Hello from Japan!
I hope you are all well! I'm sure you're enjoying the aisles and aisles of Halloween candy and the numerous places to buy all shapes and sizes of pumpkins! I want you to know it's not like that here. I looked really hard for pumpkins. I found two, yes two, at the Daiei. They were about a $3.00 (10 inch wide) size at Grant's Vineyard in Orem. They were $23.00 each here. Needless to say, I am pumpkinless this Halloween, all except a tacky looking jack-o-lantern I found in my storage room.
Well I'm taking a deep breath and sharpening my pencil so I can begin to tell you about the last weeks events.
First, more hair salon names. You'd think we'd run out of salon's but Japan has a million! 'Hair Hark', 'Cut in Face', 'Hair Ants', and Bee M's. I still promise I'm not making these up.
There are so many amazing people in this mission. Elder Fugishima is serving in the office right now. His family situation was not a good one. His father drank a lot and got involved with the Yakuza (remember, the Japanese Mafia). He would beat the children and take all the money they had earned. Finally his mother left with the children and the father would still find them and do the same thing. Elder Fugishima said he knew needed to take his little brother and leave so his father couldn't find them anymore. I gather the mother wasn't a very stable parent either. So he was the soul support of the two of them. A few years later his older brother that he hadn't see in years, found them and told them he had joined the church and wanted him and his little brother to listen to the elders for just one hour. They agreed and soon they were both baptized. His little brother served a mission to Japan and is now at BYU Hawaii. Scott asked him why he had waited so long to serve (he's 27) he said because he had supported his little brother and then himself. He hasn't been able to make enough to pay for any advanced education. He had no savings, he knew he would have nothing to come back to. He leaves the mission in January and he doesn't know where his ticket home should be to. He has no where to go. No mother painting his room and making preparations. No one counting down the days until he walks off the plane. No money. No job. No place to go. Can you imagine what kind of faith that takes to go on a mission, when you know what the circumstances will be on your return? He is amazing. Despite his background, he is a gentle giant. Though his future seems uncertain, I know the Lord will work miracles in His life.
The elders found a young man, 19, when they were knocking on doors who was so excited about the Book of Mormon. He read it cover to cover very fast. He wanted to be baptized but his mother and grandfather told him no. The legal age in Japan is 21. So he dropped out. When transfers came around this last time there was an Japanese Elder that replaced one of the American elders that had taught him. They started looking at the area book, noticed his name and decided to look him up again. They went and talked with him. Our Japanese elder discovered the reason that his mother and grandfather had put the kabosh (stop) on his baptism. It was because he thought, and had told them, that the day after he got baptized he would have to go on a mission and be gone for ten years. The elders cleared that up, and he was so happy! He said he almost had his family convinced to let him join anyway. Can you imagine how strong his testimony is to be willing to do that? He got baptized last Sunday.
Next, a most exciting report.
I heard from several people that the Pleasant View 6th ward (our Provo ward), was fasting this last fast Sunday for the missionaries from their ward and for our missionary serving here as well. Thank you to family members that fasted for all of us also. I have to tell you all how much we needed and appreciate that beautiful sacrifice. We don't see as many people baptized here as in some places. We've had a long hot summer (hottest in 113 years). The missionaries have been on bikes with helmets. You can't even believe the heat unless you've been in it. It's a Buddhist nation..... We've been trying to rally the troops and they've been responding! A little over 2 weeks ago we had 17 yakusokusha (people with baptismal dates). That's been a consistent number since we arrived last July. The number had climbed to around 28 by last Thursday which was incredible. On Friday night Elder DaSouza, one of our Assistants, told Scott he was hoping to see the day we would have 32 Yakusokushas before he goes home in March. On Sunday night the calls started to come in and they've continued to come. Elders and Sisters reporting another yakusokusha!!! To date, Thursday night, we have 54 yakusokusha! That is a miracle. A true miracle. Thank you for your faith, fasting and prayers.
Cultural Tip of the week:
I love the sounds the people make here! The people, I notice mostly women say "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". It's so cool. They start lower and then slide up the scale. It's sort of like our "really?". Some also say MMMMMMMMMMMMM when you are talking to them, they say it between each sentence you say. The dentist that did my root canal here would clench his teeth, pull back the sides of his mouth (not with his hands, they were in my mouth!) and suck in making a hissing sound. At first I thought, "Oh great! did he make a mistake?!" But then I realized it was his concentrating sound. Try it it's cool! I've realized as I speak, that I to, make funny sounds. I wonder what sounds we make or words we say that sound odd to the Japanese? Any comments Sister Palmer? (By the way I miss you and I wish you were here to be my personal translator and cook! You are the best at both!)
We're off for a few very busy weeks ahead. I do need to make a correction. In my last email I said Katheryn is getting married on December 16th. She told me it was the 17th. Sorry about that Kat! That's pretty sad! I promise I will be there on the right day.
We love you all!
Sister Baird, Bonnie or mom
I hope you are all well! I'm sure you're enjoying the aisles and aisles of Halloween candy and the numerous places to buy all shapes and sizes of pumpkins! I want you to know it's not like that here. I looked really hard for pumpkins. I found two, yes two, at the Daiei. They were about a $3.00 (10 inch wide) size at Grant's Vineyard in Orem. They were $23.00 each here. Needless to say, I am pumpkinless this Halloween, all except a tacky looking jack-o-lantern I found in my storage room.
Well I'm taking a deep breath and sharpening my pencil so I can begin to tell you about the last weeks events.
First, more hair salon names. You'd think we'd run out of salon's but Japan has a million! 'Hair Hark', 'Cut in Face', 'Hair Ants', and Bee M's. I still promise I'm not making these up.
There are so many amazing people in this mission. Elder Fugishima is serving in the office right now. His family situation was not a good one. His father drank a lot and got involved with the Yakuza (remember, the Japanese Mafia). He would beat the children and take all the money they had earned. Finally his mother left with the children and the father would still find them and do the same thing. Elder Fugishima said he knew needed to take his little brother and leave so his father couldn't find them anymore. I gather the mother wasn't a very stable parent either. So he was the soul support of the two of them. A few years later his older brother that he hadn't see in years, found them and told them he had joined the church and wanted him and his little brother to listen to the elders for just one hour. They agreed and soon they were both baptized. His little brother served a mission to Japan and is now at BYU Hawaii. Scott asked him why he had waited so long to serve (he's 27) he said because he had supported his little brother and then himself. He hasn't been able to make enough to pay for any advanced education. He had no savings, he knew he would have nothing to come back to. He leaves the mission in January and he doesn't know where his ticket home should be to. He has no where to go. No mother painting his room and making preparations. No one counting down the days until he walks off the plane. No money. No job. No place to go. Can you imagine what kind of faith that takes to go on a mission, when you know what the circumstances will be on your return? He is amazing. Despite his background, he is a gentle giant. Though his future seems uncertain, I know the Lord will work miracles in His life.
The elders found a young man, 19, when they were knocking on doors who was so excited about the Book of Mormon. He read it cover to cover very fast. He wanted to be baptized but his mother and grandfather told him no. The legal age in Japan is 21. So he dropped out. When transfers came around this last time there was an Japanese Elder that replaced one of the American elders that had taught him. They started looking at the area book, noticed his name and decided to look him up again. They went and talked with him. Our Japanese elder discovered the reason that his mother and grandfather had put the kabosh (stop) on his baptism. It was because he thought, and had told them, that the day after he got baptized he would have to go on a mission and be gone for ten years. The elders cleared that up, and he was so happy! He said he almost had his family convinced to let him join anyway. Can you imagine how strong his testimony is to be willing to do that? He got baptized last Sunday.
Next, a most exciting report.
I heard from several people that the Pleasant View 6th ward (our Provo ward), was fasting this last fast Sunday for the missionaries from their ward and for our missionary serving here as well. Thank you to family members that fasted for all of us also. I have to tell you all how much we needed and appreciate that beautiful sacrifice. We don't see as many people baptized here as in some places. We've had a long hot summer (hottest in 113 years). The missionaries have been on bikes with helmets. You can't even believe the heat unless you've been in it. It's a Buddhist nation..... We've been trying to rally the troops and they've been responding! A little over 2 weeks ago we had 17 yakusokusha (people with baptismal dates). That's been a consistent number since we arrived last July. The number had climbed to around 28 by last Thursday which was incredible. On Friday night Elder DaSouza, one of our Assistants, told Scott he was hoping to see the day we would have 32 Yakusokushas before he goes home in March. On Sunday night the calls started to come in and they've continued to come. Elders and Sisters reporting another yakusokusha!!! To date, Thursday night, we have 54 yakusokusha! That is a miracle. A true miracle. Thank you for your faith, fasting and prayers.
Cultural Tip of the week:
I love the sounds the people make here! The people, I notice mostly women say "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". It's so cool. They start lower and then slide up the scale. It's sort of like our "really?". Some also say MMMMMMMMMMMMM when you are talking to them, they say it between each sentence you say. The dentist that did my root canal here would clench his teeth, pull back the sides of his mouth (not with his hands, they were in my mouth!) and suck in making a hissing sound. At first I thought, "Oh great! did he make a mistake?!" But then I realized it was his concentrating sound. Try it it's cool! I've realized as I speak, that I to, make funny sounds. I wonder what sounds we make or words we say that sound odd to the Japanese? Any comments Sister Palmer? (By the way I miss you and I wish you were here to be my personal translator and cook! You are the best at both!)
We're off for a few very busy weeks ahead. I do need to make a correction. In my last email I said Katheryn is getting married on December 16th. She told me it was the 17th. Sorry about that Kat! That's pretty sad! I promise I will be there on the right day.
We love you all!
Sister Baird, Bonnie or mom
7:22 AM |
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