Dec 9, 2013

Family letter!

 

Hey! Zone Conference and Transfers just happened! Today we didn't have too long to Email so I will give you the basics and write later about the two.

 

My companion yim shimai is getting transferred and I am staying here! I will get a new nihonjin companion and will be training her in her second transfer! (aaaah) A little nervous, but Things will be great! At zone conference we did a nativity scene and I got to sing a duet with clark shimai! not sure why they got me to sing, I really cant sing. I got a present from the parents and cried my face off XD haha, thank you It really warmed my heart.

 

We got to listen to the testimonies from the missionaries leaving soon and it really got me thinking. (whoa! It has been a year since I opened my call!) This mission is fast. Too fast. Even if you are having a hard time changing the people`s hearts in Japan, you truly can change someone`s. Aka, yourself.

 

We watched a bit of the Joseph Smith restoration video. Our testimony of the restoration is so important. The restoration hasn't ended yet. Christ is still leading this church, and God is still revealing his truths to us. Through the happiness we have found in this gospel, we can show it to others even just by living the commandments of our Heavenly Father. Our Joy and hope are very apparent. Christ`s atonement is real, and is Eternal. It has changed my life, and I hope to bring this message to others, even if they wont listen.

 

Thank you everyone for your holiday wishes. This time is truly a special one. We can show our love to our Savior by the service we give to others. Matthew 25:40 Always keep Him in your thoughts, he will be there by your side.

 

I love everyone!

 

Thank you for everything!

あいしています！

お金姉妹

Dec 1, 2013

If you don`t know what Nato is... (naato?) Look it up. I remember my Japanese teacher bringing it into class one day and half of the class ran to the other side of the room. BUT YES! I love nato now. I think my taste buds are changing... I still love everything sweet though. 

Happy December! Now that it`s 12 Gatsu my companion is doing all she can to get into the Christmas spirit... yes, she has lights and everything. I still think it`s a bit too early XD but hey, whatever makes her happy. 

This week was as follows:

Monday! Pday, but we had to do a bit more Dendo because we had choir practice after 6. We practiced for Sugiura san`s baptism on the following Saturday. Also during that day we met a cute grandma who cuts hair for super cheap and I kind of made my companion volunteer  to cut her hair so we could get inside and talk for a long time XD ... (she`s ok) Her daughter has the cutest 3 year old. I found out she used to have dinner with the missionaries like 15 years ago and would love to keep talking to them. not sure what happened... Maybe we`ll find out today! 

Tuesday was a huge finding day because we don't have any meetings or activities. I was really tired, but it was nice to just spend the day talking to as many people as I could. It rained a whole lot, but I was prepared! We also go to talk to the cute obaasan for a little bit and sing songs with her. She`s a member in our ward who is too sick to come to church, so she loves the missionaries over.

Wednesday was EIKAIWA! 3 new people came and this time we celebrated thanksgiving and made mashed potatoes (instant curtousy of nebeker choro`s mom) and ate together as s `class` it was very fun and people were able to speak English to us. 

Thursday was of course THANKSGIVING! ... but Japanese people don't celebrate Thanksgiving! So we were kindly invited to attend thanksgiving dinner at a members house in misawa! so we were able to eat at a dinner table, eat turkey, play quarkle and eat my favorite Pretzel jello. All in all, I don't think I could survive the year if I didnt eat thanksgiving food. So I`ll be set! The members in Misawa really are wonderful. (most of them are American, and kind of spoil missionaries) Our two nihonjin elders were shocked when they sat into the recliner chairs, it was funny.

Friday was ZTM (zone training meeting) so it was nice to learn a lot there and see everyone, it started snowing on the way back on the train so it was beautiful! Snow didn't stick in hachinohe though. Too windy and wet.... but super cold at the same time. 

Saturday was the baptism! Sugiura san is a bit shy, but she was able to feel the Spirit. Everyone did as well. It`s true as it says in the scriptures that our joy is multiplied when we see other`s successes in life and spiritual journeys. We sang "Abide With Me tis eventide. 

Today was Seminary`s last day. So we had an akashikai or testimony meeting and hear all of the youths thoughts. It made me think of my life when I was still in seminary and how I really miss it. Having a wonderful teacher who helps you as you read the scriptures truly is a wonderful blessing, and I regret a lot now not really studying as much as I should have. But we all have our weaknesses and as we strive to become better, the Lord will help us on our way. We just have to give all we have. 

Hope everyone`s week was great! Hope to hear from you soon! 

Nov 17

Enter the amazing Weekly letter!

 

Well, this week probably won't sound too amazing actually, not a whole lot happened haha. Hachinohe is REAAAaaaly quiet. After I left last week we as a district played the game of Life! Jinsei game! except it was Japanese style... I ended up having no kids, a dog, and gambling all my money on Pachinko to try and beat Miura shimai... didnt work out. AH WELL! and then we DENDO`d (street tracting) in freeeeeezing main street! I think people just took my flyer because I looked horribly cold. It got warmer after that day though thankfully. On Wednesday it was our DL`s birthday, so an eikaiwa student from Niigata came to our class... its about 10 hours away by bus! Apparently she is his number one fan. Teaching eikaiwa makes me realize how hard English is for Japanese speakers. All of our pronunciations are just... off. The word GIRL is impossible; and Vocabulary.

 

Thursday we were able to talk to one of our favorite PI`s. She loves to talk to missionaries and loves to help them with their Japanese problem... little to no interest in the gospel, but she feels that our messages are important. I shared with her the scripture about earthly treasures and heavenly treasures. After she read the scripture she pointed behind her and said `My two treasures are all I need` aka her kids. Aaaawwww. Someday she`ll get more interested in the gospel!

 

So last mainstreet time I was able to eat at Mister donuts... and they were celebrating a Charlie Brown Christmas! I got to eat a Snoopy donut and Woodstock donut! It was awesome! I'm more shocked that they actually knew what Woodstock`s name was. Usually they only know Snoopy. Anywho, that was my highlight of the week...

 

Every sunday we have a shuwa class, I`m getting SLooowly better but it can only go as far as my language skills with Japanese which is kind of lacking. It`s still fun though, plus I can sort of talk to all the deaf people in our branch!

 

Well that`s kind of all that happened this week. Our other shimai tachi have a baptism interview next week! I hope it goes alright... The last baptism in Hachinohe was about... 5 years ago so! I`ll be praying continually for them and for her. Thanksgiving is coming up! Please eat turkey for me! cuz... honestly you can`t eat that here.

 

I love you all! and can`t wait to hear from everyone again next week!

I love you all bye bye!

 

Money Shimai

Nov 11, 2013

That is tonikaku and anyway put together. Apparently it`s missionary slang. 

This week has been great!  Right now for Pday we are playing the game of life with everyone. And it is my turn to do email. haha, some things missionaries do for fun... 

So this week we did a lot of eikaiwa advertising again! and last eikaiwa we got 3 new students! a family! WHAT! that is so exciting news seriously. They said they were coming this week too. We`ll see if that promise stays true. Our new DL has a lot of ideas and we are doing our best to get the word out missionary style, while talking to people on the side. Literally the side of the street, people try to run, but we catch them eventually. People dont realize how fun it is to talk to missionaries, especially gaijin missionaries who try so hard just to say hello right. Anywho, 

The weather here has been crazy. SOOO windy, in fact there was a tornado watch in Aomori. And it is snowing and sleeting here. So fun. Thank you dad again. I love staying dry. So last week I designed the pamphlet board for our church. I cut out a giant temple I drew on silver paper and put a golden angel Moroni on the top. It looks... well, messy to me, but people love it. so i guess it`s ok. 

So now that it`s cold all the members are dropping off all sorts of warm clothes and blankets, so thankful to them. Sorry this email is a bit lame... Most of this week has just been me trying to talk to people on the streets and ending up totally failing Japanese, but making someone laugh, and sometimes handing out a good flyer. I love it though. You  meet some amazing people.

we have an investigator that was passed from the elders. She is pretty strong bhudist. but she enjoys listening to our thoughts on God and has her own prayer journal. She recognizing his blessings in her life, but says she wont ever get baptized... even though we haven`t tried to ask her yet. (the elders did) Someday ya? haha. She`ll be fine. 

Thank you everyone for your emails and letters! I read a pretty good section lately in the bible.... If only I wasnt the most forgetful person in the world. I`ll check my notes later... but mostly it goes about doing all your work lovingly and not grudgingly. Sometimes it feels a bit hard in Japan and your attitude goes down the drain sometimes, but if you really remember the purpose of being a missionary, or whatever calling you have, you feel a strong desire to improve and follow God. 

Stay well! see you next week!

-Money Shimai

OH PS! we had the children`s program this week! there was a total of 3 kids. XD haha, the missionaries helped out a bit and I shared a story about Baptism... (little Nathan`s actually.) Tell him to never forget his baptism experience Like I did. ahaha, well, almost forgot everyone. I remembered the feeling of the spirit... and the scriptures I got. (still using them) and my brother XD I love you brother! Have a good week!  

Nov 3, 2013

Heeeey, So something that`s new this week is that I have no time to email! OTL. Today we went on a bit of a trip to visit a member's farm so that my companion could see a horse. haha. She really loves horses. So we talked there, and no it`s Dendo time! SO! back to work. 

This week not much really happened other than we have a new DL and he is awesome. He is actually my old Zone Leader in Sendai. He is full of ideas and since this is his last area he is going full out on dendo. I hope we can help Hachinohe and live his vision. 

Which is through Eikaiwa! We pretty much teach English for free and have a fun time every week, but lately the people just stopped coming and since we have no investigators the town knows us as *those* kind of missionaries. So, we have some resurrecting to do. Hopefully we can get it done. 

Next week is Zone training meeting and I get to see a lot of my old MTC district because they all transferred up to Aomori Zone. As for the weather here... IT GOT SUNNY! what?! this has to be a joke or something. It was sooo cold before! Maybe it was just being nice for the new missionary that came to hachinohe. Soon the storms will hit, I`m sure. I hear it`s snowing in Utah. Lucky duckies. IN 青森 It gets about 9 feet... In Hachinohe maybe 2. Something to do with being so close to the coast. 

So in our last lessons with one of our investigators, she had a question about why God would let so many bad things happen to this world. For some answering this could be hard... However once we realize that Our Heavenly Father is a loving God, everything bad that could happen ALWAYS brings us hope. Whether it`s through our own growth, or a long trial that brings great results... even results that wont happen in this life. I don't know what the scripture is in English but... よろこんでなさい。Recently a lot of Japanese people have wondered this question. The Japanese culture really is different, but Japan is changing. Miracles are going to happen here. 

Thank you everyone for your letters and emails! Hopefully I can reply to everyone! 

ALSO! Nathan! thank you for the Halloween package! I will make great use of the cookie mix. Believe it or not... they don't really have cookies here XD hee hee

Till next week!

I love everyone! BYE!

October 30, 2013

To the rest of the world,

Aaaaahhhhh So much has happened in this past week and I don't even know where to start...I guess on the first day XD So on Monday it was our branch president`s birthday! so we all prepared a great message and drove to his house. We sang the song *ai ai* which means love... and a kind of monkey. ... we also sang love is spoken here, but we couldn't really find the first note so we were off key the whole time and sounded terrible. I think he appreciated that the most. Earlier that same day we had a birthday lunch for elder Keshino, and invited a very odd old investigator... Apparently she is German and doesn't speak Japanese. She always where a wig and sunglasses and tries to predict the future for everyone. So that was a wonderful time as well. hee hee... 

The next day we went to Misawa for a District meeting. Yim shimai and I got to teach, then after we had a district lunch at the Base... And I ate SUBWAY! and raspberry cheesecake cookies! All the gaijins tried to order food, but they just complained that there was waaay too much and only filled their cups half way. It was awesome. 

The next day we were able to go to Eikaiwa... unfortunately all of our students are gone except one man who has come every week for 23 years D; So we really need to try to bring in more students... or something? On Wednesday we also have a shuwa class so that the missionaries can learn how to communicate with some of the members. It`s way fun! But It`s rather hard for me, because I haven`t really tried to Learn ASL at all. 

on Thursday we thought it was going to be a pretty slow day, but while housing in a nice quiet town we were able to talk to one nice 30　year old lady. She was very interested in the restoration of the church, and after we taught her what was different about our church, she invited us to go to her apartment to teach her more! She hasn't been 100 percent sure God really exists so we taught her about prayer, and she honestly really wanted to pray and find out! I hope she got an answer, we will be speaking to her tomorrow. This is our first investigator we have found on our own efforts, so It`s very excited! but also a bit scary as well. What we are doing really is the Lord`s work and he expects us to do the best we can, and with love and care, so that we can be able to teach with the spirit. 

On Fri/sat we had a huge Halloween party... which honestly wasn't that prepared at all. Because we are missionaries we planned it rather quickly and couldn't get the members too much involved... but our branch president being amazing helped us at the last minute to make some great decorations. I was able to invite one of the referrals we received from a member. The referral and her 8 friends and kids came! they had a blast and said that everyone had fun. Hopefully we can re invite them to more activities. 

For Halloween of course I was a .... well... pirate. Because it takes a good 5 minutes to prepare. XD haha. I got no candy though. Guess that`s the only difference. Many Japanese people don't really celebrate Halloween, they just love it for the decorations and theme. They aren't really sure why Americans celebrate it either. (they don't really like candy either so...) 

On Sunday the missionaries sang a great arrangement of I am a child of God and called to serve. I also remembered that I was asked to give a talk in church and prepared one during the day... OTL haha... I forget a lot of things. But it turned out great! and I only messed up a few times with Japanese. 

Speaking of Japanese, Its hard to think I'm getting better... I'm probably not, but honestly I must be or else things would be a lot harder! I`ll keep studying...

So today is transfers. I'm staying, our District leader is leaving. Which is a bit upsetting... but he`s been here for 5 transfers. We`ll be getting my old Zone leader from Sendai as a district leader. 

sorry for the typos! everything is great here! It`s getting cold... but today was actually sunny! I've noticed this week that if you really do just work, God will put you in other people paths... He will honestly make everything turn out just fine. D C 123;17? I think Hopefully. I don't have my scriptures with me at the second, and I'm out of time...

I love everyone! I pray for you always. Have a good week! 

-Money Shimai

October 16, 2013

To the fam:

Hello everyone! I hope Conference was great for everyone. I finally got to watch it with all the gaijin senkyoshi here in Hachinohe. We actually saw the Sunday session first because we only had one DVD. :3 but that`s ok! I`m pretty sure General Conference is like an energy drink for missionaries. After we heard all the great talks everyone`s energy just shot through the roof. During conference I think we all learned something for ourselves, families or friends. Whatever we learned or relearned can only become helpful to us if we apply it. Again, Watching general conference and hearing what goes on is just not enough. That makes me kind of kick my old self. I remembered how when I was young I didn`t like watching all the sessions. Let alone one for 2 hours! What was I thinking. What we do in our lives, what choices we make, greatly influence our future. For better or for worse, it still happens. But one thing that gives me the greatest happiness is knowing that because my family centered it`s life around the gospel, and around Jesus Christ, I too understand the blessings, and purposes of Commandments, The truth that Jesus is our Savior, and that I am a child of God. As we feed ourselves more spiritually, exercise faith we become an overall better person, and can resist the horrible temptations of Satan and the world. 

Remember what makes you happy, and what has blessed you. Even though the world is a bit nasty at the moment, our families can be safe and warm. 

Other than Conference this week not a whole lot happened. Of course I was still housing, finding, streeting, riding some trains, and of course Studying. Though what I think changed the most this week was the sun. THE SUN! It rained a TON last week and the wind was about 1000 mph. Hee hee, guess I`ll give you something other than a weather check. I`m learning Shuwa better! Japanese sign language. Can`t wait to come back to America and try to talk to all the ASL people out there. Will probably confuse them. 

Since Yamanaka Kaicho realized I could also draw on Photoshop as well, he got me to design a poster for an upcoming halloween party the church is holding! No pressure. That man loves Talent dendo. I:ll send you a pic of it. Not too great, but I got to draw on a tablet and everything! just like the good old times! then i remembered how hurt my back gets after drawing :U 

Well! wish me luck next week! My Daughter is going to be leading for the whole week, so I suppose i wont need too much luck. She`s honestly a wonderful leader all ready and i have no reason to fret. 

Have a good week! I promise I`ll respond better soon. Time was a bit hard today. 

I love everyone! 

October 7, 2013

こんいちは皆さん！お元気ですか？

This week has been wonderful as always! We had a lot of meetings up in Aomori and Misawa! So lots of time spent on either train rides or listening to talks. But still a week full of wonderful moments. 

Before we left for all the conferences we had a normal day to just work! After visiting a lot of PI`s and getting either the, we don`t know you or they arent home we decided to go talk to a member about violin lessons and see if she could help... unfortunately her address wasnt in any of the maps and it was impossible to find her house! It was getting a bit late, so we tried the whole... We are lost can you please help us, kind of dendo. It worked for a bit, but they too didnt really know where she lived. One house couldn`t really understand us and ended up just saying `kekko` meaning. No thanks! .... even though we were lost and just needed help. XD gotta work on that Japanese. We talked to this one lady who showed us on google maps and it ended up being the house right next to hers. In our defense there arent ANY street signs or addresses on any of the houses.

On Thursday we had Zone training meeting. My Zone leader now was actually my District leader down in Nagamachi. So it was nice to still see him around and ask a bit about how the areas are doing. He seems a bit less stressed even though he`s a zone leader now. Thanks to some of that training Aomori zone will just keep getting better and better! and colder! 

We had a lesson with our one investigator that got passed to us from the original sisters... unfortunately this was the last week of the family english program and she decided to not listen to our messages anymore. She is part of another Faith and feels a bit guilty listening and praying with us. (boooo) but she is still coming to eikaiwa! 英会話！

So again our Branch President is amazing. Since we had to make so many trips to Aomori he offered to drive us during district conference. Even though we had to be there an hour early for Singing practice he still drove us 2 hours and 2 hours back and bought us dinner :U .... And he ended up bringing my violin down with him for some strange reason even though I wasnt suppose to play it in any of the events... sometimes Im not sure what he`s thinking, but his heart is in the right place and he`s always prepared for everything! 

The next day we went to Misawa and got to go to their GIANT CHURCH! full of gaijin americans and listen to some great talks for 2 hours. They were all in Japanese, but that`s the usual. During one of the talks I think a giant Jet took off or something because we heard the loudest plane sound ever. Sorry dad, Couldn`t really see the base. Maybe next time I`ll get to see it. 

All and all a great week! In the next 3 months our whole mission has sacrificed something to get to our goals of atleast one investigator a week. The power of prayer, commitment, and God`s will truly makes miracles. Hopefully we`ll see some progress in the Japanese Sendai mission! Pray for them. They truly are a wonderful people. 

I love everyone! and can`t wait to talk to you next week! 

愛しています！

お金姉妹

September 29

Hello Hello Hello! 

One more week here in Hachinohe! I wish I could tell you everything! However that could get quite boring and long so I`ll do my best to keep you all in the loop. 

On Tuesday we had an .... interesting experience. We were housing in a far off town, getting rejected one by one. What`s new. However one house we knocked on looked somewhat Like a company. However most houses have companies inside their houses for room sake. A old woman answered the door, we told her we were from the LDS church, then she said ONE SECOND! then left. we were a bit confused... a moment later an old man opened the door, and said COME IN COME IN! ... being a bit apprehensive I said that we could talk in the genkan. Which is the shoe area. The old woman came back and said No no! That won`t do! Then she gave us mats to sit on, orange juice and potato salad.... The old man was a bit drunk, and he tried to talk to me about Religion. He likes Religion. The wife`s son is getting married to a Gaijin so she likes to talk to americans... not sure they have any interest in our church... but as I tried to understand the old man`s slurred Japanese He told me a very valuable lesson. That even though people will keep shutting the doors, and not accepting your religion, as long as you speak from your heart, and your own testimony that`s the best you can do. It was quite inspirational. I gave him Book of Mormon to read, and we were off. He wished us luck, but before we left I wasn`t expecting to get hugged by the drunk guy. Yep, my mission stories are complete now I suppose. I got hugged by a drunk guy. The wife told him to. :U

During this week we enjoyed the opportunity to talk to ALOT of people. I am getting better at actually being able to talk normally to people! It`s hard for Japanese missionaries to keep a normal conversation, seeing as all we can do is preach about the gospel. However because of this I now have to get my hair cut at this one salon by an old lady. Awe well. 

One day we went housing by the ocean and got to see a lot of boats come in and leave. It was so beautiful because the sun was setting and the sky was clear. 

On sunday we got to hear a lesson from the bishop. Honestly this Bishop is wonderful! He is what you call a handy man. He can fix anything, he likes to advertise our efforts, and is the one who found the violin for me! For his lesson he constructed a crane in the morning and taught about how it`s easier to have help then to rely on your own strength. Quite the impressive display. In our ward we also have atleast 6 deaf people, so we are all trying to learn shuwa. I am not very good...  They are great at reading mouths however! 

Next week will be district conference in Aomori! So I`ll get to see a bigger city near the ocean. We also have zone training meeting there too the day before.... lots of train riding! 

Also something that I forget to tell everyone. If you search a few videos in Youtube I`m sure you`ll find me. or atleast... lots of missionaries. Try SMYC missionaries called to serve? ... maybe put a date in there...  and also Sis. Rassumusen`s Birthday video in sendai Japan. We did a great present for her, and a skit for her. If you find it you`ll enjoy it. 

Now that I`m trainer I have a lot of responsibilities, but yim shimai is great. She`s from Indiana. to answer dad`s question, no, she doesn`t know any langauges. Her ancestors were from Japan, China and Hawaii. She loves to read maps and always seems to know where she is going. Lucky me! I get lost in a straight line....

Anyway! Hope everyone is having fun in CALIFORNIA! what?! Send me lots of pictures! Tell me lots of stories! Can`t wait to hear from everyone again. :3 enjoy some pictures! 

Bye!

-Money Shimai

A transfer plus some pictures!

TO THE FAM! Konnichiwa! 

I have sooooooooooooo much to tell you! and time to type it! Yaaaaay. 

So. I`m here up in Hachinohe, where it:s getting quite colder. I actually wore a jacket for the first time this week since I left on my mission. We are near the sea so it gets breezy. From Nagamachi to Hachinohe was about 4 hours long on a bus. (I almost missed that bus, but that:s another story) I made it and that`s all that matters. 

We live in a new apartment. So no mold! Plus the futons actually feel like futons. Our apartment has a total of 4 sisters. The 3 sisters that were here before plus me. Our apartment is right next to the river! and there is a walking trail and railraod track as well. Very Japanese-ish. All and all, I feel safe at home. 

My companion is great! Yim shimai is in her 2 transfer, so not perfect Japanese, but she was a lot farther than I was one month ago. Since Hachinohe is quite new we mostly go finding. In Nagamachi I didn:t really go finding all too often. So in Hachinohe there are a LOT of Less actives. Apparently a few years ago they had about 90 baptisms in one year, but they all went LA. That makes it harder for us to know who exactly remembers the church or not. That`s ok though. 

Hachinohe is quite countryish. Some parts of the city remind me of Utah, while other parts are Japanese like. There was a festival going on during the weekend, and though we didn:t participate, we sure had to try and get our bikes through it. SOOO many people! and giant floats that were steered by 30 plus people. They also had taiko drums! Amazing! 

So...

I feel like Im forgetting to say something. 

OH YA! SO! I didn:t realize the WHOLE family sent me a package about the camping trip!! Apparently It just got to me! WOW! That certainly made my day. And it was a good thing it got to me after I moved. THANK YOU!!!! I loved everyone:s letters... drawings, and testimonies. Im sorry I just got it. 

Back to the mission. Since being a trainer I`ve been anxious about a lot of things... but being here in Hachinohe is quite a blessing. Im not scared. I`m excited! I want to do all I can to try to find people and teach them. Since I`m trainer in a new area, That`s all we do! One ideas that we were thinking of is... *drum roll* VIOLIN LESSONS! yep. We found a violin, and i:m going to start teaching people for free at the church! Not sure how people will come, but I hope we can get to talk to people. Our amazing Branch leader found out I know how to play the violin and got a hold of one. not sure how... he told me it was a himitsu. (secret) 

WELL! if you want pictures Im running out of time. So instead of more words, You will see some pics. Don:t have a lot from hachinohe for some reason... but I hope you enjoy. 

I know that Our timing is not God`s timing, and if we trust in his will he will guide us to happier lives.

-Money Shimai

Sept 15

TO THE FAM~

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for your wonderful emails and letters. I read them all~ Unfortunately things are about to get quite crazy for me in the next 3 days so email time is tight. Can you guess why? *drum roll* YES I'm being transferred~ Aomori zone in Hachinohe~ Bigger news *Drum roll* I'm a trainer~ :D My companion is Sister Yim. She's from Indiana, and that's about all I know for now, Haven't met yet. Will meet tomorrow. She's been here 6 weeks less than I have. ^-^ I won't lie, I'm a bit scared, but excited at the same time. We both can't really speak Japanese, but we can certainly Dendo. Let's hope people up there like Americans so we can  talk to people.

 

at the moment there is a giant typhoon going on, and I still have to make it back to my apartment, Don't worry it's like 2 minutes away, but weather here as been crazy this week. This week I was suppose to be "senpai" and lead the trio to meetings, lessons, and other such planning activities. Needless to say it woke me up to how much responsibility someone has to take on when they become trainer. I wasn't too prepared for it, so I suppose this is a sign to learn fast. Can't be slackn' with a bean by my side.

 

This week I spoke in sacrament meeting and bore my testimony. It was a simple talk of course, and I was quite nervous, but just like when we teach, when we speak from our hearts we can't really go wrong. Just need to listen to the spirit.

 

If you're wondering what happened to the oreos... they failed. They just don't have the same mix as they do in America. However, people here in Japan Hate sweets, so it tasted just fine to them. If only they knew... It was hard saying goodbye to all of my investigators... I didn't get to say goodbye to most of them, which is quite upsetting...however I know they'll be OK. I just want them to keep progressing.

 

This week will be hard to write letters to everyone, so be patient. I still need to pack and everything. So, here in Japan there are a lot of rice crackers, we call these senbeis. I eat them almost everyday, I love them to death! at zone conference however we were challenged to sacrifice something for the cause of finding new Q's each week. It could be anything to food, to letters. I am sacrificing my senbeis. *probably should think of something better* however it's still a sacrifice. Along with prayer we will see more miracles and efforts in the missionaries here. Japan will change, there are a lot of gaijin missionaries coming in every 6 weeks. Hopefully I can do my best to be able to learn, train, and serve.

 

I love everyone! and I can't wait to hear from you all again next week.

Please take care! I always pray for you!

-Money Shimai

Sept 8

Hi Family and Friends!

 

Thank you for your letters, and thank you Mom and Grandparents for the lovely package. Certainly brightened my whole week. Let's see, This week we did a lot of teaching to investigators. (last week also) Most of our investigators are learning about Faith and Repentance, so it seems we are teaching the same thing, but in reality that is so wrong. Each investigator had different questions and different levels of Faith. One investigator has knowledge from a lot of different churches and can read the Book of Mormon with no problem, while another is finding Christ's words a bit hard to understand. We can't know everything about how to help an investigator, however the spirit can. As it says in the scriptures (this is paraphrased...) God doesn't send his most learned and successful bit top business man to go serve missions. He sends 18 and 19 year olds, as well as senior couples to go and preach the gospel. The Spirit works through the weak and humble. Through the Spirit's promptings we can be able to help those we teach, and get them closer to Christ and Baptism.

 

Good news! I haven't crashed since that one time I ran into a sign! Interesting news-- apparently everyone in the whole mission knows about how I ran into that sign and won't let me live it down. :3 Kind of ok news, I think I'll have this scar on my face for quite some time XD eeeee, Mission memories.

 

On Saturdays we are teaching an Eikaiwa class to 3 young men. One less active, and 2 of his friends. They like the Beatles so during the lesson we learn how to sing it in English. Note the subject on the email. Good thing we have great hymns to get inside our heads afterwords however.

 

This week has been quite cool here in Sendai, which is odd because everyone says it's usually hot till October. Apparently there is suppose to be a typhoon coming... or it already happened, I'm not quite sure what is going on half of the time. We have a member that calls us everyday to teach us about the weather the next day. haha, at least he cares. Next Wednesday is Zone conference where we will be teaching lessons in front of people. I'm a bit anxious but I think it'll be a great learning experience.

 

Apparently the fact that I can make homemade brownies is something of a miracle here, so next time we meet our old lady investigator I'll be making Oreos. Hopefully I can remember how. I have a bit of a reputation of the "gaijin that can't cook" Honestly, I'm really not that good. but I can at least feed myself. However here EVERYONE is an amazing cook and serves top notch meals everyday. So yes, I am that one gaijin that can't cook.

 

I need a better system for remembering what I've done in the week so I won't seem so frantic when I type to everyone. :/ One of my lifetime goals. Being organized... and remembering things. Kind of important ne? oh, for those who are wondering if I'll have a weird accent when I get back. I can promise you this. No accent, but a lot of weird words, and actions. :3 I love Japan.

 

I'm so thankful for my companions and for our district leader. Transfers are coming up, and I'll probably be leaving. Not 100 percent sure however. It was hard to leave my "Investigator" In the MTC, and I wondered how I'd manage in the field... guess we'll find out. I know however that I've helped in someway getting them closer to God, and for that opportunity I am grateful.

 

Thank you everyone for your support and prayers. I have felt them strongly here in the field. I don't think I could be the little sister Alicia Money I am today without my family.

 

I love you! Stay well! .... and play with my birdy! I bet he could be lonely :3

hee hee,

 

Ja, raishyuu made

-Money Shimai

September 1

FAMILY LETTER TIME!

 

HI EVERYONE! :D Big news! This week we were not able to baptize our investigator, unfortunately Her husband's heart has gone to critical hardness. :/ HOWEVER, my good friend from the MTC and his trainer were able to baptize a part member family. So we were very VERY lucky to see a baptism kai this Saturday. It truly was special. I don't know if i can express how different everything really is here in Japan. I got to sing I know that my redeemer lives in Japanese to our new member :3 It truly was an amazing night.

 

There is still hope for our investigator always. We'll do our best to help her husband feel the spirit. Everything will be ok, I know it. Well, a baptism is about as exciting as one can get in a week, so let's see if i can keep typing to everyone. In FHE *YSA* we got to share some scriptures. An elder shared an amazing one that I missed somehow while reading through the BOM. It's Alma 29:14-16, I don't have time to type it all out, so you'll have to read it yourselves~ It's all about rejoicing in others successes. I can truly testify that when we want others to succeed, (instead of wanting them to fail) we are avoiding pride, and achieve more happiness in this life. It could be little things, or big things. I'm happy that my good friend was able to get a baptism. I'm happy that someone was able to get baptized. I'm excited that my shimai friend was able to give a great lesson in Japanese. The blessings are endless.

 

In more news~ We have a new investigator~ She has a pretty interesting daughter, which makes teaching lessons very hard, but we do our best to feel the Spirit. She has a lot of interesting questions and it really seems that she wants to listen to us. We are great friends as well, so when we leave it might be a bit difficult. But she loves Missionaries whoever they are so let's hope that we can teach her something she won't ever forget.

 

We were able to get in touch with another investigator, unfortunately his story is a bit sad. He might not be able to see the next month due to terminal cancer in many places in his body. We are doing our best to make him happy and teach him some wonderful lessons about peace and love. He won't receive baptism for various reasons, but that doesn't mean we just give up. I hope to be able to talk to him some more.

 

How about some interesting Japan facts? There are a TON of different kinds of tea here. Apparently we can drink mugichya (wheat tea) and it's ok with the word of wisdom... at first it tasted like it looks. Dirt. But now I'm slightly addicted XD haha, nothing beats a nice cold cup of mugichya. I also think I ate tiny shrimp in a salad... at first I thought the little black dots were pepper... nope. They were eyes.

 

I was talking to my district leader a bit about his areas and where he's served. His first area only had about 3 active members in the ward... not sure if that makes it a ward... anyway. Let me just say how grateful I am for the church members. Missionaries would be nothing without them. Their strength lifts us up in hard times. If only they knew what kind of influence they have on the Lord's work, the whole world could change. I love my area, and I hope that whatever happens in transfers that I'll be happy. I love everyone here, but I wanna meet new people. I love all of you, and I hope everyone is doing great. Unfortunately my 20 minutes are up :D so I must be off. Until next week. If you want a letter, just ask~

 

and guess what...?

 

The Church is TRUE!

Love you!

-Money Shimai

August 25

WHOA! it's been a while! like 2 or a week? I can't remember. Time is flying here.

 

This week has been full of long bike rides across mountains to see members. Honestly members are what keeps Dendo work going. *mission work.* we had a fun time trying to read the map and figuring out the best way to get there. We didn't quite see the main road, and we were led into what looked like a forest national park. It had no paved roads, so we had to be careful. If I saw a cougar, I wouldn't have been surprised. Anyway, That was fun.

 

Since It's hard to get people to listen to us, and since about 80 new missionaries are coming in by the end of this year, people have been a bit worried about the language barriers. I've been worrying since day one, but you know me. However because of the members help, we are able to practice a bit, give a spiritual message, and learn the language. They really want to help the missionaries.

 

For those of you who haven't heard, we have been trying to help this one Old lady get baptized. It's been hard because the husband is being REALLY stubborn, *yet... nice?* with the whole situation. We'll see by next week. I know however, that even though the closer we get to that baptism date, Satan shows his ugly face. With faith and prayer everything will work out for the best. Even if it takes more time. I believe that. :3 My trainer has been quite overworked with the whole deal however... I wish I could help at least talk. I will someday! My Japanese isn't perfect, and it's hard to see if it's even improving... but I think it is? haha, People keep telling me that but I think they are just being nice.

 

Last week was very hard, But this week got a lot better! Thank you everyone for your prayers, It really does make a difference. In sacrament meeting we learned about honesty. How it is hard, but we can strive to have perfect honesty. It's obvious to see the big lies... but it's usually the subtle, and the *not telling the whole truth* that are the real dangerous ones. The devil is full of deceptions, and temptations. But if we realize that we have a responsibility to listen to the spirit, and to search for those good thoughts, we can become triumphant in the face of sin. It's just like when we were little. Our lies were so obvious, our parents knew when we were lying, but let it happen for us to learn the lesson. Just like our Heavenly Father. He knows when we lies, and is disappointed, but let's us have our agency. However when we come clean he always welcomes us with love and open arms. I love this gospel it truly is the best thing for families. I know my life has been blessed by this gospel. Please remember that I love everyone, and know that I'm not forgotten :3

 

Please have a good week! I'll see you sometime! ^-^

Love money shimai

Aug 15

Hello family and friends!

 

This week has been a bit crazy, due to transfers and everything. Of course I didn't move, or anyone in our district because we are all green beans being trained by trainers... but lots of people came to stay at our apartment and we had to change a bit of our schedules to accomodate. Our little apartment, usually fitting 4 to begin with, now with 5... but with the transfers we fit 10 people! yep, our little room fit 10 people where people slept on the floor. We sleep on the floor normally, but it was more like the room was one giant pillow... and by pillow I mean tatami mat.

 

Just want to say whoever said it was cold in Sendai.... AHA! it hasn't been cold since I've gotten here. Of course there have been rather suzushi days, but now that we've hit august, it is blazing humid hot :D might cool down by October and get really really cold, but for now i'm not convinced. It's so hot that probably most of the pictures I will send to the fam will have me being a sweaty mess.

 

Other than the weather, i've been having a hard, but fun time. Riding bikes is always tough because of my area, being only massive hills and narrow roads. However I get to see so much of the beautiful Japanese countryside that everytime I go out all I say is "wow, that's beautiful" We didn't teach too much this week. It was a lot of just going around to less active houses and seeing how they are doing. We are working with this one loving investigator Baa Chan who is so close to baptism. I'll keep you posted of course, however we need to get permission from the husband. It's a hard and scary task, but with our Heavenly Father's help, anything is possible.

 

It is President Rasmussen's birthday this wednesday, and on that day we are going to a SMYC somewhere in Japan. I think it's like an  EFY (especially for youth)  kind of deal. I had to memorize two songs and we are going to sing it there and teach from PMG (preach my gospel).... Memorizing things is a lot easier when you know what you are saying. XD haha, that's for sure! but that's ok! It sounds pretty. I'll do my best.

 

No more bike accidents! Not even close encounters. Everything is going well there, so I thank everyone for your prayers. They really mean more than the world to me. ^-^ wish to hear from everyone soon, so if you have time please email or write me. Thank you for all your hard work, and for your love of the gospel. Share it with those you know. It truly is the best thing for them. I know that through this gospel I have found happiness in my life. The spirit can touch anyone's hearts, just do your best to bring the spirit.

 

I love you all! have a good week!

-Money Shimai

August 3: I can ride my bike with no handle bars.

**NOTE: Alicia's email didn't come through last week, so here are two emails from the last two weeks***

Subject: I can ride my bike with no handle bars.

Except I can't in Japan... because i have a basket with lots of Morumon shos in it.

Konnichiwa! how is everyone doing in the hot hot sun of July/August? Me? oh you know, just biking in the rain almost everyday. Honestly I think it's fun! my companions don't... awe well. It's quite cool over here actually. I'll enjoy it while I can because in August I found out it gets horribly hot.

This week has gone by very fast. Let's see if i can recall a few things. Yesterday is what comes to mind first. We had sacrament meeting as always, and because I'm still a new missionary they like to pick on me a lot to say the opening prayer. We also sang I love to see the temple. I thought it was going to be in Japanese, but they wanted to sing it in English. ee hee, so much for Japanese practice. After we were going to visit a members house. It was a very long bike ride, so we were going to hitch a ride in a members car. Though... there wasn't enough room because our companionship has 3 people. SO WE BIKED ANYWAY! and holy cow if i sent a picture of where i was at the end of it, you would ask, how? Yes, we biked for about 2 hours up a hill. It was very hard, however I got to see a lot of Japan, and the visit was great. On the way up, i prayed to one: not crash on my bike (when we just got started i ran into a man and went flying into some bushes, it was fun. Don't worry dad... the bike is ok) and 2: to let this be a wonderful spiritual experience for the Imano family. I got to talk about how God doesn't just send us here to fail, that he always provides a way for us to do the things we must. I shared my 3 favorite scriptures. Ether 12:27, 1st Nephi 17:3 and DC 112:8? (oh shoot) I'm getting the language better. So I was able to say all that i wanted to say. Also found out that the family's daughter is into archery! If there is one thing I ever wanted to take up... it was Japanese Archery.

we went to a Gym activity and got to talk to a lot of non members. I got to play Frisbee, and played some soccer with them. It was so fun! All the Japanese people were very into it, and got excited whenever we would score a goal. I got to eat my favorite type of bread this week. Melon bread! Tastes sort of like a sugar cookie. I also ate some... I think it was squid, but it was purple. It was very good.

Earlier in the week I was able to volunteer at an old persons home and massage hands... haha! I wasn't very good so they taught me how pretty much the whole time. Maybe next time I can help. It was great talking to people... couldn't understand much however.

I have a few investigators and all are on different levels. There is a woman who believes all religion is true, however is feeling a bit different about our church. Not that it isn't true, just the spirit is touching her heart differently. She is studying the book of Mormon and loves to learn more. I hope I can help her see the difference.

We were studying a bit on effective study, and i figured out that before my mission I wasn't doing a very good job at it. I can see now how Joseph's smith's example in JSH, really is the key steps. Read, Ponder, Pray. Just think of the power of Faith works in the scriptures, and how we can strengthen our faith through our studies. Joseph smith's prayer changed our world today, Even though experiences say you can't change what is, Faith always over powers fear and disbelief.

Thank you everyone for your love and emails. They mean so much to me. I'll send pictures... when i figure this out and have more time.

LOVE YOU!
money shimai

 

ok, so last week's didn't send, so there is that!

 

Now for this week! Today's topic: SPLITS!

 

This week 3 sisters from Akita came to our apartment for 3 days so we could go on splits. It was amazing because 2 of them were from America ^-^ I got to be able to speak like a normal person and actually make sense. With one sister (the sister training leader) we got to do a lot of streeting and housing. I was scared to death. I literally just walked on the street and talked to as many people as I could. At first I was scared, but then It got easier as time went on. Oman shimai gave me some pointers and now I'm able to progress even more. Since these sisters are from Akita, I got to try to find my way to one of my appointments at a members house by myself. I got to ride the subway and make my way through the bigger city of Sendai. I didn't get lost! It's a miracle! I have the sense of direction of a 12 year old, who gets distracted at everything and turns a wrong corner, usually not realizing that they are going the wrong way till it is too late.

 

Last week was Luk shimai's birthday! so to celebrate we went to a sushi restaurant. Let me tell you, sushi is REALLY different here than it is in America. It's just rice and a piece of raw fish on the top. Which... surprisingly is very delicious! I got to eat Takoyaki as well. Which is just raw octopus inside a breaded cake ball. Super good.

 

Time for some random facts about Japan. Not sure If I mentioned this at all. They aren't any garbage cans anywhere, so you have to carry your garbage. The garbage trucks play ice cream truck music as they go about the streets. You can't read while you eat or else that is very rude. I think I've seen about 10000000 spiders here in Japan just walking around housing. :U eeeeee....  Everything is self automated! The sushi place we went to as well. You just pick what you want, and the cooks send it to you via a transportation device right to your seat.

 

It rains like... everyday XD However this makes the mountains beautiful. This week was actually very tough for me, because I got into another bike accident (don't kill me dad! it's hard riding a bike in Japan!) There was a man walking in the very narrow way, and I slowed down to go around him, the ground was still very wet, and I slid and ran into a sign. Because of my helmet my head was perfectly fine, however my face got banged up a bit. We went to the doctors and he didn't say I needed stitches. Just two little cuts on my cheek and eyebrow. If I get scars... well then, it will be a constant reminder and how important it is to listen and FOLLOW the spirit. Heavenly Father wants his missionaries safe, but if they don't act on the warnings they get, it can become a problem. I heard the spirit warn me to stop, and not to try to get around him, but i didn't listen. They really are very subtle. If the prompting you receive is a good prompting, don't take time to ask if it's from the spirit. Everything good comes from God.

 

I love it here in Japan. I'm getting the language better than I did before! (still doesn't mean I can speak like a native) but I can try to wing my way around the lessons. Everyone has trials in this life, but I've learned that if we do as much as we can, God really will help us the rest of the way. That's what makes life so beautiful. I may not know everything there is to do with the gospel, but I do know that it is the best thing for our lives, and for our family's lives. When we go to church, we get to remind ourselves of that beautiful gift and blessing. We get to feel peace, and clean through the Atonement of Christ. This is why we are on earth. To prepare to one day meet God. I want the people of Japan to know their purpose, and to give them hope in this hard life.

 

Thank you everyone for your love and prayers! (maybe more bike specific ones are needed XD ) I'll see you all next week, and hopefully this one sends...

 

apparently i need a separate thing to post pictures on this old computer. We'll get it next week! So stay tuned for some amazing pictures!

 

I LOVE YOU ALL!

If Alicia were a Pokemon.....

My son, Nate, made this for Alicia.

July 15

o mom and dad:

 

haha, thank you so much for getting a new email. I hope this one works out. If you need anything else just ask me. Turns out Email time is shorter here in the field; so if it's very important, email my branch president. He is such a wonderful man. This email is separate from the others. This week has been good i'll give you the details to those later. Since you are my mother and i know you worry, I'll give you some heads up~ I'm doing great! I haven't gotten sick yet, i love the food, my companions are nice to me. Gets hard to understand what i'm doing and why i'm going some places, but it's ok. I got a letter from sarah's family through dear elder. I didnt know they send it across seas. that's cool. I want to send a lot of pictures to you, but i dont have time ever... or know how to figure it out on this japanese computer. It's ok, you'll get lots of pictures soon! i might just print them out and send them via mail. Thank you again so much for all your weekly emails, it gives me something to read. Im having a great time. During the lessons I am able to bare my testimony and give simple truths. again. Its so important. Love you mom!

 

I love you Dad!

This one is for you. Today I took a lot of pictures of the sea and small islands for pday. It reminded me of you and how you love taking pictures. I have 3 investigators who are over 80 years old. one who is 94. It's interesting to think what kind of time eras she has lived, and i wish i could ask her all about it. Tell the grandparents that I love them, and hope them all the best. I have my trials, we all do, but they only make us stronger! Love you!

 

To everyone!:

Phew! (*climbs up a giant hills via bike, only to realize that we went the wrong way and have to climb another hill) sometimes directions can be tough here in japan... This week I finally learned how to read a Japanese map! it is SOoooo different than in the states. Just being able to find cities is difficult for me... cuz everything is in Kanji. I still cant read Kanji yet. just the basics... like... Eternal life, The Savior, Family History, and doctorine and covenants, everyday use right? This week was a lot of planning! I got to research about a lot of Less actives, investigators, and overall EVERYONE the missionaries ever talked to. Most of it was written in english so i tried to translate some to my japanese companions. My bike wounds finally healed, except it appears to have a lot of bruises... my legs are looking a lot like Janelle's feet... I mean that with all the love in the world :D Lets see, I can remember today well because it was pday. we got to ride a ferry to a matsuri (festival) and it was amazing! it rained a lot! but my gaijin friend law choro convinced his trainer to let us go anyway. It cleared up fast. during the ferry ride we got to feed seaguls. yep. best part. I have a video of me putting a cracker in my mouth and seaguls snatching it from me. No, seaguls are not disgusting, they are beautiful! 

Anyway: 

 

This week I've been learning alot about humility. Not just because Im learning a new langauge and can't say all that I want to, or that Im not the greatest missionary, it's because of how much I need the God's help. Through trials we can go through it will strength, but if we deny that we need help, it just shows pride in us. Accepting God's love for us, and that he can help us is a great blessing for me. I will try my best to Pray more specifically. God knows what I need, and it means a lot for us to tell him that. Thank you for all your love! I'll give you a better update soon. Remember not to read and eat at the same time... that's rude. And replying with a "huh" to a question is scary. eehee.. 

 

I love everyone, I love this country, and it's kind and loving people. I love the rain! and I love seaguls! 

 

I especially love octopus! 

Love 

Sister Money