Monday March 22 - Friday March 25th at Narita View Hotel
I spent the next several days sitting through orientation and training classes, fighting incredible homesickness and anxiety, adjusting to schedule and time changes, and trying to kick my jet-lag. On Friday afternoon, all new employees were supposed to receive our housing contracts and finalize all the paperwork for our placements before we moved out at 6:00 am the next morning to get set up in our new cities. Although I was sad to think about moving away from Tyla, Tauna, and Sarah, I was getting really excited to see Niigata and get settled into Japan. I think the events of last Friday would be best summarized through a note that I sent my mom on Facebook that night. This was my message:
Mom. The church is true.
I cannot even begin to relate to you the events of today. It has been the most emotional day for me since I arrived in Japan. I started off my day so well with talking to you on Facebook. Tonee and Brad were also online and I can't think of three people I would have rather talked to this morning than you three. It was a great way to begin my day.
However, at orientation we split into groups and I was separated from my friends. I was anxious. Then, I started practice-teaching and I was so nervous...but when I stood in front of everyone to start giving my lesson, it felt natural somehow. After a few hours, I felt peace from the Lord that somehow I would be ok in my classrooms.
I don't know how I will teach because I don't have my lesson plans and it is unlikely that the schools will provide many/any supplies. Still, I think I'll adjust somehow and over time I will grow to love teaching. I think high school is going to be a wonderful challenge for me. I'll have to prepare a lot of detailed lessons and it will be more involved than with younger ages, but I think the connections to English will be stronger and I know that I will still fall in love with the students...even if they aren't cute, little children.
Lunch was nice...but on my way back to orientation I was stopped by one of my managers. He told me that my school canceled their contract with the company and that I would no longer be in Niigata. He said he wasn't sure where I'd go, but that he would let me know as soon as possible. Then, I went to a room where everyone was filling out their paperwork for housing, getting schedules for their schools, etc. I waited there for over three hours but heard nothing. I was panicking. The three girls I met and became super close with are going within hours of me--also right along the west coast. Also, I met and got to know a few people going to Niigata as well. I was so excited to go! Suddenly, it was all gone and I didn't understand why. I felt angry and anxious and scared and emotional. Two other people were displaced. One guy decided to quit the company at that point and travel the world for a few months instead. Then he is going home to the UK. Another girl burst into tears. I just sat and waited for almost four hours.
Then, they told me that they still didn't know where I was going to go, but that I would probably be in northeast Japan. They said to start packing up my things, but that I might have to stay in the hotel for another week or so until they sort it out. I was told that I would find out at 6 am tomorrow where I am to go. This was not comforting. However, I came back up to my room and got on Facebook and Tonee was online! She called me on Skype and we talked for over two hours. It was soooooo good to talk, laugh, and cry with her. I know that God knew how much I needed my best friend at that moment and I didn’t think there would be a chance that she would be online when I got up to my room; yet there she was.
Remember when I broke down with you a couple days ago and you told me to pray? I did, but I kept getting the distinct impression that I needed a priesthood blessing. However, I don't know ANYONE here and wasn't sure how that was possible. Still, I didn’t doubt the prompting and I became determined to follow it somehow. Today I heard about a boy from Utah and I spent about an hour this afternoon searching for him in hopes that he might be LDS and that he could give me a blessing.
No luck. I couldn't ever find him. I started getting discouraged, but came back to my room.
Then, my boss called me and told me to come downstairs to get some information. It turns out that I will be going to a prefecture called Miyagi--which is on the completely opposite side of Japan than Niigata. I will leave this hotel at 6am with everyone tomorrow, but then I will go to another hotel in Tokyo and stay there until March 31st. From there, I will go to Miyagi and start teaching the next week. I don't know my school yet, but I will still be in a high school I guess, so we'll see how this all turns out.
I started feeling a lot more calm about this whole mess even though nothing was working out...and I never found an LDS person. I came back to my room and my boss stopped by a couple minutes later to hand me information about shipping my luggage to my new address once I get it. In passing, he mentioned that I could ask another Japanese man from the company about my placement if I had questions because he likes speaking English and said something about a mission (my boss is not LDS and didn't seem to really understand what a mission is). I immediately grabbed my shoes and ran back downstairs to find him.
I walked up to him and started talking in English. I asked him how he knew English and he mentioned that he served a mission in California. HE IS LDS, MOM. I almost started to cry. I asked him if he would give me a blessing. He said of course and pulled out his vial of anointed oil. He pointed to another Japanese man in the foyer and said the other man was also LDS and that they would come to my room in a few minutes. The second man said he is the one who saw my resume when I applied to the company and that I really stood out to him for some reason.
They came to my room about 10 minutes later and we talked a little about my fears and the church and everything. The second man gave me the first part of the blessing Japanese and the first man gave me the rest of the blessing in English. Mom, it was incredible. I have NO idea what's going on with my placement and I was terrified all day long. I don't even care right now because I know it'll be fine. I'm not even worried and I cannot express to you the sweetness of the Spirit that filled my heart during my blessing.
As they were leaving, the second man told me again that he saw my interview (they recorded our interviews in America and sent them to Japan for review). It was as though he felt then that he would be watching over me. They said they will find all my information for me about my ward and bishop when I move to my new city and everything and that they will help me find a church on this next Sunday. The second man told me that when they found out that they needed to move some teachers out of Niigata, I was the first person that came to his mind and HE is the one that suggested that I move towns (which is weird considering at this point we had never even met). I trust him, Mom. I think he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to suggest my name. I don't understand why yet, but I think when I get to wherever I'm going, I'll understand why I'm not supposed to be in Niigata.
This gospel is true! The priesthood is real. I feel the Lord with me and I know that everything will be ok. I love you so much and I will send you updates as soon as I receive them.
Love always,
Karianne
**Note: The man in picture at the top of this post is Dan Harazoe--the man I first approached in the foyer and the one that administered my blessing. :-)**
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