Monday, May 30, 2016

Week 59 Japan Tokyo Mission




Minami Chan



Zone p-day last week 



Pics from trainers meeting

Zone meeting


Dear family,
It's been another beautiful week in Sensokuike! Lots of miracles and
neat experiences to share with everyone. Thanks for your emails. :)
So, this last week we were walking down the busy streets of Tokyo and
we met a college student who was carrying a long bag over her
shoulders. It looked like she was carrying a big stick or something
inside of her bag. We proceeded to stop her and ask her what she was
doing. She told us that she was on her way to her Naginata class (Long
sword, Halberd thing). Pretty sweet! We tried to share the gospel with
her but she said she was running late. So, we decided to get a little
bit creative and ask if we could come and watch her practice. Her eyes
grew bigger as she realized that two crazy gaigin missionaries wanted
to come and watch her practice sword fighting in front of everyone.
What do you think she said?
YES! We followed her to the auditorium and she introduced us to
everyone else who was there practicing. It was a really neat dendou
experience! It was also a way cool experience to see these girls
fighting with long swords. They wore Samarai looking outfits and used
a kind of long Banboo swords for practice. It was pretty violent
looking! The armor they use is so thick that they hit each other
pretty hard and so it was really cool to watch. There was a woman
there who was instructing who was the champion last year in Tokyo.
Pretty awesome!
Anyway, as we were watching, one of the instructors called out to
sister Moffat and I...
We ended up training with the girls and practicing how to use these
swords! It was super fun! Everyone was asking us why we could speak
Japanese and why we were Christian missionaries. It was a great
opportunity to get in with the community and to share the gospel with
a lot of people. We had to leave early, but we were invited back to
practice with them again next week! Also, we have an investigator who
loves Naginata and so we hope we can go with her next week and
introduce more people to the gospel. God really does open all the
doors that need to be opened. It's neat to see the work roll on in
different kinds of ways. Super neat experience!
We had a zone conference this past week in Koiwa! I had the
opportunity to bare my testimony as one of the branded 'returning
missionaries,' which is not quite the right term as I STILL HAVE 2
MONTHS TO BE HERE. Haha, anyway, It was a neat experience for me to
bare my testimony in the Koiwa church again. It brought back memories
of the first week when I entered that chapel and was asked to
introduce myself and bare my testimony in Japanese for the first time.
Somehow, I felt confident knowing that I was back in that chapel
expected once again to bare my testimony.
Before bearing my testimony, I share a scripture in Mosiah 2:21. It's
been a scripture I have been thinking about a lot lately and so I
would like to share it with you guys too.
"I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from
the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you
breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will,
and even supporting you from one moment to another--I say, if ye
should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be
unprofitable servants."
I love King Benjamin's words. The future verses, he exhorts us to
remember our 'own nothingness.'
This really is the Lord's work. We are less than the dust of the
earth, because even the dust of the earth obeys our Heavenly Father.
We are so imperfect, yet he loves us. We are His greatest treasure!
Isn't that amazing?
It was definitely one of those times when you feel like a small spec,
compared to the amazing things God does everyday. It definitely puts
everything into perspective and helps me reevaluate the reasons behind
why I do things.
There is great power in doing things solely because you love the Lord
and want to serve Him. Sometimes it is harder than others, but when we
are humbled, the Lord's enabling power will always help us. We can
then become the Lord's hands and have our will becomes aligned with
His.  I now that this is true.
We also had the opportunity to have exchanges with the sister training
leaders in Koiwa after the conference! I will send pictures. :) We
were able to do some fun things and catch up with some of the people
there.
We met this past week with a new investigator named Sheryl who we
found 2 or so weeks ago. Sheryl is from the Philippines and speaks
English! One of her best friends was converted to Mormonism and so she
took a lot of interest in our message when we shared it with her on
the street a while back. Anyway, our plan was to meet her at the
station and then travel to the church, but because she had to get back
to work early, time did not permit that happening. We ended up just
talking in a restaurant, which was thankfully silent with pretty
classical music, to help us find the Spirit.
We sat down together and began teaching her the first lesson. Sister
Moffat saved me a few times as it had been a while since I had taught
it all in English, haha. It was a really good lesson and spirit was so
strong. Our friend Sheryl asked some amazing questions and we were
able to answer them through the Spirit. As the lesson's end neared, we
shared Moroni 10:3-5 with her and the most amazing thing happened! The
mood deepened, as she read the words:
"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if
it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember
how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the
creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these
things, and ponder it in your hearts.
And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye
would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these
things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with
real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it
unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
She began to sob. We listened intently. She finally looked up,
apologizing, and said, "I know that this is true," explaining that she
had been to hundreds of bible classes and read the bible many times,
but had never read anything that filled her heart with so much love
and peace.
Sheryl is so pure. She is such a beautiful example of someone who has
been prepared by the Lord, to know and recognize the truth when it
comes to her. This was a really powerful experience for Sister Moffat
and I. It reminded me once again that there really are people who are
searching for this gospel and that they are all around us.
It's a neat experience to be a missionary and to find these kinds of
people and just to feel that God loves them so much and has led them
to finding everything they are looking for. It never ceases to amaze
me how the Lord is able to prepare people.
I know this church is true. The Book of Mormon has a real power that
flows into our lives as we diligently read it. I know God lives and
loves us. We are His precious children and He is constantly directing
and guiding our lives. Everything happens for a reason and the little
details of our lives are part of a great eternal plan for us, both
individually, and as families.
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love always,
Sister Hubbard



Monday, May 23, 2016

Week 58 Japan Tokyo Mission

















Dear Family,

Sister Moffat and I have had a wonderful week together! We've learned
lots, seen lots, and been able to see lots of neat miracles. God is
really pouring out His Spirit upon the people in our area and upon our
investigators.

We had a wonderful Zone meeting this past week! As a mission, we have
been trying to raise our vision and goals so that we can show forth
more faith by believing in an expecting miracles. We spoke a lot about
consecration and what is really means to be a consecrated missionary.
As I thought about everything, I came across a quote that I really
liked by Parly P. Pratt. In the quote, Parly submits completely to the
will of the Lord and desires to do whatever is required of him. I
thought it was amazing.

"I have desired, after travelling for twenty-five or twenty-six years,
mostly abroad, to stay at home and minister among the people of God,
and take care of my family; but God’s will be done, and not mine. If
it is the will of God that I should spend my days in proclaiming this
Gospel and bearing testimony of these things, I shall think myself
highly privileged and honored. And when the Spirit of God is upon me,
I think it matters but very little what I suffer, what I
sacrificed–whether I secure the honor or dishonor of men, or where I
die, if it so be that I can keep the faith, fight the good fight, and
finish my course with joy. I have all eternity before me, in which to
enjoy myself."

Being on a mission for 1 and a half years is such a small sacrifice.
It really is, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here on a
mission. I love serving the Lord and pray that I can be a better
consecrated missionary.
At the Zone meeting, we had an assignment to write down three things
that keep us from being a consecrated missionary. All of us
showed up to the meeting with these pieces of paper and together,
prayed, promising the Lord that we would try and be better. We burnt
the pieces of paper after all praying together for the Lord's Spirit
to sanctify us and help us to be better. The spirit was so strong and
I was grateful for the things I learned and for the promises we were
able to make to the Lord to be better and more faithful missionaries.
I think there are specific sanctifying moments in our lives when we
come to a point where we now we need to change something. These really
are defining moments and I think that as we humble ourselves before
the Lord and ask Him to strengthen us, that He will help us overcome
our weaknesses.

"my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me;
for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then
will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)

This past Wednesday, We were walking down the street near the church
and we saw a couple holding hands and walking our direction. I had an
impression to talk to them, even though I knew it would be so awkward
to break everything up and intrude on their 'alone time', haha. Well,
it definitely was awkward, but they were really interested!
We were able to invite them into the church for a tour and even talk
to them about baptism at the baptismal font! It was a really neat
experience! They expressed great desires to come to church and to
learn the missionary lessons. So cool! Sometimes it is hard to know
who will accept the message of the Gospel, but God really knows. It's
neat to see His hand in the work. There are so many people all over
the place being prepared, and it is our job to find them and help them
feel the Spirit.

We received a call on Saturday night from a ward member whose husband
and child had become sick. She informed us that she probably wouldn't
be able to come to church and asked us if we would teach the relief
society lesson the next day in church.
I ask myself where we would have time to prepare a relief society
lesson, but agreed to help trusting that things would work out okay.
The lesson turned out to be one of the most spiritual experiences! All
of the sisters in our ward helped us so much and my companion bore the
most beautiful testimony that brought everyone to tears. It was so
special. Such a simple example, but still so powerful. God really does
make up the difference as we give our best. He is able to make our
weaknesses become strengths. I am so grateful for how gracious the
Lord really is. He wants to bless us and help us.
Being on a mission has really helped me to see everyday in a different
perspective. Every single experience we have here as individuals is
preparing us for the future. God sees us as we can become and although
it is sometimes difficult to trust that everything is being done the
way it should be, He really does know best. Everything we experience
is so precious. God knows how to exalt us and help us to learn and
grow.
I know this church is true. I know God is working in each of our lives
everyday. He loves us, and will never give us a trial or tests that we
cannot overcome with His help.
I'm grateful for this knowledge.
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love always,

Sister Hubbard

Monday, May 16, 2016

Week 57 Japan Tokyo Mission


Sister Hubbard's new companion Sister Moffat




Dear Family,

It's been a crazy week full of changes and excitement!
Firstly, I will tell you about the sweetest new companion ever! Sister
Moffat is from Salt Lake City Utah. She has 9 siblings and is the
second born, oldest girl. She is really sweet and has amazing faith. I
had a really interesting experience this past week at the trainers
meeting with her that I would like to share.
As I walked into the room filled with all the new missionaries, I
quietly sat down behind them all and listened to the meeting. I
naturally began to wonder who I might be training. I began looking at
all of the new sisters who had just come to Japan. 6 Japanese sisters,
2 American sisters, 1 from Brazil, and 1 from Australia all sitting
with their backs turned to me listening to the meeting. Walking into
that meeting, I was certain that I might be training one of the
Japanese sisters who couldn't speak English. But, as I looked, I felt
strongly that I wouldn't be training a Japanese sister after all. I felt
a strong connection to a pretty, tall, blonde sister who was sitting
directly in front of me. I hadn't met her yet, but somehow I knew she
would be my new companion. President Nagano invited us to join the
group meeting and sit beside the new sisters. I sat directly beside
sister Moffat. I felt a special connection with her immediately. It
was neat to feel that connection and then become her companion.
President Nagano began calling the trainers up one by one to introduce
their areas and then he would announce announce who their trainee was.
Because the president started from the top of the mission
geologically, I knew I would probably be one of the last Sisters to go
up and introduce, because Sensokuike is at the bottom south end.
Anyway, all being said, sister McCarty (other trainer) and I went up
to the front, both introduced our areas, and I found out I would be
companions with Sister Moffat. The spirit was so strong, and I know
she is the person I need to be with these last couple transfers. We
found out later that both of our Dad's served missions in Sendai at
the same time and had the same mission president. Pretty cool! We are
curious to know if they served together. What do you think, Dad?

We found 3 new investigators last week and we were able to meet with
two of them this week! We will be meeting with the other one next
week. So many miracles!
They all have cool stories about how we met, but I would like to share
a quick one about how we found Yuzu San. We were walking down a busy
street full of hundreds of people. We had been talking to people all
day and it seemed like maybe we were in the wrong spot because no one
was listening to us. We prayed that we would be able to find a new
investigator to help and teach and then continued to talk with
everyone. We probably talked too close to a hundred people before we
met Yuzu San. As we called out to her and introduced ourselves and our
message she said, "Wait a second, your Mormon missionaries! I know
you!" It turns out her friend was also a member of the church and that
she had been invited to Christmas parties and other activities growing
up. SHE EVEN HAD A BOOK OF MORMON! It was a WAY cool miracle for us to
find her. She took immediate interest and we set up an appointment to
meet with her. Our appointment went really well, and we will be
meeting with her again tomorrow. So excited!

We also met a Latina woman named Christina. We learned really fast
that she couldn't speak very much English, and that her Japanese was
very limited. But, this wasn't a problem! She was prepared, and if
people are prepared then nothing will stop them from meeting with us.
Between our broken Spanish and simplified Japanese, we were able to
set a return appointment with her. She told us that she had just moved
to Japan with her family and that she was looking for somewhere to go
to church. Now, I don't really speak Spanish, but as we were talking
with her I had the most amazing experience! I remembered a few phrases
that I had learned once upon a time and these Spanish words began to
fill my mind. I introduced us as missionaries from the church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints and said that we had a church close by.
She got all excited and we were able to give her a Book of Mormon.
SUPER SUPER COOL! It made me think of that scripture in John where it
says that the Spirit will bring all things to our remembrance. God
really does use everything we have to offer in furthering His work of
Salvation. Thanks goes out to Lynette Schipper, everyone else who
taught me a few words in Spanish, and of course to God for helping me
remember something I vaguely remember remembering, haha... It a was
neat. Sister Simpson remembered quite a bit from before her mission as
well, and so it was neat to hear her speak a language I hadn't heard
before.

We found a new investigator named Ellie yesterday, and we will be
meeting her this next week. Sister Moffat was able to give her first
Book of Mormon away and has been so excited to keep on talking with
everyone! Miracles really do happen when we open our mouths to the
people around us. It's just like that scripture in the doctrine and
covenants that says, "mine elect hear my voice and harden not their
hearts."
Lately, I've been giving a lot of thought to how the Lord prepares
others to receive the gospel. It makes me realize more and more that
everything is connected and that there is an individual plan for each
one of us. Even when people reject the gospel, it is nice to know that
God will lead them to the missionaries or the church again someday.
God knows how to exalt His children. He really does know what we need
to experience in order to learn and grow. In our own individual lives,
it's nice to have hindsight when think about these things because it
gives us hope for the future when we aren't sure what to do. Sometimes
we just need to take that first step in faith and believe that the
Lord will provide the rest of the staircase. Definitely easier said
than done, but it is a lesson I have been learning over and over again
on my mission. We just need to trust sometimes.

We had our investigator Miho Yagi San come to church yesterday and she
loved it! All of the members were so good and we had the primary
children sing a child's prayer for her. The Spirit was so strong and
we know she must have felt it. After church, we asked her if there was
anything she wanted to particularly learn about next time. She thought
for a second, and then told us she remembered seeing a picture of two
people in water...
Getting all excited, I brought up the picture of John the Baptist
baptizing Christ and she exclaimed it was the picture! She said she
wanted to learn more about baptism. WAY COOL! Sister Moffat made the
comment that we would love to help her learn more about that, haha. So
awesome! We will see where everything goes with that.

Okay, one last experience. We have a part member family in our ward
who are so wonderful! We went over to their house last night and
taught the Restoration. It was Sister Moffat's first time teaching the
restoration in the mission field, but she did so amazing! Through it
all, she was just so shining and radiant. As we neared the end of the
lesson, she said the first vision and the Spirit was so strong.
"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of
the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness
and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of
them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the
other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"

Everyone was in tears, including the son, who wanted nothing to do
with the church and was being forced by his mother to sit and listen
to us. It was like time had stopped.
Everyone was silent. We proceeded to bear our testimonies about the
truth of the restored gospel and promised blessings upon their
household as they would pray and study together the scriptures
together as a family.
I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He really did see Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove. God hears and answers our
prayers and is mindful of us. He knows us. I knows He loves and wants
to bless all of you. I hope you know how much He really does love us,
because it makes a world of difference when we are able to understand
that love, even in the smallest part. Pray to feel it and to know it
because I promise it is always there.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! :)
Love always,

Sister Hubbard


Monday, May 9, 2016

Week 56 Tokyo Mission





Koiwa 

Janae is 4th on bottom row left sitting beside President Nagano


Koiwa baptism

Skyping picture :)

Dear family,

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I enjoyed skyping with all of you this
morning. You all look so good. I'm so grateful to have a family like
you. Last Christmas, when we skyped last time, I remember thinking
that I would only have one more chance to skype you before coming
home. Time has gone way too fast!
We didn't have much time to email today because we had a ton of things
we needed to do. On top of packing, cleaning, shopping, and all that
stuff, 3 of our investigators called us and wanted to meet, so a lot
of our p-day has been teaching! Definitely a good problem to have
though! :)
We saw a ton of miracles this week and I will probably share some of
them next week with everyone. Sorry I don't have a lot of time today,
but I'm glad we were able to skype! :)
I love you all so much. I know this church is true. God is still
hastening His work and I know He will continue to bless us as we
choose the right and do our best to serve Him.
I will be praying for the fires that are happening over there! I know
God will keep you all safe. Have a wonderful week!
Love always,
Second Nephi 22:2

Sister Hubbard