More 奇跡 (Miracles)!!‏

こんにちは︎(Hello)

We saw tons more kisekis this week. Heavenly Father really has a hand
in this work. Sakado is ready to see a baptism!

So, let me first tell you about Arai San. We met with her on Tuesday
and she actually brought a friend. :) we talked for them a little bit,
then later found out that they were actually trying to convert us to
their religion. They were both Nichiren Daishounin which is a form of
Buddhism. They don't like Christians... I guess their form of Dendou
is finding young female Christian foreigners, so we are the best
target. Haha They are afraid of Jesus Christ, which is too bad. :( It
made me sad. We did teach them about Jesus Christ and also our life on
earth. They also told us about their religion. It was a great learning
experience, but I felt a little betrayed by Arai San, I thought for
sure she had a desire to learn about the church. That experience put
Ruplinger Shimai and I in a sad mood, but later in the week, we saw
miracles to make up for it.

Thursday, we had a great Zone meeting. The zone leaders did a really
good job. We talked about the joy of sharing the gospel. I want to
teach you some Japanese kanji. I might have shared this before, but I
don't remember. So with kanji, each kanji has its own meaning, and
putting them together makes a word. One of my favorite words is fukuin
(福音) which means gospel. Fuku (福) means 'good' and in (音) means
'news'. So we are sharing the "good news" that we have. After the zone
meeting, I was thinking. Just because some people aren't ready to
accept the gospel, that doesn't mean I stop spreading the good news.
This week, I have really found the joy of sharing the gospel and see
that The Lord is preparing people in his own time. Whether they are
ready to accept now or later, they are being put in our path.

The next day after zone meeting was a day full of miracles for us.
Ruplinger Shimai and I decided to go to an area that we bike pass all
the time. It just seemed like a good place to know, but really, it was
the spirit telling us that that is where we needed to be. I didn't
really know what was going to be in that area. When we got to the
area, I was honestly just biking around not knowing where to find
people. When Ruplinger Shimai was biking ahead of me, she was asking
me where to turn, so I would yell out left or right. So badically, we
were just seeing what was in the are. During our bike ride, we passed
am apartment a couple of times. We figures that passing it many times
meant it was important, so we decided to house it. We started on the
5th floor and work our way down. We went through the whole building
being rejected all the way down and being told a couple of times by
Jehovah witnesses that we are wrong. We got to the last floor and a
man answers the door. We told him that we a missionaries that share a
message about Jesus Christ. The best part was that he was interested!
He has recently started looking in to Christianity. We were talking to
him and gave him a restoration pamphlet. As he was flipping through
it, he saw a scripture from the bible in it. I guess, this year, he
received a bible from the Jehovah witness that lives above him and
read it in three months. He really seemed like he wanted to learn
more, but since he was a single 47 year old man, we could not go in.
So, we asked if our friends (the elders) could come by and visit. He
said they could come by any time since he doesn't have a job and is
home often. Later that day, we called the elders and told them. They
said that that morning, they prayed that they could find some new
investigators and here we Are ttelling them that there is someone
ready to hear the gospel. Later that day, we showed the elders where
he lives and they ended up teaching Kaneko San (that is his name) the
restoration. Kaneko ended up reading the whole restoration pamphlet
before they came over. The elders said the lesson went really well and
he looks forward to reading the Book of Mormon. They invited him to
church, but he said he isn't quite ready for that yet. So instead,
they had a lesson with him on Sunday and he has already read to 2
Nephi. Heavenly Father really guided us to find Kaneko San that day
and now he is progressing.

Then.... When we were biking home from dropping the elders off, we
were stopped at a light waiting to cross and we start talking to a
nice older lady. She asked us where we were from and she talked to us
about how she has been to Germany. We also talked about how we live in
the same area and she explained to us where she lived. Room number and
everything, then invited us over for coffee the next day. So, we went
over and had a really nice visit with Wakaki. We explained to her that
we dint drink coffee and why. She was really nice about it. She is
Buddist and we talked a little bit about religion. She thinks it is
good for people to have religion. She even told us about Buddhism and
what they believe. But, she has been reading about Christian church's
and she has a few different bibles that she showed us. So, we were
able to introduce the Book of Mormon and give her one. I don't think
she is interested in joining any particular church, but she seems to
be looking for the truth, but doesn't know she is. She was very
willing to listen which was way nice. She said we could come by again,
but would rather not talk to much about religion next time. She isn't
fully ready to receive what we have to share, but I know Heavenly
Father put us in her path to prepare her for future missionaries she
may meet.

Well, those are the kesekis for the week. It has been fun. Sunday, we
watched the Womens broadcast. It was in Japanese, but I was able to
get something out of it. I was able to recognize that I have learned a
lot since the last time I watched the broadcast. I am really looking
forward to conference. That one should be in English for us. I love
conference!! Are you all ready to receive some revelation soon? I know
I am. :) haha one thing I noticed during the women's broadcast was the
emphasis they put on the temple in the videos they showed. So all I
have to say about that is... Go to the temple! It is an amazing place.
:)

Yesterday we celebrated 花見 (hanami), had a picnic and looked at the
cherry blossoms. It was super pretty! I will send some pictures. It
was way fun. I am so glad spring is here. It is my favorite!

I just got back from the temple and we watched the new temple video.
It was great. I was able to learn SO much more. It is so good. I
cried.... Haha from the temple and also the women's broadcast, I am
thankful for this opportunity to be a women in this church. We have
such an important role in heavenly fathers plan. What a great
privilege that is. I love this church and I just know it is true!!

I am glad you had fun in Arizona. Pics? Haha jk. I hope everyone had a wonderful week and
stays safe. I love you! 愛しています︎

Love,
Sister Ivory
アイボリー姉妹

P.s. Mom, I found out this week from an investigator a trick to get
ride of cats in your garden. Cats don't like the smell of orange, so
lay some orange pills or something around. That might work... Haha
頑張って︎(Good luck)