My first exchange with an Elder-What?!

What an interesting week in Okinawa. The first weird day was Tuesday when our American investigator wanted to meet! We were meeting at a restaurant close to our apartment and we were way excited until she called us and said she couldn't get yen out at the ATM, so we had to go somewhere that could take a card. Her car was too messy to pick us up, she she asked if we could meet at American Village, a nice little bike ride up three hills and about 45 minutes away if we are biking fast. She said she would wait for us, but we really did NOT have the energy to go up those hills. So what do we do? We hop on a bus! Well we had no idea which bus to hop on, so we just asked the first guy we saw, and to our luck it was that bus! So we just left our bikes right there on the sidewalk and hopped in! We rode there and 50 minutes later we arrive! Right when we call her to meet her, she told us she had got called into work! So now we were 50 minutes away from our house, and in this huge shopping area. So we take our dinner hour to eat at Red Lobster!! Did you read that? Red Lobster. Oh Okinawa. So after we paid 13 dollars for a small salad, we went to the bus station. But wait, Messer Shimai forgot her bag with the Book of Mormon and pamphlets, so we had to run back, and miss the first bus, so we have to wait for the next bus. We knew there was a reason we had to be there, but we didn't find any golden investigator or anything. I don't even know how to explain the feelings we felt this day. It was crazy and really weird, and I am missing some of the most weird details that I can't explain over an email.

Then on Friday we had iPad training again from President. It was pretty boring since we had already gotten it up in Fukuoka, but it was fun to see the rest of the island. Plus it is always fun to see President Gustafson and get trained by him! 

Then on Saturday we got training from two Zone Leaders who are touring the mission teaching people "common sense dendou" which is like missionary work. So we all learned how to go contacting, then split up and all went out. Guess what? They paired all of the sisters with ELDERS! And since I am the person who has been in the area the longest, we got the bikes and I pretended like I knew where we were going. Really, all I do is look at the map and pray really hard somehow we end up there. So that's what I did again. So I went with Elder Boyden, a six transfer who is one of the zone leaders going around the mission. Sister Salmon was with his companion and all 4 of us stuck together, but when we would talk to people we would pair up with an Elder. It wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. We had a lot of fun, and saw a lot of miracles. I never thought I would be able to say that I went on exchanges with an Elder, so that's cool. 

Today we are going to the biggest mall on Kyushu and we are so super excited. My wallet is so heavy, it is just asking me to buy a bunch of stuff I don't need. Some things never change. 

Ai shite imasu!!! 

Have a great week!!

Messer Shimai

I just fall asleep riding my bike!

WHAT A CRAZY WEEK!!!! It started with us flying to Fukuoka for a meeting that all of the Sister Training Leaders and Zone Leaders go to. It was 7 hours, so we had to spend two nights in Fukuoka. The mission president had family over, so instead of staying at his house under the temple, we stayed at the Fukuoka Sister's apartment. Can you say nostalgic (idk if that is the right word, but it's the Japanese word I want to use translates as) ! Like it has been over a year since I had my first night in Fukuoka in that same apartment! The smell of the tatami mat room brought back all kind of memories. It was weird. But the training was so long because WE GOT IPADS!! It is way cool, us "leaders" in the mission get them before anyone else, so nobody else has them yet. But they are super cool, except I feel like a brat whenever I whip it out in front of other missionaries, and I'm just like...sorry you will get yours in 2 weeks. But you can look at mine...with your eyes, don't touch. 

Bell on Okinawa with Messer Salmon

Then we trained the whole island! It started in Okinawa with our own zone, and then the next day Salmon Shimai and I went over the Naha, and trained their zone since we are over both zone's sisters. It was a lot of fun. We split the training 1/2 with the zone leaders, so we had to facetime them to plan the training, then plan the training with the other zone leaders, then we had 2 days for training. So by Friday we had a grand total of talking to 2 people on the street. But on Saturday we had FIVE LESSONS! That is more than I have most weeks! The Lord is definitely keeping us busy, we feel really blessed! 

The Chinen family is progressing very nicely! The mom and the 12 year old daughter are really interested and we are able to meet with them every week! There are 5 kids, so it is always a lot of fun going over there, especially the 3 year old twin girls! ADORABLE! The other family, the Yamashiro's were sick this week, so we went over, but they could barely talk, so we weren't able to teach a lesson :( 

Holding a lighthouse!

Our military investigator is amazing! We love teaching her! We hope her husband, who is stationed in Alaska, will let her continue meeting with us! But we want her to talk to him before she decides to be baptized or anything. Although, she said she would be baptized when we asked her! 

It has been quite an emotional week. The senior couple we love so much had to go home due to a family emergency, it all happened so fast! But we got a lot of their food! But they were our mom and dad on island, so it was hard saying bye to them. Also, the zone leaders are mean and made me bear my testimony at both zone conferences since I am getting close to the end.....and I bawled like a baby at the first one. It's ok, I didn't even tear up at the second. I am so exhausted I have almost fallen over like 6 times because I just fall asleep riding my bike! It's the only time I get to myself after all! And there aren't very many people walking the streets of hott, humid, rainy Okinawa. But the exhaustion just makes me want to push on even harder! This work is true and I find so much joy in it!! I love you all and hope you have a fabulous week!! 

Love,

Messer Shimai

Well it is official, I am the oldest sister in the mission.

One of our cutest ward members here!

Well it is official, I am the oldest sister in the mission. My MTC companions are home and there are 2 Japanese sisters I will be returning home with, who went to the MTC just a couple weeks after I got there. You would think I would know how to be a good missionary by now. Well, that's a big lie! I still have no idea what I am doing, but I really good at pretending. 

But we had a great week in Okinawa! My sunburn turned into a tan (except for my neck, which started to peel, OUCH!) 

But first off all, wasn't General Conference AWESOME?! Did you hear

 Elder Cook give Okinawa a shout out? That was cool! We went with Minami to watch it in the next town over that was showing it in Japanese. Well, they didn't have an English room, so we watched the first talk in Japanese, and then our Zone Leader came and asked if we could go look it up on another computer, luckily a member had a laptop, and us three hudled around a laptop and watched it! And Elder Aoyagi gave the closing prayer yesterday! I met him last year on my mission, and his English was so good in his prayer! Then on Sunday we came to our church building for Sunday and the missionaries were the only ones there for the afternoon session!

So last week when we went to the beach we picked up some pretty shells! Well guess what? Two of them were ALIVE! So we were breaking the rules!! We were DISOBEDIENT! We had PETS! We put them out on our back porch and I would trip and "accidentally" pour water on them to keep them alive. But don't worry, we called our priesthood leaders and they knew it! Don't worry, we took care of them and we no longer have pets at our house. 

I live in paradise!

Our investigators are doing really well! We weren't able to meet with little Rea because her grandma didn't have the car this week to drive her. We met a new investigator, Pruit from Florida! It was super cool to knock on a door and have an AMERICAN open the door! What to hear something even cooler? He is friends with one of our recent converts and the recent convert had given him a Book of Mormon to read!! We were so proud of him! Pruit has a lot of interest, and invited us back over to hear more! We are really excited, and hope to pass him to the Elders as soon as he starts progressing! 

We also found two FAMILIES this week! We have been praying to find a family for a while, and we found the Chinen's with FIVE kids and the Yamashiro's with four kids! So we are SO EXCITED to start teaching them! We went back to the Chinen's and they invited us in, they have 3 year old twins that just love us, and it was really fun! The 12 year old probably had more interest than anyone else, and she was super excited to get a BoM! 

Well I love you and hope you have an amazing week!! I love you!!!

xoxo,

Messer Shimai

Minami san became Minami Shimai!!

Well it happened!!

Sister Salmon, Minami!, Sister Messer

Easter Sunrise service at Okinawa Beach

Cool Coral Reef

Messer Shimai at the beach

Seventeen months, and five days later I got my first baptism!!! Minami san became Minami Shimai!! It was a great service! We were able to do a joint baptismal service with one of the Elders investigators as well! The ward members were really excited, and it went amazing!! I gave the "introduction" of Minami and while I was speaking a less active we have been meeting with showed up!! He used to be part of the Mafia, and has a lot of guilt, so he hates coming to church, but he showed up to the baptism and we were so excited!!! We love Brother Ota! But minami was so cute, she was so scared to be baptized, that she forgot to clothes her eyes when she went underwater!! She came up with this awful look on her face, and I was like, "OH NO! What happened?" as I wrapped a towel around her and she just said, "I forgot to close my eyes" hahah but she said it was really cool to be able to watch everything happened! Then she was SO excited to be confirmed on Sunday! She kept saying in English, "I am excited to receive the baptism of fire" So we love Minami Shimai, and it was amazing to see her be baptized! And guess what? i still feel like the same missionary! One thing I have learned on my mission is that we are all just on one big team. We are all trying to carry on the Lord's work. I have found people who were baptized right after I left, I have taught and found former investigators that were baptized. And here is Minami, who was found 2 years ago by one of my all time favorite missionaries, Sister Hawkins, who I lived with for 6 months, and yet I got to see her baptism! This is all the Lord's work and he prepares people in His own time!

Rea chan (the 7 year old) is doing great. We committed her to live the law of chastity. She's doing good so far..

Emiri is still progressing, but still has that desire to be baptized in October in Hawaii. Who knows? i might have to make a trip down there in a couple months. 

We also started teaching an AMAZING girl named Kelyn. She is a referral from a a member. She has hit rock bottom in her life and is prepared out of the wazoo. She lives here with her son, but her husband is stationed somewhere else. She was deployed to Korea for just a week, and we have another lesson with her when she comes back. We are super excited to continue teaching her, and hope that her husband (Southern Baptist) will allow her to progress. 

This Easter we were able to go to a Easter Sunrise Service on the beach!! It was really cool. It was all faiths coming together to sings, and read scripture together. It was really cool!!! It was right on the ocean! Then people got baptized, right there, they just lined up and said "THIS IS NOT FOR YOUR SALVATION!" we kind of whispered "but if you want it for your salvation, we have some elders here.." haha just kidding, it was a really cool experience. Then The Finlayson's fed us dinner, and it was the most delicious dinner! It was amazing!

We went to the beach today, and the tide went out, and we were able to walk, and go explore caves. and guess who got sunburned? MESSER SHIMAI!! yay! I love Okinawa!! It is SO GORGEOUS! You all need to come see it! I would explain all of the cool things I saw today, but it wouldn't even compare to what I saw! I even saw an octopus! 

Oh, and I am staying in Okinawa with Sister Salmon for my last transfer!!!! :) yay! Have a miracle filled week!! Love you!!

Messer Shimai

Loving the work in Okinawa!

March 29, 2015

I hope you are all loving March because it is ALMOST OVER! I can't believe how fast the months go by! I hit 17 months yesterday, crazy! But we had a great week! Minami is progressing really well and PASSED her baptismal interview on Thursday!! She even picked out her dress, so I think that makes it official, right? She went on a fast for three days and lost over 8 pounds. Sister Salmon and I are seriously considered doing that if we didn't have to go out tracting everyday. Maybe next time ;) 

We also are teaching a little 7 year old who's parents are not members, but her grandma is. So we have to teach her all of the lessons before she can be baptized. Her name is Rea and she is the cutest little Japnaese girl you will ever see. It is a lot of fun to teach a little girl. It is nice because all we know is simple Japanese anyways! 

We also are teaching Emiri, who is in her 30's and is so cute! She looks almost Egyptian, but she wants to be baptized in Hawaii in October..so we are still teaching her the lessons and trying to build that relationship with the ward members. We will see what comes to be. 

We were able to go up and go on exchanges with the sisters in Naha. And guess who just so happens to be there? Sister Hirata, my old companion! So I got to go out with her again. It was fun seeing each other 6 months later, as even better missionaries! I always learn so much when I get to go out on exchanges with everyone!! It was fun being with a Japanese sister all day again. I miss my little nihonjins! 

We went out to the beach today with the senior missionaries and it was so pretty!! I always forget I live in little paradise! Oh, so naive little Messer Shimai had never looked at a map of Okinawa before. So the senior couple pulled one out for me. I am in the coolest place on the planet! China, Taiwan, the Philippians! Like are you kidding me? It is a shorter distance to those three countries than it is to the mission headquarters in Fukuoka! Say what? I feel so blessed to be here! (ask me again when the humidity hits) But I love you all and hope you have a fabulous Spring Break and Fair!! I LOVE YOU! 

Messer Shimai