Dear Family,
Wow! Conference was amazing! I felt like every talk was so inspired.
We really do have living prophets today who lead and direct the work
of the Lord. I'm having a difficult time choosing a favorite talk but
they were all wonderful and I definitely received a lot of answers to
questions I had been thinking about. I love general conference.
Yes, we watch it late here so the Japanese translation is all set up.
We usually watch it in English as missionaries, but we listened to a
couple of the sessions in Japanese too, so I will probably have to
review those ones in my study. I'm excited! :)
President Monson is amazing. I don't know why, but as I listened to his
talk, I felt so strongly that he really is God's mouthpiece and is
called by God to be the Prophet of the world. His presence is so
bright and enveloping. He is such an amazing man.
Thanks for telling me all about your adventures in West Edmonton Mall. So fun!
Anyway, it's been a pretty busy day today! Sister Simpson and I
travelled to the Honbu in Higashi Nagasaki for a zone P-day. It was a
lot of fun! We played dodgeball with the Nagano's and had a BBQ
afterwards. Later today, we met one of our dear friends, Wakana
Shimai, at a famous park in Shinjuku and were able to spend some time
with her. My wonderful companion took a million pictures and we had a
lot of fun together. The Sakura is so beautiful. Cherry blossom season
is such a special time here in Japan. Everyone is always outside,
taking pictures, and enjoying the beautiful blossoms. I love it, and
it provides a wonderful opportunity to teach the gospel as people turn
to nature and enjoy its brilliance. So breathtaking.
Our area, Senzokuike is on the rise! We are finding new investigators
and slowly, but surely, making progress. The Lord has been blessing us
with so many prepared people everyday. The Lord's hand is definitely
in every phase of the work. The kanji meaning for, Senzokuike is
"washing the feet in the pond." There is a really pretty lake/ pond
close to where we live and the lake is called, "Senzokuike." It's a
pretty neat little place I am living in. I feel so blessed to be here.
The biggest miracle Sister Simpson and I saw this week was probably
this past Monday night. A little bit of a backstory to explain what
happened...
The transfer before I got here, there was a sister named sister
Borchert who was hit by a car and taken to hospital. Her injuries were
minor, and she turned out to be okay, but the whole time, the sisters
wondered why it had all happened. Here's where our story comes in...
We were on our way home from a less actives house when a woman name
Natalie called out to us a few moments after getting off the train.
Being new to the area, I didn't recognize her, but she recognized
Sister Simpson and began to ask about a certain "Britney Borchert" and
if she was doing okay. It turns out she was the nurse at the hospital
who had helped with Sister Borchert's accident. At the time, the
sisters weren't able to explain their purpose as missionaries due to
everything that was happening, but we were able to tell her at the
train station. After doing so, she told us she had met with the
missionaries before-close to 20 years ago in the Philippines. During
that time, she said she was taking the discussions with one of her
best friends and her best friend was actually baptized! She explained
that she was also thinking about baptism, but then moved to Japan and
was never able to meet with the missionaries again. SO COOL!! 金人
Alert!! We visited her later this week at the hospital and gave her a
nice card expressing our thanks. She is so awesome! This miracle
really helped me see the hand of the Lord in the work. Everything
really does happen for a reason, and although sometimes we can't see
why all the time, God knows all things. He has been preparing Natalie
for a long time. I know He is directing this work.
Our investigator Himena continues to progress. She watched conference
this past week and felt the Spirit really strong. The Lord is really
blessing her.
Well, sorry this is a little bit short! It's been a wonderful week
here. I hope everyone else's week has been amazing too. This church is
true. God loves you each individually, and will continue to work
wonders in your lives as you rely on Him through your difficulties.
Everything happens for a reason, and God knows all things. He can make
us so much more of us than we could ever make of ourselves. All we
have to do is trust in His timing and in His great and eternal plan
for us.
Love always,
Sister
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