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