Hi Everyone,
I am excited for everyone to be going to San Diego this week. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun and I am excited for you Megs to be going through the San Diego Temple for your first time. It is an amazing experience. I for sure encourage you to write down in your journal as soon as you can about the experience you had there. The feelings you felt because it is truly one you will always want to remember.
I am really looking forward to talking to you all next week. It will be a lot of fun. :D Just a reminer that you are the ones who have to be calling me because I can't call you since it is too expensive. As for the time it will probably be best to do it 7 am my time because that is also the morning that we get transfer calls and if we do it later it might be at the same time as that. So I think if it is 7 am here that would mean it would be 3 pm in California. You can check but it should work out fine. I am looking forward to it!!!
Also just so you know next monday, I will be checking my e-mail earlier in the day because we will be going to the zoo and then straight to Shibuya to spend the night for the temple. So if you want me to read any e-mails be sure to send them early.
Ok so on for this week.
This week was amazing! Especially yesterday, we had 3 investigators at church and we were able to teach all three of them. One of them is a new investigator named Richard. We were Kubariing under a covered area when it was really rainy and this young man came walking down the street. The other sisters (because I was on the other side) started talking to him and learned that he is from the Philippines and that he just moved here 2 weeks ago. He asked us if we were from the Mormon church and we told him yes. He said "oh my cousin is Mormon. He said that I should join the church when I get to Japan because I will probably be lonley". The Sisters gave him a plan of Salvation pamphlet that we by some miracle had in Tagalog and talked to him for a bit and then invited him to church for this last sunday. He came to church and we had a great lesson with him. During our lesson we taught him about the Resoration and when we asked him what he felt after I said the first vision, he said "I feel like I want to cry when we talk about these things". We invited him to be baptized and he said "ofcourse!" He also really enjoyed church and will be coming again. This is a person who has really been prepared by the Lord.
Another wonderful man we are teaching is named Hayakawa, he started the lessons in Adachi and now has moved to Utsunomiya. He is 61 years old and has alot of Hobbies. Yesterday he practically taught us the Restoration and we were able to teach him a little about Baptism and what it means. He really is excited to learn more and he also said yes that he would like to be baptized as well. We think he is a little lonely and the members have really been great about taking him under their wing.
Another miracle this week was meeting this lady Sayaka again. We met her a few weeks ago taking her son home from school. She is the PTA president and this time we said hello to her and she invited us over. She has 13 cats and 6 dogs. It felt like we were in a zoo, and just so you are aware my allergies to cats has really beome stronger during my mission so my eyes were absalutly killing me after the visit. I had to come home and put a cold compress on them and lay down for a bit. But she had her 6 year old son pray for us and we were able to read a little bit from the Book of Mormon with her. Her mother also lives with them and the whole family is just so loving. We are going back this week on Thursday and are way excited to teach them.
We have two who are chinese and now have baptism dates. They are so wonderful. The woman, Ryu, we met during last transfer and taught her some. She had a hard time progressing because she felt like she was a terrible daughter of Heavenly Father. Before we even had a baptsim date for her but she didn't make it. Now however she is helping us teach her friend, Cho. He understands Japanese somewhat but she translates for him in Chinese and since she has been doing that her faith and hope seems to be growing stronger. And her friend is propabably a wonderful example for her. He accepts everything from us so easily and is so great. We are really excited for the both of them.
It has been amazing teaching so many people and I have really come to learn how to teach by the spirit. My companions told me this last week that "this week they were able to witness peoples whole countenance and body change as Sister Dolan bore her testimony, there was nothing they could argue with her about after that." Two of the times was when we visited this woman who doesn't really want to learn about the church but she is just the saddest woman ever so we go back sometimes. I remember having this spirit come over me as I bodly and directly told her that she is a daughter of God and nothing can change that. It is still true whether or not she believes or understands it. The other time happened on Friday when we were teaching one of our new investigators name Fumiko. She is a referral from a member and we met her and taught her a little from lesson one. She was telling us how she was going through some difficult times that she has had and how it is hard to forgive herself and things like that. I was able to relate to her quickly because of some challenges I have had recently and tesified to her that life is still hard no matter what but with this Gospel and with Christ's atonement it gives you hope and peace to get through anything. What an amazing feeling that I had during both those times. I can't even describe it. It is a feeling I have never felt before. And how blessed I feel to have felt that.
Well I love you all so much. Please travel safe this week and have a great time on the beach. :D
Love you,
Kenzie
