Stolen...

 This week was a really hard one. Mostly just the last part of it. We did a lot of good work this week and we invited two people to be baptized and they said that they would. We were able to introduce a less active to a member and now she has a friend. And were able to find some new people to teach. It was a fun week and I was able to improve in some things but the last few days have been very stressful and hard. I guess because I have been going through out my mission trying to push myself to work hard, thinking that I wasn't working hard enough. But during this transfer I am coming to find out that I am working almost too hard and not being as productive when I do it. It is hard because to accept that I need to slow down a little and even change my tactics. But the Lord has given me ideas of what I can do better so I plan on doing them. But it has been very very stressful. And to add to the stress and anxiety that I have been feeling, on Friday (a day I basically woke up crying) morning when we left the apartment to meet a potential investigator I come to find out that my bike is missing. It has been stolen. I just stared in shock. I just thought of all the days it was today. Very ironic. But strangely after seeing it gone I was able to feel better. I was even laughing at the fact that it happened to me. But then the stress came back yesterday about what I was going to do about a bike. I found out that the mission home doesn't have one and I have no money to buy another one. I was stressed out of my mind and I was exhausted. I cried very very hard yesterday and I even felt like not praying because I had the quick thought that I am alone and the Lord isn't with me. But after the thought came I knew I had to pray more then ever. 

So after getting down on my knees I just prayed that my heart will be filled with peace and that things would work out. I was then able to sleep and this morning when I woke up I felt better and when I did personal study I felt great. I read President Eyring's talk “where is the pavilion?” and it really hit me hard. I learned what I needed to change. How I could be more productive. I think during this transfer I am learning how to balance and prioritize and to recognize where my efforts are needed. Right now we have a lot of p.i.'s and investigators. But many of them are not ready at this point. Yes they are all very special and important but I need to be and do the things where I am needed, where my testimony will be most beneficial. And if I am more bold and upfront about the reason why I am here that will cause less stress and will hasten the work even more. I have learned a lot the last few days of which I am grateful. These are skills that can help me in the future. And the Lord is watching out for me and providing a way. Today we got a call from a member telling me that she has a bike I can have for the rest of my mission. Sister Vail told her about my problem at church yesterday. The Lord really is there and is watching out for me. And like President Eyring said, we are the ones that cast up the pavilion but the Lord is always watching over us and always always helping us. Some lessons were learned the hard way but they are learned and I have the opportunity to change and become better. What a wonderful gift.

In other news I am sure everyone saw that there is a new mission in Japan. The Japan Tokyo south mission. The change will happen at the beginning of July of this year and the new mission president I know actually. He is the bishop of the English ward in my last area. He is a very nice man and will be great. Sine they are splitting the mission that does mean there will be changes. They are realigning the mission boundaries and that means that some of the missionaries in this mission will be moved into the Tokyo south mission. We still don't know who will go but it will be starting probably in July. I guess we will wait and see.

I love Utsunomiya, I LOVE the ward members, I love our investigators, I love Japan and the food and I am hooked on herbal tea right now. But most of all I love the Savior and the challenges He gives to me because through them I am learning more to lean on Him and I am changing for the better. This work is so important and I love being a part of it and I am honored to be apart of it. Again sorry that I didn't tell about the people we met with this last week. I will for sure next week. And you should all look forward to next week's e-mail because it will be exciting. I will be able to tell you something. :D And just so everyone knows. I have decided to change my major and my career path. I will be majoring in English.

Well that is all for this week. I really love you all and miss you with all my heart!!! Have a wonderful week!!!

Farewells and Hellos

I said goodbye to my two wonderful companions yesterday and what an interesting week last week was. Watching them as they said goodbye to everyone and pack everything for returning home. It was a weird feeling. Even more weird now as I think about them being home now and being on their way home. Just totally crazy. Anyway I LOVE my new companion. Guess who it is? Sister Vail!! I don't know if you remember me talking about her when I was in the MTC or not but she was in the MTC with me and left for Japan about a month before I came to Japan. She is an Angel and I love being with her already. It is interesting to go to just one companion after being with two for the last 6 weeks but I am looking forward to being with her and the work we will do together. And I am also excited to learn from her. :D

So this last week, like I said has just been interesting as we visited people so the others could say their goodbyes so we weren't able to teach a whole lot but we were able to teach the Yamazaki family on Saturday night and Sunday. Yamazaki kyoudai has really progressed during the last 6 weeks. He is praying a lot more and is blazing through the Book of Mormon. On Saturday night we went to their house for dinner and after dinner we watched The Testaments (which I love it in Japanese!!). After the movie we talked about it and had a great discussion. The spirit was felt so strongly and both Yamazaki kyoudai and shimai were able to relate to Jacob and they were honest with their feelings. Yamazaki kyoudai said that he doesn't really know if there is a God but because of the members in the ward he knows that Christ came to earth and set an example. He probably just doesn't understand his relationship with the Savior right now. We asked him he would pray whether to know if Christ lives and if there is a God and he said that he would. After the lesson when we returned to the apartment and were going over the lesson we all realized that we had feelings during the lesson that we should invite him to be baptized but none of us did. We were planning on doing that on Sunday. We all felt terrible and we decided that on Sunday we prayed and fasted for an opportunity to invite him again and that his heart would be softened and will have the desire to be baptized. I also realized that is something that I want to work on. Sometimes I hold back saying something or extending a commitment because I fear what my companion would do, say or think. I need to stop that and rely more on the spirit and trust in its guidance.

Anyway, on Sunday we met with the Yamazakis during Sunday school and taught about the plan of Salvation and focused on repentance and baptism. And the craziest thing happened that had us all in shock during sacrament meeting. Sister Edostrom was talking about baptism and was getting to the point that she would invite him to set a date and the spirit was strong in the room when a brother walked in and told us that sacrament meeting was starting (those two were going to be speaking for a few minutes) we said ok and he closed the door and we tried to wrap up but didn't really know how after being interrupted. But then the same brother opened the door and this time to remind that I was the one to say the opening prayer which was to be soon. So we all grabbed our stuff and rushed down the stairs only to find out that the prayer was already said and the sacrament hymn was being sung. Like I said before we all just sat down in shock. I had emotions that I can't clearly identify and which made me cry. I still don't know what feelings I had. It was just so bizarre. After Sacrament meeting we grabbed them and went to try and finish the lesson and tried to get that same spirit back. We asked Yamazaki kyoudai what he thought about baptism and he said it is hard because the word of wisdom is hard but that he will try his best to follow it. When we asked him if we could make a date as a goal to work towards he said no because he would feel too much pressure. It was such a let down. I feel like if we extended the commitment to him the night before at his house we would have accepted. This family is so cute and wonderful and I desperately want him to be baptized. Even President Budge knows them and loves them is always asking about them and wanting to see him baptized. Please say just a little prayer for this family. They have become very special to me and I love them so much. And I am praying that Vail shimai and I will have success together in getting a date for him. I am so glad to be here and serving the Lord in Japan. I feel so blessed and lucky and I am doing my best to live everyday in the moment and to find joy in every footstep. This time is short and before I know it I will be home. I love you all with all my heart but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I know that the Lord has His watchful eye over every single one of you and I feel so much peace from that.

A Busy Week

This past week I have learned many lessons that have greatly benefited me. Among a few of the them was learning about God's grace and what it means to submit to his will and also about faith. I will try to explain and if it doens't make sense I am sorry.

Before I always had this mind set that when you submitted to God's will it meant that you had to be easy. You couldn't have the feelings or desires that you had anymore. So anytime I didn't want to do something that I should I would feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and feel like I was letting down my Heavenly Father and Christ. But this week I learned differently. I was asked to do something unexpectedly that I didn't necessarily want to do but knew that I should because I knew my companion was inspired and it was for our investigator. So I said I would do it but I still had almost resentful angry feelings that I didn't want to have. I went into the other room and started praying. Asking Heavenly Father to forgive me for the feelings that I had and for not being more willing and ready to do things. Then I remembered a story I read recently how that woman prayed and how she was completely honest in her prayer. How she explained that she didn't want to do what was expected of her but would because she knew the blessings that would follow. I did the same thing. I was honest and told the Father that I didn't want to necessarily do what was asked of me (even though it was a small thing) but I knew that He wanted me to and that it would help my companions and the investigator. As soon as I ended that prayer I felt so much peace and joy and that day I was able to be happy and was able to strengthen and help my companions. I felt in my heart that Heavenly Father was pleased with my willingness to do his bidding even though it was hard. I know know. We learn about this in primary but I just never truly understood it before. And so I have wasted much much time in dwelling in my guilt and emotions even when I have done His will because I have never truly understood things before. I don't know if this made sense to anyone but it was a huge help to me and is still a huge help to me.

Another one I am learning more and need to improve more is faith. Today at District Meeting I did a training from Elder Nelson's 2011 april talk that is about faith. So during personal study I was thinking a lot about it and how I can improve on it. What is faith? Faith is a power given from Heaven. When you faith you trust in God's promises and trust in the atonement. When you have faith you don't have fear. So it says in the wonderful book titled, “Preach my Gospel.” I have realized of late that I have too much fear. So by having so much fear it makes it harder for my faith to show. So now my new goal is to gain more faith and displacing all the fear that I have. I will do by always remembering that I am a child of God and am the Lord's missionary. What reason do I have to fear? I have angels round about me all day long and I have the power of the Savior's atonement at my disposal. What could go wrong?

That is what I have learned a lot about this last week and then some.

A Happy Working Song

Hi everyone! I hope you are all staying safe and healthy and surviving the cold. This month has been surprisingly warm. The big surprise is that the church and the houses are colder then outside. They don't have heating like the states do and so they usually just have one little heater that they plug into the wall or it is just in one room. Interesting right? Anyway, please tell JD congratualations for me. That is so awesome about his mission call to New Jersery and that President Jeppson will be his mission president. That is just so perfecct. Tell my lil bro that I am proud of him and will be praying for him. :D The time will go by so quick. I mean I can't believe that I half way don with my mission this coming Saturday. It honestly makes me scared. I am becoming so used to the life of a missionary, the ups and the downs, that I don't know what I will do when I get home. And yes I have thought about it some since both of my companions will be leaving the 2nd week in February and they have talked about it. I am going to use all the time that I have being a missionary and not waste it (not that I have been wasting it before). 

Now onto this week. Last Monday during Pday we went shopping and as we were walking into the mall I held the door open for my companions and also for some high school girls who came after them. They said thank you to me and replied back your welcome. They giggled and started walking ahead of us when I yelled out to them "Have fun." They kept looking back at us until finally they stopped and turned to me and Sister Edstrom and I and asked where we were from. From there we started having a conversation and in the end we got of one their (there was 4 of them) phone numbers and made an appointment for today to go and eat gyouza (japanese pot stickers; Utsunomiya is famous for them). Just from opening the door we were able to find 4 P.I's. Isn't that crazy. We are really hoping that tonight when we meet with them that they will all become investigators and would like to know more about the church.

 

Tuesday: We had a lesson with Usa kyoudai and we taught him about tithing and the blessings that come from it. We had a great lesson and we were also able to talk to him about asking his mom for permission to be baptzied since he is 19 years old. And yesterday, Sunday, when he called us on the phone we asked him if he talked to his mom and he said that he did and that she gave permission and was fine with it. It was a great miracle because I guess before she was hontai and said he could be baptized only if he moved out on his own. But her heart was softened and now he just needs to go to church one more time and then he will be good to get baptized next week. :D

 

Wednesday: Our apartment was a mess and Sister Budge has asked all the missionaries to use January as the deep cleaning month. So that is what we started on Wednesday is cleaing though by the end of the night it didn't look like we cleaned at all. haha Such is the case when you are deep cleaing. And of course later that night we had Eikaiwa and guess what!? We had a new student come!! She is this really cute 19 year old girl . We were so happy because lately we haven't had many students come so we were so happy that she came.

 

Friday: We had an appointment with this woman named Chiyaki who is in her 30's about and has this really cute little girl about 1 and 4 months or so. We went to her house and had a great time with her and in the end had a great lesson with her. She asked if she could come and see the church and we said of course so we have an appointment with her this Thursday to do a church tour and we also watched two videos. One is called Finding happiness (from the Japanese perspective) and the other was the Restoration. We talked about her relationship with Heavenly Father and how the gospel can help her and her family have a happier life. She said that she wanted to learn more but not at the same time but she still wants to hear our message and she was really grateful when we gave her a Book of Mormon. So that day she became a investigator.

 

Saturday: Went with the Yamazaki family to a place called sweets paradise. It is a place that is an all you can eat but they mostly have sweets (cookies, cakes, ice cream, etc). We all felt pretty sick afterward but Sister Nishihara was feeling the worst so we came back to the apartment and she slep while Sister Edstrom and I did more cleaning and now the apartment is sooo pretty. A lot better then when I first came here.

 

Sunday: We had another lesson with Brother Yamazaki and we watched this great video about the Book of Mormon. He and his wife this last week have been reading the BOok of Mormon together which is sooo wonderful and a huge improvement. And yesterday at the end of the lesson when he prayed he said thank you for a new feeling he had and he also asked for something for his first time. Usually when he has prayed he only says thank you. But this time he asked for help to continue learning about the Gospel. He has been improving so much and I am excited for him. I feel like he is getting closer to baptism. :D

Also on Sunday we had an interesting experience that taught me a great lesson. In the past the sisters have gone to this huge pot luck party that is held by the community and there they have found a lot of p.i.s. At this pot luck party they don't allow religious activity but they have still let the SIsters in before. Anyway, yesterday when we went they asked if we could take off our name tags and then we would be allowed in. When I first heard that I felt like someone punched me in the heart. The immediat answer that came to mind was NO!!!! My name tag is very important not just to me but to my purpose as a missionary. It is what distinguishes me as the Lord's  representative during this time. I can't even describe the feeling that came over me when I first heard that. It was the first time something like has happend to me on my mission. It was a great lesson to learn and now I treasure my tag even more.

Lessons I Still Need to Learn

Thank you for everyone's e-mails. It is always fun to read them. Please tell JD that I am proud of him and that I am excited for him to go through the temple. It is a great blessing. And the Bountiful Temple is a great choice. :D Jen just so you know I wasn't able to see the videios that you sent me. I saw the one with Sean on his walker (sooo cute) but the ones of Jackson being sedated I couldn't see. I don't know why. Maybe if you try sending it again. がんばって！ I am happy to hear that you got the package I sent and that everyone loved their gifts, especially you Mom. I am glad you liked that plate. I thought it was really pretty. :D And in answer to your question about that dvd I would love for you to send it to me.

 

You may have seen the pictures already so you can guess what I did this last week. Yep, I cut my hair. My two companions convinced me to do it and they like this style a lot better then when I had longer hair. What do you think? It is starting to grow on me and I do like it. It is just very different and takes different preperation so it can still be wierd sometimes. But please tell me your honest opinion. ok!!

 

This last week was really busy and I won't be able to tell you everything because I don't have much time. I love being in Utsunomiya because we are always busy and always have people to meet. So to tell you all of my experiences would take a long time. But I will do my best to tell you what I can.

 

Last Wednesday I played a really fun game called Indiaka. It looks and acts like volleyball but the ball thing they use is different and it comes from Germany I think. But we played with a member and some non members and it was sooo much fun!!! Ahh I miss sports. I miss softball. They have it every wednesday so when we can go we do. A less active member is in charge of it so we go to build a relationship with her. After that we met a potential investigator who is very close to becoming a investigator. We went and had lunch with her and she has the cutest year and a half year old named seka. She is sooo sweet and has interest in learning more. We gave a Family Proclamation to wolrd pamphlet. I am so looking forward to meeting her again and maybe then she can become an investigator. :D

 

Thursday we met with Yamazaki shimai who is the wife of one of our investigators and she herself has been a less active since she was a teenager. They are such a cute family and we had a great visit with her about how her example can help her family. She also gave us some more information about her husband and probably why he is always refusing to be baptzied. His mom doesn't know anything about the church and just any church image scares some Japanese people so his mom really doesn't want him to be baptized. That was a big new insight and a miracle. We taught Brother Yamazaki on Sunday about the priesthood and the spirit was sooo strong. It was my first time teaching him and it was sooo much fun. I feel like real soon he will be ready to receive baptism. That is my hope and my prayer.

After the visit with her we went to meet these two 19 year old girls who are sooooo much fun and we had so much fun with them. We shared with them Sister Daltons talk Remember who you are, and taught them how they are princesses and daughters of God. It was an AMAZING lesson and the feeling I had while teaching them was just amazing. I saw them more through Heaven's eyes but I also saw myself more through Heaven's eyes. And we asked them how they felt after hearing our message and one of them said that she had a mysterious feeling so we explained how that was Heavenly Father's love. We asked them if they wanted to learn more and they said that they did so they are now two new investigators. Great right!!! So much fun.

 

I really do love Utsunomiya so much. We are meeting with amazing people and I love that we are always teaching. I felt the spirit working through me so much this transfer and helping me so many times when I literally have no words to say but I trust in the promise of just opening my mouth to teach and the Lord has blessed me. There are no words to describe that feeling. It's just...ugh...amazing!!!

 

Friday was also a great day because we had a zone conference and President and Sister Budge came and we had some training. The training from Sister Budge and one of my zone leaders-Elder Hornor-really hit me to the heart. They talked about grace and hope and it was exactly what I needed to hear. They talked about how when we say "I can't do this..." it is putting down the atonement. Showing that you don't trust in the power of it. Of course we can't do anything. But that is why we have the atonement. It was good reminder. I love those trainings. I feel them helping me not just become a better missionary but a much better person. :D

 

And so just everyone knows I did survive my talk on Sunday. Thank you for all of your prayers. I sure felt them. Well I wish I could tell you more about the other people I met and taught but I don't have time.

Humpty Dumpty Had A Great Fall!

I can't believe how much snow you have received. That is crazy where has with here I had my first experience with Japanese snow yesterday and it came down a lot but Japan snow doesn't stick that much to the ground. But it was nothing compared to what you have received. Plesee be safe everyone and stay warm and healthy!!!

 First I want to talk about one of our investigators, Usa who is 19 and has baptism date for next month. Last week we met him on Tuesday and taught him the Law of Chasity. It is interesting how speaking another language makes things less awekward, at least for me. I wasn't nervou at all to teach him but I guess my companions were. I will admit there was a lot said that I had no idea what was going on (still the frustrating part of the language). Anyway, after we taught him what it meant to keep the law of Chasity and when we asked him to commit to keeping it he told us that when he started reading the Book of Mormon and meeting with the missionaries he stopped looking at inappropriate books (porn). Isn't that amazing!! What an amazing power the Book of Mormon is. It changes hearts even before they know about something like the Law of Chasity. It was such a testimony builder of the Book of Mormon. Which is one of the great blessings from serving a mission. My love and testimony of the Book of Mormon has grown even stronger and will just grow stronger I am sure. It is a WONDERFUL book. :D

On Wednesday I had a good expereince with following the promptings of the spirit. We were on our way back from District meeting and when we got on the train there weren't that many seats open so I made the descion that instead of talking to people on this trip I would just stand and talk to my companions or something. But as I was looking around at everyone (because I like to people watch) I noticed this one woman who had these really cute boots (that is sometimes how i start talking to people. Commenting them on their clothes or something and fyi Japan has the cutest shoes ever. Pretty srue Jen and Amanda would go crazy here with the shoes). I had the thought to go sit next to her. At first I tried pushing the thought away because I was fine standing but the thought came back to me stronger and I knew it was from the spirit and if I didn't follow it I would regret it. So I walked over to her and immediatly started talking to her and we talked during the whole train ride (she lives in Utsunomiya as well). She was a funny lady and I absalutley loved talking to her. I didn't teach her anything just got to know her and she asked some questions about me. Before we parted I was able to receive her e-mail address and she said that she would like to meet again. I have e-mailed her a couple of times and have yet to receive a respose from her but I have faith that something will happen. There was a reason why the spirit wanted me to go and talk to her, there was a reason why I was able to get her phone number. I guess we will wait and see what happens with that.

Now on to my body. It has taken a bit of a beating the last couple days of the week. On Thursday as we were riding to a less actives house I crashed on my bike. The tire, instead of going over a grate rode to the side of it which made it twist and so I lost my balance and fell pretty hard. My legs have some nice bruises and we suspect I could have had a very very very minor concussion because my head hurt, I grew really tired and during the night I became very very nauseated. That was a long night!! But I count my blessings that it happened when it did because the street was small and curvy and right before it happened there were a lot of cars passing by. When my companions first saw me fall they thought I actually was hit by a car. But all is well and I survived with just a few bumps and bruises. Which I ended up getting more the next day when I was walking and went off a step I didn't see and so my ankle rolled (don't worry didn't sprain) and my knee slammed on the pavement pretty hard. I didn't realize until I got back to the apartment that it was bleeding. So my body is a bit stiff and sore from everything but I am ok. Don't worry Mom. :D I have angels looking out for me.

Things are going well with the threesome companionship. We had a good heart to heart last night and we were honest with each other about our feelings which cleared a lot of the negatives away that was in the companionship. That is one thing that I seem to keep learning on my mission is communication. I wasn't very good at it before my mission and I am still not apparently because I keep learning the lesson. But I am happy to learn it again and the love I feel from my Father in Heaven in giving me these many lessons during my mission. They are such precious gifts.

I must say to that I love my personal study time that I have in the mornings for an hour. It is one of my favorite times of the day. This whole week I have had AMAZING personal time and have felt the spirit and Heavenly Father's love so strongly. I have received gentle conformation that I am doing well, that He is proud of me and that I am touching and helping lives in some way that is needed. I love personal time!!! I encourage everyone to take an hour out of their day to study and pray. Trust me, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!

I Survived

 I can't believe how fast time is going. And now with it being 2013 I feel like the rest of my mission will just fly by in a second. SCARY!!! It is especially weird to think about being with my two companions because since this is their last they always talk about how they don't want to go home. Watching them go through the emotions and thoughts of last transfer is an interesting experience. It reinforces making every moment count. I definitely want to do better at that. 
Well I survived this week with a full week of meal appointments, especially Thursday when we had two. All the meals were very good and I was able to eat some Japanese food again. Being in Shibuya I didn't eat that much Japanese food but now I was able to. Yay!! If I don't I will send you some in next weeks email. What was great is that I was able to meet a lot of the members really quick. The members here in Utsunomiya are amazing and I am so looking forward to get to know them and work with them. One family we visited has a daughter named Yui and she is 23 and is the cutest girl ever. She reminds of some of the sweet spirits in the 5^th ward. I had so much fun with her and I felt like I was with an angel. That was probably the funnest meal appointment of this week. The food was delicous and the family is AMAZING!!! :D
The first week of transfers is always interesting. You feel like a fish out of water at the beginning. But it has been fun and I am so excited to work here in Utsunomiya. We have a lot of investigators and potential investigators. It is great!! This last Sunday was really fun because we were really busy. Two investigators came to church and so during the Sunday school hour we had to do splits and I went with a member and taught a woman named Irene who is from the Philippines and her boyfriend who is the father of her son is a member and they want to get married and he only wants to marry if it is in the Temple so she is investigating. We had a great lesson about the Book of Mormon. I could feel the spirit helping me with what to say and how to help her. Later I found out that she asked the same questions she previously has asked Sister Edstrom and Nishihara. I hope I was able to answer them that made sense to her this time. I think she did and I am so excited to see her again and teach her more. :D (It helps that it is in English).
Later that day we had another lesson with an investigator who has a baptism date for February and during this lesson we read from the Book of Mormon together and also taught him about Fasting and I was able to share with him a great experience that I have had with fasting. It too was a great lesson and I am so excited for his baptism.
I love my two companions. I love being back with Sister Nishihara and being Sister Edstrom's companion is great. I won't lie there have been some moments when I feel like a third wheel but we all feel like that in some way. Me because they are the ones who know everyone and plan a lot of things. Sister Nishihara because Sister Edstrom and I talk in English sometimes and Sister Edstrom because Sister Nishihara and I were companions before and talk about fun moments that we have had. But it is good now. We are all trying to involve each other more. But I really do love them so much. They are always encouraging me and giving me great advice of how I can become a better missionary. I am going to be so sad to see them go. But we still have a fun 5 weeks together!!

Utsunomiya is so pretty. I love being here. I can see the stars and the sun and everything here is just a lot slower and quieter then Shibuya with all of it's husle and busle. And it is fun because for district meetings I go to Oyama and can see everything there. Like last week when we went to District Meeting Sister Adachi came (it is just us and the elders in oyama so we need a member with us). I loved seeing her again and I hope I will be able to see a few others that I met during my time there. :D

And of course as you can see by the pictures I was able to wear a Kimono. It was a surprise to us that we would be doing that. We went over to a members house to teach the mother because she is not a member and after wards they made us lunch and the wife of the member whose mother we taught said we could wear her kimonos. It was so much FUN!!!! And she is an angel for doing that. There are three of us and each Kimono has a lot of parts and can take a lot of time and energy to put it on. So I love her for doing that for us. I will say that the shoes are not comfortable and it is hard to sit down in a kimono (on the floor). Basically the only way is by kneeling and that hurts after awhile. But again, LOVED IT!!!