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Each week, Alyssa's letters never cease to amaze me. The amount of growth and insight she offers in the Gospel has taught me so much. I was especially touched by this thought she shared with me:
Kind of an interesting experience from earlier this week...it was after sort of a tiring and rough day and I was biking home. I thought to myself "I am not good enough to be here doing this" and the Spirit almost immediately shot back at me "No, you're not. And neither is your companion or anyone else doing this work." But then immediately after it dawned on me that it is impossible for me to try and do the work that the Savior did exactly as He did. Not only that, I will never be perfectly worthy to wear His name on my chest. But the Spirit really taught me in that instant that it is okay, because the Lord knew He was calling somebody imperfect. I am incredibly imperfect trying to do this perfect work, but He is going to help me every single step of the way. I do not have to be alone as long as I let Him help me through all of this!
Life here is good. I am happy to be a missionary in this beautiful place with people that I love so much. As much as I miss you all terribly, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I know this is where I am supposed to be and I know this is where the Lord needs me, so how could things be better?
Group Letter
Minasan, Konnichiwa!
Hello again from the lovely city of Kyoto, where it is almost as hot as the place where people will go unless we get to teach them our message (jokes, jokes, jokes...but no really....it is dang hot here)! We had another great and busy week here in the Shimogamo area, and it wasn't even slowed down one bit by the fact that the heat made us all want to die a little bit, but it is okay because 7-11 sells 2 Liter bottles of water that we have no shame in biking around with :) The week started out super good with a super fun P day with my lovely companion. We went to downtown Kyoto and went to the Disney store (I walked in and "Soaring Over California" was playing on the speakers and I almost cried) and other places, and then I went to a conveyor belt sushi place for the first time and it was SO good. Japan has so many quirky things about it, but I just love it all so much!
Tuesday was amazing! We had the great opportunity to have interviews
with our wonderful mission president, President Welch, and it was so very amazing and so very needed. Every single time I speak with him my testimony is just reaffirmed even stronger that he is called of God to lead this mission, and revelation is REAL. He was able to offer me counsel on some things that I had been wondering about or struggling with that nobody else knew about besides the Lord, and I was just so grateful that he had sought the spirit beforehand so that he could know what to say and how to show that love from my Heavenly Father.
I started the interview with a prayer in Japanese and at the end of the
prayer he just gives me the biggest smile and compliments my Japanese and says "I am so proud of you". It was just the fatherly comfort that I had been needing, because sometimes Japanese still has a tendency to stress me out, but it was so great. We had some amazing discussions about the Shimogamo area, the Book of Mormon, and most importantly, what I am doing to live and exercise the power of the atonement in my personal live every single day. He told me that it all comes down to living the doctrine of Christ to the fullest in every way we can. I get up in the morning on time, exercise, and begin my studies, all acting in faith that it is what I am supposed to do. I act in faith when I open my mouth to the stranger on the street, or when I try and extend a bold and loving commitment. I repent when I realize that the next day I can improve even more, and try to be a better missionary, companion, and person. I remember my baptismal covenants every time I partake of the sacrament, and as I try and always remember Jesus Christ. I use the gift of the Holy Ghost as I follow promptings to help life the lives of those around me, and share the gospel with someone who needs it. And then I endure to the end by doing it all over again the next day and the next day and the next day. As we talked about that, I realized how true it was, and how completely amazing and profound it is as well. I can testify that if you want the power of the atonement to flow more powerfully in your life, study 2 Nephi 31 and then find ways you can live the learned principles every single day. I promise you your life will change and you will feel the Spirit more abundantly, because I know it certainly has happened for me! The rest of the week was great and a blur of visiting people and teaching lessons and just trying to be the best missionaries that we can be. We had a super solid lesson on Tuesday with our investigator named Regine, who moved here from the Philippines not too long ago. She shared with us some hard experiences that led her to have faith in Christ, and then we were able to testify to her that through this gospel, she will become closer to Him than she ever thought possible. The Spirit was SO strong and we were all crying and sharing experiences, and it was so uplifting. Moments like that always remind me why I love being a missionary! We also had the chance to meet with our investigator family, the Hirokawa's again! I love them so much, they are so great. We were able to meet the 11 year old daughter, and she is so stellar. She loves Christ so much and really desires to follow Him, and once again I am just left in awe at the faith that a child can have. No wonder Christ asks us to all become like them! We extended the baptismal commitment and they aren't quite ready yet, but think they will desire that for the family as they continue to learn and come closer to Christ. So exciting! Another funny story really quick....we had the return of the cockroaches unfortunately. After Eikaiwa we were in this big room talking with investigators, and me and this one elder see this cockroach fly in and land on this guy's leg. We exchange this look but didn't dare say anything, and then we look outside in the hall from where it came from, and there were cockroaches flying around everywhere! It was basically the stuff that nightmares are made of as we went on this frantic cockroach massacre while all these other people are just having this pleasant conversation inside the Eikaiwa room. Goodness I love Japan, but I will NOT be sad to say goodbye to the cockroaches!
It was just a super solid week for us here. Things are finally
starting to come together in our teaching rhythm and with investigators and with getting to know the members. The Shimogamo Ward is really so sweet, and I love being able to be here and serve with them. We have had the chance to really work with some less actives and see them come back to church, and in my mind, that is one of the most rewarding things ever. Christ would do anything to go find that one lost sheep, and trying to emulate Him in some small way in that aspect of the work is just such a blessing. I love being a missionary! One final thought...yesterday before church I had the chance to have some personal study and I felt prompted to study the atonement chapters in the New Testament in preparation for the sacrament. As I did so with that mindset, the experience became so special and spiritual. When I actually took the sacrament, it was so sacred and like a completely new experience. I feel so sad that I have missed out on having that complete spiritual rebirth every Sunday, and I cannot wait for it again next week! I encourage you all to do whatever you can to prepare to take the sacrament each week, because if you enter that meeting having repented and spiritually prepared, it will change you and set you off on the right course for the rest of the week. That much I can promise! As always, thank you for all the love and the support and the prayers, I definitely could not be doing it all without you. I know this work is true, and I feel so blessed to be apart of it. I love serving my mission in Japan, because I know this is where the Lord needs me to be. This church is so true and I cannot wait to share that with everyone I can! Have an amazing week, everyone! Aishiteimasu! Love, Sister Pickering Photos: We had the chance to go to Ginkakuji (the silver temple) for P day today, and it was so fun, so enjoy some photo selections from that and other various missionary life activities! |
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| 2 liter water saves the day. ( I have followed the weather app for Alyssa's area and it is no joke when she says it is hot. Often times the 90's temps plus 90% humidity puts the real feel at 108+ degrees. Good thing she doesn't melt). |
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to pretend I was serving a Spanish mission for like two seconds.
Huzzah!"
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Here is a song that is an excerpt from one of the new Meet The Mormons movies. The story is about 4 siblings from Tokyo Japan that are Entertainers in the music industry. They have found a way to balance their careers and still maintain their values and Christian beliefs. This story is especially touching to me since these are people that Alyssa loves and is currently serving.
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