My first typhoon!

 

We had a typhoon!  Lots and lots of wind and rain!  We couldn't use our bikes because the wind was too strong.  So we had to stay close to home.  It was an interesting week that's for sure :)  It was my first typhoon experience so I had lots of fun with it!  :)  Lots of "firsts" this week... I taught Eikiwa (English class) for the first time, I went to the hospital, (to see a church member's family, mom, so don't freak out :)  rode in a Japanese taxi, and I learned about second hand kissing....

This past Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was a special holiday here.  For those three days every one's ancestors come to visit them.  Almost everyone has an altar and pictures and ashes of their ancestors in their home.  At meal times they put food on the altar and they also give them presents.  I don't know a lot about it, but it's pretty interesting.  It also made finding, teaching, and meeting with  church members, non-members, and investigators near to impossible.  And I hate impossible!  So we had to work super hard this week.  We focused our message on eternal families and the plan of salvation.   It was neat to be able to build upon what they already know and be able to share more with them. 

We went to the hospital to visit a church member's younger sisters.  Neither of the sisters are members.  It was so touching to see what their older sister had done for them.  She visits them daily. One has developmental issues and the other has a heart disease.  This older sister is such a great missionary.  She had us come with her to teach the first lesson, but she had pretty much done our work for us.  She'd given them a Book of Mormon and some lesson pamphlets and most importantly through her example and her testimony her sisters were able to learn about the gospel.  She was such a great example to me of what it means to share the gospel out of love and concern. 

Sister Williams (Older couple who are serving as missionaries in my mission) showed me an article about how sweat clears your skin.  I got a good laugh out of it.  If that truly is the case I'm going to come back home looking really good!  Oh, and I got a lesson from a Japanese women about second hand kissing and Japanese culture.  At a recent church activity we ran out of spoons to eat ice cream so I borrowed an Elder's spoon ... (don't judge.. I can't eat ice cream with chopsticks!).  Well, apparently using someone else's spoon to the Japanese people is like kissing.  In fact they have a special word for it.  Translated it means "second hand kissing"...  Oops!   They really should teach you these things in the Missionary Training Center!  

These are two Okinawan mascots....this happens to be a keychain, but these mascots are EVERYWHERE!

Miracle of the week!  In the middle of our training session on Saturday we got a call from the church saying that there was an old investigator there who wanted to speak to the missionaries!  I could of died!  She wanted to speak to us!  Usually it's the other way around :)  We rushed over and met a woman in her late 20s who had the lessons a couple years ago, but stopped.  She asked if we still taught the lessons.  You bet we do!  We were able to share lesson one and invite her to come to church.  We  called her Sunday morning and she came!  It was incredible.  We had a church activity later that night (the second hand kissing incident) and I invited her to come to that too.  Not only did she come, but she came early and I found her reading her Book of Mormon.  No act of missionary work is ever wasted!  I"m so grateful for those missionaries who shared the gospel with her earlier.  Because of that she is really progressing now.  Heavenly Father works in mysterious and wonderful ways.  

Love, 

Sister Hawkins!

Companion exchange ....Sister Hawkins and Sister Nakamura