I would walk a hundred miles... And sometimes it feels like I do!

This week has been fabulous! There weren't a ton of lessons, but the
ones that did happen were fabulous! I am just loving it here in
kurashiki.

At the beginning of this week was silver week, basically just a bunch
of holidays smushed together from what I can tell... One thing my
trainer keeps saying, which she heard from others, is Japan celebrates
everything but worships nothing. It is kind of sad, but true, which is
why I'm here right? Anyway, lots of holiday this week.

Tuesday we went out to shin kurashiki, and tried to contact a
potential investigator that we had received from the elders, but she
wasn't home, so we left a little not, which we wrote on in English and
Japanese, because she speaks both, and also Portuguese, so we weren't
sure which to use. We then contacted a referral from our dendoshunnin,
and that didn't go well... She was not interested, at all.. She wasn't
rude, just not interested. We didn't even get to meet her really,
because of ping pong boxes. In case I haven't explained, in Japan,
most of the doorbells have speakers and or video cameras, so people
can answer the door without coming to the door basically, which
everyone does, and I have started to get used to it.

That night at eikaiwa we taught them about going camping, and they
thought the phrase 'chill in the RV' was hilarious, and weird... So we
had to explain that in that context it meant to relax, Japanese
people are just hilarious! We also played the game have you ever... I
don't think they quite got how to play the game, but it was fun and
hilarious anyways.

Nothing extremely exciting happened Wednesday, except we got to walk
about ten miles... In one day. We were trying to visit/ find the
apartment of a potential investigator... And she lives about three and
a half miles away, do we walked there, walked around her maze like
apartment complex, and then we were out of time and had to head back,
so we did.... I am definitely getting plenty of exercise With my hand
being broken... But I was definitely tired after that trip... We are
going to,try again soon, but try and figure out a bus or something out
that way first.

Thursday we had weekly planning and visiting a bunch of less actives.
The less actives here are really amazing! It is so sad that they are
less active, some just live super far away, or have health problems
that prevent them from coming, but they are really good. Not all the
less actives are thrilled about missionaries, and avoid us, but all of
the ones we have visited have been so nice! One of them out of the
blue brought a huge bag of rice out for us! It was so nice of them! I
love visiting the less actives, and we get to do it every other week
with the relief society president and her husband, which makes the
traveling a bunch easier... :) otherwise the traveling would take a
very long time!

Friday was absolutely crazy! We were all over the place, and had
barely enough time to travel everywhere, and we forgot to plan for
dinner, so that didn't happen til after planning, but that's not
important, what is important, is what we did! We started our day by
going to the hospital again, and enter through what us now a normal
routine, I still don't really understand what a lot of the nurses are
saying, but it is always the same, so I know what to do, and it isn't
so awkward anymore. We gave a Mormon.org pass along card to the doctor
that I see every time... He seemed surprised, but he always has
questions about the church, so we took the opportunity, hopefully
something comes from that. And then I didn't get another cast... Yep
that's right, I am now without a cast, but I still have the pins in my
hand... They wrapped up my hand, but no cast this time... It was super
weird, and my hand feels weird without my cast, but a well... My
rehabilitation doctor was surprised by it to though, but ah well...
Just have to be more careful is all... My finger is almost healed! I
am 2/3 of the way there, and the X-rays look a lot better, so I am
very happy about that.

Right after the hospital we went to visit Paula and nobu, and they
were very happy to see us. We talked a bunch, and then I took
initiative, and gave Paula a Book of Mormon, which had been her plan,
and explained that the way to know whether the church was true or not
is to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and since I knew how
much she likes she wants to know for herself, I wanted to give her
that opportunity. She readily accepted, and seemed excited! It was
amazing! We had planned to give her one, but it was just kind of
totsuzen (all of a sudden) that I brought it up, but it went so well!
I am really excited for her, now all we need is for the elevator
request to come through and I think they will start coming to church
all the time! She just has a really hard time walking up the stairs,
but she really enjoys church, and they come sometimes, so we just need
an elevator, and I think she will be even more excited!

And then we met a new investigator!! Remember the lady we tried to
visit Wednesday? The one we walked out to find? Well she called
Thursday night, and wanted to meet with us today, and we were like, of
course! Because we could make it work if we traveled effectively,
which we did, so we went out to her house, and visited with her, and
got to know her. She was very open, and told us some things she has
been struggling with, and how she is working on giving up alcohol now,
and how she has already succeeded at giving up coffee, tea, drugs, and
cigarettes, and I was just impressed! She is so awesome, she see this
joy the gospel brings, and though her husband is super opposed right
now, she is still doing things to make her life better! She has met
with the missionaries off and on for about ten years, and I think that
has had a big impact on her.. Her husband has decided though that he
didn't like her meeting with elders, so she was super excited to have
sisters back in kurashiki!

And then, we raced back to the train station, bot on the train, then a
bus, and went out to country and heart attached our dendoshunnin and
the relief society presidents doors with the chorotachi! It was so
much fun, but we had to be super sneaky, because both of them had
their doors open, so we had to be really quiet or they would have
heard us! But it was crazy.

And that's not all, then we had to rush back via bus to kurashiki for
our dendoshunnin meeting! We were a little late, but it was all good!
Though by this point I was starving! The elders had some fries they
had grabbed from McDonald's on their way back via bike, which they
gave to us, and let me tell you, those fries were the best fries from
McDonald's I have ever had! Despite the fact that they were cold, my
stomach just needed some food!

Saturday we had lunch with another potential investigator about my
age, but she was not interested... I think h last experience with
missionaries wasn't so good. We are just going to work on friends
hopping her for now, and hope that things change.

But the great thing that happened Saturday was our lesson with the
Imai grandma. It was a short lesson, but it was amazing! We sang love
at hone, which is her favorite hymn, and we read 2 nephi 29 with her,
cause that is where she is in her Book of Mormon reading... My
companion and I were a little nervous when we realized it was the a
bible, a bible, I have a bible chapter, but it went so well! She told
us how when she reads th Book of Mormon and prays, her day is so much
better than when she just prays! She really loves praying! Her
favorite hymn from her church that she is currently a member of, just
happens to be prayer is the souls sincere desire. Which I found out
Saturday! The cool part was that the tune is different in her hymn
book, but there happened to be the title in small letters in English!
So I realized it, and could share the version in our hymn book with
her! I love music! It is crazy how good it is at bringing the spirit,
I was also very grateful that that hymn is in the Japanese hymn book!

We then had dinner in takahashi by going to 7/11 and getting some
food, which was actually pretty good, and then we met up with the
chorotachi, again and heart attacked the bishops house! We had lots of
fun heart attacking this week, and Sunday they were all super happy
about it, so it was fun, but at first (meaning Saturday when the
chorotachi were doing some service with the ward), they assumed that
just the chorotachi had gone out and did it, because of my hand, but
nope, we made it work!

Sunday was awesome! The Fukuoka temple presidency came and visited us
for church, and they were just so awesome! We also had a luncheon type
thing after church followed by an awesome fireside... If I had
actually understood all that was going on it would have been even more
awesome, but it was still super awesome as it was, so I enjoyed that.
We are currently working on a musical number for church in a couple
weeks, and we are probably going to do an arrangement of love at home
no families can be together forever... Not exactly sure how I am going
to put those two together, but I know I can,cease the spirit said so,
so I'm going to go for it, and have fun arranging music during meal
times! Yosh! It is crazy how fast things happen!

Next week is general conference for all you stateside folk! Enjoy it!
It is going to be awesome! Three new apostles, and all that stuff! I
don't get conference until the next weekend, due to it being Japan,
but I can't wait! It is sad about Richard g Scott, but it is all
right! Crazy stuff is happening right now!

I am glad to hear that everything us going well for the family for the
most part, and that you had a wonderful birthday! I was hoping it
would be special! Thank you for the poem! It is amazing! I love the
original if Poem, but I like this one a lot too! Jennie and Cody
should get the same car as Danielle again... So there will be two.
Just kidding, though it will be weird that both of those cars are
going to be gone when I get back.

That is so sad about jack proctor! Send my love to Kathryn for me!

Japan is also still being super hot! But it is ok, and hopefully soon
autumn will truly hit for both of us! Love and miss you!

Love, Sister Makin

And so... I became a pack mule, and spoke "English"

Sounds like you have had quite the exciting week, and things are going well.. Glad to hear that everyone is doing well, send that things are moving along... Sushi was definitely an interesting experience, but I don't think I'll love it ever, though I will probably go back. I'm sure will will adjust to speaking English again, but until then, you will probably have some funny moments... My companion has struggles speaking English a lot of the time to... So often the only way for me to understand is to look it up, because she knows it in Japanese, but not in English... Though I haves tarted to say some phrases in Japanese, that I don't really know what they mean, but I know the fuenki (basically the vibes) of the words that I'm saying.

This week has been crazy! Per the usual of course. Sorry I forgot to send pictures last week... I won't do that again... At least this week. I will be sendi plenty of pictures, cause I have a lot, and lots of sushi evidence too.. :)

After trying sushi last week, and emailing, my companion and I went shopping! And I got chopaticks! With music clefs on them! They are awesome! My companion actually saw them first, and then pointed them out to me.... She hasn't gotten to know me at all... ;)

Tuesday, we ate lunch with our ward mission leader assistant, so that we could actually get to know her! It was so much fun, and the best part is that she is practically fluent in English! She is planning on being a translator, but we still talked mainly in Japanese, I could just use English words here and there, and she understood! I like japanglish, but it was funny, because I actually wanted to speak in Japanese, more than I did in English.... Though English is definitely easier! 

At eikaiwa, we taught them weather words, and then played hangman. At first I was worried they were going to get bored, because it was just hangman, but they got really into it, and carefully selected the words that they put up, all in English! That time went by so fast! It was kind of amazing! 

Wednesday we were going to be busy, but two of our three appointments ended up getting canceled... (Three is busy, because we have to walk everywhere, and one of the appointments was the lady up the mountain, which is over an hour walk...) so instead we went to the church, and did some dendo there. Also my companion received a blessing from the elders, because her back has been really hurting her lately... It was kind of funny though, because she asked me for advice, because she has never dealt with anything like that before, and I had to show her how to stretch her back... She is doing a lot better now, but still working on that... Which is how I became a pack mule, because my back is doing fine... Mostly... And it hurts her more to put her bag on, so I just wear both, and they are both really light, so it is not a big deal... Though she always takes the bag back, right before we go into an appointment... She's just funny.

We had Okonomiyake Wednesday night with a member... It is a cabbage pancake, basically, with a lot of other stuff put in... We had it Hiroshima style. It is delicious, and we got to help her make it,.. Though I mainly just watched... Because I didn't want my gross hand near everyone's food....

Thursday we had our weekly planning session, (SKK), and also taught a member family. So not much happened on Thursday, but we did come up with a great way to get our one progressing investigator to church, and maybe one of our other investigators as well.. So we will be doing a musical number with the elders and her granddaughter, who is a fellowshipper, and just way helpful! She went on a mission a while ago, and it definitely shows, she is awesome! 

Friday we had district meeting! I taught about patience... Which went well... Something if been working on lately, so when I got the assignment from my district leader, I just wanted to laugh at the irony... So I did. My companion got to teach jkaiwa (japanese learning meeting), and for that we played family feud... In Japanese, which was hilarious, because only half of the district knew what family feud was, and my companion wasn't one of those that did... :) ah well, it went well anyway.

We also visited another member Friday night, whom we had been trying to get in contact with for a while.. She is just very busy... But we got to meet with her and her two sons, cause her husband was at work. It was a lot of fun, and we were able to talk with her and help her, and encouraged her to pray for help with her specific problems... The sad thing is that her kids like church, but because they have sport hobbies, and Japan is different and missing practice is dame (not allowed, basically), they don't come to church, but hopefully that will change at some time. 

Saturday we had two lessons! With actual investigators. The first one was our first real meeting with Paula, though we had kind of met her a couple weeks back when we went to her and her husbands restaurant. We got to know her, and then she asked about our name tags, which led us write naturally into a spiritual discussion. She seems very open to change, so hopefully we will be able to help her, she is just busy a ton, because she teaches English... But I think we will be able to work around that.. :) the whole lesson was in English though, because she is originally from California, so she prefers English... It was way weird to speak to someone in English at a normal speed, because with the members who speak English, if we use English, we have to speak really slowly... It was just weird, but that was ok. :) our second lesson was with the Imai grandma. We taught her about the doctrine if Christ, and she readily accepted the first three parts, but the last two parts were new to her, so we had to explain exactly what they were, and why they were important... But that wasn't really a problem... We then invited her to pray everyday, starting right then, with us, (including her son and granddaughter, who were there, and are both members) at first she was reluctant to pray out loud in front of people, but we were able to reassure her, and she decided to pray. Imai bishoppu (her son) was astonished... Afterwards when we were on our way back to the train station to go back to kurashiki, he told us that it was a miracle! Apparently he has never heard his mother pray before, and he was very grateful for that experience. I could really feel the spirit as she prayed, and I am really excited to help her! She is amazing!Â

Sunday, he again thanked us, and just kept on saying we were amazing.. He is amazing! He is really into helping us, and wants to do everything he can to help us, in all aspects, but naturally especially in respect to his mother. Sunday was... Fun, I guess. I got to speak in sacrament meeting. So because of that and teaching in district council meeting, my study time was a bit stressful, lots of preparation, including writing the quotes I wanted to use out in romaji... Because I don't read kanji at all, or hiragana or katakana very well yet... That took a while left handed, but. It all went well, despite the fact that I forgot a word in the middle of my talk that I needed..l a bit embarrassing, but luckily the bishop speaks some English, do I just turned to him, and asked him what the word was. No one seemed to mind, and people came up to me after, and thanked me for my talk, and complimented me on the prparation I must've done to be able to give the talk I did...  Basically the fact that I am able to speak Japanese at all is worthy of praise in there minds... So it was all good, but I did get very nervous. We had several meetings planning activities and such after church, and then we tried to visit a referral again, but she wasn't home again, so we left another note, and hopefully she will get in contact with us... We know she got our last little message, because she emailed the person who referred her to us, and thanked her, so hopefully we will be able to meet soon. 

Not much else happened this week, just the normal stuff... Including a mogi where I pretended to be stitch, and mills shimai gad to convince me not to destroy tokyo... Which was just hilarious, but other than that, it was just another awesome week living in Japan! 

We did receive transfer calls today, transfers are on Thursday... I will be... Staying in Kurashiki! Yay! I am so excited, and milks shimai gets her wish, and gets to stay as well... We kept teasing her that she was going to be an stl... Which she didn't like, but not this transfer, so she is happy about that. 

So that was my week! Love you! Miss you!

Love, Sister Makin

So.... Apparently I'm gorgeous... And so is my companion.

Sorry I missed posting this last week.


Lots of funny things happened this week, which leads to the title for
this weeks email, but I will get to that later, for now, just know
Japanese people are very kind.

Not very much happened Monday after emailing you... We just went a bit
crazy doing housing, and trying to do some phone dendo (missionary
work). Earlier we went to a part member families restaurant in the
'samurai village with the elders and a member, and enjoyed some good
American tasting food... It was good, but the wife, who is one of our
potential investigators was entirely engrossed in teaching her English
class, so we didn't get much opportunity to speak with her, but we did
get a chance to build up a relationship with the husband, and he Iater
mailed (texted) us to invite us back at a time when they didn't have
an English class so that we could talk more, which will be great, we
will be doing that this week.

Tuesday at our eikaiwa class we taught them how to order food at a
fast food restaurant, and some of the jokes they were making were just
hilarious, basically puns off of common phrases, using Japanese... But
since they were mixing English and Japanese I understood! They were
definitely speaking my language. We also taught them head, shoulders,
knees, and toes and played a game with that, taking words out, or
making it faster, which they really enjoyed. Can't take credit for the
idea though, got that one from brother norawong (kyodai, because it is
just too weird to use brother), when he taught us that in Japanese. It
was very fun, and got everyone engaged, which was just fabulous!

Wednesday we met with the woman we contacted last Sunday, and she is
so nice! She fed us some authentic Japanese food, and we discussed
Mosiah 16:9 with her, and invited her to read from the Book of Mormon
everyday. She told us that she would read when we came... So we are
going to have to work on building that desire of her own, but I think
we can... She knows what the spirit is, and knows when she feels it,
and she prays over her meals, and at some other times... And she loves
the Book of Mormon and the bible... We just have to be patient with
her. Also, she lives up a mountain... Literally... We could see a good
portion of kurashiki from that view, and kurashiki is big! Huge in
fact, and yet it is countryside... Some parts are, but the main city
is definitely not from my point of view.

Also Wednesday, we helped the elders by being 'members' at a lesson
it's one of their investigators who they are planning to turn over to
us, and then hurried off to meet with a less active hom we had an
appointment with in takahashi, which is about 30 mins away by train.
There are literally trains all over Japan, so it is a very convenient
way to get around... You just have to be read kanji... No biggie. So
Wednesday was very packed, and we ran around a lot, but it was really
just tons of fun.

Thursday was also busy. We visited a less active family in the
morning, and to get to there place we also had to go to the mountain,
and it was yet again about an hour walk, but it was so worth it, and
they were nice enough to give us s rude home afterwards, which took
way less time, and meant we had time to eat lunch... Which before
wasn't going to happen. We then had another lesson with the elders,
though they were on exchanges, so that was a little weird, but it
turned out well, despite a misread text by my fellow trainee in my
district (it was in Japanese). The lady had said next week on
Thursday, but she had time, so she let us in, and we shared the
message, mainly just backing up the elders. That night we went and
visited less actives with the relief society president and her
husband. The less actives were so nice, and just super awesome. They
all commented on how beautiful me and my companion are.... But they
love foreigners, do I'm not sure that counts. One of them, the grandma
of the family we visited last told us we were bijin, which apparently
translates to drop dead gorgeous... It was funny, and since I didn't
understand at first, I just smiled and nodded, and then laughed later
with mills Shimai when I found out what had been going on.

The takatas then took all of us missionaries to a ramen place for
dinner, and takata kyodai gave us the challenge. A huge bowl of ramen,
with a bunch of sides, and when I say huge, I mean huge! I was silly
enough to take the challenge on, and No I don't really regret it...
That much. I ran out if time to finish it, due to curfew, but I still
had space in my stomach, and I was almost done, so I think I could've
done it, but we literally had no time, and I eat slower than normal,
especially cause it was left handed AND chopsticks... Which I am
actually getting fairly good at... I am Aldo getting decent at writing
with my left hand, so that is nice.

Friday we had district meeting, and we discussed what our district
leader learned from his leadership meeting that he went to this
week... Which was way cool. I love district meeting! We also discussed
that the only sacrifices God asks if us, especially as missionaries,
is our will, and also our comfort, because we don't grow when we are
in our comfort, and that God doesn't expect us to be perfect... He
just expects us to do our best, and keep improving. If you have a
moment, think about the difference between minister and administer...
If you look at that Latin roots, which i do, and so does my district
leader.. :), you discover that administers take care of businesses,
while ministers take care of people... There is more to it than that,
but that I the basics. As visiting and home teachers, and as
neighbors, we should be ministers to those around us, and look for
opportunities to help them, because we are all gods children, and the
best way to improve, in anything, is to stop focusing on ourselves,
and to lose ourselves in the work of our God.

After district meeting, I had to go back to the hospital for another
check up... This time, they changed the cast, and padding, and made me
a new one after X-rays... It didn't hurt near as much this time. From
what I saw in the X-rays, my finger is healing just fine! Yeah!
(Yosh!) I also had mills Shimai take some pictures of what my hand
looks like without a cast, and it wasn't very pretty, but not terribly
ugly either, just my normal hand with nails sticking out of it.. No
big deal.

After the hospital, we ate some food, and then headed off to contact a
referral we received from a Japanese sister missionary who has a
friend in our area. It was her birthday, so we went to try to open the
door by contacting her on her birthday... We couldn't get ahold of
her, but left a treat and a note in her mailbox. We then hurried back,
hoping to make it in time for our meeting with our ward mission
leader, but due to the train schedule, we couldn't make it... But that
turned out good. On our way home, we were contacted by this random
guy, who asked us some questions, and we turned it to our contact. We
gave him an eikaiwa flyer, and he said he would come. He also got us a
drink, water, from one of the many vending machines in Japan,
literally in Japan there are vending machines everywhere, almost
around every corner... So, ya, that was a very interesting experience.
It was also funny... Because he was yet another person who told us we
were kiide (pretty), but he looked at me after and was like, you are
very tall (big), which was funny....

Saturday was also packed. We went to takahashi again, and visited with
our investigators over there. The oosugi's grandmas lesson went ok,
but the imams was really great. Imai bishoppu is her son, so we had
him share his conversion story and testimony, and her granddaughter
also shared her testimony, the spirit was very powerful, and as we
taught of eternal families and how God wants to help us, you could
really feel it. She is still being stubborn, but I'm pretty sure we
got her thinking, and I really want to help both of the grandmas. The
Imai grandma is the only one not baptized in her family, for.
Generations, all the people they know at least, back to about 500
a.d., and I can just see how much her son and her daughter live her,
and want that blessing for her...

Sunday we were going to go visit s member, but she canceled, so we
were able to finish up our weekly planning, because due to having a
packed weekend we weren't able to do it all at once, but we were able
to review and finish due to the cancellation, which was good.

Today I ate sushi. Legit sushi, and it wasn't that bad.... I'm not
saying it was delicious, it just wasn't terrible, and I will probably
be able to eat it again... I even had some that were raw fish.... And
besides the strange texture, it wasn't really all that bad...

Anyway so that was my week! Thank you for the homecoming pictures,
will looks great, and he and joe still definitely look like twins nine
years apart. ;) glad to know everything is going well for everyone,
and as always I always want more pictures! So please send me some!
Glad to hear everyone is doing well, and that will is adjusting! Love
and miss you!
Love, Sister Makin

Black Thunders!

Something important I forgot to include... Or not important depending
on how you look at it, but please also forward this email....

I tried black thunder! This past week, I tried a black thunder, and
they are so delicious! They are literally amazing! I love them! I
think I'm addicted... But not really.... For those of you who don't
know, black thunders are little chocolate candy bars with like wafer,
and are just amazing! They taste so good, and I can't justly describe
them, but I now understand why all my MTC sensei's were crazy about
them! They are just seriously so good!

Anyway, that's all! Love and miss you!

Love, Sister Makin

Salmon..... Oh no.... :)

Dear family, 

I also didn't think that the pictures looked very gory, but my companion did, and there were multiple times during the whole process that she couldn't watch... I guess she just doesn't handle stuff like that very well.... So since that has been what I was around, that was the opinion I made of the pictures. They just look funny to me mainly. It is kind of hard to believe I typed 4 pages... I knew my letter was long. But I didn't know how long. As for the manner of typing, my left hand just darts all over the keyboard... Since I use it so much, I am actually getting pretty used to it. The mobility of my fingers is mainly being able to bend them, so that they don't get weak, but the cast is fairly big, and in the way, so mostly I just use my left hand for everything. I am hoping to be at least slightly ambidextrous by the end of this... :) 

I love the people in Japan, they are just so amazing, and kind. Even if they aren't interested at all, they always see very polite as the say no, and it is almost crazy how considerate they are. They are really just polite, and that is how they make the narrow roads here work, because often there is only space for one car, and little areas for call to pull over so that others can pass them, and it just so work very well... The crazy thing is that though Japan really doesn't have enough space for the people who live here, they don't take up as much space. They are very good at conserving space, and so they don't need as much. My apartment is fairly good sized, probably one of the biggest in the mission, like a three bedroom, but most apartments are only half that size... Do I am kind of being pampered at the beginning of my mission, though I won't complain.

I am glad that things are going well, and that everyone is getting settled. I too have a hard time believing will returns in just a day, but I bet everyone is super excited, and you will definitely have a crazy house if everyone is going to be over... Have fun with that! ;) I am also happy to hear that they have mango milk! I love that stuff so much... Though real mangos are much better.... Fresh ones I mean, do I am enjoying that. 

This week was not as exciting as last week, but it was still great. Monday continued without any serious incident, which I was glad for. We want to have an activity for the ward members to invite their friends to, so that we can get some investigators, and activities are always good for that effort, plus we have some talented people in our ward, so we are working on planning something with the elders and with the ward, hopefully before transfers in a couple of weeks. Tuesday we went back to the hospital for some hand rehabilitation, cause I don't want to lose the muscles in my hand, so I basically have to be moving my fingers constantly... Not fun, cause occasionally it hurts, but it is all good.

Tuesday at eikaiwa we split into two classes, and mills Shimai and I taught the beginners class. We started out reviewing introductions. Which they seemed to enjoy. Found out that the reason one of the class members introduces himself as double 7, is because he is 77 years old! Though he definitely doesn't look anywhere near that old. We then asked them why they wanted too learn English, both to gage where we wanted to go from there, and so we would know for future lessons. They all responded with different reasons, but everyone of their reasons tied into traveling! So we spent the rest if class teaching directions and how to ask for directions... Though the funny thing was, they are all actually really good at English, so they basically ended up teaching us directions in Japanese, but we had fun, and it helped us to gage their level.

The interesting thing we did Wednesday was attend institute to build our relationship with some members, and also with a member who is planning on a mission, that the ward mission leader asked us to work with. The lesson was good, what I understood... But I felt like I had been transported back to my primary days, because we were coloring and cutting, and gluing... Well everyone else was, I have a hard time down such things with only one hand... But it was fun, and definitely an interesting experience. We also went to a class for language study, where they teach us one on one how to speak Japanese... Which is really cool, but for some reason, they taught me and my companion together... And it was good, but she is at a completely different level than me, do I just got lost sometimes, and then they would ask me a question, and it would take me a few minutes to answer, because I was trying to catch up in my brain. 

Thursday I had my first interview (besides the one when I arrived) with president welch! At first I just thought it was a nice conversation, we just talked about something's, including the Book of Mormon challenge we are doing as a mission (which is really great!). I really enjoyed the conversation, but at first it was just a nice conversation. As a had some time to think about it after though, I realized that the things we had talked about were the exact things I had needed to hear, and that he was really answering questions that I didn't even know I had! It was awesome! And I didn't even realize how awesome until after the fact!

The next experience I had that night shocked me... And I am sure, for those of you who know me, that it will shock you as well... We went to the bishops house for dinner that night, and shared a lesson with him and his wife. And guess what we had for dinner... Among other things we had salmon. SALMON! I was super nervous because I don't like salmon, but I was a brave girl, and ate some... First. IT WAS DELICIOUS! I love salmon, it was so good, and I was just super shocked! I want more salmon now, just thinking about it, crazy right? Anyway. So that was a fun experience. 

Friday we had ZTM. it was so good, and I was left with a lot of things ponder deeply about, despite the fact that we had to leave early to go to a doctor's appointment that I had for my hand... :( it was a very short visit with the doctor, though the waiting was literally around two and a half hours for the whole thing. When we saw him, he looked at the X-rays that they had just taken, said, it looks good, keep doing your rehabilitation, and keep those fingers mobile, and come back next week. Which took less than a minute, but we had to go to the rehabilitation center after as well... Fun! 

We then had a companionship exchange with the sister training leaders for our zone! They are literally amazing! I love them so much! I was with Robertson Shimai, and since we couldn't travel very far away, do to the fact that I can't ride a bike, we just went finding around our apartment, and it was great! I learned a lot about finding, and also just missionary work! Robertson Shimai was seriously inspired with some of the things she said. I love kokans! (That is exchange in Japanese, sorry,it is just weird to call it an exchange, because it is a kokan... And that's what i know it as. We also had fun, because all four of us were in kurashiki during the 24 hour kokan, so we had fun, and just laughed together. There is the awesome place in kurashiki, missionaries call it a samurai village, but it has tons of little shops, and restaurants, and one of our potential investigators has a restaurant there, do we went to investigate, but it is very big,Mel we couldn't find it, but we got to try finding there anyway.

Saturday after the kokan ended, we went to the ward mission leaders for dinner, and got to know him better. Because of timing, we had to awkwardly wait outside his home til his wife got home, but it was all good, and lots of fun! He is very excited to do missionary work, and to have sisters in kurashiki, and I just kept on getting more and more excited this week to find people.

Sunday we called some numbers that are former investigators. They are just in our phone, but we have no record of them... So it was kind of a shot in the dark, but we felt like we should. And we had success... Lots of the numbers were disconnected, but we have an appointment for Wednesday with one of the people we called, and two more who want to meet with the missionaries again, we just have to set up appointments with them! We were kind of in shock, but I am super excited for that lesson. The lady actually asked us to teach her more about the Book of Mormon when we come to visit, so I am just super excited and hopeful for her! Sacrament meeting was wonderful, I was very tired, but I just focused on he members testimonies, and tried to understand... I didn't fully understand, but I got stuff from their testimonies, so it was all good.

Besides that I just had another wonderful, and exciting week here in Japan. And happened to discover that I do like fish... Fresh fish, because that is so good, and doesn't have a super fishy taste. I am just super excited for this next week, because we have at least 6 lessons already planned with investigators and less actives, and we haven't even filled the whole week yet! 

Love and miss you! Have fun welcoming your son home tomorrow!

Love, Sister Makin

Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

Dear family and friends,

(Before you look at the next two emails with pictures, know that the
images aren't pretty, and you don't need to look at them if you don't
want to, I just sent them in case you wanted to see them... The second
one isn't as bad, but the first one is shortly after the accident....
So it is now up to you, you have been warned... :) )

I hope you got a kick out of my letters title this week, though it is
indeed factual, or was for a short period of time...

So, last week, after I sent out my email, I had a great plan going
shopping for things I needed, and also some things I just wanted (like
cute notebooks for me to take notes in, that I won't be using for
quite a while now..... :( ). Anyway, while we were out, a member that
we had been trying to meet with, called us to invite us over for
dinner that night, and so we were very excited. Just a little before
p-day ended we headed off to the church to meet the elders, who were
also invited, so that we could head over together.... As we were on
our way over there, I got in a bike accident.... It was all my own
fault, but ah well.... It happens.

Anyway, so what happened was I was leading, and as I finished
crossing the street, I saw a bunch of cars coming, and the streets are
really narrow, so instinctively I knew I needed to squeeze the brakes
and slow down, to avoid an accident. But because the brakes are
opposite here in Japan, I squeezed the front brake instead of the back
brake like I had intended to do. So, I flipped... I don't remember
exactly how I flipped, just that it was fast, I knew it was happening,
and it must've been forward and sideways, due to the way I landed. And
then there was pain.. It happened so fast that my bike ended up being
on top of me, with my legs still in riding position, which probably
saved my legs, and I was of course wearing my helmet, which probably
saved my head, and the cute little bag I had just bought was on my
back... And you guessed it, that probably saved my back. But,
unfortunately I didn't have anything to protect my hand.... So my
right hand doesn't work anymore... Kind of sucky, but it is ok, and it
will be ok, I'll talk more about how it is broken a little later....

So we called the elders, and had them come help us, because we were
pretty close to the church, and I was broken, and then we called
sister welch, and she directed us to head to a hospital, because I was
broken.... The chorotachi arrived, and we had the district leader call
the member we were about to go visit, and explain what happened, and
ask for a ride to the hospital. We had the district leader do it,
because he has the most Japanese experience, and so yeah... We walked
to the church to meet her there, and though I hate to admit it, I was
kind of being a baby about it, and whined way more than I should of,
but ah well... After she arrived, she had to call hospitals to make
sure they had emergency doctors that were still there, because in
Japan, it seems only the really big hospitals have doctors after
6pm.... Strange, but that is how it is. We got to the hospital, and
had to do the normal paperwork.... Except in Japanese of course, and
then after waiting, for a while, and after some X-rays, we got to see
a doctor. Found out that my pinky was broken, and my ring finger
slightly fractured... So the doctor tried to just pull it back into
place that night, but they were concerned about causing me to much
pain, and i didn't know how to say just do it (basically at this
point, my brain was exhausted, and I wasn't thinking in
Japanese/understanding it any more...), so they wrapped me up, and
sent me off, with instructions to come back tomorrow, and they would
finish....

So we came back Tuesday, and met with a new doctor, who recommended
surgery, we asked how much, and they said about $1000, because my
insurance card still hadn't come from the mission home (which was
weird, because i later found out that everyone else had received their
card.... ), and so I was going to have to pay full price, well since
in Japan basically everything is in cash, I didn't have any way to pay
that much, so I was kind of hesitant to agree to that, cause I felt I
needed to talk to sis welch about it first. So that day ended with my
finger still broken.... That afternoon, we sent some pictures of my
X-rays to doctor Hansen, a radiologist in Tokyo who is a friend of
president and sister welchs', who is basically consulted when anything
like this happens... For a second opinion. He called, and we talked
for a while. He agreed with the doctors opinion, and after talking
with him for a while about it, I felt very calm, and decided that was
what I was going to do. He also told me not to hesitate to ask the
elders of Israel for a blessing, and that was funny, because I already
asked, and mills shimai and I were at the church waiting for them to
come give me one, which was very nice, and so comforting.

So that was Tuesday, Wednesday we met with the doctor again, and said
we wanted the surgery, and he started talking about what was going to
happen, but because I don't understand hospital Japanese basically at
all, and because what he was saying, that I did understand sounded
different from what doctor Hansen had talked about, I got super
confused, and a little worried... I don't like not knowing what is
going on... So we contacted sister welch, who had doctor Hansen call
us, and he was able to explain to me based off of the little I did
understand what the doctor was talking about, and so that was good...
It is just such a blessing to be able to talk to someone in English
about this, who knows what is going on, and can help me understand...
So once that was figured out, i decided to go ahead and schedule the
surgery. Which lead to a bit of confusion, because of misunderstanding
what we had decided, more like which hospital I wanted to have the
operation at, but we eventually got it sorted out, and it was all
good.

My insurance card still hadn't come by this point, so elder Evelyn,
one of the senior couple serving here came down to pay for the surgery
the next day. It was so helpful to have him there, because he is
fluent in both Japanese and English, so he could translate for us, and
we were finally able to effectively communicate (we had always had a
member with us, but the members don't really speak English all that
well so it was a challenge) this was in the morning, and they
apparently hadn't scheduled my surgery, but they were able to put it
in in the afternoon, but we ended up being at the hospital all through
that! It was a very long wait... Elder evelyn had to get back to Kobe,
do he just handed us plenty of money to cover it, and told us to call
after it was all over. Before he left, I had to sign some papers
agreeing to the surgery... Just more paperwork basically, and also
agreeing to the rehabilitation.... And that was fun, my left handed
writing isn't very good.... Anyway, The surgery was.... Fun? I don't
know if that's the right word... But whatever. The Japanese are really
polite, and they tried hard to communicate with me... And they always
asked my permission before doing anything, including the iv, and the
anesthesia.... Except, I didn't fully understand what they were
saying, but ah well.... I figured it and, and then was like "dozo"
basically go ahead... They are the doctors, they know more than me,
right? So the surgery was actually really simple, they just numbed my
fingers, and the area around them, put my bone in the right place, and
then put pins in my fingers to keep them in place. I didn't feel it at
all, which was a strange sensation, because they had a screwdriver
like thing, and a hammer to put them in with, so I could hear it, but
I couldn't feel it, and I also couldn't see it, because there was a
curtain type thingy in the way... I imagine that that is how would
feels.... If would felt, cause it doesn't feel it, but yay... That was
where my mind was....Anyway, so they wrapped up my hand, after taking
X-rays to check that it was good, and sent me on my way to pay, with
instructions to come back the next day for a cast. Surprisingly the
surgery was not near as much as they said, it was under $300 dollars,
so that was good, and if my insurance card comes within 30 days, I can
take it and the receipts from all the payments to the hospital and get
reimbursed for what the insurance would have covered, so it is all
good. They also asked me some questions about the difference between
Mormons and Protestant and Catholics, so I got to try and explain
that... Which was hard, mainly because they didn't understand word
like prospect or servant... And i was kind of struggling to define
those... One of the doctors spoke a bit of English... But my brain
kept on trying to speak Japanese, so I couldn't really take full
advantage of that anyway....

The next day was super painful... I had been fairly hyper right after
he surgery, probably from the anesthesia... But that wore off... But
then I woke up in he muddle of the night, and I no longer felt so
wooden, I could definitely feel the nails in my hands... It was
painful, but I took some pain pills, and eventually went back to
sleep... Though American drugs are so much better than Japanese drugs
I will tell you that... The doctors here don't like American drugs, so
they gave me some pain pills, and they work... They are just weak...
Anyway, so we went in and got my cast.... And due to the fact that I
will need to move my fingers during the six week cast period, which is
in large part my rehabilitation, it is shaped kind of funny... And
bent... Pictures to follow of course, but in order to get it into that
shape, one of the doctors had to push the already hardening cast over,
and since my hand was inside said cast, I could feel it, and it
hurt.... A lot! But it no longer hurts.... Very much, so I'm good,
don't worry about me, and my fingers should heal just fine.... I'm
just left handed until they do....

So that was the majority of my week, that and a lot of sleeping,
because my energy store had been wiped out by hospital visits, but it
is all good, and I'm glad I no longer have to go to the hospital every
day, just once or twice a week...

Anyway, to the awesome experience of my week. Saturday we went to
takahashi, a city in my area, because we had several teaching
appointments, and a member who would be going with us, that was the
granddaughter of two of the people we were meeting with. The first
grandma we saw before, and had agreed to this second appointment,
which she had apparently never done with missionaries before... Which
in and of itself is a miracle, but she is super busy... Anyway, so we
got to know her some more, and then shared a message about what
eternal families are, how God loves us and wants to help us, and about
prayer, and how that opens the way for Heavenly Father to help us. She
actually asked us questions about how we ask for help, and that was
how we lead into prayer... Without even realizing it, I kind of took
over the lesson. And taught most of it, and it went well... She asked
us to share a personal experience about receiving an answer to our
prayers, and my companion couldn't think of one, so I also was the one
to share... I could really feel the spirit, and at the end of that
lesson we invited her to pray.... But she refused... Which I didn't
really understand, because she seems to want to receive help from God,
and also wants an eternal family, but she said no... She is just
stubborn I guess... She wasn't exactly excited to plan another visit,
but with her grandmothers help, we made another appointment, so that I
can 'practice my japanese'. Not necessarily the best reason for her to
keep meeting with us, but we will keep sharing messages when we meet
with her, and hopefully, her heart will be softened... We then visited
the daughter of a less active family, and talked with her for a bit...
Getting to know her, and just trying to build a relationship with her,
but she was super busy, so it wasn't a long visit.

We then went to the other grandmas to visit with her for a little bit.
She wasn't feeling very well, so it was a short visit, but it went
really well. We got to know each other, and since the last
missionaries had committed her to read from the Book of Mormon for
five minutes a day with her granddaughters. That was a couple months
before, but the awesome thing is that she has not only been reading,
but keeping a journal about what she read and such! She is at the time
of the savior a birth currently and is enjoying it! Because she wasn't
feeling to good, we ended there after singing love at home (her
favorite hymn), but I am hopeful that she will be feeling better when
we next visit... She is also the bishops mom, so we have lots of
member support from him and his family as we try to help her! She is
just so sweet and awesome, and I can't wait to get yo know her better.
We then took a card and a small treat to an inactive who's birthday
had been Friday.... She wouldn't come see us, but her mom and dad, who
are both very strong members were happy to see us, and we had a good
chat with them.

We were then invited to the oosugis for dinner, and the elders were
also invited... It was wonderful, and delicious, and we shared a
combined (all four missionaries) short message on families, and how
important they are. Hey really seemed to enjoy our testimonies, and
they asked some more questions about how we all got sealed in the
temple, because I shared that with them the first time mills shimai
and were over, and they had gotten curious.

Sunday was good... Everyone asked about my hand, and expressed
condolences, but I just tried to be upbeat about it, because yes, I
miss the use of my right hand, but no, it is not the end of the world,
and doesn't change how much i want to help these people!

To answer your question mom, the storm did hit our area, and was
fairly bad, but we didn't get the worst of it, and due to my injury we
were inside, so we weren't really affected.... I am glad that
everything is going so well for the family, and that Marvin is having
so much fun, even if it does cause problems for everyone else. Hope
everything continues to go well, and that you continue to feel better.
Know that I am well, and also happy that since I had to learn
something fro this experience the injury was minor, and easily
fixable... Looking forward to learning the lesson I need to from being
'hand'i'cap'ped... :)

Thank you all for your prayers in my behalf! They have really helped
this week, and I can feel the support! You are all amazing, and I love
and miss you! I am so grateful that I am on a mission, and get to
share this knowledge that I have with others! The gospel is true!
Christ is our savior! The Book of Mormon is so important! Read from it
every day, every day, every day! As Kevin w. Pearson said in his talk
'stay by the tree' last general conference. I am so grateful that I
get to have my family for eternity, and that I know the gospel is
true, and I get to be in Japan sharing that knowledge.

Love, Sister Makin

 

They turned my arm pink with whatever they used to clean it.