The Adventures of Sister Fishburn: First week in Mountain Hand✌🏻

Yes, the kanji for Yamate 山手 means "mountain" and "hand". I live in "Mountain hand". Cool. It's actually really pretty here and I quite enjoy it. I mean, tears were definitely shed when I left my beloved Hachiōji but change is a good thing, right? Also, Yamate is like the most fancy area I have ever seen in my life. It's filled with lots of rich people and lots of gaikokujin (foreigners). It's weird. I have heard more English in the last 4 days than I think I have my entire mission. So weird. I also feel like I am waaaaay too poor to live here. But it's okay because I live in the "normal" people part. It's kind of like how in Kaysville when people live up on the mountain, you know they are rich. It's the same here in Yamate. SO MUCH MONEY. It's crazy.

Before I left Hachiōji I called basically all of the ward members and told them I was leaving and it was the worst thing ever. I don't like saying goodbye. Not one bit. Nope. And they were all so cute and a bunch of them came to eikaiwa to say goodbye or set up appointments with us for before I left. My heart❤️

Yamate is a good place. I like it! I really do. The ward is smaller than Hachiōji but everyone is suuuper nice. We had dinner with the bishop and his family on Friday and then met a bunch of the other members at this like summer festival the ward put on. It was way fun. They did this thing where they make a little noodle slide with bamboo and then they put soumen (noodles) down it and you just stand around and try and catch the noodles as they whiz by. It was fun haha I'll send some pictures for you:)

The Yamate Ward is really great. They have all been so welcoming. It's also probably the most diverse ward ever. Like really. So many different nationalities! My favorite thing is that there's a Chinese woman who speaks really good English and okay Japanese and she's married to a Japanese man who speaks perfect English so they speak English to each other and their son has lived in Japan his whole life but only speaks English. How does that happen!? Mind blowing. But I think it's cool haha when you live in Yokohama, you don't actually need to speak Japanese, apparently.

We have an investigator here and she's so cute. She loves the Book of Mormon and has received all of the lessons but can't be baptized even though she wants to because her husband won't let her😭 it makes me so sad. So we're trying to figure out how we can soften his heart so she can come to church and be baptized😊

Speaking of baptisms... LIZA GOT BAPTIZED!!! AHHHHH!!! Words cannot express how happy that makes me:) really. It was hard knowing I couldn't be there for it but it was slightly easier knowing that mama and papa and brother fish went and supported her. Liza is so strong and I'm SO blessed to have her as my best friend😊

Today we're going to Costco! Woot woot! It's been so long since I've been to Costco haha. It's my first time going in Japan! So I'm excited hahaha. We're going with the elders and should be good:) Gotta buy me some big bags of delicious Japanese granola!

To end I'll leave you with some scriptures:) Words of Mormon 1:8, Mosiah 3:20, and Mosiah 5:7.

This week I learned that change is hard but it's a good thing. We just have to trust in the Lord and it will all be okay.

Have a good week and never forget how much I love you!!

Stay safe. Stay classy. Stay sassy.

Love you!!
愛しています💕

--フィッシュバーン姉妹🐟🔥