Oh my goodness, next week is Transfers!

26 January 2015 Sakado

Mt. Fuji at sunset

I think with each transfer I get a little more nervous! Generally I think the opposite happens from what I expect. haha. I loveeee Sakado and I love Sister Bettridge. So, I'm a little nervous.

In other news..it feels like spring here! Except when it doesn't. We have had beautiful sunny days all week. But on Thursday it was freezing cold, and reminded us all that it is indeed winter. It really feels like spring is trying to come. But, according to the locals, February is the coldest month of the year. I am so not looking forward to February. I remember being pretty cold last February. But, there was also lots of snow on the ground. We'll see.

I'm just going to continue to write fluff paragraphs cus I don’t remember what happened this week. I think I've hit that point in my mission where every week just seems the same, and it makes it very hard to write about! We see miracles everyday and laugh, lots and nothing ever seems to go according to plan.

Last week we taught a lesson to a less-active who did not seem the least bit concerned that she doesn't read the scriptures or pray. She told us she has so much faith she doesn't need to. We told her we needed to, they are commandments. Still nothing.

This week we came ready. And by ready, I mean we had a lesson planned that didn't go at all like planned. But it went perfect. We asked if she and read the Book of Mormon, she said she read a little (which means not much, a few verses) We went over the story and I pointed out a few good places. One spot was about Christ and His atonement. Sister Bettridge talked about how the atonement is a blessing and a gift. Then I added we didn't need to pay or do anything , Christ performed the atonement for us. But, because he did that for us, we should do something for Him: follow His commandments: read the scriptures and pray. We read some scriptures out of the Book of Mormon and the bible about each and then reinvented her to pray and read this week. She was much more excited to this time! It was such a good lesson. The spirit was there for sure. We walked out feeling so good. I was so proud of sister Bettridge! She is a great teacher, and so willing to try and speak!

On Sunday we didn't have anyone coming to church, that we knew of, but N San appeared! It made me so happy! I love her! She is so sweet and kind! We are in a hard spot with her. Her husband is very Buddhist and against her joining the church. She loves it. But, she makes these sad comments sometimes that just sound like she has accepted she won't ever get to be a member. And she lets those thoughts replace her faith! We had a crazy lesson after church; she had read ten chapters of the Book of Mormon this week! And naturally she and questions. Hard questions. But we got through them. I'm so grateful for the understanding of the Book of Mormon I've gained since coming on a mission. If I didn't understand what was in there, there is no way I could answer some of the questions we get, in Japanese! Sometimes the Japanese translation is a little funny. Things don't come out quite the same as they do in English. Or different words, while correct, do not mean the same thing. It can make reading and understanding the Book of Mormon hard!

Sister Bettridge and I read out of the Japanese book of Mormon every day. It's helped us both a lot. People are wowed when she reads. I feel really blessed too; I can generally understand what is going on. Some verses I understand perfectly, others...the longer the verse gets, the harder it gets for me. But usually I get it. I can find scriptures I'm looking for and read pretty easily out loud too. Mission blessings!

I received a phone call today from someone serving in my old area Sanjo. I'm just so full of joy right now. So many of the less-actives I'd been working with have come back and Yasuko San has a really solid baptismal date! Please pray for her. She has been in and out of the hospital so going to church, let alone being baptized has been very difficult. After they set a date she asked if I could Skype in! Ahh every time I think about it it makes me so happy I almost cry. I am so excited for her! Please pray that she will have the strength to do it!

Ok funny moments of the week.

While visiting a less active we were given fruit juice and cookies. She gave it to us in a plastic bag and was concerned that we might want a paper bag. She kept asking if the plastic bag was ok to which Bettridge shimai replied "mmm oshii!" Which translates to “delicious”! Our less active said really? And I burst out laughing. It was so funny. I think our less active might be on to us having a hard time understanding her hahaha.

Also, just today, on our way to church a mother and her screaming child walked onto the train. I had some candy in my bag so I figured I'd offer a piece. The mother said no thank you so Bettridge Shimai starts digging in her bag for stickers. She kept searching and searching and finally pulls them out. She then pulls off a smiling face and starts to stick it onto the girls hand, the girl and mother were not looking and I grabbed Sister Bettridge's arm and said, “You have to ask!

Hahahaha we probably just looked like a couple of gaijin (ed. note: non-Japanese) creepers! I laughed all the way to the church. Sister Bettridge didn't see anything wrong with it. And I guess I made her feel like a creep too. She said "it didn't seem creepy to me, till you pointed it out." I told her "that's probably what the creepers say too." And then we laughed.

We do a lot of laughing. Sometimes my head hurts after we are done laughing. I haven't laughed this hard in a while.

I love you all!

Sister Molinari

Ed. Note: For all you loyal followers of "Sister Molinari's Adventures in Tokyo" - sorry for the delay in posting this entry. The Editor started classes again this week and time management was a bit of an issue.