The Beginning

I've fought the good fight.

I've finished the course.
I've kept the faith.

Sister Weigl

Sister Katherine Weigl returns home, 6 December 2014 

at Reagan National Airport 

around 5:00pm

Your Field of Roses

Minnasan,

Wow, I feel like it's been forever since I wrote one of these emails. Sorry about that. This last transfer has been like wildfire. Always busy, busy, busy. 

I once heard a returning missionary describe serving a mission in this way: It's like walking though a field of roses. 

At first, I didn't really understand what she meant. But now I do a bit more, I think. 

So, you see this beautiful field of roses, and you want to take a walk through it. And at first, the experience is so wonderful. The flowers smell great and the color of the roses are just so breath-taking. But then, the rose thorns start to tear at your clothes and your legs and you start to bleed. It hurts, and it's painful. But oh, how it is worth it. The beauty of the roses is worth the pain. 

Church leader Boyd K. Packer has said this: "It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety...some disappointment, even some failure is normal. ...if [we] have a good, miserable day once in a while, or several in a row, [we need to] stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out. There is great purpose in our struggle in life. The principle of self-reliance or personal independence is fundamental to the happy life."

Walking through our own field of roses will not be easy. It will be difficult. The thorns will scratch. We will hurt, and we will probably shed some tears, but oh, how it is worth it. In the scriptures it reads, "For after much tribulation comes the blessings. Wherefore, the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory, the hour is not yet but is nigh at hand" (Doctrine and Covenants 58:4). 

I know that every blessing that comes to us in this life, and every blessing that we will carry into the eternities, is a result of the birth, life, and divine mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the source of our every happiness, our every peace, and our every comfort. And if it seems like there is no relief right now, just hold on. He is there alongside us in that beautiful, yet painful, rose field. He is there to help us and guide us. He will give us the strength we need, if we but ask.

I've seen this in my own missionary experience. When I've been lost, alone, frustrated, and those thorns are just too much to bear...well, those are the times that Jesus Christ has been the closest. He is there to say, "It's okay. Keep going. I'm here. Don't be afraid." All we have to do is believe in His words.

As long as we keep moving forward, everything will be alright. That's a big lesson I've learned here in the land of the rising sun. Just believe in Jesus Christ and keep going. That's my message for each one of you today. Just believe in Jesus Christ, and KEEP GOING. It's easy to want to give up. It's natural. That's what Satan tells each one of us. I've had my share of discouragement, just like anybody else. I've had my share of doors slammed in my face, and I can't describe to you what it feels like when someone chooses to no follow the Savior's example. When people tell you they are not interested in eternal life...eternal happiness with their families. But none of that matters. Not as long as we just keep believing in Jesus Christ and keep going. We can't control the actions of others, but we can control our own attitudes and our own choices.

 So, get up. Turn on the light. Let go of your fear and move forward. It's time to stop looming in the darkness of Satan's grasp. Jesus is with you.

As you walk through your own field of roses, keep your eyes on the savior and focus on the beautiful roses all around. Don't pay any mind to the thorns. I promise everything will work out, because of the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Sister Weigl

Let's Not Forget, Okay?

Dear Minnasan,

Well, I made it safely to Marugame. Yes, I TRANSFERRED. That's why I didn't have time to write an email last week...packing was achi-kochiu (all over the place). Anyways, Marugame is this little island off the coast of Kobe, so it was quite the trip, but it was worth it. I woke up on transfer day at 5:00 am and didn't get to my new area until around 5:00 pm at night, so that was the longest transfer I ever had. To get to the island (called Shikoku) we took a train over this huge suspension bridge (it's the largest of its kind in the world, so so I've been told) and the ocean was JUST GORGEOUS.

I can't say that too much has gone on since I've gotten out here though...I caught a bit of a cold and that put everything that happened from Friday onward in a bit of a haze. But I'm doing much better now and am all saddled up to really get to work. I've only got a little time left, and I am not afraid to give every last piece of myself. I am going to go until they tell me I have to get on that plane, and even then, I won't stop. Because when we go home, we never stop being missionaries. Not really. We just get transferred to America to continue the work.

I am a bit sad to have left Kawachinagano...I found my nitch there and really felt like I had finally figured this dendo (missionary) thing out...now that I think about it, maybe that is why I was transferred. Becoming too comfortable can be a bad thing, I think. When we become comfortable, we become lazy. We become prideful. And, we all know what pride did to the Nephites. It lead to their destruction. When we become lazy and prideful, we forget who is REALLY in charge. We start to think that we can do things on our own. When that happens, that's when the problems start. 

Anyways, my new companion is a Japanese sister and I'm super excited about this. I get to speak Japanese all day everyday all day long. Hopefully this will help me to bump up my language skill a notch. It's amazing to me to see how much progress I've made in the language, and I know that it's all due to the Lord's help. I”m still not fluent, but that's okay. I have truly been blessed by God.

This week we visited this less active family a member. There are three high school aged youth and their grandmother all living in a rather old and very dirty home. Their father died some time ago, and they seem to have to take care of themselves without much adult supervision or help (their grandmother is virtually bedridden). We went and made dinner for them, and then shared a message about how God is there for them and loves them.

I can't describe it in words, but there is this look that I see in people's eyes sometimes. They just look at me, and I can see this sort of emptiness. They are searching for something. And oh, how desperately I want to give it to them. Their souls are thirsting for the fountain of everlasting life, the bread of life. I saw that look in the eyes of the daughter of that less active family. Sometimes I want to just wrap my arms around these people and squeeze them tight, so tight that somehow they will feel God's love, a love that is so big, that they can't even comprehend it. I wish these people could just see sometimes. Really see. But all I can do is testify and invite. They have to do the rest.

Sometimes I forget how amazing this Gospel is. Let's not forget, okay?

Sister Weigl

Have Our Strength Faithened

Dear Minnasan, 

Well, another week. It's gone by so fast, but by this point, that's nothing new. It's not a new concept that time slips away the fastest at those points in our life when we want it to go the slowest. 

Yesterday I had a very special experience, it was one of those moments when all the things that don't matter, all those trivial worries and burdensome cares, just lifted. It was like I caught a glimpse through the veil...the fog that clouds our vision with the falsehoods of who we are, and who we aren't. And in that moment, it was perfectly clear. That moment was this weekend as I sang a missionary song entitled, "Called to Serve." 

The words go, "Called to know the richness of his blessing– Sons and daughters, children of a King– Glad of heart, his holy name confessing, praises unto him we bring. Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name; Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name; Forward, pressing forward, as a triumph song we sing. God our strength will be; press forward ever, Called to serve our King." 

As I sang those words, my identity became clear. “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life" (3 Nephi 5:13). 

Knowing who we are, and why we are here, makes all the difference. So, to whomever might be reading this: KNOW THAT YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. If you have ever doubted this, STOP. DON'T EVER DOUBT THAT SIMPLE FACT AGAIN. You are His. You are Loved. You are. You are. You are!

Another special thing that happened this week was that we got to see General Conference, which is a world-wide meeting of the church where the leaders of the church instruct us and we can receive spiritual guidance from God. You should check it out, if you haven't already. It is amazing! As the Savior once said to His apostles, "Come and See." I am inviting you to "Come and See" how these words of God can change and refine you (Jon 1:39). They will change you more than you can ever imagine, if you but choose to let them.

CLICKETY CLICK HERE.  (cut and paste link)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/?cid=HP14GC&lang=eng

Anyways, at conference, a man offered a prayer, as is so often the case with Church things and Spiritual meetings. Nothing too surprising there, right? Well, this man messed up his words in his prayer. He was trying to say, "Help us to have our Faith Strengthened" but instead, he said, "Help us to have our Strength Faithened." At first, I thought that was pretty funny, but then I though about it, and there was actually quite a bit of wisdom in that. We all have strength. We all have things we are good at. We all have things that we try to do ourselves. We rely on ourselves, because we know we are strong and we think we can do things ourselves. And to some extent, that is true. We each have strength given to us. We have talents and skills and two arms and two legs and we are strong as to the ways of men.

Think now, how much more strong we could each become if we let our faith guide our strength. If we let God be the captain of our ships. If we could learn to RELY on HIM instead of ourselves. If we could let our “Strength be Faithened.” 

That's my hope for myself this week. I hope that I can have my strength faithened. And I hope you can too. 

Sister Weigl

Mary

Dear Minnasan,

Well, konnichiwa to you all. Sorry that I haven't emailed a blog post as regularly as I used to....this stems from being busy...and email time just sort of passes by and I keep saying, "I'll send out that email just after I do this"...and then it's time to go and I still hadn't sent it. Oops.

Well, anyways, it's finally gotten cool here in Kawachinagano. We put away our apartment's fan and pulled out the heater today. I find that I love fall...which I never really liked it in the past because it signaled the coming of Winter, which I always disliked because being cold is not a favorite past-time of mine...but as a missionary, I find that it's the exact opposite. Summer is way more brutal than Winter, and I would much rather be fighting off frost bite than heat stroke.

Since it's now fall, all the farmers in the area have been burning their rice and harvesting it all up, which is a bit sad because the green fields of rice were so beautiful. I don't know if I could properly describe the way the wind would blow on the rice or the sound it would make, or the smell of the crops. In Japanese there is actually a word for "the wind blowing over the field and making it look like an ocean wave." The Japanese language is amazing, isn't it? It took me a whole sentence to describe that, and in Japanese, there is a single word for it! Haha. Crazy.

The Danjiri is this week, which is this Harvest Festival where the men lift this giant wooden float and carry it around the town banging drums really loudly and shouting. They've been out practicing lately for it, and I love listening to the drumming because it sounds like some kind of tribal dance and makes me feel all epic and intense as I bike around proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I make a movie about my mission, there is definitely going to be a scene including that, haha. Just kidding.

Anyways, this week we had a Zone Training Meeting, which is basically a meeting where all the missionaries in the nearby areas gather together to receive training. It was a really sacred experience. We all discussed and learned more about our Savior Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement. At this meeting, something really hit me that I would like to share.

As we talked about the Atonement, the topic of the Resurrection came up, and this picture came to my mind.

I love this picture, and I have come to love the story associated with it. Let's read the story together, shall we? The scriptures can describe it so much better than I can.

"But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre" And why did she weep? She explains her distraught feelings this way, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him." Mary didn't know where her Savior had gone. She saw before her the empty tomb, and that was all she could focus on. All she could think about or see was what lay in front of her. The uncertainty. The death. The darkness. The despair. The tomb.

But with one word, everything changed. One word. Do you know what word that was? What brought Mary peace, what helped her to take her eyes away from the tomb and to break herself away from the despair?

"Jesus saith unto her, Mary. "

It was her name. Jesus Christ called out her name. At that sound, she " turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God" (John 20:11-17).

Mary was so focused on the unknown, on the tomb, that she almost completely missed the Savior standing right behind her! But with one word, the gentle call of her name, she was able to break away from her despair and find hope. My friends, let's not get so focused on the tombs in our own lives that we miss the Savior standing right behind us.

I testify that the Savior lives. That He is right there. That He knows us by name, and is calling out to us right now. He is calling your name, gently asking you to stop focusing on the negative, but to instead focus on Him. Let us do so, is my plea...

Sister Weigl

Taking The Perfect Out of the Perfectionist

Dear Minnasan,

Another week...it's been a one of soul searching. I've passed my year mark in Japan, and I can count on one hand how many transfers I have left....It's frightening, to be honest. I can't say I've done everything I thought I would do, or become the missionary I envisioned I would, or reached the level of Japanese efficiency that I wished I would...and I'm not going to lie, that extremely frustrates me. During Weekly Planning this week, my companion asked me if I have been feeling a bit off this week, and as I explained my feelings, she smiled a little and said, "Weigl-Shimai, you're like me. You are a perfectionist. But we aren't perfect, and that's okay." 

I had never thought of myself as a perfectionist, but after she pointed it out, I realized that she is right. I think that's something I am going to benkyo (study) out this week. I've learned a lot about this particular lesson in the past, and somehow I find myself back here again struggling with the same sort of thing. Haha, I guess I have more to learn about the Atonement. 

Anyways, missionary work has been taking a toll on me and my companion lately -- our energy is zapped, but our hearts are still strong. We are busier than ever. We taught nine lessons this last week (which might be the most I've ever taught! One week we taught FOUR lessons!) It's crazy, and I love it. 

Every time I start getting tired and exhausted, to the point that I don't think I can go on, God gives me a little "tender mercy" to liven my spirits and refocus my heart. For example, in my last area, there as a young woman my age who we did a lot of joint lessons with. She is a great person, and she and I became good friends. When I left, I gave her my MTC copy of Preach My Gospel (the book that helps train missionaries). Yesterday, I just got news that she is turned in her missionary papers and is going to serve a mission!

Another tender mercy is our less active investigator. He is so excited to go to the Temple. We had a little FHE shokuji (meal) at the church this week, and he came. We had an activity where we asked everyone to draw a picture of something that made them happy, and he drew the Temple. This week at church, we were in Gospel Principles (Sunday School class), and he was talking to the Elders about how much he wants to go to the Temple.

This last week, when we visited this man's house, he was so excited that he could barely speak. He just sort of waved his arms around excitedly and kept stuttering over his words. We had given him a little notebook to write down his thoughts in when he studied the Book of Mormon, and boy, he went CRAZY with that. He was so excited; I have never seen him so worked up. It's truly an amazing experience to see someone change and come unto Christ like that.

Last Monday, we went over to a less active's house, and she did my companion and mine's make-up and hair...she's a professional, so it looked pretty good...but it was done in the traditional Japanese Geisha Style...so we looked ridiculous. My hair was a good six or seven inches up off my head. They also dressed us up in Kimonos, and boy, those things are like the Japanese version of European Bodices...THEY ARE SO TIGHT. It was hard to breath....haha. All in the name of beauty, I guess.

Well, ganbarimasu!

Sister Weigl

BI-CYCLE

Dear Minnasan,

My companion and I have been running around like crazy trying to do all that we want to do. We simply just don't have enough time to do everything, but I think that this is good. I think back to my earlier transfers (second and fourth particularly) when we had nothing to do but knock on doors all day long, praying that SOMEONE...ANYONE would listen to our message. It was hard. It was so, so hard. But very necessary for me. Through those experiences, I learned that success is not the same as faith. A phrase that I heard once that has stuck with me ever since is "have faith in the Son of God, not in outcomes." It is so true.

This week, we experienced many miracles. It's amazing how fast the work of the Lord is moving forward. This week, we taught a man who was baptized around twenty or thirty years ago. He recently just made the goal to start coming back to the church and to work towards changing his life around. We also met a man last Monday on the street, and invited him to meet with us. He did. Then he came to a Takoyaki (a type of Japanese food) party at the church the next day. And then on Sunday, he came to church, just because he wanted to. We didn't invite him or anything.  On the way home from a meeting with the other missionaries in our area, we talked to a man on the train who just happened to have met with the missionaries years before. How interesting that he would just HAPPEN to be on the same train at the same time as us....haha, not a coincidence. The Lord has a plan, that much I know. I don't know much, but I know that this is HIS work and not mine.

We also met a man at the bike store today who has interest in coming to Eikaiwa and meeting again. Why were we at the bike shop today, you might ask? Well, like I said, God has a plan. And that plan today included me popping my rear tire. We visited a lady who lived about forty-five minutes away from our apartment by bike, and on the way home, my tired just went completely flat. There was no close bike shop, so we had to keep biking until we found one. Man, that was hard. I was pedaling with all my might, and really not going anywhere very fast. I remember thinking to myself, "I'm pedaling just as fast as every other day, but I'm not going anywhere!" I was twice as tired as normal and biking twice as hard, and still making little progress. That, my friends, is why bikes have two wheels instead of one.

I kind of see this connecting to life. When we try to go through life by ourselves, we find ourselves going nowhere fast. We pedal and we push, but make little progress. It's like trying to ride a bike when one of its tires is flat. It is much harder than it needs to be. A bicycle is made to be driving using two wheels, thus the name, "BI (meaning two) CYCLE." There is an easier way. That's what it is like if we try to ride through life without using the help of the Lord our God. It's not meant to be that way. That was never the plan. If we do so, we are just making things harder on ourselves. We are missing a vital piece.

Anyways, I love you all!

Jya, matta, ne!

Sister Weigl