Week 3

as you probably just saw, i now have a way to send pictures, though i can only fit one picture per email. I included a picture of my and my companion, my district, me and my former stls, me, and stl, a friend from highschool and his companion, a picture of my old and new room, though i didnt include a picture of my oldest room, a picture of us as we were lokking out our classroom window trying to see president monson, and a picture of him, a picture of all the elders in my zone, and also a picture of all the sisters in my zone. obviously, there are way more sisters than elders. So a funny thing happened last week shortly after i emailed you. They called a meeting for all of the sisters at 4 pm that day, and we were excited thinking maybe we were going to meet an apostle or some such thing. Anyway, it was not to be. There are bats in 17M, the apartment thingy i has just moved to the week before, and so we were immeadiately moving out beck into the old place. They are trying to take care of the bats, but since they are an endangered species, they can't kill them. I am safe in 5M, though i am back to being cramped and not having enough space for everything. Sunday was wonderful, though we didnt get to meet any general authorities, and none spoke to us on sunday, but the guy who spoke gave a really awesome talk, so i was totally ok with it. We said goodbye to our zone leaders and sister training leaders on sunday. They left early monday morning. I really miss seeing them, they were such good leaders, and really great and inspiring examples. I don't know if i told you about the one elder, who is from peru. But he had the oppurtunity to play professional soccer for argentina, or go on a mission, and he chose to go on a mission. He has also had to learn both english and japanese, simultaneously, and he is really good at both. It is truly amazing how powerful the gift of tongues is, and what a blessing it is. I am so glad i only have to learn one new language, even though it is a struggle. So funny thing about sundays topic, that was the talk that me companion was assigned for her farewell, so i totally agree that it is all about missionary work. I'[m glad you picked the songs you felt inspired to do, and i'm sure those were great songs. I'm glad that everything went well with moving miranda, and that you are able to make things work with all of them down there. Could you send me a picture of my room? i had thought about moving things that way, but i didnt think it would work, and i am curious as to how it works. I also really want pics of the family, everyone is showing there's in my district, and they really want to see mine. The only pic i have is one of me and danielle outside the temple after my endowment that i stuck in my journal. Me medallion was silver, but if she had a gold one in the closet, id be fine with that, i dont want to be an inconvenience. But i really do miss my medallion. I wear it constantly normally, and i find myself want to touch it, but it is not there... So i would really appreciate it if you could get me a new one. Got a surprise yesterday that really made my day, someone sent me a package!!! :) it was so appreciated, and it really made my day. Yesterday was super emotional, because i am getting a bit overwhelmed with all of the new language things that they are throwing over me, and that package just really helped. I really grateful to whoever sent it, though they didnt include a note, so i can only guess as to who it was from. ordered a mission t-shirt for myself today, i was going to also order one for will, per his request, since they didnt have those in the mexico mtc, but he didnt tell me his size, so i am going to have to wait. It takes about a week to get them here, so hopefully he tells me what his size is soon. I am really glad to hear that nothing bad happened with the accident that jennie's car was in. I am so glad that she was delayed, and that though their car was hit, they are ok. I hope that bishop terry continues to recover and do well. I'm sorry to hear about uncle dan. I'm sure it is hard for you to lose him, but i am really glad you were able to see him one last time, and i know that he is doing great, and it is only us left behind that miss him so much. Though im sure he misses us. Japanese is hard. I am struggling to be able to express myself the way that i want to, though i have to keep reminding myself that it has only been three weeks, and that there is no way i would be able to express myself fully in japanese already, but it is hard when i have such a strong desire to help the people i am teaching, but i don't have the ability to do so. I love and miss you, and though this is one of the hardest things i have ever done, i know i am in the right place, and that no matter what, everything is going to turn out alright, if i just place my trust in the lord. It is jsut scary to only be able to pray in just japanese during lessons, no english at all anymore, hopefully when its my turn i will be able to do that! Love and miss all of you!

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Love, Sister Makin

P.s. I would love to hear from all of you, as i hear from momma. btw, dear elders are delivered daily in paper format to the missionaries at the mtc, so if anything big happens while i am here, that i need to know, that is the fastest way to reach me. I love and miss all of you, and the main reason i ask this is because i am constantly being reminded of family in class as everyone else reads their stack of dear elders that they receive daily, and i really want to hear from you. Whether it's a letter or an email, i would appreciate it. EIther way, i love you, and pray for you.