October 22, 2012

Dear Family and beloved friends,

TELL me this child does not look like an Asian version of Elora. I even showed her a picture of Elora and she agreed. I was dying. She reminded me SO much of her!

This is me sword fighting with one of our investigator's children. These kids are INSANE. They run around tirelessly literally 24-7. I love them.

This is a picture of some of the shimai brushing our teeth at the mission home when we stayed there the night before the all sisters conference.  

Today I taught a group of Jehovah's Witnesses the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was cool. It is so true that people can contradict anything you say but nobody can contradict a testimony. I love that. My testimony is something NO ONE can take away from me.

So on Friday we had an All SISTERS Conference. Where all the sisters in the mission came and we had lots of fun being girly. It was so nice. Sometimes I feel like I am drowning in a pool of 10-21 year old BOY. My companion and I along with some other sisters who live far from the mission home where the conference was to be held came in the night before to have a sleepover at the mission home. It was SO fun!!!! We helped Sister Budge prepare things for the next day and we talked and laughed and practiced our musical number for the next day. Then we went to bed and woke up in the morning and a few of us went jogging together. While we were jogging we saw a park so we went to it. Just in time to find a park full of senior citizens (and we're talkin Japan so some of them were well over 85 years old) and they were all doing what is called "radio taiso" which is a little exercise program that people get together and do in parks ALL over Japan at around 6:30 every morning. It was so adorable I was dying. Obviously we joined them for the rest of their workout. Then we went back, got ready, and had an amazing conference complete with an exercise class to none other than jazzed up hymns. Those kill me. We also had a testimony meeting at the end which proved to make me become a hot mess. One of my companions is going home after this transfer (Stevenson shimai)  and then the next transfer another one (Mano shimai) and then the next transfer my MTC companion (Edstrom shimai) and then I go home! AHHH! It just kind of hit me when they were bearing their testimonies that I don't have much time left and it is gonna come quick. I just love it here so much I am terrified of going home. I LOVE being a missionary.

Okay so yesterday we were housing and inviting everyone to our Eikaiwa Halloween Party that is on Wednesday. We knocked on one lady's door and started talking about God and Jesus Christ and her life and such. We taught her about how through Jesus Christ we can overcome ALL. Then before we left we asked her if we could sing her a song. We sang her I am a Child of God and by the end of the hymn she was literally sobbing. She for SURE felt the spirit. Then I testified to her that she was feeling God's love and she is never alone. I really could feel His love for her. It was amazing. She just like fell into my arms crying. It was a really awesome experience. We are going to meet her again next Sunday. There are too many people in this world who don't know that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them. THAT is why I am on a mission. Just one of the many reasons.

Next week: Look forward of a recap slash pics of me teaching the Thriller to the Eikaiwa students. (thanks to my babygurl allycat)

LOVE YOU ALL!

LOVE,

xoxo

gg

Ariel