Blog: Witness of the Spirit

So today I don`t have a lot of time to email, but we had some pretty awesome miracles this week.

I`m going to start off with yesterday, because it was amazing. Ah-meh-zing. Oh, by the way we have another baptismal date. This girl is the best. Let me tell you why. So she is actually a referral from another investigator. Unfortunately we haven`t been able to meet with him since that lesson, but we`ve met with his friend like 3 times after that. And she asks the best questions. Some I can`t even answer because she is very smart and I don`t understand everything from the scriptures, haha, whoops! But the last lesson we taught her about the plan of salvation and asked her if she thought it was true. She said she wasn`t sure, but it makes sense to her and she thinks it would be awesome if it was. All throughout her lessons she was asking some really awesome questions, but we kind of felt like we were lacking the spirit as we taught and it was making sense in her head, but she wasn`t feeling it in her heart. So this week we really focused on Faith in Christ. We watched the DVD and just bore testimony of who Christ was as a person and who He is to us today. And she just cried. Her tears wouldn't stop. It was AWESOME! Like 10 minutes of non-stop tears, she told us she feels like she is not alone now. And oh, it was just awesome, the spirit was so strong!

Then we taught a lesson before that to a girl who we have actually known for a long time, but recently started taking the lessons. I think I`ve talked about her before, she has come to church for like a month, but is moving to Tokyo next week so this was our last lesson with her. She also asks awesome questions, but it seemed she was lacking a spiritual experience and was just learning for curiosities sake. But our last lessons again I really tried to focus on the spirit to bear the truth. I prayed and prayed that he would bear witness of our testimony and the testimony of the members. And through out the lesson she was taking notes on the steps to repentance, and she was really trying to take in what we were teaching. Then we watched the ``He is the reason`` video and after that the spirit really entered the room. Of course, I cried. And she didn`t, but she came close! I could just really tell that she was feeling the spirit. Just the look on her face you could tell something changed inside her. She also said she will meet with the missionaries in Tokyo! They best be ready for an awesome investigator to come their way!

But yep that`s all I really have time for. We also helped a ward member clean up her house to get ready to move and found a secret side street, and pretty sure we saw big foot. And also went to a professional Japanese basketball game, which was pretty awesome! 

Just want to let you know I love you all! And will continue to work hard in Japan!

Love,

Johnson Shimai

 

The secret tunnel we found while walking in the mountains to a members house.

Us at the basketball game! (Me, Kashiwa, Asako, and elder Bailey)

Me with the cheerleaders. They have accepted me as their leader.

 

Kashiwa shimai bowling! Haha, she kept telling me to stop taking pictures, but obviously I did not listen.

The whole group of us bowling

More bowling pictures (elder zimmerman, beer, hyde, and... I forget the last elders name... he`s new, and nozomi (investigator), and me and Kashiwa shimai!)

This really freaky baby doll we found outside of someone`s house.

And us eating cake from a member! Yeah members! Yeah cake!

 Blog: Staying Put

So this week we went bowling on Pday! It was pretty fun. I lost the first time, but then beat everyone the next time. And one of the elders bowled 140 with his left hand! It was really fun!

But yep, can`t believe I`m already a third transfer, that came about quite quickly. But the mission is way exciting and I stayed in the same area, which is nice. Transferring only after one transfer is a bit rough, so it`s good that I`ll be getting to know my companion and the ward and area better :)

But this week it rained, a lot. But we were still able to get around and do quite a bit of stuff so that`s good. We didn`t have as many lessons this week as we had last week, but that gave us more time to find which was good.

But the lessons we did teach went pretty well. The first was to a member who struggles with faith. He finally decided to start reading the book of Mormon for the second time. And it seems he is enjoying it so far. But he still doesn`t want to pray. So the lesson just kept going around and around in circles as all the missionaries bore their testimony on the importance of prayer. And how we can receive our answers through prayer. But it didn`t seem like anything was entering his heart. The whole time I basically stayed silent, I had no idea what to say to him that would get through to him even slightly. So I kept saying little prayers and thinking about my own experiences and how my prayers have been answered and have strengthened my faith. So the lesson was about to close and I kept getting the prompting that I should say something. Then I suddenly remembered this small experience I had when I prayed to have my computer fixed, but in return I knew I had to do something. My faith was weak, but I told God that if he fixed my computer I would write in my journal everyday. So I did for a couple of days and yes indeed my computer was fixed! So I asked him to think about what he wants from God and what God wants from him in return. It seemed to spark some interest, so hopefully he really thinks on it this week and his heart can be softened and opened to prayer.

Then we had another lesson with a girl who we`ve known for a while and decided that one day she wanted to come to church. It seems it was more out of curiosity rather than soul searching but hey we`ve all gotta start somewhere. But, yep, did my first baptismal invite. She said no, haha! But that`s okay I to be honest I would`ve been surprised if she had said yes. But I decided to invite her anyways because at our zone conference meeting we are always encouraged to invite people to be baptized before the second lesson, so that they know kind of the purpose of teaching them lessons. But ya, I still love that girl like crazy! She is so nice and so smart. I think as she comes to understand more about the gospel and recognize the spirit she will start following the path Heavenly Father has laid out for her :).

We were able to meet some great people this week, and my teaching is getting better, little by little. But yep, that`s pretty much all folks. Hope you have a good one!

Love,

ジョンソン姉妹

Blog: Always Be Teaching

So this week was pretty eventful as far as teaching. It was a fantastic week!

So to start off our week on transfer P-day we were able to go to a members house and put on Kimonos for girls day. It was way fun! But super cold. Then we ate curry, tonkatsu, karage, and a bunch of other stuff. We were stuffed, beyond stuffed. But the food was so delicious so it was worth it!

Then we were able to teach our investigator with a baptismal date one last time before she goes to Nagasaki for a month. And she is just so ready for this gospel. We literally taught her all the commandments in three hours split between two lessons. We were praying strongly that things would go well. And it went better than well. She told us that she wanted to know if these things were true for herself and would try her hardest to follow all the commandments. She is seriously such a prepared daughter of God. Pray that all goes well in Nagasaki for her. We are wanting to do skype lessons and have the elders there visit her once or twice. But she is already prepared, if anything she has taught me more than I have taught her without a doubt!

We also had the chance to teach our young high school student investigator. He is also super prepared. For some reason whenever we teach him lessons we can`t explain it very well, but the spirit is strong with this one and he understands it in the end. And he said he really wants to know if these things are true by April, and if they are true he wants to get baptized. People who want to find the truth are just amazing! 

Then we taught our two Chinese investigators. It has actually been a while since we have seen them, because they went back to China for a month. We actually had only met one of them, but he said he wanted to bring his friend to his next lesson. And it was a day full of miracles!!! They asked super fantastic questions with true intention to know. And they are both so smart. They speak Chinese, Japanese, and English, so if I couldn`t explain it well in Japanese then I would switch to English. Which they actually liked because they are still wanted to work on their English! But it was just fantastic! And the friend wants to come to church! Seriously　金人 (golden).

We also taught a member who was baptized a long time ago, but struggles with the concept of faith. But last time he said he wanted to read the book of mormon again. And all before that he said he had read it but not received his confirmation, so I think he was a bit angry with God. And I also think he is nervous that if he reads it again he won`t receive that confirmation, but I know if he really tries his hardest and trusts in God his answer will come and his faith will grow stronger. But after the lesson in which he told us he wanted to try reading it again he told us he had opened the book but not read it. But this week he told us he read it! And he had some awesome questions and insight. He is seriously such a kind and considerate person. And his faith is strong he just needs to realize it!

We also taught two new investigators. One is a daughter of a current investigator. She told us that she has some interest in Christian churches. She has been coming to activities for a while, but after talking to a teacher at church who told her if she was curious to go and check it out, she came to church! Coincidence? Definitely not! We taught her about Christ and the restoration of the church and she was taking notes in her BoM next to scriptures we were sharing. I think she is still a bit hesitant about religion, but I know if she continues she will realize how happy the gospel can make her! And the second investigator was someone we met on the street. Unfortunately she doesn`t really like people, but she still came and we were able to teach her. She is very, very nice and does want to know if these things are true for herself. Japan is really just full of prepared people!

This last week was also transfer week. I will be staying here in Taniyama with my same companion Kashiwa Shimai, who is the greatest! She is seriously fantastic and we always have a good time! But one of the elders did transfer, which was sad, but he will continue the work elsewhere, so it is all good :)

Well that is pretty much my week. We saw so many miracles this week, and hope to see a lot more this transfer. The church is true!!!

Johnson Shimai

 

 

Me in my companion in our kimonos taking pictures outside. It was so cold!

All of us in front of the dolls they set out on girls day, it was so cool to look at!

We got to eat out with one of our investigators. Kind of awkward because we didn`t have a plan, but it was still really fun!

 

 Blog: Follow the Promptings of the Spirit

So this week was pretty long. Week before transfers! Haven`t gotten my call yet, but pretty sure I am staying here in lovely Taniyama.

But this week was pretty eventful, even though for some reason it doesn`t feel that way. 

So our investigator that had a baptismal date just finished her big test! Because of said test we weren`t able to teach her this week, but hopefully this upcoming week we can meet her. But even though she was crazy busy (studying from 5:00am to 10:00pm) she still read some of the BoM and is still keeping the WoW. She is amazing really. And we also made a new baptismal date, which is awesome!

We also found two new investigators this week! What a miracle and blessing! So here`s the story:

We went housing at this neighborhood on top of a mountain! It was terrible, too steep to ride our bikes so we had to walk them :) Yay for mountains! And we got some pretty hard kekko`s (no thank you`s). Needless to say we were pretty tired by the end. So we rode our bikes all the way back down the mountain and went to the church to prepare for English class and we streeted on the way back. Still no takers. Then I got this feeling to stop and talk to this one girl, I was pretty tired and really didn`t want to, which is means that I absolutely HAVE to. So I did and she became a new investigator! Something that I have learned very strongly is that the blessings usually come after the trial of our faith. To be honest, in Utah I didn`t really have much opportunity to have a trial of my faith. I was surrounded by good friends, family, and my situation was more than great. But how grateful I am to have the opportunity to serve a mission and grow so much!! The mission field can be hard, but it`s only the good/weird times I remember. Such a blessing.

The second investigator we met was actually the daughter of a current investigator. The one mentioned before whom we were having a hard time teaching, then watched the Faith in Christ video. Her daughter is really nice and super awesome! She told us that she wanted to come to church. So she did. And afterwards, she said that it wasn`t scary and that she is curious and wants to know more. Which we are happy to oblige! We will meet her again this week and I will let you know how it goes. 

Then to top off our week the elders had an investigator get baptized! It was a way awesome experience and my first baptismal service I have attended in a long time. The spirit was so strong and we all knew he was making the right choice. The Elders were super nervous, but all went well :)

Well that`s all I really have for this week. Enjoy the rest of your February! I can`t believe it`s almost march!!! Gah!!

Love,

Johnson shimai

Us at one of the members houses for FHE. We played a super fun game! It was awesome! Like Poker/signs

District picture before tenkin calls

Us at Ikeda-kyoudai`s baptism! He has his eyes closed in the other picture we took too, haha!

 Blog: Valentines 2015

So this week was kind of crazy!

First of all we had the Whitely conference. Which required a three plus hour bus ride up to Kumamoto, but we got to stay with the sisters up there for a night, which was way fun. Six sisters crammed into one apartment :)! It was actually quite fun. And the conference was awesome I learned so much!

Then we had a lesson with our two so-so investigators. Lately they have really been struggling. But we prayed about them a lot this week as to what we should do for their next lesson. We decided to focus on Christ and watched the Faith in Christ DVD. One of them almost cried! It was fantastic! The spirit was so strong and the lesson definitely went a different direction. That`s what happens when you focus on what our church is all about!

Then we had an activity that we planned this week for valentines day. It went pretty good, except like nobody showed up, which was a let down, but we still had fun and ate a lot of chocolate! Then that night we got a text from our investigator with a baptismal date saying that she couldn`t come to church, which means she can`t get baptized this month. We were very sad, but we are still hopeful that she can make a new baptismal date and become an awesome member!

This week was also my companions birthday! Happy birthday Kashiwa Shimai! It was so funny though. Because the night before I made her favorite jello stuff, but she came out of the shower quickly so I took it off the stove and put it in the cupboards so she wouldn`t notice. (with an oven mitt under it so it wouldn`t set our apartment on fire) And after she went to bed I continued with the preparations! It was way fun, and she didn`t even notice, ha! Then that night for her birthday some of the YSA`s came and pied her in the face, it was excellent. They got whip cream all over. Good thing we had our apartment check that morning :). 

That night we also wanted to eat at her favorite restaurant, but we didn`t know which train station it was to get off. So, of course, we got off on a random one. But we were lead by the spirit and we were able to find the restaurant which was pretty good. 

Then on Sunday it was a branch presidency meeting, which is like a stake meeting. And it went so well. A lot of members showed up, and we had a huge jikushoukai ( Self Introduction) at the end. The food was SO good!

Then that night, quite the miracle occurred. We were heading to some apartments to house when we ran into an older woman who seemed way excited to talk to us. She said that she wanted to make an appointment with us but didn`t have her calendar with her. So of course she walked us to her house and invited us in and gave us delicious yogurt drinks. On the way to her house though, she said that usually she doesn`t go to that post office, since there is a closer one to her house. But today she just felt like she wanted to go to the post office we bumped into her at. Aw, yes, that `feeling`. And she kept saying, `wow what a coincidence that I went to that post office and ran into you sisters there.` Yes, what a `coincidence`. It was so awesome that we ran into her and she is way super nice. We are excited to go visit her again!

Well that`s all I have for this week! Love you all!

愛しています！

Sakurajima, the volcano constantly erupting by our area. This a picture of it from our grocery store :)

Kashiwa Shimai making pancake balls (they are actually super delicious) experimenting for our chocolate making activity .

Us on our way grocery shopping. Just a glimpse of my are :)

Valentines day is a pretty big deal in Japan. They had these awesome illusions all over the train station that we were at!

Us at the Kumamoto apartment with all the shimai before the whitely conference

A member in our ward is super good at drawing and does a portrait for each of the missionaries that come. Super talented.

Happy birthday Kashiwa!

Us at the miracle restaurant. Brought there by the spirit.

Us eating at a Cora 姉妹　house! It was temakizushi, so good!

Us all whip cream-effied

Two really cute kids in our ward. These two really like playing together, haha :)

 Blog: Mountain Biking

So this week was pretty busy. I think. We had mensetsu`s ( interview) with the mission president. And special training from the AP`s. It went pretty well. But we got lost on the way up there, but we ran into some of the Elders and they knew where the church was. Really missionaries receive so many blessings from God! But then we also had zumba that day. The senior couple sister was a zumba instructor back in the U.S. of A. And a lot of people come, so it was way fun!

This week we taught an L.A. who literally keeps all the commandments, but she doesn`t come to church because her mother, who lives with her, is super hantai (against the church). Then we also taught two investigators who struggle with knowing if God is there and the plan of salvation. But we will keep working with them :). But something I realized as we were teaching these three sisters is that I am so glad I grew up in the church. Given I had to find out if these things were true on my own, but because i had been taught these things growing up it wasn`t as hard for me to grasp the concept I guess. Growing up in a Christ-centered home is really such a blessing that I took for granted. I am so glad that I know that our Savior lives and that he died for us. Church is true!

Then we taught a member who says he has weak faith. But he kind of made a resolve to read the book of mormon again. He enjoyed it the first time, but said he didn`t receive that feeling from God that it was true so he is kind of angry with God. But he said he wants to read it again. And we asked him when he was going to start reading. He said, `Why not today?` And we were like, Yes, yes Ryou, why not today? So awesome! He really is such a nice member though, he always thinks about others before himself.

Then we taught our kinjin (investigator) lesson 3 and part of lesson 4. She is so busy that we just cram in as much as we can in an hour since her baptism date is coming up. But man, her faith is just strong. She still has a strong desire to be baptized and said she will keep the commandments of prayer, scripture study, obedience, baptism, and confirmation. She was very surprised about the W.o.W. and said that she loves tea and drinks it everyday and said it is difficult for her to understand. But she said she would try it for a week. Then she came to church the next day. And what a miracle! Everyone that spoke that day talked about keeping some sort of commandment. One even talked about the W.o.W. And after we asked her how the W.o.W. is going. And she said that she really does want to know if the W.o.W. is from God and that she will pray and such to find out! She is really so amazing and I just love her.

But yep, that is basically all for this week. Love you all! Hope you have a good one! Keep the commandments!

愛しています！

Johnson　姉妹

 Blog: Climbing the Mountain
So this week was exhausting in both great and not so great ways!

First of all this week we had so many awkward moments during housing. And by that I mean when we would go up to someones door they were just getting home. So they were trying to get into their house and we just like talk to them outside. I kid you not this happened like 6 times this week. Or people were just leaving their house so they would come out and be leaving and we would follow them and try to share a message. It wasn`t very effective since they were in a hurry, but hey at least we tried.

This week we also did some far traveling. We went to Ibusuki to visit an L.A. and it was like an hour by train. Ibusuki is a huge vacation spot apparently, but it was cold the day we went so there was like no one outside. And my companion, bless her soul, doesn`t know North from South. Literally, we went in the opposite direction and got lost in Ibusuki, but it always makes for an awesome adventure! We like took this `road` that Kashiwa shimai chose, and it was basically walking through people`s backyards, haha! But found some awesome historic sites in the process. Then the next day I found the Yama(mountain) in tani(valley)yama. We went to a members house who lives way up in the mountains. But we got lost and went up this really obscure mountain highway path for 20 minutes, nothing but uphill. Realized we were lost, went back, and went up the actual obscure mountain highway path. My companion is way funny though, she felt so bad, but I don`t know I couldn`t help but laugh and cry at the same time (realized I am not a fan of uphill bike riding). But when we got to the members house we got to play with her super cute daughter. We went up to help her with her kids because she had just had a baby. 

Also this week we ate out a lot. We were just too tired to make anything for ourselves so we had McDonald (big macs are not all that big, tiny in fact), had udon (thick ramen noodles), and we went to a yakiniku shop owned by a member (SO GOOD!). It was all delicious.

We also met some awesome people. Lately our Potential Investigators have been odd. They like text us right after we talk to them giving us their emails and stuff. But they never become investigators. But Japanese people are very busy so it is hard to schedule an appointment with them. We did meet two people who had met with the missionaries before. And they seemed way excited to meet us. Hopefully we will be able to meet them again! This week we also gave a bible to a former investigator. But we weren`t able to find her at the mall where we decided to meet. I said a prayer hoping we would be guided to her or just be able to meet her. When we left I was very disappointed that we couldn`t meet her. But oh me with little faith. We ended up housing close by and she called us saying that she was at the mall now and we were able to have a short lesson with her. God answers prayers. It`s very true.

We also had another lesson with our golden investigator! She came to church! Yay!! All it took was explaining to her that she had to come to church in order to receive baptism. And she was perfectly fine with that and came. Also her lesson went super well. We had a member come and joint and it went so smoothly. Well, actually, she had some doubts about prophets, but by the end she seemed more convinced. And she said she has had good experiences with praying. Also during fast and testimony meeting she realized that she also has a testimony. Hallelujah! She is really such a strong daughter of God. I can`t wait until she can enter the waters of baptism and feel that everlasting guidance of the Holy Ghost! She`ll be an awesome member. There is still a lot left to teach her. But she is so in tune with the spirit already, and God has such a wonderful plan for her!

Well can`t believe it`s already February! Hope you have an awesome week!

Love,

Johnson Shimai

 

 

Us eating  our McDonalds.

Kashiwa shimai, me, Mari Shimai, and her Mom Kaneko Shimai eating Yakiniku! So delicious!

The crazy huts we found while we were lost in Ibusuki! Apparently they were excavated from a volcano eruption that happened a long time ago. They call it the Japanese pompei

Eating Udon