August 11th

Hey y'all!
Today.... I have been in Japan for exactly 6 months. Oh my goodness,
time flies!!
I love Japan so much. Home is where the heart is. I guess I have a few
homes now because my heart is with you and with the people here in
Tokyo.

                 Touma Shimai & Eyring Shimai

 I love being a missionary. God gives his missionaries super powers or
something, because I am able to do things that I know i could never
ever do myself. This is hard work and not glamorous at all. I feel
like I'm camping... Always SO extremely sweaty and tired haha. And
then sometimes you get caught in a typhoon far from home with only a
pancho from a convenience store. But I've never been more happy and
never been more connected to a purpose. The purpose I focus on right
now is greater than myself. The work doesn't always turn out how I
want it to because the work is perfect and my imperfect mind doesn't
comprehend perfection. I am eternally grateful to my Father in Heaven.
Our God is a mighty God. He is mindful of all his children and
performs miracles each and every day. I'm grateful to be a witness of
his miracles and grateful to be able to testify of his love to many as
I serve him in Japan.

Katsudon and Soba with Sister Toma(:

A chapter of scripture I really like right now is in the Old
Testament... Ecclesiastes 3. "To every thing there is a season, and a
time to every purpose under the Heaven." I'm grateful to know of God's
divine purposes and his plan for our eternal happiness. Eternal
happiness is to have a knowledge of God. D&C 132:24 "this is eternal
lives- to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he
hath sent." God has provided ways for us to strengthen our
relationship with him and come to know him. I know he lives and he
loves me and loves each one of you. I love teaching people about God
and how to come to know God. I love sharing this message of happiness
with people who have lived their lives without God. I love to teach
them how to pray to their Father in Heaven and be there with them as
they pray to him for the first time since they left his presence.

This was my dinner when we ate with Misako! Oishisou!

Highlights from the week:
There was a typhoon and the wind has been really strong. Biking has
been really fun... It feels like we aren't even moving! I'll send a
video!

We met with Misako twice and she came to church. She wants to go to
general conference in salt lake so bad. She says her passport is
ready. Not sure that she'll be able to get tickets but who wants to
meet her?! She is totally my best friend right now.

Sister Merstrand, Misako, and me

I live with President Eyring's granddaughter. Gotta be on my best
behavior or she'll tell the prophet! Haha just kidding, but she is way
cute and fun! It's her very first transfer in Japan.

We met with soooo many members this week. They have so much fire for
missionary work. It's amazing the miracles we can see together. Also,
I am eternally full... They are so kind to us and way good cooks, and
they expect Americans to eat lots.

We are starting to work more with recent converts and less actives.
It's fun to strengthen and teach people who have already heard and
accepted the gospel but are working on the "endure to the end" part.
In Japanese endure to the end is "saigo made taishinobu". But I like
to say, "saigo made tanoshimu", which is "have fun/enjoy to the end"!
Isn't that the point of our lives? Happiness. It's God's ultimate
desire for his children. Eternal joy.

Typhoon Selfie

We were way busy! Taught 11 lessons and we are getting more
comfortable and confident in our teaching and more natural and bold in
inviting. We have lots of new potential investigators and so many
friends in this area! Shooting for 15 lessons this week! We can do it
:)

Handouts for Misako

So there is a student at English class who is beginner at English and
pretty shy. When I was brand new in the area, I decided to reach out
and talk to her because she seemed to be the wallflower and looked
like she needed a friend. We would talk for quite awhile after class
each week and I was pondering how I could introduce something in the
gospel that would resonate with her. Anyway, I asked her if she would
want to get lunch some time and so we made an appointment! We went to
lunch this week and she asked if she could come to church to get help
from God. It turns out she used to take lessons from the sisters in
the neighboring area which is actually in the north mission. She had a
baptismal date but had to be transferred to the Hibarigaoka sisters
because she lives in our area. When she met with the Hibari sisters,
they got the vibe that she was only interested in English class so
they stopped meeting with her. She explained that she doesn't
currently read the Book of Mormon and it's been quite awhile since
going to church, but she is interested in meeting with us and taking
lessons again. We are excited to help her and be a friend.

Lots of love from your sister in Japan!

Sister Reeves