Week 53

Dear Family,

I think it's safe to say that every week gets busier as a missionary!
I don't even know where to start...
Today was temple p-day and it was wonderful to be in the temple again.
Sister Simpson and I live close to half an hour from the temple and so
it was nice to just travel a short distance to get there. It was
really great!

We found a woman Named T..... San this past Wednesday. She was walking
out of her house when we felt strongly that we should turn around and
talk with her. As we did, she expressed that her father had just
passed away and that she would like to hear our message. We were able
to set a return appointment with her right away and she thanked us for
speaking with her. Such a neat miracle!

My Koiwa adventures NEVER end! :D We travelled to Koiwa this past week
for exchanges and I was able to connect with a lot of the people who I
used to work with there. It was the best day ever! I was able to see
Megumi Chan, Minami Chan, Channa, Marjorie and her kids, Arai Shimai,
Ishi San, and a couple other members from the Koiwa ward. Definitely a
tender mercy for me. Right now, Sister Junot and Sister Coughanour are
serving in Koiwa and they both came to Japan at the same time as me
and so I know them both really well. It was good to see them too. :)
We visited a few of the people I mentioned unexpectedly. I will never
forget the looks on these peoples faces as they opened the door and
saw me for the first time in 9 months. Ah, I love them so much! I
cried way too much and was way too happy to be there, but it was so
wonderful. Koiwa will always have a special place in my heart and it
is such a tender mercy for me to be close by again.
#ilovekoiwatearsofjoy #channaevenmademecurry #ilovethesepeoplesomuch

A huge highlight from exchanges was our joined lesson with Minami and
Megumi Chan. As I mentioned before, Megumi Chan's twin, Miki, is
preparing for baptism right now and so I had the opportunity to help
teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to her. As we taught, tears filled my
eyes as I watched Megumi and Minami Chan teach and testify out of
their own experiences. They are the most amazing missionaries ever! I
am so amazed at how far they have come in their conversion to the
Lord. It truly was the sweetest experience. They are both leaders in
the stake YSA group and go to the temple all the time and send me
pictures of themselves outside of the temple. It makes me so happy to
see their joy and progression in the gospel. They love it so much and
are now sharing it with their families and friends. So amazing. They
are such good examples to me.

The morning after exchanges, I felt like maybe I should try to visit a
woman Sister Trent and I would always see who just lived down the
street form the apartment. We had an extra 10 or so minutes and so we
went over to see Ishi San. After she opened the door and realized who
it was, she expressed that she had just been looking at the picture we
took together before I left Koiwa and wondered if I would ever be
coming back. Then we knocked on her door! So crazy! God knows all
things. :)

We also had interviews this past week with President and Sister
Nagano. As always, I learned so much from both of them. They are some
of the most spiritually in-tune people I have ever met. They always
know what to say and what we need to hear as missionaries. I love them
both so much.

We met an investigator for a church tour this last Saturday who we met
the week before on the street. We gave Kaiho San a church tour and she
loved it! She said she wanted to learn about our church and come and
check it out sometime. Way cool! God is really blessing our area.

The craziest moment of the week was probably this past Sunday. We were
about half way through the third block of the Senzokuike ward when
Bishop Nozaki came and got us. He told us there was someone on the
phone who would like to speak with us. I answered the phone and to my
great surprise, I was speaking to a woman who wanted to come to church
that day and learn about our beliefs. 奇跡! That afternoon, a mother and
her 15 year old daughter came to the second ward. They loved church
and said they would like to meet with us on a regular basis. Amazing!
This whole time, I wondered how they had known about the church... I
asked them and what the mother said will always stick with me. She
expressed that she had met the missionaries on the train close to 3
years ago. They gave her a chirashi and invited her to come to church.
She kept saying over and over again how she felt something inside
telling her to go to the church. The missionaries invitation to come
to church had stayed with her and she never forgot that. So cool!
Anyway, her 15 year old daughter received an English chirashi
recently, and it remind the mother once again of her impression to go
to the church. So, they went online and found the closest place and
came to church! This woman never forgot the missionary's invitation to
come to church and she eventually came! Such a huge miracle. God
really takes our smallest efforts and makes them bigger. It is by
small means that God makes these huge miracles happen.

Speaking of these big miracles coming from small things, I will tell
you about a little 10 year old girl we met this last week named H.....
Chan. Sister Simpson and I were returning home for dinner and were
just about to turn into our apartment when We saw two woman walking
towards us. We felt like maybe we should try and talk to them before
heading into the house and so we did. As we were talking with them, we
noticed a little girl on her bicycle who was slowly riding passed us
and these two woman. We recognized her as a little girl we had also
seen the previous day who smiled at us in her way to school. Anyway,
the two women expressed no interest and were on their way and we were
left with this little 10 year old girl just staring at us. So cute!
She had stopped her bike, and must have heard a little bit of our
conversation with the two other woman because she smiled, and asked us
"iesusama ga suki?" Do you like Jesus Christ? We told her that we
loved Jesus Christ and she "watashimo suki! -I love Him too." She was
the cutest, purest little soul. Anyway, long story short, she asked us
if we could come and teach her and her little friends at their school.
We told her we would have to talk to her parents first because she was
still pretty small, but that if we could, we would come and teach her.
She pipped up with a big smile and road away on her bike saying that
she would ask her parents.
At the time, sister Simpson and I didn't think much of it as we
figured there would be no way her parents would let her hangout with
two foreigners who were twice her age and part of a religion, haha. WE
WERE WRONG! On Sunday afternoon, we found her waiting outside of our
apartment. She told us that she had talked with her parents and that
it was okay for us to teach her. I couldn't help but laugh, haha. She
obviously sensed our unbelief because she pulled out her phone and
said, "Here, you can talk to my mom!" I took the phone and proceeded
to listen. Her mom answered, and she told Sister Simpson and I that we
should go to the school and teach H..... chan and her friends.
...We were speechless.
We ended up following H..... chan to this school where the children
all learn about the different religions of the world. We talked with
one of the head teachers who was a Japanese man, and he told us that
he had studied our religion before and that he wanted to learn more.
He insisted that we come to the school and teach our doctrine to his
school class a couple times a week. Isn't that amazing?! The whole
time I felt at such peace. God had led this little 10 year old girl to
us, and she had just led us to a school full of people who would
listen. We of course told the school master that we would need to
speak with our mission president before coming to teach at the school
and such, but we were so starstruck! He gave us his phone number and
asked if president Nagano could call him. Of course, we were happy to
oblige. Crazy crazy cool miracle!!

D&C 108:5-6
"Behold, this is the promise of the Father unto you if you continue faithful.
And it shall be fulfilled upon you in that day that you shall have
right to preach my gospel wheresoever I shall send you..."
D&C 84:62
"Therefore, go ye into all the world; and unto whatsoever place ye
cannot go ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all
the world unto every creature."

Sometimes I wonder why God lets us missionaries help with His work. I
know God is perfectly able to do His own work, but I am so grateful
for the opportunity I have to see Him work wonders in the lives of the
people here. I am so blessed to be a missionary. I love this Gospel. I
know God keeps His promises to us, and those promises include the many
many promises and covenants written in the scriptures. This is the
work of Salvation and God knows exactly what we all need to experience
in order to be exalted. He knows us each perfectly.
I hope you all have a great week!
Love always,

Sister Hubbard