"Blown away!"

A nice lady on the street gave us flowers!

Being a little goofy! :)

A Halloween treat!

I haven't gotten to watch any of General Conference (Worldwide Church Broadcast) yet, because it takes a week to translate it in to Japanese and it's kind of at an awkward time here in Japan since we're a day ahead of the United States.  Guess what Sister Capener and I did?  We made mini lasagnas!  It was actually pretty yummy.  We did it as we were calling people and were stuck inside because of the typhoon that hit our area.  

My dollar store rainsuit :)

Bringing my bike upstairs because of the typhoon

Typhoon Hair!

And as for my week... IT WAS AWESOME!  (Again :)  I'm tempted just to send a bunch of pictures because I can't adequately describe how cool this week was......Yuho was baptized,  I got to call Sister Watanabe, we had a typhoon, etc.  But I'll try...

Yuho got baptized! It was an incredible day! It was fast Sunday and Yuho had the opportunity to fast. I was a little nervous about how she would react but she not only fasted, she loved it! I had fasted that she would have a spiritual day and spiritual experiences during church and her baptism.  During Sacrament Meeting, I noticed that she had felt the spirit and was crying. When I asked her if she was OK her reply was "I am just so happy!" I love her! We were excited for the actual baptism that night.  After Yuho had arrived at the church and gotten dressed we went upstairs to the chapel. I hadn't noticed how many people had come to the church for her baptismal service. We had over 60 people there and all the chairs were filled! It was an incredible show of support for Yuho. I think it really helped that we had so many different people join us when we taught Yuho. She got to meet lots of members of the ward (congregation) and hear their testimonies and the members really genuinely cared about her as they got to know her.  It was super!

Me, Yuho, and Sister Capener

Yuho and me!

Sister Aiko on the left....she helped so much, fellowshipping Yuho!

Me, Sister Aiko, and Sister Capener

The blonds take Okinawa!

Her baptism was originally scheduled for Saturday, but we had a typhoon and everyone was asked to stay inside so we had to reschedule for the next day, Sunday.  And because of the typhoon the day before we had called all our less active church members, investigators, and potential investigators and invited them to the baptism. We had investigators come and even a potential investigator with lots of "potential" :). It was so exciting! One of the most memorable parts of the entire night though was talking to Brother Chinen.  Brother Chinen was the member who first introduced us to Yuho. He was the one who helped start this miracle! I thanked him for being such a good example and missionary and as he started to talk to us he began to cry. He was just overwhelmed and so happy. He already called us yesterday with another referral. I think he has really caught hold of the missionary spirit. I love Okinawa! Great things are happening here. We're working really hard.

We had to get special permission from our mission president to have her confirmed on the same day as she was baptized.  On top of an already wonderful day, I got a phone call from Elder Yamanashi saying he had a favor to ask.  He wanted to know if I could call Sister Watanabe and tell her that our investigator Yuho got baptized. He had received special permission from her zone leaders. Oh my goodness!  Of course!  I got to call my "mission mom" :)  I love her!  And have missed her!  I got to fill her in on Yuho, learning how to work the phone and washing machine without her help, and she told me all about her area, companion and that she is leaving this Friday to go back home to Kyoto.  It was so neat to be able to call her!  I owe Elder Yamanashi!

One last note... I found this great quote in the Liahona magazine.  I had been thinking how on earth Yuho got baptized.  Our lessons were not polished or anywhere near perfect.  Our best efforts were weak at best but somehow (it's a miracle and of course Heavenly Father played a main part) it all worked out.  Here is the quote!  "What we actually say and do may feel a little awkward or not very polished... But the Savior takes our words and our actions and He carries them through His spirit unto the hearts of the people.  He takes our sincere, but imperfect effort and turns it into something that is just right, indeed, into something that is perfect."  I know that this work is true. Or else all these 18 and 19 year old kids would have messed things up a long time ago!  Heavenly Father knows us and he is involved in the details of our lives.  I love being a missionary!  Have a super week!

Love!

Sister Hawkins

Our district at our last meeting!

Sister Wedekind took us to lunch on our Preparation Day and then for a ferris wheel ride!  She is so kind and a great example!  I love her!