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!