Chiba continues on.
We just got back from Tokyo Skytree, which is this enormousssss shopping mall / tower downtown Tokyo.
We saw a lot of weird people. Like men with thick eyeliner dressed up as anime characters. Then Sister Christensen and I got depressed when we walked into Zara and realized most of the clothes would get shredded on our bikes, so we decided to save the money for ice cream instead. #thatsalotoficecream
No regrets.
Sister Christensen and I have really gotten into housing this week. We stumbled on an apartment place that was ... a little less fancy, and we somehow found ourselves on the doorstep of an underground tattoo parlor. We hear the buzzing stop as soon as we hit the doorbell, and some really nice guy with tattoo sleeves and white gloves peek through the door. I think he was confused to find two little quaking Mormon girls sitting on his doorstep. He rejected us. Better next time.
We got a referral this week, a lady who just moved into our boundaries. She's really excited to get baptized. We're super excited to meet her. She speaks Mongolian. Gift of tongues? #ilikemongolianfood
The highlight this week was surely getting to watch General Conference. IN ENGRISH. I ashamedly was 100000000 times more excited to see this time around, not having to pull out the little electronic dictionary and frantically scribbling down words I don't know.
One of my favorite moments of conference: Elder Timothy Dyches talked about Carl Bloch's "Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda." That painting has always had a particular place in my heart (art history I miss you!). BYU has a copy of it in its collection at the Museum of Art and I would often sneak on over from the HFAC between piano practice sessions and just take a moment to CHILL. The rendition of Christ is so calming and awe-inspiring, as he asks "Wilt thou be made whole?" Learn of His grace, His mercy, the redemptive power of the Atonement. As we learn about the Savior, those burdens feel a whole lot lighter and heaven feels a lot less far away.
It's like was said in another talk. From Life of Pi (last book I read before I hit the MTC): "I couldn't get Him out of my head. Still can't. I spent three solid days thinking about Him. The more He bothered me, the less I could forget Him. And the more I learned about Him, the less I wanted to leave Him."
Being alone is a personal decision.
I'll get off my little passionate missionary platform now. But it's true! Life is hard, but it sure doesn't have to be lonely.
Have a stupendous rest of the week, and I'll talk to you again soon. WRITE ME Y'ALL.
Love, Margaret
Pic 1: Post-Conference SLEEPOVER
Pic 2: Tokyo Skytree, in all its towering glory
Pic 3: Obligatory selfie before the camera died.
Pic 4: Yeah yeah, it's conference time.
Pic 5: Okonomiyaki! (Cabbage pancakes, or something like that?)
(Monday, October 14, 2013)
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