Monday, March 23, 2015

Dear Sister Komatsu,
The Missionary Department has advised me that your visa to Taiwan has been granted.
President David Day Taiwan Taipei Mission
(Bolded and enlarged for dramatic effect!)


WHOOP WHOOP!! TAIWAN HERE I COME!! AHHHHHHHHH!! WOW!
Yesterday, some missionaries and I went to Stake Reporting early in the morning before church. The Stake President and the Mission President, President Packard, were there for the meeting. LOL! President Packard sat down next to me and said that I got my visa and that I'm leaving on the week of April 6th! I was in shock!! > Forwarding a couple days ago my companion, Sister Moss, comes and tells me that she had a dream that I got my visa and she cried! Let's just say it came true and that I was shocked!!

It's a bitter sweet moment! I've come to love Boston and the people here! I'm really really sad to leave! We've been working with this progressing investigator who is awesome! We had a very spiritual lesson yesterday and I really hope he gets baptized and has those spiritual experiences he's looking for! And I've made so many connections with the people in the ward and I love walking around and talking to people in Boston. And it's finally getting warmer and the snow is melting. It's been amazing here and I'm glad to say that the Boston Mission is apart of my whole mission experience - not because I was reassigned and forced to come here but because I learned to serve and love the people. Because I really care and love the missionaries in this mission. I wouldn't have met such wonderful people and done such wonderful things if wasn't here. At the Stake Reporting meeting I bore my testimony in front of the missionaries, the stake and the mission president and said that I am grateful to have stopped here and had the opportunity to learn what I've learned. Elder Ballard said, "Through examining the trends in the missions, we find that it is not the area, it is not the people, and it is not the time of year. Instead it is the attitude of the missionaries and their ability to utilize and apply the talents that they posess. We know that a missionary with a good attitude produces good results; fair attitude, fair results; poor attitude, poor results. The missionary with a good attitude works with the people and not through them."                                                                       
I love this because it's so true. Your attitude or your outlook is the difference between the good and bad, the wrong and right, the "what ifs" and "what happened", and sorrow and joy. I don't know how I literally made it through this snowy winter. I don't know how I walked in knee deep snow to hasten the Lord's work but I'm thankful for the opportunity I had to test my faith and my abilities. I believe I did some good here in Boston. I'm not sure how but I feel like I accomplished and learned so much! I'm thankful for this experience!

Now, it's time to say good-bye to people that I'll never forget and turn my focus on the work and the people in Taiwan. It'll be a hard transition but I have faith in the Lord that He has prepared me and chosen me to move forward in the work in Taiwan. 
Thank you family and friends for support and love! Write me!
Sincerely, Sister Komatsu 小松姐妹

Monday, March 9, 2015

Dear Family & Friends!

ALOOOHA!


This week has been actually a great week! This pasted week was transfer week! And thank goodness I'm not getting transferred and I'm staying with my trainer!!
This new transfer is going to be great! I'm so excited to really start working.
Last week.. actually these pasted two months have been kind of a ruff. The weather has really gotten everyone down. It's been tuff all around. The MBMission has also been in the "slumps". Our goal for January was to have 70 baptisms and I believe we had less than half. It was definitely disheartening but it just means that we've got to work even harder in the month of March!

Last week we had to admit to ourselves that we were both depressed for a while :( Sad but true. My companion and I haven't been very busy with teaching appointments or really anything and it's just been even harder on everyone with the winter being so bad. But I know that's not an excuse!! We talked about how we were depressed because it was snowing/cold, no one wants to meet, and how we never see the sun.  Sister Moss & I were going home and we always walk pass this flower shop and as we were talking about being depressed - we STOPPED & decided we needed flowers in our new apartment! So we bought some!! It was great! (There's a picture)

Another thing is that we moved apartments! Finally! This apartment is smaller but there are two bathrooms and a really nice living area. It's nice and cozy which feels more like a home! We love it! So, there are are four of us together! We get along really well - they're amazing girls and I love them! Sister Meireles is from Brazil and speaks Portguese and is learning to speak english and I'm learning to speak Mandarin! So her and I decided that in our new apartment we would put up labels to better learn our languages. Here's a picture!

Also, our ward just had their Ward Mission Fireside! It was awesome to see how many people loooove being member missionaries! These member missionaries are great people to work with! They really know b/c they were once missionaries!! MEMBER MISSIONARY WORK IS THE BEST!! 
Okay, so the really amazing news is that I'm now in The Digital Mission! And our Mission in the Digital Mission is to find those that need the gospel through the internet! WOW! Technology is such a great thing! This happened all of sudden b/c Sister Moss & I are Sister Training Leaders in our zone and the leaders in every zone in the mission are what they call "extenders" which are missionaries that take 3 hours out of their day to do digital missionary work! So if you saw my post on Facebook - now you know why. I'm not going "apostate" or being disobedient from the rules it's just that I'm a digital missionary! And I'm loving every second of it! This is an amazing opportunity in this day in age. Digital Missionary work is the going to be the future of missionary work! IT's so true! So, our mission is one of those "special" missions that is experimenting this and I'M APART OF IT! Through digital missionary work I can talk and teach people all around the world. I heard a story from the digital missionaries that work there that there was a missionary that found and taught this guy from Scotland and right after his mission flew to scotland and baptized him! How amazing is that?! Wow, things are changing and I'm so happy to be apart of it! 

Well, I did promise that email I'd write less so I apologize! But here a spiritual though before I send this off. This week I fell in love with this verse in Alma 26:27 "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." I love this scripture b/s it is through faith and enduring to end that the Lord will grant us success in our goals, our righteous desires, and much more. I love this gospel and I've never been so close to our Heavenly Father. I love missions and everything it offers to others and to us as missionaries. This is an amazing time to be apart of the gospel. I challenges and invite you all to cherish your beliefs and faiths b/c it will led you down paths that many will never have a opportunity to live in. 

I love you all! And I pray for all you everyday! Thank you for all your love and support! 

P.S. Go to bostonmission.org to check out my mission Then click "Photos" and you'll see some pictures of the crazy winter we've had!!
Sincerely, Sister Komatsu

Hey Sorry Family but I made a mistake on telling you my new address.

It's 157 Sixth St. #204 Cambridge, MA 02142

:( If you did send something then you'll either get it back or like my companion she got a letter with the wrong address on it but it still came. LOL

Thanks! And sorry!