Monday, December 10, 2012

"worrying probably means our expectations & will are off from what God wants. "

Hello again! I got the Christmas package and we set up the tree and put the presents around (and under it :P). It makes the room so much more festive and exciting! Except lately we`ve had a lot of tempation. We have 2 CD`s that we`ve listened to about 18 million times now and they get really old really fast...so that present that is nicely wrapped in the shape of a CD is quite tempting...my companion told me to give into the tempation this morning after listening to the same soundtrack again like every morning haha. I told him NO! Get thee Hence Satan! he laughed :P
I love my companion. I`m his first American companion and he`s my first Japanese companion so we`re really learning communication skills. The biggest and best communication you can have though is your actions. They really do speak much louder than words. You can tell when someone loves you by their actions. I love my companion :)

I love that song! (Brightley beams our fathers mercy)One of my FHE sisters at college sent me a picture with the words of the song on it and I keep it on my wall and love seeing it. It`s one of my favorite songs in the hymnbook...although I have about 342 favorites in the hymnbook :P ok not that many, but a lot. The Japanese Hymn book has only 200 and Brightly Beams is number 200.

I read the articles!(Dad sends) I promise! I may not always remember them, but I like reading them :)
I did feel the earthquake. I was washing dishes and my companion was cooking and I probably wouldn`t have noticed it, but he stopped me and we both were like...woah...It was really weird because you can`t always tell when it stops. You still feel like you`re shaking for a while. It was only a little shaky in our apartment though. Nothing too big. Nothing falling off the walls or anything.

My interview with Elder Ringwood was very nice, but my questions were all answered during his workshop so we just talked a little. It was very short. He asked me about my family, where I`m from (really Boise or the outskirts like Eagle and Meridian. I told him I was definitely Boise :)). Then lastly he asked me what he could do for me and I presented a question that he had already answered. Ultimately, he just raised my spirits. It`s quite easy to get down after days and days of finding with no results. But we`re laying the foundation of great work to be done here in Hokkaido. I`ve also found that when you`re a little unhappy, change something and get happy. When we are worrying a lot it probably means our expectations and will are a little off from what God wants. We all have worries, but if we trust in the Lord things will turn out the best way they can :)
P.S. His workshop was on the Promise and Requirments of the promise in Alma 26:22. If we do what it says we will do amazing things for God`s kingdom. I love that whole chapter so much. Verse 30 really explains why I`m doing what I`m doing, and more importantly why Christ did the Atonement. It really strikes a cord with me.

Tell Grandpa that I love him too! And tell those in the ward that I`m doing great and I`m grateful for their prayers. I find Elder Ringwood`s talk interesting。 He said that we are the answers to our parents prayers (praying for his success). We could have an elect person walking back and forth outside our house all day and we wouldn`t be blessed if we weren`t obedient and go out and dendo(japanese for approach). I have to do my part to be the answer to your prayers and the Lord will take it from there :) I`m so glad to be a missionary. I wish I could do everything perfectly pretty much all the time, but then I wouldn`t get all the growing experiences. They are tough but are what this life is all about and I`m trying everyday to be more and more grateful for them haha. But know that the Lord lives. If you know that and His character then you know how I`m doing everyday :) I`ll do my best to be the answer to your prayers Mom and Dad :) I love you :)

So as for the weather, in the past 3 days it hasn`t stopped snowing and its shoveled everyday, so the snow right now is up past my ankles and their are piles high over my head on the sides of the streets. While we were walking to the church this morning I actually had a great experience. an older lady was shoveling her walk and we asked if we could help and of course she was humble and turned us down (Japanese people are very humble people). I expected that reply, but I saw another shovel against her house and told her that I would just use the other shovel :P I`ve gotten pretty stubborn haha. So I started shoveling and my companion just picked up big blocks and moved them, so she gave him the other shovel and we finished shoveling her walk. She was very grateful and so she went inside and brought us out some cans of coffee haha. We said we didn`t drink it so she asked about tea and we said that too, so in the end she ran inside and got us some Mikan`s. I just ate mine :) It was one of the few times I`ve ever been able to do service here. A wonderful blessing :)

Will Got His Mission Call!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I`m so excited for him! Tell him how much I love my mission and it`s the best thing in the world. I`ve never grown so much in my life.
Also all the other mission calls...haha...I think I`ve gone on a date with every single one of those people(ie.Kristy Rich, Kristie Hinckley,Amber Leigh Spradlin,Hannah Lutz, Rachael Fuller ??, Bonnie Anderson, Alyssa Harkness ) :P All college friends, mostly from my social dance class and some from my ward :P Good for them!
  Thank you so much Mom!

Tell Jessica( my cousin) I miss her and a mission is the best thing of my life! And I expect to go on adventures with her in the future :) And tell Derick and Tiffany congratulations! I`m so excited to meet her...( baby Jada) when I come back! She`s going to be big along with all the rest of the kids.

Lastly, the ward is great. They all live pretty far away though so they are troopers for coming to church so faithfully. They are strong. It`s actually a branch, not a ward. Little smaller. The music got cancelled until later because of a problem at the old folks home we were going to sing at, but we may sing at the Christmas party this saturday. 

Also I may send some pants back because missionary mall should give me a new pair if mine ripped...so I need a new pair :P But I should be sending a package today with things I don`t need and some Christmas presents. 

Alright, well, I love you so much!!!!!!! Bye Bye! Talk to you Christmas!!!

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