Ping pong (you got it right)! This is my new P-day. Next week is transfers so P-day will be on Wednesday. If I stay, there are apparently great fireworks in Maebashi.
You said it was hot here in the last email. Yeah, it is toasty. Today is particularly humid. I drank my entire water bottle in an hour and forty five minutes. I dunno how much it holds, but I think a liter. I just bought a lemonade for 200en, so kinda pricey. Today is just way humid. It is the first time I have finished my water bottle completely in a day. Speaking of hot, I heard there were fires in California again.
McMahan Shimai and Yamamoto Shimai at the Tokyo temple And speaking of knowing about California and fires, I will tell you who I heard it from. From the Tashiro couple. We met them housing a couple weeks ago. I wrote about them in my email I think. To recap, they went to Eikaiwa years ago. They were working in their garden when we met and they said "Are you Mormons?" Well, anyways. The lady likes foreigners and learning English. We visited them again and they invited us in. The lady showed me a bottle of shea butter lotion and also a bottle of bath and body works hand soap. She wanted me to read it. I showed them my family pictures. We saw their pictures too. I liked seeing their wedding picture. They were dressed in traditional Japanese clothing. Sakamoto Shimai talked about prophets a little and also prayer. The dad paid attention but the wife talked to me about the pictures. We are going to their house again later this month. Their daughter is invited to come. Their daughter speaks real good English apparently. Interesting thing is that this couple does not smoke or drink tea. In Japan tea is a cultural thing to drink and lots of people drink. So, we were surprised. So yeah, the wife is the one that mentioned the fires. We told her about how we don't watch TV for a year and a half so we don't know what is going on.
We had a lesson with Akutsu-san her at the church yesterday. Sister Uchida Akiko was the joint. We watched the DVD about the life of Jesus Christ. In the beginning before the film she started off with questions and comments, including her desire to share some of her old clothes with us. Sakamoto Shimai asked her if she was praying. She said she couldn't concentrate enough to pray. Towards the middle/end of the movie she started to cry. She was impressed by an act of kindness in the film. I am not particularly sure because of the Japanese. But at any rate, she told us about her past. She has been treated unkindly. As missionaries we can't talk about that sort of thing, but she stayed and talked to Sister Uchida.
I have been thinking about my setting apart blessing where I was blessed to learn Japanese and be free from bodily aches and pains. Each day my back has pains and each day I feel overwhelmed with Japanese in one way or another. I have come to the conclusion that our faith needs to be tried in order for it to grow. True, no?
I would like to share with you something interesting about Japanese. I learned it just the other day and it was a "ping pong" moment.
The word otearai means "restroom." However, when people need to go to the bathroom they usually say "toire ni ikitai." (a more casual way of speaking) As you can guess toire is toilet because Japanese does not have an l sound.
I will break it on down....
First----0- or go- in the beginning of a word is used to make it more honorific. example: parents- ryoshin- goryoshin
Second--- "te" means "hand"
Third-- arai (noun form) comes from arau, the verb meaning "to wash"
So all together it means -- honorifc place where you wash your hands. Pretty spiffy, huh?
We went to a festival with Ryo, our investigator. Omatsuri is the word for festival. Yes, the o is to be honorific. There were tons of stands. It was held in a covered walkway between buildings. It was kinda like a T in the road shape set up. I got to eat a fish and that was way good. I took some pictures. So, when the pictures come you will know what is going on!
Thank you so much, in advance for the birthday package!
Love love love, Sister McMahan
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