#Hallelujah

Week 56 - Star Spangled Banner

So I have little time today, again! Sorry one of these weeks I will devote more of my emailing time to this group email!!

I have seen many tender mercies of the Lord this week! We picked up a new investigator named Lucy! and Tee Tee (a recent convert in our ward) came with us! Tee Tee is just a ray of sunshine! I love knowing her! We also were able to talk to many people! I met lots of new people and invite them to learn more! (ps if any of you want to share with a friend this easter message, dont hesitate, just do! :) tell them to go to FollowHim.mormon.org )

This past week I lost my name tag on a random street in Baltimore and the next day the Jones falls elders found my name tag! They returned it after a day of "taking turns wearing it"...elders haha

I have continued to find so much joy in church and in the members of this ward! They are such a great support to each other! Bishop Slater is amazing and Christ is clearly written in his countenance. I love being able to serve!

This past preparation day we got to see fort McHenry! Yes so I didn't know this before but fort McHenry is where the original "Star Spangled banner" flew and what inspired the writers of America's national Anthem! I got to help take down the 15 star and 15 stripped flag that the original flag had! It was a pretty neat experience!

I love you all! hope your week is fantastic!
Pray for missionary opportunities and follow the promptings the Lord gives you :)

Week 55- Beautiful Spring & Brownies

Hello everyone!!

Okay so there wont be too much this week! I gotta hurry!

 So this week there were 5 days of BEAUTIFUL spring (almost summer) weather followed by 3 days of this icky cold rainy weather. But seriously the beautiful weather was worth it :)

Tuesday we got to meet with Alexa! Okay so she had been ignoring us since the Wednesday her car got flooded in a the church because she did not like having to answer to her Catholic parents about that. SO we texted her asking for my charger back and she responded right away and set up a time for us to come get it! Well turns out my GPS charger had gotten water damage from that night and I told her it was fine but she bought me a new charger! How nice! She is so sweet and just pray that she will call us back! She hasn't responded to us since that day :(

This past week we have had some great contact with people just walking on the streets! We have met many people and there are a lot that might become new investigators soon! We hope :) we gave some copies of the book of mormon out! One man, Christian, I promised that if he read the Book of Mormon every day that week by the end of the week he wont want to put it down! You all should try it too ;)

One man answered yes to me asking if he would be interested in learning more about our church and Sister Noa and I said "really??" we were shocked because we were used to so many rejections! Dont get used to rejections :) the Lord is preparing them! And we as missionaries are not here for those that are going to reject the gospel but for those that will accept it!

We had a lesson this week with Claire! We talked about temples and their purpose! We showed a video clip from the movie "Mountain of the Lord" it was great! Hey! If you have time this week watch it! Its so good :)

Yesterday Sister Noa made some brownies and by the end of the day almost the whole pan was gone! (okay 2 other sisters helped us too!) We ended the night making some music videos and getting rid of the energy we got! I also have some great pictures of me with it :) And you gotta love picture editing on your camera!

Have a great week everyone!!

Sister Nakata

Week 54 - Aquarium & Hard Times

Last monday the Hermanas and Sister Noa and I all went to the aquarium and I uploaded pictures for you! We also took some stellar companion pictures in "Tag Aly." Baltimore is the best!

Here are a few of the fun ones! We bought the little pictures they always have you try and make! We got the tickets for free so we thought, "why not!" Sister Noa was the least excited to be there! Haha

Anyways! Moving on with my week! So the work as far as meeting with our investigators is going slow but we are hoping that is speeding up soon. Our investigator, Alexa, is ignoring us for the most part. she said she's "lying low" because she lives with her parents and they wouldn't be very happy about her looking into the LDS church. So yeah. She said we could meet with her tomorrow though! I let her borrow my GPS charger as a phone charger the night of the flood (it literally saved her!) and so we texted asking for it back. I love it when I get incentives like that to get investigators to stop ignoring us! Haha!

Our investigator Jen isn't doing super great. She is definitely in a pretty dark place and its hard to be a missionary and not reach out as much as I could if I wasn't. We hope to meet with her soon.

So this week I had a day where I was just a grump and a big mess. I was crying and blaming others for things and just not my fun usual self. I think I may have just been disappointed in myself and that I was disappointing the Lord because I havent found the success here that I have found at other places. So yeah just very sad that day. Well we came home for dinner that night and I checked the mail finding the letter from my mom. So this is for you mom. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. That letter was an amazing lift to my spirits. In it she spoke about our true identity as divine beings and how "often we are big messes" and how Christ can carry us through the times of loneliness, self-doubting and so much more. I knew the whole day that Christ could take this away and lift me but I was stubborn and disappointed in myself and felt I disappointed Him so I didn't let him help me yet. Then that letter put it back in perspective for me. That it is all okay. And I can keep going on. That I have a Savior that loves me and will lift me through all my trials. And I have never understood how he does it. I really don't. There is just an unexplainable hope that comes from knowing that someone who loves me has gone through my pains, joys, trials, sorrows, best days, worst days, all of it, and knows how to help me. That hope is amazing and different than any other kind of hope to be found in this world.

Thank you for the time you all take to read my emails and letting me share my testimony of the Savior with you.

I also love the Baltimore YSA! I get to stay another transfer and I get to stay with Sister Noa! Whoohoo! Thats a first where there isn't a change for me! 

I love this Gospel! I hope you all have a good week!

Love ya!

Sister Nakata

Ps: Also I wanted to make a note from thoughts from an email last week or the week before: Sister Noa's family at one point felt that she should come home because she had so many trials and it had only been a month she had been out. But after She told them she is staying strong and staying on her mission when her brother got in a car accident the next week they told her and the 2 other sisters out on missions that they dont want them to come home just because he isn't doing well and her family is continuing to be a strong support to her :)