Week 46

Hi everyone,

How was the week? I'm feeling very grateful today (which I should be
feeling always). Here are some of the blessings of the week:

1. Set a baptismal date with one of our investigators who we met on
the street a couple of weeks ago. She came to church yesterday and
loved it!

2. Practically set another baptismal date with another of our
investigators who has been praying for a long time to know whether or
not she should be baptized. She's allowing us to start teaching her
adorable 8-year old son this week. (May 17 is going to be a busy day
we are hoping ... )

3. Got to ride on a brand-new ferry to go to Niigata. (If it seems
like we take the ferry every week, you would be correct). See pictures
for the staircase where Sister Mondano and I re-enacted Princess
Diaries to avoid getting seasick. At the meeting, Sister Mondano and
trained on inviting people. To hear the gospel, read the Book of
Mormon, get baptized, etc. etc. I personally invite you to do all of
the above if you haven't already :)

4. I ate some Thai food. Our ventures to Niigata for meetings have
become also an excursion into food that cannot be found in Sado.

5. We had more investigators at church this week than missionaries.
Interestingly enough, it almost beat the number of members we have in
the branch all together.

6. Biked into the mountains to find a potential investigator. Saw some
pretty sights, got some pretty sore legs. The elders and our
investigators laughed at us when we said we biked to Aikawa.

7. This week we actually had an eikaiwa class. Before coming to Sado,
that was a blessing I took for granted. Old people here don't really
want to learn English.

I know I had more than 7 blessings this week but time is short. To
keep with the theme of gratitude and such, here's a good quote from
President Uchtdorf's talk from this past general conference:

"It is easy to be grateful for things when life seems to be going our
way. But what then of those times when what we wish for seems to be
far out of reach?

Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life
that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I�fm
suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on
being thankful in our circumstances--whatever they may be."

It reminds me not to wait to be happy and grateful, not "I'll be
happy when it's P-Day / done biking this hill / eating chocolate cake
/ in a new area / home / etc." Be happy now. It's a happy way to live.

Have the best week! Love you all!

Sister Margaret Willden

(Monday, April 21)

Pic 1: The new ferry. So fancy schmanzy.
Pic 2: my favorite koala cookies. It's the simple joys in life.
Pic 3: Easter package from my mother. SHE'S THE BEST.
Pic 4: We were so pleased with ourselves, fashioning little Easter
goodie bags for Primary out of Saran Wrap and twine meant for garbage.