The Country of Cats

This week was crazy. Seriously, we had so many ups and downs it was ridiculous. I'll just begin at the beginning. Tuesday we called one of our investigators who has been really busy lately taking care of her mom and sister who are both sick and who I haven't actually met yet. A few days previously, we had gotten the relief society to all sign a card for her to lift her spirits because she's just been so exhausted lately. Tuesday, when we talked to her, however, she was upset about the card. She told us that she understood our intentions, but that wasn't what she wanted at all. She felt like we had betrayed her trust by telling the relief society about her personal problems and she also said that she's not sure when she wants to meet again, but that she'll call us when she's ready. It was super devastating. It's so hard here in Japanese culture where everyone is so closed off about their personal lives when we're from a mormon culture where everyone knows everything about each other and we just didn't think anything of it! It was quite sad. That day as well, our other strong investigator called us and told us that her mother was now sick in the hospital and she probably wouldn't be able to meet us for another 2 months. We were pretty down after that. But We tried super hard to keep our spirits high and trust that God has it all worked out as long as we just keep on doing what we're supposed to be doing! On Thursday we had an appointment at a member's house to teach her non member mother a lesson. The member met us at the bus stop and told us that her mom had a surprise for us when we got to the house. We walk in, and her mother (who is 86 years old by the way) is dressed in the traditional Japanese Kimono with a fan in her hand and tells us that she wants to do a dance for us! She turns on a small stereo with some traditional Japanese music and begins waving her fan gracefully to the song. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen! After her wonderful presentation, we had lunch and a super good lesson about the Plan of Salvation. It was definitely one of my favorite appointments thus far. Friday was our miracle day. We had an aisu (ice cream) appointment at with a young girl we had met on the street just a few days earlier. Her appointment time came and went, and after a few unanswered phone calls, we decided to get ourselves some ice cream so that we could be in a good mood for finding. Not two minutes after we left baskin robins did we run into our investigator who said we couldn't meet for two months! She was walking with her husband and was super excited to see us. She told us that her mom is doing well and that she wants us to come again soon! It was literally a miracle. If we would have left even a minute sooner or later we would have completely missed her. It just goes to show that God truly does have His hand in this work. That same day, we were trying to find a neighborhood that we had driven past a few days before and we were getting slightly lost. We were wandering somewhat aimlessly, talking to whoever passed by, when a former investigator walks right in our path! She was also super happy to see us and even gave us some star wars candy. She said she is still a little too busy to meet with us right now, but it was just confirmation that God will lead us to people, or He will lead them to us. It's crazy the things that occur on a daily basis. Some random things about Japan that I realized this week are 1, Japan doesn't have carpet, like anywhere. It's all tatami mats and laminate and wood flooring. It made me miss carpet when I realized it haha. Also, driving in Japan is super scary. Not that I drive, but when we get driven places, I have to say a very heartfelt prayer in order to feel safe. For one, they drive on the other side of the road, which I am still not used to, and their streets are TINY and narrow, and their cars are itty bitty. People go super fast, weave in and out of cars and people, and stop suddenly. I prefer bikes when it's available. Another random thing is that Japan has TONS of stray cats. It's great! Every time I see one I always go up to it and say "Konnichiwa!" and one of my companions gets all mad at me and says the cats here aren't nice and I'm going to get attacked :) She hates cats. Also, Japanese people are obsessed with cats. They have cat patterns on their clothes and bags and jewelry and all sorts of things! Its pretty much my dream come true :) Well, time is all out and I wish I could just talk about every little thing that happens here because there really are so many wonderful things that happen. Keep Japan in your prayers! Wells Shimai