Christmas Morning!!
Christmas lights!
Making Mochi!!
Konnichiwa, kazoku!
To start off, let me just say it was soooooooo great to talk to you last week! I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to skype! I am grateful to hear so many things are going well for you. I love reading of the little miracles that occur every week. It is mind-blowing to think of how blessed we are, and how much Heavenly Father really does love each and every one of his children. Tender mercies are so real - we see so many every day. I'm glad you enjoyed the Christmas package - I hope it brought a little taste of Japan into your life! And make sure you start practicing with those chopsticks. When I return, I will be making a few things for ya that can only be eaten with chopsticks ;)
I know I only talked to you a few days ago, but I feel like thousands of things have happened since then! We had a Christmas brunch at the honbu about an hour after I talked to you and it was so much fun. Kaicho and shimai had a son and his family visiting, so it was all of them and all the missionaries in our district. Lots of fun. Also Michiko came for the last part of it because she had brought a gift for their family. She is the greatest. One bit of a bummer is that she has been out of town for the past week, and doesn't get back till the end of this week so we haven't been able to have any sit down lessons with her, but we've been texting her and have talked to her on the phone a bit so things are good. Biggest miracle with her - we invited her to go to church in Miyazaki yesterday - and she did! She called us and told us all about it. More tender mercies! But I'm getting ahead of myself. On our Christmas p-day, we got together with some missionaries from our district and some from another district and went ice skating! It was so much fun. It is exactly the same in Japan as it is in America - down to the blue rental skates. Gotta love it! Then we went and saw the hakata station lights, then went to Eikaiwa! We had a special christmas eikaiwa that day. We got permission to watch It's a Wonderful Life. We watched it in english, with english subtitles - so the students could learn english still. It was so much fun. That movie has such a good message.
Christmas was bright and sunny, but the other days have been FREEZING. I think it's the bitter cold wind that blows while we're biking. Huzzah for great new experiences! OH and another fun thing with Christmas - our ward gave us a huge box of food and candy and presents - it was super thoughtful. They are all so sweet. Thanks again for everything in the package - my favorite things were the letters and the missionary newsletter that you included. It is so inspiring to hear other missionaries' stories, what they're doing, the miracles they are having, and so on. I have been able to learn so much from those. So thanks again! Last little random note - I have come to the conclusion that my taste buds have officially changed/ adjusted. We had saraudon at a member's house last week and it was incredible. It is a really thick creamy stew ish thing that you pour over crunchy noodles - it is creamy, full of vegetables, shrimp, and octopus. And I loved it. I think if I had had something similar on my first day, however, I wouldn\'t have enjoyed it quite as much.
Last saturday was insane! We went with a potential investigator to a mochistuki - it was insanely awesome. we made mochi! It's made out of pounded rice - it's made by pounding this special kind of rice in a huge stone bowl with mallets. It turns into a soft, dough type thing that is super delicious. And it SNOWED that day. I love snow so much! And we made traditional newyears wreaths. New years is HUGE here. Bigger than Christmas. We can hardly even proselyte because nobody will ever listen on new years, apparently --- but we're still going to try!!! ANyway, that day after the mochitsuki we went and helped out with a feeding the homeless thing that a lady in our ward was involved in. It was a very humbling experience. After we went to Asami san's baptism! She is the other fukuoka sisters' investigator! Well, convert. She is the best. It was so good/. Whew. Lots of news, I'm telling you. And you haven't even heard the life-changing news yet. Here it goes.
Scariest moment of my life - are you ready for it?
I am going to be training this transfer.
AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH. I am such a jumble of emotions! I am scared out of my mind, but so excited at the same time. She will be a fresh outta the MTC bean, and I will be her comp as of Thursday. Weird. I feel like I just got to Japan yesterday, but I'll be on Transfer 5 now. Crazy how time flies. Anyway, I got to go to the trainers training meeting that the APs do for all the new trainers each transfer and it was awesome. I learned a ton from it, and I can't wait. I know this is going to be hard, but I have been praying and studying harder than I ever have for the past few days and I know that this is exactly where the Lord needs me to be right now, and exactly what I need to be doing. We will have the opportunity to learn a lot together. I know that because we are doing his work, the Lord will be right there beside us, helping us through everything as long as we do our best. Alma 37;6-7 is truer than true. It is by small and simple things that great things are brought to pass. I am super excited, and ready to jump in and continue pushing forward with the work. I am so sad that I won't be companions with Sister Lane anymore, but I am so glad I was able to be with her for two transfers. I have learned a TON from her, and will always value the opportunity we had to be companions. Well that's about all the time I have today, but thanks for all of your prayers, love, and support. They mean so much to me! I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!
Ai shite imasu!
Flake Shimai
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