Jubile in Japan

Blog:Typhoon
Okay this week was awesome and full of miracles!!!! And lots of other
stuff as well.

So the first half of this week consisted of a dinner appointment with
a newly returned couple from their mission in Nagoya. And they
basically set up this way cool activity for us, which is going so
well! We had ballet class taught by one of the sisters. And man am I
rusty. Then on Tuesday we had a typhoon! It was pretty awesome we like
put down these heavy duty shutters over all our windows. It was pretty
legit. But most of the really terrible parts happened during the night
and I slept through most of it. Then in the morning it was still
pretty windy and crazy rain, so we weren't able to go to district
meeting and stayed inside until that night and then went out and
dendoued. It was pretty exciting. Only a little bit of water leaked in
through one corner of our futon room. But it is all good now. Very
exciting.
Then on Friday we had the coolest miracle! I am COMPLETELY sold on
members being present during lessons. Not that I wasn't before, but
you just gotta hear about this experience I am going to tell. Okay
here it goes. So we had another member as a joint, but she called
about an hour before telling us that her grandson was in the hospital
and she couldn't come. So we started calling everyone. And we thought
of this one lady who the investigator didn't know super well, but when
we called her she could do it, and that was good enough for us. So the
lesson was on forgiveness and the Savior because that is what she is
struggling with right now. And as we are teaching her the member bore
her testimony about how her son had died and how she really had to
depend on the Lord and that was what made the atonement real for her.
And she said that the atonement is to strengthen us in times of
weakness, and that includes when we feel like we can't forgive others.
And she asked our investigator, "you are suffering, right?" And our
investigator just broke down crying, the spirit was SO strong. And she
told our investigator to just let it go, little by little if that is
all we can do at the time, but to have confidence in the saving power
of the atonement. It. Was. Amazing!! I can't describe it, the spirit
was just so strong and we could all feel it so powerfully. Members are
just amazing. And it is just amazing to me how by small means indeed
the Lord brings about his work. Which brings me to another miracle.
So this was last night while we were dendouing. It was about 6 or 7
and we were housing because apartments were still pretty empty, and we
weren't really getting anywhere.We came to this one area where there
was some pretty dingy apartments, but it was still a bit early to
dendou them so we decided we would return once it got later. So we
prayed and felt like this one direction, found an apartment tat wasn't
locked. Prayed and didn't feel like it was the one for that time. So
we kept walking. Found this like tunnel of bats (just like a regular
skinny street with bats flying everywhere) which was WAY cool, has
nothing really to do with the story, but just thought i would help
with the imagery. Then we knocked on some doors of these fancier
looking apartments. No luck. My companion asked if we should just go
back to the apartments we saw earlier, but for whatever reason i
wanted to do the bigger ones we could currently see. So we prayed
again and asked if we should go to one of the three bigger, kind of
sketchy apartments (since they usually are not locked so we can
actually get in) so we felt that one of them would be good and as we
walked to it we saw that it was locked. I was a little bummed out. But
usually when God leads me somewhere, he brings me there so I can see
other apartments or something and go towards those. So I saw these
kind of bigger looking apartments and we walked towards those. When we
arrived I realized it was the same bigger apartments next to the dingy
apartments we decided to return to that night, the ones my companion
suggested we go to earlier. So we walked up the stairs to the first
door, which is vacant. Then as we walk up to the next door this lady
walks up the stairs and asks what we are doing. So we tell her who we
are and as she is smoking and blowing puffs in our face she explains
how she is Buddhist and that we should learn more about Japanese
culture and started explaining about some Buddhist beliefs. So at this
point I'm like "Oh, great." But then she tells us to come into her
house so she can explain Japanese culture to us. I was very surprised,
she did like a 180 flip all of a sudden. So we walk in and she gives
us milk and shows us a shrine that she made and told us that she loves
like all people of all countries and thinks that we are all just the
same. And that she would love to hear about America, and our beliefs,
and about English. And she was just like waaaaay cool!!! She wants to
take us hiking into the mountains, so maybe in the next couple of
P-days you will get a picture of me in the mountains. But she was the
NICEST! Like my dendou Mom, it was SO cool. And she was telling us
that if we had arrive like a minute earlier we would not have even
met her. And I was just thinking of the path we took to get to her
house, and I was like, "Lady, you don't even know." So yep, got to see
the Lords hand very strongly this week. So amazing how through small
things really honest to goodness crazy amazing things happen!! Like a
joint falling through or walking towards an apartment finding out that
it is locked. God is amazing and loves all of us and plays a role in
our lives DAILY!!! I know this to be true, and that he is at the helm
of this work leading us towards eternal life. The church is true
without a doubt and I am so grateful that I have this knowledge! LOVE
YOU ALL!!