McKenna in Japan!: Thanksgiving in Okinawa

All the missionaries on the island of Okinawa got together for Thanksgiving!

Sister Ande Burger….she put on the Thanksgiving feast!

This week was marvelous. All of the missionaries on our island got permission to go on base for Thanksgiving dinner. There were about thirty of us! It was fun to see everyone and have things made out of an oven for a chance. It's hard to make pumpkin pie out of a toaster oven which is all we have in Japan (except on the military bases they have real ovens). I am so grateful for my family! Mom my cooking is substantially sub-par compared to yours. I'm working on it :) It was really nice of the members on the military base in Okinawa to let us come eat Thanksgiving dinner with them. Lots of them invited their friends and we had great gospel centered conversations. The longer I am out on my mission (And it's been over 6 months) the more I realize that the gospel positively affects every aspect of our lives. I cannot imagine trying to navigate the rough patches of life without the knowledge I have. Life would be harder, it would be less joyous and it just wouldn't be the same without the blessings of Lord's church. I am one grateful missionary :)

This week our apartment went from a home for 2 to a home for 6. We had a zone training meeting so the other sisters in our area came and stayed the night.

Sister Capener and I ….sitting on our futon (what we sleep on).

Sister Coles, Sister Owada, Sister Hawkins, Sister Andaca

It doesn't really feel like December here because it's still sunny and beautiful. No sign of snow that's for sure! It did finally start to get cold. I guess I can't complain too much because it is December. It's about time. Sister Capener and I have really tried to emphasize Christmas a lot when we are out on the streets finding people. Almost everyone celebrates Christmas here, but almost no one knows the meaning behind it or has even heard of Jesus Christ. Christmas here is really happy and a time for family. We are trying to explain that no one has to wait until December 25th to feel the joy of the season. It can be theirs all year long. Luckily "Merry Christmas" in Japanese is still "Merry Christmas" :) One less phrase I have to learn!

The highlight this week was our lesson with Mizue San. We met her one night on the street outside of a busy store. She was really sweet, but didn't seem to have a lot of interest in what we were talking about. But we gave her a flyer and got her number and mentioned maybe she could help us with our Japanese. She was really enthusiastic about that idea and agreed. We met up with her this week and had one of the most powerful experiences of my entire mission. We had dinner with her and throughout our entire conversation with her she was asking really specific questions about what we did as missionaries and what we believed in. We found out that a week before we initially met her that her grandmother had passed away. On the flyer we gave her it said that missionaries could help her find out more about what happens after this life. We bore our testimonies that through the gospel families can be eternal and that death is only a temporary separation. All of us felt the spirit really strongly. I highlighted a few scriptures in the Book of Mormon and gave it to her. She said that she was hoping to find an answer to her questions and felt like the "coincidence" of running in to us was a miracle. I am recognizing more and more that there are rarely just coincidences out here serving the Lord. When you're working hard and doing what's right good things happen. I am grateful that Heavenly Father loves us young inexperienced missionaries enough to let us play a small part in these peoples lives.

On a funny note (mom and dad you will appreciate this): for some reason all my companions sing. And not just sing, but they sing like angles. Sister Capener is no exception. She has a great voice. And because she is my companion people just assume because she sings well so do I. False. Totally wrong. Yet, I still get wrapped up into every choir performance, stake conference special musical number, etc that is going on in Okinawa, Japan. The worst part is, I'm not tone deaf and I can tell I'm horrible. I literally sing like a man who has been smoking most of his life. I'm hopeless. So if you're prayers this week could go towards the 6 part song that Sister Capener and I will be singing with 4 other angel-like voices I would really appreciate it. It's for the open house. I don't even read music! I need a miracle.