Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Japan!!

I can't believe that 2012 is over and done and that 2013 has now begun. So crazy!! Sounds like everyone is having a fun and to some a relaxing New Years. I pray that you all will stay safe and sound.

So want to know what I did for New Years? I was transferred. Yep that is correct. I have left Shibuya (traveled on the train by myself even)  and I am now in my new area which is Utsunomiya which is right next to Oyama and is the same district. I have returned to my bean district. Crazy!! But I am so excited to be back in the "country." Shibuya was fun but just very very city and crazy. And I am also in a 3some. I have 2 companions and they are awesome. One of them is once again Sister Nishihara. She is the companion I had when I first went to Shibuya. The one that I loved and adored. Yep we are companions again. The other sister is Sister Edstrom and she is from Salem, UT and is great!! I feel so lucky to be companions with them because they are both great missionaries and I am sure I will learn a lot from them. This transfer is both of theirs last transfer so it will be sad to say goodbye to them I am sure. But that is why my guess is is that I will be serving in this area for awhile. Maybe 4 transfers is my guess which will take me to the end of June. Weird though, right? But this area is amazing with many investigators and many potentials so I am excited to get to work and teach. :D

New Years is very big here in Japan. They have huge sales, everyone has work off and they all usually go to a shrine or a temple and pray. In many areas in can be very packed. I know that if I was still in Shibuya I would have gone to a shrine but since I got transfered that is a no. Last night a member family had us over for dinner and we have one again tonight. That is what the members do for the missionaries during the first week. You can't really do any work because people have gone home to visit hometowns or are busy and so the members just invite us over. This is the week that is known as the death week for missionaries because you just eat, eat and eat. For example on Thursday we have back to back meal appointments. The first appointment is actually going to be driving us to the second. Ugh scary. The Japanese people feed you A LOT of food so I am just be dieing of a food coma this week. Please pray for me and wish me luck. haha

With the start of the new year I am feeling like the time will move quicker and quicker which is a scary thought. In so many ways I feel like I just landed in Japan and am still a bean. Instead I am on my 5th transfer. That means that my goal for this year is to make every moment count, to find joy in every footstep. 

I love you all and wish you a very Big Happy New Year!!!!

Love,

Kenzie

Merry Christmas!

On Christmas Day, we were able to Skype with Mackenzie. It was so much fun to see her in person (via computer) and hear her voice. She is doing amazing and it was a great experience for all of us. I had a lot of fun showing her my little son, her nephew, who was just 2 months old when she left. Now he's 10 months and changed more than anyone else in the family. This was her letter to us later that night.

You have no idea how much I loved talking and even SEEING you all today. It was so great and made me so happy. Though I must admit it sometimes feels like I haven't been separated from you for that long. Which I guess is a good thing or else it might be harder. :D 

So I will just tell you briefly about my week last week and then I will tell you about my Christmas here in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Last week was great. We went to the Temple and then after we had exchanges and I went to a place called Oizumi with a sister named Sister Silva. Oizumi is where A LOT of Brazilians and Peruvians live so any missionaries who speak Spanish or Portuguese serve there for a time. During this transfer it was opened up to Sister Missionaries so there is one who is from Brazil – Sister Silva and a Japanese sister working there. Going there I realized that I could understand some Japanese and could speak it when I first got here because I could understand absolutely nothing while being there but it was still way fun. I learned a little bit of Portuguese and after working with Sister Silva and talking to her I have felt so much better this last week and felt very much myself and that it is ok to be me. I think what made this transfer hard at the beginning is because I was trying to be my companion which I am totally not. And that wore me out and made me tired. But Sister Silva helped me see things differently and so I have been me this last week and have loved every minute of it. I absolutely love exchanges. From everyone I have learned something new and they have helped me tremendously. We have another one this week for which I am excited for. I guess we will see what I learn from that one.

Last Thursday we also had dinner with a General Authority and his wife, Elder and Sister Yamashita. Elder Yamashita is in the Asia North Area Presidency and he and his wife are amazing people. I loved visiting with them and hearing Elder Yamashita's experiences of being an authority. He spoke at the 2011 October General Conference about how missionaries are treasures of the church. He gave us wonderful advice about things and just made us feel warm and welcome. What a great blessing to share a meal with him. It will be one of my favorite memories from my mission probably.

Friday and Saturday night we went to a thing called Illumination in Roppongi. It is similar to the lights at Temple Square mixed with the kind of show they do in Vegas with the fountains except it was with lights. It was so much fun. Friday night we just went the two of us and did some work there. Mostly service such as “May I take your picture?” and that was really fun because we were able to meet great people and make them happy. On Saturday night we went with Sister Maxfield because her husband is out of town a lot and we thought it would be fun for her to go. And it was Sister Kuwahara's birthday so we celebrated a little bit when we had dinner with her first. It was a lot of fun and I took a lot of pictures and video so when I send this memory card home you have something to look forward to. It may be soon even because this memory card is very close to being full. I am trying to save some room for next week during New Year's. That is the very big Holiday here in Japan. Christmas is celebrated but it is mostly the commercial side and it is mostly for couples. Kind of like another Valentines Day. It was really interesting on the actually day of Christmas because everyone still had work and didn't say Merry Christmas or anything. It was just another day. Kind of sad. These poor people here don't know what they are missing and don't understand the real meaning of Christmas. But that is what I am here for. To help them come to know Christ and that way next year they can have a great Christmas. :D

Anyway speaking of Christmas on Christmas Eve we had a mission Christmas Conference and it was a lot of fun. All of President Budge's family came over to celebrate and they did things with us that they usually do in their family. Like music. Everyone is very musically talented so we had a lot of musical performances by some of the missionaries and by some of the Budge family. We also did white elephant gifts, watched the Budge family's version of Home Alone that they did years ago (very very very entertaining) and we even made a Christmas card for our families. They are still working on it but it is going to be on youtube and probably next week I will e-mail you the link so you can see it. It will be after of course but that is ok. The Christmas party was a lot of fun and it was great spending it with the whole mission. It will be a Christmas Eve to remember. After the conference we went to a Family's home from the English ward – The Raub family. They are so awesome and they absolutely love the missionaries. So it was great spending it with them because they helped make us feel apart of the family. We played games and ate food and had a great time. It reminded me when we had all of those missionaries over years ago when Dad was Bishop. I am sure those missionaries enjoyed spending the Holidays with us and remember those times. I know I will.

Christmas day I woke up and kept up the tradition of saying a prayer next to the Nativity. Me and Sister Kuwahara did it and it was very special doing it while I am a representative of the Lord. This Christmas season I have really come to know the power of the atonement and know that it is an actual physical thing. My relationship with the Savior has been strengthened so much that now I always feel Him beside me and hear Him speaking to me in so many ways. How blessed I am and what a special gift I am receiving from He has given everything to me. I will always remember this Christmas as the one that I have really come to know and trust in my Savior. I of course still have somethings to work on but that is ok. He is always helping me. There are just no words for how I feel. It is a truly wonderful and joyful feeling. Another Family invited us to dinner and we went to the Military Hotel where they had a Christmas buffet that was very fancy. It was delicious food.

I love you Family and I am so grateful for today and the chance I had to talk to you. Please give my love to everyone else and tell them that I wish them a Merry Christmas. It is weird that in just 5 months I will be skyping with you again. I shall look forward to it. And I will try better in the rest of the e-mails to tell you more about the culture and lifestyle that is Japan. It is hard in Shibuya because everything is pretty modern. But I will tell you this – the people's work schedules are crazy!! And it is crazy expensive here. For example movie tickets are about $20 here. And the drivers are crazy horrible drivers. If I die on my mission, especially while serving in Shibuya, it will probably be because of a taxi. Believe it or not it is actually safer and easier to drive on the road with them instead of the sidewalk. And weird enough there are actually more hills in the city then in the country. So I am always getting a wonderful work out every time I leave the apartment. Hopefully after the Holidays are over I will be able to lose more weight. :D Oh and one more tidbit about Japan having to do with the church. A lot of the members in the Church end up going inactive and it is mostly because of the work schedules. They are so tired during the week that they use Sunday's to re corporate and rest so don't end up going to church even though a lot of their testimonies are really strong. It is the saddest thing about Japan. The members are great but there are so many less actives. Like here in Shibuya there are around 600 less actives and people don't know who they are. It is crazy. So missionaries always have something to do. That is it for the info this week. If you want to know anything specific ask me. It will help a lot more.

I love you all soooooooooooooo much and am so proud to be a member of the Sean Dolan Family. I am very blessed and lucky to have everyone one of you in my life. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Love,

Kenzie

Trick or Treat

Hey Family,

I hope you all had a good Halloween. But can you believe it is now November. Wow!! I don't even have a year left until I come home from this wonderful mission. That is weird to think about because when I think of the time between last November till now that year has gone by quick. That makes me worried. I still have so much to improve on and get better at. How am I to do it in a year. Well I will do my best and rely on the Lord.

So this last week has been pretty fun. Monday we were finally able to meet with an investigator who has a baptism date in two weeks and have a lesson with her about some of the commandments. It was my first time meeting her and I fell in love with her right away. Her name is Shushu and she is from China and has been living here in Japan for 5 years and going to school here. She has had a cold and had some trouble with work and finding a new apartment so we never could meet until last week. Sister Nishihara and her previous companion found her in June through eikaiwa and started teaching her. She is a golden investigator. She accepted everything that she was taught and was really excited about the church. Last week we taught her about praying often, reading the scriptures daily and obeying the word of wisdom. And what was awesome is that when we were teaching her about keeping the word of wisdom and asked her at the end if she would keep it she said that she has already stopped drinking tea. We were very surprised and asked her when did she start doing that. She explained about going to a party with the sister missionaries where she made tea cookies. She noticed that no one was eating them so she asked why. The Sisters explained about the word of wisdom a little bit to her. At the next meeting she asked more questions about it and they taught her more without really committing her to living it. After that she decided to stop drinking tea. “It's my health!” she said. Isn't that amazing. The Lord really does help His children and have the spirit move them to do great things.

She was also able to find a new apartment so she was able to come to church yesterday. Because of recent move she has moved just outside of our area into the Nakano area so we went with her to the Nakano ward yesterday. She loved it. Everyone was very sweet and welcoming and there were even a few that could speak Chinese which was a pleasant surprise to her. We also stayed for the ysa activiity after church. The Nakano ward has A LOT of single adults. 50 or so, so it works out great for Shushu. I am so excited to see her baptized and am honored to have met and be apart of this experience with her.

Tuesday we went and visited Sochiru in the hospital. She had her baby! It is a boy and they named him Eli. They are both doing well. She was released on Friday but they are keeping him in the hospital for another month or so in order for him to gain some weight. So right now she is living a hotel nearby because 1. she doesn't want to be far from the baby 2. for her own health (she got a C) and 3. because she needs to go every 3 hours to feed him. She said she is doing well the last time I spoke to her on the phone and that she just asks for our prayers. She did say that she would like to come to church but right now it is hard. It is great to see that she has an interest in our church and wants to learn more. But for right now we just keep praying for her family and visit with her as much as we can.

Wednesday we met with Sayaka and taught her lesson 3 – the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She accepted everything really well. During the lesson I asked her if she believes in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and she said yes. Sister Nishihara then started telling her how we want to make a date for her to be baptized as a goal to work towards. She said “Ok!” then pulled out her calandar, looked at the dates and said, “November 18!” We were both taken aback by that because we had a date in mind for December and here she wants to be baptized in two weeks. We didn't realize that her desire was so strong. We set that date in our planners and told her that in order for her to be baptized she needs to attend church twice. She said she understood and would go to church on Sunday. She is another that lives outside of our area and because of confusion of where exactly she lives we have been coordinating with two other sets of Sisters. She was going to go to the Urayasu ward yesterday and the Sisters there were prepared to meet her and teach her. Unfortunately she didn't go. She had work and couldn't end up making it. So her date will probably be pushed back. But she still has a strong desire to be baptized and she is really willing to make a date. We are able to meet with her often so that is good. Now it is just helping her to come to church. That and start reading the Book of Mormon. She said it is hard to understand. So on Friday when we met we talked about the Book of Mormon and why it is important. We had a member from the Urayasu ward there with us and she and I both testified about how when we read the Book of Mormon, even if we don't understand things right away we focus on the feelings that come from reading it. And that through those feelings we can understand. I love testifying about the Book of Mormon. I have such a strong testimony about it. It really does pick you up and make your life so much better. Last summer was the worst for me. I felt so low and was not myself. Satan was trying to take full advantage of that time to try to discourage me to go on a mission. And even more then that. Have me question my own self worth. When I finally took a step back to see what I needed to do to feel better I realized what I have been doing wrong. I wasn't reading the scriptures. When I started reading the Book of Mormon my life saw light again. I was able to be happy and be excited about my mission. I am very very grateful to have the Book of Mormon and love every chance that I get to testify about it. :D

Also on Wednesday we had our Eikaiwa Halloween party. It was so much fun. Sister Nishihara and I helped decorating beforehand and I was drawing/writing on the balloons. I made a vampire and showed it to Nishihara. She asked if it was supposed to be one of our zone leaders cause it looked like him. I said it could be and put DOMO next to him because that is what he always says. I then decided to try drawing all of the missionaries (there are 6 of us total) and make a game out of it. Guess that missionary! So the picture with the missionaries and the balloons is us standing next to our balloons. I will say this right now. I AM NOT AN ARTIST. Hahaha I feel so bad for one elder because he turned out to look like a radish or something. I felt so bad haha. Then we played a game involving flour which is why I have flour over my face. I lost. Haha Eikaiwa really is so much fun. And even though I am not teaching right now I love the chance to try to get to know everyone. It is a great way to do service.

Thursday we had a 3 zone conference and always love those. I love being surrounded by other missionaries and learning how to be a better missionary. For example I learned that when it comes to myself I am a pessimistic person. Good to know. Now I am working on that. :) Trying to see my potential. That is one of the biggest challenges I am facing while being here but I also faced that problem a little bit before my mission. But I am learning a lot while trying to improve and I feel like I am improving. It is wonderful. Anyway at the conference President Budge told us that between these next 2 transfers we are losing 24 missionaries and only gaining 3 (only Elders I believe). He called it the quiet before the storm. Our mission right now has about 170 missionaries and the expect next year that it will go up to 250 missionaries. He also told us that the church is opening up 50 new missions around the world. And one of the missionary couples who works in the church office here and handles the missionary papers said that were there used to be (I don't know if the numbers are exactly right) like a 7% of sisters going and now it was up to like 18% or so. Again I am not sure if the numbers are right for that one but I just remember it being a significant jump. Everytime I hear this kind of information it makes me excited because I think of you Megs and how you are preparing your papers and will join the forces of God's army next year. It makes me proud. I have had a lot of people ask me what I think about the new age and I always reply with the news that my younger sisters wants to go. I am proud to tell people that. :) So yes I brag about you a lot.

I also want to let you know Mom and Dad that when I show your picture to people they always comment on how young you look and how you make such a cute couple. :D Oh and Mom I did get the coat last Tuesday and I love it. It will be perfect for winter. Which it is getting colder. But it is funny. Sometimes the apartment is colder then outside. So weird.

Well that is all for this week. I love you all and glad everything is going well. Next week my Pday is on Tuesday (Temple day) so that is probably when I will be doing e-mails. Just to let you know. I love you with all my heart and pray for you everyday. Until next week!!!

Kenzie

きせき、きせき、きせき！！！！

Hey Hey Family,

I am glad to receive e-mails from everyone. Jen, thank you so much for your e-mail with your pictures. Your family is sooooo cute and I can not believe how big the boys are getting. They must stop growing. I am not going to recognized them when I get home. It is insane. This Friday marks my 6 months being out on my mission. There are some days that I can not believe it is 6 months already because it has gone by so quick and then there are other days that I feel like I have been out forever. It is so weird how that works.

So I don't think I have really told much about my companion, Nishihara shimai, or how much I love her. She is from Hokaido (which is a pretty famous spot in Japan, it is in the sapporo mission). She has been out on her mission for a year and 2 months. She returns home in the middle of February and her and I are both hoping that we can be companions together here in Shibuya until then. She really is amazing. She is very patient with me and always willing to help me with Japanese. To be honest with myself, my Japanese really has become sooo much better within the last 3 weeks with being with her. I try to speak Japanese to her as much as I can. She is very creative with how she teaches. Always making little pictures to go along with the lesson. But then again a lot of the Japanese are like that. I LOVE HER!! I invited her to visit me after we are done with our mission just so you are aware Mom and Dad. :)

This last week has been pretty amazing and I feel very blessed especially after how it started last Monday. Before we went to a dinner appointment we decided to do some streeting/passing out flyers for Eikaiwa. During that time we chose two different sides of the street and started. I couldn't do it. I only talked to maybe 2 or 3 people or so. An overwhelming fear came over me. Before we went to the appointment and then after I bawled. I felt like such a terrible missionary and wondered how I could ever help the mission if I couldn't street. I felt like crap. I felt like I was letting down the Lord by having that fear and therefore not having a lot of faith. But I got better through out the week and received some answers that have helped. Plus seeing many little miracles.

The following day (Tuesday) while we were doing personal study I felt impressed that we needed to do call people from the area book and see if they were interested in hearing more of the gospel. So we planned to do that on Wednesday because we were busy that day. We went to the Congo embassy because on the Relief soceity list from the English branch it said that it was a sisters birthday that day. Neither of us knew who she was but we went anyway. Turns out that she hasn't lived there for 5 years or so. I found out later from another member who she was and that I have actually met her parents the previous Sunday. Their name is the Mwanda's and their story is really incredible. I will have to tell you another day when I have time.

Anyway, on Wednesday we did area book dendo and called around 10 or so people. One person, Yoshie, that we called told us that she would come to church this last Sunday (but she ended up not being able to because of work but she still really wants to meet with us) Another person Wuan, said that she would have time this next week to meet with us. It made me really excited. Maybe now is the time that they are ready to except the gospel into their lives. I have a lot of hope and I am excited to see where things go. Also on Wednesday, after area book dendo, we had exchanges. I was with Sister Kai and she came with me to here in Shibuya. She is awesome! She is very very very good at streeting and so I was able to learn from her. Her and I did a lot of streeting on Thursday.

Thursday during streeting when we were at the park across the street from the Temple we met a girl from Malaysia who is Christian and she said that she has been looking for a church recently to go to. We told her a little bit about our church and she was interested in learning more. She gave us her contact information and said that she would try to come to church on Sunday. That made us super excited. MIRACLE, a prepared person. We also visited Sochiru again and we were able to share with her a scripture during our visit and she said after wards that she would like for us to always share a scripture with her and that after she becomes better she would like to learn more about the church. Especially about prophets because that is really interesting to her. I love her so much and she is very very ready. She has a lot of faith. I pray for and her baby everyday.

Friday we met with an investigator who previously when she was taught would argue about everything and would ask really random, confusing questions and is Christian but believes that churches have bad people in them. But during our visit she said that she wanted to study the Book of Mormon and accepted Joseph Smith. She said that she was like Joseph seeking wisdom from God. And in her prayer she asked God if she could find the truth in the Book of Mormon. She is another prepared person. Which really surprised us. Especially Nishihara shimai because she knew her from before. The Lord has been softening her heart these last few months. It is so incredible.

I love working in Shibuya. It is a very busy city and very hard but I am learning so much. I feel so blessed after last Monday, seeing so many miracles. And I also realized that even if I don't ever become very skilled at streeting there are other strengthens that I have that have value on the mission. I am slowly starting to recognize those and seeing why the Lord called me. It is really hard and exciting and I love it!!! Missions are hard and very very tiring. I was surprised of how tired I would be. But I am growing so much. It is amazing. Megs you are in for a wonderful adventure. And I am so excited to share it with you even if it is only for 3 or so months. :D

Well that is all for this week. I love you all!!! Take care this week!!

Love,

Kenzie

P.S. A really good missionary CD that my companion and I listen to all the time is called The Work by the nashville tribute band. It is very good and recommend listening to it. :D

"Sisters, Sisters da da da da..."

Family!

As always thanks for the e-mails and Mom thanks for the package. I got it on Saturday. I LOVE the crystal light and the IB has been heaven sent. Thank you!

So this last week has been an interesting one. I have decided that streeting is very hard and can be discouraging at times. Especially when I hear of stories from the Elders in my district having great success. The people here in Shibuya are so busy and don't want to stop and talk. If we can get someone to stop and talk to us for even a little while it can be considered a success. Even a smile is a success. Haha and it doesn't help that I have a fear of it. In Oyama we never streeted because there were no people on the streets. So I am still learning the ways and it is hard and I must say I hate having a fear of it. But it does have a wonderful good side to it. I am learning to rely more on the spirit and the Lord to help me feel peace and joy and not to focus on the fears that would otherwise hinder me. On Saturday I even had a great time with streeting but I will tell you about that later.

Monday and Tuesday that is what we did for the most part streeting. Monday we were able to teach 3 lessons but none on Tuesday. Wednesday I ended getting a cold with that famous cough of mine that had Sister Nishihara and my district leader (who called in the morning and could hear me coughing) worried so they ordered me back to bed where we slept for most of the day until we went to Eikaiwa. It was probably a good thing we didn't go out because it was raining pretty hard and I might have gotten worse. As it is I was completely fine by the next day.

Thursday we went out to Lunch with an investigator of ours, Sayaka, and we taught her another lesson after we ate. Lesson 1, the restoration. We then went back to the church and watched the restoration video but Satan was at work and right at the part when Joseph was going into the woods and saw Heavenly Father and Christ the video was skipping and would stop and pause and it was a mess. We ended up just putting in the English so she could at least see it. She said that she didn't mind. She is really awesome. During our time together she said to herself but we heard, “should I receive baptism” and then asked “can I become a mormon?” She is so ready. Next time we see her this week we are going to actually challenge her. She studies the Liahona and goes to institute with her friend and is really interested in eternal families. She is 21 and I love her!!!

Friday was a great day. Sister Budge held a Sisters Conference for all the Sisters in the Tokyo Mission. They served us breakfast and lunch, there were great talks given, we learned some more workouts that we can do that are fun and did some activities. It really was great. The sisters in this mission are just WONDERFUL. We all work hard and have such a fire. It is fun to be with them. I really enjoyed it too because they had the psychologist for the entire north Asia area (who actually lives in my area and we had dinner with him and his wife 2 weeks ago) speak and he spoke about perfectionism. And let me tell you I suffer from it so it was great to hear from him the healthy and non healthy sides of perfectionism and how to work on changing the unhealthy sides. It was what I needed to hear especially after this last week because it was really hard. It gave me more confidence and encouragement. Yay!!

Saturday was also a really fun day. We did a blitz in the Kichijoji area. And if you don't know what a blitz is (because I didn't before we did it) it is when they get a big group of full-time missionaries and also those who have either returned home from missions or who want and are planning on serving missions and we go on splits with them. Meaning that I got a new companion for a few hours and I showed her how to street. And like I said earlier, I have a fear of streeting so I was getting pretty nervous about taking a 19 year around with me showing her how to street when even myself was still learning. I prayed really hard for help and strength before we left and as soon as I said amen, well actually even before then I immediately felt the spirit and felt peace and even a little excitement. And during the blitz I had a lot of fun and didn't have any fear really. I was even able to teach 2 lessons. My companion was Ueno shimai (she is in the pic with me) and she is 19 and wants to go now that the age has been changed and so will go next summer. Her English is really good so that took some pressure off of me as well. When we were streeting I said hi to this older lady (70's) and told her I liked her scarf. She looked at me and grabbed my arm and just kept saying KAWAII meaning so cute. I don't know how many times she said I was cute. She then asked if she could buy us a drink or something. So we went to a nearby cafe and sat down and talked for 10-15 min. or so. She asked us what we were doing for the day and we told her who we are and what we did. I asked her if she believes in a God and she said no she hasn't really thought about it. I then told her that in our church we believe in a god and that He is our Father in Heaven and we are His children and so He loves and wants to help us in our lives so much. She told us that she doesn't really care about religion that much but wouldn't tell someone not to talk to her about it. We gave her an Eikaiwa flyer and told her about the english classes and she said she would go and take a look. I really hope she does and even though she said she doesn't really care about religion I have faith that if she goes to eikaiwa she will want to learn more. She and her whole family are sick and the gospel can for sure help them feel peace and happiness. And it is my opinion that when she said Kawaii it wasn't just because she thought I had a cute face or anything. I think she saw something different in my countenance, which is the light of Christ. So I think if she sees more of that she will come around. I won't ever know because she is in another area but I still pray for her.

After the blitz we went with the Elders to visit a PI who has been in the hospital for 2 months for pregnancy problems. We wanted to offer her a blessing. She is from Mexico and her husband is from California but his parents were born in Japan and so they came to Japan to be with them. She and her husband are so sweet and so full of faith. She, Sochiru, is already a christian and has deep faith in God and Christ. So we had a great discussion about families and the church and one of the Elders read from the Book of Mormon and we explained a little bit more about it and gave her husband and english copy (she already had one in Spanish). They seemed really interested in it. Sochiru knows a little bit about the church but not too much because her sister is a member living in Texas and she is the one who called the relief society here and asked them to help her so that is how the Sisters here ended up starting to visit her for the last 2 months or so. I am so glad I had the chance to meet her. I love her!! She will be in the hospital for another month or so. This week they are taking her IV out and are hoping that the baby will stay for another 3 or 4 weeks. So she could use some prayers.

Yesterday we went to the Hiro-o ward which is the english speaking ward and that was so nice. It has been a long time since I could understand everything that was being said haha. The members in that ward are truly amazing. Always willing to have the missionaries over for dinner and always ready to fellowship people. I am really excited to be working with them. I was also able to meet some people from the shibuya ward (japanese ward) and they are awesome as well. I feel very lucky to be working with two amazing wards.

Well that is it for this week. I love you all with all my heart. Till next week!!

Kenzie

 

p.s. i couldn't remember the words to the rest of the song.....

SHIBUYA

Hello Family!

 

Thank you for everyones e-mail. I love getting them. One of my favorite parts of the week. I am glad to hear that everyone is doing well. I can't believe that you are actually building a house Just. That is way awesome. Where at? I hope you enjoy my room. Just to warn you, the matress ain't that great. Amanda, I think April sounds wonderful. It is a beautiful month and gives you plenty of time. So you have that figured out, do you have a baptism date chosen?When? If not, get on it girl. It is your soul we are talking about haha. :D So Megs, when can you start your papers? I would imagine sometime in April or maybe even late March???

 

So this week was my first week in Shibuya and it was great. My good sense of direction is kind of lost here. I get very turned around because a lot of the buildings look the same. So I just follow Nishihara shimai. She has been here for 3 transfers so she knows where everything is. Speaking of her I absalutly LOVE her!!! She is so cute and such a big help to me. I feel bad sometimes because I am always asking her questions about Japanese but she is very patient and kind and always willing to help me. This transfer is her 10th so she has 2 more left after this one and so will be going back home in February. She is from Hokkaido which is in the Sapparo mission. Her dad was released recently as a Bishop. She is wonderful!!

 

So this last week I learned how to street. That is basically the prime dendo that we do. And I will tell you what it can be scary. Well at first. Once I get over my first initial fear I am alright and can do it. And even though my japanese is getting better I still wish that I could speak more and understand more so that I could contribute more to the conversation. I just need to be patient with myself which isn't one of my strong suits.

We also had Eikaiwa on Wednesday and in this area the class is HUGE. They actually have 4 classes and they are very organized about it. Everyone sigsn in and fills out a form where they mark different areas of the Gospel that they are interested in learning about. That is how we find a lot of people. Tonight for example we are teaching a lesson to a new student that came last week. It is a great finding method.

Last Friday we taught a lesson to a girl who is friends with a member and goes to institute here in Shibuya. This girls name is Sayaka (the one we taught) and she is super sweet. We ended up teaching her lesson and even talked a little bit about baptism and the Holy Ghost. She wanted to see the baptismal font and she had a lot of wonderful questions. She is someone who we call kinjin (golden investigator). Unfortunately she doesn't live in our area but we will probably still see her sometimes. I didn't say much during the lesson and at the beginning that was really bugging me that I couldn't understand or speak as well as I wanted to. But then I put a stop to the thoughts and just focused on her and tried to focus on the spirit. I figured as long as I can feel the sprit that is good enough. The spirit can promt me what to say. So even though I didn't say a whole lot I know that I said what the spirit wanted me to say. That is the important thing.

Saturday and Sunday we watched conference and I LOVED IT!!! I've been longing for it for a long time and it was so good to finally watch. It was kinda of wierd not to be in Salt Lake but to see it on the screen. haha All of the talks were wonderful and I felt the spirit touch me deeply with some of them. What was everyone's favorite? For both the Saturday and Sunday morning sessions we had potential investigator come with us. She is from America and has been here for two years. She has been going to the Japanese ward for the last few weeks or so and came with us this last weekend. She watched both sessions with Nishihara shimai in Japanese. Her Japanese is really good and she wants to learn more. She is amazing. On Saturday I told her that the talks are online and she can read through them so that night she read through all of the sessions, including the priesthood and really enjoyed that. Next time we see her we are going to invite her to take the lessons. I am excited. Her name is Chelsea.

So having an English ward in the area is not a bad thing at all. We have a lot of dinner appointments with everyone and so that means home cooked american meals. So good. Like last night we went over to the relief society presidents house and she made us homemade pizza, real pizza!! They have pizza here in Japan but they put weird things on it like fish and corn. They love corn. Anyway, so last week I realized that what I have missed from home is chips and salsa. Yes I am my mothers daughter and miss it. We had it at a members house and I about died I was in heaven. So I like having a English ward. :D

 

Other then that there isn't much else to say. I am really excited about being in Shibuya and feel like we are going to see some amazing things this transfer. Wonderful miracles. It will be good. If everyone can just keep praying for me and to have success that would be appreciated. And I do thank you all for your prayers and love. I feel it everyday.

 

I love you all!! Until next week,

 

Kenzie

I got the call and I am...

Hello Family,

 

Wow!! Sounds like everyone had an amazing weekend and enjoyed conference. I will be watching it this weekend and hear the official announcement from the prophets voice then. But we did hear the announcement. President Budge put it on our portal and had the zone leaders tell everyone to take a look. It was a big surprise. I decided to serve my mission when I was 19. I would be home by now if I went. But I am happy how it worked out because I wouldn't be meeting the people the I am meeting if I came two years ago. Saying that I am so proud of you Megs and your decision to serve a mission. It made me so excited to hear that. Going on a mission really does make you grow a lot and you find your extended family. That is what is happening to me, I am finding people that are my family. People that I know I knew in the pre-existance. Someone is waiting for you. You are an amazing woman who has a very strong testimony that will touch many lives. And the time will go by fast between now and when you start your papers and when your papers are in and you leave. And the three years that we won't see each other will feel like nothing. And we will just draw closer together becasue we will be serving missions at the same time together. I am so proud of you!!!

 

Ok so for this week. I know you are all dieing to hear what happened with transfers. Well....you will have to wait a little longer. haha I will go over the week first then let you know what happened. So last monday we went shopping with Narumi and then went out to dinner with her and a member, Dani (american). Narumi took us to an amazing resturant. It was huge and looked like a Japanese old style estate and we were in our own room that looked out a garden and the best part, the food was cheap. So nice!!!

 

Tuesday we went to the temple and boy was that an adventure on the train. We missed the first one then when we had to transfer trains we got on the wrong one that took us bascially back the way we came (not my fault this time) and then when we got to the right eki (station) where the temple was we went out the wrong exit and had to walk all the way around to the Temple and at this point we were rushing to the temple and barely made it to the second session so when we sat down my heart was still pounding really hard and fast and it took me awhile to calm down. I would rather not repeat that kind of experience. It doesn't do well to invite the spirit. I did see Gabe at the Temple and he is doing really well. His surgery went well and we had to stay in a sling for a week and this week I believe he is starting physical therapy this week. But he is back in the field working hard. :)

After the temple we had exchanges and I went to Senzokoike which is the city and I had a lot of fun there. It was my first time really streeting because in Oyama we can't do that because there are not people on the streets. I found that I actually kind of like streeting. Stopping to talk to people, getting to know them, sharing with them why I am here. It was really fun, even if I couldn't speak or understand that well.

 

Wednesday we changed back. Thursday visted an investigator in the hospital (Sachiko) and had music night. Friday distric meeting and practice the taishoukoto at Ishizawas house.

 

Saturday was really fun. We went shopping again with one of our students from Eikaiwa-Tanaka and I was able to get things for everybody and sent it off. The package will take two months to get to the states so it is the christmas package. I hope everyone likes what I got them. It isn't a lot. Not like what Justin did but Japan is very expensive and I have limited funds. But I really wanted to get everybody things. :)

That night we had the music concert and I performed the taishoukoto with Sister Lundy and Sister Ishizawa. It was a lot of fun even though I messed up a lot. haha but I still enjoyed myself. The whole night was amazing!!. My favorite part though was when Dani and Sister Lundy performed. Dani sang a song that Sister Lundy composed that is about her mom. Her mom passed away three years ago and the song is about her. After they performed the song one of our investigators, Kaori (who also performed that night) asked me what the meaing was because it was in English. I explained to her what happend and then shared about the Plan of Salvation. It was amazing the spirit I felt. I told her that is why I was in Japan. Was to share this message that brings me so much happiness and peace with everyone else. I loved baring my testimony. It is such an amazing feeling.

 

Ok so on to the topic of transfers. We got the tranfer calls on Friday morning. I have been transfered to Shibuya and my new companion is Sister Nishihara (japanese). Say what!!!???!!! It was such a surpise. Not that I was being transfered, but that I was being transfered to Shibuya. It is the total opposite of Oyama. Shibuya is the city that people typically think of when they think of Tokyo because it is the heart of Tokyo. It has the huge cross walk - the scramble cross walk - Tokyo Tower and it also has the Temple. Ya, exciting right?! :) So that is where I am right now as I write this. So far I love it. I love Nishihara shimai already. She is so cute and sweet. And I am so grateful to have the oppurtunity to have a Japanese companion. It will really help my Japanese improve. A LOT!!! Shibuya is huge and exciting with sooooo many people. Japanese and foreigners a like. It will be so much fun. So in Shibuya there are 6 missionaries. 4 Elders and 2 Sister. 2 of the Elders are in charge of the Japanese ward and focus on the Japanese. The other Elders are the English ward and teach foreign investigators. The sisters cover both. So everyother week for church we rotate. Last night we had a dinner appointment with an american family living on the army base and we went with the elders who are our ZL's as well. One of them graduated from Olympus 2011 and says he knows Megan, sort of. His name is Elder Hogue. Do you know him Megs? He and his companion are way awesome. The family we visited was the Rob family and they are converts of 3 years. It was really fun being with them. They made us taco's. Boy it has been a long time since I have had those. They also shared with us their conversion story. They have such a fire for missionary work. It is really amazing. Shibuya. I still can't believe I am here. It is crazy. I am so excited to get started and work so hard here. We don't have a lot of investigators but I have faith that we will find those preapred people that the Angels are working with. :) Here goes nothing!! :)

 

It was very very hard to leave Oyama. I was crying through out the weekend (even though I was excited to come to Shibuya). Sunday they had me bare my testimony in church and that night Sister Adachi had a dinner party for me and the younger Tauchi (he too got transfered). That was soo much fun. Narumi was able to come and there were a lot of other people who are all precious to me. I did pretty well through the night not getting emotional, even when I started saying goodbye to people. But then Taguchi obaachan came up to me and said good luck and gave me the hug (she never hugs usually). So that was the end for me. I started crying so hard when I saying goodbye to her daughter and everyone else. My heart is just so full of love for all of them. I am so very very grateful to have met them all. They are my Oyama family.

Yesterday I finished packing and the Bishop and his wife took us out to eat lunch before going to the eki for us to catch the train. Sister Yanada is soo sweet and has such a big heart. She was tearing up during lunch when we were talking about the transfers. She is so very sweet. At the eki I felt so loved. There were a lot of people who came to see us off. Tanaka, Fusako, Narumi, Sachiko, Ishizawa, and of course the bishop and his wife. It was a wonderful send off. Oyama is truly a wonderful place. The people there are just so full of love and dendo fire. They are such a wonderful example to me. I learned a lot from them. :)

 

I want to encourage the family to get involved with Missionary work. Jen and Jareds new calling is so wonderful. It really is through the members that people trully come to Christ and not only that, they stay converted. So I urge you please get involved. Call the missionaries. Ask if they need joints for lessons or help in any other way. Or just have them over for dinner and let them practice teaching. We need it, trust me. Sometimes I don't even know what I want to say in English which makes translating difficult. haha Or if there are no missionaries working in the ward ask the bishop who the less actives are and help them come back to church. Sometimes it just takes a smiling face and kind words to get people interested in coming back. That is my advice for this week. Help the mission effort. It is a wonderful cause!!!! :) I like it.

 

I love you all so much and can't believe how quick the time is going by. It is wierd that in just three months it will be christmas and will be talking with you. That will go by like a snap of the fingers. Crazy!!

 

I am so glad that everyone is doing well. Have a good week this week!!

 

Love always,

Kenzie

Nikko

I have a Super Power!!

Family!!!

How are you? I know I am writing this pretty early, it is 5:30 here. My companion wants to start getting up really early from now on so she can read the bible and other books before her mission is over. So the reason that I am writing right now instead of later. I hope you are all doing well. I may have time later to check back and read your e-mails but for now I will just assume that everyone is doing well.

So this last week has been long and fun. On Monday we didn't have the lesson with Priti. Instead we had it on Tuesday and it went really well and we came to understand what he meant in his e-mail to us. He thought the whole book of Mormon was about a dream (Lehi's dream) and that it is through dreams that prophets speak to God. Whew! That was a relief to hear. We still kept to our plan though and taught more about the Book of Mormon and the spirit. He was very curious how God can speak to him and what it will be like when He does. He asked us if we could give a time frame for when it would happen. We of course said that we could not because it is between him and the Lord and it takes work to constantly be searching the spirit. He needs to try to recognize how the spirit speaks to him and and the different ways that it happens. I told him about how I am still finding different ways the spirit speaks to me and I always have to be searching for it. The lesson went really well but the best part was towards the end after we talked more about the origin of the Book of Mormon and how it came to be published. I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon and said that it is a true word of God, a perfect word, and it is through the Book of Mormon that I have come to my Father and Christ. I told him that he too can have his prayers answered and come to the know the Father if he only reads the Book of Mormon prayerfully. After I bore my testimony he looked at me with wonderment and said, “I can't understand it. Your faith and the way you speak about God and your relationship with Him even though you have never seen Him. It is like a super natural ability. It passes my understanding. I want that.” That's right my testimony is a super power!!! hahaha I never thought of it that way before or my faith. We of course told him that it is very possible for him to have the same ability. I was so grateful for the opportunity that I had to share my testimony of the Book of Mormon. The spirit was strong when I was and I felt so happy telling him what I know, what I have found out for myself. That is what I am here for.

On Wednesday we went over to Ishizawa's house (a member) and she had a friend come over and teach us how to play a taishookoto, a Japanese instrument. There is a picture in the previous e-mail of me playing it. It was so much fun to learn and the three of us (me, Sister Lundy and Sister Ishizawa )will be performing together this Saturday at the music concert that the ward is having. It should be really fun and the song we are doing I have become pretty skilled at playing it. Haha But then again it is a pretty easy one.

Thursday we just had weekly planning and then went and visited another member with Ishizawa shimai. The member we visited (Moro shimai) has the most beautiful garden I have yet seen in Japan and an amazing beautiful house. She is such a wonderful home maker. She makes these really cute dolls and makes delicious home made jam that she gets from her garden like fig jam and raspberry jam.She also made for us the best yakisoba I have had. Yakisoba is a Japanese meal that I have come to very much like and I am determined to learn how to make it while I am here and come home and make it for everyone. Apparently it is really simple to make which makes me happy. I like simple. The visit with Moro shimai was so much fun and I loved the opportunity to get to know her. The members here in Oyama are seriously wonderful. They give the missionaries so much help and are such wonderful examples of being missionaries themselves. I love them!!

Also on Thursday at the music night I taught a small lesson to one of our investigators by myself. Her name is Kaori and she is the sweetest thing ever. She comes to music night every week and will be performing at the concert as well. Anyway, we had plans to teach her about Prayer that night and at first I was worried we wouldn't be able to because the time was coming soon to when we would need to return home. I prayed to have an opportunity to teach her and to my delight it was answered. I was telling her about transfers and how I might be leaving after this week. I told her I would love for her to write to me if she could. I pulled out a meshi card of mine and wrote a quick message on the back. While I was writing a thought came to also give her a little prayer card that a member always gives us that goes through the steps of prayer really simply. So after I gave my meshi to her I told her that I had something else for her, a special gift that I feel is important. I then started teaching about prayer. Who we pray to, how we pray, what we pray for, etc. I then asked her if she would pray and she said she would. I had so much fun teaching her about prayer and felt so happy doing it. Prayer is the way we communicate to our Father. It is so important and so simple. Its so wonderful!

On Saturday we went to Nikko again. This time we went with two of our Eikaiwa students, Tanaka and Fusako, and this time we saw different parts of Nikko. The famous lake and waterfalls they have. Tanaka was really nice and drove us there instead of just taking the train and buses which meant we were able to see and do more. The trip there was about an hour ½ to two hours so the car ride wasn't that bad. I loved driving through the mountains, it reminded me so much of home. The first stop we went to was a waterfall named Ryuzu Falls and Ryuzu is a dragon and the falls look like his head as he moves his head towards heaven. It was beautiful!! And we were really lucky because the weather was really nice in that part of Nikko so it just made it that more pretty. It was a nice 15 or so minute walk to the top of the waterfall but the whole time it is flowing past you. We also saw Japan's most famous waterfall which is called Kegon falls. It is 92 m. tall (I have no idea what that is in feet). It was breathtaking. It truly made me in awe of Heavenly Fathers creation and to see His wonderful artistic hand. We saw a few more things and the trip over all was wonderful. It also made me excited because I found things for Dad, Justin and Jared. The two boys is hard to find things for. I want something that is fun for them and something that they can enjoy but also have something that can last longer then just a year or two. I will just continue keeping my eye out.

Sunday the Elders had another baptism and it was a wonderful experience. I felt the spirit so strongly and as he was getting confirmed a member of the church and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost I could see Christ with the biggest smile (3^rd Nephi 19) on His face and could feel His love and happiness for Tommy. It made me start crying and even deepened my desire to see our investigators get to that point and have the Savior smile at the them and have Him be proud of them. It was wonderful.

Well, this week is the last week of my training. I will have been here for two transfers. We get calls on Saturday morning about who will be going and who will be our new companion. Wow. That time went by slow and fast all at the same time. It is weird how time does that. I am really hoping that my next companion will be Japanese, that way I will be able to learn Japanese quicker. I am actually jealous of those who have had only Japanese companions because now their Japanese is really good.

I am still having some struggles with my companion that I have now. I never realized how hard it would be to be with someone for 24/7 who is completely different then who you are. It has been hard because I have sometimes been a totally different person, someone I would rather not be. But through the experience I am being given my weaknesses on a silver platter and recognizing how much I need to improve. Sometimes I wonder if I am even a good person since I have so much that needs to be improved but nonetheless I am grateful for the opportunity to see what I need to improve on and make myself better. Even if it is really really hard.

Well, that is all for this week. I am happy because tomorrow we are going to the Temple again and you know how much I love that. How was the dedication by the way? I am very grateful for Temples and that because of them I have you guys for eternity. It makes being away from home easier.

I love you all with all my heart and don't worry about me. I am doing just fine.

As always all my love,

Kenzie

Elder Aoyagi

Hello again Family,

Has it already been a week?? I can't believe it. The weeks are going by quicker and quicker. And it is wierd to think that in 2 weeks I will be done with my training and will be getting a new companion. I can't believe it has almost been 12 weeks since I have been in Japan. Say what!!?? Sounds like you enjoyed yourselves Mom and Dad, having the house all to yourself. It will be wierd when I get back to be the only child left at home. so wierd. Tell Eric congratulations from me and tell Ann Marie thank you for the invitation of theirs. They looked really cute in their picture and I am happy for them. Also to quickly update you on the condition of Gabe. Last Friday he had surgery on his arm and he would be staying in the hospital for 5 days after that. They say he is doing well and staying postive and that he just really wants to get back out and work. So if he would be in your prayers as well that would be appreciated. Needless to say that no arm wrestling has become a new mission rule.

Ok so on to the week. It has officially cooled down and I love it. It has rained like none other this week which makes riding in a bike super fun. Yesterday, Sunday, was the most rain. It rained all day long and it was cool rain. Usually it is hot and humid rain but this rain I liked. It is supposed to get cooler as we head into October which makes me excited because I love fall and the cool weather. :) Which reminds me, Mom I hope you are keeping your eye out for a good winter coat. I will keep my eye out over here as well and will let you know if I buy one. Next week I will be buying some boots because of the rain. I have come to the decision that I need them.

On Wednesday we had another lesson with Priti and we taught him the Plan of Salvation. The Elder joined us as well as Adachi Shimai. Having everyone there was really good. We were able to get through the whole lessoon and answer Priti's questions because he was confused on how God could be just if 1. He let his beloved son die the way he did and 2. if he wouldn't send people who did really bad things to hell. He was confused a little bit on the Kingdoms. But with everyone pitching in we were able to help answer his questions. I was even able to tell him the debtor story. Priti has a strong desire to learn more about christianity and gain more knowledge but sometimes I worry that is all that he wants. He doesn't really want to follow Christ. This morning we got an e-mail from him. Sister Lundy e-mails him every other day or so about some sort of topic to help him progress. Yesterdays e-mail was about committments and why we ask him to read the BoM and pray. In his e-mail this morning to us he said that he believes the book of Mormon is a dream and that prophets are the same. That is how christianity was established. Based off of dreams. They were never real, the things in the book of Mormon never happened. And that to him there is no difference between christianity and islam. They believe in the same things. He did says that he admires our faith that we have in Jesus Christ even without knowing his life history (what he did as a teenager, where he lived, ect) because it passes his understanding. To him he wants to know EVERYTHING about the person he is supposed to follow. He has some more questions for us and so we will be meeting with him tonight and we will be talking more about the Book of Mormon. It is difficult. I really want him to accept the gospel but yet he is being very stubborn and hard and I don't think he is praying or truly reading the book of Mormon with the right intentions. So it is hard becuase I don't know how far to go. At what point do you get to when you say "ok I have taught you everything that I know. If you won't accept then we will have to stop meeting." I don't like doing that because they are still children of God but they do have their agency. It is dificult. I pray that the lesson tonight will go well and that his heart will be softened and will feel the spirit.

Thursday was a wonderful day!! Elder Aoyagi of the seventy and second counselor to the area presidency and his wife came and trained us so we had a 3 zone conference. It was wonderful! Everything that they talked about, including President and Sister Budges was exactly what I needed to hear. It was what I wanted to know so that I could become a better missionary. President Budge talked about faith, desire and belief. And how when we have all three and we do all that we can we will see miracles happen. And how desire comes through the wonderful gift of repentance. So we must repent everyday. Sister Budge talked about Patriarchal blessings and the importance of studying them. of pondering them. She talked about how every missionary should have theirs memorized by the end of their mission. That isn't a problem for me because I have read mine so many times since I got I basically do already have it memorized. Sister Aoyagi talked about how to study for our investigators and stressed the importance of practicing, doing role plays. Finally Elder Aoyagi told us of his conversion story and talked to us about relying on God more. We need to come to realize that He is walking besides us and will help us if we do all we can. If we have desire and faith. If we act on what the Lord tells us. He expressed the importance of repentance and the atonement. He asked us to really rely on the Lord, have faith and love the people and the prophecy about Japan will come true. This is the time of the great reaping. Ahh, such a good conference. The spirit was so strong and it was what my heart and spirit needed to hear. I am so grateful that I was able to hear from this great man. He and his wife were trully inspired with the things they needed to say. Isn't the spirit great!!?!

On the way back from the conference I was able to sit next to this older lady on the train and talk to her. It is really convenient being a foreigner because then when I start talking to people they ask me if I am a student here and I say no and explain why I am in Japan which is a great segway into the church. So that is what happened when I was talking to this lady. I told her that I have a mesage that brings so much happiness to me that I want to share. It is about Jesus Christ and how through him we can find peace and happiness in this life and have eternal families. She asked me some questions but it took me awhile to understand some of the things that she said. Unfortunately the train ride was short and we both had to get off to catch different trains but I was able to give my meshi card. As we said goodbye she took my hand and squeezed it and gave me a smile. So who knows maybe she will investigate the church or something. But it was still so much fun talking to her about the gospel, even if I did struggle with the language.

After the conference we went to Music night. Kaori, one of our investigators came again and she was able to practice for the concert that is coming up next Saturday. She is singing a really pretty song that I was actually pleasently surprised that I know. Kaori is soo sweet. I love her so much and I am so glad to have met her. She is really busy with work so usually doesn't have time to meet with us so we try to teach her lesson at music night. This last week was hard because she needed to practice but the week before I was able to talk to her. Her and I talked about the Book of Mormon and she said that she has been reading some of it. I encouraged her to keep reading it even though it may be hard. It is really worth it. I then bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon. I am praying that we will be able to meet with her more often and teach her the lessons because I just know she would accept it.

On Friday we went over to a potential investigators house to help her write letters in English to people in Australia. Her son(15) recently got back from a home stay there and she wanted to write letters saying thank you and please come and visit at anytime. Sister Lundy wrote from her perspective, her name is Ikeida, and I wrote from her son's. She is the funniest person ever and I fell in love with her from the moment we walked in the door. We were able to meet her son as well and he is very nice and we had so much fun with the both of them. When we called her again a couple days ago she said that she wanted us to come over again and help teach them english and her son wanted to be friends. That made us happy because then when we start going over there we can start teaching them. I am really excited about that!! :) They are such a wonderful family.

Saturday we went over to a members house to do some service for her. We weeded her garden and we actually used a sickle to do it too. It made weeding easier because there were A LOT of weeds. It has been so long since I have weeded. It took me back to those summer days when Mom would have to drag me outside to do it. haha We had fun though and we were also able to meet the rest of her family who are not members of the church so it was good brt (build a relationship of trust).

I can't tell you how much I love the members in the Oyama ward. They are so sweet and I am becoming such good friends with them. There are a few who I am becoming really close to and will be sad when I leave when I won't be able to see them anymore. But I will make sure to give them my meshi card and write down their address so I can write to them. :) The same with some of our investigators.

Guess what!? I am speaking Japanese. I was reading in my journal yesterday about how during my second or so week I had a breakdown because I couldn't talk to people on the phone and understand them. Well now I am always talking to people on the phone and e-mailing them in Japanese. I still can't understand everything that is being said but I am slowly learning. YAY!!!!!! That makes me happy! And I am praying that my next companion will be Japanese that way I can learn even quicker. But it is amazing to stop and realize that I am really starting to speak this language. I can! WAHOO. hahaha

Well that is all for this week. I love you so much guys. You have no idea how much I miss you and love you. I am so happy that everyone is doing well. I pray for you everyday and I am so grateful to have a family like you. :)

Love you,

Kenzie

POP goes the....

Hello Family,

 

Sorry that this letter is a day late. We were really busy yesterday and so made today our P-dad which is a very sacred day. I hope this doesn't make me sound selfish but I need pday. It helps me stay focused and have energy for the rest of day. It is a good day. :)

 

So first off.....GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!! That makes me happy to hear that they won and conquered the cougars. Especially since we won't be playing them for a few years. Back to back years that is what I am talking about. I can't believe that BYU had three chances to tie the game and failed everytime. That makes it even a little bit better. haha

 

Ok so on for this week. Last Tuesday we had a mini zone conference here in Oyama. What that means is that my whole zone gets together and President Budge and the Assistants come and talk to us and we do interviews with President Budge. It lasts for the majority of the day. This particular conference will not be forgotten because of a certain accurance. So after President Budge spoke to us for a bit it was the assistants turn to talk to us and they started it off by wanting to do an object lesson. They asked for two Elders. One elder was from my District - Elder Ige - the other was Elder Ribeiro (Gabe, you remember him right). They asked them to arm wrestle and they only had one rule. That they had to win three times in 30 seconds. The assistants said go and they started the match. They were both equally strong, the arms were still in the middle and their whole bodies were shaking. We didn't know who would come out the victory when all of the sudden in the quiet everyone hears this very loud POP! The wrestlying match stops and Gabes face turns into a look of shock as he looks down at his elbow and says, "I think you broke my arm." At this point everyone has gasped and all of the sisters have their hands over their mouths in disbelief and some of the missionaries even looked close to passing out. Immediatly someone got an ice pack and had him sit down and Elder Corpus (my previous DL who is a trained EMT and former marine sniper) got up to take a look. They got the car and took Elder Ribeiro to the nearest Hospital in Oyama and then returned and retrieved his things because they were taking him to Tokyo. We didn't find out how he was doing until the end of the Conference when President Budge got a call from Sister Budge updating him on the situation. His bone was broken and it was done by his own muscles. They were debating on whether doing surgery or a cast. And last I heard he was still in the hospital and didn't want to do surgery because it was risky and obvously a bit more expensive. I will update you when I find out more. So that is why this conference will not be forgotten and has probably been told through out the mission. Lesson learned - no arm wrestlying matches.

 

Thursday I was actually in a car for the whole afternoon and mid evening. A member, Ishizawa shimai, took us all around Oyama to ward members homes so we knew where they were and could put it in our phone. It will be very helpful now. We also were introduced to her friend who isn't a member but is the sweetest lady ever and told us to please come to her house again. So sweet!! After we went everywhere that we needed to go and before we went to music night (that happens every Thursday) Ishizawa shimai took us out to dinner to a chinese resturant. And I need to tell you right now Chinese food in Japan is AMAZING!!! So declicious. I got shrimp that had a hot/spicy red sauce over it that was oh so good. And this particular resturant gives you A LOT of food and it is cheap as well. We put the resturants location in our phone as well. We really want to go back to that place. And I would also like to mention that if we had a car we could be doing so much more work. Oyama is a big area and it takes awhile to go to places on the bike. That day we went to two cities, Mamada and Kogane. Both of those cities are about an hour away by bike. Don't get me wrong I love riding my bike but it would be convenient for a place like Oyama that is inaka (countryside) to have a car.

 

Friday night we went to Koga to meet the Elders there and to see Kana again and this time she brought a friend with her. We all had so much fun. We went out to dinner to have Yakiniku. It is this type of resturant where they have a grill in the middle of the table and you fry up your own meat. It is quit tasty. I have had something similar to it before but it is a pot and that is called shabushabu. Both types are very good and I very much think America needs something like this. Though this night I did have something interesting to eat that was accidently ordered. Pig intestines. I wouldn't recommend it. It isn't that tasty but the rest of the stuff was very good. Kana is seriusly amazing. She is so nice and so ready to hear the gospel. Both her and her friend. She really wants to come to church with us and we are happy for her to come but we also want her to try to go to the one in Koga. Sister Lundy was able to teach both of them about Prayer during dinner and show them how to pray. When Kana was taking us back to the train station she said that she was very happy to learn about how to pray and that she would do it. WAHOO!!! I love her so much!! I think she added me on facebook so you may want to watch out for her Mom as well as anyone else who may add me. :) I also loved spending time with the Elders. Elder Corpus and Elder Ige are really funny together and Elder Corpus has always been an interesting missionary. This is his last transfer. We all wonder what we will do without him. haha

 

I am doing fine. My Japanese is very slowly slowly coming but it is coming. It has been hard lately, my own little mind battles. Sometimes it has been hard being with my companion and so there have been times that I have felt alone with no one to talk to, no one to help me. Last night was really hard for example because I didn't feel any support from my companion and felt very judged and alone. I cried so hard to Lord for help. And I did so again this morning. With everything going on around me, with all the pressures last night and this morning I seriuosly questioned if I could do this. And the answer in my head was no, I can't do this. I can't be a great missionary. So I poured out every bit of my heart to my Father, pleading for help. Pleading to feel peace and love. To know what to do. And during Personl study today I recieved some answers that have helped me. One was first talk to Sister Lundy. I was able to talk to my companion and let out all the tears and frustrations I was feeling and after I did that I felt so much peace. She was able to understand how I was feeling and apologized. I felt the wieght lifted off of me and I could breath again. I have no doubt that it will still be hard sometimes these last few weeks to be her companion but I am not dredding it. And I am not saying that I wish I wasn't her companion. I have learned a lot from her and we do have fun together but it has been hard. But it is through the hard times that you learn and grow.

 

 I have also realzied that I need to do better at being exactly obedient. There have been times that I haven't that I regret and shake my head at myself but I have made the turn around and I am determined to be obedient to everything. Not that I have gotten over this bump and have new goals and new ways I want to do things I will be able to quikly progress and move forward. Becoming a better missionary and teacher for the people that I meet everyday. I want to help my brothers and sisters so bad. This gospel is trully the only source of real happiness and peace and I am constantly reminded that everyday as I feel Heaven near, helping me. :)

 

I am doing better now so you don't need to worry about me. Thank you for your love and support. Sometimes it is what helps me push through knowing that everyone believes in me, even when at times I don't believe in myself. So thank you!!! I love you with all my heart and I am so happy that everyone is doing so well.

 

Love you,

Kenzie