🎁🎊🎈

こんにちは!

Mazu, thanks for all the birthday wishes! Today just started and it's already been my favorite birthday ever.

Holy, this week was jam packed with awesomeness!!!!

On Thursday we had a talent show with half the mission. It was a goodbye to our Mission President and his wife and the Arrington's since they go home this week :( it was sooo much fun to be together and just laugh for a few hours. Early in the week I had the idea that we should do a flash mob for the Nakatsuka's so I called everyone and sent them a video of the dance and it was the last thing we did at the talent show. It was SO fun. It's not everyday you get to have a dance party with half your mission- haha. And It made the Nakatsukas cry.  I love my mission so much.

The next day we had a mission conference and said bye to the Nakatsuka's and Arrington's. It was sooo sad. They really are family to me, I'm going to miss them so much.

This week we went to football practice again and Andy (Yukis friend) asked for a Book of Mormon so we gave him one! Yayyyyy!! Then we were talking to some baseball players and I pulled out an eikaiwa flyer and one of them started freaking out and said "I've gotten one of those before from 2 guys in Hakodate!! And they gave me this old book that I still have!" And I showed him a Book of Mormon and asked if it was the book and he said it was!! So I invited him to church. It was super cool and he was so amazed. And one of the elders that first met him was Bateman 長老!

One day we were housing and we met this guy that was Christian so we gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to church. 20 minutes later we were walking down the street in the rain  and he pulled up in a car and handed us an umbrella and told us to be careful because Hokkaido is cold. It was seriously the most Christlike thing that's happened to me in Japan. Then he told us he wants to come to church!!! What a guy!

I heard the Book of Mormon got translated into Nepali this week!!!!!! Now my favorite country can have my favorite book! They just need some missionaries to give them out... I volunteer!!!

Last but not least, Thursday is the number 1 homie (Lafas) birthday!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! We're so ichi we came to earth just 3 days apart. You're my fav kiwi. Have a sick day ya rippa. 愛してる。


リグビ

1. FLASH MOB
2. Squad goals

🏈+🚴🏻‍♀️💥🚙

Hi! Yes im still alive but we'll get to that later...

If anyone was going to find a football team in Japan, it was going to be me. Yuki told me a while ago that a guy in one of her classes was on a football team. I didn't believe her at first because I've never heard of football in Japan before. Her friend told her we could come to their practice so we went. They were all inside cleaning equipment and what not so I stuck my head in the window and it was legit American football stuff!! I became besties with all of them reallllll fast. They had a picture of Tom Brady on the wall but none of them knew he was-hahaha. We're having a pancake party next Monday for my birthday and they're going to come! So basically I'll be converting a football team this transfer. Pumped!! I also met the rugby team and they told me I could come play with them sometime so maybe I'll convert them too-hahah

Ah... so ne.. this week I got hit by a car. It was pretty exciting. I was crossing a street and the lady didn't see me and ran into me. It didn't hurt in the moment but I'm definitely feeling it now. They're making me go to a chiropractor today -yay!

Just trying to experience everything the mission has to offer :)

Last but not least a special shout out to the man I've faced bears with, scaled mountain sides with and traveled half way around the world and back again with. People might mistake him as Matt Damon but he's actually my DAD!!! Thanks for being my adventure bud and my
biggest fan. You're the best, better than the rest. I love you dad!!!!! 

父の日おめでとうござます!

またね!

リグビ姉妹

Papa Burke!!!

🍚🍚🍚

Heyooo.

This week was rad. Met a ton of really awesome people!!

One day we biked out to the country side and I saw this hidden road that went behind a forest so I wanted to see if anyone lived back there.. we went behind the trees and there were RICE FIELDS FOR DAYSSS. It was so pretty. We met this old rice farmer man that was in his car leaving but we stopped him and talked to him for a bit then he got out of his car, got us some juice, introduced us to his dog and cat and gave us some fresh rice from his rice field!! The whole time his car was still running hahah. He was so awesome. We gave him our number and the next day he called and told us he wants to feed us sushi sometime haha what a guy.

We met another rice farmer that told us in the next life he wants to be a Christian but he can't in this life because his ancestors would come back and kill him haha  it he was super cool and said he'd pray for us. I LOVE RICE FARMERS!!

We got to go to Asahikawa this week for splits, I love that place so much. Met my new best friend. She came to eikaiwa and we talked the whole time and became buds and she said "I wasn't going to come tonight but I felt like I should and I think it was so I could meet you" then she drove us home and the next day she called to see if we had left yet and we said we were just about to and she told us she was going to come get us and drive us to the eki. She came and got us and gave me some homemade jam and said "i went home last night and just thought of all the things we're going to do together when you transfer here, I'm going to teach you how to cook and how to make bread... it's going to be so fun!" I LOVE HER SO MUCH! I pretty much have to transfer to Asahikawa now.... everyone start praying!!!!

また来週ね！

愛してる

リグズ

If you translate this movie poster to English it says "I want to eat your pancreas"

My Slice of Heaven

こんにちは!

This week was pretty awesome. Last Monday was the Nakatsuka's last FHE. We took Yuki San and as we were waiting to go inside a car pulls up and out jumps my KUDOU KAZOKU!!!!!(The family I was teaching in Shinoro) never been so happy in my life. I ran over to them so fast- hahah. They had come just to see me because they knew I'd be there. I love them so much.

FHE (Family Home Evening) was so awesome, there was a point we were sitting there listening to a musical number and I looked over and saw Yuki, my Kudou fam, all my missionary buds, and a bunch of members and investigators from my past areas. That's what my heaven is going to look like. It was probably my favorite moment of my life.

Also got to talk to an investigator from Shinkotoni and he is getting baptized in 2 weeks! And Yuki went through the temple this week and did baptisms for her grandma!! YAY!!

This week we met so many cool people and had a lot of fun experiences. One day we were walking down the street and there were some people outside having a BBQ and we walked by and they were like "come join us!" So we got to hang out and eat some BBQ- hahah. Another day we met a guy from India that's fluent in English so we got to teach him the whole first lesson in English!! It was awesome! We also met this sweet old lady that told us to come visit her so we did and she sang us traditional Japanese songs and fed us veggies from her garden. My comp looked at me and was like "isn't it so weird that our lives basically consist of going into strangers houses and becoming friends with them" hahah being a missionary is the best!

I love Japan so much.

愛してる

Rigs

I Met Henry!

おはようございます!

This week Elder Dallin H Oaks came to visit our mission! He came with the entire Area Presidency! It was pretty cool. They walked in and we got to shake all their hands!

Sister Oaks got up to talk to us and told us we were a very warm, happy mission and that that was a rare thing. She said she thinks it's because our mission is so hard. She said "There are some days we spend the entire day in the temple and I've noticed the happiest workers are always the six a.m. session. It's the hardest session considering how early they have to get up to be there, yet they are the happiest. I think it's the same here. You are the six a.m.session. You are the frozen chosen." hahaha- I love my mission.

Something Elder Oaks said that I loved was "Remember to love, teach and testify. Love, the most important emotion on earth, is a matter of feeling, not science." If our investigators can feel our love for them they will better be able to understand Gods love for them and our message. Whenever we visit people we always ask if we can give them a hug before we leave, the smile they get on their face is my favorite thing ever! Nakatsuka kaicho always asks us to be "messengers of love" because our message really is a message of love.

It was a really great conference! Learned lots. Plus since it was Mission Conference I got to see the whole mission aka all my favorite people!!! It was the best ever and made me really happy.

Lay 姉妹 and I are working really hard and seeing lots of miracles! It's been raining like crazy which has pretty much destroyed everything we own... but it's been fun! I can't decide which is more fun: biking through typhoons all day or walking through blizzards all day. There seems to be no in between here.  Wouldn't want to be anywhere else :)

愛してる

whit rig

Besties