Week 4

こんいちわ！

I started my Japanese class this week! It was very nice to see my teachers and my district from the MTC again even if it was just online. I miss those guys a lot haha. It's been a struggle trying to juggle studying AND teaching. I'm just kind of in the weirdest situation. My gift of tongues hasn't stopped though I will tell you that. Although I am not in class as much, when I do have class everything makes sense and I'm actually able to remember it. たくさん日本語。

 Lol I'm lowkey not having the time of my life, but we pushing forward. It's been rough, but we living. 

 All the missionaries here are really nice and think that us japanese missionaries that are here for a little are super cool so that's fun.

But conference was so great! Elder Renlund's I think was my absolute favorite! He talked about how gifts like blessings are only from God and that we should never forget the compassion and love behind those gifts. But what I got was spiritual gifts! That having the gift of exceeding faith during a CRAZY MISSION, will make it possible:) AND the gift of tongues! Haha I keep trying to remind myself that there is a reason why I'm learning japanese so fast! Because its east to feel like I'm never going to actually make it there sometimes. But yes that talk really hit me hard! I been really trying to study hard both my language and teaching bc I wasn't really taught how to teach before leaving the MTC so IT'S A LOT of reading. 

Ok I'm done complaining and I do love it here so don't worry! I already have some tan lines! 

みなさんこころからあいしってます！ わたしはすることができます！

Week 3

こんにちわ！ 

Just when I thought mission life could not get crazier, we got the announcement that the MTC was getting evacuated. That's when things got CRAZY. The next day a bunch of people got their flight plans for Tuesday morning so I spent my remaining days in the MTC up all night helping people pack and getting up early in the morning to drop them off at the travel office. One of the elders in my district only got a 30 minute notice to leave haha. I was just happy I was given a couple days notice.

I left Friday morning and only really knew my flight plans and not really where I was going but it was cool when I walked out of the terminal and saw Elder Lewis and Elder Reeves! It was nice to see familiar faces at a crazy time.

I got assigned to the Las Vegas West mission!  Cool fact, the wife of my mission president is the sister to the wife of my Tokyo mission president!

I got to teach a lesson my first day here.  It was my companion (Sister Hughes) friend. Because I was only studying Japanese in the MTC we hadn't really been taught how to teach. I was expecting 8 more weeks of training for that. But it was good! It was cool to also see how at home church is going now too! Sister Hughes has been so patient with all my questions haha. I've been teaching her a little Japanese too! 

LIFE HAS BEEN CRAZY AND HECTIC

 I somehow have felt a lot of peace during a time of such chaos. I know that it's because in doing what in supposed to be doing. MY JAPANESE IS COMING, SLOWLY BUT ITS COMING. THE GIFT OF TONGUES IS SO REAL. I also have so much faith that I will make it Tokyo! God doesn't give spiritual gifts that we don't need. I cant wait to go teach in Japanese! Keep the faith and listen to conference!

Also my companion said I was speaking Japanese in my sleep instead of my usual English jibberish.

TPWK

ヤロ 姉妹

week 2

This week really was a roller coaster, on Tuesday during class our teachers started teaching us only in japanese and it was too much for my brain and I had a full mental breakdown in class. I felt really bad for my teachers but literally the next day Japanese actually started to make sense. So my brain needed it. We got to teach in the TRC this week, I was so proud of how our lessons went! We did so good and the spirit was strong the whole time! :) we also had to teach a Japanese lesson before we even taught an English one. I couldn't even believe it. We learn so much every single day it so crazy. I say it all the time but it's just so true! We found out the Japanese missionaries already out in my mission were getting evacuated in the middle of class on Friday and we all started immediately crying haha it was sad, but it's ok. We are all here to learn about how to grow faith and that's what this is going to help us do! The first picture is us getting ice cream with the korean missionaries, bc now none of us know where we are going to do at the end of our 10 weeks. I LOVE THE MTC!!! My district is the best! Hopefully I get to stay!

TPWK

 Yarro shimai

Week 1

These past couple of days have been SOO CRAZY, I have learned so many new things, apart from the japanese, in just 2 and a half days here. I AM LOVING IT THO. I love being surrounded by so many missionaries at any given moment. Especially when half of them are my friends! I have seen so many of my friends it's so fun! I see elder Palmer all the time! 

  Taylor shimai is my companion and she is so cool! We are also both going to the Tokyo south mission, We get along super well, she is from Las vegas! We are in an apartment with Clark shimai from California and Hernandez shimai from the Philippines! Friday was the first time Hernandez shimai had ever seen snow! 

My district all gets along so well they are such lovely people!

 yesterday we had a really cool workshop about the gift of tongues, it was cool to see so many people who are also learning crazy languages, the people who offered to give a opening and closing prayer could already do it in their mission language. The workshop talked about how we will be able to learn as much as I can in the next 10 weeks if I give my 100% everyday even if my 100% isn't as good as it was the day before, as long as it is my all, Christ will get me where I need to be. 

 My district and I learned all the essentials in japanese so we SYL ( speak your language ) everywhere here. When it snowed we would just kept saying how pretty it was in japanese for like 20 minutes. 雪はきれいです

 My teacher also pointed out a cool thing yesterday, she told us that the only reason that all of us are here learning japanese is because christ needs us to bring the people of Japan the gospel. And if we focus on that we will learn quick! 

There are so many rumors about what the church is going to do with us because of Corona. There are rumors we are going to be just sent out early but we will see. I have only heard that from the Spanish missionaries. 

It's been a short week full of changes and learning! 

TPWK (treat people with kindness) 

Yarro shimai

Saying Goodbye

I actually thought I was smiling in this picture 

Temple Square

The day before Isabelle left she was feeling a little anxious and we didn't know what to do.  After a little prayer we decided to go to temple square.  What an inspired answer.  We had the best day at the visitors center, the church history museum, the conference center and the tabernacle.  We got to chat with all the sister missionaries at each place and they were all so happy and excited for her.  They gave her lots of great advice and made her feel so much peace.  It was a special day with just the three of us.

cutest senior missionary that isn't so camera savy, we asked him to take our picture and ended up with 20 pictures that all look exactly like this