#14 "The Little Mermaid" (Never Underestimate the Power of a Smile)

So I think this week I'm going to start off with the Disney reference, and then every thing else will all make sense. This week's is from the Little Mermaid. Do you all remember that song "Poor Unfortunate Souls"? If you don't, I don't blame you, I was hiding under my blanket when it came on. To summarize, Ariel, the little mermaid, wishes to have legs so that she can be with her prince. The sea witch promises that she will, if the little mermaid will give her voice in return. At this request, Ariel is slightly confused. she asks how she is supposed to make her prince fall in love with her if she doesn't have her voice. To which the sea witch replies "you have your looks, your pretty face! And don't forget the importance of body language, ha."

While I'm not a little mermaid and I'm not trying to "get a man", I do have this little itty bitty problem that I cannot speak Japanese for the life of me - I don't have my voice. I do, however, remember the advice my Grandma gave me in her first letter she sent to the MTC: "smile". I have my body language, I have my face and I have my smile. In every way I act, I can try to express this love I have for the people here. I can express my desire to help out in any way I can. I can smile.

Chiyo san is a widow who lives by herself about 30 minutes by bike from our apartment. We try to visit her every Thursday, but she lately she has been sick. I finally met her for the first time this week on Tuesday. We came in her entry way for a minute or two to ask how she was and to introduce the new missionary to the area. I introduced myself in the two or three sentences that I know how to say and then just stood and smiled while my companion explained more about me to Chiyo san in Japanese. After a while she said "yasashiso", which means she seems nice (silent high five for body language!).

On thursday she texted us and told us we could visit her. We came over and as we took off our shoes in her entry way, she proceeded to tell us that she had told her friends about us. She told them that when she opened the door and saw me smiling on Tuesday, she thought I was smiling and glowing. She thought I was an angel! After we had left that day she said she went into the other room and felt her eyes fill with tears.

No, I'm not an angel - and my little sisters will tell you that I'm quite opposite. But the one thing I do know is that I can smile.

Don't underestimate the power of a smile.

#13 "Mary Poppins - Life is a Gift"

So I promised a rough schedule of what I do day-to-day and here it is;

6:30-7 - we wake up and exercise. And by exercise, I really mean stretch. And by stretch, I really mean reach for my toes for thirty minutes...Sorry Mom, if you thought I would actually exercise...
7-8- we prepare for the day and eat breakfast.
8-10 - we study
10-12- we go out and work
12-2 - we eat lunch and study
2-5 - we go out and work
5-7 - we eat dinner and study
7-9 - we go out and work
9-9:30 - we plan details of the next day
9:30-10:30 - we prepare for bed
10:30 - we pass out...

We have four hours of study every day - personal, companionship, training, and language. Each one takes an hour and no less. Studying is very important.

When we work, we go out to visit members, do service, visit and teach those who are interested in the church or go door-to-door asking if we can teach.

And yeah! that's a typical day for me. I love every second of it. Well not every, missions aren't easy, but "In every job that's to be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and SNAP the job's a game!"

And there is your Disney reference for this week. From the lips of Mary Poppins comes the advice I needed to hear this week and the advice I will share with all of you. It's finally beginning to dawn on me why missions are hard. I really don't know how to talk at all, much less in Japanese, and I could think of a hundred other reasons why I should just give up and go home. But at the same time, the biggest element of fun can be found in this work. Not that missionary work is a game to me, but it's just as fun. I love talking to people now, even though I have no idea what they say back to me. This is just fun! My advice to you is to find the fun in your work, and then every thing is "tanoshii!"

I've been using that word - "tanoshii" (fun/amusing) - for pretty much everything. My trainer told me yesterday, "Sister Johnson, do you know what that word means? You keep using it, but I'm not sure you know what it means. Sometimes you use it when you shouldn't." I told her life is "tanoshii", and I honestly can use it in just about every situation I darn well please.

Life is a gift - don't just endure it, live it.

#12 "A Whole New World"

Oh yeah...Thanksgiving. Whoops I had completely forgotten all about it. Oh well, I think I had leftover okonomiyaki that night, and for those of you who don't know that is my all-time favorite Japanese food. So yes I did have a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

I was going to write about my day-to-day life, but seeing as it was Thanksgiving maybe I'll just share 10 things I am most grateful for this season.

 

1. Parents - I hate to break it to you all, but I have the BEST PARENTS EVER. I honestly do. They are my teachers, my confidents, and my best friends. I love them to bits.

 

2. Sisters - I visited a home of two Japanese brothers and suddenly I'm grateful for the housefull of girls...haha only kidding. But really I have some fantastic sisters. They're so special to me, each and every one. I know we fight sometimes and our personalities make it difficult to get along, but I think that's one of our strengths too. We bring out the best in each other. We support each other. We learn from each other. I'm so grateful that they are my sisters.

 

3. Family - I'm grateful to all of my family. Every aunt, uncle, cousin and grandparent has had a hand in shaping my life. I feel so much love and support from all of you, and I am truly grateful.

 

4. Max - I'm grateful for you, Max, for all the memories we have together, and how you an always make me smile. You always know the right thing to say, and I miss hearing your voice more than ever.

 

5. Friends, both old and new - I have some truly great friends. They're fantastic. Every week opening my inbox to a flood of emails just makes me smile. Thank you so much for all your love.

 

6. My companions - Sister Hansen for helping me through my first weeks at the MTC. Sister Bickmore for making me laugh through the rest. Sister Ishida for all her patience that she has to exercise with her "Bean chan". They truly are amazing missionaries, and I wish them all the best on their missions.

 

7. Comfort - for the suprisingly big (by Japanese standards) apartment that I now live in. For central heating, because it is FREEZING. For all the clothing my family sent me, I am truly grateful. I am blessed to have a roof over my head and a pillow under it at night.

 

8. The lessons I have learned - for every teacher and lesson I am so grateful. I feel like I rely on everything I've ever learned every day. Any time I don't know where to go or what to do, I just think and act on what I've learned. I'm grateful for what I know.

 

9. The lessons I am learning - Every day is a new adventure and a new something learned. I'm so grateful that I'm not done yet, and I can keep learning new things. Whether it's culture, vocabulary, or even every-day-living, I'm always learning and I love it!

 

10. Being a missionary - I feel like I close every prayer with "thank you for letting me wear Your church's name on my nametag". I truly am so grateful that I can be a missionary. This is an incredible experience, and I'm so happy for those who get to experience it. There is nothing else like it, it's just wonderful.

 

I think I'll close here with my Disney reference for the week; A Whole New World from Aladdin. If you haven't heard the song, go and look it up, because EVERY SINGLE WORD APPLIES. I was listening to it the other day and realized that this pretty much is my trainer and I every day. She shows me something new and it's just crazy exciting for me. The one lyric I will share is when Jasmine sings "I can't go back to where I used to be". I used to think this was dumb, because at the end of the song she ends up on her back porch, right where she started. I didn't understand that she did not physically...

 

After being a missionary for about 2 or so months, I think I understand her now. I can't go back to where I used to be. Yes, after the mission I will just be hopping on a bullet train headed for Tokyo, but I won't be going back to where I used to be. Every day as I learn something new, I change. I'm becoming a new person. I can just feel God smoothing out the edges. I wish Him luck, He has a long way to go! Haha, but I feel I understand Jasmine now. I can't go back. Now that I've learned so much, I don't think I'll ever be the same.

 

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Your missionary,

Sister Johnson