End of the first "Transfer" in Tokyo

*Many missionaries begin to measure time by "transfers."  A transfer is a new area or companionship assignment and they come every 6 weeks not not all missionaries are transferred every six weeks.  Missionaries tend to stay around 6 months in any given area and companionship assignments vary in length.

Hello you lovely people!  I hope that October is going wonderfully.  For me it is flying by!  This is the last week of my first transfer--is that even possible?  While I feel like I`ve been here for a while I know that I still--and probably will ever--have a lot to learn.  That is what we do I guess.  Learn and move forward.

First a little bit of review/catch up/clarification.  Rather than serving in the heart of metropolis, right now I am in a suburb of sorts in Tokyo.  Its a fun mix of country and city with a lot of farms and some wilderness in between newly developed housing and shopping\business centers.  I am in a trio with another new missionary (Jones shimai) and our trainer (Nagamine shimai).  Some of the unusual things I`ve eaten are: whole squid, fish eggs, raw egg (dropped in a bowl of noodles just before serving), and sushi, and soy `meat`.  Kind of crazy, eh?  We are in the Narita ward--and they are such wonderful people.  I feel like they are family that I didn`t know I had until getting here.  This ward hasn't had sisters for several years and as such was really excited to see us when we got here--and they still are really excited to see us and work with us.  Its a real blessing. 

This week was kind of a usual one with lots of study, finding time with knocking on doors and talking to people as they come off the train, and visiting less active members who were not home when we stopped by. Sunday however, Nagamine shimai needed to go to a different area to participate in a baptismal service.  So we went to a train station where she joined a few other sisters and Jones shimai and I faced about half a day without her.  We made it through the trains back to Narita OK and I had a really great time at church despite maybe not understanding exactly what people said, but after church, I made a mistake navigating the train system and we got a lost.  Still, after calling Nagamine shimai and asking for some help from the train staff, we got to where we needed to be safe and sound and very apologetic.  Ah mistakes!  One of the best ways to learn.  

Tomorrow we get to attend the Tokyo temple and then we sisters have a sister`s conference!  I am so looking forward to gathering with these great missionaries and learning from one another. 

Right now we don`t really have any investigators so we often do practice lessons with members--and these are such sacred experiences.  I sort of hesitate to use the word sacred, but really, that is what they are.  When we share the truths of the gospel simply and earnestly, I feel a reaffirmation of that truth so strongly.  It is so beautiful.  I am looking forward to sharing these truths with those who do not know it yet!  

I love you all.  I hope you have a fantastic week!  Thank you for your strength, love, support, and examples.  I know that this is the Lord`s work and have found that as I seek to share it out of love that my uncertainty and hesitation sort of just dissipate and I am so grateful for that--love has such strength!   May we each try to be full of love and thus full of courage and hope as we share the gospel and become more like the Savior.  Again, I love you all so much!

Williams shimai