I'm so sorry this email is long over due. On Monday I could only convince my companion to let me do email to say that I bought the yukata kimono thing in case I screwed up your finances. Anyway, then on Friday with the temple, the mission office was too busy to let us email. Yep, everyone was kinda put off by that. Right now the mission has 3 Assistants to the President. It takes that when you have 133 missionaries. The 3 APs and the two office elders were all busy working on transfer stuff. I guess coordinating 133 missionaries and probably about half moving to a new area is kinda crazy. They eventually kicked us out of the mission office and we waited in the temple waiting room.
The temple is of course great. The session is in Japanese, but I have an English translator thing. Dealing with a translator hanging from your neck is kinda a pain. It's weird, because with the movie the mouth matches what I have to my ear, but if I move the headset I hear Japanese. I tried to take one earphone off, to try to understand, but the Japanese is pretty much the most polite thing I've ever heard. In Japanese, you have different words and different grammar for when you're saying anything about God, or when God is talking to us. I really couldn't follow it. I wonder how Japanese people do. It's hard to explain this whole honorific/humble thing since there really isn't that kind of thing in English - we just say what ever we want.
Occassionally we use thy instead of your if we're really thinking about it. The temple doesn't have clothes rentals - except for missionaries. See, as a missionary I kinda have a nametag that lets me do whatever I want. Yep.
That night was also the music concert. It was really good. I sang 'I Stand All Amazed' and my companion sang a duet called 'I'll Walk With You' - which is not the one in the Children's Songbook. Dad, have you sang yet for Grandpa's ward? I bet you would blow them away if you did - they wouldn't know what hit them. We had our two recent converts, an investigator, and about our whole Eikaiwa class came. It was great!
Thanks for dealing with my ISYS papers. I didn't notice there was a deadline so soon. Then I thought I could do it in the mission office where there is a printer and such, but that obviously didn't happen. I'm sorry about the confusion. I am way excited though. We'll cross this bridge when it comes but I hope my 'death day' is in enough time to come home for school and such. Oh well, I'm still in Japan for another year and a month I think.... ish.
Okay, so about the skirts. I'm sorry I really can't be more descriptive, just send me whatever you've got. There are people here with sewing machines if I need to do a hem or something. Just send me whatever you've got. And the (make sure it's crunchy) peanut butter will be really appreciated. Yeah! I don't know what else I need - I can buy it all here if we ever had time.
My companion has been sick this week, so I've been doing phone dendo (missionary work) and studying. Phone dendo is crazy hard, because you can't see their face. I don't know what to do! I really don't like it. So then I started stuyding Jesus the Christ, which you need a good 3 or 4 hours to really get into that book. Then I eat, and do it all over again. She has been resting off her... whatever she has, but it makes her really frusterated to be inside all day, when the people are all out there! I just like sitting in the air conditioning. Sometimes she feels well enough at night to go out and by then it's cooled down.
This week is transfers week. On Wednesday we'll get a call to see where we'll be going, or if we're staying. We think this area might close - as in there will be no missionaries in Fujisaki Ward right now. We only have 1 real investigator, and everyone else, including the ward members are busy. So when you send me my package, please be sure to mail it to the Chou-ku address (the mission office) so they will direct it to where ever I am. I don't want to transfer, because then I will feel like a new missionary all over again. Yep. New area, new members, new investigators, new accent. Yuck, I don't want to do it. But at the same time I'm really excited for something new.
Can you believe I've been in Japan for almost 3 months. Crazy!
Here is the funny story for the week. We had a hard time meeting with our investigators - everyone is busy. So we decided to do cookie dendo. That's where we make cookies and go deliver it to our investigators in the hope that they are actually home. And guess what, they were! We met with one family and they were so happy to see us. Then we met with this older couple from Eikaiwa. Cookie dendo is real! Haha. Anyway, the 2nd visit there wasn't too good. They had a homestay guy from... Burnea or something like that. The Dad was totally drunk, and the Mom was just letting everyone do whatever they wanted. Well, we started talking to the Dad, and he asked me how old my parents were. I said, I donno, maybe 53 or something. See, you guys just keep getting older and I've lost track. Anyway, he was so offended for the both of you, and because he's a Dad, he was especially offended for my Dad. I told them I had it written on a paper back in my apartment. He said that a paper wasn't good enough. I needed to know it in my heart. he pounded his heart for emphasis.
The best part was this was half in Japanese and half in English. Only his English is terrible. It was hilarious. By this time my companion snuck out her camera and started recording him. He went on and on, so finally I apologized for not knowing my parents age. He told me to not apologize to him but to my dad. Okay, so I said I would. But then he said I need to do more than say I was sorry, I need to wash my father's back. Huh? Yes, you read that right. He said that when he was sick and in the hospital his daughter washed his back, and his (head) hair for him, and it made him cry. So he tried to make me promise to wash my father's back. After a while of trying to explain that that is weird in America, he wouldn't give in. Even my companion was in on it. 'Yeah, Sister Lemmon, why don't you promise?' In the end I promised to try. There was a handshake and everything. That night during planning, we look back on our day to see how many of our goals we made. We both wrote it 'Covenent to wash fathers back'.
Goal=0. Actual=1. I can't believe my companion got that on camera.
She said she missed the best parts. But that's just it in Japan. Everyone drinks and just kinda walks around drunk. It's easier when you can get alcohol from the vending machines on the corner. Weird.
Okay, I think I'm finally out of things to talk about. The things that you probably read once, but I want you to remember-
- Expect a 20 dollar charge on the credit card soon
- send my package to the mission office address
- oh, and is my current address on my blog, because I think my friends have been writing to me directly. Make sure you take that off, okay?
- thanks for ISYS stuff
Love,
Sarah
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