This was one of the most emotionally intense weeks of the
mission. It started off on what we thought was a good note - a self-referral
from a lady who wanted to be baptized. We were jumping off the walls excited!
We went to her house to teach a lesson and it ended up being a not-so-good
experience for me and Sister Jacobson. But it's okay because we left with more
fire than ever before! We worked hard and the Lord presented us with miracles
throughout the week.
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| Shiba Inu! A popular breed in Japan. This little guy was a bit frisky, but cute nonetheless. |
YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD
Yesterday during our service activity, I had an experience
that easily made it on my "Top 10 Most Memorable Moments of the
Mission" list. We were at the service center with Yamada san (the lady
featured in my past two emails... yes I'm obsessed with her.) and a couple other
staff workers. We were talking about the topic of God once again, then the
conversation naturally transitioned into us singing, "I Am a Child of
God". Everyone in the room listened as we bore testimony of our Heavenly
Father through this simple, yet powerful song. Another staff member walked in
shortly after we finished singing, so Yamada san had her sit down right in
front of us as we sang once more. Never has the words of that primary song
impacted more than it did at that moment.
In Japanese, the first line of the song directly translates
to "A child of God I am, and so are you." Through the words of this
song, we were able to testify to every single person in the room that they are
a child of God!
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| Yakinuku always |
MASHED POTATO LADY
We were headed to lunch at a nonmembers home when we came
across an old lady who was lost. She's been walking around all morning and was clearly exhausted. We helped her the best
we could with directions but obviously dissatisfied, she yelled, "I give
up! I'm going to eat some lunch!" Then we remembered we had a tupperware
of IDAHOAN mashed potatoes with us. We gave it to her. She opened the
tupperware, examined its contents, tasted a chunk of potato and screamed,
"Oishiii!" (tasty!). She motioned for us to put the potatoes in her
backpack. As we did so, we extended her an invitation to church. She nodded her
head, smiled at us, and trotted off into the distance.
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| Homemade nikuman! A taste of heaven. |
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| The nikuman squad |
TOTZUZEN NIKUMAN PARTY
Noriko san, the wife of one of our Eikawa students loves to
cook, so we decided to plan a totzuzen party catered to her interests. We asked
her to teach us how to make nikuman! She
and her husband, as well as one of our investigators, a less active, and a
member's friend showed up! It was better than we expected. We ate delicious
food, sang some John Denver tunes on the ukulele, and were able to build good
relationships with everyone. Best part is, Noriko San wants to keep teaching us
how to cook so we have another party planned for next week!
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| Love these ladies |
The Lord has placed so many good people in our path. That
was the miracle of this week. I know that as we continue looking forward with
faith, we will be blessed with strength from above!
Church is true.
Love and prayers for you always,
Matsuura Shimai
3 Nephi 18:19-20
