Konnichiwa, kazoku!!!
Wow. It really does sound like things are crazier than usual for you this year! All of those auditions, practices, trips, etc. - but it sure does sound like a lot of fun! I am glad you had a little bit of a breather this weekend. And yes, time is flying by entirely too fast. One thing that is weird is I still remember my first transfer, when I found out my district leader would be going home in march that seemed way far away, he is dying this transfer. I guess it:s just a little weird because every transfer, more people are going home that I know. Weirds me out. Anyway, my happy news of the week is that I passed off 3 different lesson masteries. That was exciting. I am hoping/planning on finishing this transfer. がんばります！！！
We had a great week! Crazy news. Remember how we:ve had two instances of finding less actives while streeting in the past little while? It happened AGAIN. On Monday, we were furiously biking home in order to be home on time from an appointment that was normally about a 55 minute bike ride from our apartment, and a lady flagged us down and asked if we were missionaries. We talked to her for a little bit and came to discover she had been baptized in Fujisaki (a different area in the state of Fukuoka) about 5 years earlier. We talked for a bit and invited her to church and yesterday she came! She stayed for the whole 3 hours. She has a 4 yr old daughter, so she went to primary with her for the two hours which meant we were able to go as well. It was my first time going to primary as a missionary and I loved it. We were able to talk to Sukizaki shimai there, and it was great. I loved it because the stories and lesson were simple enough that I understood every word of Japanese and every story that the teachers told. It was AWESOME. A little bit easier than gospel doctrine, if you know what I mean. Also I know I mention it all the time but the kids here are adorable. All of them. GAH. Love it. Anyway - Sukizaki shimai is coming to church again next week and I can:t wait. I guess since I started with less actives this week, I will continue! We helped Tamada shimai move this week (don:t worry, she:s still living in Fukuoka, just a place closer to her work) and invited her to take a tour of the church. When we went in to the chapel and explained a little about sacrament meeting and such she just kept saying oh, natsukashi! (basically means nostalgic) and she told us how good it made her feel. She really had a good experience, and she was able to make room in her work schedule and promised that she will come next week!! Anyway, I feel like I could talk forever on how happy reactivations make me, but just know that I love less active work. I also feel like Heavenly Father really has blessed us lately with being able to meet these people and become the friends that they need right now in order to have their hearts softened with coming back to church.
We were able to meet with a lot of people this week that we had been having a hard time setting up appointments with in the past, which was awesome. That is one thing that is hard here - in Japan, but especially serving in a big city - everyone is super busy. It]s not just an excuse they use, it:s the truth. Don:t even get me started on Japanese schooling - it is so intense. It almost makes me want to cry when I think about it compared to American schooling. But work schedules are super intense here too. So honestly, we just get to be really creative sometimes with meeting people (during their lunch break, random free times they have). Gosh time is running out - I want to give you a detailed lowdown on everyone but that will have to wait for another day. I:ll just stick with Hanzawasan for right now. She has come to church 4 times now, but we have not been able to teach her because she is really busy. She is 76, and seems like a posh madam. she is great. Anyway, we were able to have a member present lesson with her before church yesterday. She really likes church, but doesn:t really care to discuss doctrine. We talked about how we come to church to learn more about Christ and follow his teachings, and we explained that we teach lessons that explain more about what we learn in church and asked her if she would be interested in that. She asked, `In order to keep coming to church, do I have to have these lessons?` We responded well technically no but...` `Great. I:ll keep coming to church but I don:t want to take these lessons. I will continue to read this book (BoM) and come to church each week, and if I have any questions I will give you a call!` Haha it was a little interesting. But we will continue figuring out how we can best help her to have that desire to know for herself!!
I bet you:re wondering about the hinamatsuri that I mentioned earlier. I don:t know what the exact translation is, but basically it is girls day! It:s a holiday in Japan. So happy girls day today! Another thing with japanese - have I ever told you that the grammar is opposite of english? So when I am talking to people on the street, I will often say `Kamisama wa watashitachi no ai suru Ten no Otousama o shinjite imasu. Which, directly translated says God is our loving Heavenly Father we believe. Which is really We believe that God is our loving Heavenly Father. That:s not too crazy of an example, but when you start having multiple grammar patterns in a sentence it sometimes gets a little crazy. Sometimes my brain feels fuzzy after speaking Japanese for a long time because I have to focus so hard. But that is all part of the fun and excitement of learning a new language! Anyway, that is a fun fact of the day. Gosh well I am outta time but thanks for the stories and the fun and I am supa happy for Devin and Heather and I love them to death and I love all of you so much - have a fabulous week!
愛しています！(ai shite imasu)
フレーク 姉妹 (fu-re--ku shimai)
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