November 23, 2014

Old french poem
"Come to the edge," He said.
No! We'll fall!
"Come to the edge," He said.
No! We will fall!
"Come to the edge," He said.
So we came to the edge.
And he pushed us.
And we flew.

I know that as we trust in God and put our whole trust in Him that He will deliver us. He will strengthen us. As He is helping my friends.

Love you all! Have a great week!

愛しています
モレン姉妹

November 16, 2014

Hello everyone!
This week was so long I do not even know where to start. It was full
 of good things! I like some thing my brother Michael sent me, "There
 are no such things as bad days-just bad moments. You will never have a
bad day."I like that a lot. This week was full of a lot of good days.

My friends are doing well. I feel so blessed to be in Japan and to
know them. I have often wondered why someone like me-with no
connections to Japan and no understanding or immediate interest in the
 culture-would be called here. Now I am, finding that the culture has
been a part of me for a long time. And, the thought of never having
come here to meet my friends makes me so sad. I had to give up a lot
to come here. But my friends are worth it. I feel so blessed to have
seen so many miracles.

I find that, when our attitudes are faith centered, God gives us the
opportunities to see miracles. If we do not want to see them or
believe we will not, we won't.

This week we did a family history fair. Ancestors and family are
absolutely important, and it was great to be able to tell people about
 it. That is one thing no one can deny-how important families are. That
is why God gave them to us.

Oh, adventures. Studied with my friends, am glad I can see God in
their lives,went to a garden, passed out family history fliers, gave
tours explaining family history and temples, ate cold pizza, sang at a
fireside (in a VERY large group of missionaries. "I love to see the
Temple"),went on splits with a great missionary, climbed a huge hill,
and met great new people.

Wish I has more time. But I am so grateful to be here as a missionary.
Yes, sometimes times are hard, but I have absolute confidence and
testimony that God does not leave us a lone. He is with us. Because He
 loves us.

Hope you are all doing well! Would love to hear from you.
This Gospel is true. We choose what we do with our lives. And when we
choose to do right, we will see and feel the difference. And this
church is the rightest thing out here.
If i can do anything to help anyone, please let me know.

愛しています

 Garden Walk



 
Family History Fair

Nov 2014

  Latest and greatest! 

November 9, 2014

Questions from my wonderful mom:

1.  What have you learned the most so far in your mission?

     How much God is involved in people's lives. Especially in mine. I

am learning how small I am, but how great God thinks I am. And I see

how God loves people, even when they don't see Him. Like people

(paraphrasing something I heard an elder say) who have never eaten

cake before, saying cake is gross. Well, you don't know until you test

it out. Same thing with God. Of course you won't know if He is there,

unless you test it out with real intent. Then you'll know

2.  What did you have for breakfast?

     a sunny side up egg with rice. Eaten with chopsticks.

3.   If you had to say one thing to someone 

prepping for a mission

what would it be?

       read Preach My Gospel. Seriously. And pray in faith.

4.  What is one tradition you have learned in Japan you will want to continue?

       I like a lot of traditions here.

5.  How has the Savior touched your life this week?

       The word "Savior" in English makes sense, but I really never

thought about what it mean until I learned it i Japanese: 救い主.

Sukuinushi. The first two means "to rescue, to save" the second part

means, "Lord". I have seen many people rescued here. It is hard to

describe how it is to see someone when you first meet them compared to

later, when they are recognizing God's love, and following Him. There

is an intangible light burning behind their eyes, a confidence in

their step, and a linger to their smile.

That is why missionaries exist.

Something I wanted to share:

Gave a training last week. It was on the Spirit. And I was so nervous

and felt so inadequate to give a training. I don't like speaking

Japanese in front of people. And we had to do a role play lesson. Then

at the end, President Wada (mission President-pictured below) said to

the sister we were role playing to, "How do you feel?" And she broke

down sobbing. "I feel so much love." And I was like, "That was a

really bad role play lesson! I messed up so much!" But then I looked

out and saw everyone watching, and their eyes were tearing up and they

were warm and smiling. President Wada then said, "Sisters are so much

different than Elders. I do not know how you did it, but you did it.

You brought the Spirit. That is what this training was about. Great

job". We asked for criticism, and no one could bring anything

up-because somehow, in our own clumsy way, we invited the Spirit.

Sometimes we invite the Spirit in with out testimonies, but we are so

focused on our imperfections were are not able to feel or recognize

it.

Love you all! This church is real. God is really there.

愛しています

モレン姉妹

President Wada and his wife

PS this is my favorite pair of shoes. They are getting really old and

dirty. But I have to say I am proud of them (I also love them so much

I don't want to throw them away)

From November 1, 2014

1.  What is a typical dinner that you have at a member's home?

   The member's here are so kind. They always make too much food. On

Sunday we ate with some of our friends, and some of them were members.

We ate everything from pizza to octopus (which is highly underrated.)

2.  Is the weather changing? If so, how?

    The weather changes daily here. Today it is sunny and warm. But

whenever the weather suddenly drastically changes, everyone gets sick.

3.  What was the best street contact you made this week?

     Met someone who was born in Huntington Beach. "About 10 minutes

from the beach," she said. Didn't remember it though. Taught her how

to read the Book of Mormon. Gave her our information. Excited to see

what will happen!

4.  Which lesson did you teach the most this week?

      We taught a lot about Jesus Christ.

5.  What is the most common advertising sign that you see?

      I don't ride the trains much in this area, so I really don't see much.

6.  What is six feet from you right now?

     My beautiful companion :)

7.  Is there any American food you miss the most?

      Had a strawberry milkshake today. I've missed those.

8.  What is your most favorite Japanese drink?

      I love Japanese drinks. But I have to admit, I have fallen in

love with Mugicha-the drink associated with cigarette butts. When I

got sick a few months ago, that was all I craved.

9.  What was the lesson on in Relief Society today?

    On Sunday it was on the Work of Salvation. I bore my testimony on

Family History work.

10.  What is the last song you heard?

     Our ring tone- Amazing Grace

Other than that, this week has been quite good. I am learning a lot

about the Gospel as I learn with my friends-truly seeing what our

relationship with the Savior is like. It is amazing seeing the Gospel

change people. I am seeing it. It is breathtaking.

Sometimes when we are changed by the Gospel (Christ's teachings and

His Atonement) we cannot see it, but other people most certainly can.

The Book of Mormon is truly what makes or breaks a testimony. If

someone reads it, their testimony tends to grow very quickly. If they

don't, it doesn't make that much change.

Love you all! Sorry it is short! Please know that life is meant to be fun!

愛しています

モレン姉妹