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