Thursday, February 4, 2016

My 20th Birthday! Naha week 5; week 35

Monday December 7, 2015

This was a good week! We met some cool people. For my birthday, the Ward Mission Leader threw a little party with us and the other missionaries and apparently in his mission it was a tradition to smash a pie in the birthday persons face. He asked if  I was ok with it and I said yes so...here's a video of it! A member also made a pie and gave it to me at church on Sunday! So sweet!  Today we are going to see a castle, so thats cool!

We had a cool miracle this weekend and I had a really cool experience last night. A person who used to meet with the missionaries called us Saturday night and said she wanted to come to church and continue taking the lessons. It was awesome! We had a lesson and she brought her mom too who is super supportive and pretty interested in the Church. I called her last night after planning to set up an appointment for this week and she expressed that she was feeling really guilty after going to church. She came home and had read some scriptures that the previous missionaries had given her to read. She couldn't remember one of the scriptures exactly, but I felt like I should share a scripture that I had read in personal study that morning. And as i read the scripture, she said "That's the one I was trying to remember!" I could feel the Spirit so strongly as I testified that Jesus Christ loves her and wants to help her overcome her weaknesses. It was exactly what she needed. 

This meant a lot to me because during her lesson in the morning, as she was telling us her experiences, I couldn't understand a lot of what she was saying and so I wasn't able to respond like I wanted to. I was feeling kind of incompetent. I want to help these people so much, but sometimes I can't understand what they are trying to express from their hearts. But then when I was on the phone with her last night and able to share the exact scripture she needed and reassure her with my testimony of the Savior, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I know that the Savior is with us in our work. I know that we can become His hands even if we aren't perfect in the Language. He knows His children and He knows that He can trust us to do His work. 

It was an awesome experience and reminds me a of a scripture I read last week, Genesis 18:14 " Is anything too hard for the Lord?" No! Is sending 20 year olds to Japan to teach one of the most important messages in Japanese too hard for the Lord? No! The only way I am able to teach people and impact their lives is through the Strength of Jesus Christ and the gifts He has blessed me with. 

PS. Everyone should watch the new christmas video A Savior is Born https://www.mormon.org/christmas

 Host of my birthday party, Nakahara Kyoudai 
he's awesome and helps us a lot
 My wonderful companion

 My roommates had a separate party for me at our apartment
Notice the chopsticks turned candles :P Missionary Life!

We met a professional Japanese singer and dancer on the street. She
wrote this song and sang it for us but didn't want her face in the
recording

 Bearman Shimai's first time eating Nato


Our awesome apartment! 
Doors to our office/bedroom

Entry way, our office/bedroom is the farthest door on left 
Kitchen

  Sink & washer and dryer that don't work
  Our office/bedroom
 We found a rooftop :)
 And an awesome apartment building

Tried some Okinawa Soba 
 Met two sweet high school girls
 Famous Okinawa treat
 And this is how they drink stuff, with a straw in a carton 😆








2 comments:

  1. For your Birthday, we fed all six missionaries in our ward, I got a cake for you and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Lowe Shimai and I videoed it. I tried to send it to you, but I guess it was too large because it would not attach to the email. We were thinking of you! Love, Grandma

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