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| Us with Ha*** Chan (Center) and her friend (in the pink coat) |
February 25, 2013
Wonderful things are
a happen in Takamatsu! Wow. What a privilege to be a missionary
here!
So the rundown for
the week.
Monday and Tuesday
were pretty normal with not a whole lot to report.
But Wednesday we had
an appointment with Ic**** San. She is someone we met on the train coming
back from Okayama in December. She said she would be interested in listening to
our message but she was really busy. We tried setting up several appointments but
she never could met. We thought she wasn`t interested but we tried one more
time. Long story short we had an appointment at the church. We wait for her at
the church, but she didn`t show up. We call her and she said she didn`t have
the map to the church so we couldn`t met. But she said she does want to meet so
she asked if we could meet at the Eiki and give her the map. We end up meeting
her that day and giving her a map and then we asked her if she could meet right
then.
She said she would
like to talk. So we sat down and talked with her. Some how it turned into a
watered down version of the plan of salvation. We didn`t really plan on that.
But the whole time you could see the Spirit working with in her. She had this
pondering face on and she would occasionally say, `Oh. That makes
sense` and then go back to thinking. Well even though it wasn`t the best
environment to have a first lesson, the Spirit was still there and you could
tell it was reminding her of what she used to know. She is interested and wants
to learn more! Yay! She said next time she`ll be able to come to the church
which is great. She has kind of had a hard life, and she looks
pretty burdened down. But you could tell that after we talked she had
that little extra light that comes from hearing the message of this wonderful
gospel. Cliche I know.
But it`s true. It
wouldn`t be cliché if it wasn`t true.
Wednesday we also got
to teach Ta**** Shimai. She is so funny. We asked her if she believed in
Christ she again said that only in her heart. Right as we were about to offer
her a picture of Him, she said, `I can`t take that. Everyone who comes in will
see it and make fun of me.` She is so funny. She believes she is just too
worried about what everyone thinks to do anything about it.
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| Us in the hallway of the Hospital |
Saturday we got a
text from R****. She went into the hospital that morning and she asked us to
come and visit her.
**side note about
Japanese hospitals...They are kind of gross and a little sketchy.... That`s
all****
Well we were planning
on visiting her at her house that day anyways so it was perfect. She has
something wrong with her stomach and is having surgery today. She looked pretty
sick and she was embarrassed about how she looked but she said she wanted us to
see her so we would believe her when she said she couldn`t come to church on
Sunday. She is so funny. She said she doesn`t want us or any of the members
visiting her for a while which is a bummer. But we are praying that she will be
able to make a quick recovery. We love her so much!!!
Saturday we had an
awesome miracle! So we went up to invite the Oz**** Kan to church. (The family
with the deaf parents). We have been trying to meet with them and teach them
but it hasn`t been working out. We ended up talking with the mom and the 10
year old daughter, Ha**** Chan, and invited them to church. The mom said she
couldn`t go but if Ha**** Chan wanted to go with their next door neighbor, who
is a member, that would be fine. I felt like I needed to ask her if she wanted
to keep meeting with us. She unfortunately told us that she had heard enough
and that she really wasn`t interested.
That is something me
and Anderson Shimai we were worried about and talked a lot about. We couldn`t
forget the first time we met them and how powerful that first experience was.
Probably one of the most Spiritual experiences on my mission. The Spirit that
we all felt when we first met them was undeniable. We kept remembering this
experience and wondering why we had this if they were just not going to
listen.
We ended up thinking
that maybe it was Ha**** Chan that we were supposed to meet. Every time we
taught them she was more interested than her mom. She is praying every day and
loved when she went to church.
Remembering us
thinking about this I asked the mom if we could teach Ha**** Chan. Ha**** Chan
turned to her mom and begged her to say yes. The mom said she thought that was
fine. As long as we did it with the member who is next door. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That really is such a big miracle! Even though the mom has no interest, she is
allowing her 10 year old daughter to listen. We seriously are SOO excited! We
know that that was definitely the Lord`s hand. It wasn`t us. Multiple times
Anderson Shimai and I have tried to ask for something like that and it never
worked out. But through the Lord`s timing, it was possible and now we have the
cutest 10 year old investigator!
WE are just
thrilled!
Ha**** Chan ended up
coming to church on Sunday and just soaked it all up. She was singing the hymns
with everyone and went to primary with her little neighborhood friends. She
loved all of it.
We should be able to
start teaching her this week and we can`t wait!
On Sunday night we
also had another miracle! So back in December we met a PI family. All from
Peru. They are so humble and so prepared! We have been trying to meet with
them, but the Dad works out of town all week and is only here on Sundays. The
Mom and their 16 year old boy and 7 year old daughter are also really
busy with work and school. Last night we finally got to meet them and talk with
them. Wow! What a stellar family. The parents just have so much faith and love.
They both hate Japan but they know this is the place their kids will be able to
succeed the most. So they have been living her for 20 years, working.
The parents have so
much faith and where telling us how much they love Jesus Christ. The dad said
he used to think the only thing that mattered was money. But now he realizes it
is his relationships with his family and being able to help them. He said he
prays every day thanking God for all the blessings that he has. Wow. He is
amazing!
We ended up teaching
the parents and they said they are interested and want to hear more! We
are going back on Sunday and we are so excited that we get to be teaching a
family again!
Oh I forgot to say.
Before we left we prayed. Ri**** (the dad) asked if we would do it in English
and Japanese. Walker Shimai prayed in English, I prayed in Japanese, and then
Ricardo prayed in Spanish. The Spirit was so strong. You could feel
it fill up their little apartment. I love that feeling!
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| I'm getting my hair cut today, but look how long it's grown! |
Missionary work is
awesome!!!!
That was this last
week.
This week we have a
huge mission conference. Tad R Callister is coming and so all the missionaries
in the whole mission will be getting together. I am so excited! I love this
conferences. You feel empowered and ready to work. It`s a good recharge, drawing
on all the strength from the other missionaries.
Well that`s about all
for today folks. :)
I love you
all!!
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| An Indian Curry Dish We Had |
-Dobson Shimai
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