Well,
we've been out a month and so far this has been an amazing experience.
Without a doubt, the MTC was an amazing experience. It did feel a
bit like trying to take a drink out of a fire hydrant. Now that we are in
the mission field, it is even more amazing.
We have
been in Japan almost 3 weeks now and are slowly but surely getting things
organized. Working with the Elders and Sisters in the district has been a
great experience. They are so dedicated and work so hard, but it seems
like all they ever do is smile. You can tell that they are finding joy in
the work. We have transfers coming up this Tuesday and last week at
district meeting they "celebrated" one sister heading home with the
apparently traditional pie in the face. At least they allowed a plastic trash bag to minimize the mess!
The
bureaucracy of everything can seem at times a bit overwhelming, but slowly but
surely things are getting resolved. We know whose work we have been
called to perform and we have faith that He will provide the means by which it
can be done.
This has
been another week for discovering good food. Following the district
meeting on Wednesday we went to an Indian restaurant in downtown Iwakuni that
was super good. On Saturday for P-Day we went back downtown and explored
at bit more. We found a good place in the top of a department store (common
location for restaurants) where we had katsundon (friend port cutlet cooked
with egg and onion on top of a bed of rice) which is one of my favorite
Japanese foods.
We also
found a beautiful dress in a store window, If anyone is interested, I'll
see if I can get one for you.
Last
week we met a brother in the food court who recognized us as missionaries, and
introduced himself. He said he was a member of the branch but because his
wife was not a member he has been less-active. We had a nice chat and I
jotted down his name but that was all. To my dismay, when I check the
branch roster, he was not listed and I didn't know how to reach him.
Yesterday as we were walking back to our house, there he was in his car
and he stopped and offered us a ride. We declined the ride but took
advantage of the contact to get additional information and to ask if it would
be OK if we stopped by their apartment to get to know them a little better.
He said he was fine with that, but wasn't sure that his wife would be. We
ask him to ask her, and emphasized that we were not here to cause issues, but
rather to support them as a family and promised that we would not press Gospel
issues unless she expressed an interest first. I really think he wants to
get back involved, and that's why we are here, to help where we can.
That
night, we decided to walk over to the 7-11 store and get something to eat
(common place to pick up a late night snack). On the way, we were
approached by another young Marine and his friend. He recognized us as
missionaries and introduced himself. He indicated that he had been on
base for about 2 months but had not been able to locate the church. We
gave him directions and invited him and his friend to attend church on Sunday
and to watch General Conference with us.
Sunday
we had a young Marine come to church for the first time, who had also been in
the area about 2 months, but had not been able to find the church. We had him
over to the house Sunday evening for our first YSA FHE. We will be doing
that every Sunday.We recognized immediately the problem with new Marines and Navy personnel not getting information about the church, where and when we meet. Our next project will be to see what we can do to get that information out to all new arrivals.
We are starting to get more and more involved in the work here and are moving past the "getting settled in" phase. We are excited about being here and know that we have been sent by the Lord to work in this part of his vineyard.
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