My heart is so full right now. We are seeing so many miracles and working so hard together. I can't help but think of President Uchtdorf's conference talk about being in a state of gratitude. That because we have the knowledge of our Savior's Atonement, we should never lose hope. I never need to feel despair because I know that as I maintain an eternal perspective, I will always feel the perfect joy that comes along with living the gospel of Jesus Christ. That as I prioritize my life to follow my Savior Jesus Christ, everything will fall into place. And if something doesn't fall into place, then I guess there isn't really a need for it in my life.
We have a new investigator named Aya. We met her 2 weeks ago at a stoplight, and she came with us to the Stevenson family's house for dinner last Monday. She had such a great experience and she kept saying that she wants a Christian family like the Stevensons. We had a lesson with her yesterday. She has already been reading the Book of Mormon and she said that she feels warm in her heart when she reads it. She cried during the lesson, and she felt the Spirit so strongly. We set a baptismal date with her for May 31, and she was so excited to be baptized. I really do believe that she is someone who has been prepared by God. She emailed us late last night and said that she talked to her Mom who asked her to focus more on her university studies. She also said that she has already been going to a church before she met with us and that she thinks she will be baptized into that church. The lesson that we had with her was so good and she is so amazing! My heart is aching right now to see the opposition that she is facing and to realize the confusion that she must be feeling right now. We are praying that we will be led by the Spirit while working with her, and are constantly reminding ourselves that God's timing is perfect, and we are not.
Oikawa Shimai is doing really well. The members are meeting with her and studying with her. She is looking up Mormon videos and music on youtube. When we talk about baptism with her, it's not really a matter of if she will get baptized, but when she will get baptized. She talks about the light that she sees in Mormons' faces and how they really do just shine and seem so happy. Today we met with her and had a really incredible lesson. We talked about why she feels that she can't be baptized (she's been coming to church for 5 years) and were really able to get to know her better. She still won't set a date for baptism, but we're as stubborn about her remembering its importance as she is about being certain before making any commitments.
Suwa San is doing well. We are meeting with her this Friday, and are excited for it. We are going to review conference, then talk about her relationship with God. She really is amazing and ready to learn.
Pinko San had a really great experience at church on Sunday. The stake relief society presidency was there and each of them made an effort to welcome her. A member of the ward who speaks Chinese offered to study with us, so we will be studying with her this Friday. It's incredible how the attention and genuine affection from friends at church can influence the desire of a person to learn. As we care for others as Christ cares for them, it will not only change their lives, but it will change us.
We have many other people we are working with, who we are trying to help cultivate and create defining moments for. I realize that as long as I am obedient, and try to work as The Lord would have me work, then I will see success in His vineyard. I honestly do feel that we are seeing so many miracles, and that there are a lot of incredible things happening here in Japan.
Okay, but that's not all. This past week was incredible!!! We had so many great events that really did change me and are helping shape my thoughts on life and how I want to help others. One thought that has been coming to me this week is what kind of culture I want in my future home. In zone conference we learned about Japanese culture, and how as we adapt parts of the culture, we can better show our love for others. I realized that this doesn't simply apply to table manners, it can also apply to love languages. Each of us express and receive love differently, which can make communication really challenging. Just as I'm working to understand culture a little better, I've decided to also understand how people receive love a little better. That way, I can show love for them the way they recognize it best.
President Wada had a fireside for our investigators where he compared clips from the "Dead Poets Society" to the teachings of Christ. One thing that really occurred to me during the discussion time is how important each of our own personalities and talents are. God has given us these gifts, and He wants us to understand them and share them with others. He works with us individually to develop them and He teaches us in the way that will change us most eternally. God teaches us perfectly through the Spirit. He loves us. He knows our eternal potential, and if we were able to even understand it a little, we would never settle for anything less than stellar. We are infinite beings with infinite possibilities. Never forget your worth in the eyes of God!!
Sister Burton of the general society presidency and Sister Oscarson of the general young women's presidency came and spoke in Kichijoji on Easter Sunday!! We went with a less active in our ward, and it was incredible to see how a reminder of the importance of keeping her covenants had such a significant impact upon her. One thing that really impacted me from these talks was the fact that as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I have taken upon myself the name of Christ, and promised to always remember Him and become like Him. These covenants ought to effect my every moment. My every thought, word and deed. As I am striving to become like my Savior, others should know Him by knowing me. As a missionary I am an official representative of Jesus Christ, but I intend to be follow Him and change every day to become a little more like Him, for the rest of my life.
Just fun facts about this week: We went on splits this week and they forced me to ride a bike. I wiped out. Yay for bloody hands!! I also tried gyudon for the first time. Definition: meat and rice. Soooo delicious. We also made our own okonomiyaki with Aya yesterday and ate Endo curry with Oikawa Shimai today. Yeah, I'm eating some delicious foods these days. I love Japan. Watch out family, you will be subject to my bizarre Japanese cooking next year!! :) We were stopped by some people at the train station and asked if we were models. Kind of embarrassing, but incredibly flattering. In the past week we have been stopped twice by police officers to show our legal Japanese id. Which is way unusual considering that most missionaries can go their whole mission without being stopped! But apparently President Obama is coming to Japan this week, so everyone is turning up the safety for him?
Things are fun and weird here in Japan. I am loving every minute of it and I love my companion Sister Reeves. She teaches me so much, and I really do enjoy our time together. This transfer is incredible, I can't believe that time is flying by so quickly!!!
Long letter, lots of feelings, lots of things I want to improve :) I love this gospel and this work. I am happy. Love always, Sister Feist
I wanted to write an insightful poem comparing flowers and gratitude, but I'm sorry I'm really not quite poetic enough. My heart is so full right now, as I consider this once in a lifetime opportunity that I am participating in right now. But you know what? Every single day is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Because of the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, we can make every single day the new best day of our lives. With that perspective, we can't help but be excited about life!! I'm grateful for this gospel and that I never have reason to be sad because of it. With an eternal perspective, we can always have hope in our lives. And as we have that hope, it will shine in our countenances and invite others to come unto Christ. Don't be afraid to share that light!! Thank you for your work and your influence in my life! Happy Easter!! Sister Feist
To those I love, This week has been so busy and so incredible. We are seeing so many miracles, and striving to be 100% obedient every day. We know that it is through our obedience that we will be strengthened and it is our way of telling the Savior that we are in this for Him, and we want to do it His way. As this is His work, and we are simply tools in His hands, doing the work His way is simply being the most effective we can be. I LOVE being a missionary. This past week I realized that I have been in Japan for over 6 months. What the what?! I feel like it was only yesterday that I decided to serve a mission! This is literally the best decision I have ever made with my life. I love where I am at right now, and I know that things will literally only get better from here. Serving The Lord full time right now is the perfect opportunity for me prepare myself for serving Him for the rest of my life. I am a disciple of Christ. I am learning to be more like Him everyday. He is my perfect example, and I am humbled by this opportunity I have to wear His name and bare His name as a part of my identity. I love that I know I am the best I have ever been in my entire life, but because of eternal progression, I am the worst that I will ever be. Every day I have a chance to be a new version of myself. SisterFeist2.0. How stellar is that? The people we are working with right are all such interesting characters. All completely different in age, personality, interests and needs. Yet they all have such distinct need for the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. I see in their hearts and lives how this gospel can help them, and we are working so hard for them to be able to recognize that need and cultivate the desire for them to follow Jesus Christ. It's amazing to work with these children of God and to feel His love for them. This week we met for the first time a woman who has met with missionaries before, but has stubbornly refused to really learn about Christ. She has cancer, and has lived an extremely lonely life.Throughout the whole lesson we just continued to tell her that we loved her and wanted to help her. Then when we taught her about prayer, we told her that she could pray about any questions she had in her life. She proceeded to ask, "Will He tell me why you two creepy love me so much?" We laughed but told her that He will definitely tell her the reason why. I had never considered how strange it must be for someone who has never understood love before to suddenly be overdosed on it from the missionaries. But it's what she needed! By the end of the lesson she confessed that the church is a place of relief for her, and she really does want to learn more how she can improve her life. I love that this mission experience is giving me so many diverse opportunities to serve others. As missionaries, we participate in a ton of activities that are really fun! We get to teach English class, host a sports night, and Sister Wells and I are even members of an interfaith gospel choir! But these activities are designed so that us missionaries can have a good time and maybe make some friends. Everything we do is to help others to come unto Christ. At these activities each week, I go with the goal to help others feel incredible about themselves. Whether it's passing the ball in basketball for others to score, praising people for understanding difficult English, or singing softer so others can be heard (and because I'm terribly pitchy), others can feel a little bit of their divine potential. I love that! I love that it's not about me being the best, but helping others realize that they really are the best. That they are important to me, but more importantly, they are important to their Heavenly Father. This past Sunday our choir performed at a charity concert in Shibuya. While there we sang our Negro Spirituals (I had a solo, NBD, I mean I was voted "Most soul/rhythm/most likely to become an African princess" in high school), took photos with a bunch of people and were able to explain our purpose. Every person we were with could feel the Savior's light, and I pray that they felt their own light as well. I love people, and I hope that as children of an Eternal Being, we realize our own eternal potential. I was able to watch Saturday's session of conference and it was an incredible experience. I am so grateful that we have modern prophets who are receiving revelation from God TODAY! This is Christ's restored church, and He is at the head of it. We speak of Christ, we rejoice in Him, He is the motivation for our every action. As I watched conference, I had a few questions written down. As I listened to the talks, I realized that all my problems exist because I simply think too much about myself. Problems communicating my feelings? Maybe I should strive to understand others better. Trouble with self-confidence? Try building up another's spirits. Worried that people don't like me enough? Love them! Life is a lot easier when we decide that love is our motive in everything we do. I wish I was more interesting, but that's about it! I love you all and I love this gospel. Keep working hard to improve a little every day, and remember that thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we never have reason to not be happy. Love always, Sister Feist
We really want to learn how to cook a new kind of fish a week. Last week was tuna. This week... Not actually this fish. It still has eyes!!!
This week has been so busy but in such a fun challenging way! We have met with so many people, seen so many miracles, and been blessed in so many ways. Working here in Kichijoji is an incredible experience and I feel so blessed to be here with Sister Reeves. We have a new investigator, Moeka Chan. She is 16 and we actually met her while dendoing with the new missionaries. She did a homestay in Montana with an LDS family who gave her a CTR ring. She loves Mormons, and the church, even though she didn't really understand the teachings when she was in America. She loves hanging out with me and Sister Reeves. We gave her an introduction lesson and taught her lesson 1. When we extended the baptismal commitment she said yes, but that she doesn't think that she can join our church because her dad doesn't really like religion. We're continuing to try to meet with her, and are striving to be sure that we leave a good impression on her parents. We had a lesson with Youko San and it actually went really well. She said she's been trying to read the Book of Mormon but that it is really difficult for her to understand. We read with her 1 Nephi 8 about the tree of life and applied it to her family. She has been praying a lot, and I think that it will be really good if she receives the lessons in order again and is recommitted to study with the intent to make covenants. Her husband doesn't really like religion though, so we need to find a way to help build up her faith and desire so that she will find the courage to talk to him about church. Our lesson with Amy San went really well. It was before Eikaiwa, and we went over time and rushed the end which I kind of regret doing. In our next lesson we will read the Book of Mormon together and recommit her to baptism. Itou Shimai was the douseki at the lesson which really had a great effect. They really hit it off, and it helped her see that she could really have a need for this gospel in her life just like her new friend does. We taught Matsuoka San which was quite the interesting experience. She has been meeting with missionaries for a long time, but hasn't progressed at all. She doesn't really have a desire to change her life. She has plenty of money, health, and a happy family. Having Ruri Takanezawa Shimai there as a douseki was vital. She really helped direct the lesson and keep things on topic. We think that her next defining moment is to have an activity with ward members and see how the gospel has really influenced their lives. We taught a half English and half gospel lesson to one of our Eikaiwa students Kobayashi San. She was very respectful, and seemed to have a lot of interest in the questions of the soul. She said the prayer at the end of the lesson, and was really nervous to do it. But she said it and said that she would continue to try to pray. We have a douseki for her next lesson, and I think that it will be a great defining moment for her as we help her see the need for the gospel and the application it has for everyone's life. We had a lesson with Pinkou San yesterday. We learned that she has been meeting with missionaries for the past 10 years! She is from Malaysia and speaks very poor Japanese and English which makes teaching her really difficult. She has a sincere desire to follow Christ, but has already received baptism from another church and believes that it is something you only receive once. We taught her about the Priesthood and that this is the only church that has it. She said that she would join once she was better able to understand the Book of Mormon. She explained her feelings when she read the Book of Mormon and she really does seem to be feeling the Spirit but doesn't seem to be able to recognize it. Ishizuka Shimai dousekied and it was a really great experience. Because of the language barrier and simply maybe Pinkou's casual feelings about her meetings with the missionaries, I think that her progression will continue to be slow but steady. For now, we want to help her understand the Book of Mormon and how to recognize the answers to her prayers. Finally, Sayaka San!! Our golden investigator from the North mission! She is incredible! We were able to get in contact with the Nakana sisters and they better explained how the switch was going to happen. She has been receiving all of her lessons in the Budge's home and she really loves being in that family setting. She is willing to start attending this ward and is excited to start meeting with us. We will be meeting with her this week on Friday, and from what it sounds like, she just needs to learn a few more commandments and be interviewed before she can be baptized. She is incredible, and I am so grateful that she came to church today and that we were able to meet her. Her coming to Kichijoji is such a blessing and it really is just one of the miracles that the mission is receiving because of everyone's hard work. We also had a brownie making activity with some investigators. I forgot how delicious American brownies are!!!! Wow, Japanese food is incredible, but I LOVE American desserts still. Being in a new area is so much fun!! I love meeting all of these new people, and I love trying to find ways to help them come closer to Christ. It's incredible, because everyone is so different, and yet they all need this gospel of Jesus Christ. I love this magnificent work and the opportunity I have to learn more about myself while serving others. Every single day I am being humbled and realizing how imperfect I am. But every day I have the chance to become a little bit more like Jesus Christ. I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and that because of His infinite Atonement, He understands me perfectly. I am blessed beyond measure, and am comforted everyday from the knowledge this Gospel has given me. I am so grateful for the members of the church and their excitement to hasten the work of salvation. The willingness the members here have to serve and work with the missionaries is simply incredible. I am so grateful for my family and the wonderful example they are to me. I am grateful that they have influenced my life so fully and for the kindness they show to me. I know that as we strive to keep our commandments and become as Christ, we will learn how to partake of pure joy. Sister Reeves shared with me Mosiah 2:41, "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." (Mosiah 2:41) I add my testimony that as we strive to be 100% obedient and become as Jesus Christ, we will be blessed in all aspects of our lives, and know never-ending happiness. I hope I ended this letter on a sappy enough note, I'm pretty satisfied by it :)
To my fabulous family (and friends, and the general population of the internet?) What a week!!!!! So many miracles, so much learning, and being humbled every single day. Honestly, I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity I have to serve The Lord. I am grateful for the patience He has to work with me, an imperfect being, striving to help Him in this perfect work. And even though I am making mistakes every single day, He is still sending me more miracles than I can even comprehend. I love my Savior, and I love this sacred time I have in my life to serve Him. The new missionaries came on Wednesday, so we had the opportunity to work with them and introduce them to working in the field. It was reminiscent to be streeting with them and remember the first time that I approached someone on the street in Japan. To remember feeling completely inadequate, and wanting so badly to understand what is being said, yet being completely lost. It was exciting to see how far I've come, yet humbling to realize that they were depending upon me to speak the Japanese and to do the understanding, when in all honesty I am far from fluent!! The Lord is pretty sneaky, humbling and strengthening us at the same time. English class was so fun!! One of the people we met while streeting with the new missionaries came, and she is so amazing!! She actually stayed with an LDS host family in Montana and really wants to learn English. Then she came to sports night the next night, and we met up with her today to go shopping and we got tapioca drinks. We introduced the Book of Mormon to her, and she seems to be pretty interested. We will start studying together later this week probably!! We met the kindest woman in the world. She's from Poland, speaks fluent English, and is working on some post doctorate work at the college which is right down the street from our apartment. She was so kind and thoughtful, and I seriously loved her! It's just so nice to meet people who are so genuinely kind. We ran into her again at the grocery store and will be meeting up again in the next few weeks! I ate croissant taiyaki. Literally one of the best foods I have ever eaten. It is just killer delicious. This area. We have so many people who we are working with and so many people who we are meeting and helping. It's crazy, because Fujisawa and Kichijoji Sisters B were relatively young areas, but this area is old. It's almost overwhelming how many past investigators, potential investigators, and current investigators we have right now. But it's so much fun! We literally do not have time to think about ourselves. We don't have time to become tired, because we are constantly moving. I mean, it's way weird to juggle appointments instead of finding ways to fill time, but I love that!! It's so much fun!! Sister Reeves is incredible and already such a good friend to me, and she is exactly who I need to be working with on my mission right now. The Lord is inspired in sending us those we most need at the right times. I am so happy right now, and really enjoying my life as a missionary. I love it so much!! Sunday was so interesting. First of all, the young men gave a musical number. It was hilarious. There are only two young men in the ward, they couldn't sing, and the pianist didn't really know how to properly play Called to Serve. It was so bad, the bishopric was dying on the stand which just made the congregation laugh even harder. But they all laughed it off so we had a good time. We were going to have a picnic with Mari Shimai, but it was raining so hard that we just ate in the church building. She is going on a cruise around the world!!! So cool right? I am friends with the coolest people in the world!! Today was Pday and it was a blast!! Real Italian pizza for lunch with an English class student. Shopping with our friend who stayed in Montana. Sewing lessons with a different English class student!! She is so funny. She is a professional designer. Her dream is to become a monk in India. She loves American horror movies. Her favorite American food is cherry pie. She fixed my skirts that are too big and she made me and Sister Reeves matching dresses!! Pictures will come soon!!! :) In closing. Life is incredible. I am blessed to see the Lord's hand in my life every single day. Love is my motive for serving, but Christ is the reason. His perfect love has changed my life, and I pray that I can become an effective tool in His hands to help others feel His perfect love. I am so happy right now. I love you all!! Love always, Sister Feist
The wow phase, cuz that's where I'm at. Just thinking, "Wow. I am blessed." 愛する同胞よ。 My beloved brethren. One perk about reading the Book of Mormon everyday in Japanese: My Japanese improves so much from it!! The bad things, I learn how to say things like, my beloved brethren. Let's be honest, people just don't say that conversationally! But I love it nonetheless. I love the Japanese people, I love the Book of Mormon, and these days I am just loving life. Time to follow up on my emergency transfer to Fujisawa!! It was incredible! I returned back to Kichijoji on Sunday, but time just flew by! I feel so blessed to have seen the miracles that I have seen, and I honestly love the people of Fujisawa. I was able to attend music night and guess who got roped into singing a musical number? Yeah, that's me. For a girl who really doesn't sing, it seems like that's all I've been doing lately! I sang "A Whole New World," from Aladdin with Tsuchida Shimai. We all know that's a favorite of mine and it was really nostalgic to be singing it. I would have felt right at home, except for the fact that I sang it in Japanese. Yeah, that was weird. It was exciting though to totally understand it in Japanese!! The next day was sports night and it was a blast! Like, I'm still the clumsiest sister in the mission and completely uncoordinated, but it was so fun to talk with old friends and to make sure that others felt appreciated and needed. I love it so much!! I get so embarrassed when I tell people there was a time in my life that I was athletic. Yeahhhhhh I have to emphasize that it was a long time ago :D Then was Hiro's baptism!! Hiro is so incredible! He lives in Odawara, and I've known him since my first transfer. He is brilliant, and so kind, and it has been amazing to see how the gospel has influenced his life. If I hadn't been in Fujisawa last week, I wouldn't have been able to go, and I was so grateful for that chance I had! I got to sing at the service with all the missionaries who have taught Hiro and it was such an amazing experience. Before the service began him and I were talking and he was looking at all the missionaries and people who were there for him and he just said, "I am so happy." It summed it up perfectly. As we follow our Savior Jesus Christ, we will simply become so happy. It doesn't ever have to end. We will always feel that love, and will always be able to progress. I love this gospel. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. He is my Redeemer. Without Him, I am nothing. Because of Him, I can become just like Him! I'm far from perfect, but I am loving this game of trial and error to learn how to become like Christ. I am so grateful that I don't have to simply go at it blind though. I have great examples in my life to follow, an the Book of Mormon teaches us how to change. I promise, that if you are facing any challenge in your life, the Book of Mormon has the answers. All we must do is look with a sincere heart. Sunday was incredible. To see the ward members, to reunite with old friends, and to have that familiar setting was incredible. I was so grateful for that opportunity to thank the members who helped me get through the first parts of my mission. They helped so much, and were so good to me, and I was so grateful to see them again to thank them for their love and support. the members of our church are really incredible, no matter where we go. It was so fun to work with Sister Tsuchida again. She helped me with my Japanese, and was so patient with all of my questions. I was incredibly impressed by how she is still the same missionary she was when I worked with her. She has gone through so much and worked so hard for this year and a half, and yet she is still working hard until the end. She really wasn't trunky at all. I feel really blessed that I was able to be with her this past week and I really hope that she had a good time too. After returning to Fujisawa, I think it would be really easy for me to get caught up in seeing the fruits of my labors. I'm not going to lie to you, it felt pretty amazing for everyone to notice how much I've changed and to compliment me. Like, I'm feeling pretty good about myself :) But right now, I am simply humbled to remember that it was not on my own that I have done this. It is by the strength I receive through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that I am blessed. It is through His power that I am strengthened. And I know that He strengthens me not to improve my own life, but so that I can be a tool in His hands and help others. I loved being able to see my old investigators and to be able to try to figure out how to help them. I loved to be able to help investigators, pis, and members feel welcome at sports night and Eikaiwa. I am so happy, and I just feel so incredibly blessed. Today for Pday, we climbed Mount Takao!! It was incredible!! First off, guys, I climbed a mountain!! Before the mission, I never would have done something like that! It's so fun to be able to push myself and find new things that I enjoy! I had a blast, and it was way hard, but we killed it!! We talked to so many people, and it was such a productive way to spend our time. I am so happy, and the weather was perfect!! Oh, we got our transfer calls today!! I am transferring... To Kichijoji Sisters A! I will be with Sister Reeves!! So excited to be with someone who is already my friend!! Sister Wells is,.. Staying in Kichijoji and training!!! So we'll still be seeing the miracles and having a blast in Kichijoji together. We are so blessed!! I love where I'm at right now in my life, and am so grateful for this opportunity to improve. I was talking with an elder on the hike and he was saying that he had no self confidence before his mission, but now he's encountering the problem where he might be becoming a little cocky. I laughed because I have the exact opposite problem!! I thought I was just incredible premission, but now I realize how much I need to improve!! Like, I really am nothing without my Savior. It's funny how The Lord helps us change in just the ways that we need. Love you all!! I'm praying for you always!! Love, Sister Feist
Renae Feist
I am serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I will be serving in the Tokyo South Mission for a period of 18 months.