Last MTC Letter! 07/24/2014

Konnichiwa!

I can't believe I fly to Nihon on Monday! I am so beyond excited! It'll be so hard saying bye to the people in my district. We are all honestly best friends and have grown so close over these past two months. We're already planning a reunion at BYU when we get back haha.  So we leave Monday morning at 11:35am and fly straight to Tokyo! then we have a 3 hour layover in Tokyo and then fly 2 more hours down to Fukuoka. We get in to Fukuoka at like 11pm Tues night Nihon time- we are going to be so exhausted! I can't wait to get to Japan! I've waited so long for this!

Sunday's devotional was by T.C Christensen, a cinematographer for the church. He was like the main guy behind the movies 17 Miracles, Ephraim's rescue, Legacy, Testaments, and a ton others. It was really neat to hear the back-stories to parts of the movies, like the scenes in 17 Miracles with the wolves. they somehow found a wolf trainer to help them- like how cool is that? haha

On Sunday my district is singing "How Great Thou Art" in Sacrament Meeting, so that should be really cool, im excited. We're going to sing half in English half in Nihongo. I'm excited!!! We practice everyday after dinner. 

So we had our last lessons with all three of our PI's this week. It was so sad! In our last lesson with Narita, the Spirit was so strong and I felt such an overwhelming love for him. It was like we were teaching the real Narita. We talked about how excited we all are for his baptism and focused a lot on our Savior. We asked him to share with us an experience of when he received an answer to a prayer and that was so cool. Chapman Shimai shared an experience and it was so special. She talked about how she didn't have the gospel when she was little in Russia and how she wanted a mom so badly. She said she prayed and prayed and then four years later, she was adopted into an LDS family in America! She got the gospel and a mom! God really does answer our prayers! Our last lesson with Mai was so powerful as well, the Spirit was so strong. I felt like I should share John 15:13 with her and when she read it, she started crying and talked about how it is just what she needed. It's, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." I told her Jesus Christ is her friend as well as her Savior. He is always there for her, even when no one else is. We asked her how she felt knowing that Jesus Christ died for her and she said that she can't wait to get baptized and never stop living the gospel. She is amazing!

We had Skype TRC again, which was really cool. We taught an older lady living in Japan, in the Kobe mission area. We talked about the power of the Book of Mormon. She shared her really cool conversion story with us. We all bore our testimonies on the Book of Mormon. It was a neat experience to see that you can feel the Spirit even through Skype! 

Daniels Kyodai, the 1st counselor in our Branch Presidency had to leave yesterday on a trip so we already had to say goodbye to him. It was so hard because he is literally one of the coolest people I've met. His knowledge of the scriptures amazes me. So as a parting gift, he took our district on a "deep dive" as he calls it where we dive deep into the scriptures about a topic. We studied the Atonement and I learned so much! We talked about the symbols of the Atonement, like the tree of life, a hen gathering her chicks under her wings, and the shepherd. It was so cool to see how often they are used, and to see how the both the Bible and the Book of Mormon begin with the tree of life. Shows how important the Atonement is!

One thing I loved from our devotional on Tuesday was when the speaker said that we are always at least a trio on our missions. We have our physical companion as well as the Lord! He is ALWAYS with us. He is there to provide help and support, we just need to come unto Him. I learned so much this week and my testimony has really been strengthened. I love this church so much and I cannot wait to share it with the people in Japan. This is the Lord's work. The church is true, and this gospel can make us happier than anything else could. I love you all! Next email will be from　日本! 

愛しています！

クラインしまい

07/24/2014 Pics - Last Few Days in MTC!

Me & Caroline!

Me & Chapman Shimai with the Nally's, the MTC President - Love them to death!

 

Me with Nihonjin Shimai Tachi - We leave with them to NIHON!

Our District with The Daniels - 1st Counselor in our Branch Presidency

Me and Sister Daniels!

My District with the awesome guy in charge of TRC

Some girls in our Zone!

July 17, 2014 Letter!

Konnichiwa!

This week flew by so quickly! It was crazy busy. First of all, we had a couple really good lessons with Mai San. We taught her about modern day prophets and she asked a ton of questions about how she could learn more- it was great. We also had another lesson about Joseph Smith because we really want her to have a testimony of him when she gets baptized. I memorized the 1st vision last week in Japanese and I was able to use it in the lesson. Those words have so much power and bring the Spirit into lessons so quickly! I'm sure my pronunciation was way off but that doesn't matter- the investigator can still feel that it is true!

On P-days our zone plays kickball, district versus district. It is soo much fun. It's a good throwback to elementary school when we would always play at recess haha. You aren't allowed to keep score here at the MTC, so that's been really hard for me, since I'm so competitive!! haha I usually play first baseman. 

Our devotionals for the past week have been in the Marriot Center because our gym floor here is being resurfaced. It's nice walking over to the Marriot Center because we get some fresh air and get to see the outside world! Also, we walk right by where I used to work at BYU laundry! Sunday's devotional was about charity and the speaker said that charity is something you become, not something you have. I love that! I've been working on becoming more charitable, it is a necessity for missionary work!!!

In a lesson with Narita San, he asked why he can't see God like Joseph Smith did. He said he wanted a similar experience to the first vision. After a long pause of thinking how in the world to answer, a scripture mastery popped into my head! Ether 12:6. It talks about how faith is things which are hoped for and NOT SEEN, which are true. And how the witness comes AFTER the trial of your faith. We read this scripture together and explained it. He said that it answered his question and that he'll work on strengthening his faith. It was so awesome! I'm so grateful for seminary and scripture mastery! I know that the spirit helped me remember that reference- it was a mini miracle!

As sister training leaders, one of our jobs is to take care of the Japanese missionaries that come for two weeks. This week we got 4 sisters and 4 elders, and we leave with them back to Nihon in 2 weeks! They are super cute and are like our little ducklings. We gave them an orientation, and it all had to be in Japanese, cause they obviously don't speak English. Let's just say that we played a lot of charades. haha We played some games together, and that was super fun!

We had another Language Assessment yesterday on the computer. It was 15 questions long and was so scary! One of the questions was like, You are teaching the first lesson to a new investigator. Give a summary for 5 minutes. 5 minutes of straight Japanese! It was so hard but I managed haha. I definitely was able to see improvement since my last Language test, so that was nice.

This week our district decided to play a game, Tanaka San. It's where every night everyone drawers a piece of paper, and if you paper says "tanaka san" on it, you can't speak any english the next day! you get points if people think it is you, so everyone is motivated to only speak in Japanese! You also get points for guessing the right person. It is so hard, but so much fun! I only speak English to non-Japanese missionaries. It's awesome. I've learned so much and I feel a little more prepared to go to Nihon. We play every day and our last day will be the day before we leave the MTC. Our district is expert at playing charades haha. 

In personal study I read D&C 123: 12-17. I love those verses! Especially where it says we need to "waste and wear out our lives". This missionary work is so important, we should give everything we have to help it progress. It also says something like, "Cheerfully do all things that lie in your power first, AND THEN may you stand still." Thinking of these verses help me stay focused on what is important- the Lord's work! I need to give my all to this work and trying my hardest every single day. I cannot wait to leave for Japan in 11 days! I can't believe it is almost here. I'm nervous but beyond excited. It feels like I've been in the MTC forever haha. 

I know this church is true and that Jesus Christ lives! He suffered for all of us and through Him, we can have eternal life. What an amazing promise. I love you all and miss you!

Ai shite imasu!

Klein Shimai

July 17, 2014 Pics

Addy & Courtney!!

Sisters!

I do wall sits when I brush my teeth; everyone thinks I'm crazy.  

I got Smith Shimai to do it with me…haha.  May as well feel the burn when brushing your teeth!

Okazaki Choro's mom sent me a care package!

07/10/2014 Only 2 1/2 more weeks at MTC!

Konnichiwa!

Happy belated 4th of July! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We got to have a special devotional and then we got to watch 17 Miracles. It's such a great movie, it really humbles you and helps you quit complaining, haha! We also got to go outside and eat ice cream and watch the fireworks! It was so fun!

So our lessons with Mai this week went really well, the Spirit was definitely helping us throughout both of them. We really focused on her needs when we were planning and we got in there, asked some questions, and what we had planned answered all of her questions perfectly. It was such a neat experience. She also committed to baptism later this month! She says she wants to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon first, so she's praying tonight about it. 

On fast Sunday I bore my testimony in Nihongo. We always have a translator there for the branch presidencys' wives, because they dont speak japanese. so it was hilarious because i would say like three words in nihongo, and then the translator would already translate the rest of the sentence before i even finished. I would say like "Kono kyokai wa"(this church is) and then he would say. "I know that this church is true." before i even finished! I guess he just knew what i was going to say! haha

On Sunday the MTC president gave us some news from the 1st presidency regarding PMG and missionary work in general. they are really focusing on 4 new things. 1- missionaries must teach lesson 5 BEFORE baptism. it used to be after baptism, so thats kind of interesting. 2- Missionaries must teach all 5 lessons again after baptism. 3- Missionaries must work closely with converts for 3-4 months, and remain in contact for at least 1 year! 4- Missionaries need to work closely with ward council. Pres. Nally then went on to say how this will decrease the number of less actives. He talked about how baptism shouldn't be missionaries' only goal. Our goal is to get them back to Heavenly Father! We need to help get them to the temple, too! We need to find, teach, baptize, retain, and activate. 

Tuesday night's devotional was Elder Anderson! He spoke about the Holy Ghost. It was so good and exactly what I needed to hear. He talked about how the Holy Ghost is able to comfort you at times when it wouldn't even seem normal to feel calm. How amazing is it that we have the ability to always have a member of the Godhead with us?! We never have to be alone. 

We had TRC last night, but it was over Skype! So we got to Skype with a member that actually lives in Japan!!! It was so awesome! We just got to know her and then shared a message. She spoke so quickly but was so patient with us haha. 

I found a cool scripture in my personal study the other day that I've never really noticed before. It's 1 nephi 5 :19. It's talking about the plates of brass, but im just going to replace that with the Book of Mormon. "[The Book of Mormon] should never perish; neither could [the Book of Mormon] be dimmed any more by time." The power of the Book of Mormon is so strong, no one can ever "dim" it. It will live on forever! No one can ever prove that it is wrong. I know that the Book of Mormon is true!

Love you all! I love this work! I know that this is where I'm supposed to be, and this week I was reassured of that. This week I have definitely been comforted by the Holy Ghost. I know that the Lord is looking out for His missionaries. I know this church is true!

Ai shite imasu!

Klein Shimai

07/10/2014 Klein Shimai Pics

Me with nihonjin that left this week

matching companions!

Me w/Kaneko Shimai - the cutest nihonjin ever! 

4th of July!

07/03/2014 E-Mail from Klein Shimai!

This week flew by so quickly and so many good things happened! We got a third investigator, so that means we teach twice every day except pday and sunday. We are so busy all the time! So for this third investigator, we pair up companionships and one set is the missionaries the other set is an investigator and a ward member. If that made any sense haha. So whoever is the investigator role plays someone that they know. In my companionship, Chapman Shimai acts as her birth mom and I act as Chapman Shimai, the church member. It's a little confusing but it's so cool! When we teach its really cool because we get to involve the church member in the lessons. 

This week our teachers really stressed the importance of inviting our investigators to come to church. Apparently it's really overlooked in Japan because the missionaries just assume that the people are too busy with work. Going to church is necessary and the spirit our investigators can feel at church is so strong, especially through music. 

On Saturday we had to take an online language assessment- scary! there were 8 situations that we had to reply to and some of them were really hard. itd say like, "Kaneko San believes she doesnt need to baptized into this church because she was already baptized into her Christian church. How would you reply?" we had 1 minute for each and we had to reply through a microphone. it was hard, but i think i did okay. 

On Sunday Chapman Shimai and I were called to be our zone's Sister Training Leaders! It's like the girl version of zone leaders haha.It's already strengthened me and Chapman Shimai's relationship so much! We have really been trying to serve the sisters in our zone and not only tell them we love them, but show it! serving them definitely makes me happier each day. there are lots of meetings that we have to go to that cut out of study time so planning for all of our lessons is always a time crunch but it is so worth it. 

Our Sunday devotional was by Neill Marriott from the Young Women General Presidency. She has the funniest personality. It was cool to see her outside of like general conference- she had us laughing a ton. oh, before she spoke there was a musical number, "Savior Redeemer of my soul". i love that piece so much! i cry every time i hear it now. i just love it so much!!! anyway, sister marriott said that she felt really inadequate when she and her husband were called to be the president of a mission. she said that she was really concerned about doing what the Lord expected of her. I could definitely relate! But then she said that the Lord is never inadequate and that just hit me because it is soo true! He is perfect and if i turn to Him, He will help with anything I ever ask Him for. She also said that we as missionaries are just the "tapper on the shoulder" that remind those we teach of the message they already know and heard in the premortal life. i though that was really cool. 

So Narita San committed to be baptized at the end of this month! That was probably the highlight of this week for me. We had two lessons in a row where the Spirit was especially strong and all three of us teared up -even him! It was amazing to see him recognize the spirit and to feel God's love for him. (i know he is just my teacher role playing, but it's still awesome!) after the lesson, when Narita became my teacher again, he told Chapman shimai and i that he really did feel the spirit in the lesson. It made us so happy! We've come a long way with him and lately have been trying so hard to teach by the spirit. when planning, we first decide what we want him to feel/ do. then we decide what doctrine we will tech to help feel that way and we're more able to teach according to his needs. we shared Alma 32:27 and talked a lot about desire and faith. He has been really concerned because he thinks he needs perfect faith now in order to be baptized. we told him that you dont need perfect faith in order to be baptized, but that you show faith by getting baptized. we told him that if he works on the desire he has now by being baptized, his faith would grow tremendously. there were definitely several prayers of gratitude offered after that lesson! 

I love this gospel so much and I know that the Lord is looking out for me. I know this gospel is true without a doubt. I am reassured of that fact in every single lesson that we have. The Lord really is working through us. He loves all of us so much more than we could ever imagine! This is His true gospel and I'm so glad to be a party of His church. i love you all so much! Thanks for all that you do.

Ai shite imasu!

Klein Shimai