I have been transferred!

October 26, 2014

Housing in Kurume with Hirati Shimai

inenaga san with her 2 year old riina and Shimai Hirati

Inenaga san 

 ward members dropping us off! Akiyama Shimai and Niihara Kydoai

  Eating yaki tori with Yamamoto San, and Doi Shimai

KONNICHIWA! 

Well, like you have seen on facebook, I have been transferred!! I moved to one of the closest places possible: FUJISAKI! It is right on the border of my first area, FUKUOKA! So the district I am in right now, is the same district I was in 6 months ago! I even have the same district leader! Our mission is huge, you have to take planes to some areas when you transfer, but yet I somehow have managed to stay in the same stake for my whole mission! I sure do love President Aiura (Stake President) we have even gone tracting together, and he now talks about me whenever he gives a talk in my ward! hahah But my new companion is Doi Shimai!  She is a 5 transfer (I can't believe I am now on EIGHT!) She is a quarter Japanese and 1/2 tongan! She is way cool! We get a long great, it is fun to speak in English to my companion again! 

I was SO SAD to leave Kurume!! We had that place going good, and of course I had to leave. OH! I am whitewashing Fujisaki! So the other sisters gave us 2 less actives to work with that they havent been able to meet with because they are so busy. SO we are starting from NOTHING! It will be fun, thats what we did in Kurume, and look at it now! The biggest miracle is YAMAMOTO SAN! He is the nice man that puts our pictures on facebook, and that took us out to eat yakitori last week. He works in Kurume, where we met him, but LIVES IN FUJISAKI!! So I have already met with him three times since coming here! He came to church yesterday for the first time in his life! He takes good care of us, and even took me and Doi Shimai out for yakitori again since she had never eaten it! I am so glad I am able to meet with him here in Fujisaki, which gives me good excuse to call and follow up with the sister in Kurume, and catch up with them! :) 

My last day in Kurume consisted of me saying goodbye to my favorite ward members and investigators, I was so sad to leave Kinjo san and Inenaga san, to really solid investigators, but I trust the new sisters with them! WE don't have a phone, and our bikes just arrived, so we have just been wandering the streets, talking to almost 200 people in 2 1/2 days! But the Fukuoka Tower is in our area, so that is way cool! 

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Messer Shimai

We had to stay inside all day because of Typhoon Vongfong

October 13, 2014

Konnichiwa!

Just for the record, vongfong isn't Japanese. BUT typhoon is! Don't worry, by the time it got to Kyushu (the island of Japan that I live on) it had died down! We were instructed to stay in our apartment all day! But be effective. What does that mean? We cleaned for SIX HOURS!! I didn't even know our apartment could be cleaned for that long. We cleaned and cleaned, finished, filled out records and then realized. Nobody had cleaned out the fridge or freezer. Oh well, better luck next time. hahah. But it was fun! We made nabe (really good soup that is practically Japan's chicken noodle soup) and homemade gyoza! (we at it at the Cooper's house before my mission!) It was way good! There were really strong winds, and it did rain a little. Probably the wind was the worst part. This time we got smart, and instead of putting the bikes in our living room are, we just put it them on our back porch! hahah The things you learn as you mature in mission age. The day ended with Hirata Shimai giving me a message. (after daily planning of course) Best companion award. Plus, she is really ticklish so she didn't even want one in return!

But we got to watch GENERAL CONFERENCE this week! Christmas came early!! It was way good! We had two investigators come. One of them was Kinjo san, who usually wears jogging suits to church, but he promised us to wear slacks, and this week he came in his slacks!! (still wearing his baseball cap, but he made progress!) he has already read from the beginning to Words of Mormon! Gosh I love that little guy! He is amazing! Just have to get him to gain a testimony for himself! We are praying he can pray by himself! But General Conference was way good! We got to go into the "English room" Where we ate popcorn, no bake cookies, and a ward member made us SANDWICHES! Granted, they were Japanese-y but they were good! Oh, I don't know if I have said this, they don't eat sandwiches here. They eat rice balls for lunch, or other things, but never sandwiches like we have! 

This week we were housing a big apartment complex, and there were these 6 little kids who answered the door (one kid, 5 friends), the mom was standing there, we were talking about God but she was just playing on her phone, so we ended up asking the kids if they believed in God one girl in the front did, she was so cute, probably 8ish. But the mom didnt have interest, so we left a flyer and moved on. Two days later we went to the same complex to finish housing, and knocked on this door, the same girl who said she had believed in God answered the door. She got really excited and told her mom she knew us! Hirata Shimai was behind the door, so they couldn't see her, so it was just me teaching them, but I was scared I wouldn't be able to understand their answer if I asked them any more questions. So I just asked if we could come back. The mom said yes! So we are going tonight! We are excited!! People to teach! We hope we can go back again! 

Well I love you all, hope you have a great week! And don't forget those things you learned in General Conference! I LOVE YOU!
Messer Shimai

Receiving massage from Hirati Shimai during the Typhoon lock down

Don't worry, because Hirati is so tiny, the punching actually felt good!

We got to visit Fukuoka this week!

Sept. 28, 2014

Went to Fukuoka for training this week!

Before anyone else says it, I KNOW tomorrow marks my 11 months mark!! It's crazy!! Where does the time go!! But I still haven't reached my year mark, so we are ok! 

This week was good! I was able to go back to my beloved city of Fukuoka for training!! Where I got to see COOK SHIMAI my MTC companion! We went through so much together, it is always so fun to see her! And my first area! It was so weird, I kept having flashbacks where I was freezing on my bike, or running away from members because I couldn't understand what they were saying to me! hahah I can't believe I am already on transfer 7! 

We were able to help one of our investigators at the dentist this week! The dentist is fun, but weird. They even take off their shoes when they go to the dentist!! So we put on slippers, and then the person that sits in the seat to get worked on, takes off the slippers so they are just getting worked on in their socks!! It does make it have a more "homey" feel to it!! But I am getting used to never wearing shoes, so I hope you don't judge me. 

This week we also had an open house! President has asked that all areas have an open house to get non-members to be able to come see the building in a non-scary environment (sorry, I am starting to really forget English! Even when I think hard about words, they don't come!) But our goal was to get 10 people to come!! We gave every member 10 flyers, and asked them to hand them out. We ended up getting SIX people that were members friends, ONE potential investigator (somebody that the other sisters in our area work with), and THREE middle school boys off of the street, which adds up to TEN!! We did it! we hit our goal!! We were so excited! It ended up being way good! We just set up the church like it would look at church, put some nice music in each room, and would just explain each room in 2-3 minutes! It went really well and even got to hand out a couple copies of the Book of Mormon, and got their numbers and addresses! So we were excited about that! 

I also got a package from the Young Women this week! It made me so happy! I was SO SURPRISED!! It was marvelous!! And perfect timing, I had just biked home in the beginning part of a typhoon, so i was drenched and a little embarrassed from how often my skirt kept flying up while biking in the wind! But it was so good to see all the notes that the girls wrote me! So fun! I felt the love!! 

Have a great week! I love you!

Messer Shimai

Lesson mastery accomplished!

Konnichiwa! Ogenki desu ka?!

I hope you all had a marvelous week! We are all very excited in the Kurume apartment. Yesterday, one of our favorite ward members gave us NUTELLA!! Hirata Shimai has never eaten nutella before, so we told her it would be "too sweet" for her, so that we could eat more. Oh no, that sounds bad! I think I need to repent! Companionship unity!! I can't lie! But anyways...

This week was great!! In our mission we have a thing called "lesson mastery" where we all have to teach all 5 of the lessons in a 3-5 minute lesson, a 10-15 minute lesson, and a 30-45 minute lesson. ALL BY YOURSELF! NO companionship unity there! Anyway, it is way stressful and the last long lessons you have to teach to your district leader, zone leader, ward mission leader, and a less active member. Anyways, I finished YESTERDAY!! It took way longer than I would have liked to complete it, but I can now teach any lesson, any length without a companion. (which I never want to do, law of witnesses, anyone?) But we were excited

I saw a spider the size of my HAND this week while housing! I was walking down the stairs and Hirata Shiami just gasps, the apartments here are FILLED with spiders, and we like to blow on their webs and see them scuttle away so a gasp is normal, I just deck my head ( i am taller than all Japanese people, so i frequently walk through the webs..) but then i realize she stopped, I look up and there is a spider big enough to be in the Harry Potter movies. It was insane. I just covered my mouth, and like tears just came to my eyes I was so scared. I didn't know what to do, couldn't speak, my vision was going blurry (give me a break, I'm a sister missionary, we are SUPPOSED to cry a lot, it comes with the calling) and I just snatched my bag, took a couple pictures, and then ran away. It was a scary time.

BUT spiders aside, we have a really great investigator who reads the Book of Mormon for AT LEAST 30 minutes every night!! Plus one night he was so interested in it, that he read until 3 in the morning!! We are hoping to extend a baptismal date this week! So pray for him! Kinjo san! We love him! 

Went to Nagasaki, ate some Indian curry (which i think might be my favorite food), received some training, slept on the train. And I am glad to report that my hair is back to normal. Just a little shorter, probably about 6 or 7 inches! I get to go to Fukuoka this week for a training and I am SO EXCITED!!! have a great week! I love you!! 

Messer Shimai

Lesson mastery...check!

hmm....seems like spiders and food seem to be my miracles of the week...

September 14, 2014

Maybe you all got a little taste of what Japan is like with the flood this week ;) I hope you all survived and your houses didn't float away! You will have to keep me updated with the roads, if they ever get up and running again! I hope the kids had fun sleeping at their schools, thats always an adventure! haha

This week was good! It was technically "transfer week" but since my whole district stayed the same, it still just feels like last transfer! I like it!

Remember the man we met on the street last week and were going to teach that night? Well we taught him and it went AMAZING! He had tons of great questions about where we go after this life, and why there are so many churches. Luckily, through our message we can answer those question

s :) BUT he is busy, and can't meet until next week, but we are so excited!

I am looking through my "miracles" of the week in my planner to see what to tell you...most of them are "we killed the cockroach in our house" or "Hirata Shimai killed a monster spider in our house" or " I ate chocolate banana ice cream" or "I tried to kill a spider in the church bathroom, but I chickened out, the spider faked dead and i just brushed it into the trash can and ran away" or "our English students gave us cake" or "we got delicious Japanese seedless grapes from an investigator" hmm....seems like spiders and food seem to be my miracles of the week...

Bad haircut!

But I did learn a very valuable lesson this week that I am sure most girls have learned while living with other girls. DON'T LET YOUR ROOMMATE CUT YOUR HAIR!!!! I have needed to have a hair cut for quiet some time now, but with transfers, and having to go on a p-day I just didn't want to spend time. Finally after our English class I was fed up and Hawkins Shiami has wanted to cut my hair for forever (we have been living together for 5 months now) She cut her past companions hair, and has 5 sisters, so I figured it was safe, right? WRONG! She cut it straight in the back...well diagonal. When we brought the hair up to the font not only was one side about 3 inches longer than the other, but the hair from the front of the head was about 3 inches longer than the hair from the back of the head, so her companion, Williams Shimai,  fixed it so it was a little bit better. But let's just say I have an appointment today with a ward member who will cut my hair for free at the church. Don't worry, she is a hairdresser. I have been walking around Kurume with uneven hair for like 5 days, but I think since I am an American everyone still thinks it's cool. Maybe I will start a trend? I am just hoping my hair will be normal by the time I go home! hahah! We have fun in the Kurume apartment, thats for sure! 

Love you all! Stay safe and have fun! GO MUD BOGGING! 

Ai shite imasu yo!

Messer Shimai

why is the policeman looking at me?

August 31

Good week in Kurume!! Start the email with the best news of the week: a less active member we have been working with has come to to church THREE weeks in a row! His name is Brother Inoue and in Sunday School he said his biggest hope, desire, goal right now is to come to church EVERY WEEK! That is the 5 reactivation I have seen on my mission. I would have never guessed that as a missionary in JAPAN i would see more success with less actives than investigators! But the work is good! I love seeing the gospel bless these people lives for the second time! They have already felt God's love once, and to have them feel it again is an amazing thing! 

We had an interesting experience this week while housing. We had a couple of minutes so we went housing near the church. We had housed two apartment buildings and moved onto the third building. We rang the bell, no answer, knocked "konnichiwa" no answer, but we did hear the door lock, which is a typical things. You can hear people inside, but they just dont answer. So we move on, we knock, there is an answer so I start by saying "we are missionaries for the church of...." There are 2 policemen running up the stairs looking at the door I am at...wait I don't want to be talking to a girl who is about to get arrested, step back. Wait a second..why is the policeman looking at me? Turns out the neighbor who like his door got scared that there was a foreigner outside his door so he called the cops! The police were way nice, totally understood what we were up to, I had to show them my residency card, they took mine and Hirata Shimai's name, address, birthdays. They told us to be careful, and just left. We turn. Oh shoot, the girl we just contacted was just standing in the door watchign the whole thing. She says, "are you ok?" ya, we are ok. "Are you sure?" ya we are..soooo do you believe in Go? "No, actually my family is Buddhist..but are you ok?" YES WE ARE OK. "Ok, well be careful! bye!" hahah she will accept the gospel some day... I am sure. 

Ate a bunch of raw fish this week. Thats never my favorite. But you gotta do what you gotta do. 

I love you, I am going to go try to find a kimono I like today!! Love you all!

xoxo

Messer Shimai

God really does love all of us!

September 8, 2014

Hey everyone! We got transfer calls today, and I am STAYING in Kurume with Hirata Shimai!! We are so excited! Actually, we were playing Uno with our district when we got the call from the AP's, and our WHOLE district is staying! I guess since we all have a baptismal date, they didn't want to ruin a good thing! So we are excited to stay together! We have a great district! We are all a little weird, so it's a good thing we got going hahah I will officially be in Kurume longer than I was in Fukuoka! Transfer 7 here we come!

fork?  what's a fork?

But we had a great week! Yesterday we went to the DENTIST with our investigator, Inenaga san. She was a little worried to go out with her 2 year old daughter. her daughter always screams and cries when she goes into big buildings, so we went to help her (with our District Leaders permission, of course since there was a kid involved) Then we went housing all day. On the way home I was a little disappointed. I am about to go on transfer 7 and can probably count the number of progressing investigators I have had on one hand. I had a really bad stomach ache, but still had to contact people on the way home. Getting on and of the bike every time was so painful, and to tell you the truth I was beating myself up for not being a better example to Hirata Shimai. I am her second companion, so between me and her trainer she knows nothing else. I am always so exhausted, I can barely think because all we do is go out tracting all day. I gave a little desperate prayer saying Heavenly Father, I don't even know what I am doing! Why am I not seeing any success! Right then we stopped at a stop light and a man across the road waved at me, I waved back but realized I didn't know him so, I turn around like an idiot expecting one of those "not you, I don't even know you!" waves. but there was nobody else, so when the light turned green I biked across the street and he said "hello" and then continued in Japanese...they always start with good intentions...he said we had housed into him a couple weeks about but was sleeping, he saw the flyer we left in his post box and wants to hear what we learn! You could tell Hirata Shimai was tired to because she said, "well we can meet ANOTHER day" hahah so we are meeting him TONIGHT! He has been CATHOLIC all his life, yes CATHOLIC meaning, he has s CHRISTIAN background! Can you read that? CHRISTIAN! He believes in Christ and GOD! That is magical! So we have really high hopes for him! I am so excited! God really does love all of us! Even us little missionaries who feel bad for themselves when they are tired and have a stomach ache! 

In new Kimono!

So that was the highlight of my week! That an a lightning storm we had! it was so pretty! It has been raining a lot lately, but it is cooling down! This summer wasn't even that bad!! Well everyone, have a great week! I love you, and so does our Heavenly Father!

xoxo,

Messer Shimai