Week 25 - Aug 7, 2017

みなさんこんいちわ！

I am hoping everyone is having a fantastic week. I know I sure have. Im sorry I didn't send out an email last week.  A lot of great things happened this week, but first for some announcements... Our Pdays have been changed from Monday's to Tuesdays, as to why I am emailing on this day. Sekaguchi Kaichou was super sweet and told us how he was going out to eat with someone on a Monday and realized how majority of the places here were closed on Mondays, and felt bad for missionaries so he changed it to Tuesday so we can do more things and access more places on our Pdays. In other news... I've been a missionary for 6 months today!  CRAZY! This past six months have definately gone by really fast, I've learned so much and so grateful for the many things I'm continuing to learn. 


Here in 山形 Yamagata they had another 祭り. The flower hat festival. It was a lot of fun, so many food, and so many people. The first night we went with a member. It was super cool, she is deaf, but she told us how although she couldn't hear, she can feel the beat from the drums. The other day we went with one of our investigators, Abe San. She was super excited when we invited her, she also made sure we had the best Matsuri food. It was a very fun night. It was times like these where you just wish your family was here to also witness it. Super fun!

We are continuing to look for those people who are prepared, it's been hard, but it will come. I can feel it. We did though had a very scary experience that really worried Bean Shimai and I. Do you remember Nihei San? We had made a baptism date for her while I was with Savage Shimai, but it didn't end up happening because Nihei San kept saying how she doesn't think she needs it, and just felt like we were pushing her, but still contiinue to teach her, and continue to kindle her faith, but couple weeks ago we get a call from her, like the one in the district video, and she calls us to say how she thinks it is better if we teach people who are interested. She felt bad becasue she is not seeing eye to eye with us and doesnt want to waste our time. Long story short. We made an oppointmemt with her that same day... (Drop lesson). We then had a prompting to call the Takeda's to do a joint with us. We were so nervous and very scared because we didn't know what to do. So we said a quick prayer and had faith that we will know what to say. We didnt say a lot, we just let the spirit guide us, and listen to her and in what she was feeling. It was also great how the Takeda  fufu (couple) were there to share their testimony. In the end Nehei San didn't drop us. But one thing I've really learned in that experience is the power of the Holy Ghost. We can plan all we can for a lesson, but it will never go as planned. We can say as many things as we want to help her to know how this church is true, but we can't do it without the Spirit. 少しずつ ( little by little).

So this week we also had zone conference. Learned so much! A lot of changes have been taken place since we gotten a new Mission President, but all good changes. We learned a lot about the importance of teaching and how we as missionaries should teach. One thing that President Sekaguchi wanted us to do was be creative and find new ways to do finding. So on Splits Lefrandt Shimai and I tried to find creative ways to do finding. One thing we tried was sing at the Eki ( train station), it wasnt that successful, but it was worth trying. We also tried asking people to help us learn a Kanji. We went around asking if they can write a Kanji for us, and then we would somehow tie it to the gospel. It was pretty neat. We were able to give out 3 Book of Mormons.

We will also be having our transfer calls sometime this coming week. Super nervous, but very exciting to see what will happen. I have fallen in love with Yamagata, so the thought of leaving is super sad.

Anyways that's all for now, I know God lives and loves each one of us, I know that through the power of the Holy Ghost we can find peace and comfort. It's been a fast six months, but it doesn't mean it was easy.  But as I continue to rely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ I know that they are with me to help me overcome those challenges.

With much love,

バンバ姉妹