Week 64. December 21, 2014. Last transfer, good-bye to Kempner Shimai! :( New companion to train, from New Zealand. Japanese is way cool with an accent :).

Hey there.

So I have officially started my last transfer! How did that happen! As you probably already know, I am staying in Obihiro (poor people couldn't shake me off since I came in July!)  My new companion is Wallwork Shimai, she is fresh out of the MTC. Also, she is from New Zealand! Japanese with an accent is way cool, in case you were wondering. Sometimes when she talks to me I have no clue what she is saying. It's English, but not, ha ha. We are going to have a lot of fun and work really hard!

We were stuck in Sapporo for like three days because of an intense storm that hit Hokkaido, it pushed back transfer day, and almost stopped the returning missionaries from going home on time for Christmas! It all worked out though, probably thanks to all the prayers we said, the entire mission was in on it. :) We weren't in Obihiro for very long though, and our dendo was really on the slim side, but these next few weeks with Christmas and New Years is going to all be sort of weird.

Love you all, talk to you next week! And Christmas!

Ps, I miss Kempner Shimai!

Week 63. December 14, 2014. Last Transfers! Staying in Obihiro to finish mission. Will so miss Kempner Shimai!

Hey you all,

It is cold! I mean it, cold! And everyone keeps telling us that it will just get colder from here on out too, ha. And that is just fine! We don't mind. :) 

We had a zone training meeting in Kushiro again, it was good. We had an awesome workshop about how we are representatives of Christ, and even though we are all human and make mistakes all the time, we have a sacred trust in our calling and we are promised that we will become stronger and work miracles. It was neat, and just what I needed to hear. 

On Friday we met with Tsuruno san and taught her the word of wisdom. Even though I was really worried about it all since she drinks tea and coffee regularly, after we had finished the lesson she told us that it wasn't going to be a big deal. And then asked us if she had to give up eating meat too! Not sure where that came from, but we told her that she could eat meat if she wanted to, ha. Sparingly of course. Heavenly Father has been preparing her! I think she is going to make it to her date, easily. As long as we can get her to church and make her family be nice about it all. 

Ah yeah, I got my transfer calls last night. Looks like I will be dying in Obihiro, with a new companion. One fresh from the MTC. Training again! That was a shock! Kempner Shimai is going to a place called Asahikawa, one of the coldest parts of the island with a Nihonjin. She is going to be incredible. And I am going to miss the little potlicker so much! 

Love you all, see you in only one more transfer! 

Week 62. New investigators through miracles! Baptism date for Tsuruno san, and a whole family to possibly teach

This week was awesome! Since we decided to let some of our old investigators have a little bit of a break and put more time into finding those that will receive us we have seen some miracles! There were three PIs we found that I am really excited to go back and see, two of them younger women who we were able to give the Book of Mormon to, and a man who had moved from Tokyo that has a lot of member friends and used to go to church and still reads the Book of Mormon. I really felt the Lord's hand and guidance in showing us the way to go as we were looking for people to teach. 

We also were blessed to make a date for baptism for Tsuruno san. She recently has been doing a lot of studying on her own, including filling out the additional study questions in the back of the pamphlets that we gave her. She even tells us herself that she knows she needs to come to church, half of that battle is already won. I really am praying that she will get an answer to her prayers that the church is true, and that she will come to church. We are teaching her the word of wisdom next week and have a member coming with us. Things seem really hopeful!

Right now we are also in to process of getting a pass from the elders. She is a sweet little young mom named Yamamoto san, she is doing the free family English program with us with her friend, but last time her husband came too. With a combined effort from us and the Elders, we were able to get the whole family to come to church. I feel so close to my dream of teaching a family! I'm really grateful for the elders and all of the work they have put into them and that they are letting us work with them as well.

Love you all, have a good week! 

Week 61. November 30th, 2014. Dropping investigators, curry rice with member grandma that rides giant trike with helmet. Week culminates with Tsubaki Chan being baptized and primary program. :)

Hey everyone!

So we decided that we needed to go through and decide if we were going to continue to teach a lot of our investigators or not this last week at DKK, and ended up dropping almost half of them.  I've really been feeling like something wasn't quite right with how we have been doing our dendo recently, and now that we have done that and decided to go out and do more finding than we were before, I am feeling a little bit more at ease. Dropping investigators is really hard for me, but I think this is what we were supposed to do, it seems that the time just isn't quite right for a lot of them, and we need to be putting in more effort to find those who are waiting.

Traning is still going really well, I have been really happy with how Kempner Shimai is learning and how she can do so many things already that took me a lot longer to do. She is a very dilligent missionary, I know that it is going to serve her well. I have loved the time we have had together and would stay with her until the end of my mission if I could! But we both know that is unlikely. Her next companion will love her so much. I know she is really nervous about the next transfer (oh, wait, so am I) but I also know that what ever happens is the Lord's will and what happens happens.

Saturday night we went with all of the elders to a members house for a birthday dinner. She made curry rice for us all and we got to hear her conversion story and just enjoy being with her in her house. This sweet little sister is like 70 and rides a giant trike with a helmet, I guess that is how the missionaries started the contact, ha.

On Sunday we got to see Tsubaki Chan get baptized, she is the daughter of a family in the ward, only the dad is coming to church so they asked us to teach her the lessons. It was fun (and exhausting) to teach her and great to see and feel the special spirit that kids have. The primary program was also going on. I haven't wanted to have children anymore in my life than I did yesterday! They are so cute! Someone let me hold their baby, please!

Love you all, have a good week.

Week 60. November 23, 2014. Inspiring zone conference, a great week despite low numbers- including a big ward service project

Hey you people,

So we went up to Sapporo for three days last week for a big combined zone confrence. It was really great! Nakatsuka Kaicho did two, two hour long, workshops for us. I really love him and always get so excited to hear whatever it is that he has to say. He ended up talking about charity and love, as well as what we can do as missionaries to help people keep commitments. Lately pretty much all of our investigators have been really terrible at that, so I felt like it was all very applicable. Essentially, through really loving them so that they feel God's love through us and doing what we can in the way of teaching skills (following up, promising blessings, sharing your testimony, etc.) we can help them repent and change. It was really a good workshop! Wish you all could have been there. :)

Then we proceeded to have the most low week regarding numbers that I have ever had. No one was home for any of our scheduled lessons and we did some mogi lessons with members and then a big ward service project and went to the Elder's baptism. The things we did were all really good things, but sometimes it just doesn't show in your numbers at the end of the week. Which is just a reminder that numbers are not all that important because you can do good, effective things that aren't in your key indicators each week. Its about the people you are serving and helping them all feel their own worth and God's love.

I bet we do a bit better planning next week though, ha.

Well, love you all, hope you have a good, safe week!

Week 59. Yoshida san (bowling date :)) and gyoza with the Young Women on Sunday

Hey you people, how are you all doing? 

It was just another week in the life of Sister Johnson. We rode our bikes all over the place, talked to a bunch of people, taught lessons, almost lost half our fingers because we were not adequately dressed for the winter one day.. and ate a lot of really good food. You know, the usual. 

We met with Yoshida san again this week, it was our third time. She was able to tell us a lot of the things she believes and heard a bunch of concerns. We weren't able to do a lesson like we had planned, but it was really good to establish a relationship with her! She told us that we could come back and maybe meet with all of her family and talk about the Book of Mormon! She also scheduled a time that we could go bowling with her, ha.

At the church we had Family Night, a sister that is less active came with us and had a really fun time, she told us that she wants to come again next week, so hopefully we can get her to come back to church on Sunday one of these times. She was baptized like 30 years ago and fell away, but recently she had the desire to meet with us again and start reading! 

On Sunday we had a little party with the Young Women of the ward, ate gyoza and talked about some experiences we had in Young Women and how it helped prepare us to be missionaries. It was fun to take some time to think back and remember all the good times I had had, and all the awesome leaders. I am so grateful for them all and how they strengthened my testimony when I was a young(er) woman. 

Love you all, have a good week! 

Week 58, November 9, 2014. Still in Obihiro four straight- no transfer! Trying not to panic that time is flying by so quickly..3 Nephi 9.

Hey there, 

Just another week in Obihiro, which is profound because it means that I didn't transfer! I am blessed to do four here and finish training Kempner Shimai. Not that it was a huge shock, but I was a little nervous.

This week we were able to do another team up lesson with Okuda Shimai for Tsuruno san. Having members in your lessons is so neat, I never want to go visit her with out Okuda Shimai ever again. I feel like with her there, they can become friends, and then when Tsuruno san comes to church she will have someone she knows to sit by and answer any questions, even when the missionaries are not there. Also her testimony is so powerful. I love how the converts of Japan are so strong and solid. When they convert, they really believe. It strengthens my testimony every time. 

We also were able to meet with Masuda san again, and she came to church. I guess her back is feeling a lot better now too! But she told us that she was having issues with her ears because of stress now and going to the hospital for it. We have another appointment with her, so we will have to see how it all goes. 

Lately I have really been trying to work on giving my all to every day I have. They all just fly by so quickly that I honestly start to panic a bit when I think about it. I recently read in 3 Nephi 9, I think it was, about how we shouldn't worry about tomorrow until it is today. I know that as I really focus on loving and helping these people everyday I will do more good than stressing about how quickly my time is going. 

Love you all, have a good week! 

Week 57, November 2, 2014. Laman and Lemuel are jerks and Harry Potter Halloween mixed with missionary work. The best

We had two really awesome lessons this week that I want to tell you all about!

So, Kikichi(2)san! We had been trying to get her to say she would read the Book of Mormon for the last 3 months, and finally she did! And she ended up reading the entire first book of Nephi! That was due to the fact that sometimes my Japanese is still terrible and she thought that was what I was asking this whole time. Won't say I'm sad, at all! Her impressions were that she thinks Laman and Lemuel are jerks, ha. I think so too. She told us she would keep reading too. I am perfectly confident that she isn't going to be able to put it down until she finishes it.

We were also able to do our first member present lesson in a really long time with Okuda Shimai and our cute little Tsuruno San, she was able to answer a bunch of questions she had and help with the Japanese as well. It really is so true that members do awesome work. :)

Our halloween party was this week as well, there were more than 100 people there, twice as many as we had hoped and about half of them weren't even members. The play we put on went well, and was a lot of fun. I was just so happy to be doing missionary work and Harry Potter at the same time. It was a once in a mission chance, and I am so glad we took it!

Love you all!

Week 56, October 26, 2014. Kimono dress-up, new investigators and Japanese Harry Potter!

Hey all!

We had a good week.

We went to a cute little ice cream shop working lady who comes to our English class. She gave us free ice cream and put us in kimonos! She holds a legit permit to do that kind of thing. Pictures to come! The one she put me in was a pretty light sage green, Kempner Shimai's was yellow. It was so fun to get all dressed up, I was worried that I would never have the experience, so I'm really grateful!

There was also a nice lady we met on the street who we were able to make an appointment with next week at a park, if we are able to meet with her I think that she may progress.

Right now we have two really awesome ladies we are working with, Tsuruno san and Takahashi san, I have high hopes for both of them. We really are wanting to get the members involved, so we have plans to do some member present lessons and to get them to church.

This next week we have a halloween party planned, with a Harry Potter theme. You know I am over the moon. :) We made wands for our district activity (I saw it on pintrest before the mission, ha) and are putting a play on, thanks to Ogasawara Kyodai. It is going to be a lot of fun, and I think a really good turn out as well..

Love you all, have a great week!

Week 55, October 19, 2014. Masuda san back update, new investigator's answer to prayer and baseball. Zone training and soba noodles

Hello,

So, we were able to meet with Masuda san again for the first time this transfer. She is doing pretty much the same as she was before, still in a lot of pain. She also has stopped really reading the Book of Mormon and praying, still just unable to focus on anything other than her back issues. It was really fun for me to just get to see them again though. I really just love them so much! She told us that she wants to go to church this week again, but then wasn't able to because of her health. Hopefully next week!

We met with one of our investigators who loves the Bible, but isn't sure about the Book of Mormon. It's nice to talk with her, she is a really nice lady, but until now she hasn't shown a lot of signs of progressing. So this time we went and she told us a cute story about how she was watching a baseball game and her team was losing so she remembered what she read in the Bible about if you ask God, you will receive, so she prayed and her team ended up winning! Kempner Shimai had just read a verse like that in the 3 Nephi so we shared it with her and she liked it a lot. After answering some of her questions about the Book of Mormon. We finally got her to say she would read the first chapter!

There was also a really sweet little family that we were able to give a restoration pamphlet to, I think that they will let us come back and teach them next week, so we are really excited about that.

Kikuchi san let us do lesson one with her again this week, but told us that she went to the dentist and found out about some tooth problem she has and for awhile won't be able to meet. I am not sure what that is going to mean for her baptism date.

We also went to Kushiro for zone training meeting, which we almost didn't cause we almost missed the train, ha ha. I really felt like the workshops were meant for me, and I felt really pumped after it. Miller and Soderquist Shimai, this transfer companions, were there too, and it was a lot of fun to see them together. They both seem so good, just doing their best!  I sure love them! We also did interviews with Kaicho, I really felt his love for us and me as an individual. It was a really good meeting overall. And we ended it with getting soba noodles!

Love you all!

Week 54, October 12, 2014. A very strange P-day with investigators- but with another, a wonderful experience of prayer and faith

Well, hey there,

What did we do this week?

On Monday we went and visited one of our investigators with a baptism date, and it ended up being really weird! When we told her that the transfers had come and that Nagamine Shimai had gone to Ebetsu, she sort of freaked out. Holding our hands and saying over and over, "I'm glad we met" (of course in Japanese), over and over. She then proceeded to slide down to her knees, still holding our hands and started to cry. This being my sweet bean's very first P-day, I quickly pulled out the Book of Mormon read the first scripture I flipped to, said a prayer and we booked it out of there. Not entirely sure what to do about her at the moment, but we are working on it!

Poor Kempner Shimai!

Then that night we were about to start passing out some flyers for our English class when we bumped into John, the American guy we found a month ago that came to church and then was never heard from again. And he didn't remember me! I guess he has some memory issues. We talked for a while and it was apparent that he really had no clue who we were, so we wrote him a note to go home and read the Book of Mormon and told him we'd sent the Elders his way. It was a werid day to say the least!

Our highlight of the week was going by and seeing Kikuchi san this week. She told us about how she had been feeling a lot pain in her hips lately and a few days ago she decided to pray about it, and guess what! The pain went away completely. We had a perfect opportunity to talk about faith, which just so happened to be what we had prepared to share with her. We were able to tell her that she has faith, and even though right now she doesn't know about a lot of things at church, she has a great starting point. We fixed her a new date and she told us it would be okay to go over all of the lessons again in prep for her baptism. I feel really good about it all, I think it should all happen without too much trouble.

We also were able to see Masuda san yesterday, finally. She had gone the hospital and we were having a really hard time getting in contact with her. So yesterday we felt like we should stop by and see if she was home, and the light was on! We were able to talk for awhile and Kempner Shimai got to say hello. We have an appointment to go see her next Tuesday.

And wasn't conference awesome! I know I am a week behind, but it was so good! Can't wait to read them all again. It was really sad since it was my last one as a missionary. So bittersweet.

Love you all so much, thank you for all you are doing!

Week 53, October 5, 2014. Johnson Shimai is a trainer, has a new bean- Kempner Shimai from Pleasant Grove. Bean power!

Weeeell... They made me a trainer. No one saw that coming. 

Her name is Kempner Shimai, and I like her. A lot. :) 

I was really surprised though, really. There was a part of me that was thoroughly convinced that I would be able to go the whole way as a junior companion. There is certainly a lot of stuff I'm now in charge of that I wasn't before. I'm the primary Japanese speaker now, I call the people on the phone, answer when they call and get to lead in all of the lessons and contacts. But it's working out, ha ha. I know I am getting some major extra help this time around. From Heavenly Father and my sweet companion. Even though she doesn't always know what is going on, she is always quick to help, always reminding me of things I've forgotten, and so patient with me when I have to take a second to figure out what on earth we should be doing. 

It's going to be a good transfer for sure. 

Also, bean power is real! We have had some really amazing contacts this week! We found several people who seem as though they have real interest and were able to get numbers and make appointments. 

Right now our biggest challenge is trying to figure out who of our investigators that we already have will really progress or not, and try to make the most use of the time we have. 

We had a cool experience this week when we did a member mogi, lesson practice, one of the sisters who hasn't been coming to church that much. I felt the spirit really strong and it was a really good, fun time. I'm hopeful that we will be able to keep building the relationship with her and help her come back to church.

Love you all! Have a good week! 

Week 52, September 28, 2014. No baptism for Masuda san. Megan reminded to just love them, be patient and remember faith, hope and love. Transfers are this week, Nagamine Shimai leaving?

Heeello,

Well, I'll tell you first off, Masuda san did not get baptized. It was all very heart wrenching too. We went by on Monday right after I had finished emailing, when we got there she was again laying down, unable to sit up again. She told us that for now she is not really sure that she can really focus on anything right now and for the moment that she is putting it all off until she recovers. We haven't been able to make another appointment and go back since. I was so sure that if she could realize that even though the gospel can't take her physical pain away, but that it is what she needs, that things would work out. We can't make people understand that though, its up to them. Sometimes that is the most frustrating thing as a missionary! With time I hope that we can help her get things figured out.

Right now my area has a ton of investigators, three of them having baptism dates coming up in the next few months. Normally that's exactly what you want but they all struggle so much with their faith and have a hard time keeping commitments. I'm not entirely sure what I need to change to get them to where they need to be, but I'm working on figuring it out. My mission president recently reminded me over email that I just need to love them. I guess it all starts there, ha ha. He asked me what kind of love I have for them, which has really made me think. I know what it is that they need for eternal happiness, but they don't understand that now. 

I need to be patient and show some faith, hope and love and things will work out. Maybe not how I want them to but that really isn't the point, ha. Heavenly Father has a plan for everyone and I get to be a small part in it for all of these people. 

Love you all, have a good week! Be looking for my email next week, transfers are upon us and I think my sweet companion Nagamine Shimai and I are parting ways! 

Week 51, Masuda San roller coaster ride is back on, Johnson Shimai hits her one year in Japan mark- Indian curry celebration with district

Our Masuda san roller coaster has been all up and down this week. We went to see her this week, it had been a while since we had been able to go and it turned out that she had gotten a shot in her spine that helped her pain go away and she is now wheelchair free! We asked her what she wanted to do about church and baptism since we had missed a lot of lessons and it was going to be hard to make it by the 28th and she told us she wasn't sure. So we all decided to pray and think about it. 

She had told us that she probably wouldn't be able to come to church but to our surprise she showed up for the last hour! A lot of members talked to her and she had a really good time. Afterwards we went to her house and had a lesson and the old Masuda san was back! She was laughing and having a good time and just seemed really good and healthy. I really believe that her going to church and feeling the spirit changed her! We all decided to try and make it to our goal of the 28th for baptism! She is going to have a week full of trails I think, but we are going to do our best to get her to the font this next Sunday.

In other news, Amada Shimai came and went on splits with me this week, it was a lot of fun to work with her again, and I'm so glad that we got to before she goes home.

I also hit my one year in Japan! We celebrated by going to a indian curry place with the district (four of the members being my doki (the people I was in the MTC with and came to Japan together)) It was great. 

Love you all, pray for Masuda san this week, please!

Week 50, Three baptism dates, but investigators probably won't make requirements. Japanese BBQ!

Hey there,

What a week we had. We currently have three baptism dates, but I am afraid that not a single one will go through now. Not to be completely negative or show a lack of faith, but I'm afraid they might be impossible since they won't reach the requirements. 

We were finally able to meet Sone san again, he finally came back home. He didn't let us in, but told us to call in a few days and make an appointment. I have no idea what it is that he is thinking right now, we will see probably later this week.. Which takes me to Masuda san, our young mom in a wheelchair. She is completely unable to focus on anything other than her back problem, which is a huge, terrible thing. It is so frustrating for us though, becuase although we can't take away her pain (although we tried offering her a priesthood blessing) we have something that is of so much more value, but she won't do anything anymore. Even teaching has become nearly impossible. We have scratched her date and are trying to help her the best we can but not meeting as often as we were, it just isn't being effective. 

Tomomi san, the referral from another area, also won't let us make any contact. We are going to go by again and try to catch her. We are pretty sure she was drunk last time we met, so going during the day will be best. I have a lot of hope for her though, she told us that she was in the middle of Alma last time we talked, she really loves the reading the Book of Mormon. 

We also had a really awesome first lesson with a lady we found last week named Tsuruno san, she is a really adorable grandma who got a Book of Mormon like 30 years ago and still has it. Right now she likes to listen to us it seems, but doesn't know yet if she believes. I'm really excited to go meet with her again! Last time she gave me and my companion some neat metal bookmarks that she bought in Taiwan 20 years ago. She is so sweet. :)

Yesterday we went and had a BBQ with the ward, it was a lot of fun. I really have started to build good relationships with the members and just love getting together with them. Also, I love Japanese BBQs! And all of you guys, have a good week!

Love,

Megan

Week 49, September 8, 2014. Young mom investigator, having back problems. Elders keeping sister's spirits up!

Hey guys, 

So, my investigator Masuda san, the young mom that has a date for the end of this month has had a rough week. She has a bad back for a long time, but suddenly it started to hurt her really badly and when she went to the hospital they gave her a wheelchair to use from her on out. 

From this we have had a hard time meeting with her and it looks like she is having a hard time keeping commitments, namely keeping away from coffee. We are trying to keep our faith and hope up, but to be perfectly honest it was a bit of a rough week! 

On a brighter note, we did find a few new people that seem to honestly be interested, I'm really excited to meet with them again. They both took copies of the BOM too! Also, the Elders have been pretty sweet this week to us, leaving us cookies and ice cream and heart attacking our door. It is nice to have other missionaries around sometimes! 

We don't know if Masuda san will be able to make it to her date or not, but we are going to give it all we've got to try and get her there. I know that this gospel is what she needs, even if it won't cure her physically, spiritually she needs it more than she could possibly realize. 

Hope you all have a good week, love you!  

Week 48, Aug 31. Sapporo zone conference, Trampoline jumping!

Hey guys, 

We went to Sapporo this week and there was a big surprise at the zone conference, Elder Whiting, a 70 was waiting for us! His workshop was powerful and very intimidating, but also really inspiring. I have a lot of stuff I need to work on but I also was filled with a lot of hope as I listened too. 

Being back in Sapporo itself was a lot of fun. The whole trip took less then 24 hours, so we didn't really have much time to do anything. The bus let us off at the Sapporo Station, which is in the Shinkotoni area, which I hadn't been back to since I was serving there. I love Sapporo so much! I wouldn't say that I like it better than the country, they both have their charms, but I would like go back for at least one transfer. 

When we got back to Obihiro we went to the Fuwa-fuwa Dome, a gaint tramp like place with a friend from Eikaiwa, it was super fun. And hot! I have blisters on my feet from the heat, ha ha. 

Masuda san is doing really good still too, she meets with us pretty much every other day and we are working towards baptism. She came to church again and told us that she feels really peaceful there, we taught her about how she can have that same feeling at in her home too, with Mai Chan. During Sacrament meeting Mai Chan went up with the other Primary kids and sang the sunbeam song, it was too cute! It made me all teary to see her up there. :)

We also had another big surprise too, a guy from America that we found housing came to church! The elders are going to start teaching him too! 

It was a great week, hopefully you all can say the same.

Love you all,

Megan

Week 48, Aug 24. Staying in Obihiro and with Nagamine Shimai. Floating noodle party!

Hey people,

So I ended up staying in Obihiro with Nagamine Shimai! My first time doing two transfers in a row with a companion since I was a fresh bean with my trainer. I really couldn't be happier too, she is such a joy to work with. She is so diligent, always gets everything done when it needs too but we also are able to have a lot of fun together too. And even though she is my senior, she and I do it all pretty much together. Also, my Japanese has improved a lot with her as well. Couldn't be happier. :)

We made another baptism date! Her name is Masuda san, I think I told you guys about her last time a little bit since she came to church. She has a little five year old daughter that I just love. Masuda san told us that she was going to church for Mai chan so she could have social experiences and make friends, but I really believe that she herself likes our church and its teachings. We've been meeting almost everyday lately, today we are going over and she is teaching us how to make some potato meat dish and then we are going to teach her about the Restoration. 

On a more slightly sad note, our dear Sone san sort of fell off the planet. We called him and he told us that he was going out of town for a while, but wouldn't say where or when he would be back. I am hopeful that he will come back and the we will be able to meet him again this transfer, but for now we just have to wait. It is going to be hard for him to baptized on his scheduled date. Right now though, we are just praying that he will let us come back again.

This week we had a ward somen party, essentially it was a like the marble game that we had as kids but like 20 times bigger and had a hose attached to it and instead of marbles we sent noodles down it. Everyone all gathered around and snatched out the somen, dipped it in sauce and had a grand old time. Excuse the bad explanation. Pictures to come. :)

Love you all! Have a great week!

Week 47- Aug 18, 2014. Japanese holiday, Obon- Fireworks, end of summer and four investigators to church!

Hey guys,

There was a Japanese holiday this week, Obon, is called. It's when the Japanese all get together with their family and visit the graves of the people who have passed away. They make a lot of food though, mostly to be left at the graves for the deceased, but the actually making of the meals takes a good amount of time. A lot of very traditional and time consuming dishes. Its fun for them all to get together with their family, my companion told me she really loved it when she was home. But... it was sort of a trial when it came to meeting with anyone! Three whole days with very few appointments! 

So we did more creative forms of dendo. Like baking cookies for everyone that we were going to try to meet. And doing service at a non-attending members house by trimming all of her hedges. And a lot of phone dendo, ha ha. It was pretty fun, but I'm sort of glad to get to return to the normal. We weren't able to meet with Sone san, but we dropped some cookies off and saw him for a minute. Sunday is really busy for him too, so we won't be having a lesson this week either. 

On Wednesday they had a huge hanabi taikai, firework show, and we went! It was the biggest one in Hokkaido, and possibly made the top 5 of Japan. We got to go right up close to where they were doing it too, which was awesome! They did it to various songs, most of which I didn't know, but I did recognize the Frozen song (everyone here is obsessed with it, just like Sophie) so that was a lot of fun. I got a lot of it on video too, excited to show it to my little tiny sister! In order to make it back home before 9 we had to leave early. It was a very speedy flight home so we could catch the very end of it on the roof of our apartment. You ended up being able to see it pretty good from there too. :)

And with that it seems that our summer has pretty much come to a close, just like my poor siblings, ha ha. The summer festivals have all wrapped up and the kids are all starting school again today too. As crazy as it is, suddenly the weather has gotten a bit chillier too! My six weeks of summer seems to have ended, fall is here and since this is Hokkaido, winter will be back for vengeance soon. I am really excited to see the leaves change though! I was in Sapporo in the fall last year and it was pretty, but I bet it is even prettier out here in the country. 

We had a really awesome Sunday miracle this week, after a really long dry spell of having no investigators (ours or the Elders!) we were blessed to have four of ours come! Two for the first time ever! One, Masuda san, came with her five year old daughter, it was so great! She had a really fun time at primary and they said that they want to come again next week too. I'm really excited to see what happens with them. Heavenly Father has good stuff in store for them, I hope we can get it started this soon! 

It was a great week, love you all!

Week 46- August 11. Baptism date! And squid on a stick- gross and good all at the same time

Hey all,

First thing! We made a baptism date!! It is true, it is true! The man we found at the start of the transfer has a date! We were actually feeling really disappointed about him, our ward mission leader looked over some booklets that he had given us and told us that it looked like he was part of a religious group that was really into researching all sorts of religions but wouldn't join just one. Not sure what it would be called in English, but I guess it is sort of a new thing here. So we were feeling really sad that he was just sort of stringing us along and didn't have any real intent on trying to get an answer for himself if this church was true or not. We went and right from the start he pulled out the Book of Mormon and basically asked us to start talking. We told him about our belief in God, and how he speaks to his children and explained how the Holy Ghost helps us recognize answers from Him. It was so great! He felt the Spirit, I know it, and he really is earnest in investigating I believe. Can't wait to teach him about the restoration!

We also went to a matsuri! Japanese festival. I ate so much. Including a big piece of squid on a stick, it was good and yet really gross at the same time. My companion was so impressed that I was willing to try it! Pictures to come. :) We ended up going twice too. A lot of the people were dressed up in kimonos and it really felt like Japan. From now until summer ends there are a lot of really fun things going on. Our ward is having a somen, noodle, party, and this Wednesday there is a big firework festival!

Love you guys,

Megan

Week 45 Trip to Kushiro for ZTM. Interview with new mission pres, brings spirit and insight

Heeey,

This week I got to go back to Kushiro for three days for a district activity and for Zone Training Meeting. It was so strange to go back, it felt like I had never left. I loved seeing the area, apartment and some of the people again. For the activity we played sports at a giant gym with all of the missionaries in our zone. Miller Shimai was there, so we ended up talking a lot and eventually ditching everyone to go walk around outside, ha. It was nice, although the weather was very un-Kushiro like, the sun was out the entire time I was there and it was HOT. 

Nakatsuka Kaicho came over for the ZTM and we all had our fist interviews with him. Getting to sit and talk to him was really good, I instantly felt calm and was able to recognize that he was really called here by God and I know that he has the right to revelation for this Sapporo mission. He asked me if I needed help with anything, and I confided in him that I felt really inadequate and weak still, something that has been pressing hard on my mind since I my end is closer than my start is. I was hoping that he would be able to help me recognize some inner strength I didn't realize I had, tell me something that would show me what I need to do to feel confident. He looked me straight in the eye and in all seriousness told me simply, "That is great". I thought maybe he didn't understand me, and he probably guessed by the look on my face, so he repeated himself, "That is great!". I was hit with a wall of the spirit. He explained it all to me, I don't remember what he said now, but I now see that my weakness and feelings of inadequacy are a blessing. It gives the Lord room to work and to show me how he wants me to be. I'm so grateful for my mission president's wise words and for the bigger insight I have on myself. 

 

We then went back to Obihiro, after a four hour train ride. It was a lot hotter there than I remembered too! Summer in Hokkaido just doesn't make sense still, ha ha. It was good to be back and see our investigators again, although nothing much has changed yet! We called Sone san and he told us that he was reading the Book of Mormon side by side with the Bible and that he was having a really good study! I'm so excited to get to meet with him again next week.

Today we are going to a Matsuri, festival, there is going to be a lot of fun food and people dressed up in kimons! Pictures to come next week! 

Love you all, have a great week, stay cool,

Megan

Week 44- July 20, 2014. Been out one year! Giving away Books of Mormon and thinking about her 40 week pregnant "sister" back home :)

Hello everyone!

I feel really good about this last week, we worked really hard. It's good to have a companion who is always ready to work and wants to be completely obedient. Nagamine Shimai really helps me be better every single day.. And she is so cute! She is your classic tiny, adorable Nihonjin, but with a really fun sense of humor. She is always laughing and joking around, even when she and I don't perfectly understand each other we always have fun. Working with her is the first time I haven't been able to fall back onto English. My Japanese is going to get improve like crazy. Yes! :)

We end up meeting so many people everyday, I couldn't possibly tell you about them all. Lots of Non-attending, investigators and people that we want to get investigating. Obihiro has so many old investigators, which I think I told you a bit about last time. We are just trying to make really good use of our time, going to those who have sincere desire to learn or need our help and then also making time to find new people to teach.

There was this really cool lady we found a few days ago, younger and loves to travel. A bit of a free spirit, you could say, but really neat. She took a copy of the Book of Mormon and we made a return appointment. We got a call from her yesterday and she told us that she was going to be going out of town to Sapporo because her friend was coming in from Australia. Today we are going to go by and see her again, but after that it might be hard to meet for awhile. 

We've really put a big emphasis on using the Book of Mormon this week, we actually set a goal for us both to put a copy in our bags and then give them both away before we get back. It feels so good to give them away, it really is the best tool that we have. I love leaving someone with and and just feeling the potential they have if they would only sincerely read, ponder and pray about it. There have been a few really cool people who have taken it and we have appointments to go back and see them! There isn't a better book in the world!

Love you all, have a good week. Make sure you go read the Book of Mormon today, alright? And if you see my poor overly pregnant sister give her a hug for me. Poor thing! 

Love,

the almost auntie,

Megan

Week 43- July 13. Surprise transfer! (Kushiro to Obihiro)

Hello everyone!

This may come as a shock, but I transferred! After only five short weeks in Kushiro, Nakatsuka Kaicho received revelation that I needed to go somewhere else, so they bumped me over one area to Obihiro. I'm in the same zone, so I'll go to Kushiro for zone training and all that still, but other than that everything is completely different. My companion is Nagamine Shimai, from Okinawa (Japan's Hawaii) She is so cute, and so hard working. I'm really feeling like we are going to see some really awesome miracles this transfer.

Obihiro is a pretty old area, there have been sisters forever, and at one time they had four, ha ha. That means that there are a lot of people that we have to work with, and most of them are not progressing at all but just like the missionaries. It's going to be some work to balance it all, but I'm really excited to get to know people and also find new, fresh, gospel searching people as well.

Ah, side note, Obihiro is hot! Such a shock from how Kushiro was! I am going to get so tan, ha ha.

Love you all, hope you are all doing well and being humble. Mosiah chapter 2, give all you have, do your best, and remember the source of all of your blessings.

Week 42- July 6, 2014. This girl is 21 today!

Hello!

This sister missionary is now 21! How strange it is that I would now just be heading out on my mission, instead of in the middle of it. I'm so grateful that I left when I did and for all of the crazy wonderful experience that it has been and for all the of the growth I've done and the amazing people I have met. There isn't a better thing for a person to do than serve a mission. I love this church, I love being a missionary, I love Japan, I love the incredible people, I love the rich culture and the beauty that is the country itself. Oh, and I love the food! I just might not come home. :)

It was a pretty good week too, we got to meet Nakatsuka Kaicho at the zone training meeting. He and his wife were so nice and kind, I instantly just loved them. The workshop he did was so good, he talked about obedience and the importance of following the commandments and rules with our hearts. The spirit was so strong, and I really felt a lot less nervous about the big change. 

We were able to do a lot of finding this week, mostly housing and we talked to a lot of neat people and have a few appointments for next week to follow up on. 

For the 4th of July we had an Eikaiwa party where we played a form of English question baseball and ate a bunch of American cookies. The elders also came and heart attacked our door in the shape of an American flag. 

My birthday was on fast Sunday, and it was basically a normal day. We went to eat dinner with Kakizaki Shimai and she gave us all Kimonos! I guess she had a few extra just lying around and let us have them. That night we went back and put them on (incorrectly) and took pictures, it was a lot of fun! My sweet companions also made me a little apple pie and sang to me, they were so sweet! It was a really good day, thank you for all birthday wishes everyone. :)

Love you all, have a good week! 

Week 41- June 29. Great contacts, getting to know new mission pres and 'Fire Meat Party'

Hey you people,

So after fighting off the cold that my companions had caught, I finally succumbed. Not that it really kept us from dendoing all that much, but it did make it a little bit more of an experience. Maybe sent a few more tender mercies our way. :)

This was a great week though, I'll tell you some highlights: On Wednesday we went to lunch with a member and an investigator, Kimio san, that we are teaching. They both speak perfect English, so it was really fun to relax and have a fun lunch with them and get to know them a bit. Later in the week we actually went and visited Kimio san and looked at her beautiful garden. She then let us in and we had a really good talk. It was my first time doing a lesson with her, but I guess she really opened up and we were able to learn more about what her problems are. She really trusts the missionaries, which is so amazing to me. I hope that we can get her to put some things aside and come back to try the church out again. She needs that so very crucial change of heart.

We had a really great ward activity this week too, a 'fire meat party' (direct translation) we basically all sat on the bank of a beautiful river and grilled a bunch of meat and veggies with our little plastic wrapped rice balls in hand. It was a lot of fun, and more importantly a bunch of nonmembers came and were able to meet the members! There is one family that came that we are actually meeting tonight to go get sushi who really are just so sweet, I hope that we can get them to listen to our message. They are the most membery nonmembers I have ever met! 

We also got to see some bamboo magic, it was so interesting! I wish I could explain it, but for the sake of time I will just let you guys imagine it up for yourselves.

Tomorrow we get to meet Nakatsuka Kaicho at the second ZTM of the transfer! He wants to meet everyone before he does transfer calls, ha ha. No pressure! 

It was a great week, and I'm really excited for the next one too! Who can believe that I've almost been out a year and I'm going to be 21. Anyone? I sure can't. But I love you all, talk to you next week!

Week 40- June 22, 2014. Zone Conference golf and big sleepover of sisters

Hey you guys,

It was a really fun week, we had a zone activity and training meeting this week. All of the sisters in our zone stayed in our apartment (that may sound like a big deal, but since there  are only five other sisters besides us in our zone, it actually wasn't) But it was a lot of fun! We ate sushi and did park golf for the activity, I surprised myself by beating everyone on my team! 

Smith Shimai came and since she was on her last transfer it was a really sweet blessing for me. I can't believe my little baby trainer is going home. I cried all throughout the singing of the closing song after listening to everyone that is going home testimonies. I just can't believe how quickly time goes, it seems like just yesterday I was a bean in Shinkotoni learning all about how to live in Japan with Smith Shimai. I love her! 

We had a lesson with Yoshikawa san, she is a referral from a member and is really awesome. She said she was reading the Book of Mormon everyday and during the lesson she felt the spirit too! Also she is coming to Relief Society activities and Eikaiwa every week. She is by far our furthest along person, I really feel like she could have a baptism date before this transfer ends. Can't wait to meet with her again.

Our ZTM had a really big focus on Eikaiwa, and since we have been doing a lot of English lessons with people it was good to get some more info on all of it. English is such a great way to get people into the church and has been a really good way of finding converts. Member referrals only can top it. :)

This was Evans Kaicho and Shimai's last week in Hokkaido, we were so lucky that they came and spoke to us for their last sacrament meeting. I am going to miss them both so much, but I am really excited to meet Nakatsuka Kaicho too! Change is good, even though it really isn't my favorite. 

Johnson Shimai cut my hair this week, it was kind of scary, but she did a good job. She hadn't ever learned how to before, but she thinks it's fun... She told me once that she used to cut her dog's hair sometimes, not sure if that was all that comforting! Maybe now my wild mane will chill out a bit! 

Love you all!

Week 39- June 16, 2014. Feeling more at home in Kushiro in the country. And hey, Japan has ants too, and they're creeps!

Hey guys, how are you all doing? Well, I hope! 

First of all... Happy Father's Day! Did you have a good day, Dad? :)

This last week flew by, (again..) but it was another good one, ha. I was able to meet a lot of investigators and members, and I feel a lot more at home now. The people out here in Kushiro are really special I feel like, this area is a miracle one. Since there aren't a lot of people on the street I was worried that we wouldn't be able to make very many appointments, but I've been proved so wrong! My number of contacts have gone down, but the number of appointments that we make hasn't. I know with a surety that Heavenly Father puts people in the path of missionaries who have been prepared. We just have to make sure that we stop everyone that we come across.

The members here are incredible too, we have a few sisters in the ward that are actively seeking people to tell the gospel to and bring them to activities all the time. In fact, tomorrow we have an appointment that a member set up herself with her friend! They are also really active with Eikaiwa, our English class, coming and bringing their friends, it's just great. When members and missionaries work together miracles happen, the prophets are right! 

There is a really sweet mom that we are teaching right now that we met with this week, we had a little lesson with her and are hoping to meet with her one more time before she goes to get a little surgery done next week. My companions are pretty sure that we will be able to get her a baptism date pretty soon too. 

We have like three ladies who really love English that we are doing the 'Free Family English Program' with. Essentially we spend an hour with them and split it half and half, gospel message and an English lesson. It's a lot of fun, and a really good way to teach someone who maybe doesn't think they have interest in the message, ha ha. One is a younger lady, in her 20's, who is really open to the gospel, I foresee some good lessons in the future!

There are a few recent converts that we are working with too, one is only going to be here for another week and then is going back to her hometown because her husband is getting let out of the hospital, which is great, but the ward she is going back to has some issues, so I am a bit worried about her. I hope that the missionaries take good care of her. Her little testimony is still in need of a lot of support. There are too many non-attending members as it is, sometimes I get really frustrated at how many people go inactive so quickly after converting. That is probably the hardest thing to see out here. 

We had an ant issue for a few days, but after a long battle (and many failed attempts, including tape, bleach, q-tips and the vacuum...) we were able to fend the pests off with some bug killer. I was really impressed with how quickly that cleared up the problem. I'm glad that someone knows what they are doing! It had gotten out of hand though, in a lesson with Nakamura Shimai, I noticed something moving in a strand of my hair and nearly screamed when I realized that it was an ant! And then not two minutes later, there was one climbing on my arm under my watch! Even though we finally got rid of them I haven't been able to shake it off completely. Little creeps! 

I love my companions, they are super missionaries and everyday is a lot of fun. Sometimes it's strange being three- but for the most part we just have a great time. We are all a little bit sassy, which can get out of hand, ha ha. This next week is going to be a lot of fun, we are having a big sleep over with four other sisters for a few days, including my trainer, Smith Shimai, for zone training meeting and a zone activity. Our dendo time gets cut into a bit, but it'll be a good week!

Love,

Megan