Week 31 Tokyo mission

 Halloween Party

 Niigata (before transfers)

Dear family, 

Thanks for your emails!

I think I will start this letter off by answering some questions, haha. There were a lot this week! 

There's been a lot of talk lately in Sado about this coming winter season. I'm trying to reach a consensus with what everyone is saying, but I haven't yet. Some people have said that Sado gets really cold, but that there isn't really any snow. They say that it mostly just snows in the mountains because it is too humid near the shore. Others say that there is close to 3 feet of snow every year...now, I'm not sure how people could be so opposite in their experience with the winter, but it's left me wondering what's actually going to happen, haha. This past week, I had about 3 people tell me the first story, and 4 people tell me the second story... I have no idea! Haha. Maybe I am misunderstanding something, haha. I'm sure I will know soon enough. Right now, the leaves are falling off the trees and the autumn colors are really pretty. Today it's been really rainy and there has been some typhoon warnings, but it's been a great day! I am warm enough and I will get back to you all about what I may want for Christmas this year, next week. :) 今考えいます

To follow up with mom's question, I will share a really cool experience from last Sunday. I didn't really time to mention it last week in my letter and so I mentioned it briefly, but I will tell you more about it.

Every Sunday after church, we sing "I'll find you there my friend." Last week, for fast Sunday, we have a ward fast and decided it would be really great if we all knelt and broke our fast together. We were fasting for the miracle to be able to see four baptisms before Christmas. Anyway, we decided that it would be nice to sing our song before we knelt together to brake our fast. Just as everyone was getting ready to sing, I realized that the Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Nagano, had taken the music to be photocopied and that I didn't have the piano music to play it. After explaining what had happened to the ward members, we agreed to sing it without the piano music. I felt like this was a special moment and that it would be so much better with the piano music. I had just barely learned the song 2 weeks previously in preparation for the Nagano's coming to visit, but I felt the Spirit tell me to just sit down at the piano and begin playing the song. Hamada Kyoudai, the music coordinator looked at me and asked me if I could remember the whole thing. The song is around 5 pages long and So I told him that I probably couldn't, but then all the ward members asked me to just to my best-even if it was just the 1st couple notes of the song. The previous week, I had struggled through the song with the music...I couldn't imagine what it might sound like if I tried without the music. I felt so overwhelmed, but agreed to try my best. I learned soon after this experience that we really can do anything with the Lord. I sat down at the piano and played the whole song while our ward sang. I listened to their voices and somehow my hands were guided to play the long streams of arpeggio patterns throughout the song. Soon after finishing, I sat up from the piano and saw some of our branch members in tears. I was so overwhelmed by the Spirit that I was also moved to tears. They asked me how I did it, and I said "自分の力でわありませんでした"(jibun no chikara dewa arimasen deshita) , "it was not by my own power." 

We then all knelt together in prayer and petitioned the Lord to help us find people who could be baptized for our Christmas miracle. Such a powerful experience. The Spirit can do amazing things. I don't always understand how things work, but I am left knowing that there is a God in heaven who loves us and is aware of us. 

This week Sister Alder and I travelled to Mano to visit a referral from a member in one of Sister Alder's previous areas. We got there, and no one was home. It was a little bit of a let down because it had taken quite a bit of our time to get to Mano. It's was almost dinner time, and so we decided we should probably head back to our apartment from there. As we began to leave, I  felt like maybe we should ask God if there was anything He wanted us to do before we left Mano. After praying, the referral pulled into her driveway straight away and we were able to meet with her. Pretty amazing! If we hadn't stopped to pray, we wouldn't missed her altogether. 

This letter is pretty short, but I just want to bare my testimony of the Lord's ability to work through us with the Spirit. I've learned that all of the miracles in the mission are performed by the Lord. They are performed regardless of whether or not the missionaries are listening to the Spirit, but as we do listen to the Spirit, we are given the incredible experience of seeing the Lord work wonders and miracles. I love this gospel and am so grateful to be a missionary. This church is true, and God is at the head of this work. Jesus Christ is our Savior and redeemer. He loves us all so much. He will never forsake us.

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week. 

Love always, 

Sister Hubbard 

Week 30 in Sado

 Gold Mine

Gold mine- this place is competing for one of the wonders of the world spots right now. Pretty sweet!

 Food from this week!

 Yum Yum!

 Big tunnel the Iwasaki's took us through

 Halloween Party at the church...sister Hubbard was a nerd...zoom in to see glasses :)

 Christian Graveyard

 More recent Christians who wanted to be buried in the same area

First Christian Graveyard

Dear family, 

I was so excited to hear about our little town gaining another ward! Magrath 7th ward- it sounds great! What an amazing change. That is so exciting! I think there will be a lot of good changes that will happen with the ward split even though it may be difficult to say goodbye to some of our wonderful ward members. That is so fantastic! 

I've had a week of adventures and I am so excited to tell you all about our miracles and learning experiences I've had. To start, I want to tell you all about a profound learning experience that I had. The branch president and His wife (Iwasaki shimai and Kyoudai) wanted to take us to see the Christian tomb located in Sado. Now, this probably doesn't sound like something everyone would want to go and see, but ever since I have come to Japan, I have heard about this special place and about the things that happened there. In Koiwa, (my first area) it was mentioned a few times in the seminary class that we attended. My Japanese wasn't at the point where I could understand everything, but what I did understand amazed me. The fact that I was able to go and be in the place where so many wonderful people had been, was an amazing experience for me. I have mentioned this memorial spot before in my letters and a little bit about the history of the spot, but I will give you a little bit of background to catch you all up. To be short, there was a time in the History of Japan that it was very dangerous for Christians to live here. If there was a Christian found, they were exiled to Sado and were executed if they would not deny their belief in Jesus Christ. At the memorial site, hidden in the mountains, a hundred or more people were executed because they would not deny Jesus Christ as their Savior and Redeemer. It is more of a gruesome story than that, but men, women, and children stood at this place and were each put on trial and then put to death. Iwasaki Kyoudai and Shimai read the different inscriptions at the site, and I learned something so profound as I stood listening. I felt like my heart as enveloped by a greater power, and I felt the Spirit so strong. I share this because it led me to ask myself what I would be willing to sacrifice for Christ's sake. As I listened, they told of how these people were given an image of Jesus Christ and forced to either tear or distort the image, or be put to death. I can't really explain the connection that I felt to the people who made this sacrifice, but it was such a tender moment for me to stop and think about my own relationship with Jesus Christ. I felt such a closeness with the people who were executed. I wondered how they must feel to know that there are 13 diligent members of the church on the island now,a couple hundred years later. It was just so amazing to me to think about all of these things. There is a line in one of my favorite hymns that came to mind as I sat pondering. 

6. In pris’n I saw him next, condemned

To meet a traitor’s doom at morn.

The tide of lying tongues I stemmed,

And honored him ’mid shame and scorn.

My friendship’s utmost zeal to try,

He asked if I for him would die.

The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill,

But my free spirit cried, “I will!”

7. Then in a moment to my view

The stranger started from disguise.

The tokens in his hands I knew;

The Savior stood before mine eyes.

He spake, and my poor name he named,

“Of me thou hast not been ashamed.

These deeds shall thy memorial be;

Fear not, thou didst them unto me.”

My heart also sang as I thought of the love that these people must have had for our Savior Jesus Christ. In John 15:13 it says: 

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

Christ laid down His life for us, and showed the ultimate love for us by doing so. It was the greatest sacrifice known to human mankind, and it was done out of ultimate and perfect love. These people died for Christ, along with the thousands of others who have died in the history of the world for the Gospels sake and for Christ's. There is so much to learn from these people. I am so grateful that I could go and see this memorial site. It was so special for me. 

Dendou was really great this week too! Our investigators are progressing well and we have been able to see a lot of changes in them over the course of the last couple of days. 

I think I have time to share one last experience.

Yesterday, we travelled to a place on the Island called Mano to visit a woman who had been dropped by the missionaries just a year previously. As sister Alder and I were going through our Area book, we felt very strongly that we should go and visit her, and so we did. We had never met her before, and had no idea what to expect, but we went and hoped for the best. When we arrived at her house, we greeted her and introduced ourselves. Immediately, she recognized us as missionaries and told us about how the missionaries used to always come over to her house and teach her and how much she loved learning from them. While she was speaking, I felt really strongly that the Lord had been working with her and began to be really excited, which is why what happened next really shocked me. She said, "it was great, but I have no interest." I was shocked, and felt like I was missing something... After talking to her God and prayer and how we can know and have a relationship with Heavenly Father, she began to listen more intensely. I asked her if she had ever felt God's love when she prayed? Although she had been taught by the sisters how to pray and knew how to do it perfectly, she said that she had never felt that love. I promised her that if she would let us teach her that her life would be able to change and that she could know for herself whether or not God exists. Tears began to form in her eyes, and she quickly turned away from us and exclaimed that she wasn't interested. I will felt like we should talk with her, and so I asked her if I could share an experience with her. She agreed and began to listen once more. I told her about the first time that I had really prayed to God, and how it wasn't until after that point that I knew that I had a Heavenly Father who loved me. I told her about how I felt something so strong in my heart, and that I couldn't explain the feeling, but that I knew it was God answering my prayer and saying that He loved me and cared about me. After sharing the experience, I invited her once more to begin learning with us again and to pray to know for herself if God was really there. She agreed and thanked us for coming over. It was really neat for me to see the Spirit work in her as time went on. Such a neat experience. 

We had a fabulous halloween party and had lots of people come, which was awesome! We were able to find a few new investigators through the party as well, so that was a huge miracle! Yesterday in Church we prayed and had a special fast together to be able to see 4 baptisms before Christmas. It was a really powerful experience, and I'm excited to see what will happen in the next couple of months here on the Island. 

That's all I have time for, but I just want to say thank you for all of the emails and prayers. I love you all so much. This church is true and God loves everyone. God hears and answers our prayers and is always waiting to help us. We just have to reach out and grab Him. 

Love always, 

Sister Hubbard 

Week 29

 Dinner with president and wife in Sado! :)

So, this lady gave us all of these edible flowers. Yep! We ate them. Not too bad, haha.

 I ate blow fish this week. Haha, it was pretty good! Yes, they were licensed and I am still alive. ;)

 Beautiful Sato!

Dear family, 

Vacation sounds like it was a blast! Thanks for telling me all about your adventures on the beach. It sounds like everyone had a wonderful time. :) Whenever I read your emails all I can think about is how blessed we are as a family. I'm so grateful for all of you and for your love and prayers. I feel like even though I'm half way across the world that our relationship as a family has become stronger. 

Well, I really don't now where to start with this email. We've seen so many miracles this week and have experienced so many wonderful things. I'm so amazed at the Lords hand in missionary work, and I'm so grateful to be here in Sado to witness it all.

As a mission, we've started looking to Christmas and setting goals and seeking revelation for what God would have us do for the Jolly season. Similar to other missions, we would like to see a 'White Christmas.' We've made a goal as the Niigata zone to see two baptisms/companionship before Christmas. We all feel really good about this goal and have been fasting and praying to know what we can do to accomplish the Lord's will. Anyway, with all of this happening, I am feeling really excited for Christmas and I think I might be catching the Christmas spirit early this year. :)

Sister Alder and I met an older woman this past week. We explained who we were as missionaries and she invited us into her home. We knelt down at her little table and began to speak with her. This lady, Yamada San, asked us if she could play some music for us using this little instrument that I had never seen before. We agreed and she began singing and playing this bell like instrument. The music was beautiful. I really felt the Spirit as she showed us a part of her heart while playing. While she was singing, I listened carefully to the words that she was singing to see how much I could understand. As I listened, I picked out a rhythm that sounded a little bit like Silent Night. Suddenly, I realized I had received revelation and I reach for my small hymn book in my bag. I opened it to Silent night and asked Yamada San if we could now sing for her. She agreed. Sister Alder and I proceeded to sing Silent Night in Japanese. As we sang, tears filled here eyes and she began to sing with us. It was such a beautiful experience. The room filled with peace and I felt the presence of angels singing as I listened. We concluded singing, and I asked her  if she knew what the song was about. We were able to testify the Savior Jesus Christ and share our testimonies with her. She thanked us for coming over. We left feeling so uplifted and good inside. This woman was probably close to 90 years old, and although she couldn't understand our message very well, she did understand the music and the Spirit that was felt while singing. Such an amazing experience for us to be apart of. :)

This past Tuesday, we had exchanges with the sister training leaders and we saw so many miracles! I was with Sister Lacey and it was so amazing. We've always had a secret wish to be companions, and so it was really neat to spend just one day dendouing together. She's such a good friend to me and I don't think it was by chance that we were finally put into the same zone. Such a tender mercy for me. :) I wish I could tell you more about our day together,  I think I only have time to share a few more things. We had planned to visit Ediku Chan (one of our new investigators) that night and talk to her about baptism. As the day went on, we felt very strongly that we needed to re-exchange so that sister Alder and I could teach Ediku Chan together. Because our original plan was not to be together for the lesson, sister Alder and I didn't have a lot of time to plan for the lesson. We were a little nervous to go into it unprepared. As we road our bikes to her house in the dark, I was praying so hard that it would all go okay and that we would be able to speak to her about baptism and that the Spirit would be strong. After arriving and praying together, I felt impressed to turn to a scripture. We read it before walking up to the door. We read 2 Timothy 1:7-8 

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

After reading it, I felt the Spirit fill my heart and I felt like God had taken the wheel. We walked up the stairs to her apartment building and rang the door bell. She opened the door, and after greeting us, told us that she had read all of the plan of salvation pamphlet that we had given her before. She said that she had one question for us. As she turned to the page to where she had found the question, she asked us, "バプテスマとわ何ですか?" (What is baptism?)We were speechless! I felt like I was in shock for the next 10 minutes. Had she really just brought up e very thing that we prayed so hard to be able to talk to her about? It's was amazing. Such a miracle. We were able to talk to her about baptism and invite her to be baptized. Yesterday she came to church for the first time and she felt the Spirit strong. I weep when I think of the wonders the Lord has been able to work in her life. She prayed for the first time this past week, asking God if everything she had been taught was true. It was so powerful, and I am certain that she will be part of our beautiful white Christmas. We've grown so close these past couple of days, and I feel like I've known her forever. She is the sweetest person ever! :) she is a 20 year old college student who is training to become a nurse. Right now, she is living in Sado for school. The Members in the branch love her and have fellow shipped her so well. We are truly so so blessed. My heart is so full. 

We've really been able to see the Lord's hand working in Sado. I continue to see the little branch here as a ward someday and think of how wonderful it would be for them to have a new church building and to see baptisms this Christmas. If it's God's will, I know it will happen. I love the branch members here so much, and it is so easy to work hard for them everyday. This past weekend, we had president and sister Nagano come to Sado! Sister Alder and I spent the whole day with Sister Nagano dendouing. It was an experience I will never forget. Sister Nagano is an amazing missionary. She served a mission when she was our age, shortly after being baptized a year or two previously. Her parents both said they would disown her if she went on a mission. She went anyway, and saw almost unheard of success in her mission. It was amazing to learn from her all day long and to talk with her. She reminds me so much of Grandma Tess. I couldn't stop taking that as we talked together throughout the day. :) so special. We had interviews with them to weekend as well, and as I spoke to both of them, We received a lot of revelation together. I'm excited to see how our new plans will effect our little island very soon. They came to church yesterday and it was special to have them there. As branch members, we sang for them. Every week after church, we all sing and practice a song together. It's called, "I'll find you my friend" -I think, haha. It's different in Japanese. Anyway, I recently learned the song on the piano so that they don't have to listen to the recording while singing, and it has changed my whole perspective on the work here in Sado. I want to share the lyrics with you all. (English) As You read the lyrics to the song, I want to you picture this little branch of 13 members. There are 4 kids under 12 and a bunch of adults. Everyone in the Branch works so hard to invite their friends to church and to share the gospel. These are the lyrics: 

There was this place called the preexistence, 

Where we lived with our friends so dear, 

A counsel was called and plans were made, 

Free agency is why we're here, 

Our savior said, "please find my lost sheep, and teach them and bring them home." 

I promised my Savior I'd find them, and teach them the way to go. 

I'll go and find you my friend. I'll help you. Our savior's plan is the way. 

Please accept me when I find you, and we'll be back with him someday.

Remember the worth of souls is great in the light and the sight of God 

Look and search and teach His sheep to find the iron rod 

My time has come to teach the gospel, 

There are souls out there who are gold. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ rolls forth and this is what they need to be told, 

and if your joy be great with one soul you have taught and brought unto me,

How great will your heart be exalted, to bring many unto me. 

I'll go and find you my friend. I'll help you. Our savior's plan is the way.

Please accept me when I find you, and we'll be back with him someday.

Remember the worth of souls is great in the light and the sight of God. 

Look and search, and teach his sheep to find the iron rod.

I'll find you there my friend

Before coming on my mission, I always wondered who I may have promised to find and help before this earth life. Now that I've been out for close to 10 months, I think of all the people I've met on my mission and feel the Spirit whisper that they are the people I promised to help. I think of all of the people from before my mission-my friends, family, random people I said hello to or did something for- all of them. Each encounter was not by mistake. It is all apart of our Heavenly Fathers plan. There are no mistakes or chances. God knows who our friends are and where we need to be to help them. He knows us personally and sees the big picture. We are all his Children, and thus brothers and sisters. He loved us all enough to send His perfect, beloved, son Jesus Christ to help us and save us so that we could return to His presence someday. We could never do it by ourselves. I'm so grateful for to gospel and for the way it can expand our hearts and our capacity to love people. I know to church is true and that God is mindful of each of us. His love is always there. I love you all so much! You're always in my prayers. 

I hope you have a wonderful week! 

Love always, 

Sister Hubbard