Transfers Flying By

Monday, February 17, 2020 

こんにちは!

We're nearing the end of the transfer already, and every night Olson姉妹 and I are like, "It's already time to sleep again?" It's going so fast!

Spiritual Stuff:

On Saturday we got to eat lunch with a new friend, Reika, who is the boy who was baptized last week's friend's younger sister. The friend was baptized about 8 months ago in Utah, and Reika is not a member. Through our conversation with her, which was way fun, we found out that she has been able to watch her brother become a more positive and bright person. It's amazing how the Gospel changes people. She's going to try reading the Book of Mormon, and while right now she doesn't want official lessons, we'll keep meeting and having small discussions while also having fun! Can't wait to get to know her better .

Daily Life/Fun Stories:

The weather has definitely been feeling suspiciously like spring recently. Not that we're complaining, but we've been told by almost everyone that February is the coldest month of the year and we're just looking around like "where?" I'm looking forward to the days when I don't have to wear more than the necessary layers outside. Not looking forward to the days of sweating buckets, though, lol.

Last Tuesday we went out for yakiniku (Korean barbecue stolen by 日本) with 2 ward members, and all of us did this little fortune teller horoscope thing that was just sitting on the table. It was way funny because my "love fortune" portion said that I have 0 chance right now, which we basically died at because it's so accurate. At this gathering we were also invited to a festival in a few weeks that we may or may not go to, but we'd love to if we can because apparently it's literally a festival where men get all done up in traditional women's clothing, makeup, and hair and perform dances and stuff. Supposedly for luck. Gotta love 日本.

On Saturday, 2 of our students who hadn't come to 英会話 (eikaiwa= English class) in a while showed up. They're both Chinese, and when one of them said he'd gotten back from China on February 1st and had just finished the work-mandated 2 weeks isolation period, everyone was like ????!!!!!! It was kinda funny. After the 2 had to leave early, they were all like "we're going to get Corona virus, we have to disinfect!"

My last email was not updated with the latest Corona virus news, as the next day we found out there were more people with it than we thought. Not as bad as it could be, but more than we'd thought. Masks are still sold out everywhere, though we had a box in our apartment and used some as we took the train across Tokyo for interviews (see pic). Also, when we were at the mission home, they told us that the first case of Corona virus in 日本 was actually in Senzokuike, which is the area next to ours and also where Ikeda姉妹 is serving right now. Kinda crazy, but everything seems to be under control. We were still given legit masks with respirators in case our apartment goes under quarantine or we're told to wear them by the mission home/church headquarters.

New Foods:

-really yummy pasta with Japanese style flavorings that I really regret not having a picture of because it was so good

-yakitori!

-hamburg with daikon on top. So good! I love daikon.

About the Pictures:

• The day I forgot both my inside and outside nametags and had to get creative until we could get back to the apartment
• Happy Valentine's Day from the Urayasu missionaries!
• The legit masks
• Riding Tokyo metro with our potentially useless masks but it makes us and other people feel better so we did it
• Me with the origami box I figured out how to make by taking apart and putting back together the tiny one I found in the apartment
• Sky Tree! 
• Live Mario Kart! None of them are wearing Mario outfits, though they are all in various character outfits.
• More Sky Tree!
• Really yummy creme brulee
• Wall of fake deliciousness
• There is a studio ghibli store. And we went to it.
• Love yakitori

愛しています!

-スナ一姉妹

Even more pics...

Monday, February 10, 2020

• The parfait 
• Lol I'm a nerd
• Yet more from teamlab. Unfortunately you can't see movement...
• Meeting the senzokuike 姉妹たち!! 

More Pics!

Monday, February 10, 2020

• Love finding random One Piece merch
• Book of Doormon
• More of the teamLab digital museum
• Eggs Benedict and a view of the rainbow bridge and Tokyo skyline

Book of Doormon

Monday, February 10, 2020

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.

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

More pics

Monday, February 3, 2020

• Only in 日本 would you see pikachu vending machines
• Ferris wheel! Something for when i come back
• When asked if he could do the splits, he just dropped right down
• Urayasu District 

Throwing Beans at the Devil

Monday, February 3, 2020


こんにちは!

This week we passed six months since we came to 日本! We celebrated by eating 2 ice creams each, bought before we even realized what day it was.

Spiritual Stuff:

This past week we had zone conference, and it was themed around the Restoration. One of the things we did as preparation for it was listen to the Joseph Smith Papers podcasts, which I highly recommend you all listen to. Every time I think I know everything I ended to know about the first vision, there's something new, and I love it. Please take the time to check it out! 

One cool mini miracle we had this week was on Wednesday before 英会話 (eikaiwa= English class) as we were walking to meet someone we'd met on the street a few days earlier and invited to 英会話. We were planning on going to a bakery and getting dinner together. As we were walking, we passed a member of our ward, who recently moved in and is totally fire. She wanted to come to 英会話 and actually thought she was late because for some reason she had written 6pm in her calendar instead of 7pm. When we explained what we were doing, she asked if she could come along. It turned into a fun meal and eventual gospel discussion, which our new friend listened to with open ears and an open heart. We were able to give her a Book of Mormon and she wants to meet with us and that member again sometime. We can't wait to get to know her more and help her learn more about the gospel! 

Daily Life/Fun Stories:

For P-Day last week we went with the 長老たち (chouroutachi= elders) to an aquarium in our area. It was actually pretty cool and we very much enjoyed the touch tank, which had 2 types of sharks and stingrays. See below for some pictures! 

Last Monday night we went to the 本部 (honbu= mission office/home) for our mission's monthly FHE with a young woman from our ward. You're only allowed to go if you're with someone, and both Olson姉妹 and I were way excited because Odawara and Kofu are way too far to be able to go. It was a lot of fun and we got to see Ikeda姉妹! MTC companion's reunited. We love being in the same zone. 

On Monday night we got back a bit late, but we still had to stop by the church to pick up our groceries (that we hadn't had time to bring home) and bikes. It was at this point, as we're standing in the rain after 9pm curfew, that we realized that at some piunt during the day, the keys had disappeared. The keys to both the church and the apartment. Long story short, our theory is that they fell out when my bag was open and we were changing trains. At Tokyo Station. Aka one of the biggest and busiest stations in 日本. Again, long story short, we ended up staying the night with 2 sisters (literal) from our ward because nobody was answering the phone, though we did eventually get through to our leaders. Everything's fine now, we got extra keys the next day, but the lost keys are probably never going to be found. 

During zone conference we did a もぎ (mogi= role play) where we practiced stopping people on the street. Another missionary/one of the leaders was given a role to play, and we were to stop them and lead into our purpose as missionaries. In front of everybody. Needless to say, there was a lot of awkwardness and a whole lot of laughing. Especially when two of the 長老たち were given the role of playing a highschool couple very much in love. And when all the 日本人長老たち (nihonjin= japanese) and President Esplin were asigned the role of a grouo of highschool boys, and President Esplin took the lead by taking off his jacket, untucking his shirt, and rolling up his sleeves, and then oroceeding to throw his suit jacet over his shoulder and drop into a gangster crouch. The 日本人長老たち followed with completely straight faces and we were all dead. 

We went out for dinner with a ward member and were shocked when she told us that around the time she was baptized in Nakano ward (in Tokyo zone) years ago, Napoleon Dynamite was serving there as a missionsry. Or rather, the actor was. Apparently he was pretty quiet and his companion seemed like someone who would become an actor and be famous, so when the member saw the movie she was pretty surprised to say the least.

Yesterday was a holiday called Setsubun, onehich in 日本 someone in the family, usually the dad, puts on a demon mask and the kids throw beans at the "demon" to get him to go away. It's supposed to symbolize chasing the bad out of the hiuse, but because it involves throwing beans at the devil, of course we had to do it. See the pic and video below! 

Today we went to an island in our area called Odaiba, which has all sorts of things, among them the Olympic Rings, a digital art museum, at least 3 giant malls, and delicious food. Look forward to more pictures next week! 

New Foods:

-Korean lettuce wraps

-japanese strawberry shortcake

About the Pictures:

• Aquarium! Sorry, the pictures are big so there's more than one email 
• Setsubun! 
• Tokyo Zone Conference 
• Me with very small, very delicious, very expensive strawberry shortcake 

愛しています!

-スナ一姉妹

Sickness and Pastries (Unrelated)

Monday, January 27, 2020

こんにちは!

Don't worry, the sickness an pastries are unrelated, though both were a part of this past week .

Spiritual Stuff:

Last night there was a big dinner at a member's apartment, which he holds monthly, and we were in charge of the message this month. We did an activity that involved drawing different parts of people and passing it, which ended with a LOT of laughing. But then we shared this scripture:

"... Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image."

Ether 3:15

We then asked what everyone thought being "created in God's image meant." In particular, something we focused on was the potential to become like our father in heaven, and the fact that it's one of the biggest ways our Heavenly Father shows His love to us. "men are that they might have joy," and that joy is someday becoming like our Heavenly Father and living together with him as a family. And that's something to keep in mind, especially as Valentine's Day is coming up, because everyone needs a bit of love on the toughest days of life. 

Daily Life/Fun Stories:

Last week we tried making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from a Betty crocker mix left by Augustus姉妹 (ごめん) and... Yeah... There are no ovens in almost every Japanese apartment/house... Meaning we used a toaster oven... The picture below speaks for itself. At least it tasted fine. And we did eventually manage to get some that didn't look too bad, which we delivered to a less active member of our ward. Hopefully she appreciated the love and effort lol. 

We love gardening with the おばあちゃんs (obaachan= grandma) for our service every week. Even if they have no trouble squatting down and we're there on our tiptoes or kneeling in the dirt lol. Also freezing, but every day I'm grateful I didn't called to serve farther north... After service we all go in and eat Japanese snacks and drink 麦茶 (mugicha= barley tea, yes we can drink it), which when I drank it for the first time at BYU literally tasted like cigarettes and/or dirt but I'm pretty sure I've gotten used to it because everyone drinks it here, especially if they don't drink normal tea/coffee.

This past week we've literally gone to various Japanese パン屋s (panya= bakery) three separate times on three separate days... I promise, normally we eat healthy with lots of fruits and vegetables... It was just too tempting. And way too delicious. I love the 日本's パン屋さんs (nihon= Japan, panyasan= baker). 

So our AC, which acts as our heater as well, has literally been growing snow... And it doesn't get below freezing... We have no idea what's going on, but we'll see. We're going to try cleaning it for what may be the first time in a long time, but look forward to an update next week. 

On Saturday I was sick with what was probably a 24 hour stomach bug, and I'll spare you the details but I may have ended up running into the kitchen with 10 minutes, left of exercise class... Yeah... The one we do with a bunch of members... Needless to say we went home and didn't leave for the rest of the day. Olson姉妹 cleaned while I slept, and I'll spare you the details on that as well. But she may have moved the bathtub and cleaned what was under it... So glad I have a companion who likes deep cleaning. Anyways, Saturday was spent mostly sleeping, eating saltiness, and drinking aquarius/ginger ale. And fixing nf up my knee a bit because the night before I'd kind of tumbles off my bike due to some rough pavement and caught myself except for my left knee. But we're all good now. See below for the requisite sick picture. 

New Foods:

-curry nabe

-curry udon

-mochi pizza (pizza but mochi is the crust) 

About the Pictures:

• The cookie attempt... Number 3...  
• Pikachu face masks 
• We love Urayasu! 
• A bakery near our 駅 (eki= train station), and yes those are chocolate croissants 

• Eating the "fruits" of another bakery visit
• This little canal is always so pretty
• I'd say I love this bridge, but the bike up it makes if a love hate relationship... I do love the view, though lol
• Snow on the aircon
• Saturday with my "supplies"

愛しています!

-スナ一姉妹