Fwd: Transfer Six Week Two

From: Lindsay Sanders <lindsay.sanders@myldsmail.net>

Date: May 31, 2015 7:18:59 PM MST

Subject: Transfer Six Week Two

Transfer 6 week 2

This week we had Zone Training Meeting! We took about a 40 minute bike ride up to Nagamine, and we ran into the Elders on the way, so we rode with them! They ride so fast. I thought I was in decent shape, but then they were zooming up this big hill, and I was doing pretty good (not sweating too much) and then my basket fell off my bike! In the middle of a busy road! On a hill! So my basket goes tumbling down the hill, and cars are swerving to miss it..... And we stop moving after riding really fast, so I just start sweating like crazy. It was disgusting. This humidity is just crazy. Anyways, I was the last one in our caravan, so luckily no one got hurt... And they didn't know I stopped... So here I am, on the side of the road, my bike is unfixable, and I am sweating like a pig. And I am all alone except for the angry Japanese drivers scowling at me. So I dodge some cars and gather all my stuff, and pull my bike away from the road a little bit so the cars can go around me. I was pretty upset. I said a little prayer just asking God to help me stay calm while I figure out what to do. I end my prayer, and I see a lady and her dog walking towards me. She had been out walking and saw what happened. She looked at my basket and we were trying to figure out how to reattach the basket well enough so I could get to where I needed to go. Eventually we figured it out, and I thanked her for being so kind. She told me that she sees the missionaries all the time, and once they helped her carry her groceries home. She told me that her son is a  member in close city... And I asked her if she ever had any interest. She said she did, but she had to respect her husband's beliefs. I thanked her again, and promised her that someday the time will be right for her to learn about the Mormons, but I encouraged her to talk to her son! The missionaries had noticed that I was gone, so they back tracked and found me. We all rode safely to the meeting together! I am so thankful for that sweet woman and her kindness. I know that God sent that woman to me. God is so good.

At the training, the Zone Leaders gave an amazing training on changing ourselves. I will send it in another email! Seriously, it'll change your life! I get really frustrated when so many of the trainings are about numbers. Let me tell you something: I really don't care about numbers! I count because I have to, for accountability's sake, but really, I am not a "numbers" driven missionary. This training focused on making ourselves into better people. They encouraged us to write down our strengths, talents, and weaknesses, especially using our patriarchal blessings. Then they asked us to make a vision of who we want to be. Then they asked us to make a plan and goals in order to become that person. I have been waiting for this my whole liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife! Haha! So that is what I have been working on this week. I really want to come home being a better person. My vision for myself is to have a stronger testimony, be more willing to sacrifice time/ effort to help others, be more diligent, and to be more positive and optimistic. I know that if I work to change myself, I can be more sincere when I ask my investigators to change their lives. I know that with God's help, I can become the person He wants me to be. God sees beyond the now. He knows our potential. We are a work of art, each unique and special, and at different stages of completion. If I trust Him, the picture He paints will be so much more beautiful than anything I could do by myself.

I really like Sister Popham! She is way cute. She is from a little town in Utah and she is an amazing missionary. She loves the people so much! I have been learning to be humble... And letting her take the lead is hard sometimes when (I think) I know better....I am grateful she works so hard though. She is a good example . She makes me want to be a better person and try a little harder. It's gonna be a good transfer. 

I realized just how fast my mission is going. I looked ahead in my calendar , and I realized next transfer is my birthday, the next one I hit one year, and then after that is the start of the holiday season, and then I come home at the beginning of March. What the heck. Where does the time go? All of my friends are starting to go home, and half of the missionaries from Fukuoka go home in the next couple of months. We are getting a new mission president. I realized that I don't like change... But Heavenly Father is giving me lots of experiences to help me get over that, with me getting new companions and new areas all the time. Seriously, it is so unusual to have a new comp every transfer and so many areas. It made me kind of worried.... Like, am I a bad missionary? Do my companions secretly hate me? I was being super paranoid. So I prayed about it, because that's what you do when you need an answer... And I asked God why I had to go through so much change. The answer I received was very specific, and it came to me in a thought: that I am meant to grow into something much greater than I am. Every companion helps me grow and helps me to be humble. Every area I go to also humbles me and helps me learn how to love all kinds of people. I don't know how this is going to help me in the future, but I feel a lot more peace about how things have been. 

Here are some cool kids we met at a park... We are going to ask them to play in our talent show! Junpei and Kosuke

Me and Elder Christensen in the ward newsletter... I actually like my picture this time, yay!!!

Yep, that was my week! I hope everyone is doing great and loving life :) thanks for all the love and support! 

Have a great week!

サンターズ姉妹

Sent from my iPad

Fwd: Transfer 6 week 1

From: Lindsay Sanders <lindsay.sanders@myldsmail.net>

Date: May 24, 2015 7:38:43 PM MST

Subject: Transfer 6 week 1

Transfers, a new area, and new companion

So surprise, I left Iwakuni! I bet you already heard about it thanks to Sister White and Sister Rasmussen :) They are awesome. The branch threw me a nice goodbye party, and I may have gone to the bathroom to cry two or three times... I was soooo sure I was staying, but I guess Heavenly Father has people for me to meet in........ Kumamoto! I am in a place called Shimizu. It is one of the hottest,most humid areas in the mission, so I will probably sweat a lot. Yay? I may end up shaving my head too. I haven't decided yet. My Afro is not cute.

 Missionary work is booming and the Elders had a baptism this Saturday! Numata Kyodai is the newest member of Shimizu ward! The baptism was a little hectic, but everything worked out, even though the Elders forgot to bring towels.... Haha it was fun! 

Getting here was an adventure. So I had to go all by myself on this 7 hour trip and it was scary!! I needed a companion! Haha! I got to the first place I needed to transfer from a train to a bus and got totally lost. So like here is this blonde girl trying not to freak out because A) I don't have a phone and B) I am asking people the simplest questions, and all they say is "I don't speak English!" It was crazy. I was trying to find which bus to take and I am supposed to leave in 5 minutes. I had no other options and I realized I needed to pray. I said a silent prayer asking God to send me someone who can help me. He sent me two someone's! There was a kind worker who saw that I was lost, and I tried asking him for help, but he had no idea what I was talking about, so he took me to someone who could speak English (I was speaking Japanese... I had my dictionary out, so I knew what I was saying and would point to the words and they're still like I don't speak English! rawr!) and they helped me find my way. They even held the bus for me because I was the only one who was going to be on it. It was on the other side of the station and across the street!! I would never have been able to find it by myself! As we were walking across the road, many people stopped and asked if I was being helped (mostly because I had asked all these people for help before haha) and I was so grateful that my prayer was answered. One of the first women that I asked for help came and found me and made sure I was on the right bus. She asked why I was here in Japan. I told her that I was a church volunteer from America, and I am here to share a happy message with everyone I meet. She was like "wow, that is cool. Thank you for coming such a long way to serve others." I gave her a Mormon.org card and asked her to visit the website. I love the Japanese people. Even if they couldn't help me, they walked around with me until I found help. I had a posse going with me to the right bus and they all waved goodbye to me as I left. God always answers prayers if we ask with faith. I made it safely to my new area!

My new companion is Sister Popham, and she is amazing! I am her "breaker" or the companion you have after your trainer. Breaking is..... Interesting. The companion is used to the way her trainer does things, so when I come in and do something differently she freaks out. Oh well, it's still the first week. She is such a hard worker and loooves the people. We have been trying to figure each other out, haha! We are super different. But we both love being missionaries, so it all works out :) she has such a strong testimony and is not afraid to share it! She is a good example to me. We will both grow a lot this transfer!

My new apartment is the biggest in the mission! It is amazing! We live with two other sisters, so this is my first time with that too. My roommates are Sister Chun and her bean chan Sister Madeux. They both like to bake delicious things! It is fun living with other Sisters, surprisingly. There are 4 Elders in our area: Elder Christensen, Elder Stanger, Elder Yanegira, and Elder Sato! They are the best! I am way excited to get to know them all better. 

I had some trials of my faith this week. My sweet companion lost the keys to the apartment... And we spent 4 hours on Sunday looking for it. We had about half he ward and all of the missionaries on their hands and knees looking for the missing keys. We couldn't get in to eat dinner, so I was super hungry.... And we all know how I get when I am hungry.... But I was trying so hard to be patient and have a lot of faith that Heavenly Father would help us find the keys. We eventually made it in to our house by breaking in through a small window. Good thing Sister Popham is skinny! It was so sweet of everyone to help us. We have yet to find the key. My theories are: aliens took it, they were translated, or a 3-year-old is having a grand time playing with them somewhere... I'll let you know when and if we find them!

Another trial is that my bike got ruined when I transferred here! I was so upset! My bike is basically my baby. It is my only companion I take with me my whole mission. I have connection with this bike! So it comes and it is all mangled and the basket is falling off and the chain is jammed and all this stuff... And I was about to lose my temper. I am a decently patient person. Or at least I thought so before this transfer. I had this moment where I had two choices: either be a brat and make a big deal about how my life sucks and all that (which I'll be honest, I almost did) or I could be a big girl, take a deep breath, and just find a place to fix my bike. Luckily, I held my tongue and tried to be a big girl about it. I did cry while I was in the shower though. The Elders offered to help me today, so hopefully we can get my bike functioning again.   I just have to laugh though because of all the things to stress me out with a new comp and area and new everything basically.... It is my broken bike that pushes me over the edge. Yay Sister Sanders! Yep. My name is Lindsay Sanders and I am a wimp. Nice to meet you. 

Missions are full of adventures. I have had so many random experiences that make for good stories, for which I am grateful. We learn so much more about ourselves when unexpected things fly up in our face. This week I learned I am not as patient as I thought I was. I really need to work on that. 

Christ is a great example of patience. He promises great blessings to those who are patient in their trials: for example, 

When the people of Alma were enslaved to the lamanites, the Lord blessed them. He did not take their trials away,but helped them to carry them. 

Mosiah 24:15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

Then Joseph Smith, while we was asking God why he had been given so many  trials, received this answer: 

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

9 Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

10 Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.

I realized that I am not yet like Job. Notice that Alma and His brethren did submit cheerfully and with patience? Notice how God asks Joseph Smith to endure his trials well? 

Heavenly Father loves us. He wants us to learn and grow, so He gives us these opportunities. Or, from my favorite efy song, mountains to climb. We can become better than we were before. That is the message of the gospel: we can be better, we can change. We can be more like our Savior, and like our Heavenly Father. When we submit cheerfully to the will of the Lord, we can feel more like we are following the natural flow of a river rather than trying to paddle up stream. 

I am halfway done with my mission and that makes me sad. I wish I had more time. I know that there is so much more work for me to do. I love being a missionary. It is so hard, but it is so good.

Love you all! Thanks for all the love! PS I love getting pictures!! Send me lots of pictures! Funny (appropriate) memes are much appreciated!! 

Have a great week! よろしくお願いします！

Sent from my iPad

Fwd: End of transfer five

From: Lindsay Sanders <lindsay.sanders@myldsmail.net>

Date: May 18, 2015 6:47:20 PM MST

Subject: End of transfer five

Week 5 End of Transfer 5

I am going to use some Nihongo in this email for the benefit of my Japanese friends reading my emails. すこし日本語でかいています。

Transfer Calls are today... Sister Chapman is getting a bean chan, and either Layton Shimai or I am leaving... So that means,yes, ANOTHER new companion! I have had a new companion every transfer! Haha I guess that is just how my mission is gonna go. 

We had a really fun week! I feel like we really got to know each other and we all became friends!! Haha we had a funny conversation about peeing and then I knew we would be best friends forever. I love sister Chapman and sister Layton! 

We helped teach the Elders investigator this week at Morioka Shimai's house. We talked about how to recognize answers from God. This also happens to be something I have been needing an excuse to study. Usually answers come to me as thoughts come to my mind while I am praying, or I will think of a scripture reference. God speaks to all of us differently, and we have to really listen in order to hear. D&C 112:10 Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers. God has answered my prayers. I know that He loves us so much!

I hit my half way mark this week! Yaaayyyyyy for hump day! I didn't do anything special this week though. Oh wait, yes we did! We climbed up 1,342 stairs. In one day. Yes, I counted. We also walked our bikes up a huge hill in order to get to the buildings with all the stairs. But it was good. I feel bad because my companions were both sick and didn't want to go... But we had to get out, so I kind of dragged them behind me. We talked to tons of people and met with a really sweet junior high girl who was interested, but then her mom came and sent us away. Sometimes I get frustrated when people don't want to listen... But I don't think that is very Christ like. がんばっています！Sometimes it is hard to swallow your pride and let people use their agency. But I just have to give people their best chance and let them choose. My legs feel super buff too so that is another good thing that came from that day.

I have been trying to decide what kind of missionary I want to be. I should have done that forever ago... But better late than never! I have been thinking about my past companions and the many good qualities that they have. I want to be a good missionary. As in a hard worker, but I also want to have fun and be an awesome companion. I was reading the talk by Elder Ringwood from General Conference... And this is my definition of a good missionary: motivated by love, lifts up those around them, doesn't wait for a special calling to start serving, sacrifices their time, talents, and efforts to help others, is exactly obedient, and is a Shiblon-like soul. There it is! All the things I want to be! My trainer is the best example of selfless service. I always knew she cared about me, and she showed me love even when things were crazy stressful. I want to be the kind of missionary she was, not motivated by numbers. She knew she was in good standing with Heavenly Father. I hope if I get the chance to train again I can help my bean learn these things. 

南川兄はげんきですか？

I hope everyone is doing good and getting ready for summer. The rainy season started, so I basically live in my rain suit. It makes me feel oh so cute. Haha Jokes! I feel like a giant blue berry. My hair is not something I like to talk about because it is an Afro. I would take a picture, but it honestly would scare you, so...

Love you all! Have a great week!

Is Alan reading this email? ALAN please email me!! I want to hear how you are doing! Thank you!

Sent from my iPad

Fwd: End of week 4

From: Lindsay Sanders <lindsay.sanders@myldsmail.net>

Date: May 10, 2015 6:36:10 PM MST

Subject: End of week 4

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I love Mother's Day for selfish reasons.... I got to skype with my family today!

I am so thankful to get to see their faces and see how much my siblings have grown up. My parents look the same, haha!

They look good and happy and normal :) I am way excited to see them again at Christmas!

This week was Golden Week, which is kind of like Memorial Day where everything is closed and there are huge parties! We went to a Firework Festival! And a concert! It was waaaaay cool! We missed it, but there is a traditional game where you have a little net with wax paper and you try to catch as many goldfish as you can out of a big bucket... But if you rip your paper, then obviously you can't  catch any more fish! There was also a concert where people dressed up like their favorite anime characters. It was way fun to hear real music though. At the end they blasted "sweet Home Alabama" and everyone was singing along. Strangest experience of my life, but it was fun. We went to visit Juina chan who was making hotdogs at the food station. 

Junkai! Ogawa Shimai came and spent a few days with me and Layton Shimai while the STL's went up to Hiroshima to do exchanges with the other sisters. I loooooooooove Ogawa Shimai. She is my favorite Nihonjin. I also got to be a lot better friends with Layton Shimai. She is way cool. She is half Japanese and grew up in Nagoya, and now she lives in, wait for it... Layton Utah! I love her. She is really pushing me to learn more Japanese and be a better missionary! 

Uchiyama Kyodai took us out to yakiniku, which is where they bring you raw meat and you have a little fire to cook it on. It is very delicious, but also very expensive. We felt like celebrities it was such a fancy place! The members are soooooo kind to us! 

We met with Sakamura Kyodai, who returned home from the Sapporo mission about a month ago. He is soooooo cool! He is the best member missionary ever. He has been helping us so much. After he jointed for a lesson, we were asking him questions about his mission, and he gave us the best advice. I asked him how I can be an exactly obedient missionary who is focused on the work, while still having fun. I don't want to be super stiff. That's just not the kind of person I am. I haven't been able to find that balance of being completely focused and having fun every single day. And by fun, I don't mean disobedience! But you know how some people get suuuuper focused and they get too stressed...? Yep, that's me. I don't like the kind of missionary I am when I get into the "do or die" mode. I don't know anyone who likes that. Anyways, I have been focusing on becoming more Christlike. Sakamura Kyodai's advice is: decide NOW what kind of missionary (person) you want to be, and don't wait to start. 

From that exact time, be that person that you want to be. So many times we want to start changing tomorrow, or next week, or maybe next year because that seems more convenient to us. If you need to repent, do it now. If you wait until tonight or tomorrow or next week you will probably forget. I know I do. If you have a change of heart, act on it now! Don't even wait 5 minutes! My mission (life) is obedience training. I signed up to be tested on how obedient I am willing to be to Heavenly Father. I didn't think it would be so hard! I realized how selfish and headstrong I am! I am trying to be more willing to submit to God's will, just like the Savior did.

You're probably thinking "yeah Sister Sanders, but it's hard to change!" I know. Believe me, I know. I am trying to change everyday. Helping other people try to change their lives for better has taught me one thing: as soon as you decide to change, and take that first step into a more Christlike life, it makes our Heavenly Father and Savior sooooo happy. He loves us more than we could ever know!

Imagine this: you give your little brother or sister a nice new car, because you know they need it. To get to school and work. How would you feel if they never even used it? If it just sat in the driveway for years and years? I would be pretty frustrated. Thankfully, our perfect older brother and Savior Jesus Christ does not get mad at us. He patiently waits for us to realize that we have this gift, the Atonement, waiting to be used... And then use it so we can get to where we need to go. I know, because I have felt it, that God loves us infinitely and unconditionally. No matter who we are or who we were, He is always waiting with open arms. We are all just travelers trying to make it home to our loving eternal Father. Christ shows us the way to get there. 

One of my favorite talks from General conference is "the Music of the Gospel" by Elder Wilford W. Andersen. I love the way he relates music to the gospel. It really struck a chord with me. Hahaha! Ha.... Yeah I'm not funny, sorry. Anyways, the point of the talk is: we can learn correct dance steps, and do those our whole lives, but it is not until we hear the music that it becomes beautiful. How many of us say prayers just to be seen by our kids or spouses? (Or in my case, my companions). Are we doing the dance steps to fit in with those dancing around us? Or does the music we hear cause us to move to the beat of the gospel? It's all dependent on you hearing the music. Read the talk if you get a chance, it's the best!

I heard there are some awesome Sister missionaries in my ward at home! Please give them my love and let them know I pray for them every day! I can't wait to be a member missionary when I get home so I can help them out! I couldn't be a missionary without the help of members. Especially with Japanese investigators. I don't know if this is how it is in America, but like if you don't have a member at your lesson, the investigator doesn't progress. The members are always willing to help us. They have great faith. There is a Sister who drives for an hour to pick us up, and then another hour to our lesson. She helps us with the lesson, takes us out to lunch, then drives the two hours home. She is amazing. And she offers to do it. Geez, I certainly never offered to do something like that for the missionaries. My perspective has completely changed!

I know that this Church is true! I know that God loves us. That is my testimony.

Guatemala is the purple one.

Love you lots!

Sister Sanders

Happy Star Wars day! :)

Sent from my iPad

Here's the link to the Music of the Gospel talk;
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-music-of-the-gospel?lang=eng

Week 3

From: Lindsay Sanders <lindsay.sanders@myldsmail.net>

Date: May 4, 2015 12:29:19 AM MST

Subject: Week 3

End of week 3 email 

Hello friends and family! This week was crazy busy but I am doing great and I feel very accomplished. I am almost done with my Lesson Mastery!!! I am so excited to just get it done. It is a pain in the butt, however it will be worth it when I can teach the PMG lessons in Japanese! Ahhhh I am so close! Please pray for me.

I can't wait to skype home next week!!!! Ahhhhhh has it really been since Christmas since I've talked to you?

I got a way bad sunburn! It's epically red. It just means that I have been working hard And I probably need to reapply sunscreen throughout the day... BUT the rainy season started, so I'll get to wear my plastic rain suit all the time. Yay!!!!!? I am glad I only have one summer in Japan.

On Wednesday while we were streeting I got us all hopelessly lost, but we found ourselves next to this huge bridge in the middle of nowhere. A bunch of high school students were riding their bikes... So we stopped them and we're talking to them about school, then Layton Shimai brought up the Book of Mormon. I promised them if they read it, they would  feel God's love for them. They freaked out! This was the first time two high school girls were really excited about receiving a Book of Mormon! In a good way! It reminded me that this message really does bring happiness! They both took Books of Mormons and we got their phone numbers.

Last week, we met with a really cool girl named Israa. She is an English teacher and is our age!! She speaks about as much Japanese as I do, so it was nice to talk to someone in the same boat as me. I love her!! We went out to lunch and got to know her better. She is really open to learning new things, and she is especially interested in coming to church. I feel like she could be the first investigator I've had who I can really be friends with! You can just tell she is special and needs the gospel in her life. We shared with her that Heavenly Father loves her and wants to be able to communicate with her, and she said that she has been trying to pray her whole life, but didn't really have an earth-shattering experience. We testified that when God speaks to us, it is usually in a still, small voice... Almost a whisper. She said that she has felt that before. She is a kinjin! Golden investigator! She is going to be coming to church on Sunday and we are way excited for her!

I found out that I am related to my district leader! Through Jacob Bastian! Yay for family search! Haha I think Elder Shriver thinks it is awkward, but oh well.

I met my First pants-less man. Yay? Lots of people just come to the door without... Clothes. Yeah. Until this week I've been able to avoid it. But haha it's a funny story that my comps tease me about, because I start talking and then I realize that this guy doesn't have pants on and I just stop talking and I just felt so awkward! He was definitely drunk, so we just left. I guess it's just a thing here. You can imagine how awkward it was. 

The Spencer couple arrived!! They are so cool! We have been helping them get settled in and set up their internet and banks and stuff. It is using all of my very limited Japanese skills. I am excited to have a senior couple here now! We get to work with them and they get to feed us dinner... I mean, love us in return!! :) They are really excited to be here in Japan and they served a mission already in the Philippines, so they kind of know what they're doing... But they don't know any Japanese, so we're the on-call translators for them. I really really like them.

We ended up not going to the temple last Saturday... It was just too busy and there were not enough seats. We're about 4 hours away from Fukuoka, so I probably won't get to go to the temple while I serve here. That's okay, most of the work I need to do right now is on this side of the veil!

The members we work with in the Japanese branch are the best. The branch president is one of my favorite people. He is a return missionary and has a beautiful family. He does soooooo much for the branch , is always willing to joint for lessons, and does great work with the less actives. The funny thing about less actives here is that they won't come to church, but they will go above and beyond in their callings. For example, our branch mission leader is a less active. So he bears his testimony of the importance of church attendance when he hasn't come to church in 30 years. It is just funny. He also likes to make jokes about me being related to Colonel Sanders... Or he tells me that I look like a movie star... Or he proposes to me. It's very flattering, but I just remind him that I am planning on marrying an active member, so... Yes. I told him that and then he actually thought about coming to church. Hasn't come yet, but hey at least he thought about it!!! Anyways, the branch president gives all his less actives callings. That is the key, is to make people feel loved and needed. Every member needs a calling!! It is just so important! I loooove the Yanai Branch! 

The Iwakuni Branch is amazing too. They are such a close knit group and they are always willing to help the missionaries! I feel incredibly blessed to get to serve with these amazing marine families. They show me so much love! They have influenced the kind of person I want to be, especially with how I will serve in the church for the rest of my life. 

I have been really hard on myself lately. I get discouraged because sometimes no one will want to listen!!! And then I want to argue with them and say "you need this!" But that is not what the Savior would do. Sister Layton was saying how sometimes missions are not just about getting people to listen to our message, it is about getting a little slice of what Jesus Christ went through during his mission. Not everyone listened to Him, but He just loved them. My mission is refining me. I am trying to overcome my weaknesses. It is very humbling to be in a place where I can hardly speak the language and where I can't read any of the signs. But I love it so much. This is the best thing I have ever done! I hope I come home a completely different person. A much better person. Ahhhh... progression is hard sometimes. 

Love, Sister Sanders

Yummy Ice Cream! :)

Yes, this is an umbrella holder for your bike... Only in Japan. :)

Festival in Yanai. The fish is their mascot.