September 9, 2013

On Monday, September 9, 2013 Sister Johnson wrote:

So this week was interesting. We had an opportunity to teach two investigators this week (we have four total! Isn't that great?!), and one lesson was really great and the other was really bad!

The first lesson we taught was a woman named Kotake San. She is Sister Browne's Japanese teacher, and so we were able to have Sister Browne there during the lesson, which is always the best! Kotake San speaks very good English, so I tried my best to speak in Japanese, but when I couldn't express myself fully, I could speak English and have her understand! That was wonderful. It felt great to be bearing my testimony of the Savior in the best way I could, which is English! Kotake San is what the Japanese members call "kinjin," or in English, a "golden investigator!" She is so wonderful! She has such a strong desire to learn about the Plan of Happiness and about how she can become the best person and mother possible. She reads the Book of Mormon and asks questions, and she loves to pray! The only problem is that her husband is a Buddhist, and is very hantai (opposed) to her joining the church. She is worried that by joining the Church, she will offend her family and her friends, and she doesn't want to do that. So, we are going to have to work with her through that. The lesson was great though; we taught the Plan of Happiness and we focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We talked about how through the Atonement, we can overcome any sort of weakness or trial. He is there to help us, and He wants to support us. Kotake San was very open and receptive to the message. The Spirit was definitely there, testifying of truth. I have lots of hope for Kotake San. She is wonderful, and I know that she can feel the love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for her. :)

Our other lesson was with our "Eternal Investigator," _____ San. She has been investigating the Church for about 7 years now, and doesn't want to change, or get baptized, or follow the commandments, or anything else that we've invited her to do. She is very hard to teach, and this week, we tried to teach her the Law of Chastity. The lesson started out very well, but as we invited her to make commitments, the environment became more and more hostile, and by the end, I was so sad by the things that were being said that I wanted to cry. One of my companions decided to read a scripture that was very hellfire and damnation, and I was so upset by that, as was ______ San. It was a very unfortunate incident, and I don't think we will be hearing from her anytime soon. Not all is perfect when you are a missionary, that is for sure. I hope that some sort of healing will take place with _____ San, and that she will be able to forgive us. I feel so sad by that, but all I know how to do is love. I will do my very best to love and reach out to her, and be like my Savior. His love can heal any misjudgement or wrongdoing. I hope that all will be okay.

This week, one really great thing happened! On Saturday night, we were biking home from somewhere very, VERY far away, when we decided to stop and visit the Kikuchi Family. Kikuchi Shimai is probably the sweetest woman I have ever met in my life. She is so full of love and light, and she is so caring. She was just released from the Relief Society presidency. She has taken it upon herself to hand-deliver every month a copy of the Liahona Magazine to every less-active sister in the ward, and she does so by bike. So Saturday, it was raining really hard, and it was very cold. As we were biking to the Kikuchi Family's house, we happened to meet Kikuchi Shimai at a crosswalk! She told us that she was on her way to visit some less-actives's and invited us to join her. We were able to meet with two less active members, and give them Liahonas. Afterwards, Kikuchi Shimai invited us over for dinner with her and her husband. Kikuchi Kyodai is so great as well. He is so fun, and he likes to do magic! He also is very artistic, and makes the most beautiful, delicious salad. After we ate dinner, he told me (in Japanese, of course), "Johnson Shimai, you are so full of light! I think I am going to call you Sunshine from now on." Needless to say, that compliment made me so happy! He proceeded to tell me that he has always been impressed with the light that shines in my face, and he is so happy to have me here in the Izumi ward because I make it a brighter place. It's amazing how the Lord sends angels to us through the people we interact with. Kikuchi Shimai and Kyodai have definitely been my angels for the week. I am so grateful to know the Savior like I do, because He is the only way any of this is possible.

Find some light. I have found a lot of light in the New Testament lately. Lots about the love of Christ. It has been good.
Love you!

About the other pictures:

So, the giant bird is the Sendai Soccer mascot. Soccer is HUGE here in Sendai, and the team is really good! The stadium is about five minutes away from our apartment, and he was handing out flyers, so I wanted to take a picture with him.

This week, we had a music concert after church! I performed the Prelude to the First Bach Suite, and lots of other people performed other classical pieces on piano and flute. It was really great, and it made my heart soar. It also made me realize how much I miss school, and symphony in particular...

The baby is about two months old, I think? I can't remember, but he's very cute. And the two girls are Natsuki and Rina Shimai, two young single adults in our ward. They had my camera during the concert, haha. Love!