......... SANDY

HEYYYYYOOOO!

It's been another week here in Japan and I am still never wanting to go home so I guess you can take that as yes, this week was good. Haha!

For all of those who care.. Sumireko chan, who I talked about last week, has been sending me pictures of her favorite parts of the Book of Mormon. She's still fire. And I'm still obsessed with her. 

BUTTTTT

This week I want to introduce you to one of my other favorite people in the universe who is one of our investigators. Her name is Taguma, but she goes by SANDY. (@sandymod s/o to you). Lol. she is from Myanmar (but fluent in Japanese... nice) . Sandy is a legend. I don't know what else to say. She is a referral from a recent convert and is sooooo prepared. She tells us she thinks missionaries and members are so bright and sparkly and nice and she has suchhhhh strong desires to come unto Christ. That is one of my favorite things that people say here. The light of Christ is something they notice SO quickly. She is sooooo drawn to it too. Literally the other day we taught her more about how to pray and that night she sent us a Facebook message that was her prayer written out. TELL ME THAT ISN'T THE CUTEST THING EVER. She just wanted to show us that she did it. I died. She is so prepared and BEING A MISSIONARY IS JUST THE COOLEST THING EVER! I'M SERIOUS. We are hoping to be able to set a baptismal date with her pretty soon, so ya you could say I am way happy right now. WOO!

K now for the funny stuff. So at church last Sunday I complimented Sandy's two daughters' matching skirts... Well.... I show up at our lesson and did she buy us the same matching mini skirts in hot pink? Ya. And were they $100 dollars a piece? Ya. So do I now have a $100 dollar hot pink mini skirt sitting on my desk because I have no idea what to do with it? Maybe. Haha too nice for her own good. I love these people.

The church is way true you guys. I am serious. I know sometimes I just talk about the funny or the crazy stuff that happens, but I want you all to know how much I am grateful to be here. Not only is it a blast, but I have never felt so close to my Heavenly Father in my whole life. He knows each of us, individually. And I have come to know that more here than ever.

SAY YOUR PRAYERS

xoxo

Modersitzki 姉妹

Fun fact:

-The stoplights in Japan have blue instead of green... tbh it looks pretty green to me but, whenever the light turns green instead of saying, "It's green!" They say, "It's blue!" Lol what? Throws me off every time. 

Shinkansen (bullet train) because TOKYOOOOO

Ballet with my frenz
(Shae got special permission to teach a ballet class on her mission. Pretty cool!)

Today I made soap, so there's that.

Turns out the White House is actually in Tokyo. Who knew?

niigata... not only is it pretty, but there are miracles too (!!)

-Trav(doing missionary work)eling

HELLO.

I know I know. Every email I start the same... "This week was crazy but the best"... I AM SORRY BUT IT IS TRUE. This week was insane. And it was the best. Sooooo no regrets. 

First things first. Yesterday was transfer calls andddddddd SISTER LARSEN AND I ARE SAFE IN NIIGATA. Can I get a woot woot? So pumped. Niigata is literally exploding with miracles right now. To say I am ready to leave would be like saying I like eating dirt. Just no. AKA HOLLA AT NO TRANSFER. This is Sister Larsen's last transfer too, so we are ready to make it legendary.... get ready folks.

Now. There is about 783928274 things I want to talk about, but I will control myself and just tell you about the miracle I like to call Sumireko... aka Sumi ちゃん. Let's take it back 78 years ago to my first transfer in Niigata. We were doing a free English challenge where we met this cute 16 year old. She loved English and in fact was Christian! ....... I KNOW RIGHT? I DIED TOO. Annnnyyyyways. She was way cool and on like the national rugby team and ya. Just sweet. We wanted to meet with her but she was so busy with sports that we just exchanged lines (messenger app thing that nihonjin are obsessed with) and went on our way. WELL. This past week she texted us saying she wanted to meet.. she had a few days off so did we meet every day? YES. Did we teach her about the restoration? YES. Did she keep grabbing her chest saying her heart felt so warm? YES. Did she cry when we showed her the youth music videos? YES. Did she say she knew Joseph Smith was a true prophet? YES. Am I the happiest person alive? YOU BETCHA, YES.

Sumi is obsessed with the church's teachings and wants to come and join so bad. We are trying to figure stuff out with rugby because well... it's hard when you're a national champ, but seriously, I have never met someone with such a prepared heart... especially at age 16. LIKE WHAT?! I cannot describe how much I love her. Like AHHH she is just so special. We were teaching her this past week where I just felt the spirit so strongly to tell her I came to Niigata for her... She said she completely agreed and said she knew it was not a coincidence. In fact in the cute English that she knows she said, "It's destiny." ....... and then I melted into a puddle bc A. That's the cutest thing ever, and B. God's timing is so cool.

I love this work. 

SAY YOUR PRAYERS

xoxo

Modersitzki 姉妹

Fun facts:

- I continue to get told I look like Taylor Swift alllllllll the time. Actually way funny. This past Tuesday we went to Sado and on the boat all these dudes from Taiwan (hey Claire) came up and asked to take pictures with us. HAHAHA so fun.

-Mana ちゃん... she is coming home with me mom... Okay?
(no joke were planning it rn)

-Happy Mother's Day for Nagano 姉妹 featuring Momo, Ei, Yuki, and Sumi!

-Sado... it's a pretty place man. I'll tell you that for free.

-Perks of serving in Niigata. You get way tight with your mish pres and wife.
This was when she took us all to dinner and we squished in her van....
complete with florescent pink lights. NICE

rice..... hehe

Konnichiwaaaaa! 

Well I can't start this email without giving a HUGE shout out to the best mom in the universe. The one and only @marcimod. I could say it time and time again, but thank you for everything you have done for me. I love you! SO FUN TO TALK TO YOU TODAY (and the rest of the fam. You guys are chill too. hehe)

Oh heavens you guys. I don't even know where to start with this week. It was absolutely NUTS. Let me just paint you a picture. Sister Larsen was my companion for a total of a few hours this week. HOURS YOU GUYS. We had like 20 bajillion things to do and exchanges and it was just insane. I got to be with Sister Kouyama and Sister Shoji on exchanges for a couple of days this week. They are the 2 Japanese sisters in our zone and I LOVE them. But let's just say that my English has definitely taken a hit.... I literally do not know how to speak English! It's bad hahahahahaha. 

Mana chan who is one of my bff YW. :)

Check out the little frog on her glove!

A once-in-a-lifetime thing happened this week I worked on a rice farm! YEP YOU HEARD ME. A RICE FARM. Rice planting season is like 3 days of the year and Oya 兄弟, a member, owns a farm and called us up to help. #SCORE. Hahahahahaha it was so fun. It just took me back to the days of my Grandpa Dave's farm. (s/o to you gpa lol) I didn't realize how much I would miss being covered in dirt with a view of nothing but the work truck and miles of fields. So unreal.  Definitely a highlight of the week.

ALSO the elders' investigator, Takahashi, got baptized this week. I LOVE HIM YOU GUYS. He literally is the funniest person I have ever met in my entire life. I can't even describe in my own words. Lol. Such a homie. Right before he went to get baptized he walks up to me and whispers to me, "Moda chan... (that's what he calls me) how long should I stay under... 3 days?" HAHAHAH WHAT? Legend. I have nothing more to say on the subject.

At Takahashi's baptism.

Sorry this email is kind of allllll over the place but I just want you to know a few things. A. I love my mission. B. This church is so true and seeing it change people's lives--like Takahashi's--is amazing! C. I am having the time of my life out here, and D. Japan wins on so many different levels.

SAY YOUR PRAYERS AND TELL YOUR MOMS YOU LOVE THEM

xoxo

Modersitzki 姉妹

Fun fact:

-Bagels... They are not a thing in Japan. But hey... What doesn't kill ya makes you stronger right?

Rice fields. Cool, right?

I can now officially play 3 chords thanks to this Nagaoka guitar class.

Niigata

weddings, tokyo, and MAKIIIIIII

WOWWOWOWOWOWOW HELLO. 

I could probably write about a 6-year-long email about all the things that happened this week, but I will do my best to keep it simple.. Key word... TRY.

To start off the week, a darling couple from our branch got married this week, and a few days before, Yukie (the bride) comes up and asks if I can do her hair and makeup for the wedding.... UH HELLO NO PRESSURE. Next, a member asks us to decorate the wedding cake. WHAT? It's okay though because it was straight up a Costco cake and we just had to put strawberries all over it, but ya. Next, we became the drink servers, and then after alllll that, I ended up singing at the wedding. Offffff course. Hahahah it was so fun and all things I thought I never expected myself to be doing, especially on a mission. But HEY! Christ lived His life serving, so if being a wedding extravaganzanist is the way, I'M IN!

Wedding prepping

Shae singing at the wedding.

That was all fun, but the real miracle of the week happened after I received a message from a member in my old area telling me that Maki, my recent convert, was struggling. My heart sunk to the floor. I was able to get in contact with the missionaries there and talk to them about what was going on.... it broke me to pieces. I have never prayed so hard like.... ever. But randomly one night as I was walking home from Eikaiwa I had the strongest impression that I needed to go see Maki... I was so confused. I live like 5 hours away and we aren't allowed to just casually visit old areas.... Like how would that even work? I thought about it and then it hit me. This week was MLC which meant I was going to be in Tokyo for a few days. I called President Nagano to see if it was even a possibility, well... not only did he say yes, but he encouraged me to go. MIRACLE. I couldn't believe it.

The crew is back together!

This past Thursday I was able to go back to Kawagoe and visit Maki. It was an experience and lesson I will never forget. There I was, in my favorite place, complete with Sister Ohki (my lovely bff trainee), Kiyomi Shimai (my lovely bff member), and my family, Maki and the kids. Dreams really do come true. Sister Ohki and I were able to sing to Maki the song we sang at her baptism and the spirit was SO strong. She just looked at us and said, "I remember now." After that I was able to just talk to Maki and I am serious I have never felt so much love in my whole life. I just sat there and cried. We talked about anything and everything. It was truly a tender mercy and I will forever be grateful for it. Maki and Kazuki are now preparing to go to the temple. She called me a few nights ago so we could talk and read the BOM together. To say my heart is full of gratitude is an understatement.

Through this experience, my testimony that God cares about the one was strengthened so much. I am so grateful to be able to serve as an instrument in His hands to make sure that the one is never lost. 

THIS WORK IS MIRACULOUS

xoxo

Modersitzki 姉妹

Fun facts:

- Japanese people love Costco. The closest one to Niigata is 2 hours away, yet people go. PRIORITIES MAN

LOOK! IT'S OHKI SHIMAI! WE TOLD YOU THE CREME PUFFS
WOULD BE REUNITED.

Good job Japan. Good job.

Mission Leadership Council

exchanges for days

Helllooooo fam, friends, and whoever else is so kind to take the time to open this email, big s/o to you <33

WELL, WE CAN'T START OFF THIS EMAIL WITHOUT A HUGE BDAY SHOUTOUT TO MY OTHER SISTER ERIN THIS PAST FRIDAY! THE BIG 22 WOOOOO YAAAAA HOT DANGGGG NICEEEEE. (But seriously people, even though her bday was last week, please still feel free to send her letters and cakes and ya know. The sorts. ;)

Okay. Now. Moving on... Let's say I love being an STL (Sister Training Leader). This week was back to back exchanges and it was soooooo fun. I am completely exhausted and am currently writing this email laying dead on the tatami (it's like bamboo mats that are in our bedroom... I sleep on bamboo... HAHA I just realized how weird that is. It's way comfortable though. 10/10 would recommend. Lol. I love Japan.) ANYWAYS. Ya. I am so tired and we are always so busy, but that's like the best thing to be as a missionary. BUSY.

Sister Oaks, me and Momoka chan being......normal.

This week I was on an exchange with the lovely Sister Oaks. Some of our plans had kind of fallen through and so we had more time than we thought... Well, our mish pres has been focusing a ton on being creative and receiving revelation for ourselves, so we decided to give it a shot. We thought of all the creative things we could and then said a super sincere prayer asking God to lead us to do something to help us find His prepared people. Boom. It came. Christian Survey. Hahahah I know. It sounds way weird but..... IT WORKED. We walked around with our clipboards and did a survey about what people thought about things such as whether people thought God exists or not and things like that..... Normally Japanese people get WAY shady when you try to talk about that type of stuff... (They always just say "BUKKYO" aka Buddhist) BUT NOT THIS TIME. So awesome. People would answer us and talk to us openly and we were able to get a GOLDEN INVESTIGATOR. The Lord really does work by faith. I can testify of that. Being a missionary is so cool. Seriously. Also, holding a clipboard makes you feel professional and cool. I can testify of that too lol.

There is not much more to say than I love my life. I kind of never want to wake up from this dream.... Like ever. Niigata. What a place <3333

SAY YOUR PRAYERS PEOPLE

xoxo

Modersitzki 姉妹

Fun Facts:

- I thought Utah weather was bi-polar. No. Niigata wins. One day it will be straight up summer.... but you can just put money down that the next day it pours all day.... you just can't win lol

.........oh.

Literally one of my best friends on the mission and ever, Sister Zundel.
Exchanges in Nagaoka.

LOOK AT WHAT I GET TO LOOK AT!
(and no, that's not a lake.
That's a rice field. #nice)

Manami chan. Nagaoka's investigator who I adore.