I am going to start off by saying
that Japan is AWESOME. I spent my first two nights there in the mission home
under the Fukuoka temple. It is beautiful there. I also got to go out with
another green bean and a missionary who has been there before to go streeting
for about 30 minutes. Guess who it was? ROBERTS SHIMAI. My first companion at
the MTC! It was super fun getting to see her. Afterwards we went to a Japanese
restaurant and ate really delicious food. They were accommodating to my diet
and gave me some yummy grilled seasoned chicken rather than the funky Japanese
fried chicken. Then that night we went to Eikiwa(English Class) and watched
how things were done and participated a
little bit by being there for people to practice with.
The first area that I have been
called to labor in is.......UBE. It is in the Yamaguchi zone. A little
information about the area. It is more country then city and we have 400 church
members here, 60 who are active. The humidity and heat is killer, but I am
slowly getting used to it. I am also starting to get a farmer`s tan and a
watch tan. I remember telling everyone that I wanted to be called to a
really cold mission. Well, here I am in Japan, constantly dripping with sweat.
This is also the time of the cicadas. They are constantly buzzing and it is
VERY LOUD. There are also mosquitoes everywhere and to make room for my
suitcase and to decrease weight insect repellent is one thing that got tossed.
Well, I have already gotten multiple bites on my lower leg and ankle.
Another cool thing is, guess who was
in my area and in this branch and apartment that I am in right now. BURGON
SHIMAI. She is now in Fukuoka but how cool is that? She was a shimai in my
district my first round at the MTC. I love her to death and she is the funniest
girl ever!! As of now we are kind of living in two apartments. We are in the
process of moving into a new one that is fairly nice, but it does not have air
conditioning yet. It is finally going to be installed tomorrow so we are very
excited. A lot of people here actually do not have air conditioning. I
literally have never been more grateful for air conditioning in my whole life.
You think you are going to die with the air conditioning stuck on 80 degrees or
82 degrees? Try coming to Japan and sitting in a home on the floor teaching a
lesson with no air conditioning and the weather in the 90s and ultra high
humidity.
I tried my first real raw sushi for
lunch one day. It was an interesting experience. The place we went to had this
little conveyor belt that went around the tiny restaurant carrying plate pf
sushi. You pay by the plate. I tried the salmon, shrimp, and tuna one. The
salmon and shrimp were good. I am not a fan of tuna when it is raw.
My first Sunday here in Japan was
quite an experience. I of course was asked to go to the pulpit and introduce
myself, bear testimony, and ask the members to help us in anyway that they
could. The members were all so sweet and kind. Right after church we had a
baptism. It was for this sweet old lady who is so cute. It was wonderful to be
able to watch her enter the waters of baptism.
Japan is awesome. It is a bit
overwhelming to enter a store and just the city in general and having Japanese
symbols be everywhere but I am adjusting well. Biking down pretty areas makes
being in Japan surreal. Biking is also generally very hard in Japan because of
all the narrow walkways and sharp turns. I have almost fallen off a couple
times but other than that I am okay. Buying my bike was tough. I picked out 3
really good ones and almost fell off and killed myself. Not really, but it felt
like it. I had to find a midget one because I am so short. This is the one I
ended up getting and it was cheaper too but still good quality. I get a basket
for my bike in couple days, so until then my lovely companions carry my bag in
their basket.
A little bit about my companions. I
am in a tripanionship. There is Sister Buhler who is the trainer. She has almost
been out on her mission for 1 year now. She knows Japanese really well and she
knows her way around Ube really well so I am in good hands. She is so loving
and kind and upbeat. Then there is Sister Sharp. She actually entered the MTC
the same day I did originally. She is a fun and spunky girl。She knows quite a bit of Japanese as well after having been
out for 6 weeks. Both of these sisters have such strong and burning testimonies and such a love for the people.
I am a very lucky girl to have these two sisters as my companions.
