The Brooklyn Bridge

Hello! It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here, feels like a month since last Pday! I've been on the train more than in my futon, but now we are all Nice and settled here in beautiful 松本！This is the largest area in the mission, so overwhelmingly large, but it's in Nagano Ken so it's beautiful! The weather is very slowly beginning to cool down as well. Monday was so crazy right up to the last minute trying to move out, create the please-take-out-our-garbage-because-they-won't-today-since-it's-a-holiday Trash Schedule for the Elders, cleaning, packing, appointments, blah blah blah (or in Japanese-nani nani nani). Tuesday we had a great session of Trainers' training in Nagoya, then I stayed with beloved Takaku Shimai (my trainer) and Barazza Shimai in Kasugai that night. Back to Meito in the morning where I met Sister VICTORIA GUNN, from Jacksonville, Florida (shoutout to Alyssa). She is so genki and fun and loves the people in Japan so much! We are going t...

Hello, humans. Here's a bit of this week, the last of the transfer! First of all, we had EIGHT investigator lessons this week! *crowd cheers* that is about seven more than usual, wit was really thrilling. A lot of new investigators, so Rogers Shimai and I made a goal to invite everyone to be baptized. It was scary, but the spirit was so much stronger, and I felt like a real missionary! Two said no, four said maybe, and two said YES!! They have set the date for October 25. They are so beautiful!!! God has prepared them, and I am so grateful he led us to them. Their desire to follow Christ is there, it's so beautiful! On Friday we went down to Amori for the Branch President's family Home evening. His granddaughters, age six and four, were way too cute and seemed to enjoy the magic show. It was so refreshing, kids are so magic! Sister Takei also made an immense amount of delicious food, including lasagna, it's been a while since I've eaten that, it was...

This week the report comes from my dear companion, because she took the time to wrote it. Please enjoy, have a radical week and be missionaries! :)  We have found more investigators this week than we have the whole transfer combined! On Monday we were talking people near Nagano eki when we saw a girl in shorts coming our way and we knew we had to talk to her!  The experience we had was kind of like Alma 32:34,"And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant." We didn't have to have faith the she would become an investigator because we knew she would. We meet with her on Wednesday!  Here in Nagano, we have three levels of Eikaiwa and Brewer Shimai and I teach the middle school level. Usually this would be fun, but our students refuse, REFUSE to talk. And if you ask them a question, they look at each other and whisper-discuss what their answer is for five minutes...only to not say the answer. Example: Us : ...

Monday, we took the two-hour train ride to meet our awesome new investigator who cancelled five minutes before. Cool! Not phased, we rode the train right back home and ate dinner with all our might. Tuesday we went looking and looking and looking and FOUND A NEW restaurant we want to try. So we'll probably go there today. Wednesday was the epitome of awesome! We had a practice lesson with a member is the sweetest! Hearing the members' testimonies is always so refreshing and strengthening. Little did we know her husband (who came to church the Sunday before) isn't even a member yet, but she said, I'm going to go home and teach this to my husband! It was so exciting. THEN, because of the beautiful and blessed faith Of the member, we talked to a woman on the way home who agreed to meet with us the next day to learn English and about the Gospel. And yes, there was a choir of angels lined up in the tiny Japanese road, singing "Hallelujah" as that occurred. We were ...

Greetings, Fellow Hitos. On page 156 Preach My Gospel so lovingly lets us know that "Nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach." I can therefore, confidently tell you that n o t h i n g  happened this week! Uuuuuuuunntillll last night of course! Because end of the week miracles are definitely a thing.  We decided to go streeting near the Nagano eki! Not because we had nothing else to do, but because that was our definitive choice. Yes. So after a couple hours we headed back toward the front of the eki, and talked to this really tall and pretty woman. She was definitely not Japanese. So we asked. She was from Morocco! And you know what they speak there? ARABIC. And what does my most radical companion speak? ARABIC. Needless to say, she accepted to meet with U.S. Tonight to hear about what happens after we die. HOORAY!  As I have testified of before, the Lord answers our prayers. My testimony of that grows and strengthens each week is this remarkable fi...

And it feel so good. SHO, after tragically saying goodbye to the Papenfuss  Shimai Monday I stayed he night in Meito and picked up Sister Rogers in Nagoya Tuesday. It was so weird and cool to be back together again. She described it as, "being born (trained) for two transfers, dropped off at to the babysitter (new companion), and then back again now that her mother (me) is done vacationing for the summer up North (Nagano)." But we've been having way too much fun cracking the lame jokes we've saved up and making new goals to ROCK as missionaries. We hope.  We taught a total of FOUR lessons  under  15 minutes this week. Hooray! Ha ha no one. NO ONE could/wanted to meet because it was a holiday this weekend called O-bon. It is to respect the ancestors who has passed on. Really cool! HoWeVeR, we went back down to Nagoya Thursday night for Mission Leader Council on Friday. It was definitely the highlight of the week! President and Sister Ishii gave great lessons on the Ato...

Greetings, Blog Reader. Please submit your guesses now for transfer announcements! I woke up this morning after having the strangest dream. I had finished six really short transfers and only had six left. It was quite startling! Luckily I woke up, realized I was still a Beanchan.  Phew! This week was full of exciting and emotional appointments on account of this being Sister Papenfuss' last week in the field. WHAT. NO AUGUSTUS WATER HAZEL WE ARE  NOT  OKAY. She has been working so hard right up to the end, which is inspiring. She loves the people here from the sincerest part of her heart. She has given it all her courage, effort, patience, and love in six blessed areas. And I've been soooo exceedingly blessed to partake in her companionship. Tears were shed and we closed our planners on the final Weekly Planning Session together (do cue 1980s soap opera elevator music). The point is I'll miss her a whole lotta much! We are on the train right now heading to Honbu. What is th...