Konichiwa minasan!
Well like I said last week, Tender Mercies are just all over the place in
my life. Saturday I was just feeling like junk. I was just so down on myself. I
don't quite know why. I guess I was just frustrated with how teaching our
investigators was going. Our investigators just didn't seam to be progressing no matter how hard we tried. So I guess I just got down on myself and thought I was the problem and how I don't know how to answer them in English let alone Japanese. But that day we went and taught again. Wow, the spirit was great. It seamed like the Japanese was just coming. I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon and promised him that God would help him understand it if he had faith and prayed. And when I promised that, I just felt so good. After that lesson I felt awesome! Even though my Japanese is minuscule, when I promise that God loves them and will help them, the spirit just testifies with me. It was a great day :)
Well like I said last week, Tender Mercies are just all over the place in
my life. Saturday I was just feeling like junk. I was just so down on myself. I
don't quite know why. I guess I was just frustrated with how teaching our
investigators was going. Our investigators just didn't seam to be progressing no matter how hard we tried. So I guess I just got down on myself and thought I was the problem and how I don't know how to answer them in English let alone Japanese. But that day we went and taught again. Wow, the spirit was great. It seamed like the Japanese was just coming. I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon and promised him that God would help him understand it if he had faith and prayed. And when I promised that, I just felt so good. After that lesson I felt awesome! Even though my Japanese is minuscule, when I promise that God loves them and will help them, the spirit just testifies with me. It was a great day :)
Sister Allen left Monday morning so all of Sunday I was just kind of a
mess. I was fine, but goodness, I cried in Sacrament meeting. I cried when my branch president told a story about a guy from New Jersey. I'm turning into Sister Doi! She's a crier. She cries about everything. But it was great
day. I met up with Natalie at our Sunday Night Devotional and we just sat
together having fun joking around like we do. The meeting is about to start and we're singing the prelude hymns. Then I notice the speakers come in. Then I see a cute little shorty come in. I turn to Natalie in the middle of the song, "Ummmmmmmmm is that him?!" She's like, "What?" I'm like, "Is that him??" She didn't see him and I point him out. I'm like, " Um...Is that David Archuleta?!" The whole Gym like lit up. You could hear all the stands pass the word along all in about 20 seconds. Missionaries whispering left and right, "That's David Archuleta!" And - it - TOTES - was. David Archuleta came to our devotional to sing! He just got off his Mission like last week.
mess. I was fine, but goodness, I cried in Sacrament meeting. I cried when my branch president told a story about a guy from New Jersey. I'm turning into Sister Doi! She's a crier. She cries about everything. But it was great
day. I met up with Natalie at our Sunday Night Devotional and we just sat
together having fun joking around like we do. The meeting is about to start and we're singing the prelude hymns. Then I notice the speakers come in. Then I see a cute little shorty come in. I turn to Natalie in the middle of the song, "Ummmmmmmmm is that him?!" She's like, "What?" I'm like, "Is that him??" She didn't see him and I point him out. I'm like, " Um...Is that David Archuleta?!" The whole Gym like lit up. You could hear all the stands pass the word along all in about 20 seconds. Missionaries whispering left and right, "That's David Archuleta!" And - it - TOTES - was. David Archuleta came to our devotional to sing! He just got off his Mission like last week.
To say the least, the devotional was amazing. The first speaker and him
were just amazing. He talked about a few experiences he had in Chile and
how truly life changing his mission was, not only for him, but for countless others. Goodness he was not healthy for all us sisters who had just decided to lock up our hearts for 18 months. I kept telling Natalie that he was my future husband. I don't need to go to Japan, I'll just stay here ;) Haha we we're just having a blast joking around the whole devotional. He sung "Come, Come Ye Saints" and "Be Still My Soul". Wow when he sung, he sung like a return missionary. When he sung the lyrics, "Our God will never us forsake", or "Be still my soul, the lord is on thy side." He sung it like he had been there. Like he was a witness that God had kept these promises to him on his own mission. God had not forsaken him. God had been by him side by side. It was so wonderful!! He sung the first two lines of "Hark all ye nations" and then all the missionaries stood up and sang the last verse. It was so powerful! I've never heard the congregation sound so bold and so sure. We are bringing the whole world this truth and we're doing it with God. It was so great!
were just amazing. He talked about a few experiences he had in Chile and
how truly life changing his mission was, not only for him, but for countless others. Goodness he was not healthy for all us sisters who had just decided to lock up our hearts for 18 months. I kept telling Natalie that he was my future husband. I don't need to go to Japan, I'll just stay here ;) Haha we we're just having a blast joking around the whole devotional. He sung "Come, Come Ye Saints" and "Be Still My Soul". Wow when he sung, he sung like a return missionary. When he sung the lyrics, "Our God will never us forsake", or "Be still my soul, the lord is on thy side." He sung it like he had been there. Like he was a witness that God had kept these promises to him on his own mission. God had not forsaken him. God had been by him side by side. It was so wonderful!! He sung the first two lines of "Hark all ye nations" and then all the missionaries stood up and sang the last verse. It was so powerful! I've never heard the congregation sound so bold and so sure. We are bringing the whole world this truth and we're doing it with God. It was so great!
Later that night me and Natalie took a few more pictures and watched a film. The film was almost over and I knew I'd be saying goodbye to my best friend for 18 months within the hour. We walked outside and hugged and said goodbye. She was fine of course but I was crying a little bit. Okay maybe more than a little. But I wasn't sad... I think Heavenly Father kind of
prepared me for this. I was excited for her. Imagine all the great things she and I are going to experience before we see each other again! It's going to be
amazing! And I can't wait for her to have those experiences so goodbye wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. We had one last goodbye hug and she was on her way. For anyone who is bummed that they got their call stateside. To anyone that is under the impression that they send the best missionaries foreign and the not-as-good missionaries stateside ... Natalie Allen is proof that that isn't true! She can handle any mission I know it. She could handle the Mongolian or even the Afghanistan mission (no of course it doesn't exist -yet! ;))
They don't send the best to Japan. I'm proof of that if you needed any more. I know calls are inspired. Wherever a prophet of God sends you is where you're meant to be. The gospel is meant for all people. The Japanese and the people here in the states. I know this gospel is true and I'm lucky enough to be able to tell people that for the next 17 months.
Fukuin wa shinjitsu desu! Aishitemas!
prepared me for this. I was excited for her. Imagine all the great things she and I are going to experience before we see each other again! It's going to be
amazing! And I can't wait for her to have those experiences so goodbye wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. We had one last goodbye hug and she was on her way. For anyone who is bummed that they got their call stateside. To anyone that is under the impression that they send the best missionaries foreign and the not-as-good missionaries stateside ... Natalie Allen is proof that that isn't true! She can handle any mission I know it. She could handle the Mongolian or even the Afghanistan mission (no of course it doesn't exist -yet! ;))
They don't send the best to Japan. I'm proof of that if you needed any more. I know calls are inspired. Wherever a prophet of God sends you is where you're meant to be. The gospel is meant for all people. The Japanese and the people here in the states. I know this gospel is true and I'm lucky enough to be able to tell people that for the next 17 months.
Fukuin wa shinjitsu desu! Aishitemas!