Miracles!

Hey Beautiful Family! 

I have been thinking about "time" this morning as I sat on this little library computer, and had a few minutes to reflect--and I am so grateful. I love my Heavenly Father. I feel like every so often that there is a culmination of experience in which, Heavenly Father shows you how He has indeed been tutoring you (in ways perhaps so small that we aren't refined enough to notice) and then there is a spiritual culmination, a gift! In the troughs of experience we must never look at the pinnacle and say we are not there, when the line of our experience is an ascension. (That was a lot of big words!) Anyway, things are great. I love life!

This week we have had so many miracles. When I first transferred, the ward in Niihama was doing a fast to find Priesthood holders. There wasn't a dramatic increase during my first weeks here, but this week, we have found two men who will become investigators! There were 7 people at Church, and the ward was just abuzz with the feeling and joy of the work and the result that they knew would come from faith. It's been wonderful! We are finding a lot of really great new people recently.  For example, as we were talking with a mom yesterday, she asked if her house would be ok for such an important message. It was such a natural contact and we get to share the Gospel with her this week!! Things really have just been getting big, we have just been running around and teaching so much - lately it just feels busy. This must be what the busy-ness of the last days feels like! 

I will share one more cool miracle with you! So, this week, we were walking to an appointment to meet one of the men we found housing, and someone called out after us. It was the man who had helped us with Owens Shimai's bike when she got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere when we were far out in our area! At that time, he hadn't had interest, but was nice. We invited him to come hear us sing at Church, and he came!! We were able to get contact information and will move forward this week! We also got to testify to a volunteer English group we go to every once in a while, and one of the sweet members wanted a Book of Mormon! I offered to give it, and she raised her hand, it was so cute and such a powerful teaching time. I love teaching the Gospel! Also teaching another new cute mom! So fun.

The Lord is prospering Niihama. I love the Gospel. Isn't it amazing how everything relates to the gospel?! This is truly the best experience Heavenly Father could have given us - life on earth and a way to return to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

I love you all, and pray for you!

See you next week!

Sister Anderson

PS Congrats to all the nieces and nephews on end-of-the-year awards and honors! You are inspiring! Way to go Mook on taking state in the 4x400 relay!  So great!

PPS Wow!  Jeni Bowman is married!  Thanks for the pic - she is beautiful!

PPPS  Thanks for sending the picture of Sister Monson's funeral.  She will be missed.

Note from Sister Jen's mom:

She will be returning home from Japan 

Wednesday, June 5th!

She will be speaking in Sacrament meeting on June 30th at 9 am.  

The ward building address is 14400 South Redwood Road, Bluffdale.

Here are a few pics of the last group of missionaries to leave her mission, 

including her cousin. Soon, these pictures will be of her!!! 

We are so grateful to her beloved mission president and his sweet wife!

 And the huge group of missionaries who came! 

The missionary count in her mission will most likely double!  

So great!!!

From Sister Zinke:

...we welcomed twenty new energetic missionaries from the Missionary Training Center.  What a crazy week it was...but what fun!  Fourteen of them come to us from right here in Japan, three are from Australia and three Americans.  We are thrilled with our new missionaries!

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 ...

The work goes on and the gospel is true!!!

Dearest Family:

 

Another short email day because we unexpectedly are heading out.  I just want to tell you how much I love you. This week we contacted a man and spoke to him for a long time.  We explained the gospel, testified with the Spirit, and he said that he didn't want to listen and had no questions. Oh, well. Maybe another time.  Its the nature of missionary work, right? However, we then met a lady the next door who said we could come back!  Wahoo! I am so aware of the love that Heavenly Father has for His children. The other night while studying, I realized at the truths found in the Book of Mormon, and realized just how FUN it is to share this message, and to teach people what Heavenly Father's children are here to do.  It is the best, and it is true. We have the truth! How I love to share it!

This week Higashi Shimai moved, but also said that she wants to be baptized as soon as possible. It's so awesome! I love baptisms. I love the Gospel. I love you! Time is so short and so precious. Hug the ones you love today, and hug yourself for how loved you are by me - and let us rejoice forever in the Gospel!! It is true.

 

Love you forever!

Sister Anderson

Sister Jen's cousin (who has been serving in the same mission) returned home last Wednesday!  Here are some pics of the amazing, hard-working successful missionary Elder Lythgoe and his welcome crew at the airport in SLC!

From Sister Zinke:

Last week we welcomed twenty new energetic missionaries from the Missionary Training Center.  What a crazy week it was...but what fun!  Fourteen of them come to us from right here in Japan, three are from Australia and three Americans.  We are thrilled with our new missionaries!

Earthquakes and Promises

Dearest Family,

 

So many amazing things in my life as a missionary! We were surprised on Saturday morning to an earthquake alarm going off on our phone, and huge megaphones saying, "This is an earthquake." I shook my companions shoulder gently and said, "We need to get up Sister, thee is an earthquake." I think that missionary work has prepared me to handle more gracefully the panics that must come with motherhood. Last night, we were riding in the poring rain for 30 minutes, and I just laughed and laughed. It was so funny and so wet! We both forgot our rain coats. It was a pretty great sight. I actually felt like for the first time in over a year, I'd gone swimming!! So great, and really foreign ha ha. (The earthquake alarms were intense but we didn't really feel the earthquake here, it was in a part of the mission that used to be in my zone while in Akashi called Sumoto... we are all safe! Thank you for your concern.)

Conference was so wonderful, wasn't it? There are two things I am really touched with. One is the fact that we are here on earth to gain experience. We will have desperately hard times, happy times, lonely times--because that is what we are here to do, so we can "prize the good." But, we do not have to face them alone. Because Jesus Christ came to earth and experienced  every joy, sadness, loneliness, we too can rejoice in experience, and really feel it, whatever feeling it is, and turn to Him. He is so amazing. I read this morning about the Savior being the only one, "from a mortal mother and immortal father... who could voluntarily lay down His life and take it up again." (Elder Nelson from this month's Liahona) Isn't that incredible? Our Savior was the only one born who didn't have to die, and yet did because it meant that we could then choose to live with God again, and our families. The second one is just about the eternal nature of families. I was so impressed at Conference at the joy that comes in family, the work it does take, and the incredible blessing my family is. I thought of you, sweet people, and the influence you have had in my life. I had a lot of individual thank you's, but this is for all of YOU. I love you so much!

 

Our beautiful investigators... Some of them are starting to weed out a little more, to the ones who are willing to act and meet with us, and the ones who had just been meeting with the sister missionaries before. We have been meeting Hino Shimai a lot, and had a wonderful lesson about the Spirit, one of the best we've had. She had said when we watched "Finding Faith in Christ" that she had a warm feeling inside. So for the lesson on the Spirit, we brought a big blanket, and almost put it on a few times, and then put it all around her to show what the companionship of the Holy Ghost is like and what it feels like. It was a fun lesson! She came to all of Conference, and Melody and Sayuri also came. This nice less-active walked into listen to conference and the members did not recognize him because he hasn't been to church for so long. We will make sure he comes back! I just wonder how many people there are like that in the world, who aren't thought about a lot and still want to come to Church, still love their Savior, but are staying away.  If they were just invited, given callings, hugged and invited to the second row to listen, how "at home" they would feel and how they secretly, in their hearts, want to return. Isn't that exciting! It is like the most serious treasure hunt in the world - the treasure hunt for souls, and it is precious. They need us. I've realized what a completely different member of the Church I hope to be when I get home. Missions change your membership forever. Members are NEEDED so much and they feel a role that we can't as missionaries if we want our investigators to stay. Their ties must be strongest with the ward. They need members and the service you all have to offer. Spend your time working on their salvation, going and finding those sheep! We need every lost one. (is my plea!) And it is the sweetest work in the world - bring souls to Jesus Christ who loves them.

 

I love this work. I feel so inadequate, but I think in the right degree, it is a component of the work. I realized again this week at interviews and training that I do NOT have the power to change a heart by myself. It doesn't matter how amazing my teaching skills might be, or if I have six flip charts and eight videos - what matters is that we find out what they need from the Spirit and teach them, with the spirit IN us. That was something we discussed in training from Ether's example.  "And he could not be restrained, for the Spirit of the Lord which was in Him." My prayers have changed this week. I want the Spirit IN me. I love the Spirit so much. I am grateful for this tool. We cannot, cannot, cannot strive to do this work alone - it will be empty. But by relying on the Lord, going slow enough to feel those promptings, with the faith of a mustard seed, as Elder Holland so beautifully taught this week, we can work miracles in bringing our brothers and sisters home. What a privilege! Every Sunday meeting is a family meeting, and who is missing there? Our less-active friends, families? Our neighbors who haven't heard? We should share the Gospel because we love it, like a life-vest in open sea, or a mask in a dangerous wind storm - it saves! We, of course, love and respect agency but do EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER with the Lord to help them.  We have a lot of power if it is with Him. He is amazing! We have all of the tools we need to be successful missionaries, spouses, friends, visiting teachers, home teachers, members, and active participants in helping others on their walk to salvation. What is needed is not a perfect understanding of all things, or even a perfect US. We need to be perfectly reliant on HIM, and He has the "being perfect" part of the equation covered. What is asked for, and I know this through my mission here in Japan, is a heart of love for the people, and to work harder we've ever worked before. It is daily repentance, devotion, picking up and always keeping going. I think that is the definition of heart, might, mind and strength to me. It depends on where our hearts are in the right place then our feet will be moving in the right direction. We will be effective instruments in His hands, for it is His work. Amen!!!!

 

I love you all so much, and rejoice to be having this earthly experience with you. Whether you are in pouring rain or an earthquake on the other side of the world, or the only thing quaking is a little piece of your heart, like Elder Holland encouraged -trust Him. If our whole heart can muster just that flame, ignite that. Flame that in others. We have that power.

 

I love you, and delight to be your fellow servant!  There is no place I would rather be in my journey through mortality than in the vineyard of my divine, resurrected Lord. I never want to leave that place. This commitment is longer than a few plane rides, or even exits and entrances to life. This is our destiny and privilege. 

 

Love, your missionary in Japan,

Sister Anderson

Report from the mission president:

6.0 Earthquake Near Kobe by Richard Zinke We were awakened by an earthquake this morning at about 5:30.  Everyone is fine and there seems to be no damage of any significance.  It was centered about 25 miles south of Kobe. We have a couple of Japanese sister missionaries just a few miles from the epicenter serving in the Sumoto Branch.  They called within a few minutes of the quake.  They reported that they were fine and that some church members were with them already.  They were nervously laughing with the members.  A lot of things in their apartment had fallen off shelves but nothing was broken. The sisters were a little shaken and began running to the mountains in their PJs in case of a tsunami. After a bit of clean-up they dressed and went to assist some members at their homes. Today and tomorrow the saints here gather to see General Conference broadcast at the stake centers, wards and branches. A media report is attached below. Strong quake in Japan but no major damage reported April 12, 2013 05:41 PM EST |  TOKYO — Japan's Meteorological Agency says a magnitude-6 quake has struck near the southwestern city of Kobe, but public broadcaster NHK reports there is no major damage and no tsunami alert has been issued. The quake hit at 5:33 a.m. Saturday and was centered on Awaji Island, just south of Kobe, the agency and NHK said. It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). The quake was centered near the same area where a magnitude-7.2 quake killed more than 6,400 people in 1995.

 

 

That we might live, and live more abundantly!

Beautiful cherry blossom season in Japan!

My Beloved Family,

 

My heart is so full today. I feel like I have learned lessons this week, or capped a few of lessons this week, that are the most precious in my mission and life. I am just so happy. I love you and testify that His work is one of service, that we are already blessed. We are TOO blessed not to share. Missions are not for US to be blessed, even though that is the ultimate result, because of Heavenly Father's infinite love. My heart brims with joy. It is true - as we forget ourselves, and go to work, He will bless us. It wasn't specific experiences as much as just finally realizing how Heavenly Father has been tutoring and helping me, and finally I see! I am so happy.

 

So! I know my Father lives, and loves me too. I love you, too! I don't know how I got so blessed to be in such a wonderful family. In one oses, I mentioned it last week I think, it talks about how we are perfect in Christ. Isn't that incredible? We are telling others, and even living lives, as a witness of His grace. I am so excited for Conference too! I gasped when I heard about Cedar City!! I know that the temple there will be well-used. I love Cedar City!

 

Our beloved investigators, are so great. Sayuri Chan (17 year old) bore her testimony in Church this week about the Savior, as did two recent converts. It was so wonderful to see them. Hino Shimai prayed in a lesson this week, even though she is still learning it. It was her birthday, and we gave her... the New Testament Picture Book!! She studies SO WELL. It's wonderful. So many good things to report. We had a fun Zone meeting in Matsuyama, where we practiced contacting. I had the chance to contact some fun people on the way there, and I am so impressed that this work is a work of love. I love it. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father giving us this chance. It is so rewarding to talk to people every day, about who they are and what they like, and testify that God loves them, how at Church they can feel His love, etc. I am so excited for all of the incredible new missionaries! Even in our mission, every area is expected to become a four-some. Isn't that awesome? The work rolls forward!

 

I love baptism. Sometimes in the past we would get nervous talking about it, but this is the way that our brothers and sisters can return and live with God, and get blessings NOW, in this life. People are searching for those blessings, and we have them. Precious!!! Life is so precious.

 

Here are a few of our investigators... I would love your FAITH and help in praying for our sweet people here! One of our investigators, Jedley San, started working and we haven't been able to meet with her. We want to teach her! Melody San and her baptismal date. Watari San, who has not had the word of wisdom lesson yet, and enjoys drinking. Hino Shimai to gain a testimony! Sayuri Chan's family! Thank you all so much!

 

We are so blessed. The work WILL go forward. It is so amazing to see Heavenly Father hastening the time. It is the BEST! I just want to help His children! We work on His power. I know I am a sinner, imperfect and that perfection is not expected now, but we can be perfect in Christ, now. He is my Savior and best friend. The Master and Creator is so close to our souls. His Atonement is enough. I love my Savior! And feel so blessed to be in our family and a sister in this work.

 

"Shall we not go on in so great a cause?"

Love, Sister Anderson 

 

A few students from our volunteer English group 

It is cherry blossom season... mankai!

This is lotus! They eat it in Japan. Is that a flower? I don't really know... ha ha.

 note from Sister Jen's mom:

Lotus root is a versatile vegetable which can be thinly sliced or shredded then fried for a crispy garnish, sliced and braised until sweet and tender in soups, stir fried, or sliced, blanched and chilled for an attractive salad addition. It takes well to traditional Asian flavors such as soy, sesame, and ginger. 

A few pics of Lotus root from the web:

 Also, Sister Jen's cousin, Sister Lindsay Castleton, and her family were featured in an amazing, fun, informative, TV special which aired between conference sessions April 7th.  Sister Lindsay is serving in the Chile Vina del Mar mission.

SALT LAKE CITY — Like 10,000 legions marching, from the words of a Latter-day Saint hymn to the halls of the missionary training center, a new generation is rising to accept the call to serve a mission.

A prophet's voice brought the good news; Young men may begin serving missions at the age of 18, young women at age 19.

So many are prepared to serve it is time for a new MTC and new missions. They all usher in a new day for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are a mighty band of youth, and these are their stories.

It can be viewed by clicking this link:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=24703772

 

Onward, upward, and outward!!!

I LOVE JAPAN!!!!!!!

Dearest Family,

Unfortunately, time is short this week again as we have a referral who can only meet today. We got transfer calls today, and you'll never guess what I'm going to spend my last two transfers doing!! TRAINING. ha ha ha ha ha. Isn't that funny? Maybe I just keep getting a new chance to be better at it... so great. New missionaries come in on Thursday! It will be so wonderful!
Sister Lewis is training as well. :) And then we will go home together!

Things have been great this week. We visited an amazing member in a wheelchair whose health is so bad that she can't even come to church. She told us that she hasn't had a bad day since she joined the church. She told us she is not sad anymore. This beautiful woman, who needs a helper to take care of her, was serving us vegetable juice as we chatted with her.  She is so sweet and faithful.  I could feel her depth of conversion.

We taught Yuushi Kun again this week, about recognizing the Spirit and the blessings of the Holy Ghost after baptism. He moves at the end of the month but we love him and will teach him truths until we no longer can!! 

Another investigator said she would like to be baptized, and we are working toward that with her!!! Her three children are recent converts and are so strong!

So...I love the work and I love YOU!! Thank you so much for your sacrifice and love. I am so grateful for everyone's letters! Loved the packages so much, and I am wearing my new sweater! Thanks my cute mommy!

Love to you all - the gospel is TRUE! 
Onward, upward, and outward!!!
Love, 
Sister Anderson

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.