Oct 19, 2015

I made it to Japan!!

After a super long flight we finally landed in Sapporo and got to meet my mission president and his wife. They are just the sweetest. Everyone here is so nice and helpful. It is a bit cold but I guess I'll get used to that. I was assigned to Asahikawa which is the coldest mission sisters get sent to and I'll probably be here all winter since I'm in training. But I've loved it so far! My Japanese isn't great but the people are kind about it and when I apologize, they apologize for not knowing English, which is kind of ridiculous but whatever haha. One thing that's funny is that people say I look Japanese except for my eyes. Back home people say my eyes make me look Japanese. I'm a little confused.

It's been so nice to have Japanese food again! One lady took us a to a little ice cream shop up a mountain that was right next to a dairy farm. It was delicious but the best part was that we could look over the whole tree covered valley. I didn't even care that I was lactose intolerant haha. Later today were going as a district to get Indian food at this place that has all you can eat naan which is apparently really good. I'm excited.

This past week I've really felt gods love for everyone I talk to and I'm so grateful for that. We visited one man who is a less active member and says he knows there is nothing after this life, but he also said he wishes he could see his wife again. It's heartbreaking because I know he can and I know God wants to comfort him. I know God loves us all and wants us to come to him. Suffering is part of life but if we go to Christ with that he can make us strong and uplift us.

My second day we did a concert at the snow museum which was just stunning. I had to learn three verses of as sisters in Zion on the car ride there. So, Spanish, Japanese, and shua which is Japanese sign language. SUPER COOL but really hard. We made it through though. It was a neat experience. My district is super fun! There are my companion and I, and two sets of elders in our ward. One elder is from Australia so his Japanese sounds like nothing I've heard before, it's cool. His comp came to Japan in my group so we're both new. The other set are two Japanese guys who are adorable. We all get along well. I love this work and I love being able to represent Christ and have his name on my tag. I love these people and I love gods love. I love my companion and all of you! Please take care and be happy. おだいじに！！

Love

Massey Shimai