Week #11 in Japan

Here is a photo we received tonight from President Hill. He's the mission president; he and his wife are seated in the center front row...red tie, red skirt. This photo shows half of the missionaries in the Japan Tokyo Mission. It was taken at a conference held 17 February. Em is in the red sweater. Her companion, Nagase Shimai, stands to her right. Way cool!!!

February 5, 2009
Well, things are kinda down. We dropped an investigator. Well, she dropped herself. That is the third person who has dropped this transfer. And more than usual we are being rejected on the streets. It makes me really sad. But the good news is I contacted a lady on the train named Emi. Yeah, same name! We exchanged phone numbers. She had interest in eikaiwa (English class). I called her last night and she is coming to Eikaiwa today! Yeah! I think it is cool she has my same name. It's a sign. Ha ha!
Any cool dendo stories? See the above about Emi. It is not a dendo story but I do have a miracle. My coat hasn't been enough to keep me warm. The day before it snowed, a lady in the ward gave me her old coat. It is really thick and nice and long and I could tell a huge difference! I also got a skirt from her for after the mission. I want to mail it home.
What's the weather like? Are things starting to turn green? It snowed two days ago! Can you believe it? It didn't stick luckily. And I forgot my kappa two days in a row so I got kinda wet.
Are you totally used to sleeping on the floor? Yeah I think so. The problem is that my pillow is old so that isn't too comfortable.
Do you guys eat while sitting on the floor, too? In our apartment we have a table but a lot of times we eat on the floor when we go to people's houses.
What are the grocery stores like? Well,last week we went to the temple and they had an international grocery store. A jello pack was 2.89 us dollars. Whoa. Well, it was 289 yen and that is about that much in US money. Can u believe!? As for the stores in general the aisles are small.
How is Eikaiwa going? Super duper. I like teaching. In the booklet that comes with my electronic dictionary it has some stuff in the back that I found I can use to teach. Last week we talked about the difference between looking and seeing and synonyms for those words. Kid's eikaiwa is pretty cute. The kids absolutely love the "days of the week" song. Brother Asai said his kids always sing it at home. Isn't that cute?
Well, my companion always writes emails really quick so I am trying to make this quick. Just know that there are two packages in the mail.and they should be coming. Thanks again for the packages. I love you very much! I miss you and our house and dancing and music :)

mcmahan shimai