Dear Minnsan,
Well, new transfer. New area. New companion. Lots of new, and I hope that all this newness with help refresh my mind and strengthen me to jump back into serving the Lord with full force and a new vigor. The last couple weeks have been...unusual. My companion got sick and we had to stay in Kobe in the Mission Home outside of the area that we have been assigned to work in for about two weeks almost. It was a very strange experience, but I definitely learned a lot from it. We couldn't work like "normal" missionaries, meaning that we couldn't really go out and talk to people on the street, teach lessons, or knock on doors because my companion was so sick and in and out of doctor appointments. It was a bit frustrating, to tell you the truth, but I learned that things don't always go the way you want them to. And that's the thing, you see. The way YOU want them to. I learned that there is our way, and then there is God's way, and lots of the time, they don't match up. What I learned is that we need to take a step back sometimes and ask ourselves, "What does God want me to learn from this experience?"
All during this experience, I kept finding myself focusing on the negative. I was just aggravated with the way things had been going. I told myself, "I didn't come to Japan to sit around. I came to work! To share the gospel message with everyone!" I knew it wasn't anybody's fault, but it was still something I was unhappy with. Then my mom sent me a letter that helped me to refocus and change my way of thinking. She said in this letter, "When you start your day, look into the mirror and say, 'I am a cheerful, happy person' to yourself 12 times and then smile as big as you can." (I got that from a talk from Brother Richie that spoke at a Fireside in our ward.) That really helped me to recognize that no matter what happens, I can still choose to be happy.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ, as we know it, and as it has been restored to the earth, makes people happy. That's a fact. I've seen it change lives, and so, thus, whenever we choose to be unhappy, it's because we are not focusing on the Savior. As a missionary once said, "Jesus is the Son of God, and I'm going to heaven." That was this missionary's view on the world. He kept his eyes on the Savior, on the big picture, and because of it, he was happy. He never stressed out, or got down on himself. He knew what mattered and what didn't. This is such a simple thing, that I think that I over think it.
Anyways, my new area, Kawachinagano, is great! I've only been here for a couple of days, but I already love it. The church members are strong, and I feel like they are family. They are just so open and accepting. Church yesterday was just great! It was Fast Sunday, being the first Sunday of the month, and that means that during church any member who feels so inclined, can go to the front of the congregation and bear his or her testimony about the things they feel to be true, such as Jesus Christ or God. There was a line of people waiting to do this! It was like a big spiritual punch in the face; I cried like three times because I just felt the Spirit so strongly. I am so excited to work with these church members and to help build them up like the Savior would!
There is a Brazilian woman who came to church who was baptized about a year ago. She is fluent in Japanese, and just the cutest thing you will ever see! She was just all smiles and was bouncing all over the place. She told us how she had been so busy over the last month due to family issues, that she had been unable to come to church. But, she had been determined to come to church that day, and as soon as she entered the church, she just felt the love of all the members. She really was just happy to be at church!
Sometimes I think going to church sort of just becomes routine to us, but I hope that in the future I can appreciate it like this woman does. Coming to church is such a blessing, and we should be happy to go, not go out of a mere sense of duty or what not.
My new companion and I are really excited to be companions. We are doki, which means we came out to Japan at the same time and are the same transfer. She is just the cutest thing - she's always smiling and when she speaks Japanese, her voice goes up about six octaves. Love it. She just bounces around place to place, always so full of love for everyone around her. I am going to learn a lot from her, I think.
We both discussed some of the things we want to accomplish together; about how we really just want to love everyone we meet. Sometimes it's hard to show love, or to know how to help people. It's easy to melt into a routine, to do what you've always done, and get so wrapped up with what's on your plate, that you don't even notice what's on anyone else's, or how you can help. We are so excited to just love everyone we can this transfer. We want to reach out to those around us like the Savior would. Like it says in Hebrews, we want to "lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees." It's not easy, but then again, it's not a matter of whether or not something is easy, it's a matter of following the Savior or not. And I want to follow Him.
Well, that's about it. Sorry that I haven't written much for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully I will be able to change that a bit this transfer.
Sister Weigl
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