My natural habitat!

The new church ….almost complete!


Great news!  Remember our washing machine?  Well, it (the washing machine) never got better.  In fact, it got worse.  The Williams (the super senior missionaries in our area) sent a repair man to look at it for us.  When he got here, I think he just assumed we didn't know how to use it.  Why would he think such a thing?  He told us that we pushed the wrong button and that if we followed directions it would work properly.  After that conversation, Sister Capener and I felt completely stupid.  But, he said since he was already there he would double check things.  A couple minutes later he showed us a water hose with a huge gash in it. THAT WAS WHY IT WASN'T WORKING!  Sister Capener and I did a leap for joy!  We were so relieved that there was something actually wrong with the washer!  Yippee!  He apologized too :)  It was the only time in my life I was grateful that something was actually broken.  What a relief!  I've had a blast doing laundry lately!  :)

We had an incredible miracle last night. We contacted a less active member, Akiko Shimai last night. We had tried to contact her three or four times when we happened to be in the area, but we had never met her. Last night was our last attempt and on the fourth knock and after no response we started to leave. We decided that we were not going to visit her again. On our way back to our bikes, a little defeated, we heard someone open the door. When I saw it was a woman, I could of tackled her!  She finally answered the door! I walked back and when she saw us she stopped and asked if we were sister missionaries. We answered yes!  Her whole face just lit up.  That never happens.  Usually we have the exact opposite response.  Instead she said that she was so happy to see us.  She had never met sister missionaries in Okinawa before. We started talking and found out that she had served a mission in Hiroshima (when it use to be just the Hiroshima mission) and we had a wonderful discussion about the blessings of going on a mission. We shared our experiences and the joy and hard times we all experience. It was one of the neatest experiences of my entire mission!  Words cannot describe how happy she was to see us and how excited we were to talk to her.  Afterwards, I asked if we could come back next week and get her help while we practiced teaching the missionary lessons to her. She agreed! It was so neat to have such an open conversation with her about the gospel. I love her! Things are going great in Okinawa. I've found that when we work hard and do all that we can the Lord puts people and experiences in our path. 

Our "cold" weather gear and reflective belts for biking in the dark.  Cute, huh?!

Secret Santas with our zone. Super fun!!


 
Mom, Dad, Mo, Ray, Syd and Hannah! I am super excited to skype you on Christmas!  I just realized that Christmas is my next preparation day.  It will be here before we know it!  I can't wait to talk to you guys!  I hope you have a wonderful week!  I love Okinawa.  I love the people and I am so grateful I am on a mission.  Good luck with school, sports and whatever else comes at you this week! がんばてください
 
あいしていますよ
Hawkins Shimai