Three baptisms!-Final email from Japan, Messer Shimai completes mission on May 22.

Hello everyone!! 

I hope you are having a marvelous week!! This week has been CRAZY in Okinawa to say the least! Our 8 year old investigator got baptized on Sunday, and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen!! It was kind of awkward thought when the whole service kind of turned into "let's thank the sister missionaries for helping us" and all of the talks were focused to us. Like, we didn't do anything, it was all the Lord and the members help! 

But I think the biggest miracle was when we met with our investigator Emiri who wanted to be baptized in Hawaii in October! We met her and she wants to get baptized on WEDNESDAY! YES! The day before I leave!! I didn't even tell her I was leaving! Like what the heck? The joint was like, perfect! Messer Shimai will be here, and Emiri didn't even know I was leaving! It has been crazy getting the members involved and on board with it, they think it is too fast, so we though about pushing it back. But, how do you tell somebody that she has to WAIT to be baptized when she is prepared! It has been a crazy couple of days. I have been on the phone with the Mission President and Stake President and they both say she needs to be baptized asap, so that's what we are doing! 

Kelyn is still on track for Wednesday as well! Can you believe it? TWO BAPTISMS my last day of my mission! What? I don't know why Heavenly Father loves me so much. They both past their interviews! 

I am a little sick, but I just got a priesthood blessing and I am already feeling a little better!! People are saying since I am "dying" as a missionary, I am physically dying as well. Death is not fun. But a mission is! And that's all that matters! I can't really hear, so my sweet companion is really patient with me. 

I fly to Fukuoka on Thursday morning, we have a testimony meeting, and go to the temple and have interviews with the mission president. Yamamoto san emailed me, and wants to meet me, so I am excited to see him if they allow me. 

I wanted to make this email really really good since it will be my last email. Unfortunately, my head is kind of all stuffy and I can't really think. But I just want you all to know that this church is true! This work is true!! Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ really do love us and they know all of us personally. They know what we can handle in this life. We are meant to grow and progress in this life, and trials just make us stronger! We can overcome ALL THINGS through Jesus Christ and his atonement! I love you all and can't wait to see you!! 

Ai shite imasu yo!

xoxo, Messer Shimai

in the MTC fall 2013

new missionary bike in Fukuoka

with Michiki san

dinner with ward members

sakura-japanese cherry blossoms!

with yamamoto san

working in the rain

Salmon and Messer with Minami san

okinawa!

Elder Russell M. Nelson Face Timing to the Okinawa missionaries from Fukuoka

I ate pigs feet and got hit by a car

PIG'S FEET!

MAY 10, 2015

First of all, let's start off with the two bad things that happened this week: I ate pigs feet, which is a delicacy in Okinawa. (I paid my district leader $5 to eat it, so he did) and I got hit by a car. BUT no worries, they just nicked the back of my basket, I didn't' even fall off or anything, so it just sounded bad. Oh, and Rea chan didn't get baptized because her grandma couldn't get the car, but she passed her interview and will be on the 17. 

Chantelle is doing AMAZING and we love her so much! She is so prepared and is on schedule for the 30! I am so sad I won't be able to see it, but one thing I have learned on my mission is that this work isn't about me, or the missionaries, it is all the Lord's work!! So it is ok that I won't see her baptism, I am just glad I was able to meet her and teach her a little, and see her progressing and growing! 

WE SET A DATE WITH KELYN!! Let me tell you how this went down. "So Kelyn, we have been thinking about baptism, and wondered if you still would like to be baptized?" 

YES. Yes I do. 

"Ok, so to set a goal and prepare for baptism, we would like to set a date, we know this is a personal thing but we prayed about it and thought of two dates, we were thinking either May 30 or June 6 (but she just told us she was leaving the 5 for America), so how does May 30 or 23 sound?"

 I have been waiting for you to ask me.

 *what did she just say?*

I have been wanting you to ask me so that I know that you think I am prepared. Yes, I would be baptized! 

and so we set my last day in Okinawa! WHAT A CRAZY MIRACLE, right?! 

We love her so much! She is Brazilian, and so amazing! We even skyped her husband who is stationed in America. She is definitely one of the reasons I am in Okinawa, and extended my mission. 

I also went on exchanges in Futenma with Sister Clements. It was SO FUN to go out with two of our sisters and see what Futenma is like! I am so lucky to be a STL in Okinawa! It is crazy how attached I get to my girls!

A ward member posted this on Messer Shimai's face book page for a Mother's Day mom surprise

It was amazing seeing you today, family! I love you and miss you and hope you have a great week! There is supposed to be a typhoon tomorrow, so we will see! I am EXCITED! LOVE YOU!!

xoxo

Messer Shimai

Naha for three days!

So this week we were rarely even in our own area because of exchanges and what not. We went up to Naha for three days to go with the sisters over there and we had a blast! That area was just made back to a 4 sister apartment, so there were 6 of us there, and it was a lot of fun! I was able to go out with Sister Kitchen who has just been out for 3 weeks, and Sister Komatsu who has been out for 9 weeks now! It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot from those girls! We saw tons of miracles! I love going out with new missionaries!! They have so much fire and their intentions are so good! The tiredness hasn't fully kicked in just yet! But guess what? Sister Kitchen is from Farmington, UT but her grandparents have a house across from Wally's in the valley!! So we talked all about Logandale, and the res, and it was really really weird that she knew all about it! Like super weird. Plus, we got a new senior coupld from St. George and they know tons of people from the valley! I still don't understand how famous Logandale is! 

We saw a lot of miracles this week. Since we were in another area for 3 days, we didn't have a lot of time to spend finding in our own area. By Friday we had 0 contacts, but because of our AWESOME ward members we had 3 new investigators!! We got 3 referrals this week! That is insane! We are so excited to teach them and they already have those member friends!! 

So one of those referrals was a girl named Chantelle, we gave her a tour of our beautiful church building and then taught a lesson 1 in the nursery while her 4 year old and 1 year old played. She was so prepared we set a date right there!! May 30!! Can you believe it? So she is on schedule to be baptized by the 30!! That seems so fast! 

We also have Rea chan, who just turned 8 this week on schedule for May 10! Her interview is tomorrow and she is just the cutest little thing you will ever meet! She is our best friend now, and she is just so pure, how could she NOT get baptized? 

Exchanges in Naha with sister kitchen and sister gazdik

We also taught a member's daughter-in-law who is not member but just had a baby, and so they blessed the baby on Sunday and we taught her a lesson. Her name is Rie san, so it is kind of hard with Rea and Rie, but she is 24 and has 3 kids, and super nice and quiet, so we are excited to continue teaching her. 

Messer and Salmon's first selfie with ipad

Today we had a really fun zone p-day. Since our building is blessed to have a GYM the two zones on the island came and we played sports, and then had a playdough competition to see who could sculpt shisaw the best, they are an Okinawan thing where they look like lions/dogs and they keep the good spirits in and scare the evil spirits out. I actually bought some today...so you will see them sometime. It was a lot of fun! We have a great group of missionaries on the island that I love to death. 

Welp I hope you all have a fantastic week! We are going to go eat at the chaplain's house tonight for dinner, so we are excited to eat American food! yay! I love you!

Ai shite imasu yo!
Messer Shimai