It's been a gooood week!

Last Saturday we had a mission 5k. Yep. 200 girls in matching shirts running uphill and downhill in Salt Lake City. It was quite the sight. You will all be proud to know that I ran the entire thing (okaymaybestumbledthroughismoreaccurate)! The people who used to serve in Temple Square and now live nearby covered the square for us that morning. Only on Temple Square can you get missionary substitutes... We were fed Einstein's Bagels afterwards, so all in all, it was a pretty good day. 

It's been pretty quiet lately at the square. There is a Congress of Families thing happening nearby, so we've had a couple of visitors from that, and the tours go really smoothly because they're all really friendly. Sister Burgoyne and I were assigned to be in the Assembly Hall for an hour one night and not a single soul came in until the last 5 minutes. 

Although we didn't meet a lot of new people this week, we've seen so many miracles with the people we had been teaching for a while. Yesterday, we called a couple of our investigators to check up and to teach; the first one we called in the UK said, "the missionaries are coming over in five minutes, so I don't have much time to talk!" We couldn't get in touch with her for a while, so we were worried that she lost interest. She said that she was meeting with the missionaries because she really wanted to get baptised and wanted to learn everything there was to learn! 

The second person we called in Texas had just met with the local missionaries the night before, and had another appointment for the next night. (!!!!) We read the Book of Mormon with her and explained how to read the Book of Mormon so that it could be meaningful to her life. She is so sweet and open hearted and open minded and truly has the desire to see for herself if this is true!

The last person we called that night was in the middle of meeting with the missionaries. (oops!) We said goodbye immediately, but we were ecstatic that she was progressing and learning.

When we call our investigators, most of them don't pick up, or are unwilling to do anything. They don't have time to go to church on Sunday. They don't have the patience to read the Book of Mormon. They feel nervous about getting in contact with the local missionaries. But this week,something is happening. Sister Burgoyne and I are doing something right. One night she said, "...Do you realize that we have seven people to follow up with for meeting with local missionaries/going to church?" Last week we had two people saying they would go to church is their work schedule permitted. This week we have eight (another new one from today!) that have committed to doing things. Aghhh!!!! 

I am just in awe of all the things that went right this week. I am so so so extremely thankful for these people and their prepared hearts. At Temple Square, I realized that missionary work has very little to do with your competence. Of course, we need to do everything that we can as missionaries; we need to study, plan, prepare, pray, and use all the brain power that we can each day. But the success that we've seen so far has everything to do with the experiences of our investigators, the preparation of their local missionaries, and the hand of God in placing the right people in the right places at the right times. I am so so so so so so (so) grateful for everyone involved in the process of helping investigators come closer to Christ. 

And the bonus: we saw David Archuleta in a car driving past when we were waiting for a stop light last Saturday. Last weekend we had Luz de las Naciones: Promesa de la Juventud (which is Spanish for Large Latino Gathering in the Conference Center) and David Archuleta was the guest star for the entire event. I was pretty bummed about not being able to attend, but it's a-okay because David Archuleta and I were about two meters and a metal car door away from each other. 

Spanish sentence of the week: ?Puede ofrecer la oracion? 

Chinese language meeting!

Week ???: To The People Who Said "Sorry you got called to Temple Square

The Parliament of World Religions had their conference this week in SLC. We had all sorts of people from around the world, and they all looked really important. While we were giving a Chinese tour, a lady asks, so do all the women in your religion have to wear that white headdress? My companion and I were both very confused, and we realized that she was looking at another group of guests who were wearing their own religious clothing. There were tons of people on square this week in robes, shawls, headdresses, yamikas (sp?)... hats and clothes of all sorts and colors. It was really interesting! 

When we first heard that this conference was happening, we were all excited. We anticipated learning tons about different cultures, understanding different religions, deep conversations about God. Which we did. I was really appreciative of the people who came with genuine curiosity and willingness to find the commonalities in ways we worship and serve. We had a lot of respectful discussions about what we do and believe. It really was awesome. What wasn't so awesome was the occasional passive aggressive comment. One such example: "In my missionary work, we make sure that we spend a lot of time trying to understand the cultures of the places we serve in. For example, when I went to India, I lived with the people for a couple months in their homes. I studied with them. I worshiped with them. We don't have the missionaries just go out to preach straightaway." And then he looked at my name tag. Ouch. But then we had a good conversation about how everything we do is centered on Christ, and I shared Helaman 5:12 with him and we ended on a good note so all is well. 

After I had a long long discussion with another woman about why Prophets are always men, she says, "well, I'm glad that you've thought about this issue, and that you're not like... following blindly. You kind seemed like one of those in the beginning." Another ouch. 

It was a rough week, to be quite honest. One morning, Sister Burgoyne and I were walking and talking about how difficult hard it's been, and trying our best to still smile and talk to the angry pedestrians. As we walked through the gates of Temple Square, a elderly lady came up to us and said, "SISTERS! I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU... A hug! From your mother!" She gave us each a long needed hug, and we immediately started tearing up. God is looking out for us, and the lady was an angel. 

Also, Elder Holland came and spoke to us for Relief Society. ELDER HOLLAND, EVERYONE'S FAVOURITE APOSTLE, CAME TO OUR RELIEF SOCIETY. To all you people that laughed at me for getting called to Temple Square, now is your time to feel embarrassed, because you probably didn't have an apostle come to give your Relief Society lesson.

He spoke to us about how why the Book of Mormon is so important. I feel like I finally truly understand the phrase, "The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion". It only took an apostle to speak to us in the real life for me to understand it. Most of the organization of the church didn't take place until the Book of Mormon was found, translated and published. The Book of Mormon takes precedence over any ordinance that we have, any establishing of auxiliary, any... anything. Even before the temple or even baptism... reading and knowing that the Book of Mormon is the word of God is essential in being a Latter-day Saint. It's important because it's about Christ, who He is, and His atoning sacrifice. 

Understanding Christ's love is the best thing that has happened in my life. I don't completely understand it; I know that because I learn something new about Christ and our Heavenly Father every single day. But the Book of Mormon and the Bible are the richest sources of understanding that love, and I just wish every single person just got around to even just opening the scriptures. 

Picture #1: A cool series of illustrations in the Conference Center called "Women Who Chose God". Everybody should go to the Conference Center to look at the art there. 

Week 6: All Of Our Investigators Are From The American East Coast And Taiwanese People Are So Organized And Efficient

I probably saw more Japanese people this week than I will ever see again for the rest of my mission. NuSkin had a conference in Salt Lake, so there were huge groups of different kinds of Asians flowing into Temple Square for a couple of days. When I saw the first group of Japanese people, I thought, "Nah, why the heck would there be Japanese people here? They're probably Taiwanese." But they were nice enough to come up to me and start talking, and then they started coming by the hundreds. It felt weird giving so many Japanese tours. I'm not even officially passed off for giving English tours. The Japanese people I talked to my first week were all members, so I was completely caught off guard in trying to introduce and explain the LDS church this week. Good news though, is that some of them were still kind and patient enough to refer! I'll be meeting with the other Japanese sisters every week or so to practice, so hopefully I'll be proficient enough in Japanese church words by the next NuSkin gathering!

It's also hard having to shift gears from teaching Americans who have Christian backgrounds, to Japanese people who know close to nothing about Jesus Christ. Both groups have their own merits though: Americans are easy to connect to because we have a common love for Jesus Christ, but sometimes are hard because without prompting, they say things like "I was born a Methodist, was raised Methodist, and will die a Methodist" because they think that we're trying to seduce them to turn on their own religion. And then they get nervous and run away if we say something like "the Book of Mormon also talks about Jesus Christ!" 

Japanese people are nice to talk to because everything is so new. They're accepting and curious about it all. The hard part of it is "I don't really know how religion will fit into my life..." BUT MY FRIEND. IT IS GOOD FOR YOUR SOUUUULLL

Since the NuSkin conference ended, the square has been pretty dead. At one point during the week I looked around the North Visitor's Center and realized that literally every patron was with a pair of sister missionaries. There was no spare guest for us to talk to. It's a hard knock life. 

However, the miracles still don't cease! We met a man from New York who had just finished a tour from another set of missionaries, and he says to us "I came to Utah to learn about retirement investment and maybe a little bit about Mormon history. But no! I've learned all about Jesus Christ. I've been enlightened and uplifted. And I know that the reason you're all happy isn't because of what's in the waters in Utah. It's because you have the true gospel of Jesus Christ!" He's going to church next Sunday and told us in his New York accent, "I'm quitting cwoffee tomorrow! Idontknowhowiwillgetmydailyboostofenergy BUT I WILL FIGURE IT OUT." 

Miracle #2: Yesterday we took an online chat and this guy wanted us to find the local missionaries for him. This magnificent boy knew that this was the truth and said that he loved the feeling he got when he read the Book of Mormon (does it get any more golden than this?) When he sent us his address, Sister Burgoyne almost flew out of her seat; this guy lives TEN MINUTES from her home in Pennsylvania. What a miracle that we just happened to be the missionaries that took this chat! Sister Burgoyne was so excited from all the cool things that happened (this was but one of many miracles that night) that she ran all the way home (I had to run with her). "I HAVE TO BURN OFF THIS ENERGY SO I CAN GO TO SLEEP TONIGHT!" 

Temple Square sisters have Relief Society on Thursday mornings since we don't have a proper ward to go to. Sister Burgoyne and I taught the lesson yesterday. You Provo ward friends are probably laughing right now. I literally. never. escape. this calling. But you know what? That's okay; our lesson was awesome. It was about the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon, and I learned a lot. From the Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith:

"Joseph Smith … was alone in the first vision, alone when Moroni brought the message to him, alone when he received the plates; but after that he was not alone. The Lord called other witnesses. Grandmother Smith [Joseph Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith] in her history says that the Prophet came home weeping for joy after the witnesses had beheld the plates under the direction of an angel of God, because, he said, “The load has been lifted and I am no longer alone.”

God never expects us to carry any burden alone. I think we especially forget that when it has to do with spiritual/church things. We work so hard to fulfill our callings. We sacrifice time and energy to make sure that everyone in church gets visited. We make ourselves martyrs when we chastise people around us that aren't as obedient as they should be. Sometimes we forget that we can share that burden with others. God has given us friends, families, church congregations, leaders... Who the heck are we to think that we can take all these challenges alone, and reap in its rewards alone? If we feel like we are the only ones lifting the weight of fulfilling God's commandments, we're probably doing something wrong. That's something that's helped me understand why missionaries are in pairs, but more importantly its something I hope I remember in the future when I'm in a church calling and feel like I'm the only one doing the work. I've never been responsible enough of a person to know what that's like, but regardless I pray that I will never become as self righteous as that.

Thanks to all you lovely people who are writing me. I love you still even if I don't respond. 

Here is a picture of the most organized group picture I've ever seen. 57 Taiwanese NuSkin people took around 2 minutes to line up, snap a pic, and then disperse again. 

CONFERENCE WEEK

I don't have much time for an update this week, but all I have to say is: Temple Square is beautiful. I love living in a city again, and conference was insane and I am glad it's over. Here is a picture of us looking super happy at conference: 

MISHUNERY WERK WERK WERK. 

But actually though, it was amazing seeing so many people wanting to listen to the words of the apostles and prophets. People from ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Venezuela, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, Tonga... I'm so extremely blessed. 

Greetings From the Princess Mission

I'M HERE AND EVERYTHING IS INSANE.

It was quite an adventure getting here on Wednesday. We took the frontrunner from Provo to Salt Lake. Nine ladies in skirts and nametags, pulling ~20ish suitcases at 6 am, most of us having never travelled alone in America -- was quite a sight.
We had all woken up at 4 am to finish packing and cleaning our rooms in the MTC, so by the time we arrived at Temple Square to meet the APs, the mission president, and all the other sisters, we were quite deadbeat. We received so many hugs from so many sisters when we arrived. I was so sleep deprived and overwhelmed, I'm pretty sure I had a look of death on my face as I received all those hugs.
First thoughts: this place is like that scene from Princess Diaries 2 where Mia has a princess sleepover. Everyone here is a graceful princess, confident in their own selves and coming from all the different corners of the earth. There are 50 countries represented here by sister missionaries. There is also a lot of giggling and singing. Unfortunately, Julie Andrews has yet to make an appearance on a mattress surfboard.
The mission president, President Polsen, is so gentle and kind. I couldn't think of a man better fitted to run a mission of 200 sisters from 50 different cultures and countries. So many things could go wrong when you're dealing with so many different backgrounds, but he is graceful and considerate.
My trainer/companion is Sister Burgoyne, from Pennsylvania (!!! DANIELLE GO SAY HI TO HER FAMILY!!!) and I am SO HAPPY TO HAVE HER. She's really kind. As my trainer she will be telling me all the ins and outs of Temple Square, letting me know when I'm doing something wrong, when I'm doing something good. She's wise and kind, and does a great Miranda voice. She'll be going home after she trains me, so she's really got a lot of wisdom to pass down to me.
Although it's only my third day here, we've already had so many great teaching experiences. We've taught so many kind and intelligent people who are mostly on vacation in Utah. On my first day (Wednesday) I was able to talk to a lady from Beijing who really believes in God and Jesus Christ (!!!) and is genuinely curious about finding more about Mormonism. SHE WAS SO LOVING AND BEAUTIFUL. I was a little frustrated that I didn't know how to say "prophets" in Chinese at the time, but I know that she'll be able to learn everything in time. I'm mostly amazed that I'm able to be here in Temple Square to talk to people like her, who wouldn't have had the opportunity to hear the gospel in China (mormonsandchina.org), AND to awesome local members who live right here in Utah! Heavenly Father is too kind to me.
In the course of three days (two and a half really), we've talked to people about the gospel in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish (S. Burgoyne is certified in Spanish tours). Everyone is so loving and humble and kind, members and nonmembers alike. I love love love love love love love it here.
To finally answer everyone's question about which flag I wear under my nametag: they only gave me a Japanese one, since they usually only give flags of the country you have citizenship for. The Chinese tourists I talk to are usually very taken aback when the girl with the big red dot starts speaking to them in Chinese. There are people here who have multiple flags; apparently, they don't wear them all at once. They just wear one flag at a time, and switch according to which nationality of people they think they're talking to that day.
Here is a selfie. I love my nametag.
Conference (lds.org) is happening tomorrow, and I'm a little terrified. General Conference at Temple Square on my first week here! CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE. I can't even imagine. I hope that you all prepared to receive revelation. I learned from talking to members about conference this week, that finding the questions you want answers to are half the battle of getting good answers. Any worries or questions we need to receive from conference are only helpful if we know what our questions are! I hope that we're all able to really take time to introspect and understand where we are before we watch conference this weekend.
I love you all.
Sister Takeshige

x

Week #3: It's Been a Whirlwind of a Week

Last Friday (9/18): After e-mails I went to the Provo temple with a thankful heart for my friends and family and their e-mails. I also got to be there at a session with a lot of people from my zone. I thanked God for all the amazing people in my life.

Saturday (9/19): I woke up with a sore throat and then got a fever. I don't really remember much from that day.

Sunday (9/20): Sister Nunez and I taught a RS lesson on repentance. I thought it was going to be a drag since it's not really a topic I resonate a lot with, but I really learned a lot while we were giving the lesson. I wrote in my journal about that lesson: "Repentance draws us closer to God, and as it does so, it helps us love the people around us more fully." Interpret that however you will. I think I realized that repentance isn't really about feeling bad about the things you did in your life. It's really about your relationship with other people. Thank you, whoever said that during the class that day. 

We also had to say goodbye to some of the people in our zone. The non-visitors center missionaries left this week to be in their assigned field. I had so many great laughs and heartfelt moments with them in two weeks; it was a rough day. I really really hope I see them again someday.

Monday (9/21): We got a third companion!!!! Sister Sapera from the Philippines came to the MTC Monday night after serving in-field in the Philippines for 2 transfers. She's quiet, hilarious, and powerful when she teaches. 

Tuesday (9/22): Our last day of regular MTC classes before Visitors Center training. Said goodbye to our teachers and zone mates. And Sis Rauta from my district got surgery for her kidney stones. 

Wednesday (9/23): Sister Rauta was pretty beat from getting lasers in her kidney, so we took turns staying with her. It seemed really awful and painful until the drugs finally started working and knocked her out. We also started our first day of visitor's center training. I missed most of it, but what I gathered is that our purpose as missionaries is the same in visitors' centers (VC), we just have to get to know and empathize with people a lot quicker. It's basically sped-up multimedia proselyting, which is cool, because I think using paintings and videos and statues to help people feel God in their lives is a lot more effective than using my own stupid monotonous voice. 

Thursday (9/24): Sister Kogure, from Chiba, is in my VC class! We were companions for online chat, in which we basically are the people on the other side of themormon.org chat function. CHAT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO ARE THERE GENUINELY WANT TO KNOW WHAT MORMONISM IS. WE DON'T HAVE TO TRY TO GAGE INTEREST. They literally just come online with questions, and we help them come closer to Christ the best way we can. Every investigator on there is the dream investigator. Sister Kogure and I didn't get to chat with any Japanese people, but we basically had our first real lesson with our first real investigator, since all the lessons we've been giving so far were role-plays with teachers. REAL PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR THIS GLORIOUS MESSAGE ABOUT CHRIST AND I'M SO EXCITED.

Friday (9/25): We went to Temple Square to get the "VC EXPERIENCE" since not all the people in the VC class are going to serve at Temple Square. While we were waiting for the train to take us to Salt Lake, we saw a gang of three guys in face paint and devil horns, and I thought, "weirdo Provo youths. Bunches of hooligans." But then we started seeing more of them. We saw a batman, a baby pikachu, a marceline... Turns out it's Comic-con this weekend, so I got to see some cool costumes and old BYU friends. As for Temple Square itself, I was with Sister Li from China, and we ended up giving a tour to a group of Chinese folk. I didn't know anything about the stuff we were taking them to see, so I just smiled and made conversation. They were in a hurry, so we only got to show them the tabernacle, and they ran off... They missed all the good stuff! There were ten billion other things that happened, but all I can say in this e-mail is that Temple Square is beautiful beyond words, and I can't wait to talk to people about God there for the next 18 months. 

Saturday (Today): Since we went to Temple Square yesterday, today is our P-day. Thus the late replies. Apologies to all. 

Thought of the week: I've been thinking a lot about the gift of knowledge God has given to us. Whenever I hear about someone's conversion story, I just think about how cool it is that God gave that person the ability to think for themselves. We have scriptures. We have missionaries. We have friends that give beautiful testimonies about whatever they believe in. But God gave us the freedom to accept or reject him, and the ability of a human being to come to accept Jesus Christ as Savior after all the knowledge that they gain in life is pretty amazing. In 3 Nephi 17:3, Christ tells the people, "go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare in your minds". Christ trusts us as thinking, intellectual individuals. He knows that we can come unto him eventually, by our own knowledge and choice. That's pretty cool. 

I love you all. 

Sister Takeshige. 

Spanish sentence of the day: Soy una misionera de la Inglesia de Jesus Cristo de los Santos de los ultimos dias. 

(fun fact: I accidentally said "ultimos dios" (last gods) instead of "ultimos dias" (Latter-days))

WEEK 2: STILL GREAT

I feel like I've been here an eternity. I already don't remember what I was even doing two weeks ago. We have something scheduled to do every hour of the day, from 6am to 8 am. I'm really grateful for everything in the MTC and how it's set up. Some missionaries are feeling tired and restless and want to get out there as soon as they can. I still feel pretty incompetent as a missionary and want to stay here a little longer so I can absorb EVERYTHING that they're teaching me. We get to practice teaching to our teachers, and I'm so grateful that I can get my failures and embarrassing moments out of the way in this enclosed space, not out there in the real world. 

Now that I've been assigned my companion for 10 days, I can tell you a little bit more about how cool she is: 1. She's hilarious. We can never stop laughing. 2. She already loves the gospel of Jesus Christ with all her heart. Despite everything that could have stopped her from coming on a mission, she's here. 3. She's smart. Every time we have discussions in class about what we read, her interpretation and insights are inspired. Also, she went to National Autonomous University of Mexico before she came here. Das pretty cool. 4. She has two younger sisters, just like I do. 5. She has rosy rosy cheeks and green green eyes. 5. She talks super fast. 6. She talks even faster in English after she speaks Spanish with someone. 6. She makes everyone around her laugh. Our class is a riot. 7. Whenever we get frustrated with ourselves or with teaching, we get through it and move on. She always asks God for help whenever she beats herself up, and God helps her regain confidence. 7. She puts up with my disorganization. 8. We danced for 3 minutes on September 16th for Mexican Independence day. 9. She wakes me up in the morning because I stupidly forgot to bring an alarm clock. 10. She really is smart. That's my favourite thing about her. 

We were stressed for a while because we weren't the best at teaching. At the MTC they really pounded into our heads the importance of relying on God during lessons. God is the only one who knows the needs of the people we're teaching. As missionaries, we are only God's instruments. Our own needs and wants have no place anywhere. Missionary work is about being a catalyst for the relationship between God and his other children. Sister Nunez and I were stressed because we weren't relying on the Spirit. We were relying on our own knowledge and our own job. And our own failures. But once we began to pray for humility, and for understanding, it started getting better. I'm so glad that God doesn't penalize us for our mistakes, and that we're able to keep moving forward and keep trying harder. I love being a missionary, especially, so that I can take the time to see everything that's wrong with me and do everything to change. I feel loved. 

I hope all is well in the real world. Love you all.

Sister Takeshige 

Spanish sentence of the day: Esta comida sabe muy bien! 

Pictures:

#1: All the sisters from my zone:

#2: Sister Nunez and I matching one day:

#3: Most of the zone unprepared for a picture at the temple: