Ashton Mission Conference (Nov 5)

It is officially winter here in Tsu and my body is not a fan. I'm currently fighting yet another sickness (cold or flu or something) so apologies if this email is kinda all over the place. My brain is somewhat fried, haha...

This past week was full of fun adventures and many days spent inside. The beginning of the week was actually really good. We were finally feeling better and were determined to get back on the normal schedule. So, in order to motivate ourselves, we decided to wake up and run to the beach. And if that wasn't the best idea ever, I don't know what was. Haha, it was gorgeous! The sun was rising over the water and we were able to run along the sand next to the ocean. I didn't have my tablet, so I have no photos, but once we get healthy again we're going and I'll take pics then. Just trust me in that it was gorgeous! 

We also went on Halloween to 31 flavors (Baskin Robbins) and got ice cream because it was 31% off! It was delicious. The pumpkin pie flavor reminded me of America and all was right in the world, haha.

This past week we've also run into investigators a lot in the most random places. The train station, outside the bank, on the street, haha. We weren't quite expecting it, but it was great to be able to follow up with them in person and see how they are doing. A lot of them were actually to busy to meet lately, so it was such a blessing. The Lord really does provide a way!

So, my companion and I have both been feeling pretty sick this past week. Because of that, we spent a lot of time in the apartment (both trying to recover and trying not to get other sick, haha). While sometimes it was a pain because we really wanted to go to our appointments, overall it was good. We have had a really long to do list lately that we've been putting off, so it allowed us to finally check some things off. One of those things was making hearts to heart attack the members. In the space of a few hours I made enough hearts to at least get us started. I hope that we can show the members here in Tsu more love through it. 

The main highlight of this last week was mission conference. Brother Ashton (2nd counselor in the Sunday School Presidency) and his wife came to speak to us. As well as Elder and Sister Yamashita again. It was so spiritually charged and really pumped us up. They emphasized that Faith is a choice and if we want to see miracles we can't just wait around for them. We have to get up and make them happen. We reviewed a lot of scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants and he really made us think about the effects of our efforts. They also talked about obedience and that it is only through obedience that we can see blessings. I know I need to work on being more exactly obedient as I progress on my mission. I know that as I strive to do that I will see more miracles in my daily life.

Finally, a little more about Maegawa Shimai. Her baptism is officially set for November 19th and we couldn't be more excited for her. We taught the law of tithing the other day and at first she was confused. She's very sick and so can't work and lives on welfare. We had to her talk to the branch president and explained that the Lord knows our hearts and will still bless us even if we can't. She then proceeded to ask us if she could pay anyways! She's so amazing!! She really understands the gospel and the blessings that come from living it. She is such an example to me and I'm so excited to see her take a step towards eternal life here in a few weeks. 

That just about wraps it up for this week. Other than that things are progressing as usual. I'm excited to see who we get to meet this week!

Prayers and emails are appreciated!

愛しています！

アルマー姉妹
Sister Armour