Monday was pretty uneventful.
Tuesday I woke up to find it completely white outside! The wind blew right through all the 7 layers I had on to my bones! Kyoto is known for its kama "kaze"winds (wind is kaze in Japanese). I know, bad pun. We eventually made it over to the church for our weekly games night that just got switched to Tuesday. No one came except two brothers, Sam,
college student, mission leader person, and Hohaia who tags along on all of out missionary activities. We had KFC and played scum. It was lots of fun because Sam gets a little too into it.
Wednesday: MORE SNOW!! Flippin cold! but we had great time at eikaiwa and we talked to this girl and she's way interested in the Book of Mormon and so we swapped numbers but then afterwards getting home realized we didn't ask her name....she had this awesome cat phone case and so she now is katphonelady in our phone and area book....
Thursday we had international broadcast for all missionaries in the world. It was cool and lots of training and such. We are too far away to watch it live so we watched a little while after. During the broadcast though, a Sister Karahashi, gave us a phone call frantically saying she is seeing colors and devils and it was way strange. She's an interesting old lady. After a bunch of phone calls later she calls me and the Elders to tell us she's okay now that she read the Book of
Mormon in a really loud voice! And they went away.....ya...she keeps calling us to tell us other things similar to that every day since.
On Friday we had a mission tour with Elder Choi and his amazing wife. So much revelation received it was so awesome and now we're going to try and baptize one person a week. Yup it takes a lot of effort but we can do it! I don't at all have time to write what I learned because it took up like 8 pages in my note book! Afterwards we as a zone went to
dinner and I really do love these people I work with they have become my best friends. We all work together will finding or streeting and the team effort always gets us lessons :)
Saturday we went to the Ishida's house and we had what's called Nabe or Japanese rock stew. I'll send pictures. Then later we had ping pong night. Hohaia Kyodai had his wall of chairs to keep the ball from going to far away.
Sunday was Elder Goff''s last Sunday he "dies" on Thursday. Your mission is your life so where you start is where you were born and where you end is where you die also your first comp is your mom and second is your dad and then there are other details but too hard to explain, also your last comp is the one who kills you. Anyway I digress, one recent
convert Ishida Kyodai....kinda innocent/ignorant, and a little creepy. ..all day started to taking pictures of Goff and it was funny and then he does it while he is speaking in sacrament, the poor guy almost literally got his hand slapped by another brother and kinda shout whispered dame! (Which means bad). During sacrament I sat next to Karahashi Shimai and she grabbed my hand and put it on her back to warm it up...it was way weird. She had a heat pack there and I was
like ya, it's warm and so I go to take my hand away and she pulls it back and she tells me my hands are still cold. And so I sat there with my hand on her lower back for 7 minutes....way awkward also trying so hard not to burst out laughing.
Sister Mizoguchi, which another brother keeps saying I look like and Goff keeps teasing about looking like her which I don't see it actually but you know ii n ja nai。(I don't know how to translate this.....) anyway I went to go hug her and she gives good hugs and I told her that and she told me I was like a daughter to her. Ahhh, another hug ensued! Good hug.
Life is hard but it's good! It's full of ups and downs and cliche metaphors but you know it's okay because I love this life! I love what I do! I love who I am! I had an interesting experience on the train few days ago where we were trying to get home and I met eyes with this foreigner (always happens because we look way out of place) and he smiles and my missionary self kicks in and I start talking to him. We converse and it turns out he is from Israel. His smile was warm and
happy and his eyes kind. I felt so happy to be talking to him and then he had to get off at a stop but we shook hands and it was warm and welcoming....after he left I was taken aback and I could figure out why until later I realized who he was. This man is my brother. I knew him. I still feel like I knew him. I love him! I saw him a and looked at him as if he were apart of my own family. And I was genuinely sad that he left the train. I had experienced this great amount of love
and compassion for him and It is because we knew each other before this life.
At the Choi conference Sister Choi (if you are wondering it's pronounced Che and they are Korean) got up to bear her testimony she said, "You were the front line in the pre-earth life, we (gesturing to her husband and Welchs) followed behind you. You led us! You fought in the war in heaven and you were our leaders, the front line. Heavenly
Father prepared you for this day. He kept you in a special room and trained you. He knew that you were one of the strongest! The 1/3 that fell know your faces because you were in the front line. What do you think you fought with? A riffle, a sword, dynamite? Your testimony. You are so strong! The people you pass by, they know you they just don't
remember you." I knew him. My heart is filled to the brim with so much love and joy for him! I only wish I could have talked to him longer.
Who we were and who we are now and who are going to become is all so important. I love this gospel. I know Christ lives. I love you all!
Love,
Oswald Shimai
P.S. I am in desperate need of healthier recipes.
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