More Pics!

Monday, March 16, 2020

• More walk pics
• The muffin-making process
• We were sad it was just rain when we looked outside (some people saw the actual snow, though)

Calming down...?

Monday, March 16, 2020

こんにちは!

Things are starting to calm down in 日本, toilet paper and other goods are back on the shelves. There's still a mask shortage, though .

Spiritual Stuff:

Last Thursday we had zone conference! We used the app Webex, and it was way good, despite the fact that we weren't there in person. President Esplin told us that last week as a mission we found 81 new people, which is almost half the number we found at the same time last year. So good to hear we're still finding and teaching and progressing! Also, I got called on suddenly twice... Not to mention that I said the opening prayer... 

Elder Choi of the Seventy and his wife suddenly did a mission conference with us on Saturday morning over the app Zoom. It was great to hear from them, and also see the angel Moroni on the Tokyo Temple behind them! They have amazing testimonies and conversion stories.

We've been able to do a lot of もぎs (mogi= roleplay/practice lessons) with the Relief Society members this past week, and they've given us a ton of feedback. It's also a great opportunity to ask them about their conversion story, because almost all of them did not grow up in the church. The members in 日本 are so awesome! We did a testimony meeting over Zoom on Sunday and it was good finally seeing a lot of their faces.

During one of our lessons with Gunさん this past week, we started talking about grace, following up on his reading of Ether 12:27. Somehow, he ended up asking a question about the Holy Ghost. In explaining it, the scripture we had planned to share with him next perfectly answered his question and we were able to take another step forward with him. We walked out of the lesson like "whoa," because the lesson had started off in a completely different direction than we thought, and yet somehow, what we prepared ended up being just what he needed, despite the fact that it wasn't really related to what we were talking about. 

Daily Life/Fun Stories:

Our daily walks keep us sane lol. We had a day this past week where we got to wear just short sleeves! We used our 30 walk time to check out some early 桜 (sakura= cherry blossoms). Happy day! And then it was 34°F and freezing rain... Reminds me of Rochester haha.

We had a lot of fun figuring out how to make muffins from this muffin mix we found in our apartment. Without muffin tins. Or an actual oven. Take  some small loaf pans, tinfoil, a toaster oven, and some milk, and they actually turned out pretty good!

On random news, I've discovered that my leg muscles have developed into a suspiciously rectangular shapes much like my father's... Darn it, biking. Maybe they'll start to naturally get rid of themselves during this self-isolation lol.

New Foods:

-Those betty crocker muffins

Coronavirus Update:

Not much to say this week. Like I already mentioned, 日本 seems to be calming down. The number of sick people is still going up, but at a slower rate. We can buy what we need at the grocery store without having to go as soon as it opens.  We still can't meet people face to face, but we're doing ok. Honestly my hometown is probably worse off haha. They're just getting started.

Last week there was a rumor going around the 長老たち that the coronavirus kills more men than women and makes them infertile, and I quote:

"this is scary now"

Zamudio姉妹 and I just about died laughing at them. On another note, one of the 長老たち in our district packed his stuff because we might get reassigned (we don't think so, though), but also if we don't he'll have to transfer again someday, so win win.

About the Pictures:

• Rainy day walk (different day from the 34° one)
• Our zone conference (you can't see everyone because I couldn't figure out how to fit everyone on the same screen...)
• Behold. Weird spaghetti.
• Walk pics!

愛しています!

-スナ一姉妹

Surviving!

Monday, March 9, 2020

こんにちは!

We are surviving! Even if our backs hurt from sitting so much 

Spiritual Stuff:

We set a baptismal date with one of our investigators, Murayama姉妹! It's currently set for late April, but we'll see if it ends up being sooner or later. She is currently doing her best to quit smoking, which she has tried and failed before, so please keep her in your prayers.

Another investigator, Gunさん, is currently praying and thinking about baptism, which is a huge improvement from not wanting to talk about it at all and saying "not now" a lot. Please keep him in your prayers as well!

Both Murayama姉妹 and Gunさん have been meeting with the missionaries for years and for their own personal reasons have not been baptized. Getting to know them (even though it's online) has made me appreciate the thought and effort both of them have put in to know that this is the true church. God has been preparing them for years, and their faith is so strong. Both of them do everything a member would do, go to church every Sunday, attend activities, everything. We're so excited for their time to come!

These past couple weeks, we've been studying the final week of the Savior's life by using Harmony of the Gospels (in gospel library) as recommended by our mission president to do before zone conference. And I also decided to download and watch the Bible videos as I studied. It's something that I highly recommend you all do as we come up on Easter season!

Daily Life/Fun Stories:

*Scroll down for an update on the coronavirus situation*

This past week we've very much enjoyed our daily 30 minute ventures into the outside world. It's exciting to see the signs of spring that are popping up everywhere! See pics below.

We've been kept fairly busy with もぎs (mogi= practice lesson) with members, lessons, studies, and doing stuff around the apartment. For example, sewing 3 large holes in our washing machine filter so our clothes would actually turn out clean.

Last week during district council all of the companionships went around and shared a miracle that had happened during the last week. When we got to the Atsugi 長老たち (chouroutachi= elders), they talked about how they had gotten a phone call earlier in the day from one of their investigators. Apparently he had been on his way home from work, when the truck driving in front of him lost some of its cargo out the back... And that cargo just so happened to be toilet paper. He called up the 長老たち all like "it's a miracle! God's power is real!" and told them he would drop it off at the church for them. The best part was, the 長老たち had been on their last roll of toilet paper. It really was a miracle .

New Foods:

-heated sweetened condensed milk on toast (just try it)

-frozen junior mints (amazing)

Coronavirus Update:

Many of you may already know, but the missionaries in South Korea will all be reassigned after a 2 week self-isolation period at home. Also, many missionaries in Cambodia, Singapore, and Thailand will be reassigned or sent home. For example, Zamudio姉妹's friend is serving in Thailand, where they sent home all missionaries with 6 or less months left of their missions, as well as reassigning missionaries with preexisting health conditions. In total, his mission lost 45 missionaries.

An elder has a friend in Italy, where they are also sending home missionaries with not much time left and preexisting health conditions. The friend and his companion were both fairly young, but the companion had asthma so he was taken out of the mission. If 日本 reaches the point where it begins to send home/reassign missionaries, I will likely be in one of the first groups due to my asthma. However, Zamudio姉妹 and I don't think it will come to that because the numbers in 日本 are not increasing at a rate like other countries. But, it isn't certain that the numbers are accurate, so we're taking it day by day.

One thing we learned today from a sister who talked to President Esplin is that we will be spending the rest of the transfer in self-isolation. The sister is going home to Brazil after the transfer ends, and she will have to spend over 25 days in self-isolation. As for us, we still don't know what will happen, but there will be no beans (new missionaries) coming in next transfer. And we will not get new missionaries in 日本 until July (according to my mother).

About the Pictures:

• Walk pictures!
• Must be nice to have a vending machine in your backyard

愛しています!

-スナ一姉妹

Pics!

Monday, March 2, 2020

Here's some more pics from last week's P-Day 

Halfway Mark, Transfers, and Self-Isolation

Monday, March 2, 2020

こんにちは!

I passed my mission's halfway mark! And transferred! And we started self-isolation, which is basically quarantine! Read the details below.

Spiritual Stuff:

One thing that a lot of people have been talking about is recognizing God's will. This disease could have broken out at any time, but it's happening now, while we're serving here in 日本. We're the ones here, even if we're in self-isolation. Which means there's something for us to learn, to accomplish, to do while we all face this trial in our mission. And now it's up to us to figure out what that is. So even though we may not be able to do much, 頑張ります! (ganbarimasu= I will do my best).

Daily Life/Fun Stories:

On Wednesday I transferred from Urayasu, in Chiba Prefecture, to Atsugi, in Kanagawa Prefecture. Only after some train schedule alterations leading to a bit of a detour, but everything was fine. Zamudio姉妹 and I got back to the apartment (by far the nicest apartment I've ever been in, it has 2 floors!), ate lunch, and started weekly planning. We decided to call the 長老たち (chouroutachi= elders) first off to ask what time district council would be the next day. The first thing we hear: "you guys aren't watching the conference?" and then his companion: "they aren't watching the conference?" We were like, "what conference." Turns out President Esplin had, about 1 hour before, called a sudden mandatory video conference, but we didn't know about it because our pocket wifi had been off.

We got to the church and started watching what was a training held for the new missionaries who had just arrived in 日本 but affected all of us. As we watched, we slowly realized what was happening. We were going into self-isolation. For an undetermined length of time. No leaving the apartment except for grocery shopping, going to the church to use its wifi (pocket wifi has a limit...), 30 minutes of exercise in the morning, and another 30 minutes at another time for a walk. No meeting people, except for the other missionaries in our area, and even then we have to stay at a distance. Which means that even though I've transferred into a new area, I can't meet the members because church is cancelled, and I can't meet any of the people we teach.

Also, on Thursday we were told supplies like toilet paper were being sold out, so we should do enough shopping for 2 weeks on Thursday. It wasn't that bad at the store we went to (yet) because it's in the middle of a neighborhood, but on our way to the church Sunday morning, 10 minutes before its opening time, there was a crazy long line with a ton of people waiting outside. And today, when we went to pick up some milk, there was literally no toilet paper. At all. Zero. So 

However, we are keeping ourselves busy! We do もぎs (mogis= role play lessons) with members, lessons with the people we teach, and short messages for people who need some lifting up, all over LINE video call/phone. We will not despair! Also, you may have noticed, but there has been a lot more posting on Facebook by missionaries serving in the Asian areas... Because of all the time we have on our hands lol.

So turns out Zamudio姉妹 is on her fourth transfer, not her third, as I was told. Also, despite the fact that there are a lot of people who speak Spanish in this area, I have yet to use it yet because of the whole we-can't-meet-people-because-we-are-in-self-isolation thing... Which gives me time to try and figure out how to speak without Japanese words or grammar coming out instead of Spanish lol, which has happened.

My halfway mark was nothing special (due to the above mentioned self-isolation), but I did make an origami camel in honor of what used to be know as "Hump Day" for missionaries. So that was fun. If you happen to have fun origami instructions, send them my way! I love making things for people. When we can give it to them...

On Sunday there was no church, but the missionaries in our mission All had dast and testimony meeting with their districts over LINE video call. So we got to take the sacrament! There were only four of us on our side, so the 長老 blessing the bread literally split it into 4 pieces... And we all got one... Very much a first, and also so nice on a Fast Sunday.

New Foods:

-Brazilian chicken, rice, and beans (left on our doorstep by a member family from Brazil). So good.

About the Pictures:

• A goodbye package from an Urayasu member. Strawberries are so expensive and so delicious in 日本! Plus masks and mini hand sanitizers lol.
• Wall of quotes in the Urayasu 姉妹たち's apartment
• Our daily walks are salvation to our sanity. Atsugi is so pretty! And yes, those おじいちゃんs (ojiichans= grandpas) are playing mini golf on a range someone set up for people to play on for free.
• So confused by this. So of course I took a picture.
• Origami camel!
• More from our sanity-saving walks
• District council over LINE video call

愛しています!

-スナ一姉妹

Spring Is on It's Way!

Monday, February 25, 2020

こんにちは!

My time in Urayasu is almost up as I will be transferring to Atsugi, in Kanagawa Prefecture. I'm sad to be leaving an area and 同僚 (douryou= companion) I love, but I'm excited for a new adventure of being senior companion! Also apparently we'll be teaching in Spanish a lot, do pray that I'll be able to pull my Spanish out from the depths of the very dusty corners of my brain .

Spiritual Stuff:

This past week we had the opportunity to teach and testify about commandments to our friend Miki. If only I could help everyone in this world understand that commandments are a blessing and a protection! But I'm glad to have helped Miki, because she is someone I've grown to love, and I want to help her on her path to strengthen her faith. 

About 2 weeks ago, we were calling unknown names from area book and inviting everyone who answered to Game Night. One woman, Katouさん, answered and said that she couldn't go to Game Night, but she still wanted to meet us! On Tuesday we met with her, and apparently she used to come to 英会話 (eikaiwa= English class) frequently but hasn't been able to come in several months. After eating ice cream and talking about the Plan of Salvation, we offered to do a program called FFEP, where 30 minutes is English and 30 minutes the gospel, and she accepted! The Urayasu 姉妹たち (shimaitachi= sisters) will begin meeting with her once a week. 

On Thursday we did an okonomiyaki party with a returning member we visit every week and her 2 year old daughter. And also her nonmember husband, who had wanted to meet the people she was always talking about and was so nice! We were able to explain missions and some of the gospel. And yesterday the returning member came to church! And then wgen we visited her later in the day and practiced teaching the Plan of Salvation, he was also there! She's so fire, she was totally explaining and testifying the entire time. We love their family and have so much hope for them! 

Daily Life/Fun Stories:

Last Tuesday as we were biking towards the church to meet Katouさん, when I glanced to my right and there was a man lying on the sidewalk, almost in the street, twitching a bit. We stopped, as did a 日本人 (nihonjin= japanese person) mom, and all rushed over. He ended up being fine, but it was scary at first because him trying to move kind of looked like the start of a seizure. He obviously had some other problems, but had simply fallen and got a bit scraped up. It was a relief that he was ok and didn't need an ambulance. 

Last Wednesday as we were doing our weekly gardening service with おばあちゃんs (obaachans= grandmas), we started talking with one of them about how we had never worn a 浴衣 (yukata= summer kimono) before, when she suddenly was like "wait here." Turns out she had gone back to her house and brought 2 浴衣s that she doesn't wear anymore to give to us. One was made by her, and the other by her mother, both a long time ago. We couldn't believe it! She's so sweet and cute. And now I own a 浴衣. 

Today for P-Day we went to Kasai Rinkai Kōen, a park next to the ocean, and did a picnic with a ward member. The ocean and the early 桜 (sakura= cherry blossoms) were beautiful! See pics below. We also tried to go to a 食べ放題 (tabehoudai= all you can eat) in Shibuya, where you can pay ¥500 and it's all you can eat. But only for women. And also today was the only day they weren't doing it... So we ended up getting some way good okonomiyaki instead!

New Foods:

-yakiniku puffs (like cheese puffs but yakiniku flavor...?) 

-various types of okonomiyaki

About the Pictures:

• The view from the top of a member's apartment building
• Origami swans
• On top of that apartment building
• Today's park- more to come next week of the park 

愛しています!

-スナ一姉妹