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
