Last Post from the MTC

Here is our district at the end of our 11 Weeks!

Tuesday August 21, 2012

Mina San! Konnichwa! みなさん！こんいちわ！

I can hardly believe that in a week from this very moment I will be in JAPAN!!　Wahoo!! I can hardly believe it! I feel like I'm in a 1960's movie, like South Pacific, with the weird colored hazy dreamy scenes. Japan seems so sureal, a foggy dream that I can't even comprehend. Demo (but) I am SO stoked!

Quick update on this week.

Me, with Hansen and Black Shimai

First: I am no longer in a trio!  It's back to just me and Hansen Shimai. I can't remember if I mentioned Budge Shimai or not. (She is the one whose parents are the mission presidents in Tokyo.) She did this accelerated program where she left our zone for 3 weeks, went and did what the English missionaries do, and is now back and flies out with us to Japan. As of Monday morning she became Black Shimai's companion. I feel bad for Black Shimai. She is on her fourth companion.

One of the Choros anonymously sent us this picture us what we looked like 15 years ago.

But she is SUPER cute and we all love her (Sister Budge), so it's not a problem.  I would probably miss Black Shimai no longer being in our companionship, but, they left her in our district and we are still roommates.  So we are now the "ruckiest" (as the Japanese would say) district because we have FOUR shimai, where most only have 2 or none.

It has been a weird adjustment going back to just the two of us. Sometimes I look around frantically trying to find Black Shimai. Then I remember I don't have to go everywhere with her now.  If feels like I've lost an appendage. It's kind of weird. But I do love continuing to bond with Hansen Shimai. We get more and more sarcastic with each other as the days go on. It's going to be a real problem in Japan. They don't understand sarcasm!

I am no longer the coordinating sister!  Mixed feelings about this. I definitely don't miss going to all of the meetings....But I really enjoyed going around and talking with each Shimai every night. I got to know them all so well. It's weird to actually have time to get ready for bed and write in my journal at night. The new coordinating sister is Buhler Shimai. She is so cute. She's perfect, and I know she will uplift all those she comes in contact with.

For our devotional last Tuesday we had Elder Evans-head of the missionary department. (He is the one who fixed the dragon lady problem! My scriptures are being engraved at this very moment.) Elder Evans talked about the rescue. And really emphasized how it isn't just about those who have never heard the gospel, yes, they need to come to a knowledge, but it is also for those who did know of it once, and are no longer partaking in the joy of the gospel. 

Thank you Elder Evans for making this possible

It really is so true. Why would we not want to rescue those ones as well?! I definitely have realized the importance of this, even here in the MTC.  There are a handful of Elders here that grew up in gospel homes. They decided to leave, for various reasons, but then through a friend, missionaries, or a knowledge that they needed something more, they all came back in to the fold. And they have become valuable resources.

They have testimonies of the atonement, they've needed to use its sanctifying power before they could come. They also know of the truthfulness of the gospel. That is why they are here. Not because of social obligations but because they want to teach about the Savior and His cleansing effect He can have in people's lives.

And the cool thing is, everyone respects them even more. There is no judging. We all know that it takes more courage to come back to the church, repent, AND decide to go on a mission, especially if you are older. These are truly the amazing Elders that will bare powerful testimonies in Japan.

Lately it feels like all of the speakers for firesides and devotionals talk a lot about the doctrine of Christ. I've always known what the doctrine of Christ is. But it wasn't until I came on a mission that I realized how important it truly is! And, it's everywhere in the Book of Mormon. Almost every chapter talks about at least one of the points, usually two or three of them.

The Lord is placing a high emphasis on this if He has His prophets constantly write about it. And the cool thing is, that the doctrine of Christ is the missionaries’ purpose (mokuteki). That's why I'm here. To teach about the Doctrine of Christ.

Reading through this, it makes not as much sense. But in my head it's super cool. :)

Every Saturday we teach at what is called the TRC.  Volunteers come in, and we teach them.  It's all in Japanese.  Usually the volunteers are Japanese or RM's. who want to stay up with their Japanese.  This particular volunteer just returned from Tokyo.  After our lesson they fill out a form giving us feedback.  The second question asks, 

"What new thing did you learn today?"

His answer, PRICELESS!!!

"I now have a testimony that sister missionaries are so much better than Elders"

That made our day!

Another cool story.  My district got chosen to be interviewed by a super famous Japanese newspaper!

We were the only missionaries out of ALL the missionaries in the entire world who got interviewed.

The reporters came, observed some language instruction, took LOTS of pictures and talked to a few of us individually.  It was SO cool.

They print the paper in Japanese and English!

So hopefully they’ll write about us in a positive light so we can be a powerful resource for missionary work.  They said they’ll forward us the internet link when it’s published and I’ll send it to you guys.

Well. I love you all so much! The next email you receive will be sent from the Land of the Rising Sun!!!!!!!!!!

Love

ドブソンしまい

p.s.  FYI There are 4 districts from my zone that are all flying out on Monday.  We don’t all go together on the same flight though.  Some go to LA and then to Narita (Tokyo).   My group goes from Seattle straight to Osaka.  SO  EXCITED!!!

 p.p.s One of the Elders bought this Mexican drink you can buy at the MTC bookstore.  We are celebrating getting our travel plans and going to Japan!

The Gift of Tongues

Here are videos Nicole sent us.  I think that...

The first is her reciting "Our purpose" such as she would use in a door approach

The second is the first vision.

The third is her testimony.

It's amazing to hear her speaking in Japanese after just 11 weeks.  Our missionaries are truly blessed with the gift of tongues.

I've Been Here Two Months!

August 14th, 2012

Wow! I can hardly believe my MTC time is coming to a close. As of yesterday I've been here two full months! It's felt like an eternity!!! I'm so excited to actually start doing what I came out here to do! I should get my travel plans either Thursday or Friday. It will tell me everything I need to know about getting to Japan.

It's weird to think that I won't be here anymore! I feel like this has been my mission. And the thought of Japan is sort of a hazy dream. But seriously....I can not wait to get there! I'm so antsy! Sometimes I have a really hard time focusing, I just want to go! Alas, I really do need to focus. My Japanese is not nearly where it needs to be. But...I'm just excited to go.

Ok, to start off... I have LOVED working with the Nihonjin Shimai (Japanese Sisters) this week. They are so cute!! They all have strong testimonies and are going to be such a huge blessing for the growth of the church in Japan. I can't wait to see what miracles they perform! One night, at 10:30, we had just turned the lights off in our room and we were all lying in bed. It sounded like someone was trying to get into our room. Our door was moving back and forth. Black Shimai got up to see what was going on. All these little feet ran into the bathroom. When we woke up the next morning there were all these cute hearts on our door. They said cute little phrases in Japanese like, thank you, good luck, we love you. It was all the Nihonjin. I just love them.

 There is one thing, however, that might be a problem. They all talk SUPER high. They have high voices and when they get excited they go even higher. As we were sharing pictures of our families with each other, they were looking at mine saying, "kawaii, kawaii" in their high pitched voices. As I was looking at their pictures...I DID THE SAME THING! My voice went up like 3 octaves. I didn't realize what I was doing until after I left their room. I'm already becoming Asian! I am afraid I will come home with a super high pitched voice. It would be entertaining for about 10 seconds. Then I think I would become very annoying. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

On Sunday, Krueger Kaicho, our branch president, got released. He has been serving here for four years. And that is the longest they let them stay. He was sad to go. We now have Brother Mack as our new branch president (he was the first counselor before) and I like him a lot. We have a Brother Johnson as 1st counselor, we kept our 2nd counselor Brother Butler (he's my favorite) and we got a 3rd counselor Brother Weedman. I think Brother Johnson and Weedman are both from Highland. They all seem like very sharp men. I'm excited to get to work with them for even just a little bit of time.

 I'll share a quick insight I found as I was reading my scriptures this week....I was reading in Mosiah and I was reading Abinadi's address. He was a powerful teacher! You can feel the spirit just by reading his words. I'm sure that hearing him speak them made it infinitely more powerful! But I was thinking as I read this, it's a PERFECT missionary scripture! He taught with the power and authority that every missionary has. He taught better than I will ever be able to do, yet he only touched the heart of one person, a young priest, Alma. Two things I've come to learn from this. 1: Even if I teach to the best of my abilities and with the Spirit, people still have their agency. They must choose whether or not to accept our words. And if they don't accept, it's usually not because of our teaching. 2: Even if I don't think that I have made any progress, or touched anyone's life, I may be wrong. I don't know if Abinadi knew the power and influence that Alma would have once he was converted. But he taught anyways. AND because that one heart was changed, hundreds of thousands of people's lives were influenced! Think about it. Alma became a prophet. He taught and baptized people. He had sons that were missionaries and taught and baptized people. And they had sons. And they had sons. So many people were blessed because Abinadi was able to touch the heart of a young man. This is something I think we, as missionaries, need to remember. Even if it doesn't feel like we are having success, we have the ability to touch one person's heart. And we have no idea the influence that will bring to others. Even if we are our only convert on our mission, we can influence our posterity. It's a huge domino effect!! I just love this gospel. I'm grateful that I get to teach it to the Japanese people. Thanks for all of your prayers! I can feel them strengthening me throughout the day. I love you all!

Dobson Shimai

The Sisters Going to Kobe

All the Kobe Missionaries going Ninja

Singing Our Way Through the MTC

I have had such music withdrawals here in the MTC.  So to celebrate our halfway mark in the MTC we sang our way through the day. Thank goodness for a companion who is musical, creative and willing to be a little bit crazy with me.

p.s. Please don't make these available for the public eye.  They're for the family's entertainment only

OOPS!!!  Sorry about that Nicole.  I just couldn't resist.

Down to the Teens!

Tuesday August 7^th, 2012

Budge, Walker, Long, Graasland, Dobson, Hansen, Black, Buhler,Eddy, Champenous, Stankovsky

Hansen, Naktsuka, Latu, Dobson Shimais

New Shimais: Buhler, Walker, Eddy

Yay! I can hardly believe it! 20 days from this very moment, I will be flying to JAPAN!!! I can hardly contain my excitement!! My Japanese is not nearly where it should be in order for me to communicate effectively, but I can pray, bear my testimony, tell you who God, Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith is, and find scriptures. I think if I can start with that. I'll be just fine.

To start off....last Tuesday for devotional we had Elder Rex D. Pinegar come and speak to us. He is an emeritus 70. He talked about a lot of things that we should do in order to become successful missionaries. One thing that is always good to remember, that he talked about, was how success is almost never immediate. It is by and by. Line upon line.  Grace by grace. These are all phrases used to describe how we learn and succeed. Sometimes it can be so hard. You want to immediately have success. I want to immediately speak Japanese. But that is not the Lord's plan. Not even the Savior received a fullness of the Glory of His Father all at once. It was line upon line. Grace by grace. I think I'll be ok...

He also talked about how each mission is unique because each of us are unique. We shouldn't compare to others, which is something I've been working on lately. The Lord knows me. He knows each and everyone one of us. He has known us for much longer than we can remember. He knows what I am capable of. He knows what my experiences are. That is why I've been called to Japan. He is putting me exactly where I need to be. That is such a comfort.

On Sunday for our fireside we had one of the members of the MTC presidency and his wife speak to us. They were so cute at teaching together. They talked about how to have power when serving. They gave 4 simple steps. 1-be obedient. 2- have courage. 3-Serve with diligence. And 4-Be selfless. They expounded on all of those topics. They also talked about how the Savior, Jesus Christ didn't shrink away when He was doing the hardest thing known to man. He persisted. I should do.

After that I went and saw a recorded talk that was given at the MTC a few years ago. Basically it made me whole week. It was my favorite speaker, Elder Gerald Lund. (Not like I'm biased or anything) And He talked about teaching with the Spirit.  I just love him!  It did make me a little homesick...I wish I could be there with all of you for Rachel's wedding this week. But, I know this is where I am supposed to be!

The weeks are going by so much faster!  It seems like 2 days ago that I was typing another email. I'm excited that the time has gone my faster.  I am loving our Kohai Senkyoshi (New missionaries).  Especially the Shimai. Budge Shimai left for an advanced group. So the other 3 Shimai are now in a threesome. They are handling it so well and are so cute about it!  I just love them. The week was settling into its normal routine. Meals, study, class, meals, study, class. It was like this until...yesterday!

We had the Japanese missionaries come!! It was so fun yet completely terrifying at the same time. Don't get me wrong. I am SO excited they are here. But as coordinating sister, I have to go to all of the meetings, take care of their needs, and give them a tour of campus. ALL in Japanese! None of them speak English. Except for one. But she doesn't get here ‘til tomorrow.

Communicating between my very limited Japanese and their occasional English word was very intimidating!   I can explain about the first lessons, and various other phrases. But when I'm supposed to tell them how to make a bed, how to get on the top bunk, when to shower, their new schedule, all of these things-I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO SAY ANY OF IT!!! (Side note: Their poor little faces when they realized how far off the ground their bed was. They are used to sleeping on futons on the ground. Not 6 feet in the air! They were SO scared!!)

After my companions and I took the Nihonjin (Japanese)  back to their rooms, we taught a lesson to one of our investigators. It was really cool and the Spirit was there. Even if we are just practice teaching, He comes in and testifies of the truthfulness of what we are saying. It's so cool! But as we were sitting in the lesson, I was still feeling pretty defeated about my Japanese skills. I was frustrated that I was unable to communicate every day items with the Nihonjin.

After I bore my testimony in our lesson, the Spirit filled me. It wrapped around my heart and made me feel so warm. It felt like it was the warmest, fuzziest blanket wrapped around me. He so ever quietly whispered, "It's ok that you don't know Japanese. I'm going to give it to you. I will help you. Just be patient." It was one of the most beautiful spiritual confirmations I've ever had. It made me realize that I really do just need to trust in the power of my God. He is all powerful. I think He can help a missionary learn Japanese.

Well I love you all so much! Your prayers are making a difference. I can feel them. Thank you!

　ドブソン　しまい

Me and my friend, Jasmin Smith who is going to Mandarin Speaking, Manchester England

Me and My Friend, Renee Adams who is going to Spanish Speaking California

July 31st: We're Now in a Threesome

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing fantastic.

Uh! I feel so much pressure with this ridiculous timer at the top of my screen. If my email doesn't make sense, don't judge.

To start off...Wednesday morning our Branch President, President Krueger came in the middle of class and asked to talk to me and my companion. Long story short...Sister Black is no longer a Solo Sister. We are now in an official trio companionship. Poor Black Shimai had to say good bye to her district. It's not like we never see them, but she's just having a hard time not being with them all day every day. I would be sad too. But I guess it's good practice for transfers once we are actually in Japan.

Shimai's: Hansen, Dobson, Black (their new companion), Farnsworth (who had to go home because of her knees)

Sister Black is super cute, and I've already learned a lot from her. It's been good to shake up the rhythm my companion and I had. We need a change in routine. And some of my favorite lessons we've taught is when all 3 of us are participating and working together to communicate our feelings. I'm excited to spend the next couple weeks with each other.

We got our new Kohai Senkyoshi (New Missionaries). We have 4 Shimai and they are all SUPER cute! There is Sister Walker and Sister Budge. Sister Budge's parents are the new mission presidents in Tokyo right now. She has also lived in Japan for 12 years. And her Japanese is...amazing!  She finds out today whether or not she could leave the MTC early to go to Japan. If her Japanese is good enough she'll leave when we do. Sister Walker is going to KOBE!! And Sister Budge is going to Sapporo. Then we have Sister Buhler and Sister Eddy. They are both going to Fukuoka and I like them lots. It's been fun for me to get to talk with them every night and get to know them better. They are all amazing and I'm excited to get to know them more.

Really quick to finish up. On Tuesday we had an awesome devotional! It was by Robert P. Swenson. The missionary service director. He talked about some great things, ways that we need to be a successful missionary. He analyzed Alma 34:37-41. Super powerful verses.

This week has gone by TONS faster. I'm excited. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel even though I don't feel ready at all! It's ok. Although some days (most days actually) may be discouraging and frustrating with Japanese. I'm working on being more cheerful.  Happy to serve the Lord. This is a once in a life time opportunity! Why not take advantage of it!

I love you all more than words can express!!

-Dobson Shimai

July 24th, 2012 Over the Hill!

Hansen Shimai and I with our SYL babies

 Well I'm over the hill! I'm more than half way done which is way nice! The days before me are more than the days I have left until I go to Japan. SUPER excited about that!

To start off...last Tuesday for our devotional we had Elder Vaughn Featherstone. He is an emeritus General Authority. He just gave a lot of good advice to us missionaries.  He talked about how a significant portion of our success is based on our attitude. I really want to work on having a more cheerful and uplifting attitude while here. Sometimes it can be easy to mutter under your breath about the food or how long we are in the classroom. But that is not the attitude I should have. I'm basically doing the coolest thing anyone in this world can do! I just need to focus on being more cheerful! :)

Wednesday and Thursday were about the same. Nothing new to report. We taught, studied, and ate....

Friday was our 1/2 way mark! Sister Hansen and I celebrated by making and then singing songs for each of the activities we do throughout the day. At first our Elders had no idea what we were doing. Some were mildly impressed, but for the others we just reaffirmed their belief that we are a little bit weird...Who cares? My companion and I had a lot of fun while doing it.

On Sunday I found out that we are getting 29 new missionaries on Wednesday! 4 of those are Shimai. I'm so excited to get to know them. Everyone says that once they get here the time goes by so much faster. I'm ready for that to happen!

Well...kind of. Don't get me wrong I am excited beyond belief to go to Japan. But we are getting a new investigator who is from Japan. And even though he is a teacher here, and knows perfect English, we only hear him speak Japanese. We were watching a movie of him introducing himself to us....Yah. I understood 3 words out of the 2 minute clip. I realized that the Japanese I'm learning is not what I am going to be hearing in less than 5 weeks. I'm kind of in trouble....

For Relief Society we had a Sister Porter speak to us. Her husband was the mission president for New Zealand. They just got home about a year ago. But I really enjoyed her talk! She talked about learning about, accessing, and using the atonement in our lives not only as missionaries but for the rest of our lives as well. Through the atonement we can be healed from ALL sicknesses and pain. It will give us the power to accomplish things that we would not have been able to do so by ourselves. I have noticed how true that is, even over these few short weeks. The power of the atonement is more powerful than we could comprehend. I'm excited to learn more about it and then continue to use it in my life on a daily basis.

For our Sunday night Fireside we had Elder Steven Allen who is currently serving as an Area 70 in the Salt Lake area. He talked about the power of Hymns which was actually very powerful. He had us listen and sing "Come, Come Ye Saints" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. And while yes, it is a pioneer song, he helped me realize how much of a missionary song it is too. This might become one of my new favorite hymns! He said that we should be constantly thinking about or singing hymns. He talked about how knowledge can be learned through them, and there is one to sing, regardless your mood. And it will always lift your spirits. I'm going to try to work on that.

Sad story time...One of my roommates here, Farnsworth Shimai, since almost day 1 here has had a lot of issues with her knee. It's been really hard for her as she has been in a lot of pain. Long story short...5am this morning she left for the airport. She is going to go home for a few months and try to fix everything. Once she's better, she's going to try and come back out and she'll finish these last 5 weeks here at the MTC and then go to Japan. Hopefully she can recover quickly. Now her poor companion has become a "solo" sister. She has a sticker on her name tag that even says so. She is allowed to be with 2 Elders instead of a companion. But she is going to kind of turn into a trio with me and my companion. She'll be with us on p-days, Sundays, gym, meals, etc. She'll just stay in her district. It's not a burden for us at all. We love her a lot, it just would be weird no longer having a companion.

Well lots and lots of love! 

-Dobson Shimai 

When the Shimai get bored!

When the Choros get bored!