The Beef Jerky Lesson

Dear One and All,

Well, would you believe it, spring is finally here! I know! I find it hard to believe myself. I officially stopped wearing tights the other day, which was mind blowing because like, I've been wearing about three layers of tights every day since around November, so having my legs all exposed to the world feels like a new experience. Not to mention since my legs have not received sun for so long, they are blindingly white and pale. So yes. But because it's starting to be spring, that means the Cherry Blossoms are starting to peep out their noses. I am really excited to see these, because all the Japanese people keep saying, "もうすぐ春です！" and then going on about how pretty the cherry blossoms are in the spring. So, hopefully I will get to see some soon. There are apparently some down by a small river next to our apartment that are just starting to bloom, so that is something to look forward to! I'll send pictures.

The area here in Kitarokko is really 否か which means country. It is pretty much in the middle of no-where. Oh, and it's up in the mountains too, so yes, more hills to bike up! Yah for hills! This might sound sort of strange, but I really like the smell of the air up here. It's all clean and fresh...and yes, it's hard to describe but it makes me feel really good and happy inside. There isn't much streeting to do because nobody is really out and about. So we spend most of our days out housing.

On Saturday, I was looking in the cupboard for some food, when suddenly I got one of those really weird cravings. You know the kind I mean. Like, you just have this random urge to eat some strange food, and for me on Saturday night it was beef Jerky. Don't ask me why. I just looked at the food cupboard in our apartment, and I just thought to myself, "Wow, I wish we had some beef jerky right now" but of course, there was no beef jerky to be found. In fact, beef jerky isn't something you can find in Japan. So I let that go and moved on with missionary life.

But the story doesn't stop there. The next day at church, something really crazy happened. The members leave little baskets out for people to put food in for the missionaries to take home (we usually get things like bread or pasta). But can you guess what was in that basket? Yes, it was a bag of American Beef Jerky. My mind was completely blown away! Where did the members even find that? It is pretty impossible to locate in Japan. How had they known I was just wishing I had some to eat the day before?

 

Beef Jerky in Japan!  

This experience might seem small and a bit silly, but it reinforced something to me. It re-taught me a powerful lesson. God knows us. He knows what we think, what we feel, and what we desire. He wants to help us. He wants us to be happy. He knew that I wanted some beef jerky, and arranged things so that I could have it. It was a very small thing, but I was able to remember that God is always watching out for us.

I know He loves me. I know that He knows me. I know that I am His daughter.

He loves me enough to send me Beef Jerky in Japan.

And He loves each one of us enough to send us His son, Jesus Christ.

Sister Weigl

Five Questions:

1.  How long has your companion been out and where is she from? 

She's been out for 5 transfers (six months) and is from Ohio. She went to BYU Provo for a year before her mission, so we were there around the same time. 

2.  How does your new area differ from you old area? 

Hmmmm...it's more country. It's REALLY country, actually. It's like...all rice fields. 

3.  What is your apartment like? Is it as nice as the new one you just left?

It's nice! This area was just opened for sisters about five transfers ago, so it's still pretty new and clean. 

4.  How did you get to your new area? Did you meet up half way, travel by yourself? How far from your old area? 

We met up with a whole bunch of other missionaries at this big train station called Sannomia. That's where I met up with my new companion, then we traveled back to Kitarokko, which was about an hour. 

5.  What’s the new ward like? 

About the same size as my ward in Hanayashiki. They are GREAT. 

My new companion, B-shimai is great! She makes me smile and laugh! She's also really good at Japanese! It was kind of hard to say good-bye to the ward members in Hanayashiki, but it just felt like it was the right time to leave, if that makes any sense at all.