March 19, 2013

Hello all! This will be my last email and I am sorry but it will be a short one! Just to get everything straight, I come home on Tuesday March 26th. Three weeks after that, I will be going to BYU Hawaii. Crazy huh!!! The Lord has a plan for me! Can't wait to find out!

 

Okay so today I went to the Tokyo temple for the last time. Sitting in the celestial room thinking about all I have to be grateful for, my heart felt like it was going to burst with peace and joy. I thought I would feel REALLY stressed and be super freaking out and sad at my last temple day but as I sat there and prayed under that beautiful chandelier with the Japan rays of sun shining through the window, warming my back, all I could pray about was what I was grateful for. I couldn't even THINK about any worries I had or anything. God blessed me with complete peace. I cannot even BEGIN to explain all the blessings, miracles, and amazing experiences I have experienced on my mission.  It is unreal how much the Lord blesses you when you serve His children. I am honored to have been able to wear our Savior Jesus Christ's name on my chest for a year and a half. I know I will thank God every single day for my mission because it has changed me more than I know I will ever realize. God lives. He LOVES us. He sent His Son to this earth to die for us that we may live again as He is. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

 

I love you all!!! See you in a week! Until then, I'll be preachin the word and loving every minute!!!!

 

LOVE YOU!

 love love

xoxo

TOKYO GOSSIP GIRL FOREVER

Ariel

 

p.s. the attached picture is of the beatiful SAKURA trees that only bloom for about a week in the whole year in Japan. I am lucky enough to catch them JUST before I come home!!!!

March 11, 2013

Hello!

 

Random story of dendo is all I have time for. Okay so yesterday we taught a recent convert about Jesus Christ and how to become like Him. She is so bomb I love this lady. Her name is Sister Yamanoi and she is an angel. So SO humble and wants so bad to become a good person and to follow Christ. Anyway, we commited her to ask God what service she could do that day and in any way she could serve someone else. We told her it could even be something such as a smile or a hello. She said she would do her best. This lesson was during Sunday School and after church she came up to me and was like, Sister Swainston, I don't know if I can do it today. Even though I had just seen her personally going around to every member in sight and smiling and saying hello to them. I told her, Yamanoi shimai you're already doing it! I saw you! She got so happy and had this look of determination to go out and do good like Christ. I thought, if we could all submit to what the Lord wants us to do and immediately act upon the direction we are given, this world would be so much brigher and full of smiles and hellos! I love learning from children and people who have a heart of a child!

 

May this week be the best week yet!

Love you all!

 

Love love

xoxo

gg

Ariel

 

p.s. The picture attached is of my companion with the Swainston Consulting Group calculator that I gave her and she LOVED.

March 4, 2013

Dear Swainston Family,

 

Hello! I'm Sister Ono, Sister Swainston's companion. I just wanted to thank you for your sacrifice to let your wonderful daughter (sister) go on a mission. She has been my companion for almost three month, and she's amazing. She's kind, nice, fun, very very fluent in English, has lots of talents, and a great teacher both for my English or as a missionary. She always teach me many things. I'm so grateful for her example:) But especially, I LOVE her testimony. It is so strong and full of the spirit. I love her. I'm so sad that she's going home soon, but I'm sure we will meet again in Hawaii which makes me so excited to go back and of course, she will be a blessing to many people (especially to Japanese people)!

She is so fun to be with, and we experienced so many fun staff! This week an eikaiwa student gave her a Beyonce CD.... The best part is that he is a Japanese man in his 60s..  and his name is Kippo...hahaha We LOVE Yachiyo!

Anyways, I love you, Swainston Family:)

 

Sister Ono

 

Dearest all,

 

I love that girl. I told her to write my weekly email for me and that's what she wrote... Isn't she AMAZING at English? Anyways, this past Friday we had the wonderful opportunity to have an all mission conference with none other than Elder Russell M. Nelson as the special guest. It was incredible. Such a sacred experience that I will never forget. The first thing he said to us was Thank you. Then he said "p.s. to your families, tell them Brother Nelson says thanks". He talked about how the Lord is hastening His work in so many ways. He also talked about how in life and especially in missionary work we feel inadequate and not able to fulfill the measure of our responsibility. How it is unlikely for a bunch of young girls and boys to go around in a brand new language changing people's eternity. Then he said "Doesn't seem logical does it? Welcome to the club. The Lord uses the unlikely to fulfill promises and you are the unlikely." I love that! A lot of times we are the unlikely and that's just it! We don't need to be anything more, the Lord is the one doing all the work anyway. This work is true! We are just the lucky ones who get to take part in the Lord's miracles and boy am I grateful to be on the front lines in this war against evil cuz in the end, WE WIN.

 

Love you all!!!

xoxo

 

ps: oh yeah, we went to Costco today. This is a pic of my companion TOTES excited.

gg

Ariel