Week 7 Almost to Japan!

Hey everyone!

Okay so best thing this week I've been doing is watching all of the many bible videos of Christ's life that they have on lds.org. You go down where it says bible videos and then you just watch them from the beginning to the end. They go in order and they have like every story and every miracle from Christ's life in movie form. It's totally helped to build my testimony of Christ and has helped me understand a lot of the parables I've been reading in the New Testament. This is really fun too because Easter is coming really quick! I love thinking about Christ and his atonement. 

We talked about the atonement all last week because it was our topic for Sunday. At the MTC everything is based of topics for every meeting on Sundays. I got a better understanding of what God's grace really is. Sometimes throughout your day you feel like you don't measure up and you become discouraged. You might not heed a prompting because of that or you might just have a sour attitude. So when you say your nightly prayers and account to the Lord your day, we apologize for those times where we just didn't really measure up. This is using the atonement. Even if you don't utilize the atonement every day remember that Christ suffered for all of your sins whether or not you turn to him to have him take those away from you. So why not utilize the atonement? God's grace is the next step. After we apologize for the times we just didn't quite measure up, God makes up the difference. Somedays I just get too tired to focus on studying, but now I feel like I'm behind the rest of my class. If I apologize and promise to try harder to be better the next day God's grace makes up for those times when I just couldn't quite reach up to my potential. How amazing is that? 

My Testimony in Japanese: 

Watashi wa fukuin ga shinjitsu da to shitte imasu. Monson Daikancho ga yogensha da to akashi shimasu. Iesu Kirisuto wa watashitachi no Sukuinushi desu. Iesu Kirisuto ga watashitachi no tsumi o aganatta to shitte imasu. Kamisama to Iesu Kirisuto wa watashitachi o ai shimasu. Kamisama to Iesu Kirisuto wa minasan ga heian to shiawase o kanjitai to omoimasu. Watashi wa fukuin ga heian to shiawase o motorasu to yakusoku shimasu. Watashi wa Morumon sho o yomu toki ni heian to shiawase o kanjimasu. Morumon sho ga shinri da to shitte imasu. Morumon sho wa shitsumon ni kotae o tasukemasu. Jinsei o michibiku yo ni tasukemasu. Watashi wa nagusame o kanjirareru yo ni inorimasu. Kamisama wa inori o kikimasu. Inori ni yotte watashi wa shinren o norikoeu koto ga dekimasu. Kamisama ga iru ka do ka shiru tame ni inoru hitsuyo ga arimasu. Kamisama no ai ni tsuite inoru toki ni atatakai to heian o kanjimasu. Kyogi to seiyaku sho kyu sho no hatchi setsu desu. 

"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right." Kono seiku kara Kamisama ga inori o kotae ni tsuite manabemasu. Watashi wa fukuin ga daisuki desu. Iesu Kirisuto no mina ni yotte akashi shimasu amen. 

I love you all! Have a great week! 

<3 Sister Fordiani

The first picture is a package from Auntie Shelly in Oregon! I loved it and my whole district helped me eat all of the candy but I didn't share any of those chocolate oranges with anyone!!! Brenna and Chantrell's pictures were so cute and thank your for the card and for thinking of me! I miss you!

The last three pictures are from me and Bybee shimai's adventure outside of the MTC. She needed to visit the orthodontist so we got to leave on one of the shuttles and go to the outside world! We listened to music in the office (we tried really hard not to) and they gave us free slushies! It was WAY FUN! 

MTC Choir

Look who I found while watching the MTC Devotional for March 20th with Elder Cook???? Anna of course!

Week 6

So today I'm going to focus on this insane devotional we had on Tuesdaybecause it literally was the most amazing thing I've ever heard. 

It was by Elder Cooke one of the Seventy.

His wife Mary Cooke told us that a mission is tithing for our life so far. Just like we pay 10% of what we make to the Lord, 10% of 20 years of life is 2 years! I'm so grateful for that outlook on my mission!

Elder Cooke started telling us the importance of the Lord's revelation he gives us. After we are baptized members of the Church we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost as a constant companion that helps to guide our lives through good feelings and thoughts. Elder Cooke keeps with him a tiny little notebook he calls his book of revelation. Every feeling and thought he gets from the Holy Ghost he writes down. We are promised that as we follow these promptings that we are blessed and the Lord then trusts us enough to give us more and more of these revelations! 

Elder Cooke had 10 steps for us:

1. Love Them

Matt. 22: 36-40

The day you'll be happy is the day you care more about the people around you then you care about yourself. As missionaries we need to look at everyone we teach as someone's brother, father, mother, sister, and remember how we would feel if someone we loved in our family was brought back into the church when we teach others. 

2. The Book of Mormon Converts

If you want to be truly converted, read the Book of Mormon everyday. If you can't find the time, wake up 10 minutes earlier than you do normally and just read for ten minutes a day. I testify that everything in that book is true and will drastically change your days for the better. 

3. Don't just recite Joseph Smith's story-- It Really Happened!

When you are teaching investigators about Joseph Smith ask them to repeat the story back to you. If they don't know that story teach it again. If you don't know for sure that he was a prophet of God, find out! Pray to God to know. If you pray with a sincere desire to know if anything is true, God will tell you through the Holy Ghost so you can have a testimony for yourself!

4. Obedience is Key

How can you expect to leave commitments to your investigator if you can't get up on time? If you want to prosper in your life, keep the commandments. They aren't there to hinder us, they are there to bring us complete and total happiness! Ingrain the mission rules into your heart! Study them every day :) (James 2:17) Learn to love to work!

5. Faith and Diligence

Diligence wins every time over intelligence. If we are diligent and as we exercise our faith we will be able to do amazing things as missionaries! To exercise faith YOU MUST ACT! We were spirits of exceptional faith and action in the pre-mortal life (the life before we came to Earth). God asked us to do, and we did. When you are called as a missionary, you are a missionary. Never take that for granted! You have the authority to bless and leave blessings with people. God will put people in your path that need you. So talk to everyone! 

6. The Holy Ghost Has the Power to Help You

D&C 8: 2-3

Our mission is full of red seas (prophet Moses divided the red sea). Will I divide them or will I let them divide me? 

7. Don't Exclude Your Family On Your Mission

D&C 132: 20

So we were invited to include everyone on what we're studying and so since I finished the Book of Mormon a couple of days ago I started to read the New Testament in the Bible starting in Matthew so I can read for myself all of the teachings of Jesus Christ. If anyone would like to, I would love for you to read there with me! This way all of us can grow together! Tell me what is your favorite part of Christ's sermon on the mount? 

8. Who You Really Are 

We, as missionaries, are healers of a sick world. Just like Jesus healed the people during his ministry in the bible we have the opportunity to heal just like he did!

9. Worth of Souls

Alma 23:5-6

When we are teaching about the gospel we have to stay with our investigators. Sometimes its really hard to change but with Christ's help all of us can change and become clean from our gilt and sins through repentance. This is so important! There are souls everywhere that need you. We are called to our specific missions through revelation because someone in that mission needs your specific personality and life experiences to help them realize how much God and Christ care about each and every one of us. 

10. Enjoy the Journey

No one can determine your happiness but you. Happy ALWAYS, Contend NEVER.

I am so grateful to be a missionary! I hope that something I learned at that devotional can help each and every one of you this week! I love you all!

<3 Sister Fordiani  

 These are the missionaries that left this week to Japan! 

​Me with my package from my family! ​

I took all the quotes on everything and pasted them into my journal :) Thank you! 

Week 5

Hello! 

This week has been the funnest and I'm going to try to talk about everything and keep this as short as I can :) 

So I got daddy, mommy, and grandma's packages and they were like the best things ever! I loved loved loved the korean barbecue jerky and fruit snacks daddy! GRANDMA! You are the best! all of those candies and cookies I'll regret eating later because I'm seriously gaining so much weight here but everyone was so jealous of my cute little Japanese candies. You sent me your favorite prune candies too! I shared them with everyone in my zone and they were all so excited to try real Japanese candies <3 I took a picture with them. And mom you sent my jeans like just in time for p-day thank you so much! I seriously had like no pants hahah. 

We had a fun last p-day because it was Wilson kyodai's birthday. We got him a nice birthday card and stuff :) our sensei tachi are like the best we have Peterson, Bingham and Wilson kyodai. :) I finally got the whole missionary purpose memorized in Nihongo! It took me a little but it was way easier to memorize after I learned grammar and more words. 

Everyone here knows all of the Les Miserables songs! We belt them like every morning hahah! I found Bring him Home in one of the MoTab online videos from like Christmas or something and me and Klein choro listened to it like 4 times in a row. :) and Tall shimai in the other district knows all of the Princess and the Pauper songs!!! We were singing them and she says her and her sister sing all of them together just like me and Olivia sing all of them. We like sang all of the songs together and Chooch we're watching that like 7 times when I get home.  

I'm getting way good at basketball too! I finally figured out how to shoot like way good because thats all we do for gym time is play knock out hahaha. I like got into a groove with my shooting so watch out. I'm going to be a baller when i get home (hahah in my dreams I'm just kidding)

We got to host the new missionaries yesterday! It was really fun to get them from the curb and help them get situated. It was really nice being out of the classroom. We call it an incubator because we cook in there and we are always studying in there and it's like the tiniest room I swear!

Guess who came for our tuesday night devotional???..... ELDER COOK!!! It was freaking awesome! I was singing in the choir and I got screen time. They broadcasted his talk from our MTC to all the other 14 MTCs around the world so like tons of missionaries watched it. His talk was like bosssssss!!!!! It was so cool to have an apostle talk to us just right there like 40 feet away!

PS everyone pictures are like gold here. We all crowd around each other when we get pictures. Everyone looked at the ones I got last night and I showed them all of oregon and my family. We're like family here :) its really nice. I love my district

This week I was showed a different thoughts about the atonement than I've ever heard before. Christ was us. When he suffered in Gethsemane he became us and experience not only our pains but also our joys too! He knows every emotion that you are feeling and he wants to comfort you and be your best friend! The best way to have this wonderful relationship with him is through prayer. He is itching to support you and love you and I know that he lives and loves us so much. He's our older brother, our savior, and our best friend. 

I'm so grateful for the priesthood (or power of God) on the Earth today. I had a really hard day Sunday and getting a priesthood blessing from and Elder who worthily hold the priesthood was the only thing that brought me comfort. Never jeopardize your worthiness so you can't hold the priesthood Elders, brothers, and dads. It blesses so many people! Especially families. 

I'm so grateful for the plan of salvation and that I can be with my family forever. I know grandma is with me and she's cheering me on from the other side with all of the rest of my family! I get so much comfort from that! I love my family and I pray for you all every day!

Thank for reading my week! It was a great week! I love you all and am so grateful for your support! 

Love Sister Fordiani 

Week 4

Heyo! How is everyone doing??? It's been exactly one month since I've been in this MTC and my life is going great! It's so crazy that I've lived a month here now because the time literally flies. It doesn't feel like it's been a month at all. 

So my calling is the bestest thing ever! We get to meet with all the sisters in my zone and I'm so grateful for all of them. Lauren! One of them is from New Zealand :) we started a tradition where we pray every night together. We spin a hairspray in the middle of us to get to see who prays haha. 

We just had another group of Nihonjin come to the MTC from Japan. They don't stay nearly as long as we do but they are so cute! There are a couple from Sapporo, one from Tokyo, and the rest are from around the Nagoya area. They like to practice their English with us and we practice our Nihongo on them. They're so cute. 

So I can teach in Japanese pretty well now. If I know the vocabulary I can make a sentence pretty close to what I want to say :) I told a story to our investigator last night about how that one morning mom wouldn't let me walk to school because she had a bad feeling so she drove me instead. And we taught him that the Holy Ghost is the one who prompts us to keep us safe. It was really fun :) 

Thanks daddy for the package with all of the food :) I was really confused at the assortment of treats until I saw you made it hahaha. And your note was the best thing ever! I love getting notes :) 

So this week my testimony has definitely grown about prayer. We had a devotional where one of the seventy and their wife talked about asking God. In the talk they gave the example of Joseph Smith when he was praying in the grove and Satan was there all he did was ask God to remove the darkness from him and after he asked was when God and Christ appeared to him in the grove. God is not going to take away our agency. That is why its so important to ask him when we need help or comfort or anything. He's just waiting to help you! 

Another profound thing I learned this week was more about the premortal life. Before we were spirits we were intellegances. Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother gave birth to our spirits and raised us! When you hear that Heavenly Father knows everything about you it totally makes sense because they raised us! I'd never thought of it that way before. That's why they love us so much because God is literally our Heavenly Father :) I learned a lot more about the Plan of Salvation too that I had never realized but that'll take too long to explain haha. 

Anyway, its been a way great week. 

Watashi wa Kamisama ga Ten no Otosama da to shitte imasu. Watashi wa kazoku no mohan ni kansha shimasu. Ten no Otosama wa watashitachi ga taskeru koto ga dekiru to shitte imasu. Ai shite imasu. 

Love Sister Fordiani 

Oh and all of the Elders laugh about this Japanese phrase: kisa mai asa, which means this morning, every morning, but sounds really close to something else in English haha. Every opportunity they get, they say that phrase hahahhaha  :) 

Pictures:

The first three were at our temple walk! 

Those are all of the sisters in our zone <3

Then a picture of me!

Then a picture of me and Bybee shimai and Klein choro walking back to the MTC. (Klein choro acts and sounds just like Gunnar :) its so great!) 

Then the last one was last night of me and Law shimai eating our Korean barbecue jerky that Bryce choro's mom buys for us hahaha. Sorry that one is a bit blurry. We are super addicted to Korean barbecue jerky, those apple/caramel succors, popcorn/kettle corn (thanks daddy), and chips and salsa.