Japan Fukuoka: Weeks 39 & 40: Why do you have a zit?

Hermione and Dumbledore wands

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about some of our investigators:

Shimabukurou (this means island bag)
She is a sassy lady in her 70s that gives us cherry drinks and processed cheese slices every single time we come to her house. She loves changing the conversation: look at my fat goldfish that I feed three times a day, why do you have a zit on your chin--don't touch it, but really don't you have cream, eating healthy is how I'm independent, the pictures of people on your flyers are Japanese unlike
Jehovah's Witness' flyers and that's better.

She told us the weather is too hot to get baptized because then she would have to come to church every week in the hot weather. I've asked her on two separate occasions what is her biggest worry about baptism, and she is very adamant that "I have NO shinpai (worry)! It's just too hot!" She's probably the most elegant Japanese lady I know. We call her every night and read a scripture to her and she loves that. We love her and pray for her everyday. I don't know if she will change her mind about baptism anytime soon, but regardless it's just really fun to teach her.

Higa:
This young family of three (and dog) have the cutest two year old boy named Manato. This is my first time of the mission teaching the gospel to an investigating family with a kid there. He is so excited when we visit, dancing around and trying to play tag with us. It melts my heart. The first time we came to their apartment, we hadn't knocked on their door in the apartment when the wife came out and gave us popsicles because it was hot. The wife has been taught by missionaries before, but not her husband. We are going to teach them about scripture study next.

Yamazato:
Before this transfer, Yamazato would only take lessons from the missionaries when her husband wasn't home. We hadn't seen her all this transfer--I'd only heard a lot about her. Then, this week, we get a text saying it's her day off and that she'll meet us at the church. We go to the church and she pulls up in a red sports car and tells us to get in--she wants to drive us to her house. Next thing we know, we're walking into this really nice Japanese house with a three foot ship model on display in the genkan (entry way). Her husband is home. They sit us down at a dining table and the husband started asking a million questions relating to the restoration of the church, and the wife was so excited when we mentioned the plan of salvation. She had a missionary moment and taught him about the celestial kingdom. At the end of the lesson, the husband asked, "Do you like fantasy? Yes? Do you like Harry Potter?" Then the wife brings out these gift bags with Harry Potter wands. Mr. Yamazato decided to give the Hermione Granger wand to me (because he thought I looked like her) and the Dumbledore wand to my companion, Sister Perkins (because she's a great sensei for all of us). We are going to invite them to baptism next time.

Dueling wands

Well, those are some of the investigators that have made this transfer come alive and make me fall in love with Naha a little more each day.
:)
Rogers Shimai