Last month, Sister McMahan attended a ward party in Kanagawa where they made Mochi. Mochi is a type of Japanese Rice cake. It is very chewy and sweet, takes some effort to make, but it is worth it. Traditionally, Mochi is made by steaming glutinous rice, then pounding in a very large mortar.
And now for the weekly update:
25 February 2009
SORRY THERE IS THE CAPS PROBLEM AGAIN. THE SHIFT BUTTON WORKS THE OPPOSITE WAY.
How did your musical number go?
SUBARASHIKATTA DESU! IT WAS SUPER DUPER! I THINK AFTERWARD SOME PEOPLE WERE AFRAID TO COMPLEMENT ME BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT SURE OF MY LANGUAGE BUT PEOPLE DID COME UP. WHO WAS MOST IMPRESSED IS BRADLEY CHORO. IT IS PRETTY FUNNY.
How is your language progressing? IT IS PROGRESSING! MORE AND MORE. I THINK LESS AND LESS ABOUT WHAT I AM SAYING. IT IS REALLY TRUE THAT THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN LEARN THIS LANGUAGE IS TO SPEAK IT. NAGASE (Em's companion) IS A TON OF FUN AND SHE HELPS ME WITH THE LANGUAGE.
How is your bike working out? GREAT. THANK GOODNESS FOR GEARS!I CANT BELIEVE THE BIG HILLS THAT WE RIDE. AMAZING.
How are your shoes holding up? DOING WELL. SOMETIMES A BIT CHILLY BUT I WEAR SOCKS SOMETIMES AND THE FEET HEATERS ARE A SAVER. IN THE SUMMER MY SHOES WILL SURELY BE A BLESSING!
Were you able to teach anyone this week?LAST WEEK WE TAUGHT 7 LESSONS TO INVESTIGATORS. NAGASE SHIMAI IS ON TOP OF THINGS. SHE HAS A CALENDAR GRID WITH EACH PERSONS NAME AND THEN BOXES FOR EACH DAY OF THE MONTH. IT IS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SOME KIND OF CONTACT DAILY OR EVERY OTHER DAY. SO THE CALENDAR GRID IS A SUBERASHII VISUAL OF WHAT IS GOING ON.
How's the English class going? SUPER FUN. I LOVE IT! WE DID A FILL IN THE BLANK WITH THEM LAST WEEK. THEN WE PRACTICED READING OUT LOUD. I EXPLAINED THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE MARKS IN MUSIC AND THE MARKS IN WRITING LIKE COMMAS AND STUFF. I LOVE RELATING THINGS TO MUSIC AND MUSIC RELATES TO PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING! THIS WEEK I WANT TO MAKE A MAD LIB AND PLAY IT. NAGASE SHIMAI DOESN'T KNOW WHAT A MAD LIB GAME IS. I WONDER IF THE FOLKS AT EIKAIWA (English class) DO?! WE HAD 3 TO 6 ATTEND EACH WEEK FOR OUR CLASS, THE HIGHEST LEVEL. OUR NEW HYMN IS "HAVE I DONE ANY GOOD." WE STARTED WITH THE CHORUS. I'VE NEVER BEEN ONE TO REALLY LIKE THE HYMN BUT I'VE FOUND THE MELODY STICKS WELL SO THE PEOPLE CAN FOCUS ON THE LANGUAGE.
Do you live in an apartment building with many neighbors? IT IS A SMALL APARTMENT COMPLEX BUILDING. 3 ON TOP AND 3 ON BOTTOM.
Do the members still leave stuff in the box @ church? YEAH CERTAIN SUNDAYS. I THINK FAST SUNDAY. NEXT WEEK IS FAST SUNDAY. I AM VERY VERY GRATEFUL FOR WHAT THEY GIVE US. IT IS SUCH A BLESSING.
What's your favorite Japanese dish at this point? FAVORITE WOULD HAVE TO BE ONIGUIRI. I THINK THAT IS HOW YOU SPELL IT. RICE AND A FILLER WRAPPED IN NORI (DRY SEAWEED). THE FILLER IS USUALLY A KIND OF FISH. EVERYONE THINKS I AM VERY UN-AMERICAN BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE MEAT OR FAST FOOD. THEY ARE ALWAYS SHOCKED WHEN I SAY I LIKE NORI AND RAW FISH. I AM GOING TO MISS THAT STUFF WHEN I GO BACK TO AMERICA!
SO NOW FOR THE MILLION THINGS I HAVE WRITTEN DOWN TO SAY:
A GRANDPA IN OUR WARD'S SON SERVED IN RUSSIA. SO HE KNEW JAPANESE AND VERY LITTLE ENGLISH. ON HIS MISSION HE LEARNED BOTH RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH TO COMMUNICATE WITH HIS COMPANIONS. CAN YOU IMAGINE! I AM BLESSED TO ONLY LEARN JAPANESE!
ON SUNDAY WE WERE TALKING ABOUT CHARITY IN SUNDAY SCHOOL. BRADLEY CHORO QUOTED LES MIS- "TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"-AND RELATED IT TO CHARITY. THAT MADE ME SOOO HAPPY! I LOVED THAT CLASS TOO, BECAUSE THE TEACHER ASKED ME A QUESTION IN JAPANESE AND I UNDERSTOOD AND ANSWERED IN JAPANESE WITHOUT ASKING MY COMPANION FOR HELP. I FELT SO SELF RELIANT. IT WAS AWESOME.
BRADLEY AND CLARK CHORO'S INVESTIGATOR IS FROM CAMEROON, AFRICA. HE WAS AT THE CLASS ON SUNDAY. AT THE END HE ASKED WHY THE CHURCH MEMBERS WEREN'T "MOVING OUT" AND DOING MISSIONARY WORK IF OUR MESSAGE WAS SO IMPORTANT. THAT REALLY MADE ME THINK. HERE, AN INVESTIGATOR IS ASKING WHY WE ARE NOT MORE ENGAGED!
WE WENT TO THE IWAMOTO'S FOR A SHOKUJI (DINNER APPOINTMENT) WITH OUR INVESTIGATOR SYLVIA. I WAS SHARING ETHER 12: 12. SINCE SHE LIKES MOVIES, AT THE LAST MINUTE IT POPPED INTO MY HEAD TO SHARE INDIANA JONES LEAP OF FAITH. SHE KNEW THE MOVIE AND SHE UNDERSTOOD.
THERE IS A NEW DENDO SHUNIN (GUY IN CHARGE OF MISSIONARY WORK FOR THE WARD) IN YOKOHAMA WARD. HE IS BROTHER YAMAZKI. WE WENT TO THEIR HOUSE FOR DINNER AND A MOGI. I TAUGHT ABOUT OBEDIENCE AND USED "I WILL GO I WILL DO" AS THE TEACHING STORY. WE WENT OT THEIR HOUSE LAST TRANSFER FOR DINNER ONCE. THIS TIME I COULD UNDERSTAND MORE AND I EVEN SPOKE UP! BRO YAMAZAKI SAID MY "ADAPTABILITY" WAS VERY GOOD. AND GUESS WHAT... THEY SERVED SUSHI. I WAS IN HEAVEN. AND THEN HOMEMADE CHEESECAKE FOR DESSERT. THE CHEESECAKE IN JAPAN IS ROCKIN' AWESOME. IT IS NOT TOO SWEET. I LOOOVE IT!
YESTERDAY I TAUGHT NAGASE SHIMAI THE MEANING OF BROWN NOSING. SANDERS CHORO SAID SHE WAS DOING IT TO HIM AND SHE ASKED ME TO EXPLAIN. SHE WAS WANTING HIM TO LOOK AT HER BIKE SO SHE WAS SAYING NICE THINGS!
THERE ARE 87 MISSIONARIES IN THE MTC WAITING TO COME TO JAPAN. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!? INCREDIBLE. NOT ALL WILL COME TO TOKYO OF COURSE BUT STILL...
SO WE'RE SUPPOSED TO MEMORIZE D&c 4 IN JAPANESE. MAN, IT IS HARD ENOUGH IN ENGLISH :)
I ASKED NAGASE SHIMAI WHAT SHE THOUGHT THE MOST SCARY NATURAL DISASTER WAS. SHE SAID EARTHQUAKES (JISHIN) BECAUSE HUMANS CAN'T FLY. THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT THE "EVACUATION CENTER" SIGNS I SEE AROUND TOWN AND THE EARTHQUAKE DRILL WE DID FOR RS ENRICHMENT LAST TRANSFER. DURING THAT WE EVEN LEARNED HOW TO DRESS WOUNDS. AND... THERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A HUMUNGO EARTHQUAKE. I CAN'T COMPREHEND HOW BIG EARTHQUAKES ARE. TO ME IT IS A FUN LITTLE THING BUT ITS KINDA LOOMING IN JAPAN (CANT REMEMBER THAT WORD...LOOMING, IMPENDING DOOM...).
APPARENTLY THERE WERE ONLY 7 BAPTISMS THIS MONTH AND THE GOAL IS 40. WHOA. PRES HILL IS NOT TOO HAPPY. I AM PRETTY SAD TOO. WE STREET AND STREET AND PEOPLE JUST DON'T HAVE INTEREST. SOME PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE IS. OR, LIKE ANYTHING THAT IS NEW, PEOPLE MIGHT NOT HAVE INTEREST IN IT. I FIND MYSELF PRAYING SO HARD DURING A STREET CONVERSATION THAT THE PEOPLE WILL HAVE A SINCERE DESIRE TO LEARN MORE. I WONDER WHAT ELSE I COULD POSSIBLY DO TO EFFECTIVELY SHARE THE MESSAGE. BUT I DO KNOW THAT IF WE WORK WORK WORK REALLY HARD AND GIVE 100 PERCENT THEN THAT IS ALL WE CAN DO. THE LORD KNOWS EVERYTHING AND THINGS HAPPEN ACCORDING TO HIS TIME.
SO THERE IS THIS WAY COOL CHAIN OF STORES CALLED TE DAISO (LONG O). IT IS LIKE A REALLY SMALL WAL-MART. ALL THE MISSIONARIES SHOP THERE. YOU CAN EVEN BUY TIES.
I AM WRITING IN THE FAMILY/CHURCH HISTORY CENTER NEXT TO THE TEMPLE RIGHT NOW. WE JUST WENT TO THE TEMPLE. I LOVE GOING TO THE TEMPLE! IT IS SO FAMILIAR AND YOU CAN ALWAYS FEEL PEACE THERE.
10-2-10 IS THE GOAL FOR EACH COMP EVERY WEEK. 10 CONVERSATIONS, 2 NEW INVESTIGATORS, AND 10 REFERRAL ATTEMPTS. A CONVERSATION IS THE CHURCH NAME, YOUR PURPOSE, PRINCIPLE, AND COMMITMENT. NAGASE SHIMAI IS AWESOME. WE STOP EVERYONE ON THE STREET.
LOOOOOOOOVE YOU!!!!!!!!
MCMAHAN SHIMAI
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