Week 70

Dear family and friends.

This letter is brought to you from the refuge of the Togane church
building as we sit in a horrendous typhoon (see pic for details). We
are throughly soaked but nevertheless happy. So there's that.

A list of a few random, probably unrelated thoughts:

1. I have a new companion from Idaho. Her name is Sister Dopp. She's
majoring in peacemaking at BYU (no, really). So if anything, I will
come out of this transfer trained to be a professional mediator.

2. Yes, it's cliché, but Christmas comes faster and faster every year.
This past Friday we had a zone meeting about our goals for the
Christmas season (it's going to be GRRRREAT!) and something felt a
little strange about having a Christmas tree already decorating the
church (a Christmas tree decorated with pictures of temples and Joseph
Smith--well done, Chiba elders!)  But to be even more cliché, here's
just something so MAGICAL about Christmas, and I love the feeling of
focusing everything on the birth of the Savior.

3. Halloween is a bigger deal in Japan than in America, at least
amongst the 18-30 year-old female population. We had a relief society
activity this week making pumpkin tarts out of kabocha (better than
American pumpkin pie, if I dare say), ghosts out of mashed potatoes
and green peas, sandwiches shaped like dragons. Thanks, Pinterest. It
was pretty great. Plus, it was a great opportunity for friends to come
and see that the LDS folk are somewhat normal people (if dragon
sandwiches qualify us as such ... ).

4. Did you watch General Conference this week? I felt like a little
kid on Christmas Eve when I saw the download for the talks pop on my
Gospel Library app. #thejoysofbeingamissionary I took it for granted
before my mission, being able to watch it in English in the comfort of
my sweats and own living room as my father made some delicious French
toast, but I realize now that a chance to hear from a LIVING PROPHET
is a bigger deal than I sometimes realize. (If none of this is making
sense, see lds.org for details (^_^)

5. A quote from an email I received this week: "The future is always
bright with the gospel of Jesus Christ." Whether you accept it or not,
it's always there, and He's always waiting for you.

Have a splendid week, friends.
Love, Sister Margaret Willden

(Monday, October 6)

Pic 1: Pinterest-y food.
Pic 2: Pinterest-y food continued.
Pic 3: A pretty accurate depiction of our apartment.
Pic 4: Sister Dopp and I, having just walked through a typhoon.