Tamago ga nai hito!!!!!

Konnichiwa!

This has been a crazy week filled with exchanges. We had full day exchanges with the Tsukuba Sisters and half day exchanges with the Kamagaya Sisters. I barely dendoed with my own companion this week :( I missed her.)

On Tuesday, I was on exchanges with Sister Mitchell, who is actually my Senpai from the MTC. She's from New Zealand and she is so amazing! She has done so much for the mission in terms of helping Mission School move forward. She served in the honbu for half her mission and had so many great ideas about how to help the mission including new Mission School flyers and pamphlet cards that have the Missionary Pamphlets in English, Japanese, and Romaji (romanized alphabet) on them to help the missionaries. She is so great and so creative. We had so much fun together!

We also saw an amazing miracle. We went to teach Mission School and a new student came named July. We actually found July last week while doing the Free English Challenge and she came this week. Sister Mitchell is a master teacher so she led the class and I learned a lot from her about how to teach a really effective class. July loved it! She learned so much and she is so excited to come back next week. What was even better was that after the class she really opened up about her beliefs in a greater being, but how she wasn't sure if it was God or not. She had a lot of questions about prayer and it was so amazing. We were able to share more about the gospel with her and she is just such a kinjin, she wants to learn more so badly! Miracles!

Later in the week we had half day exchanges where we went to Kamagaya (about an hour away) and dendoed there. I was with Sister Keiser and because we didn't have bikes we had to walk...except we got lost...then walked to the wrong train station...yeah. It was rough, but I probably burned a lot of calories! So much walking. We did another Free English Challenge with them and we saw a lot of miracles. Lots of kids and moms wanted to take the test and it was really good exposure for the Mission School.

With Shizuko and Miki Shimai

When I finally got to be with my companion again, I was so happy, and the miracles didn't stop!

We had an amazing lesson with Shizuko. She's been an investigator for a long long time, but this week was the first time when she said we could meet at the church. We went through the "Who is God?" Pamphlet with her and the Spirit was so strong from the very beginning. That was probably one of the most powerful lessons I have been in. The Spirit was testifying so strong and you could tell that she felt it. She laid out her desires for her family and the church and she really began to understand who God was. God loves each of us so much. He really is our Heavenly Father. He wants to hear from us no matter what we have to say. I know that my dad likes to hear what I have to say, it doesn't matter what I'm talking about, because he loves me. Heavenly Father is the same way. This is such a powerful truth and it was amazing to watch Shizuko realize it in her own life.

St. Patrick's Day activity

That night we had another powerful lesson. We had a Restoration mogi lesson with Ishimori Shimai. Once again, the Spirit was so strong. It was a last minute mogi, so we didn't have time to prepare it, and Sister Nicholes and I have never taught the Restoration together before, but it was powerful and the Spirit was so strong.

Those were some powerful lessons. I'm so glad that I was able to be worthy and prepared to help invite the Spirit to touch the lives of these amazing people.

Making okonomiyaki

After that mogi, Ishimori Shimai and her husband made okonomiyaki with us. Okonomiyaki is basically a cabbage pancake (but they added seafood and meat) and you put sauce, mayo, fish flakes, and seaweed on top. It was so good!!! They are such a funny couple too! They told us so many funny stories. Haha Ishimori Kyoudai works at PBO (the Church offices in Japan) and he told us "I'm not supposed to tell you, but the honbu started looking for a new apartment for you." He was so funny. He tried to keep it a secret, but not really. I'm so glad he told us though! Our apartment is so moldy, I've been sick for the last week. The fans in the shower and bathroom don't work so the water never dries and it's nasty. But yay for change!

The final product

Then on Sunday we helped with the Primary Easter Activity. Oh my goodness, there are so many kids and they are adorable! They all had name tags and I joked that they needed the name tags all the time because there are so many of them! How am I going to learn their names?

It was a fun time though. We did some easter relay races, including one awkward but really fun one where you had to jump across the gym with a balloon between your knees (a nice challenge when you are wearing a skirt). We also decorated Easter Eggs with the cutest stickers and there was one little girl who kept trying to sit on my lap and I felt bad that I had to keep lifting her off. She was so cute!!!!!! Lastly, there was an Easter egg hunt. Japanese kids are so nice! They were told that each kid could only get 1 egg, so they would get their egg then start shouting "tamago ga nai hito!!!" (People who don't have an egg!) to give them another egg. So nice, so obedient to the rules.

It was a fun week :) I can't believe we are starting week 5 already. This transfer has gone by slow, but fast The days feel slow, but then I blink and all of a sudden it's Saturday! Time passes by so fast.

After basketball

This week I just wanted to share a little something I learned over the past few days. I've been reading in Alma 54-57 about the Stripling Warriors and they have inspired me in a way I never thought of before. Lately there have been a lot of days where it is hard to have the desire to work hard. I can work hard, but it isn't the hardest I could be working, if that makes sense. I was reading in these chapters and I realized that they had no doubts, they put their complete trust in Heavenly Father, completely focused and as a result were blessed with "magnificent power....and mighty strength." I realized that the way that I can achieve more desire is to trust Heavenly Father, and get rid of any doubts I have. Doubts don't have to necessarily be a conscious thought, they can just be shown through your actions. If you aren't putting in 100% effort into something, you are showing doubt. If I am only talking to 90% of the people I see, then that last 10% is doubt. Doubt doesn't lead to miracles. I then read a talk about becoming a consecrated missionary and a quote that stood out to me was "God expects immediate progress, not immediate perfection." My earlier realization about doubt was great and all, but also overwhelming. It is hard to get rid of all your doubts and become consecrated to the Lord. This quote brought me a lot of peace because Heavenly Father just wants to see me try and do my best. He will bless those efforts and magnify them.

Dinner with Hana-chan and her mother

I really love the Book of Mormon and the prophets. They really do guide us and teach us. Every single person can read their words (multiple times) and learn new things that can completely change them. After studying those chapters and the that talk, I started implementing the things I learned and I have already seen a change. I am so very thankful for this gospel and the many blessings it has given me, for all the guidance and comfort it has given me.

Thank you so much for all your love and prayers!

ブラクラ姉妹
Black Shimai