I am no longer a trainee!!!!!! woooooo! I am going to miss watching the district though haha. Maybe I'll watch them at meal times. I am staying in Toyooka again with Pipers shimai and the zone leaders. I think she really wanted to transfer out of Toyooka- it'll be her third transfer here. Last Sunday we took off our winter coats to bike because the sun came out and the sky was blueeee!!! It was really promising and we were hoping we'd skip the worst of winter, which apparently happens in February, but ever since last Monday it's been snowing non-stop. I feel like I'm in Michigan again (: hahha. Pipers shimai is from Australia and the first time she saw snow was in the MTC and she hates dendoing in it. It is pretty mendokusai but it doesn't matter because our purpose remains the same in rain or snow or hail or wind or sunshine: to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel. haha it just makes it a little more difficult to bike. We had to walk on Wednesday because the snow was so deep.

This past week I learned so much. I've never been turned down so frequently in my entire life. Pipers shimai and I dropped a lot of PIs that kept leaving us out to dry and an investigator dropped herself. We moved some investigators down to PIs because they kept making excuses to not meet. We did a lot of finding because we only have 3 investigators left (one currently in America) and one preparing for high school entrance exams so she was unable to meet. We made a goal to share our testimony/heartfelt at every door, but every one either saw our nametags and didn't open the door, kekkoed us after we said the words ''Jesus Christ'', or just listened and didn't have any interest. 

Pipers shimai was getting really, really down and doesn't really open up to me at all even though I try and talk to her. She did a little during companionship inventory and on Friday night after our investigator dropped us and rejected us again after we bore testimony of how the message will bless her and her family and asked if we could meet one more time even if it was for 5 minutes. We both just sat and cried. I personally felt like I was failing at this work. I couldn't see myself getting any better at Japanese and the past 2 weeks we haven't taught many lessons or gotten any new investigators. Friday night I prayed forever and just kind of unleashed all of my feelings to Heavenly Father about how inadequate I was feeling. But a really powerful calm cloaked me. It was incredible. I felt like He didn't see me as a failure. I really wish I could see what He sees-- the eternal perspective of this work. I know I only have a mortal outlook; I really wish I didn't. We cleaned out our pool of investigators and although it's really small now, at least they are solid. 

Our mission has a goal that every companionship will see a baptism before March 23rd. I was feeling a little apprehensive about meeting the goal, and a thought about it a lot last week. Our only progressing investigator is the 88 year old woman. We've been making her books because her hearing is really bad and she doesn't understand our accent. It's been amazing. She was so stubborn before. She even told us to not dendo her anymore but that she still likes us and wants us to visit and eat her mikans. She doesn't have the best memory so we just kinda kept visiting her and started the book idea. But ever since we made the books for her and really started praying for her and having faith that she can change, she started to understand the doctrines. Our first book was 2nd grade simple but we had to even simplify that more. It's like CTR 4's simple. I taught CTR 4s before I came on my mission. It's really the same thing. She reads our books at least 3 times a day- during each meal. When we came and visited her after we'd given her the first book, the first page had fallen off because she's read it so much. haha it was so sweet. She said that since we had worked so hard to make the books, she was going to work really hard to understand them. The Spirit can change lives. This doctrine can change lives. She doesn't understand a lot about God and Jesus Christ, but she knows they love her. That love empowers her and changes her. That love has empowered me when everyone has rejected us. I feel the Lord's love for these people and it breaks my heart when they reject Him. But because He loves them, and because I love them, we just keep pushing forward; keep being faithful. It's kind of like biking against snow and hail. Your head is down and you can't see much more than 2 feet ahead of you and some times you run into poles (guilty) but you keep going even though you can't see. You trust that your companion is leading you in the right direction because you can't see. And then you get where you need to be and you can sit at the awesome japanese style tables where there's a pit in the floor, under the table, and you dangle your feet in there over a heater. I am definitely investing in one of those for my own house one day. 

I'm putting faith in the Lord and I'm relying on Him. We're doing what we have been asked to do. I know the Lord will provide a way for us to see S. san get baptized within the next month. A Yoda quote popped into my head while I was biking this week, "Do or do not, there is no try." When dad would wish me good night growing up, he'd ask me if I did my best that day. Usually I'd say, "I tried!" and he'd recite that quote, and ask me again. I think we can always do just a little bit better, but I think that's how it is with relying on the Lord. You either do or you do not. You can't half-rely on Him. You have to hand over your whole heart, your whole might, mind and strength. It takes a lot of trust, and a lot of courage too. I think prior to Friday I was trying to hold half my heart back, just in case things didn't work out as I thought they should. But I don't have anything to lose. With relying fully on the Lord, I can know that whatever the outcome is going to be, it'll be what He wants it to be, not what I think it should be. My "just in case I fail" is my mortal-eyed perspective. I need to see through His. And although I can't see it now, I feel His assurance that He accepts our efforts. He knows we're doing the best we can.

haha I hope this makes up for the short emails recently. Sorry, mom.

Have a happy valentines day!!!!! (:

Why has Ohio state lost so many basketball games?!?!

Thanks Dad for sending me Elder Nakatsuka's email. He and his wife are so awesome (: tell them thanks for me! 

the first picture is the bike ride after I ran into the pole hahhaha.

the second is a funny sign we saw at an eki (train station)

i love you all!

daniels shimai

konnichiwa!!!!

DAD I MET YOUR OLD COMPANION, ELDER NAKATSUKA! He came to my branch yesterday and he and his wife are sooo awesome! hahah he told me stories about you two from when you were companions in Sapporo. He was just called as the new mission president for the Sapporo mission! alsoooo he and his wife gave Pipers shimai and I a bunch of gifts. also Sister Nakatsuka gave me a hug from you and mom. (: that was fun (:

cool story: we went and visited some former investigators-- actually people that my MTC sensei had found and began teaching. haha I totally used that and we bonded super hard and the grandmother invited us inside and showed us a Book of Mormon he had given her with pictures of him and his testimony inside. she gave us some moogicha which is tea that we're allowed to drink. haha the first time I had it it was awful and tasted like cigarette butts, dirt and oil but I'm starting to actually like it? It's definitely an acquired taste.

Anyway, she has half of a tongue-- the left half. and as you can imagine it was super hard to make out what she was saying, which added to the difficulty of understanding older woman japanese, which added to the difficulty of just understanding japanese in general. haha. but I just said a quick prayer begging for help that I could understand what she was saying, and be able to talk with her. IT WAS A MIRACLE. I understood almost everything that she said and she and I became best friends and the Spirit was so strong and we had a totsuzen lesson with her (on the spot) and we're going to meet with her again with the rest of the family and it was beautiful. It was soo cool. Words were just coming out of my mouth and it was the coolest experience of my life and now I can't understand a lot of what people say but I could that night! and that's all that matters. This is the Lord's work, deshoo.

I love you all!!!! have a great week!

meg

 My feet look normal again and hers are well on their way. zen zen daijobu desu. we talked to the mission president's wife and she said that it was something else (I honestly forget what) which precedes frostbite but we're fine now. AND the sun finally came out this week!! The worst of winter is supposed to end at the end of February but maybe it'll end early this year? If it's anything unlike Michigan?

this week was awesome!!!! we finally had our katsudo (activity) which we've rescheduled 3 times because of the young women's schedules. we had 17 people there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was sooooooo yabbai!! (awesome/legit). Besides two, (and the missionaries) everyone was 10-14 which was crazy but wayy fun. we made no bake cookies and australian delicious things that the kids named ''dragon balls'' and also peanut butter cups. It was incredibly delicious and we met some really awesome youth. One of the girls wants to meet with us and she's the cutest thing in the world. She drew a picture of me and one of the members of the church (Murata kaicho)-- I'll be sure to send that picture in the email. haha. she walked to church yesterday in the wind and rain! she's so awesome.

we're teaching a recent convert who is 73 years old every week as well. She has dimensia and it's rapidly getting worse-- it's one of the saddest things I've ever seen. We started cleaning her apartment because she hasn't cleaned it since her husband died and it's wayyyyyyyyyy gross. Like 30 dead fruit flies in the fridge gross. and residue from her smoking cigarettes caked on the walls. she forgets that smoking is bad. but she gave me her pack of cigarettes at church yesterday, so that was good! She's possibly the funniest woman I've ever met. and she loves to sing and tried to teach me a japanese traditional song that she used to dance to. ahhhhhhhh i want to keep her.

i love you all and, as always, I'm praying for you.

love,

meg

Konnichiwa! sorry this is going to be suuper short. (:

this week has been super cold hahha. It rains or snows every day and always freezes over which makes it really difficult to bike hahah. we fish tail a lot and if you try to brake on the ice your bike kinda collapses. It's definitely an adventure (:

my companion and I started to get frostbite on our toes but it's slowly going away. Pipers shimai's was a lot worse than mine but we got her some really warm socks today so hopefully we'll be okay? we had a CRAZYY thunder/lightening/hail storm here on saturday and while we were biking back to the apartment some lightening hit like 10 feet behind us. suuuuuper yabbai. (legit) but we were safe and definitely being watched over.

another cool thing that happened this week was with a new investigator named S san. she's 88 years old and had pancreatic cancer. she had surgery about 18 years ago but every day she has to drink this gross water/bits of stick looking things (she made me try it) and she has pain every day. but when we left she told us that while we were there she didn't feel any pain at all. She was so excited and so happy to set another appointment with us (: IT WAS SO AWESOME. Obviously it's not us but she could feel the Spirit of God through us and that alone blows my mind every time. IT IS THE BEST BEING A MISSIONARY. She's insanely precious. oh also i didn't understand anything else she said besides feeling power with us. and we brought a japanese member with us and she didn't understand anything either. it is going to be a miracle to teach her. I've never not understood anyone more than I can't understand her. But that's what relying on the Lord is all about, right?

I love you all! I'm always praying for you. thank you for the emails liz and jess (: I'm excited to get your letters. <3

love,

sister daniels

p.s. feed the missionaries

p.p.s. no, here in japan we do our own laundry and make our own food. mitch was spoiled

p.p.p.s. the last picture is a sign we made with the elders to promote free english conversation class!! woooo! it was way fun. we're unveiling it on the streets tonight