Emailing Allowed

FYI:  Nicole let us know that the missionary department has now authorized missionaries to send and receive emails from people outside their immediate family.  Nicole's email is now listed to the right if you would like to email her.

Happy 22nd Birthday Dobson Shimai

March 25, 2013

Hello!!! I love you all SOO much! 

 

Yesterday was my 22nd Birthday.  

WOW that sounds OLD!!!

 

Thank you wonderful family for the wonderful Birthday package. It was so fun!! You definitely helped me have a happy day. :) 

  

 

Sister Davis made me  Okonamiaki and cake for my birthday.  Ymmmm  Thanks Sister Davis  :)

 

 

 

Japan decided to give me a nice big present for my birthday as well. It starts with Bron and ends with chitis. Yay! Yep. For my birthday weekend I got to go to the hospital for Bronchitis.  What a wonderful way to celebrate the BIG 22. You have to admit it is a little amusing. I probably will never forget my 22nd birthday.

 

Well enough about me. This week with our investigators!

Monday we taught Ay*** Shimai. We taught about baptism and she understood really well. We reset her baptismal date. We had a potential one in mind for April 21st. I pulled out my calendar and showed her the date. She then shook her head and said, `I want it earlier` and pointed to April 14th. She can make it, she has had all the lessons.

The thing that is just holding her back is that she is struggling a little to keep the word of wisdom. We told her we would work with her to make it to the 14th. And I think she is way more excited and more motivated because she chose her own date. She did so good with keeping the Word of Wisdom this week! The first time she had a cup of tea was on Saturday. Which is a HUGE improvement for her. We had another lesson planned with her this week, but she got sick and wasn`t able to meet. But we are so excited for our lesson with her tonight. She is just so close! She just needs a few fine tune ups here and there.

We had a lesson with Ni*** San. The lady who the Elders found, who came to church last week. We just did really simple the how to begin teaching. We started off with a hymn and a prayer. She was so impressed by the words in the hymn. I think it might have been her favorite part of the lesson.

But throughout the whole lesson she kept making comments like, `It`s not like that in Buddhism. But I like that.` When we talked to her about prayer she was like, `Wait. So you can say whatever you want? That makes sense. Last week at church I kept looking through your scriptures to find out where people were reading the words from. I like that you can say whatever you want`.

She is so prepared and you can see when the Spirit touches her heart it makes sense and her spirit is helping her remember. Every time we taught a new doctrine you can see a little light go on. I think one of my favorite parts of missionary work is seeing people come to Spiritually thirsty, and have them walking away from the lesson refreshed. That is what happened with her lesson.

She is so great! She came to church on Sunday and stayed for all 3 hours. She pulled flipped through the hymn book and started writing down all the words in a little notebook. She just kept saying, `I love this phrase. Oh! That really makes sense.` This week I am going to give an extra mini hymn book I have. I am sure she will love it! I am so excited for her. She really is starting to progress and we can`t wait to teach her this week too!

We had a lesson with a PI that we found. He is an old man who used to be a Buddhist monk. We taught him with the Elders. Whether he was generally interested in our message or just interested in learning about more religions is a different thing. But the Elders set up another appointment with him so maybe he`ll actually be interested and start progressing.

We had more appointments set up for this week but either the person cancelled or didn`t show up which was a bummer....but we are hoping to see more this week.

Today we went to the Shimogamo Shrine which is right across the street from the church.

News for this week. President Zinke just got a letter from the missionary committee. Missionaries are now allowed to email all family, friends, Priesthood leaders, and converts!!  So basically everyone except for Elders in my area. So...don`t get carried away, or do :) . (Letters are still awesome ;) ) But feel free to email me if it is more convenient.

Well that`s basically little old (wow. now I AM old) me.
Love you all so much!

-Dobson Shimai 

 Pictures from the Birthday Package

Thanks Grandma Grandpa and Shawn -  I LOVE IT!!!! :)

When All You Have is 7 Outfits- New Clothes are a Welcome Change

Oh How I Have Missed Salt and Vinegar Chips!!!

Goodbe to Takamatsu

March 18, 2013

Wow. I can hardly believe it was only a week ago that I wrote last! It feels like a month has gone by!  I guess that is what happens when lots of changes happen.

Well to quickly start off…last Monday had its ups and downs. 

First up. H*** Chan`s lesson went SOOO well! We talked about recognizing the Spirit and as we started off the lesson she sat down. Pulled out a note book and a pencil and took notes on everything we said. You could tell she was just at the edge of her seat. Thirsting for knowledge. *sigh* I already miss her so much! 

She is just amazing!! At the end she when she prayed it again astounded me. She said a very grown up prayer, and thanked Heavenly Father for her day. Then she started to close but then stopped herself and said, `Oh! And I think I want to keep learning about God and Jesus Christ. Please help me. Thank you.` So cute!

I just love her!! Saying goodbye to her was so hard!! After her lesson we decided to swing by Iz*** Shimai`s house. I wanted to tell her I was leaving. I just wanted her to know that I love her so much. As we showed up at her house we could see her shadow in the window and her car in the driveway. We knew she was home. We rang the door bell and her little boy answered the intercom. He said his mom wasn`t there. I asked if I could pass him a present to give to his mom. He got all quiet and then 2 minutes later he came to the door. I passed him the present and told him I was leaving. He acted very awkward and wasn`t sure how to respond.

Me with one of my investigators from  Takamatsu

As we turned and walked away from their house I felt my heart breaking into a million different pieces. It hurt so bad! I just love that beautiful family so much! They are so close to having what they need! I just want them to reach out and grab it! Ugh!!

I am not faithless. I have felt peace about the whole thing. And I know one day they will come back. I am just so sad that they have to struggle and wait until they`re ready again.

I guess the hardest part was knowing that I will probably never see them again. Missions make you love people so much. It makes it so difficult to part from them! I hate it. But that love makes everything else worth it.

Speaking of leaving other people....cute R*** met us at the train station to say goodbye to me. Right before I got on the train she threw her arms around me and wouldn`t let go. I wanted to keep hugging her but alas, it was time to leave. She and her daughter, son in law, and grandson all stood outside the train and waved goodbye. She even tried running after the train a little bit. She is so dramatic! But I am going to miss her too!!

Me saying goodbye to R*** and her daughter

Well that was nice and depressing.

Now I am in Shimogamo, Kyoto. One of the coolest places in Japan, and the World!!  

I have been told this is one of the best places to be for the spring. They have world famous Cherry blossoms. Within the next couple of weeks the whole city will be pink and puffy. I can`t wait!

It`s very busy here and I can`t get over how many gaijin (foreigners) there are! I am no longer an anomaly.

Everyone here is really nice but super busy. When I first got here we only really had 1 investigator and no other really promising things. But we are excited for this week because through the Lord`s hand, (Definitely not our own) we have 6 appointments already set up!

So we are expecting to see many miracles in Shimogamo. Way excited!!

Sunday was great! I am in a ward and there are a LOT more people than there were in Takamatsu.I counted about 75.

We have the Zone Leaders in our area as well. They found this old lady housing this week and invited her to church. Nishi San. She ended up coming and we got to sit with her the whole time during church.

She is GOLDEN! After church I asked her if she had any questions. And she just unloaded and started asking lots of great questions! We answered some of them but then we told her we could met with her this week and talk to her more. She was really eager and wanted to come back to the church. We told her that we could meet at her house because it`s like a 30 minute bike ride from the church and she is this 60 year old grandma. But she was insistent on coming back. I already love her. I am so excited to start teaching her!

Our other investigator is Ay*** Shimai. She is so great! She has been an investigator here for almost a year. She loves the missionaries and church and wants to be baptized. She is just having a hard time progressing. She has some learning disabilities so learning has been hard for her. But that is right up my alley! I am way excited! I`ve already made all of these fun object lessons to teach her with and I can`t wait to use them! Am I a little out of control? Perhaps. But whatever it takes to help her understand! We are meeting with her tonight. So I am hoping it will go well.

Wow. I can`t believe it has been over 9 months since I entered the MTC. I am on the downward slope of my mission! Shinjirarenai! (I can`t believe it!) Crazy!

Anyways. Well I love you all so much! Have a fantastic week!!

Love,

Dobson Shimai

I asked Nicole some questions.   Here they are with her responses.

Is it warming up?  Are you still layering up with tights and thermals ?

Spring came and then it got cold again. But over the next couple of weeks it should start warming up again.

I am getting to the point where I just need one pair of tights. It`s pretty nice!

You haven't talked about Japanese food much.  I know you're eating it and all, but do you like it?

I like some things more than others, but overall Japanese Food is pretty good.

As missionaries we can’t really afford to eat typical Japanese food in our apartments.

In my apartment I`ve been eating a lot of salad and tofu and eggs.

They do have REALLY yummy bread and ramen, but I`ve been trying not to eat too much of them.

I don`t mind certain sushi (surprise surprise).

I love their curry.

I still don`t like sea weed.

Love rice. But also been trying to avoid eating too much of that. 

I LOVE their sweet red beans. Yum. So good!

Yeah it`s good food. But I am not going to lie. I really miss American food.

Leaving Takamatsu for Kyoto

March 11, 2013 

Well. It`s time for me to say goodbye to my beloved home of Takamatsu. Oh. How I will miss it. I`ve grown so much here that it has become a part of me. Of course I will miss the members and investigators, but I guess I can`t stay here for my whole mission. That`s a bummer. 

Sunset in Takamatsu

Anyways. So I am transferring to Shimogamo. It`s in Kyoto. Only the coolest place in ALL of Japan! :) The apartment is a 3 minute bike ride from the Emperor`s Palace. How cool is that?!! Way excited about that. 

My new companion is going to be Davis Shimai. She was Walker Shimai`s companion.  I`m sure we`re going to get along just great. I`m obviously so sad to be transferring, but at least I have a fun place I get to transfer to! 

The First Cherry Blossoms of Spring

Well quick rundown for the week. 

Last Monday we had our first lesson with Ha****Chan without her family (but with their permission). It went really well!!  Definitely not because of us, but because she really is such a special girl! I seriously was never as spiritual as her when I was 10!

We taught the restoration and she seemed to understand really well. After the lesson she had an AWESOME prayer! It went something along the lines of, `I am so grateful for Joseph Smith and that we now have Christ`s true church on the earth. I am grateful for prophets who help us. I am grateful I got to learn about your church today. etc` Oh. She is just so great!

After her prayer the member who came with us said, `Wow. You pray better than my kids!` She really is such a special and strong spirit. I am going to miss her so much!!! We stopped by her house of Friday to see how she was doing. She said she had been praying every day and that whenever she prayed she got these weird feeling that she couldn`t describe. But she knew that it was from God.

Wow. I was not recognizing the Spirit when I was 10. And there she is. Just receiving revelation. It`s soooo cool to watch her. Today we are teaching her to recognize the Spirit with some fun games. I am so excited!!! 

This week we had a lot of lessons lined up...and most of them fell through. Dang it! We haven`t lost our faith. But it was kind of a long week with a lot of finding time. 

But Sunday was good. We had the equivalent of stake conference. That was fun! Ra**** and another PI came to church. That was great! 

Ra*** is so funny. Right now she really doesn`t like meeting with us but she loves coming to church. I can`t figure her out. But she just soaked it all up and loved every minute. Our PI was interested for some of the time and not as much sometimes. But afterwards she turned to us and said, `I didn`t realize you were Mormons!` I guess her niece is a member but is living in the US right now. Interesting... She said she is really busy so she may or may not hear our message. I`m not exactly sure what that means. But I am hoping we get to meet with her this week. 

After church we had a lesson with the Peruvian family. The dad was still out of town for work but we met with the mom and their cute 7 year old daughter. We tried to explain the restoration in the most simple Japanese we knew while occasionally throwing in some Spanish words we had an Elder teach us.

We then watched the restoration movie in Spanish. Afterwards the mom just opened up. She kept saying over and over, `I`ve had these same questions. There are so many churches. Which one is right? I`ve been praying to know which one is right!` I have never had someone say that to me on my mission!

I was flabbergasted and obviously SOO excited!!!  The Lord truly has prepared this special family thousands of miles away from their country, to hear the gospel. It just strengthens my testimony that the Lord truly is so mindful of each and every one of us. He wants us to come to Him. He wants all of His children to come to Him. I am so grateful for that. 

Well. That about sums up the week. 

I love you all sooooo much! 

Over and out, 

-Dobson Shimai 

I had to take Walker Shimai to Santa's Diner for a delicious burger  MMMM

Japanese Temple in Takamatsu

 

We Learned Later The Water Was For Washing Up Before We Prayed,  Not Drinking