We FINALLY got in touch with an investigator (LA sister) that`s been MIA for the last 2, almost 3 months. She came to church for the first time in almost 15 years about 2 transfers ago, and then we never heard from her again. My last companion and I were frantically mailing and calling and visiting, but she was never home. When Scheffler shimai transferred in, this Sister`s house was the first place I wanted to go, so we did and her dad was there. He told us she had been hospitalized and he didn`t know when she would get out. He also wouldn`t give us any other information like where, whether or not we could visit, and so on. He was polite to us, but you can tell he doesn`t really like gaikokujin (foreigners, especially not foreigners that can`t perfectly speak his language) or people of our church. So I decided to call her visiting teachers and ask them. They gave us the name of a hospital she had been to a few years ago and said she might have returned. So we looked it up, hopped on our bikes and went. We`ve visited this hospital almost 10 times in hopes of finding her, but the doctors and nurses would never let us speak with her.
Now, 2 weeks ago the Elders` investigator was hospitalized in the exact same hospital, so we decided to pay her a visit. It was easy to get in to see the Elders` investigator, so we decided to try again this week, so that maybe by some chance, we could intercept our investigator. I know there are no such things as coincidences. We got into the visiting facility and waited a couple seconds by the elevator. When it opened, HER DAD WAS STANDING THERE! He was pleasantly surprised to see us and he was a lot nicer this time. We explained that we came to see a friend. He told us he wanted to take us up to see his daughter, our LA investigator! In the end, we FINALLY made contact with her. She told us she`d been praying to get better faster so she could return to church, and then we came to her! She also told us how much she missed reading the Book of Mormon with us and hopes to study again once she is released.
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| Scheffler shimai and I came here in search of a less active brother. It was crazy to see how weeds had taken over the residence. Nobody answered when I knocked on the plant-covered door. |
I have a testimony that the Lord can do anything, but He can definitely guide MOVING FEET. We have to be walking, ready, prepared, and He`ll lead us right where we need to be. If we would`ve taken a short konbini break in the middle of that hot afternoon (a konbini is a convenience store or gas station...they`re on every corner here), or ignored the idea of visiting the Elders` investigator that day, we would`ve missed this Sister`s dad and we would have totally lost out on an opportunity to be not only an answer to her prayer, but to be in the right place at the right time in order to see her again. She`s not allowed any communication with the outside world right now like phone calls or emails, but she`s okay to have visits every now and then. You can bet we`ll be there pretty frequently now!
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| You know you're in Japan when you can literally touch the next apartment building from your balcony! |
Move your feet this week! Be the tool by which the Lord can help His children.
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| I told our bishopric that I would not take their picture unless they all smiled. It took a while but Bro Hasegawa finally cracked...just for me. These men are awesome. |
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| Chona is seriously one of my most favorite people in Japan. I just love this little girl. |
I love you all and pray that we can all be better at aligning our will with the Lord`s -- not worrying about the details, and just going for it! Have a fabulous week, all!
Love always,
Sister Heimuli
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