Happy Mother's Day!!!

 hino shimai  

Dearest Family!!! 

 

The computers are so slow this morning, but we get to email you! Thanks for the phone call this morning! COY IS GOING TO SINGAPORE!!!!! I am so excited!! My companion and I were talking about what an incredible mission it is. My friend, Sister Becky Trottier, is on her mission there and loves it! I'm so excited for you Coy!!! And so, so proud of you and your willingness and preparation to serve!

 

I love you all! I am so proud of the good you are doing and pleased to be your sister in this great work. I am praying for Macy, and I am so grateful she is in good care.

 

I love this work and it is the Lord's! Recently one of our investigators moved and is having a hard time in her new area, we'd love prayers for her, we call her "Rose." We've picked up some old investigators and found a new family this week that we just started teaching, we are praying it will go well from here. We delivered some beautiful flowers and a note to one of our families:

It truly is the best work in the world. What could be better than gathering Heavenly Father's children? My heart is full of gratitude to be involved in this great work! Weaknesses and shortcomings will not hinder it as we depend on Him. :) Isn't it an incredible privilege to be alive, part of an eternal family, and with the greatest joy in the world: The Gospel of Jesus Christ!

 

Happy Mother's Day Mom!! Thanks for being you! Thanks for all your love and support - you are the best!!!

 

Love, Sister Anderson

333 

 P-Day with our investigator and her husband

Healthy eating in Japan!

note from Sister Jen's folks:

We loved talking with our sweet missionary yesterday, and her laughter and spirit filled our home once again! What a perfect Mother's Day gift!!!

She doesn't want to think about it, but her mission is drawing to a close.  We got her official flight itinerary and she will be arriving home June 5th!!! She will be taking some BYU classes this summer and moving to Provo in the fall to attend BYU full-time. 

Her nephew, Coy Christensen (son of our daughter, Jana, and her husband, Jeff), will be entering the MTC on September 11th, to learn the Malay language and receive training for his mission to Singapore!   

He is our oldest grand son and such an amazing example for the others!  This summer, before he leaves, and after Sister Jen returns (and after her brother, Nate, returns from his tour to Japan and Korea), we are having a family reunion and all  of our children, their spouses, and all of our grand children will be here!  What could be better?  It may never happen again. :)

Sister Jen mentioned that she is praying for her cousin's daughter, Macy, who fell over twenty feet from a tree.  Here is the update from her Mom, Merrilea:

Macy has splints on both her arms (fractured wrists) and will be in casts next week for about 6 weeks.  She is in a neck brace for the time being.  the brace may come off but for now she is a trouper though...She has fractured her t5 and t6 vertebrae and for now remains completely flat in bed.  She will be fitted for a brace that kinda looks like a turtle shell which will protect and alleviate pressure off the the spine.  Once that is fitted, she may start to walk when she feels up to it. She is incredibly sore and her lungs are bruised, so she remains on oxygen. We are working on strengthening her lings by blowing bubbles and other breathing exercises.  Every day she is getting a little stronger. The doctors and nurses at Primary Children's hospital have been fantastic with us, and i am so grateful to them.  So for now we are taking baby steps in the right direction...Again, thanks for all your prayers, thoughts, sweet gifts, and for taking care of Parker, Brylea, and Logan.  I hope everyone has a beautiful Mother's Day!  I am so grateful I am mother to four amazing children!  All my love, Mer

Sister Jen's cousin, Quinn Lythgoe, served in the Kobe, Japan mission also - as many of you know.  Sister Jen has told us about him being a fantastic missionary, and the times they got to see each other over the course of their missions.  He spoke in his home ward sacrament meeting yesterday and gave a wonderful talk.  We loved hearing about how his mission taught him to use the atonement every day...missions do that for missionaries!!! We got to meet four more missionaries from their mission who all knew Sister Jen - what fun it was to hear them talk about her!  Here are some pics:

 Mao and Whitney

 Quinn and Rex

 Candice and Quinn's mom, Laurie, who is Scott's sister

Sister Jen and Candice when she was Sister Cheney 

and went to Nara with her ...

No need to doubt!

My Dear Friends and Family,

 

Sometimes my heart just rejoices and reflects in the depth of the help Heavenly Father gives us. I am so amazed at His mercy. His call is for each of us, no matter where we are, to come to His feet, to come to His mercy, so He CAN help us. I had another paradigm in my study this week as a I realized that commandments are to protect us, that the Lord WANTS us within the realm of His help and protection. We hear "come," "ask," "knock." I promise you my brothers and sisters, that He is here to help.

 

Transfer calls came and, I will finish up here in Niihama! I can't believe it. As the time is winding down, I can't figure out how I'm feeling--at all! We met a new investigator family this week, it was so neat because when we taught them about baptism and related it to Church, the husband was really interested--and they were like, "Where is this Church? We want to go." It was the first time anyone has down that in a first lesson without being invited on my mission. The Lord knows the hearts of those we teach.

 

Other than that, things are clicking more with Hino Shimai! Right now she is praying to Heavenly Father AND Jesus Christ, and then says respectfully, "you two people..." She is so funny. We taught about prayer before and will teach it again tonight. :)

We use activities and teach simply. She understood the Spirit more last time, and it was so fun because she said, "When I feel like I shouldn't read the Book of Mormon, that's Satan, isn't it! And when I do feel like I should, that's the Spirit!" We also did a guide activity in that one, complete with an eyes-shut Owens Shimai, to teach about how feeling the spirit works. On Sunday, we had just finished a meeting and she bustled up to the room we were in, so cute, because she knew we would want to sit and talk with her. She told us that when she met her friend, she prayed to start off their time together so that they would have a good time! Isn't that wonderful? She really has a testimony, it is just trying to put all of the pieces down for her. Her study of the Book of Mormon is really beginning to open her heart, help overcome years of other beliefs. It is so fun.

 

On Sunday, I got to talk in Church, and our neighbor came to the Church for the first time! They are such a cute couple, and moving so soon, we will stay in touch though and refer them. But as I started my talk, an investigator we have been trying to meet (and not able to get an appointment with) walked into the Chapel. Our branch is really small and it was a small day for the small branch, I said, "Welcome!" And then I think I skipped half of my talk! ha ha. (just a little.) Sunday was a day full of miracles.

 

Thanks so much for your notes, you are so great. We ask for your prayers that we can quickly find the prepared people in our area, and that we can help them come unto Christ through the ordinance of baptism.

 

This is the Savior's work. We have no need to doubt, for He is at the head.

 

I LOVE YOU! Remember that no matter where you are, what you are facing, that the Lord's love is enough. Our task on earth is to choose, and choosing Him is enough to cover all the rest. It is the best decision I have ever made, and maintain that allegiance each day. I love you all! The work is true, and people's salvation is waiting.

 

Love you!

Sister Anderson 

I love this mochi! ahhhh.....

 Treats from our surprise investigator at Church! 

Choudai!!!

My sweet Family,

I am so sorry the last two weeks have been so short! Today, I will try to make it a little longer. So! We did stay in Niihama, and my new companion straight from the MTC is named Owens Shimai. She is really great and excited to be in the field. 

We are teaching a lot of investigators, and really want to actively seek to invite them to come unto Christ. It is such a privilege. This week I really felt like this must be like motherhood. Yesterday, riding my bike, I thought of how you think it will get easier, how you are so excited to have another child coming, you do more prep, and probably some smarter prep from having the experience, but in the end--you find out you are still human, and kind of close to the same person you were --you are still mortal ha ha. It was such a realization for me as I knew I would probably feel like that with every child I have. Ha ha! Who knew what prep I would get in Japan! It is so wonderful though. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love my Savior and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So this week, Hino Shimai read the monogatari (The Book of Mormon picture book) we gave her.  She read it 6 times, and moved forward on her own to begin reading the Book of Mormon, which she told the other sisters that she couldn't do! It's so neat because it wasn't something we really did, the spirit is just working with her. She has a very depth of knowledge about the story of the Book of Mormon, probably more than most any investigator.

Jedley and Melody, our Phillipino investigators, came to church this week. It was so special. I got to speak in Sacrament meeting, and felt Heavenly Father's love for them so strongly. I felt how happy He was that everyone was there. I shared an experience about the Sacrament, and the power I felt it had in my life when I was such a new missionary, with my first Japanese companion in Akashi. I love the Sacrament. Our other investigators we haven't met a lot, except for Yuushi, who we taught about the Spirit--I had him do a pop quiz and listed feelings of the Spirit to see if he's felt them. He had. It was so neat to see his mom just testify to him and try to teach him.

We love the work. It is interesting to me to be on this last stretch of my mission, but I am feeling the excitement and the drive to go and find the elect. They are waiting here. It is such a privilege to work in the vineyard! I wish I had hours to tell you about all of those we are teaching. They are all just so special.

We were asked to do a family home evening last night at the Branch President's, to which Yuushi kun and his family and another guy and family came. We acted out Lehi's dream, and put Liahona's in their little backpacks when they stepped on the stuff that wasn't the path. They had to find their path on their own, with both forces (the great and spacious building people used the party hats and kazoos Mom sent for my birthday!), with some Japanese treats that were white at the end, where the other team was eating and cheering. It was so cute - the girl heard the voices, even though she was blindfolded, and walked almost straight to them. The other boy struggled for maybe 10 minutes, and kept getting magazines and eventually fruit in his back pack. When he finally came to the rod, we took off his backpack at Baptism... it is empty when we are baptized (we had the path as the Gospel of Christ). It was so fun. You wouldn't believe that our Branch President knows the Abraham dance that Yoshiko Shimai taught us in Akashi. One day I will show you that video. I haven't laughed that hard on my whole mission!!!

The work is rich, and we are rich because we have it. I love to share the wealth!
Whether a person is new to the gospel or filled with the Gospel light - no matter where each of us is on that Gospel path, His help is real, and  we are not too far from His reach. "Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

That is the Savior's invitation to each of us. He loves us all so much. 

Sending my love from this blessed land,
Sister Anderson

PS

 have to tell you about one of the most tender moments of my mission. We were going to district meeting, maybe an hour and a half away. These cute elementary kids got on the train. I always bring stickers to give out to kids on the street and start talking to families,  and I had just re-stocked. I gave one away, and for the next twenty minutes there were all of these little faces with their matching yellow hats sneaking over, all peering. They are so cute. We became friends. I gave one boy two, and there were thirty little hands saying "Choudai!" They were so precious.

You wouldn't believe it, but when we came home at one pm, they came on the same train. This time, we were on the receiving end. These cute little children, under eight, came grasping seashells and leftover candy from their lunches, a few of the precious caramels that each of them had received, a pine cone or two from a boy who liked them. Tears sprung my eyes as they told us they liked karate, asked us to speak English, asked if we'd tasted this kind of candy. They were so anxious to give from what they had. They are so Christ-like. We were even sitting by a lady who they became friends with, and they gave her candy, because we said she was our friend. I want to be like them when I grow up. It impressed me so much. I have a precious bag of seashells covered in seaweed, a beautiful little shell that a little girl gathered, and they are all so precious. Do you think I could get them through customs? :)

  

 The party hats came in handy at eikaiwa 

(English conversation school)! haha!

 An English Group we volunteer for --they took us on a tour of the mine for our last Preparation Day! They are so sweet. 

In the mine,,,

Nothing is impossible!!!! 

  I found Japanese Aunt Laura in Japan! ha ha 

(beautiful, sweet ward-member)

Funny story:  Mom sent two packages for my birthday in December and I only got one.  Sometime in February the other one was returned to Bluffdale.  Mom immediately re-mailed it and now I have the rest of the presents and the party hats mentioned in this letter!  haha!  Thanks Mom! 333

The Japan Kobe Missionaries - true disciples every one!

Mission Conference!!!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH FAMILY!!!

Wow - you are so special to me. I get pictures and I can't believe how everyone has grown!! It is so fun to see. Happy birthday to all of you who celebrated lately! Thanks for the letters and all the support!!!! I love you so much!

This week has been so wonderful. We have 10 investigators right now that we are working with, and they are all at such different phases--most of them, probably all, at the very, very beginning stages of learning the gospel still. It is so fun to have the chance to teach them, and still an interesting challenge to be new in this area, and working with everyone and still new as companions, but it is fun and SO GREAT!!!!!


This week was Hina Matsuri, a special celebration only for woman (especially girls) to get good health for the year. One of our investigators brought us this gift! They are so cute. They have little food for everything. I will send you the king and queen (traditional) picture! 

These are hina matsuri treats, cute right?! I love Japan!

This is Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's work. It is so wonderful to be in their service. The meeting as a mission (taikai) was more than AMAZING! Elder Tad R. Callister came and taught and inspired all of us! So wonderful! I was filled to the brim with love for each of my sweet comrades in this work.  How I love all my comps - past and present!!! It was so fun to see everyone including my awesome cousin Elder Lythgoe! We have an INCREDIBLE mission of true disciples. President Zinke and Elder Callister talked about the atonement, and about being a consecrated missionary. When we sang our mission theme song as our beloved leaders walked in, the tears could not be stopped. There was so much power in the room, evidence yet again of the presence of the Spirit and the unity of the Japan, Kobe mission in teaching of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

And what a work it is! "The standard of truth has been erected... the truth will go forward boldly, nobly, undefeated .. until the Great Jehovah shall say, 'The work is done.'"

I love you so much. I know that the Savior wants us to feel that joy in each of our lives, and the biggest joy is to SHARE HIS GOSPEL! It truly is. This life is so much about the people we help. We talked about joy in one of the talks at the conference, and it just kept coming back to me as everyone was saying what reasons WE have to rejoice, that the privilege to share the gospel and help OTHERS is the work of my Savior and yours, and it is powerfully, masterfully, undoubtedly, true.

I love you!! We also talked about the spirit as evidence of the healing process taking place in people's lives, and in being forgiven--isn't that amazing?! We are too blessed NOT to do missionary work. I used to think i wanted to just stay in bed for a week after I got home from my mission...and just think of myself - haha...but my heart is so full of love for mankind that I just want to keep up the pace, and serve in whatever place my Heavenly Father puts me. Can you believe the goodness of this work?

I love you sweeties!

Love, Sister Anderson

Chocolates from our neighbor, who we are starting to teach!

 I love my companion! Twins in matching yellow. ha ha.

Wow! What a life!

Dearest Kazoku,

Wow, what a work, what a life! I just finished emailing my President about my wonderful investigators!! It is such a privilege to be involved in the work of the Lord.

So, the work goes on. Time goes so quickly, I don't even know if there is anything else sometimes--missionary work is so intense and absorbing when you are really living it. It is easy to live it in this wonderful place. We have been teaching our beautiful investigators this week, and it has been so fun to see them progressing little bit by little bit. We had a district (like a stake) conference, so we couldn't meet as many of our investigators on Sunday... but Hino Shimai came! She is a Buddhist lady that it sounds like has been really prepared, we are trying to figure out how to help her. We gave her a huge magnifying glass and the Book of Mormon picture stuff, because the Book of Mormon has been hard for her. She is so neat though. The investigators here just love the sisters, they have a really good relationship with everyone. Still no progress with the mom of the cute girl that wants to be baptized that we've seen with our eyes, but we keep praying... we passed cookies for her mom ha ha.

The work is rich. I sat in a lesson this week with an incredibly learned university professor. The member taught most of it, it is hard for him to hear from younger aged people, but it was so neat--he finally read a chapter of the Book of Mormon and it touched him. He asked for one in Japanese, he'd only been studying it in English. He talked about how he wanted to make things right from his sins, and asked about redemption, and then from the last verse of 2 Nephi 2 (he was quite entranced by this verse), it says "by the words of the prophets," he said "I want to follow the words of the prophets!...My only question is, what are the words of the prophets??" It was one of those moments you just want to stand up and talk like they do in Acts and say, "Brethren, go down into the waters of baptism!" The question was answered a little differently with everyone there though we talked about it a little bit, but even the member thought we should teach together about baptism next week. He's really, really interesting, so we will see how he progresses, but it was so neat to be there, seeing the Book of Mormon--even a chapter--truly touch that man's heart. THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT!! It's hard to have someone who doesn't want to hear as much from us, but what matters is that he HEARS, that he comes to the Savior. (Mom, you would love his house of books haha !)

I love Jesus Christ. We are going to meet one less-active woman with nonmember children tonight that we are so excited to work with. The work is rich. There are just all of these beautiful SOULS here in Niihama, I don't see numbers as much as these beautiful people--who we have to help! It fills you up. We love them so much.

On Sunday, I felt quite like a mom as I pulled out my quiet book and stickers for roudy kids in Church... it's just so fun. I love teaching the Gospel and finding simple ways to explain it to our little loved ones, and our bigger loved ones. I love the Gospel so much, it hurts! This week Elder Callister is touring our mission, we are meeting as a whole mission (which is pretty rare, this is like once in a mission experience) to hear him this week. What a joy!

There are people prepared to hear the Gospel right now in Niihama. Isn't that awesome! And we will find them, because of Jesus Christ, through the Spirit and our Savior's power and help, because of Heavenly Father's love for His children.

Did I tell you I love you? I do, so much. This Gospel is a gospel for families, and I love it so much. And I love YOU!!! What a joy to be enlisted in His service together. We are just messengers, receiving joy as our feet DO trod the mountains, and we love it.

Love you!
One Blessed Little Missionary,
Sister Anderson

PS
Our neighbor was talking to us and said, when people think of Mormons, they think that they need to put on helmets and ride their bikes very fast!! ha ha.

We ate Korean Food! (this pic is in tribute and for my brother!)

 Sayuri Chan's "Putting on the Armor of God" lesson about scripture study... she said, "I will so I can fight the temptations of Satan!" 

She was quite fired up ha ha, it was so great!

Missionary bags...Oh yea!

Full speed ahead!

My new companion - Sister Lewis!

Dearest Family,

I feel eternally blessed to have all of you as my family!! I cannot begin to tell you the miracles in our mission. My body is getting so broken down, but it is such a privilege to be laboring in the vineyard that is my very Savior's. I love Him so much! I love my new area!!!

Last Wednesday, Dobson Shimai and I had quite the adventure heading for the train station to go to Okayama. That was the checkpoint for meeting up with seven other sisters to do the switching of companions. We hoped to do missionary work along the way and planned plenty of time. A short visit to a PI turned into a long one and we ended up in light speed home to gather all my luggage and various grocery bags of stray stuff and then biking full speed ahead to the train station. Anyone watching us would have had their laugh for the day as we whizzed by with my auxiliary bags flying out like sails in the wind. haha! We were a sight! With  seconds to spare we saw the sweetest sight - our branch president was at the eiki waiting for us to say goodbye. I am sure he got a kick out of our frantic arrival complete with me in my helmet and both of us surrounded by luggage and grocery bags! People on the train started talking to us (no wonder!) and it was so fun and so crazy! This man peeped over a train chair and said, "I was going to eat these bentos (Japanese lunches) , but I will give them to you!" :) Miracles!

Soooooooo.....I love my new area (did I say that already?). I still haven't met all of the investigators but I think we'll meet most of them this week... mmm... it's incredible! The work is wonderful. It's really fun to be companions with Sister Lewis, she is a really good worker and is wonderful at receiving revelation. I know I have a lot to learn from her this transfer!

There is an investigator here who has been investigating for 3 years and desires so much to be baptized, but her mom is against it. She has a date right after she turns 20, but it was such a delight to meet her and teach her on Sunday, she is so special. We have another investigator named Yuushi kun who is 12, and the son of a member. HE IS SO WONDERFUL  My heart just popped out teaching him, his dad doesn't believe in God so he has two really strong influences in his life. I asked him to close his eyes and put a pen in his hands, and asked him what it was. He felt it and clicked it, and said specifically that it was a ball-point pen. (He is also a very smart guy who wants to be a scientist!) We got into how we can know that God lives through a kind of "evidence", and to talk about the Book of Mormon. This ward is really interesting, the biggest group is the young women. They bring their friends a lot, and it seems like the only investigators here are pretty much families and teenagers! It's so wonderful. Did I tell you how much I love working with the youth? The ward is super special. A lot of people hug here, which is unusual in Japan - and it is so small that they are on the consolidated schedule, Church is only two hours. They are so on board with missionary work, it's like stepping into a little family. It seems like there are about... 20 people, but they said it was kind of a low week. They are doing a "fasting" really to find a Shinkensha (a priesthood holder), where someone fasts for 24 hours, calls the next person, and they begin fasting. They were in the middle of this when I came. Isn't that amazing?

As I study the Gospel, I am so impressed with it - again, and again, and again. I hope that some of it sticks and I am not just getting blown over by the same thing again, or maybe it's becoming a little deeper - but, I just love it. I was studying "Effective Study" to help a few of our investigators, and just getting so much revelation - and I was feeling so much how there is meat in everything! It's incredible! The Lord blesses us as we strive to serve His children. Time has felt so different, I feel like the last 3 days have been 3 weeks and I'm shocked to figure out that they are days, but--the work is amazing. This is a 4 week transfer, it's so short!

Thanks to everyone for your sweet letters and pictures!! Georgia Andersons - so glad you got to have the Jellos visit! Dad, sounds like your talk to the YSAs went super - no surprise there!

I love you all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! x3!

Sending you love and happiness in a dish of seaweed soup from Japan, 

Sister Anderson

(the picture says happiness in katakana... so great)

 Zone Conference

Interviews

With my great comp Dobson Shimai - forever friends and sisters!   

Takamatsu is in good hands!

Hey aunt Jeni!

I've looked at your mission blog and it's awesome! You're doing a great job on your mission.  Thanks for your example. Soccer season started and its so fun. Keep up the good work!

Love, Tyler

Hello Aunt Jena!

     Thank you for setting a great example for me. I have about two years until I leave, and I like reading your blog and emails and learning about what missions are really like and about all the different experiences you've had. You're doing a great job! Keep up all the great work, and I can't wait to see you.

Love,

Scott

Hi Aunt Jeni!
I have been looking at your mission Blog, it seems like you are really loving your mission! I am glad to know that you are taking time out of your life to serve the Lord! Our Family is doing great out in Georgia, soccer just started and it is going great so far! We have played 1 real game, we tied 3-3 with Paulding County, we really should have won. My Chocolate lab, Aggie is doing great, she weighs around 60 pounds, she loves to fetch and swim in the lake! I got braces on Valentines day! They are hurting right now, but they should stop hurting soon! I hope that you enjoy the rest of your mission!
-Dallin


Dear Aunt Jeni!

This is Natalie.  Grandma Jello is here in Georgia!
I hope you are having a nice time on your mission so far.  I hope that you teach a lot of people and that they will believe you and will want to choose the right.  All of us are excited to see you when you come back from your mission.  We are coming to UTAH!!!!!!!!!!
Grandma and I have been playing dress ups and using our imaginations. We are going to do our nails.
We love your blog! You are always smiling!!!!

Love,
Natalie
333

Niihama here I come!

 

 Thanks for the new scarf, Mom!  This is my "talk in church" outfit!

Oh, my beloved family!

Time is so short and it is flying by here in Japan. This news could be like so many of the other transfer calls Dobson Shimai and I have received together - but alas, it is not! I am heading to Niihama this week! Isn't that crazy? I will really miss Sister D...my twin! But missionary life goes on and we are eternal friends!! I will become companions with a girl I came with (my doki) named Lewis Shimai. It will be so fun, too! 

Cute Rachel came from the island yesterday to attend Church and hear me talk. She was convinced, certain, that I was transferring. That's when I realized it might really happen, and as she walked away, she waited longer than usual, looking at me, and I could almost see it in retrospect then, "That was the last time I saw Rachel." She is so special. We will miss her so, so much. She is studying English in her 70's and is set on coming to America, and then living in England because they drive on the side of the street she is used to. The only thing she doesn't like is the Word of Wisdom (and she doesn't like hot chocolate...). We had so much fun visiting her on her beautiful island. She was so disappointed that it rained that she bought tourist pictures and brought them to us on Sunday! She said her husband bought them. :) She is so prepared for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was driving around for a while, saying things like, "It's been so long since I drove! I love driving!" ...half-way through her daughter switched her. She is so amazing. I can't wait to get that baptismal picture of her! Keep her in your prayers...

Here I am, sitting in my chair, with tights in which I am sewing up holes - convinced (I really am) that they will last... and it's crazy! Heading to Niihama this week and it seems like a dream, but it is the work of the Lord. There are so many amazing miracles going on in our mission right now. It's incredible. We are having miracles in Japan as a mission. KOBE, JAPAN. Ahh. I love it.

Dear loved ones...we have a treasure. Change can be hard, I empathize with all of you who are changing school, getting married, leaving some things for others, making changes even in your heart. It can be hard, but Heavenly Father knows us and any change that brings us closer to Him is worth making. 

愛する家族、皆さん！人生は贈り物です。(My beloved family, everyone... life is a present!) I hope you all have wonderful days and remember the power of the Atonement. It was pretty amazing, I accompanied Dobson Shimai on the piano (I got a little sick this week)--so I was sick and had a talk and she had no accompanist, so we simplified it--and I prayed mightily. I had so much help. Isn't that amazing? Jesus Christ qualifies us. The power of the Atonement is real in our own lives and in our missionary work. What a blessing.

Goodbye, Takamatsu, hello Niihama! Niihama is a beautiful countryside place, still on Shikoku, a little bit more south. It sounds like it is wonderful. I will miss the ward, I love them, but the Lord always has a plan. I am thrilled to be living it.

I LOVE YOU! Mailing you from another place on the other side of the world!

Thanks for the Valentines package!!!!  It came through ok...just a little torn up!

 Loved the big hug - thanks everyone!

Dear Aunt Jeni,

This is Ryan!  How are you doing?  Grandma Jello is here and she showed me your letters 

on your blog. I loved seeing it - it is soooooo cool!  You are always smiling so big and you are

so happy.  I get to see you in the summer and we are having a huge party!  I am so excited.

You are a really good missionary!!!!!!!! I wonder where I will go on my mission and if I will

learn a different language.  Is Japanese hard? How long did it take you to learn it?  I will 

get to hear you speak Japanese soon.  That will be cool.  

Have a super day. Write back soon.

Love, Ryan

Dear Aunt Jeni,

This is Trevor!  how are you doing on your mission?  I saw pictures of you on your blog.  

They are cool. You are so happy.  Is the food good or weird? I love having Grandma at 

my house.  She will be here for Valentines day.  I love you, too.

Bye! 

Love from Trevor Jon

Dear Aunt Jeni,

Hey! I love seeing all your letters and pics on your blog - especially the foooood! yum!

You are such a great example to me and to all the cousins. Thanks for all your hard 

work in Japan! I can't wait to see you this summer!

Love, Ellie

Ryan, I can't wait to see where you serve!! You are awesome! Missionary work is great! 

Ellie, I can't wait to see you too, thank you I love you! Japanese is hard, but with the Lord 

we can do it! Trevor, the food is good and sometimes weird. :) love you!

Squid soup...yum!

Now this looks American, right?

I can get a hot bean drink from a vending machine!  Who knew???

Pics from our trip to Shodoshima last week to see our investigator Rachel

 Niihama - Sister Jen's new area

click here for interactive map