Week Twenty-one.

Oh boy mina san! My email inbox is so full of emails I still need to reply to that it is ridiculous. Im sorry!

So first off... SKYPE. I havent found anyone really that has Skype in my ward so I have decided to just do a regular phone call. Sorry. I need to find a time that is good for you guys to call. On Dec 25th (it will be the 26th in Japan) can you call me around5 pm (8 am in Japan)? Let me know in the next email if that is okay or not. I dont have all the instructions right now on how to do it because we forgot to bring the paper but I know that you have to call me. My cell phone number is 080-9354-4091. Next week I promise I will give you all the exact instructions. Im sorry we cant Skype!

So last Pday after our emailing time the weirdest thing happened. This lady named Shimakage san who is an LA here in Aizu randomly found me on the street and started calling out for me in English that she needed to help me! I went over and talked to her and it turns out she has been in contact with some people from Lovell, WY possibly the Hydes that asked Shimakage san to help with my Japanese. It was the weirdest thing ever. I appreciate these people in Wyoming that I dont really know that they want to help me but I cant do that. This lady actually doesnt like the church at all really anymore and she is friends with a person on our super danger list. She isnt interested in hearing any kind of message either so I couldnt accept help from her. If I cant teach her, then I need to spend my time elsewhere. It was the weirdest experience...

So it snowed for the first time this week! And when it snows, IT SNOWS and never stops. It snowed for 2 days straight without stopping. We cant ride our bikes anymore and it takes 45 minutes to walk to the church. That kind of sucks, but oh well. There is so much snow here and it is freezing. I heard that it isnt even bad yet though... the bad stuff happens in January and February. Sister Tui and I had a cool experience the other night. We were walking home from an appointment we had with one of our investigators and it was about 7:30 at night and it was completely dark and it was blizzarding. We couldnt really see and the snow was so bad and cold that we had to keep our faces down or close our eyes. I kinda lost my way and didnt know if I was on the right rode or not so we prayed really quick that the weather would get better so we could so and that we could be warm and that wed be able to find our way safely. Right after that prayer we saw a man walk up behind us which I thought was unusual because it is freezing and no one would be out walking in this weather! Well we started talking to him by saying good evening and he instantly asked us if we were from the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS and we said Yes we are! He said that he knew me! And I asked him his name and he said Hashimoto! And then it clicked! Lately our church is under construction because we are getting a new elevator and Hashimoto san is the man in charge so he is always at the church. So I said, Oh Hashimoto san! Shite imasu! Which means Oh I know you! And then we were able to ask him exactly where we were and how much further until the main road. He was also walking home to his apartment which was in the same direction as ours and so we talked the rest of the way until we had to part. We invited him to our Christmas Party and to church next week! I told him I am giving a talk about Christmas next Sunday and he said Nihongo de?! Which means, In Japanese?! And I said Hai! Ganbarimasu..! Which means Yes Im gonna work hard! I dont know if he will come but I hope he does. We were able to talk about him and his job and family and things. And it stopped blizzarding and we got warm as we finished walking home! It was such a tender mercy! It was awesome! I love Hashimoto san! He is so cool and speaks English too!

But with every good thing comes a bad thing... this week I got really really sick. It started out with a bad bad fever and the chills and then from then on I got a very terrible sore throat. It got so bad I couldnt breathe or swallow or sleep. Then the pain spread to my ears and I got bad ear aches and clogged ears and started hearing weird like an echo... I finally went to the doctor and it turns out I have tonsilitis! But I have been taking medicine for it so Im getting better I think. My throat isnt sore anymore but I havent been able to have normal hearing out of my left ear for 3 days now. It is clogged and SO annoying I can barely stand it. I just have to wait it out I guess.

So let me tell you about Tui Shimai. She is half Tongan and so awesome! She is from California and she is so so fun. The way she talks is so real and gangster I love it ha ha. We have fun together and we laugh a lot.  She is so hilarious and fun. I love her a lot. Things in Aizu are kinda weird right now. I am realizing that really nobody does stuff here... I cant remember the last time I really did missionary work here ha ha. I mean yeah we teach lessons but it seems like most our time is spent with the Takahashi family not really doing... anything. Just talking and hanging out. It is making everything for me a lot more happier but I supposed that isnt helping us find anyone to teach... Teaching is just so scary and stressful... I dont like it! We all need to figure our stuff out here. Our district isnt unified and we arent organized really.

Oh fun fact, I am certified to do CPR in Japan!

Okay thats it for the week I think. Thanks for sending me a package! I havent received it yet. I also havent received Isaac and Kandaces announcement. Hmm... Love you all! I will keep on keepin on but I sure still do miss home... I think about good ol America every day. Keep it real over there.

Love Miranda

PS Everytime you talk to Maria I am actually with her..! So it is fun when you email!