World Traveler: Great Day

Happy baby blessing to my new niece Mercédès Elise!

Today was great! It was the hottest day yet, but I was very blessed. In fact, I think maybe the Lord had a hand in the events of this morning. Late last night I got a text from Limor, she needed to talk. So we ended talking for about 2 hours and I didn't get to sleep until around 3 am. I was worried about how tired I would be for church, but it was what it was. In any case, at some point I woke up in the morning and thought, "I should check the time." I grabbed my phone, pressed the button.. nothing. My phone died in the night! I was instantly panicking. That meant no alarm had gone off! I plugged in my phone but it won't even turn ON until there is 5% battery. So I couldn't even check the time. I then remembered I have a watch (and while I had been waiting for my phone to turn on, I took the socks out of my hair), and went and grabbed it. 9:30 am. I prayed in my heart that it wasn't right since I leave around 9:25 to make it on time by bike and I wasn't dressed, my face wasn't washed, etc. At first I thought, "Guess I'll be really late to church." But that was unacceptable to me. I look forward to taking the sacrament every week so I was panicking and praying. I then thought, I'm just going to text my visiting teacher. I used my translator app on my phone and typed, "I woke up late. If you're not already at church, could I get a ride?" She called me a minute later and was able to communicate to me that she would pick me up. (MMM!) I got ready and then I went outside to wait so that we could leave as soon as she got here. I also grabbed those flowers that woman had given me yesterday. (Worked out perfectly!) So I got a ride to church with Fumie-shimai. I was mentally preparing myself to walk home the whole drive there. It was a great blessing, on my period, to be able to ride in an air conditioned car.

Church was really good. I wanted to bear my testimony and Elder Norawong said he would translate but I ended up chickening out. I felt .. weird about the whole thing. The RS lesson was good - it was on God's will. I had a really hard time paying attention though. I was in pain and distracted by various thoughts and worries. Plus the whole language barrier. I'm not the only lost one anymore though! One of the new sister missionaries also doesn't understand Japanese very well. She obviously knows a lot more gospel Japanese than me and is able to bear her testimony and pray (jealous!), but it's nice not to feel like the only one in the room that doesn't get it. One lady from my taiko group was there too! She's investigating the church. It was really cool to see her. :) She also helped with some translation. She's a very sweet woman. So cute!

After church I texted my parents and Nadia (since I hadn't heard from my parents) to skype them. I was HOPING Fumie-Shimai would give me a ride and she offered again. She even worked around my schedule so I could skype my family. (She agreed to wait an hour.) I am SO SO SO grateful for her. I wish I could have adequately expressed to her how much it meant. (Especially since on the drive home we saw a store sign showing that it was 30° out! The hottest day yet.) It's been an emotional day for me, and very muggy, but it was a good day. I was worried at first because I didn't hear from any of my family for an hour - but I got to skype my parents for 25 minutes so it all worked out. I also was able to message friends and print out my worksheets (I was going to print them out yesterday but I remembered at 2330 and figured my neighbors would HATE me if I printed them out then - the walls are thin and my printer is loud). I drank a small pitcher of water today too. Friday at CS, they were telling me that I had Natsubate (summer sickness) because I had mentioned I had gotten heat exhaustion several times already. So my kidneys are feeling a little strained at the moment but that's my fault for not drinking enough water during the week. I'm really trying to step it up. I read and had a chance to do some thinking. I'm currently not feeling emotionally up to tomorrow, but I'm hoping that will change in the morning. ~ One quick blessing I forgot to mention yesterday. I wanted to buy some Mirin (for cooking), and the wall of kanji was defeating me. I thus asked a woman working there for help. She showed me all the choices and then told me (I think) that if I needed any more help to come find her and she would help me. What a blessing that was! (And there were some things I needed but decided against buying then and luckily I did or I would have had to put back a lot more groceries. *sigh*) Anyway, happy Sunday! XOXO, A

the view to the left from my apartment building parking lot (I was waiting for Fumie-shimai)

a better look at that building - the stairs are like that on most apartment buildings - I've come to think of them as very Japanese (the yellow netting is where you put garbage on garbage days)