June 25, 2012

June 25, 2012

Dear Family-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JANIE today! I love you Jane : )

This coming Friday our mission President will be changing. President Albrecht will go home and be replaced by President Budge. Last week we had an all-mission conference and had a last meeting with President and Sister Albrecht. I have never been so spiritually uplifted for such a long amount of time as I was then - it was amazing, and strengthened my testimony of so many things, especially the prophet Joseph Smith.

Serving in Japan means that rarely do I ever teach anyone who believes in a literal God, to say nothing about the fact that they know nothing about who Jesus Christ is or why He is at all relevant (unless they are from a foreign country). This means that what we tell people every day on the street is that there is indeed a God, and not only is he there, but that He is their own loving Father. My testimony that we are each a child of our Father in Heaven has strengthened so much through my mission. Since Jesus Christ is of fairly little importance to people who don't believe there is a God, it is only after we teach about God that we can start to talk about Christ. 

And then it is only after God and Jesus Christ have been established that that we can teach about Joseph Smith. At that point, even if people do understand, it still barely sinks in that they are children of God and Joseph Smith's story seems like a minor side note of church history. To people who don't even know that Christ established God's church in the first place, the restoration has very little significance. 

I have thought about this a lot on my mission, and even wished a couple times that I could have the chance to teach someone who already believes in Jesus Christ so that I could really teach about the restoration and develop my own testimony of it more too. I even heard a fellow missionary stand to bear testimony a while ago and all she said was, "I know with all my heart, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God." I heard that and thought, I know that Joseph Smith's story is true, but I wish I could say it with the conviction that she has.

Well, last Thursday, I along with every other missionary in the Tokyo mission, stood and sang 'Praise to the Man' to President and Sister Albrecht for their last conference with us. It was powerful. Then our mission president stood up and bore strong testimony about Joseph, and even told a little bit of the W. W. Phelps story that led to us having that song. The meeting continued about various other things and eventually led to an intermission. I walked out of the room on a high note with a huge feeling of gratitude for the first prophet of our dispensation.

Afterwards when we all gathered back together again we stood once again as a mission and sang together a song called 'O Give Me Back My Prophet Dear'. It too is about Joseph Smith, and is the first song we sang together as a mission after everyone came back from the earthquake last year. Thinking about all that I have learned and gained from this work between the 2 singings of that song was humbling, and I could feel my debt to Joseph Smith for the man that he was.

Afterwards, President again stood up and testified to us that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. That he was one of the best of men ever to live. That we have more pages of scripture thanks to him than to any other prophet in all of history. That through him the one and only true gospel of Jesus Christ was restored, and that he sacrificed his life for this work of God.

By then I had to restrain myself from standing up and interrupting the meeting with my own testimony of Joseph Smith. I could feel so strongly in my heart that what President said was exactly true.

I know with all my heart that Joseph Smith was God's prophet. That he was one of the best of men. And that he gave his life to the only work that is worthwhile. Every time I think again about Joseph Smith I feel the same way.

 Thanks for being my favorite people! Here's an updated prayer list: Tamae, Ayaka (Ishida), and Chin.

Love you all so much!

Love, Sister Waite

PS- Attached is our mission picture that we took at the conference last Thurs. Can you find me? Can you find Sister Derricott? (This is her last transfer by the way). 

June 18, 2012

Dear Family!

How fun that you went to Grandma and Grandpa's! I am getting used to my haircut... meaning I just try not to think about it very much. It's ok.

Try pasting this into Google earth to see where I live: Japan, Chiba Prefecture, Urayasu, Nekozane, 5-3-31

Mom, you know how you said you wanted to know what was in my Christmas present that you forwarded to me from Cam? Well, it was a missionary daily planner, in Spanish of course. And he had decorated it with pictures cut out from the Ensign. We use a new planner at the start of every transfer (6 weeks), and I've been saving that one from him. I've decided to use it this transfer. Every day when I look at my goals and things I've written, all the typed text is in Spanish. I've decided to send him one in Japanese for his birthday... we'll see if he uses it : )

Miracles: We were able to greet the non-member  husband again. Thanks for all your prayers!

We have and investigator right now that is really internalizing the atonement. We had prepared yesterday to teach her the last lesson that she has left: tithing. But from the start she started talking about a member-friend she has who offended her and how she can't forgive them. It was a great lesson as we talked again about how we don't have to suffer those things because Christ suffered them for us. It made the atonement more real to all of us who were there.

I love you all! I'm going to try and send this to see if the video I've attached works.

Heart shaped fireworks (which I watched tonight from our apartment window),

Sister Waite

June 11, 2012

Dear Family-

This town is having a party. I wish you all could be here to see how it's going down. Apparently they only do this kind of a thing once every 4 years. It's a pretty big deal. The streets are all lined with lanterns and every couple of street blocks there's a little set-up that is kind of like a mini shrine that's been put up just for the occasion. It looks especially neat at night when you walk down the street and the lanterns are all lit up. I tried to take a picture for you but it didn't quite capture it. Anyway, the festival (Matsuri) is happening this weekend and I'm excited to see what goes on. 

 

Have I ever told you about Sky Tree? It's this really famous building that just got finished and opened in May. We see it on the skyline every time we walk out the front door. Kind of fun. (Try looking it up on Google). 

The other day we went out to eat with a girl that came to English class, and then we took her on a church tour and committed her to be baptized. We've been doing a lot more of that (the church tours thing, not so much the eating out thing) lately and are seeing a lot of success. Right now we have 5 people with "baptismal dates". Some are of course a little more committed than others, but it's great. We've done more church tours I think in the last 6 weeks than in all the rest of my mission put together I think.

It's way fun - we just find people on the street and start talking and ask them if they want to come for a 30 minute tour. If so, we walk in the entry-way and explain about prayer and that we usually pray when we start and end a meeting. We explain what to do and then offer one as an example. We testify about it as we walk into the Sacrament Meeting room and explain what we do at church and invite them to come the next week. Then we go upstairs and explain that after sacrament meeting we go to Sunday School and learn from the Bible and Book of Mormon about Jesus Christ. We give them a Book of Mormon and talk about Jesus Christ's life as we look at pictures of Him. We explain that He showed us how to return to God by being baptized, and then we just ask them if they would like to be baptized like He was. It's so fun. I love it.

 

--Since I began we've gone grocery shopping and I got my hair cut. It's terrible. I didn't like it before, but now it's exactly the same only 3 inches shorter... It's like wearing a really ugly outfit that you can't take off for 6 months. I'm trying to have a good attitude, but I had to keep back tears the whole time we were shopping afterwards. I'm still trying to tell myself I'll live, but it's rough.

Back to the good stuff though: things really are going great as far as the work here. Ono Shimai is awesome. I've been blazing through the Book of Mormon in personal study because I was reading the war chapters at the end of Alma. That Moroni is quite the guy isn't he? Those chapters are always page-turners for me.

Can you pray for our three investigators that all have baptismal dates. We had a miracle this week.  A lady called the mission office last week and asked how soon she could be baptized. They referred her to us because she lives in our area and was actually an investigator a year ago. Pretty exciting. We've met her once already and had a lesson and have another one tonight. She's got a pretty crazy life right now that needs some patching up. Her living situation isn't the greatest, and she needs a job. Anyway, there's a lot going on with her, and she feels like getting baptized will be the start of her life getting more in order.

Something funny - we went out to eat with Rina this week (a second time) and she said her friend was coming. Turns out he was an Amway salesman. We got the whole speech and a huge catalog of products that we said we would 'think about' because it was close to curfew and we had to go. We paid our dues and as we ran out, one of the waitresses came out behind us and thanked us for coming and handed us each a banana as a 'souvenir'. Mine said, "Never Give Up." I'm still trying to interpret the meaning of it all. 

I love you all so much!

About 5 billion 'matsuri' lanterns full of love,

Sister Waite

PS -- Did I tell you about how our neighbor left a note in our mailbox a while ago asking me not to jump-rope in the mornings? I think I joked about it, but I was really disappointed. That was the one way I had figured out how to exercise in a teeny Japanese apartment and still obey all the mission rules... Well, I've found lots of other fun things to do since then, and since being a little sick. I've learned that injury leads to opportunities to be more sensitive to your body than you were before, and that lack of equipment leads to opportunities to be a little more creative.

My favorite foods: anything with sesame oil (salad dressing, eggs cooked in sesame oil...), Korean food, sushi (last week with Rina I ate raw chicken at a restaurant), anything in vinegar (pickled baby onions, milk mixed with pomegranate-flavored vinegar juice, egg-salad with lots of vinegar...), fermented soy beans, tofu, tuna fish, and ketchup. The ketchup here is really good. And, of course: rice.

And on that strange note, I'll tell you again: ILOVEYOU!!!

-Sister Waite

PS- Sadie: Way to go on being the cutest Pollyanna! I loved the pictures.

June 11, 2012 – Letter for the West Side Missionary Connection News Letter

Dear West Siders!

Hello from Tokyo Disneyland! : ) Right now I am in an area called Urayasu, which includes Tokyo Disneyland and is close to the heart of Tokyo, Japan. This is of course the very best mission in all of the world. I know those of you who are serving all feel the same about where you are too.

 I know that by actually trying to figure out how we can be more Christ-like in our daily lives, we will see huge changes in ourselves. Seeing that is so exciting! And it leads to a natural enthusiasm for the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Words can't say how thankful I am to you who are working and praying so that I and other missionaries can be doing what we are doing now.

I love you all and I love Japan.

Aishiteimasu!

-Sister Waite

June 4. 2012

Dear family,

We are seeing miracles. About 20 minutes ago we got a phone call from the mission office saying that there was a person who called and wants to come to our church, might want to be baptized, and is coming to English class. Yesterday a woman showed up 1/2 an hour before church because she wanted to come to English class on Wednesdays but has work, so she thought if she came on Sunday someone would be at the church. We gave her a tour of the church and she ended up staying for sacrament meeting.

After sacrament meeting we went outside to see her off and a couple members followed out with us and talked to her for about 20 minutes, building a really great relationship. During all this, the non-member husband of a lady in the ward's kids were playing around in the parking lot (which as usual for Japan - holds 3 cars : ) and sometimes came up to us and played with us, poking or teasing us. That in itself is great! We have been visiting them every week for the past couple weeks trying to build a good relationship, and always hoping to meet the husband but haven't been able to. Anyway, I was getting antsy though and wanting to get back inside to be with another investigator who had also come to church, when a car pulled up and stopped on the other side of the street.

The member standing next to us happened to be the ward greeter, and he knows that we have been trying to meet the member's husband, who is a non-member.. He whispered to us that that vehicle was his car. (He had come to pick up his wife and kids early). We about ran across that street and were finally able to see the whites of his eyes. We didn't talk very long, but enough to establish a connection. It was impeccable timing.

Finally, we were able to pull away from all the parking-lot missionary work and get back in the church. We walked into the Gospel Principles class which was packed with recent converts, missionaries, and investigators. The lesson was on repentance. It was a beautiful sight to see so many people learning like that. Then during the 3rd hour we had a lesson with a lady, but it was interrupted when Ono Shimai left on emergency splits with a ward member to do a church tour with a friend of a member who had shown up. This member is from outside the mission boundaries and is just visiting for the weekend; Amazing that she fit in a little missionary work as well.

 (We went shopping and now have returned, so I'll resume attempting to tell you all our miracles...)

After that we saw that another friend of a member had come and we talked to her for a while. She apparently knew the elders.

I could go on and on... the point is we have seen people coming out of the woodwork lately and it's nothing we are doing. We are working hard like usual, but the fasting of the members is blessing us so much. I can't believe it.

I gotta go. We're working like crazy just so you know. I realized last night how little time I have left... can't let a minute go to waste! I also realized that I would be 23 in exactly 2 months. How old does that make you feel Mom and Dad : )

I LOVE YOU ALL!

-Waite Shimai