Week 53 - Senzokuike, Japan

WAH! I loved reading all of your emails of this past week! Everybody had so many cool and interesting things to say! Because it's just easier to write this all in one, I'll reply here!

Before: my doki - the people I was in the MTC with and came to Japan with

My doki now - one year later! My doki is the best!

Thanks for sending clips from the RS Broadcast. Sadly I didn't get to go to that, but I look forward to getting to read those talks when the Conference Liahona comes out here! What President Uchtdorf talked about reminded me about a talk that we heard in the MTC by President Bednar. He said that "a doctrine is simple and fundamental. It is a truth. A doctrine always answers the question of a "why". A principle is a guideline that comes from the doctrine, and it answers the question of "what". Applications answer the question of "how", which is our behavior and actions." He then went on to talk about how often as members we focus too much on the "what" and the "how" when really we should focus on the "why". When we focus on the "why" the "what" and the "how" automatically follow. The answer to all of our questions is ALWAYS in the doctrine. Anyway I thought it was cool that although it was two different apostles, almost a year apart, they both were united in what they were saying.


Anyway so this past week has been good, I got my new companion. Her name is Sister Mano and she is from Draper Utah! haha yeah, somehow I got the one American sister! But it's good, she's an amazing missionary and is working so hard to do everything that I ask her to do. And her japanese is 10 million times better than mine was when I left the MTC! So we're doing okay.

Sister Mano and I and the elders in our area!

And boy, am I learning a lot from her! The training they do in the MTC now seems to be completely different from when I was there, so I'm trying to soak up as much of this new training as I possibly can so that life here in the field and what was learned in the MTC is not too different for her.
We had an all mission conference yesterday, where they so lovingly gave us flu-shots, without even giving us a cool band-aid, but at least now hopefully we are all protected from the flu this winter!

Anyway love you all lots!!!!
SIster Erin Benne