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 

Rain, rain, and more rain!

Hey Family and friends and whoever reads this!

 

Thank you for your Emails and Letters... and by that I mostly mean Emails, because I don`t really get letters. No prob. Anywho, I'm again, rushed for time today as there is only 1 computer for ALL the missionaries in the Nagamachi ward. <--- yes, that is where I'm serving. This week has gone by pretty fast, but the days were long.; like the MTC. Turns out that changes. Even though Im a missionary, I haven`t done a single minute of tracting... aha. our ward`s missionary goal has a lot to do with working with members and less actives. Hopefully we can see some miracles happening in Japan as Elder Erying promised. I`ll do my best.

    It rained this week for the first time. Yes, It was pouring, yes I was on my bike. Pretty much the happiest day of my life. Its fun to ride in the rain... not so fun when you get wet and its impossible to dry it. Thankfully we have a dryer here in our apartment, which is quite rare. Its not often that we see dryers in Japan. Also: fun cultural fact. There are no garbage cans... anywhere. You pretty much have to carry all your garbage around with you til you might maybe find one someday.

 

I still have no idea how to speak Japanese, which is really tough when both of your companions are japanese... no big, I`ll just do my best and try not to get discouraged. I`m so glad we pray at least 100 times a day.

 

How was the 4th of July? we kind of celebrated it here... pretty much I wrote happy 4th of July in my journal and called it even. Let`s see, We had a stake BBQ, and I got to see some of my district, and lots of ward members. We really had no idea what was going on with the food, but it was way fun! I got super sunburned, which is odd because I didn`t see any sun.

 

We talked to a less active recently. She wants to go to church but is too sick, and gets dizzy around alot of people. (and in a japanese ward there arent many memebers, but the building is tiny I sometimes get dizzy.) People make sacrifices for obedience however. Her faith is strong, and she told us a story that I had to figure out from my companion after the lesson. I dont have time to really explain it, but it taught me a lot about Faith. Faith is such a huge thing to have. Without faith, there is no way I would be able to be a missionary, let alone a member of this church. The language is hard, but as it states in D&C, the gospel will be taught in the language of the land. Japanese. For me to fulfil my calling I must learn Japanese, and God did not send me here to fail. He will provide the means if I do my part.

 

He didn`t send us here to fail. He will provide us with  the means, if we do our part. Never forget that our Father in Heaven is a loving Father who wants to see all his children come back to his presence. I love this gospel, and the light it`s bringing to the people of Japan. I love everyone, and Can`t wait to hear from you all.

 

Ai shite imasu

I think I'm turning Japanese

haha.... not really. How can i turn japanese... If i can`t even speak the language? eeehee...

 

So even in the mission field I really don`t have anytime and its very hard to type apostrophies on the computer so guess what? im not going to put any of them here. OH ya... guess what? im in japan now! who would have thought. Frankly, everything happened so fast I woke up in the morning throughly confused out of my mind. Then realized... oh ya, Im on a mission in Japan. The airplane ride was very long. TOO long. I want to say, about 30 hours until I got to sleep. eehee. We said goodbye to an Elder in our district. Brown Choro, then left for the plane. Coincidently, we found that Choro in the Tokyo airport :D. We got to stay at the Rassumensen`s home the first night and have orentation at the church. Futons... are confortable. As quickly as I came, I left to meet my trainer, and apartment. I have 2 companions. Sister Shuto, (trainer) and sister Matsumoto (she was on the airplane with me) Can they speak English... AHA.... not really. Can I speak Japanese? We already went through that. I hope to pick up the language even faster now that I have this opportunity.

 

I don`t have much time, but i will tell you a few great experiences. The first lesson we taught was to an old ba chan. She is about 84, and lives alone in a great house. She has her own garden with coi fish and everything! really beautiful. She is accepting the gospel, and loves the idea that she can return to her father in heaven, We taught her the word of wisdom, and she said she will obey it. The only problem is we already taugher her this lesson, but she just keeps forgetting. She comes to church every week though, and loves everyone. After that we rode our bikes far far across nagamachi to some apartments. We talked to another woman. We talked for about 1 hour, while standing up. When we opened the door to say hello she jumped back because there was a random american standing outside from her door. hee hee. apparently im scary. I tried to explain to her what the book of mormon was, and bore my simple testimony, then my companions took over. So grateful they were there. During both of the lessons, we asked who they wanted to say the prayer... they both said me. :D ... good opportunity I suppose.

 

On sunday we went to church, Its quite small, but everyone there is so friendly. I gave a 3 minute talk in church which pretty much consisted of me saying who I was and my testimony, frankly that`s all I could do. Thats fine though. I think I was in the church for about 6 hours. lots of meetings and gatherings. while coming back, my companion forgot her bag, and we had to go back to the church. On my bike I hit a curb and kind of scraped my knees up pretty badly XD but its ok, my bike is fine, and i can still kneel.

 

Just know, that even though its going to be hard for me to speak the langauge, Im not scared. In situations like this, it:s important to choose faith over fear. Even though past experiences said that you can:t do it, just know that with Heavenly Father, anything is possible. What I`m doing is for the lord, and for God`s kingdom, if he needs to me do it, I will. Wish me luck! things are about to get crazy. I`ll try to send everyone letters soon! I love you all!

June 15th - one more week in the MTC!

Konnichiwa, or Ohaiyo, or Konbanwa,

Depends when you are reading this.

 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I'd love to say thank you for your support and letters. (You'd think we'd get sick of saying this... but we missionaries really won't) Let's see if i'll be able to recall the weekly events here at the MTC. On Tuesday we had the first ever devotional at the mariot center in Provo. All the missionaries got to get some breath of freedom and hike the long way of about 3 minutes to the center. I got to get there early because I get to participate in the chior~ No big deal really, I'm pretty sure the whole MTC is in this chior. We got to hear from Elder Arnold of the 70. His talk really inspired everyone, I think. He spoke alot about using our gifts as missionaries to not, take away who we are, but to raise up and do what we can to spread the gospel, and invite other to come unto Christ. He also spoke about how the light of Christ can change anyone who choose to believe. He brought up 3 different kinds of metals. One that wasn't cleaned, one that was just a plain old sheet, and a clear glass dagger. It really was beautiful. Even though you may see people as the first two, you must change your expectations to what God wants them to be. See everyone as Children of God, and everyone who needs Christ.

 

  There are some pretty exciting events coming up soon, so I'll try to have some organization to this letter. I think there are about 1500 missionaries singing. HOWEVER on sunday's devotional (on the 23rd) It will be different. There Is going to be a world wide broadcast missionary... conference... thing, and I'll be singing in that. The first Presidency and 8 of the 12 will be there. YA! I'm super excited. I've never been in a choir, or got to sing for the General Authorites. After the devotional on Tuesday Elder Arnold came into our classroom to shake everyone's hands. Honestly when he first came into our room I thought he was just one of the branch counselors from different branches... it wasn't until I looked up at his face as he shook my hand as I realized who it was. He talked to us for about 2 minutes about what we learned during our talk and left. That was so amazing!

 

Oshima Sensei left us T-T... He had to go teach the Nihonjin missionaries upstairs on short notice. It was sad at first, but then It just meant that we got to meet a new teacher. Now we have Holister sensei. He's pretty cool, I don't know much about him yet. I hope Bailey Choro won't be too harsh on him. Oshima sensei comes down every once in a while to say hi.

 

I'm sorry this E-mail might be a bit short. I'm starting to run out of time. I leave to Japan in about 9 days. I guess that's pretty big news. XD So I hope I can get some letters out before I leave. Though, things might get tough. Wish me luck!

 

Ai shite imasu!

-Money Shimai

 

Oh~ Also I've attached a fail of Oshima sensei and his tie. It has blue pickachus on them. He seemed pretty excited about it. Also I want everyone to appreciate Thayne Choro. He's an elder from our district who brings a smile to everyone's faces. Here is one of his very famous "Thayne Faces" Thayne Choro is the one on the far left. haha, Man I love everyone. ANYWHO~ Until next week!

June 1, 2013

Konnichiwa Minasan~

Remember that time when I explained that time was moving at the speed of light here? welp, the fact that I'm writing ANOTHER E-mail just proved that fact. First of all I'd like to say: THANK YOU~ why? well one because everyone I know has been a blessing in my life, and that the letters really help my days out alot. Because "Dear Elder" connected all of the letters I got from everyone, I ended up with 7 at a time. Our district leader used this opportunity to play a prank on everyone, and place each of my letters on their desks... so it looked like everyone had mail T-T then they all went to my desk and just set it on my notebooks while I was sitting there. No worries, they were ok, cuz they all got mail at dinner.

On Saturday our teacher, Allen Sensei, left to go to China for an internship. That was hard. I'll post some pictures of us once I get to a computer that has card reading abilities. Once he left though I was reminded of that song. Can't remember the number, but I think it's called "each life that touches ours for good." Im so grateful I had such a wonderful teacher.

On Sunday we got the opportunity to go to a Devotional. (Oh no! I'm so bad with names...) We got to listen to one of the video programmers for the church. When he got up however he said that he decided to not talk about what he prepared to talk about, because he knew that we were going to see Sister Monson's funeral service. He spoke to us about how death was a part of God's plan for us. That it's ok to be sad, but to know that God has not left your side, but stands by you in your toughest times, wanting you to be strong. He then said a touching story, about a missionary and his father. How even once they died, they did missionary work in Heaven. I believe this is true, God's work doesn't end. Life doesn't truly end, we just "graduated" from this life, and will continue to do God's work in Heaven. I think every missionary needed that at that time. We then sang "come come, ye saints" with a recording of the tabernacle choir on youtube. I wish I could remember everything without my notes. I left them at home. (the dorms)

We got a new Sensei on Wednesday~ His name is Oshima Sensei. Is he Japanese? Yep! Could I understand him when he was talking to us? ... well... I guess I could pick out some stuff. He is such a great teacher, and I can't wait to learn more. Having a Japanese teacher really does help with the SYL'ing. Aaah! it makes me want to leave to Japan even sooner! (but then I remember I don't know Japanese) :'D .... good times.
Oh! Also, all the dai senpai are leaving, so that means we'll be the oldest japanese group in the MTC. D: kind of a scary thought. 

I wish I could recall all that has happened... but I'm not sure if he want to hear about every little thing that is happening XD so I'll just say that I'm happy another week has passed, but I'm also sad. I'm also sad that these dryers shrink your laundry. (I am in the Laundry room at the moment.) It's those little trials and snags that kind of make life awesome though. What if life was easy and we didn't get to experience all of this? pretty boring huh? I think so. Just know that I love each and everyone reading this, and that I pray for you. Believe me, I do. I think I pray everyday all day never ending. Half of it is in Japanese, but it all means the same thing. I know that God's work has been hastened with this new news. I wish I could have seen the MTC without all these missionaries to see the difference. It's wonderful. Everytime I open my scriptures I learn something new. It's always an answer to my prayer. Be careful though, because once you look at the scriptures it might change it's meaning the second time you look at it. God answers our prayers in so many different ways. 

 

Morumon sho wa shinjitsu da to shite imasu. Morumon sho ni naka wa, Kamisama no kotoba da to shite imasu. Josefu sumisu wa shinjitsu no yogensha desu. Josefu sumisu wa morumon sho o honyaku shimashita. Ginsei no yogensha ga Iru to shite imasu. Kono Jinsei wa muzukashi, demo, Kamisama no tasukete, kono jinsei wa mokuteki ga aru to shinjite imasu. Iesu kirisuto no aganai ni kansha shite imasu. Sono Aganai wa watashitachi o tasukeru koto ga dekiru to shinjite imasu. Kono fukuin wa shinjitsu desu. Kamisama wa watashitachi o ai shite imasu. Watashi wa mina san o ai shite imasu.

Till Next week Everyone~

-Money Shimai