New companion and visiting Fukuoka temple

Sunday, June 22, 2014

こんばんは！

How is everyone?! I am back in FUKUOKA for the weekend! It is so great to be back! So weird, let me tell you!! First of all, YES I got Sister Johnson as a companion! She is great!! She is 21, from South Jordan, and is on transfer 10. So she goes home in October!! She is amazing. It is weird to be with an American! hahah It was SO FUNNY when we were saying goodbye to Suzuki Shimai at the station on Thursday, a lot of ward members came to say goodbye to her and Oi Shimai who was also going home. We were running a little late, so Suzuki Shimai had to run to get her train. To get to the platform, you have to go down an escalator, we were all waving, yelling, saying bye and then she gets out of sight and we hear this crashing noise! Her suite case had fallen all the way down the escalator. We all kind of just go silent, look at the security guard who is watching the cameras, he runs over, looks over the edge and gives us a thumbs up and says "daijobu!" Which is like "OK!" hahah it was so funny! We all just looked at each other and started busting up laughing...that is so typical Suzuki Shimai! hahah perfect last impression!

But yes, I am in Fukuoka! We woke up, rode the train to Fukuoka, rode a bus to the temple and got to go through a session there. It was such a small temple, the baptismal font is on the same floor as everything else! There are four of us Americans now in Kurume, so it is an adventure! The temple workers had to give us the biggest sizes of shoes and dresses they had just to be long enough! Luckily, the biggest shoes they had were 9, so they fit fine. The dress was still a little short...but what are you going to do? hahah It was interesting, I had to have a headset, neat experience! 

After the temple we walked to my favorite Indian curry place, caught a train to the shopping place in Fukuoka and then went shopping in Forever 21, and H&M. It was pouring rain, but so fun! None of us even got anything though!! And who said Americans cant read kanji? We made it all around Fukuoka!! On the way to the station a miracle happened. We met MICHIKO SAN!! I had emailed her I was going to FUkuoka, but we never decided a time. She had been waiting all day in the shopping place for us, but when we never showed she left. We met her on the way home!! it was SO GOOD TO SEE HER!! She is the cutest! The missionaries don't meet with her anymore..:( but hopefully soon. 

Well I hope you have a good week! Next time I email I will be 20! CRAZY!! I dont want to be old!

Love you!!!

Have a great week! 

Ai shite imasu!

p.s. I was so excited to email pictures this week...but we dont have time! booo!!

Messer Shimai

Crazy crazy Kurume

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Crazy crazy Kurume. That is all I can say. It has been a crazy week.

Unfortunately, Suzuki Shimai is going home :( There are some things that need to be worked out, which means I get a new companion :( I am so sad!! President actually called me on Thursday (scary scary scary) and when I answered he said, "Awee Messer Shimai, is this my girl? I am so sorry. This is your dad. Your sergeant dad. How are you?" It was so sad, but so nice to hear from him. He told me he would be sending my companion home and my new companion would be great. He promised me an amazing companion. I said, "Do you promise?" and he said "Well ya, actually it's Johnson Shimai" ahhh! He told me a whole week early!! We still haven't gotten transfer calls, but he said as long as nothing changed I would be staying in Kurume with Johnson Shimai. An American! can you imagine?! That's going to be really awkward if something did end up changing....

This week something horrible happened (bad news first) I GOT TWO FLAT TIRES!! I was about 25 minutes away at a less active members house, and when I was biking home, every time I would turn a corner I could feel like a slipping feeling. I realized, duh! You need air! We were going to the train station about 45 mintues away by bike. Oh shoot! It got all the way flat, to the point where I couldn't even ride anymore! So we walked to the station, ditched my bike there. Went to our appointment and took a bus home. The next day we had to walk to the station, went and got it fixed, and then on the way home I was so happy that my bike was fixed I got off of it and went to hug my tire. When I was embracing the tire...I heard a horrible "ssssssssssssss" noise. NOOOO LITTLE MIKEY!! So I said "Suzuki Shimai we have to go back to the bike shop!!" I biked like the wind, we got half way and it was completely flat again, walked back to the shop and this time they fixed it for reals. FOR FREE! yay! They said I have to go back EVERY week! Pshh..maybe every month. Aint nobody got time (or money) for that! But no worries. little Mikey is all fixed, and if anybody reading this thought I was weird for hugging my tire, it saved me, so I don't want to hear it! 

Now for the miracle moment!! This week we were eating at a members house, she said she was bringing a FRIEND!! This member is an English teacher from Washington! An RM! She is so cool! Her friend was AMERICAN too! She speaks ENGLISH! Her name is Athena, from North Carolina. SO COOL. So cool. We gave her a Book of Mormon, were able to eat dinner with her at the church on Saturday and she showed up to church on Sunday with her member friend!! She says she just plans on coming every week, except next week since we will be in FUKUOKA for stake conference! Oh ya, so I will email Saturday (your Friday), and wont email Monday. So like 4 days! hahah By then I will know who my companion is!

Riding on train to Nagasaki

Sunday we met a TOTALLY WASTED British man! We were in these beautiful rose gardens with a member, and a drunk man walks over and starts talking to us. He is so drunk, but so funny. He is like a super genius. We ended up talking for like 1 1/2 hours. He teaches doctors (ok, so he was drunk, but not lying..) he speaks like every European language. He is a super genius, which I think makes him a little wacky. We followed him home, so we know where he lives, so we can visit him when he is sober! hahah. Nice to talk in English! Plus, the member was fluent in English. holla! 

Well, crazy week. I wish I could send you pictures! We got to go to Nagasaki again, and I stayed awake for the train ride home! that's a first! Took tons of pictures! Maybe my next area I will send you everything! hahh 

Have a great week! Thanks for letting me ramble to you! I love you all! Enjoy your summer!

Ai shite imasu!!

Messer Shimai

"Is this your first time seeing natures?"

Companions Messer and Suzuki

Happy P-day everyone! The sun is shining, and the humidity is drowning me, but other than that we are happy it is P-Day!

We have had quite the week here in Crazy Kurume. Quite the week. It started off so good, a member gave us TWO referrals! Members referrals are the BEST!! They were two dancers from Russia! How cool is that? We were so excited, we got Russian Book of Mormons, and went and met them. I was so excited to meet them. Wow, if they are in Japan they must be really good dancers. This ward member is a singer, and met them at one of her gigs. When I met them, I asked, so what kind of dance do you do? Turns out they're strippers. The ward member, answered in ENGLISH, "sexy dance." oh gosh. BUT they were really nice, and super fun. We actually randomly ran into them just before coming here to email. But they are moving this week :(They are really prety, tall and skinny. I should have know. hahah it was funny. That member just last week had referred a six year old to the other sisters in our apartment. We prefer those above the age of accountability. But she was cute.

Yesterday an area of the 70 came to our ward, and gave a devotional afterwards, Elder Tashiro. He is way cool and gave a way good talk. It is always so great to get spiritually fed. We study everyday, but it is nice to hear other peoples testimonies and what not.

A couple of weeks ago, actually right before using the squatter toilet for the first time, we were sitting on some really hard grass, that was like half dead. We were waiting for a member and I was picking at it because it was kind of stabbing me and hurt really bad. Suzuki Shimai looks right at me and says,

"is this your first time seeing natures?" I just looked at her...huh? "you live in the desert, is this your first time seeing grass?" hahahahah She was completely serious, I had no idea what to say...I just replied, Well we try to grow grass in Nevada, but I lived in Utah when I went to college. I have seen grass before. she was really concerned, her expression eased up and she said, "oh that's good." hahahah Sometimes havng a Japanese compaion is super funny.

I had octopus for the first time this week, suprisingly good! Who would have guessed? Not Messer Shimai!

Well, next week is transfer calls so I will email on Tuesday! I hope you all have a great week, and enjoy the dry desert! I love you and miss you all!!!

Messer Shimai

Sick masks are popular in Japan!

Baptism talk in Japanese and too many strawberries and mosquitoes.

Nagasaki District-Sister Messer's companion is on her right, Suzuki Shimai

Konnichiwa from Kurume! Ahhh it is June! Perfect time to get your packages ready and send them for my birthday ;)

Yesterday we had a BAPTISM! It was an 8 year old in the ward, but we had to teach him the lessons because he wasn't prepared.

I got to give a talk. in JAPANESE. Did you read that? JAPANESE! It was scary, but I had notes, so it was no biggie. But I also had to lead the music. Thank goodness for Logandale 2 ward, all those weeks of practice as the ward chorister! hahah Plus, I had to sing with the other shimai at the baptism. The Bishop was playing the piano and it felt like between the two of us, we were running the show! We sang SO MANY SONGS waiting for the family! It was fun!

Last Monday we went to a STRAWBERRY FARM! One of the members took us and it was SO FUN! There were about 7 green house things, with rows and rows and rows of strawberries! They were about to go bad, so they said "pick as many as you want, and please eat while you pick!" who let's three girls eat as many strawberries as they want? BAD IDEA. We got HUNDREDS of strawberries, just filled up boxes and put them in the back of the car. We ate SO MANY. Poor Suzuki Shimai had to knock on a strangers house to use the bathroom. She said the strawberries "had too many vitamins, and cleaned her out!" EW. TMI. But it was fun, since she had to go to the bathroom, I had to go into the house with her and try to small talk in Japanese to some strangers. I just stood the genkan ( the place where people take off their shoes before entering the house) and the wife kneedled on the step beside me. The husband came home and looked kind of scared and then commented on how tall I was. hahah what's new? It was an awkward time. But that's the life of a missionary, right?

This week the mosquitoes ATTACKED ME! My legs look like I have the chicken pox, or some crazy disease! We counted them last night, I have 59 on my left leg, and 79 on my right leg. But we kind of got tired of counting, so i think there might be even more! I don't know why! Suzuki Shimai doesn't have ANY and my roommate only has 3. So who knows? But the ward members are so nice! Once gave me horse oil that is supposed to help, another gave me lavender doTerra oil, and another a $52 bottle of some fancy skin lotion. between the three, they don't itch as bad, but they are BRIGHT red!! hahah Let's just say we are buying bug spray today.

Mom, you were asking about houses here. Yes being more in the country, I go to more houses, not apartments. They are either outrageously clean, or super super super dirty, like horders! Not really a lot of courtyards, I have only seen one tea room and that was in a buddhist temple. But the temples have really pretty yards and they rake the rocks in straight lines so it looks really pretty! I will have to send pictures! I live really close to a lot of shrines! Super pretty!

Well I ran out of time, I hope you all have a great week! I love you and miss you!!

xoxo,

Messer Shimai