Me and Kubota Shimai have a new investigator!

Hello dear family!

I love you!

First of all I want you to know that I have felt a few extra heartfelt prayers being said for me this week. For real. Thank you so much my family! Heavenly Father has really had me in his tender care this week. He gave me so many little tender mercies. 

I remember Tel telling us when we talked to her last Christmas that Heavenly Father sends us angels. Well He sent me angels this week. Here in Japan, and I believe from the other side of the veil too. A brother in our ward asked me a couple of weeks ago what food I missed from America...so I told him peanut butter. He asked what kind. I told him Peter Pan peanut butter. I just thought he was interested and trying to get to know me a little more. Little did I know that he was heading to America on a work trip...and this week, he brought me back a container of Peter Pan peanut butter from America! It was so sweet that he would care that much about me, especially because we didn:t really have any special connection before, but he went out of his way to take care of me! 

There were so many little moments this week that brightened my days, and all of it came from people who were being kind. Like last night when me and Kubota Shimai were riding home and waiting at a stop light and an old gentleman in his car waving a smiling at me as he turned the corner. Or a less active sister stopping us as we were riding our bikes down the sidewalk and just being absolutely thrilled to see us and just holding our hands and loving us so much, even though I had never ever met her.

Another really good moment this week was on the subway. Me and Kubota shimai were standing there and there was a group of young teen age girls sitting there and I could tell they were kind of looking at me and talking about me. I smiled at them and said "Konnichiwa!" and then we actually talked...in Japanese!! It was really simple, and there was some English thrown in there too, but it was so fun and I invited them to come to English class and I told them that we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

Last night we went and had dinner with the Kanazawa family in our ward (that is the picture attached). They are so nice! At dinner we ate salmon and salmon fish eggs. Brother Kanazawa was saying how we were eating the parents and their little babies.......oh hooray! It was funny and I ate it and it was okay!

I:ve been in Japan for 2 months now, and I remember Sister Mann just telling me that the first 3 months are the hardest, and to just make it through them. So 2 down and 1 more to go!

Me and Kubota Shimai have a new investigator! He is a young college student. We met him because he came to Eikaiwa (English class). We have been getting to know him and working on building a relationship of trust with him. This week we had our first lesson with him and we taught him about God. Its so interesting to serve in a place where some people don:t have the same concept of God. We taught him that we are God:s children and that God has a body like us. We have another lesson with him later today!

It makes me think of something I learned in the MTC...a story about 2 salesmen going to Australia to sell shoes. One salesman wrote back to the company saying that there was "no chance of selling shoes here...the Aboriginals don't wear shoes here." The other salesman wrote and said "great chance of selling shoes here...the Aboriginals don't wear shoes here!"

I think its the same about being a missionary in Japan....I can either feel..."no chance of baptizing here...the Japanese people don:t believe in God here." Or ..."Great chance of baptizing here...the Japanese people don:t believe in God here!"

I love you all so much! Please keep praying for me. Mom you said to let you know what specific things you can pray for; here are a couple....that I can feel closer to Christ and his love and grace. That I can be patient with my companion and not get annoyed over little things :) that Dad can be here with me and help me not feel homesick and lonely.

I love you!!!

Love Sister