I am becoming a little Japanese!

My Dear Family,


Time is short today and so hopefully we'll be able to pack this all in
with a bow and send it! I am here in Akashi with my wonderful
companion, Ishiyama Shimai.  It is so fun - i just love her!!! She is 29 and a 
convert of 5 years. No one in her family is a member, she is from Sendai, 
and this is her last transfer on the mission. She is so great. I know we are 
supposed to be here now! I realize how little Japanese I know but I am so 
grateful for her help and patience. THE WORK IS TRUE!!!! The Lord knows
 us and watches over us! I am so grateful. I think that Heavenly Father must have
just smiled when He sent us on that exchange and I got to work with Ishiyama 
Shimai. My last companion's new companion is the sister she exchanged 
with too! 


We have four investigators right now in Akashi. Three of them have
baptismal dates! It is so humbling to have your Japanese companion
send you on splits on your first day in the ward with a member you
just met, with someone you didn't plan to teach because another
investigator didn't come... and not know for sure even if your
investigator understood because not only are the concepts sometimes
hard, but then they are in Japanese. My head hurts sometimes...a lot. ha
ha. But the work is so good! I love the people in Akashi. I know that
I have been called to this area, this transfer with a specific
purpose. 


This week... I moved to Akashi! We cleaned up our apartment and we
were out of Tokushima. We met with a huge group of missionaries, so
many people switching companions, and we were off. The work is good,
and hard. Real faith requires pressure oftimes, and sometimes that pressure 
hurts. But it is amazing what the Lord can do with one person who is willing
to be a tool. It comforts me so much knowing that it is His work. It
takes a lot of faith to know that He CAN work through you, that you
CAN do it... but I know that we can. I know that is is Jesus Christ's
work, and that His sheep are numbered. More than that, I know
of His tender mercies. He is so good to us. 

How I love you family! How I am thankful for your support.
In other news... it is so fun talking to people! The work is so good.
I am amazed at how the Lord fulfills His promises, sometimes in ways
that we don't anticipate. I am reminded of that so often.We may not know
the how or the why, but He knows us.Let's have faith and trust in His promises! 

What a life!!!
I love you!
Love, Your Sister Anderson



P.S. Last night for a treat I... put hot chocolate in the freezer! ha
ha. It is like this famous dish we had at a place called Serendipity
in New York. Livin the dream...

I went shopping today for summer clothes with my comp and so many of 
them looked like kids clothes! You would not believe how tiny some of these 
sweet Japanese people are. :)


PP.S. I bought my first scrunchie today. They are big in Japan. It's
SWEET! They also have really festive tape. I am becoming a little...
JAPANESE! The ward members are SO NICE. I know we have a great work
together and they seem super on board with missionary work. AWESOME. I
know that this ward will hold a special place in my heart forever. I
love it!!!


I also ate Nato!!! Announcement! It wasn't that bad. It is like the
thing that eveyrone talks about who comes to Japan. Ha ha. My stomach
was a little like.... woooowwww! but it's ok.

Nattō (なっとう or 納豆? - Nato) is a traditional Japanese food made from soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis. It is popular especially as a breakfast food. As a rich source of protein, nattō and the soybean paste miso formed a vital source of nutrition in feudal Japan. Nattō can be an acquired taste because of its powerful smell, strong flavor, and slippery texture. 

Nattō is commonly eaten at breakfast to accompany rice, possibly with soy sauce, tsuyu broth, mustard, scallions, grated daikon, okra, or a raw egg. In Hokkaidō and the northern Tōhoku region, some people dust nattō with sugar. Nattō is commonly used in other foods, such as nattō sushi, nattō toast, in miso soup, tamagoyaki, salad, as an ingredient in okonomiyaki, or even with spaghetti or as fried nattō. A dried form of nattō, having little odor or sliminess, can be eaten as a nutritious snack. There is even nattō ice cream. Soybeans are sometimes crushed and fermented. This is called 'hikiwari nattō'. It is a food that is easy to digest.
The perceived flavor of nattō can differ greatly between people; some find it tastes strong and cheesy and they may thus use it in small amounts to flavor rice or noodles, while others find it tastes bland and unremarkable, requiring the addition of flavoring condiments such as mustard and soy sauce. Many non-Japanese find the taste unpleasant and smelly, while others relish it as a delicacy.  Even in Japan, nattō is more popular in some areas than in others. Nattō is known to be popular in the eastern Kantō region (Tokyo), but less popular in Kansai (Osaka, Kobe). 236,000 tons of nattō are consumed in Japan each year.