Power and Authority of God--神の力と権能

Dearest Family,

Shout out: JOEY!!! Joey, joey, joey, Joey!! Youll have a birthday, shout hooray!! I want to sing to you today!! One year older and WISER too! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!

Next Shout Out!: Dear Miss Idaho, good luck in your beauty contest!! Blow them away with your talent!! (and beauty.) Love ya!! ttfn.

Shout out #3: Happy Halloween!!! I hope it was at least half as good as mine.

The Lord answers prayers. Even those about Halloween parties. Even after the hours of planning and preparing that went into the Halloween party, we had high concerns that it might just be a flop. And so we prayed. And God answered our prayers! We had about 5 people from our branch at the party, and about 95 other people there!! Including two investigators who we have not been able to contact for a full transfer. And our neighbors who we invited the night before. (We talked to a woman who was pregnant and her mother. The mother said no way! My daughter could give birth any minute! And it was true...she was huge. We walked away from that home joking about somebody that pregnant showing up at a Halloween party. But to our surprise, the next evening, she walked into the party. And she brought with her her mother, her husband, her son, and her husbands mother too!!) We were shocked at how well the party turned out and that SO MANY people came! The branch was shocked too. Most of the members did not come, but President Manabe was in charge of the music, and he LOVED it. We visited him later in the week and he told us it was by far the best Halloween party he had been to! The Lord definitely answers prayers. 

     It has been made clear why Sister Heimuli and I have been put in Niihama. The Lord is using our talents to bless the people here. Last week when we visited the Ashitani couple (who have not been to the church in over 20 years), Sister Heimuli played a song on the piano and sang for them. Brother Ashitani was in tears. He told us he could feel the Saviors presence. And he decided (promised) to come to the music fireside we are having this week! At the request of the branch, we visited his daughter, Yumiko (who is also a less active member) last week. She was very friendly and let us right into her home. She told us how happy her father was to have us visit him, and she thanked us for opening his heart. She said that is very hard to do. She also thanked us for the special feeling that we brought into her own home. She said we were the first missionaries ever that have made her be okay with a second visit. But not only that, she decided as well to come with her husband and two children to the music fireside! The members of the branch have heard about it, and apparently it is a really big deal. They were talking to us a lot about how amazing it is that the Ashitani family will be coming into the church. To be honest, we did not feel like we did anything special at all! The Lord is just using the talents He gave us to bless this family at the time they are ready. 
     I continue to learn so much from Sister Heimuli every day. I am taking note of the things I learn from her, and it is becoming a nice small plates for me. She studies the scriptures diligently and puts her mind and heart into helping the investigators, members, and other missionaries. I am SO grateful for her example!! 

     Also, I am in the most beautiful mission in the world. I am beyond convinced of that. This morning we went running to a park. This park has HUGE trees that droop over a nice pathway surrounding a lake with cranes and Japanese-gazebos on it. There are shrines and the unique Japanese plants off the pathway, and we found a flight of stairs (so steep...my legs are like jello now!) that led to the top of a mountain where we could see the view of our whole area! We have mountains and an ocean and a nice view of so many little islands. It is beautiful!! We are so blessed. 

      Oh and Chizuru san too!! She is progressing so well. More to come next week! But really, she is so bright!

     I spent too much time sending pictures!! So that is it for today. Anyway, I love you to pieces!!! Enjoy November in America. I am loving it here in Japan!!

Love,

Sister Crofts

p.s. the church is true