June 25, 2012

This week has been jam packed and action filled.

 

Firsties, the first picture is of almost all of the sisters in our mission. This was at an all mission conference we had this week. I will get to that later.

The second picture is of my companion and I at our bishop's family's home last night! Our bishop is hilarious. Don't worry I taught the whole fam what it means to brush ya shouldas off and how to do it. You should have seen it it was the best!

 

Ok so this week we had our LAST conference with President Albrecht. It was dramatic to say the least. SO SAD. Those of you who have served a mission can relate on this one, your mission president becomes like you father away from home and you grow to love and respect them SO much. So we had a conference where everyone in the mission met and we heard from President and Sister Albrecht and had REAL American Subway for lunch from the American base. (it was heaven) then we were blessed with a little musical snack from a Japanese perfoming group called Bless 4. They are a band type singing group and I am their newest, biggest fan. I was dying you know I was. They are all members, 4 brothers and sisters. They grew up some in America so they are all fluent in English and Japanese. One of the girls has a song that is super famous in Japan. It is something like Aquarion or something... From an anime I believe. Anyway, I always ask kids on trains if they know it and they say yes every time. So after our private concert we had a heartfelt last testimony meeting with the Albrechts and the missionaries going home in July (which includes my trainer Sister Derricott) bearing their testimonies. You could say I was a hot mess. I thought about how NOT okay I am going to be when I have to give my last testimony before I go home. After that, it was over! And I won't see President Albrecht until I am back in America! CRAZY! Time flies TOO FAST!

 

So lately I have been studying a lot about faith. When you are on a mission you always hear stories about insane miracles that happen and of course you want to experience them yourself. So I have been wondering if it was because of a lack of faith that I wasn't really experiencing that kind of thing too often. After prayer and study I have realized that God wants me to know and gain a testimony about the fact that it is not about that. It is about giving our best and having faith that our best is creating miracles we may not see but since we have faith, we know they are happening. After finding that peace and answer to my prayers I was filled with such hope. I knew that everything I was doing day in and day out, if I was doing it by the spirit, trusting in the Lord, with faith, I was creating little miracles everywhere I went. Then of course as the Lord always rewards our faith. I met Seino san. Seino san was found housing. (We knocked on her door) and we had our first lesson with her on Saturday. I can't really explain it but it was one of the most spiritual lessons I have ever had on my mission. It was like everything in this woman's existence aligned so that we could meet her and teach her about true happiness and the way to return home to God. Listening to her give her first prayer at the end of the lesson was sacred and something that could never be described in words. I cannot tell you how excited I am for my new friend Seino san to learn about the rest of God's plan for her and to experience her life change starting with baptism. It is experiences like this that help me know that missionary work is an exquisite joy not felt anywhere else! The best part is, we don't have to be full time missionaries with the badge to feel this joy. There are thousands of people all around us READY to hear this message of happiness. They may not even know it but they are searching for that true joy that only can be found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

 

Needless to say, this week was the bomb!

 

Until next time,

 

LOVE YOU ALL!

 

xoxo,

mosquitoqueengossipgirl2012

Ariel