Week Twenty-four.

Hello everyone!
Happy New Year! I hope you had a good one. My new year was a little different than the fun party I am used to with my friends and family.
On New Years Eve we spent all day cleaning our apartment-every little crack and corner. It was actually really fun and relaxing. It felt good to get organized. On New Years Day, the sisters and the zone leaders went to the castle that is in Aizu and we walked around and took some pictures. We also went to a shrine (that I learned was actually Shinto not Buddhist) and did the whole traditional ritual that they do. You walk up to it, throw a coin in, ring the bell twice, bow twice, clap twice, say a prayer, bow again, then walk away! It was kinda fun and way cool. Sister Tui got pictures but my camera is still broken and I havent bought a new one yet so sorry... I guess we are all going to miss out on this time of my mission. After that we all had lunch with the Saito family in our branch. And then after that we had a dinner appointment with the Takahashis! We ate so much food! Because of our appointments we didnt have time to read 3 Nephi and set goals. I still want to accomplish that so I have still been reading in 3 Ne but I still havent set goals (besides lose weight!).
So I was reading in 3 Nephi Chapter 21 yesterday in the Book of Mormon and the last verse says,
 "And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall anot go out in bhaste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward."
I knew that this verse was talking about all the missionaries that are coming from all around the world to help gather all of Gods children but I was kinda confused about the part that said they shall not go out in haste etc. I thought, why wouldnt we want these missionaries to get out there quick?! But then I thought of it differently. Maybe it is saying, "All the missionaries will come from all around the world and they will not go HOME quickly or leave because they are fleeing from a difficult situation because I, Jesus Christ, will go before them and lead the way and I will also be behind them protecting them especially when they are trying to retreat back home because they feel defeated."
I looked up the definitions of haste, flight, and rearward (or rearguard) and came up with my very own "Miranda Robertson Translation". I thought, Hey yeah. That is true. So many missionaries get out on their missions, realize it is hard, and want to go home. But, Christ knows how important this work is so he is on every side of us trying to get us to stay out there! He is in front of us, behind us, on our right hand, and on our left. We have the best support in the world so lets just do this! Lets find those people!
Speaking of finding, Sister Tui and I really want to get out and find a new investigator this week. We only have 2 investigators really. One doesnt have interest in the gospel at all, and the other is a bunch of wild kids that dont listen to anything we say. So we kinda arent seeing any success right now. We had high hopes for the Arai Family because they are such a good family but we really want to teach the dad WITH the children instead of teaching 5 crazy kids, most of them under the age of 8 years old that cant even be baptized. On Wednesday when we see that family next we are going to try to get to the bottom of this and see if they are really that interested in our message or not.
As for our other investigator, we are going to teach her english and then for the message part, Sister Tui and I are going to try a mogi approach and just ask her to let us practice our Japanese with her and after we share our message she can give us tips on how to improve our Japanese. Buuutttt that way she is still hearing the lessons and hopefully she will be touched by the spirit! He he tricky, eh?
That is really it for this week. Next week I am sure I will have a lot to report on because we are hoping to finally GET OUT of our apartment and find a new investigator that has real interest in our MESSAGE and not just ENGLISH!!!!!!!! Now that the Holidays are over we are hoping to really get some work done.
I love all of you so so much! Thanks for your letters and prayers.
Love, Sister Miranda Robertson