Week 2 in Japan

 My companion and I 

 A type of yummy chocolate

 Baseball field. Baseball is very popular here and there are diamonds everywhere.

 Sushi :)

 Type of curry with Tofu

 A neat house

Sister Hubbard's English Class teaching group of missionaries

Dear family, 

So many wonderful things have happened this week, I'm not sure where to begin! 

First things first, allow me to say that I am so excited for Jared and Lys!!!!! I was so full of emotion when I found out. I'm so happy for both of them! I'm so so happy, and I'm not even sad about missing their wedding! Knowing they will be together forever is enough for me.

To answer a few questions...I'm living in Edogawa! That is so neat dad! We actually know where that school is and we live abut 10 minutes from the Eki. We live pretty close to a huge tall building called "sky tree." We wake up every morning and see it out our window in the distance. It is really really pretty at night to see. We mostly bike everywhere here in Koiwa, but we sometimes walk or take a train somewhere. The trains are really crowded, but it is really neat to talk with people all the time. I did get my suitcase after making a few phone calls, haha. That was a blessing. I'm glad I put clothes and essentials in both of my suitcases. My mission president has until June, and so does my trainer! I will probably be her last companion. She is not excited to be going home soon. Right now she is trying to figure out school, and she is not excited about it, haha. Poor thing. There are tons of cherry blossoms everywhere! I've been wanting to get some good pictures, but I haven't had very much time. I'll try and send a few. 

Okay, my week! It's been really great. We have definitely seen miracles every day. The small things that happen to us are really a testimony of God's constant care and love I know he is guiding me and my companion. :) there are so many people we meet on the street and when we knock on doors who are so special! We don't always know what to say (mostly me) but God helps us know what the persons needs are. It's such a neat thing to be led here and there according to the spirit. I love being a missionary. 

Last week, as I mentioned before, we had many investigators come to church to see Elder Nelson speak. There was one lady, Konno San, who the members found around the church, and no one knew who she was or how she got there. Someone told her to come to the church and it wasn't the missionaries. She said it was someone who she briefly met. Anyway, she is now one of our progressing investigators. We taught her the restoration this week, and taught her how to pray. She is really good with keeping commitments. She had a lot of questions about Elder Nelsons apostolic blessing which he left over us before leaving. It was powerful. He mentioned something about those who were sick and afflicted to be healed according to the will of God. It really touched her heart and she asked us if people are healed by gong to church? We were able to teach her about the priesthood and power of God. We are really excited to teach her about Jesus Christ and his many miracles. Her father, who she lives with, is really sick I think. We are excited to continue to teach her. She is just one of the people who has been prepared for us. Shimogi San is another older lady who is investigating the church. She has a baptismal date for April 26, so we will see what happens. :) We love our investigators so much. We met a few others last week while contacting, so we are excited to teach them this week too! 

In Tokyo, we talk to so many people because there are people everywhere! Not everyone listens, but every person we talk to will someday know how wonderful and important our message is. After this life, I would like to know that I did all I could to share the gospel with people. I don't think there would be anything more heartbreaking than to know that I could have helped someone and then didn't talk to them about the gospel. So, even when people turn us down, I like to think that we tried our best and that someday they might accept our message. We plant so many seeds as missionaries, but we never know what one Book of Mormon, or one testimony might do. God is the one who prepares the hearts of people, and all we need to do is follow the spirit everyday. :) 

One more amazing experience I would like to share with you. I wrote to letter to President Budge this week. ( we write him every week) I also went on exchanges this week and it was great! 

Dear President Budge, 

This week, I feel like Sister Trent and I have seen some wonderful miracles. My first week here, we set very specific goals for our investigators to be baptized, and as we have tried to work really hard, the Lord has allowed us to witness great changes in people. A few nights ago, we were teaching the 2nd lesson to one of our investigators who lives with her father. As we were teaching her, her father kept interrupting us. Although I couldn't understand everything, I could tell he was contradicting the things we were trying to teach. Amidst all of the interrupting, both sister Trent and I worried about our investigator, and whether or not she would eventually side with her father and decide it to discontinue learning. However, when we asked her if she thought the Book of Mormon was true, she said she did. When we asked her about her prayers, she said she was praying every day. ( By nature, this investigator is really shy, but she was so bold when saying these things in front of her father) She is in her 30s, and she is so prepared. We have great hopes for her and are already beginning to see a great change in her. She is gradually becoming very happy. It's been neat to see. :) 

Sister Trent and I went on exchanges this week with the sisters in Adachi. I feel like I learned a lot from doing missionary work with another sister. It was a good experience. 

I feel so blessed to be in Koiwa. There are amazing people here. A lot of the time, I feel like I want to say more to the people who we encounter, but I just try my best to say what I can. I would like to share one last experience. Lately, ( this happened in the MTC too ) I have been dreaming of my family every night, but during exchanges, I didn't dream of home! Instead, I had an amazing dream about one of our investigators! I've never been to this investigators home, but after I told Trent Shimai about what I dreamed, she said that Shimogi san's house is very similar. In the dream, we were sitting across from our investigator in regular chairs ( not on the floor) at a table. In the dream, I was sharing a scripture with her. I held the Book of Mormon in my hands and pointed to a scripture and asked her to read it. After she had finished, I began trying to bear my testimony to her. In the dream I felt a great uneasiness about speaking Japanese. I was stumbling, but I continued to trust in the lord and speak. After I had finished, she took the Book of Mormon in her hands and gazed at the scripture. She was deeply touched by it. She put the Book of Mormon down and reached out to me and said, (she was speaking Japanese, but I heard English) "no matter what, please keep talking and trying to speak Japanese. I know what you have said is true, and I feel ready to be baptized." 

That is all I remember, but this dream was such a tender mercy for me. I know God, through this dream, was instructing me to keep talking and trusting in Him. He allowed me to see the blessings of opening my mouth and trying to speak. I'm so grateful for this experience. I know the lord is with me and that he will continue to help and bless me. 

This dream was something so small, but it is through the little things that God speaks to us. "By small things are great thing brought to pass. In many instances, they do confound the wise. "

I know this is true. My Japanese is coming along. I often get frustrated with myself, but I am always picked up by the spirit and through my prayers. I know God hears my prayers and when I pray to him, I know he is strengthening me. I love this gospel so much. 

I wish I could say more! 

I love you all so much. 

I continue to pray for you all! 

Love always, 

-Sister Hubbard