I LOVE MY FAMILY! 愛しています!

Dear Family, I love you ALL! 

Akita is so pretty right now! I love fall! 

These were some funny quotes from the other sister missionaries this week that I wrote down;

Tui Shimai: "Obviously you all know, but I just LOVE to LAUGH! Its so much FUN!!" 

Lesuma Shimai: "If by some miracle Lita Shimai still takes us out for lunch tomorrow..." :) 

I guess sometimes miracles can be when a member takes you out for lunch! haha I love my companion Lesuma Shimai, she is so sassy and so funny! Actually, our whole apartment is sassy (but in a funny, good way). They all talk to me all nice and respectful, but then to each other (all my Polynesian sisters) are so funny and sassy with each other. It is such an interesting transfer! But so many good memories! 

Here we are in traditional Tongan clothes! 

Here:s about my week:

- Taught out investigator Ishida san. Invited her to follow Christ:s example and be baptized if she gets to the point of gaining her own testimony. It felt so good to be BOLD! However, she doesn:t have too much interest right now. 

- Visiting the Checketts (he is American and his wife is Japanese). They gave us a big bag of apples! Then biking home in the rain and thunder and lighting. Lesuma Shimai yelling "NO!" to the lighting every time it flashed, making me laugh.

- Going to a tea party at a members home this week. It was so cozy and fall-ish. It was storming outside but we were all warm and happy inside. 

- Watching AMAZING Korean taekwondo and this cultural event! They were chopping wood, and yelling, and waving beautiful fans and flags, and the music and everything...It made me feel like crying it was so good! 

- Taught Eriko Shimai an "after baptism" lesson and then threw a birthday party for her with the missionaries and another recent convert and investigator! Playing darts and musical chairs!

- Gave a talk in church on Sunday about family and gratitude. My 2 favorite topics! Led the music in Sacrament meeting. 

- We had a little miracle this week! So on Monday me and Lesuma Shimai went to dinner at the Fijian family's house and had a great time! Then on Thursday we went back and were biking all around Akita trying to find their house again so we could take them a thank you card and some cookies. We couldn't find it though. So we went back the next day in the daylight and were still having no luck finding their house. So finally we stopped and decided, Well, maybe Heavenly Father has someone He needs us to find here in this area, because we've been biking around this area the last 2 days and no luck finding the Fijian family's house.

Our clothes!

So we got off our bikes, said a prayer and then decided to do some finding in that area. We had just finished our prayer and tried walking over to a lady walking her dog, but she just kind of ignored us, and then RIGHT THEN, this van pulls around the corner and guess who is inside?! Tina! The woman from Fiji that we were trying to find! Turns out we were real close to her house, but thankfully she saw us and she was so excited to see us and we were able to give her the card and cookies and find out where her house was again. It was a miracle! Tina said about the fact that we'd found each other, "God is good!'

Our entry way to our apartment

I was thinking the other day that if someone were to ask me to share one of the lessons I've learned through my mission, I think one of the number one lessons would be just that..."God is good." I've had so many moments of feeling my Heavenly Father's love on my mission, that that has definitely been a part of my testimony that has grown so much. I know God lives. I know He is good, and that He loves me. And I know He loves every human being we are here on Earth with. 

I LOVE MY FAMILY! 

愛しています!

Kingu Shimai