Queen Alicia Visits Japan

May 18, 2008
So, I basically owe Jon the intern so much for being able to translate for me in church. I get SO much from the meetings because of him. Ok, wait, back to the start of my day. So, I fell asleep in my clothes last night cuz Jon was supposed to call me when he got home to help me with my internet...yeah, epic fail. So I woke up this morning in a super panic because I also forgot to set my alarm. So I rush into the shower and get ready for church super fast. Thankfully I live super close to church, so I hopped on my bike and got to church like 10 minutes early. As I walked in the missionaries reminded me that the area authority and the steak president was there. They said I’d like them and that I should go say hi. So, I went up the stairs and walked into the chapel. I found the two men greeting everyone as they came in. They were surprised to see me, and asked if I just moved in. I told them my situation and how there were 2 more of us…coming, lol. One of the men was a white guy and the other was Japanese. I totally placed the white guy as the area authority and the Japanese man as the stake president. (I had them backwards, lol) The Japanese man looked like Alec Baldwin’s Japanese twin. True story. It was funny. So I go sit down and wait for my 2 friends to show…and as I wait this lady from relief society hands me an English hymnbook, which was way super nice of her. I like being able to follow along. It’s way cool to hear English songs in Japanese because they match the lyrics to the tune so well. Jon says they don’t do that well getting the same meaning across, but for the most part the first verse is usually close. So anyway, it’s 5 minutes until the meeting starts and Jon shows up. He said he was supposed to meet Reina but she never showed. He tried calling but she never answered. I told him she was probably asleep. But we kept trying anyway. The meeting starts as usual, the Bishop usually conducts here. He introduces the speakers and then sits down. After we take sacrament the stake president stands. He’s a big bald white dude. Lol. But he has the bishop stand and talks about how amazing our bishop is. Then he continues his talk on the power a bishop has and how blessed we are to have bishops. He kept his talk short, he said he knew we wanted to hear from the area authority. Lol. So, the area authority stands and has the stake president stand up. He starts his talk by saying what a great and loving man the stake president is. Then he moves on to what his real topic is: Missionary work. His talk was so good, I wish I could remember all that was said. He talked about 3 examples of missionaries he had known. One was an American missionary who came to his home. When he saw him he had this really old coat on, so he commented on it and said it was quite the coat. The boy then proceeded to tell him that the coat was worn by his father when he served his mission in Japan. This touched the area authority, and he asked about his family. I don’t remember the specifics of the story, but the boy’s parents came to pick him up in Japan and he introduced them to the area authority. (I wish I knew his name,lol) He said he was able to tell the boy’s parents what a good man their son was and how he was worthy to wear that coat. His second story was about another American boy who was from Sandy Utah. The area authority was going to Salt Lake for general conference so he offered to call the boy’s parents. When he was in Utah he called them and was able to tell them that their son was doing well and that they should be proud of him. They were thankful for the call and invited him over to their house. He told them he could only spare 2 hours, but that he’d love to come. When he got there he found that the boy was the oldest son of 10 kids. He was impressed with the family and found the pictures of their son eating the gross food in Japan funny. (aka, nato…)He said the parents gave him a small package and asked him to deliver it to their son. They told him it had letters from everyone in the family inside. On the outside of the package was a note from their father. It simply read “Dear Taylor (the missionary), work hard hard hard.” I loved that. It says so much in that short sentence. It made me think of Jon and how important the work he will be doing really is.The third missionary was a woman from Ireland. When he met her he could tell she was having a hard time, so he sincerely asked her if she was alright. The woman told him that while she was in Japan she got to teach her Grandmother the gospel. Her family was so happy that she excepted it that they flew over for the baptism. She was able to see her parents and she was grateful for that, as her mother passed away soon after. She said that she knew the Lord has his hand in everything because she was able to see her mom before she died. He said he was very impressed by the missionaries attitude about it. I was too. How great is that? She could see how the Lord had blessed her.He kept saying throughout his talk how we need to pray for the missionaries and try to be good missionaries ourselves. He gave us some advice to pick three families. One that has just had a baby, one that has just lost someone to death, and one that had just been married. He said to send the missionaries to all three, because they have approaches for all three. He said if you think about it, you probably know people that fit at least two of those categories. Yeah, wow, I loved listening to his talk. So, after sacrament meeting was Sunday school. It was cute, cuz the Sunday school teacher was super nervous to be teaching to the area authority, lol. Then came relief society. Still no Reina, so no translation for me. Blah, eh, I went anyway. So, I’m sitting there and these two ladies come up to me and start talking to me in English. Super nice ladies, and their English was great. So, they again get me an English manual and they ask me to give the opening prayer. I was going to say no, but they said “English is ok.” So, I did it. It’s weird praying when you’re not sure anyone else can understand you. You feel a little more free with what you say and you’re not concentrating on what comes out of your mouth but you try to bring the spirit more. It’s really a cool thing. Anyway, so we are practicing this song by Janice Cap Perry called “Where is Heaven?”. It’s a cute song, and they translated it into Japanese. So, we sing it and after words one of the sisters comments how I’m not singing, and that English is ok. I’m like ‘um, yeah, not going to sing in English when you guys are singing in Japanese, that would be weird.” But I nod and smile anyway. Well, then they start the song again, and EVERYONE is singing in English. It was WAY cute! When we finished they said that everyone could sing that way, so they were going to sing it in English from now on. Then they asked how their English was, it was so cute. The thoughtfulness of those sisters is amazing. They change the way they all sing a song for one person. I was unable to get much out of the relief society lesson, but I knew the topic and the sisters that sat next to me were able to tell me the scripture references so I could follow along. So, after church I caught up with Jon and told him I was going to call home real fast. Mostly I wanted to exit because they were serving lunch before the fireside, and I didn’t want to insult anyone by not eating, lol. I asked him if he would be alright translating the fireside for me, and he said that he’d have no problem with it. He said that he was able to get a lot out of the last meeting because translating makes him focus more on the talks. Anyway, so the fireside was great, but short. It was just the area authority speaking. His talk was on prayer. He started by saying how important couple prayer is, and how it can strengthen a marriage. Then he spoke about family prayer, and how the kids might not get it or appreciate the effort, but they'll know that prayer is important to their parents, and that's important. It was a good talk, and afterwards he opened it up for any questions. He started by talking about his family, and how he's had 2 missionaries and 1 daughter preparing. His 19 year old son he described as "wild¨ and said he didn't come to church anymore. So, one lady raised her hand and said that she has a "wild¨ daughter and wondered how he handled his son. Now this was the part I liked. It made me cry actually. He said that in his travels he has met many parents who have wild children, and he often hears them say that they have failed that child. He said they often look into the past and question what when wrong, and how they could have prevented it. These were his exact words "Never say that you have failed. You haven't. Some families do all the right things, they have family home evening, they pray as a family, they study the scriptures and they still have a child go astray. You did not fail them.¨ He went on to say that we just need to love those children and pray for them. He also said to not let them forget our values and beliefs. We should let them know when what they do isn't to our approval and he said to not forget to bare our testimony to them so that they remember how we really do believe. I don't know, it just touched me so much to hear that. You could tell he is going through a hard time with his son. But just to hear him say that we should never blame ourselves, I don't know, it was just a good thing to hear. After the fireside we got ahold of Reina. She had over slept and was going to hang out with her aunt anyway. So, Jon offered to come over and look at my air conditioner cuz I think it's broken. So he followed me home. He kinda figured out my ac and he helped me with my internet. Yay, lol. For dinner I made these small steak strip things that ended up tasting super good. I loved them. But that was my day. I am SO grateful for Jon's willingness to translate for me, and I thank him a lot for doing it. Well, I should go.

May 11, 2008
Church today was way good. I enjoyed it a lot. Mostly thanks to the help of Reina and Jon. First we get there via the high priest group leader. Really nice guy, but he doesn’t speak any English. Lol, so when he picked me up he already had Reina and Jon with him. We get to church and the stunned missionaries greet us at the door. It was funny, they weren’t sure what language to greet us in. Then this dude, I’m still not sure who he was, came and shook our hands and slipped us some candy. Perhaps he’s the Brother Norris of the ward, lol. We went up some stairs and were greeted by the bishop. He actually was able to say hello to me in English and “Welcome”. It was cool. We eventually made it to the chapel. There are no pews, just folding chairs that are way more comfy than ours. A couple of people came to say hello to us before church actually started. Mostly just Jon and Reina talked to them, I was just introduced. When church started the bishop conducted. It was cool, because he had some callings and like, when he asked if anyone was opposed he actually checked the whole room, even behind him. Jon and I were impressed. Then he introduced us to the ward, saying we were there for 3 months as teachers and asking, kinda, if we could bare our testimony next Sunday or the Sunday after. Jon responded and said yes to him then told me what he said. Then the bishop said that I only speak English, so he encouraged the members to come say hello to me in English. It was funny. (he really did this over the pulpit...lol!) Singing was cool as well. I’m actually really glad I know most of the hymns by heart. Listening to them sing in Japanese was a very cool experience. I’m sure Jon (my brother) knows what I mean when I say hearing the hymns in another language yet they fit to the tune is really neat. Knowing the English for them helped as I listened to the songs as I was able to think of the words they were singing. Jon (the intern) says they usually translate the hymns pretty well. He’s seen some that aren’t at all close to the English ones, but for the most part they do alright. I guess they don’t have as many hymns either. And like, the page numbers are different. We sang “The Spirit of God” and it was hymn #3. Anyway, the little kids came up and sang a mother’s day song, and that was way cute. Then the young men had the program. Even though I was getting the speakers information through Jon, I really enjoyed the first talk. It was a young man, he said he just turned 14, and he just started doing home teaching. He said that usually he is really very shy and he was worried about going to people’s homes. But he said that he found that when he was home teaching he was able to relax and not worry so much. He said he knew it was the spirit telling him that home teaching was the right thing to do. What a great message. Jon kept apologizing because he said it sounded so much better in Japanese, but I told him I enjoyed it anyway. The next few speakers talked about missionary work mostly. They would stop between each speaker and let the boys sing a song. It was a really cool program. After sacrament meeting they closed off the front of the room with the podium and we had Sunday school. It was building to Abeneadi. Jon had a hard time getting the scriptures right, but it was ok. Then it was off to relief society. We stopped by the bathrooms real quick and this lady talked to me in English. She had spent some time in Seattle, I guess, so she thought it was cool I was from there. In relief society we all sat in a circle and they introduced us and wrote our names on the board. They have a really hard time saying Dempsey, it was cute hearing them try, lol. This one lady talked to me before hand and said that she doesn’t speak English and knows I don’t speak Japanese but she hoped that we could speak through our hearts. I loved that, how sweet. Reina translated for me in relief society, and she did a good job. It was about Joseph first translating the plates and how at one point he had to resolve an issue he had with Emma before he could continue. (They actually found me an English manual so I could follow along, it was really nice) I guess this story really impressed our teacher, as she hadn’t ever heard of that happening. The ladies were interesting because they brought up how Emma left the church after Joseph died. But the way they put it was very good, and I’ll have to remember it. They said she was blessed with a lot of gifts of the spirit while she was with Joseph. But she lost them when she chose to fall away from the church. They said that we too are given gifts of the spirit but we can lose them, as Emma did, if we aren’t faithful. I liked that. It was very true. It lead them to another part of the lesson, which talked about gifts we get from the spirit. The teacher asked if anyone had any spiritual gifts they wanted to share. One lady talked about her love of music and how she was able to help others enjoy music as much as she did. The other lady said she feels like she is in tune with the spirit when it comes to knowing how to comfort people. They asked Reina and I what we felt ours were, and I said I think that mine is my ability to understand the scriptures like I do, and Reina said it was her ability to communicate in different languages. She speaks French, English, and Japanese. Then the teacher said that she knows that everyone in the room has spiritual gifts and ended with her testimony. It was a good lesson. After, this lady we met earlier that lives in Hawaii came up to Reina and said it was a hard lesson and she was impressed that Reina did so well translating. Reina felt bad because she said she mostly just gave me the general idea of what people said. She and Jon just didn’t understand how much I appreciated knowing what was going on at all. Even general ideas were more than what I’d get just sitting there without them. After relief society we went to find Jon and ended up chatting to the missionaries. One is from Sacramento and the other is from Ogden. Both are pretty new, as one has only been out for 10 months and the other only 5. They said they enjoyed the ward though, and thought we’d like it too. They said that they have been impressed with how many people in the ward speak some English. They said that the first counselor in the bishopric’s son had just moved, but he actually spoke very good English. I guess he married a Chinese lady and they only could speak English together. One of the missionaries said his friend just got back from Argentina. He said his friend actually majored in Japanese before he left on his mission, and he really wanted to go to Japan, but he was sent to Argentina instead, lol. But he said he loved it there, and really ended up enjoying his time.
After church our ride took us home. He took this really super long way home, but he took Reina home first then Jon then me. I rushed in my apartment to change super fast then ran out the door and down the street. I tried the payphone at 7-11 but I think someone bashed it so It didn't work. I rushed further down the street to the supermarket (their Safeway) and got the payphone to work there. I got all sorts of looks though, it was funny. But I enjoyed our conversation. After talking I went back to my apartment and decided to read. I've been really grateful that I brought my books. I have needed them while my internet is off. Jon really thinks we'll get it tomorrow, but we'll see. I ate some cookies that I bought, and they weren't bad. I also busted into my Pringles, lol. That ended up being my lunch. For dinner I ate a banana and tried my milk. It's no bueno, but eh, I still have juice. You can't go wrong with fruit juice. It's sooo yummy here. Anyway, that was my night. Oh, I videoed my apartment so you could see, but I'll do it again when I have my table and stuff. I can already hear dad when he sees my room on the video. Lol. Well, I should go. I have to get up at like 7am tomorrow for work. We're meeting our area person then meeting our schools. We actually start going to them tomorrow. I really hope it's not too far... I have no bike...

May 10, 2008
Hey! I'm doing better today, kinda. Just really wanting my internet. It's super boring without it.
So, I woke up today at like 8am and was unable to fall back asleep. I think I was just super nervous that I wouldn't get my luggage. But it came at about 9:30. So that was good.
I got a call from Brandon this morning. He said he is doing home stay and living with some lady and her family. He's not too comfortable with it cuz the lady has a daughter his age, so it's kinda against BYU standards. However, he seems to love his schools. He said that one of his schools will be 3-5 grades combined so it will be a class of 100 kids. He said it will be like a Brandon assembly, lol. He said that it's really like being in California though, the attitude and such. So he likes it. Which is good. Later I heard from Jon, he was just calling to make sure I got my luggage and that I was doing ok. I might have worried him yesterday, lol. Anyway, he was talking about getting a phonecard and being all productive today even though it was pouring outside. So, after talking to him I decided I should get dressed and be productive as well.
So, I got dressed and decided to take a walk. I needed to buy an umbrella and some random things at the 100 yen shop, if I could find one. So on my walk I found one, and it's not too far from my apartment, so that's good. I got a lot of stuff, and an umbrella. I got some smelling stuff cuz my toilet room, for some reason, stinks. I think it's the weird stuff in the toilet water, cuz my toilet water is blue. I dunno, it doesn't smell good though. While I was there I got a call from Reina. She had slept through her luggage coming so she had to call them. And she had talked to Brian about possibly moving, but I think she's decided she wants to stay. It's funny, cuz none of them talk to each other. They all called me today. So I told her about Jon and Brandon.
I decided to walk home before hitting the grocery store down the other direction. So, after dropping off my stuff I went to this store called Hallows. It's kinda like a Safeway. I got more bananas and some random chips. I really wish I could read Japanese cuz some of the meat looked good but I wouldn't know what I was buying. So, I just didn't buy any. I stuck to my Pringles and I decided to try some Doritos (oddly flavored like tacos...). On my walk back I got soaked by some random car that splashed this HUGE pudmuddle all over me. We're talking head to foot drenched. Fun times, lol.
After coming back I nibbled on my Doritos and was cold so I decided to take a bath and get warm. This is a big plus about Japan, their really deep bathtubs. I took my book and just relaxed for a bit. Then I came back to my room and fell asleep. Blah, yay for an uneventful day. I was awoken by a phone call from one of our helpers from yesterday. She was calling to tell me that she bought our stuff (table and stuff) and it would be delivered Wednesday. I asked for a rice cooker, as I had told her before I didn't want one. I decided now that I should learn how to make rice cuz I'll starve otherwise, lol. First thing I want when I get back is something made of 100% beef! Nothing mixed with it, no pork or something random. :p Anyway, so then I texted Jon to ask him to get me a phonecard as well. I thought I should call on mother's day. :) He's nice like that so he's going to get me one. After hanging up with him I fell back asleep for a little while.
I woke up and decided I should eat something, and since I have nothing to cook with, I went for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yeah, couldn't get the jar open for the jelly. So, I had to go with honey. It was ok, lol. I then spent the rest of the night playing hoyle games on my computer. I just got a call from Reina saying that she heard from our Bishop. He is sending someone to come pick us up for church tomorrow at about 9am. This should be interesting as I don't speak Japanese, so church could be very interesting, lol.
Oh, hey, interesting to note; at the grocery stores, they don't bag your stuff. They give you bags and you go to a counter and bag it yourself. Interesting way of doing it.
Sorry, kinda a boring letter today. I do love my sliding doors in my apartment though. Totally reminds me of Big Bird in Japan, lol. And I'm sure tomorrow will be more interesting.