Wake me up when September co- wait a second, what happened to August? / Week #65

Konnichiwa minasan! 

I cannot believe that August is almost over. Where did this month go? I guess I was just having too much fun. 

So this past week we have been getting everything Sister Welte needs to be a successful missionary in Japan. She has a bike now! (It's the same brand as mine:) So we are ready to go! 

I think this week has been a slight adjustment for the new missionaries but we are all learning together.

This past week we found a new investigator, Yamamoto san. We talked to him about Heavenly Father and gave him a Book of Mormon and promised him he can learn truth by reading it. I think he doesn't really believe in any one God or truth. But he has read the Bible so that's cool. He agreed to read the Introduction to the Book of Mormon and we are going to talk about it the next time we meet, which hopefully will be tonight!

We also met with Morioka san this week. He has to work for 10 days straight with no day off so he has been really tired. His work sounds horrible. But we talked to him some more about prayer and how it really can help him each day. So he actually agreed to pray this time! We will see how that goes...

As for Mitchell, I believe he should be back at the end of this week. So we are excited for that!

We also took over Sister Parmley and Sister Chapman's investigator, Kelli, who has a baptism date for September. She is in the Navy and she is super cool. I will tell you more about her next week!

Everyone have a great week! Thanks for emailing/writing me, I really appreciate it! If I don't get back to you I promise it's not because I don't like you!

Malone Shimai

                                                

                                          Me & my new bean - Welte Shimai

Me, Welte Shimai and Willson Shimai 

Zone Training - Aug 2015

The three of us at Eikaiwa

Before Stevenson Shimai left...

Kelli & Kevin

Me & Stevenson Shimai with the Manns

It's pure craziness! It's missionary life / Week #64

Konnichiwa minasan!! 

Well this has been quite the week. I celebrated my birthday. I helped all 3 of my roommates pack and leave for their new areas, and then welcomed 3 new roommates, 2 of which are brand new missionaries in Japan. And then we all went to the Fukuoka temple this weekend. So it has been quite the week.

And because you are all dying to know. My new companions name is Sister Welte (pronounced well-tee). She is 21 and from Las Vegas (Brian and Lore you should be very happy right now). She went to BYU before her mission too! She is really eager to work and already loves the Japanese people so we are set to go!

It's funny all the things I forget that new missionaries don't know. So I am having to remind myself to slow down and explain things more. But she is being patient with me;) 

There is not much to update with investigators this week. We weren't able to meet most of them because of the craziness. But I hope to have many updates for you next week!

Have a fantabulous week!

Malone shimai

Our District's last p-day together on Miyajima Island

Soarin over Miyajima

Chapman Shimai, Parmley Shimai and Me!

Miyajima Island - Torii Gate

Looking over Miyajima Island

My Birthday Party on the base / Farewell Party

Me & Stevenson Shimai - Farewell Pic!

Oops I'm training again / Week #63

Konnichiwa minasan!

So by far the biggest news I received this week was when I received a call from my mission president on Thursday. And I missed the phone call because I thought it was the other sisters' phone. Then I looked and my heart dropped into my stomach when I saw it was kaicho. Don't ever miss phone calls from your mission president. Anyways, he asked me if I became a trainer again if I would work hard, be obedient, and love my new companion? I said yes of course. And then he said "Ok, I still need to check with Heavenly Father and see what he wants, so we will let you know." Ok great. So it came as no surprise Friday night when I got a call from one of the APs and he informed me that I would be training. Honestly, training was not the easiest thing for me so to find out I am doing it again-let's just say I wasn't jumping up and down with joy. But I definitely feel a lot more prepared this time. And I went to the trainers training meeting yesterday and found out basically every sister who came in at the same time as me is training, again. We are all on our second trainee, except for Chun shimai. She's on her 3rd. (Yikes).

But honestly I know this next transfer will be full of miracles and we will have lots of fun! Because it you're not having fun in dendo, then you are doing something wrong!

And turns out all the other sisters are transferring out of Iwakuni so I will be the only one who knows anything about this area. Otherwise known as area senpai. 

Thanks for the birthday wishes! It will be an exciting birthday that's for sure. I will send you pictures of my new companion next week!

Love you all!

Malone Shimai

I finally rode the Shinkansen to Fukuoka!!!

                                                                           
                              Me & Chapman Shimai with our towels & vitamin water (nasty!)

                                               
                                                         Driving to our Pizza Party

                                                        We made the pizzas!

Us eating the Pizza - You can't really see me...

Fireworks in August

It was nice to see them since we didn't get any in July!

The fireworks were so pretty!

Stevenson Shimai and I being weird

The Ueda Family & Morioka Shimai

We heart attacked The Sakamotos

They loved it so much they wanted to take pictures!

Opening my Bday package from home

I was so excited to get my favorite!

The members on the base gave Parmley Shimai

& I a Birthday Party!!

                                                             

It was so nice of them and we had a great time!

We went to a pottery class on our Pday

I made a rice bowl

It's hot!!! - Week #62

Konnichiwa minasan!

So I just want to inform you all in case you didn't know that it is REALLY HOT in Japan right now. Just a warning for those of you who are thinking of visiting anytime soon. It's still a beautiful place though. Except for the cockroaches. We have had 2 incidents with cockroaches this week and I don't think I can take much more. Unfortunately, one of those incidents may be on camera. I hope it never reaches Facebook.

So last P-day we went to Kintai Bridge and Iwakuni castle and this P-day we went to a pottery class. I made my own rice bowl. So we are feeling very cultured lately. Don't worry I will send pictures...someday. 

We met with the Sakamotos again this week. We showed them Finding Faith in Christ. So we talked about why Christ died for all of us and his important role in the Plan of Salvation. However, next week there is a holiday called Obon so we won't be able to meet with them for a couple weeks. Bummer!

As for Morioka san, he came to church on Sunday!! Such a miracle! We called him the morning of to make sure he was awake. He kept saying he wanted to sleep, but we told him no. So we were walking from the train station to the church when a car drove past us with someone waving. It was him! He stayed for all 3 hours and I think he liked meeting the elders. He went with them to the 3rd hour of church and of course they had to go deep into priesthood stuff. But Elder Nygaard explained some things to him about the priesthood and his answer was "So what do I do?". I think that's a really good question. One we should always be asking ourselves.  We found out he also read the introduction and the testimonies of the witnesses in the Book of Mormon. Yay! He's super busy with work this next week though, so please keep him in your prayers.

This week has flown by and I feel like it's going to continue to fly by. I don't know where the time goes, but we are trying to use it the best we can. 

Have a great week!

Malone Shimai

Iwakuni Castle - July 2015

I can't believe they wore this in the heat!!

Crossing Kintai Bridge - It was so HOT!

Me, Parmley Shimai, Chapman Shimai and Stevenson Shimai 

on Kintai Bridge

Sometimes you have to jump on bridges!!

What even happened this week? / Week #61

Konnichiwa minasan!

So just to review, last week my district went to Hiroshima to see the peace park and bomb museum. It was a good experience, although not something I want to see everyday. The museum really shows the devastation the bomb had on the city and the after effects it had on the people. Looking at the bombing alone it's hard to think people would do that to each other, but of course I know there was a lot more behind that decision. I would definitely recommend anyone go see it though. And of course it was raining, and all of us managed to forget umbrellas so we got a little wet as you can see from the pictures.

This week was really good. So many miracles. 

We taught the Sakamoto couple again this week. We had two members come with us to joint and I feel like it really helped the lesson. However, this also means there was a lot of Nihongo used that I didn't understand. Oh well. We taught about prayer and used the Gospel Principles manual chapter to teach it because the Sakamotos have one now. But the coolest part by far was that at the end Sakamoto san finally prayed for the first time. I didn't think he was going to do it because he kept saying he didn't know what to pray for. But I handed him the pamphlet that shows how to do it and he was reading out loud what it says when all of the sudden I realized he was saying things that aren't in the pamphlet. He was praying! It was so simple and sweet, but so powerful. I don't know if they can feel it, but me and Stevenson Shimai could feel the Spirit there. I love hearing people pray to Heavenly Father for the first time.

Probably the coolest thing this week is that we found a new investigator, Morioka san! We met him Monday night while housing. We asked him what he knew about Jesus Christ and he only knew a little bit (which is normal). But then he actually continued to listen to us which is not normal. So we taught about why Jesus Christ is important, and how Heavenly Father loves us so He sent his Son. Morioka san said he thinks there is a God but he doesn't really believe in Him. So we testified there is a God and we can talk to Him. Turns out Morioka san is going through a really rough time right now with his family situation So we ended up challenging him to pray and said we would come back on Friday to follow up. And he accepted.  

We came back on Friday at the time we said, but he wasn't there. We were really sad because he seemed like he was serious about meeting us again (plus we were missing a baby shower with delicious food on base to come meet him). So we started to write him a note when he pulled up in his car. Yay! So we talked to him about his work, but then ended up talking about God again. And can I just say the Spirit was definitely there because everything just came out the way it was supposed to, and Stevenson Shimai had this awesome comparison with his family situation, and how we are separated from our Heavenly Father, but He still is there and loves us. And Morioka san told us our words "watashi no kokoro no naka de hibikimashita". In other words, the words we said made an impression in his heart. IN OTHER WORDS, he felt the Spirit. It was such a cool moment. So we taught him about the Restoration, gave him a Book of Mormon, prayed with him for the first time, and committed him to come to church. Is that too much? I don't think so.

We also helped a family on base clean their house because they are moving back to the states. Can I just say I love service opportunities? Yeah that's right, I enjoyed cleaning someone's house! Don't count on that when I get home though, mom. I know everyone loves to be independent and do everything themselves, but when the missionaries say they want to serve you, they really mean it!!!!

Anyways, I feel like this week has been about service. Whether it was making cookies, cleaning a house, or just talking with someone who really needed it, there are so many kinds of service that we can offer. And it truly does brighten up that person's life. So if you are overwhelmed by your own personal problems or the world's problems, then go serve someone and you can forget about yourself for a while. 

Love you all!

Malone Shimai

Our District went to Hiroshima to visit 

the Peace Park & Bomb Museum

Ringing the Peace Bell 

Eating out after visiting Hiroshima

It's July and it's hot / Week #60

Konnichiwa minasan!

Can you believe it's almost the end of July already? Where does the time go? Actually I know where it goes. It gets evaporated by the heat. Actually that's not true either. It's so humid here you just have a layer of moisture on you all the time. I must have amnesia from last summer because I swear it wasn't this bad in Okinawa. I think I blocked it out. Anyways...

So last Monday we went bowling on base with some of the members and I discovered that unfortunately I still can't bowl to save my life. I wanted to join the kids lane with the bumpers. At least then I would have a good score. But maybe that will be a goal for me to work on. Get better at bowling so I won't be ashamed to play with the grandmas and grandpas. 

Today we are heading up to Hiroshima to see the Peace Park where the bomb was dropped. Stevenson shimai has been there before and she said it is a really good experience. Kind of sad, but definitely worth it. So we are going as a district. I will try to take pictures and send them next week. 

Now on to the good stuff, we had another lesson with the Sakamoto couple this week. And this is the first lesson where we had a member come joint. Sakamura kyodai came and helped a lot. He's a return missionary so he really knows how to teach people, and he's Japanese so he can actually speak. Turns out that helps a lot. We talked about faith. It's still hard for Sakamoto san to believe but we are hoping that slowly but surely his heart will open. So Sakamura kyodai invited them to church and they came again! They also discovered the Gospel Principles manual and realized it's way easier to understand than the Book of Mormon so we let them take them home to read. So I took that as a good sign. But if you could keep them in your prayers I would appreciate it.

Other than that this week has been a lot of finding. We are still looking to find that kinjin (golden) investigator who will accept our message. But in order to do that we know we need to be perfectly obedient! Perfect obedience produces miracles! So even though it's hard sometimes, when we have that goal in our minds it is worth it! 

I hope everyone has a perfectly obedient, but still fun, week!!

Malone Shimai

Me & Stevenson Shimai with the Sakamotos

Our District - Iwakuni 

So many things! / Week #59

Konnichiwa minasan!

Man so many things happened this week I don't even know where to start! No wait, I do. So last night we woke up because there was a small earthquake that was shaking our apartment and one or two things fell. But then we all went back to sleep. Yeah that is how we respond to emergencies. Then this morning turns out there is a typhoon coming through so it's raining and really windy. But we still walked to the church so that we could email. I promise we value our lives. Anyways, on to more important things!

On Tuesday we had a lesson with the Sakamotos and we knew at the end we wanted to invite them to church. So our plan was to talk about the importance of prayer, scripture study, and coming to church. Well it didn't go quite as planned and we ended up all over the place. I think we talked about the Ten Commandments and about the Plan of Salvation a little, yeah it was confusing. But at the end we invited them to church and they said "Yeah sure we've got time." Miracle! So they came to church on Sunday, all the way to Yanai. I think they had a good time. I'm not sure they understood everything, but I think most importantly they felt the love of the members. Everyone was coming up and shaking hands with them and introducing themselves. It was great!

That day we were also hoping to teach Mitchell but he wasn't sure what day he was leaving yet so we just planned the lesson anyways as if we were going to meet him that day. And then Sister Carter called and said he was leaving Thursday so he could meet that night. Miracle! So we went and taught Mitchell about the Plan of Salvation. And as usual the lesson was awesome. He had super good questions about Adam and Eve, The Law of Moses, and even the importance of Jesus Christ in the Plan. It kept me and Sister Stevenson on our toes. Especially since our English fails us sometimes and we sound weird now. But the Carters are awesome joints and they testified their hearts out. Unfortunately Mitchell left on Friday and won't be back for like a month and a half. But we committed him to read and pray every day while he's gone. 

This week we also had the opportunity to go to Yamaguchi and meet our new mission president, Egan Kaicho, and Egan Shimai of course. They are so wonderful! They have a lot on their shoulders taking on this responsibility but they are already doing great. Kaicho encouraged us to work hard, work smart, be obedient, and have fun! So we are trying to do just that! 

Honestly most of this weekend was taken up by us preparing for our American cooking class. It's been in the works for over a month now and finally the day came. We had practiced making the BBQ chicken, potato salad, green beans, and cookies beforehand but of course the day of things always get interesting. We had a little fiasco with the first batch of chicken so we had to go run and by some more last minute. But we had a good sized group come and I think everyone had a fun time. We are all a little relieved it's over but we will probably try another one sometime next month. 

There are many other miracles that happened this week and I can't even list them all. I'm so grateful I get to be a part of this work and we hope to see many more this coming week! 

Malone Shimai

Is it Jello? Is it Soda? Turns out it's both!

The wonders of Japan right here!!

Everyone enjoying the food we made for our cooking class

The long awaited pic of The Carter Family! And Mitchell!!

He's the one who looks like a Marine! :)

Me & Stevenson Shimai with Morikawa san

Me & Stevenson Shimai with Chapman Shimai & Parmley Shimai

Enjoying lunch after interviews with our new Mission President!!