And just remember, NEVER eat squid!

Konnichiwa! 

What a week!

This week we went on SPLITS! I was able to go out and work with Sister Hawkins, a Sister Training Leader that we live with. She was sick, and was supposed to stay inside all day....but we were going crazy, so we instead went and worked all day. Oops! Don't tell President! But we feel ok about it because we took a break and took some really cool pictures in a wheat field. We exchanged nap time for memory time! and the very first person we contacted turned into a NEW INVESTIGATOR!! If that wasn't Heavenly Father telling us we needed to work, I don't know what is! She is a members mother-in-law. We meant to visit the member, but she wasn't home. We extended an invitation to hear the lessons, and she said yes! She is 91, and SO genki! (I dont know how to explain the translation of genki, uhmm happy, healthy, spunky, GENKI!)

We also got to go to Nagasaki for a zone conference! It was so cool! We got to ride the bullet train for two hours. What a glorious nap I took! hahah Nagasaki is full of hills, so they have a trolley system kind of like San Fran, so we got to ride the trolley, that was fun! Afterwards, we ate at a sushi place, where the convier belt brings you the sushi you order. That was fun!

This might be too much information for some, and mom if you feel like you want to take it out you can, BUT. In Japan they have two types of toilets. A "western" toilet which is like normal toilets. and "Japanese" style toilets that are just little squatters in the ground. The news of the week, is that I used a squatter for the first time! The Japanese compaion is rubbing off on me! It was surprisingly satisfying. That's all I will say, but know that I am embracing the culture more and more!

Our English class in Kurume is SO FUN! There are about 8 old people that come. a BIG difference from Fukuoka where we had about 40 students, and three levels. But everyone here is pretty much fluent, so we just talk and joke and some students will type essays and have us correct them. I think they are all over 60, the oldest is 80, we call him our "godfather" he's the cutest. They gave me a Japaense name: Reika. So they all call me Reika chan, and Sister Hawkins Miyuki chan. hahah it is so fun!

There are TONS and tons of wheat fields here in Kurume! At first, I thought they were rice and was really confused as to why the rice looked like wheat, but then a member told us it IS wheat, so I didnt feel so dumb. But there are so many, and it is SO PRETTY! It is nice to be in more of the country!! So pretty and not as stressful! Plus, a ward member took us to a rose garden. it was SO PRETTY! They had transported roses from ALL over the world! It was way cool! You know my obsession with flowers. I think I took enough pictures to open a rose gallery! haha

Taylor and Megan's wedding sounded SO PRETTY! I am so sad I missed it, but it sounded like a fairytale! I can't beileve Taylor did it, he got married! I am so proud! hahah Have a good week! And just remember, NEVER eat squid. I have eatten enough squid this past week to last a lifetime. and it is GROSS. DONT DO IT! I love you!!

xoxo,

Messer Shimai

Going forward with the work here in Kurume!

May 18. 2014

Well first of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRENT! (and almost Evelyn) but also, HAPPY WEDDING WEEK TAYLOR AND MEGAN!! This is going to be a crazy week for everyone, but Saturday will be so fun! I wish I could be there, but we obviously know I'm not the favorite cousin. Whatevs. I forgive you. 

This week in Kurume was good! First of all let me teach you how to say it. So it is "coo" Like how you coo a baby (people say that, right?) like glue, coo. hahah thats hard to explain. crew without the r? "ru" like how ghetto people say rude, and "may" like the month. coo-ru-may. hahah anyways. It is so quiet compared to Fukuoka! The people are much nicer, and not as busy, so that is fun! Plus the ward members are AMAZING! They help us so much, and feed us a lot of meals, so that is super nice! 

We live with Sister Oi from japan, and Sister Hawkins from Seattle area. They are the STL's. Oi Shimai is going home after this transfer!! They are so much fun! We are always laughing and joking, it's so fun with them! We live right next to a shrine, and on the other side of the shrine is the river! So in the mornings during exercise time we get to go running and walking along the river, It is so fun! and on the other side of the river is a golf course, so I always think of Taylor and Uncle Rod when I am exercising! haha

I still have not been able to meet with our investigators, they are just too dang busy! But we have been working with a less active family, getting their 7 year old boy ready for baptism! They have a 7 year old boy and a 5 year old girl, so it is fun to be around kids again! 

RANDOM STORY OF THE WEEK: This week we visited a member who lives close by. He lives in a very American looking house. He said a Canadian Architect designed it. We walked into his living room and right there in the entrance is his 103 year old mother just laying there in a hospital bed. She can barely open her eyes, can't speak, or even really move. We sang a hymn and you could see her mouth moving underneath her sick mask. It was really cool. I wonder what she thinks about all day? I touch her, so now I can say I touched a 103 year old woman!! It was really neat experience! 

Well, we don't have much time. And I forgot my planner, so I can't remember what happened this week, the days all blur together! hahah! I hope you have a great week! thanks for all of your love and support! We are just going forward with the work here in Kurume! 

Ai shite imasu!

Messer Shimai 

Good bye Fukuoka, Hello Kurume!

May 11, 2014

It was so nice to talk to you all this morning! That was so fun!! Weird to think I haven't talked to you in 6 months!! Crazy crazy. Yup, I left Fukuoka sad, sad day. When I got the transfer call, I could NOT believe it! I thought for sure I was staying in Fukuoka! Last p-day was filled with lots of packing and calling investigators and less active members I was working with! Michiko san took us out to lunch, and gave me a wallet (which she had put MONEY IN, that little sneaker!!) and took me shopping at a dollar store. She bought be a whole bunch of stickers, and little bag things and make up. She said, "I am your Japanese mother, you have to let me pay for it!" hahah I am going to miss her! She took good care of me! She used to work in Kurume, my new area! She would commute everyday for 4 years. It is only a 40 minute train ride! She says it is dangerous, but I don't believe her, it is the cutest little town!

Transfer day I was the first person in the whole mission to transfer! So the Ap's picked me up  at my apartment, and took me to the station. I bought my ticket and was on my own! i lugged my HUGE suitcases up THREE flights of stairs! I thought I was strong from riding a bike everyday. Sheesh it was hard. I got up to the platform, and realized, oh Sister Messer, You can't read kanji! So I had to ask somebody when the train to Kurume was. ON the train I realized, Oh Sister Messer, you can't read kanji! So every time the train stopped I would ask, "Is this Kurume?" and my suitcases were too big to sit next to me, so they had to stay by the door, but since my suitcases have 4 wheels, they would slide all around the cart and kept falling over. Finally a nice couple took pitty on me and helped me with my bags and told me when to get off! hahahah When I got off a nice man showed me to the elevator so I wouldn't have to carry them down the stairs!

Kurume is so nice! It is a lot more quiet, and local! It reminds me kind of like Cedar or St. George. My new companion is Sister Suzuki. She is from japan, she is 32 years old, and is just one transfer ahead of me! So we are learning together! Luckily, she speaks pretty good English! Phew. saved by the bell again. Last transfer was hard, but good. I am excited to see what this transfer has in store for me!

The members here are AMAZING! They always feed us and help us so much! It is about 40 members, about 30 are women! We are working with a less active family right now. Their son turns 8 in 3 weeks so we are working on  getting him baptized by June 1 and to have his dad baptize him! 

Well this computer keeps freezing on me, so I better go! I love you so much!! Have a great week! I am excited to see what miracles lie ahead this transfer! Ai shite imasu, yo!

Messer Shimai

our miracle investigator!

Monday, May 5, 2014

This week was so fun!! Yesterday we WENT TO THE ZOO with...

Christina, Sister Lyles, me Sister Jeffrey at the ZOO!

shopping carts in japan-the wheels turn any
direction smoothly!  You put a green cart on
the counter, they price them and put them in a
yellow cart and then you take them and bag them
yourself with bags you pay for or bring yourself.

With Sister Coles-Tibi Willard's cousin!

These little blue guys were every where at the station!

our miracle investigator!!! So on Sunday, a former investigator, Christina from Nepal just showed up at church!! She said she felt like she should come to church and ASKED to be taught again! What? Flake Shimai taught her with her previous companion, and she has been meeting with missionaries for over a year before the missionaries dropped her. She hasn't drank coffee since Flake Shimai taught her in October!!! So yesterday while Ito Shimai was in a training meeting, I went on splits with two sisters from the neighboring area, Nakagawa. We taught a lesson to their investigator ( a girl from Pennsylvania-ENGLISH!) and then met Christina at the Zoo! We have been wanting to go for quite sometime, but it is closed on P-days! It was so fun, we walked around, and the zoo even has botanical gardens, there were roses the size of my face! So cool! Anyways, Ito Shimai came, and the other sisters left and we had a lesson right there in the food area of the zoo. She has a lot of questions, and I was able to answer them since the lesson was in ENGLISH! It was magical. The lesson went so well! She wants to get baptized!! We are extending a date TOMORROW! Please pray for her!!

We also went on splits this week with the Sister Training Leaders. It was SO FUN! Guess what? One of my STL's is a PACKARD! She walked into our apartment and said "Do you know Tibi Packard?" I was like Tibi Willard? DO I? She is my best friend! I ran into my study room and showed her the picture of tibi that is hanging up on my wall! It was so great to get a Packard's hug! She is such a great missionary! Oh, and she is tall! That was weird. But I went on splits with Sister Nigh, a sister from CANADA! She is so sweet and I had so much fun tracting with her! I even extended TWO baptismal invites on the street! We met a lot of good people, got their numbers, got some peoples address. Great day. But the coolest thing happened. I saw the gift of tongues at work! So I approached a 20 something girl and introduced us, but while I was introducing us Sister Nigh got an important phone call, and had to bike away. So i was stuck there all by myself with a Japanese lady! What? She was Protestant, so she didn't want the BoM. But we were talking and then I realized, "shoot, Messer Shimai you have been speaking ENGLISH!! She can't understand English!" But then when I answered, it was Japanese coming out of my mouth!! It was weird. Granted, it was caveman Japanese, and I had no idea what we really were talking about...she started talking super speed and laughing and I was just agreeing "hai, hai (yes)" and she asked how long I had been in Japan I told her since New Years, and she said, in Japanese of course, "I have been learning English, I could have been speaking to you in English!" Are you kidding me??? hahahah But it was so fun, we talked for about 15 minutes and then Sister Nigh came over and we left. But Sister Nigh said, "What were you guys talking about? I looked over and you guys looked like best friends just laughing and she was resting her hand our your shoulder...how did you become such fast friends?" It was way cool. We gave her our number, but she hasn't called...we will see. But it was a great experience!

Today is transfer day! we should get our transfer all within a couple of hours! I know that I am getting a new companion. My guess is that I will stay in Fukuoka. They are making it into a 4-man again. So Ito Shimai gets a new missionary, and I will get a new companion we think! 

I like Ito shimai because she likes to shop. Last week we went to FOREVER21! Yes, out of all of the places we went to an American place, but it is so cheap! I bought a new skirt and two shirts for the humid summer! I was eating a corn dog, holding my forever21 bag and I realized i should embrace Japan a little more...hahaha But I figure all of the rice and the rice cheeks I have since grown, are evidence enough that I live in Japan!

I hope you have a great week, don't eat too much rice, it goes straight to the cheeks and double chin, TRUST ME!
I love you!!!

Messer Shimai

Six month mark!

April 28, 2014
Hello!

Summer is on its way! The cherry blossoms are all gone, and have turned into big green leaves, I can feel the humidity creeping up on us, and as the weather is warming up so are the people! This week we found a NEW INVESTIGATOR and two very, very solid potential investigators, we just have to see when they have time in their crazy schedule.

Inside a 7-11 in Fukuoka-Looks like USA

Our new investigator is like 70, her name is Takahashi san. We met her one day on our way to go housing. She was outside pulling weeds, we asked if we could help her but she said no. She goes to day care every morning, but then just goes home and pulls weeds, and hangs out by herself, so we went two days later and she was in the same place pulling weeds! So we made plans and went and had lunch the very next day. Guess where it was at? A SWISS restaurant. Yup, God is funny. Taking me to a restaurant where I wanted to go on my mission. It was way cool, you walked in and you felt like you were in a little village. There were pictures of Switzerland, and all wood paneled and what not and it was a cheese fondue place. So there was just a pot of hot cheese in the middle of the table that you dipped the bread into. It was way good. She is Buddhist, but very open to listen to what we have to say.

Our two potentials are YOUNG!! One is 19, and one is a pregnant 20 year old. We cant wait to get some young people in the mix of who we are working with! Everyone is over 60! hahah but it doesn't matter how old they are, right? 

Inside Messer Shimai's favorite dollar store in Fukuoka

Flowers blooming everywhere in Fukuoka!

This tastey bar has fermented soybeans, mayonnaise and mustard in it.  Yum!

 We were able to meet with M.san this week as well! She has to be one of my favorite people in this world! She is so curious and just wants to know. We have her a notebook to take notes as she read the BOM, she has so much written down, like Nephi's family tree and what not. And she wrote down some questions she has, so we can answer them this week! But she is reading it as a novel, not as scripture. We are working on applying it to her. But guess what? She prayed for the first time by herself this week!!! But she emailed us and said she realized she didn't know who our God was...Oops. Our bad. So we are going to try to teach the basics and work from there. She loves missionaries, and she takes good care of me! She told me if I ever needed anything, ANYTHING she would get it for me, so Grandma, you don't need to worry about me ;)

I can't believe in just two days I will have been on my mission for 6 months. Wait. What? I'm telling you. Time is CRAZY. Use it wisely, it goes by fast! 

I hope you all have a great week, and are enjoying the weather before SUMMER! I LOVE YOU!

Sister Messer