12/14/2015 - Heartfelt Testimony / so sad to leave Japan!

Hello!

So we had a great week in Iwakuni!!! We were go go go like always. We set a baptismal date with our investigator, Carl, for January 2nd. He wants to be baptized for a clean slate and to just move on from what has happened in his past. He has changed so much in the past week. 10 days ago he didn't even believe in God, and then in Saturday's lesson he prayed and said that he knew God existed in the prayer. Carl is so sweet and is an awesome investigator. The Lord must have been preparing him for quite a while! 

On Sunday our recent convert, Clayton, was ordained a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood- it was an amazing Sabbath Day! He is so awesome and surprises us sisters every single day with what he says- we can hardly believe he was baptized just like 2 weeks ago. 

A Hawaiian guy named Leroy came up to us on the street and said that he'd been looking for a church here in Iwakuni. He just moved here like 3 weeks ago and was an investigator in Hawaii. He said that he believes God put him in our path. After that, we saw him every single day in some random place for the next three days. He came to our branch's Christmas party and just loved it! We have a lesson with him tonight and are expecting to set a baptismal date with him, too.

My companions continue to be the sweetest things ever. I love them so much. We really are three peas in a pod. We have so much fun together and see so many miracles. Every day at the end pf planning we list the miracles that we saw that day and every single day our list is super long haha. Kaicho was so inspired when he put us three together. 

This week I ponderized Doctrine and Covenants 18:15-16.

"15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father,how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"

I love this scripture because it talks about the joy of missionary work. I am always so happy. Even when we are soaked head to toe from riding our bikes in the rain, or whatever it might be, I am happy. I absolutely love being a missionary with all my heart. I think one of the reasons missionaries are so happy in all circumstances is the fact that we are testifying of the simple truths of the gospel all day every day. Nothing brings more joy than the gospel and pure testimony. I know that this gospel really does bring pure happiness. 

I love Japan and the Japanese people. I have grown such a love for them and I'm grateful that the Lord has blessed me with the ability to love them so much. They are so sweet and are really Christlike in all that they do. They are so peaceful and modest in action. I love them so much!!

We are so blessed to tell people that there is a God, and that He loves them. I love telling girls on the street that they are daughters of God because they don't even know who He is. What a privilege it is to be able to tell someone that!

I love testifying of my Savior Jesus Christ every single day. I know that He lives. He loves us and cares about us. He understands us when nobody else does. One of my favorite scriptures is John 15:13. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." I can say that since coming on my mission, my Savior truly has become my best friend. I've been through a lot on my mission, they aren't easy. He has been there with me every step of the way, every single transfer. Its been amazing to see those around me start to build relationships with their Savior as well. He is what this is all about. I love Him!

I know this church is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I have seen it change so many peoples lives! Every time I recite the first vision, my testimony of Joseph Smith grows- what an amazing man he was. I know that our families can be together forever. My testimony of the Plan of Salvation has grown tremendously. I love this gospel with all my heart. 

I absolutely love being a missionary! It is the best thing in the world! I love you all so much! Never forget how this gospel has blessed your lives!

Love,

クライン姉妹

12/14/2015 - Last Pics from Japan!

12/06/2015 E-mail: Privileged to do His work

Hello! 

Well, it's only been two days since I e-mailed, because we got to go to the temple on Saturday!!! We got to do two sessions and I did both in Japanese; it was awesome! The Fukuoka temple is so gorgeous! It was like a 3 1/2 hour drive from Iwakuni.  As soon as we got to Fukuoka and I saw all the places I used to den do, I got so excited!  It was like coming home! I wanted to visit Kristine chan but we didnt have time... 

Yesterday we had an amazing Sacrament Meeting. Clayton got up and bore an awesome testimony! Who would've thought he was only baptized 8 days ago! His testimony is so strong! He called and talked to his dad this week about joining the Church and his dad rejected him big time for it. But Clayton just bore his testimony that he knew someday his dad would come around. He talked about how this week he has been reading and praying a ton and how it has helped him receive strength when he's on duty and at work. He is so awesome and wants to serve a mission when his contract is up. He will be an awesome missionary and we love him!

What a privilege it is to do the Lord's work. He loves and trusts us missionaries enough to literally do the work of God. How awesome is that? He uses us imperfect children because He loves us. I'm so thankful that He uses us as instruments in His hands. I love Him!

We are working our tails off here and are coming home tired every single day. I love dendo! My companions are the best and we get along so well- haha such a blessing to have them as my last companions. They are awesome! We are always laughing!

I know this church is true with all my heart! I love Japan and the Japanese people. 

Love you all and till next week!

Love,

クライン姉妹

12/06/2015 Pic

At the Fukuoka Temple with Welte Shimai & Jorgensen Shimai

12/04/2015 E-mail: 2 Baptisms - so blessed!

Hello everyone!

So last Saturday, Clayton was baptized and then he was confirmed the
following Sunday! It was such a special weekend! He was so ready and
was prepared by the Lord. The water was freezing, but he said he felt a
"burning in his soul" when he came up out of the water. It was such a
blessing and privilege to teach him. We only met him three weeks ago
and he just soaked in everything and took control of his own
conversion. We love Clayton!

We started teaching two more Marines this week, Carl and Cameron. They
are both friends of YSA members of the branch. Everyone here has so
much missionary fire, it's so awesome! They both said yes to baptism,
we are just working on helping them strength their testimonies right
now. The work is moving along like no other.

The Bishop of the Yanai Ward's daughter was baptized last Sunday. She is
the cutest little Japanese girl ever.

We are at the temple this weekend! We did one session last night and
are doing another this afternoon. I did the one yesterday fully in
Japanese and it was such a cool experience! I love the temple and the
peace and comfort that we can feel when we are there. I love Japan and
the Japanese people :) All the workers in the temple are so cute!

One of my favorite scriptures from this week was 2 Nephi 2:7:  "Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered."  Sometimes it truly takes us breaking our hearts before the Lord in
order for Him to heal them. I know that as we humbly come unto our
Savior, He will be there to lift us up. He will be there to heal us
from every pain, trouble, affliction. I know that He lives!

I will email again on Monday so only 2 short days! Love you all!
Love, クライン姉妹より🌸

12/04/2015 Pics

3 shimais - love those girls!

Clayton's Baptism!

Thanksgiving!

Our American Thanksgiving was so delicious!

The Yanai Ward Bishop's little girl was baptized - she's so darling

The huge YSA Group is growing every week.    : )

11/25/2015 E-mail: Kristine was baptized in Fukuoka!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

So I will dedicate this email to Clayton, because he is our huge
miracle this week. Three weeks ago tomorrow, my first full day in
Iwakuni, we had a volleyball activity on the military base with a
bunch of YSA Marine members and a bunch of them brought nonmember
friends. Clayton was one of the friends that was brought and we
scheduled an appt. to meet with him. We taught him lesson 1 and 2 and
it was great. He was born and raised in the Church of Christ and knows
the Bible super well! When we invited him in the first lesson to be
baptized, he said no because he had his faith and so on. Well we didn't
give up and kept meeting with him. We send him scriptures to read
every single night and he just took control of his own conversion.
When we taught lesson 3, we invited him again and he said yes. He
said he was already baptized once, but feels like he needs to be
baptized again. We were so excited and were practically shouting for
joy inside during the lesson. Lessons continued probably 2
times a week and he is being baptized in two days!! All we have around
here is the ocean and it is freezing outside, so that should be an
unforgettable experience for him. Clayton has SO much faith and has
been through SO much growing up. He basically raised his little sister
because both of his parents were too unstable and had other issues.
Clayton went from not even knowing what the Book of Mormon was to
saying "of course it's true" last week in a lesson. He also used to
chew a full can of chewing tobacco every two days, but completely quit
and says he doesn't even crave it anymore. He's not even baptized yet,
but brought tithing to church last week so he could pay it. He has so
much faith it's amazing! He is such a huge miracle and I know the Lord
has been preparing him for such a long time. I am so thankful for him
and that I got transferred to Iwakuni for my last transfer to see this
amazing miracle. I know that this is the Lord's work and that if you
are exactly obedient, show your faith, and consecrate everything, you
will see miracles.

I was so sad to leave Fukuoka last transfer, but I know now why I was
moved to Iwakuni. What a blessing!  I know this gospel is true. I know that Jesus Christ is my older brother and that He knows exactly what all of us go through. I know
that missions are hard, but so rewarding, in that they bring us closer to our Savior Jesus Christ.  I love my mission and am enjoying every second! Love you all and have
a great Thanksgiving!

クライン姉妹より🌸

2 Nephi 9:52- great scripture: "Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice."

11/25/2015 Pics

Kristine was baptized - so happy for her!

Bunnies!

5 sister missionaries with YSA Marines - Clayton's in the middle in the blue shirt

FHE & dinner with the Ueda family - He is the Bishop of the Yanai Ward

11/15/2015 E-mail: Best 21st Birthday in Nippon, teaching 16 lessons!

Hey! I don't have much time; so sorry!

Last week on Pday, we went onto base for a special ceremony for the
Marine's 240th Bday. Base is a 15 minute bike ride from our apartment
and every time we go on, a member just signs us on. We always need to
have an escort. It's just like mini America. Most of the members from
Iwakuni Branch live on base, because most of them are Marines.
We got to help the Bridges family decorate their house for Christmas, so
that was super fun.

We teach free Japanese class on base for people that are trying to
pick up Japanese. It's so funny teaching Americans Japanese and then
the next day teaching Japanese English!

So, Clayton is doing amazing. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and
the Spirit was so strong. He says that he believes all that we've
taught him. We are going to invite him again to be baptized tonight at
our lesson! We are so excited about him. He says he is so much happier
now, too.

Welte Shimai, Jorgensen Shimai and I all get along so well. We have so
much fun and are constantly laughing! It's super fun being in a
threesome and we can be like 100x more effective. Love it!!
We housed into a lady named Kazuko and she invited us in. We taught
the whole Restoration lesson right then, and she said she wants to read the
Book of Mormon. We are going back for another lesson tomorrow! It was
cool too because she was the only door that we knocked on in the whole
apartment.

I had the best birthday ever! I feel so old now being 21!! My
companions spoiled me and so did my family! The Lord blessed us with
awesome lessons and awesome dendo on my birthday!

We went to the Yanai Japanese Ward for church this Sunday. I think we
will switch off every other week. It's like a 30 minute car ride,
whereas the American Branch church a two minute walk from our
apartment.

The work is moving along and we are loving it. We were able to teach
16 lessons this week and find a bunch of new investigators! I love
Iwakuni!!

I know that my Redeemer lives! What comfort this sweet sentence gives.
I'm so grateful to be in Japan! I love this gospel!

Love,
Klein Shimai

11/15/2015 Pics

Best 21st Birthday!

Clayton is in the green - baptismal date set!

We helped the Bridges family decorate for Christmas

Miyajima

11/08/2015 - Hello, Iwakuni & Marine Base / Ooh Rah!

Hello!

So, leaving Fukuoka was of course, really hard! Saying bye to Kristine
chan was soooo hard. She will get an e-mail account on her birthday, so
after that, hopefully we'll be able to communicate about her baptism!
Leaving Carey Shimai was of course the worst. I love that girl so
much. I've never laughed so much in two transfers. She knows how to
work hard, be obedient, and work with the Spirit! I already miss her
so much!

So, a member drove us to the bus station in Fukuoka. From there, I took
a three hour bus ride to Yamaguchi and then took a Shinkansen and then a
train to minami Iwakuni! Honbu sent me to the wrong train station, but
I was able to borrow a cute old lady's phone and call Honbu, and they
figured everything out for me. Sister Welte picked me up and then our
third companion didn't get in until really late that night.

So Iwakuni is super country. There is nobody on the streets. Like ever.
We cover the Yanai Ward, which is Japanese members, and then we cover
the military Iwakuni branch, which is Americans. We go onto the base
all the time. It is so weird and is like a mini America. The members
all live on base and a bunch of our investigators that are all
marines. It's so weird teaching not only in English, but to guys that
are our same age. Our YSA activities are literally like FHE was
at BYU. It's so weird! But we have a good pool of investigators.
When I got here, I really felt like we need to be working more with the
Japanese ward in Yanai, so I think we'll be doing that more this
transfer.

We met this guy named Clayton on Friday, and he already came to church
yesterday; he has a ton of interest! He has a bunch of Mormon
Marine friends. I believe he can be baptized this transfer!
Church in English was the weirdest thing ever. The English hymn books
are so thick!

Jorgenson Shimai is from North Carolina and she is so sweet; she's like
an angel! She went to Vanderbilt and wants to be a lawyer. Welte
Shimai did three years at BYU and she's a model. Literally. She is
gorgeous and likes to work hard, which is a huge blessing. I know this
is where I'm supposed to be right now. Sorry if this doesn't make
sense; there is just so much to say!

The work is moving along! I know this Church is true and I can already
see it influencing Clayton for good! Please pray for him!

Love you all!

Klein Shimai

11/08/2015 Pics

Made it to Iwakuni!  2nd from left is Ayumi, an investigator whom we invited to be baptized in our lesson.  Jorgensen Shimai is next to me, and Welte Shimai is next to her - my new comps!

Goodbye to Fukuoka apartment

Final goodbye to Kristine chan; it was so hard to say goodbye to her!

Kristine and her sisters

Saying goodbye to some of my favorite members!    : (

Goodbye (for now) to my sweet comp

Disgusting, old, worn out shoes