Week 37

Dear friends.

This week I decided to detail one day out of the 500+ days I will
spend as a missionary. Enjoy it in all it's overdramatic cheesiness.

February 14, 2014.

6:30. The weird techno alarm goes off on the iPad. 6:30 does not get
any easier even 9 months in. Time to roll over and exercise. (I will
not be what we call a "futon missionary ...)

7:12. I pour myself a bowl of chocolate Cheerios and top it off with a
banana and plain yogurt. Whip out the iPad and watch some Mormon
Messages I downloaded the other day.  A minute in to "My New Life" and
I'm choked up. Gosh darn it all, becoming a missionary turned me into
such a sap.

7:59. Personal study. Elder Eyring's"Where is the Pavilion?" Read it.

8:37. Should have left 7 minutes ago for district meeting ... Whoops.
Bundle up in 5 layers of tights and scarves and dash out the door.

9:03. After a rousing rendition of "High on the Mountaintop," Sado
Island District Meeting commences, via Skype with the zone leaders in
Niigata. "Welcome Sado District.  This is probably unlike any other
Valentine's Day you've ever had." The six of us stare at each other
awkwardly.

10:47. Emergency dash to the pharmacy. Whipping out the iPad again ...
(Where one earth are the antihistamines? Moments like these I regret
not having studied kanji harder in elementary school ... The man
clutching his stomach on this label makes me think this is for
indigestion ...)

12:50. Niigata sisters call. Here for exchanges. "We're sitting at the
bus stop! Where are you?" We dash out the door and look in the snow
flurries for two 6-foot tall brunettes. Spotted.

1:07. Sister MacArthur and I head to Yahata to house. We spot a lady
(a lady I think? Winter coats are not always very gender-indicative).
We chase her a block down the street and then start walking a couple
paces behind her. "Slow your breath down." She turns around. To Sister
MacArthur: "Wow! You're really big!" To me: "Wow! Where did you come
from?" We introduce the Restoration. She receives it well but is busy
taking care of her 92-year old mother and doesn't think she has time.
She walks away. We realize we didn't give her our phone number so we
chase down the street again.

3:23. Apartment after apartment, house after house. We find a man who
used to meet with the missionaries but there was a communication
barrier so lessons didn't really continue. We promise the elders are
really good at Japanese and refer him. We find young mom who wants to
her how the gospel can strengthen her family and we exchange phone
numbers to meet again.

6:03. Our fridge is a wonderland of obscure vegetables. So I chop them
all up and make them into curry. Mmmmm. Happy Valentine's Day to us.

7:03. It's blizzarding outside. Bikes are a definite no so we hop on
the bus to visit a potential investigator. Sister MacArthur and I
wander around in the dark looking for the apartment. Not home. We'll
be back another day.

8:30. Housing near the apartment. We find a lady who is really
receptive to our message but is getting to run out the door for a
night shift. Another potential.

9:00. Daily planning.

9:30. Eat some chocolate almonds. Sister MacArther gives me a
Valentine with a cat on it.

10:27. SLEEPOVER! Shove three futons together for four sisters to
sleep on. Good thing Sister Mondano and I are 5-foot. It's too bad the
other two sisters are 6-foot. It was a good day to be a missionary.

This week was full of so many miracles. The other day, Sister Mondano
and I were praying specifically to find Filipinos. It feels a little
weird to be praying for that but well ... we did. We were walking down
a deserted street when we saw a lady parking her car. "Filipina!"
Sister Mondano says. We start talking to her in Tagalog (more like
Sister Mondano talks to her in Tagalog) and she invites us into the
house she parked her car outside of. Inside are 4 more Filipinas who
buy us coffee and are so excited to see the Mormons. We share Alma
18:32. They tell us it was a miracle that we met them that day because
they are spread all over the island and they just happened to gather
that day. They all want to meet again and finally decide on a day
after some lively banter. This is where they've been hiding," we think
to ourselves. 5 new investigators.

I wish I could list all the miracles that happened this week but time
is short and you probably don't want to read even more of a novel.

So to close, my favorite excerpt from President Eyring's talk: "In the
depths of his anguish in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith cried
out: 'O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth
thy hiding place?' Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel
that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to intercept divine
aid does not cover God but occasionally covers us. God is never
hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations
that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible.
Our own desires, rather than a feeling of 'Thy will be done,' create
the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or
communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to
His will and His time."

Whose will are we praying for? As we ask what The Lord would have us
do or what The Lord wants, we are entitled to more spiritual
inspiration and divine aid. The pavilion is removed as we look
heavenward and remember that there is a plan bigger than all of us.

Love, ウィルデン姉妹

Sent from my iPad

(Monday, February 17, 2014)

Pic 1: Happy Valentine's Day from the sweetest companion in the whole world.
Pic 2: Me and my 5 new Filipina friends. "Hey, baby!" they said to me.
"How you doin'?"Haha.
Pic 3: Post dinner/studying the Book of Mormon with Mamako and Papako,
my lovely grandparents. AREN'T WE JUST THE CUTEST THING YOU'VE EVER
SEEN?