Sunday, December 17, 2017

The Last One

I've been waiting for this for about a year and a half.  As I reflect on Jordan's time serving the Lord as a missionary in the Japan - Tokyo mission, I am very proud of what she has accomplished in terms of her hard work, her perseverance, and her faithfulness. 

I missed her more than most people can ever imagine - we talked twice while she was gone - last Christmas and on Mother's day.  I loved seeing her in pictures and anticipating being back together.  That will happen in less than two days (assuming her flights are delayed).  She didn't get a P-day this week because she's traveling from Sanjo to Nakano (Tokyo) where the mission home is.  It's Monday morning at 8:47 a.m. as I write this.  She'll spend her last few hours in Japan at the Mission home and have a nice dinner with several other missionaries who are going home with her as well as the Mission President, his wife and a few other people.  Soon after I wake up tomorrow, she'll be getting on a plane to come home.  As you can imagine, I can't wait.  Here is her last email from the mission.  Thanks for your prayers while she has been gone - please say one more that she'll return home safely.  Thanks for reading and enjoy.

To my faithful readers that have stuck with me through this year and a half,
Well this is it. This is where it all comes to a close. Just a warning, but this email is about to get  real sappy real fast.

I have loved every second of my mission. My half Japanese/ half English brain can't even put it into words how much I love my mission. Were there rough times? Oh yeah. Were there times where I didn't know how I was going to make it through? Yup. Were there some heart breaking times? Yes, those too. But through it all I learned so much, and what's even more, is that while there were rough times/sad times/stressful times, some of the best moments of my life were in this past year and a half. Some of the happiest moments ever were in these past 18 months.

So let's recap.
Sado: Where it all started. I came to Japan, not fully knowing what to expect about the country or being a missionary in general. Sado was completely different than anything I had ever known. And missionary work was pretty different from anything I've done. It was a humbling time and it was a huge part of why I am the missionary I am today. There were a lot of rough times on Sado; we didn't have any real investigators for about 3 months. We housed all day in the cold winter and our main focus was teaching English. But through our faith, humility, and hard work, God was able to really work miracles through us. We ended up building the church's English program quite a bit there and it's still going strong and is a wonderful service to the people in Sado. We also ended up seeing a baptism (Yamaji shimai who is one of my eternal friends). That's what I learned on Sado: work hard, have faith, be humble, and the Lord will do the rest.

Kumagaya: I was here for only a short time, but it was probably the place I felt at home the fastest. This is where I met my Japanese (or rather Filipino who lives in Japan) mother, Engrid. I think I learned more from her than she did from me. She was an incredible example of putting Christ at the center of her life. All she needed to hear was "Jesus Christ did it" or "Jesus Christ tells us to do this" and she would do it immediately, whether it was not drinking alcohol or tea or if it was telling her Japanese boss she couldn't work on Sundays. She and her daughter ended up getting baptized and are working towards a temple sealing (another two of my eternal friends). I loved the people in Kumagaya so much; I really felt like part of one big family. The ward members were amazing examples of true Christlike love. In Kumagaya, I think I really learned how to love the people.

Nakano: The place where I was the longest. Also the place I was the busiest. As a missionary, you're always busy, but I felt a whole new level of busy here in Nakano. I really felt like I was giving my all to my heavenly father and it made me so happy. All of my areas hold a special place in my heart, but I think there's a little bigger place there for Nakano. Nakano was interesting because it was up and down the whole 5 transfers I was there. If my time in Nakano were a graph, it would be extremely inconsistent. Probably some of the best times on my mission, and also some of the worst times of my mission, were both in Nakano.
Nakano is where I was in a leadership position and really learned the way to become a Christlike leader. I learned how to more fully give of myself and how to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I learned that the Lord will bless you as long as you're trying your best.
I met so many eternal friends in Nakano. I think my two best friends I met were Nabeko and Ryoko. Both were incredible examples to me. Ryoko canceled her baptism the day of (one of those lows I was talking about), but boy did it teach me so much. We had to find out how to get out of the absolute lowest point, we had to figure out how to get Ryoko back on track. (Update: Ryoko now has a baptismal date for in the month of January). 

Nabeko was the epitome of what it means to be humble. She wanted so bad to have the light that all the church members had; little did she know that she did have it. In my last week in Nakano, she told us that she wanted to get baptized and she would try and stop drinking alcohol. She was baptized on December 17th.

Sanjo: The place where it all ends. This was also the area I was in the shortest. I met some of the most devout members of my life here in Sanjo. They are who I want to be like as a member after my mission. I had the opportunity of training a new missionary here without knowing anything about the area myself. We really had the opportunity to fully focus on our missionary purpose without getting side tracked on anything else. I learned how to find joy in the little things here in Sanjo.

I couldn't be happier that Heavenly Father called me on a mission. And I feel extremely privileged to have gotten to serve in the Japan Tokyo mission. I think one of the biggest things I've learned on my mission is that heavenly father truly loves and knows every single person individually. I have felt His love for His children as I talk with them on the streets, when I'm teaching them, when I see them keep the commandments, when they are sharing their testimony, so many different times. It's a love that is infinite and special and a love that as mortals, we can't fully comprehend. It has been the coolest experience getting to feel the love our heavenly father has for the people that I also love so much.

So that's it everyone. That's a year and a half wrapped up into one email. I'm grateful for all the eternal friends I met, the places I've been able to call home, the members that have become like 2nd families to me, the amazing food that I've been able to eat, and for my heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the stronger relationship that I now have with them.

I hope this email will last y'all until I come home. Maybe by the time you're done reading it, I'll be in America lol. See y'all soon.
愛しています、
Wunderli 姉妹

That's it.  No pictures this week.  We are very close to be ready for her - the Welcome Home signs are up.  All the gifts are wrapped - we'll celebrate her birthday on Wednesday (her birthday is 12/14) and get ready for lots of family to descend upon us for her homecoming talk on Sunday, the 24th.  Thanks for your emails, snail mail, and prayers - we all appreciated them very much.  Less than two days and I'll have my baby girl back.  

Monday, December 11, 2017

Beloved Sanjo

2nd to last email.  8 days.  Jordan doesn't have a p-day next week because she'll be in the mission home the day before she flies out.  This is a great email with lots of good details.  Next week will be a nice re-cap of her mission.  As you can imagine - I'm VERY excited for her to come home.  I'm also very proud of what she has done in Japan - her effort, her perseverance, and the love she has shown.

As always, thanks for your emails, snail mails and prayers on her behalf - we all appreciate it more than you know.  Make it a great week.  Thanks for reading.

こんにちは、
As the transfer comes closer to the end, I've been reflecting back on this short 5 weeks I've been in Sanjo. My bean and I got to Sanjo and we had no idea where we were going or who anyone was, where anything was (even our apartment), and we had to try to not get too lost because the trains only come maybe once every hour. Whitewashing, reopening an area, and training was way harder than I thought it would be. We did know one thing though and that was our purpose: to invite others to come unto Christ. We hit the ground running and got right to work.

There were moments, even days, maybe even weeks where it was so hard to see the miracles that were right in front of us. There were days where we would go from house to house for hours talking with everyone telling us the word missionaries never want to here, "No." There were days where it has been so cold that people will say no, but then tell us how sorry they are for us. There were moments where I felt so alone because my bean is a brand new missionary and I had to talk to more people, translate more, do more. There were so many days where I was just absolutely exhausted at the end, so excited to get some sleep. However, reflecting back on the five weeks we've had here, it's now that I really see how much the Lord has blessed us. We have been blessed to find about 2 investigators every single week since we got here (some have stuck, some have not). We have been blessed to work with some of the best members I've ever met. We have been blessed with so many learning experiences wrapped up in a short 5 weeks. The Lord has blessed us so abundantly in so many ways!! 

Our investigators:

Yui: 22. She is a member of a part member family (her husband isn't a member, but his family is). She has the cutest baby ever (Masato), who has the chubbiest cheeks I've ever seen. She came to church yesterday!!
‎Kobayashi: She has been an investigator for quite awhile, but is just now starting to progress. We had a lesson on repentance and she wants to repent. She told us that completely stopping the bad thing is the hardest step for her, but she committed to praying to God and asking for his help with it. We also taught her how to do a kneeling prayer and she loves it, we ended the lesson with a kneeling prayer and she said she felt sooo much peace.
‎Saki: She is part of a different Christian church and according to the members is super devout to her own beliefs, but she recently stopped going to her church. She still hasn't come to ours, but the members are elated.
‎Sui: The mom of a member and wow she is the most genki (happy/energetic) 89 year old I've ever met. She listens to the book of Mormon every single day and prays every single day.
‎Honoka: We met her while housing this last week and shared the light the world video and she told us she wants to learn more about Jesus Christ. She also gave us some apples :)
‎Fukuyo: We met her while housing on one of our first weeks and she was so excited to see us! She speaks really good English and wants to learn more about our church. Her mother died a few years a go and she told us that she regrets not having a good relationship with her.
‎Yoshiko: We also met her while housing and she loves Christians! She wants to come to church sooo bad. She is going to come to the Christmas party this week.

I love Sanjo and the people in it. I've learned so much over this transfer and have met so many a amazing people. Sanjo definitely holds a special place in my heart. Also, fun fact about the Sanjo branch, there is only one family in the whole branch (about 25 people) that isn't a part-member family. The missionaries have work to do!

Find joy in the moment peeps.
愛しています、
Wunderli 姉妹

Pics: 
1. Okonomiyaki 
2. Masato 😍😍
3. I love chino shimai 
4. Sanjoooo 
5. I met this lady on the train this week and complimented her frog gloves and then she gave them to me!! She was such a sweetheart
6. Spaghetti party with the okuzawa family 
7. Hoshino shimai and her mom (sui) 

















I hope you enjoyed the email.  Thanks for your support throughout Jordan's mission.  Don't forget that there's one final email next week.  Her homecoming is December 24th at 9:00 at our ward building:  7075 S. 2245 E., Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121.

Monday, December 4, 2017

What's Niigata?

After this post, there will be two more before Jordan get's home.  As you can imagine, I'm VERY excited about this.  Here is her email.  Thanks for your support and thanks for reading.

こんにちは、
Hello hello. No time to waste. I only have 2 weeks left. Ahhh here ya go!

What's Niigata?
There's a sign that moves around the niigata prefecture that says "what's niigata" on it. I don't really know what the real meaning of the sign is or why it's there, but I'll give my meaning of what niigata is.
•the furthest zone in the whole mission from the mission home
•‎the coldest zone in the mission and the only zone where it snows
•‎the countryside of countryside
•‎home of my bean area and my dying area; where I started and where I will finish my mission
•‎the place where a member of the seventy promised there would be a temple one day
•‎the place where I've probably grown and learned the most in my entire life
•‎the place where I've been for both winters on my mission (God really has a sense of a humor sometimes, I'm from Vegas and am not use to the cold at all yet I get sent to niigata for both my winters haha)
•‎famous for its delicious rice 
•‎the place I've spent 6 months, 1/3 of my mission
•‎the most talked about zone in the mission

OYM:
In my mission, we have developed a culture of OYM, or open your mouth, which means to talk to everyone you possibly can about the gospel. So this week, we were at a members' house. She is the only member in her family and has 3 kids that are around 20 years old. We were asking about her family a lot and she told us that she is scared to death to talk to them about the church. She told us that her husband is pretty anti so she doesn't want anything bad to happen and is just too scared to talk to her kids. She then told us that WE have talked to her daughter before. I did not remember this so I asked her when. She said that we talked to her daughter on the train and that her daughter said that she had met missionaries from her church and that we were really nice (she didn't tell us her mom was a member). This member was sooo grateful that we decided to open our mouths and talk to her daughter. She then gave us full permission to talk to any of her kids about the church :) Now we just have to meet them! We're working on having her invite them to English class so we can take over about talking about the gospel.

The rest of my week is in the pictures :) love you all. Remember you can OYM to share the gospel too!
愛しています、
Wunderli姉妹

Pics:

1. My last Zone conference ahhh.

2 and 3. The Sanjo church is in a strip mall! How cute!!

4 and 5. We had zone blitz where all the missionaries in the niigata zone went out and proselyted together and it was on a night where it was pouring snow and rain so it was freezing :) barely survived. Also the what's niigata sign is in the background.

6. Our investigator, Kobayashi san


















There you have it.  She began her mission (the Japan part, anyway) in Sado (the island north of the main island of Japan), the northern most part of the Niigata zone and the mission in general.  She is finishing her mission in Sanjo - also in the Niigata zone.  I think it is a brilliant move by President Nagano since it will prepare her for the winter season in Salt Lake City and it will help her want to come home - she was loving her mission too much in Tokyo.  :)

Thanks for your prayers - please keep praying for her safe return - and your emails.  She loves them all.