こんにちは。お元気ですか？
What a crazy week it has been. At the end of last week, both Perry Shimai and I were starting to feel sick. We were really hoping that it was just allergies from hours and hours outside with all the pollen. On Sunday night, we were feeling pretty bad, and decided that if we were feeling sick, we would just takeMonday and rest so we could get better. We woke up Monday morning with sore throats, earaches, and congestion, and to top it all off we were feeling like we had just run a marathon or something. So, we did what we needed to in order to prepare for the week (email, and go shopping for groceries) and then we went home and rested. By 6:00pm when it was time to start dendoing (doing missionary work), I was still asleep and feeling terrible, and Perry Shimai was starting to feel sick. So, we called Welch Shimai and were told that we needed to rest, take medicine, and get better. And that sharing the gospel when we are sick is just spreading germs, and no one wants that. The rest of the week we spent taking turns feeling sick. I would be feeling better and good enough to go teach, or go finding, but Perry Shimai would be feeling terrible. And then when Perry Shimai was feeling pretty good, I would feel terrible. On Wednesday we had to teach Eikaiwa, and so we went to the church, both feeling terrible, and by the time we got home, we were out cold. One day I woke up at 9:30, ate, and by 12:00 I was back in bed asleep for 4 1/2 hours. Somedays were filled with dizziness, other days not being able to breathe, sometimes our stomachs would be upset. Pretty much anything that you can think of with a cold, we got it. And with the two of us going back and forth, we had to cancel all of our lessons during the week. And the only times we left, were for Eikaiwa, and General Conference, where it was just the two of us watching it in English, so still not a whole lot of contact with people.
We went through an entire bottle of honey and six lemons in 5 days... And more tissues than I could even begin to count.
With all of the craziness of being sick, we were still able to see some blessings though. One of our investigators A Shimai, who were were supposed to teach on Tuesday, has been having a hard time with prayer. She prays sometimes, but most of the time, only when we ask or remind her to pray. When we told her we needed to cancel our lesson because we were sick (and biking 45 minutes in the rain to teach her, and possibly make her and and son sick sounded like a really bad idea), she told us that she was going to pray for us. We felt so loved, and so grateful that even though we couldn't teach her that day about prayer, she knew that prayer was important and that through prayer, we could get better. I am always so grateful when our investigators begin to realize the importance of the things we are teaching them, and begin to do those things on their own. Like praying on their own, or reading their scriptures, or even coming to church without the constant asking and inviting. We should always invite, but I love it when they don't have to be invited anymore because they know and understand the importance.
I am so grateful for the gospel, and for the blessing that it is in my life. I can't even explain how amazing it is to see others begin to see those blessings in their lives as well. Recently the elders in found a sweet lady named T Shimai. She was interested, and said that she wanted to come to church the next Sunday. One day while they were studying, they got a call from her, saying that she was at the church, and wanted to see the church, and be taught a lesson. That Sunday, she came to church, and she has been coming every week for the past four weeks. She came to a Relief Society activity a couple of weeks ago, and she even came to all 5 sessions of General Conference (Saturday morning and afternoon, the General Women's meeting, and Sunday morning and afternoon). She is so strong, and the members love her. She seems to love the members too. If you didn't know, you would think that she has been a member for years. I love T Shimai. She is going to get baptized on Sunday, and we are all so excited. I know that there are people prepared in this area, and just seeing how much T Shimai has changed in the last few weeks, and we haven't even been teaching her, just fellowshipping her. Seeing her change though, and the joy that she brings, and the joy and life in the members over the last few weeks makes us all the more excited to go out this week and find more investigators like T Shimai, and more less actives like N Shimai, people who are ready and just waiting to be found.
I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I am grateful for the wonderful blessing of being a missionary. I am so grateful for the opportunity that we had to watch General Conference this weekend. To hear, and to be taught by the General Authorities of the church, and to be taught and edified by the spirit. I learned so much, and hope you did too. One of my favorite talks was given by Elder Holland, about how our Savior Jesus Christ can and will be those strong hands and determined arms. He won't ever let us fall. I can't wait to go back and study the things that were shared during General Conference.
I love you all so much. You are amazing, and we each in my prayers.
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アマンダ・K・ロボトサン姉妹
日本神戸伝道部
末日聖徒イエス・キリスト教会
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Sister Amanda K. Robertson
Japan Kobe Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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