Konnichiwa!!!!!
This week started out soooooo good!! and then as missions usually go,
it got super hard.. But Luckily i have the best most sweetest
companion with the most positive attitude! We are doing great and both
so ready to keep working hard!
Last monday we saw so many miracles! all little ones but so sweet
nonetheless! After emailing we went to take our bikes to get fixed.
They told us it would be about an hour so we walked to the closest
train station and started proselyting. I talked to a foreigner from
Sri Lanka! He was like hey i know you! your a mormon! i was so
shocked! you dont get that too often around here! turns out hes been
to church before and has read the Book of Mormon!!! woow!!! He said
that when he came to japan he became friends with some brazilians and
was brought into their christian church. Hes christian and loves it!
so cool! we exchanged numbers and hopefully the elders can start
meeting with him!!
then, i said hello to a cute mom with her little girl and the grandma.
The grandma looks at me and says havent we met before? I felt so
famous for the day! hahaha! right away i remembered her! In my last
area, during the cherry blossom season, we were at a park and i talked
to a lady watching her granddaughter for about half an hour. She was
mostly interested in our kids english class but was so super nice and
friendly! i told her about that day and she remembered! we both just
laughed! coincidence? i think not!!!!! i told her that since then i
had moved to sakado. The grandma lives in my old area but the mom and
her daughter live here in my new area :) Miracles!!!! hope to be
seeing them soon too!!!
went back to get our bikes and the sweet worker was so happy that two
foreigners came into his shop. He said he was so happy he could
practice english with us! I think he will be coming to our english
class :)
After that we went to a donut shop to do some proselyting. (works
every time) We met a cute girl who wants to teach us tennis! hahaha!
new best friends!
And then we visited a potential investigator, Mrs. Ootani. She is the
cutest thing in the world! we made some chocolate popcorn for her and
dropped it off. She was so surprised! she invited us in and filled our
bags with vegetables! hahaha! we walked out and got on our bikes when
she chased us down and put 5 plants in our bike baskets hahahah! so
adorable! she is way prepared too! she wants to learn more about
christianity and the church! we are going over again tonight to
visit!!!
Tuesday we did some proselyting at mcdonalds! (again for some reason
we always see miracles at fast food places hahah) as we were walking
up, we ran into Takashi san!!! she is from the philipins and we had an
appointment set with her for friday!!! we sat together and talked for
a good 30 minutes! she is excited to see the church and learn more!!!
And then it started getting hard... we had a deadline from our bishop
of when all the less asctives had to be visited. It felt like all day
long we were looking for less actives. And of course anytime we went
out on our bikes, it would pour rain! luckily we still were able to
talk to lots of people! "im lost, help me!" is a great conversation
starter!!! Sadly hardly any of the less actives were home and if they
were, we got a lot of "not interested anymore". But we did our best to
show love and stay positive.
Wednesday was the worst. We got broken up with. Yuko, my favorite
little sassy thing, (and our only progressing investigator) met with
us before english class on wednesday. She sits down for the lesson and
says the Book of Mormon is boring and she has no interest. i love this
woman! hahah! so we share our favorite scriptures and share
experiences to go with them. She seemed a bit more interested and
willing to try again. The lesson went over a little into english class
so we eneded quick. She asked where she should read next in the Book
of Mormon and went to join the rest of the class. After english, we
had a party with our students! it was a pot luck so everyone brought
food! Yuko however was not happy. She started telling our eikaiwa
students that all the missionaries want to do is convert them. She was
very angry that we went over. We had no idea. I pulled her aside and
apologized. She said she was going to stop taking the lessons. I was
heart broken. And i couldnt hide it as the tears just poured. I think
that made her feel bad so she said we would just take a break, not a
permanent stop. I still felt awful. So sad that i made her angry. She
lost her trust in me and it was a feeling i never hope to feel again.
I didnt want to have any regrets on my mission but i have one now. I
am praying for her so hard because i care about her so much! hoping
that she will have a spiritual experience as she reads the Book of
Mormon! I know that God is aware of what she needs!
The next few days were just hard. Rain, and more less actives not
home. We are exhausted. But....... coolest thing ever.... my itialian
friend from my last area, Giovanni, GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! wooohooo!!!!! i
get a call the day before from my last companion saying hes getting
baptized and i am on the program to speak! uhhhh... hahah! so the next
day we take a 2 hour train ride to make it for his baptism!!!!! he is
amazing!!!! he wanted to be fully ready so he stayed up the whole
night, reading the bible and was fasting for 3 days hahahahah!!!! i
dont know what the elders have been teaching him... but he did it!!!!!
he got baptized!!!! his testimony was amazing!!! he really was
searching!!! he asked me to speak at his baptism because i was the one
who he first met! I met him at the train station and gave him a Book
of Mormon! He told everyone in the audience that it was not
coincidence that we met that day. It was all part of God plan! I am so
grateful for him!!!!! Seeing that miracle made all the hard things in
the week disappear! He said that he knew God was proud of him! I know
that is true! God loves us all so very much! He is just waiting to
bless us!!! Giovanni took this leap of faith and was baptized and is
now on the path to so much more! more fullness of joy and happiness in
this life and the life to come!! I am so excited to get out there and
keep looking for more Giovannis! i know they are out there! Missions
are not ever easy but oh so worth it!!! I love this gospel and i love
my savior!!!
Sister christensen
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