Kenzie Says "Kon'nichiwa": September 29th

Hello!! こんにちは！

Monday night: we went to FHE at the mission home with Terumi (I don't
know if I mentioned, but we call her choi Shimai now... It's a
confusing story.) president wada and sister wada decided to start
having fhe in their home once a month so we can bring friends and
investigators into the home of a member and be able to participate in
a spiritual lesson and fun activities. It went really well and I feel
so lucky to live so close to the mission home :)

Tuesday: zone conference in Tokorozawa! I always love zone conference
and learn so so so much. My companion sang a duet in English and I was
so proud of her! Our mission is working really hard to become more
productive. It's pretty hard with all of the missionaries being so
young though.... We are all just babies training babies. But the cool
thing is somehow it's all working out. God's work still works even with
imperfect 20 year olds helping him out.
D&C 35-13:15
13 Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are
unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my
Spirit;

14 And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their
buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully
for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let
fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation
will I preserve them.

15 And the poor and the meek shall have the gospel preached unto them,
and they shall be looking forth for the time of my coming, for it is
nigh at hand--

I'm grateful for all that I'm learning about my dependence on God.
When I put my trust in myself, I feel discouraged and useless. When I
put my trust in him, I recognize my weaknesses, and receive strength
through him who has all power. He is real and he is there for us and
we are never alone. He is mindful of each of his children and has a
plan for each and everyone of us. I'm grateful to be one of the weak
things of the world... And have this opportunity to preach the gospel!

Wednesday: We taught our new investigator, kana. We introduced the
Book of Mormon and shared our testimonies. The Book of Mormon has the
power to change lives. The Book of Mormon truly has brought me closer
to God and shown me what to do to find greater satisfaction in my
life. I highly recommend reading it and applying its teachings ;)
We had a lesson with choi Shimai, too! We taught about prophets and
the word of wisdom. She had heard of the word of wisdom before and
decided that if she was gonna be baptized she would eventually have to
stop drinking tea and coffee. Up until this lesson she was drinking
tea everyday except Sundays. She said she didn't really know why this
commandment was important until we explained it to her. She says she
wants to follow! She is progressing a lot and really changing. She is
opening up more and making more friends in the ward. I think she feels
really special having people around her who will love her.

Thursday: We had a lesson with Erina. We studied the scriptures and
talked about our baptismal covenant. We made a promise to love and
serve others and to always stand as a witness of God. We also talked
about the blessings we have received because of our covenants and our
membership in the church. The gospel has brought each of us an added
measure of joy and because we love others we should recommend to them
this key to happiness. Her parents don't really know that she is a
Christian and she hasnt been able to talk to them about the gospel.
She said that ever since we went to the temple together she has been
thinking about sharing the gospel with them. She is also thinking
about serving a mission. We love her!
10 And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable
to make one happy.

11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit
thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever
before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to
exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.

12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with
exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my
family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable
above all other fruit.
1 Nephi 8:10-12
The fruit is the love of God. When we accept and live the gospel we
can feel that love and it brings us so much joy. Eat some good fruit!

Friday: we visited our new friend, Mori. She didn't want to hear
anything about the church but she loved just talking to us about
normal things. She loves Christ, but has something against churches.
Our job now is to just love. She almost gave me a kimono but I'm too
big for anything in Japan. Haha.
My companion and I have a new goal to leave a message (whether written
on a card or shared verbally in person) with a member of our ward each
day. Several of the older members of our ward live in the same area so
we ran around this gigantic apartment complex and delivered our
messages! Then we visited one of the couples with choi Shimai. We had
a really great lesson about faith. We all shared experiences with
experimenting with Gods words and having our faith strengthened. It's
okay to not know something for sure, but our desire to believe is
where our faith begins. Choi Shimai has lots of faith but doesn't
necessarily recognize it. I'm so grateful to be working with and
getting to know her.

Saturday: we participated in a young single adult mission preparation
activity in kichijoji. We became a 3人companionship. I'm not sure what
it's called in English... Three person? Anyway... We got to work with
Gushiken Shimai. She recently started filling out her mission papers
and is excited about serving a mission. We got to go out and proselyte
together in kichijoji for a few hours. It was crazy... So many
missionaries in one area. Really fun though to be able to reach that
many more people.
After the meeting Shitami Shimai and I were lucky enough to be able to
meet individually with sister wada. When president wada returned, I
was able to meet with him and study scriptures and receive a
priesthood blessing. He expressed so much confidence in me. He knows
I'm a good missionary and that's why he trusts me with such a
difficult task. He told me I need to be obedient to Gods commandments
and love my neighbors. My closest neighbor is my companion. As far as
companions go, he says this will be as hard as it will get. He knows I
can work hard each day and do so much missionary work... But my most
effective efforts right now may be to help her come unto Christ. Maybe
we won't meet the minimum standards expected of us but if our faith is
being strengthened and I am helping her know that she is a worthy
child of God, then I am doing my part.
When we returned home we planned for the following day and made a cake
for Regine's birthday!

Sunday: our ward missionary coordination? (No idea what it's called in
English) meeting went really well. Our ward mission leader also taught
the lesson in relief society and had the goal of getting the sisters
of the ward to make appointments with the missionaries to join our
lessons with investigators and meet with us for teaching practice and
allowing us to teach their families. It was actually way amazing. The
sisters were divided into groups and a companion set of missionaries
came and taught them as if they were investigators and we were able to
discuss our roles as missionaries and members in the work. Afterwards,
many sisters offered to have us over in their home with investigators
for meals and lessons.
We visited a less active member and then went housing around her
complex. No one opened the door... In Japan you can talk through an
intercom so it's pretty rare for someone to have enough interest in us
to come to the door. Anyway, one man said he was busy but said it was
okay if we came another time. Just as we were leaving, there was a man
putting fliers in the mailboxes as part of his job. We started talking
to him and he expressed interest in what we were doing and wanted to
come to church. He has read the bible and he was like "doesn't
everyone have interest in church?!" We were like "uhh... There are
actually many people who don't have interest. But you're amazing!!"
Then we went to Regine's house for her birthday. We were able to meet
her family members and eat dinner together.
Also... Choi Shimai is amazing. She gave us a gift at church to bring
to regine because she remembered it was her birthday. What?!
Investigators fellow shipping investigators?! Choi has such a kind
heart. She doesn't have work but she spends her time volunteering for
children who have been victims of abuse. She also has made baked goods
for the member who helps out with her lessons. She is always grateful
to anyone else who is a volunteer.
As I was riding my bike today I was thinking about how happy I am that
I get to be her friend forever. I'm so excited to continue helping her
to prepare for baptism. It's the best.
We then "heart attacked" Misako shimai's house. She is incredibly busy
right now and can't meet with us but we wanted her to remember we
loved her.
Then we visited a potential investigator... Randomly because I felt
like we should. She apologized for being slow to contact us and for
not really having tons of interest in coming to the church. I told her
more about what we do as missionaries and asked if we could share our
message with her and she said she would think about it! It's these
little things that seem like the biggest miracles to me!

Even when the work is slow, there is joy to be found. When we are
caught in the furious winds of our trials and tests... Remember that
these winds are what push us to the promised lands God has prepared
for us. These winds shape us for greater things. Without the hard
times, we can never grow. I'm grateful to be growing.
5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a
furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised
land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the
wind.
Ether 6:5
Love you all so so so much!
Xoxo. Sister Reeves