This week was crazy!

24 August 2014 Sanjo

Good-bye Skabelund shimai

I think transfer week always is crazy actually. We spent the first half of the week scrambling around trying to see everyone Sister Skabelund wanted to see. Then on Thursday we took the train to Niigata and she got on a bus and left me! I was really sad to see her go. I miss her a lot!

While I waited for my new companion, Nitta Shimai, to get to Niigata I got to dendō with Dunn Shimai. I'd never worked with her before she is amazing! She only has a few transfers left. We had a lot of fun in the few hours we spent together. We had a fun time handing out chirashi at the train station and then we ran off to an appointment. Back story: a lady received a eikaiwa chirashi somehow and called the elder missionaries to see if some missionaries could come to the Eikaiwa class SHE teaches. She wanted native speakers there. So we went! The lady ended up being really young and she spent a few years in America. In Utah. at Snow College. Chance? I think not! We had a really fun eikaiwa class. She teaches six or so kids. Usually they aren't very well behaved but for us they were haha. As a thank you we got McDonald’s gift cards. Everyone here thinks we love McDonald’s...

After a fun day with Dunn Shimai we headed back to the bus station to wait for the bus with all our new companions to get there. It came early! Nitta shimai and I had to run to catch a train so we could make the hour ride back to Sanjo.

The rest of the week has been really great. It took us a couple days to get into 'our' own groove. It made me really nervous! But it's all good now. We both want the same things for Sanjo and Sanjo group and I am really looking forward to doing it with Nitta Shimai. She is an amazing missionary! And her nihongo is soo good. I'm really excited to improve mine. I understand so much and I can write and read a little. Speaking is my biggest challenge and so this transfer that is what we are going to work on. I can't wait. I know I just said this, but she is seriously such a good missionary.

Sunday at church: Ogura Shimai, Yasuko San and Momoka Chan! Yasuko San loved church! It made me so happy! And she fit right in! She made comments and talked to everyone. And when she left she said she'd be back next week!

Me, Yasuko san and Skabelund

I love her. She has this light in her eyes and every time we visit I leave feeling happy. She emanates light. She learns things so quickly. It just clicks for her. It's so amazing watching her develop a relationship with Heavenly Father and feel the spirit. It's so special. I feel so lucky.

After sacrament meeting Momoka Chan and Ren Kun (elder's investigator) left. Then later, as Nitta Shimai and I were about to leave, they came back to church! They didn't have any plans so I suggested we watch a movie. We fed them pancakes (we had had a pancake breakfast that morning) and then Momoka Chan, Nitta Shimai and I watched the restoration video. After it ended Momoka Cham was just silent. And she wouldn't look at us. I'm thinking "oh nooo, what did we just do?!"

Finally we started talking. We asked her how it was, she couldn't answer. It looked like she was going to cry. More silence, then we asked what she felt. She didn't know it, but she felt the spirit! And when we asked, she told us she had interest in learning in learning more! She answered very quickly too! Ah! I'm so excited.

Also, I loveee the restoration video. It was in Japanese so I didn't catch everything but, I absolutely love it. I love Joseph Smith and I'm so grateful that through him the gospel was restored. I love the Book of Mormon and I love studying it and the Bible every morning. It's just a blessing. I feel like my knowledge has exponentially increased since I came on a mission. I don't know where I'd be without the church in my life!

Funny story of the week: Ren Kun and Momoka Chan have crushes on each other...I think...typical high school romance. But, on Friday Momoka Chan came to ping pong night. Ren came running into the church saying I brought a pretty girl, I brought a pretty girl! Yuji Kyodaii, thinking it was a girl for HIM, came running out of the church and upon seeing a high school girl became very disappointed. He said his heart was racing hahaha.

Sanjo is still beautiful. It is finally cooling down...I think and I am looking forward to wearing fall clothes again! And not sweating all day, every day! I don't think I've sweat so much in my life!! But, it is totally worth it! Being a missionary is so good. It's hard. Really hard. But really good. So worth it.

I love you all!

Sister Molinari