Week 73

Dear family and friends. 

Well, it looks like I will be spending my very last transfer of my mission here in Togane. 18 months, three areas, four transfers each. It definitely satisfies my affinity for nice, even things. Not to mention, the work in Togane is on fire, and I'm so grateful to be allowed to be in the thick of it. 

This week was full of many good things. Too many good things. Here are some of them. Ready, set, go. 

1. President Budge just happens to be good friends with one of the main priests at the Meiji Jingu Shrine in the heart of Tokyo, so we were fortunate to take a tour of the shrine. Lately there has been a huge emphasis on learning how to relate to people in a non-Christian nation. From day one in the field  I have wished I had a "Shintoism for Dummies" to refer to and so ... last Thursday was marvelous. I suppose all the French and Polish and Japanese people in the park were wondering what 20 Mormon missionaries were doing wandering around a Shinto shrine with a bunch of headsets, but it was an invaluable look into the school of thought for so many that we teach. More than anything, I was just struck by how grateful that the gospel of Jesus Christ is so clear and simple, and makes both sense in my mind and heart, as well as a newfound appreciation for this land. 

2. Today we went to a festival at the local international university in Togane with one of our friends. I ate Polish pancakes from our Polish friends, a basil-y cheese bread from our soon-to-be Brazilian friends, fried mochi from our Chinese friends, and sipped boba as I tried to explain why we don't drink tea or alcohol to another of our friends. In return she tried to teach us about belly dancing. I'm not sure we were very good students, but it was really nice of her. 

3. And then the police called us and told us they found Sister Dopp's bike, a forty-five minute ride out abandoned in the parking lot of Avail, a retail-chain here in Japan. When the police brought it to our doorstep, we found the seat had been lowered all the way. A midget stole Sister Dopp's bike, rode a million miles, and then tried to do some retail therapy, but to no AVAIL. #pitylaugh (Japanese people really like puns. Do you?) 

4. And then there was the day we went housing and ONE DOOR opened. She comes out, let's us give our little introductory spiel, and she says, "Can't you read the door? I'm Buddhist." She points to a little sticker written in Korean. "Sorry ma'am, we don't speak Korean," we say. For reasons I can't explain, we keep talking and talking, even though she insists she has zero interest. Just as we are about to walk away, she says, "Come inside my house. You look freezing." I later thanked Sister Dopp for having the foresight to not wear tights on a rainy day. She makes us the most AMAZING drink (to this day I'm not sure what it was, other than it was NOT tea or coffee and was this almond-y mug of goodness) and begins telling us how every Christian person she has ever met has turned out to be a hypocrite. What ensued in the next forty-five minutes was an enlightening discussion on the meaning of true Christianity. 

James 1:27. Isn't this what it's all about? Also, I love the Bible. 

Have a marvelous week. Thanks always for your love and prayers. Go share the gospel with someone today. 

Love, Sister Margaret Willden 

(Monday, November 3)

Sent from my iPad

Pic 1: Good wishes from visitors all over the world at the shrine. 

Pic 2: MEIJI JINGU. 

Pic 3: Polish pancakes, courtesy of our Polish friends. 

Pic 4: My model friend Helen, enjoying the maple leaves of Togane.