Sunday 6th, 2014
Konnichiwa!
I am grateful that the Lord is able to bless all of us because of missionary service!! I am SOO happy here in Okinawa, the ward is HUGE and they are all super nice. :) I love them so much. Since I have become companions with Capener Shimai we haven't had a single argument or disagreement…we just get along. And it rocks!! But I am ALSO soooo grateful for all the hardships that I had with Heaton. If there is one companionship that prepared me for marriage the most I would say it was that one haha and IM SO GRATEFUL FOR IT! I love her!
This morning I was getting ready and listening to last conference (for the 100th time) haha I love conference just in case you didn't know…AND Ulisses Soares was speaking. His talk is called 'Be meek and lowly of heart' ITS AMAZING!! Here is one line from it:
"Because the Natural man dwells within each of us, and because we live in a world full of pressure, controlling our temper may become one of the challenges in our lives. Think for a few seconds how you react when someone does not comply with your desires the MOMENT you want them too. When people disagree with your ideas, even though you are absolutely sure that they represent the proper solution to a problem. What is your response when someone offends you, critiques your efforts, or is simply unkind because he or she is in a bad mood? AT THESE MOMENTS and in other difficult situations, we MUST LEARN to CONTROL OUR TEMPER and convey our feelings with patience and gentle persuasion. This is our most important within our HOMES and with our ETERNAL COMPANIONS"
I love, love, love that. One of the greatest attributes of Christ is meekness and lowliness of heart If there is one thing that I have learned on my mission is the importance of being humble when others offend you or when you feel like you are right. PRIDE is such a TERRIBLE thing and I want to rid myself of it forever!
I just thought of this scripture in Alma 5: 27-Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before god? Could ye say if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been made sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?
28: Behold, are ye STRIPPED OF PRIDE? I say unto you, if ye are not, ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.
BAM! If we are not humble or stripped of pride, we are not prepared to meet God!!! Simple as that! I LOVE ALMA!! Read the rest of ALMA five because it rocks!!! It changed my life :)
MIRACLES:
THIS LAST WEEK WE SAW SO MANY MIRACLES!!! We flew back to Fukuoka because we had to go to the Leadership training meeting with all the other STLs and Zone leaders in the mission. So yeah…I think I flew on a plane 5 times in the last week and a half! I was so exhausted but it was SO FUN! We got to Fukuoka on Monday around 3 and the AP's were like…so you actually aren't leaving until Wednesday! All the other missionaries had to leave a day early, but just Capener and I were able to have some extra time there which was a huge miracle! We stayed in the mission home under the temple and it was SUCH AN AMAZING experience! I may or may not be presidents favorite missionary in the mission :) haha just kidding…but really, he let us watch the general relief society broadcast n his office, we went and walked around the grounds saw all the cherry blossoms around the temple! President and his wife took Capener Shimai and I out to dinner to a way good Ramen shop and then made us dinner the next night! IT ROCKED!! It was just the four of us and we had so much fun!
We came back to our area and found four new investigators and like 5 others with lots of potential!! We met with one of our investigators last week, she doesn't have tons of interest (the one I told you about that speaks English) but she was really kind and sweet. We ran into her AGAIN that night as we were walking home which was a huge blessing form the lord. I am so excited to see where all of them go. A new family, a young 15 yr old, a Filipino woman, a woman who overcame cancer and the list goes on!
I am running out of time but I love you all so much! The work is moving forward here and I am so grateful! Thank you for all the updates I love hearing about them! I love you all so much, thank you for the prayers!!!
Love Sharp Shimai
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Excited to be here!
Monday 31, 2014
Konnichiwa from Okinawa :)
Sister Capener was in my same MTC district and we were way good friends :) Love her to death! We have already had a ton of fun together. Sister Kwak is doing great, she transferred to Okinawa to a place called Urasoe. I sat next to her on the plane coming here :) yes, we took a plane. I took a bus to Fukuoka and then a subway to the airport and then flew here with 7 other missionaries. It was about a 90 minute flight. I have heard that Okinawa is over 1000 miles away from the main island. Crazy! Sister Kwak was also a Sister training leader in Yamaguchi Zone which was my first zone. Sister Olsen (she was also in our MTC district and was Sister Capeners companion) also transferred down here with us and she is serving in Okinawa, Okinawa. She gets to work with two huge military branches! Im so jealous! I want to serve in a military branch so bad!! The good news is Sister Capener and I get to go on exchanges all over the island with all our Sister missionaries that we are over, so I will get the chance to see alot of places besides mine. The feel of Naha is way different then where I have been. The people are waaaay nice. Everyone we stop and talk to on the street listens. Even if they don't have interest they kindly listen. The people here are TINY, TINY. I thought normal Japanese people were SMALL...but these people are like 4 feet tall. Okinawans kind of have their own little culture, they are still very much Buddhist, and they sort of have their own language. Its still Japanese but there are some words that are COMPLETELY different... for example, chuuganabira means Konnichwa which means hello. HA?! So weird...I haven't really heard anyone speaking in this dialect, but if you ask if they speak it , they will. It will be fun to learn some of their new lingo..I guess. Haha. I am living with two other Sisters. Sister Burgon (who i lived with in Ube my first transfer) and her companion Sister Lewis. They are both way fun and hard workers! I feel like I'm back in the MTC with how many of us are here. Only 3 people from my MTC district aren't in Okinawa right now! Crazy!!
We already have found two way good potential investigators since I got here. One speaks WAY good English, so I'm excited to see where that goes! We are hopefully meeting with her this Saturday. As of right now, we don't have any progressing investigators but that's going to change real quick!
I'm serving in a ward here and its HUGE compared to what Ive been use to in previous areas on my mission. There is probably about 80-100 people in the ward. Learning their names is sort of a nightmare but I will eventually get it. The names are WAY, WAY different here. Takamiyagi is the name of the bishop. I'm used to names like Kojima, Ikeda, Fujimoto, Tanaka. To you they probably all sound way foreign but names here are super weird to me, I have never heard them in my life!! But yeah, love it here!!! The weather is way nice. I got pretty sunburned my first day, so I'm going to be lathering on the sunscreen from now on. The sun is SUPER strong here.
Saying goodbye to Marina Chan in Shimizu was way sad...I love that girl so much. I really hope that she accepts a baptism date before she moves to America. Seguchi San is super cute too, I'm going to miss the both of them :( I loved Shimizu it really was a great area, so many miracles are happening there, it was sad to leave, but I'm way excited to be here!
Conference is coming up!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! I can't wait. In these last two transfers I think I experienced some of the hardest moments I've ever had on my mission and even in my life maybe...but i look back now and I am SO GRATEFUL for them. I was able to rely on prayer in way that I never had needed to before. My testimony of prayer is stronger than it ever has been before. God Lives. He hears our prayers. I read in the Bible dictionary the other day under the word 'prayer' and it has changed the way I look at prayer. I encourage you all to look it up and study and ponder that explanation that is given there. It has so many amazing things! I am grateful for all the trails, the Lord knows what he is doing. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have been doing this for a looooong time. I am positive now that they know exactly what they are doing. I don't even think twice anymore. I just go and do...even when it doesn't make sense. I know that his ways are higher than my ways and I don't need to lean unto my own understanding. He knows all. He loves us all so much.
Don't ever doubt, only believe. And when you do doubt, pray. I love you all so very much!!! I am so grateful for your love and prayers. They keep me going. Talk to you next week. Love, Sharp Shimai
p.s. I forgot to answer this in the last email. On Junkais (exchanges) if I am going to another area my companion always comes with, and then we split in their area. Last transfer was different, we met them half way and then split. That's why I wasn't in my area for earthquake haha. Don't worry, I'm never traveling alone!
Konnichiwa from Okinawa :)
Sister Capener was in my same MTC district and we were way good friends :) Love her to death! We have already had a ton of fun together. Sister Kwak is doing great, she transferred to Okinawa to a place called Urasoe. I sat next to her on the plane coming here :) yes, we took a plane. I took a bus to Fukuoka and then a subway to the airport and then flew here with 7 other missionaries. It was about a 90 minute flight. I have heard that Okinawa is over 1000 miles away from the main island. Crazy! Sister Kwak was also a Sister training leader in Yamaguchi Zone which was my first zone. Sister Olsen (she was also in our MTC district and was Sister Capeners companion) also transferred down here with us and she is serving in Okinawa, Okinawa. She gets to work with two huge military branches! Im so jealous! I want to serve in a military branch so bad!! The good news is Sister Capener and I get to go on exchanges all over the island with all our Sister missionaries that we are over, so I will get the chance to see alot of places besides mine. The feel of Naha is way different then where I have been. The people are waaaay nice. Everyone we stop and talk to on the street listens. Even if they don't have interest they kindly listen. The people here are TINY, TINY. I thought normal Japanese people were SMALL...but these people are like 4 feet tall. Okinawans kind of have their own little culture, they are still very much Buddhist, and they sort of have their own language. Its still Japanese but there are some words that are COMPLETELY different... for example, chuuganabira means Konnichwa which means hello. HA?! So weird...I haven't really heard anyone speaking in this dialect, but if you ask if they speak it , they will. It will be fun to learn some of their new lingo..I guess. Haha. I am living with two other Sisters. Sister Burgon (who i lived with in Ube my first transfer) and her companion Sister Lewis. They are both way fun and hard workers! I feel like I'm back in the MTC with how many of us are here. Only 3 people from my MTC district aren't in Okinawa right now! Crazy!!
We already have found two way good potential investigators since I got here. One speaks WAY good English, so I'm excited to see where that goes! We are hopefully meeting with her this Saturday. As of right now, we don't have any progressing investigators but that's going to change real quick!
I'm serving in a ward here and its HUGE compared to what Ive been use to in previous areas on my mission. There is probably about 80-100 people in the ward. Learning their names is sort of a nightmare but I will eventually get it. The names are WAY, WAY different here. Takamiyagi is the name of the bishop. I'm used to names like Kojima, Ikeda, Fujimoto, Tanaka. To you they probably all sound way foreign but names here are super weird to me, I have never heard them in my life!! But yeah, love it here!!! The weather is way nice. I got pretty sunburned my first day, so I'm going to be lathering on the sunscreen from now on. The sun is SUPER strong here.
Saying goodbye to Marina Chan in Shimizu was way sad...I love that girl so much. I really hope that she accepts a baptism date before she moves to America. Seguchi San is super cute too, I'm going to miss the both of them :( I loved Shimizu it really was a great area, so many miracles are happening there, it was sad to leave, but I'm way excited to be here!
Conference is coming up!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! I can't wait. In these last two transfers I think I experienced some of the hardest moments I've ever had on my mission and even in my life maybe...but i look back now and I am SO GRATEFUL for them. I was able to rely on prayer in way that I never had needed to before. My testimony of prayer is stronger than it ever has been before. God Lives. He hears our prayers. I read in the Bible dictionary the other day under the word 'prayer' and it has changed the way I look at prayer. I encourage you all to look it up and study and ponder that explanation that is given there. It has so many amazing things! I am grateful for all the trails, the Lord knows what he is doing. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have been doing this for a looooong time. I am positive now that they know exactly what they are doing. I don't even think twice anymore. I just go and do...even when it doesn't make sense. I know that his ways are higher than my ways and I don't need to lean unto my own understanding. He knows all. He loves us all so much.
Don't ever doubt, only believe. And when you do doubt, pray. I love you all so very much!!! I am so grateful for your love and prayers. They keep me going. Talk to you next week. Love, Sharp Shimai
p.s. I forgot to answer this in the last email. On Junkais (exchanges) if I am going to another area my companion always comes with, and then we split in their area. Last transfer was different, we met them half way and then split. That's why I wasn't in my area for earthquake haha. Don't worry, I'm never traveling alone!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
I just got the phone call, I'm going to…..
Konnichwa!
Well another week gone, it went wayy fast! I CAN'T believe its almost general conference weekend in AMERICA!!!! It stinks that we have to wait to watch it here because of translation into Japanese. I get to watch it in English but the wards here don't broadcast it until its been translated for them too. I hope you are all just as excited out of your minds as I am to watch it!!! I have been listening to the last conference every single day for the past month probably! I LOVE CONFERENCE!
Yes, transfer calls are TODAY- I have talked to the AP's a TON this transfer about random stuff/problems that have been going on in our zone, and last week on one of our phone calls they were asking about a few things regarding this weeks transfer calls and I said something along the lines of "feel free to send me to Okinawa!!" and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get my wish, haha. They called this morning to ask a question about some of the sisters that we are over, and Iwasa Choro (AP) was talking to Heaton Shimai on speaker and he said "tell Sharp Shimai that all her dreams are going to come true today!" For some reason they like to torture all of us with not telling us what our transfer call is until its our turn to know. They spend hours calling each individual missionary, so it takes forever sometimes. But yeah! We still haven't gotten the call, but I'm pretty sure that is where I'm transferring too! I have heard ALL about Okinawa my whole entire mission from lots of different people and word on the street is, that its paradise. Ha, I hear the people are way different there than they are on the main islands so yeah it will be interesting to see if I end up going there or somewhere else. Sister Heaton and I will for sure no longer be companions though, I do know that much… :\ I don't think I will be a Sister Trainer Leader down there, but who knows? I guess you will have to wait and see next week :)
I feel SO blessed to be on a mission at this time, its sooo true that we are hastening the lords work. Its a miracle.
SPEAKING OF MIRACLESSSSSSSSS
Kojima Shimai is just way busy so I don't think she has ever had time in the past to give tons of referrals. She has four kids and they are all under the age of ten I think. But things are going to start exploding there.
Marina Chan
I LOVE THIS GIRL SO MUCH!!!!! We had a lesson with her yesterday and taught her a little more in depth the role of the Holy Ghost. She told us that the main reason she isn't committing to be baptized is because she is way worried that she is going to be made fun of for being Christian and that she won't be able to keep all the commandments. Which is obviously a huge road block, but we are making HUGE break through with her about keeping the sabbath day holy and I bore one of the most sincere testimonies I ever have. I was able to share my own conversion with her and what a huge, huge role church has played in my life and the spirit really just took over the lesson. She reminds me a TON of how Hayley was when she was taking the missionary lessons. So I brought a few pics of Hayley and told her, her conversion as well and it was just a way powerful moment. The story got even cooler when I told her that she is currently serving a mission in Europe! Gosh, I love Marina soooo much! I know that I came to Shimizi specifically for her. We are asking her to be baptized tomorrow. She is leaving for New York in one month and I am probably transferring so I won't get to see her baptized if that s what she chooses to do, but I know that I created an eternal friendship here with her. Love her to death! Tomorrow will be the last time I see her if I transfer and I'll probably cry me eyes out, but I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to teach her. She met missionaries over a year ago and I know that we have planted a deeper seed in her than any other. We love her so much!!
Seguchi San
Well…WE FINALLY SET A BAPTISM DATE with her!! Every single lesson she said that she really wanted to receive baptism, but she would NEVER commit to a date. So I decided that we just needed to bring a calendar and set a date no matter what!! She chose 7/2/2014 haha….so not anytime in the near future but HEY its a date and that's all I care about!!!
OKAY- I JUST GOT THE PHONE CALL……………………………………………………………IM GOING TO OKINAWA!!! Naha East is the area!! And guess who my companion is….CAPENER SHIMAI from the MTC!! And GUESS WHO ELSE is going back to Okinawa?!! KWAK SHIMAI!!!!!!! :) :) I am going to be STL with Capener Shimai so I'm WAY excited!!! YYAAAY! Im so excited!! I will also be living with Burgon Shimai who I lived with my first transfer-WOOOO!
I am running out of time shoot, but I love you all so much!!!! I will be leaving for Okinawa on Thursday. SOOOO EXCITED! I need to go pack!!! I love you all!!!!!
Sharp Shimai
Well another week gone, it went wayy fast! I CAN'T believe its almost general conference weekend in AMERICA!!!! It stinks that we have to wait to watch it here because of translation into Japanese. I get to watch it in English but the wards here don't broadcast it until its been translated for them too. I hope you are all just as excited out of your minds as I am to watch it!!! I have been listening to the last conference every single day for the past month probably! I LOVE CONFERENCE!
Yes, transfer calls are TODAY- I have talked to the AP's a TON this transfer about random stuff/problems that have been going on in our zone, and last week on one of our phone calls they were asking about a few things regarding this weeks transfer calls and I said something along the lines of "feel free to send me to Okinawa!!" and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get my wish, haha. They called this morning to ask a question about some of the sisters that we are over, and Iwasa Choro (AP) was talking to Heaton Shimai on speaker and he said "tell Sharp Shimai that all her dreams are going to come true today!" For some reason they like to torture all of us with not telling us what our transfer call is until its our turn to know. They spend hours calling each individual missionary, so it takes forever sometimes. But yeah! We still haven't gotten the call, but I'm pretty sure that is where I'm transferring too! I have heard ALL about Okinawa my whole entire mission from lots of different people and word on the street is, that its paradise. Ha, I hear the people are way different there than they are on the main islands so yeah it will be interesting to see if I end up going there or somewhere else. Sister Heaton and I will for sure no longer be companions though, I do know that much… :\ I don't think I will be a Sister Trainer Leader down there, but who knows? I guess you will have to wait and see next week :)
I feel SO blessed to be on a mission at this time, its sooo true that we are hastening the lords work. Its a miracle.
SPEAKING OF MIRACLESSSSSSSSS
Kojima Shimai is just way busy so I don't think she has ever had time in the past to give tons of referrals. She has four kids and they are all under the age of ten I think. But things are going to start exploding there.
Marina Chan
I LOVE THIS GIRL SO MUCH!!!!! We had a lesson with her yesterday and taught her a little more in depth the role of the Holy Ghost. She told us that the main reason she isn't committing to be baptized is because she is way worried that she is going to be made fun of for being Christian and that she won't be able to keep all the commandments. Which is obviously a huge road block, but we are making HUGE break through with her about keeping the sabbath day holy and I bore one of the most sincere testimonies I ever have. I was able to share my own conversion with her and what a huge, huge role church has played in my life and the spirit really just took over the lesson. She reminds me a TON of how Hayley was when she was taking the missionary lessons. So I brought a few pics of Hayley and told her, her conversion as well and it was just a way powerful moment. The story got even cooler when I told her that she is currently serving a mission in Europe! Gosh, I love Marina soooo much! I know that I came to Shimizi specifically for her. We are asking her to be baptized tomorrow. She is leaving for New York in one month and I am probably transferring so I won't get to see her baptized if that s what she chooses to do, but I know that I created an eternal friendship here with her. Love her to death! Tomorrow will be the last time I see her if I transfer and I'll probably cry me eyes out, but I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to teach her. She met missionaries over a year ago and I know that we have planted a deeper seed in her than any other. We love her so much!!
Seguchi San
Well…WE FINALLY SET A BAPTISM DATE with her!! Every single lesson she said that she really wanted to receive baptism, but she would NEVER commit to a date. So I decided that we just needed to bring a calendar and set a date no matter what!! She chose 7/2/2014 haha….so not anytime in the near future but HEY its a date and that's all I care about!!!
OKAY- I JUST GOT THE PHONE CALL……………………………………………………………IM GOING TO OKINAWA!!! Naha East is the area!! And guess who my companion is….CAPENER SHIMAI from the MTC!! And GUESS WHO ELSE is going back to Okinawa?!! KWAK SHIMAI!!!!!!! :) :) I am going to be STL with Capener Shimai so I'm WAY excited!!! YYAAAY! Im so excited!! I will also be living with Burgon Shimai who I lived with my first transfer-WOOOO!
I am running out of time shoot, but I love you all so much!!!! I will be leaving for Okinawa on Thursday. SOOOO EXCITED! I need to go pack!!! I love you all!!!!!
Sharp Shimai
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Little by little…
Monday 17th, 2014
Konnichiwa,
Well the sad news is that Fujisawa San cancelled our appointment last second and we haven't made contact with her since. She said that she was at the doctors, but I'm not so sure that was the truth. That's what everyone in Japan says when they don't want to keep a commitment. Plus people go to the hospital here for no reason. I think its out of boredom…ha. But anyways she said she would call us when she could meet again, we'll keep her in our prayers.
The GOOD news is:
We found two new investigators last week. One of which we met with today who doesn't have a TON of interest in the gospel yet, but we met her on the street last week and said she really wanted to become friends with us :). She is in her 30's, married with no kids and super nice! We went to a park with her today and ate cake and strawberry mochi (Japanese dessert) it was way good. Heaton and I took pictures of our families so she could see that we were normal people, and bore testimony through the way we live our lives and what we are doing as missionaries right now. We were able to talk about God a little bit which was good, we are going to call her this week and invite her to eikaiwa, she has interest in that, so I think as we continue to build a relationship she will want to know more about the gospel.
Fukushima San!
We found her housing yesterday! She is SOO nice!! She was the last door that we knocked. of course :) before we rang the doorbell Heaton Shimai said "this is the one!" and before she even said that, I was feeling the spirit on her doorstep. I looked at the house and the one next door and I said "yep, if its not this one, its going to be the next one." Fukushima San is in her 40's with two kids! She lives in a beautiful home, and accepted a Book of Mormon. We know that she is prepared because neither of us could get a lick or understandable Japanese out when she came to the door and somehow she still said we could come back. We are going to her house tomorrow to follow up on the Book of Mormon and explain more of our purpose with her. I'm excited to see where it goes. she has a family so I am WAY HAPPY! Something that has been really interesting lately is that everyone that has allowed us to come back to their house has said that they have already seen us on the street before. Fukushima San said she saw us in her car on our bikes just a few minutes before we got to her house.
The woman we met with today said that she sees us all the time on the street. Another woman that we met last week that is a potential investigator said that same thing. SO many people are being prepared :) Little side note that I needed to add!
Hiroko Chan-
We met her about three weeks ago on the street, she had already met missionaries (not surprised) and received a pamphlet. she is 18 and busy, but she is meeting with us tomorrow for the first time :) super excited!
Kojima Shimai- (the bishops wife) is going crazy and is introducing us to all her friends. One of her friends and her three kids came to eikaiwa last week and we taught all her kids in our kodomo (children's) eikaiwa class. THEY ARE ADORABLE. We will probably have the opportunity to teach them the gospel with a little more time. We have four other families that we need to go contact that are all referrals from her. ITS A MIRACLE!
Kumamoto was way fun! I was on splits with a Sister named Andaca Shimai, she is from the Philippines, and a WAY good missionary. I was able to learn sooo much from her, it rocked!! We found a new investigator for their area so I was way pumped about that! I got there Thursday night slept over, and then came back Friday night. I biked there, its only 30 minutes away from my area. Little side note, experienced my first earthquake HA it was SOOO crazy, first one I've ever been in. Came in the middle of the night when I was in Kumamoto and I hope it was my last- It wasn't way big, but definitely wasn't fun! All the Japanese people are so use to them, they just sleep right through them. Crazy!!!
Ummm what else…transfers are coming up! Not this week but next Tuesday is transfer calls…so crazy. I feel like I might be transferring but maybe not, I have no idea. Our mission is about to hit maximum capacity so they will probably give some other Shimai a chance to be in various leadership positions so I'm not really sure if I will stay a Sister trainer leader or not, but ill keep y'all updated.
Life is good, I pray that the mission will slow down so I can actually take in all the new things that I'm learning. Not a day goes by where I don't feel like I'm learning something new. I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life, I want the Japanese people SO baby to accept our message. Little by little hearts are opening here, I pray that the Lord keeps guiding us to the prepared hearts.
Thank you for all the love and support!! Stay positive, stay obedient, and remember to pray.
Love, Sharp Shimai
Konnichiwa,
Well the sad news is that Fujisawa San cancelled our appointment last second and we haven't made contact with her since. She said that she was at the doctors, but I'm not so sure that was the truth. That's what everyone in Japan says when they don't want to keep a commitment. Plus people go to the hospital here for no reason. I think its out of boredom…ha. But anyways she said she would call us when she could meet again, we'll keep her in our prayers.
The GOOD news is:
We found two new investigators last week. One of which we met with today who doesn't have a TON of interest in the gospel yet, but we met her on the street last week and said she really wanted to become friends with us :). She is in her 30's, married with no kids and super nice! We went to a park with her today and ate cake and strawberry mochi (Japanese dessert) it was way good. Heaton and I took pictures of our families so she could see that we were normal people, and bore testimony through the way we live our lives and what we are doing as missionaries right now. We were able to talk about God a little bit which was good, we are going to call her this week and invite her to eikaiwa, she has interest in that, so I think as we continue to build a relationship she will want to know more about the gospel.
Fukushima San!
We found her housing yesterday! She is SOO nice!! She was the last door that we knocked. of course :) before we rang the doorbell Heaton Shimai said "this is the one!" and before she even said that, I was feeling the spirit on her doorstep. I looked at the house and the one next door and I said "yep, if its not this one, its going to be the next one." Fukushima San is in her 40's with two kids! She lives in a beautiful home, and accepted a Book of Mormon. We know that she is prepared because neither of us could get a lick or understandable Japanese out when she came to the door and somehow she still said we could come back. We are going to her house tomorrow to follow up on the Book of Mormon and explain more of our purpose with her. I'm excited to see where it goes. she has a family so I am WAY HAPPY! Something that has been really interesting lately is that everyone that has allowed us to come back to their house has said that they have already seen us on the street before. Fukushima San said she saw us in her car on our bikes just a few minutes before we got to her house.
The woman we met with today said that she sees us all the time on the street. Another woman that we met last week that is a potential investigator said that same thing. SO many people are being prepared :) Little side note that I needed to add!
Hiroko Chan-
We met her about three weeks ago on the street, she had already met missionaries (not surprised) and received a pamphlet. she is 18 and busy, but she is meeting with us tomorrow for the first time :) super excited!
Kojima Shimai- (the bishops wife) is going crazy and is introducing us to all her friends. One of her friends and her three kids came to eikaiwa last week and we taught all her kids in our kodomo (children's) eikaiwa class. THEY ARE ADORABLE. We will probably have the opportunity to teach them the gospel with a little more time. We have four other families that we need to go contact that are all referrals from her. ITS A MIRACLE!
Kumamoto was way fun! I was on splits with a Sister named Andaca Shimai, she is from the Philippines, and a WAY good missionary. I was able to learn sooo much from her, it rocked!! We found a new investigator for their area so I was way pumped about that! I got there Thursday night slept over, and then came back Friday night. I biked there, its only 30 minutes away from my area. Little side note, experienced my first earthquake HA it was SOOO crazy, first one I've ever been in. Came in the middle of the night when I was in Kumamoto and I hope it was my last- It wasn't way big, but definitely wasn't fun! All the Japanese people are so use to them, they just sleep right through them. Crazy!!!
Ummm what else…transfers are coming up! Not this week but next Tuesday is transfer calls…so crazy. I feel like I might be transferring but maybe not, I have no idea. Our mission is about to hit maximum capacity so they will probably give some other Shimai a chance to be in various leadership positions so I'm not really sure if I will stay a Sister trainer leader or not, but ill keep y'all updated.
Life is good, I pray that the mission will slow down so I can actually take in all the new things that I'm learning. Not a day goes by where I don't feel like I'm learning something new. I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life, I want the Japanese people SO baby to accept our message. Little by little hearts are opening here, I pray that the Lord keeps guiding us to the prepared hearts.
Thank you for all the love and support!! Stay positive, stay obedient, and remember to pray.
Love, Sharp Shimai
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
The Church is True!
Konnichiwa!!
Okay, well where to even start?! I don't have much time, I will try to remember everything if I can-
MIRACLES!!!!!
1. Today we had a lesson with Marina at the church and it was SOOOO dang good! She is progressing so much, I am soooo happy! We gave her a commitment to read Alma 32 and Moroni 7 before we met again. Our original plan for today was to have a lesson on Faith, but we started by reviewing the proper nature of God and Jesus Christ and our relationship to both of them, and it was like a HUGE light bulb went off!! :) So we kept going on that track and talked more about prayer and did a way fun object lesson! The spirit was super strong, and she was asking some of the best questions!! GOSH it was so good!!! She is progressing :) its a MIRACLE!! We are meeting her again this Friday but I unfortunately will be on exchanges with another Sister in Kumamoto so I won't get to see her until next monday but I am way pumped about her progression, she is going to get baptized I can feel it.
2. Seguchi San- We met with her last week and showed her a movie clip on baptism and eternal families and it was SOOOO good! The spirit was SO strong!! She keeps saying that she needs more time to prepare for baptism but really she is just terrified to commit, so we are still working on how we can commit her, but we know that she will soon!! We are meeting with her this wednesday and I am super excited. We got way closer with her in our last lesson and I talked to her a lot on Sunday so I feel like she is trusting us more. We took a pic with her but I can't send it because this computer is dumb, but I will find a way to send you pics of these people! Love her too!!
3. Evangeline- She is the Filipino that I talked about a while ago (she is having an affair with her boss and has a 10 yr old daughter) she is WAY prepared to accept the gospel. We met with her yesterday and taught her the plan of salvation and it went SOO well. She learned so much, and really felt the spirit. The only problem is Satan REALLY has her deceived right now, and ending her affair is not going to be easy and repentance is not a fun process so she is having a hard time deciding what she wants to do, but I know that the Lord brought us into her life NOW so she can learn how to overcome this situation that she is in. We are meeting with her again on Tuesday. Gosh…I am praying way hard for her, and her poor daughter. Nevertheless I know Heavenly Father loves them SO much! I could go on and on about the love of God….
4. Fujisawa San- NEW investigator :) We were supposed to meet with her Today but she had family coming in and she wasn't sure when they would be getting in so she had to reschedule for Wednesday. I have a WAY funny story about her, but don't have time to tell it…I will try to remember to make time next week so I can share it. Its a funny and way embarrassing story, I'm sure you will enjoy it. ha…to be continued.
5. Kojima Shimai- This is the bishops wife! And she is on FIRE right now! She took Sister Heaton and I to one of the FIVE referrals that she gave us and a new less active last week and it was super good! She is sooo excited about missionary work right now! We are meeting with her and one of her friends on Friday (but I will be in Kumamoto) but I'm super excited! She is a huge miracle for us right now I am soo grateful for her!!!
This last week was way good I love you all I have two minutes left, I have to go but this work is so true, things are really starting to pick up, it is such a huge blessing.
The greatest miracle of all is that Ube had a baptism last week :)
Yoshioka San got baptized. Yep. Its a miracle. The church is true!
Love, Sharp Shimai
Okay, well where to even start?! I don't have much time, I will try to remember everything if I can-
MIRACLES!!!!!
1. Today we had a lesson with Marina at the church and it was SOOOO dang good! She is progressing so much, I am soooo happy! We gave her a commitment to read Alma 32 and Moroni 7 before we met again. Our original plan for today was to have a lesson on Faith, but we started by reviewing the proper nature of God and Jesus Christ and our relationship to both of them, and it was like a HUGE light bulb went off!! :) So we kept going on that track and talked more about prayer and did a way fun object lesson! The spirit was super strong, and she was asking some of the best questions!! GOSH it was so good!!! She is progressing :) its a MIRACLE!! We are meeting her again this Friday but I unfortunately will be on exchanges with another Sister in Kumamoto so I won't get to see her until next monday but I am way pumped about her progression, she is going to get baptized I can feel it.
2. Seguchi San- We met with her last week and showed her a movie clip on baptism and eternal families and it was SOOOO good! The spirit was SO strong!! She keeps saying that she needs more time to prepare for baptism but really she is just terrified to commit, so we are still working on how we can commit her, but we know that she will soon!! We are meeting with her this wednesday and I am super excited. We got way closer with her in our last lesson and I talked to her a lot on Sunday so I feel like she is trusting us more. We took a pic with her but I can't send it because this computer is dumb, but I will find a way to send you pics of these people! Love her too!!
3. Evangeline- She is the Filipino that I talked about a while ago (she is having an affair with her boss and has a 10 yr old daughter) she is WAY prepared to accept the gospel. We met with her yesterday and taught her the plan of salvation and it went SOO well. She learned so much, and really felt the spirit. The only problem is Satan REALLY has her deceived right now, and ending her affair is not going to be easy and repentance is not a fun process so she is having a hard time deciding what she wants to do, but I know that the Lord brought us into her life NOW so she can learn how to overcome this situation that she is in. We are meeting with her again on Tuesday. Gosh…I am praying way hard for her, and her poor daughter. Nevertheless I know Heavenly Father loves them SO much! I could go on and on about the love of God….
4. Fujisawa San- NEW investigator :) We were supposed to meet with her Today but she had family coming in and she wasn't sure when they would be getting in so she had to reschedule for Wednesday. I have a WAY funny story about her, but don't have time to tell it…I will try to remember to make time next week so I can share it. Its a funny and way embarrassing story, I'm sure you will enjoy it. ha…to be continued.
5. Kojima Shimai- This is the bishops wife! And she is on FIRE right now! She took Sister Heaton and I to one of the FIVE referrals that she gave us and a new less active last week and it was super good! She is sooo excited about missionary work right now! We are meeting with her and one of her friends on Friday (but I will be in Kumamoto) but I'm super excited! She is a huge miracle for us right now I am soo grateful for her!!!
This last week was way good I love you all I have two minutes left, I have to go but this work is so true, things are really starting to pick up, it is such a huge blessing.
The greatest miracle of all is that Ube had a baptism last week :)
Yoshioka San got baptized. Yep. Its a miracle. The church is true!
Love, Sharp Shimai
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Hold up your light!
Monday 3, 2014
Konnichiwa!
MIRACLES!
Fast Sunday of COURSE always, always brings the miracles!!! First, last week we met with our investigator Marina and she came to sacrament meeting YAY! (she has been meeting with missionaries for over a year now. She basically knows everyone in the ward but isn't getting baptized..) I can't remember how much detail I have given on her, but she 18 and is going to America in May to go to school in New York. Sister Heaton and I KNOW that now is her time to receive the gospel. She needs it sooo bad before she goes to America. We are teaching her today with the young woman's president who is AMAZING. The yw president speaks fluent English she is a huge blessing, except she is moving to Tokyo next week!! :( :( Her and Marina are really close so I pray that today's lesson we can see some major progression. We are inviting her to be baptized for April 5th. I really think she will accept! She knows that the church is true…something is holding her back, and we aren't sure what exactly it is, she's super cute though! Love her :)
Seguchi San-
We taught her last week with a member who is also way awesome. We taught the restoration with a really good visual aid and she LOVED it. She understood everything and knows the church is 100 percent true. She comes to church every single Sunday but is refusing baptism right now…really weird…we ask her how much she is progressing each lesson and we finally made a break through with her in the last lesson…slowly but surely she is progressing to getting baptized. I think she might have a really deep fear either of water or men…I'm not quite sure. The yw president told us that she thinks she was abused as a child so there are a few things that aren't quite right with her, but she really wants to get baptized but for some reason the ACT of baptism itself is not something she wants to do…little by little we'll get it figured out I think. She's way cute though, I need to get a picture with these people so you can see who they are :)
NEW investigator- Kowazaki San! We found her last night. She has two kids, age 3 and 4 and she is super nice! I really don't know if she even remembers anything we said to her on the door step?? Her daughter was jumping all over her but when we asked to come back she said 'sure!' so we made an appointment for this Tuesday at 3, hallelujah we found a family!!! :)
Right before we housed into her, we stopped two high school girls on the street and gave them both book of Mormons and invited them to our English class (which is getting HUGE by the way. Its getting so big we are now teaching a beginner, advanced AND just started a children's class this last Saturday! I LOVE JAPANESE KIDS!!!!!!!) Anyways, they weren't way interested in the gospel but there was something about them that I kept being drawn too…we talked to them for maybe 5 minutes, left, found Kowazaki San and then were getting ready to leave the area, I was saying a prayer before we got back on our bikes and those two young girls came back to us out of nowhere..my first thought was 'great..they probably are giving back the book of Mormon', but we realized they wanted something else…they were both saying a word in Japanese that both Sister Heaton and I had never heard before so we were like uhhh?? sorry! we don't really know what you are trying to say?! And then they said 'we never get to meet Americans' (in Japanese) and then grabbed my hand to shake it.
In Japanese Culture when first meeting a person you bow, its weird for them to shake hands, but because we were Americans they really wanted to shake our hands.
To Sister Heaton and I they kept saying 'You are so beautiful!!' So I took a picture with the both of them and then again told them to come to Eikaiwa (English class) I felt the love of God so strong for the both of them as we left to head home.
Heavenly Father is preparing the hearts of SO many people. We are his hands. I can't count how many times I have come to realize that its not really me they are talking about…I know its the Love of their Heavenly Father and Light of Christ that they are seeing and feeling when they speak to me, and that is the only thing they know to equate it with, Christ said:
Hold up your LIGHT that it may SHINE unto the WORLD. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up-
As we live worthy of the Holy Ghost we are filled with the light of Christ. Others see this light in our faces and they want what we have. I know this to be true because I have seen it time and time again on my mission. Truly, it is a beautiful thing that can visibly be seen! Let us hold up the light of Christ each day and bring our brothers and sisters home.
I thank Heavenly Father each day for all the trials, heartaches and disappointments that come each day. I know that its through the challenges that we face that we are able to more fully rely upon the Atonement of our Savior.
Hold up your light. Hold up the light of our Savior.
I love you all! Keep fighting against Satan in this very real battle that is going on all around us. Stay united as a family and don't let the little petty things in life become more important than a person to be loved.
I love you all,
Sharp Shimai
Konnichiwa!
MIRACLES!
Fast Sunday of COURSE always, always brings the miracles!!! First, last week we met with our investigator Marina and she came to sacrament meeting YAY! (she has been meeting with missionaries for over a year now. She basically knows everyone in the ward but isn't getting baptized..) I can't remember how much detail I have given on her, but she 18 and is going to America in May to go to school in New York. Sister Heaton and I KNOW that now is her time to receive the gospel. She needs it sooo bad before she goes to America. We are teaching her today with the young woman's president who is AMAZING. The yw president speaks fluent English she is a huge blessing, except she is moving to Tokyo next week!! :( :( Her and Marina are really close so I pray that today's lesson we can see some major progression. We are inviting her to be baptized for April 5th. I really think she will accept! She knows that the church is true…something is holding her back, and we aren't sure what exactly it is, she's super cute though! Love her :)
Seguchi San-
We taught her last week with a member who is also way awesome. We taught the restoration with a really good visual aid and she LOVED it. She understood everything and knows the church is 100 percent true. She comes to church every single Sunday but is refusing baptism right now…really weird…we ask her how much she is progressing each lesson and we finally made a break through with her in the last lesson…slowly but surely she is progressing to getting baptized. I think she might have a really deep fear either of water or men…I'm not quite sure. The yw president told us that she thinks she was abused as a child so there are a few things that aren't quite right with her, but she really wants to get baptized but for some reason the ACT of baptism itself is not something she wants to do…little by little we'll get it figured out I think. She's way cute though, I need to get a picture with these people so you can see who they are :)
NEW investigator- Kowazaki San! We found her last night. She has two kids, age 3 and 4 and she is super nice! I really don't know if she even remembers anything we said to her on the door step?? Her daughter was jumping all over her but when we asked to come back she said 'sure!' so we made an appointment for this Tuesday at 3, hallelujah we found a family!!! :)
Right before we housed into her, we stopped two high school girls on the street and gave them both book of Mormons and invited them to our English class (which is getting HUGE by the way. Its getting so big we are now teaching a beginner, advanced AND just started a children's class this last Saturday! I LOVE JAPANESE KIDS!!!!!!!) Anyways, they weren't way interested in the gospel but there was something about them that I kept being drawn too…we talked to them for maybe 5 minutes, left, found Kowazaki San and then were getting ready to leave the area, I was saying a prayer before we got back on our bikes and those two young girls came back to us out of nowhere..my first thought was 'great..they probably are giving back the book of Mormon', but we realized they wanted something else…they were both saying a word in Japanese that both Sister Heaton and I had never heard before so we were like uhhh?? sorry! we don't really know what you are trying to say?! And then they said 'we never get to meet Americans' (in Japanese) and then grabbed my hand to shake it.
In Japanese Culture when first meeting a person you bow, its weird for them to shake hands, but because we were Americans they really wanted to shake our hands.
To Sister Heaton and I they kept saying 'You are so beautiful!!' So I took a picture with the both of them and then again told them to come to Eikaiwa (English class) I felt the love of God so strong for the both of them as we left to head home.
Heavenly Father is preparing the hearts of SO many people. We are his hands. I can't count how many times I have come to realize that its not really me they are talking about…I know its the Love of their Heavenly Father and Light of Christ that they are seeing and feeling when they speak to me, and that is the only thing they know to equate it with, Christ said:
Hold up your LIGHT that it may SHINE unto the WORLD. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up-
As we live worthy of the Holy Ghost we are filled with the light of Christ. Others see this light in our faces and they want what we have. I know this to be true because I have seen it time and time again on my mission. Truly, it is a beautiful thing that can visibly be seen! Let us hold up the light of Christ each day and bring our brothers and sisters home.
I thank Heavenly Father each day for all the trials, heartaches and disappointments that come each day. I know that its through the challenges that we face that we are able to more fully rely upon the Atonement of our Savior.
Hold up your light. Hold up the light of our Savior.
I love you all! Keep fighting against Satan in this very real battle that is going on all around us. Stay united as a family and don't let the little petty things in life become more important than a person to be loved.
I love you all,
Sharp Shimai
Sunday, March 2, 2014
The Lord lives and Loves us
Monday 24th
Konnichiwa!
Well, this last week was packed full of miracles!
MIRACLES:
1. Sister Heaton and I gave our training on the Atonement last week with all the missionaries in our zone, (about 30 people or so?) and it was such a powerful spiritual experience. I was sooo grateful for the spirit that I felt there. With out fail every time I have an opprtunity to testify of the Atonement the spirit testifies to me so strongly that its true.
Sister Heaton talked about her youngest brother who is 14 and has down syndrome, and testified about the power of the Atonement in being able to overcome our weaknesses. I wish I could write all the word that she said. It was such a wonderful meeting!
2. We met with a woman last week named Iwamoto San (she was given to us when the other Shimai left) and she is SO PREPARED. Oh my gosh, we walked into her home and saw a picture of the last supper hanging up on her wall and I was SOOOO EXCITED!! Its only been the second time on my whole mission where I have seen someone with a picture of Christ on their wall. (except for members of course). But right away I knew she was a prepared person. She got her Book of Mormon out right away along with her Bible, when we sat down in her living room! (oh, she has a couch, its a miracle!) I was SOOO happy to see that she reads from the bible!! It was all sorts of marked up! She told us that she studies Christianity because it all about love, she loves Buddhism too. That is what she is claiming to be right now, but when we read the introduction of the Book of Mormon together I asked her if she had a desire to know if it was true. She said that she did have a little bit of a desire to know and we committed her to read the first two chapters and pray about the thing we had talked about. She accepted the invitation no problem! She was soooo kind to us. She fed us multiple times while we were at her house and she sent us home with two cans of homemade jam! She is diabetic so she pawned off all her sweets on us :) We love her and are so excited about how kind and prepared she is! We will let you know how her lesson goes this week. Please pray!
3. Marina San. She is 18 years old and has been meeting with missionaries for years. She went to EFY last year and had a waaay powerful experience but has yet to commit to living the gospel or getting baptized. She kind of lost interest but recently has shown SO much interest and wants to start meeting with missionaries again. We have taught her once and it was a way powerful meeting. She comes to our free English class and we have set up an appointment with her this week for 30 minutes. I am not sure what we are going to teach her yet, but we need to start talking about baptism again I think. She is going to America to go to school in a few months so I think the lord is preparing her before she goes! She is super cute and I feel like she is going to start progressing really quick after this week :) Its a miracle that she wants to meet with us!
4. Eri San. We met her last week on the street at night! She is SO cute! She is 18 and will be going to college soon also, she has lots of interest in English. But the thing that stood out to me the most is that she kept saying over and over 'I am SO HAPPY that we met!! I feel so happy!!' She said that at least three times. She said that she would come to church but she didn't come, but committed to come to the church Wednesday for a little lesson, she said she was going to bring a friend too, so we will see what happens!!
5. This one is crazy.... :)
Yesterday Heaton and I have been wanting to go housing in an area that is maybe 30 minutes away from our house. We didn't really have a specific place that we wanted to go, we just biked and stopped when we felt good about an area. As we started housing we weren't meeting people that were very nice. We housed into a man who knew what the church was and didn't want anything to do with us, but when we walked away from his house I said 'good, I know we are in the right area now...he knew exactly who we were.' ( I always take that as the sign that we are in the right place. If someone we run into knows exactly who we are, has met missionaries, has a book of Mormon already but rejects us I know we are close to finding a prepared person in that area). We housed for about 15 more minutes and came to the end of the neighborhood. We had maybe 5 houses left and saw a little old woman outside her house as we were walking by she was taking care of her garden. She gave us a smile and we complimented her garden. We approached her in her driveway and I asked her what her favorite flower was...she pointed to one close by and said 'I have told Smith Shimai all about my flowers.' Sister Heaton and I looked at each other and said 'What?? You know Smith Shiami??' And she said 'yeah! I went to church 2 weeks ago when they gave their talks, before they went back to America...' Turns out this woman is Yatsuhashi San and she is a less active member and her whole family is baptized. We have been wanting to visit this family for the last two weeks but haven't been able to get around to going. Neither did we know where they lived. The Lord directed us straight to their home. It was SUCH a huge miracle!!
From this experience, along with many, many others, I now that the lord lives and loves us and is more involved in this work than we have ANY idea. I know I sound way surprised that such a thing would happen...out of ALL the streets we turned up we turned up hers, but I'm not surprised at all. This is the Lords work. He is hastening it and its as simple as that. I just fortunately get to be apart of it. Please remember that the Lord knows us and is aware of each of us in a very personal way!
The work and church are true! I love you all!
Love Sharp Shimai
Konnichiwa!
Well, this last week was packed full of miracles!
MIRACLES:
1. Sister Heaton and I gave our training on the Atonement last week with all the missionaries in our zone, (about 30 people or so?) and it was such a powerful spiritual experience. I was sooo grateful for the spirit that I felt there. With out fail every time I have an opprtunity to testify of the Atonement the spirit testifies to me so strongly that its true.
Sister Heaton talked about her youngest brother who is 14 and has down syndrome, and testified about the power of the Atonement in being able to overcome our weaknesses. I wish I could write all the word that she said. It was such a wonderful meeting!
2. We met with a woman last week named Iwamoto San (she was given to us when the other Shimai left) and she is SO PREPARED. Oh my gosh, we walked into her home and saw a picture of the last supper hanging up on her wall and I was SOOOO EXCITED!! Its only been the second time on my whole mission where I have seen someone with a picture of Christ on their wall. (except for members of course). But right away I knew she was a prepared person. She got her Book of Mormon out right away along with her Bible, when we sat down in her living room! (oh, she has a couch, its a miracle!) I was SOOO happy to see that she reads from the bible!! It was all sorts of marked up! She told us that she studies Christianity because it all about love, she loves Buddhism too. That is what she is claiming to be right now, but when we read the introduction of the Book of Mormon together I asked her if she had a desire to know if it was true. She said that she did have a little bit of a desire to know and we committed her to read the first two chapters and pray about the thing we had talked about. She accepted the invitation no problem! She was soooo kind to us. She fed us multiple times while we were at her house and she sent us home with two cans of homemade jam! She is diabetic so she pawned off all her sweets on us :) We love her and are so excited about how kind and prepared she is! We will let you know how her lesson goes this week. Please pray!
3. Marina San. She is 18 years old and has been meeting with missionaries for years. She went to EFY last year and had a waaay powerful experience but has yet to commit to living the gospel or getting baptized. She kind of lost interest but recently has shown SO much interest and wants to start meeting with missionaries again. We have taught her once and it was a way powerful meeting. She comes to our free English class and we have set up an appointment with her this week for 30 minutes. I am not sure what we are going to teach her yet, but we need to start talking about baptism again I think. She is going to America to go to school in a few months so I think the lord is preparing her before she goes! She is super cute and I feel like she is going to start progressing really quick after this week :) Its a miracle that she wants to meet with us!
4. Eri San. We met her last week on the street at night! She is SO cute! She is 18 and will be going to college soon also, she has lots of interest in English. But the thing that stood out to me the most is that she kept saying over and over 'I am SO HAPPY that we met!! I feel so happy!!' She said that at least three times. She said that she would come to church but she didn't come, but committed to come to the church Wednesday for a little lesson, she said she was going to bring a friend too, so we will see what happens!!
5. This one is crazy.... :)
Yesterday Heaton and I have been wanting to go housing in an area that is maybe 30 minutes away from our house. We didn't really have a specific place that we wanted to go, we just biked and stopped when we felt good about an area. As we started housing we weren't meeting people that were very nice. We housed into a man who knew what the church was and didn't want anything to do with us, but when we walked away from his house I said 'good, I know we are in the right area now...he knew exactly who we were.' ( I always take that as the sign that we are in the right place. If someone we run into knows exactly who we are, has met missionaries, has a book of Mormon already but rejects us I know we are close to finding a prepared person in that area). We housed for about 15 more minutes and came to the end of the neighborhood. We had maybe 5 houses left and saw a little old woman outside her house as we were walking by she was taking care of her garden. She gave us a smile and we complimented her garden. We approached her in her driveway and I asked her what her favorite flower was...she pointed to one close by and said 'I have told Smith Shimai all about my flowers.' Sister Heaton and I looked at each other and said 'What?? You know Smith Shiami??' And she said 'yeah! I went to church 2 weeks ago when they gave their talks, before they went back to America...' Turns out this woman is Yatsuhashi San and she is a less active member and her whole family is baptized. We have been wanting to visit this family for the last two weeks but haven't been able to get around to going. Neither did we know where they lived. The Lord directed us straight to their home. It was SUCH a huge miracle!!
From this experience, along with many, many others, I now that the lord lives and loves us and is more involved in this work than we have ANY idea. I know I sound way surprised that such a thing would happen...out of ALL the streets we turned up we turned up hers, but I'm not surprised at all. This is the Lords work. He is hastening it and its as simple as that. I just fortunately get to be apart of it. Please remember that the Lord knows us and is aware of each of us in a very personal way!
The work and church are true! I love you all!
Love Sharp Shimai
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