Transfer 11

Hello everyone!

Sorry, I forgot to tell you last week that I would be emailing on Tuesday this week. We had Elder Ballard, Elder Ronald Rasband, and Bishop Gary Stevenson visit our mission and the Tokyo Mission yesterday! It was amazing! There were over four hundred missionaries gathered in the church adjacent to the Tokyo Mission Home to listen to an apostle of the Lord. They gave us some great council about testifying of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith at every chance we get, stressing the importance of prayer when teaching, and improving ourselves to find those who are ready to receive us. It was so awesome! Also, Elder Ballard is hilarious! I'll definitely remember that conference for the rest of my life.

Ok, so you're probably ready to hear about transfers. Sisters go home their 12 transfer, and I'm 11, so I only have two left! Three months! I'm staying in Tama as a Sister Training Leader. Sadly, though, W Shimai is transferring to Fujisawa stake, so I won't see her really anymore. My new companion is R Shimai. I'm excited to see how things go with her. Half of our district is transferring, which is so sad. I've really grown to love this district. We've worked really hard together. This transfer should be good, though! I can't believe I only have one more transfer call after this one.

We went and visited an old folks home (I can't remember the actual word for it in English) and talked to them about Family History. It was so cute! We gave them a family history chart so they can give it to their grandkids and great grandkids. Family History is really great. I can't wait to do family history work when I get home!

On Thursday we had President's Interviews. It's always great to spend some time with President Wada and ask him my questions. He asked me how many months I have left on my mission, and when I answered three months, he said, "You're making me depressed!" I'm really going to miss President and Sister Wada. A lot.

We also had a Questions of the Soul event this week. President Wada came and talked about faith while we watched clips of Indiana Jones. I don't know which Indiana Jones it was, but he had to go find the cup with water for eternal life. There were actually a lot of things that related to faith in that movie! At one point, Indiana Jones in hanging from a ledge, and his father reaches out to pull him up. While doing so, Indiana is mesmerized by trying to grab the cup on a lower rim. He almost slips from his father's grasp, when his father says, "Let it go." Indiana knew his father's voice and let go of the cup and was therefore pulled to safety. Just like with us, our Heavenly Father is reaching out for us, and he asks us to let go of the worldly things. If we do, we will spiritually saved and be able to return home with Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven.

Didn't think you could learn so much about the Gospel of Jesus Christ from an Indiana Jones movie, did you? It was a truly great event. We had two investigators come to it, and they were both really moved by it. One has committed to coming to church this week.

Pretty great week this week! We've actually found a lot of new people this week, too, so the work is going forward! I'm excited to continue the work in Tama! I love you all so much! Have a good week!

Sister Lexie Dansie

 

 

"For where your treasure is there shall your heart be also."

Hello!!

I hope you had a great Valentine's Day.

This week was pretty good. It was way fast! I don't know where the time went! Also, I have less than 100 days in my mission! That's waaaay crazy! It's going to be here before you and I know it!!

Nothing really happened this week until Thursday. We were really busy with Zone Meeting, then we taught a lesson to our recent convert with a member present. I love members because they are able to answer questions that I can't. We taught J Shimai about the Plan of Salvation and doing baptisms for the dead. The member really helped and supported her, so it was a great lesson. Then we made a video with one of the young women in the ward. She helped us do missionary work for this video. It will probably go on YouTube. It was way fun!

Then on Friday we had a Sister's Conference! It was way fun! The theme was "for where your treasure is there shall your heart be also" from 3 Nephi. It was a great conference! Sister Wada gave a training about letting the Spirit into our hearts and letting our countenances show it. We had trainings on a "kind heart", "healthy heart" and "sharing heart". It was really great and inspiring. Also, my trainer, S Shimai came back just for that day! It was so great to see her!

On Saturday, we had a meeting with the Machida Stake President. I haven't seen him since I was in Machida 1st Ward when I was a lot younger missionary. He said, "the biggest thing at has surprised me from this meeting is that Dansie S. can speak Japanese!" It was really funny. The Stake President is way nice.

Sunday was really fun, too! We got together with the youth in Tama Ward to do a big service project and then we had a birthday party for everyone that has a birthday in February. The youth in Tama Ward are really, really great! I'm inspired by their testimony everyday. They go through a lot not having a lot of LDS kids in their school, not even Christian kids, so their faith in Jesus Christ and testimonies are really strong.

That's about all for this week! I love you all so much! Have a good week!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Family History Blitz

Hello! Happy Valentine's Day! (Can't believe it's Valentine's Day already!)

This week was way good and way fast! Last P-Day was super fun! W Shimai used to serve in the Yokohama Stake, too, so we actually went back to Yokohama and did one of the most touristy things there. Kind of like the Empire State Building, but in Yokohama. There is a high rise building that takes you up 69 floors to an observatory where you can see all of Yokohama, Yokosuka, Mt. Fuji, and all the way into Tokyo. It was way beautiful! We went at night, so we saw the city lights turn on. Amazing! I'll send pictures!

Then on Tuesday, I went on splits back to Machida, which was way fun! We walked for days to find this park in Machida, then we did some dendo around there for a couple of hours. I went with a Nihonjin sister, so I spoke only Japanese for a straight 24 hours (if I had a Japanese companion,  that would happen more often). It felt good, though! I feel like I learn more Japanese when I do that. Also, it was nice to be in Machida again!

On Thursday, I went to Mission Leadership Council, which was great. I always leave there feeling like I need to do better, but way pumped at the same time. A couple of big themes from MLC were faith (Alma 32), accountability (being accountable to the Lord in everything that we do), and to make our conversations with people on the street more meaningful. It was a great reminder! After that, I was way motivated to talk to people on the trains, and I met one lady who has been helped by sister missionaries before. She was moved by their kindness, but she didn't really talk to them further. I was able to explain that we believe in being Christ-like people, and especially as missionaries, we want to help people and serve all the time. She actually accepted a Book of Mormon from me. She does live in Tama area, but I hope she meets missionaries again.

On Friday, we got on our bikes and went exploring. We found a way pretty park that overlooks Mount Fuji, and we found a girl in middle school who has interest in coming to church. We definitely want to go back to that area. But I haven't ridden my bike in a while, so my legs were way sore! I'm getting weaker!

Saturday was the best! We had a Family History Zone Blitz in Machida. There were about 69 missionaries there ready to spread the Spirit of Elijah. The Spirit that was there was amazing! All the missionaries were way diligent, and talked to everyone! The whole talking to everyone thing is a little hard I feel like in Tokyo because 16 million people live here; however, we talked to everyone! The zone saw some crazy miracles! Family History is really, really great, and it really softens the hearts of the Japanese people. That was a great experience!

 

Sunday was great, too! We had a woman who is from Colombia so she speaks Spanish and only a little bit of Japanese, came to church. I've never wanted to know Spanish more in my life! There is another lady in the ward who speaks Spanish and English (no Japanese) so we did a two-way translation! I translated from Japanese to English to the member, and then the member translated from English to Spanish for the investigator. It was way cool! I wish I could speak Spanish! Also, five investigators came to church this week, so that was a huge miracle!

This week was way fun! I love you all so much! Have a good week.

Sister Lexie Dansie

 

 

 

Shoveling Adventures!

Hey!!

This week was good! It snowed pretty hard on Thursday, so there was about 5 inches of snow on the ground. So guess what we did? We shoveled! Dad, you would be so proud of me! I shoveled for around three hours. I was exhausted, but it was great because we got to talk to a lot of people. One lady is actually curious about God. I asked her if she thinks there is a God, to which she said if there is, that would be nice. Then I testified of God and she said that we can come back and visit her. The blessings that come from service! I was way exhausted after shoveling, but it was so worth it! I'll probably even be willing to help with shoveling when I get home!

Another cool thing that happened this week is we've been really working with members on using Facebook and their Mormon.org profile for missionary work. We went to a members house on Monday to share with them a message about sharing the a Gospel online, and then we prayed together afterwards. On our way home, we found a lady that was really willing to meet with us again, and we scheduled an appointment, but because it snowed, it got cancelled; BUT we still found her! The faith of members is truly amazing. Then we were invited to have dinner with another family and we shared a message about sharing the Gospel online. I can't wait to see how the work is hastened online with these Japanese members. It's truly a great time!

Nothing else really happened this week. I love you all so much! Have a great week! Talk to you soon!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Machida Stake Conference

This week was great! Not too much happened though. We had a way fun dinner this week with the Elders and our potential investigators. We went and ate crepes for dessert, too, and we were able to teach the girl that came with us. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and shared our favorite scriptures. She said she would read it. It was way fun!

Then we had Machida Stake Conference this week, so I got to go back to Machida! Honestly, it was like I haven't been gone as long as I have. I got to see a lot of my old friends in Machida 1st Ward again. It was a great reunion! I actually get to see some of my old investigators when I go on splits in Machida tomorrow. I'm way excited! Machida is truly a great place to be. We definitely have to come back here when we visit Japan. Also, we had a recent convert fireside after Stake Conference was over, and it was such a great meeting! All the recent converts in the stake shared their testimonies. Most of them started crying through it. It was a way spiritual experience! Recent converts are so strong in their testimony! They're such an example to me.

Sorry, this email is kind of shorter. Not too much happened this week. 

 I love you all so much! Have a good week! This church is true!

Sister Lexie Dansie

My First Week in Tama

Hey!

I'm in Tama! It's so weird being in a big city again. All though Yokosuka was a city, it was more country-like. But now I'm back in main Tokyo! I really like it here! W Shimai, my companion is great! We've had a lot of fun the past couple of days together! There are six really hard working Elders in my district, too, so it's a great area. I've also seen J twice, and it hasn't even been a week. It's so cool that he's my Zone Leader!

The first half of the week, I was in Yokosuka still, and that was a crazy couple of days! We were trying to meet people so that I could say good-bye, and on top of that, I had to clean and pack, too! It was crazy! We did have one really cool miracle happen, though. We met with J so that I could say good-bye, and we told her that she couldn't get baptized on The 17th because she hadn't come to church. She was a little upset and asked if she could get baptized this month. We told her it was possible but she would have to come to church both Sundays and meet us three times a week so that we could teach her everything.  She agreed! J really has a lot of faith! Her desire to get baptized is so strong. I hope I will get to go back for her baptism. I've heard since that because her baby got really sick, she was not  able to come to church; therefore, now she really can't get baptized this month, but the desire is still there! I thought J was a great example of faith. I'm really going to miss her.

Tama is great, though! I've met the recent convert, JY. She got baptized about a month ago, and she's really doing great. I haven't really met the other investigators. We've been working hard, though, and trying to find new people. Tama Ward is great too! I felt really welcomed by them! It should be a great transfer! Im excited to work here. We also went to the temple today and it was great. I only have two temple trips left! Crazy!

I love you all! Talk to you soon!

Sister Lexie Dansie

 

Transfer 10!

Hello!

As for transfer calls! First of all, sisters have 12 transfers in their mission, and I'm on 10. Crazy!! We surprisingly got our transfer calls Sunday night because today is a Japanese holiday, and after 5 great transfers in Yokosuka, it's finally time for me to transfer again. I'm so sad! I'm going to a place called Tama. Do you remember the big Hello Kitty picture I sent about 10 months ago? That's my new area! It's in the same zone as Machida, so I'll be going back there again. I'm kind of excited for that! Also, J is my Zone Leader! I'm way excited for that! I'll probably spend my last three transfers there. I really am excited, but I'm sad, too. Yokosuka became my home here. I'll definitely miss it! But the Lord has other things in store for me in Tama! My new companion's name is Sister W, and she's Polynesian, too!! She's super cute. It will be fun with her!

Other exciting news! Elder Nelson is coming to our mission in March, and President Wada came up to me at Zone Conference this week and asked me to be the "Digital Ambassador" for that. It's safe to say, I feel a little in over my head. However, I am excited for this responsibility! It just means I have to gather the best and worst practices of using the iPad and Facebook throughout the mission, so it's not that hard. But, I also have to give a training on how to use the iPads to the incoming sister missionary this week (that's right, there is only one new missionary coming in, and it's a sister). Recently I've been given a lot of responsibilities involving the technology in the mission. I'm really passionate about it, though! This really is how the work of the Lord will progress! I know the Lord has been preparing me though the things I've done involving technology in my life. I'm supposed to use it now in this amazing time of the gospel unfolding through the Internet.

One cool miracle that happened this week was on Saturday. We had a lunch with a P.I., A, and she invited two other friends to come to lunch. We had a fun time all making gyoza (kind of like pot stickers) together, then afterwards we taught them all the Restoration. One of the woman that A invited kept asking questions, so I talked to her after the lesson and asked if she had interest in learning, to which she said yes! She said that recently she's had some struggles in her life, and one of her Christian friends noticed and invited her to church. She said that when she goes, she feels good, and that's how she felt when she was learning about the restoration. We got her number and C Shimai and M Shimai (Her new companion!!!) will go teach her. That was a really cool miracle! Is friends said that she didn't know we would be there, so I definitely know the Lord inspired A to invite her because she's prepared to hear His Gospel. Then that same night, we met with our Korean friend, M, and asked her to take the lessons, to which she said yes. That was a day full of miracles!!

That's all for this week. Next time I email you, I'll be in Tama! Let you know how it goes then! I love you all so much!! Talk to you soon! Have a good week!

Love,

Sister Lexie Dansie