It
was a crazy week. We did lots but then got to the end of the week,
looked at our stats and I thought, "did we even do anything this week?!"
Yep, we did. Part of that included going to Kichijoji 4 days in a row.
So we were hardly in our area!
On Tuesday
I went on Splits with eyring Shimai. We had a really fun day. I love
working with her! She is a really good missionary and bears her
testimony in every conversation! Her companion told her once that she
feels the Spirit every time Eyring Shimai speaks! It's really true
actually. It doesn't matter what she says or if her japanese makes sense
because it's said with sincerity and love and guided by the Spirit. We
visited 2 recent converts and 2 less actives together. And... Miracle...
They were all home!! It made for a really happy and busy day. Eyring
Shimai and I are planning on being companions when the earthquake
comes... So we can wear our yellow helping hands vests and bring the
gospel to a nation in crisis! So pray for an earthquake! I think natural
disasters soften hearts and bring people together in love and service.
Family
history... I'm doing it! Sort of. The mission has asked all the
missionaries to finish their "my family" booklets so we can share family
history with those we meet. There is a section in preach my gospel
about family history as a method for finding investigators and I always
thought that was silly or sounded boring. But it's actually a miracle
worker in Japan. Japanese people, whether they are a real Buddhist or
not, receive an influence from the Buddhist religion. Families and
ancestors are given a high priority and are very important to most
people. Many pray to their ancestors morning and night, visit their
graves on occasion, and believe that they are with them and watching
over them. There is even a special day in the summer when they come
back. This value placed on loved ones who have gone before is a really
good way for us to introduce the gospel and the plan of salvation and
eternal families. Also, people are hesitant to talk about religion, but
they'll open up if we talk about our families! As I have been copying
information about my ancestors into my family book and reading stories
about them on family search, I'm actually feeling the spirit of Elijah. I
thought it wasn't real. But it is. I want to know more about my family
and get to know living relatives better than I have. We don't have time
during the day for family history, so I need your help! I'll be emailing
you personally ;)
MLC.
This was one of those days in Kichijoji for mission leadership
council. It's really long but fast paced and way exciting. We weren't
even able to get through everything on the agenda, but we got in lots of
practice and discussed the progress of the mission. Our mission is seeing so many miracles right now. 7 baptisms in October! Our goal is
for each companionship to extend 3 invitations to be baptized by the end
of the year. When we invite, we succeed. Before elder Ringwood came,
each missionary took an online survey to see where we are at as a PMG
mission. We broke down the results of the survey together and decided
the possible root causes for the low results and chose items for future
training in our zone and district meetings. Lots to do! And so much
growth to see!
Interviews. On Friday
we were back in kichijoji for interviews with president wada. Mine was
shorter than usual because I didn't come with too many questions. But he
gave me some good council! To not run faster than I have strength, but
to build my strength and use this time to understand the Spirit and
revelation and to enjoy missionary work! I took his council and studied
further in my personal study. I'm definitely the type to freak out about
all the things I have to do and forget to have fun. But... My current
companion is way good for me! She is really easy going and always
positive. She is good at finding miracles in a rough day and she helps
us to recognize the good that we are doing and the good that is
happening around us. And so... Each day is imperfect. And each day is
fun! Imperfectly fun. :)
And... We went back to kichijoji for stake conference on Saturday and Sunday!
Fun thing about having been in the same stake the whole mission so far
is that I get to see all the old members from kichijoji, too! The focus
of so many of the talks was missionary work. President and Sister Wada
spoke in both sessions and we heard from 2 recently returned sister
missionaries. It was awesome! When we went for interviews this week,
sister wada interviewed us as we were waiting and asked us about the
good influence our mothers had on us. and then she shared our answers in
her talk! This is what I said ;)『私の御母さんは天使です』(My mother is an angel!) I love my mom! I told her
about Mom's silly songs and how she taught us that our siblings were our
best friends and how she is good at being the mom and the friend.
Riding
the bus to kichijoji a million times turned out to be a miracle. I
re-met people I had met before several months earlier! Our mission and
our approach has changed since then so I was able to extend a proper
bold invitation to attend church or hear our message. The statistics say
that a person typically comes in contact with the missionaries 7 times
before they decide to take lessons. This time I got to be time number 1
and time number 2! And I saw the difference in these ladies. They
remembered me and asked if I was headed to church! They brought up the
church this time and I was able to invite and share my testimony and my
purpose. They didn't accept the offer, but I saw how their hearts had
changed and I feel like if they had that experience 5 more times, they
would certainly say yes! We never know the difference that these simple
conversations can make.
Me and kana chan! Look at her crazy hair ;) |
Well. That's all for now! I love you.
Love,
Kinz
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