I am happy to here that Megs got off safe and sound for this week. I can't believe she is gone and off on her very own adventure. I am very proud of her.
So Sister Ellingson and I are doing wonderful!!! We moved into our apartment last Thursday and it is soooo nice. It is nice and big and filled with light. It has been hard because we haven't had any blankets, sheets, pillows and some other things but we are getting by and it really is a pretty apartment and it was just 5 min from the church. It is very close which is very convenient.
I love this area already. It is a great area and I can already tell that this area was meant to be my last. It has been great!!!
We got a lot of referrals from the Elders when we first came in and one of those referrals was a family with 3 children. The dad is a member but has been less active for years and his children are 12, 11 and 8. The Elders set up an appointment for us when we came in for this last Saturday and so we were able to meet with them for the first time and teach a lesson. The lesson was ok not the best though it was fun meeting the kids. It is my first time teaching kids and one of the kids is autistic so it was hard, strange enough. We need to keep the lesson a lot more simple so hopefully we will be able to do that the next time but we were able to make baptism dates for them and that will be in 2 weeks so we are hoping we can get them to those dates. We may have to push it back but we will see. The kids are really shy but nice and they are a cute family.
Saturday night I went to one of the american bases for a meal appointment and I had a little bit of shock going back into America.haha It was so weird. From that experience I feel like this area is going to be a great blessing because the Lord is slowly integrating me back in American culture. haha On base we met with a few families and went to a park and had a bbq with hot dogs and hamburgers and there were some other families near by meeting and it was a lot like an american summer night. It has been so long since I have seen that. It was weird but really nice. The families that were with us are really nice and fed us some great food. Like I said, I like this area. :D haha And the Lord is just continuing giving us miracles and it was a GREAT time to be a missionary.
Sunday was soooo much fun!!!! We went to both of the wards and it was fast Sunday and since we are both new we were able to give our testimonies and hear others. The Zama branch's (english) testimony was fabulous just filled with so many testimonies about missionary work and about members sharing the gospel. The spirit was sooo strong and I felt it for the rest of the day in both wards. In my heart I felt so grateful for so many things. It is amazing how much the Lord has given me and how much he has helped me recently. I have just felt so much of His love in my life recently and have felt Him so near. I can not even describe the feeling. Last night I was thinking about how much time I have left and was getting sad. Even though I am excited to see you all and for some other things I am also a little scarred to come home. Just very unknown and wondering if I will be able to stay the person that I have become and remember the things that I have learned. But last night after having a long conversation with Him I felt Him draw near unto me and could feel His peace, love and assurance that He will be with me when i get home and everything will be ok. He will continue to guide me and I will be able to continue to follow Him. I really love balcony time. :D
Today was also a great day filled with the spirit because guess what?! It was my LAST Temple pday!!! My last time at the Tokyo Temple as a missionary. I felt so much of the spirit and all I could think of was my mission and how great of a blessing it was. I thought about all the trails I have gone through, all the wonderful people I have met and the growth that I have gone through and was just filled with so much gratitude!! I have been so blessed this last year and a half and have learned and grown so much. I know now that i had to come on a mission to become the person I am now so that I could receive blessings for my future. I am starting to see how the blessings in my patriarchal blessing will come to pass and it is all because I have served a mission and I will forever be grateful for that. How great is the Lord in providing this opportunity for me!!!
Family I love you sooo much and I look forward to seeing you. In some moments i can not believe that I have been away from you for 18 months and other times it feels like an eternity. How strange time is.
I love you with all my heart, until next week.
Kenzie
