We've been prayed to Takamatsu

Sept 24, 2012

Wow!

What a crazy whirlwind week it has been! I can hardly believe what has happened!!!!!

First. I`ve been in Japan for a month. That`s way crazy! The time has definitely flown by...but it also feels like I`ve been here forever. I guess that`s the time warp missions put you through.

So this week I`ve learned a lot. But I guess the main thing I`ve learned is expect the unexpected.

The Lord never allows us to get to comfortable. Because then we wouldn`t need Him as much. I am not saying that I was getting comfy here in Japan, (how could I with my lack of ability to communicate?), but I think I had slipped into a routine and was feeling good with the way things were going.

Well Wednesday morning as we were finishing up studying we got a phone call. We looked at the caller ID.  It was President Zinke. ``Somebody DIED!!!`` was my immediate thought. Names and faces started flashing through my mind. Who could it be?

I had no other logical explanation as to why the Mission President would be calling us in the middle of the transfer and when we had been obedient and working hard.

LUCKILY, my fears were in vain. He said that he had an unusual phone call. They actually were transfers. At first I was so confused. When you are a trainee you stay with the same trainer for at least 2 transfers while you do this 12 week program the church has come out with. I didn`t want to be separated from Anderson Shimai. I didn`t want a new trainer!!!

Luckily again, I was wrong.

President said there was an Elder who got sick and was needing to go home. He said as he was trying to decide which Elder would replace him in that area, the branch president of that area called him. The branch president told him that their branch was thriving in the priesthood department. They had many Priesthood holders and even a lot of High Priests. (This is almost unheard of in Japan.) He said that he had more priesthood holders than woman in relief society. He specifically asked if President Zinke would send Sister Missionaries.  Generally Elders baptize more men and Sister baptize more women. He told President Zinke that their branch had been praying for a while that they would receive Sister Missionaries.

After he told us all of this he said at first he didn`t want to do it. But as he thought and prayed, he said he felt like he should send us down. We would leave Akashi, which was ok-the Zone Leaders were in the same area so there would still be missionaries, and we would WHITE WASH!! Yay.

He asked us when could we leave. We asked when he would like us to leave and we both decided that the coming Saturday would be the best option for the Saints in our new area.

Where is this new area you might ask? Well...I am no longer on the main Island of Japan. I am on the beautiful island of Shikoku in a place called....TAKAMATSU!!!! It is seriously so beautiful here! 

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Thanks to Sister Anderson's Mom for Finding these great maps

It has some big city aspects, with some apartment buildings and stuff...but there are a lot more little houses and there are some rice fields! Not very big ones, but they are still here. *Sigh* it`s just great.

But I`m getting a head of myself.

So Wednesday-Friday was craziness. We had to contact all of our potential investigators to see if they would be interested in meeting with the Elders. We had to have lessons with our 2 current investigators and the Elders so we could `pass` them.

We had to pack and send our bags and bikes ahead of us. And we had to clean out most of the apartment because they will probably get rid of it.

It was super hard saying by to our investigators. Dang, I am going to miss them!!! But I know they will be taken care of with the Elders.

We were so exhausted every night. Time just flew before our eyes!

Friday the members were at the church all day setting up for a wedding reception the next day. It was so sad to say bye to them all. I was just starting to feel like I had a relationship with them...

Saturday Zinke Shimai came and we loaded our futons and random assortment of things in the car and we were off to Takamatsu.

Akashi Bridge

It was a beautiful drive over the famous Akashi bridge and through the Islands.

We got to the apartment and unloaded, cleaned a little then we went to find the church.

The church is HUGE! I guess there used to be a stake out here. But, a lot of people moved away so now it`s just a branch. We will get it to a ward size very soon. :)

We went back to the apartment and unpacked a little more. Zinke Shimai left and we started going through our area book. We wanted to see what we had to work with. Then we were going to make calls to members to try and figure out more.

But the members are so great! Before we could even start calling them they called us and visited us. They are all just so excited to finally have sisters.

Sunday was a FABULOUS day. We meet with the ward mission leader. He was very informative, and I think he will be a great resource  in moving the work along.

Sacrament meeting was the best. I counted around 40 people including children. There are actually children! (I am excited. Our last ward had 2 babies. That was it.)

I think my favorite part of Sacrament meeting was the first talk. It was this older man who talked for about 20 minutes. I had no idea what he was talking about at all. But then to close his talk he pulled out his harmonica and played, `A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief`.   It was great.  I wanted to turn to Anderson Shimai and say, `To-to. I don`t think we`re in Utah anymore` but I refrained.

After Sacrament Meeting we talked with some of the members.  Man! They are all so amazing! They are just so excited to have us. They kept saying over and over, `We prayed that sisters would come!`

I don`t think we can beat this sort of welcome.

During Sunday School, this young girl walked in. The members were in a flurry. They brought her over to us and said `she`s not a member`. SWEET!!

For relief society we went and started talking with this girl. Turns out she is 20, recently married, and has a 4 month baby! Cute! She met with the missionaries 4 years ago but then stopped.

But today she just felt like she needed to come to church so she came! GOLDEN!!!!!!!!

We taught a brief lesson, and she prayed at the end. I just am so excited to see her come to a knowledge of this gospel! She has so much potential. We got a return appointment. So on our first day we had a new investigator!  I don`t think it gets better than that!

After church we got to teach another lesson with our investigator that the Elders found. He has a baptism date, and has been taught all of the lessons. But I just don`t think it`s clicked for him. He looks so sad. So burdened. My heart was aching for him. He was missing the light that the gospel can bring into someone`s life.

At the end of our lesson he also prayed. Only after much coaxing and pressuring, for a lack of a better word. He did great.

After the prayer there was a smidgen of light that came through his eyes. I think once he understands how the gospel applies to him, it will click and he will be ready to go! I am excited to see him progress as well.

The rest of the day was studying and we tried to go out streeting for a little while. There aren`t very many people just walking around like there are in Akashi. We will have to come up with some more effective ways to contact.

But I am so excited!

Today has been a little bit crazy, but I think we`ve figure everything out...hopefully.

I love you all so much!

I am SO excited to be in Takamatsu.  It`s beautiful and the people here are so nice. It has more of a country-ish feel. Ah! I am just so excited!!

The church is true!

-Dobson Shimai

Sister Zinke took these pictures of Takamatsu (Does it look Countryish to you? :)

Moving Walkways and the Atonement

Monday September 17^th, 2012

Hello to my beloved family and friends! 

Things are going great here in Akashi! We had a baptism yesterday!!! It was the Elder`s Baptism, but it was with a man that Anderson Shimai found with another companion. It was so cool to see the ordinances of the priesthood in action!

It`s always so good to remember why we are here. Knocking hundreds of doors and being rejected by all of them is totally worth it, if you can bring just one person to the waters of baptism. That is why I am here in Japan. To bring others unto Christ. 

We have a couple of really promising potential investigators! There is this super awesome Chinese lady! She speaks Mandarin, English, and Japanese. We randomly found her as we were trying to find another potential investigator. She seemed very interested. She said she was a house wife and is bored a lot of the time and would love to hear our message! Those are definitely not words that we hear on a regular basis. They were like music to our ears! We`ve tried contacting her again, she was gone...but this week...hopefully we`ll get to talk to her. 

Saturday was an awesome day! We had an appointment with this lady who we found ‘streeting’ at the train station my first week here. She volunteered with some company and visited Utah. She`s been to temple square and liked the feeling there. We met with her in the park. We had an AMAZING lesson. The Spirit was there and she understood what we were talking about. I was on fire and SO excited! 

Then as we were leaving the park from our lesson we ran into this other potential investigator. In a city of 700,000 people, there are no accidents. I know that the Lord definitely put us in the place that we needed to be in so we could run into her. She was going to practice her accordion in the park, we went and listened for a little bit. Then we had to leave because we had another appointment. But we felt like we needed to invite her to the baptism that was going on the next morning. She actually said she would come! 

Both of these women are awesome!  You can definitely tell that the Lord has prepared people for us. The only bummer is that at the end of the first ladies lesson we gave her a pamphlet to read before our next lesson. That night she called us back....she felt totally overwhelmed and said she didn`t want to meet with us anymore. Super big bummer. We finally had a new investigator and got dropped by her all on the same day....It kind of hurt a little bit. I was so excited about her, and felt so invested. When she said she was no longer interested I felt somewhat responsible.

Questioning if I had done and said the right things. I kept asking myself if I had actually felt the Spirit and done what it asked me to do. It hurt when she was no longer interested. Not because of me. I am very aware of the fact that this work is not about me. I can`t do it by myself. It`s not the fact that she didn`t want to keep talking to us. It`s because she is rejecting the one person she needs more than anything in this world. That is her Savior. I just want for her so badly to recognize that! I hope that one day she`ll remember what she felt when we were with her...The Lord works in mysterious ways to the eyes of men.  

But the good news is that the accordion player actually came to the baptism! She couldn`t stay for church, but she said she would like to talk about some questions she had about the baptism.  Anyways...hopefully she`ll actually want to meet again. 

We`re still going strong with our one investigator. We`ve had to push her baptism date back a couple weeks. Hopefully she`ll make it. 

New Missionary Training Meeting

On Thursday we got to go to Kobe! We had a training for all the trainees and trainers. It was super awesome! We learned about a lot of great ways to be missionaries.  At the training meeting this week I definitely became more grateful for Sister Anderson as my trainer.  I really had the impression after that meeting that the Lord gave me Anderson Shimai to teach me how to work. To know what it is like to be a good missionary, valuing the Lord`s time. I’m so glad she’s my trainer.  She's awesome!

It was fun to see Long and Hansen Shimai at the training

I want to share one thing that Sister Zinke shared at our training meeting.  She talked about the enabling power of the atonement, which is something I've been learning a lot about. She compared it to those moving walkways in the airports. She talked about how when you get on those things, you`re walking capability isn`t necessarily increased. It`s not like you all of a sudden take bigger or faster steps. But when you get on them, they enhance how far you go. It increases your ability to go farther.

It`s the same way with the atonement. When we rely on the enabling power of the atonement, our abilities are enhanced. I just think that is so true. I`ve definitely noticed that in my life as a missionary.  The atonement is amazing! 

It`s cooling down here in Akashi which is kind of nice. I don`t sweat as much, but with the humidity you can`t but help being somewhat sweaty all the time. :) 

Well...the church is true. I love you all! Thanks for your constant support and prayers. I need them every day. 

Love,

Dobson Shimai 

  

 

I had an ice cream cone that I bought the previous day. But I was saving it. Then during companionship study Anderson Shimai was REALLY craving chocolate. The only chocolate in the house we had was that ice cream. So we decided to split it and eat it. It was delicious! 

 Here are some pictures of some questionable food. This is the story....

We had some bananas that were about to go bad. We also had a dinner appointment at a member`s house. We thought about being hospitable and making banana bread. So after church while I was making lunch, Anderson Shimai started making the bread. We put it in the oven and after the designated time we pulled them out. They looked very moist. So we tried cooking them for a little bit longer. We pulled them out again and they were stilled very damp. We cut them open and the whole bottom was sopping. In frustration Anderson Shimai called out, "I don`t understand why they are so moist! All the have are Bananas, eggs, sugar, flour...oh wait. Nope. I didn`t put in any flour." We both died laughing. Good times. We decided that while obtaining the gift of tongues, we`ve lost the gift of baking. Tis true. 

Konichiwa!

Dressed Matching for Sunday

September 10^th, 2012

Hello Everyone! 

Things here in Japan are going great! The weather is really cooling down which is so nice! I was lucky to escape the worst part of the summer. Usually there is a nice breeze that is coming in from the ocean which feels nice but can sometimes cause problems with the skirts....But, we keep on peddling! :) 

So....Where to start?

Um...We found another investigator!! Yay!! (We did drop the 11 year old so we are still at 2). But our new lady is probably in her 60`s. She`s had several contacts with the missionaries. She used to live by the church 30 years ago. We decided to visit her, without really informing her we were coming. We went and she seemed genuinely excited to see us. She pulled out all 3 versions of the Book of Mormon. (The Book of Mormon has been re-translated into Japanese). Then she showed us all the pictures of her husband and her traveling all over the world. They had a lot of fun together. He died a few years ago, and you can tell that she really misses him. We taught her a little lesson and set up another appointment.  We are meeting with her on Wednesday. Hopefully she`ll want to keep listening. I think she is finally in a place in her life where she is ready to accept the gospel and all the blessings that come with it. 

As we were out housing (just knocking on apartment buildings and houses) we came across a mom with her 2 young kids. They were SO cute! We tried teaching them a little bit about families and asked to come back. They actually said yes!  I hope that they too will be interested in our message. 

So every week we teach a free English class. Before it was we would teach and then we would share a spiritual message. But the church is changing it over. Now we just teach English. It`s kind of like our public service for Japan.

There are two classes. I taught the advanced class. These 5-6 students are basically fluent in English. We work on harder concepts. Like, for example, on Tuesday we talked about sayings such as, `It`s raining cats and dogs` and `chip off the old block`.  Stuff like that. They just loved them! They thought they were hilarious. They make me laugh! None of the students really have an interest in the church right now. They just enjoy learning English. One day though...one day. 

We have to puncture the Insect Repellant before our Mandatory Recycling of it

Oh! I forgot to mention last week that I tried mugicha.  The wheat tea thing. We had it for dinner at a member`s house. The first time I tried it during the meal, it was warm. And actually it didn`t taste too bad.  Probably because it was too hot to actually taste. The second time they served it with dessert.  It was chilled. It was so gross!!!!  It tasted like cigarette buds!  Not like I know what those taste like, I`m just thinking that is probably what they taste like. Oh yuck!  It was gross!  It was all I could do to not pull a face as I drank it. BUT I succeeded. 

On Friday we had a Zone Conference, here in Akashi. They talked about a lot of really awesome things. We read the talk `Pride and the Priesthood` by Pres. Uchtdorf. Even though I don`t have the Priesthood it applied great to missionary work. We, as missionaries, need to remember why we are here. We are here to work to bring the gospel unto all those who are willing to listen. We are not here to seek gain, to be better than others, to out beat people with baptisms or anything like that. We are here to work. So let’s work! 

Something cool they also talked about, I guess the Japan Kobe mission is specifically pointed out by general authorities as one with forward leaning motion. Even though we are in a slow baptizing area, we set really good goals, work hard, and accomplish them. I think we have one of the best missions in the world. (I know everyone says that, but I`m serious. :) :)

Our church

 





Oh! We had a member of the Asia Area Presidency come to church yesterday. Elder Ayogi. All the members were a buzz and flittering around. They all seemed very nervous and excited. They wanted everything to go smoothly. I`m sure it did. And I think he gave a great talk. Everyone around me seemed to be enjoying it. I bet I would have enjoyed it had I known what was being said. One day I will understand this language. But that day is not today unfortunately. 

But...it is not all easy. We work hard.

I heard a quote, "Those who are called to English speaking missions become masterful teachers. Those who are called to Central or South America or Europe become linguists. Those who are called to Asia become...humble." I have definitely felt that humbling aspect of missionary work. 

You have to feel humble when you ride your bike up and down hills, climb an innumerable amount of stairs, knock on countless doors and go home with the same number of investigators as you had the previous days. I think it would be very discouraging. But luckily, with the help of the Lord and Pres. Zinke`s goals, I haven`t felt that discouraged yet.  Which is good. Because in PMG we learn that discouragement is the opposite of faith. 

I`m not getting discouraged but I am feeling the refining flame come into my life. 

Missions are hard. Definitely harder than I had anticipated. It`s hard physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. But I have definitely learned to rely more on the Lord. I think that is why I was called to Japan. He knows that had I gone anywhere else, I would have tried to rely on my strengths and abilities. Well. Here, in Japan. I have none. I can not do this work with out Him. I`ve grown so much closer to Him and the enabling power of the atonement that He has to offer as I have been here. 

That doesn`t mean that it doesn`t hurt.  I`ve hurt a lot just over these few short weeks in Japan. But I know this is the Lord`s plan. He takes my heart, like a rock deep inside my chest cavity, He takes it and is scrubbing off the rough edges. It hurts because I have a lot. But I know that He is doing it so that I can be more fit for this life and the life to come.

"In the fire of affliction it is our choice whether we are consumed or refined" -John Groeberg. 

Well I love you all so much! I know that it is through your prayers in my behalf that I have been lifted up when I was down. Thank you for them! I miss you more than life itself. 

Love, 

Dobson Shimai 

More attractive than tasty :)

Pictures of Akashi

Here are answers to some of our questions:

Anderson Shimai is very funny. She is very good at being happy all the time. She never has anything negative to say about missionary work. She has an awesome can do attitude that can be hard to keep up with. She is good at listening when I have a hard day.  She`s really good at seeing the bright side of things. That`s a goal I have. To be more optimistic. 

The ward is great! There are probably about 60 people in it. We have some really strong families and members. But mostly there are part member families. You can tell that`s hard on them. We`ve tried to get referrals of people`s families. They say they aren`t ready yet. Hopefully one day they will want to hear more. 

 Akashi is like a suburb to Kobe. There are nice places and kind of sketchy places. Our area goes basically all the way up to Kobe. It`s pretty big.  So many apartment buildings and people to talk to. I haven`t seen the coast yet....There are too many buildings. So I don`t know about that.