A blessing, a kokan, some meetings, and a greater joy

Dear family and friends,

If you can't tell, this week has been a crazy one, and I feel like a
lot of it wasn't actually in my area, but it was so much fun. Last
week I was emailing, Danielle, my sister, and just talking about some
of the things that were going on. She suggested that I get a
priesthood blessing, and I knew that it was inspired, because I had
thought of it before, I just hadn't acted on it. It still took me a
little bit, but I did.

Monday was pday, and we got just a little time to relax, we have been
trying to do that ever since week one in Nishiwaki, but things have
always just taken to long, and we haven't had enough time. A little
frustrating, but we got everything we needed to get done done, so that
is good. Hopefully this week we will have a little more. That night we
met with isogai Shimai, she served in Sendai, and is a member here in
Nishiwaki. We had a great mogi lesson with her, and it really helped
my companion. I decided to put her on the spot, with some preparation,
and have her teach it, and I was just a supporting presence, and help
if she needed. She did a great job.

Tuesday I got a powerful lesson. We went to the old folks home, and
did service, and it was a lot of fun, and then afterwards we met the
elders at the church and they gave me a blessing. One of the first
things that he said in that blessing, was that my Heavenly Father was
proud of me seeking the counsel that I felt I needed at this time. I
feel like I am not the only one who feels awkward asking for a
priesthood blessing, we are often prideful, and don't want to admit
that we truly need that help from our father in heaven, but he
rejoices when we give him that opportunity to speak to us through his
servants. Let go of your pride, when you feel you need a blessing, or
even think it, ask for one. It is definitely inspired by the Holy
Ghost, and you need it, it will make your trial go smoother. After
that we went and visited a member, and I was able to share that
experience, because I felt like I should. The inoues loves it, and it
really just brought the spirit to their home. That night we raced back
for eikaiwa, but this time avoided the hills. I like going up the
hill, but my companion was tired. I felt so much happier just by that
point, and this week was just full of happiness. That doesn't mean
that I don't sometimes feel overwhelmed with all of the things that I
need to do, or with all the expectations, but I have been able to look
at it from a brighter perspective, and shrug off the feelings that
tell me 'I can't do this', more.

Wednesday we got up early and traveled to Akashi, and had one of the
best Kokans I have ever had. I studied with saijo Shimai in the
morning, which was a lot of fun, just planning for the investigators.
Even though I had had no idea who they were, or what to study, I ended
up studying just the thing we were going to be using that day, which
was cool. We went crazy, and taught 21 lessons in just that one day,
and most of them were on the street, Akashi is a city, so there are
more people, but it was cool to learn from saijo shimais example, and
to just have a crazy awesome day of dendo. Made me realize more what
is possible, no matter where you are. Saijo Shimai was so bold, and
just open with people, and it was really inspiring to see her let go
of her own culture just a bit to share the gospel. I loved that kokan.

Thursday we had TTTM, trainer trainee training meeting, and it was so
good. I learned a lot more about the role of the missionary, spirit,
and investigator in conversion, and of course the member. Because
members are so important. It clicked very powerfully for me that
obedience is the key to fulfilling our roles as missionaries, and as
members. If we aren't being obedient, than the blessings that enable
us to achieve our goals, fill our roles are not given to us, we block
ourselves from receiving them. I think that really applies to
everyone, no matter your situation. I learned a lot from Welch kaicho,
and Shimai, and also from the assistants, it was a way good meeting.
On the way back from Kobe, we carried a fan, which led to a lot of
weird looks on the train, people were so confused. So we used it for
dendo. Everyone we talked to happily gave us their numbers, and wanted
to meet again, makes me want to carry a fan more.

Friday we had district meeting, and the APs came. It was so good, but
similar to TTT. We talked a lot about the spirit, but I was still able
to learn some new things. Jkaiwa was good, but stressed my companion
out, she just really wants to get good at the language, and is having
a hard time seeing her progress, but we have a plan. I wish I could
just tell her it isn't important, or to stop worrying about it, but I
know that it wouldn't help. The thing is, the language, Japanese, it
isn't important. The spirit fills in the gaps in our language, we just
have to be spiritually prepared to do as much as we can, and just
prepare our best. It is hard to recognize that though, because the
language seems to be this huge barrier looming between you and the
person, when really there isn't a barrier at all, except for your own
fear. That night we went to sasayama for eikaiwa, and it was really
good. The students there are all really nice, and have some good
potential to become investigators. The hard part is that it is pretty
far away, and we have to ride trains to get there. I want to go there
once a week though, because I know that it is possible with the money
and everything.

Saturday we had the talent show. It was a great activity, but
unfortunately with the set up and everything, it basically took the
entire day. That was sad, but it was a really fun activity, and we
were able to talk with some Nonmembers that had come, and got their
members. They are friends with whipple Shimai, the relief society
president, and are all young moms, so much potential, which is
awesome. That night we started SKK, because we just hadn't had a
chance to get to it yet.

Sunday we had church, which was awesome, I love Sundays. After church
we had ward council, and it was cool to see how much the ward wants to
help. The branch president has decided that he is going to start going
and visiting the less actives, and bringing the missionaries along
sometimes, plus they were trying to figure out how to make eikaiwa
more of a success for dendo. That was way cool. We tried to visit a
new investigator, with no luck, turns out that the address that she
gave us was not hers, and then we ended the night with SKK. It was a
good SKK, and we both felt like we had well planned through it.

This week was awesome, and I feel like I learned a lot. I love the
gospel, and I love all of you. Keep having fun, and stay safe!

Love, Sister Makin

Come unto Christ

Dear family and friends,

This week has been a good week, full of some uphill moments, and some
downhill moments, but all in all a very good week.

Monday we had a nice relaxing ish pday, went and got my companion a
kappa, rainsuit, and just relaxed a bit. I always want more relaxing
time, but it just never happens. We were planning on going to himeji
castle this week with some PI's but plans changed. We will probably be
doing that another week though. After pday we went out and got lost.
Best way to get to know your area.   Thankfully I have a good enough
sense of direction that I am never actually lost, I just go on random
roads out, and random roads back, and we house and talk to people as
we do so.

Tuesday we went to the old peoples home again, and this week we made
origami. Lots of fun, though some things were really hard. They had
English instructions in their Japanese book, but sometimes they were
confusing. But we had fun. We headed back, and tried to figure out
where some less actives lived, but later realized that the mapping app
we were using wasn't putting the full address in, so it was deceiving
us. That was a bit frustrating. That night I taught normal eikaiwa
again. My companion and the elders just sat there as I taught. I
wished they would've helped, but I am good with just teaching, so it
was ok. It was a lot of fun to teach a normal class again. The kids
class was fun, but I didn't feel like I was teaching English, I more
felt like I was entertaining kids, and almost babysitting them, since
their parents didn't come.

Wednesday we had to prepare to go out to sasayama, we wanted to be the
most effective that we could be with our time, so we mapped out all
the members there, and hoped we would be able to find their houses.
Wednesday we also did some housing, and got lost again, but it didn't
work as well this time, people weren't very interested in listening,
but that's ok, we had fun anyways. We did SKK, because we were pretty
sure we wouldn't have time tomorrow as well, cause sasayama was going
to be an all day thing.

Thursday we went to sasayama, and it was so much fun. A member showed
us around, and introduced us to her friends, the ones that come to
eikaiwa in sasayama, and some of them are great potential
investigators. I am excited to be working with all of them. We went to
a fancy bagel shop, which was super delicious, but it was a big
sandwich. It was way good. To end the day in sasayama, we insisted the
Aobas, and their kids are the cutest. Full of energy, and just with
the cutest little smiles. It was a lot of fun. Aoba Kyodai wasn't
there, but we had fun sharing a message with Aoba Shimai.

Friday we had district meeting, and we just talked about the atonement
and pmg. Made me realize that I need to repent a little bit. I need to
use pmg more, because it really is an amazing resource I have been
given. And it wasn't even from what people said, it was from the
spirit reminding me that the times that I have felt like the best
missionary on my mission, were the times that I was studying pmg
daily. Time to improve I guess. We went with an eikaiwa student to get
ice cream today, with the elders. What I learned is that I really want
to teach his daughter, and that I need to be more careful with
focusing on my purpose when I agree to do things. He took a good chunk
of the day, which was just too bad, but it was a fun experience, and
also a good learning one.

Saturday we had an appointment with an investigator. The sad thing was
that we didn't find out she had had to cancel until we got out to her
house. That was good exercise though. The rest of that day we tried to
find less actives and find as we did so, but unfortunately it was just
a struggle. That night we practiced the song we would be singing as a
zone Sunday, come unto Christ, and then had a volleyball at invite. It
was so fun. Aoba Kyodai came with one of his kids, and when his dad
was playing, someone had to watch out for the little guy, cause he had
no sense of danger. He is about two. So that ended up being me, but
since I couldn't hold him, I just followed him, tried to keep him near
the edges, and blocked the ball if it came near. One time I get
distracted looking at him, and got hit by a pretty hard ball. I was
fine, but I knew it would've really hurt him, so I was glad I was
there at the right time to block it, even though I couldn't pick him
up and protect him better.

Sunday was amazing. They had a Japan wide devotional, and in the
district I am currently in, it isn't a stake, I am now in a branch,
they had the missionaries sing a number before it started. I played
the piano, which was actually an organ, and it turned out alright.
Though because I had to adjust the organ to be able to play it, I
played the first half down the octave, but people could still feel the
spirit, even though I messed up sometimes. I really love that song,
and it is really beautiful in Japanese. That day was just the best, we
got stopped by some salesman, and instead taught them the gospel, and
we also stopped a lady and got her address, by not taking I'm old for
an answer. It was such a great day. In the devotional, elder Bednar
talked about how when the Israelites were crossing the river Jordan,
they didn't wait for the water to part, as had been promised, they
stepped in, they acted, and then the river parted. The lord has so
many blessings that he wants to give us, and he is just waiting for us
to act so that he can. I loved this devotional, and I learned a lot
from it. I was grateful that they had it in English, cause I am not
fluent in Japanese. I am truly so grateful for this gospel, and for
another great week on my mission. I am slowly changing, though the
experiences that I have, and I know that I will never be the same. How
grateful I am for that, for the opportunity I have to learn and grow,
and change, because of the atonement of our savior. In the name of the
savior and redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, amen.

I love you all, and miss you, but I am happy that I am in Japan. Love you!

Love, Sister Makin

Members and a bout of sickness, though not mine.

Dear family and friends,

This has been a pretty good week, lots of fun, but I don't know if
there is much to report.

Monday we cleaned the apartment during pday, a lot. There was a ton to
do, and it still wasn't done by the end of pday, so many things had
just piled up, so we had to take care of that. After pday we went out
finding, and were able to teach some lessons to people just out on the
street. There aren't as many people as there were in Kyoto, but there
are still people, so dendo is still fun.

Tuesday we did a lot of service. We went to a retirement home, and
just talked with some of the grandmas and grandpas there, which was
fun, and then one of the other sisters bike tire went flat, so we
walked it home and tried to do some finding on the way, not the
biggest success, but they had appointments, and we didn't, so it
worked. That night we had eikaiwa, and we teach a kids eikaiwa, I
think I kind of forgot how fun it is to play with kids. They had a lot
of energy, and were all over the place, but it was a lot of fun.

Wednesday we went up some hills. We had DCS that morning, which was
good, though since my companion and I didn't have any investigators at
that point, we couldn't really get any help. But then we went and
found a members house and visited them. We had to go up three hills to
get there, the way we went, but it wasn't too bad. Going down the
first one we went really fast, which helped to go up the second.
Someone told me Nishiwaki was really fast, but that hasn't been my
experience yet. I have gotten used to hills, so I'm ok, I think they
are fun, but my companion is still getting used to it.

Thursday we had a taco party with the sisters and their investigator.
She is definitely wanting to learn more, and it was fun to help with
that. We then went and visited a member, this time we had an
appointment, traveling there was a struggle, I got us lost a few
times, but we made it. Senke Shimai was really sweet. On the way back,
we stopped and talked to a lady outside her house, and she invited us
in and let us teach her and her daughter about God. That pretty much
never happens, unfortunately they like to hear the message, but they
have no desire to act, so it was a cool experience, but don't know if
they are ready yet. The mom had met missionaries thirty years ago,
which is why she let us in, hopefully her heart will soften.

Friday we had ztm, which was amazing, but because of the distance, and
the scarcity of the trained from there to my area, we didn't get back
til a lot later than we had hoped, but we were still able to get SKK
done, just couldn't go visit any members.

We were so excited for Saturday, cause we were just going to go out
and get things done, and give it our all, but unfortunately that isn't
what happened, instead we were in the apartment all day. My companion
was pretty sick, caught a nasty stomach bug or something, and was out
all day, she was not feeling good at all, she is feeling better now,
but I was inside all da, trying to do some kind of preparation or
something. I couldn't even call investigators, since we don't
currently have any and do phone dendo. But I was able to productively
spend my time, working on writing my journal, since it is still in my
iPad, and I would like it to be in written form, it is just nicer that
way.

Sunday we had church, which was definitely awesome, and I made a
chirashi for the upcoming talking show, it turned out alright, but I
don't claim to be an artist or anything. After we practiced a whole
new world with a member and her daughter for the talent show. The
daughter, rei chan is playing the piano, and we practiced together,
and I did my best to help her, and boost her confidence in Japanese,
it was a little hard, but I think I might've helped. We also had
dinner with the branch president and his wife, all six of the
missionaries, and it was a blast. They are so awesome, and love
missionary work. I am excited to work with them. I did the friction
pen repentance analogy, which went over really well.. Takeuchi kaicho
thought he knew it, but then I shocked him, he hadn't fully grasped
it. It was an awesome end to the night and the week. Though that night
I had a follow up with my stl, sanjo Shimai, and she is super awesome,
gave me some killer advice that I can't wait to apply.

That's about it for this week, I love you and miss you all, keep
working hard and doing your best. Love you!

Love, Sister Makin

Mysterious Keiji

Dear family and friends,

I love you. I don't know if I say that enough or not, but it is true I
do. Also because I don't have much time, and my keyboard doesn't allow
for exclamation points, please insert them as you know I would
normally do.

This week was insane, so after I got through emailing all of you,
cannon Shimai and I went back to the apartment, and I packed a bunch
of my stuff, since I already knew that I would be transferring. After
pday, we headed out and ended up talking to people as we saw
fireflies. It was an alright dendo strategy. Today we also visited
fujii Shimai, and she is awesome. She is currently less active, but
she has a strong testimony, not quite sure why she is less active, but
I know cannon Shimai is planning to help her.

Tuesday we got to go do some service for nakamura Shimai. She had us
just prune her tree, and we kind f just hacked at it, so it wasn't
quite as tall, but it was fun, cause I got to get up in the tree.
Nakamura Shimai was worried I would fall, but I had excellent
footholds, so I wasn't nervous. We also tried to visit Chieko, but we
were too late getting down there, because she had an appointment, but
I did get to say bye. And then on the way back, we lost the phone.
Oops. We looked for it for a bit, but we had a doseki lesson with
Koenen and so we had to meet them at McDonald's. It was a miracle that
we had Haruka dosekiing for us, because she was able to help us go to
the police office, and we were able to find our phone. Never losing a
phone again, it is super annoying.

Wednesday we met with emi, and she brought a friend, who is also
really interested in the gospel. They were really sad that I was
leaving, but they still wanted to hear about the gospel, and they are
definitely going to be my friends after the mission. I love emi, she
is so sweet, and just has a great desire to learn and introduce her
friends to us. That night we taught eikaiwa, and it was a lot of fun,
we had a lot of students there, and we talked about food, mostly. How
to find food in a grocery store.

Thursday was transfer day, and I was super nervous. I have never
transferred by myself, and I wasn't positive where I was going. We
also had to get up super early for me to get there in time, but I made
it. After a while I relaxed, because I realized it was the same travel
I had already been doing a lot, my companion just wasn't right by me
this time. I made it to the hombu fine, and I got my trainee, workman
Shimai. She has a lot of desire to learn, and work really hard, I am
super blessed to be her companion. We got back to our area, and I
again didn't know how to get to the church or anything, but God was
looking out for us, because the other Shimai were dendoing at the
station. That night we did some SKK, but it wasn't the best idea,
because we had to do more with the other Shimai to learn about
members.

Friday we went to a far away place that has an asahi to get my
companion a bike. The other Shimai wanted to buy new bikes too, so our
ward mission leader was awesome and took us out there, and another
member brought his truck. It took a god chunk of the day, and we had
left early as well, but that was ok, because we got her a good bike,
and now we just needed mine to get here. It came today, but at least
now we both have one.

Saturday we had a relief society activity, and I love lots of the
members already, they are super sweet. We also went to indo curry with
the elders and the sisters, and some potential investigators, ones
that teach English, and it was way good for building kankei, but it
killed some dendo. One of them had given us a ride since I didn't have
a bike, and then we couldn't leave when we wanted to, but nice that
was over, we got out and went housing, and that was so much fun. I
love housing, and now instead of our investigator list being empty, we
have a couple of potentials with some good potential.

Sunday we had church.  It was awesome, the members in Nishiwaki are so
great! It was hard, because some of them have strong personalities,
but it was still a lot of fun. We had gotten behind on training, so we
did a bunch of hat Sunday night, and finished up our SKK!

So the reason why this was mysterious Keiji week. Keiji means
revelation, and if you remember I was told I was going to kitarokko
his transfer, but Tuesday I got a call saying I was going to Nishiwaki
instead. It was a little hard at first, but I know that this place is
where I really need to be. I also found out Thursday that it had
changed a lot more times. They had a hard time knowing where I needed
to go apparently, but I know it ended up right, and I am super
excited. But seriously, I don't have much time, so I love you all, I
miss you! Keep doing awesome things!

Love, Sister Makin

Inspired meetings, and the new challenge I've been praying for

Dear family and friends,

So mom, I took your suggestion, it is a good one. I am filled with so
many emotions right now! It is super exciting, but I will tell you
more as the email goes on. Hope that keeps you on your toes,
metaphorically!

So Monday we went up to Ohara, which is just super inaka and gorgeous,
and has a moss covered temple. It was way pretty! Definitely worth the
trip. After pday we went out to hazel and Regines and visited them
without an appointment. It worked out pretty well, and we were able to
make an appointment for Sunday as well. We also met an obachan
watering her flowers. We said they were pretty, and then she asked if
we liked origami. We said yes, and the next thing we knew, she brought
out a tray of mini origami shoes and gave us a bunch. That was cool,
and also kind of crazy!

Tuesday we found this amazing girl, she was so sweet! She was really
excited to receive a Book of Mormon, and we were able to give her one
right when we met her, because we had them on us. She also gave her
phone number. So hopefully that will go places. We also met Tomoko,
and found out she will be moving to Hiroshima until September, which
is kind of sad, but she has been studying a lot lately, and her
testimony is back to being as strong as I remembered it being when I
met her. She has remembered a lot, and she said she would go to church
in Hiroshima, and we helped her find where the closest church to her
will be, so I think she will be ok. She really wants to prepare for
the temple, so that will be a little hard to do, but also really
exciting. We also taught the message at game night, and that was a
last minute prep, but my companion was way inspired, and the message
we gave was an answer to those who were theirs prayers. They told us
that, and that was amazing to hear. We seriously just followed the
spirit and brought up scriptures and conference quotes as we felt we
should, and it was great.

Wednesday we visited Chieko, and taught her just simply God. It was a
good lesson, but she had a hard time seeing anything more than what
she already thinks. She has a basic belief in God, and whenever we say
something, she says that she basically believes the same thing, than
goes on to say something completely different. Which was a little
hard, but that is ok, we just testified of what we know, and left it
at that basically. We also met two sweet girls and played badminton
with them, and they had more interest in talking about church than
playing badminton, which was super cool. Got their phone numbers as
well. This week was just such a good week. That night at eikaiwa we
played do you like your neighbor, and everyone really got into it. It
was super funny, and just really great to see everyone enjoy
themselves.

Thursday we had zone conference. It was amazing. We talked about acts
10 together, what we had learned, and it was amazing. First Welch
kaicho asked what questions we all had, so we shared, and then he
taught us about acts 10, and it was a group discussion. In the end, we
had answered every question we had written on the board, and everyone
got some personal revelation as well! It was amazing! We also met
these two girls because we just happened to be in the right place at
the right time, and gave both of them book of Mormons. The one I
talked to said that she has been looking for something good in her
life, and I said that the Book of Mormon was it, and it could really
help her. It was also cool, I explained what we were doing and she
said I must be an angel. It was a wonderful opportunity to testify
that I am just a normal person, and testify of the power of God, and
doing so made me feel so good! We finished that night off with SKK.

Friday we had district meeting, and I learned a lot. Whenever anyone
sees a miracle, it is because we have all been giving all of our
effort and never giving up. It is not just because of their work, it
is about all of our work out together, and when someone else receives
a blessing, or sees a miracle, or a baptism, it is because we were all
working towards that goal and supporting eachother. Unity is really
powerful. We also visited an extremely Buddhist less active,it she was
very nice. She really likes missionaries. Unfortunately Yamazaki
Shimai is happy being Buddhist, so even though she's been baptized,C
she didn't want to change.. Ah well. We also visited Shinobu San, and
she committed to read the Book of Mormon. It may be hard to visit her
for a while, because they will be having construction right in front
of her door, but I'm sure there will be a way. Maybe.

Saturday we had a doseki lesson with Yukino, and Sam was our doseki.
It was really cool, but we all struggled to understand her, because
she thinks with a very artistic mind, but we were able to explain God
in a way that she could understand, and this time she agreed to try
praying! So progress! Which was awesome! We also had a hard ping ping
night turned game night, because they were having a meeting in the
hall. Unfortunately, one of the elders investigators, and all of us
couldn't agree on something to play, and then that led to some
contention. Then some Singaporeans came in. They had met Matsumoto
choros mom in Tokyo, and they dispelled the tension with a fun game I
played once at girls camp or something. It was a lot of fun. The
elders made us reach again, and we hadn't prepared. There was no time,
so we ended up giving the same message as in Tuesday, since no one was
the same, Exocet for one member, and he said it was ok. It wasn't the
same though, it wasn't inspired, so it didn't really flow as well.
Just proves the needs of seeking the spirits Guidance.

Sunday was amazing. I had a feeling I might be transferring, so I
handed out most of my meishis to everyone, and said goodbye. Everyone
recognized my chances were high, they kept telling me not to transfer.
It made me feel good, because I have come to love them a lot, and it
was nice to see the feeling reciprocated. It was hard to say goodbye
to everyone though. That night, we had dinner, Filipino food, (chicken
adobo), and we taught hazel and regine, and regine really opened up
about a trial she had had in high school. It really connected with me,
so I was able to comfort her. That was awesome. After that we booked
it up to the mizoguchis up the huge long hill, and had a good dinner
there and a great message from the elders. It was a fun day. And that
will be my last time going up the hill as a missionary. Kind of sad
actually.

But I am transferring! Kind of crazy, but that is what is happening. I
wouldn't normally know until tomorrow or even Wednesday, but as I was
emailing, I got a special call from Welch kaicho, to let me know that
I will be training! That is right, I will be fresh starting.....
Kittaroko, and I will be a new trainer! I am sad to leave Shimogamo,
but I am also really excited for this new adventure in my missionary
life. I have been praying recently that Heavenly Father would give me
the challenge that I need to rely on him more, and grow, and I know
this is the challenge I have been waiting for. I am very excited, and
also humbled because of the trust Heavenly Father is putting in me,
allowing me to train one of his amazing missionaries. I love the
gospel, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary! I
love all of you, and miss you! Hope I start hearing from more of you,
and hope you have a great week!

Love, Sister Makin

An apostle of the lamb.

Dear family and everyone else who reads this,

I never know how to address this email, because so many different
people read it. This week was filled with some life changing
experiences, and i felt so good because of it. I can hardly believe
it's only been a week, because it feels more like two, and since I
can't type like lightning, I will just summarize the most important
things, hopefully.

Monday, we went out to nijo castle, which I have wanted to go to for a
while, and it was really pretty. The ground are huge though, and we
didn't have much time, but we had enough to see it, and so that was
great. Monday night, it was a complete downpour. Cannon Shimai had
thought to bring her kappa, and so I brought mine as well, and it
seriously saved us. No one was out, so we tried to visit a less
active, and housed her apartment, and that was good. The rain was
sheets, I still don't understand how hard it rains in Japan, because
it is nothing like Utah. Way stronger. We also met emi, and she
brought church things up first during our luncheon, which was so
amazing, and she has super strong interest.

Tuesday we housed an apartment, and tried to visit a bunch of people.
We were able to meet with our recent convert, Tomoko, who finally
reappeared after being gone for about four months. The hard thing is
that she has forgotten a lot, basically everything, she had even
forgotten who Christ was, which was really hard to see, but she still
loves the church, so we have hope, and we help her relearn everything
that she has forgotten. We also had game night, which was fun. The
elders recent convert brought a friend, which was awesome. Furui
Kyodai has had his life completely change because of the gospel, and
he is so excited to share it with others. He goes out and dendos with
the elders daily, because he is currently jobless, due to previous
health conditions, but he loves it, and he has been healed through the
gospel. It is so amazing.

Wednesday we visited Chieko, and realized we had gotten a bit too
excited. She definitely wants to learn, and she kind of half accepted
the commitment to baptism, but we are going to have to go slower so
that she can both understand and remember the message. She is an older
lady, so she struggles sometimes with that, but she always gives us
the biggest smile when she sees us. She also always asks us if we have
a boyfriend, or if there have been any Japanese guys that we like. Old
grandmas in Japan are really worried about us when they hear we don't
have boyfriends.. It is actually pretty funny. We also taught eikaiwa,
and had them gives us directions places, which was a lot of fun. We
ended with listening practice, and though they have a hard time
remembering, and understanding, they really enjoy the chance to
practice, and it is a good way to bring the spirit in with the I'm a
Mormon videos.

Thursday we learned how to make sushi. They had an activity, and one
of our potential investigators was teaching it, so we went, and were
able to give her a tour of the church. She likes hearing about what
religions believe, but doesn't want to learn what is right for herself
right now though, so she doesn't have as much potential as we had
hoped, but her best friend is a member, so I think she will slowly
change. We also met Koenen, and we were planning on teaching Jesus
Christ, but then I had the thought from our conversation to share the
plan of salvation, and I followed it. Definitely a prompting of the
spirit, because even though she hadn't thought of it before, it really
connected with her, and we saw her interest triple. She did try
praying, and she said she would read the Book of Mormon. She didn't
recognize an answer to her prayer, but we encouraged her to keep
praying. Right now she doesn't believe in God, but I think that as she
acts, which except for going to church she is willing to do, she will
start to learn about who God is, and what that means to her. She is
super nice and sweet.

Friday we had district meeting in Katsura, and it was amazing. I was
nervous, because my companion and I were training together, but my
companion is amazing, and we were able to really testify about the
importance of the scriptures, which reminded me how important they
really are. It is one of the most amazing blessings we have received
that we have the scriptures, because they are our source for help,
comfort and guidance in this world. That night we met with Ayako, and
taught another lesson about gratitude, she is a bit more committed
now, and I really feel that if she starts being grateful, she will be
a lot happier, and thus when people start asking her if she is genki,
she will be able to say yes instead of no.

Saturday we had a relief society activity, making Japanese food,
though I didn't understand most of the explanation, but I made sure to
ask for recipes. Koenen came though, and brought a friend, which made
it a lot better, and the food was really good. Weird, but good. They
had a ton of leftover rice though, which ended up really helping
people out the next day. That night we had stake conference, which was
a lot of fun, though I had a hard time understanding the last speaker.
And I never was able to catch his name, but he was one of the area
seventy. So that was cool, I understood him better on Sunday.

Sunday we packed lunches, because it was going to be a crazy day. I
packed lots of extra, just in case something happened to someone
else's lunch, and it turned out to have been worthwhile. That morning
we had stake conference, and we had to all leave early to get to Kobe.
It was kind of awkward for all the missionaries to get up and leave
during the seventys talk, but everyone knew it was going to happen, so
it paid off. The extra food I made served three elders, who had things
happen to their lunches, so I was really happy that I could help them
out that way. And now to the main event of the week.

I got to meet one of the twelve apostles! I actually got to shake his
hand! When he walked in the room, the spirit that was already there
intensified, which was super cool! And when he spoke to us, I learned
so much. We also had elder Choi of the seventy, and elder whiting the
Asia area north president and their wives. We were well fed by their
spirit, and their talks, and I left that conference much happier, and
much more motivated to give every single bit of energy I have into
every minute of dendo. Which twelve apostle? Elder Gary E. Stevenson.
The newest apostle. The cool part? He speaks Japanese, fluently. It
was really cool to hear him switch into Japanese sometimes, or throw
in Japanese words, just like I do. It was really a unique experience,
and words cannot describe that meeting. His testimony was one of the
most powerful things I have ever heard. He bore his special witness of
the lord, and that was a powerful thing to hear. It was amazing! I am
super lucky that he wanted to shake all of our hands, and made that a
priority, otherwise there wouldn't have been time. He is amazing!

I hope you all had an amazing week! The church is true! Their is not a
shred of doubt in my mind, no hope you can all day the same! If you
can't, I would advise you go in prayer to your Heavenly Father, and do
whatever it takes to strengthen your testimony! It is worth it! I love
and miss you!

Love, Sister Makin

Cancellations galore. What happened to meeting investigators?

Dear family,

This week has been a rough week, but for some reason I have strangely loved a lot of it, so that is ok. Still working hard.

Monday we met our recent convert, Tomoko, and she is doing well. She has forgotten a lot in the time she was off the map. We couldn't get in contact with her for about four months, but hopefully we can now restart AB lessons, and get her back on track. She still loves the church, so that is good. 

Tuesday we had Matsumoto San cancel on us, and all of the other people we tried to visit weren't in. On top of that it started pouring rain while we were out, and we were not prepared, so we got really drenched. It was raining so hard that as we were talking to some junior high students, I felt tears fall, because all the moisture just made it happen I guess. The junior high students were cute. They were on a field trip to Kyoto, and had to talk to some gaijin, foreigners, in English. They were really happy when we stopped them, it made it easier for them, I'm sure.

Wednesday we had our new eikaiwa and gospel investigator cancel on us. She has something come up, so she couldn't meet, but she still wants to meet, so that will probably happen next week. Instead, we went and chirashi kubarid eikaiwa, and after doing that, we met the sweetest girl, who gave us her phone number, and we met her again today, but since I'm short on time, you will have to wait till next week to hear about that. We also visited tanaka Shimai, who has a cute less active currently staying with her. We ended up helping the less active with her homework a bit, which was way weird. It was English homework, so we could actually understand, I'm still not fluent in kanji. But that was a lot of fun, and then we taught eikaiwa. This week we went basic, and taught about verbs, and then they had questions, so we ended up teaching a,an, and the. They seemed to understand our explanation very well.

Thursday we didn't have any appointments, but we went down to chiekos again, and had a great lesson with her. She had just gotten home from the hospital, so our timing was great. She has a great desire to learn. We don't know yet if she wants to act on what she learns, but she has really good questions, and the gospel has the answers which is great. That night, we did SKK, and it was great. We were super focused, and I think it was in part, because we only had so much time before planning. I prefer getting SKK done at night now. 

Friday we had district meeting, and we talked mainly about eternal perspectives, and simplifying our language. I have since realized how much I use Japanese filler words, and it is driving me crazy. I didn't like them in English, and I've decided I don't like them in Japanese either. I just need to break the habit of using them. It is harder, since it is almost a natural part of my Japanese now, but I will overcome. I had been thinking a lot about eternal perspectives before the district meeting, and I am definitely working on that. We had a lot of cancellations this week, including last Sunday, but they led to miracles, and that is ok. It is all part of a bigger picture, and though sometimes it is hard, it is good for me. We also visited nakamura Shimai, and she was really happy to see us, and when we asked if there was anything we could do to help, she said we could help pull her weeds, she was reluctant to ask, but we were very happy to help, and had been praying for such an opportunity. Ayako Shimai also canceled on us today, but we were still able to talk with her over the phone, and share the message we had planned. She is struggling to see anything good in her life, and it makes her really sad, though I think she could try a bit harder. She really is very blessed, as are all of us, but she doesn't see it. I need to take a better look at all I receive, I know that. 

Saturday we also didn't have any appointments, so we went finding. I loved it. It turned out to be basically a full day of finding, even though that wasn't what we had planned, but it was so fun. Almost everyone we talked to was at least willing to listen, and some were interested. We didn't get any phone numbers this time, but we did have a cool experience. We stopped to look at a tree that my companion was sure was famous, and a girl was passing by. We said hello, and then she came over to us, and we had a great discussion. We were able to give her a Book of Mormon, and even though she decided not to right before she gave us her number, I think she will read the Book of Mormon, and she has our number, so who knows what will happen. We also had ping pong night, and not very many people came, but we had some recent converts there, so that was great. 

Sunday was such a hard day, but I loved it. Isn't that weird? Miyu didn't get her homework done, so she cancelled on coming to church, which was just hard. Regine was going to come to church, but she decided to go to the matsuri instead, even though it was after church. Ah well. We also got that lesson canceled for tonight, because she was busy. I don't know if we will be able to help her. But church was great. During Sunday school, my companion and I split with different members between the Japanese and English classes, and I went to the Japanese. I loved it. Lately I have been translating for hazel Shimai, and even though I am happy to do it, it makes it a lot harder for me to really understand what is going on. But since I didn't have to translate, I could just enjoy the class, and then when I was asked a question, I could answer without having to switch my brain again. We went out to try and visit Chieko, but never made it there, because we stopped so many people as we were riding our bikes, and some of those lessons were way good. We had to head back, because we ran out of time, and had to get to the mizoguchis. There were a ton of people there this week, and it was a lot of fun, but crazy. We taught about gratitude, which is something that I think we could all think a bit more about. We used a quote from Dieter f. Uchtdorf's April  2014 conference address, Grateful in any Circumstance: "How blessed we are if we recognize God’s handiwork in the marvelous tapestry of life. Gratitude to our Father in Heaven broadens our perception and clears our vision. It inspires humility and fosters empathy toward our fellowmen and all of God’s creation. Gratitude is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes! A thankful heart is the parent of all virtues."

I truly testify that gratefulness really brings us he most happiness we can receive, even in the midst of the hardest trials. I love you all! Have a wonderful week! I love and miss you! 

Love, Sister Makin

Maybe I should be learning Chinese? Or perhaps Tagalog?

This week has been a lot of fun, and I definitely had fun, but it
wasn't without its struggles. I realized that I had been feeling like
I didn't do enough in Kurashiki, and yes I know I had a broken hand,
but I felt like I could've done more. But the amazing atonement, or
our lord Jesus Christ, helped me to feel comforted, and know that I
did what he expected of me, even if I wish I could've done more. And
that has brought a lot of peace to me. Makes me want to work even
harder.

Monday we went to kiyomizudera, which was a lot of fun, and I got to
see my old companion Oswald Shimai! That was so weird, but it was
great. That night we went housing, and then had to take some things to
the elders for them to take to Kobe, and while we waited for them, we
called an old investigator, and she wanted to meet, so we did, and it
was great. We met her on Tuesday.

Tuesday we used some of the byu students, who are doing a study abroad
in Japan at the moment, as dosekis for our lesson with the old
investigator. She is Chinese, and some of them spoke Chinese, and we
couldn't get a normal member, so that worked out really well. But as
soon as the girl and her friend, whom she brought with, found out they
spoke Chinese, it was all Chinese. I do not speak Chinese. It sounds
kind of musical, but I do not understand how the two languages
connect, but the kanji is all the same, so if I ever go to China, all
I will need to know is the kanji, and I know most of that. That night
we went and visited the kubotas, and it is so cool to see how much
their faith is growing, they just need to start acting on it. When I
first visited them with Lowry Shimai, the figured getting a temple
inside the mission was impossible, but now they are hoping to make my
are into a stake. It is amazing to see their faith in the
missionaries, and in the church and themselves grow. It made me
realize that Shimogamo is completely different in so many ways than
when I first got here, and the members are going crazy for dendo.

Wednesday we tried to visit some old investigators and succeeded, and
it was great. We also not finding, and had a lot of fun. It wasn't a
very crazy day, but it was the middle of golden week, and everyone was
touring, and didn't really want to talk with us. Golden week is the
first week of May, and it is a huge holiday, everyone gets it off, and
they go places, and just have a huge holiday. The part time jobs are
pretty much the only people who don't get it all off, so it wasn't the
best week for dendo, but we still had a lot of fun.

Thursday we had a kokan, so we got up early and went to fushimi, and
then had a great day. They had a lot of appointments, and we rode up a
few mountains, but it was so great. I felt like I was 100% trusted by
my stl, despite the fact we didn't have a chance to prepare at all,
besides which lesson we were going to teach. It was so awesome. They
also had a concert at their church, which we attended, to support the
members and what not. It was way awkward, because not all of the music
was church appropriate, but we needed to be there, their investigator
was there, and didn't know anyone else. Luckily it was almost all in
Japanese, so I couldn't understand anyway. But I definitely had a lot
of fun on that kokan with Edwards Shimai, and learned a lot from her.

Friday we had ztm. The stls had to go to the other zone they are over,
so we had to get up extra extra early, so we were definitely tired
that day, but it was fun. Ztm was so inspired. I felt like the
messages were meant for me, and it really taught me some hard, but
good lessons that I needed to learn. The APs also came to our ztm, and
it was fun to hear their thoughts as well. After ztm, we had SKK, and
really thought a lot about our investigators. We had the friends home
family home evening that night as well, and the Chinese girl came, and
brought a new friend, who had some questions. Her friends are always
more interested than she is, but that is great.

Saturday we had a doseki lesson with Kubota Shimai and Miyu. It was so
good. We reviewed the restoration, and answered some of her questions.
Miyu was studying with missionaries in uwajima, and had a baptism
date, but since she has moved, we have learned about some concerns she
has had, that she didn't feel like she could share with the elders,
and so we are really able to help her overcome those, and prepare for
baptism, because she still wants to be baptized, she just wants to be
ready. We also finished SKK, and had ping pong night. At first there
was no one, but people turned up, and it became a great night. Members
were there finally taking down the tree and the oxen they made for the
family history fair, and they had a great time destroying those
things, I wish I had taken a video.

Sunday our plans completely fell through, so we visited a member,
which turned out great, shared a good message about parenting, since
they are expecting a little girl this month. And then we totsuzen
visited a couple of investigators we haven't been able to see for a
long time. Including Kanako, she had just gotten home from work, and
was super tired, but we got to talk to her for a little bit, and she
was happy to see us. She really wants to come to church again, and
wants to learn, but she doesn't get any days off at her new job, she
didn't even get much of golden week off, which was way sad. But we got
to see her, and she was so happy to see us!

That was basically my week! It was so much fun to talk to all of you
that I could, and I love all of you! Love and miss you!

Love, Sister Makin