Hey fam!!! (: this week has been pretty wild but also one of the best weeks ever? I feel like this is MTC life. hahah. but really though. the MTC is both a refinery and the happiest place on earth. 

So Sunday we have a devotional every evening, usually from a church leader, but not a very well known one. This past Sunday though? ELDER OAKS CAME TO SPEAK TO THE ENTIRE MTC and the entire night was broadcasted to all of the MTCs in the world! hahahah all of the shimai tachi (sisters) in our branch went together, and apparently we sat in the right place because the camera was on us "the ENTIRE time" according to everyone that knew us. Elder Oaks is one of the greatest men to ever walk this earth. When he walked into the room he brought the biggest presence of peace and wisdom... he was so powerful. And so wonderful. 

Also, i ran into elder yeck!!! he works in the english building and trains new teachers. so that was super cool and we talked a lot about the family. He wanted me to tell you all hi!! 

hahah so my brain decided to be weird again this week. Two nights ago I started the workings of a massive headache, really more of a migraine. My nerves wa wayyy oversensitive deshita ne. When i woke up yesterday morning i felt a super deep ache in my head so i thought it'd be wise to take some immitrex, along with my regular propranolol (which i have been taking every day! and i sometimes take my vitamins... but it's okay). Sooo after I had taken all of these we went to the classroom and started personal study i got suuuuuuper light headed and nauseous and hypersensitive to light and all those things. i'm not sure if it was the medicine and i just wasn't used to the extra super low blood flow to my head or maybe it was just side effects of the migraine or maybe my brain didn't want to work, but my doryos made me go back to the room and sleep off my migraine. In the MTC you have to stay with your companions all the time so i felt super awful making them miss class, but they're angels and i love them and they're both going to be the best mothers and missionaries in the whole wide world. 

So 4 hours of napping and a meal later i finally felt alive enough to go back to class. The first counselor in our Branch presidency, Brother Willes, was in our classroom and asked to give me an interview. (back story, he is amazing and the epitome of an angel.) He just talked to me a ton and asked me about my headache situation. i told him absolutely everything. He told me that he'd been thinking about and worrying about me for the past couple of days and asked to give me a special priesthood blessing. 

That man truly is God-sent. He put his hands on my head, and through God's authority here on the earth, blessed me that I would be able to focus through the headaches i will continue to have. He told me that i would be fluent in japanese and that i would be able to express my testimony and the gospel of Jesus Christ and whatever I wanted to say easily to the people of Japan. he blessed me with the gift of discernment for my body that I would be able to know what to do when I get headaches so that they will be "significantly decreased" and much more spread out. He said that I would still get a few headaches on my mission to humble me and to remind me that it is through the Lord's mercy that I am able to withstand this affliction. He said a lot more, but all I felt during the blessing was God's love emanating through this man's hands. God's power is on the earth today. There is nothing on this earth that is more powerful than the priesthood. God is aware of us and wants us to feel His blessings that He willingly offers.

I know that there is a reason for all of this and that God loves me enough to allow His gift and power to bless my life. He cares enough about me to want to strengthen and purify me and build my faith. Life is good. Ten no Otosama wa watashi ni yori yoi senkyoshi o natta hoshii desu. (God wants me to be a better missionary.) Woo!

ai shite imasu! 

daniels shimai