Konnichiwa!
On
Wednesday last week we had the BBQ with the N family and their
friends. We had no idea what to expect, and we were a little wary about
the whole thing, but we showed up and there were just all of these women
there and we were like, "We literally just walked into a room full of
potential investigators MUAHAHAHA!" It was so great! There were a total
of 5 of them, and it was just really fun to get to know them all. They
had really interesting food though, I'm not really sure what some of it
was. Some of it had the appearance of intestines, but they just called
it beef, so I ate it, but it was really... tendony. Yeah it was
interesting. They also had like squid, but I didn't try any of that. I
also tried Sushi for the first time, and it was good. I don't think I
know how to eat it properly. Anyways, that was fun and it was fun to get
to know them. We are a little bit worried though because we haven't
been able to get back into contact with him this week, so we are praying
that he is still interested. He said he had read the part in Alma that
we had assigned him and wanted to know more.
One
of the ladies at the BBQ is Chinese and she is studying here in
Fukuoka. Her name is S. She is really cute. She really loves the
hymns, and said when she was younger she would go to Christian churches
to hear them sing their hymns. So, we invited her to a baptism that was
going on on Saturday, and she came because we told her they would be
singing hymns there. She thought it was kinda interesting, but she is
really sweet and we hope we can turn her into an investigator.
One
funny thing that happened this week was that we had an investigator
come to the church with us for a tour, and as we kept going along, we
started to realize that she was getting really nervous, and as we were
on our way home, we got off the train to wait for the bus, and she tells
us that she wants to walk home, and then sprinted off. We think the
amount of people around freaked her out. Well, we got on the bus, and
scouted her out, and got off when we saw her, and walked most of the way
back with her, but it was raining cats and dogs. I was so grateful that
I had my rain jacket because I was able to let her use it, and I think
she felt loved just knowing that we wanted to help her and that we were
sorry she had kind of a bad experience. Well, she also came to church
with us, and she was way nervous the whole time. I'm just wondering what
we can do for her and I pray that we can help her to the best of our
abilities. Also, on Sunday, it was a miracle because another one of our
investigators showed up just for sacrament meeting! We were so happy! We
had no idea she would come and she came alone even, which she said she
wouldn't ever want to do, so that was a great blessing. We had two
people at church with us!
I feel like time is
flying by and also just dragging along. Every day is so long and so
short all at once. We do so much in a day that it feels like a week
passes before I get to lay back down, but really when we have P-Day or
when we have Sunday, I'm always thinking, "Didn't we just do this?" But
it is going well. I have officially reached one month here in Japan. It
is so crazy to me that I have already been here for that long. It is a
little scary to me that I have been here for that long because I still
feel like I don't know any Japanese!!!! People talk so fast here and it
is crazy trying to figure out what they are saying. A lot of the time if
I just smile really big and nod, and kinda try to mimic their sounds
and "uh huh, yeah, that's great..." I can usually get along without
having to say anything. There are so many old ladies who will just talk
for ever and ever and I have no idea what they are saying, but I just
nod, and smile and it seems to be working well enough hahaha.
This
week is Golden Week here in Japan and it is a big deal. We have all
been asked to stand out side of the temple on our rotation times and
promote the church however we can. The temple here in Fukuoka is right
next to a Zoo, so it is a really good opportunity to talk to a lot of
people because they have to walk past the temple to be able to get to
the Zoo. It is kinda awkward, but yesterday I tried my best to talk to
people and make them comfortable, and I felt we did a good job. Mom, I'm
trying to find a way to utilize the photo booth stuff you gave me, I
have ideas for it, but I'm not sure how to implement it quite yet, but I
am glad that I have that stuff as a resource! You are an awesome
mother!
Because it is Golden Week they had a
parade and festival type thing yesterday night that we went to because
it was P-Day. We only were able to stay for about an hour and a half
because we had to bike home still, but we were able to see the end of
the parade, and also we were able to go and eat at the stands that they
had. They had rows and rows of food stands all set up and we got to walk
around and decide what we wanted. I got Okonomiyaki on a stick, a
waffle covered in chocolate on a stick, and also I got shaved ice cream,
which was really weird and interesting. It was really fun! We had such a
good time! I felt so good being able to participate in that event here
in Japan, and it was really a great opportunity to continue to
understand and get to know the culture here. It really was a great
experience, and I hope I can have another like it again some time. It
was fun too because it was a huge parade here in Fukuoka, right in the
middle of the city. It reminded me a little of like the Pioneer Day
parade that they do in Salt Lake. It was really fun. Ah! Japan.
I
am beginning to panic a little bit about the bugs that are starting to
crop up here. It is so crazy. The amount of spiders I see is so
disturbing, and I've been told it only gets worse. Holy shnikies, I hope
that's not true..:(
To answer your question about what it's like to be an American over here, I get stared at by a
lot of kids, and usually the adults turn their heads and run away when
they see me. However, I did have a grandma come up to me this last week
and just say "kire, kire!!" which means like you're so pretty! And she
talked to me for like 10 minutes about it, and left, and then came back
and told me thank you. That was kinda weird, and sometimes we get men
that give us weird compliments, and that's always a little awkward. We
do stand out though, for sure. Especially in Nakagawa. We are like the
only gaijins in Nakagawa, so it's fun. Also, we have these gigantic
white helmets, which is really uncool to people here so that makes us
even weirder, but I love it. It gives me gaijin power ;)
Well,
I can't really think of anything else to say, the pictures explains it.
I hope that you are all doing well. I never feel like I have enough
time to talk to you all, but I can't wait until next week to Skype! I'll
send an email with all my info on it and stuff so you can have that. I
have to set up a new Skype account so, I'll let you know what that is.
I sure love you all!!!!!
I'll talk to you in a week!
Love, Raines Shimai
No comments:
Post a Comment