NOVEMBER 1, 2015

🍙 let me start by saying I love Sister Johnson and she is an amazing person and she is so lucky because she's with Heavenly Father! Also I am sort of better health wise, that humanitarian efy sounds like fun! So jealous!   

Give my love to grandpa.  And Emma, you are amazing.  No one I mean no one is like you, you are so beautiful, hilarious, sarcastic, crazy talented and supa smart! You can be fearless if you put your mind to it and believe that you are a daughter of God.  Believe that Christ knows exactly how you feel.  Believe that in your prayers to him.  He does listen.

Also transfers are this week so will see if I stay or go but probably stay.  I'll say at the end of this letter :3

So I realized today that I really, really don't like asking for help. I didn't do it in high school and consequently my grades suffered as did other things because I'm either too prideful or too chicken to ask for help.  Now as a missionary up until this point, I really have been trying to do this work with just me, the good book and God. But I can't allow myself to think that way because I have a companion now.

I don't know what I was thinking before, that I could just handle this stress and anxiety on my own but I have an amazing companion who set me straight today.  I do not like asking for help.  I feel like I'll get shot down or told I'm wrong or that they'll say no.  I'm not sure why I think this but today I came to the conclusion that another important part of missionary work probably just as important as the spirit is to work with your dōryo towards the same thing and not just next to them on two different things.  Your companion is there to help you in the ways Heavenly Father can't.

Other news for Monday,  I have found a doughnut that tastes better than any doughnut I've ever had! Seriously. Ohh...so good.  And when we sat at a park to eat the glorious doughnut these kids saw me and they were like, "gaijin?" And I said hello and waved and they were so excited that after we sat down they kept shouting hello in English and I said hello back.  Then they ran over to talk to us.  They asked me to speak English and when I did they laughed and kept asking questions.  Like who are we?  What we were studying(we were looking at the iPad's at a pamphlet) and we told them. They were so cute and funny and silly!

Ahh! I have pictures :3

Wednesday to Friday meetings, trains and no money!

So this week we had TTTM (trainer,trainee,training meeting) in Okayama and it's about five hours worth of travel taking a bus and three trains.  It was so convenient of me to acquire a cold right before traveling, so loud trains and moving was slightly painful. BUT, I had fun. We traveled with a few chorotachi and all though my throat felt like fire I enjoyed talking to them in English.  I have realized that I am so sassy/snarky/sarcastic in English now.  Just because I don't actually use English that often.  We had a lot of laughs on the train. We also met a guy (American and not LDS) who knew more about the church history than anyone I know in the church.  He meets with Evelyn Choro, senior elder who works at the mission office, for a bible study so he told us on the train, hey I know y'all.  He's like a walking text book.  It was cool.

We finally get to Okayama and we go to the sister’s apartment (this is Wednesday night so we could make it to TTTM onThursday) and it was the sisters in Kobe zone and a former MTC district member, her apartment, Pickrell Shimai.  I was so happy to see her.  We talked lots.  Actually I talked a whole lot that night with two Shimai, one from New Zealand  and the other from Australia.  They were so funny and  I found that talking to them I have mimicked in a weird way the way they talk cause that's what I did for my kiwi friends in Hawaii.  There was 13 of us that all slept on the floor and Jeo Shimai was my buddy.  TTTM was good and I got to see some people from the MTC.  

On the way back to Kobe, I talked with Jeo Shimai, my former comp. the entire time and I swear I haven’t spoken this much English in a long time and it destroyed my voice and felt so nice at the same time.  Thursday night we stayed in Kobe with Jeo Shimai and Zhou Shimai and I was able to talk and enjoy my first companion.  I realize how much I love her to pieces and how much better and happier she is now out of the MTC.  The MTC was like a cage for her and now she is happy, goofy, with strong testimony and they have baptism this Saturday.

YAY!!!

We did splits this morning to go up the hill, with massive incline, and at the top is a field and we went and played frisbee with some other sisters and elders.  It was literally the best.  We were shouting, running, diving (which was hilarious to watch), and just good old fun.

We had Elder Barr on our team and he's this crazy Australian AP and Elder Williams another crazy Australian.  They were hilarious and it was so much fun to be with other senkyōshi and just goof off. Elder Done and I (he's in Kitarokko with us) decided that at least once a week we need to go and play frisbee or something.  

Anyway ZTM which was today (Friday) we learned a lot.  I have come to love our zone and I just cannot believe this first transfer is over.  People say by the fifth it starts to really pick up speed and I can't believe that because this one went by so incredibly fast!  On our way back to our area we fell asleep on the bus and I had a thought that I needed to wake up and at first I was like why I've only been asleep for 10 minutes.  The bus is  a 45 minute ride and I woke up first,  looked at my comp who was also asleep and then outside to see our stop was the next one.  I pressed the stop button and woke Uchida Shimai up and we managed to get off.  That thought wasn't my own, though it was the spirit.  Some will beg to differ but it was at the exact time we needed to get off,  just in time so that it wasn't stressful.  I don’t believe that any good thing that happens "by chance" is chance or coincidence.   In D&C 6:32 it talks about how when two or more are gathered in his name that he is there with them.  Yes we were sleeping but that doesn't demote us from spiritual protection, enlightenment, it doesn't stop me from hearing that whisper.  He is with us always.  And not just us, being missionaries, he is with all that have been baptized and taken upon them his name.  We all hold his name and he can walk with us if we are ready to listen.

Today we went to a party and a baptism, Best Halloween ever! So start with the party. A Shimai in the ward, a new convert actually, had us elders and sisters come over to help with her Halloween get together.  She was in charge and so we decorated their drive way and dressed up.

I was a witch (I only really had a clip on hat) and Uchida was a pumpkin (pictures to come).  The chorotachi however were mummies. We wrapped them in rolls of toilet paper and it was  1.) super fun/funny 2.) also felt so awkward because I was like ,"I shouldn't be this close to an elder, DAME DAME”  In actuality it wasn't at all close.  See what the mission has done to me!!!  Anywho!  I have pics of that too.

Neighborhood kids came by and we played few games and then took them 'trick-or-treating',  or really selected houses that gave them candy.  This one little girl held my hand as we walked her mom thought it was so cute and so did I because my heart was melting on the inside!  We skipped together to each house. 

 After the party Hisahara Shimai drove us to the baptism that was in Kobe. The Kobe sisters, Zhou and Jeo shimai (yes they are both joe shimai) had taught the mother of a recent convert and she was baptized tonight.  She was so sweet!  Her son got to baptize her but she had to be dunked four times.  When we were there I could just feel the spirit overwhelm us in the room!  I could feel the truth of this righteous desire to be a part of the true church! I loved feeling the spirit testify that this is only the beginning.  Over all this Saturday was the best.

Happy November!!!  Church was amazing!  Or really I just enjoyed it more today.  I see these people and I love them sooo much! They laugh with me, we can talk even though it's short conversation, we can be silly(like arm wrestling;), an over all they are like my family, like my own home ward.  They have the happiest smiles and the most Genki, and Christlike light in their eyes! Ahhhh!  So I got up and bore my testimony today.  It was short and not as detailed as the other missionaries but I got up and I looked out to see these faces and I realized I don't want to leave them!  We'll see if I'll stay...Anyway..

Another thing today is we climbed up the mountain to visit some members.  It was more fun on the way down going like 35 on a bike, woah!

So I got a ukulele from a member so I could play in a talent show in a few weeks for the ward.  I was so happy.  I made a video of that too:)  So I figured out what I want for Christmas. Just one thing. I want my ukulele.  I miss it so much.  I've turned two hymns already into uke jams. If it's too much just send peanut butter but really I just want my uke.  It's missing a string so that’ll need to be fixed.

Okay, so I can't wait any longer. The transfer result is...........I'm leaving!!!! NOOO!!!! I'm so totally in shock!  Uchida Shimai and I both thought we were staying.  She's training again.  I am going to Shimogao, Kyoto.  My new comp is sister Edwards.  I'm so sad to leave.  I don't want to leave these members at all!!!  I love it here!  The hills, the people, my comp, everything!  I literally just sat in shock for like 2 minutes, the elders and Uchida kept telling me it's a great place but I'm just staring at the iPad waiting for the name to change to stay.  I am happy though, and excited:)

So not okay, but doing the Lord’s work,

Love, Sister Oswald

The following video is in two parts, it didn't all fit, when the first stops, hit the second.