Happy New Year!

Hi! It was so fun to Skype with you all on Christmas! I hope you all had a great Christmas!

I had a great Christmas! Skyping was the best, then we went to the park for "Santa dendo" where we gave out about 40 bags of American and Japanese candy and a little "He is the Gift" card. It was a great way to talk to people. One mom said that Santa didn't really come this year, so the candy was her little boy's present. It was so special! Then we ended the day at our Branch President's house for dinner, which was really fun. They said when we all come to Japan, if they're not on vacation, they want to have us over for dinner! It was a great Christmas, definitely one I will remember for the rest of my life. Also, we got so much junk food from members that we don't even know what to do with it! It's like a little kid's paradise in our apartment! Now with New Years in two days, I realized that one year ago today I was getting on a plane to come to Japan!! Crazy!!! What a fast year it has been. I remember being so emotional on that day, but I look back now only with happy memories because of all the people I've met and experiences I've had. I'm so happy to be serving a mission. It's the hardest thing ever, but it's the best thing ever!

In other news, H Shimai and I got to be companions for the day again as we had to go on splits. It was way fun! We worked really hard and talked to a lot of people. We housed into one American who was gold! He's known LDS people and missionaries for a long time, and he has a Book of Mormon! He said he would like to come to church! He's moving in two months to Hawaii, though, but I think he will definitely get baptized someday! That was a way cool experience! Also, K came to church on Sunday! The Branch was so excited to see her baby that K didn't get to hold him the whole time! She had a good experience and said she would come again next week! Wahoo! J is still busy moving, so we haven't heard from her for a few weeks. We're hoping to meet with her this week!

The temple was great today, too! I love going to the Tokyo Temple! That's pretty much everything for this week. I love you all and miss you! Happy New Years! Love you!

Lexie

Merry Christmas!

Hello and MERRY CHRISTMAS!! You know what that means...Skype call!! I'm way excited!

My email is probably going to be somewhat short today because of Skype calls! But, Dad asked a question about the picture H Shimai tagged of me. We actually went on a big adventure to find a tree suitable for the picture. But we finally found that cute one in apartment kind of by ours. So we took the picture!

Things have been crazy around here! It's Christmas, so we've been busy with the Branch's Christmas party, caroling, and telling people about Christ's birth. It's been so fun! This month has flown by. We were able to meet with our investigator, K, and she is still on for being baptized on February 2nd, so we are excited for that!

I love you all so much and I'll talk to you in a couple of days! Love you! Merry Christmas!

Lexie

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Hello and almost Merry Christmas!

I got your package today! Thanks so much! I'm excited to see what is in it, but I'm waiting until Christmas. Im practicing the Christ-like attribute of patience!

This week has been so filled with Christmas spirit! We watched the Christmas Devotional, which was amazing! I love that "Still, Still, Still" song. Then the 8 missionaries and an American member went onto Base to carol out front of the grocery store. It was a great experience! People sang a long with us, so many people were happy and  smiling, and we got to tell a few people who we are and what we are doing in Japan. It was a great missionary experience! And then, the grocery store was so appreciative of what we did, they gave us free lunch! That was one of my favorite parts of my mission. It's so fun to go spread Christmas cheer and tell everyone about how "He is the Gift". I'm pretty sure we are going to go on Base again and sing at the hospital, so I can't wait for that! This is really the best time of the year! And, we get to Skype in a week and a half!

 

Speaking of Christmas, we had the Military Ward Christmas Party, that I was able to go to. It was a Christmas miracle! It took so much time to set up, but with the missionaries and the all members effort, we were able to pull off an amazing party! About 180 people came, which is more people than have ever come to an activity at the church before! It was so packed, people had to eat and stand! A lot of our Japanese investigators and English class students came because they wanted to practice their English. It was so fun! The primary kids sang "Christmas Bells", and C Shimai and I had our moment to shine because we played the bells while they sang. Then they put on a skit where prophets from Isaiah to Joseph Smith testified of Christ's birth. It was a way spiritual experience! Christ is truly the best gift we can give this season. His gift of love, life, peace and hope is for everyone! I know that's true with all of my heart. I'm grateful to be a missionary now sharing His gift!

Nothing else new this week. Our investigators are doing well! Nothing has really changed there. I love you all, and I'm so grateful for your continuous support. I miss you, but I'll talk to you soon! Love you!!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Depression and the Atonement

Hello!!

It's really weird thinking about coming home. I've thought a lot about what to do at the end of my mission. Honestly, I have really mixed feelings about coming home. I'm excited, but I'm sad too. It will be here soon though!

This week was good! M actually hit a really low point in her depression, so she's been down for about a week. Because of that, she didn't come to church, so she can't get baptized on the 20th. We are still working with her though, so there's hope for the future! I think when she gets back up, I think she will be all for it again. Depression is really hard! I didn't realize how truly real it is until this transfer. It's scary, but I'm grateful for the knowledge that through the Atonement, we can rise above anything because our Savior has felt the same pain.

The good news is we got two other baptismal dates this week!! Our friend J, the Chinese, agreed to be baptized. Chinese are amazing! They are so humble and willing to follow Christ. Her date is for January 17th, and we are way excited! The other woman is K, who is half Japanese half American, and her American family are all members. She is scheduled to be baptized on February 7th! I'm excited for her because her family is here to support her on this journey towards baptism. We've been seeing a lot of miracles recently, which I'm so happy about. It's amazing being an instrument in the Lord's hand.

That's about all for this week! Sorry it's kind of short, but this is all the news that's happening lately! I love you all, and I'll talk to you soon!! Love you!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Transfer 9

Hi everyone!

Lots of news today! I got my release information today! It's kind of sad. My release day is May 22nd, which means I'm like serving a 19 month mission. Cool! The only worry is that I don't think I'll be able to go to summer semester at the U, but I can figure that out as the time gets closer.

Also, we just got transfer calls! I was so scared, but the verdict was good! I'm staying in Yokosuka for my 5th transfer!! C. Shimai and I are staying together as well! The other two sisters are staying the same, the only difference is I'm becoming Sister Training Leader. I'm scared, but I'm excited for this new adventure.

This week was really great! Thanksgiving was so fun! We played Turkey Bowl Football, then we went over to a member's house with M and had a blast. We ate turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie for hours!! Then the man who's house we went over to played guitar and we sang Christmas songs. It was so fun! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I've had and will have to spend the holidays on the Base! I'm grateful for you all, too! Thank you so much for all the support!

I'm sorry this week's email is kind of short, it's been a crazy day. I have a lot of pictures, though, so that's exciting! I love you all so much! I'm glad you all had a great Thanksgiving, too! I'll talk to you
next week! Love you!!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have a fun day! Eat some pumpkin pie for me! We are going over to a members house on Thursday and I'm going to stuff my face. M is going to come, too, so I'm excited for her to meet the members, even if they're American! It's going to be a great day. Even if I'm all the way on the other side of the world, I still have a lot to be grateful for.

This week was good. A lot of finding, but that's normal. We taught our Chinese friend, J, twice this week. She's doing great! Chinese are golden! I don't even know why, but they are golden! She's been accepting the Gospel really well, and she really likes the idea of living with her family for forever.

We had one really big miracle this week! So M was supposed to come with us up to Yokohama for a Questions of the Soul activity that President Wada was putting on this week, but the day before she got a fever and a cold. Our whole District prayed like crazy that she would still  be able to make it! I called her the morning of, and she still wasn't feeling well. Therefore, I told her to call us and make her final decision if she could or could not come by 2pm. And then we prayed, and we prayed HARD. When it was 2, she called and told us that she was feeling better and wanted to go! MIRACLE!! It was an amazing defining moment for her! She was able to meet President Wada and learn about the Plan of Salvation. She loved it! She was absolutely glowing when she told everyone that was there about her baptism coming up. M is amazing! She's going to be an amazing member. I love being a missionary because you get to experience just a bit of the love that Heavenly Father has for all of his children. I love M like she's my big sister. She's still really excited for December 20th!

We also had interviews with President Wada this week, which were  great! He said I might be able to stay in Yokosuka for another transfer. I hope so! Transfer calls are next week, and I'm way nervous! Since this is my 4 transfer in Yokosuka, I'm on the chopping-block, but I'm so hoping that I stay!! I'll let you know how it goes next week! I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Sister Lexie Dansie

The Blessings of Prayer

First of all, I'm so sorry for emailing late! I forgot to tell you last week that we had our Temple P-Day this week! It was really great! It was C Shimai's first experience in the Tokyo Temple, so it was a great experience. Also, I don't know if I ever told you this, but H Shimai is a convert. Two Japanese sisters taught her in Hawaii when she was 10. After the temple today, we had lunch with one of her missionaries. It was so fun!

This week was pretty good, but only two things really stuck out! First thing, C Shimai and I go walking every morning for exercise, and as we've done so, we met one of our 70-year-old neighbors who now goes walking with us, too. We invited her to a Branch Activity, which was hiking, on a whim, and we were totally surprised when she showed up! Her legs are pretty weak, but she didn't have anything else going on, so she came. We hadn't even made it to the mountain when she said she didn't think she could hike the whole way, but then some magic energy built up inside her and she did it! We hiked for 6 hours, but she made it! She's a pretty Buddhist lady, but while we were hiking we really had an opportunity to talk about God. When we reached the top of the mountain, the view was absolutely gorgeous! We could see all of Yokosuka and more! The old lady who walked with us told us that she had a lot of opportunities to hike this mountain, but because of her job and family, she'd never done it, and that from here on out  she will only get older and not be able to hike the mountain, so she told us how  grateful she was that we invited her. It was a great defining moment for her! She was able to talk to a lot of the Branch members, and she has since asked us questions about church. That was a huge miracle! We hope to give her a Book of Mormon this week.

The second miracle was one of the best things that has happened on my mission. So, as I told you last week, the Elders found two ladies who we have since started teaching. We met with one of them, M, twice this week. The first time we met with her, we taught her about the Book of Mormon and prayer. Then, we just taught her the Restoration yesterday. When we were reviewing prayer, she told us that she had tried praying. She pretty much told Heavenly Father everything in that prayer, that she is struggling because she's sick, she doesn't have any money, she fights with her husband all the time, etc. Then she told us that after she prayed, she didn't fight with her husband that day! At that moment I almost started crying because the Spirit was so strong and my testimony was solidified, once again, that prayer works and Heavenly Father will answer us. We continued with the lesson, and we felt strongly to invite her to be baptized. We asked her about December 20th, and she was so surprised! She thought she would have to wait longer to be baptized, she didn't think it could happen that quickly. She was so excited, and she willingly agreed! She's getting baptized on December 20th!! Our District has been praying and fasting for someone to get baptized, and it's M! She's been so prepared by the Lord. She's had so many struggles in her life, and she's only 28; however, because of that she's super humble and willing to hear the Gospel. I'm so excited! That will be the best Christmas present ever!

I love you all! Have a great week! The Church is true! Love you!

Sister Lexie Dansie