Hello Familia!
BIG NEWS! I`m staying in Kawachi again!!!!! WOOOO! But Wiseman Shimai`s off to Tottori! (above Okayama) And my new doryo is Weigl Shimai! She`s the same transfer as me and I think one time I saw her wearing the same shirt as me….so I`ve decided we`re just gonna be twinsies! 😀 Stoked! I really am super excited! I`m ready to learn from her! And ready to ASTONISH THE WORLD and BAPTIZE THE NATIONS! Woo!
So that`s my life! This week was full of glory….and heat stroke! Just kidding! Although, I cannot tell you how many people have expressed serious concern about us getting that…..always reassuring! 😀 Fear not though…there`s vending machines on literally ever corner, so we stay VERY hydrated! I`m super grateful though that we don`t have a thermometer to tell us how hot it is, cuz shoot, if we did….that would just totally psyche me out! But I enjoy living life ignorantly with my little sweat washcloth and 3 water bottles! 😀 Don`t yall be gettin` jealous now! haha!
So again, my life! It`s a party! THE DENDO IS MY SUBCONSCIOUS! Last night I had a dream and in it, I was just contacting with my zone! And people were rejecting me hard core, but we were all Army of Helaman-like and just kept goin! 😀 Feels good dreaming about that! hahaha!
Alright, Tuesday! We streeted for a while (when we don`t have less active work to do, we just dendo as usual) ah man…rejection didn`t used to hurt this bad. I`d just be like, `Well, your time will come! On to find the sheep!` but now I understand people more and more and we get into conversations and they say stuff like, `I don`t need God` or `He`s not real` and it hurts…it hurts deep. But you just have to keep going. We did have a really interesting conversation with a kid about our age. He had a friend who was Mormon but he was of a different faith. I don`t know if you know what Sokkagakkai is but that`s the one. And I have spent like a year trying to understand what people say when they say that the god is inside them. It just has never quite made sense but after talking with him, I finally get it. Most Japanese people have the belief that the Buddha is sleeping inside of them. So they pray to like…awaken that energy. So they rely on that energy. And I asked him if he ever felt that before. and he said yes and asked me if I ever felt power from relying on my God. And I`m like yeah! *whip out personal experience on the fly!* it was really interesting. we invited him to go home (lives somewhere in tokyo) and talk to his friend more about the church and try going sometime. But anyways, when we went to leave, he reached for a hug and I was like WHA???!”!! hahaha Japanese people do NOT hug EVER! So basically I panicked and didn`t know what to say so it turned into the AWKWARDEST ELBOW PAT OF MY LIFE! can you just picture that!? don`t try, you will cry from awkwardness!! hahaha! Yeah, so I walked away laughing so bad! 😀
Wednesday we finally found some awesome service to do!!! We get to play games and talk to old people at a nursing home!!! Ah, it is the BEST! We started out listening to this tape from probz like the 70s that said like, `flex your fingers! lift your right leg! now your left!` and all this funny stuff! Probably the only work out where I haven`t broken a sweat but I gotta be careful not to jinx it! Or who knows, next week they`ll be like, `Okay everybody! We`re gonna try and wiggle our toes!`Woo! Now THAT would be a tough one! haha!
Okay, Ima just jump to Saturday. So check this out! The Hashimoto Shimai had a baptism on Saturday that we went to. But we didn`t invite our Japanese grammie because if you just say the word she flips! So we`re standing there, watching the baptism and after, Wiseman Shimai grabs my arm and goes, `SHE CAME!!!!!` And I looked around and saw her just as she was leaving the room and I was like WHAT!!!!?? So this is the story: the bishop`s family was hanging out at the church and Yoshikawa Shimai (the bishop`s wife/my grammie`s daughter) knew about the baptsm but didn`t say anything to her mom and was just like, `Hey mom! Let`s go into this room for a sec!` And she saw her get dunked and that was it! hahahaha! She didn`t tell her a word until after and was like `That was a baptism!` And my grammie goes, `Oh…..nice..` like no big deal! hahaha I was like WHAT!? Are you seriousl!!! Oh man, it was a miracle she came!!! And she stayed for the rest and was super chill!! Oh man, I`m hoping this was a step in a giant direction towards baptism for her!!!! haha! But seriously! Next week, the elders have a baptism so we`re plotting away how to get her to that one too! 😀 We had a good lesson on repentance with her this week and some dots to God and Jesus Christ are connecting I think so that`s good!
THE COOLEST MIRACLE ON SUNDAY TOO!!!! Oh man..I can`t even explain the joy…..it`s too great…So Saturday we had just enough time to visit our less active brother, Deguchi Kyoudai. We`ve been working with him a lot. He has the most tender, pure heart of like anyone I know. And he`s been reading a scripture a day from the little jar we gave him and remembereing to say his prayers this week! And since we first started meeting back in April, he`s been saying things like he wants to come back to church but he just doesn`t know when. And like, he has some memory issues, so you cant really put dates on things. But we`ve tried to invite him to ward meal partites and some lower key stuff, but he won`t come. But when we visited him Saturday he made a coment about how if we transfer, he wants to try to come to church before. and he didn`t even know transfers were coming up. but we just told him at his own pace is good and to not worry. but as we left he was like, ` I expect missionaries to still come take care of me if you leave. I need God. I need His help.` and it was so tender. I was like, `oh man, we have to prep him incase one of us goes!` so I just told him we were gonna find out Monday and we would let him know so he didn` have to worry.
So Sunday comes and we get out of a meeting and someone comes down stairs to tell us that HE CAME!!!!! and seriously, we asked like 50 times WHO!? Deguchi Kyoudai. WHO!? Deguchi Kyoudai. WHO!? hahaha seriously though, WE WERE SO SURPRISED!!!! Oh man, we were like RUNNING! and then I remembered we had to be reverent but like….oh man….I was SO HAPPY!!! HE CAME TO CHURCH!!!!! I know that must not seem like a big deal but truly….oh man…we have been working with him for so long! So long for him to come to church!!! It feels like……the equivalent to someone committing to be baptized! Maybe even being baptized! Ah! It was a miracle! He came all by himself too, all dressed up! Happy day 🙂 I think he`ll be making big progress from here!!! Much easiser to come again, right!?
So thankful to my God. 🙂
I just wanted to share something that`s been on my mind. There`s this song on my ipod that I never really liked cuz it was super cheesy hahaha but I`ve been learning about repentance more lately and yesterday when it came on, the words just kind of caught me. They go, `Picture a place where the sum of all grace is extending a hand to erase all the shame from this worn out face` It`s really beautiful. This week almost all of our lessons were focused on how we can be forgiven and cleansed from sin through the Savior`s Atonement. A lot of people don`t believe we need a Savior. or they don`t understand why. But I want to share my testimony and personal witness that we need a Savior. We absolutely need Jesus Christ. And His grace and His mercy. I`ve been thinking about how Christ feels when we sin. And when we repent. And I relate it back to the time where they brought the woman before Him and asked Him what to do to her. And He showed her mercy. He forgave her and simply said with far greater love and understanding than I can imagine, `Go and sin no more.` And I`d like to think that He says the same to us. I think of the burdens we each carry and the sorrow that comes when we sin. and sometimes you feel like `I`m not worthy. I`ll never be worthy of His love and forgiveness. I can`t go back now.` But if we remember those words, `Go and sin no more` we can take comfort in knowing that the Son of God loves us. He forgives us. He delivers us from the weight and sorrow of sin and we can move on and become better. No mattter how many times or how long it takes. I love my Savior. It says in 2 Nephi 28:32 ` I shall lengthen out my arm unto them from day to day, …I will be merciful unto them…if they will repent and come unto me; for my arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.` I am so grateful for that promise from God. I`m grateful for daily repentance and the Atonement that makes that all possible. The gospel is beautiful!!!
So are you!
Ai shite imasu!
Howard Shimai
Konichiwhat? 
Dearest Brittni,
!!!keew ruoy tuoba gnidaer deyojne I ,syawla sA
A short story about Japanese people and hugging/kissing:
My nephew Craig Holdstock (your Great Aunt/Uncle Janet and Tim’s son) served his mission in Japan. Izumi Noma was a “native” Sister
Missionary serving at the same time and in the same zone as Craig, so of course they knew of each other. After her mission Izumi
came from Japan to attend BYU Provo. Craig also attended BYU. They found each other there and began courting and fell in love.
They have made their home in Fukuoka, Japan.
Craig is an extremely shy boy. Having served his mission in Japan and all through his courting Izumi, he had never even held
hands with Izumi in public, let alone kiss her in front of anyone else, either because he respected the Japanese custom or because of his
shyness – probably both.
They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. After the sealing was complete and Izumi and Craig has stood up from kissing over the alder
(and a mighty tiny little peck it was – not really a kiss), the Sealer asked Craig to give his mother and new mother-in-law a hug and kiss.
Craig gave his own mother a little hug and kiss, then just stood there looking at Izumi’s mother. The Sealer encouraged him again and
Craig didn’t move or say anything. We all just stood there waiting for someone to do “something”. Once more the Sealer encouraged
Craig to not be so shy or afraid of Sister Noma. Finally, one of Craig’s missionary comps bailed him out. He went to the Sealer and
explained the Japanese “no hug/no kiss” custom. Sealer was embarrassed and apologized for his lack of knowledge about Japanese customs.
Just thought you might enjoy that little “true” story.
See you soon!!!
Luv,
Grams