I don't have a lot of time, but here goes nothing!!
Tuesday*
We made sugar cookies with the relief society! Can I just emphasize how adorable the Japanese are? My companion and I are just smearing icing on our cookies and they are making intricate designs on each of theirs. It's like Feist family reunion all over again and Maressa makes the adorable rice crispie snow man and mine is an ugly smiley face. Even the five year olds' designs are cuter than mine.
It was Elder Merrell's birthday and we through him a surprise party! It was so fun, and it was just really nice to spend time with one of our investigators and hang with our fellow missionaries. Our investigator actually asked for a lesson which was a surprise since she hasn't been progressing for a really long time. Hopefully she wants to progress more and come closer to Christ!
Wednesday*
Yeah... It was a weird day. In fact, nothing happened this day. It just wasn't right. Soooo moving on...
ZONE MEETING THURSDAY
Yeah today was great!! I got to see a ton of misisonaries from the MTC and we were trained all day by President Wada. Can I just emphasize how much of the best he is? He is really just THE BEST.
Friday*
We went to Friend's Circle which is just like a giant preschool that the church provides as a service to the community. The kids are ages 2-5. Oh my gosh. They are too cute. Like, Japanese kids are literally the cutest things you will ever see. Then a miracle happened! One of the members brought her friend Fifi with her. She has never told Fifi that she's Christian or anything about her religion. Fifi started talking with us and when she found out we were Mormon missionaries she was totally down with it. She then offered to teach us how to make gyoza (potstickers) and we are making them with her on Thursday! Her friend was so excited that just by simply inviting her to an activity, she was able to know how comfortable she is with religion. It was a miracle for all of us!
Friday night we had a lesson with Hiroko and she is progressing so much!! She LOVES reading the Book of Mormon. She says it's a thrilling story, and she also feels peace when she reads it. By the end of the lesson I asked her if she would be baptized. She said no. But you know what? I'm not stressed about it because she wasnt offended. She still wants to meet with us and she still wants to read the Book of Mormon with us.
Sports night!! Elder Berube came and we played volleyball with some little kids! Just like old times at the MTC!
Saturday*
Inside missionary work. My companion was really sick so we stayed in the apartment all day and organized our calendar, sent emails, and made appointments. I felt useless. I can't speak Japanese so I couldn't make the calls. I can't write Japanese so I couldn't write emails. And she's in charge of the calendar anyways. It was a rough day
Sunday*
Akiko came to church! She is so powerful, and she really takes her conversion seriously. A lot of times, it feels like people talk to the missionaries because they like us, not because they want to come closer to Christ. It wouldn't matter what kind of person Akiko was meeting with. She is looking for the truth, and she's pretty certain she's found it here. She is honestly a golden investigator.
President and Sister Wada came to our sacrament meeting and it was so nice to see them! They gave such good advice and gave really great talks. In there talks they said great things about us and we could tell that it really boosted how much the members trust us. We scheduled so many appointments after church, and got 2 referrals! It's a huge sign of trust when someone is willing to have you teach someone they hold dear.
I also spoke in sacrament meeting. I didn't fail miserably. It was alright. People laughed when I said I lived on a pumpkin patch in Idaho.
We saw a huge miracle at the end of the night when we got 25 meaningful contacts in under 2 hours. That means we had straightup conversations with over 25 people!! God blesses us when we work hard!
Today: Relaxing Pday. Just gonna go shopping, finish my bento, and probably take a nap.
I love you all, God loves you, and this is His work! When we strive to follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves getting a little better and feel ourselves becoming a little happier each day. The Book of Mormon is TRUE. I am uplifted by it's teachings every day!
Love always,
Feist Shimai
Tuesday*
We made sugar cookies with the relief society! Can I just emphasize how adorable the Japanese are? My companion and I are just smearing icing on our cookies and they are making intricate designs on each of theirs. It's like Feist family reunion all over again and Maressa makes the adorable rice crispie snow man and mine is an ugly smiley face. Even the five year olds' designs are cuter than mine.
It was Elder Merrell's birthday and we through him a surprise party! It was so fun, and it was just really nice to spend time with one of our investigators and hang with our fellow missionaries. Our investigator actually asked for a lesson which was a surprise since she hasn't been progressing for a really long time. Hopefully she wants to progress more and come closer to Christ!
Wednesday*
Yeah... It was a weird day. In fact, nothing happened this day. It just wasn't right. Soooo moving on...
ZONE MEETING THURSDAY
Yeah today was great!! I got to see a ton of misisonaries from the MTC and we were trained all day by President Wada. Can I just emphasize how much of the best he is? He is really just THE BEST.
Friday*
We went to Friend's Circle which is just like a giant preschool that the church provides as a service to the community. The kids are ages 2-5. Oh my gosh. They are too cute. Like, Japanese kids are literally the cutest things you will ever see. Then a miracle happened! One of the members brought her friend Fifi with her. She has never told Fifi that she's Christian or anything about her religion. Fifi started talking with us and when she found out we were Mormon missionaries she was totally down with it. She then offered to teach us how to make gyoza (potstickers) and we are making them with her on Thursday! Her friend was so excited that just by simply inviting her to an activity, she was able to know how comfortable she is with religion. It was a miracle for all of us!
Friday night we had a lesson with Hiroko and she is progressing so much!! She LOVES reading the Book of Mormon. She says it's a thrilling story, and she also feels peace when she reads it. By the end of the lesson I asked her if she would be baptized. She said no. But you know what? I'm not stressed about it because she wasnt offended. She still wants to meet with us and she still wants to read the Book of Mormon with us.
Sports night!! Elder Berube came and we played volleyball with some little kids! Just like old times at the MTC!
Saturday*
Inside missionary work. My companion was really sick so we stayed in the apartment all day and organized our calendar, sent emails, and made appointments. I felt useless. I can't speak Japanese so I couldn't make the calls. I can't write Japanese so I couldn't write emails. And she's in charge of the calendar anyways. It was a rough day
Sunday*
Akiko came to church! She is so powerful, and she really takes her conversion seriously. A lot of times, it feels like people talk to the missionaries because they like us, not because they want to come closer to Christ. It wouldn't matter what kind of person Akiko was meeting with. She is looking for the truth, and she's pretty certain she's found it here. She is honestly a golden investigator.
President and Sister Wada came to our sacrament meeting and it was so nice to see them! They gave such good advice and gave really great talks. In there talks they said great things about us and we could tell that it really boosted how much the members trust us. We scheduled so many appointments after church, and got 2 referrals! It's a huge sign of trust when someone is willing to have you teach someone they hold dear.
I also spoke in sacrament meeting. I didn't fail miserably. It was alright. People laughed when I said I lived on a pumpkin patch in Idaho.
We saw a huge miracle at the end of the night when we got 25 meaningful contacts in under 2 hours. That means we had straightup conversations with over 25 people!! God blesses us when we work hard!
Today: Relaxing Pday. Just gonna go shopping, finish my bento, and probably take a nap.
I love you all, God loves you, and this is His work! When we strive to follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves getting a little better and feel ourselves becoming a little happier each day. The Book of Mormon is TRUE. I am uplifted by it's teachings every day!
Love always,
Feist Shimai