こんにちは!
This week went by crazy fast. It was crazy fun, crazy busy, and yet at the same time I feel like nothing happened at all lol.
We had an amazing lesson with Miki, someone who is working their way back up into being someone we meet weekly from not meeting at all because she was out of the country. It was a really special experience to discover that it was her first time learning that Jesus Christ took on all of our individual sins and sufferings, not just a general big chunk of pain. Miki has been meeting with the missionaries for over 2 years, and this was the first time she comprehended the very personal nature of the Atonement. She was awestruck and actually broke into 日本語 (nihongo= japanese language), and we were able to teach for a bit in her native language. Usually she is taught in English because she likes it and wants to improve her English, but we'd like to teach more in 日本語 because it will leave a bigger impact. We've been very impressed and excited about Miki's progress lately. For one, she explicitly told us that she wants to get baptized, which I think I talked about in last week's email. Also, she told us that she was reading her color copy of the Book of Mormon picture books in the train on the way here, and when she noticed that the man next to her was reading it, instead of getting embarrassed and putting it away, she actually opened it up more and leaned it his way so he could keep reading. We're so proud of her!
Here's some more details about last week's pday in Odaiba. The Olympic rings are set into the ocean right next to it because of its view of the Tokyo skyline and the Rainbow Bridge (which inspired the Mario kart version). There weren't that many people around until we got to TeamLab Borderless, the digital art museum, at which point it looked like everyone was an instagrammer or wannabe youtuber. And Olson姉妹 is pretty sure some of them were actual youtubers... In the middle of a room filled with strands of LED lights, we ran into the Senzokuike 姉妹たち, including Ikeda姉妹, which was crazy because the museum is huge and the LED lights create a literal maze. Also who would have guessed we'd choose to come to the same place on the same day at the same time? Later that day we ran into them again at a parfait shop, and I got to try my first Japanese parfait. Delicious. Also at one point in the day we may have accidentally walked in on a kpop concert in a mall... They're called ONEUS if anyone is interested, though it might be oneus. Or OneUs. I don't know.
Last Tuesday we had splits in Shibuya. My companion for the day, aka one of the STLs, was very good at bike 伝道 (stopping people who ate walking while we're biking) and just talking to random people, and I learned a lot. Also, in the evening we did a blitz at the Scramble, the busiest crosswalk in at least 日本. There were a LOT of people. We didn't stand in the crosswalk itself, but we stood in a nearby clear area with our Book of Doormon. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, a Book of Doormon is a literal door that has been painted dark blue and says Book of Mormon on one side and モルモン書 on the other. Both languages. So funny. Unfortunately the only pictures I have are of the 長老たち (chouroutachi= elders) carrying it back, which are pretty funny. Also saw the Go-Karts going around Shibuya. Aka, the live maro kart you can do in Tokyo (definitely trying that someday).
On Saturday we threw a takoyaki party! For those who have never had it, takoyaki is batter put into a hole in a specific griddle, into which you put tako (octopus) and other ingredients. Sooooo good. And so fun. We invited a bunch of people (both nonmembers and members) and talked and made takoyaki for a couple hours. See pics below!
In 英会話 (eikaiwa= English class) on Saturday, when we teach the conversation class, somehow we ended up on the topic of standing against societal norms. Throughout this conversation, we learned that one of our students went to Europe last year and protested climate change. And for some reason, we just said something along the lines of "so brave" and moved on. Can't belive we didn't ask for more information. Also she apparently met and talked with Greta. We also discovered that one of our other students wants to cancel the Tokyo Olympics because of the coronavirus, possible bribery and fraud, and other reasons. Olson姉妹 and I just kept looking at each other like what is going on in this class today.
-parfait!!
Spiritual Stuff:
We had an amazing lesson with Miki, someone who is working their way back up into being someone we meet weekly from not meeting at all because she was out of the country. It was a really special experience to discover that it was her first time learning that Jesus Christ took on all of our individual sins and sufferings, not just a general big chunk of pain. Miki has been meeting with the missionaries for over 2 years, and this was the first time she comprehended the very personal nature of the Atonement. She was awestruck and actually broke into 日本語 (nihongo= japanese language), and we were able to teach for a bit in her native language. Usually she is taught in English because she likes it and wants to improve her English, but we'd like to teach more in 日本語 because it will leave a bigger impact. We've been very impressed and excited about Miki's progress lately. For one, she explicitly told us that she wants to get baptized, which I think I talked about in last week's email. Also, she told us that she was reading her color copy of the Book of Mormon picture books in the train on the way here, and when she noticed that the man next to her was reading it, instead of getting embarrassed and putting it away, she actually opened it up more and leaned it his way so he could keep reading. We're so proud of her!
The 長老たち (chouroutachi= elders) had a baptism on Sunday! They've only been teaching him for about 2 weeks because he got all the lessons when he was in Provo at the ELC (English Learning Center), but it was kinda crazy to get a call from a woman saying that her son's friend wants to get baptized and he lives in our area. We're so happy for them and for him!
Daily Life/Fun Stories:
Here's some more details about last week's pday in Odaiba. The Olympic rings are set into the ocean right next to it because of its view of the Tokyo skyline and the Rainbow Bridge (which inspired the Mario kart version). There weren't that many people around until we got to TeamLab Borderless, the digital art museum, at which point it looked like everyone was an instagrammer or wannabe youtuber. And Olson姉妹 is pretty sure some of them were actual youtubers... In the middle of a room filled with strands of LED lights, we ran into the Senzokuike 姉妹たち, including Ikeda姉妹, which was crazy because the museum is huge and the LED lights create a literal maze. Also who would have guessed we'd choose to come to the same place on the same day at the same time? Later that day we ran into them again at a parfait shop, and I got to try my first Japanese parfait. Delicious. Also at one point in the day we may have accidentally walked in on a kpop concert in a mall... They're called ONEUS if anyone is interested, though it might be oneus. Or OneUs. I don't know.
Last Tuesday we had splits in Shibuya. My companion for the day, aka one of the STLs, was very good at bike 伝道 (stopping people who ate walking while we're biking) and just talking to random people, and I learned a lot. Also, in the evening we did a blitz at the Scramble, the busiest crosswalk in at least 日本. There were a LOT of people. We didn't stand in the crosswalk itself, but we stood in a nearby clear area with our Book of Doormon. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, a Book of Doormon is a literal door that has been painted dark blue and says Book of Mormon on one side and モルモン書 on the other. Both languages. So funny. Unfortunately the only pictures I have are of the 長老たち (chouroutachi= elders) carrying it back, which are pretty funny. Also saw the Go-Karts going around Shibuya. Aka, the live maro kart you can do in Tokyo (definitely trying that someday).
On Saturday we threw a takoyaki party! For those who have never had it, takoyaki is batter put into a hole in a specific griddle, into which you put tako (octopus) and other ingredients. Sooooo good. And so fun. We invited a bunch of people (both nonmembers and members) and talked and made takoyaki for a couple hours. See pics below! 
In 英会話 (eikaiwa= English class) on Saturday, when we teach the conversation class, somehow we ended up on the topic of standing against societal norms. Throughout this conversation, we learned that one of our students went to Europe last year and protested climate change. And for some reason, we just said something along the lines of "so brave" and moved on. Can't belive we didn't ask for more information. Also she apparently met and talked with Greta. We also discovered that one of our other students wants to cancel the Tokyo Olympics because of the coronavirus, possible bribery and fraud, and other reasons. Olson姉妹 and I just kept looking at each other like what is going on in this class today.
Speaking of coronavirus, all the masks in 日本 are sold out in stores because everyone's buying them. As of right now, we know there's a cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama (in our mission) that has people on board with it, but I'm not sure if there have been any cases actually in 日本 yet. We'll see how things develop over the next couple weeks.
New Foods:
-parfait!!
-eggs benedict (no idea why I've never had it before)
-parm ice cream
About the Pictures:
- Love Urayasu!
- Fried rice and gyoza at a chinese restaurant recommended by a member
- Takoyaki party!
- Yes, those are tiny shrimp, and yes they're mixed into the batter
- Some really good soba
- More from last week's pday
愛しています!
-スナ一姉妹
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