Week 36 - Kichijoji, Japan

Haha! Well I bet youll never guess where I am at now... We had transfers this past week and you might have been able to tell from my last email that I wasn't too worried about them, Saiki shimai and I had both just gotten to Kanagawa and Kohoku, so we were both pretty sure we were staying. I should have learned by now that you never know what the Lord has in store for you! So yes, I transferred and well I am back in Kichijoji! My new companion is Shibata Shimai; Saiki Shimai became a trainer .

Anyway, all the other missionaries have now returned to Tokyo and Sendai!!! [I've heard this is the first time in the history of the church that they evacuated a mission and then sent missionaries back relatively after] Of course not all of the previous areas are still open, but for the most part our mission is back to normal, however more improved with all that we've learned. Anyway, with all the missionaries coming back they were able to reopen the Musashino Zone [Kichijoji's zone]. When the AP called he said, they had prayed really hard and felt like I needed to be there to help reopen it, so here I am! I was excited to come back, but also a little sad to have only been in Kanagawa and Kohoku for such a short time, who knows, maybe I'll get to go back there again too! It's been really fun though, coming back. I know everyone and the area already, so it makes transferring and coming in really easy! The members have been amazing too, they deep-cleaned the apartment [which is huge because I'll admit a part of me didn't want to go back to Kichijoji because of the apartment...it's the oldest in the mission, so its definitely seen better days, but now its SO much better!!!], decorated it with welcome signs, and filled it with food. And it`s been so fun just seeing everyone again, I didn't ever get to say goodbye to them, so this is nice! Plus all of my beloved investigators!!!! I don`t have time really to talk about how all are doing, we'll save that for next week!

Anyway quickly: this weekend was Stake Conference and a member of the 70, Elder Ringwood, who was recently called to supervise over our area, and his wife came. Anyway long story short, the wife of one of the members of the area Presidency and Sister Ringwood, were set to spend the day together while their husbands were in meetings, but the translator was late, so I ended up getting to translate for about 2 hours for Sister Ringwood and Sister Oishi! It was fun. It's nice, I think I've finally gotten to the point that I'm okay with Japanese, obviously I still have so much to learn and I still sometimes get really frustrated when I want to say things and I don't know how, but well I understand so much more than I did when I first came to Kichijoji, and I think I'm just now realizing that.

Also during Stake Conference, I got to sing a solo! Crazy...Shibata Shimai and I were out visiting a less active and I got a call from a member asking us to sing in the choir and to be at church as soon as we could get there, what I didn't realize I was getting myself into was to sing a solo in the middle of that song! It was fun though... and Elder Ringwood told me I needed to tell you about it in my email home, that I sang a solo at stake conference in Japanese, so I figured I should follow a member of the 70, when they tell you to do things!

The time for going up to Sendai changed-hence me writing on my usual day...we're now headed up Thursday night, and will be there on Friday. We're not allowed to take pictures while we're doing service, but the PBO has official photographers who will be there so you can look for those at some point.

Anyway that's a lot of news for now!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Sister Erin Benne

Week 35 - Kanagawa Japan

Well Hello!

So some big news...found out last night! I'm going to Sendai! Well, not just me, our whole mission is! Next Tuesday (so my P-day will be on that Monday, but that's not what's important)! I'm not exactly sure what we will be doing, but something service related I presume. Since we just found out about it the details are still sort of blurry, but I`m excited to be able to go and help the people of Sendai for a day (We'll head up there Monday night, drive through the night and then come home after a day, I believe). And the cool thing is it really will be our whole mission, because the last half of the Tokyo missionaries will be headed back up here this week at transfers! YAY! All together again! The amazing thing that's occured though is that even with only half of the missionaries back here in Tokyo, we've still been able to have the same amount of baptisms as we usually had when all the missionaries are here. This Sunday 20 baptisms are scheduled, how amazing is that! Really the miracles we've been seeing as people have been wanting to come unto Christ are indescribable. In Kobe we reached record numbers and here, with many of us having to start completely from scratch, we've been blessed to find so many new people to teach. When I started my mission, I had no idea what kind of experiences I would have here in Japan, and I still don't know what is to come, but I do know that I was supposed to be here when all of these things occured. If not to just spread hope and love to the people of Japan.

As promised here are some pictures-

Love you all!

Sister Erin Benne

Coming back to the Honbu (Mission Home) in Tokyo, there were signs and posters up everywhere ("Welcome Home", "We love you", "Japan Tokyo Missionaries"....)

Saiki Shimai overlooking our area on a rainy day.

Our zone: meeting on Mothers Day on top of the churchs roof

Me in my cuppa after a days hard work in the rain :)

Helping Hands: doing some volunteer work during a stake activity.

Week 34 - Kanagawa Japan

Whew! I feel like it`s been way longer than just one week, since I last wrote, but oh how time is funny!

Things have been good here, the weather has been absolutely crazy! It started off relatively hot, walking/ riding around all day, you`re just dripping in sweat, and then it rained and it rained and it rained, and you come back all wet (don`t worry I have a cuppa that keeps me relatively dry for a couple of hours :) I meant to bring my camera cord to show you a lovely picture of me in my happy rain get-up, but sorry, I forgot it! next week!). The rain finally stopped, but I can`t figure out which I prefer best: winter, coming home frozen, summer, dripping in sweat, or rainy season, completely soaked! Haha, it`s fun to have things mixed up a bit though!

I have my first sunburn of the season though, don`t worry, it doesn't really hurt, but for a while I was quite the little red tomato! Haha, luckily it will quickly turn to a tan, and from here on out I shouldn't burn really at all! In Japan though, really different from America, they don`t like tan skin at all. In fact they avoid it at all costs basically. Even to the extent that they wear long sleeve shirts, or arm length gloves, giant hats and use pretty sun-protecting umbrellas. Amazing how different cultures can be! Probably a lot healthier though, not so many people getting skin cancer.

I need you to teach me a few Spanish phrases! We have an investigator who is from Peru, and she can speak Japanese and English, but her parents can`t speak either- well the dad speaks a little Japanese, but they came to church and didn't understand very much at all, we're looking to find a translator to teach them, but can you help me- I know "ola, como estas, moi bien" yeah about that much. Just simple things, obviously I won't be able to teach them full lessons, but at least help them feel a little more comfortable in Japan. Thanks!

Oh and this is interesting, I'm learning Shyuwa right now- Japanese sign language! Yeah crazy huh, I'm still trying to get Japanese down! But we have a few deaf people in our ward, including 2 ward missionaries (a couple) so all the missionaries who work in the Kanagawa ward get to learn sign language to communicate with them and others. It's fun and pretty simple- a lot more than spoken Japanese!

Anyway so that is basically my life right now! Transfers would be this week, but their pushing them back until next week, however I'm pretty sure Saiki Shimai and I will stay, we whitewashed (neither of us have been in this area before) so for them to move us is highly unlikely. Also that's when the rest of the Tokyo Missionaries will be coming back! YAY! We'll also be getting the first American sisters to come in since Sister Adams, Lynch, and I, so that's excting! It seems like they have it on an every four transfers pattern for American sisters coming to Tokyo. But who knows!

Anyway Love you all lots!!!!

Sister Erin Benne

Week 33 - Tokyo, Japan

Hello!

So I don`t have too much to say I don`t think, most I said on the phone, so this is going to be short I think, others are waiting for the computer today.

Being back in Tokyo, for our first P-day all, we all wanted to go to the temple! What a wonderful opportunity to serve in an area with a temple! What we didn't know is that after the earthquake the temple schedule changed so we have about 2 1/2 hours to wait before the 1st session.That's okay, we found 2 computers in the PBO building close by so that we could all email for at least a little bit! YAY!

My wards had Stake Conference this past weekend, Claudio Costas (Presidency of the 70) and the recently called to the 70 Japanese Elder (this past conference) came to speak to us! It was amazing. Elder Costas said that right now Brasil is the leading country in the church with 40,000 baptisms a year, but that Japan could be greater and it will be. I don't say that very eloquently, but the power of his words you could tell it was a prophecy coming from a man of God. So powerful and so strong!

Anyway I wanted to say I love you all! Hope you have a good week!

Love you!

Sister Erin Benne

Week 32 - Tokyo, Japan!

Well hello again from Tokyo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right I'm back and so happy to be here! In Japan right now, there is a week long holiday called 'Golden Week' where everyone is off work and school, basically everyone is on holiday except for those who work at restaurants or hotels. Anyway it's called Golden Week because it's always a good week, and let me tell you, I don't think this past week could have been anything but golden!I got the call Friday morning from President McIntyre telling me to pack my bags and send them off because on Monday I would be headed back to Tokyo! You wouldn't believe how happy I was. That day was a great day too, we had two huge activities going on in the stake that as Akashi missionaries we were asked to go to both, one on the island of Sumoto and one up at the Stake Center in Kobe, so by the end of that night though exhausted I was bouncing off the walls!
Anyway, Saturday I spent most of the day packing and getting things in order for leaving- because Megu shimai had only been in the area for a week and a half, there was a lot of information to organize and compile before I went. Sunday was absolutely amazing though, we had quite a few investigators come to church to say goodbye, and the members were the absolutely amazing. I think the best thing of all though was from Ami san, who we met my first week in Akashi. Teaching Ami san has been difficult, she has a lot of her own strong ideas and really doesn't like to be told things, but likes to put them together for herself. It was great because she really thought about the gospel, but then when we would teach she tended not to listen too much. I couldn't really tell if things were sinking in with her or not, how she felt. But Sunday we were talking to her and she told us that she wanted to be baptized, said she'd been thinking a lot about the Word of Wisdom, how much she loved tea and coffee, and that she didn't feel like she could give it up all at once, but she wanted to and she was going to try to little by little! How I loved hearing those words! We went to her house later that night and I've never seen her so happy, she was buzzing around, smiling and laughing, it was a perfect ending to my stay in Akashi.

It's an interesting feeling coming back, leaving an area. I wanted to come back so badly, but I'd grown to love the people I'd been working with. Funny how you can come to love and get to know people so quickly. It's amazing what can happen when you spend your whole life just serving people.

Anyway when I first heard they were going to start sending missionaries back in sets, I was sure I was going to be closer to the end, but as last week wore on I knew it was my time to go. Wednesday and Thursday I just felt that so strongly. Followed by Sunday, I knew the work that I had come to Akashi for was done. I feel like a completely different missionary than I did when I left 6 weeks ago, I've grown and I've learned so much and am so thankful for the opportunity that God gave. me.
So yesterday, Monday we traveled home by bus once more to a waiting, loving pair of parents here in Tokyo. People you might be interested in who came back are: Sisters Adams, Lynch, and Utsumi among others. What a glorious reunion it was! I think that's how heavens going to be, everybody just running into each others arms, well sisters to sisters and elders to elders :).

We stayed at the honbu last night and then had a meeting this morning and then traveled to our new areas! I'm now in Kanagawa and Kohoku (covering 2 once more!), in the Yokohama Zone! It's Sister Lynch's old area, and I already love it! It's absolutely gorgeous and it's famous in the mission for how many hills it has! Yes, I'm going to be one tough mountain biker when I come back I think. They haven't reopened Kichijoji or Suginami yet, but those will definitely come soon I think!

Hope it's a good one!!!

Love you all so much!!!!!

Sister Erin Benne

ベニー姉妹

Week 31 - Akashi, Japan

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!

I think I`m still catching it on your Easter! I hope it`s been filled with lots of candy, chocolate bunnies, and rememberings of everything Christ has done for us! I'm reading the New Testament for part of my study time and it's just been blowing my mind how amazing Christ was. I knew before but as I'm reading the New Testament now, I can't believe all that He's done for us. Christ performed so many miracles and loved people so well, that it's astounding to me.

Anyway, a lot of news for this week! First, transfers!!!! Yes, they happened and yes as I knew things would change up a bit. I`m still in Akashi, along with Sister Weatherston, but my companion is no longer Sister Murdock. My new companion is Myagmarjav Shimai, haha, have fun trying to pronounce that one at home! She's from Mongolia. The crazy thing is, is that we're 'doki' meaning we came to the field at the same time, we were in the MTC together. Co-senpai/senior companions now! It's been way good. At first I wondered how it would go with the Japanese, according to missionary time, we're both still young and to be put together with your doki at this 'young age' is pretty uncommon, but so far it's been way good. We're learning a lot, making mistakes (like getting on an express train that took us 30 minutes outside of our area instead of a local train), but it's all working out. We're really having to rely on each other, there are a lot of words that she knows that I don't, and surprisingly a lot of words that I know that she doesn't, same with the kanji characters. I think from this transfer we'll both come out knowing a lot more, that will prepare us for later transfers when we are senpai.

Speaking of transfers...other great news! I don't know how long I`ll actually be with Megu Shimai (Megu is short, and easier to say, so we all just call her Megu Shimai). We got the news this morning that next week, they will start sending us Tokyo missionaries back to Tokyo!!!!!! It won't all be at once, little by little all through out the transfer. There are so little details right now that I don't know when I'll be headed back, but it most likely will be by the end of May! Tokyo is perfectly safe, they wouldn't send missionaries back if they didn't think so, but I guess there are still a lot of worried parents. I have loved serving in Akashi, but Tokyo is home, and I want to go back home.

As for celebrating Easter here, well Japanese people don't know to much about Easter at all. Even members, I think I heard one mention of Easter while at church and that was from a member who said it to me because I`m American and he knew Easter was an American holiday :) haha, but in our apartment we had a small and quick celebration of eating a giant chocolate easter egg, Sister Escalante's (Weatherston shimai`s new companion, and whom I shared a room with at the MTC) mom sent her, and some jelly beans (thank you!)

So tornadoes in St. Louis! I`m glad ,Mom and Dad that you, our house and the surrounding areas are okay! So many natural disasters lately! And it hit the airport, I`m glad everyone was okay!

So my bike, President Albrecht had told us to take apart our bikes and stick them inside the apartment, then if possible they would send them. I had taken apart mine, but since it was my first transfer, I didn't know that my bike bag was too small, so my bike was just taken apart and basically sitting in pieces in my apartment when I left. We have special slips for transfers where when we send our bags it automatically charges the mission, so the ward was able to use one of those and not pay for it, but they did have to pack up my bike and send it all down to me. The wards really do take care of us missionaries in Japan, definitely look after us. They are so good!

Anyway this is way long and time is up in a few minutes, but love you all! and hope you have a good week!

Love you all!

Sister Erin Benne

Week 30 - Akashi, Japan

Well Hello!

So this week coming up we have transfers...the way they do transfers here is a little bit different htan in Tokyo. They`re on Thursday instead of Monday. So I find out tomorrow, what will be going on. I think it`s quite possible that I`ll head to a different area, but you never know and I`m not one to just sit and speculate, so we`ll see and I`ll let you know next week what the changes have been. Because of the earthquake and everything mixing up, transfers were pushed back a week so that this past one was 5 and the next one will be 5, to help divide this past transfer more evenly.

Anyway, life`s been good, we`re doing our best and working hard. This past week I called Koike san, the 82 year old investigator from Kichijoji, who wanted to get baptized on her birthday. Her birthday is this Saturday, the 23, and she`s still going through with it! When I talked to her, I was just so happy! Koike san`s faith is amazing, and I`ll admit that mine wavered a bit, wondering if she would still get baptized without the missionaries there, but she`s going to! Shame on me for even questioning that! I`m sad I`ll miss it, she`s way sad too, but the most important thing is that she`s taking the steps to come closer to Christ and she`s so excited to be too! Plus she said she would take pictures and send them to me. She`s so cute!

So it sounds like everyone is doing really well, getting ready to enjoy their summer!

Any other exciting things that has happened?

I love hearing from you all and am so thankful for all the support and love you give me! Getting your letters just brightens my day!

Love you all

Sister Erin Benne