Kenzie Says "Kon'nichiwa": April 13th

Hey y'all!
What's new these days?

So my new companion is Sister Wilson. She's Samoan but born and raised
in California. She is the coolest. She knows Stef from BYU Hawaii! She
is a fantastic missionary and we are having lots of fun (:

A bit about the week:

On Tuesday we met lots of foreigners! It was weird! One new potential
from Nepal who we referred to the elders. We also visited our
Vietnamese friend, Ho Thi Lan. She was on her way to school but we
told her we had a gift for her. A book that God gave us so we could
learn about him. And we brought it in Vietnamese and she was so
excited! She wants to meet us again! We also stopped by to visit Misa.
She is from Hong Kong. We brought her a Chinese Book of Mormon and she
graciously accepted it and said if she could she would read it every
night! Then we visited our Filipino friend who works near the Toyoda
station and bought cakes from her shop. A day of bringing the world
His truth! So fun (:

Wednesday: We had two member present lessons scheduled and both fell
through so we had some time open up. We dropped a daily message off at
a member's home and then went to heart attack a recent convert,
Kawatani kyoudai. It was so cute! As we were about to finish I heard
movement inside the house right by the door and then his voice calling
out to his wife, "someone is coming!" He was standing right in the
genkan and about to leave! We tried to escape but he caught us and
invited us in for some hot chocolate. It worked out perfectly though
cause we hadn't seen him in so long. He has been really sick for the
past several weeks and hasn't made it to church. Kawatani shimai said
he lit up to have the sister missionaries there. We love them!
We dropped by to visit our investigator, Mineko San. She owns a
dormitory so she was busy in the kitchen but we were able to sit and
chat with her as she worked. She has been meeting with missionaries
for years but doesn't have her answer yet. She said she learns because
she is curious and she has always wondered why youth come from far
places to serve a mission. We talked about the sacrifice we make
because we love God and we know it's true. She apologized for not
reading the Book of Mormon or praying but we explained that we don't
ask her to do those things to please us but to strengthen her faith
and help her understand her relationship with Heavenly Father. We
shared experience of finding answer to prayer and she shared about how
she recently read the Book of Mormon and called out to Heavenly Father
after getting angry at her son and not liking the feeling she had. She
said she felt his love. She knows deep down that it works!

Thursday was transfer day! Two more appointments cancelled but a fun
first day with Sister Wilson. We visited a referral from the elders, a
couple who used to take lessons and attend English class. Then we went
housing and talked to tons of people and finished our day with weekly
planning (: sister Wilson is so good at proselyting. She always
teaches and always testifies. Our contacts are full of the spirit. Her
japanese is also really great!

Friday was a cold and rainy day. We took a bus way far out and visited
a potential investigator, heart attacked a member, left a cute note
and general conference talk with another member, and then visited an
investigator who neither of us had ever met, Goto San. She is way
flaky with appointments but she was home and let us in for a lesson!
It was an interesting experience. She has some sort of mental illness
but loves God and Christianity. She has received baptism in another
church. We taught the restoration and asked if she would be baptized
by someone who holds the correct authority when she receives
confirmation that the message is true. And she said yes! Not sure how
much she understood... Because she kept saying, "I think so too!" And
then was completely confused when I used a really easy analogy. But...
It was great to meet her and share this message of happiness! And she
happily received it!

We woke up super early on Saturday to head to Machida. I attended the
meeting with the missionary leaders and stake presidency... Our last
one with President Tokuzawa! He has just been called as an area 70 so
we will be having stake conference and getting a new stake president
in the next couple weeks! Exciting! President Tokuzawa is the best.
I'm grateful for these few months I have had the opportunity to work
with him and learn from him. After SPM we had district meeting and
then straight into 2 sessions of general conference! A day of meetings
but it was amazing! There was so much to love. But I especially liked
the talk about choosing to believe. It takes effort and action and
choice to have faith. We don't just stumble upon it and we don't just
happen to know God is real. We must choose. I'm grateful for the
choices that have strengthened my belief and have brought me to light
and a knowledge of truth.

Sunday was the best. I love general conference. We thank, thee, o God,
for a prophet!! It never ceases to amaze me that God can teach each
one of us all over the world through his servants and their messages.
The Spirit teaches according to our understanding and because God
understands our hearts and desires he can teach each one of us
differently and perfectly through the words of his prophets. I felt
like the Sunday sessions really taught me how I can improve and become
a better person and disciple of Christ in sooo many different ways. I
have so many goals and so many new desires to change. And it's because
my loving Heavenly Father reached out through his chosen messengers to
teach me! What did you learn?!
Our trips to and from the conference included lots of conversations
with amazing people! One lady in particular was really touched by our
discussion. Tears came to her eyes as we talked about love and God and
families. I felt the Spirit so strongly as we spoke and knew God had
placed me in the seat next to her on the train that day because she
needed to meet a missionary!
On the way back I shared a Book of Mormon with this cute lady who did
her best to speak English to me. She loves Jesus and his teachings.
She studies a book that she believe contain his real teachings. She
showed me how I could order it online. I introduced her to a book that
has changed my life. A book that testifies of Christ and contains the
fullness of his teachings. I bore testimony and offered it to my new
friend. At first she was sure that she didn't need it and then she
said, "I have no reason to refuse it!"

Today we went on a Costco adventure with a couple members. We bought
pizza and muffins!! The best! Another rainy and cold day.... Sad
because now all the Sakura are fallen from the trees. :(

But everything is happy because God is our Heavenly Father and Jesus
lives. My belief in God carries me through each day. I know everything
will always work out.

I love participating in this divine work. I love my Heavenly Father.

I love all of you!

Have a happy week(: Dance to the music of the gospel even if you look
silly and even if you must dance in the rain!!

Love, Sister Reeves