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 11, 2012
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
-Waite Shimai
