Week 37 - Nakano, Japan

Hello!

Well, where to begin! So a bit of news:

We went to Sendai this past week. I went to an area called Tadajo with half of the missionaries. I can't explain the experience, We left Thursday night and drove throughout the night for about 6 hours to get up there. In Tadajo, we cleaned the area in and around a Jinja, a Shinto Temple. As we were picking up things, I couldn't help but think about the people who lived there and their lives. You're going through peoples things, seeing books they've read, their dishes, really learning who they were. The Japanese people, they're a simple people, focused on their culture, they love their history and their proud of it. And to see all of that ruined, the beautiful Kanji, artfully decorated shoji screens, everything now unusable. It was a feeling I've never felt before.

We headed up to Sendai after Tadajo, the hardest hit area, to see what's happened to Japan. As missionaries, you don't watch the news, you don't see the pictures, and to now see it first hand... I don't know... Thousands of people lost their lives in both the places we were. Thousands of people now have no homes, they have no where to go. I think about how little I have right now. Missionary's lives are simple. I don't have a car, a computer, my own phone, my apartment is really temporary, but I do have the pictures of you all, I do have my scriptures. How sad I would be if I lost either of those. I have so much because I have the gospel, and many of these people, they lost all of their material things, but they don't have the gospel to rely on. I'm 21 years old, and just now realizing that there is so much in the world going on that doesn't have to do with me. So many people out there who need help much more than me. Why as humans are we so selfish?

Anyway on a completely different note...I'm no longer in Kichijoji. I got emergency transferred today. Found out last night. Yeah, really sudden, it seems that I'm meant to always get suddenly pulled out of Kichijoji. It's okay though, I'm now in Nakano, the area where the mission home is, so it should be fun! I will admit, it's a little difficult. This is my 4th area within a month- most sister missionaries, only have 3 or 4 areas during their whole mission. haha however to all things there is a purpose though right? God always has a plan, I'll trust in Him.

Anyway that's all for today, I love you all so much!
Sister Erin Benne