The Last Blog Post - Coming Home Week!

Konnichiwa Minnasan!

   Sorry this will be a short letter, but I just have a few last thoughts that I would like to share with all of you. As I've been contemplating these last 18 months, I've had a lot of different emotions and thoughts. This last 18 months has probably been the hardest, biggest struggle of my whole life. I have cried so many times over things going the way I didn't want, feelings of inadequacy, and long days of feeling like I'm not making a difference in anyone's life. 

   But at the same time I have also experienced the greatest happiness and joy of my whole life. I have had the opportunity to meet amazing people who have so much faith and who are so strong in the gospel. I have had wonderful companions who have helped me to grow so much. We have had lots of fun times laughing and learning together. I have met wonderful members here who have such a strong desire to follow in the Savior's footsteps and share the gospel with everyone. I have been able to learn how to truly rely on my Savior and his help through the atonement. I have learned of the importance of daily scripture study. Heavenly Father truly speaks us through his written words and his living prophet. I know that through the power of prayer we can receive Heaven's help and strength for the daily struggles we all face. 

   I am not the perfect daughter. I am not the perfect student. I am not the perfect member. I am not the perfect ice skater (I still fall on the ice everyday. :)) And I'm not the perfect missionary. But no matter who we are, as long as we are trying our very best Heavenly Father will always be proud of us! As long as we follow the Savior and truly love everyone, we will be so happy in our lives, and I know that is true!

   Thank you so much for all you love and support! I truly love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! See you soon! :)

Morrison Shimai

 Endou Family

 Coming Home

 Merry Christmas from Yagawa Shimai and Jazmyne

Unexpected Miracles

Hello Everyone!!

   We had a pretty good week. A lot of our appointments fell through again. :( Oota San is still doing great! We are still helping her to be able to recognize the spirit. Whenever we ask her how she feels when she reads the Book of Mormon, prays, and goes to church she always says that she feels normal, not necessarily bad or good, just normal. I know that she feels the spirit when we meet with her, but I thought maybe it was because she just didn't recognize that it was the spirit. So me and Yugawa Shimai were talking about it, and she suggested that maybe Oota San feels the spirit pretty much all the time. Maybe she always has those sorts of good feelings and that is why it is normal to her. I thought that was a really interesting thought. I think she does feel the spirit a lot of the time and to her that is just a normal feeling.

   One really good thing that did happen this week was when we went to meet an old investigator. She wasn't home, but when we were leaving her neighbor called out to us and asked if we needed any help. He's probably in his 50s and he lives alone. He was really nice and when we told him that we couldn't go into his house, he stayed outside and talked to us for about 30 minutes. We talked about missionary work and a little about the church. He seemed to have some interest so we are going to give his address to the chorotachi (the Elders). 

   It's hard sometimes when we feel like we are working really hard, but don't necessarily see the kinds of miracles that we want to. We've been searching, and searching for new investigators all transfer and haven't found any yet, but we've been able to find some Potential Investigators for the chorotachi. I guess we have our miracles and sometimes they aren't what we expect, but they are still miracles and blessings from Heavenly Father. 

   Hope you all have a wonderful week!!

   Morrison Shimai

Teaching Christmas Music @ Eikaiwa (English Class)

Sharing a Message of Happiness

Hello everyone!!

   So this week was alright. Sometimes there are good weeks, sometimes there are bad weeks. And you know, that's just how things go in life right? But we are not letting this bad week get us down! :) We don't have a ton of investigators in this area right now, and the ones that we do have are very hard to meet with. They are always busy and always cancelling at the last minute with us. But we did have a little miracle this week and her name is Wakana chan. 

   Wakana chan is a 7 year old girl. Her mom, Hoshino San, used to take lessons from the missionaries about 4 years ago. So about 2 weeks ago, I called her to say hi and see if she remembers the missionaries. It sounds like she hadn't been in contact with the missionaries for a few years. I talked with her on the phone for a good 30 minutes. She was telling me all about her life and her family. She is a pretty amazing woman, who loves her daughter so much, that she was willing to sacrifice her own dreams in order to give her daughter the best life she could. I asked her if it would be alright if we stop by her house. She said that she usually doesn't get home from work until about 7 or 7:30 but said it was alright if we stopped by. So at the end of that week, we decided to stop by her apartment around 7 at night. We could see that all the lights were on inside the apartment. So we knew that they were home. I rang the door bell twice, but no one came out. Then I knocked on the door about 3 times. Maybe I was being a little annoying, but I really wanted to talk to them! :) So I felt like that was a pretty good excuse. Then finally the door opened and there was a little girl standing on a chair in the doorway. It was Wakana chan. The daughter that I had heard so much about over the phone. She was home alone and so that's why she hadn't opened the door. So I quickly apologized and asked her when her mom would be home. She said she would probably be home in 10 minutes. So we waited and just talked with this cute little girl for about 15 min. Her mom didn't come home, but it was getting late. As we were leaving I remembered that I had some candy in my bag, so I gave her the candy and asked her to tell her mom that we would be coming back the next week.

   So this week we went back one more time. But this time we decided to try to go at 7:30 at night. Hoping that would be late enough for us to meet her. This time I only had to ring the doorbell once and Wakana chan came running and opened the door for us. I didn't have to say anything, and she just said 'wait here, I'll call my mom'. Her mom said she would be home in 10 minutes so once again we waited and just talked and played with Wakana chan. Then her mom finally came home and we were about to talk with her for a little while. Wakana chan really wanted us to come inside , but by that time it was almost 8 and I could tell that Hoshino San was tired and probably had other things to do. So I asked Hoshino San if we could come another day and she said that was fine. I asked her what day would be good, and she looked at me hesitantly as if she didn't want to make a specific time. But Wakana chan says, 'can you come back next Thursday at 7:30?' And how could I refuse this sweet, little girl's offer? Exactly of course I couldn't so we made an appointment with the daughter to come back. This little girl stays home all by herself until her mom comes home so of course she must be lonely. And Hoshino San works all day and then comes home to talk care of her daughter, so she much not really have a ton of adult interaction besides work. They are both lonely and I really think Hoshino San is looking for more in her life. She truly wants what is best for her daughter. I just know they could benefit and find so much joy in the gospel. We share with everyone a message of happiness and I can't think of any other message with this kind of worth!

  

    Love you all so so so much!

   Thanks for all your love and support!

   Have a lovely week!

   Morrison Shimai

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone!

   Happy Thanksgiving!! So this week was good! We were able to meet quite a few people this week! We met with Oota San and taught her about the importance of Relief Society and the Priesthood. She is so wonderful and she is basically like a member. She comes to church every week. She reads the Book of Mormon everyday and prays everyday. Plus she has a subscription to the Liahona and reads it every month! We are so grateful for her and her wonderful example. This week we had our lesson with a member. Noto Shimai. And being the sweet lady that she is, she was talking to Oota San about baptism. She currently has a baptismal date for January 31st, but us, as well as all the members, feel that she is ready for baptism! So Noto Shimai tried to convince Oota San that she should move up the date, so that I would be able to see it before I go home. But Oota San is kind of stubborn and set in her ways so she just politely says, 'No that's ok, I think January will be a good time to have a baptism.' It was super cute and sweet! :)

   Then we were also able to meet Yoshida San this week! We haven't been able to meet her recently because her health hasn't been very good, so she has been going to the hospital a lot. The last time we met her we were able to give her a Book of Mormon. And since then she has read the whole beginning part and some of 1 Nephi!! We were so happy and excited to hear that. She says that it's really hard to understand because there is so many different names and she doesn't know who all the people are.  But she said that she really wanted to keep reading. In our lesson we talked more about Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith. She was really interested in Joseph Smith and the whole time she just kept saying how it all makes sense. And she kept saying that his story sounded familiar to her before. At first I was thinking, has she met the missionaries before and heard this lesson? But she has never heard of our church before, and she's told us that she has never met any missionaries before. In PMG (Preach My Gospel), there is a section that says that when people hear our message it will sound familiar to them. I've only had that happen one other time on my mission, but I think it is so true. Everyone has heard the gospel before. They just don't remember. But when they hear it, if their heart is open then it will make sense to them. So it's up to us to help them find the truth that they have just forgotten.

   In church yesterday, one of the counselors in the Bishopric gave a talk on the Conference talk by President Uchtdorf from Priesthood session. If you haven't read it please do!! It's called 'Lord, Is It I?' I started reading through it as the counselor was giving his talk and just could not stop the tears as I read the words. I'll let you read it for yourselves, but I really learned a lot from it. There are no perfect people in this world. We know that, but often we forget that we too are imperfect. Let us not point fingers at other, but rather look inside ourselves and try to fix ourselves, before we try to fix other people. I know it's hard, but I know that through the Savior we can all receive healing for the parts that need fixing. 

   I love you all! Thanks for everything!

  Morrison Shimai

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Link to President Uchtdorf's talk:  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/lord-is-it-i?lang=eng

Last Zone Conference....

Snow in Sapporo!

 Hello!

   We had our first big snow fall in Sapporo! It's the beginning of winter and we are getting prepared by pulling out the scarves and gloves and snow boots and down jackets! This is going to be a fun last winter here! :)

   This week I got to go on splits with one of the STLs (Sister Training Leader). Me and Yoneda Shimai were able to see so many miracles that day! I was able to get a lot of good advice from her and I gained a lot more hope through her positive attitude and love. We met one women named Suzuki San. We met her on the street and were able to have a great conversation. She really loves learning about history and so we told her about the Book of Mormon and how it's a recorded history from the people in Ancient America. She got really interested and we were able to give her the Book of Mormon right there on the street. It was such a great testimony for me! Whenever we talk to people and get to know them, something they say will always relate to the gospel - which makes it easier to bring up the gospel in almost any conversation that we have. We were able to get her phone number and we will call her next week and try to make an appointment for next week!

   We also were able to meet with Oota San this week. She is still on track for being baptized in January. We had a Team-up on Wednesday and we tried to talk about moving her baptism. We feel like she is ready for baptism and so does the ward. She is basically a member, just hasn't been baptized yet. :) But she is still very set on getting baptized in January. So we will continue to teach her and continue preparing her for her baptism.

   Thank you for all your love and prayers! They are greatly appreciated!

   Have a wonderful week!

   Morrison Shimai

Snow!

 Jazmyne with Yoneda Shimai

Saigo Made Taeshinobu! - - Endure to the End!

Hello everyone!

   Hope you are all enjoying your Fall weather, because we have finally hit Winter here. Last Monday was the first time it snowed and it is getting so cold here. Even though there isn't really a lot of snow on the ground I've wearing my snow boots the past few days because it gets so cold at night that I like to keep my feet warm. :)

   This week was transfers! And I stayed in Shinkotoni with Yugawa Shimai! So happy about that! Me and Yugawa Shimai get along so well so I was really hoping that we would get to stay together for my last transfer. I can't believe I'm almost at the end! I feel like it was still only last week that I was getting ready to leave the MTC and finally head out to Japan! Man how fast time flies! But as we say in Japan: saigo made taeshinobu! Endure to the End. And that is exactly what I'm going to do! I'm so ready to work and I'm ready to work hard! We are going to have a great last transfer!

   Right now we're kind of in a rough situation because we really don't have any investigators in this area right now, well except for Oota San (and yes she is still doing great). So me and Yugawa Shimai are just going to hit the pavement and really get to work. We are already seeing so many miracles for our efforts. This past weekend, we met 2 really nice people. One of them we met while housing and she wasn't interested in the gospel she did show a lot of interest in our Free English Class, so we were able to get her phone number and she said that she would try to come next week. Then while we were out contacting people on the street yesterday, the first girl we stopped was super nice and we talked with her for about 10 minutes. Not sure how much interest she has in the gospel right now but we were able to get her phone number and made an appointment to call her again.

   The best part of the week was meeting with Ooshima Kyoudai (kyoudai=brother). He is a recent convert from about 2 months ago. But sadly right after he got baptized the missionaries who taught him got transferred and then he just stopped coming to church. So me, Hojo shimai, and Yugawa Shimai went to go and see him on Monday and we were able to meet him and we found out that he had thrown away his Book of Mormon. So we gave him a new copy and had a good conversation with him. He's been having a rough time recently because he's been looking for a job for a few years now and he found one about a month ago, but then it fell through just last week. 

   He hadn't met either of the new Elders, so we decided that all 4 of us would go and introduce the Elders to him. So we all went to his apartment last night. We knew he was home, but he wouldn't answer the door. So Goddard Choro (being the bold but loving missionary that he is) just starts yelling his name from outside the apartment and saying he wants to talk to him. And it works! He comes outside and Goddard Choro asks him if we can come in and he lets us in! Ooshima Kyoudai is really just a sweet, innocent man who has been having a rough time. Before we went to his house I asked Goddard Choro what the plan was and he simply told me that the plan is that we are going to show him love. And that's exactly what we did. He's so lonely and he really just needs friends, and he needs to be shown love. We were able to talk to him and help him to realize that he has friends at church who miss him and want to talk to him. We were able to commit him to come to church this next Sunday.

   

Everyone needs love!! That is the one thing that I have really come to understand this last transfer. No matter who you are or what your situation is, everyone needs help sometimes and everyone needs love. Heavenly Father is able to show his love best through other people. So I want to make sure this last transfer that I never miss an opportunity to show someone love and kindness.

   

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love you lots!!

Morrison Shmai

 Our District

KFC Santa - Getting in the Christmas spirit

 Good-bye to Holt Shimai - Homeward Bound

 Bastow Shimai at Transfers

 Nacho Party

Endure to the End!

I Love to see the Temple, even if under construction!

Hello everyone!

   This week was good! This week with Oota San we focused on talking about the temple. So we had a really good lesson about the temple and why the temple was so important on Saturday. Then on Sunday a member took us all to the temple site! It was such a cool experience for us and for Oota San. I think it's hard for her to imagine what the temple will look like or what it will be like to go inside, but I think she really enjoyed going. There is just a different kind of spirit there, and I think she could feel it. :) 

   This week we also had a Halloween party at our Free English Class. It was so fun! In Japan people don't actually celebrate Halloween, so we were explaining to everyone how you dress up and go door to door asking for candy. They just thought that was so weird and dangerous! Pretty funny! We played some fun games and we even had a pinata! But did you know that they don't have pinatas in Japan? Well they don't... So me and Yugawa Shimai put our brains together and we made one! It was really not fancy at all, but I think it turned out ok. The only problem was that I think we put too much tape on it, so it was really hard to break! It was my first time making a pinata people! Give me a break! haha :) We had quite a few young people show up, so there ended up being about 25 people there! So fun!

   Also this week we really were focusing on showing the members more love and how grateful we are for them. We went and visited about half of the members during the week, and it really payed off, because we ended up getting 3 referrals! We were so excited about that! I know that we can't do this work without the help of the members, and I'm so grateful for the help that they have given us! I know that the missionaries are always grateful for everything the members do. Whether it's a referral, an opportunity to serve, or just a nice conversation. Please never pass up an opportunity to let the missionaries help you either. We love to help, and we want to! No matter what it is. When we are truly united as missionaries and member missionaries, I know that this Work of Salvation will go forward with greater speed than it ever has before!

Have a lovely week!

Love you all!

Morrison Shimai

 Homemade Piñata

 English Class Halloween Party

 Sapporo Temple Construction site