Typhoons are here to stay...

Hola!

It's been less than a week since I last emailed all of you, but it's been crazy.

My rain pants

Let's start out with the rain. So I found out that Japan has both a rainy season and a Typhoon season, and right now we are in the middle of Typhoon season. Last week, I thought we were just getting caught in a bunch of rain storms, but those were typhoons, and another typhoon is going to hit tonight. This week it rained a lot more and I got soaked. I actually completely forgot that I brought rain pants until 2 days ago and those made all the difference. They can be a little annoying since you have to take them off every time you go to someone's house (even if it's just to knock and see if they are home) but I was so much more dry and it was so worth it. Yay for rain pants!

I love the rain, it looks so pretty, it's kind of fun to bike in, and it's even fun to get a little wet, but when we get soaked it's a lot less fun. Earlier this week we got completely soaked and we felt so bad visiting people because we didn't want to go inside their houses and drip water all over the place. It was rough, but now I have rain pants so it's okay!

This week was also Zone Conference, which was so amazing. We had a whole day in Oyama with both the Kiryu West and East zones, do you know what that means? I GOT TO SEE BARTON SHIMAI!!!!! She is in the other zone, so this was the first time I got to see her since we got to Japan and it was so sweet. She is amazing! Ah, I've missed her, and it was so nice to see her. It's comforting to know that we are all struggling here, but we are supporting each other from afar. Barton Shimai is so strong and she is doing so well. I also saw Honda Shimai...haha we always have a good time together. I'm so glad she is in my zone. They gave us these huge bento boxes for lunch with rice and chicken and she ate hers so fast! She says it's because she was a water polo player, haha, she ate so fast, it was kind of amazing.

One thing I learned at Zone Conference, is how much President and Sister Nagano love us. They really do! I love our Mission President and his wife. They took the time to talk to each of us and to really help us learn. They weren't afraid to do mogis with us and set an example. They really lifted my spirits and made me excited to be a missionary. Zone Conference really helped me get back in the missionary spirit, something I feel has been dwindling over the last few weeks.

At Zone Conference, we also did mogis. Lots and lots of mogis. For those of you who don't remember, mogis are role-plays. Sister Pourre and I did all of ours in English since no one else could understand Portuguese and we aren't teaching in Nihongo. It was interesting to role play in my native language, where it's more of a challenge to decide what to say than trying to figure out how to say it.

After Zone Conference, we got on the first train to go home. It takes about 3 trains to get from Oyama to Oizumi. Well, on the first train we got off the wrong stop. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but we needed to be back in Oizumi in time for Eikaiwa that night. Never fear though, the Lord always has a plan. The next 2 trains that we got on both had kingens (golden investigators)! We met Shizuka and Giovanna, both of whom were so prepared to hear about the gospel! We are excited to teach them this week because they are so ready! So even though we made a mistake, Heavenly Father was guiding us to the people we needed to talk to :)

On Tuesday, I finally got to go to Ping Pong and someone showed up! So funny story, before coming on my mission, my mom made me practice ping pong every day because every church building has a ping pong table here (maybe I've already told this story...) Anyway, my skills have not gone away! The investigator was super good, but I managed to score a few points, so yay!!!

Japanese Candy Mix - Before and After

We had so many great lessons this week. I don't even know how to express it to you. I have felt the Spirit so strongly this week and it's been amazing. There are still many people who aren't home and it is frustrating to bike all around Oizumi and not teach any lessons, but those lessons we did teach this week were amazing. I will just tell you about one of them.

On Saturday, we taught Maribel the Plan of Salvation and it was so great. First of all, she told us she was already trying to change her work schedule so she could go to church, without us having to ask!!! Then we taught her the Plan of Salvation and she was so excited. She said it answered the question she has had for so long about where our spirits will go. Then she gave this amazing description of the Terrestrial kingdom and I got worried that she was going to say that the Terrestrial Kingdom was enough for her, she didn't need to aim higher, BUT SHE DIDN'T. She said that if the Terrestrial Kingdom was that amazing, she didn't even want to try to describe the Celestial Kingdom. It was so sweet and the Spirit was so strong. It's lessons like this one that help remind me just how amazing it is to be a missionary. I have the opportunity to help others learn about this amazing gospel.

Sunday was so good as well. Ana Paula and her daughter came to church and in Relief Society we talked about the talk "Do I Believe?" from Bonnie L. Oscarson and we were able to talk about a wide variety of things that the church believes. It was a good overview, especially since we have only taught her 2 lessons. It was probably a lot of information, but the members did such an amazing job of explaining and testifying to her and she loved it!

Another reason why church was so good was that I'm starting to understand more! Not just at church, but in lessons as well! I'm teaching more and I understand more too. I can't think of a response fast enough, but understanding is the first step! Yay Portuguese!

So many exclamation points...but it really was a great week. I love being a missionary!

The only bad thing that happened? Hehe...I fell off my bike and really scratched up my leg. The members yesterday saw it and told me multiple times that I better be careful from now on. I will! I promise!!! Don't worry!

Our pumpkin soup

Also, my mom asked me about food from the members. The members here are amazing and they do give us food and they always make sure there is water in the fridge. There is one member that gives us vegetables every week, it's interesting to see how we can use the vegetables. He's given us tomatoes, potatoes (we still have so many), bell peppers (I put them in my curry), and this week he gave us a small pumpkin. Today we made soup in the pumpkin and it was so good! Good thing it was p-day though, because it took longer than we expected. :) The members here are amazing! They are always so excited and they have so much faith. I love them!

Thank you so much for all of your love and support. I love being a missionary and helping others come unto Christ. This week has been rough, but also so rewarding. The people here are so great, I love Japan!

ブラクラ姉妹



Black Shimai