was more I could have gotten out of it but my vessel was full. Afterwards we had another meeting with Aoyagi choro where we could ask him any question we wanted. They asked the interpreter to come and sit in, I think in a fear that we wouldn't understand, but everyone spoke in Japanese. After that we had a companion exchange. Sister Moore, a new missionary working in Ichinomiya came with me back to Takabata. We talked to some nice people on the train, but I unfortunately forgot my bag with the proselyting materials so I gave them my name card with our number on it. As we got into Takabata Station, I realized that Sister Ishihara still had the keys to our apartment. Both of us were doing Eikaiwa in our areas, so we decided to meet up after that at a nearby station to exchange keys. Since I hadn't drunk much all day, my head was a pounding mess all of Eikaiwa. I felt like I was about to fall over so I supported myself on the whiteboard the whole time. Then we went to the station to get the keys. We met, got the keys, and then started to leave, when an African-American man came up to us and talked to us for about 20 minutes. I'm pretty sure he was just trying to pick us up. At that point it was 9:30 so we were already late. Then we ran into two members from Ichinomiya so they talked to Sister Moore for a few minutes but we had to leave. We didn't get home until like 10:15. 

Thu

Since we had time, we biked out to some members that live far away. On the way, we stopped at a convini and bought lunch, where I had orange juice. Then we got to the member's house where we had orange juice. Her dog gave me lots of kisses. Then we biked back to home and went to the station to trade companions back. We had dinner at a soup restraunt in the station where I had orange juice. I think I had about 15 oranges worth of juice in one day. I had the strangest thing that I've had yet in Japan. At the soup place they had a sign for dessert soup and I thought what is that I'd like to try it. It turned out to be corn, macadamia nuts, sweet red beans, raspberries, blueberries, soy milk, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Strange. Afterwards, we went to Institute and participated in the mission prep class. One of the ward members attended so we were able to catch a lift back with her.

Fri

I finally got to open the pacakge. Thank you ward! When I saw the peanutbutter food I thought, oh they know me so well. I felt very loved. Our area is large and kind of lopsided, so to better understand the roads we decided to copy a road map, so we spent some time putting it together. I like puzzles. After dinner we visited some members where we got carrots and a churro from Costco (apparently there is one in a neighboring area). 

Sat

At Kid's Eikaiwa, there were only three kids, but they were still loud and hard to manage. I really hope that things change. In between Kid's Eikaiwa and family Eikaiwa, we visited a deaf member. Most of the lesson was written, so I didn't know what was going on most of the time, but that's life when kanji is concerned. At family eikaiwa, when the mom brought out snacks for us, she brought out a green dessert. Both of us were worried that it would be green tea, which we are not allowed to drink, but when we asked, it turned out to be made from soybeans and as such was green. It was delicious. Then we shared a message with the family, and it turned out well, they asked why there are so many different christian churches. We gladly shared the message of the restoration with them. We aren't sure if they will be progressing investigators, but we will definitely keep sharing messages.

Sun

A recent convert's boyfriend came to church. He is Brazilian, but has been in Japan for about 8 years. We taught him a lesson, but we aren't sure how much he understood. He does seem very very nice though. There was also a lady from Bolivia there visiting for the day. She doesn't speak Japanese, but we talked to her in Japanese and somehow worked out that she wanted to pay her tithing. We explained how to do it, and it seemed like she understood. We got some yummy food from the members, like blueberry chocolate and chocolate crossaints.

Mon

The ward had a barbecue. There was SO MUCH FOOD! We played captrue the flag and missionary tag and volleyball with the kids that came. There were four non-members that also came. I hope that they come to church and other activities. The beach ball came in handy. I also wore the tye-dye shirt.

Love

Leah

Week 31

Mon

Fairly normal P-day with no activities. We spent the most I ever have on groceries while on my mission getting things for the apt. Our refrigerator was a little bare up until then. We went to a little mall in order to look for new shoes. I didn't end up buying anything but Sister Ishihara did! She bought some shoes and an umbrella. I was sorely tempted to buy donuts, but I resisted.

Tue

We had dinner with a recent convert and her two daughters. She is deaf, but she can read lips very well and speak clearly enough for me, a foreigner to understand. Whenever I talk to her I accidentally say things in English. I'm not sure why. We did a FHE type thing and they all enjoyed it. I hope that her daughters become investigators.

Wed

We went out to eat with one of our investigators. The restaurant we went to was a little Italian place that had a really good salad bar with things like garlic three bean salad and perfectly cooked eggplant. I wish that I could have eaten more, but the pasta was filling. This investigator seems well prepared by the Lord to hear our message, the only trouble is getting appointments with her because she is a single mom. We then went out to visit FI's. Came home with no success in that department, but we did find two Potential Investigators. One was an old man who opened his door only the width of a Book of Mormon. We talked with him for a good 15 min through that crack. He said that he would accept a Book of Mormon, so we passed it through the slit and said that we'd be back to talk about it sometime. On our way home, there was one lady standing outside and as we passed she called out "your bikes are cool!" We turned the corner, stopped, looked at each other and said "Do you wanna go back and talk to her?" "yeah." "what should we say?" "Um...where's the nearest convenient store?" So we turned around and asked her. She said that she went to a Christian middle school and high school and so she came to like hymns and the feel of Christianity. We said that we'd come sing a hymn to her sometime and went to the convenient store where we bought some water. At Eikaiwa, a high school girl came for the first time. The elders were teaching and one of them asked her to make a sentence using the vocabulary on the board. She didn't understand what he said, so he paused, gave her an example, and when she didn't respond, he moved on to the next person. She then burst into tears. I feel bad for her because it was a kind of hard vocab and it was her first time.

Thu

We had an appointment with a member at the church so we head over and wait. And wait. So we call her house. And her cell. And wait. No response, so we packed up and headed out to our next spot. In the afternoon, we met with a less active high-schooler and made blank Happy Birthday and Thank you cards while we talked to her. We got to meet with the bishop and discuss the ward and his vision. I think he has a large vision and I like it. I want to help him achieve that. After that we dropped by a less active and put some cookies in her mailbox only to find out later on from the elders that she may have moved. I hope the cookies don't attract bugs.

Fri

At district meeting, one of the Elder's said he had caught a cold, (probably the one I had) and so they asked us to go to an appointment with a LA in their place. So we ate lunch and rushed out the door to the train station. We talked for a good while and got an appointment for Monday. She is fluent in English, but we spoke in Japanese the whole time. At night we went out to eat at a sushi place. The wait time was long, so we weren't sure if we should even try, but we made it in. And we got home on time. Apparantly two members saw us riding our bikes on the way home. You never know who will be watching.

Sat

Instead of spending our time going out to find FI's only to have them not be home or moved or something, we decided to call them first. So we spent about half an hour calling some of them. Kid's Eikaiwa was a mess. The kids were all over the place and it was hard to get things across. We'll have to re-work our plans. In the afternoon we went back to visit the old lady that went to a Christian school in her youth and she became an investigator! It wasn't a "I want to listen to your message" kind of feel but more like we testified of a few things and then asked if it was ok if we came back and she said yes. Because we talked with her, we missed out on going to seminary, but oh well. Next time.

Sun

The Brazilians from last Sunday didn't come to church, but one of our investigators did! Then we had ward council after church. I was impressed at how much time was dedicated to missionary work and hearing individually about our investigators. The ward seems very efficient in their information gathering. Then we talked with a Less active for about two hours after that, so most of our day got used up very quickly. As we were walking home, it started to rain. It was the beginning of a...

Mon

TYPHOON! It was mostly during the night, so no ankle deep water biking, but the sound of the wind and rain was so loud that we didn't hear the phone ring. A text came from the honbu saying don't go outside during the morning. Wait until you think it is safe to go out. By 11'oclock everything was clear. The weather is so nice now! We didn't turn the air conditioning at all, just opened the windows and it was perfect. We went out with the Yokkaichi missionaries and the Takabata missionaries to an all you can eat ice cream place. I knew that I couldn't fit more than one ice cream in so I didn't pay for all you can eat, just one meal. Then we went to the LA's house and did FHE using a card game to talk about the Spirit. It is kind of like ERS where if the right card comes out you slap the pile and take the cards. The point is that you have to focus on and pay attention for the right card (aka the Spirit) or else you'll miss it. She fed us some very delicious lemon tea that I want to drink again.

 

Love,

Leah

Week 30

Tue

I went to my first Leadership Council as a Sister Training Leader. It was much like other meetings, spiritually uplifting and motivating. We had pizza and soda for lunch. After the main meeting we had a sisters only portion with Sister Yamashita. She gave us a sheet of compliments in Japanese and told us to say them to our companion each day in companion study. Then we practiced bowing and sitting and standing properly. By the end of it most of us were feeling pretty silly. We came home and finally went grocery shopping.

Wed

To the 100 yen store! We bought a lot of little things that our apt needed like baskets for our utensils and toilet bowl cleaner and such. Then we met the elders at a apt complex so they could show us where an investigator lived. Unfortunately she wasn't home, so we decided to do some housing. As we were housing, the light rain turned into a literal downpour. For almost an hour it was raining like a giant shower head. We decided to head home before it got dark in case the rain didn't let up. Several streets were flooded. Some streets were so flooded that they came up over the sidewalks so that whenever a car passed it was like a wave. In some places it was calf deep water, which meant that my foot went underwater above my ankle while pedaling. See picture. I was laughing the whole time. I thought it was increadibly fun. As we got home, we got a text from the elders asking if we were ok. We said yes, why. Apparently, the mission home had sent out a text saying don't go outside this afternoon but because our phone is new, it didn't get that text. Oh well. We're alive and all is well.

Thu

We met one of the investigators the elders gave us. She likes the message we have and has felt the spirit in her life.  Promising. In the afternoon we met with a great member that wants to dendo with us. She even rode her bike with us for 25 min to visit a less active with us. The less active is a convert of Sister Aoki's brother who served here about 5 years ago. I like her. She reminds me of many of my friends.

Fri

One of the neighboring ward's buildings flooded so we had ZTM at that building and then afterward we stuck around and helped clean up. It was really fun to do some real service. After that I had comanion exchanges with another set of sisters. Sister Cox and Sister Brady are both transfer 2 missionaries so they had an appointment with the APs to teach them lesson 1, but in a senior companion capacity. I felt kind of funny being there because I'm not their companion but I helped as best I could. Then we went out to a member's house for dinner and a lesson. On the way there, an old man asked us what we were doing. I said we were going to an activity. He said that he wanted American friends so why not go out on a date. Was tonight good? I said we had an appointment that night but maybe next time.

Sat

More visiting people in the other area. Sister Cox and Sister Hart are having a hard time so I spent some time talking to both of them. I'm not sure if what I said helped, but I tried. We were supposed to meet Sister Ishihara and Sister Neilson at Fushimi train station to trade companions back, but we exited out of the wrong place and so we spent about an hour calling each other and wandering around trying to find each other. Eventually we did. We spent some time discussing how to help Sister Cox and Sister Hart and then we split ways. Unfortunately, I forgot that I still had their phone. We thought we would have to go all the way to their area to catch them, but thankfully they were still on the platform and we just handed the phone over. Sister Ishihara caught my cold so when we got back she crashed and I wrote the progress record and read the Liahona.

Sun

Our Ward Mission Leader is newly called, so we had our first official meeting with him. I gave a talk on the first vision in sacrament meeting and then Sister Ishihara taught gospel principles. After church we had a food party where the main dish was spaghetti. One of the members owns a restaurant and he brought his shaved ice machine so us and all the primary kids had rainbow ices. Yum. We went out to visit some less actives and former investigators but we didn't account for the fact that it gets dark earlier. The places we went they were either not home or they had moved, so we were waffling between going home or doing some housing. We said a prayer and decided to house. We knocked on one door and the man who answered said no, but as we walked away, his friend popped out his head and said what is it that you're doing again? We soon discovered that he spoke little Japanese and even less English, but even still we talked to him for 30 minutes. He said that he would come to church with his friend. Here's hoping.

 

Love

Leah