Thank you for the birthday love! I received the birthday package last Tuesday, the 6th! And the post man said that it was a day late! Five days!!!!! WOW! It was crazy fast! But, I haven't opened it yet, because I am waiting to have something fun to do on my birthday! I can't wait, even though I know what's inside it because of the customs form.
This week was eventful! Merkley Choro and Nishida Choro both went home, which was very, very sad for me. They have become some of my greatest friends! And I miss them a lot. But we got two new elders and they are great! One is named Ida Choro, he's from Tokyo and is in his fourth transfer. And the other Choro is a green-bean fresh from the MTC!!! His name is Malmrose Choro. I have taken on the role of translator because Merkley Choro went home, and yesterday in church, Heavenly Father blessed me with a miracle! It was another Gift-of-Tongues moment! I was able to understand about 92 percent of the Japanese that was being said and I was able to translate it for Malmrose Choro. I could definitely feel my Heavenly Father working through me as I was speaking. It was a wonderful experience.
I also had another fantastic experience this last week! I was able to invite someone to be baptized!!! Our street contact from two weeks ago ended up coming to church, and we were able to make an appointment to teach him. His name is Kawamura San. On Wednesday evening, we taught him about the Restoration of the Church through Joseph Smith. The lesson was definitely guided by the Spirit, and I was so thankful for that. My Japanese was far from perfect, but the Spirit was whispering to me that I needed to invite Kawamura San to be baptized, so in very broken Japanese, I did just that! And what was his response? ``If I find out that this is true, then yes!`` In that moment, I was filled with such joy and it was such a wonderful experience! Kawamura San needs to stop drinking coffee and smoking before he can get baptized, but we followed up with him, and his Book of Mormon reading is going very well! It was great, and I am excited to meet with him again soon. It was definitely a blessing that I needed.
So, Momma, I want to tell you about a really cool thing that I was able to do this week. The American family in my ward, the Brownes, are having lots of hardships right now. Brother Browne is having major kidney failure and has been in the hospital for over a week, so Jaelyn (14) and Jacob (16) have had to stay at home by themselves so Sister Browne could be at the hospital. We went to visit Jaelyn and Jacob and we were able to talk to them and talk about Christ. At the beginning, we were just standing in the genkan, and I asked if I might offer a prayer. In my prayer, I used these words: ``As an authorized representative of Jesus Christ, and with the authority of my calling, I ask thee, Heavenly Father, to place a special blessing on this house and on this family of peace, comfort, love, and safety.`` I proceeded to give a blessing through prayer on the Browne family. The spirit was tangible, Mom. It was absolutely incredible. I was filled with so much love for the Browne family, and I could feel the authority moving through my body. I cannot describe it adequately in words. There are no words to describe it. But it was incredible. I have power and authority, and I can use it to bless the lives of those around me. That power is given to me by Jesus Christ. I am His authorized representative. I really, truly believe that.
I am so blessed to have you as my momma. I hope you know how much I love you. I am very sad to be missing this week. You might understand how sad I am... but it's a lot. And I'm having a hard time, but I hope that once Saturday is here, I will stop having thoughts of ``I can still get on a plane and make it home in time for the wedding...`` I will try my hardest to stay busy these next few days.
I love you SO MUCH!
Shakira
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