An open house

This week was AWESOME!  The biggest news this week was the church open house we put on.  Our mission president asked all of the areas in our mission to put on an open house to give our members opportunities to invite their friends.  It was a busy week preparing for it and following up with our members to see what help they needed in inviting their friends.  Finally Saturday morning came around and Williams Shimai (Sister Williams) and I were running around like mad "men" trying to get the finger prints off the walls and get things looking presentable.  The more I am out on my mission the more I realize I am becoming my mother. It was mainly the missionaries putting on the open house, so Sister Williams and I would be biking around the city when I would spot some flowers and then I would insist that on our morning run we would come back to that place so we could sneakily snip some for our open house.  Even stole curtains from our apartment for table clothes :)  One of my only memories of selling our house in Texas was mom baking cookies and going throughout every room in the house so the smell of freshly baked cookies would penetrate every corner of the house.  Well, no ovens in Japan meant that was hard, but boiled vanilla worked just as well (Thanks mom!)  :)  The tours went really well.  Lots of members brought their friends and the spirit was way strong.  Before I transferred from Okinawa they had just completed the largest church building in Asia on that island.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  There were seven HUGE bathrooms!  Seven!  I would get lost constantly.  Coming from a new building like that to our modest little chapel that has just a handful of pictures and only the bare minimum had me wondering if people would be as willing to stick around.  Of course :)  The spirit we felt in that chapel this Saturday was so wonderful.  It was peaceful.  It didn't matter what our walls looked like or what language we had just given the tour in.  I have seen the spirit work miracles in the lives of the people we teach.  It is something you can actually see.  The open house was a huge success.  I was so grateful!  The flowers did look great though :)  

I LOVE you!  I am having so much fun.  Lessons, biking, finding, adventures, sushi, WASABI, lessons and finding those who are prepared to hear the greatest message in the world  :)  It's a blast! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Good luck!  頑張ってね!

Hawkins Shimai