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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Cute Little Dog Bit Us

August 19

Oiiii minha querida familia!!
Como vao???  I miss you alll!!!!!  I JUST got to get onto the computuer! omg!  We were stuck outside for an hour cause no one came to unlock the door for us to the family history center! 
So updates: Megan and Craig, the couple we wanted to get married.... sighhhhh.  The bishop of their ward--not our bishop cause they live in the other ward boundaries--special situation, they wanted sisters teaching them instead of elders :) --so that bishop went and visited them for a second and kind of explained really quickly how they cant get baptized until they are married and I guess he didn't realize we already explained that so he kinda went more shallow than we did and she took it the wrong way and thought he meant don't get married until you're ready and then get baptized..... sooooo we gotta work on that with them ):  This past lesson though I realized that they didn't even really understand why they would want to be baptized.   So we're gonna start there and get them really fired up to be baptized and then get that to be the key to them getting married.  They're out of town a lot and so I'll update that again later.  Kinda cool though cause they wanted a cultural marriage--She's Navajo--so that includes him having to butcher and cook a cow and serve it to her whole family..... that'll be interesting! hahah
OH MY this week has been an interesting one!! hahah. Soooo first of all, Sis Jensen-Coon and I got bit by a dog! It was the cutest dog and totttttalllyyyy reminded me of Rusty!!! WOW! even the one ear up one down thing! and his patchy spots! This one was more grey though. he was tied up and ran around a pole so the rope was shorter and we were walking by after talking to his owners. Then the dog got smart and as we were walking away, unwound from around the pole and so the rope was longer and we didnt even notice but he ran up to us and I honestly didn't think he would do anything cause there are  SO Many dogs here that bark crazy but are the nicest things ever.  But yeah he actually came up and bit us!!  He hit my knee so it was bone and I kinda saw it coming the last second and jerked my knee up by instinct I guess and hit his mouth and I think it scared him so he ran after Sis Jensen-Coon and she was a  little ahead of me so she I guess it looked like she was running away and he bit her thigh. It left some big bruises on us but nothing punctured and so we were all good.  We got it cleaned just in case but we're both fine.  Just awesome stories for later! hehe.
Awesome story number 2!
We ran into a Priest from another church and we were contacting him on the street and he started talking to us about how he knows Joseph Smith had the vision but it was actually the devil angels in disguise and we were all posessed and that's why we all believe it so firmly.  He was like I KNOW that you're possessed. You're both so sweet but its sad seeing you so possessed. So we set up an appt with him to kind of just discuss our beliefs and stuff and we were scared he was gonna throw holy water on us at the door or perform a seance or something but we just discussed the bible and proved our beliefs with scripture and he was super open and it was an awesome discussion with him and his wife and guess what!! It turns out a lot of our beliefs are the same and Mormon beliefs can be proven in the Bible!! Who'da thunk. hahah. I was like ... yeahhhhhh that's what we try to tell people but for some reason no one believes us. haha. fun stuff.  We have a return appt where we'll teach the Plan of Salvation with scriptural backup because he's very against the idea of the premortal life. But here comes the Bible references!!

WOW I learned how much I LOVE studying!! When an investigator has a question and we say we'll look it up and return and report, hehe, we go home and it brings up tons of other questions that I had growing up but never really thought about or asked or kinda just pushed aside because I didn't know the answer ... and I would search them up and find things in the Bible and Book of Mormon that made so much sense and everything just falls into place and its the coolest feeling!!  It's such a testimony builder when I realize that this gospel really DOES answer all the questions! If people would just be open to hearing us out they'd realize that we DO have all the answers!  Even members need to  realize that, I think.  I never felt comfortable asking these questions because I was raised Mormon and thought I had to know everything.  So I just wouldn't talk about it.

One big thing for me was the Godhead.  It really was a tough concept for me to understand but I knew what we believed, they're separate beings, so I just accepted it and moved on. but when we have to explain it to people I realized I don't actually know what I'm talking about so I had to study. It's amazing how much my testimony of the gospel and the scriptures and the Book of Mormon and the nature of God has grown just from me learning and studying it out for myself. 

I've learned so much about how we are all still learning and will CONSTANTLY be learning until we're perfected AFTER this life in yearsssssss and years to come.  It's okay to have questions. God gave us that ability to think and question for a reason--that reason being to find out and when we do find out, that's when we grow and it builds that testimony! It's the coolest feeling ever.   I looooove it!  Funny, cause I always hated studying before... school, church, everything. haha. oh, the things you learn on a mission ;)
BEFORE I FORGET! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY CAMI!!!!!! I don't remember if I wrote it last week. but our pday last week was cut short cause of appts so we didn't have time to write any letters): hopefully I'll have time today!  I hope you had an aweeeesome birthday!!! woooooh! youre old(;  haha.
So we've been having a lot of success with LTM's but our finding is suuuufffering.  I think only like 3 new investigators a week ):   It's so hard cause we don't have a bishop. Our bishop moved last week and the whole time I've been here, he's been prepping for the move and kinda in that awkward stage of what to do cause he couldn't really start anything cause he wouldn't be here to follow anything through and now it's our second week without a bishop and we're DYING HERE!!!!  We had 1 ward council so far and it's toughhhhhh!!!  I honestly wish every ward had a bishop like you, Dad.  We don't even have a Ward Mission Plan, or if we do, no one knows what it is. ):  I just sooo greatly appreciate the amazing dfference the ward makes in this work.  It literally cannot go forward without the ward.   The Bishop is suchhhhhha huge help and If we had a  bishop like you, we'd have the HUGEST growing ward ever!!!  We have the families and members and everything who are willing to go out with us and everything but its so hard to coordinate activities or events or anything to get people to bring friends to!  There was one event, and EQ BBQ and it was the biggest hit. the EQ prez had a party at his house and we had soooo many investigators go it was amazing.  We need more activities like that at the church and stuff or something. and we need to get involved with the youth!!!!!   It's so hard to get anything done without the bishop. ):   We were hoping for one this past Sunday but nope. Gotta wait another week then!  Prayingggg!!!!! haha.
Its kind of funny how not many people understand what missionaries do.  They ask us what we do for fun or for our breaks and stuff.  When I first came, they're like "Oh, is the other sister on vacation??"   haha. stuff like that.  We're like wow no one realizes that this is all we do.  All day. Everyday. haha.  It's funny cause its such a huge thing when I think about it like that.   But while I'm here it just seems normal ... like... We volulnteered for this. We're PAYING to do this. hahahah! We were joking about that.   Next time someone asks us we'll emphasize that we WANT to be here so bad, we're paying to do this haha. but really its kinda amazing how the days and weeks flyyyyy by!  I can't believe its already almost another transfer!!  This feels like a SECOND compared to the 6 weeks in the MTC even though the MTC was way more chill and fun haha.  This is the WORK part. and it's amazing!  It's reallly soooo coool how one amazing thing makes the entire day a good day!
So my testimony of Fellowshipping is growing sooo much as well!  Being on a mission teaches me sooo much!  Shows me the kind of member I want to be when I go home, what kind of family I want, what kind of ward I want, what kind of HOUSE I want haha. and so many things.  I realize just how important it is for the ward to welcome those who are intersted in the church.  They might have the biggest testimony, but they won't be able to get over the huge difference of just the culture. and it can't work without the people welcoming them in and makin them a part of it ... and its SO FRUSTRATING WHEN NO ONE DOES IT!!!!  We can't be the fellowshippers!!  We're leaving in a couple of months at most!  It's so hard ): but idk. we will definitely fix this after we get a bishop!!!!! ahhh!!!!!!
Okay wellll I gotta go.  All these misssionaries are waiting for the comps): sadddddd. Hopefully I'll be able to write all the letters today and send them out!  I'll be sending them soon! Send my love to the ward!
Love you allll!!!!!!
Miss you, all!!!! Praying for you all!
Thank you mom for the letters!  I'm glad youre having fun with the stuffing ENVELOPES now haha.  I will write a letter today for you cause I gotta goooooo!!
MUITO AMOR!
Ate a Proxima Segunda!
-Sister Yoshimoto<3

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