Week 65 - Senzokuike, Japan

Merry Christmas!

This one is going to be a short one, since I just talked to you this morning! It was so good to talk to you! So strange seeing everyone. You all look so different, but I guess that is what happens after a year and a half! Basically I just wanted to say Merry Christmas again! and send you a few pictures.

 The first is of my new companion Sister Barbour and I. She's from Sacramento CA.

Sister Mano and I in Tokyo Tower. We decided it was our official Christmas Card picture. It says Merry Christmas in Tokyo Tower. I love Japanese English.

our Christmas dinner last night with the Shichijo Family. Which was a lot of fun!

Love you all! Have a good week!

Sister Erin Benne

Week 64 - Senzokuike, Japan

Well Hello Fabulous Family!

How's life? It sounds like everyone at this point is getting ready to head back to the Benne Family House at some point this week! Too fun!

Mom and Dad, I got your package! Thank you! Sister Mano and I had fun decorating the tree and the nativity's will be put to good use somehow for Eikaiwa! Thanks, my curiosity is peaked however on what is in the very smashable wrapped package. Alas, I shall wait until Christmas!

Are you even having church on Sunday? Here both are just an hour. That's going to be weird, I'm used to being at church from 8:30am straight until 5pm with both wards. No plans for what we're doing yet though...most likely it will be normal missionary work here.

As for transfers, well,  you might have been able to guess as to where I still am at. Haha, yup, I'm still in good old Senzokuike! It just goes to show you how unpredictable some transfers can be. It's good though, I'm excited to stay! Sister Mano did head up to Kofu though. One of the biggest areas in our mission and completely country. I've always wanted to head out that way, but really I've stayed in the city for the most part. She was excited though and a little nervous, especially after all the members said "It's so cold there!" when she told them where she was going (She's right next to Mt. Fuji).

Anyway as for my new companion, still not decided. I'm training again, so i'll find out on Wednesday, you can meet her through skype on Monday though! I'm with Gantumur Shimai for a few days until our new companions come. Do you remember Gantumur Shimai? She's from Mongolia, and we were in the MTC and Kichijoji together, so it's a lot of fun. And crazy to see how much the two of us have grown and actually know what we are doing since those first days. I don't even want to think about it! Haha!

Anyway LOVE YOU and MISSIONARY WORK LOTS!!! Can't wait to talk to you!

Sister Erin Benne

Week 63 - Senzokuike, Japan

Speaking of Christmas, can you believe it, it's that time of year that I get to call home! Because transfers are this week, and I can basically tell you I am transferring from what President Albrecht told Sister Mano and I at interviews.

 

Highlights of this week: going to a Potential Investigators house for a lesson and instead getting a lesson from her on Japanese tea ceremony (which involves tea we're not allowed to drink). It was really cool, and we got to testify about the Word of Wisdom, but needless to say, she didn't become an investigator.

This week is our Mission Christmas Party! I'm so excited!

Sorry for this being so short!

Love you all!

Sister Erin Benne

Week 62, Senzokuike, Japan

Hello!

It's December and Christmas is in the air! Yay! I love Christmas! Christmas is not nearly as big here, but you still do see lights up in some places and stores are all set up for shopping. Along with singing Christmas songs in church, you get a Christmas feel! It's the best. We have fun talking to people on the streets asking them why we celebrate Christmas (they're all Buddhist, but still all go to Christmas Parties) and very few actually know. So it's a really fun way to teach about Christ, it's something they like and know, but just don't know the point of.

This year, we, as a mission have been working on a goal to bring 300 people unto Christ through baptism. Last year, we had just over 200 people get baptized. We met our goal then, and this year we wanted something that would make us stretch. With the earthquake, we took a big hit. We had been doing so good, but since then we've never been able to make it quite back up to where we were before. With a month left though, something really cool is happening in our mission. We've realized to make our goal we need a miracle. But miracles still exist today, so we know it's possible. Every missionary in the Japan Tokyo Mission is making one final big push. Every ward in the mission has a baptismal service planned for the 25th. Here in Senzokuike we don't have anyone set for baptism yet, but like the lamb sent to Abraham, the Lord will provide. I'm excited to see the hand of Lord taking shape as miracle upon miracle continue to be shown forth.

This week marks my 1 year in Japan. Strange to think it's been that long. How far I've come. Those first few weeks in the field, as I'm sure for any missionary were rough. I'm so grateful that God strengthens and trusts those that are weak. This is a work that without Him you cannot do and I would not even attempt to do. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways highter than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9

I love you all!

Have a great week!

Love Sister Erin Benne

Week 61 - Senzokuike, Japan

Hello!

So how was everyone's Thanksgiving??? Beth ate jellyfish, that's a little gross, luckily I haven't come across that here in Japan, but we're approaching the season where all the really traditional foods come back out in Japan...Japanese New Year, gotta love it. I think the worst thing I've seen so far was baby octopi swimming around in soup. Needless to say, I steered clear of that one as best as I could.

So Thanksgiving here went well. And I did get a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner at the Nagano's that was absolutely delicious. I think it's a good thing that they live a little farther away and we went by bike, on the way home, we were able to work off some of that food!

As with that nothing too much else is happening. We're working on starting up a Kid's Eikaiwa here, so we're just going crazy trying to get a curriculum together, getting publicity out, and making vocab cards, homework etc. It's fun though, and we think we'll really be able to introduce a lot of people to the church through it. In Japan, english classes are huge. With needing english so much in the world today, tons of parents want their kids to learn english. People pay 100's of dollars for just an hour long class with a native english speaker, so with us teaching for free we're able to really help the community and get more people associated with members of the church as well with teaching them about the church. Anyway, we're excited. It starts this week though, and we still have a lot to do.

It's gotten cold again in Japan. Pulled out the gloves, and scarves, once more. I can't believe it's already winter again, let alone a few days until December. Time is going by so fast!

Anyway I hope everyone has a good week!

Love you all!

Sister Erin Benne

Week 60 - Senzokuike, Japan

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 

Is it really even Thanksgiving Week? That seems so strange to me that a holiday could even be coming up! 

In Japan they have a holiday on Wednesday. Japan has a LOT of holidays, it seems like one every 2 weeks, but I'm not complaining, because it means everyone is off of work and out of school, so we're free to teach them. They're always some of our busiest days! 

As for my Thanksgiving celebration, we are headed to my freshman year roommates house on Saturday Night for a Thanksgiving dinner. I'm so excited! It's going to be good and they are inviting 2 nonmember families, so it will be even better! 

Thank you Dad and Mom for sending those Thanksgiving activities for Eikaiwa. It will help a lot and I think it will be a lot of fun! Our students are always wanting to learn more about American culture, so holidays always give a good chance to share part of our American life. And it's fun for us, because we always get to celebrate in some way.

As for other news from this past week, we had a District Conference yesterday with all the English Branches in Tokyo and well, the English Branch I've been working in got dissolved. After the earthquake a lot of foreigners living in Japan went home and with the economy as well, numbers in the District have just been dropping. Really though, they just combined 2 of the branches and took the name of the other, so I still have an English Branch I'll be working in with more people and a lot larger area to cover; I think President Albrecht is trying to figure out what to do, since they meet in our area's building, but over 3/4 of the members live outside our Senzokuike area! Anyway, I'm excited for it. It will be fun having new members come into the ward!

Oh, and my voice has returned! YAY! and I didn't even have to go to the doctor! Thank goodness! It's still not back to normal and I have a cough, but I can actually talk now and I'm just so thankful for that! Thank you for your prayers, I know they helped a lot!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving, eat lots of yummy food, but remember the true meaning and to really take this time to show your love and appreciation for others by serving them. Because really that's how we ourselves become the happiest, by helping others.

Love you all!

Sister Erin Benne

Week 59 - Senzokuike, Japan

Hello!

 I actually might have to go to the hospital as well tomorrow. Don't worry no huge thing. In Japan, they go to the hospital for every little thing because it's free. But anyway, starting last P-day I wasn't feeling to well, and while I feel fine now, I have completely lost my voice. Anyway so for about a week now, I have been completely without a voice, a little difficult when youre a missionary. It's accompanied with a nice cough too. So I talked to the mission doctor, and he said that until I get rid of my cough my voice isn't going to come back, because it's straining my vocal cords everytime I cough. So to get my voice back I will need to get some cough medicine, which In Japan they don't have any over the counter cough medicine so in order to get some I'll have to go to the doctor. He gave me until Tuesday to see if I get better. I don't like going to the doctor, so I'm praying I'll be better before than.

But yeah, life without a voice has been pretty interesting. Mano Shimai has really stepped up, making phone calls, leading lessons and streeting as I take the more quieter route. There isn't much I can do, but I've noticed when I really need to say something, I have voice enough to get it through. It's been a huge miracle. Maybe I needed to learn not to talk so much!

The members have been really cute too. At different activities we've had going on and at church they've all been giving me cough drops and different remedies; aromic oils and well, everyone has their own way that they believe cures different ailments, so I've had the privelegde of seeing how everyone fixes not having a voice. I've really felt people's love and concern through it.

Oh and this is exciting! Did you all celebrate 11-11-11 at 11:11??? It's probably the luckiest minute of the luckiest day of all of our lives!!! So fun!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a good week!

Love you all!

Sister Erin Benne

P.S. The Primary Program was yesterday in both of the wards. The CUTEST thing ever!!! Little Japanese kids singing Primary Songs is so cute! It's amazing to me how I'm half-way around the world in a completely different culture, but the church is exactly the same! It wouldn't be that way if it wasn't true!