What a great day it's been! We slept in until 5:15 a.m., prepared for the Sabbath by continuing my reading of the Book of Mormon in Japanese (I am now in Alma 12), caught up on some paperwork in the office (which is just virtually attached to our home--maybe 14 steps), just in time for a meeting with the Assistants to finalize our first transfer. I appreciated their input but they understood that the final decision rests with the mission president--it would not be healthy for the other missionaries to think otherwise. We knelt at the conclusion and felt the sweet confirming Spirit that the changes being implemented are confirmed by the Lord. We only have three elders coming, but we are losing 6 elders, 1 sister, and a senior couple, so it required a bit of shuffling. Plus because the missionaries were all gone from the mission and came back in dribs and drabs, there were three-somes in several places and very experienced elders being co-senior companions. So we have had a bit of adjusting to do. We are blessed with tremendous missionaries.--ten times better than in my era.
Most of Japan is involved in an energy saving initiative due to the Fukushima nuclear reactors being down, so the temperature at the church was set at 81 degrees. That was very uncomfortable especially with a suit coat on and the humidity that is always prevalent. But church was really good! The people were all very nice, especially to Pam. And she would just smile, nod, and say "Konnichi wa" (good day). She has learned how much fun it is to talk basic English to Japanese young people. They love to respond back and do so with a big smile. Pam and I were invited to bear our testimonies which we were nervous and glad to do. We felt right at home as we saw circumstances that we have seen in our own wards in times past--a Downs syndrome young man passing the sacrament, an older man (both blind and deaf) being helped to the stand by his wife so he could bear his testimony, young people and children sitting with their families in sacrament meeting, quality lessons being taught in SS, RS, and Psthd. It was a great block of meetings and before we knew it, the three hours had passed.
The highlight of the day was this afternoon when my Assistants and I had a meeting that lasted 1 1/2 hours with the newly called Sendai Stake President, his counselors, and the high councilor over missionary work. It was awesome. I didn't have time to get nervous about my Japanese because they were so gracious and understanding. After introductions all around, we quickly got to the heart of the matter: what can we as missionaries do to help the stake and its members. The stake president gets that the local members have primary responsibility for missionary work. However, just like in America but maybe more so, they have difficulty reaching out to others. The short of it was that we identified several things that we can do together to further the work in the Sendai Stake including setting up a weekly service schedule--"coincidentally", the man in charge of coordinating volunteer service for the earthquake/tsunami devastated areas is a member of the church who was just moved here for this purpose and was called into the stake presidency last week. So our timing couldn't be better! Half our mission will serve during one week, then the other half will serve the next week. We also identified other things that we can work on together to further the great work in this area. We all came out of the meeting just bubbling over with enthusiasm and excitement for this opportunity. Although I struggled at times with the right words and phrases to say, that seemed to be unimportant as the message came through loud and clear. I am so amazed and humbled at how quickly I am understanding the spoken word, especially in church. Truly a tender mercy!
Well, time to sign off. After the meeting (around 6pm) we hopped in the car and drove to Niigata, about 3.5 hours away for a Zone Conference tomorrow morning. I had to drive the whole way, so I am a bit fatigued. It's a great work. We are blessed.
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