Week 64

Hello family and friends.

I hope you had a great week. I did. 

We ran around frantically to send Sister Yasui off to Utsunomiya (famous for gyoza), tried furiously to take apart her bicycle (we resorted to duct-taping the bike bag with half the bicycle hanging out), and gulping down sushi rolls that the members brought us because they knew of the transfer chaos. 

I have a new companion. My 12th companion in 10 transfers (that's a lot). Maybe people just get tired of me really fast or something. Anyhow. Sister Sticht is her name. She may be a Ute but neither of us has an overwhelming sense of school pride so we can still be friends. We enjoy all the same restaurants in Salt Lake (The Pie, Bruges, etc. etc.). Her hobbies are sarcasm and baking. And also being a missionary. Best friends for life.

Sometimes I have days where I think, "Missionary work is the strangest thing in the world." And then some days I think, "This is the most beautiful thing in the world and I should do this the rest of my life." Thankfully, this week was mostly full of the latter. 

Just a series of mini and macro miracles. 

We were biking down the street the other day and ran into a lady on the street. Something told us we should talk to her, and it turns out she is the friend of a member and has attended our eikaiwa before. 

We visited a member who wasn't actually home, but he walks up to us at church the next day and says his daughter is bringing ten friends to the matsuri (festival) at the church this week so "Please befriend them." Done and done.

Yesterday we had a miraculous meeting with one of our friends who we have been trying to meet for months. We hear she's been having a really rough time at it so we sat in a park, talked about the Atonement and read the Book of Mormon. "Can you send me scriptures you like from the Book of Mormon?" she says. We made plans to eat cake together (sometimes people lose weight when they are stressed) sometime. Sitting in that random park, even though we were amidst the old men awkwardly staring and little boys squirting water guns, we sang "Where can I turn for peace?" and I couldn't just help feel that God knew us, and that God cared, and it was glorious.

It's one of my favorites. So here's the lyrics if you so desire. 

1.	Where can I turn for peace?
	Where is my solace
	When other sources cease to make me whole?
	When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
	I draw myself apart,
	Searching my soul?
2.	Where, when my aching grows,
	Where, when I languish,
	Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
	Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
	Who, who can understand?
	He, only One.
3.	He answers privately,
	Reaches my reaching
	In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.
	Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.
	Constant he is and kind,
	Love without end.

It makes me cry every time. Something about missionary work makes you really emotional all the time. A nice quote I read this morning. There's always a lot of good ahead. 

• "You do not need to see the Savior, as the Apostles did, to experience the same transformation. Your testimony of Christ, born of the Holy Ghost, can help you look past the disappointing endings in mortality and see the bright future that the Redeemer of the world has prepared." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

Well, I'm out. Thanks for all your letters and emails. A shoutout to the lovely person who sent me a postcard with a Chinese man with a crazy moustache. It made my week. 

Love, Sister Margaret 

(Monday, August 25)

Pic 1:  Here are two of our friends and their nice fluffy dog.
Pic 2: Here's a really great hamburger I 

ate last week. I never thought I'd miss Kraft singles till now. 

Pic 3: Post-church with all the crazy kids running around the parking lot. Happy Sabbath.
Pic 4: It was P-day, so I baked a cake in the microwave. Bananas, chocolate chunks, and a whole lot of brown sugar. It was glorious. 

Pic 5: I think this nicely sums up our companionship. Crazy ballet buns, cluttered desks, and a Dunder Mifflin shirt. 

Week 63 No Transfer

Dearest family and friends,

Happy Monday.
This email is going to be short.

I picked up the phone this morning thinking it was one of our
investigators who always calls from a pay phone, only to be surprised
by President Budge's voice on the other end to tell me that I am
staying in Togane. Hallelujah!

I attended a funeral for the elderly mother of a member in the ward.
Sister Tan (who I live with) and I were recruited for an emergency
musical number and we rummaged through all our vacuum-bagged winter
clothes for a solid black outfit. It was sad. But it would be a whole
lot sadder if we didn't have the plan of salvation. (For reference, I
like Alma 34 and 40).

There were so many tender little mercies this week. A mission
president that lets me use all of his Kleenex during interviews. Haha.
Scriptures that I've read over and over that suddenly strike me with
new meaning. A hamburger made on an American-style grill.
Investigators that just contact us out of nowhere when we were just
about to give up. Many of our friends coming to church for Sister
Yasui's last week in Togane. There's a lot more.

What tender mercies did you see this week? I'll bet there's a lot.

Love, Sister Margaret

(Monday, August 18)

Pic 1: This reminded me of something that Van Gogh would paint, or something.

Sister Willden's Travel Itinerary!

On 2014/08/13, at 9:59, MainOffice Tokyomission <japantokyomission@ldsmail.net> wrote:

Revised travel.  Please let me know if this is approved. 

Thanks, 

Sister Evans

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Japan Tokyo Mission <2017806@ldschurch.org>
Date: Wed, Aug 13, 2014 at 9:58 AM
Subject: FW: REVISED PROPOSED RETURN Travel Itinerary For WILLDEN/MARGARET MIZUKI - 19 Dec
To: "japantokyomission@ldsmail.net" <japantokyomission@ldsmail.net>

 

 

_____________________________________________
From: Don Love
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 9:07 AM
To: Japan Tokyo Mission; TAKAKO.WILLDEN@GMAIL.COM; Hiroaki Mizuno
Subject: REVISED PROPOSED RETURN Travel Itinerary For WILLDEN/MARGARET MIZUKI - 19 Dec

 

 

 

CHURCH TRAVEL CWT                          DATE 12AUGUST14

50 EAST NORTH TEMPLE ST                    AGENT VH/D9 BOOKING REF X4QLUT

SALT LAKE CITY UT 84150

TELEPHONE: 801 240-5111                    WILLDEN/MARGARET MIZUKI 354601-R

FAX      : 801-240-5115

 

  MISSIONARY TRAVEL

  JAPAN TOKYO MISSION

 

SERVICE               DATE  FROM           TO             DEPART  ARRIVE

_____________________ _____ ______________ ______________ _______ ______

DELTA AIR LINES       19DEC TOKYO          MINNEAPOLIS MN 450P    1254P

DL 585               FRIDAY NARITA INTL    ST PAUL INTL

U ECONOMY                   TERMINAL 1     TERMINAL 1

           NON SMOKING      DINNER                        NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         11:04 DURATION

                  AIRCRAFT: BOEING 777-200/300

 

                            SEAT 41D NO SMOKING CONFIRMED

 

DELTA AIR LINES       19DEC MINNEAPOLIS MN MILWAUKEE WI   320P    436P

DL 2232              FRIDAY ST PAUL INTL   GEN MITCHELL    

U ECONOMY                   TERMINAL 1

           NON SMOKING                                    NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         1:16 DURATION

                  AIRCRAFT: BOEING 737-800 (WINGLETS)

 

                            SEAT 20D NO SMOKING CONFIRMED

 

RESERVATION NUMBER(S)  DL/GVSHWP

 

**IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, FLIGHT CHANGES ENROUTE OR SIGNIFICANT DELAYS, IMMEDIATELY TELEPHONE

CHURCH TRAVEL (801-240-5111 OR 1-800-537-3537)

.

CHURCH TRAVEL IS AVAILABLE 24/7

.

DON LOVE - EXT 25167

JAPAN TOKYO MISSION

MISSION PRESIDENT TODD BUDGE

PH 011 81 3/ 3952-6802 OFFICE 3952-5701 HOME

LOCAL CALLS DO NOT DIAL 011 81

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

       **NOTICE** ARRIVE AT THE AIRPORT 1 HOUR PRIOR TO DOMESTIC

       FLIGHTS AND 2 HOURS PRIOR TO INT*L FLIGHTS WITH REQUIRED    

          STATE OR FEDERAL PHOTO ID AND TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION

     IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, FLIGHT CHANGES ENROUTE, OR SIGNIFICANT

                     DELAYS, IMMEDIATELY TELEPHONE

 

           MISSIONARY TRAVEL (800)537-3537 OR (801)240-5111

 

 

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Week 62

Hi friends and family.

This past week I received my travel itinerary home. A strange thought.
As in, this really beautifully strange adventure will actually end at
some point. And my oh-so-efficient, wonderful mother already
scheduling appointments for when I come home--eye doctor, dentist,
haircut, chiropractor, whatever else is out of sorts--is a wake-up
call. It does not ever feel like I will ever leave Japan.

And so I will just keep on going until it is time.

It was a good week. Every week is a good week, even when you want to
think it's not. I went on exchanges to Chosei with my MTC friend
Sister MacArthur, where I almost had to ride a bicycle that was two
times bigger than me. Except I fell off trying to leave the station so
we just walked and borrowed another bicycle. Then we got lost for two
hours in the countryside and a policeman pulled us over and asked us
what we were doing. (The first time I've ever been pulled over on a
bicycle ... )

On Sunday, one of our friends came to church for the first time in
months, and as she listened to the hymns, she asks, "What is that
feeling? It makes me want to cry." That, my friend, is the Spirit. And
it's great.

And now, since Jesus was fond of parables, and I of literary
symbolism, I will tell you the parable of the Goya. Do you know Goya?
It hails from the island of Okinawa. Anyway, it is green, lumpy, and
just a little (a lot) weird-looking. My first experience with Goya
occurred in my first-transfer ignorance when I found it in the fridge
and decided to stir fry it. Unbeknownst to me, it has a bitterness to
rival Brussels sprouts. Unfortunately, it was chopped too finely and
couldn't be extracted from the meal. It was just EVERYWHERE. However,
as I now near my tenth transfer, my repeated encounters with Goya have
made it more tolerable, maybe even enjoyable.

The symbolism behind this--Goya--green, lumpy, kind of weird, is like
the challenges in life. We're not really sure why we have it until we
experience. At first, it REALLY just doesn't taste good, but with time
it becomes more bearable, and we become grateful for it (like how I
was sort of grateful in my first transfer to have such a delightful
vegetable for sustenance).

Disclaimer: I would be lying if I said I like eating it, but you get the point.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf says it so well:

"We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our
problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much
of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God
that there is rain? Being grateful in times of distress does not mean
that we are pleased with our circumstances. It does mean that through
the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges."

Mmm. This was a good reminder for me.
Have a great week. Thanks for reading! Love you all!

Love, Sister Margaret Willden

(Monday, August 11)



Pic 1: I looked through my camera and this is all I had from my week.
A family of dried squid that my grandma sent me. I guess this sums up
my week. Interpret as you will.

Pic 2:  This is Goya.

Week 61

Hi family and friends.

Here is the week. The ups, the downs, the happy, the sad, the weird.

Weird moment. We had twenty minutes to house, and the first door
happens to be an old-man fashion designer who says no one wants to buy
his clothes because the population of
Togane is old and the young people just go to Uniqlo for their fashion
needs. So he gave some of his handmade clothes. We gave him a plan of
salvation pamphlet in return.

Sad moment(s). Our most solid investigator tells us she can no longer
go to church because her husband doesn't approve (disapproving
husbands ... a recent common issue for us).  We also said goodbye to
all of our Chinese friends, who left for summer break back to China.
Looks like we will be doing some nice housing the next little while.
Good thing my time in Sado taught me to appreciate some good 'ole
door-to-door. Note: unlike in Sado, everyone told me in Togane it is
NOT okay to just open up people's front door and start talking to
them.

Happy moment. One of our friends, whom we've been meeting with for
months, recently moved to a new apartment and no longer has a TV (that
is not the happy part, I think). Consequently, she has a lot of time
on her hands and has been reading the Book of Mormon DILIGENTLY and
had a sudden change of heart and wants to be baptized! Like, this
month, not next November! It's true. The Book of Mormon "...[is] the
most correct if any book on earth! and the keystone of our religion,
and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by it's precepts, than by
any other book." I love it.

Nostalgic moment. Today I woke up at 4:11am and remembered that
exactly one year ago today, I loaded my bulging suitcases on the Provo
FrontRunner, left the MTC, and came to Tokyo. In the past 1+ year,
what have I learned? I suppose more than anything, God is real. Really
real. Even when I thought about trying to doubt it (pardon the
wordiness), I couldn't do it. There's just been too many instances in
my life that tell me otherwise (I would go into detail but I have a
journal chock-full of such instances). We had the chance to go to the
Tokyo temple this morning and I just couldn't help but think, "Wow.
Heaven's a whole lot closer than we realize. We just forget it, and
forget what we're supposed to be doing." (Click here for a reminder:
http://www.mormon.org/beliefs/plan-of-salvation).

Time is short (in more ways than one, ha, not to be preachy), so I'll
cut this here. Don't sweat to death this week. But if you do, hey.
I'll be right there with you.

Love, Sister Margaret Willden

(Monday, August 4)

Pic 1: Tokyo Temple.

Pic 2: Today, I ate a sort-of expensive hamburger in Tokyo topped with
cherries and Gorgonzola cheese. I love the city.

Pic 3: Look at this nice sunflower I saw the other day.

Pic 4: In honor of P-day, made some oh-so-nostalgic Annie's organic
macaroni and cheese. I realized today that so many of my mission
pictures are of food, or of me eating food. Go figure.

Week 60

Hey friends and family,

It was a beautiful, BLAZING HOT week in the Chiba zone. I am fortunate
enough to have spent the winter in the coldest region of the mission
and summer in the hottest. Mmm. On Saturday we attended an activity
two hours away by train. Our two Chinese friends who came with us kept
saying, "This place is hotter than China." Mmm.

Anyways. I realize that I start off nearly every one of these letters
talking about the weather. (I guess that is also what I do when we
start conversations with people on the street. Some things never
change).

Yesterday, the elders had a baptism. He is a nineteen year old
Japanese boy with the heart of an American. Literally. He told this
miraculous story of how his heart is too big and he needed a
transplant, so he received the heart of an American boy who was in a
car accident. Luckily he has a sense of humor and makes many pun-y
jokes about the situation.

Also, Sister Yasui and I are planning a baptism for next week! Once
upon a time I thought, "Housing to find people never works." But then,
once upon a time months later, the elders knocked on a door, found the
cutest mom, and she has decided she wants to be baptized. She said she
probably would have turned the missionaries down had it been years
ago, but she thought her little boy had come home from school early so
she peeked out the door and ended up talking to the elders and well
... Ta-da! It's really one of the biggest miracles. I'll leave it at
that. Oh me of little faith.

As a lover of green things (as in vegetables), I was (maybe slightly)
worried because our fridge was running out of vegetables. And then, a
member calls us moments later and says she went to the farmers market
and wants to bring us vegetables. Oh me of little faith.

This week was also full of some strange moments. Like, going to teach
a couple (supposedly on the word of wisdom) but having them break up
in the middle of the lesson in front of our very eyes. A strange
experience that taught me the importance of communication in more ways
than one.

In various encounters with members, investigators, less-actives this
past week, one theme was repeatedly emphasized: obedience to the
commandments. Why on earth do we have them? One college student told
us this week, "I just don't get why they're necessary." Well, I did
some studying. (See picture). It's a whole lot of diagrams and charts,
but I suppose it all boils down to the fact that God is God, and we
are not. So we are best off being a little humble and trusting in the
one who knows all.

From Margaret's notes: "Knowledge encourages obedience. Obedience enhances knowledge."
- Elder Dallin H. Oaks on "Testimony"

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things,
both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all
power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not
comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend." (Mosiah
4:9).

Life is great. You're great. Have a great week.

Love,
Sister Margaret Willden



(Monday, July 28)

Pic 1: Chinese Night!
Pic 2: We got really sweaty. On the plus side, we ran into our friend
and she gave us some lovely balloon yo-yos from the festival going on
nearby.
Pic 3: The rice patties of Togane.

Week 59

Dear everyone,

I never quite know how to start these emails, other than it was a good
week and a lot of things happened. We've run into several walls this
week, particularly with husbands not wanting their wives to get
involved with religion. We have one investigator who is so ready to
get baptized ... we are just struggling to get her husband on board.
(Religion is not for the weak!) But on the phone last night, she says
to us, "I guess this is just part of enduring to the end, isn't it." I
have full faith that it will work out.

I feel like the luckiest missionary alive being sent to this ward.
Just this morning, we got a call from the bishop's wife, inviting us
and an investigator's family over to dinner after hearing about our
little hantai husband problem . Earlier this week, another couple took
us out to sushi (and bought us ice cream on the way back ... ). Today,
a lady in the ward is driving us an hour to attend an activity where
one of our potential investigators is playing the violin. Togane loves
missionary work (I do, too).

Our apartment consists of two Japanese sisters, one half-Chinese, and
one half-Japanese sister. Talk about international, especially in a
mission that is full of Americans. Sister Yasui and Teruya have
started playing a game where they speak in the most complicated
Japanese that they can to see if I understand them. It didn't take
them long to stump me, haha. This might also be the first transfer
where I have not lived with someone who eats peanut butter out of a
jar by the spoonful (yay, America!)

One thought for the week: We've been studying the Christlike
attributes (PMG chapter 6) with investigators, and time and time again
I get hung up on patience. It's ironic--this week I was wondering how
I could develop more patience, and then a couple of wrenches got
thrown in the way that tested my patience. I guess it's only natural
that in order to develop, we need to experience. It dawned of me that
patience is the one attribute that ties all the others together.
Without patience, none of anything is happening.

A nice little scripture I found during personal study this morning
(Romans 8:24-25):

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for
what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

When we have patience and hope, "In the depth of winter, [we find]
within [us] and invincible summer." (Thank you, Albert Camus). Or if
you are in the heat of Chiba, vice versa. Until next week!

Love,
Sister Margaret Willden

(Monday, July 21)

Pic 1: Goya. The famed vegetable of Okinawa. I love veggies but ...
somehow I cannot get over the bitterness. But I am trying. Good thing
we have much of it in the refrigerator.


Pic 2: I had no pictures to send this week so ... a selfie from the elevator.