Mom - I love your long epistles! Thank you thank you! It actually hasn:t been as cold this week as it has been the past few weeks. But there is still a Christmas feel in the air :) (fun fact - the japanese word for season is kisetsu....I think) And mother any time you want to use any of my stuff - go for it! I:m glad it:s being used! Sorry about all these colons instead of apostrophes. It:s either that or the only other option is typing in Japanese. not the best idea. I can:t believe all these people are already getting home from their missions - I swear they just barely left! Time sure does fly. I:m glad James and Rockie are doing well! Tell him that if he wants to see how I:m doing, to write me a letter! (Yes indeed, I am pulling the letter card that I:ve always judged missionaries for pulling. Letters are the best things EVER. Especially here in Fukuoka because the recorder (one of the office elders) always calls us and lets us know when we have one. Super exciting indeed). Okay but anyway - I hope the musical goes well! Make sure to take lots of pictures and videos for me!!! I:m glad everything is working out for you guys.
I:ll give you the lowdown on our week real fast ---
And I will start a little bit backwards! Yesterday, we had the coolest opportunity. Lane shimai and I were asked by one of the ward members to go up to help out in an upstairs room during relief society. We went up there, and it turns out there was a family visiting from Utah on business and they had brought a few of their business associates to church. There had been a mix up with when they thought Sacrament meeting was, so instead they met in a room and had us and the zone leaders come and introduce ourselves and just explain a little bit about what we do as missionaries. It was really neat, because the couple:s son had his mission call and leaves in a couple of months, so he talked a little bit about why he wanted to serve. Then the dad gave an overview of our beliefs. There was such a strong spirit in there, and the business associates were really accepting and respectful. We helped a little with some translating as well, and overall it was just a really neat experience.
Another exciting thing that happened yesterday - Marquez shimai, one of the less actives we:ve been working with for the past transfer came to church for the first time since we:ve been working with her! It was so exciting. Sorry, this is a bit of a tangent but I just realized something interesting the other day. It:s funny because before my mission the Christmas season has always been such a flurry of activity - I:ve focused on Christ, and the actual reasons but have still been involved in a bunch of the other things as well, gifts and so on. But I realized the other day that the best gift I could even possibly imagine receiving would be to have several of our investigators and LAs come to church. I don:t want to sound cheesy or anything but it:s so true. I love these people with my whole soul and I just want them to see how incredible this gospel really is!!!
Okay, sorry for the rambling - but it really is how I feel!! So I have a few random stories from the week that I would like to share -
1. When we were streeting a few days ago, we stopped to talk to this lady who was walking a tiny tiny dog on a leash. After we said we were missionaries (at this point the dog was walking around a little bit) she started walking away PRETENDING LIKE THE DOG WAS DRAGGING HER. It was SO funny. She basically said `I am so sorry - I would love to hear more but I just can:t right now` while gesturing to the dog. Funny stuff.
2. There are so many adorable children in this ward. But fun fact - there is a little girl who is probably 5 ish or something who acts and looks like the Japanese version of me when I was that age. I am serious. It is crazy.
3. Last night, I ate a whole bowlful of chicken gizzards. It was the food that has been the hardest for me to eat here. It would suffice to say that is one food that I will not be making for myself......ever.
4. I started learning a tiny bit of kanji. It is hard but way fun and it makes the vocabulary make so much more sense! The dollar stores here have practice kanji books so I got one and I love practicing with it. I showed it to higashi shimai and said `I know you probably had one when you were five or something, but hey I:m way excited about this!` She replied (in a very encouraging voice) `No, I was 7... but I:m so happy for you!` It was hilarious.
5. Mom, you would be so proud of me. I SEWED. True story. I sewed straps onto my shoes - they broke forever ago and I:ve just been kind of dealing with it but I got some stuff and sewed them back on and it:s better than before and I will send you a picture someday. Just know that it:s a big deal.
Okay, now for a bit of a report - and then I:ve got to get going!
Christina and Karan both work on sundays so they can:t come to church. We:re still trying to do our best, figuring out what direction to take with them. They want to keep learning but are struggling a bit with the commitments, so I:ll keep you updated on them.
Michikosan is doing great. She:s out of town this week, visiting her mom, but she is still doing great with reading the book of Mormon. She has tons of questions all the time, and it is awesome.
Real fast Japanese lesson - basically it:s rude to call people by just their name. A real quick explanation is this - you add on san to their name if they are older than you (it:s basically like mr., miss., or mrs.) and chan if they:re your age or younger (girls), and kun for little boys. Or at church, shimai and kyodai are acceptable in place of san. Yep. So hopefully that helps when I talk about people!!
Japanese is still slow, but I;m chugging along. It is such a cool language. Another fun thing - Higashi shimai:s english is crazy good so we teach her all sorts of random phrases all the time that she doesn:t know yet (like It:s raining cats and dogs, or don:t ruffle her feathers) and things like that. Good times. The four of us have so much fun in this apartment. Anywho, I have got to run but I love you all - thanks for everything!!!
Japanese is still slow, but I;m chugging along. It is such a cool language. Another fun thing - Higashi shimai:s english is crazy good so we teach her all sorts of random phrases all the time that she doesn:t know yet (like It:s raining cats and dogs, or don:t ruffle her feathers) and things like that. Good times. The four of us have so much fun in this apartment. Anywho, I have got to run but I love you all - thanks for everything!!!
Ai shite imasu!!!
Flake Shimai
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