Happy Thanksgiving

Dear family,

Happy best week ever! I love Thanksgiving! I am so excited. :) We have been invited to eat Thanksgiving dinner with a family on a Military Base. So we actually get to eat Thanksgiving dinner in Japan. Yay! But
Thanksgiving is not all about the food. There are so many things I am so grateful for from this past week. Here are 3.

1. First I am grateful for the Primary Program. I am so grateful for the primary program!! The theme this year has become one of my favorite songs. "The family is of God". There were 8 children who sang in the Hodogaya Ward Primary Program. 6 of them were members kids and 2 girls, ages 8 and 9 are non members. They have been coming to church for about 3 months now and we go visit them sometimes and invite them to activities. Their mom doesn't want them to be taught by the missionaries but she is okay with them coming to church and the missionaries visiting them. They loved singing in the program and I was praying the whole time that they will remember these songs for the rest of their lives.

There was so much good that came from the primary program. The elders had an investigator at church who has a baptismal date for next month. This investigator is a miracle boy. He is 18 years old and has a really rough family situation. He really wants to have a good family of his own someday. The theme of the program really touched his heart and his desire to be baptized increased. The Ward here hasn't had a baptism in 3 years and so this baptism is a miracle for them. We are all praying for him so much!

2. I am grateful for the inspiration that come from our leaders. We had president interview this last Thursday. I am so grateful for President Wada and his desire to help everyone come unto Christ. He helped me gain perspective on things that I need to do to be better and help my investigators more. He is not only helping us now with our investigators but he is teaching us principles that will guide us for the rest of our lives especially in future families and marriage. Lately there have been a lot of things running through my head of things that I am worrying about. While talking with him a lot of those concerns and worries were able to be resolved. That is such a blessing we have. God has given us leaders to help and guide us through this life. I a, so grateful for that.

3. I am grateful that when things don't work out the way you planned, there is still hope. This week we had a few of our lessons fall through because of other important things that investigators had come up. We also had a really hard lesson with one of our investigators. By the time we got to weekly planning this week it seemed like a lot of our current investigators weren't doing too good and our key indicators weren't looking too good. But looking at all of those numbers and such I didn't get too discouraged because I knew that there was still hope. Hope that God would guide us to help these people. That he has a plan, an individual plan, for each of them. He will guide us to find those that WILL receive our message. Not all weeks are perfect as far as numbers go, but God is still guiding us and helping the people we are trying to help. Just holding on to that
hope. :)

I love the gospel and I am so grateful for it!! I am so excited for this week. We have a lot planned and I pray that we will be guided to be able to do all those things God would have us do this last week of the transfer. I can't believe it is already the last week of the transfers.....time is going by way too fast! :)

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. :) keep being great! I am praying for you.

Love,
アシュビー姉妹

I just love Mount Fuji!!!! :)

"Boom, boom ain't it great to be crazy!"

Dear my wonderful family,

The best moment is when you have a song stuck in you head from your childhood and so you say one line and then your companion starts singing the song because she knows the we sing silly songs movie too!!!! Haha :) We were sitting at lunch and the "we sing silly songs" just came to my head and I was singing it and my companion was like, "hey I know those songs!" It was a great flash back moment! We were talking about all the good principles that movie taught. It made me think of you guys. :) I have the best family ever!

This week has been so fun! We went on splits twice and I wasable to go with Hartvigson Shimai to Kamakura. Kamakura is beautiful!! It is a huge tourist place in Japan and has so many temples, shrines, Buddhas, etc. From the Sisters apartment if you walk about 5min in three different directions you will see a big temple or shrine. It is so beautiful. I learned a lot on splits. But we were able to teach one of their investigators who is amazing. She is a person who will do exactly what she says she will do. And if she knows she can't, or won't do something, she tells you honestly that she can't or won't. She wants to be good and do things with real intent. It is so amazing. I walked away from that lesson with such a bigger desire to be more committed to what I say I am going to do.

This week again I was reminded of that during companionship inventory. We were talking about when we contact people on the street where is our real intention. Why are we stopping this person and talking to
them. Is it just for a number or is it out of pure desire to help them come unto christ. It was such a good reminder of our purpose as missionaries and member missionaries. We are to "invite others to come
unto christ" and it is way more meaningful and effective to invite them from the heart with real intent.

My companion has really helped to open my mind and heart to a whole other perspective of life and people that I didn't really see before. I thought I loved people before but I have realized since being her
companion how much more love there really is and how much more I can love people. She does things from the heart. Everything she does needs to have a purpose. I love that. When we do things with purpose we grow and help others so much more. I want to have more purpose behind all that I do. For the rest of my life my purpose will be too "invite others to come unto Christ" in all that I do. With family, friends, acquaintance, etc. Forever a missionary. Isn't that such a happy thought. I really want this mission to change me. Change me forever. To be better, happier, stronger, etc. I want to become that type of person. I don't want it just to be something a do but who I am. :) I know that through this gospel I can do that.

Today we went to the zoo with some investigators and our district. It was so much fun. They had brail on the sign and someone made the comment, "why would a blind person come to a zoo?" Our investigated
looked at us funny and then just started laughing so hard. It was way funny! Why would a blind person go to a zoo? Weird....hah :)  In Japan it is actually called a "zoological park". That kind of makes me smile a little. English in Japan is so complicated. Haha :) I love it! We saw an "okapi". It is a giaraff and zebra mixed! So cool!! They are from Africa and I guess people thought they didn't exist for a long time. But they are real! Way cool. It was a happy day and week! This next week we have interviews with President Wada! So excited!
Presdient is the best. :)

Have a great week! I love you all!

Love,

アシュビー姉妹

 

Thanksgiving is coming.....the turkeys getting fat!

Dear family,

It has been a great week! I feel so happy to be in Japan. The weather is changing, the leaves falling, and it is cooling down! It is so happy. I love fall. :) This past week was good. Nothing too crazy happened but we met some good goals and it was really happy.
This past Thursday we had MLC and I don't know if I can put into words my feelings for that day. It was one of the most spiritual days of my mission so far. One that I will never forget and my spirit just felt so grateful. My whole experience of that day was sacred. I don't even know why or how to fully explain my feelings. Really though! Hah :) MLC really wasn't that different it was just normal but I think it was how I was spiritually prepared for it. It is amazing how much revelation and inspiration we can receive when we are spiritually prepare to receive it. I had been praying really hard to know how to help our investigator who struggling with truly knowing if the church is true. She has prayed with really intent and searched the scriptures so diligently but still feels like her answer hasn't come yet. During MLC we talked a lot about how we won't ever know 100% of things. 100% is perfect. We are not perfect and we can't have a perfect knowledge yet. But one day we will have a perfect knowledge and so we have to act on that faith and have HOPE that one day we will 100% know that God is there and Jesus is the Christ. Right now we act on Faith and Hope. I am so grateful for the faith that I have that I will one day know 100% with a perfect knowledge that God is there. But for now I will act on the faith and hope that I have that he IS there.
Sorry this week is short.... I don't have much time today but just so you all are aware.... Japanese primary programs are hands down the cutest thing ever.  I got to go to the Yamato Ward Primary Program
yesterday on splits because Naoko san our investigator was going to that Ward yesterday. It was so happy. :) please pray for her. She needs it. :)

Hope you all have a great happy week!!!

Love,
アシュビー姉妹

Happy One Year!

 

Dear family! 

This week was a Happy __________ week. Haha :) Happy One year! Happy Halloween! Happy November! Time goes by so fast! I can't believe I have been gone for over a year. It feels like just a few weeks ago I went into the MTC. This week has been such a good week and so many miracles have happened. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to meet, associate with, and become eternal friends with these amazing people. 

Just a few highlights of the week......

This week we had a 3 day Mission conference. The Zones were split up into three groups and get group had a conference on a different day. Ours was on Thursday. It was amazing! The Asia North Mission president, Elder Ringwood, and his wife came and spoke to us along with President and Sister Wada. That meeting was full of the spirit and revelation! I loved ever second of it. So many amazing thoughts were shared and it was so wonderful. Those are the type of people you want to grow up and be like. They are full of light, life, and love. Such wonderful examples. Elder Ringwood shared so many wonderful things but two things I took away from it were these: 

1. We have the spirit of Revelation when we testify of those things that WE have been taught, that WE know are true through the spirit. We have the spirit of Prophecy when we teach about Jesus Christ. It is the testimony of Jesus Christ. We can teach with the Spirit of Prophecy and the Spirit of Revelation just as the scriptures teach. I really liked that. 

2. "Therefore what?" President Ringwood talked about after every meeting we go to we should ask ourselves "Therefore what?" What have we learned that we are going to apply to our lives and change about ourselves. When we sit in meetings we are spiritually nourished by the word of God. But when after the meeting is done if we ask ourselves "therefore what?" And apply what we have been taught, then we have the opportunity to change and become better. It is letting the spirit enter into our hearts and change us. That is a new goal I have. Also ask "Therefore what?" :) 

Such an amazing opportunity to meet Elder and Sister Ringwood. "Therefore" I will work harder as a missionary as the counseled us to do. :) 

That night after we came home from the conference we had the opportunity to teach with the elders and a member and a lady the elders had met on the street a few days earlier. She had lived in America for 20 years and has an amazing story with Mormons and Christians. She has met and associated with Many people of many Christian beliefs. She has also attend many churches and read the bible. But she has always had a problem with how Christians treat other Christian faiths. She kept saying, "Isn't God everyones God?" "Isn't he the same God?" She has always been impressed though by the Mormons. All the Mormons she has met have had so much respect for others. She just kept saying, "what do you have that other Christian churches don't?" It was an amazing lesson!! We were able to testify and answer some of her questions. She has been so prepared over the years! It is amazing to hear her story and see how God has been guiding her life all the way up to this moment until she has the opportunity to meet the missionaries. We will be teaching her tomorrow. We are so excited! She is amazing! Pray for her and that as she hears our message she will recognize the truth of it. :) 

We have had so many great things happen this week and I am excited to see what else is to come. The temple today was amazing. I saw a sister from Fujisawa Ward and it totally made my day!!! She is amazing! Another one of my Japanese moms. :) i love the temple. I also got to see some of the missionaries from my MTC district and Elder Clark who is Nic Clarks little brother!! So great!! 

Oh and I didn't mention this before I think but Elder Tanner Livingston is in my district right now!!! We went to high school together! It is so fun to work with him!!! He is such a good missionary. I love the church. The Book of Mormon is the word of God! 

Have a great week! And happy holiday season!! 

Love, アシュビー姉妹