#36 "Taking You All The Way"

I'm sure these blog posts must start to repeat at some point - I do the same thing every day. Sometimes I sit down to write and I have absolutely no idea what to say for that week - the same things happen every week! So here is the news for this week;

Sister Aoki and I taught an investigator yesterday. It was my first time teaching this investigator, but Sister Aoki had taught her before. Her name is Tomoko, and we also teach her son, Kouki. Yesterday we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how we can follow him through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. It was my first time teaching this lesson to someone so I was pretty nervous, but my companion let me (attempt to) explain faith, baptism, and enduring to the end. She understood faith really well already, so I just added to her knowledge saying that when we have faith we rely on God and we pray to Him. Then Sister Aoki talked about repentance and how through the process we can correct mistakes we have made and have a  fresh start. Then, I explained baptism, and how when we are baptized we take upon ourselves Christ's name and we follow him. Sister Aoki talked about the special gift of the Holy Ghost, and I concluded with enduring to the end, always using faith, repenting, remembering our baptism, and striving to keep the Holy Ghost with us. When we finished all of the other steps, we went back and asked if there were any she didn't really understand. She said baptism was a little confusing, so we went back and explained it a little more, and even asked the member who had come with us to share her experience. We asked her if that was something she would want, to receive baptism, and.....she said yes!! 

She and her son will be (aiming to be) baptized on the 15th of June. 

I just remember thinking of that song from the Princess and the Frog, when Ray, the firefly says "we know where you're going and we're going with you, taking you all the way!". I remember he was helping Tiana navigate through the swamps of New Orleans, but it reminded me of our lesson. When she said yes to baptism, Tomoko said that she wants to but she doesn't know how. I (smiled so big and) told her that we will always be here to help her. We know where she's going, and we're actually going the same way, we're following Jesus Christ. We'll take her all the way!

#35 "And the World Will Know"

Week 2 in my new area in the city of Nagoya and I still absolutely love it. There's so many people to talk to here! We go from activity to activity, from house to house, talking with every person we can. So, for this week, the Disney reference is from Newsies. As you already may have guessed I cannot for the life of me remember lyrics perfectly. And without the aid of Google, I'm left to my always-lacking memory. I do remember one phrase from a song in Newsies that is stuck in my head from time to time as we go around talking to people:

"And the world will know what we have to say!" 

Although the Newsies and the missionaries have two very different messages, the drive to share those messages comes together in that phrase. The world will know what we have to say! 

Sister Aoki and I talk to a lot of people every day, but usually, nine times out of ten, people walk away saying they are not interested in hearing our message. It can be frustrating to feel God warming my heart, to know these teachings to be true, but to have someone not give you the time of day. They read your name tag, see 'Jesus Christ' written there, and then cut you off and walk away. You know, Jesus is actually a pretty great guy. I think everyone should at least get to know him. 

Anyways, at these times of discouragement, I have this phrase pop into my head and I realize that even if they don't listen to the second sentence I try to stumble through in my horrid Japanese, they'll know at least a portion of the truth we teach, and they can hopefully learn more in the future. 

Even if I only get to tell them a sentence of what I know to be true, I know that single sentence by single sentence, they will eventually hear our message. It might take some time, some days, months, years or so, with thousands of missionaries stopping them to tell them what they know to be true, but I know that eventually everyone will know just who this Jesus Christ really is. 

A photo of the new district at Fukutoku

"On the way to the hospital with a friend"

Newly arrived in Fukutoku (Nagoya, Japan) May, 2014

#34 "Baby Mine"

So I got transferred!! I am now serving in the Fukutoku ward in Nagoya city, and I absolutely love it! I've only been here for 7 days, but I already love it. I am just a city girl and I finally get the opportunity to be in the city. The area is pretty small, but there are so many people to talk to and we have so many investigators!! I think we will always be busy. I haven't even finished unpacking yet!

 

My new companion is Sister Aoki. She is 21, Hawaiian with Japanese ancestry, and is so very nice. She's super easy going, I have a feeling we won't have a problem getting along at all (until I break her....hopefully that doesn't happen). She is very quiet though, and for those of you who know me, you know that I am pretty much deaf, so she said she would speak up.

 

Our apartment is pretty small by other missionaries' standards. In fact, when I told missionaries that I was moving here, they all told me good luck with the smallest apartment in the whole mission. I don't think it's too small, it's just perfect for the two of us, and we really don't spend that much time inside anyways.

 

This week just went by in a blur, and I cannot believe that yesterday was Mother's Day. I remember after my Christmas Day call feeling so homesick that I counted the days until Mother's Day. Now Mother's Day has come and gone, and I've got even longer until it is Christmas again. Sometimes the life of a missionary can seem very hard...

 

Anyways, I had the opportunity to call my family yesterday and speak with them for an hour. It was so wonderful to see their faces again, I just know the second I hop off the train when I finish my mission I'm going to hug them and never let go. But, as I read on some paper somewhere, "A missionary is someone who gives up their family for two years, so that others can be eternal".

 

I think the funniest moment of the call for me, was when some kids passed by in the background behind me at church, and Lucy asked me if all the friends I had made so far were under the age of 10...She was right. I just make friends with every one who is shorter than me, and we have fun talking about school and drawing pictures. Kids are really awesome that way, they don't care if you talk funny, or if you don't quite understand what they're saying. Haha maybe it was the fact that Mother's Day was coming up or something, but lately I have been more baby crazy than ever.

 

In fact, just the other day, we were taking a recent convert (from the Philippines) to the hospital for a stomach ache he had. While we were there I saw so many mothers, it was crazy! There were mothers with 2-year-olds, there were pregnant people, and sitting next to us was a mother, her father and her three-week old son. The new grandfather was holding his new grandson and telling me all about him. I could only sit and stare, I wanted to hold that baby so bad!! But as missionaries, we're not supposed to hold children, so I just contented myself to watch him. I guess the grandfather read my mind, because in the next minute he stood up and put the baby in my lap!! My face just blushed as I tried to tell him that I was not supposed to... and then I noticed the cutest baby on my lap. The elders just turned around and started laughing, and my companion tried to explain to the man that we were not supposed to hold children. He must have figured it out, because he laughed and picked up the baby. I was just left in shock. After a couple of seconds I just turned to my companion and said "that was the best sin I ever committed!" (the elders thought that was pretty funny).

 

My Disney reference would have to be Baby Mine this week, because it reminds me so much of my own mother. Partly because when I first saw it on Dumbo, I ran crying to my mother asking her never to go to elephant jail, and the other part is because I learned to play it on the piano. One morning I was playing it on the piano, while I thought everyone else was asleep, and she came up behind me and gave me a big hug. She told me good morning and told me she loved me. She doesn't know this, but while I was playing the piano, I was also recording the sound on my computer, so I have this recorded. It was such a precious moment to me, and I'm so happy I captured it forever.

 

Momma, thanks for being my Momma. I love you.

#33 "Restaurant vs. Love"

Missionaries may deny it, but there definitely are butterflies in everyone's stomach on the morning of transfer calls. No one ever truly knows if they are going or not, if their companion is going or not. We may even be told by the Mission President in advance what he is planning on, but in the end, he is the one who has the power to change every thing at the last moment.

 

And so it was with Saturday morning. I got up in the morning, got ready for the day, and (with special permission from our zone leaders) packed up and went to the church party. We spent the morning and early afternoon in the mountains of Komatsu just standing around, talking, laughing, playing soccer and making food. Interestingly enough, they called it a "hike" - this is my kind of "hike".

 

We received a text message to indicate that transfer calls had begun - we were now not allowed to use the phone to call or text other missionaries until we had received a text message that the calls had ended. This is when the butterflies suddenly multiply. We stood nervously close to each other and listened carefully, checking constantly to make sure we still had service. After 15 minutes or so the Elders got a phone call. When they hung up the phone, we waited, assuming that if the Assistants to the President had just called the Komatsu Elders, if the Komatsu Sisters were transferring, they would call us soon after. 15 minutes passed and our phone went off. We picked up to hear another sister missionary excitedly ask us where we were going. We reminded her that the calls were still not over, hung up, and continued our anxious wait. Finally we received a phone call...this time from a lost member who needed directions to get up the mountain and decided to call the missionaries. After we hung up with her, we checked our phone but found no missed calls. 30 minutes later transfer calls ended, but no one had called us. We sat around in shock - this would be our third transfer together, and my 5th in Komatsu (a rare occurance). After a minute or so the shock wore off me, and I was just happy to stay. My companion was either still in shock...or just not too happy to be stuck with me for another transfer, hahaha.

 

A couple of missionaries called us, as everyone is eager to learn what is changing. While on one phone call, one missionary told us that a sister in her old area was very excited to come to Komatsu. We were so confused! We did not get a phone call, but there was someone who thought they were coming to Komatsu. Finally after three of these kind of phone calls, we decided to call the Assistants.

 

...They apologized over and over again for forgetting to call. And the news is that I AM LEAVING KOMATSU!!

 

I cannot believe it, I'm still in shock. I've had to pack up my suitcases in the past 48 hours with everything that I have, and get ready to move. I'll be leaving the rice fields of Komatsu for the city of Fukutoku. My new companion is Sister Aoki. I don't know much about her, or the area, but I cannot wait to find out!!

 

As for my Disney referrence for this week, I think a lot about the movie the Princess and the Frog. I remember the main character, the movie's heroine,  Tiana, has big dreams of owning her own restaurant. During her story, she strives her best to reach these dreams. She works numerous jobs and does not have any fun. Her dreams are put on hold as she turns into a frog and must try to reverse the process. At one point, she is offered by the antagonist her very own restaurant in return for something that he wanted. He makes the mistake of telling her that she can have what her father had and wanted her to have. Although her father also planned on owning his own restaurant, it is at this point in the movie when Tiana makes the realization that he didn't need the restaurant, he had something much greater, he had love. She realizes that she doesn't need to work so hard to gain her restaurant, because there is something of greater value right in front of her.

 

I was reminded of this idea, of working so hard but realizing that you already have something of even greater value, as I was packing my suitcase yesterday. I came to Komatsu hoping to work really hard on my Japanese and hoping to be able to progress as a missionary. I had certain goals in mind, but at the end of my stay in Komatsu, I realize that despite my hard work, some goals were left untouched. But, I do leave Komatsu with the love of one of the most amazing wards I have ever had the priviledge of knowing. I love this ward so very much, and as I told them, I will be visiting them very soon.

 

Thank you Komatsu! Hello, Fukutoku!!