Disappointments and Blessings

Hi everyone!

   Well things here are going good, except for the fact that we had so many appointments for the week and day by day all of them fell through. I was so mad and frustrated. At the beginning of the week, I felt like we did everything we could to make sure that we would be able to use our time most effectively so that we could get lots of lessons and lots of contacts. But then I felt like Satan was really working hard on us and on our appointments and everything got cancelled. I just kept asking myself, why? I know that sometimes we have really really good weeks, but at the same time sometimes we have really really bad weeks. And I know that as long as we tried our best, and then if things didn't work out perfectly and people use their agency and chose not to listen to us, then we can't say that it was our fault. Everyone has the opportunity to choose, but it is up to us to do all we can to help them make the correct choice.

   But we did have a really good lesson with Oota San on Wednesday! She said in the past that she has never felt the spirit, and every single time we ask her what she feels when she prays, or reads scriptures how she feels. She always says that she doesn't feel anything. But we watched the Finding Faith in Christ movie, and we had a really good discussion about how we should always be improving and striving to be more Christ-like in our lives. At the end of the lesson she said that she had a really good feeling inside and so we pointed out that that is the Spirit telling her that everything she is learning is true. It was a really amazing experience. 

   One other highlight of the week. This week we had stake conference, and Shinoro is in the same stake as Shinkotoni! Yep that's right! I got to see Endo family! Before this transfer I had been praying so hard to Heavenly Father that I would be able to see them one last time before I went home. I was hoping the answer to that prayer would mean me getting to back to Shinoro, but God truly does work in mysterious ways. I didn't get to go to Shinoro, but I got to go to a place that was in the same stake so that I would be able to meet them one more time. I know Heavenly Father listens to our prayers. We may not get the answer in the way we expect or want, but he truly knows what is best for us and that is how he answers us!

Love you all! Have a wonderful week! Don't catch a cold! :)

Morrison Shimai

The Endo Family

Bowling with Call Shimai and Dialogue Choro

Zone Activity - with Malmrose Shimai

It is great having Investigators!

Hello everyone!

   This week has been good! We found 2 new investigators! The first one is Yoshida San. I think I mentioned her in my last email. We first met her on the street about 1 1/2 weeks ago. We talked with her a little bit about Jesus Christ and when we asked her if we could meet again, she gave us her phone number and her address and we were able to make an appointment for Tuesday. So we went to the appointment and she remembered us! Yes that's a good sign! :)  We were there for a long time and she just told us about her whole life basically. She really loves to talk, but she is so smart and so knowledgeable about the world. She lives by herself, oh she does have the cutest little dog I have ever seen! She used to be part of a religion called Sokagakai - which is a very strict Buddhist religion. She told us about how she never really believed it, but always thought that there was a God. We told her more about God and Jesus Christ and we ended up giving her a Book of Mormon. She took it and said that she was excited to read it! She really loves learning about other religions and so she says that she really wants to understand what we believe.

   The other new investigator is Shintani San. We met her while we were out housing on Monday night. She's about 30 years old, she's married and has 2 young sons (age 0 and 7) - super cute!! So when we first met her, she was standing outside of her house and she was smoking. I was a little hesitant to talk to her at first, but I just went right up to her and starting telling her what we believe. She didn't tell us to go away so I just kept talking. Basically she has never even thought about religion before, but when I asked her if we could come back, she said yes! So we went back again on Friday and talked with her for about 30 minutes about the Plan of Salvation and about Jesus Christ. Most people don't really understand what we are talking about, so I'm not sure that she really understood it, but she was willing to take a pamphlet and she said we could come back again! 

   One of our themes for the transfer is to 'Find the Elect'. And I know there there are people for us to find here. They may not know that they are looking for something more in their life, but once they hear it, they will realize that we have something good, and we want to share it with them!

Have a wonderful week!

Love you all!

Morrison Shimai

President and Sister Nakastuka

 Waiting for the subway

Conference Weekend

Hello Everyone!

  So this past weekend we had the opportunity to watch general conference!  During the conference the prophet, all of the apostles as well as other leaders speak to us. This conference was so uplifting and hopeful. Some of the main topics that were spoken about was listening to and heeding the prophet's council. As well as finding out truth for ourselves through personal revelation from God.  As I listened to Thomas S. Monson I could just feel the Holy Ghost so strong, confirming to me that he truly is a prophet of God. I know that when he gives us council and direction, it is coming directly from the Lord.  However we also have a responsibility to find truth out for ourselves. I really liked a talk given about how it's ok for us to have questions about the truth and to have the desire to find truth for ourselves, but we need to look to God and truly study his word in order to receive that confirmation of whether or not it is true.  I know this church is God's church here on the earth today, and while we may not understand or know everything, we do know that we have a loving God who is our Father. He is always watching over and helping us, during our times of question and times of success. His love for us will never change.

   This week we also met with a few investigators. Oota San is an investigator who has a baptismal date for January 31st. She prays everyday, reads the scriptures and she even comes to church every week. This week we talked about Service and Enduring to the End. She was able to relate the good feelings we get when doing service to the Spirit. She really has a great desire to continue studying so that she can understand the church doctrine more fully. We also met a great lady named Yoshida San. We met her on the street on Friday. We had a great conversation about religion and apparently she has met with missionaries from many different churches before. She is definitely searching for the truth and it was such a miracle to have met her! We have another appointment to meet her next week so hopefully that will go well! I just know there are lots of people for us to find this transfer and I'm so excited for the opportunity to be able to work in the Heart of Sapporo for the last little while of my mission! 

Thanks for everything!   Have a wonderful week!

   

 Morrison Shimai

In Sapporo

With new companions

Dinner at Tony Roma's

Hello Kitty!

Transferred!

Hello everyone! 

   So I finally made it to the city of Sapporo for the last few months of my mission! i never thought it would happen. but here I am livin' big in the big city! I was so shocked! But I know this transfer is going to be so much fun!!

   It was so hard to leave Hakodate! It was especially sad because me and Holt Shimai both got transferred out! ;( We cried a lot. We had to pass all of our investigators to the other shimai. But I know that they are all in good hands and Oonishi san still has a baptismal date so that is still super exciting! Please keep praying for her!

   So now I'm in Shinkotoni with Hojo Shimai and Yugawa Shimai. Yay a trio companionship! It's going to be so fun and I'm really excited. Yugawa Shimai is full Japanese, but she has lived in Hawaii all her life, but her Japanese is actually really good. Hojo Shimai is from Nagoya and she got to Japan the transfer after I got here, she doesn't speak any English but she is so funny! Sorry this is such a short letter, but I will be sure to tell you more about the area and the investigators and the members next week!!

   Love you all!!  Thanks for everything!   Have a wonderful week!!!

   

   Morrison Shimai

Last Week in Hakodate

 With Onishi San

Three Great Investigators!

Hello Mina San!! (everyone)

   This week was great! Like always! But we have finally hit fall, and I'm back to wearing tights everyday!! Only a little bit longer until we see some snow... probably.....

   We finally were able to meet with Mika chan again this week! We had met her at the end of last transfer, but she got busy and wasn't able to meet with us for over a month! But we met her this week and we followed up with her about the Book of Mormon and what she remembers and she said that she has been reading it and she just started 2 Nephi! We talked about Joseph Smith and his experience. We asked her what she thought and she said that if it really did happen, he was pretty amazing. It is so incredible to me how much she understands. She keeps telling us about how she feels like her faith and understanding about God is growing more and more every time she reads from the Book of Mormon and when she meets with us! She has such a great desire to know about God and who is. We have another appointment with her this week and we are planning of watching the restoration video with her.

   We also met with Chise san this week. She is still having a hard time with reading and understanding the Book of Mormon on her own. We are trying to help her realize that she doesn't need to be with us every time she reads to be able to understand it. She's been having a little bit of a rough time at work lately and she just feels like it is so hard to be kind to people sometimes. And we all feel that way. We talked with her about Christ's example and she kept talking about how she can become better through Him. I know that she can feel the spirit when we meet with her and when she comes to the church. Now we just need to help her recognize that and help her see how this gospel can apply to her personally.

   And we also met with Oonishi san a few times this week!! She is really progressing so fast! We've been able to teach her most of the commandments and she is following them and really wants to follow them. She is also reading her Book of Mormon and she is praying every night. I can just see her changing so much as she learns more about our Heavenly Father and this gospel. Although yesterday was a little difficult. We had a team-up after church and the member was a little too bold with her and so she felt a lot of pressure about baptism. Then we got a call from a member telling us that when she went to drop off Oonishi san at her house after church, her mom came outside and started yelling at the both of them. We knew that her mom had some disapproving feelings about the church, but obviously there is more than Oonishi san was actually telling us. I don't want her to feel pressure and  stress about her baptism. We really need to help her to work out some things with her mom. We want to keep helping her work toward baptism, but we've also started to understand that it's important for Oonishi san to feel that she is ready for baptism as well. So please pray for Oonishi san and her mom as well!

   Thanks for all your support and prayers!

   Love you all

   Have a great week!

   Morrison Shimai

Getting an Aerial view of Hakodate

Yep Ice Cream

Getting ready for a musical fireside

Life is Great - Baptism Prep!

Hello everyone!

   This week was really great! We are still continuing to prep for Oonishi San's baptism!! This week we taught all of lesson 3 plus a couple of the commandments. When we met her on Wednesday, we first followed-up on whether she had talked to her parents about her baptism. She said that she did, but they weren't very happy about it. We had such a wonderful Team-up that day, and the member just encouraged her saying that her parent's opinion is really important, but she is also an adult and she is the one who will make the ultimate decision, not her parents. I haven't met her mom yet, but I'm hoping that we can meet her before the baptism and introduce ourselves, so then maybe her heart will be softened a little. :) That day we talked a lot about faith and we told her about how faith is like a seed. At first it might start out small, but then eventually as you learn more it will grow more and more. She told us in that lesson that if she had to put her faith on a scale from 0 to 100, she said that her faith is probably close to 0. Although I believe she has so much more faith than that! 

   Then we met again on Friday and taught more about baptism and confirmation. She is starting to get really excited about baptism. For every lesson we have been able to have a Team-up so she is always asking everyone why they got baptized. I think she is trying to figure out how her conversion relates to others and how she will know when she is ready. At the end of the lesson she gave the prayer. And in the prayer she thanked Heavenly Father because she told him that she thinks her seed of faith is starting to grow and sprout! It was so cute!! And we were so happy to hear that!

   So we have planned to meet her 3 times a week before her baptism. This next week we will be teaching Word of Wisdom and Tithing. I'm so excited to continue to teach Oonishi San. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have to watch her learn and grow and she is really coming out of her shell, little by little, so that's a good thing! It's all so great here in Hakodate and I just never want to leave! I know that this gospel is the only true way to happiness. We see and watch these investigators as they learn and change their entire lives for the church. They all have so much faith and I hope that one day my faith can be as strong as their's.

   Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

   Morrison Shimai

 A new friend - Kanon San

Morrison and Holt Shimai

The Hakodate Shimai

We can see miracles every day!

Konnichiwa Minasan!

   I know that I say that every week is good, but really this week was just SOOOOOO wonderful!!! We were able to meet so many people, teach lots of lessons, and we truly saw some wonderful miracles!

   On Thursday we were able to meet with Chise san. She has had such a hard time understanding the Book of Mormon, and hasn't been able to read it on her own. So we decided to just take some time and read through the 1st chapter with her to help her understand it. We would read verse by verse and simply explain the story of Lehi and his family. As we were reading she could understand the meaning of the verses, once she understood the background and she committed to reading the 2nd chapter this week on her own! It's so easy to forget how important the Book of Mormon is and that people who read it for the first time don't always understand the meaning behind every verse. When I read it, I can find almost anything to highlight, because different things will stand out to me each time I read it. But for these first time readers, it's so important to help them understand 1st what is going on in the story, so then they will be able to see the spiritual meaning behind it.

   Then on Friday we met with Oonishi san! We had a great lesson about the Plan of Salvation. She thinks that the idea of resurrection is really great. But when we asked her which kingdom of glory she wanted to go to, she said that she wouldn't want to go the celestial kingdom if that meant living with her mom forever. I think she really loves her mom, but it's been tough recently because she has to take care of her mom all the time. So we tried to emphasize that in the celestial kingdom we can also live with our future family forever. She really liked that and said that's where she wanted to go. :) At the end of the lesson we were able to make a baptismal date for October 11th! It's coming up soon, but I know she can be ready by then! She's also having a hard time understanding the Book of Mormon and prayer is still a hard thing for her, so please keep her in your prayers!

   I love this mission and the opportunity to see people change their lives and come closer to Christ. I know that Heavenly Father is watching over all His missionaries and he is mindful of all of His children. We can see miracles every day, if we just have faith and work our hardest! :)

   Love you all!!  Have a fantastic week!

   Morrison Shimai

Nighttime hike up Hakodate Mountain

 Beautiful view!

 Jazmyne and Holt Shimai

Sushi!!