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
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