When I heard that saying I laughed so hard. It refers to stories much like the example illustrated below.
I don't like sushi. I don't really have an issue with raw fish, although I would rather NOT eat it, that's not the problem. The problem is 1) I don't like the taste of dry seaweed, and 2) I REALLY don't like eating lukewarm/cold rice! Rice is a hot dish to me and I just can't enjoy the taste of it cooled down. It makes me gag. Dunno why, I'm sorry, but I just likes me some hot rice. So when members take us to a sushi restaurant, I have gotten to the point when I will simply admit that I am not a fan of sushi, so if it's alright I will just order something else off the menu. Members then agree and, trying to help, they then ORDER FOR ME and order EVERYTHING ON THE MENU THAT IS NOT SUSHI. This gives me a mountain of food to eat and leaves them in a panic trying to find other things to give me that are not sushi. I appreciate the thought, really, but I wish they wouldn't do it. Hence, the above saying my companion taught me last night. Other people trying to be nice can actually be a big problem for you.
It's actually a pretty depressing saying when you think about it.
Hello, everyone! Sorry about the radio silence last week. My last companion seems to love making lots of appointments on our preparation day so we didn't have time for shopping or e-mail last week. And since those are things that "can only be done on preparation day" she was most reluctant to take time out of other days of the week. It was most refreshing to be with such an obedient missionary! We had a lot of fun and worked very hard last transfer.
So now I would like to take a few minutes and give you a few updates on some of the things we did, starting with my birthday. Before I do, though, lemme say thank you so much to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! It made me very happy indeed.
My birthday was great! We managed to time it so that I and another missionary (we went on splits, so I was with someone other than my companion) were able to go to the base and eat Thanksgiving dinner with an American family. It was amazing, both being on the base and being with that family. The base was so BIG! Is America really that spacious? I was most surprised. I was also shocked to see a US Post Office and the Chili's restaurant. Long time no see. Then there were the Fruit Gushers sitting on the counter in the house...it was pretty unreal. But we were able to spend a lovely time with that family and eat turkey, candied yams, potatoes, vegetables, and amazing pies. It was such a great feast and a great time. We all went around the table listing something starting with the next letter of the alphabet and saying why we were grateful for it. After clearing all the dishes the kids asked, "Can the missionaries help us put up the Christmas tree?" which made me laugh, and when the youngest daughter found out that it was my birthday around this time she made me a four foot tall birthday card made of paper taped together! It was very sweet of her and I loved it. It was a real blast.
We also were able to go visit Mt. Fuji last week! Two members took us and we were able to visit a few historic sites around Fuji, visit one of the 5 lakes near its base, and basically be tourists for a few hours. Near the end of the trip we stopped by a musical box museum, which was AMAZING and I was very sorry we didn't have more time. I shall try to persuade my companion to go there again another day.
My companion changed! That's the other bit of news. She got transferred. We were both very surprised. The other bit of surprising news is that my new companion is actually an old companion: She's been a missionary longer than me! So we are both very old missionaries, and we are both serving in Kofu---and she's served here before!
So, to explain this phenomenon, lemme start by explaining two things. First, Japanese missionaries serve longer than American missionaries because they don't go to the MTC for as long. So while the 18-months/2 years is including the MTC, Japanese missionaries have more transfers in the field because they don't have that MTC time in there. So a Japanese sister will serve for 13 transfers but an American will serve for only 11. So my companion is on her 12th transfer, making her older than me, but I go home this transfer! It's so weird to be the junior for my last time! (I'm not actually a junior companion, we're co-senior, I just think it's funny.) As for the Kofu thing, she has already served here for 4 transfers, and now she's back a year later! So after she finishes her time here she will have spent half of her mission in Kofu.
So that means that my new companion actually knows Kofu as well/better than I do. We are REALLY excited to use this chance to try and bring back some of the old investigators that fell away between her leaving Kofu and my coming in. It's gonna be a really fun time in Kofu this transfer.
My companion really is great. I was a little nervous at first, but she is so sweet! She went to BYU Hawaii for 3 years so she speaks English fluently--albiet with an awesome Hawaiian accent. She's really smart and funny too, so we are always talking and laughing. It's actually hard to stop and we actually have to DECIDE to stop talking so that we can finally get some sleep at night. I know that she's Japanese but it doesn't feel that way at all! She's really easy-going and thanks to her time at BYU Hawaii she understands a lot of why I do the weird foreigner things I do, so she doesn't get frustrated or mad. It's wonderful. I thanked her by putting together her bike after she arrived. She responded by reading my missionary picture journal and laughing so hard she collapsed into a ball of laughter on the floor. I like her.
---
In other news, it's DECEMBER now! That means we can officially listen to Christmas music nonstop. I love December because I love Christmas! For those of you who are wondering, Christmas is celebrated a little differently in Japan. Japan is not a Christian country so most of the celebrations are secular. The main traditions are chicken and cake. The family gets together and eats Christmas chicken--usually from KFC but McDonald's is putting up a big fight this year and they are selling this crazy $20 Chirstmas Chicken Box thing--then serves up and eats Christmas cake. You can start ordering these things in October and they are pretty expensive. A one layer 8-inch cake costs at least $20, and generally around $30 or $40. I guess they are pretty well decorated but that's still ridiculous to me, so we are making our OWN Christmas cake--and EATING it too!
Japan does have a holiday where they celebrate being a family and the family just gets together to spend time together, but that's not Christmas that's New Year's. New Year's is when the entire country shuts down for 4 days. As missionaries we can't really do much--we aren't supposed to knock on doors or visit members unless we are invited, so we are stuck with wandering around empty streets for a few days. It wasn't a big deal last year when I was in Tokyo because the streets were still pretty full even on New Years, but I am a little worried about Kofu--the streets are empty on a NORMAL day. Still, besides missionaries everyone has a wonderful time inside for New Year's. Good for them.
Okay, I think that's all the time I wanted to take for just now. I hope everyone is having a great time and preparing for the holidays. Have a great week, and God bless you all!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
NOTE: Sorry, but before I forget can someone please get ahold of Anthony? I think he moved and I need his new address. Thank you.
Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day full of family, friends, and gratitude! If it happens to include a large feast as well, great! For those who may not be aware, Japan does not celebrate Thanksgiving, and when you say the word "Thanksgiving" they have no idea what you are talking about. They DO know what 感謝祭 is, however, and that roughly translates to the same thing (Gratitude Festival).
I wasn't planning on celebrating Thanksgiving this year as I am in an area with no foreigners, but then the military base called and asked if some missionaries wouldn't mind attending their Thanksgiving feast. Well, who am I to say no and disappoint all those hard working service men and women? So it turns out I'll be eating turkey on Thursday after all. Huzzah! I will let you know how it goes. If I remember to write about it.
This week we had some very neat things happen. First, a General Authority came and spoke to us. He kinda woke up the mission and reminded us that we TOO can see miracles, and we really do need to be more bold about our message. It was a great conference. He told us that we should be extending baptismal commitments after the first meeting and made us promise to do so at our next lesson. "You extend, they choose to accept or reject it. If they say no, that's their choice, but you should give them the choice." It was interesting and we agreed to try it from now on.
Well, the next lesson we had was with a high school student. We teach her English and the Gospel in her home. She wants to go to BYU-Hawaii someday in the future, but for now she just wants to learn as much as she can. Her family is really interesting. Her mom will often wander in and out of the room during lessons and change the subject while we are in midsentence. That's...yeah. But the girl is really sweet and wonderful.
Well, we explained the doctrine in the first lesson (oops, for those that don't know the lessons: the first lesson discusses God as our Heavenly Father, the importance of families, the role of prophets, the existence of Jesus Christ's church, the Great Apostasy, the Restoration through Joseph Smith, and a brief introduction to the Book of Mormon and prayer.), and then we explained that when you know these things are true, Heavenly Father wants you to act. We explained in very simple terms what baptism was and told her about how important it is. As we were in the MIDDLE of asking her to be baptized when she knew these things were true, her mother walks into the room and places some images on the table. And I can remember EXACTLY what she said (translated):
"Can you BELIEVE that they have adult comic books in the elementary school library?! Look at this filth!"
And yes, there on the table were some scanned covers of some very not-child-appropriate books. Not-anyone-appropriate books, for that matter.
...So, uhm, yes. Spirit GONE. It was bizarre and I almost wanted to start laughing, the timing was so perfect.
And for the record, once her mother left the room we were still able to commit her to baptism.
--
In other news, my birthday is tomorrow! Somehow the other missionaries found out. Before the conference last week we stayed with two other Sisters in their apartment as it was much closer to the conference than ours. That night they threw a surprise birthday party, and they pulled out this amazing homemade cake that they had made just for me! It was awesome and I wish I could show you pictures, but just suffice to imagine a white two-layer cake with chocolate, "Happy Birthday Sister C" written on top, candles, and strawberries for filling. I was incredibly touched and very happy.
I am also very thankful to everyone who sent me birthday well-wishes. Thank you. You are all wonderful and I love you all very much!
Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day full of family, friends, and gratitude! If it happens to include a large feast as well, great! For those who may not be aware, Japan does not celebrate Thanksgiving, and when you say the word "Thanksgiving" they have no idea what you are talking about. They DO know what 感謝祭 is, however, and that roughly translates to the same thing (Gratitude Festival).
I wasn't planning on celebrating Thanksgiving this year as I am in an area with no foreigners, but then the military base called and asked if some missionaries wouldn't mind attending their Thanksgiving feast. Well, who am I to say no and disappoint all those hard working service men and women? So it turns out I'll be eating turkey on Thursday after all. Huzzah! I will let you know how it goes. If I remember to write about it.
This week we had some very neat things happen. First, a General Authority came and spoke to us. He kinda woke up the mission and reminded us that we TOO can see miracles, and we really do need to be more bold about our message. It was a great conference. He told us that we should be extending baptismal commitments after the first meeting and made us promise to do so at our next lesson. "You extend, they choose to accept or reject it. If they say no, that's their choice, but you should give them the choice." It was interesting and we agreed to try it from now on.
Well, the next lesson we had was with a high school student. We teach her English and the Gospel in her home. She wants to go to BYU-Hawaii someday in the future, but for now she just wants to learn as much as she can. Her family is really interesting. Her mom will often wander in and out of the room during lessons and change the subject while we are in midsentence. That's...yeah. But the girl is really sweet and wonderful.
Well, we explained the doctrine in the first lesson (oops, for those that don't know the lessons: the first lesson discusses God as our Heavenly Father, the importance of families, the role of prophets, the existence of Jesus Christ's church, the Great Apostasy, the Restoration through Joseph Smith, and a brief introduction to the Book of Mormon and prayer.), and then we explained that when you know these things are true, Heavenly Father wants you to act. We explained in very simple terms what baptism was and told her about how important it is. As we were in the MIDDLE of asking her to be baptized when she knew these things were true, her mother walks into the room and places some images on the table. And I can remember EXACTLY what she said (translated):
"Can you BELIEVE that they have adult comic books in the elementary school library?! Look at this filth!"
And yes, there on the table were some scanned covers of some very not-child-appropriate books. Not-anyone-appropriate books, for that matter.
...So, uhm, yes. Spirit GONE. It was bizarre and I almost wanted to start laughing, the timing was so perfect.
And for the record, once her mother left the room we were still able to commit her to baptism.
--
In other news, my birthday is tomorrow! Somehow the other missionaries found out. Before the conference last week we stayed with two other Sisters in their apartment as it was much closer to the conference than ours. That night they threw a surprise birthday party, and they pulled out this amazing homemade cake that they had made just for me! It was awesome and I wish I could show you pictures, but just suffice to imagine a white two-layer cake with chocolate, "Happy Birthday Sister C" written on top, candles, and strawberries for filling. I was incredibly touched and very happy.
I am also very thankful to everyone who sent me birthday well-wishes. Thank you. You are all wonderful and I love you all very much!
Monday, November 8, 2010
I LOVE AUTUMN SO MUCH
Thank you so much to everyone who is trying to help my Spanish, I appreciate it immensely! It's been a great week in the mission, and I would love to tell you a few highlights. I need to write down the rest in my journal, but first I need to find some time to write...
By the way, the Bishop tells me that the mountain in the opening credit to Paramount Picture films is a mountain in SLC. Is that true? He isn't sure but we are now both curious.
This last week we have been working with members quite a bit. We went to the temple with our Ward last Saturday. It was very rewarding. There was a new member and it was her first time to the temple, so we were able to attend as well in order to go with her. She absolutely loved the experience. While there, she requested that everyone pray that her friend (who we are teaching right now) would get permission from her parents to get baptized. Up until this point her parents were not in favor of the idea and requested that she not be involved with our church to that point. She was all in favor of getting baptized but feared being separated from her family in any way, so we had hit a bit of a roadblock. Well, that very same evening she got a call from her parents telling her it was okay! So we have an excited investigator who is willing to hear the discussions again and take them seriously, and we all have a greater testimony on the power of prayer. That, needless to say, was a very good day.
The next day (Sunday) some members offered to give us a ride to Tsuru, a town which is pretty far from Kofu. The ride takes about 80 minutes by car and involves going over under and through quite a few mountains, so we were very glad not to have to go by bike. While in Tsuru we were able to meet with some old investigators and friends of members and really revitalized interest in learning spiritual things (missionaries used to bike there, but that died out a year or two ago, apparently. I could find no record of activity in Tsuru in the apartment records, so I had no idea). Many asked to meet with us again, so we are thoroughly excited, and the members were absolutely thrilled. We have already set up a few times next week to go back to Tsuru, and members are also asking us to visit their families as well. I haven't ridden a car this much in a long time. I think I may becoming a touch car sick, but I will gladly put up with it/ignore it--the payback is more than worthwhile!
Oh, also on that ride to Tsuru we discovered something amazing. Tsuru is closer to Mt. Fuji than Kofu. The members offered to pull over at a particularly nice spot while we were headed into town, and we agreed, as the car was getting a bit overheated and needed a break anyway. We pulled over and hopped out of the car. I didn't notice anything different and I was prepared to see the mountain slightly closer when I turned around and THERE was Mt. Fuji. It was HUGE! I have about 4 dozen pictures that simply do no justice, but if you have seen any postcards with that towering mountain with clouds creating a slight fog heading halfway up the summit and a lake stretched out below the base, then you have seen something half as beautiful as that view. It helped that Fuji is starting to get his iconic snow, and the leaves were changing color fantastically all around us.
Leaves changing color is my favorite sight in the world, and when the members heard that they stared at me and asked, "Have you ever been to Japan in Spring?"
"Yes. And the cherry blossoms are very beautiful, but to me this sight is better."
The two Sisters ferrying us looked at each other after that and then, in unspoken agreement, they took a brief detour. Apparently there is a very famous scenic road about 5 minutes out of the way that is COVERED in momiji trees (momiji=...maple?) and has the best view of Mt. Fuji and the iconic lake. I was trying very hard not to squeal with delight the entire time we were on that road. While I was snapping away and thoroughly enjoying the sights as we drove along, the two Sisters in front commented, "Wow, you really learn to appreciate all the normal stuff in your neighborhood when someone else reacts with such joy! We should come this way more often!"
Yes, and when I get back to Utah I REALLY need to go visit SLC Temple. :)
Anyway, I love autumn a little more, and I can sorta understand why Japanese people are so proud of Mt. Fuji. It really is an impressive sight.
On other thing I noticed on that drive that was a little more strange to me was the trees that lined the streets in the city. They are very beautiful to look at and provide mediocre shade, but what stands out more than anything else is their fruit they produce in Fall.
I do not know what that fruit looks like or tastes like and I never intend to find out because of what it smells like. It smells EXACTLY like dog droppings. So if you are driving along the street with your windows rolled down this curiously strong and powerful odor fills the car rather rapidly and I am amazed at all the many aspects of nature once again.
I wanted to focus more on the miracles this letter (there have been many) but I suppose my comments and thoughts have wondered off once again. We really are seeing a lot of miracles this transfer. I am having a blast in Japan!
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers. I am still going strong!
See y'all next week~
By the way, the Bishop tells me that the mountain in the opening credit to Paramount Picture films is a mountain in SLC. Is that true? He isn't sure but we are now both curious.
This last week we have been working with members quite a bit. We went to the temple with our Ward last Saturday. It was very rewarding. There was a new member and it was her first time to the temple, so we were able to attend as well in order to go with her. She absolutely loved the experience. While there, she requested that everyone pray that her friend (who we are teaching right now) would get permission from her parents to get baptized. Up until this point her parents were not in favor of the idea and requested that she not be involved with our church to that point. She was all in favor of getting baptized but feared being separated from her family in any way, so we had hit a bit of a roadblock. Well, that very same evening she got a call from her parents telling her it was okay! So we have an excited investigator who is willing to hear the discussions again and take them seriously, and we all have a greater testimony on the power of prayer. That, needless to say, was a very good day.
The next day (Sunday) some members offered to give us a ride to Tsuru, a town which is pretty far from Kofu. The ride takes about 80 minutes by car and involves going over under and through quite a few mountains, so we were very glad not to have to go by bike. While in Tsuru we were able to meet with some old investigators and friends of members and really revitalized interest in learning spiritual things (missionaries used to bike there, but that died out a year or two ago, apparently. I could find no record of activity in Tsuru in the apartment records, so I had no idea). Many asked to meet with us again, so we are thoroughly excited, and the members were absolutely thrilled. We have already set up a few times next week to go back to Tsuru, and members are also asking us to visit their families as well. I haven't ridden a car this much in a long time. I think I may becoming a touch car sick, but I will gladly put up with it/ignore it--the payback is more than worthwhile!
Oh, also on that ride to Tsuru we discovered something amazing. Tsuru is closer to Mt. Fuji than Kofu. The members offered to pull over at a particularly nice spot while we were headed into town, and we agreed, as the car was getting a bit overheated and needed a break anyway. We pulled over and hopped out of the car. I didn't notice anything different and I was prepared to see the mountain slightly closer when I turned around and THERE was Mt. Fuji. It was HUGE! I have about 4 dozen pictures that simply do no justice, but if you have seen any postcards with that towering mountain with clouds creating a slight fog heading halfway up the summit and a lake stretched out below the base, then you have seen something half as beautiful as that view. It helped that Fuji is starting to get his iconic snow, and the leaves were changing color fantastically all around us.
Leaves changing color is my favorite sight in the world, and when the members heard that they stared at me and asked, "Have you ever been to Japan in Spring?"
"Yes. And the cherry blossoms are very beautiful, but to me this sight is better."
The two Sisters ferrying us looked at each other after that and then, in unspoken agreement, they took a brief detour. Apparently there is a very famous scenic road about 5 minutes out of the way that is COVERED in momiji trees (momiji=...maple?) and has the best view of Mt. Fuji and the iconic lake. I was trying very hard not to squeal with delight the entire time we were on that road. While I was snapping away and thoroughly enjoying the sights as we drove along, the two Sisters in front commented, "Wow, you really learn to appreciate all the normal stuff in your neighborhood when someone else reacts with such joy! We should come this way more often!"
Yes, and when I get back to Utah I REALLY need to go visit SLC Temple. :)
Anyway, I love autumn a little more, and I can sorta understand why Japanese people are so proud of Mt. Fuji. It really is an impressive sight.
On other thing I noticed on that drive that was a little more strange to me was the trees that lined the streets in the city. They are very beautiful to look at and provide mediocre shade, but what stands out more than anything else is their fruit they produce in Fall.
I do not know what that fruit looks like or tastes like and I never intend to find out because of what it smells like. It smells EXACTLY like dog droppings. So if you are driving along the street with your windows rolled down this curiously strong and powerful odor fills the car rather rapidly and I am amazed at all the many aspects of nature once again.
I wanted to focus more on the miracles this letter (there have been many) but I suppose my comments and thoughts have wondered off once again. We really are seeing a lot of miracles this transfer. I am having a blast in Japan!
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers. I am still going strong!
See y'all next week~
Monday, November 1, 2010
Sorry I was gone last week!
Firstly, last week. Last week was miserable due to a major cold. I got it Sunday evening, was having a hard time breathing and moving and not sniffling on Monday (medicine didn't do a thing!), and by Tuesday I declared I was not getting out of bed and I slept the entire day. I was incredibly achy and I had a fever. It was not a fun day, but I am glad it was a p-day. I wanted to go out and do p-day things but come Tuesday morning I was very glad we stayed in the apartment all day. I guess that means this is my first real p-day of this transfer? I'm still recovering from that blasted cold, but I am now in the endless coughing stage, so I feel fine but sound terrible. I'm glad the worst part is over.
In other news, I have a new companion. She is great. She is a fantastic missionary that is quite reminiscent of my MTC companion. She is a great missionary, full of spiritualness and confidence, and we have already seen miracles.
Two of those miracles happened on Sunday and Monday. Sunday an older investigator who didn't want to take lessons opened up to us and we were able to help resolve some of her concerns. She is now willing to hear the lessons again and will plan on getting baptized. That was very nice to hear! We are meeting with her later today.
Monday was great too. We had a potential investigator and we were finally able to meet with her Monday afternoon. It was her first lesson and it went very well. We explained that we normally teach about the church with intent to baptize the people who take the lessons, and she got very excited and asked to be baptized (we explained the basics of what it was, first). We said why sure, you can get baptized. It normally takes about 2 months to hear all the lessons and prepare, will January be okay?
She replied, can I not get baptized in December? I really want to get baptized mid-December.
...Why yes, we can arrange that.
So we have a new investigator and she already set her own baptismal date. We were very excited to hear that, and I rather feel that it is the START to great things happening for the rest of this transfer! So yes, things are going rather well this transfer. We already hit the point where every day is so busy that we can't fit in all the things we want to do, so we started planning next week as well as this week, and next week is getting pretty full, too!
THAT's always fun, lemme tell ya!
I feel so blessed to be working right now. I am immensely enjoying my time as a missionary. Things don't always go exactly as I'd like them to, but who cares? I'm having too much fun and seeing too many miracles to complain.
Today we go coat shopping and shoe shopping (we will hunt for a sale, I really need shoes that don't feel like boats). Tomorrow I will visit the dentist (we have too many appointments today to do a full p-day) and see if I can't get this pesky tooth sorted out once and for all.
I got permission from the President to study Spanish for the rest of my mission. Kofu really needs Spanish speakers!! I would appreciate any help anyone can provide, even if it's just a vocab list (a phrase list may be better). I need someone to explain how to conjugate verbs into past and future tense; no one seems willing to teach me and getting books that teach Americans how to speak Spanish is surprisingly hard in the middle of Yamanashi Japan for some inexplicable reason. I will start reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and I have arranged to teach the lessons with members from the pamphlets with lots of help. We'll see how it goes!
In other news, I apologize to people who have written me -- some even months ago -- and still have not gotten a reply. I have many half-started letters on my desk; they will go out! I am trying to catch up right now, so many will be receiving shorter letters but know that they are overflowing with love.
Also...sigh, this is rather embarrassing, but I figure this is the best way to get this out of the way. Yes, my birthday is coming up. I am very glad for people who have offered to ship me things. The best thing you could send me is a huge long letter full of wonderful news and personal progress and thoughts and things. For those who wish to send packages, I will provide the following, despite my embarrassment:
THINGS I DO NOT WANT
Clothes, books, and souvenirs. Basically things that will have to come back home with me. I'm fine on these fronts. If you give me any of these things, just know that they will not be coming back with me -- I will be leaving them behind for future missionaries.
THINGS I WOULDN'T MIND/WOULD LOVE
American food. Cornbread mix and Gingerbread mix, if those exist, are especially welcome (they are not in Japan! I miss them terribly!).
I am a huge fan of jerky (beef or turkey are my favorites), particularly hickory smoked or peppered.
I also LOVE LOVE dried fruit of all kinds, especially mango and apricot. I have never tried dried pineapple but I am sure I will like it. Something my parents ingrained in me that I love to do is eat beef jerky and dried mango at the same time. Both things I can obtain in Japan with a bit of effort, though, so I guess they are not a high priority?
Hot chocolate mix and/or marshmallows is also very welcome. Hot cider is also great.
Healthy snacks, like fruit snacks that actually fulfill fruit servings, are also welcome.
Fruit Gushers are something I have always loved and thus would also be most welcome.
I just thought of it, but salt water taffy, Rolos, and candy corn are also candies I love, but seeing as my companion and I are both trying to eat healthily most of that will be given to local Elders. They will love you for it, however.
Okay, enough awkwardness, I gotta go. Love you all tons!
In other news, I have a new companion. She is great. She is a fantastic missionary that is quite reminiscent of my MTC companion. She is a great missionary, full of spiritualness and confidence, and we have already seen miracles.
Two of those miracles happened on Sunday and Monday. Sunday an older investigator who didn't want to take lessons opened up to us and we were able to help resolve some of her concerns. She is now willing to hear the lessons again and will plan on getting baptized. That was very nice to hear! We are meeting with her later today.
Monday was great too. We had a potential investigator and we were finally able to meet with her Monday afternoon. It was her first lesson and it went very well. We explained that we normally teach about the church with intent to baptize the people who take the lessons, and she got very excited and asked to be baptized (we explained the basics of what it was, first). We said why sure, you can get baptized. It normally takes about 2 months to hear all the lessons and prepare, will January be okay?
She replied, can I not get baptized in December? I really want to get baptized mid-December.
...Why yes, we can arrange that.
So we have a new investigator and she already set her own baptismal date. We were very excited to hear that, and I rather feel that it is the START to great things happening for the rest of this transfer! So yes, things are going rather well this transfer. We already hit the point where every day is so busy that we can't fit in all the things we want to do, so we started planning next week as well as this week, and next week is getting pretty full, too!
THAT's always fun, lemme tell ya!
I feel so blessed to be working right now. I am immensely enjoying my time as a missionary. Things don't always go exactly as I'd like them to, but who cares? I'm having too much fun and seeing too many miracles to complain.
Today we go coat shopping and shoe shopping (we will hunt for a sale, I really need shoes that don't feel like boats). Tomorrow I will visit the dentist (we have too many appointments today to do a full p-day) and see if I can't get this pesky tooth sorted out once and for all.
I got permission from the President to study Spanish for the rest of my mission. Kofu really needs Spanish speakers!! I would appreciate any help anyone can provide, even if it's just a vocab list (a phrase list may be better). I need someone to explain how to conjugate verbs into past and future tense; no one seems willing to teach me and getting books that teach Americans how to speak Spanish is surprisingly hard in the middle of Yamanashi Japan for some inexplicable reason. I will start reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and I have arranged to teach the lessons with members from the pamphlets with lots of help. We'll see how it goes!
In other news, I apologize to people who have written me -- some even months ago -- and still have not gotten a reply. I have many half-started letters on my desk; they will go out! I am trying to catch up right now, so many will be receiving shorter letters but know that they are overflowing with love.
Also...sigh, this is rather embarrassing, but I figure this is the best way to get this out of the way. Yes, my birthday is coming up. I am very glad for people who have offered to ship me things. The best thing you could send me is a huge long letter full of wonderful news and personal progress and thoughts and things. For those who wish to send packages, I will provide the following, despite my embarrassment:
THINGS I DO NOT WANT
Clothes, books, and souvenirs. Basically things that will have to come back home with me. I'm fine on these fronts. If you give me any of these things, just know that they will not be coming back with me -- I will be leaving them behind for future missionaries.
THINGS I WOULDN'T MIND/WOULD LOVE
American food. Cornbread mix and Gingerbread mix, if those exist, are especially welcome (they are not in Japan! I miss them terribly!).
I am a huge fan of jerky (beef or turkey are my favorites), particularly hickory smoked or peppered.
I also LOVE LOVE dried fruit of all kinds, especially mango and apricot. I have never tried dried pineapple but I am sure I will like it. Something my parents ingrained in me that I love to do is eat beef jerky and dried mango at the same time. Both things I can obtain in Japan with a bit of effort, though, so I guess they are not a high priority?
Hot chocolate mix and/or marshmallows is also very welcome. Hot cider is also great.
Healthy snacks, like fruit snacks that actually fulfill fruit servings, are also welcome.
Fruit Gushers are something I have always loved and thus would also be most welcome.
I just thought of it, but salt water taffy, Rolos, and candy corn are also candies I love, but seeing as my companion and I are both trying to eat healthily most of that will be given to local Elders. They will love you for it, however.
Okay, enough awkwardness, I gotta go. Love you all tons!
Monday, October 18, 2010
I think I am going to spend my inheritance in Japan
I have some new-news-going-old that I think I already mentioned, but just in case I did not I will bring it up again:
I have shrunk.
I have shrunk on my mission. Now, this is WONDERFUL news for me. I'm not slim yet by any means, but I have reduced in size just enough that my clothing is rather loose, and my shoes are now like little boats that would probably save me in the next Big Flood.
The shrinking is great news. The need for new clothing as a direct result of the shrinking is not good news. Why? Because Japanese clothes don't fit me, of course!
...
...Except now they kinda do. I now officially can wear the Large size clothing in Japan. Crazy, huh? I am now officially considered large by Japanese standards.
So I can buy clothes. Expensive crazy awesome amazing clothes.
Shyeah, except I won't be using them for that long and I dunno how many I would still wear after my mission.* I think I will stick with just keeping my eyes out for a new pair of shoes. I saw some shoes I really liked the other day and considered picking them up when I casually looked at the price tag. Yeah, $200 shoes is a little high.
All is well here. Kofu smells wonderfully like Fall and I persuaded the ward to have a Halloween party. Missionaries can't dress up but we are in charge of the games. Werewolf, anyone?
---
*Yes, many many thanks to my dear friends who have all kindly pointed out to me that I have 3 months left. I am also looking forward to seeing you again, but rather than saying I only have three months left, may I remind you that I still have three months left? It's such a little word and yet it makes a very big difference. I will happily make plans to visit and spend time with all of you -- IN three months.
I have shrunk.
I have shrunk on my mission. Now, this is WONDERFUL news for me. I'm not slim yet by any means, but I have reduced in size just enough that my clothing is rather loose, and my shoes are now like little boats that would probably save me in the next Big Flood.
The shrinking is great news. The need for new clothing as a direct result of the shrinking is not good news. Why? Because Japanese clothes don't fit me, of course!
...
...Except now they kinda do. I now officially can wear the Large size clothing in Japan. Crazy, huh? I am now officially considered large by Japanese standards.
So I can buy clothes. Expensive crazy awesome amazing clothes.
Shyeah, except I won't be using them for that long and I dunno how many I would still wear after my mission.* I think I will stick with just keeping my eyes out for a new pair of shoes. I saw some shoes I really liked the other day and considered picking them up when I casually looked at the price tag. Yeah, $200 shoes is a little high.
All is well here. Kofu smells wonderfully like Fall and I persuaded the ward to have a Halloween party. Missionaries can't dress up but we are in charge of the games. Werewolf, anyone?
---
*Yes, many many thanks to my dear friends who have all kindly pointed out to me that I have 3 months left. I am also looking forward to seeing you again, but rather than saying I only have three months left, may I remind you that I still have three months left? It's such a little word and yet it makes a very big difference. I will happily make plans to visit and spend time with all of you -- IN three months.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
I have now hiked TWO mountains
We went with the ward and a few investigators back up the mountain trail. It was a lot of fun. I took a few pictures that it looks like I may actually be able to show you all next transfer. I am discovering that I actually enjoy hiking. The Y Trail just isn't a very fun hike.
Not much new to report in Kofu. I am trying to write letters back to people, but it is taking time -- sorry. I really do appreciate hearing from you. Every time I get a letter from one of you it makes my day. Thank you.
Not much news this week. Next week I am not sure if I will be able to e-mail; we have a pretty busy p-day. Next Sunday is transfers, by the way, so we'll see what happens.
Talk to you all again later!
Not much new to report in Kofu. I am trying to write letters back to people, but it is taking time -- sorry. I really do appreciate hearing from you. Every time I get a letter from one of you it makes my day. Thank you.
Not much news this week. Next week I am not sure if I will be able to e-mail; we have a pretty busy p-day. Next Sunday is transfers, by the way, so we'll see what happens.
Talk to you all again later!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
I cannot wait to be able to upload pictures again
I am still looking forward to getting personal computers, if for no other reason than I will be able to upload some of the cool pictures I have been taking lately. As it is, I am afraid you simply get a wall of text yet again.
Today before we came to the library we stopped by a store really quickly to buy new pens. As we were going into the store, I noticed an older woman heading for the door to leave. Without thinking about it too much I held the door open for her so that she could pass through. She stopped and waited for me, so I motioned her through. Her face lit up in surprise and delight and she bowed several times, thanking me, as she walked through the door. She then waved before turning the corner to the street.
I am not going to turn that into a sermon or a comparison of cultures, it was just something that made me think "huh" and remember, yet again, that I am not in Kansas anymore.
Things are going rather well this week. I managed to keep my bike tires free of flats, taught a lesson, met someone who might be interested in having us come back around, and climbed a mountain.
Which of those would you like to hear about first?
The bike tire being free of flats makes me incredibly happy, considering I have had 3 flats in the past week or so. I'm just glad I know how to fix a flat tire, or else I would REALLY have been in trouble. I am also careful to avoid riding in the areas where I am pretty sure I got flats last time. This makes for some interesting twists and turns and dancing with traffic, but it's quite fun.
You know what else is fun? Missionary work! Especially when you actually find people, but I've gotten to the point that just talking to people is fun, too. My companion disagrees (and I would have, too, when I was only 6 months old) so I am trying to make it more fun for her by introducing a weird game. The game has no name, but I shall call it the "Kekko" game. Kekko means "No thank you" in Japanese and it's the simplest way to turn someone down. We hear it a lot as missionaries. The game goes something like each companion chooses three different kekkos, and then if someone says one of them you get a point. So my kekkos were "I'm buddhist," "I'm too busy," and plain ol' "kekko," and my companion chose "I am part of another religion," "I don't like Christianity," and "I am hurrying home to my kids." These are all pretty common excuses given as people run the other way, but it's kinda fun to try and get bingo or something similar.
Of course we also focus on having really good conversations, but this is just something to try to make it more fun.
The lesson we taught was to an older person that wasn't really too keen on hearing from missionaries but agreed to listen once out of obligation to a friend. The lesson went decently well, but it wasn't brilliant (which is a shame). Still, it was infinitely better than having no lessons.
The person who may not mind having us come around was someone we met knocking on doors. She was nice and said it might be okay if we came back sometime when she was free, but she wasn't particularly fascinated. We will do our best to have the Spirit teach her better than we ever could.
The mountain was Mount Takao, one of Japan's "Top 100 Mountains" and therefore a neat touristy area. Our whole zone got together to climb it together. It was kinda interesting. Lots of gentle hills with very pretty forests. I had a bizarre experience, though. I had kinda thought we were hiking to the base of the mountain and then a little over an hour later, we were on top of the summit.
Huh.
It was pretty weird to climb a mountain when I didn't realize I was climbing a mountain, but it was fun. Not the easiest hike in the world (there was one point of endless tall stairs that I would not like to climb again in a hurry) but it was vastly different from the Y Trail, which I am gradually coming to realize is actually a pretty rough climb.
After we reached the summit one of the Elders who had climbed Takao before invited us all to get some incredibly famous ice cream. Intrigued by this fascinating prospect we took a different route home. The route home was full of GORGEOUS temples and amazing artifacts, with souvenirs available for purchase at every corner (I actually did pick up some postcards after remembering I collect those). The funniest part was when the Elders stopped and pointed out Lehi's dream was sculpted on one of the temple walls. What do you know, a guy underneath a tree eating a pale fruit as water and hideous dragons rage all around him. You could argue that one of the wooden support beams was the iron rod, but that might be taking it a bit far, seeing as the actual story was something completely different. I took a picture regardless. After the temples we came across a food shack which was indeed selling milk gelato, the famous ice cream in question. It cost $3.50. Yow, thought I, that's some famous ice cream. Still, I figured I wasn't going to be back this way again so I took the bait and bought the ice cream.
It was a $3.50 milk flavored ice cream cone. Whoopee, Elder. As the cone was passed into my hands I stared at him in betrayed disbelief, at which point he pointed out why the ice cream was so great. He took his own cone (4 in all bought this stuff), and marched over to the condiments. He then picked up a salt-pepper shaker, shook it all over his cone, strode to a nearby bench, sat down and ate it.
Intrigued I investigated the condiments myself. What do you know, there's a picture above the table of kids doing exactly what he just did to their ice cream. And what I had thought was salt and pepper was actually white and black sesame seeds. Huh. I sprinkled some on and tasted it.
It tasted like milk ice cream with sesame seeds in it.
Not altogether a bad flavor, but I no longer trust that Elder's tongue and sense of value. Still, perhaps if I were more adventurous I would have tried sprinkling fish flakes, dried tofu, or seaweed, all of which were also available. In the end I just swallowed my loss along with a pretty tasty ice cream cone. You might want to give ice cream and sesame seeds a shot, but I wouldn't say it's worth $3.50 for a cup of ice cream.
It was a pretty fun day, although I am surprisingly sore now. Not from the climb, but the descent! The different path we took was MUCH faster (20 minutes), but also at a very steep decline the entire way down. It was very hard on legs and toes, and I was happy and tired when it was over. My legs are now stiff and a little painful, which is refreshing in a way.
In other news, General Conference is this weekend here in Japan. I hope they have English available at the Kofu building; I am not sure if they will. The only people who speak English are me and the two Elders, and we all speak Japanese very well as well. Still, I am excited for conference.
I am having a beautiful, gently windy, nice and cool fall. It's exhilarating and I am in paradise.
In other news, I am noticing something I should like to rant about a tiiiny bit. It goes something like this:
HYPOTHESIS: Men are jealous of women.
Here's my reasoning:
So there is my reasoning. It's rather flawed, but I gotta admit the number of make-up companies using male models is rather alarming. Possibly MORE alarming is the number of Japanese companions I have had who see absolutely nothing odd about it.
Okay, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this rather tall wall of text! Farewell until next time!
Today before we came to the library we stopped by a store really quickly to buy new pens. As we were going into the store, I noticed an older woman heading for the door to leave. Without thinking about it too much I held the door open for her so that she could pass through. She stopped and waited for me, so I motioned her through. Her face lit up in surprise and delight and she bowed several times, thanking me, as she walked through the door. She then waved before turning the corner to the street.
I am not going to turn that into a sermon or a comparison of cultures, it was just something that made me think "huh" and remember, yet again, that I am not in Kansas anymore.
Things are going rather well this week. I managed to keep my bike tires free of flats, taught a lesson, met someone who might be interested in having us come back around, and climbed a mountain.
Which of those would you like to hear about first?
The bike tire being free of flats makes me incredibly happy, considering I have had 3 flats in the past week or so. I'm just glad I know how to fix a flat tire, or else I would REALLY have been in trouble. I am also careful to avoid riding in the areas where I am pretty sure I got flats last time. This makes for some interesting twists and turns and dancing with traffic, but it's quite fun.
You know what else is fun? Missionary work! Especially when you actually find people, but I've gotten to the point that just talking to people is fun, too. My companion disagrees (and I would have, too, when I was only 6 months old) so I am trying to make it more fun for her by introducing a weird game. The game has no name, but I shall call it the "Kekko" game. Kekko means "No thank you" in Japanese and it's the simplest way to turn someone down. We hear it a lot as missionaries. The game goes something like each companion chooses three different kekkos, and then if someone says one of them you get a point. So my kekkos were "I'm buddhist," "I'm too busy," and plain ol' "kekko," and my companion chose "I am part of another religion," "I don't like Christianity," and "I am hurrying home to my kids." These are all pretty common excuses given as people run the other way, but it's kinda fun to try and get bingo or something similar.
Of course we also focus on having really good conversations, but this is just something to try to make it more fun.
The lesson we taught was to an older person that wasn't really too keen on hearing from missionaries but agreed to listen once out of obligation to a friend. The lesson went decently well, but it wasn't brilliant (which is a shame). Still, it was infinitely better than having no lessons.
The person who may not mind having us come around was someone we met knocking on doors. She was nice and said it might be okay if we came back sometime when she was free, but she wasn't particularly fascinated. We will do our best to have the Spirit teach her better than we ever could.
The mountain was Mount Takao, one of Japan's "Top 100 Mountains" and therefore a neat touristy area. Our whole zone got together to climb it together. It was kinda interesting. Lots of gentle hills with very pretty forests. I had a bizarre experience, though. I had kinda thought we were hiking to the base of the mountain and then a little over an hour later, we were on top of the summit.
Huh.
It was pretty weird to climb a mountain when I didn't realize I was climbing a mountain, but it was fun. Not the easiest hike in the world (there was one point of endless tall stairs that I would not like to climb again in a hurry) but it was vastly different from the Y Trail, which I am gradually coming to realize is actually a pretty rough climb.
After we reached the summit one of the Elders who had climbed Takao before invited us all to get some incredibly famous ice cream. Intrigued by this fascinating prospect we took a different route home. The route home was full of GORGEOUS temples and amazing artifacts, with souvenirs available for purchase at every corner (I actually did pick up some postcards after remembering I collect those). The funniest part was when the Elders stopped and pointed out Lehi's dream was sculpted on one of the temple walls. What do you know, a guy underneath a tree eating a pale fruit as water and hideous dragons rage all around him. You could argue that one of the wooden support beams was the iron rod, but that might be taking it a bit far, seeing as the actual story was something completely different. I took a picture regardless. After the temples we came across a food shack which was indeed selling milk gelato, the famous ice cream in question. It cost $3.50. Yow, thought I, that's some famous ice cream. Still, I figured I wasn't going to be back this way again so I took the bait and bought the ice cream.
It was a $3.50 milk flavored ice cream cone. Whoopee, Elder. As the cone was passed into my hands I stared at him in betrayed disbelief, at which point he pointed out why the ice cream was so great. He took his own cone (4 in all bought this stuff), and marched over to the condiments. He then picked up a salt-pepper shaker, shook it all over his cone, strode to a nearby bench, sat down and ate it.
Intrigued I investigated the condiments myself. What do you know, there's a picture above the table of kids doing exactly what he just did to their ice cream. And what I had thought was salt and pepper was actually white and black sesame seeds. Huh. I sprinkled some on and tasted it.
It tasted like milk ice cream with sesame seeds in it.
Not altogether a bad flavor, but I no longer trust that Elder's tongue and sense of value. Still, perhaps if I were more adventurous I would have tried sprinkling fish flakes, dried tofu, or seaweed, all of which were also available. In the end I just swallowed my loss along with a pretty tasty ice cream cone. You might want to give ice cream and sesame seeds a shot, but I wouldn't say it's worth $3.50 for a cup of ice cream.
It was a pretty fun day, although I am surprisingly sore now. Not from the climb, but the descent! The different path we took was MUCH faster (20 minutes), but also at a very steep decline the entire way down. It was very hard on legs and toes, and I was happy and tired when it was over. My legs are now stiff and a little painful, which is refreshing in a way.
In other news, General Conference is this weekend here in Japan. I hope they have English available at the Kofu building; I am not sure if they will. The only people who speak English are me and the two Elders, and we all speak Japanese very well as well. Still, I am excited for conference.
I am having a beautiful, gently windy, nice and cool fall. It's exhilarating and I am in paradise.
In other news, I am noticing something I should like to rant about a tiiiny bit. It goes something like this:
HYPOTHESIS: Men are jealous of women.
Here's my reasoning:
- We must first assume that people will attempt to imitate things they respect, admire, or wish to become like.
- Women wear dresses and make-up.
- These items are considered "women's clothing" and are thus found with women's clothing in stores.
- Like purses, there are now male equivalents coming out for the manly counterpart.
- Nonetheless, these are still considered pretty girly.
- Make-up is for girls.
- Mascara is definitely make-up.
- Men wearing mascara, therefore, are imitating women.
- Mascara companies WHO USE MALE MODELS IN ADVERTISING emphasize this.
- If Japanese companies use it in their advertising, it is either considered normal or desired to become the new normal.
- Japanese make-up companies want men to wear make-up.
- Japanese men who wear make-up are doing what women have been doing for years, and (I reiterate) are thus imitating women.
- Japanese men are totally jealous of Japanese women.
So there is my reasoning. It's rather flawed, but I gotta admit the number of make-up companies using male models is rather alarming. Possibly MORE alarming is the number of Japanese companions I have had who see absolutely nothing odd about it.
Okay, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this rather tall wall of text! Farewell until next time!
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