So my birthday was absolutely fantastic! I woke up and Saiki Shimai had decorated our study room with hearts that all had little messages and drawings on them. She had bought me a little toy flute and a rain cover for my bike basket (so that when it rains the stuff in my basket doesn't get wet) which I desperately needed. Also, she had bought a pretty little postcard she had seen me admiring the day before in a shop we had visited after going to the temple.
After waking up we went for a jog. Saiki Shimai gave me permission to jog for an hour but I'm so out of shape that after about 20 minutes we came home (Saiki Shimai doesn't like to jog so she biked alongside me). We came back and Saiki Shimai made me a salad for breakfast. I don't know if she had planned to do that before because she knows I like it, or if she just decided she wanted one and would make me one too... but either way it was tasty. Our breath stank the whole rest of the day though because we used garlic dressing on it:) (I've included a picture of us immediately after the jog - sweat and all!)
For my birthday I think I got about 2 cards from each of my younger sisters plus Ainsley! Thanks a bunch for those everyone! I stocked everything away under my desk and then opened it all that morning. Mom the packages were SUPERB! It was great to open everything and think of you picking all of it out. I kept thinking as I tore open the paper that that exact paper had been sitting under my parent’s bed... a strange thought, I know. It's odd to be so far away and think about that. Anyway, I snacked on the raisins right away. They tasted strongly of mint because they had been sitting in the same package as the life savers together for so long. They were actually pretty good that way!
Then we had a normal study time and after that we went to district meeting. All the elders gave me little candies and presents, and our district leader gave me a bag of apples because he knows I like them so much. After that we all went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant. It was a fabulous day.
Mom, I'm sorry to hear that you can't open my pictures very well! I'm was going to just e-mail them all to you and not waste the postage mailing my SD card because now we have a laptop and I can send things so much easier... but I'll make sure to send my card.
So I just read the e-mail about the hike. Sounds like quite the adventure! Pink eye and all. I sure thought a lot about you all this past week! I had a little adventure of my own though, just to make up for the fact that I wasn't there. I had one of the most fantastic bike wrecks. I wish you all could have seen it. We were going down a hill, pretty fast (this area has the most hills out of all the Tokyo mission areas), and I saw a girl so I decided to get off the street and onto the sidewalk so I could talk to her. Well, the curb was higher than I had anticipated and instead of being able to go over it my front bike tire just skidded forward down the hill. I, however continued onto the sidewalk, along with my backpack, missionary fliers, and water bottles. It was great. I ended up a good 6 feet away from my bike and stuff was scattered everywhere. The girl didn't actually even look at me, she just walked on by, which is a shame. I suppose now I know that THAT way of getting people's attention on the street isn't the most effective one.
Also, I made a mistake a couple weeks ago in our ward mission meeting that you will appreciate. I had prepared the report we read there and was talking about a part member family I had written that we had visited -- homon shimasta. But I forgot one little teeny line on one of the characters and it actually read that we -------- hamon shimashta. Everyone started laughing and Saiki Shimai informed me that I had said we had excommunicated them. Great. I'll never forget that word now.
Mom, I gave away 2 of the CTR rings you sent to 2 little boys who come to our children's English class. They asked what they were and a little girl who is a member told them about primary. It was perfect timing. (ps- did I tell you we teach children's English classes too? Yep. Once a week.)
Something I've realized since writing this letter is that I'm starting to lose my sense of sarcasm. Japanese don't use sarcasm at all and I remember being surprised by that when I first came here. They like more obvious humor.
Something else I'm getting more used to is earthquakes. I used to wake up in the night whenever the ground was shaking a little, but now I just sleep right through them.
So, I read in a letter from Jordan Cox that Ted is engaged, and in the Relief Society report from Sister Rider it said Lacey had a baby??? Wow. People sure do like to get on with their lived don't they! : ) Tell both parties congrats from me.
Dad, I just can't tell you how grand it's been to get your reports about the various activities the family has been involved in. It sure sounds like there have been a lot of really good experiences that everyone has been involved in. Thanks so much for every letter you send. Mom, a big thanks for sending Cam's letters. It’s good to know how he is doing. The number of baptisms he has been able to have is inspiring.
Speaking of baptisms, I have a little miracle to tell you about and then I better wrap this up. Not last week, but the week before on a Friday we got a call from a number the phone didn't recognize. I answered it and didn't recognize the speaker but they said they could meet us at the church sometime so I made an appointment for the next day. Since my Japanese barely could do that much, I wasn't able to get much more info. SO the next day we cautiously went to the church to see who would show up. It turned out to be an 18-year-old girl named Sumire. She had come in contact with the missionaries a year earlier but then her mom got in an accident and she hasn't had time to pursue much since then. She is amazing. We invited her to be baptized after teaching her lesson one at the church and she said yes. She is doing great. She said when she has more faith she wants to invite the missionaries to teach her family. It feels great to have a solid investigator who is actually ready to learn the gospel.
Ok. Well. This is pretty long. I hope it makes up for all the letters I can't address personally to each and every one of you (Mom, Dad, Hannah, Ruby, Hallie, Ainsley, Sadie, Janie, Grandpa and Grandma Waite, Grandpa Wadsworth, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friends (that's you Anne Holliday!) ).
Have a great week. I love you all. Especially big thanks to those of you who have e-mailed and written lately. Prayers are headed your way from Japan
Love, Sister Mariah Waite
PS- Mooze, I have every intention of seeing Les Mis with you and Cam and Ruby. I hope you are still planning on coming to BYUI with Cam and I. And I hope you and whoever else wants to is still planning on coming to see Lion King with me once I get back
