Mission Presidents Seminar

July 1, 2013

Wow. July. The time is seriously going by so fast! I can hardly believe it!! It is going by so fast but honestly I feel like I am doing nothing. 

It was kind of a weird week. Lots of new experiences as a missionary. Still went on exchanges this week. Those are always really good learning opportunities, but honestly I don't think I would ever want to be a therapist. Props to all of you out there who can handle it. But if someone tells me their problem, I feel like I have to fix it. And if I can't come up with a solution,  I think it stresses me out a little bit. 

But overall they were good experiences. :) 

This week I got to have a big reality wake up to how blessed I truly am. Talking with investigators and recent converts makes me so grateful for the wonderful family I grew up in. Of course we aren't perfect. But we have nothing nearly as crazy as the stuff that is going on in the lives of those around me. 

I know that the gospel is the great anecdote for their heartaches, but it is probably going to take some time. 

Yesterday we watched the broadcast of the mission president's training. Wow. So cool!! Missionary work is really making huge changes. It's way exciting to be a part of it. I am not sure when they will start taking place here in our mission, (the facebook and computer dendo), but probably right as I go home. haha. oh well. 

It is exciting that the members are supposed to take a lot more responsibility in missionary work. 

Members are SOO important. I do love the ward here, but I think they are all so shy. They feel like if they give us food then their missionary duties are over. But really we need them talking with our investigators and helping us teach the lessons. That is where they can be the most help. 

We are working on building that relationship with the members right now. Suggestions? 

I know that this is kind of lame and short. But I don't have a whole lot to say. Sorry! Things are going pretty slow here in Okamachi which is frustrating. We are trying to move things along faster, but it is hard when we are only in our area for 1/2 the week. 

Well I love you all so beri muchi!! 

Love, 

Dobson Shimai 

English Class

Faith and Fear

Me and Lee Shimai with N** Shimai

June 24, 2013

Hello everyone!! I hope you are all doing well. I love you all so much!!

This week went really well.

Where to start?

I got to go back to Shimogamo again to do another exchange. So fun! I loved being back there. I even got to teach a lesson to N*** Shimai! (One of our past investigators who LOVED studying) It was so good to see her. It surprised her a little bit when she saw me show up to the lesson, but I think she was pleased.

It's always so fun getting to work with other Sisters. I get to learn so much from them.

This week I got to meet our investigator, T****Shimai, for the first time. She is deaf and struggles a little bit with learning but she has such a desire to learn!

Luckily we have a member in our ward who can do sign language. It just always strengthens my testimony that the Lord has everything under control. He prepares and leads us, so that when the time is right all will be able to work out.

We got to hear a little bit about her story and her home life. Honestly it is pretty hard. The thing that impressed me the most about T**** Shimai is even though she is living in these hard conditions, she always comes to our lessons and to church with a beaming smile! She is content with the blessings she has, and looks for the beauty in the world around her.

It is definitely a good wake up call for me, someone who has been blessed beyond measure, to remember my blessings. And even when the times get a little tough, I shouldn't grumble. Instead I should rejoice in the chance to grow.

I'm still learning how to do that. :)

We also got to meet with K**** Shimai a couple times this week. The lessons always seems to be all over the place. She gets so sidetracked so easily. We're trying to figure out how to teach her more simply so she can stay focused.

Honestly I don't have a bunch to write about this week.

I love doing exchanges and getting to work with all of the sisters, but honestly we don't have much time to spend in our area. We're trying to move the work along but it's going pretty slow....

But I will share something cool I learned this week while I was studying faith. One of the previous Assistants said that in order to understand an attribute, he studies the opposite. If he has any of those qualities associated with the opposite, then he know he doesn't have the attribute he is working for.

So while studying faith I studied a little bit about doubt. I was reading the account in Mathew of Peter walking on the water.

Initially, Peter had a lot of faith. He believed that if Christ could walk on water, so could he. But as he got into the water, his faith faltered a little. He started sinking. We all know that. But something that I realized that I didn't before is that  he still had faith in Christ. He reached out and said, "Lord save me". He believed that Christ could do anything. But I don't think he believed that he could do anything with Christ's help.

In Preach My Gospel there is a phrase that says, "You are confident that you can do whatever the Lord requires of you, if you rely on Him."

So the conclusion I came to is that, I think I have faith in Jesus Christ. I know that He can do this work. I know that He can do anything. I think that part where my faith is wavering a little bit is whether or not He can do it through ME.

I know that He can do this missionary work. I know that He can help these people be converted. But do I really believe that if I rely on Him, He can do all of that through me? Idk. I think I am a lot better now than I was 6 months and especially a year ago. But I am still working on that.

Well I love you all so much! I hope you have a splendid week! Enjoy your vacation.

Love,
Dobson Shimai

First Exchanges

June 17, 2013

Hello to all of my loved ones at home!

It's been a pretty good week over here. Minus the fact that it has been SOOO hot. Seriously I am dying. This week they said it got up to 37/38 degrees Celsius.  I am not quite sure how hot that is in Fahrenheit but it's pretty close to 100. (It’s 100 degrees)  And the members say it just keeps getting hotter. Oh dear....

But other than that this week was pretty good.

The best part is that we got to finish teaching A*** Shimai and then see her baptized! She really is so amazing! She has this serious fear about water. She has been wanting to get baptized but she was SO scared. She said she has been practicing putting her face in the bath tub so she would be more prepared but still, even just 5 minutes before she went into the font she was way scared.

But luckily the Spirit took over and just before she went in she was crying. She hugged me so tight, and while crying just kept saying over and over, I am so grateful, I am so grateful. But I was the one who was grateful. I am sad I didn't get to go along with her more on her journey, she truly is one of the strongest investigators I have ever met.

Well she successfully got baptized and only had to do it once which was a huge relief for all of us. She just looked so happy afterwards.

Just seeing her change makes all of this worth it.

The rest of the week was filled with exchanges. We only did two but with all the travel time, they are pretty time consuming. We first got to work with Papenfuss Shimai and the two new sister missionaries that she is training. Sister Ochoa and Sister Hall. All of them are total powerhouse missionaries! I am way impressed. They should be training me. Not the other way around.

I also got to go back to Shimogamo!! I didn't realize how much I missed it until I went back. It definitely just has a different feeling there. It's a lot cleaner and things just seem brighter. Here in Osaka people seem to be more weighed down with the burdens of life.

I got to work with Lee Shimai again which was fun. Both of us are getting used to living with/having a Japanese companion. I think it was good for both of us to talk about it. It definitely is a different experience.

But we had a good time, went out, worked hard, and found a new investigator! It was so great! Met a super cute college student on the street, asked her if we could share our message. She asked if we could do it right then. Readily we agreed, went to a little secluded corner with benches and trees and taught a lesson. They have a return appointment with her this week! I love dendo!

My heart always feels renewed as we find new people, teach lessons, and watch people get baptized.

It's just the best!

On Sunday the Elders decided to give us one of their investigators. She is in the next area over, but since she can meet at the church we can start teaching her.

She is in her middle 60's but honestly she acts like a 16 year old girl....She is pretty boy crazy which I guess is part of the reason why the Elders passed her to us....

But she said she knows she has made a lot of mistakes and wants to start a new life and go back to God. So she is going to keep meeting with us.

I really don't think there is a whole lot more to report.

I love you all so much! Have a splendid week. Keep cool!

Love,
Dobson Shimai

Whitewashing* with Kubo Shimai

Me and Kubo Shimai

June 10, 2013

Transfer weeks are always a whirlwind of craziness. 

This past week was good. Got everything wrapped up in Shimogamo. I do love that place. I`m sad I had to leave. I am especially sad I had to leave A*** Shimai. I love her so much! 

Friday we woke up early did the big companion shuffle and me and Kubo Shimai headed off to our area. 

We came into so blessed! The Sisters who were here before us worked so hard and we have a lot going on. 

We even have a sister who is going to get baptized this Sunday. We are so excited. 

On Friday we went and met with her. She is so SOLID! Wow. She met with the missionaries about 10 years ago but then got really busy with work and had to stop. 

But then about a month ago she felt like she needed to start meeting with them again. So she went online, found the closest church, and called the missionaries. She has no problems and can`t wait to be baptized! Wow!! Truly there are prepared people waiting to hear this beautiful message! 

The rest of the week was basically trying to get a hold of ward members and investigators and just trying to plan and sort everything out. Whitewashing always brings such adventures. 

The ward is good. We actually share a building with the area next to ours. It`s weird! I had forgotten what it was like to have 2 wards going to the same building at the same time. It`s not as big as I had anticipated. I counted around 35 people in Sacrament meeting which is a change from the 70-80 in Shimogamo. But they all seem really nice and I am excited to work with them. 

Things with Kubo Shimai are going well. It`s definitely different having a Nihonjin companion. While we are contacting, or even talking with members, even when I talk they look at her to translate and expound on what I am saying. Haha. I know my Japanese isn`t awesome, but it worked just fine when I didn`t have a Japanese companion. People understood what I was saying. I guess just the Asian face makes them feel more comfortable. 

Kubo Shimai`s English is pretty good. She wants to get better at English, and I want to get better at Japanese, so we generally speak English in the apartment and Japanese outside. Although honestly, Japanese is becoming more comfortable than English so I sometimes just slip into Japanese in the apartment accidentally. 

We get a long pretty well, but things are definitely at a different pace. They have slowed down a lot. I have just been blessed with full throttle, hard working companions in the past. Slowing down is a new experience. 

I`ll get used to it soon I guess. 

We are going to start doing exchanges this week with some of the younger sister missionaries. I am way excited to work with them! Missionary work is awesome! 

Although I did have a little panic attack when I realized that this week I have been a missionary for a year! What? Wow. That went by so fast. I can hardly believe it!! 

Well just quickly to wrap up. President Zinke recently came out with a new mission training plan. Something he wants us to focus on as a mission. It`s called `Second Grade Simple`. The gist is to try and teach more simply so that our investigators can understand us better. 

As I was studying the training plan a little bit I was reading something that we, as members of the church, have read over and over again. It`s written a few times in the scriptures. The Lord will give us `line upon line, precept upon precept`. As I read that I realized that I have no idea what a precept is. So I looked up the definition. It is `a rule about how to behave or what to think`. And I had this epiphany: God is a Behaviorist! I LOVE BEHAVIORISM!! That is what I studied in school, did at my job, and what I am going to continue doing after my mission. 

In behaviorism there is a concept called chaining or sequencing. I`ll give an example of when you would use it. It might be easier to understand. 

For example, if you wanted to teach a kid how to get dressed by himself, you would help him put on all of his clothes. You would do that a few times. Then you would help him put all of his clothes on, except for his shoes. You would do that until he could put on his shoes by himself. Then you would help him put on all of his clothes except for his socks and shoes. Do that until he mastered that skill. Then you would continue going backwards until he could do it all by himself. 

You don`t, however, move on to the socks until he has completely mastered the shoes. Even if it takes a month for him to learn. You don`t move on. 

Each of those steps is a precept. The Lord gives us just a little bit to try us and see if we could do what He has asked. Once we have shown Him that we `learned` it, then He will allow us to put on our `socks`. 

Sometimes this can be a very slow and arduous process. But in the end, it is well worth the learning process.

So we should do this with our investigators. We should teach them a little bit. Line upon line. Precept upon precept. And we should not move on until they have fully understood that task. Because if they can`t understand how to put on their shoes, or how to pray, nothing else is going to work. You can keep `teaching` them new concepts, but they won`t learn it until they have mastered the first step. 

That was kind of long, but I just got so excited about it. Haha. I`m such a nerd. 

Well I love you all so much!! 

-Dobson Shimai 

*Whitewashing is when two missionaries go into a new area together