こんにちは! お元気ですか? 引越したいですか？

This week.... we didn't do much. It started to get REALLY hot here. 
It reached 30 and 31 degrees. I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit, but it feels hot! And the humidity is SO strong. The sweat is just dripping off. Or is it rain? Because it's also the rainy season in Japan. America doesn't have a rainy season, but just imagine rain, everyday, for like a month. My rain suit needs to be re-water proofed. Luckily I found some stuff in the apartment.

Oh, and I did get the package last week. Thank you! The PayDays are all gone, and the granola bars are also gone. This month we didn't really keep track of money that well. We get more money on the 1st, but until then we have to scrimp and save. For food today we are going to just buy veggies. We have food in the apartment, but we don't know if it will make a meal. But I think we can do it if we have veggies. I have enough money this month, but my poor bean-chan has no money. For the 1st transfer in the field the mission office took about a hundred dollars out for her helmet, futon sheets, etc.

Yeah, and this month we got a hair cut, and went to the temple. Money is super yabai.

Okay, Japanese lesson 42. Bean-chan. New missionaries are lovingly called green beans. They're a little green around the edges... yep.

-chan is a suffix to show affection, usually used for friends and children. For example, Liu Shimai's 1.5 year old boy is called See You - kun. The kun is like chan but for boys. Anyway, that's why my new missionary is called a green bean, or bean-chan. Next, yabai.

See the end of the previous paragraph. This is not a word you would say in front of the bishop, but it's not a bad word. It means that something is on the verge of being scary/dangerous/something bad. As you can see, there is no word for it in English. For example, I got a mosquito bite on my left hand. Japanese mosquitoes are super mosquitoes. Or maybe I'm just way more delicious than all the Japanese people around me. I am like insect repellent for my companion. Well, today I forgot my anti-itch stuff. Yabai!

My companion made me pizza this week. That was nice, except it was JAPANESE pizza. That means it had corn on it, used ketchup instead of pizza sauce, and had tuna on it. GROSS. Okay, actually it was okay, but it was not my idea of pizza. I thought I took a picture of it, but I don't know where the picture went. Can I have a 5 dollar pizza when I come home? A nice pepperoni, or one with real veggies (not corn) on it?

Her other recipes are tasty. Look up yaki-soba. Or somen. Then we have something we call Saijo Special, because it is made with spices someone left in the apartment. We fry some veggies, then add soy sauce, and mirin (which is sweetened vinegar), and chicken bone soup powder. If we feel daring, we add some Chinese Fire Sauce, which is SUPER spicy. Jay, you might like it. We then eat Saijo Special with rice. Yummy!

Well, now that everyone got baptized, we don't have any investigators.  We meet people on the street, and pass out information or a Book of Mormon, but they don't quite become investigators. I guess it's only a matter of time.

Well, I'll try to go do something fun this week. We arranged for a service project on Thursday to go rip the mold paper off the wall.  It's impossible to clean it. Japanese people's walls are all papered.  They don't paint. My companion was confused and asked, 'why do you paint the wall?' Anyway, we're going to strip the two front rooms.

We saw a real change in the mom this past week when we came back a week after the service. She wants to teach her children to pray.  Then she wants them to get baptized when they are 8. We told her that first they need to come to church. One step at a time.

This service project this week is for the missionaries and the Young Single Adults in the area. We don't want the old ladies with their own families to see the house. The mom will be too embarrassed, but it's low stress when young people come over.

Well, until next week.

Okay, just one picture this week. My battery died so I didn't take many pictures. This is Liu Shimai, and her year and a half year old son, Seeyou. Yes, it looks like see you, but it's "seih yuu". Ha ha.
Anyway, he is the hardest child to get into nursery. We had to ask one of the members to watch him in the nursery room so Liu Shimai could get the gift of the Holy Ghost. You could still faintly hear the screams through the prayer. Then on the train ride back home, he cried every time the doors opened. There are about 7 stops between the church and Liu Shimai's train station. He may be a year and a half, but he knows that when the train stops he can get off. He really doesn't like the train. Recently they shaved his head. His head is HUGE! Everyone wanted to rub his head, but I don't think he liked that. It was just great to see Liu Shimai, who would go through all the pain just to come to church. Yeah, she's doing great.

私は日本人ですよ。

So this past week was go go go go go go. Thursday was zone conference, again. Well, because Elder Aoyagi Choro came last week, the Mission President didn't have time to do interviews, so he had to come all over again. Then we did companion exchanges, and I got to be companions with Nakano Shimai for the 4th or 5th time. We are always working next to each other. We just keep following each other around.

We continued to clean up the mold on Friday. Crazy mold. We couldn't get it all. But at least we emptied the room and sprayed it with bleach. This less active's commitment (as a missionary we always have to leave a commitment behind) was to wipe down the walls after 5 hours. Then spray it all again with bleach. Like I said I'm just worried for the two little girl's health.

Saturday we went to the temple with the ward. Our recent convert, Nishiyama Shimai, went and got baptized for ancestors that died without the opportunity. As with everything with her, you just kinda have to hold her hand and push her every step of the way. I wonder who will do that when I'm gone. We'll be doing Family Home Evening with her this evening and we're working on getting her to talk to her hometeachers and make that contact. I think she'll be fine. 

Then we did an endowment session of our own, and then I got to see the sealing of the Son Family. The Son family is Chinese, but have been in Japan for over 10 years. They met the missionaries and got baptized a little over a year ago. Now they were sealed in God's temple as a family for time and all eternity. After the ceremony, you know how the groom is supposed to kiss the bride? Well, in China that is super awkward.

Like really not done. They don't even hold hands or anything. I think it was most embarrassing for the wife. Then they brought in their two little girls, 6 and 4, and were sealed as a family. Cute!

Don't worry, my desire to get married isn't any stronger, but my desire to have cute little kids is stronger. (Editor's note, not sure that is at all reassuring....)  During all of this, Nishiyama Shimai was in the waiting room holding a 4 month old baby girl so the mom could go in the temple. Nishiyama Shimai probably thought that was better than doing proxy baptisms.

We got home around 9 at night, then left again in the morning before 8 to get to church. I somehow managed to hand make a book cover for a Chinese Book of Mormon to give to Liu Shimai at her baptism. There was no stress there at all for me. Well, except that they had to dunk her 3 times to make sure all of her hair and stuff got into the water.

The priesthood holder doing the baptizing was Son Kyodai (see the eternal family in the above paragraph). This was his first time, and he forgot the Amen part at the end. Twice. Oops. Liu Shimai's testimony made the bishop cry. After the service the members came up to me at said congratulations. Now they see why sisters are in the middle of nowhere Saijo. But honestly it wasn't me. I didn't do a thing but tell them what God's commandments were. They did the following part. It was very very cool. Liu Shimai got flowers and said that she was happier than she was at her wedding ceremony.

Training a bean-chan (new missionary) is hard work! But just a few weeks ago the church came out with an in-field training program for new missionaries. This paper tells me what to study, and when, and we watch parts of a movie, where real missionaries teach real investigators. That's her favorite part.

I was kinda having a hard time until I realized, wait, she is shy.  It hit me all at once. President says not to push it or anything, that it will come naturally. Just by being around me she will naturally become more outgoing. I've never been shy in my entire life. Ever.

Have I? I have no problem standing in front of people and talking.

These were never any problem for me. Poor bean-chan. I make her happy by using her name kanji (which is super hard) and letting her wash my dishes. Her hobby is cleaning. Too bad she has a mold allergy. Ha ha.

Well, I want to send pictures. Then the people at this community center place where we are doing email want me to check her English on something. Ha ha.

Sister Lemmon

Liu Shimai's baptism.  Mom, as per your request, this is the normal face pictures.  But don't worry, I also have the funny face picture.

Son Family as an eternal family

MOLD - the BEFORE shot. Zooming in is highly recommended. Mom, be careful! Who knew that mold came in so many different varieties.  Brown, black, navy blue, etc. Don't worry, we wore a mask and plastic gloves as we cleaned.

 

MOLD - the AFTER shot.  Still not done, but see the before shot below.

Saijo Saijyo Saijyou (It's all the same)

It seems that the Lord is planning my life for me after my mission.
After my roommate proposal from Meg, I just had to secure a job for the Fall. Well, I got an email from Daryl, my old boss, who cracked into the MTC system and figured out my email address. Okay, it's not that hard. It's my name. Ha ha. Of course the MTC department has changed since I was there last. He is the manager of IT Governance, which is more like product control. I'm just glad I don't have to answer the phone and solve people's problems. That is literally the bottom of the line of fun. Daryl was a ton of fun and the best boss I've ever had. The team is me and Bryan (the guy I interviewed, hired, and trained as a replacement for my position when I left). I had to laugh at that. There is one other girl there now that is graduating. I'm really excited. So, yep, I think that's my whole life for the Fall figured out. Dad, have you signed me up for classes yet? Jay, are you going to buy me a computer like I heard you might?

John, after you get unflooded from your apartment, do you think you'll have money to buy me a iPhone. Pweeeeeese? Remember, this is Christmas. Ha ha. I'll be sure to get you a really good present for Christmas.

The highlight of this week was helping a Less Active clean her house.

My last companion kinda talked to her, and she said that she might need some help cleaning. Well, with transfers we couldn't quite do it until this last week. Every time we visited the apartment we could smell... something. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. She lives in a danchi, which is a Japanese ghetto, only nicer. Well, at least all the other ones I've seen are nicer. This one was a little sketchy. They lived on the bottom floor. The less active is a mom with two girls, 5 and 3. The dad is almost never home. And when he does come home, he's drunk.

Well, to get to the point of this story, there is a mold problem.

Ever since the family moved in 6 years ago, the front two rooms kinda smelled like mold so they don't use it. The rooms just became trash rooms. Literally. We said we would like to help her, and she said that she would like us to break down the boxes in one of the front rooms. The boxes were empty, and literally packed to the ceiling. I don't think the mom has stepped into that room for years. As we started breaking down the boxes, we dug deeper and deeper into the room. The boxes started getting softer and softer, then they started turning black from mold. It was so gross. So gross! My companion turns out to have an allergy to mold, and her head started hurting.

It hurt for the rest of the day. Once we got into the room, it was so bad. My socks turned black. There was this one cardboard box in the corner that disintegrated when I picked it up. Seriously. But we got all the trash into trash bags, all the boxes wrapped together for disposal, and the room was empty. There was a few things she wanted to save, and we put those into the closet in the room, which magically didn't have a mold problem. The room was totally empty. Except for the black mold growing on the walls. Then we had to put all the trash (at least now they were in trash bags) back into the room because it wasn't trash day.

Now here is the real kicker. She will probably never throw out the trash. First of all, she doesn't know how to clean. coughJaycough.

Second, there are about 20 bags of trash and it won't all fit in the little dumpster that apartment uses. The mess was, of course, not just in that room, though it was the worst. I snapped a picture of her gas stove for cooking when she wasn't looking. It broke a while ago, and she had a new stove in a moldy cardboard box in the trash room that we found. We hooked up the new stove for her. The new one really is brand new. Good. The rest of her house is small pathways to walk between important things like the bathroom and TV. The rest is just piled towers of things in plastic bags. I have no idea what all that is.

The ward wants us to continue to visit her, so I plan on cleaning one room every time we visit. Haha. My companion will have to live with her mold allergy as we scrap the walls. Maybe then the husband won't be against the church and then she can come to church.

Liu Shimai is doing great, and will get baptized this Sunday. She said things like 'why did I find this church earlier?'. Her faith is super strong. She has always believed in God, and when she first came to Japan she learned about Jesus Christ, and believe in him. She just couldn't find a good church. Well, how about the restored church that Jesus Christ established? Her faith is so strong. She is Chinese, but her Japanese is great, so the lessons are in Japanese. Though she prays in Chinese. I have no idea what she is saying. I think Chinese sounds like mumbles. I can't even make some of those sounds! Her name is Liu Chang, but the Chang is more like Chon with a soft ing sound. Way hard. As you know, there aren't churches in China. And church members are expected to live the laws of the land, so when she eventually goes back, who knows what will happen. The temple people in the Hong Kong Temple can help her find other members in her area, and sometimes they gather and partake of the sacrament in members homes, but it's kinda hard when the country doesn't recognize any religion. But it's only a matter of time until China is open to proselyting and then the church will explode. So many prepared people live over there.

Well, I'm out of time, and I want to send pictures. Until next week!

the trash bags from cleaning the Less Active's apartment

My companion and I with the Aoyagi Couple.  Elder Aoyagi is in the 2nd quorum of the 70.

We had a eating appointment at a member's house. 

Faye Shimai is Fillipino. 

She made the best food ever.

The stove.  The white stuff is mold I think.

(Editor's note, no, it isn't Sarah's brother, Jay's stove -- we think)

Week... 789 in Japan

Okay, so it feels like week 789 in Japan. I've been here FOREVER. I only have one more really hot summer in Japan. So hot... I just remember being wet all the time. But this time I have control over the AC unit. Ha ha.

Okay, as for the highlights this week...

Friday night/Saturday morning at 2 am I felt my first earthquake.

Talk about a freaky feeling. Have any of you ever felt an earthquake before? I sleep on my stomach (it's just comfortable, okay?!) and when I woke up I felt like I was swinging from head to toe. It probably lasted a total of 10 seconds, but for creepy! At least I don't have to worry about a giant tidal wave coming my way. We are totally surrounded by mountains on all sides. It would take the entire Pacific Ocean in one giant tidal wave directed exactly at Saijo to make it over the mountains. Anyway, my little tiny 10 second earthquake just kinda put into perspective the GIANT EARTHQUAKE THAT IS EFFECTING THE WORLD. Sorry for the all caps. I can't figure out bold on this computer, but I wanted the effect. But of course a giant earthquake in Japan is going to mess up the weather all over the world. I'm not blaming El Nino, but the earthquake. Yep. Did they ever figure out exactly what is causing the flooding in America? What made this year different? Anyway, through all these natural disasters you kinda wonder where in the world you can be safe. Well, nowhere by the fault lines because of earthquakes, nowhere with trees because of forest fires, definitely not next to a giant active volcano (I don't know what the people down in Kagoshima are thinking), so you would think Kansas, of all places, with the most boring freeway that is super straight, would be safe. But there is flooding there. Well, if nowhere is safe, then you might as well live next to a giant active volcano. At least it looks pretty.

Other fun thing this week was a ward activity where we played softball. We had the invitation with a map, and the real map, and we still walked around for 30 minutes. Ha ha. My companion felt bad because I gave her map duty for the day. For the most part I can read a map, but some people just don't have that gift. I thought I would give her the practice and learn... well, I'll have to give her another chance another time. But we got there after calling someone, and softball was fun. Hey, guess what? I totally hit the ball. 3 times!

That seemed like a success to me, okay? And I wore sunscreen, so I didn't turn pink like one of the Elders did.
I'm good on sunscreen for the summer, maybe. I have the really good stuff (Neutrogena Sports Face) for my face, the other American stuff with the blue lid for my arm and feet, and the milky Japanese stuff for re-application (because it's the smallest bottle).

But mom, do you have room to mail me another bottle of Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash?  I think I need to start taking care of my teeth soon. Dad, could you get a job that could cover my dental care? I have a feeling I might have a few cavities when I get home. Japanese people definitely do NOT care about teeth. At all. I've seen some of the ugliest smiles in my life here in Japan.

Mom, do NOT go down to Provo again, okay? I got a letter this week from Meg, my freshman year roommate, asking to be roommates again.

I've seen the house and it's really nice. She and I will be in the back of this house, with our own bathroom and kitchen, then we share the living room with 4 other girls that have their own bathroom and kitchen. I saw the apartment before I left. Her current roommate got engaged and has to sell her contract. The back part of the house was recently torn down and then rebuilt. It is $250 a month, plus utilities. I forgot the letter with the address on it, but it's on the south east side of campus, a little south of Campus Plaza. It's not quite where I'd like to be, but I'll have a bike and its close to the bus stop. And I'll be next door to Amber, another friend of mine, who got married before I left, and is currently pregnant. Her baby is due at the end of this month. Maybe I can babysit! :) As for that bike, I think I can find one of Craig's List before classes start.

Anyway, Meg should be contacting you, dad, with the details. She is currently working the summer in Italy as a nanny, taking care of 2 little kids and teaching them English. How cool is that? She comes back to American the day before me. We became closer friends after Freshman year, so I'm excited. Only she could handle a roommate with post-mission problems.

Nishiyama Shimai received the gift of the holy ghost. She is preparing to go to the temple for baptisms for her ancestors in a few weeks. Yep, she's fine. The moment she got confirmed as a member, she asked the bishop for the little green book that Japanese people use to pay tithing. She couldn't wait to start paying tithing. Yep, I'm not worried about her. Liu Shimai is going to get baptized on the 19th (Sunday). She came to church with her year and a half old son, Seiyu-kun. He was LOUD. I think he was tired and wasn't having a good day. He SCREAMED like a little kid throwing a fit at the check-out line at a supermarket because his mom wouldn't buy him a Kit Kat. Liu felt kinda embarrassed and left after Sacrament Meeting.

Ha ha. Little does she know that ever other mom in that church has gone through the similar things to keep their children quite at that age. How did you two keep 3 kids quite during sacrament? Oh, that's right, we were all naughty children that would talk and stuff. Ha ha. It's impossible, right? Well, Liu doesn't quite know that yet. And putting Seiyu-kun in nursery 2 weeks ago was impossible, so he just squirmed in her lap. Ha ha.

Well, sorry, but I didn't take any pictures this week! Sorry sorry sorry! I'll be sure to take some this week as we have Zone Conference. Elder Aoyagi is touring the Fukuoka Mission. He comes tomorrow. Oh, he is a person that is in the middle page of the conference edition of the Ensign, below the 12 apostles. He is also interviewing all the senior companions before Zone Conference. >_<

Okay, well, until next week!