Wednesday we had a lesson with Ezaki San. Her lesson was in
the morning so we had to do the same thing as the previous day and shorten
studying times. Last week we were supposed to teach Ezaki San but that
fell through. I know now, and I thought so before too, that it was
probably because the lesson we were supposed to teach was not what we
had planned. But, Heavenly Father has perfect timing. He knows each of us individually.
And he knows what each of us needs, exactly when we need it. He will
also never give us more than we have strength to handle.
So we go to the lesson and it's just as awkward
as the one before. And because the lesson is in Nihongo, I'm just as
silent as I am in all the other lessons. I have no clue what Orton Shimai
is ever talking about! Then at one point I think she decided she didn't
like that I was silent, so she asks me what I think...I don't know! I
can't understand what you are saying or where we are in the lesson!
Luckily, the Holy Ghost has my back. A short little testimony popped
into my head so I said it. I think, and not in a prideful way...just
based on how she looked after I spoke, the three or four simple
sentences I said fit nicely into the lesson. But maybe that is just me
being hopeful and trying to make myself feel better haha...not that I
was feeling bad or anything...just lost.
Wednesday night I was working on eikaiwa (ed. note: English class) stuff
and Orton Shimai was doing phone calls and she calls Shimura San, our
lively obachan (ed. note: grandma) friend. Shimura San asks us if we can
come over "ima?!" Now??? It's almost 8! Well, we decided to go
over. After we get there, she announces that she has food for us, very special
food.
After a while, the food is brought out; delicious
rice with baby potatoes and walnuts and red beans in it and miso soup.
She goes back into the kitchen and brings one last plate out for each of
us. On it was some veggies, a drum stick and....an entire fish that had
been battered and fried!!! I could still see its eyeball!! But it couldn't
see me....blahhh.
So I'm eating the rice and drinking the soup,
trying to avoid the other plate at all costs. I figured I could eat the
drumstick. I don't like eating things off the bone, but I could do it. And,
I did. I think that might be my first drumstick eating experience. The
meat was delicious too; really well seasoned. The fish was still there.
It hadn't swum or flopped away yet...and it had all its bones still, so
it was a totally plausible hope.
Shimura San came back and sat down and
starts telling us about the fish. It had been soaked in who-knows-what
before it was cooked. It makes the bones soft. Cuz guess what??? You eat
the ENTIRE thing, bones and all! Except the fin at the end of it. Gosh,
it looked gross. So Shimura San keeps egging me on, trying to get me to
eat this thing...I keep looking at it and shivering, or squealing. I
couldn't do it! Finally I pick it up with my chopsticks...that didn't
work...the fish was too long. So I plop it back down on the plate and
decapitate it. Then, I pick up its head, squeal a little bit more and
put it in my mouth. It was a combination of crunch and smush all at the
same time.
If it hadn't had bones it wouldn't have
been that bad. But it did have bones and they kept poking me in the gums
and on the top of my mouth. Finally I swallowed. Shimura San asked if I
liked it. I told her it was good, but the bones were awful. She didn't
believe that I really liked it. So, in order to get her to believe me, I
finished it. The ribs were probably the worst part. I'm willing to bet I
have tiny microscopic scratches all over my mouth from them. I'm quite
worried about what will happen when they come back out! But, everyone
should be so proud of me, cuz I did it! I ate an entire fish, bones,
eyeballs, skin, brains and all.
Blahhh!
So the other day we went housing...I think it was Wednesday. We did sooo many doors and I would try and speak at every kekko box. I even got comfortable enough to start changing what I was saying. And I could respond back! I felt like my nihongo significantly improved.
Thursday, we had an amazing zone meeting! We got a
new zone leader and he has made a big difference. He is so spiritual! He
is only on his 4th transfer and is already a zone leader. How amazing is that?
And when we had eikaiwa Thursday night, I could understand so much! I also
had to do a pretend 5 minute lesson about the gospel of Christ during
our zone meeting in Nihongo and I could do it! I'm really trying to
speak and I am praying for the gift of tongues whenever I think of it. I
think I am being blessed for it. I know I am. I can see it!
Eikaiwa was super fun. My favorite part was when we were explaining how to make an "R" sound and how to make an "L" sound. For “L” you put your tongue behind your teeth. Well, this little boy in our class, Ryota, has no front teeth and so he exclaims "I CANT! NO TEETH!" It was soooo cute! The entire class laughed pretty hard.
Friday the Primary children had an Easter egg hunt. We had invited a bunch of people, and one of them, a family, actually showed up. The primary president loveeeees the missionaries so she had planned all the games to include us!
After the games, all the kids went
hunting for eggs. As one of the primary presidency members was
explaining the egg hunt she says "And for some reason, there are
always eggs involved. And we hide them..." That cracked me up. The primary
president also knows I'm allergic to garlic so she made a special batch
of chicken without garlic for me!!! I thought that was the nicest thing
ever. It sounds like such a little thing, but it meant so much to me.
We went home and then got ready to head out to
goi. We had eikaiwa and we also had a bunch of referrals from the elders
we wanted to find. So we walked like an hour to find these people and
didn't catch anyone at home except for one person. But that one person
ended up being worth it! We are meeting with her Monday! She and her entire family! They only speak a little
nihongo though, mostly Portuguese, so Roselly is going to come with us
to teach.
We had a hard time finding her house. Orton
Shimai is like the stereotypical man who won't ask for directions. She
refuses too. Just like a man! So I've taken up the habit of just marching
up to someone and saying “Sui masen" which is excuse me. Then she
has to ask them! I had to do that in order for us to find Joyce.
Eikaiwa was fun even though nothing very exciting
happened. And then we went home. One of the families who attended is
being taught by the elders. They come to eikaiwa in two separate cars so
they can drive the elders and sisters home! Isn't that so nice?
So Saturday afternoon
we taught the funniest lesson ever! It was a mixture of Spanish,
Japanese and English!! And it ended up being pretty great too. So,
Roselly and Roy had their brother and sister in law over. Their father
was visiting from Peru and Roy's girl friend was there too. She is
nihonjin. So we needed a scripture that would work for everyone and this
is what I ended up doing: 1 Nephi 11:17 which
is: "and I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless,
I do not know the meaning of all things." And then we said everyone
here is in different places. We all know different things, and we don't know
it all. But when we know that we are loved, it doesn't matter where we
stand.
Yui chan was just baptized a few weeks ago. And
Roselly and Roy are not as active as they could be. Then there was a little
3 year old boy, who wasn't really paying attention, but we included him
too. After that we all translated for one another. My favorite part was
when I translated from English to Spanish. Orton Shimai
had said "I can't speak Spanish but..." And so I said "no Ablo
espanol" and everyone bursts out laughing. It was so funny! For a change,
poor Orton Shimai was completely lost. The longer we were there the
more I could understand and the more I could remember how to say!
That’s all for this week.
I love you all. And remember, you are loved
too!
