Fwd: Week 5- Roller coaster Week

Week 5- Roller coaster Week

So many ups and downs. I've been feeling a little sick this week, but I am feeling lots better today and I am excited to get back to work! The "missionary cold" is a very real and dangerous thing. My whole district has it. So you know how in Japan, you wear a mask if you're sick? We are going to buy some masks in he very near future :) I have asked for two Priesthood blessings this week. Let me tell you: I am so thankful for the Priesthood. I am also thankful that the Elders in my district have the authority to use the priesthood- it is God's power. I have received so much help and peace from priesthood blessings throughout my life. All is well, I am almost completely better :)

We got the official word on Sunday: the Elders have been asked to sing at Priesthood Session of General Conference. That means you won't see me there... but it's also super exciting because Elder Jesperson, Elder Wallace, Elder Rostrom, and Elder Dana were asked to be in the choir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are so stoked! (Elder Dana almost cried... hehe). Remember at the last General Womens Meeting where we saw Chelsea?? Because the Sisters sang last time, it's the Elders turn. I am kind of bummed, but it's okay! I am so excited for General Conference! It's going to be so cool to watch it at the MTC!

This week Mills Shimai and I taught a lot of lessons and we've seen progress with our investigators. Iwamoto san has come to church, is reading the Morumon Sho (Book of Mormon), praying, and has committed to repent. Next lesson, we're going to ask him to be baptized! I'm so excited! We missed a lesson with Tatsuyuki san because I wasn't feeling well... but we are planning on asking him to pray about Joseph Smith's experience next lesson.

I took my first Language Assessment! So scary! We go on the computer and we are asked to answer certain questions... (example: Your investigator has a concern about "the Restored Church", teach them lesson 1 from the apostacy through Joseph Smith in the next 2 minutes). Remember, this is all supposed to be done in Japanese. There were 8 of those kinds of questions, and the last two were to bear your testimony about he Book of Mormon then Families Can Be Together Forever (Plan of Salvation). I did my best........ Haha it was pretty bad! But I had an answer for each question, even if it was super simple. I am getting a lo better at listening and understanding when people are talking to me, I just need to be better at responding. It will come though!

Every Monday night, we teach volunteers (Mostly BYU students) a lesson (kind of like family night). Up until now, we teach someone in a small room and we're face to face. Since I'm going into my sixth week, we're going to start Skype-ing with Nihonjin! Japanese! Real native speakers! I am nervous and excited. I already love the Japanese so much! I hope I don' freak out because of how excited I am!

On Sunday, we had the opportunity of watching the Ogden Temple Rededication! It was amazing! Two things were said during the talks that stood out to me: During the Savior's earthly ministry, he healed the blind, the deaf, and the lame. The Savior can heal us physically. He can also heal us spiritually... because aren't we all a little blind when it comes to seeing things as they really are? Aren't we all a little spiritually blind? Don't we all walk the path a little imperfectly? Aren'twe all a little spiritually lame? Aren't we all a little hard of hearing when it comes to listening to the promptings of the Spirit? Aren't we all spiritually deaf to some degree? I testify that just as the Lord has healed our physical defects, He will heal our spiritual weaknesses. Another point: Elder Bednar talked about the contrasts between the temple and the world. I couldn't write down all of them, but one of them is: The world is always moving- clocks are ticking, people hurrying, it is not still. In the temple, we pause to seek peace. We are still. I love the temple. I am very thankful to go once a week. The Provo Temple is beautiful! I am glad I can go there to find peace when missionary life is kind of stressful.

That night, at the Sunday night Devotional, Gordon D Brown (former MTC president) spoke to us. He talked about being a successful missionary. I loved his comments about being a light. People are watching me, as creepy as that sounds! But I am a representative of this Church- more importantly a representative of Jesus Christ. 

There was also the most beautiful musical number I've ever heard in my life: Danny Boy was played by three Elders, one on Piano, one on violin, and the other played the tin whistle! Have you heard of that before??? It was amazing. I cried. ***If you have musical talent and you're coming to the MTC, make sure you audition! It is such an amazing thing to share your testimony through music. It adds so much to meetings. I auditioned a few weeks ago. They just got back to me and asked me to sing at either Relief Society or a Devotional in the next three weeks! I hope I get better really fast! I also brought the music for "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" (sung by the beautiful Taylor Contessa at my farewell. I LOVE YOU!)  and I learned it in Japanese... so I'll sing that next week when we'll be getting new missionaries in our zone!!!!!!!! I'm so excited! 

Tuesday Night, we had the privilege of hearing from another Apostle... Elder M. Russell Ballard. The choir sang "Joseph Smith's First Prayer". I was sad that I couldn't sing because I was sick, but it sounded AMAZING. 3,500 + missionaries around the world at different MTC's watched the devotional via broadcast. Some of my notes:

 If you want to get to know the Lord, go work for Him.

 Let your family be on your mission with you. (note: I love my family so much! I hope they are looking for opportunities to share the Gospel as well! I hope my siblings are looking forward to their missions too!) Make sure you write good letters. You can touch hearts and possibly convert your friends and family from the mission field.

 Just how precious is one person? We won't be able to understand until we can fully comprehend Gethsemane, and what Christ suffered there.

 He also spoke about the importance of prayer, which Richard G. Scott talked about when he addressed us.

 We show our Master's face when we go out. 

When the alarm goes off at 6:30am, say to yourself "Oh, I'm still here. I'd better get up... what shall I do today? I shall do my very best". Some days are harder to get up than others.

How much do I love the Lord? We all have different answers... but He doesn't ask us to give our lives... He asks us to work to bring souls unto Him on the conditions of repentance.

It is amazing to hear from a prophet. I am so lucky to hear from two of the Apostles! And then General Conference is in two weeks! We are so blessed here at the MTC.

Another thought that I came across in my personal study: 2 Nephi 25: 26 go read it. We can't earn redemption- we must inherit it. In order to receive an inheritance, someone has to die. Christ died so that we might receive our first estate.

Also, Repentance= change. Commitments = change. Commitments = repentance. Let me explain. When I ask someone to commit to reading the Book of Mormon, or to pray for an answer, or to be baptized, I am inviting them to change. I am inviting them to Repent. When we repent, we turn away from our past sins/old life/whatever you want to call it and we turn towards God. We must be repenting DAILY. Mainichi. God wants us to come unto Him! When we repent, we become eligible for the Savior's redemptive power. We become "new creatures". Our sins are forgiven and we are forever changed. I love being a missionary!

That's basically my week :) I hope everyone is doing well! I love you! Please write me lots of letters and dear elders... I'm only here for 3 more weeks! Then I'll be in JAPAN!!!!!!!!!! Woohooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited!

Here are some funny quotes and such:

Soares Choro has been reading the Old Testament and his comments are the best. 

"God makes a donkey talk to a man? Why is this?????"

He also has a lot to say about the Law of Moses. But I won't go into that here.

Sensei asked Soares Choro "What would Jesus do?". His response: "He said "Let the other cheek be slapped!"

I didn't get ice cream on Sunday because I knew it wouldn't help me get better. I was sitting next to Soares Choro (who was on his 4th bowl of ice cream) and he asked "Sanders Shimai, why you don't eat ice cream today? You need more meat on your bones!"

That is the first time someone has said that to me. Hahahahaha I was dying! I choked on my water I was laughing so hard! He didn't understand why I was laughing.

Agnew Choro (to me): Dang girl, you are so white!" Me: "That's Sister to you"

Jespersen Choro: Can you please become Goat Girl? You have the back story and everything.

(since I was sick, my voice was all raspy so I said "I'm Goat Girl" like "I'm Batman", but not as cool....... You had to be there, haha!)

As always, the Elders are more quotable. The Shimaitachi all have our inside jokes that I simply couldn't explain in an email. Don't hate, kudasai (please).

I will end with my testimony: Watashi wa Morumon Sho ga shinjitsu da to shite imasu. Watashi wa Iesu Kirisuto ga Sukuinushi to shitte imasu. Watashi wa Josefu Sumisu ga yogensha datta to askashi shimasu. Monson Daikancho wa yogensha desu. Kono Kyokai ga shinjitsu desu. Iesu Kirisuto no mi-na ni yotte o-akashi shimasu, amen.

Honto Ai shite imasu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you all! Have a great week!

--

Sanders Shimai

Fwd: Week 3- When the gong gets tough, the tough get going!

Subject: Week 3- When the gong gets tough, the tough get going!

Woah, it's like the middle of September! The MTC is basically a time vortex. I have no idea what day it is and one second I'm eating breakfast, then I'm in class learning new bunpo (grammar) then all of the sudden it's 9:30pm and we're going back to out residence. Crazy. It's been a great week! We have a new sensei (10th one in 3 weeks), his name is Pearson Kyodai, and he is from Phoenix! He understands why I miss cactus so much! 

Tell Jackson I hope the scar he gets is epic and he can call it a battle wound ;) But seriously though, be careful! I hope it gets better soon! I had a weight dropped on my face too.... no fun. I pray for you all every day. I also wrote a bunch of letters, so those will come to you soon! Sorry it's taken so long for me to write you! I literally have no time. I am exhausted every single day. But so happy :) 

It's officially cold. It was raining on Sunday, and I used my ward jacket. Everyone makes fun of me because "it's not even snowing yet". Oh well. I'll survive I guess! 

Mom, I am so glad you like Primary! Scouts will just be one of those "things" for you, hahahaha :) I still giggle every time I think about that! Thank you for the box. And the letters, and just everything :) I am so thankful to have you as my mom!

Dad, thank you for your letters! I love them! And thanks for that article about singing in the choir :) I love being in the choir so much! We are waiting to hear if the MTC choir will sing at this General Conference... I'll keep you posted :) But Brother Egget, the director, is amazing. He's the coolest.

Jackson, Ben, Ryan, and Meredith, I wrote you letters. They will come soon :) I love you and think about you all the time! I keep a picture of all of us in my scriptures. I am doing this for you! I hope you will all prepare to serve missions. Honestly, it is the best thing I have ever done. I LOVE YOU! Honto ai shite imasu!

Thanks to everyone else who have written letters, DEAR ELDER, and given your support and love. There are too many to thank individually! I am so grateful to have so much support!

Here are the funny quotes for the week:

*most of them you had to be there for for them to be funny.... but I'll include them anyways...*

Dana Choro: I'l pretty good with chopsticks for a white boy"

Soares Choro: *pointing to a map* If Egypt is here, and the Promised Land is here... HOW THE HECK did it take 40 years for the Israelites to get there?

Jespersen Choro: I am Batman. *I can't remember when he said this, but I write it down. 

Cook Shimai: *in a sassy voice* "FELICIA! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Me: "uhhhh, what?" Cook: "Yeah you heard me, Felicia".

Soares Choro: "Dana Choro, why do you have so many sprinkles on your face?" (he thinks "freckles" are called sprinkles). Then Rostrom Choro jumps in and says "No, they're called Sparkles!" This is why Soares Choro is having such a hard time with English.

Here's how my week went:

Sunday Devotional: Richard Heaton, the MTC Administrative Director spoke. Well, kind of... he asked Converts to stand up and share their stories. It was really interesting to hear how everyone found the church and how they chose to come on missions!

Tuesday Devotional: The choir sang "Hope of Israel" and Elder Sitati of the Seventy spoke with his wife. They are from Kenya. Oh my gosh, they gave such powerful messages! They spoke about REMEMBERING why we are here, what our purpose as missionaries is, and to remember our covenants. LOVED IT.

Guess who leads the music in Branch meetings? This girl. I am getting better at reading the Hiragana in the hymn book. (Branch meetings are only in Nihongo (Japanese). Plus, it's fun to lead the music!

Last P-Day, Iire Kyodai came to give all the Nihongo senkyoshi a devotional. He shared his conversion story and why he loves the gospel. The crazy thing was I was able to understand probably 90% of what he said! Janice Kapp Perry wrote a song for him called "Let Me Be A Light", which he sang for us. It's beautiful! Please look it up! 

I was reading the story of Ruth, and had a thought about "my people". Before my mission, "my people" were my family, friends, and community... but now "my people" are the Nihonjin. The Japanese people are my people for the next 18 months, and hopefully the rest of my life :) 

Mills Shimai and I taught a lesson to our district about the Holy Ghost. I loved preparing for it. We emphasized how important Moroni 10: 3-5 is to true conversion. The Holy Ghost must be there or else there is no conversion.

Sunday was also Fast Sunday, and I stayed happy :) Don't worry Mom ;) but we had mission conference. There were a lot of speakers and I took about 10 pages of notes. I loved it! The message that stuck out the most was the story of David and Goliath. "I fear no man". It is easy to be nervous of people not accepting you or your message... but in reality, we have no reason to fear. We should only fear God. When David stood up to Goliath, imagine a skinny teenager standing in front of a giant... someone who had killed armies on his own.. Daivd said something along the lines of "Because you deny God, you will not win". Imagine having that kind of courage. We have to have that kind of courage when we teach. The Gospel is the best gift I could ever receive... and it is the best gift I can give to someone else. 

My testimony of Joseph Smith has grown so much. When I recite the "First Vision" in Japanese, I know it is true! Joseph Smith has done more for mankind save Christ alone. I know that he translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God. God has restored the truth of the Gospel to the earth! We are so blessed to be living right now! We don't ever have to be lost, because we have all the resources we need! First and foremost, prayer is the most amazing thing. I am filled with so much peace knowing that God listens to and answers our prayers. He's answered mine time and time again.

Some other random things I wrote down:

We learn about the true nature of God by noticing how we are when the Spirit is with us.

The only way through a challenge- is through it.

Begin with the end in mind. Plan your future with Purpose.

They also shared the story of Shaddrach, Meeshach, and Abednego... I immediately thought of the Gilbert Temple cultural celebration! They had such strong faith, and they never denied what they knew to be true, even when faced with adversity. 

We have a new "investigator" named Iwamoto San (AKA Pearson Kyodai). He is an older, prideful smoker and gambler... but he wants to know what the church is all about. He is very interesting to teach. He asks questions about everything, so we have to be super prepared when we go to teach him! He is making progress though. We want him to know that he can have a relationship with God, and find direction in his life!

If you are late to class, you have to do a "door approach". I was only late once because... well, you don't want to have to do a door approach. But, just in case you need to know, this is what you say "Konnichiwa! O-genki desu ka? Watashitachi wa Matsu jitsu Seito Iesu Kirisuto Kyokai no senkyoshi desu. Haitemo ii desu ka?" Yep. I have that memorized. 

Soares Choro and Rostrom Choro are always late, so sensei makes it really hard to be invited in... once all Rostrom Choro said was "Ai shite imasu?" which means "I love you?" haha he got the door slammed in his face.

I love it here at the MTC! I feel like I am receiving so much help with learning the language. I am catchiing up to everyone else! I pray so much it's crazy, but it's what you have to do if you want to get through the day. 

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Thank you for reading! Please send me an email or Dear Elder letter if you have any questions! I am almost out of time, so I'll start sending pictures. 

Ai shite imasu,

--

Sanders Shimai

Fwd: Week 4- We're Halfway There and Livin' On A Prayer

 Week 4- We're Halfway There and Livin' On A Prayer

On Saturday I'll have been here for ONE MONTH!!!!!!!!!! Have a party for me!

Woah! How crazy! It feels like an eternity but at the same time I feel like I got here yesterday.

This was a rough week. Our senseitachi (teachers) are really pushing us to elevate our Nihongo. No more notes. Our lessons were really rough, but I was surprised at how much I could actually say! Even though I can only say really simple sentences, I can come up with them on my own. I am so blessed to be able to learn so quickly. It is still really hard though. We are given 3 hours in the morning for Personal Study, Companionship Study, and Language Study. I really have to use my time wisely because it goes by so fast. We also have two 3-hour blocks of classroom time. It's a lot of studying, but we need it! I am still way behind the rest of my district, but I have made so much progress. I said something during a lesson and my sensei broke character for a second and said "Suberashii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!) That was a good moment. It is a struggle to understand this language though. I have to rely on the Lord's help for everything. There is no way I could do this without His help.

The best part of my week was making a big breakthrough with my personal scripture study. I love how reading the scriptures can provide you with the answer that you're desperately searching more! Also, Elder Richard G. Scott from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke to us. I'll write more about that later! Also, Tad R. Callister (General Sunday School President and author of The Infinite Atonement) spoke to us on Sunday. Amazing. This week was a spiritual feast!

Some funnyness:

"toki doki doki doki" means "sometimes nervous". This is my favorite thing to say and I find the most awkward times to say it.

Also, we say "kiken" (means "danger") whenever there is danger of flirting. Flirting is a really bad thing. What's funny is the chorotachi in my district yell it at me the most. They like to tease me. They remind me of my BROTHERS (yes, I'm talking to you Jackson, Ben and Ryan!!!). There is another word that is really similar- "kikai" means opportunity. These are a little too similar, and wayyyyyyyyy to easy to mix up.

We like to come up with the Japanese equivalent of American sayings such as "Cool Beans" -Kakkoi mame (Funny story, when the Nihonjiin were here, we told them that they were Cool Beans and they were deeply disturbed...). The struggle is real - Ara soi wa honto desu *most used*. Burrrrrrn- Yakedo. 

WE HAVE NEW NIHONJIIN SHIMAITACHI to CHOROTACHI! (We have new Japanese Elders and Sisters!) We love talking to them! It's good practice for us! Plus, they are so nice! Soares Choro, who was trying to be friendly, tried to ask "Shumi wa nan desu ka?" (What are your hobbies?) but instead asked "Tsumi wa nan desu ka?" (What are your sins?) HAHAHAHAHA! I couldn't stop laughing. That's one of the funniest mix-ups we've had so far!

On Sunday in Relief Society, we heard from Jean A Stevens who is the 1st Counselor of the Primary General Presidency. She spoke about trying to be like Jesus. We sang "I'm trying to be like Jesus, I'm following in His way, I'm trying to love as He did in all that I do and say. At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice, but I try to listen as the still, small voice whispers: "Love one another as Jesus loves you, try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gentle, and loving in deed and in thought, for these are the things Jesus taught". I love that song. As a missionary, I am a representative of Jesus Christ. I wear His name on my badge every day. It goes right over my heart. I am called to do what the Savior did while He was on the Earth. He taught the gospel, He gave people hope, but mostly His mission was to show us love. When He suffered in Gethsamane and hung on the cross, that was for us. I have been studying the life of Christ, so that I can better know what He did. I want to follow His example. Christ loved the children, and blessed them. He fed the hungry, and lifted up the hands that hung down. The Savior said "If ye love me, feed my lambs". This is what I am so excited to do!

During choir, Brother Egget shared a thought that reminded me of Dad: God created the universe, but do we really know HOW BIG it is? Not only in volume, but the amount of detail? If we could count every particle of this earth, and millions of earths just like this one, we could not even begin to comprehend the smallest part of the Lord's creations. He went on to talk about the number of stars in our galaxy, and about as far as man knows how big our universe is. So when Moses came to the Lord concerned about facing Pharaoh who built the pyramids and commands the armies of Egypt... the Lord might have thought (just speculation) "I command the stars to change their course in the sky... I have told you to tell Pharaoh to let My people go... and you are worried about his armies? His power?" The same with Laman and Lemuel being afraid that "Laban controls 50 men", even though they would have known from their brother Nephi that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them to accomplish that thing which they have been commanded to do! The main idea is: God is as personal as He is infinite. I don't know if that make sense. God is as intimately acquainted with us as He is grand. It made me think about how there are 6 billion + who have no idea that God loves them. I must share my message with confidence. I will fear no man. I will fear God, and repsect and keep His commandments.

Tad R. Callister spoke about the Plan of Salvation, and had an awesome powerpoint that I greatly appreciated. 

Here are some things that stood out:

We are not creations. The building is a creation, paintings are a creation. They don't have much potential. Can a building ever become the architect? Can a painting ever become a painter? We are spirit offspring of Heavenly parents. Children can become like their parents. We have the potential to become perfect, as God is perfect. We know how we can do this- by following the commandments. We must be baptized by someone holding the proper authority, we must receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, then we must participate in the ordinances of the temple. That is the only way we can become like God. "Straight and narrow is the way". Also, imagine what we wouldn't know without the Restored Gospel: We would have no knwoledge of the Pre-Existence, we would not know that God has a body of flesh and bone, we would not know that we go to the Spirit World after we die, we would not know about the Degrees of Glory or what happens after we are judged... and we would not know about Exaltation- we would not know how to be able to live with God again. 

Elder Richard G. Scott gave an amazing talk. We stood up when he came into the room. The Spirit was so strong! He talked about communication with our Heavenly Father. Prayer is essential. God wants to hear from us! He wants to bless us, but we have to pray first. We have a wonderful opportunity to speak with Heavenly Father, and we shouldn't take that for granted. The rest of my notes were impressions that I had while he was speaking, so I'll keep those private if you don't mind... what an amazing experience though!

Thanks everyone for letters! Especially mom, Dad (I loved the artcle about Joseph Smith and revelation, I shared it with SIster Mills) and Aunt Liz! Thank you for making my day brighter! 

Please send me letters! I love you hear from you!

I just want to thank everyone who reads my letters via social media! If you ever have questions, my email is lindsay.sanders@myldsmail.net

Onward, ever onward, as we glory in His name............ I honestly love singing Called To Serve. I've been here for a month and I'm still not sick of it :)

Ai shite imasu!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy to be serving the Lord! Watashi wa kono kyokai shinjitsu da to omoimasu! I know this church is true! Watashi wa Iesu Krisuto ni kansha shimasu! I am thankful for Jesus Christ! 

-Sister Sanders

Konnichiwa from your favorite shimai :)

Okay, this week was such a blur so I will do my best to tell you about everything that's happened...

Things are going so great! This week was a bit more overwhleming, but my language is really coming along. It is easier for me to make my own sentences instead of just rweading from a book. I love my companion :) We are working well together. We are so different though. She is such a nerd :) She loves art and anime and all things weird. No, I'm not even kidding. But I love her so much :) We keep each other focused and motivated. She also gives really good hugs, and that is awesome because shimaitachi need lots of love.

I am so happy :) Thank you to everyone who sent me letters! I love them! I read them over and over all week! Please use Dear Elder because it's free! Thanks Priscilla for the Goldfish, those are my favorite :)

Last Thursday, (P-Day) we went to the Provo temple as a district and I loved it! It is something that is familiar to me and it was so nice to just feel the peace of the Spirit there :)

*Disclaimer* like I said last week, when we teach kyudosha (investigators), we are teaching our sensei's who are playing a character. They base these characters off of people they taught on their own missions. I try to treat them like they are my real investigators. I take it very seriously... This is some of the best practice we can get. No matter what, if we teach with the Spirit, their reactions are genuine. It is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced!

Friday we said goodbye to Watabe san and got two new investigators. We taught Iida san on Monday, and he is retired, divorced, and a smoker. We know the gospel can bring him joy in his life! Our focus on the first lesson was the Restoration. We shared a video about the First Vision, we bore testimony that we know God and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and that the true gospel has been restored. Iida san accepted a Morumon Sho (Book of Mormon) and we are meeting again with him on Saturday. We are also teaching Fuchino san, who is a recent high school graduate who plays soccer with the senkyoshi (misisonaries), and wants to know why they are such good people. We will be teaching him about Jesus Christ, and how following His example will bring him joy in his life.

On Sundays, we get to watch a broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word, and we have Relief Society. This week Sister Carole Stevens, First Counselor of the Relief Society General Presidency spoke to us. Here is one of my favorite quotes from her: "Sister is not just a title- it is a duty to love, give service, and be examples of virtue and charity. We must exemplify what it says in Mosiah 18:8-10 (this is also what we covenant when we are baptized!). It is our DUTY to love.

The shimaitachi and I all decided that, since we are in the business of saving souls, we are superheroes :) We are trying to come up with good names. If anyone has good ideas, please let us know. 

Speaking of super heroes, the chorotachi (Elders) are still great. We love them so much. Soares Choro was looking through the dictionary (remember, he is still learning English) and came across the word Hazelnut. He says to the class: If I were a super hero, my name would be Hazelnut. (he pronounces it Hah-zel-noot). We laughed so hard. That is how "Team Ephraim" began. Yes, Soares Choro chose names for all the chorotachi. Here is the list, and why Soares picked them)

Jespersen= potato chip (we don't know why...)

Wallace= Army Guy (looks like GI Joe??)

Soares= Hahzelnoot (the word is cool)

Rostrom- Storm Trooper ("Rostrom" is too hard to say, but Storm Trooper is basically the same thing)

Dana= Mormon Guy (he looks like Kirby Heyborne)

Agnew= Bruce Lee (they're both Asian)

Let's get a round of applause for the chorotachi! They are mostly the only reason we stay sane. The shimaitachi are great too :) We have our own funny things, but they're just not as good. Sometimes we sing "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the funniest way possible :) It's great!

During one study time, I can't remember which day, it was me, Mills Shimai, Jespersen Choro, Wallace Choro, Dana Choro, and Agnew Choro all sitting in our classroom reading the scriptures. It was SILENT. (hard to do, we are all goofballs). Then Jepsersen Choro had the idea to share what scriptures we chose for our missionary plaques, and how we chose them. I am always impressed at the testimonies my awesome district has. Everyone is here for the right reasons. 

This week I've started feeling a bit more homesick... I just love my family a lot! I know I am doing more for them while I am here on my mission than I could do for them at home. I read 1 Nephi 3:15 " But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us." This is Nephi telling his brothers who wanted to give up that they couldn't quit! They would not return until they had done what they were commanded to do. I had the thought "I will not go home until I have finished my work". I love being a misisonary. In this short time I've been here, I've been able to recognize the Hand of the Lord in everything that I do. I also love the scripture "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." (3 Nephi 5:13) This is my whole purpose of being here.

I forget who said it, but the Nihon senkyosha got a shoutout at the last devotional. Did you know that last year, other than English speaking, more missionaries were sent to Japan than any other country? Japan is being flooded with the Gospel! My district is one of the next group of reinforcements. There are about 70 of us missionaries going to Japan in the next 2 months. Suberashii!!!!!!!!! Yay! We have been told that we probably won't baptize much. I don't believe that. There are so many people that need the Gospel, and they will want to be baptized if we can teach with the Spirit. I am not going to Brazil or the Philippines where a missionary can baptize 100 people in a year... I am going to Japan. That is where the Lord needs me to carry out His work. I have no doubt that I will find people that are ready. I know it will be hard, I am realistic in that sense. But Japan is just as ripe for harvest as anywhere else in the world.

I saw Elder Ethington this morning! And I saw Elder Jacob Larson on Sunday :) They are both so happy! I see a lot of people all the time walking to class, at devotionals, and at meals :)

On Sunday, the choir sang "Where Can I Turn For Peace" arranged by the wonderful Mary Ellen Loose! That's right, she was my pianist at CGCC!!!!!!!!! I was so excited! Her arrangement is beautiful. The conductor shared a thought: When the Savior suffered in Gethsemane, it wasn't a mass sum of all the world's pain... it was like a long line of people. The Savior suffered for each of us individually. He knows what it's like to be us, to be tempted and tried. I can truly say that He knows us. Not just what it's like to have a broken heart, but what it's like to be you and have a broken heart. I hope that made sense. 

I am going to be auditioning to sing at a devotional or Relief Society meeting this week.... pray for me! 

That is all for today! I am about to go to lunch then go to the temple. Have a great week and I'll talk to you next week!

Ai shite imasu!

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Sanders Shimai