TRANSFERSSSSSSS...... i hate them with a passion.. you come to an
area, fall in love with the people, the ward members, the english
students, the apartment, even the creepy old man with only one front
tooth who smiles at you everyday, and then you have to leave. I am
being transferred... i am so sad. I had a feeling i was leaving though
so i guess i was prepared. And because during interviews with the
president my companion asked if she could stay in kamagaya so when i
went in he asked me who would be a good companion for her. So there
was no avoiding it. I am going to Sakado in the saitama prefecture.
Everyone joked that i would go to the saitama area because its one of
the hottest places in japan... hahah well jokes on me!!! but im
excited!!!!!! new transfer means new friends to find and love!!!! And
im living with my mtc companion sister moss!!!!! there will be four
sisters in my apartment!!! wooohoo!!! party!! jk were working :) there
are four elders too!! lots of missionaries means lots of miracles!!!
cant wait!!!
Happy month of June!! Each month seems to fly by faster and faster!
This week was good for sister Requilman and I! Wednesday we went to
visit a less active. She told us that she was sorry but she didnt have
a testimony anymore. Sister Requilman was crushed. But we were able to
talk about it after and had a great talk together! i told her that
its not us the lady was rejecting. Its our savior. and as sad as that
is, we know that he already performed the atonement for this less
active. HE already went through the pain. It was ok to feel sad but
not too much because our savior already took it. This less active now
gives us the opportunity to be missionaries. We are to help strengthen
zion! she needs some help and now she is giving us the opportunity to
seek our heavenly fathers help for his sweet daughter. God isnt going
to save just some of his children. He wants them all to return so He
will guide us to know how we can help this lady reattain her
testimony!
Sister Requilman needed a little break after that visit so we sat
outside of a 7/11 and got a juice. While sitting there a lady comes up
to us and asks us if we are english teachers hahaha!! I wish it could
always be that easy! people coming up to us!! we exchanged emails and
she was excited to come to a church! that cool miracle got us back up
and going!
we decided to visit an old referral from a member. This lady is
christian and has heard the lessons a few years ago but for some
reason we dont know she stopped investigating. we made a copy from the
liahona on a article about the plan of salvation and went by to drop
it off. She remembered hearing about this from the missionaries. We
told her if she had questions she could email us, and she goes " i
have one right now" !!! we were so surprised! she asked us about the
premortal life. she didnt know exactly what happened there and wanted
to find it somewhere in the Book of Mormon! we talked about how the
plan was created while we were in the pre-existance and that we all
accepted the plan and so we were able to come to the earth. We left
her with a chapter in alma and she said she would read it! and said we
could come back to talk about it with her!!!!! it was a great miracle!
before this we really didnt have any gospel conversations because she
wasnt interested but weve found it!!! she said she is looking for the
religion that is right for her and her kids. she wants her children at
a church but doesnt know where! she is a little hesitant to come to
church with us but shes started to gain that desire!!
and sunday our best friend akiho came to church!!!! well only relief
society. she slept in because shes exhausted from work (she started
only a few days ago... hahaha lols shes a hard worker!) anyways after
church we made mac and cheese that a member brought back for us from
america!! it was a happy day!!! we sat with her and talked about the
plan of salvation. We thought she needed to hear about the atonement.
before she had told us that she has a bad relationship with her dad
and she doesnt know if she can forgive him for what he did to her and
her mom. So we prepared all week for this lesson. We studied so hard
literally all week for her. we went to a members house and did a
practice lesson for her. So when the time came, we were ready! the
lesson went really well and we were all feeling the spirit so
strongly. But then akiho goes "i still dont think i will forgive him"
ughh.... she says that she busy now and doesnt think about her dad
often so it doesnt bother her anymore. but she still doesnt want to
forgive. if anyone has any advise please let us know!!! but at the end
we asked her what she was looking for in religion and she said she
just wants someone to help her when no one else can. she wants someone
to listen when no one else can. She wants a relationship with her
loving Heavenly Father and savior. she wants their help just not in
the way we thought. But thats ok!! she still wants to learn with us
and so we are happy!! she knows her savior and that alone makes her so
very special!!! i love my dear akiho and will miss her dearly!!!
so fun thing this week! i met a lady who lives in california! shes
japanese but has lived in california for 20 years!! and not just any
part of california but "the oc" as she called it. hahaha! she was so
proud! shes more of a californian than i am!! hahaha!!! but we had so
much fun talking about the pretty laguna beaches, and great malls like
south coast plaza and fashion island! hahah! i am not homesick..... no
really im not! but it was fun to talk with her who knew the areas i
know i love!!!
i miss home but i am happy to be a missionary! i love this time of my
life and i am grateful to serve these wonderful people for my savior!
i am excited for this next transfer and all the miracles that were
going to see!!!
love you!!!!
christensen shimai
Monday, July 28, 2014
こんにちは!!! May 26,2014
みなさんこんばんは!
Nt going to lie.. this was a long week.. of course still a good one!
but hard at the same time hahah! gotta love the mission!
Last Monday we were able to spend some quality time with one of our
less actives! Sister Morita took us to funabashi for lunch and
shopping! she is doing so good! reading the Book of Mormon every
week! We have developed the greatest relationship with her! She paid
for everything because she said she was our japanese mom! hahah! how
cute!! just warmed my heart! she still is not ready to come back to
church but being able to see the change that has occurred in her is
amazing!!
Tuesday we had a okonomiyaki lunch making party with two of our
eikaiwa students! goodness gracious the old ladies are always
attracted to me! hahah!! spent the afternoon with them at the grocery
store and then making the food! its like a pancake type thing with
cabbage and nasty small fish flakes inside.. the ones i always send
home to people as a joke.. sadly its not a joke. People actually enjoy
those things. I didnt my best to choke it down hahaha! we actually got
to have a little lesson with two of our eikaiwa students at lunch!!!
They both have been former investigators and were very receptive to
our message on Christ and hope. I hope we can keep going from here!
after that we did some housing and just got turned down house after
house. Went to an apartment complex and a lady told us that we needed
to leave. There were no signs anywhere saying we couldnt be there.. so
we just werent feeling too good about ourselves for the day. Tried to
visit a less active in the area but she wasnt home. We really just
didnt know what we were supposed to be doing. We continued on but
didnt see any success. on the way home i wasnt too happy. I wanted to
keep going until we saw some kind of miracle! so we decided to stop at
a ladys house who we had met through a member. Even though we were
late for our dinner and other plans, we stopped and she had just
gotten home! she hadnt been home any other time! we were thrilled! and
she invited us in! we sang i know my redeemer lives for her and at the
end she says "hey me too! i know that God lives!" music to our ears!
we were so happy! her husband is against religion so she doesnt know
about coming to church but we have a great start! such great
potential! and the best way to end our day of hardships!
To be honest though, everyday this week has felt almost the same. It
seems like the harder we try to talk to everyone and be the bestest
missionary in the world, the harder it actually is hahah! The "no's"
continued.
Saturday we had a general authority visit our mission and had a 2
mission conference with the tokyo south mission! Elder cook came and
gave the greatest talk!!! He talked about how japan is special.
Sometimes i wonder why i was called to japan this non christian
believing country. Why not brazil or the phillipians where people love
and worship christ. Why did i need to come to japan? to these people?
Well i was called here for many reasons. Because even though many dont
know Jesus Christ, i still love them no matter what! i have made the
greatest friends here! and i just pray that they can see christ
through me! I work hard everyday for them! Im trying to be a better
missionary every day for them! These people who are so kind, and so
willing to serve others! I have been so fortunate to see many friends
come to know their savior! I am so grateful that God has placed me in
so many wonderful peoples paths. Its hard a lot of days but i wouldnt
want to be anywhere else!!
愛していますよ!!!
sister Christensen
Nt going to lie.. this was a long week.. of course still a good one!
but hard at the same time hahah! gotta love the mission!
Last Monday we were able to spend some quality time with one of our
less actives! Sister Morita took us to funabashi for lunch and
shopping! she is doing so good! reading the Book of Mormon every
week! We have developed the greatest relationship with her! She paid
for everything because she said she was our japanese mom! hahah! how
cute!! just warmed my heart! she still is not ready to come back to
church but being able to see the change that has occurred in her is
amazing!!
Tuesday we had a okonomiyaki lunch making party with two of our
eikaiwa students! goodness gracious the old ladies are always
attracted to me! hahah!! spent the afternoon with them at the grocery
store and then making the food! its like a pancake type thing with
cabbage and nasty small fish flakes inside.. the ones i always send
home to people as a joke.. sadly its not a joke. People actually enjoy
those things. I didnt my best to choke it down hahaha! we actually got
to have a little lesson with two of our eikaiwa students at lunch!!!
They both have been former investigators and were very receptive to
our message on Christ and hope. I hope we can keep going from here!
after that we did some housing and just got turned down house after
house. Went to an apartment complex and a lady told us that we needed
to leave. There were no signs anywhere saying we couldnt be there.. so
we just werent feeling too good about ourselves for the day. Tried to
visit a less active in the area but she wasnt home. We really just
didnt know what we were supposed to be doing. We continued on but
didnt see any success. on the way home i wasnt too happy. I wanted to
keep going until we saw some kind of miracle! so we decided to stop at
a ladys house who we had met through a member. Even though we were
late for our dinner and other plans, we stopped and she had just
gotten home! she hadnt been home any other time! we were thrilled! and
she invited us in! we sang i know my redeemer lives for her and at the
end she says "hey me too! i know that God lives!" music to our ears!
we were so happy! her husband is against religion so she doesnt know
about coming to church but we have a great start! such great
potential! and the best way to end our day of hardships!
To be honest though, everyday this week has felt almost the same. It
seems like the harder we try to talk to everyone and be the bestest
missionary in the world, the harder it actually is hahah! The "no's"
continued.
Saturday we had a general authority visit our mission and had a 2
mission conference with the tokyo south mission! Elder cook came and
gave the greatest talk!!! He talked about how japan is special.
Sometimes i wonder why i was called to japan this non christian
believing country. Why not brazil or the phillipians where people love
and worship christ. Why did i need to come to japan? to these people?
Well i was called here for many reasons. Because even though many dont
know Jesus Christ, i still love them no matter what! i have made the
greatest friends here! and i just pray that they can see christ
through me! I work hard everyday for them! Im trying to be a better
missionary every day for them! These people who are so kind, and so
willing to serve others! I have been so fortunate to see many friends
come to know their savior! I am so grateful that God has placed me in
so many wonderful peoples paths. Its hard a lot of days but i wouldnt
want to be anywhere else!!
愛していますよ!!!
sister Christensen
Still Going Strong 5/19/14
Konnichiwa!!!
Sister Requilman and I had a great week in this wonderful land of
kamagaya!!!! Being a missionary and getting to see all these miracles
is just too good!!
so tuesday was the hottest day of the week! ewww flash backs to last
summer.. i am absolutely terrified for the summer again in japan. So
we road our bikes all over this place searching for a member we had
planned to go visit. Finally made it to her house and we only talked
for like a minute because she said it wasnt a very good area to do
missionary work?? we were confused hahah but we did some housing
anyways. wish i could say we found some golden person... but we didnt
hahah! actually lots of rude people! But im always grateful for these
moments cause when you have no one else, at least you have your
companion. I love sister Requilman and im grateful that we were able
to stand side by side!
After that we went closer to our church to do some streeting. We met
the cutest chinese lady who has lived here since she was little. She
does some kind of foreign school for chinese kids who want to learn
japanese. She invited us to her work to come talk with her! We thought
maybe we would be teaching her students english or something but we
actually went in a room and just talked with her! She really is the
cutest thing in the world! She loved hearing about what we do as
missionaries and said we could come back anytime!!! kamagaya is full
of so much potential!!! I love this place!
Wednesday we went to our dear eikaiwa friends Michi's house. Shes a
cute old lady who is the funniest person ive ever met in my life! She
forced us into eating everything in sight in her home! We thought she
was just an english student so we were quite shocked when we went into
her home and found pictures of her with lots of different
missionaries!! She didnt think it was a very big deal hahah but we
were freaking out! we are seeing her tomorrow for lunch at her home!!
again so much potential!!!
Thursday we met with a lady who was found when i was on exchanges last
week in abiko. Her nam is Nakado. When we talked to her on the phone
it seemed that she may have mad a little bit of a mental disability
but she sounded like a sweetheart so we arranged to meet her at the
train station. We think she has some form of autism but like i said
she is the sweetest little thing! Communication was a little tricky at
first. We were trying to get to know her so we were asking her
questions and she was a little shy. But when we brought up church
topics she totally focused in! She stopped shaking her head and
actually looked at us in the eyes. She says she believes in Jesus
Christ and wants to learn more! It was a really quick meeting but i am
so grateful for it!! she is a doll! i really hope we can teach her!
what a sweet sweet spirit! so many miracles and so much potential!!
So kamagaya is really just full of potential!!! so many great people
and new great friends!!! time to start getting these great people
progressing! lots of prayers and lots of faith!
Sunday was the absolute bestest day though because our one and only
progressing investigator Akiho came to church!!!!!! gosh i love this
girl!! she gave us a little scare because she showed up late but she
came!!!! (so did our italian friend giovanni!! he is a hoot!)
Church was good and all the meetings went well! After Akiho found one
of the members that she really likes and they were able to talk for a
while! She is so welcomed in this ward! i hope we can keep her...
since she doesnt live in our area... ughhh. we'll see. anyways after
church we were talking with her and asked if she had talked to her mom
about baptism. She looked at us and started crying. uhhh ohhh.. We
grabbed her and ran to a room to talk. She explained to us that she
was afraid to ask her mom. Her mom knows she goes to church with us
but nothing about joining. Her mom is not sure if she likes christian
churches because they believe in forgivness. We were quite confused.
She went on to say that her dad does not live with them anymore. And
her parents are getting divorced. Her father had done some terrible
things in the past and Akiho and her mother didnt know if they could
forgive him. We asked if she wanted to forgive her dad and get rid of
those bad feelings inside and she said she wasnt sure. So we talked
about the atonement. Man oh man, girls are all such babies hahah we
just sat there and all three of us crying all over the place. All
three of us felt the spirit so strongly. She is going through a
really hard time. Maybe i cant understand. And maybe no one else can,
except her savior. Her savior who knows exactly how she feels. I told
her that trials are part of life. No one is perfect and no family is
perfect. So maybe she doesnt have the perfect male figure in her life,
well she has a Heavenly Father and loving older brother who can fill
in. They can fit any part. They can be the part of her that shes
missing. She felt that was true. My dear Akiho is so sweet and so
strong! Sister requilman and i were honored that she felt she could
open up to us and tell us about her family. We have become such good
friends with her! We want to help her so much! I want Akiho to know
that she will feel free when she can find it in her heart to forgive.
It easier said then done. and it may not happen over night. so that is
why we can give it to the savior. Give the savior our pains and our
heartaches. He already suffered for us. So lets accept him and his
help! I know the atonement can heal any wound! no matter how big or
how small! how grateful i am for that power! that i can help people
come to understand christs love for them!!! there is no greater work
in the world!!! i am so blessed!!!!
i love you all!
sister christensen
Sister Requilman and I had a great week in this wonderful land of
kamagaya!!!! Being a missionary and getting to see all these miracles
is just too good!!
so tuesday was the hottest day of the week! ewww flash backs to last
summer.. i am absolutely terrified for the summer again in japan. So
we road our bikes all over this place searching for a member we had
planned to go visit. Finally made it to her house and we only talked
for like a minute because she said it wasnt a very good area to do
missionary work?? we were confused hahah but we did some housing
anyways. wish i could say we found some golden person... but we didnt
hahah! actually lots of rude people! But im always grateful for these
moments cause when you have no one else, at least you have your
companion. I love sister Requilman and im grateful that we were able
to stand side by side!
After that we went closer to our church to do some streeting. We met
the cutest chinese lady who has lived here since she was little. She
does some kind of foreign school for chinese kids who want to learn
japanese. She invited us to her work to come talk with her! We thought
maybe we would be teaching her students english or something but we
actually went in a room and just talked with her! She really is the
cutest thing in the world! She loved hearing about what we do as
missionaries and said we could come back anytime!!! kamagaya is full
of so much potential!!! I love this place!
Wednesday we went to our dear eikaiwa friends Michi's house. Shes a
cute old lady who is the funniest person ive ever met in my life! She
forced us into eating everything in sight in her home! We thought she
was just an english student so we were quite shocked when we went into
her home and found pictures of her with lots of different
missionaries!! She didnt think it was a very big deal hahah but we
were freaking out! we are seeing her tomorrow for lunch at her home!!
again so much potential!!!
Thursday we met with a lady who was found when i was on exchanges last
week in abiko. Her nam is Nakado. When we talked to her on the phone
it seemed that she may have mad a little bit of a mental disability
but she sounded like a sweetheart so we arranged to meet her at the
train station. We think she has some form of autism but like i said
she is the sweetest little thing! Communication was a little tricky at
first. We were trying to get to know her so we were asking her
questions and she was a little shy. But when we brought up church
topics she totally focused in! She stopped shaking her head and
actually looked at us in the eyes. She says she believes in Jesus
Christ and wants to learn more! It was a really quick meeting but i am
so grateful for it!! she is a doll! i really hope we can teach her!
what a sweet sweet spirit! so many miracles and so much potential!!
So kamagaya is really just full of potential!!! so many great people
and new great friends!!! time to start getting these great people
progressing! lots of prayers and lots of faith!
Sunday was the absolute bestest day though because our one and only
progressing investigator Akiho came to church!!!!!! gosh i love this
girl!! she gave us a little scare because she showed up late but she
came!!!! (so did our italian friend giovanni!! he is a hoot!)
Church was good and all the meetings went well! After Akiho found one
of the members that she really likes and they were able to talk for a
while! She is so welcomed in this ward! i hope we can keep her...
since she doesnt live in our area... ughhh. we'll see. anyways after
church we were talking with her and asked if she had talked to her mom
about baptism. She looked at us and started crying. uhhh ohhh.. We
grabbed her and ran to a room to talk. She explained to us that she
was afraid to ask her mom. Her mom knows she goes to church with us
but nothing about joining. Her mom is not sure if she likes christian
churches because they believe in forgivness. We were quite confused.
She went on to say that her dad does not live with them anymore. And
her parents are getting divorced. Her father had done some terrible
things in the past and Akiho and her mother didnt know if they could
forgive him. We asked if she wanted to forgive her dad and get rid of
those bad feelings inside and she said she wasnt sure. So we talked
about the atonement. Man oh man, girls are all such babies hahah we
just sat there and all three of us crying all over the place. All
three of us felt the spirit so strongly. She is going through a
really hard time. Maybe i cant understand. And maybe no one else can,
except her savior. Her savior who knows exactly how she feels. I told
her that trials are part of life. No one is perfect and no family is
perfect. So maybe she doesnt have the perfect male figure in her life,
well she has a Heavenly Father and loving older brother who can fill
in. They can fit any part. They can be the part of her that shes
missing. She felt that was true. My dear Akiho is so sweet and so
strong! Sister requilman and i were honored that she felt she could
open up to us and tell us about her family. We have become such good
friends with her! We want to help her so much! I want Akiho to know
that she will feel free when she can find it in her heart to forgive.
It easier said then done. and it may not happen over night. so that is
why we can give it to the savior. Give the savior our pains and our
heartaches. He already suffered for us. So lets accept him and his
help! I know the atonement can heal any wound! no matter how big or
how small! how grateful i am for that power! that i can help people
come to understand christs love for them!!! there is no greater work
in the world!!! i am so blessed!!!!
i love you all!
sister christensen
May 13th I saw a panda today!!!!!
Konnichiwa!!!
Goodness this was such a god week!! so many miracles and so many just
great things!!!!
Tuesday we had dinner with our one and only progressing investigator
Akiho!!!! we made a little party out of it and invited two members to
come with us!! It was soooo good!!! we were able to talk about the
Book of Mormon with her a little more. The members were amazing! they
bore such strong and sweet testimonies that made all the difference!
It was exactly what akiho needed! Of course we were going to talk
about our own experiences and what not because were missionaries thats
all we do. But to hear the testimonies of normal people brought more
comfort to her heart i think. hahah! and so... we set a baptismal date
with her!!!!! woohooo!!!! june 1!!!!! its coming quick!! and scary
thing is that since then, its gotten a little harder with her but we
know thats just satan trying to take her time away from us. Keep akiho
in your prayers!!!! we were feeling a little worried that she bailed
on us saturday and sunday but we got an email from her that made it
all better! she said that she read from the Book of Mormon and had
some questions! love that! and she said that shes been praying to her
Heavenly Father every day and night! boy do we really like to hear
that!!!!! i told her that Heavenly Father was so happy to hear from
her! i talked with her about my amazingly wonderful Mother's Day call!
(bestest thing of my life!!! i have the greatest family in the
world!!!) i told her that i had been waiting for months to talk to my
dear family. Once we finally got to skype we were all the happiest as
could be! i told akiho that her Heavenly Father feels the same way
about her. He has gone a long time without hearing from her and is so
very happy to hear from his sweet precious daughter! i know that thats
true! I know Heavenly Father yearns to hear our prayers! I know he
hears and answers our prayers in the way we most need them!
wednesday we had a lesson with my morita shimai<3 weve gone to her
house i think every week since we have been here! i love this woman so
very much! she is the happiest lady! we go over and read from the Book
of Mormon together hoping to remind her of the spirit and get her back
to church. well i sat there with her and just asked her straight out
why wont you go to church with us? she didnt really have a reason.
shes been a less active for years. breaks my heart. i started sobbing
because i love her so much and want to see her back on the path that
she once knew so very well. one thing ive learned on my mission is
never give up on anybody!! lots of prayers going out to my sweet
morita shimai!
i wish you all could come to our english classes!!! they are the
funniest things of my life!! for the last half an hour of class we
always play games. this week we played do you love your neighbor. you
have to say things about people in the circle and try to make everyone
have to move from their seats. most of our students are 50 plus years
old hahaha so it gets real interesting! my favorite lady is michi who
refuses to ever move from her seat and tries to convince people shes
20 hahah! or tamiko who goes around telling everyone that her hair is
fake hahah! maybe doesnt sound that funny.. but to me, these ladies
are the funniest people ever!!!
the coolest miracle for this week to me, was on the train coming home
from zone conference. on the train i talked to a really cute lady! we
had a good little brt and she said that she had been to america
before! she said shes been to utah! i was shocked and got super
excited because who goes to utah unless they have a mormon connection!
and surely enough.. she said her little sister is a member there!!!! i
started freaking out! she just laughed at how excited i was! i was at
a loss for words! she said shes never been to church with her sister.
she doesnt have religion. i told her we have a church in kamagaya and
she was surprised. she said she would like to see it someday! sad part
was that we had reached our stop. she had a chirashi but that was it.
sister requilman and i stepped off the train. i looked at my companion
and said i wish i had our number on a card or something. she reaches
in her pocket and pulls a little card out. she says during the
conference she felt like she needed to make little cards with our
names and numbers!!!!! without thinking i grabbed it from her hands
and jumped back on the train! the doors were closing but i made it!
the doors opened back up so i handed it to the lady and asked her to
please call us and jumped back off the trian! we were so excited!!!!
how cool that sister requilman knew we would need that little card! im
so glad we were able to at least give this lady our number! im praying
hard that she calls and we can meet! so grateful that my companion
listened to the spirit and we were able to see that miracle!!!
other cool stuff this week... while we were waiting at a members house
for dinner to finish being cooked the elders grabbed the members
autistic son and took him housing! he loved it!!!! so cute and so
sweet! the family just bailed! so happy their son could be a little
missionary! touched my heart! next, i got a kimono from my english
student!!! michi! i love her! shes the best! and today we went to the
temple! always a good thing! and went to the zoo after with our
english students!!! pandas are the cutest things in the world!!!!!!!
im obsessed....
i love being a missionary!!! i love how many wonderful people i meet
each and every day!!! Heavenly Father is putting amazing people in my
path and i am so happy to be part of this great work to help them
remember what they once understood and accepted once before! i love my
savior! i love you all!!!!
sister christensen
Goodness this was such a god week!! so many miracles and so many just
great things!!!!
Tuesday we had dinner with our one and only progressing investigator
Akiho!!!! we made a little party out of it and invited two members to
come with us!! It was soooo good!!! we were able to talk about the
Book of Mormon with her a little more. The members were amazing! they
bore such strong and sweet testimonies that made all the difference!
It was exactly what akiho needed! Of course we were going to talk
about our own experiences and what not because were missionaries thats
all we do. But to hear the testimonies of normal people brought more
comfort to her heart i think. hahah! and so... we set a baptismal date
with her!!!!! woohooo!!!! june 1!!!!! its coming quick!! and scary
thing is that since then, its gotten a little harder with her but we
know thats just satan trying to take her time away from us. Keep akiho
in your prayers!!!! we were feeling a little worried that she bailed
on us saturday and sunday but we got an email from her that made it
all better! she said that she read from the Book of Mormon and had
some questions! love that! and she said that shes been praying to her
Heavenly Father every day and night! boy do we really like to hear
that!!!!! i told her that Heavenly Father was so happy to hear from
her! i talked with her about my amazingly wonderful Mother's Day call!
(bestest thing of my life!!! i have the greatest family in the
world!!!) i told her that i had been waiting for months to talk to my
dear family. Once we finally got to skype we were all the happiest as
could be! i told akiho that her Heavenly Father feels the same way
about her. He has gone a long time without hearing from her and is so
very happy to hear from his sweet precious daughter! i know that thats
true! I know Heavenly Father yearns to hear our prayers! I know he
hears and answers our prayers in the way we most need them!
wednesday we had a lesson with my morita shimai<3 weve gone to her
house i think every week since we have been here! i love this woman so
very much! she is the happiest lady! we go over and read from the Book
of Mormon together hoping to remind her of the spirit and get her back
to church. well i sat there with her and just asked her straight out
why wont you go to church with us? she didnt really have a reason.
shes been a less active for years. breaks my heart. i started sobbing
because i love her so much and want to see her back on the path that
she once knew so very well. one thing ive learned on my mission is
never give up on anybody!! lots of prayers going out to my sweet
morita shimai!
i wish you all could come to our english classes!!! they are the
funniest things of my life!! for the last half an hour of class we
always play games. this week we played do you love your neighbor. you
have to say things about people in the circle and try to make everyone
have to move from their seats. most of our students are 50 plus years
old hahaha so it gets real interesting! my favorite lady is michi who
refuses to ever move from her seat and tries to convince people shes
20 hahah! or tamiko who goes around telling everyone that her hair is
fake hahah! maybe doesnt sound that funny.. but to me, these ladies
are the funniest people ever!!!
the coolest miracle for this week to me, was on the train coming home
from zone conference. on the train i talked to a really cute lady! we
had a good little brt and she said that she had been to america
before! she said shes been to utah! i was shocked and got super
excited because who goes to utah unless they have a mormon connection!
and surely enough.. she said her little sister is a member there!!!! i
started freaking out! she just laughed at how excited i was! i was at
a loss for words! she said shes never been to church with her sister.
she doesnt have religion. i told her we have a church in kamagaya and
she was surprised. she said she would like to see it someday! sad part
was that we had reached our stop. she had a chirashi but that was it.
sister requilman and i stepped off the train. i looked at my companion
and said i wish i had our number on a card or something. she reaches
in her pocket and pulls a little card out. she says during the
conference she felt like she needed to make little cards with our
names and numbers!!!!! without thinking i grabbed it from her hands
and jumped back on the train! the doors were closing but i made it!
the doors opened back up so i handed it to the lady and asked her to
please call us and jumped back off the trian! we were so excited!!!!
how cool that sister requilman knew we would need that little card! im
so glad we were able to at least give this lady our number! im praying
hard that she calls and we can meet! so grateful that my companion
listened to the spirit and we were able to see that miracle!!!
other cool stuff this week... while we were waiting at a members house
for dinner to finish being cooked the elders grabbed the members
autistic son and took him housing! he loved it!!!! so cute and so
sweet! the family just bailed! so happy their son could be a little
missionary! touched my heart! next, i got a kimono from my english
student!!! michi! i love her! shes the best! and today we went to the
temple! always a good thing! and went to the zoo after with our
english students!!! pandas are the cutest things in the world!!!!!!!
im obsessed....
i love being a missionary!!! i love how many wonderful people i meet
each and every day!!! Heavenly Father is putting amazing people in my
path and i am so happy to be part of this great work to help them
remember what they once understood and accepted once before! i love my
savior! i love you all!!!!
sister christensen
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