It's scary how fast p-day (preparation day) comes around!  The days and weeks are flying past!  Here is this week in a blur:

Fun at a Halloween Party!

Lunch at Zone Conference…..Are those chopsticks?!?!

Sister Capener and I

Sisters in our Zone.

I love the 60+ age group in Japan.  This week when I stopped to talk to a woman (she was 98!) she said she loved our message!  But that wasn't the most memorable part... in the middle of our message she said I looked tired and started to give me a back massage!  That would be a first.  I didn't know what to say and it didn't help that Sister Capener was laughing so hard she was crying.  Oh, the streets of Japan!

My Japanese (language) is coming!  I never thought I would say that!  I am no where near perfect, but for the most part I can teach the gospel and I can even chat about grand kids and the local food!  But don't worry mom and dad every time I think I'm starting to get the language down I just go talk to a group of kids and realize that not only do they speak Japanese waaaay better than I do, they also know a couple hundred more kanji than I do.  They help keep me grounded :)

Oh the JOY you feel when your investigator has 1) not only been reading the Book of Mormon but 2) has also lamented "I was reading it too much that it (the cover) started to look worn."  Isn't that the best problem you have ever heard of?

Mom you need to read a book.  It's called the power of everyday missionaries by Clayton Christiansen and it is changing the way I see missionary work.  As missionaries we have been inviting less activities and former investigators to help us.  Typically it is the other way around but I've recognized that these investigators, less activities, and former investigators need the church just as much as the church needs them.  Everyone needs to feel like they are of worth and that they have an important role to play.  There is a part member, less active family who we visited that when we asked if we could come back and teach them the lessons to practice our English teaching skills the non-member wife and less active husband excitedly exclaimed that they would love to do that and asked if they could write down a list of questions that they have and have them answered at our next appointment.  The best part is we're taking a recently reactivated member with us!  Everyone is excited about learning and so far it has been a very successful tool in our missionary work.

The best day of this past week was yesterday, Sunday.  We woke up early to bike to the church and got the wheel chair out of the back room.  We walked all the way to our cute less actives home, Moromizato San to help wheel her to sacrament meeting.

Then our investigator Naoko San came to church and said she loved it!  And one of the recent converts shared her testimony for the first time during sacrament meeting.  While Sister Capener was singing the closing hymn I couldn't help but count my many blessings.  I love these people!  And here I was sitting half way around the world from everything I know and I was just beaming!  I am so HAPPY!  If you've paid attention to any of my last letters you will know that a mission is hard.  It's exhausting!  No 19 year old really wants to go bike in the pouring rain and tropical wind storms or attempt to read the Book of Mormon in Japanese in front of everyone in Sunday school or get rejected everyday.  But somehow through all of the exhausting tough times you not only survive but you thrive.  I am so grateful for this opportunity to love, serve and teach the Japanese people.  Missionary work is so rewarding!  I love it!

Have a marvelously wonderful week!

Ai Shite Imasu!  

Hawkins Shimai