aloha family

Dear family

This week was amazing.  I feel like every week flies by faster and faster.  We had an all sisters conference that was extremely fun.  I love having all sisters back home.  I talk about you all so much all my companions say they feel like they know my family.  

I feel like my life is changing.  I feel like I trust in Heavenly Father more and that coming on my mission is opening my eyes to a lot of things.  Like the fact that life is not always easy  but we can make it fun and make it through.  The other night we were knocking on all these doors and I was freezing and people kept saying no thank you and my body wanted to collapse.  But Heavenly Father really brings you rght to the edge everytime and then he scoops you right up and blesses you right when you think you can't take one step more.  He doesn't always take away difficult things but I know that we can lean on him for strength when we ask him for help.

I love these verses in Mosiah 24 10-15.  It talks about if we pour out our hearts to God for help he will ease our burdens.  In the first two transfers of the mission I never felt more alone and misunderstood but I knew that Heavenly Father wouldn't abandon me and it would get better, and it has!  I want to do more of what President Uchtdorf says and live in the moment.  He said something like "We don't listen to music anticipating the end... we connect with the harmony and enjoy it!"  I want to enjoy.   

Try to enjoy wherever you are in life, because it truly will never come again!

We had a Halloween dance this week and I felt like I was back in the 7th grade, everyone were wall flowers.  Eventually they got to their feet though.   This cute girl named Sheenchan came with us and we went to the makeshift haunted house together.  She kept gripping me tightly as we made our way through the ghost grave yards.  Japan is so fun.  Everyone is always so sweet to you and thoughtful. We taught her about Joseph Smith and she is going to read the Book of Mormon this week.  

We gave these girls a church tour yesterday. Their names are Rika and Hitomi-chan. We found them housing and they were impressed by the church.  We visited Rika-chan at her work this week. She works at a place called "Cafe Eyes".  It's a really smoky cafe.  I didn't like that part.  I looked around at everyone and they all looked kind of sad and depressed.  I wanted to help them somehow.  In Japan I feel like its like New York even though I've never been there --- where they kind of have the stone-cold face and then you say hello and then they melt like ice cream cones and are so kind.  But definitly I feel like everyone here is just hungry for guidance and for truth.  We are trying to help as many people as we can with that.  

I want to be like clay in Heavenly Father's hands.  Looking back on my life I've always been so resistant to change, but I heard this thing this week and I like it.  About how if we are a house and God is the builder we just have to trust him.  If we were a little cottage, a builder comes in and he does some rearranging,, we're okay with it.  And then some fix ups here and there, and we're okay with it.  But then we get really nervous when we see he starts tearing down walls, and installing weird things, and we aren't sure if we even trust him anymore.   But then in the end we see that instead of a refinished cottage we thought we would be, we are a beautiful enchanting palace.  We were never meant to be just an ordinary house, in the first place.  You were always meant to be a big beautiful palace.  Sometimes becoming is really tough, and we can't always see the Master's design.  But we just have to trust that there is one.  He will make us into who he wants us to be.

I love you all.   Talk to you soon.  

Sister Vail