Weelllll...I didn't get transferred. And neither did anyone in my whole district! We all stayed exactly the same. That's fun. It's kinda boring, but I like 'em all so it's cool! I'm excited knowing that I will be in Fukuoka for Christmas! I hear it's pretty fun! There were lots of people who did get transferred...Bush Shimai left for Nagasaki. I'm sad. :( My ZLs (zone leaders) both left! They were great! I hear the new Elders are good, so we'll see. The STLs (sister training leaders) also got changed. They are both brand new! Kuchar Shimai stayed in Chikushimo, though, so I will get to see her a couple of times this transfer. I love her! Mostly I don't really know who else changed. We have Zone Training Meeting on Thursday, so we'll find out!
Sooo...let's see...what happened this week?...
We taught a continuing investigator again. It went pretty well, I think. I was on an exchange. We taught about Joseph Smith again and The Book of Mormon. She has a hard time learning. At first, I was having a hard time loving her, but now I just really love her! We have to take things really slow for her, but she keeps her commitments and we committed her to baptism! She said she would work hard. Sometimes we are not sure how much she really understands, but we hope to get her to really feel and recognize the Spirit. She is progressing little by little. It's going to take some time, but I think she will get there! She's been to church about 4 times, and she is always on time to church and to lessons. She's making friends in the ward, and she reads The Book of Mormon. We usually re-read it with her to help her understand, but it's going pretty good, I think.
We also met a lady on the street. She was a little rough around the edges....big metal things in her ears and crazy hair and stuff like that...all that means is that she especially needs the gospel!!! We talked to her and invited her to come to church with us on Sunday, but she said she was busy. We asked if she had time the next day to meet again. She said she didn't know, but she might, so we gave her our phone number and she said she would call us. People do that all the time, though, and then they don't call. But the next day, she called! Wow! I was surprised. So we met up with her and we went to the church together. We gave her a tour of the church, and taught her part of the Kaifuku lesson (some of you who know Japanese might be able to help with this one...I think Kaifuku is "restoration" but I was unable to find an exact translation!). She isn't from Fukuoka, and she's actually going home this week. We told her how to find the missionaries and a church where she lives. She didn't want to give us her phone number, so we couldn't forward contact information as a referral. Hopefully she will look up the missionaries there! So I didn't know a lot of what she was saying and I was kind of frustrated. After the lesson, I talked to Kuroki Shimai (my companion) about that. Kuroki Shimai told me she was using almost all slang and bad Japanese, and that she was glad I hadn't understood! She said to not even try to remember what the lady was saying and that I shouldn't try to learn ANY of it! Yikes, right?
What else...oh, we got invited to a member family's house for lunch on Saturday. Cool thing...they live on an island! So neat! It's like a 10 minute ferry ride. It was way pretty out there! We had a barbeque with some people from the ward, and then we dendo-ed (tracted?) around the island with some of the kids that were there. It was pretty good.
We also had a less active guy come to church Sunday! Yay! He's so nice. He comes to Eikaiwa (English class) every week and finally came to church! We're going to visit him this week, and see if we can get him to come again next week!
Oh, and I'm feeling much better. Blood tests came back good. I'm doing ok. I love it, but it's tough to be a missionary! I know The Church is true and I know the Lord loves me, and that's what gets me through every day!
Love you all!
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
Transfer Week...That's why I'm Late!!!
So this is the last week of Transfer 2...Wow! This transfer definitely went by faster than last transfer. Not hard to do I think since last transfer felt like it might never end! :) It is also starting to get cold here...ahh!! Our apartment doesn't have central heating!!! It's cold. We also can't use both of our space heaters most of the time because our apartment is all on the same circuit thingy (or whatever it's called). So we can't have most anything on or it trips the breaker. So we wear our sweats and our hats and our gloves and stuff pretty much always! It's an adventure!
We met a really cute girl the other day! She was waiting at a bus stop, and we thought we had already talked to her before, so we started to walk by, but I stopped. I started talking to her (luckily we hadn't talked to her before...it's kind of awkward when that happens! ) She was actually kind of interested! Yay! We switched contact information, but we couldn't make a solid appointment because she says she's really busy this month, but next month should be ok. We also did a baptismal invite, and she said that she would like to be baptized if she finds out it is true. It was pretty cool! She's way cute! If you can, please pray that we can meet her again!
Other than that, this week was kind of normal. We did a lot of finding and housing. Not a ton of luck. But that's ok! I figure the more people we talk to, the better chance we have of finding someone who is prepared!
We went to Dazaifu on Monday for P-Day. SO COOL!!! It was a blast!
Today is transfer calls...word on the street (well, from our Zone Leader) is that there's gonna be lots of changes in the Fukuoka Zone again this transfer. Both of the AP's (Assistant to the President) are going home. Our ZL (zone leader) thinks he's leaving too. Also our District Leader will probably go. We'll see...but I think our apartment will probably stay the same. I want to stay in Fukuoka for Christmas! (Maybe just in a new apartment! haha)
Things are good! Love you all!
P.S. From Lacee's Mom: Lacee says since she got the blessing from her Mission President she is feeling better, still tired but sleeping better, too! That's a relief! Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers on her behalf!
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| Attempting to stay warm in our apartment! |
Other than that, this week was kind of normal. We did a lot of finding and housing. Not a ton of luck. But that's ok! I figure the more people we talk to, the better chance we have of finding someone who is prepared!
We went to Dazaifu on Monday for P-Day. SO COOL!!! It was a blast!
Things are good! Love you all!
P.S. From Lacee's Mom: Lacee says since she got the blessing from her Mission President she is feeling better, still tired but sleeping better, too! That's a relief! Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers on her behalf!
Sneaky Mom! :)
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| Since Lacee can't see this until she comes home, I thought I would show the rest of you what I've been doing this week as I get ready to mail her Christmas package...Sister Missionary stockings for her and her companion! :) |
Hey Blog Followers!
I have not yet heard from Lacee this week! When I do, I will be sure to update this blog!
Love you all!
Lacee's Mom
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Installment #2 for today!
From Lacee's email:
"Well, this week wasn't too exciting. Although I did get flipped off this week...in Japan! It was really weird. People here DO NOT do stuff like that. They are usually so polite and everything. So, we don't know if it was cuz I'm gaijin or because we're Christian or maybe the guy was just a jerk! Whatever it was, it was way weird. We just ignored the guy and pretended that nothing happened.
Also, I don't know if I told you that everyone says "herro!" (hello with the Japanese accent) to me. It is SO funny. I usually don't even hear it, so Kuroki Shimai has to tell me. I say "hi" back and they think it's great! The whole thing just kills me! :) So the other day these 4 girls, probably middle school, were saying "herro". So I said it back and they all just squealed and said how cute I was. It was hilarious. Pretty much if you're not Japanese, you are just super cute here. Funny stuff.
We had a funny experience housing. This lady opened the door. We explained who we were, and she just went a little crazy! She was yelling at us! She just kind of goes on and on, but pretty much she was telling my companion she should be Buddhist because she's Nihonjin (Japanese). It's OK that I'm Christian because I'm gaijin, but for my companion it is NOT OK.
We've struggled with lessons. It's been frustrating. Our investigators have been super busy so we haven't been able to meet with them. We're trying to find new people to teach, but so far...no luck.
We continue to visit the less active members and former investigators (when we can find them). We still haven't found anyone who is super interested. We talk to a ton of people every week though. We are starting to build some relationships with the members. Can I just tell you that I LOVE this ward!!! There are so many incredible people. Last night we were invited to a family's house for dinner (Yay! There are actually families here!). They have five adorable kids. So cute! They are SO nice. And way awesome. The mom is a convert, but both she and her husband served missions. He served in Tokyo and she served here in Fukuoka. It was so cool. Her conversion story was neat. There are also a couple of ladies who bring us food all the time. It is delicious food! We also know a lady who is super excited about missionary work. We are meeting with her this week to talk about how we can help her do missionary work, and how she can help us. It should be really good!
It doesn't seem like we are being super successful here, but you know, I am figuring out that it's OK. We are working hard. We are doing our job, and it is just hard enough without beating yourself up about things you can't control...like other people's choice of whether to listen to us or not. Plus, who knows? Maybe something will come out of what we're doing one day. I just know that we will definitely leave this area much better than we found it, so we are doing our job!"
From Lacee's mom: Lacee has been having some issues with her health. So this week she had to use the Japanese Health Care system. She was terrified! Luckily, Kuroki Shimai was with her every step of the way! Lacee said, "I'm SO grateful for Kuroki Shimai! I literally could not have done it without her!!..." Lacee said she has not been sleeping since she got to Japan (thus part of the problem...after 9 weeks of little to no sleep) and, after talking to her mission president and getting an AMAZING blessing from him, she finally had to give in and go to the doctor. All the paperwork was in Kanji, so her companion also helped with all of that. She should get the test results later today. We hope that it will just be something minor and that she will soon be on her feet!...Actually she has been on her feet...going with all the strength she had and a little beyond until she just absolutely couldn't go anymore!
Continuing with Lacee's email:
"We also talked to Kaicho (president). So great!! He and Gustafson Shimai (sister) are AMAZING!!! I LOVE THEM!!! They told us to come over to Honbu (mission home) to their house and they gave us snacks and they helped me figure out some stuff to help me sleep. Then Kaicho gave me a blessing. It was amazing! The past two nights, I have slept better...Awesome right?
Today we're going to a giant shrine and hang out with Kuchar Shimai in Chikashimo!! :) I love P-day!!
Love you all!"
"Well, this week wasn't too exciting. Although I did get flipped off this week...in Japan! It was really weird. People here DO NOT do stuff like that. They are usually so polite and everything. So, we don't know if it was cuz I'm gaijin or because we're Christian or maybe the guy was just a jerk! Whatever it was, it was way weird. We just ignored the guy and pretended that nothing happened.
Also, I don't know if I told you that everyone says "herro!" (hello with the Japanese accent) to me. It is SO funny. I usually don't even hear it, so Kuroki Shimai has to tell me. I say "hi" back and they think it's great! The whole thing just kills me! :) So the other day these 4 girls, probably middle school, were saying "herro". So I said it back and they all just squealed and said how cute I was. It was hilarious. Pretty much if you're not Japanese, you are just super cute here. Funny stuff.
We had a funny experience housing. This lady opened the door. We explained who we were, and she just went a little crazy! She was yelling at us! She just kind of goes on and on, but pretty much she was telling my companion she should be Buddhist because she's Nihonjin (Japanese). It's OK that I'm Christian because I'm gaijin, but for my companion it is NOT OK.
We've struggled with lessons. It's been frustrating. Our investigators have been super busy so we haven't been able to meet with them. We're trying to find new people to teach, but so far...no luck.
We continue to visit the less active members and former investigators (when we can find them). We still haven't found anyone who is super interested. We talk to a ton of people every week though. We are starting to build some relationships with the members. Can I just tell you that I LOVE this ward!!! There are so many incredible people. Last night we were invited to a family's house for dinner (Yay! There are actually families here!). They have five adorable kids. So cute! They are SO nice. And way awesome. The mom is a convert, but both she and her husband served missions. He served in Tokyo and she served here in Fukuoka. It was so cool. Her conversion story was neat. There are also a couple of ladies who bring us food all the time. It is delicious food! We also know a lady who is super excited about missionary work. We are meeting with her this week to talk about how we can help her do missionary work, and how she can help us. It should be really good!
It doesn't seem like we are being super successful here, but you know, I am figuring out that it's OK. We are working hard. We are doing our job, and it is just hard enough without beating yourself up about things you can't control...like other people's choice of whether to listen to us or not. Plus, who knows? Maybe something will come out of what we're doing one day. I just know that we will definitely leave this area much better than we found it, so we are doing our job!"
From Lacee's mom: Lacee has been having some issues with her health. So this week she had to use the Japanese Health Care system. She was terrified! Luckily, Kuroki Shimai was with her every step of the way! Lacee said, "I'm SO grateful for Kuroki Shimai! I literally could not have done it without her!!..." Lacee said she has not been sleeping since she got to Japan (thus part of the problem...after 9 weeks of little to no sleep) and, after talking to her mission president and getting an AMAZING blessing from him, she finally had to give in and go to the doctor. All the paperwork was in Kanji, so her companion also helped with all of that. She should get the test results later today. We hope that it will just be something minor and that she will soon be on her feet!...Actually she has been on her feet...going with all the strength she had and a little beyond until she just absolutely couldn't go anymore!
Continuing with Lacee's email:
"We also talked to Kaicho (president). So great!! He and Gustafson Shimai (sister) are AMAZING!!! I LOVE THEM!!! They told us to come over to Honbu (mission home) to their house and they gave us snacks and they helped me figure out some stuff to help me sleep. Then Kaicho gave me a blessing. It was amazing! The past two nights, I have slept better...Awesome right?
Today we're going to a giant shrine and hang out with Kuchar Shimai in Chikashimo!! :) I love P-day!!
Love you all!"
Things I've Learned
I got a "snail" mail letter from Lacee this week and thought I would share with you some of the things she says she has learned as a missionary: (This will be one of two posts today since she will email later today...and I will update again)
1. The Lord has been trying to teach me patience for 19 1/2 years and somehow I still haven't figured it out!
2. I needed to come to Japan so I could be humbled and have to TOTALLY rely on the Lord. I rely on Him every single day, for everything!
3. This Church is true!!! I could look anyone right in the eye and tell them that I know for myself without a shadow of a doubt that this is God's true church on the earth. I know it!!
4. I LOVE The Book of Mormon. I wish I could even put it into words. There is an answer for everything in this book. I love the scriptures. They're true and will bring so much peace and comfort if you read and apply them in your life.
5. I am so blessed! Being a missionary is the hardest thing I have ever done, by far, but I have grown so much already because of it. I'm in JAPAN! How awesome is that??!! I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the best family and friends anyone could ask for, and just so much more!
6. John 8:29 - "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him." I am not alone! The Lord sent me here and He is with me!
1. The Lord has been trying to teach me patience for 19 1/2 years and somehow I still haven't figured it out!
2. I needed to come to Japan so I could be humbled and have to TOTALLY rely on the Lord. I rely on Him every single day, for everything!
3. This Church is true!!! I could look anyone right in the eye and tell them that I know for myself without a shadow of a doubt that this is God's true church on the earth. I know it!!
4. I LOVE The Book of Mormon. I wish I could even put it into words. There is an answer for everything in this book. I love the scriptures. They're true and will bring so much peace and comfort if you read and apply them in your life.
5. I am so blessed! Being a missionary is the hardest thing I have ever done, by far, but I have grown so much already because of it. I'm in JAPAN! How awesome is that??!! I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the best family and friends anyone could ask for, and just so much more!
6. John 8:29 - "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him." I am not alone! The Lord sent me here and He is with me!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
AWESOMENESS!!!
I just have to start with the BEST NEWS EVER!!! MAKO AND AKIHO GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! Ahhh!!! Yay!!!!
Oh my goodness! I was SO excited! I can't even tell you! They got baptized on Friday. They told our other companion in Okinawa they wanted to be baptized but they wanted to call me and my companion afterwards to surprise us! So they called us afterwards...they both got baptized! How awesome, right??!!! I am still just SO HAPPY! I'm so excited for them both!
Now the other exciting thing....the Red Sox are WS Champs!! Yatta!! My bishop here in Fujisaki kept me kind of updated. Bless his heart! He thinks it is so funny that I love sports so much. Especially baseball. So he sent us an email to let me know when they won. It was kind of fun. Too bad I missed all of it! But that's OK, I wouldn't trade being out here even for a Red Sox World Championship. And that's sayin' somethin'.....
This last week was also Zone Taikai. It was both the Fukuoka and Nagasaki Zones, so I got to see SO many people! So fun! Kuchar Shimai, Bush Shimai, Anderson Chourou, Merrill Chourou, and I were all there from our MTC district! It was awesome to catch up with them, and see how everyone was doing. Love them! I had the best district, the best teachers, and the best Branch Presidency EVER at the MTC!!! I am so grateful for all of them!
Other than that, this week was kinda normal. We had three lessons get cancelled. That was not so great! But we got to teach Kitagawa san again. His schedule is tough, so we usually have no idea when we can teach him. Last time we taught him about the Plan of Salvation, and I think it went really well. He asks questions, and understands what we are teaching him, but I don't think he has really felt the spiritual side of it all yet. We're trying! And he seems to really want to know the truth.
We also had a couple of other lessons. We taught Hamu and her friends. She brought 2 friends, so it was us and three 16 year old girls. It was a little crazy. Apparently Hamu didn't tell her friends that we were missionaries. They were a little confused as to why we were sharing the Gospel at first. We explained who we are and what our purpose is. Then we asked if they had any interest. Hamu still does and she has already read some of The Book of Mormon!! The other two were kind of interested also, so we will meet with them again. We don't know when though because they have a big test coming up. It may be a couple of weeks!
We continue to try to hunt down the less active members and the former investigators. Not much luck. We did talk to a less active who seems to be basically active, except she won't come to church. She reads the scriptures and even watched conference. Her health isn't good, so she doesn't come to church. We're gonna work with her though and try to get her coming back.
Last week we went to the Fukuoka Tower!!! It was cool. We also stopped by the Yahoo Dome to take some pictures. This week we're off to the Fukuoka Zoo with the Fukuoka missionaries! I'm pumped!!
Love you all lots!!! You're in my prayers!
Oh my goodness! I was SO excited! I can't even tell you! They got baptized on Friday. They told our other companion in Okinawa they wanted to be baptized but they wanted to call me and my companion afterwards to surprise us! So they called us afterwards...they both got baptized! How awesome, right??!!! I am still just SO HAPPY! I'm so excited for them both!
Now the other exciting thing....the Red Sox are WS Champs!! Yatta!! My bishop here in Fujisaki kept me kind of updated. Bless his heart! He thinks it is so funny that I love sports so much. Especially baseball. So he sent us an email to let me know when they won. It was kind of fun. Too bad I missed all of it! But that's OK, I wouldn't trade being out here even for a Red Sox World Championship. And that's sayin' somethin'.....
This last week was also Zone Taikai. It was both the Fukuoka and Nagasaki Zones, so I got to see SO many people! So fun! Kuchar Shimai, Bush Shimai, Anderson Chourou, Merrill Chourou, and I were all there from our MTC district! It was awesome to catch up with them, and see how everyone was doing. Love them! I had the best district, the best teachers, and the best Branch Presidency EVER at the MTC!!! I am so grateful for all of them!
Other than that, this week was kinda normal. We had three lessons get cancelled. That was not so great! But we got to teach Kitagawa san again. His schedule is tough, so we usually have no idea when we can teach him. Last time we taught him about the Plan of Salvation, and I think it went really well. He asks questions, and understands what we are teaching him, but I don't think he has really felt the spiritual side of it all yet. We're trying! And he seems to really want to know the truth.
We also had a couple of other lessons. We taught Hamu and her friends. She brought 2 friends, so it was us and three 16 year old girls. It was a little crazy. Apparently Hamu didn't tell her friends that we were missionaries. They were a little confused as to why we were sharing the Gospel at first. We explained who we are and what our purpose is. Then we asked if they had any interest. Hamu still does and she has already read some of The Book of Mormon!! The other two were kind of interested also, so we will meet with them again. We don't know when though because they have a big test coming up. It may be a couple of weeks!
We continue to try to hunt down the less active members and the former investigators. Not much luck. We did talk to a less active who seems to be basically active, except she won't come to church. She reads the scriptures and even watched conference. Her health isn't good, so she doesn't come to church. We're gonna work with her though and try to get her coming back.
Last week we went to the Fukuoka Tower!!! It was cool. We also stopped by the Yahoo Dome to take some pictures. This week we're off to the Fukuoka Zoo with the Fukuoka missionaries! I'm pumped!!
Love you all lots!!! You're in my prayers!
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