Saying Goodbye and Hello - Area Transfer #3 - August 25, 2014

These are some high schoolers that I met before I left Senzokuike
area. They are absolutely fantastic. I really, really love talking to
people my same age. Young people have their minds wide open to so many
possibilities, one of them being religion. It's so fun to help them
think about the future and what it will bring. 

 Do you remember last week when I told you a member from a different

ward (nagayasu shimai) brought an investigator to church. Well, this
is Satou san. She is the cutest thing ever. We had a lesson right
before I left and talked about who god is. She has had so many
experiences she she has felt gods presence in her life. What a
prepared individual. I told her whatever she does, to remember to pray
every day, read the scriptures every day, and go to church every week.
She says she will. Love her sooooo much!

This is Izumiya Sachi san. I am sooooo excited for her future and what
it will bring. She is an amazing example to me and I will miss
teaching her so much. So gave me a plate and a cup for my bye bye
present and told me to use them every day. She will be getting
baptized in November, I'm pretty sure without a doubt. I also was able
to talk to her mother, who kind of went to another church without
telling us. That was a miracle that we were able to talk. She was
super sad I was leaving and asked if she could get anything for me. I
told her I didn't want anything like that. I wanted her to listen to
the missionaries again, go to church, etc. She said she would I
believe that woman and love her to death. Oh, but the way, this is
Sachi sans nephew, Riku kun. He's shy, but so nice.

The Itou family. Seriously one of the best families around. They sure
do know how to spend good family quality time and be strong. They
spend more time at our church than the average members do. It's
unbelievable that they still aren't members. I hope someday they will
be.

This is Hamada Shimai and Kobayashi Shimai. They make me so happy. 

Kathy is seriously the best. She got work off and everything just to
come see me one last time at eikaiwa. When she was saying goodbye to
me, she started crying. Luckily, we have Facebook and we will still
keep in contact. She is so close to baptism I feel.
 
Yasuhiro san (not his real name...I actually don't know his real
name...he would never say) and Satomi (Annie, the English name we gave
her). They have been eikaiwa students for a long,  long time and know
soooo much about our church. I pray like crazy that one day, they will
be members. They would be sooo great! I told them that. They just
smiled. I think they know it's true.

As hard as it was leaving the Senzokuike area, investigators, members,
less actives, etc., I am having a ball here in Koga. I love my new
companion. Her name is Sister Cortes and she is from Mexico. Guess
what, I am learning Spanish! This week I have learned a little bit
about how to pray in Spanish.
 
This is our apartment. It is so beautiful. I love it!! Also, it is
just me and Sister Cortes and no other sisters and I love it just
being two!! So peaceful.
 
Koga is COMPLETELY opposite of of Senzokuike (Tokyo area). It's
probably a lot like Soda. Everything is just incredibly, INCREDIBLY
inaka (country).

They also gave me a certificate that says I graduated from Senzokuike and a cute candy necklace. I sure do love them all so much.

 

 Guess who is in Koga. I just about cried with happiness when I found
out. Do you remember in Kasukabe my mission leader was usui kyoudai.
He know lives in Koga boundaries! Koga is actually really close to
Kasukabe, even though it is a different prefecture.
 
I guess a lot of the investigators I found and taught in Kasukabe are
getting baptized soon. I think you would recognize their names from
past emails? Kurokawa san is next week and then Maria and Bibiche are
coming up!! I am sooooo excited!!
 
Another thing from Kasukabe is a story that I can't really tell you
until I see you face to face because I feel it is so private. But, do
you remember Blanche? Well, I found her on Facebook and found these
pictures of her new born babies. Like I said, I don't feel like I
should say a whole lot. But let's just say that these two baby twins
would not be here if me and Sister Miyaki had not been there. Twins.
How precious!
 
Also, one of the investigators me and Sister MacArthur found in
Senzokuike is getting baptized next month!! Her name is Mao san. Do
you remember her? She is the one that we went with her and her
boyfriend out to eat and I ate horse. I love her so much and am way
pumped for her.

Okada Shimai and Yamazaki Shinji kyoudai got baptized this last
Sunday. It made me so happy. I love them soooo much. Sister Okada is
actually the friend of a recent covert. They aren't married, but I'm
telling you right now, they are going to get married eventually. They
are probably the cutest two people I have ever seen and act exactly
like a couple. They keep asking about the temple and stuff, so I'm
pretty sure they want to go together.
 
Other than that, we didn't have really any investigators when I came
in. However, the miracles that have happened from transfer day on
Thursday to today have been absolutely incredible. In that short
amount of time, we were able to pick up two investigators who just
seem hungry for knowledge and have a baptismal date now. They are both
very young. Megumi chan should be able to get baptized really soon.
She is super cute and loved church this week.

Also, this is a picture of (from left to right) arial, taiz, Fuyumi, me, and Gabriel. We
taught them today. Taiz and Gabriel received baptism a couple of
months ago. Arial isn't old enough. And then Fuyumi actually isn't a
member of their family, but she is staying at their house right now
because her parents work all the time. The kids speak Japanese but the
mom and Rosa don't speak super duper well. So Sister Cortes did a
lesson in Spanish and I did a lesson with the kids in Japanese. Was
able to set a baptismal date with Fuyumi chan. She is really excited!!

Saying Goodbye and Hello - Area Transfer #3 - August 25, 2014

These are some high schoolers that I met before I left Senzokuike
area. They are absolutely fantastic. I really, really love talking to
people my same age. Young people have their minds wide open to so many
possibilities, one of them being religion. It's so fun to help them
think about the future and what it will bring. 

 Do you remember last week when I told you a member from a different

ward (nagayasu shimai) brought an investigator to church. Well, this
is Satou san. She is the cutest thing ever. We had a lesson right
before I left and talked about who god is. She has had so many
experiences she she has felt gods presence in her life. What a
prepared individual. I told her whatever she does, to remember to pray
every day, read the scriptures every day, and go to church every week.
She says she will. Love her sooooo much!

This is Izumiya Sachi san. I am sooooo excited for her future and what
it will bring. She is an amazing example to me and I will miss
teaching her so much. So gave me a plate and a cup for my bye bye
present and told me to use them every day. She will be getting
baptized in November, I'm pretty sure without a doubt. I also was able
to talk to her mother, who kind of went to another church without
telling us. That was a miracle that we were able to talk. She was
super sad I was leaving and asked if she could get anything for me. I
told her I didn't want anything like that. I wanted her to listen to
the missionaries again, go to church, etc. She said she would I
believe that woman and love her to death. Oh, but the way, this is
Sachi sans nephew, Riku kun. He's shy, but so nice.

The Itou family. Seriously one of the best families around. They sure
do know how to spend good family quality time and be strong. They
spend more time at our church than the average members do. It's
unbelievable that they still aren't members. I hope someday they will
be.

This is Hamada Shimai and Kobayashi Shimai. They make me so happy. 

Kathy is seriously the best. She got work off and everything just to
come see me one last time at eikaiwa. When she was saying goodbye to
me, she started crying. Luckily, we have Facebook and we will still
keep in contact. She is so close to baptism I feel.
 
Yasuhiro san (not his real name...I actually don't know his real
name...he would never say) and Satomi (Annie, the English name we gave
her). They have been eikaiwa students for a long,  long time and know
soooo much about our church. I pray like crazy that one day, they will
be members. They would be sooo great! I told them that. They just
smiled. I think they know it's true.

As hard as it was leaving the Senzokuike area, investigators, members,
less actives, etc., I am having a ball here in Koga. I love my new
companion. Her name is Sister Cortes and she is from Mexico. Guess
what, I am learning Spanish! This week I have learned a little bit
about how to pray in Spanish.
 
This is our apartment. It is so beautiful. I love it!! Also, it is
just me and Sister Cortes and no other sisters and I love it just
being two!! So peaceful.
 
Koga is COMPLETELY opposite of of Senzokuike (Tokyo area). It's
probably a lot like Soda. Everything is just incredibly, INCREDIBLY
inaka (country).

They also gave me a certificate that says I graduated from Senzokuike and a cute candy necklace. I sure do love them all so much.

 

 Guess who is in Koga. I just about cried with happiness when I found
out. Do you remember in Kasukabe my mission leader was usui kyoudai.
He know lives in Koga boundaries! Koga is actually really close to
Kasukabe, even though it is a different prefecture.
 
I guess a lot of the investigators I found and taught in Kasukabe are
getting baptized soon. I think you would recognize their names from
past emails? Kurokawa san is next week and then Maria and Bibiche are
coming up!! I am sooooo excited!!
 
Another thing from Kasukabe is a story that I can't really tell you
until I see you face to face because I feel it is so private. But, do
you remember Blanche? Well, I found her on Facebook and found these
pictures of her new born babies. Like I said, I don't feel like I
should say a whole lot. But let's just say that these two baby twins
would not be here if me and Sister Miyaki had not been there. Twins.
How precious!
 
Also, one of the investigators me and Sister MacArthur found in
Senzokuike is getting baptized next month!! Her name is Mao san. Do
you remember her? She is the one that we went with her and her
boyfriend out to eat and I ate horse. I love her so much and am way
pumped for her.

Okada Shimai and Yamazaki Shinji kyoudai got baptized this last
Sunday. It made me so happy. I love them soooo much. Sister Okada is
actually the friend of a recent covert. They aren't married, but I'm
telling you right now, they are going to get married eventually. They
are probably the cutest two people I have ever seen and act exactly
like a couple. They keep asking about the temple and stuff, so I'm
pretty sure they want to go together.
 
Other than that, we didn't have really any investigators when I came
in. However, the miracles that have happened from transfer day on
Thursday to today have been absolutely incredible. In that short
amount of time, we were able to pick up two investigators who just
seem hungry for knowledge and have a baptismal date now. They are both
very young. Megumi chan should be able to get baptized really soon.
She is super cute and loved church this week.

Also, this is a picture of (from left to right) arial, taiz, Fuyumi, me, and Gabriel. We
taught them today. Taiz and Gabriel received baptism a couple of
months ago. Arial isn't old enough. And then Fuyumi actually isn't a
member of their family, but she is staying at their house right now
because her parents work all the time. The kids speak Japanese but the
mom and Rosa don't speak super duper well. So Sister Cortes did a
lesson in Spanish and I did a lesson with the kids in Japanese. Was
able to set a baptismal date with Fuyumi chan. She is really excited!!

Saikou Senzokuike (saikou in Japanese means awesome)‏ - August 18, 2014 - Tranfer

You just can't do missionary work without the members!! 
This is sugawara shimai, higuchi shimai, and Sakata shimai. In the
background is our dendou shunin (ward mission leader), Kaneda genki
kyoudai. These Sisters are soooo special to me.

Smile is from Nepal and he doesn't really speak any Japanese or
English, but he understands a lot. At the beginning, there was
literally no talking between the two of them or anything. I was amazed
at how good of friends the two became within about 10 minutes, and it
all started because Masaki kun brought over a game of Japanese chess
and they started playing together. So thankful for missionary work
among the members. I want to be the bestest ward missionary ever!!
 
Oh, P.S., we were able to set a baptismal date with Mina!! I am so
excited for her. It's coming up soon! I will miss you so much too.
Thank heaven for Facebook so that I will still be able to keep in
contact with her.

Her name is Aoyama san and she is absolutely adorable. I kid you not,
everything she does reminds me of Grandma Okamura. She actually when
to a Catholic school in Japan when she was little (lots of Japanese
people do). She lives super close to our apartment. I actually met her
when we were leaving our apartment and I saw her U.S.A shirt. We
started talking and it turns out she speaks pretty decent English!
Taught her about the plan of salvation.
Let me tell you about a way cool miracle. So, we had a member family
invite us over for lunch this past Tuesday. We wanted to take one of
our investigators with us. We called everyone, but they were all busy
with Obon and stuff like that. I told Sister Nash that we were zettai
(without a doubt) going to bring an investigator with us. So we
scheduled in an hour of finding time before our appointment with them.
Well, we were riding our bikes and I saw this girl passing out flyers
at a train station and I felt I needed to stop. I did and helped her
with passing out flyers. She thought it was incredible that I could
get almost everyone to take flyers from me. I told her we do this type
of stuff a lot with our English class. Then I just invited her to the
dinner and she accepted. She was working, but she would get off work
in another 15ish minutes. So we just handed out flyers and then went
together and talked about prayer. She loved it.
 
It turns out that Mira knows Mina (our other investigator I have shown
you pictures of)!! Incredible how The Lord connects all his children
together!
 
Cool, right?!
Me, Mina, Smile (yes, that's his real name...the best, right?), and
Masaki kun (he was a great member missionary for Smile.
After zone meeting, I found this cute girl. Don't know her name or
anything, but she is so cute and I am so thankful I met her.
Shichijo Masami shimai, Allen Airi shimai, Nash shimai, Mina, and me
Although there are many souls I have had the privilege of watching
change for the better, I wanted to talk about Ikeda shimai, especially
since I have pictures with her. She was baptized several years ago,
but went less active. When I came in we worked with her hard and she
is now preparing to go to the temple in November. I am so pumped for
her. Ah, I'm going to miss you, Ikeda shimai. 

August 18, 2014 

Hello all. I figured my first email out ought to be about transfer
calls this morning.
 
I am going to Koga. It is in the Kiryu zone and very inaka (country).
I will be a sister training leader again. This is
the first time that I will be going to an area that might
have some investigators to start with. My first area, Kasukabe, was a
new area that me and Sister Lowry opened together and then Senzokuike
was a white wash, meaning they bring in two new sisters and take out
the other ones. The other sisters had no one to teach.
 
Sister Nash will be staying here. Needless to say, I am very sad to be
leaving this wonderful ward and all the investigators who I have spent
soooo much time on. The Senzokuike area is booooommmmmiiinnnggggg
right now. Sooo many people getting baptized soon. Although I will be
far away from them, they will always be in my heart.️
 

We had an awesome lesson with Izumiya san on Sunday. She is the
epitome of the bomb dot come. We felt the spirit so much. We had three
members present as well!! Everyone wants to talk to Izumiya san
because her desire to find the truth is so pure and refreshing. One of
our members is someone that she really admires a lot. He teaches the
Old Testament class in Sunday School and she really likes the bible.
At the end, he told about his conversion story. It was so incredibly
powerful. I still don't have a picture with her. I will get one this
week before I leave.
 
We have also been working with one of our eikaiwa students who has
been coming to eikaiwa for forever. She is super sweet. We have a ton
of trust in our relationship and this past eikaiwa, I was able to ask
her why she wasn't a member. She said she would tell me because she
trusts me. She and her husband tried to have a child for a good nine
years and finally, their wish was granted. However, she ended up
losing the baby in pregnancy and she says that any time she talks
about our religion or anything like that, it reminds her of those
memories and it early hurts her. I testified to her that she would see
her baby again if she would embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
We also were able to meet up with her just before hanabi (fireworks)
and give her a lesson. The lesson ended when everyone started counting
down for the fireworks to start. Then the famous song off of the movie
"Spirit" began to play. She then said, why don't you stay. I said, i
won't stay because there is something better than fireworks that I
have to share with the world and I want everyone that I can possibly
talk to to know about it. I don't know if it was the music in the
background that made it so powerful or what it was, but as I left, it
was one of the moments when I said to myself, I am more free than
anyone here (mind you there were thousands upon thousands of people
there). I am so thankful for that powerful witness from the spirit
that I am in the right place. I am where I belong!
 
️Love you all️
山内姉妹