Blossoms coming out now!
Dearest Family!
Happy Easter everyone! Easter isn't really celebrated here in Japan,
but it is a beautiful spring. The Sakura is coming out finally (I'll
send a picture) and everyone is so full of life. When I was little, I
always used to wonder what the relationship was between Christ's
Atonement/Resurrection and bunnies, chicks, and eggs. Interesting
thought, isn't it? Baby bunnies are born in the springtime. So are
baby chicks. Life resets itself and everything becomes new. The spring
season is a physical witness of change and new beginnings. Jesus
Christ's atonement and resurrection also give us new life and new
beginnings. I think it is amazing that the Lord was resurrected in the
Springtime. There really is a pattern in all things. :)
As always, thanks for the letters and love! It's been a way busy day
and I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open... This being said,
if there are some grammar problems in this email, I apologize, haha.
We had transfer calls this morning! As expected, I will be
transferring! The new area really caught me by surprise, but I am way
excited and I think it will be a good change. Life is about to get a
lot busier and faster! I have been called to serve in the Tokyo Second
Ward area- Also known as Senzokuike Area. There are two wards- a
Japanese ward, and the other an English ward. There are many gaijin
around Tokyo and so there are a couple English wards. It looks like I
am lucky enough to be able to serve in one of them! I am grateful to
say there is also a Japanese ward though because my English dendou
skills are a little bit rusty. I'm a little bit nervous about
preaching the gospel in English again. The other day, we met 3-4
couples who were from America and Sister Bettridge and I tried to
dendou them. It was so difficult! We kept saying things that sounded
weird and we felt so awkward the whole time! I kept trying to think
about what I would say in Japanese so that we could have a good
conversation about the gospel, but it was so difficult! I'm hoping
with the actual "call" to serve in the 2nd ward that I will be given
my English tongue back, haha. I think it will be a fun adventure! My
new companion is a transfer 3 missionary who just finished her
training! Her name is Sister Simpson and I have never met her, but I'm
sure she is amazing and that we will get along well.
It's hard to believe I will be leaving Matsudo! I love this area so
much. I love all my areas! Saying goodbye to the people I meet and
work with is always the hardest thing for me. We've been running
around today, saying a lot of goodbyes. I have been so blessed to work
in this area and with the people here! We have 4 people preparing for
baptism right now, and so I hope to be able to attend their baptisms
as they come. So exciting! :) God has really blessed this area in
allowing us to find His elect and to teach them. We've really
experienced the power of the Atonement as we have tried to sanctify
ourselves and be worthy of the Lord's blessings. I've learned there is
great power in daily repentance. As we sanctify ourselves and work to
overcome our weaknesses, the Lord is able to use us as the vessels of
His spirit to bring the gospel unto His children. Daily repentance
removes the obstacle of pride in our lives because we are constantly
turning to the Lord for Forgiveness and help. Daily repentance allows
us to see we are incapable of doing anything by ourselves because we
realize we need the Lord to show us the way. Daily repentance helps us
understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ better and gives us the
opportunity to feel the enabling power working within us. I love this
gospel!
I'll share some cool miracles from this past week:
We were coming home from a member's house and I noticed there was a
woman who had just returned home and was walking up to the second
floor of an apartment building. She had a young child in her arms who
was screaming uncontrollably and I sensed she may be in need of some
help. I was a little bit hesitant to speak with her as her baby was
very loud and I knew it would be difficult for her to hear me, but we
walked up to the second floor and caught her last minute anyways. As I
called out to this woman, the baby turned around *red cheeks and teary
eyes* and began looking at us. She was silent. I looked at her and
smiled, while introducing ourselves as Christian missionaries. This
woman, took immediate interest and accepted a return appointment
immediately. The baby was silent, and smiled at us the whole time
while we were taking with her mother. Such an amazing experience! We
are excited to see her again. :)
It's times like these when all I can say is I know there is a God in
Heaven and that He loves His children. It's so neat how things happen
sometimes in the work. We were on a train this past week and we met a
woman who was from Vietnam. Her Japanese language speaking abilities
were very limited, and she only spoke a few words of English, but she
told us that she wanted to come to our church. She eagerly asked us
for the church's address and we agreed to meet at 9:30 so that we
could walk to church together the following Sunday. We then got off
the train and went to our appointment with a member's friend. Later
after our appointment, we received a phone call from a member named
Ishijima Shimai who happened to be cleaning the church that day. She
asked us on the phone if we knew a Vietnamese woman? We told her we
did, and she went on to say the woman was at the church and that we
should come quickly. When we finally arrived at the church, we found a
different Vietnamese woman named Nga San! She had wandered into the
church by herself and told Ishijima Shimai that she wanted to learn
about everything... So cool!! We taught her the first lesson in
Vietnamese (with the help of google translate and the Book of Mormon)
and she said she wanted to learn more! My whole mission, up until last
week, I've probably only ever met a handful of people from Vietnam,
but I'm happy to say God's given us 2 potential investigators and two
new investigators who are Vietnamese this week. We keep finding them
everywhere! Definitely not by chance. God's work is a work of wonders!
Saving the best for last! One of the recent converts in my first area
named M..... Chan attended a baptism with her twin sister this past
week in the Philippines! When M..... Chan's sister saw the baptism,
she felt the Spirit and told M.... Chan she wanted to be baptized
too. Isn't that amazing? She is now taking the lessons from the
sisters in Koiwa and working towards a baptismal date. So many
blessings! I am so blessed to be a missionary here in Japan at this
time. The church is true and Jesus Christ is our Savior. He loves us.
I testify that He lives. He rose from the dead and brought new life to
the world. He died so that we could all live again. I love my Savior.
He is the Prince of peace and the ultimate source of joy and
happiness. I hope you have all found the Savior this easter and felt
of His great love. His love is perfect.
I love you all so much! Have a great week!
Love always,
Sister Hubbard
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