URUGUAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is so awesome Megs!!! After I read it I knew it would be perfect for you!!!! You are going to do soooooo wonderful and what an experience for you to be going to the MTC in Argentina. We will miss each other exactly 2 months but it will be so fun to serve with you at the same. :D I am so extremely proud of you. You are an amazing woman and you have grown a lot while I have been gone and there are so many people who will be in Uruguay waiting for you. :D My new companion says to make sure that you get on you Visa application ASAP. She new a lot of Sisters in the MTC who were going to Argentina for their missions but they didn't get their Visas in time so they went to Provo and then they actually ended up getting a new mission call. So be sure you get on that quick. You have 5 months. You should have time. :D It will be fun having so many languages spoken in the Dolan household. And you will be able to help me learn Spanish when you get home. That is awesome.
I am hoping since the cat is out of the bag and everyone knows about this I can talk about it. But Amanda I am so proud of you and excited for you. It would be absolutely wonderful if I could be there at your baptism but know that I will be there in spirit and be sure to send me pictures. :D Please and Thank you!!!!
I am so happy to hear how much the Lord is blessing everyone at home. What great comfort it brings me. I teared up today thinking about it I am very very grateful!!
So on to this week. Well as I mentioned last week and earlier in the letter I got a new companion. I am in a 3 man again. And I am training. My new companions name is Sister Hunsaker and she is from California and is 19. She and her group of sisters are the first 19 year olds to arrive in the mission. Sister Hunsaker is AWESOME!! Such a wonderful missionary and so filled with so much mission fire. It has really been inspiring and has helped me to step it up and become a better missionary and in doing so I have found even more joy. It is amazing to become a trainer and to experience things for the first time again as we have introduced her to Japan and mission life. It has also been very humbling to see the things that I have improved on. I guess it took finally becoming a trainer to recognize that I am becoming one of the older missionaries and have been out for awhile so therefore have gained or improved on certain skills. It has made my heart be overwhelmed with gratitude. The Lord really has been with me and even the things I thought I hadn't improved on I have. I love being a trainer. It is really fun. And I will most likely be training for the rest of my mission. Wow! がんばります.
So this last week was pretty fun. Last Thursday was the Cherry Blossom festival and some of our English students took us the famous park here in Utsunomiya where everyone goes to see them and have picnics. It was BEAUTIFUL!! And it made me so happy to have gone there. There was a disappointing part to it though. We tried sharing a message with these ladies and invite them to hear more but they wouldn't have it. They said they believe in themselves not so much in a God and they have more experience then we do. It because we are young that we believe such things. I won't lie that kinda hurt and made me just a lil upset hearing that. But I bore my testimony that no matter how much “experience” I have I will always know that this message is true and that this message is for everyone, young and old. I love these ladies but they do need to become humble. We will still teach them English though. I love them and I am very grateful for them in taking us to the park so I can see Heavenly Father's creations in this part of the world.
So one of our investigators is well on his way to being baptized this Sunday after the General conference sessions. He is amazing and a very prepared person. His name is Kentaroh and he is 26. He first came in contact with the missionaries 8 years ago when he went to Eikaiwa. He only went once but he remembered where the church was. So 4 weeks ago he came and we invited him to church and started teaching lessons and now will be getting baptized this Sunday. He is so full of faith and has such a strong desire to become close to Christ. He told us this last Saturday that last year in October he went to the doctor and was told that he has an incurable disease that may turn into cancer later on his life. Since then he has had questions and has been seeking God. It is truly amazing to be a part of this experience with him. He accepts everything we say with so much faith and is always trying his best to follow the commitments we give him. I love him!! He has truly been prepared by angels. :D
We had a lot of wonderful miracles on Sunday yesterday. We had a less active come to church and it was only his 2nd time since being baptized last March so we were able to quickly grab him and his wife (who is a member also) and do a lesson. He hasn't been taught the After baptism lessons yet and has yet to receive the priesthood. We really want to help him and his family go to the Temple this year to be sealed. We were able to commit him to another lesson and invited him to the priesthood session this Saturday. I LOVE this family with all of my heart!!! Probably one of my favorites. Their name is Nakayasu and they are wonderful!!! We went with the Mother and 2 children on Friday to a gorgeous park where we rode a 4 person bike and a 2 person bike. My companions were with the kids on the 4 seater and I was with Sister Nakaysu on the 2 seater. It was so much fun!!!!
We also had another investigator come who I haven't seen since my first week in Utusnomiya. Her name is Irene and she is from the Philippines and is a catholic. She really wants to find the right of God and follow Christ with all her heart and she has wonderful faith. She has some concerns about some of the principles of our church such as the Book of Mormon because she believed that it wasn't mentioned in the Bible so why was there need for another. We were able to share with her scriptures from both the bible and the Book of Mormon and I think we were able to answer her concerns about that. She lives super far away so we can't visit her but we have made an appointment to meet her on Skype. The wonderful blessing of having laptops in the apartment. :D We really want to help her so her family too can become an eternal family (her boyfriend is a member).
That is all of the really exciting stuff that happened this week. I love doing this work even when I am exhausted and ache all over. The spirit is all worth it. My love for this people is growing stronger and stronger and I am finding more joy as I lose myself more and more in the work. I know the Savior is in this work and I know He is helping me and guiding me. Oh, in relation to that I almost forgot. I witnessed a wonderful miracle about 2 weeks ago where shows evidence that the Lord really does take care of His missionaries and knows them. 2 weeks ago we were coming home for the train station and we decided to take a different way than usual. As we were riding by and I looked and behold what did my eyes behold? None other than MY bike!!! The one that was stolen a month ago or so. It was just sitting there on the street and wasn't locked up or anything. I couldn't believe it!! So now I have my bike back. Isn't that awesome. It is a little banged up and I am taking it in on Wednesday to get it fixed up but what a wonderful miracle. The Lord knows me and that I am in this part of His vineyard. :D I have no more words to describe my love and my gratitude for him!! :D
I love you all with all my heart and I am so proud to be apart of this family!!!
Have a wonderful week and I shall chat with you all next time.
Love,
Kenzie
