Week Thirty-one.

Dear mom and dad,

Guess what! We have Zone Conference this coming weekend and guess who is coming? Elder Aoyagi from the 70! Guess what else, 12 people got selected to have a personal interview with him and I got selected! At first I was really scared and wish my president would have chosen someone else, but now I am kind of excited. He recently has a short kids article in the Ensign called "The Harvest." It was pretty cute. The interview will be on Saturday.

This last week we didnt find any new investigators, but almost! We went and visited Scottie, the Jamacian and were able to share a message with her! But in order for someone to become and investigator you have to meet certain qualifications. They are start and end with prayer, teach some principle, and set a specific return appointment. We didnt get a specific return appointment so yeah, shes not an investigator, yet. Me and Sister Tui really think that she could be ready to accept the gospel. She recently has been really sick and thought she was going to die but she is still here and shortly thereafter the missionaries showed up. I think thats a sign that Heavenly Father kept her alive for a reason... We hope she can realize the blessing that the gospel can be in her life sooner rather than later.

We also were able to spend some time with Aimi. She is a 25 year old girl that is fluent in English. We were able to spend some time practicing Japanese and English together. It is kind of hard to teach her regular lessons in a way because she just wants the environment to be chill and friendly. She gets freaked out when we sit down and get all missionary professional. So it is almost like we are doing missionary work with her as if we were members in a way? We did teach her about God and prayer and she said that she felt really happy when we taught her. She also said she would be open to learning about different religions. I dont know if she is looking to exactly change her life, but maybe she will realize it after she hears about the rest of our message and the restoration. We were also able to have dinner with Aimi and her family and they are a real hoot. They are very funny and maybe they were a little drunk too because they were drinking alcohol and dinner... but they are a good family and we were laughing a lot with them. Hopefully the whole family will begin listening to the message! If that happened it would be the BIGGEST miracle.

Lately I have been reading in Mosiah and I am now reading about Abinadi. He says a lot of good stuff about the Atonement. It is really making me think a lot. I have really been trying to REALLY study the Book of Mormon and decipher all the little things I just looked over before. I constantly have questions and I ask my companion for help but she always tells me that I am over thinking it ha ha. I wanna know! This morning I was trying to understand what Isaiah means when he says "how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet." What does that really even mean? Why did he use feet? Why mountains? But... I think I figured it out. Well, I figured it out well enough that it makes sense to me. In the scriptures mountains are very holy places and often times mountains refer to the temple. Feet can symbolize the path someone is making because when youre walking its your foot that is making an imprint on the ground indicating which direction you are heading. How beautiful upon the mountains were their feet refers to how wonderful and lovely and beautiful the path is that people are making with their good works and peace in the spiritual realm of things. Or maybe in Gods eyes. It basically is a good thing to do good works and its extremely pleasing to God. So thats what I learned today.

Oh I received the package mom! Thanks! I already ate all the candy ha ha. Oh and I havent sent any pictures or hand written letters home in awhile. Sorry. Its because I always run out of time on Pday and dont have enough time to write. I wish P days werent so busy sometimes!!

Today all the missionaries are going to a Japanese funeral. This will be a first and last for me I think ha. A lady in my branch`s mom passed away recently. She was like 90 something years old!

Besides that, it is kinda starting to warm up I think. Well from here on out it shouldnt be snowing as much at least. Transfers are coming up next week and I probably am getting transferred to a new area. I dont want to leave Aizu though! I love Aizu! I have been doing a lot better than 2 months ago. I am realizing that this mission is a lot more for me than I thought it would be. I think about that half marathon I ran and how during the race I thought I was the dumbest person alive for decided to run one because it was really hard and miserable kinda ha but when I finished it, oh man, it was the best feeling. And I got so much stronger! Missions are kinda like that. Sometimes I think, what did I get myself into! But if I just think about the long run of things it isnt so bad.

Love you all!

Love Miranda

HERE ARE SOME PICTURES THAT MINDY SENT HOME!!

 

This is some snow and ice on a fence.

Week Thirty.

This first part of the letter was just one that Sister Robertson sent in the mail.

Dear Mom and Dad,

How are you? I'm doing really good. I have less than a year left....isn't that crazy?! Lately I've really had a change of heart and want to work really hard.
Sister Tui and I decided to always speak Japanese unless it is meal time. We can also speak English after 9:00 pm. Hopefully we can stick to our plan and get better at Japanese.
We've also really amped up our planning techniques to make sure we are effective every hour of the day.
We've recommitted ourselves to the work and the rule book. Sometimes it's hard to follow the "seems harmless" rules like don't use slang ever. Being my age, slang is built into me! It is hard to break that habit for sure.
I hope your missionary efforts are going well, as well. Have you ever read the book "The Power of Everyday Missionaries?" It has wonderful suggestions on how you can share the gospel. You should read it.
I love you both a lot!

Love, Mindy Lou

now to the regular email.

Hey there everyone!

First off, I didnt receive a package this week but I did receive a surprise card from Mom! Thank you!!! I was really hoping I would get mail this week and I got your card!

I hear a little about the Olympics here and there but mostly I dont know the vocabulary for it so when people are talking about it I have no idea that they are. I did visit a lady with a member once maybe 2 weeks ago and she had the olympics on in her house so I did catch a glimpse of snowboarding. It was pretty cool!

Sister Tui and I failed pretty bad at our goals to speak more Japanese. It just is habit and natural to speak English to each other. But we try to speak only Japanese to the Japanese sister that lives with us. She is fluent in English so it makes it easy to want to speak English to her too. We have been pretty good at staying focused during our language study time at least instead of eating food... Just wait. I will get transferred in 2 weeks and get a Japanese companion or something and then I will REALLY have to work hard at Japanese.

This last week we taught one lesson to Harumi san (the old grandma). We taught about families, prophets, and Jesus Christ. I am concerned we moved a little fast for her because she has never ever heard of any of this stuff. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying everyday but we dont think she really gets it still. Next time we meet with her we want to help her understand the Book of Mormon more and probably talk about Joseph Smith too.

We had interviews with President this week. I was really nervous, like I always am for interviews. But my interview went good. We just talked about my companion and Japanese and Aizu. Pres Rasmussen said that my Japanese has gotten really good! I hope so. I had to give a surprise talk in church yesterday and hopefully my Japanese was understandable.

This week was a crazy one for weather. We got hit with a blizzard! It was so windy on Saturday, but Sister Tui and I knew we needed to go visit a few people before we reported to our ward mission leader on Sunday so we got all bundled up and started our journey up a giant mountain in a blizzard. I thought my toes and fingers were going to fall off they were so cold. And my umbrella got whipped out of shape from the wind. The snow was blowing horizontally! Actually, it was more of a rain/snow so it hurt when it hit your face. I have never seen wind so strong in my life, and I grew up in Idaho!! We walked for 2 hours, visited some people who werent even home... then walked back. We stopped at a sushi place on the way home to rest and ate a nice cheap raw fish dinner. Mmmm! Our backs and our legs and feet were so sore. I felt like a pioneer. I cant WAIT for it to be warm again.

Before all the snow hit though Sister Tui and I did wake up early at 6 one morning and went running!!! It was so so great! We probably went about 2 miles. It was the first time I have gone running since being in Japan. We have realized from looking at our pictures that we have rice cheeks. And food babies. So we are really trying to be healthy!

Dad, I dont go to ward council. Only the district leader and his companion go. But every week on Sunday we have a meeting with the ward mission leader and all the missionaries and we present our progress record to him and talk about the work we did that week and where we need help. And he`ll tell us various things about what he wants us to do or focus on.

Mom, I have a trillion things about the things I love about you that I didnt already write down for you before I left on my mission! Dont worry, Ill send some more!

Oh and guess what, today marks 7 months on my mission! When I was in my interview with President he said, "Wow time really moves fast on missions huh." And I said, "No. Its normal." And he just laughed ha ha. But maybe it will move from normal to fast once I hit half way then before we know it it will be Feb 2015!

I will see you all in 11 months!

Love Mirand

Week Twenty-nine.

Dear mom and dad,
This week was pretty good for me. I learned a lot!
First off, WE FOUND A NEW INVESTIGATOR!! Her name is Harumi. She is an 82 year old grandma and she is CRAZY. Sister Tui and I had an appointment scheduled to do a mogi with some members in our ward but before the mogi they called us and said their friend was going to be there so we made a quick lesson plan, ditched the idea of mogi-ing, and went in prepared to teach. When she first met us she was so surprised that I thought she was going to fall out of her seat. She said it was her first time talking to Americans. She was so happy because not only did she get to meet us but we ate lunch together as well! She kept throwing her hands in the air yelling "Kyo wa saiko da yo! Saiko da yo!" That means "Today is THE BEST!!!!" She told us she was going to write in her journal about that day so she would never forget. We taught her a lesson about the Book of Mormon and she was so interested in it. We told her it was a book from God and she said, "then this is a good book, isnt it!" We asked her to read the introduction before the next time we met and when we met again it turns out she has done even more than just read the introduction! She has been reading one page every day starting from the title page. She doesnt understand it at all, but she said that because it is from God it is a good book so she has made a commitment to read a page every day. We taught her again about prayer and taught her how to pray and she commited to pray every day as well. She is so genki! I have never seen a grandma with so much energy. She loves me and Sister Tui. She calls us "Onechan" which means older sister ha ha. I dont think she really can remember our names. We are excited to teach her again and we want to talk more about God. We are not too sure if she really understands who God really is yet. Weve talked about it a bit but we are afraid she thinks he is like the grass or a tree. She is a good person.
We also got A LOT of snow these past few days. It was the most snow in 30 years! I am not sure how much for sure but I think I heard that around 2 feet fell. Youll have to go check on the internet. On Sunday we got instructions from the APs that all day we were to do snow shoveling dendo and just go out and serve people all day unless you had an appointment. So thats what we did! Sister Tui and I were able to help a lady on our street move a giant pile of snow so she could park her car. It was nice talking with her.
We also had the opportunity to do a mogi with an old investigator this week. Her name is Mie. Mie... is a little bit crazy. She is what we call an eternal investigator. She has been investigating the church for ever so she knows everything but she wont commit to baptism for multiple reasons and no matter how much you try to resolve her concerns she will not do it. I think she might have some kind of emotional problems too because her mood is very up and down. If she wants to sincerely investigate the church again she has to be taught by the relief society or some ward missionaries. The missionaries cant do it. But we can practice our Japanese with her and let her be in an environment to feel the spirit! So thats what we did. It went really good! But then yesterday she called us... and she was crying... and she kept saying "I just dont know! I just dont know about Jesus Christ!" We tried to figure out what was the matter and what her question was and what she needed but we never really figured it out. She just kept saying that she doesnt have a desire to be baptized and that she doesnt like pressure and she is really confused. It was very strange. But then she settled down and said to Sister Tui that she just wanted to hear her voice... and then she was fine. Hmm... in the past she has gone to America and hunted down old missionaries and now Sister Tui is afraid that she is going to do it to her! I dont think she will... but we just need to play it safe. I love Mie though! When she is acting normal she is really fun! She comes to Eikaiwa class regularly.
I also had a split this week with Sister Ono. Oh how I love Sister Ono! It seems like her mission experience has gone much like the way mine has been going. She was able to really help me and let me know that I am not alone in my struggles. On our split we did some mogis and I dont know what was wrong with me but I got one of those stress emergency things. I got way frustrated and scared and couldnt teach and started to cry! Ahhh I hate it when that happens. I think there was just a lot of pressure because I knew that I was being monitored in a way from the Sister Training Leader. But the split still was fun. We ate sushi together yay!
The thing that I learned the most this past week is that the Book of Mormon is awesome, and that I am a sinner. Well, we all are. But I really need to change. I was reading in Mosiah 2 and 3 these past few days and King Benjamin talked a lot about how if you know about the commandments and the things of the Lord but still disobey, then you are going to suffer an endless torment... Lately I have been thinking about the judgment day and I am so scared. I know that if I were to die right now I would be facing that endless torment I think. There are so many times when I dont keep the commandments just because I dont feel like it at the time or something. Yes I am a missionary, but sometimes I am too tired and dont want to get up to say my prayers or sometimes I am stubborn and dont feel like reading the scriptures! Or sometimes I am prideful and dont want to follow the missionary rule book! Even if these things seem little, they are still sin and we cant live with God again if we have sin! So I need to really change. I need to just give myself to the Lord and I need to do it sooner rather than later. As do all of us I think. Thats what I learned this week.
Thanks for all you do for me. Thanks for sending that package, too! Thanks for the prayers. God is surely answering them! So dont forget to thank Him for that!
I love you all so much.
Love Sister Miranda Robertson

Week Twenty-eight.

Dear Mom,

So let me start by first answering your question. Nope we havent been able to get in contact with Shoko this week. She claims she has a cold and when we asked her again to meet she said she still had one but that she would contact us when she was okay to learn English. We still havent heard from her... Her mom is a less active member and from what I hear from other members they are pretty flaky with their promises. I dont know if anything will come out of them but its all in the Lords timing.

Well Sister Tui and I accomplished another week. Still no investigators though. I think it has been maybe a month now since I have taught a lesson to someone that isnt already a member. Its interesting to me how in other parts of the world missionaries are saying, "This month we only had 6 baptisms. It was such a disappointment." And Im over here worrying, "Its been one month and we havent even taught one lesson." I guess it goes to show that whenever hard things are happening in your life, just think about the missionaries in Japan. Ha ha juuuust joking. 

On the bright side, we have some P.P.Is! I dont know if other missions use this but we do here and it is a big deal. P.I stands for Potential Investigator, but P P I stands for Potential Potential Investigator. When we find a PPI it is a GOOD day. We found some good PPIs this last week. Let me tell you about them.

First is Scottie. You might think that is a strange name for a Japanese person... thats because she is Jamaican! The elders in my district found her and passed her over to me and Sister Tui. We went to her apartment and met her one night and just kinda talked and built a relationship. Lately she got some weird allergic reaction to something but I dont really know what so she was home from work all week last week. She works at three different schools teaching English. She was really nice and really funny! She even gave us little gifts from Jamaica the first time we met her! Sister Tui and I went back towards the end of the week with a little gift we got for her and a get well soon card and some cookies. She didnt answer when we rang her doorbell so we just left the gift at her doorstep with our phone number. We havent heard from her though... This week we have a split with the Sister Training Leaders and Sister Tui and one of the STLs are going to visit Scottie again this week. So thats cool! It would be cool if we did start teaching her thats for sure because it would be in English!

Second is Aimi. Aimi recently moved back to Japan after staying in Canada for awhile so her English is pretty good! She actually saw the Elders at the post office and went up to them and started talking to them. From that the Elders invited her to Eikaiwa and then we met her and now Sister Tui and I are trying to start something with her. We went out and had dinner together this last week and it was really fun. She talked a lot about her ex boyfriends and Canada and things. She really wants english speaking friends and she wants to go and like party and things. We told her what we do as missionaries but I think she still doesnt understand that this is a full time thing. I think she thinks it is just like a 8-5 job or something. She told us she made a huge list of things she wants to do with us in Aizu but hmm I guess well see! We did ask her to help us with our Japanese and so hopefully we can trick her into listening to the lessons ;) 

And those were the big events of the week! Except for the biggest event.... Sister Tui and I found this awesome Burger joint called Aizu Burger and so on Wednesday we ate there... and it was the best burger I have ever eaten in my life. Mom, Dad, after my mission we are coming back to Aizu and we are eating at that place. You would LOVE it. 

Besides that, not much else is going on. A typical day includes trying to find less active members and housing/streeting pretty much. Hopefully I have more big news next week to share with you.

I love you all so much!

Hey, who won the super bowl? 

Also, on Feb 6 I have exactly ONE YEAR LEFT! 

Love Sister Robertson

PICTURES!!