Transfer week! / Week #33

Konnichiwa minisan! 

So it's transfer week once again. I can't believe I'm going to be on my 5th transfer. People are going to start thinking I know stuff or something. I honestly thought that I was staying in Okinawa for one more transfer but because of recent things I can't be sure anymore. Don't worry I'll be sure to email later when I find out!

But other than that this week has been good! I just want everyone to know that I am legal again! We had to go to Naha to get me a new registration card. It took about 2 and a half hours, but thanks to the member who works there I was able to get a new one!  He really helped a lot. So now if I do transfer I won't have to explain to Kaicho why I can't leave Okinawa. Yay for miracles!

We're still working with our recent converts. Elina is still awesome as always. I think maybe she should just come along with us for our other lessons because I think people will be converted after hearing her share her testimony. 

We also had two AB lessons with Okamune shimai this week. I think it's been a lot of information for her to absorb this week so she asked us a lot of questions. She said she's a little confused but she's still okay. We told her to just take it little by little. But she's still doing awesome.

We had a lesson with Sam and Jonathan too. Jonathan hasn't been able to come to church for the past few weeks because of his new job but he's pretty sure he can come this next Sunday. He feels so bad about it. We told him it's okay that we know he's trying his hardest. So we'll be praying that he can come to church on Sunday!

Also we met with Emi yesterday and kind of talked about whether she still wants to meet with us because it's been a while and she hasn't really been progressing. She still didn't give us a straight up answer but I think she's leaning towards no. But she said if she gets this new job she interviewed for she will be able to come to church on Sundays. So at the end we prayed that Emi would find a new job and that everything would work out. Then later that night she texted us and said she got the job! Prayer really does work!

Also I haven't talked about Minami in a really long time. Minami wasn't taking the lessons when I got here, although she had had them before. She still came to Eikaiwa though and on P-days we would go shopping or go out to do fun things. Before Pinzon shimai left we started doing lessons again. Mainly to practice our Japanese and to go over Lesson 5 which she never received before. But this transfer Minami has started coming to church every week. And at a Relief Society activity she told everyone her goal for this year is to start reading the Book of Mormon again. So we don't really know where this is coming from or what is motivating it but it's really cool!

So there's been lots of little miracles happening this transfer. Sometimes it's hard to see because here in Okinawa there's always baptisms happening, but if you don't have a baptism sometimes you feel like you're not doing enough. And we deal with 2 military branches and 1 ward and it's hard to know where to put our focus sometimes. But I've been reminded that Heavenly Father works miracles everyday whether it's a baptism or whether it's somebody on the street actually listening to you!

Transfers always bring changes, and I'm trying to be ready and willing for whatever Heavenly Father has in store for me. But I love Okinawa and I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had here. I hope everyone has a great week!

Malone Shimai

____________________________

***Just found out tonight, Jan. 13th that Sister Malone is being transferred to mainland.  She will serve in Kumamoto with her first companion Sister Pinzon!!

Me hitting mocchi!

Getting ready to hit again!

Everything is cooler in Okinawa

Sam & I love photobombing

                                                 Me & Jeffery Shimai at the Aquarium

                                                        Before we were companions

I look like a flight attendant

Happy New Years!!! / Week #32

Konnichiwa minisan!

I don't know how your New Years went but mine was pretty awesome! On New Years Eve we heard there were going to be fireworks shot up over the ocean...and that the show started at midnight. So, needless to say we went to bed at 10:30 pm and had a wonderful nights sleep and did not see or hear any fireworks. I bet none of you can beat that!

So first and foremost I want to wish my dad a Happy Birthday! I can't believe how old you are (or will be on the 7th)! But since this is public for all to see I will wish you a happy 51st birthday! After all age is just a number, sometimes a false one! Thank you for all you have done for me and for giving me such a wonderful sense of sarcasm...I mean humor.

So I know you've asked about my investigators and how they are doing. Truthfully right now we don't have too many investigators. I feel like for this transfer our focus has been on our recent converts. We counted it up and our district alone (so not even the whole island) has had 18 converts this year. So we are trying to focus on retaining and strengthening our recent converts. Have no fear though we are still doing our fair share of finding!

So we were able to teach Sam and Jonathan this week. We went over the Plan of Salvation again. I was surprised how much Jonathan remembered. Everytime we would ask him to explain something he always remembered. He always has really good questions too. He asked one that had us stumped actually. It had to do with the Millenium and the resurrection. I didn't even know he knew about that. And of course Sam just listens and tells him he doesn't need to ask so many questions that what he knows right now is fine. I love how different they are in their approaches, but both ways totally work.

We also got to teach Elina at the Connellys house. Brother Connelly is the ward mission leader for Futenma branch. So it was me and Jeffery Shimai, Mori and Kimura Shimai (the Futenma sisters), and Brother Connelly all teaching. You would think the lesson would be crazy and not flow very well. But it was awesome. Mainly because Elina just gets it. You can tell she has really thought about these things and prayed about them so that she has the answer for herself. We are there just to remind her. Then we ate homemade chicken noodle soup and homemade bread and I thought I was going to die and go to heaven...but I didn't.

We also went over to Yuliya's house to visit and share a message and Brother Kelley was there too! Yay! Brother Kelley is less active but the lessons always go really well when he is there. It's great to teach them as a family and I wish it could happen every time, but his schedule is really crazy. Marines, man. So we talked about remember Christ all through the year and not just at Christmastime. Then we watched He is the Gift, but turns out they had already seen it at the Wedekind's house. Way to go member missionaries!

One cool note: on Sunday it was fast and testimony meeting obviously. So we meet with a couple named Jack and Yoneko. Jack is a recent convert. But before he wasn't really sure what it meant to have a testimony and was reluctant to share his because of that. So Sister Jeffery and Sister Wells talked to him about it one time when they went to see them. And me and Sister Jeffery talked a little more about it this last time. And he totally went up there and shared his testimony! It was so good! We were so proud of him!

I can't believe it's 2015! Here's to a new year! I hope everyone has a good one!

Malone Shimai

                                    Aquarium on Okinawa - It was windy but great!

Whale Shark at the Aquarium

Jelly Fish

Dolphin show

Different breed of Dolphin

Some of the family at the Aquarium

Okinawan Sunset - Beautiful!!

Me & Jeffery Shimai at Futenma Shrine - You put your fortune up high for good luck.

We kept ours because we liked them!

                             Shrine - We threw 5 yen in and prayed - (to Heavenly Father)

Mocchi tsuki taikai or mocchi making party - Kids roll up mocchi to put in soup.

Selling local wares on the streets of Okinawa

Every time we go to Kadena Air Base we have to check in...we take it seriously!

                                 Visiting at a members house - Yoshi & Aiko Omine

Here we are again!

Happy New Years! / Week #31

Ok so since I just emailed on Thursday I don't have too much to say. Things are going back to normal here, although New Years is pretty big here. People make a lot of mocchi and go to the shrines and do cleaning. Yeah I don't really know.

But we went to the aquarium today which was really cool! I took a lot of pictures and half of them are just of fish but they looked so cool I just had to! They also had a dolphin show. I forgot that I love dolphins. 

Other than that things are just going back to normal after Christmas. Getting back to our normal routine. Not that it changed that much...

So a quick happy birthday to people. Sorry its late! Happy Birthday Heidi, Kristee, and Candace! I hope you guys had a good birthday and don't worry about the fact that you guys are old now. Just kidding. 

I hope everyone has a great week! Remember even though its not Christmas anymore you can still have that same spirit year-round!

Aishiteimasu!

Malone Shimai

P.S. Thank you Aunt Barbara and Uncle Bob for the package! I definitely will enjoy all the sweets. Although maybe I shouldn't...

We Wish You A Merry Christmas- From Okinawa This Year! / Week #30

Konnichiwa and Meri Kurisumasu! Trying to spell it like Japanese people say it is hard.

So it was good to talk to you guys today! I'm not going to lie it was kind of weird and surreal. I feel like that didn't actually happen. I walked out of the room at the end and I feel like I returned to normal life. I guess that's a good thing right? I'm glad to hear everyone is doing good though. Also I'm emotionally unstable since becoming a missionary. Just seeing my nephews and hearing them talk made me want to cry. Geez.

Sorry Dev, I forgot to congratulate you on graduating last time! We are all graduated! But not all of us are done with school. Me and Bri just had to pick professions that require more. We should really rethink that.

Also, a big thank you to the Terrys and the Seagers! I will never see the Nephite Christmas in the same way again. That was such a cool talk. Also I love my socks and scarf and chapstick, etc. I don't know how you knew exactly what to send. It must have been the Spirit! But a big thank you to everyone who has sent me anything. I can't believe all of the gifts I have received this year. I truly know that Heavenly Father blesses his missionaries.

So this week has been great! Lots of opportunities to serve at Christmastime. We decorated sugar cookies for Family Home Evening and took them to members houses to help recent converts and members get to know each other better. So me, Jeffery Shimai, Gibo Shimai, Minami, and Sakamoto Shimai all piled into Crosby Shimai's van and we went and delivered cookies. We could not have found some of those places without Gibo Shimai. Thank goodness! And it was totally worth it to have members open up their doors and sing Silent Night to them and hand them cookies. I don't think Japanese people get sugar cookies very often. They were so happy! And I think we all had a good time too.

Things are going good with Okamune shimai, Elina, and Sam and Jonathan. They are awesome and actually they are great examples to me of striving to come unto and follow Christ more each day. Please keep Karla in your prayers though.

On Christmas Eve we went with some American members to a hospital and sang carols for the patients there. It was a bunch of old Japanese obachans and ojichans. They were sitting there staring as we sang. One of the grandpas came up front so he could be a part of the choir too. They loved it when we sang Joy to the World. I don't know why but that is one of the few Christmas songs that Japanese people know. The coolest part was when a sister played some traditional Okinawan songs and suddenly they all started singing them. It was reverse caroling but it was so touching to hear them recognize the song and then join in. Then we passed out presents and chocolate to them all. They wouldn't open their presents though. They just hold on to them. And they love when the little kids hand them their presents. A lot of them would use English phrases too. Everyone here in Okinawa knows some English I swear. Even 99 year old obachans.

We also had the opportunity to go to a members house for Christmas Eve. There were a lot of members there but also they invited their nonmember neighbors and a Japanese friend. So it was cool to talk with them and get to know them. I think the Japanese lady was happy that we spoke Japanese. But props to people who form friendships despite the language difference. At the end they showed the Nativity and shared their testimonies of Jesus Christ. Way to be awesome member missionaries! Also we might start teaching their neighbors. We'll see!

Also I have some news for you all. I lost my alien registration card a while back so technically I'm illegal right now. But I'm working on getting a new one, it's just a complicated process. But I can now say that I have been to the police station in Okinawa. Yeah! Illegal for the holidays! (But really I'm trying to get it fixed. Don't worry).

This has been my first Christmas away from home, but I'm grateful that Heavenly Father has provided many many people to make us feel loved and feel like family here in Okinawa. It has made this time of year easier and a special Christmas that I won't forget. I only hope that we can return the favor in some small measure.

Merry Christmas everyone! Love you all!

Malone Shimai

Big Christmas Tree lit up in "Music Town"

                                                             It was actually cold!!

My Package arrived - Can't believe how much you sent!

Socks from Seagers - Wear them everyday now in the apartment!

12 Days of Christmas gift we made for Karla

Christmas Baskets from one of the Wards - They are so good to us!!

I can`t believe it`s almost Christmas! / Week #29

Merry Christmas minasan! Ok not quite yet. I`m just excited okay?

So this last week has been very busy. Jeffery Shimai and I had Elina`s baptism to get ready and luckily we did most of it before hand because on Friday all the missionaries` phones got turned off. The only problem is in Okinawa we haven`t received our new phones so we have been going without phones for 4 days now. Pretty fun stuff. Also really inconvenient when you can`t set up appointments or ask people things. But it`s made us all really grateful for our phones. Missionary work is a lot better off with them. Also Jeffery shimai has been sick for quite some time. She is doing better but still has a nasty cough so keep her in your prayers!

So Elina`s baptism went amazingly well. I think that is the strongest I have ever felt the Spirit at a baptism. Her family came too which is really cool! Her dad is a less active and her mom and brother aren`t members. When Elina bore her testimony I know her family felt the Spirit. She talked about how lost she had been before she started praying and reading the scriptures. And now she`s so much happier and she knows what to teach her son and how to bring him up so he will become a good person.  She`s a crier and it totally made everyone else cry, including me. She wants to be the one to bring her family into the church and I know she can do it.

Sister Jeffery also gave a talk on the Spirit at the baptism. One thing she shared that her mom told her was really cool. She said some people think that a mission changes us into a different person. But I think a mission changes us into the person we were before when we lived with Heavenly Father. The person we are meant to be. It`s a cool thought.

One other cool thing we did this week is the 12 days of Christmas. We are supposed to pick someone and then do something for them every day until Christmas whether it`s a treat or message or text, etc. We really wanted to do it for Karla but we were nervous about overwhelming her by visiting her everyday, plus she lives on base so it`s difficult to get on. But we came up with the idea to make 12 cranes (I`ve been making cranes a lot lately) and then we divided up the talk Lord I Will Follow Thee by Elder Gavarret from General Conference into 12 parts and we included a scripture to look up each day with it. Then we put it in 12 little containers and put that in a Christmas box. (Daiso seriously is so amazing - it's a store here). Then we wrote that it is said that if you make a 1,000 cranes it is said you will never die (or something close to that), but we hope with these 12 cranes of Christmas that you will come unto Christ who is the true giver of everlasting life. So we gave her all 12 days in one box and dropped it off. I hope she does it because it`s really cool and hopefully will bring the Spirit each day until Christmas. We also told her to watch Because of Him and He Is the Gift, two really great Mormon messages. It`s a really awesome opportunity and we put a lot of work into it. I wish we could give one of those to everyone though and switch up what talk we include. How cool would that be?

We also had the Okinawa ward Christmas party. I don`t think there`s anything much cuter than a Japanese nativity or a line of little Japanese kids waiting to see Santa (a.k.a. Elder Clinger in a santa suit). I`ll send some pictures. Also I`m still always amazed at how much food there is at these things. They made homemade pizza, taco rice, chicken, and a whole bunch of salads and desserts and a huge cake. The Japanese know how to do it, let me tell you.

That being said I just want everyone to remember the true meaning of Christmas during this time. Go watch He Is the Gift on lds.org if you need a reminder. Even as a missionary I sometimes find myself forgetting why I am out here and focusing on the planning and scheduling and all the little details instead of remembering my Savior and how grateful I am to celebrate his birth this time of year and to share that with others. So please remember to share that joyful message with others you meet!

Have a merry Christmas everyone!

Malone Shimai

The Nativity at the Japanese Ward - So Cute!!

                                          Elder Clinger as Santa at the Ward Party

                               

Elder Henrie had to sit on Santa's lap too!

Minami, Jueri and Jeffery Shimai

Elina's baptism - Nov 13, 2014

Elina's little boy Cameron

This week is crazy! / Week #28

Konnichiwa minisan!

Okay so as you all know transfers were last week and my new companion is Jeffery shimai. No big shocker since we already lived together. However, we are a 2 sister apartment now which is kind of lonely. I miss Wells shimai and Pinzon shimai! But it also has perks like more room in the fridge, and only one person showering in the morning and at night. So yeah. 

So we had to say goodbye to Wells shimai and Dolbin choro because they went home. Weird. Missionaries go home? I thought that was a myth. And then we had to say goodbye to Pinzon shimai and Ho choro because they transferred to Kumamoto area.

It was weird right at first though because Pinzon shimai was my mom (missionary term). I've never had any other companion besides her out in the field. So I kind of felt like a high school kid going to college again. I can do things for myself?! Scary! But also cool. But I got used to it really fast.

So for those of you who don't remember what I said about Jeffery shimai when she first came to the island (I don't really remember either), I will tell you about her again. She is from Provo, Utah so we are a classic companionship let me tell you. From Orem and Provo Utah. So original. Anyways, but she's cooler than I am because she's half Japanese whereas I am 100% white. Like as white as it gets. But we joke that we had to come halfway across the world to find someone who lives 15 minutes away. She's really cool and outgoing so that's good. The two of us together should be exciting. It already has been. 

So the thing about going from 4 sisters to 2 is we have to combine all of our investigators. We're still in the process of planning and working that out because we had no time this weekend. Why is that you ask? Well because Wells shimai and Jeffery shimai had two investigators with baptismal dates and one of those baptisms was on Sunday. So we basically only had time to plan for that and the other baptism happening this Saturday. It's been kind of crazy. But really great. Did I mention I love baptisms?

So Okamune san was baptized on Sunday! She is golden. Like really. She prayed and came up with her own baptismal date. When that happens you know the person is solid. I kind of feel like an intruder in the baptism pictures though because I never actually taught her. I just got to take over for Wells shimai. So in one of the pictures I held up a sign with her name on it so she could be represented.

The other baptismal date is Elina. She is half Japanese and is a referral from the awesome Wykles. She is really golden too. She has a lot of family members who are LDS and she even went to church when she was really young but was never baptized.  She has a son named Cameron and he is 5 and so cute! She has a really strong testimony. I like wanted to tear up when she shared it. Heavenly Father really does prepare people.

Also on Saturday was the Handel's Messiah Christmas concert at the church. Tons of people came and brought their friends. It was a really cool experience. There was this amazing trio-a violin, cello, and piano-that rocked some classical music as well as Let It Go from Frozen. Have I ever mentioned that Japan is obsessed with that song? Like more than America. I don't understand it. It's everywhere. Then for the Messiah part we had legitimate opera singers from Okinawa perform. It was so cool! And the coolest thing too was the choir that backed them up was made up mainly of members from the Okinawa ward. The last song they sang was O Holy Night. If people in that room weren't feeling the spirit, then something is seriously wrong with them. I think it was a really good experience for nonmembers to have as an introduction to our church.

Also, I finally saw Elder Robinson (Heidi's little brother) at the concert! I was wondering if I would ever see him before he went home.  I feel so bad I didn't get a picture with him. But he took one. So maybe it will end up on Facebook somewhere. I don't know. He just transferred into an area called Itoman. That's in a different zone so I won't really see him unless there's a big event again. But it was cool to see him.

Last of all Happy Birthday Devin (Dec. 7) and Jill (Dec. 10)!!! Sorry I'm not there to celebrate with you guys! Have lots of fun for me!

Malone Shimai

                                                    Me & Gibo shimai

District Meeting - Chicken n Dumplings

District Meeting

District Meeting

District Meeting

Okamune san's Baptism - Me & Jeffery shimai

Okamune san's Baptism

Guess who has been out for 6 months? / This is it... / Week #27

Konnichiwa minisan!

So I realized that on November 28 I had officially reached my six month mark. How crazy is that? But that's not really important right? You know what is important? Food. Lots of it. I have eaten so much food this week I really just want to eat a normal meal at my apartment with normal portions. I know I know I shouldn't be complaining about the fact that people feed me. But it's just the AMOUNT that's killing me.

So my Thanksgiving was really fun. All of the missionaries on the island came to our church for lunch/dinner. It was cool to see some people I hadn't seen in a while and some I've never seen in my life. It wasn't just us missionaries though. It was families from Kadena, Gushikawa, and Futenma branches so there was a TON of food. I've never seen so many pies in my life. And I only had two pieces thank you very much. They also let us take the leftovers home. We're set for a while.

Basically this week has been a lot of contacting people who aren't home or calling people who don't call back but such is the life of a missionary. I've found that really small things can make my day now such as one person on the street who will stop and actually listen to us rather than rushing away, or one person who listens at their door instead of saying "sumimasen, choto isogashii" Or finding a joint for your lesson at the last minute when everybody else couldn't make it. Little tender mercies from Heavenly Father.

Our district is doing really good right now though. I think we have about 8 investigators with baptismal dates right now. We've all been praying really hard for people to be ready for baptism and it's been really cool how many miracles have happened. Of course Pinzon shimai and I are still searching for that investigator, but I'm sure they are out there!

We also have a goal next Sunday to have 250 nonmembers come to church. That's mission wide. Last time we met the goal of 200 so we should be able to make 250 right? So we've been challenging the members to invite someone to church for this next week. It will be exciting to see how many people show up!

I do have a special announcement: I put on tights for the first time last night! Yes that's right. Tights. But of course by the time we got to the church I kind of wished I hadn't put them on. But it's still exciting to think I can wear tights and jackets even in Okinawa!

So I still don't know about transfers. Hopefully I can email that today. We'll see. But I'm so glad to be in Okinawa and so grateful for the awesome missionaries in my area! Whatever the future brings, it's in Heavenly Father's hands.

Malone Shimai

_____________________________________________________

So this is the moment you've been waiting for!

I'm staying in Okinawa! Surprise! Not really. I had a feeling I would stay. But the crazy thing is Pinzon shimai is leaving to go be an STL in Kumamoto. Wells shimai is going home, and Jeffery shimai is my new companion! So there will only be 2 sisters now in the Okinawa area. It's kind of sad but also I feel really good about everything. I was kind of freaking out at the thought of training but luckily Heavenly Father decided to have mercy on me and not make me a trainer yet. 

Hope everyone has a good week!

Malone Shimai

                           Thanksgiving Celebration at the church - Fun seeing everyone!

Thanksgiving - Nov. 2014

Yakiniku - This is probably the last pic of all of us...

Jeffery shimai and Wells shimai being weird!

Our District - Okinawa 2014

Our Christmas Pic!