Week 12 Tokyo Temple Day!

I had a crazy last week! We had splits first of all so I took a train
to Kamakura and served for a day there. We visited the cutest girl who
had two huge dogs! She lives in Ofuna. In Ofuna is the biggest statue
of a white lady that is really pretty but she glows at night and it is
really kinda creepy. In Yamato it's just city pretty much, but in
Kamakura I was blown away by how pretty it was. We stayed five minutes
away from two temples that were magnificent! Of course I couldn't go
visit them. But we can go on p-day some time! I'd like to go back to
Ofuna and Kamakura sometime!

We have been having lots of success finding people the lord would have
us teach. I know that cause we are really obedient and he trusts us.
We are so busy that the days go by really quick! I love study in the
morning especially personal study. It sets up the day to be a good day
:) even if you feel like you don't have time, I challenge everyone to
at least read five minutes from the Book of Mormon. If you have to,
wake up just five minutes earlier in the morning to get some study in.
It's the truest book in the whole word and it changes people's lives!
Like mine! I'm definitely way happier in my day when I read the
scriptures!

In my mission sisters are only allowed to teach and street women so
all of my investigators will be girls that I talk about haha. :) Namie
chan is my favorite. We taught her yesterday and she is trying to
prepare herself to receive a patriarchal blessing exactly a year after
her baptism which is May 17th :) she also got baptized on her
birthday! She really wants to serve a mission but has been inactive
forever. She says she finally feels like she's coming closer to God
again and she doesn't want to be separated from the church anymore. :)
she is already being a missionary too! She is teaching her friend the
gospel and she brought her to church with her last Sunday! I have a
testimony that people are placed in our path that only we have the
ability to help in exactly the way that they need it. So reach out to
those around you because only you have the experiences and gifts that
could help them :)

So parents, I can skype for Mother's Day May 11th or 12th so we need
to coordinate a time when your available with the whole family. So
figure out a time that works for Japan and America. So in America it's
the 10th or 11th and from 5pm on works cause it'll be in the morning
here. Tell me as soon as you can which day works and I'll talk to you
for 40minutes. I can read emails throughout the week just can't
respond to them:)

Thank you everyone for the support and emails :)

Oh and I went to Tokyo Temple today! Easily the most beautiful temple
I've been in! The visit was so peaceful and much needed! Everyone get
to the temple! (Sorry no pictures I forgot! We were in a rush!)

Love Sister Fordiani

Week 11 Week 2 Japan

Okay the spirit is the best seriously! We do everything with it. We
have found so many people this week by the spirit. My companion is
teaching me all of the things to say to be able to talk to people and
I'm starting to recognize words in what people say now. But I still
don't understand about 95% of what's happening around me :( but it'll
get better and better in time. I pray for charity and the gift of
tongues daily haha so I can speak to people and charity so I don't get
frustrated when I don't understand what they say back.

The members here are seriously amazing. So I have an extreme fear of
standing at the pulpit in sacrament meeting. Yesterday the ward asked
me if I would stand up and introduce myself and bear my testimony
about missionary work. So basically I was extremely scared. Like after
I had to leave the sacrament room and take deep breaths and calm down.
But I managed to say, "my name is sister fordiani. I have six people
in my family, two brothers and one sister." Then I bore my testimony
on temples cause those were the only words that came to mind haha.
After all the sweet ladies came up to me and thanked me for you
testimony which only caused me to start crying again haha but I'm so
grateful for them! One of the sisters who is stuck in her house with a
terrible disease had her husband bring me soy ice cream because we
call her almost every day and talk to her :) she wrote me a cute note
too!

Today we went to an all you can eat restaurant and totally stuffed
ourselves full of Japanese food. It was an investigators birthday so
we all went out to lunch with her. She's deaf and so is her friend so
I've been learning some Japanese sign language haha. Her friend who is
a member can read lips so that is how we speak to them hahaha super
crazy! But it works and they are the funniest to hang out with. The
make noises and burp really loud but they don't know they do because
their deaf hahaha.

Okay I have tons of pictures to make up for last week! Thanks for all
the emails!

Lastly I just want to say that even though I can't speak the language
I can show people I love the through service. That's been the best
way. I can't wait to serve more and meet new people every day :)
Japanese people are the best and I definitely have the best mission :)

Love you all!
Sister Fordiani

The elders and sisters serving in Yamato branch speaking Japanese 💕

Week 10 First Week in Japan!

Okay everyone go to the Payson temple open house! I'm pretty sure that
it is open to the public right now :) the temple brings so much peace
so I know that going to the temple open house will really bless your
day that day and I promise you'll feel a lasting peace inside :)

If you haven't please watch or read general conference! I watched it
two weekends in a row and it was so awesome both times with tons of
wonderful advice. (Once in the MTC and once in Japan) my favorite talk
was Elder Bednar, Elder Packer, and Elder Holland's talks :) but if
your only going to watch one, watch Elder Holland's talk :)

So I'm in Japan! Super cool yo. I'm going to be brief cause I have two
weeks of writing to cover since I flew here last Monday/Tuesday.

The flight was sooooooo long! It took us 10 hours and 45 minutes to
fly over the Pacific Ocean (and I peed at 33,000 feet in the air!) is
that appropriate to say as a missionary?! Probably not sorry!!!!

I'm in Yamato shi. My first area. My companion is sister Gazdik she's
really great and she's fluent so she's training me :)

Radio taiso is the best look it up on YouTube. We did that the morning
we got here in Kichijoji so funny and fun!

I bought my bike yes! It's blue :)

Everything I've eaten is so good! Ramen rocks! And we're going out for
sushi tonight!

We have taught a lot and even though I don't understand what's going
on 90% of the time, I'm really happy. Which is ironic :) but I know
this is the lords work and he'll provide a way for me to accomplish
the things he needs me to do here. This is the spot he started me in
for a reason so I'm going to serve the best I can yo find his sheep :)

Thank you for the love and emails :)

Love sister Fordiani

Week 9 Japan!

April 10, 2015

Dear Brother and Sister  Fordiani:

Your daughter arrived in the Japan Tokyo South Mission on April 7,  in good spirits and ready to commence her proselyting assignment. We had a wonderful time with her.

Sister Fordiani has been assigned to work with Sister Gazdik, and they are serving in an area called Yamato. Your daughter can receive her mail at the following address (Mission Home address):

Sister Anna Ceilia Fordiani

Japan Tokyo South Mission

1-7-7 Kichijoji, Higashi-cho

Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-0002

Japan

Attached is a picture of your daughter with Sister Wada and me, of herself, her companion, and a group picture with trainers and Assistants. We have also included a map showing the locations of the various areas in the mission. You can use it as a personal record of her assignments.

By the time you receive this letter, Sister Fordiani should have arrived in her new proselyting area. The positive sustaining support she gets from you at home will be a great blessing to her. May the Lord bless you and your family as you share in your daughter’s mission experience.

Sincerely,

President Takashi Wada

She Arrived!

Dear Parents,

We just want to send you a quick note to let you know that your missionary arrived safely in Japan on Tuesday, April 7,  2015.

President and Sister Wada had dinner with your missionary, visited shortly, and then sent them to bed for a much needed rest.

Today is orientation and training day. On Thursday they will meet their new companion who will be their trainer. In the afternoon they will be off to their new area to begin their missionary work. Pictures will be taken and you will receive another email with attached pictures.

Our Mission’s preparation day is on Monday. This is the day missionaries can email family and friends. When missionaries have a temple day, which is normally on a Tuesday, this becomes their preparation day. Please have your missionary let you know when temple day is so you will know of the change.

Thank you for entrusting your missionary to us in the Japan Tokyo South Mission. We so appreciate all you have done to get your missionary ready for this experience!

Sincerely,

Sister Powell

Japan Tokyo South Mission Secretary

Week 8 I'm heading to Japan on Monday!

Everyone! I am flying to Japan on Monday!!! WHAT THE HECK!!!??? Where has the time gone? I am so not ready at all hahaha. But that doesn't matter because if I have faith and press forward the Lord will take care of me and bless me for relying on him :) (but man is it scary!)

This week has been awesome! Last Friday we got our flight plans! We fly to the Portland airport and then to the Tokyo Narita airport! I am so excited because we'll be right by my family in Warrington! Auntie Shelly and Grandpa! A little bit of the familiarity of Oregon until I fly for like 14ish hours to Japan! We leave Oregon at 1:00 pm on Monday and then arrive in Japan at 4:00 pm the next day......... I won't meet my trainer until Thursday and then I'll be in my first area, first day on Friday! Crap I'm so nervous! 

Okay so this week I have just had the most wonderful time learning more and more about Christ! In chapter 6 of the Preach my Gospel missionary manual, there are all of Christ's attributes listed out with a little self evaluation at the end you can take to see where you need to improve. If we, as missionaries, strive to develop Christ-like attributes in ourselves we won't have to worry about what we say because what we do and who we are will attract the attention of others looking for that light of the gospel in their life. If you aren't a missionary, study those Christ-like attributes and just pick one: patience, charity, obedience, diligence, love (and there are others) as you study it in the scriptures or in preach my gospel you will find yourself turning towards Christ.

Only through Christ's atonement can we really become new people. Christ's atonement is the center of God's plan for us to return to him. This week I realized how important the atonement is in developing our testimonies. I'll make this as simple as I can! 

1. Faith in Christ: the decision to change our life and put our faith in Christ to use his repentace process takes a great leap of faith. Change is scary and sometimes really difficult and time consuming; however, if you show Christ that you are willing to change your life and follow him, he will be with you every step of the way. He never left you. He loves you. 

2. Repentance: as we repent, wether it be through prayer or talking to preisthood leadership, we let go of things that have been weighing us down and holding us back. 

3. We feel the atonement change our life: and our testimony develops of the change we experience. Happiness, peace, and the love of God come back into our lives (the best!)

4. Our testimony develops: this is like the most natural thing after expeirencing the atonement because you know for a fact that it has changed your life! 

5. This was the next step for me: I desired to serve a mission to tell everyone about Christ's atonement! I know that Christ's atonement has changed my life. I have felt the power of change and I want more than anything else to share it with all of the people in Japan so that they can come closer to the Savior and feel peace knowing that someday they can live with their families forever in God's presence :)   

This is key: Whether or not you have repented of something, Christ atoned for all of your sins. All of them. The ones you repented for and the ones you haven't.

I love the gospel and I've loved the MTC! My testimony has grown so much here and my understanding of the atonement. I can't wait to go to Japan and be so discouraged so that I can rely even more on the Savior hahaha :) I'll be okay! 

I love you all and I can't wait to talk next week :) 

Love, Sister Fordiani <3

These pictures are from our last temple walk last Sunday! 

1. Our whole zone--most of us leave Monday for Japan!

2. The sister's with shakas

3. We titled this last picture of the Elders "What Even is Life Right Now...?" :')

These are from yesterday! We had to get the typical missionary MTC pictures haha :) 

1. Brother Bingham our teacher taught us the last time yesterday! He's the best!

2. The typical map picture yo!

3. My like FAVORITE picture of Christ in the hall by the cafeteria. There are like 100s of pictures here hanging like 3 feet apart on all of the walls! So awesome! Its like an art museum!

4.  That would be my Japanese tags!!! Aren't they so awesome! My last name is across the top! (I lost them for like 2 weeks but I said a prayer and found them ya!) 

So on our last day we were looking through Brother Bingham's facebook pictures with him and we got to a mission picture where the Elders were behind the dressers..... we were like "WAIT YOU CAN DO THAT" so what did we do? Of course as soon as we got home we opened up the dressers and slipped behind the mirror to NARNIA! Heck yes!

***Mom insert... While I was reading her emails this morning, I realized I was on at the same time as Anna! Here's our thread:

Mom: Hi Anna! I love you!

Anna: Hi mommy! I love you too!

Mom: I love all the pictures!!! Dad's bringing you a bag today with the phone and other things. I can't wait to talk to you. 

Anna: Aren't they awesome! I'm sending more in like five seconds to you okay? I'll pick up that package probably tonight or tomorrow! Thanks for being so awesome mommy! I love you sooooooooo much! I'll talk to everyone in the morning. That's when I'll call on Monday. So make sure your ready for the call okay? I'll be in the SLC airport. We don't have time to make any more calls until we get to Japan but that's expensive so my call will be in the morning. Don't cry when I call you okay or I'll start crying! I love you mommy :) 

Here's the extra pictures Anna sent today:

I let Vainerere shimai borrow my dress so that they could be twins

Leach and Reed like to pretend their Klein's mom and dad.... their weridos

That is basically what descirbes our teacher Brother Bingham. 

He's a weirdo all the time but so spazzy and funny! 

Our district under the flowers! 

The Elder's being models under the flowers 

(left to right: Lundberg (the one who thinks livy is hot), Reed, Klein, and Leach)

Us with the Korean sisters we are best friends with and sweater boy breaking all kinds of mission rules with his head in the shot.

Pictures with our branch presidency but I look freaking nasty in all of those I'm sorry! 

These are with Bingham kyodai the last day he taught us. 

We found a picture of our mission president!

All of us on the beds and in the dressers hahaha 

(all of these pictures are from bybee shimai's camera but I have to go right now! I love you mommy!)