on the sandwich and a steinway: Week 31

Hellooooo. 明けましておめでとうございます！

Happy New Year. I hope you have all made you goals and are all so gun-ho to keep them. I know I already failed at my (yearly) new years resolution to actually write in my journal. It is never to late to try again.

So, I know I pretty much say this every week. BUT THIS WEEK WAS SO CRAZY.

We spent all of New Years Eve deep cleaning the entire apartment so we could start off the new year all sparkly and clean (literally speaking). And had a countdown to 10pm so we could be obedient and be in bed by 10:30.

And then we spent all of New Years Day reading the Book of Mormon, so we could start off the new year all sparkly and clean (figuratively speaking).

It was probably the best present I could have asked for.

The members have been wonderful and feeding us non-stop. I think I cooked one meal this entire past week. We've been eating lots of mochi (pounded rice). And sushi. And pizza (yes, a surprise to me too, but somehow the members all knew that Americans like pizza).

We anticipated that dendo would be tough this week, as literally no one is home due to the New Years holiday (it's a big deal). BUT WE WERE WRONG. It was pretty incredible. Sister Legge and I pretty much met one new investigator for every hour we housed. Which I still sort of can't believe, because I have housed for 5 solid months and never found anyone (I know, me of little faith). This week we found one cute grandpa we referred to the elders, one Indian lady, one Filipino lady, one Japanese lady, and one Chinese lady, all who are now investigators.

On a random note, my favorite new dendo tactic, courtesy of one of our zone leaders. It goes something like this:

"Do you like broccoli?"

"Yes."

"You know how broccoli has all those little things that stick off the stem? That's like all the little things that we have going on in our lives, like basketball, tests, lost dog, relationships, biology, the flu, bad hair days, etc. etc."

"Okay."

"You know the stem of the broccoli? It's like the gospel of Jesus Christ. It keeps us rooted so all those little things are a little easier to manage. Do you want to study the stem of broccoli together?"

I can't say I've ever used it, but apparently lots of high school boys like to learn about broccoli. If they don't like broccoli, you can use cauliflower. If you are looking for a way to introduce the gospel to someone, I think this is the pick-up line you have been waiting for.

So I've officially been on a mission for seven months. I still feel like I got here yesterday, except my hair is magically a lot longer and I can sort of read kanji (but maybe that's an exaggeration). Time is the strangest thing as a missionary. God's sense of time is obviously a lot different than ours, and at times I feel like being here is the ever-so-slightest sense of what time must feel like to God. As in it doesn't really exist. And when I realize that, I realize how terrible it really is to procrastinate. Both on a mission and not on a mission. Time is so short.

Fortunately, the gospel is one of hope, so don't freak out. Like I sometimes am prone to do. I probably have already shared this scripture, but I'm sharing it again because I like it so much. Ether 12:4 is my go-to pick-me-up as of late.

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."

Okay, that's all. I've quickly realized that these letters are mostly me just dumping me thoughts, so thank you for being privy to them. Until next week!

ウィルデン姉妹

(Monday, January 6, 2014)