Japan Journey: The best day I've lived on my mission!!

To the best people on this earth! MY FAMILY! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Last week I forgot to tell you about a funny moment I had. I:ll tell you about it with my journal entry from the day, June 10th: "Yesterday I was riding my bike and all of a sudden my long ole skirt got stuck in the tire of my bike - bringing me to a pretty sudden stop as it got all wound up in the spokes! My skirt slipped off my bottom and kind of pinned me onto my bike seat cause it was wound so tight around the spokes! So there I sat on the highway with cars going by and my sweet little bottom and garments exposed to the world! I finally slid off my seat, frantically trying to get my little situation under control and my skirt back up! My skirt was all ripped up and holey. Morita Shimai came back and made sure I was okay when she realized I was no longer behind her. So embarrassing, but a funny moment too!"

This week we went to one of our members houses and did service for her. She lives out in the country and so we rode the train out to a train stop closer to her house and then she came to the train station and picked us up and the drove us out to her lovely little Japanese country house. I loved riding in the car, cause I got to sit in the back next to her little 6 month old baby boy and make him smile and hold is chubby little hand. Then we got to her house and changed into our jeans and then went and weeded one of her gravel roads that was covered in weeds. It took a couple of hours and it rained a little bit, but I loved doing real service and being outside!

Later in the day we went out for sushi with a man who is an old investigator. We sometimes go and help him at his work and do service there picking weeds too. While we were at dinner together Butler Shimai (one of the sisters in our apartment, I love her so much!) was talking to him trying to invite him to come to church. He offered me a NATO sushi roll thing, and so I told him that if he:ll come to church I:d eat it. Do you remember nato? Its the fermented soybeans that have a horrible texture. Anyways, I popped that big ole roll of rice and mushed up Nato into my mouth and just about died. I literally gagged. It was so so not good! I had to chew my mouth full of slime all slow so I could get it down. That was quite the experience! Whew!

This week we went to a nursing home and did service! It was so so much fun! I was worried that I wouldn:t be able to understand their Japanese, but it actually was okay and I had a nice conversation with a table of elderly ladies! They were all so sweet! We talked and everyone did exercises together, like stretching our arms over our heads and exercising our fingers, and legs.

Saturday was probably my favorite and the best day I:ve lived on my mission!! Oh I loved it so much! Me and Butler Shimai went on our split (she is a sister training leader). It felt exactly like how I want my mission to always feel! In the morning we had study time and then we rode to an appointment we had to meet with a less active sister at a library. Our lesson ended up getting cancelled , so we stayed at the library for a bit and talked to a few high school girls who walked by us and said "hello!" They asked us if they could take our picture.

Then me and Butler Shimai started walking toward the train station and there was a festival going on in front of the train station, like in this little plaza. So we went over and watched the dancers and the drummers. We stayed for a little while and talked to some people standing next to us. Then at one point me and Butler Shimai were talking about how we need to focus more on finding families. Then right after that, this cute pregnant mom and her little girl came and stood right next to us. We started talking, telling her how cute her little girl was. She was so super friendly! We told her how we are missionaries, and she wasn:t even scared off by that. She said that she wants to go to another festival in August together too!

We found out that she actually used to be a festival dancer, like the ones we were watching. Then at the festival we were at, it turned into a "anyone can come and dance with the festival dancers in the big circle" so away me and Butler Shimai and our new friend went! We went into the circle and just started dancing and watching the people around us, and tried to learn the dance. At first I was a little embarrassed, but by the end I was having so much fun! I caught onto the dance and I loved it! At one point during the middle of it all, I turned to Butler Shimai and was just like "Just stop and soak this in! Look at this moment we:re having!" There we were in Japan, in a big dancing, loud, drumming circle, with so many cool costumes and colors flying around, and dancing this sweet Japanese festival dance! It was such a happy beautiful moment!

Later in the day we went to McDonalds for our dinner (its way close to our apartment! Yeesss!!) and watched some of those D&C church videos while we ate!

We went and taught my investigator about prayer and invited her to pray that night. She:s been taught about prayer before, but me and Butler Shimai had studied and talked a lot about prayer in our personal and companion study and really wanted to help her understand prayer better. We taught her how prayer really is just talking to Heavenly Father, like how we talk to our friends. This investigator lives all by herself, and goes to work everyday, and it just seems like she doesn:t know that she is loved. Butler Shimai did such a good job at telling her that she is literally Heavenly Father:s precious daughter. We committed her to pray that night. When I called her the next day, she said that she had prayed! Yes!

As we were riding our bikes that night after our lesson, we saw fireworks in the sky! The perfect ending for such a happy day!

I think part of the reason it was so happy and good is that I was with Butler Shimai! She is so genki and positive! I:ve been having a few rough moments with my new companion, like she isn:t super obedient and even though she is pretty nice and friendly, I don:t think she has very much confidence and doesn:t feel loved and its reflected in her disobedience and in being a little rough. I don:t know if that makes sense, but I:m not wanting tear her apart because I:m not perfect either, I:m just letting you my family know how my heart is, I guess. But after our split, me and Butler Shimai were talking, and as we talked about how things are going with my companionship, she reminded me that maybe President wanted me to be her companion, so that I could help her feel loved and have more confidence. So I know you:re already praying for me, but could you specifically pray that I can have help to love my companion and help her?

Mama, a couple of weeks ago, Konnishi Shimai (Butler Shimai:s companion) was looking at our family picture (the one we took in our coordinated red and yellow in the snow with the brother in laws too) and said in English: "Your Mom is gorgeous!!" Lots of people say that when they look at our family picture! Always commenting about how young you look!

Oh thank you thank you for sending me photos of the wedding!! They are beautiful! You are so beautiful Mama!

Could you maybe send me a couple of easy, cheap recipes? Like really just 2 or maybe 3? A sister in our ward wants to learn American snacks that are easy and not expensive. Like cookies our brownies or popcorn or something? Thanks!

Yesterday was Father:s Day! I am so so grateful for Daddy Papa! I love him! I miss him. I:m so lucky that I get to be here serving in Japan, just like he did! I actually thought Fathers day was last week, so I read my letter from Dad last Sunday to have that connection with him. Then today I read my Patriarchal blessing. So for Father:s Day, I got to hear from my two Fathers, in my "Daddy:s Letter" and my Patriarchal Blessing. I am so so grateful for my Heavenly Father, and my heavenly father! I love them both so very much!

I love you so!

Love Kingu Shimai