"Twas the P-Day before Christmas

This is what happens when you get sick in Japan.

Twas the P-Day before Christmas when all through Hokkaido not a missionary was... Well this would have been really cool but I'm not an author so.. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
 
This weeks Ponderize scripture: Luke 2:16
"And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger".  I thought this was very fitting for Christmas, but I like it because the shepherds came with haste to see the new born babe. This Christmas season am I going with haste to see Christ? Am I going with haste to serve someone? To share the special message of Christ? I want to go with haste to find Christ!
 

Funny Highlights: We were talking about how good the food was in Hokkaido with one of our investigators the other day and I got all excited because I remembered the name for Apple in Japanese so I looked her straight in the face and said "gringo daisuki" (I love apples) only turns out Apple is actually ringo.   Earlier this week I was thinking how funny it was that the name for Apple is the same name for a white man in Mexico and if anyone in Japan knew how funny that was. Guess I'm the funny one calling apples a gringo.. Whoops. 

Text from the party member...

The other day a member texted us and said come over for lunch so we said okay and she texted back, "let's party!!" We get there and she had little wine glasses out, we drank sparkling juice and clinked out glasses together. It was a real hoot. She was super funny though because she ran around her house like a crazy lady and showed us almost every picture she has. Love her!

This week has been so good! Sister Rigall and I made over 100 cookies this week (courtesy of the  package from Mom and Dad) for our investigators and members! It's been super fun delivering them and singing Christmas songs! Yesterday at church all the members made little cards and cookies for each other and ran around delivering them to people. It was so special. Then what we didn't know was that they had boxes sitting in the chapel for the missionaries. One for us and one for the elders and I guess for the past few weeks members have been putting presents in them for us. The members here are so loving! It like one big family. No one feels left out no one goes unnoticed and everyone is loved. It's so amazing!

Presents from the members!  So nice!!

I love Christmas and the special spirit it brings.
 
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
 
愛してるよ！
(I love you)
 
ゾリンジャ姉妹
(Zoringa Shimai) 

The potato truck!!

The roads this morning... All ICE!

Slippin and a Slidin

Hello all ya lovely people!

All the sisters got matching scarves from Nakatsuka Shimai!  Thanks mission mom!

I hope you all had a great week! This week flew by so fast! Someone tell time to slow down, thanks!

This weeks scripture is D&C 78:17
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you".  We cannot comprehend everything Heavenly Father has in store for us. I never would have imagined I'd be in Japan right now. Let alone serving a mission. When you plan out your life you never really know what blessings Heavenly Father is waiting to shower down on you. たのしみしています！(I am looking forward to it)

Funny Highlights: Who didn't knock on wood?  Last Monday we were walking around and I went down. It wasn't that hard of a fall but my companion got a good laugh (she fell later that same day) Then Tuesday we were on splits and I feel again. This one caught me so off guard I laughed so hard I snorted. It was fun. No slips since but there have been so close calls. Gotta love ice!

My companion likes to do this thing before we go to bed and say all the things the other person did that day that we're thankful for. Last night I was super tired so I decided to go first. So I told her all the things she did that day I was thankful for. Then she goes and I felt myself slippin. The next
thing I remember is waking up feeling myself snoring.. Asked her about that this morning. Sure thing I feel asleep and started snoring while she was telling me all the reasons she's thankful for me. Whoops...

We were finding the other day and we knocked on the lady's door. She didn't want to hear anything about 

the church but we gave us these because we're pretty and we've traveled far.  She so nice. 

She told us that she's turning 76 on Sunday so we are going to "heart attack" her door and make her cookies :) 

I named it  コキンメフクロウ (kokinmefukurou) it means little owl!   

Sister Rigall got a bunny. Yay origami!

This week has been so amazing! We were away from out area until Wednesday so we didn't has as much time to work this week but that didn't stop us at all. We saw so many miracles and meet with so many people in a few days. It was amazing! So many of our investigators are progressing. So many miracles this Christmas season. My mission president has a white Christmas goal. Only our white Christmas is baptisms :) There are miracles happening all over the mission. Everyone is working really hard and sharing the Christmas Spirit. I love being here during Christmas it really is the best time of year!

Thanks for all your prayers! I love you all!

Sister Zollinger

It looks crazy but we made applesauce! Thanks mom for all those years of making applesauce. I picked up a thing or two!

Christmas Time!!

We made a Christmas tree!

It's the Christmas month!! I love Christmas! Shout out to the people who sing Christmas songs all year round. Everyone else put out your Christmas CD's because it's Christmas Time!! There's a new Christmas Video from the church! Watch it!   It's so good. Sister Rigall and I show it to everyone!

https://www.mormon.org/christmas
 
This weeks ponderizing scripture is D&C 75:3-4
"Behold, I say unto you that it is my will that you should go forth and not tarry, neither be idle but labor with your might. Lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, proclaiming the truth according to the revelations and commandments which I have given you".
 
I really like this scripture because sometimes I forget that a year and a half really isn't that long. It's going by so fast. I think to many times we get caught up in when is this day going to come or when I go home I will do this or when I graduate I will do this. Or I'm
really tired so I'm not going to work as hard. We shouldn't do that. We should remember our time here is really short so we should go forthwith all our might and sound our Christmas Trumpets! :)
 

Package from home

Funny Highlights: this week I got the coolest package from my parents! One of the presents was Hershey Kisses. So I brought some of them to a lunch appointment we had. We has make cookies the night before because they are their favorite treat. So when we got there we said "we have homemade cookies and chocolate from America" he got so excited and grabbed one so quick. But it was so funny he took a bite and said "wow it's all chocolate. The whole way though!" It was so funny he was so excited. Then yesterday Sister Rigall and I where walking back and we both slipped on the ice at the same time and then stopped at the same time it was super cool. Lastly my new nickname is Zollie Poppins. Like Mary Poppins because I can cook, my bag can hold a ton of stuff (Laci you're the best), and I like to clean. Woohoo I'm Mary Poppins!
 

25 days of Christmas

This week has been super great! It's been really snowing but I haven't fallen yet! Everyone knock on wood right now! Okay thanks. I hope you all watch the Christmas video! It's so perfect for people in Japan. The first time I watched it I didn't really like it because it wasn't super Christmasy (is that a word? Cool) but at the very end it says what is the true meaning of Christmas. A few weeks ago I got an email from Nana saying I must feel like Santa bringing people the best  gift. Then in a letter I received from Caitlin she said this will be the year I will really understand the true meaning of Christmas. In Japan everyone just eats KFC and Cake with their families on Christmas because that's what they think everyone does in America. So when we show them the video we ask them what they think the true meaning of Christmas is. After we tell them it's always super special. Christmas isn't about all the presents and parties. It's about family's and the birth of Jesus Christ. Through him we can gain the best present imaginable. Living with our families forever! Who wouldn't want that under the Christmas tree? I love Christmas! It's the best!
 
Go spread the spirit of CHRISTmas! :)
 
I love you all!
Sister Zollinger

Letters to the people of Moiwa (Check out her Japanese!!)

 This is Hokkaida.