Baptism!! 10-20-14

With Takedasan

Konnichiwa, kazoku!

As fate would have it the week I have the most to tell you is the week I am typing my letter on a tiny touchscreen keyboard tablet thanks to technical difficulties with the normal computers we use. Bear with me, please:-) 

Well... The big news of the week is that Takedasan got baptized this past Saturday!!! It was such a wonderful service. I just couldn't stop smiling the whole time. Of course there were a few funny quirks that went on but all in all it turned out great. I'll give you a quick rundown. We rode the train in to Hiroshima with her and went to eat Chinese food before the baptism. Sou shimai had a great chat with our waitress for awhile and invited her to church (I think). We headed on over to the church and got pictures and made sure everything was all set up. The zone leaders had taken care of filling the font for us which really helped us out a lot. The service started smoothly - I gave takeda's as introduction, sou shimai gave a talk, a ward member  gave a talk, and us saijo sisters sang a song, after which we headed to the font. We helped her get to the edge of the water, and she stepped in and then jumped right out, saying It's too hot! So I stuck my hand in and sure enough it was pretty toasty in there. She was not about to get in and I don't blame her one bit - I would have done the same! We pulled the plug and started pouring in the cold water , and eventually plugged it back up and the water evened out. It got to an acceptable temperature and we were able to move on with the baptism. The rest went really well, and when she bore her testimony the spirit was so strong. I know that God really does prepare  his children and cares about every one of them. This has become one of the happiest memories I have.

She is doing great!

We were also able to meet with Tanaka San this week - she is 21 and has  a really cute little baby. We met her on the street a few weeks ago and as luck would have it we liveinthe same apt building. We had a few lessons with her and they went really well. We are excited to keep working with her.

Another miracle - we got a referral from one of our eikaiwa students. Her friend wanted to know about God so she introduced her to us, and we had a solid lesson. I have countless things to tell you but notenough time or ability today. Sorry! 

Things are going well here. We are slightly anxious as we are waiting for the APs to call but I know whatever happens is what needs to happen!

Thanks for letting me know about your week - it sounded like a lot of fun! I can't believe there are two new Arizona temples. I am excited to see them eventually. Have a great week - I will let you know about transfers next week! I love you!!!!

Ai shite imasu!

Flake shimai.