February 19, 2012

Great and manifold were the blessings, most dread Sovereigns..."

Hey Fam!

How was your week? This week was a pretty good one for us! Yesterday we had a lesson with an investigator who agreed to a baptismal date, today the sun is shining, and tomorrow Elder Oaks is speaking to our mission. Life is good. February is almost over! Hooray for that! This morning when I went out to jump rope on our 'veranda', the sun was already completely up over the horizon. Makes me feel great (Nothing against February, but I like sunshine).

So, our investigator: She was one of the women we had met on the street who came to Relief Society last week. She is the sort of person who gets along with anyone. I don't know much about her and there are some things we need to find out before we go much further, but I'll keep you posted on her progress. Until then, pray for Handa.

Hypocrisy: On Wednesday before teaching English we had a lesson with Nakayasu and taught the word of wisdom. At English class we had a Valentine’s day party and we had made cookies for everyone. Some of our students brought treats too and one of them brought some drinks. I was eating a cookie and I got really thirsty so I poured a glass and it was only after I had taken a couple of swallows that one of the students said "Can members of your church drink this?" Well, we can't. It was tea - tea that looked a lot like 'mugi-cha', which is the tea that is ok for us to drink. I've repented though, and refuse to go back to my ways, even though last night Handa gave us little chocolates that were also flavored with tea.

The latest and greatest finds during personal study:

· The Bible's 'Epistle Dedicatory" (As quoted when I started writing). I've been marveling lately at how neat the Bible is and what it took for us to have it. Thank you, William Tyndale. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhT7W8uUDrg - this is an example of what we e-mail investigators. The videos like this that the church has aren't in Japanese, so our mission AP's have been putting on translations of the text.)

· The note by Oliver Cowdery at the end of the Joseph Smith History. Especially the paragraph the starts "This was not long desired..."

· And, Isaiah 58:4's footnote 'b'. I found that when I was reading a talk about the proper way to fast.

Pix: Sister Stevensen and I on the very edge of the mission border - pretty close to where the earthquake was last year (a member drove us there on the way to visit some less active members who live over 2 hours away from the church); road to one of the less-active's houses... have you ever seen a bamboo thicket in the winter?; view of some mountains; and more toast painting (I'm out of other ideas of things to do with kids).

Well, I sure do love you all. I pray for you each by name.

-Waite Shimai