Dec 25, 2016

Hey all,
Still chugging along, but Akari chan was baptized this week!
It was beautiful. She came out of the water and was like, "I can't stop smiling."
She is a miracle and I needed her more than probably she will ever know. She has had a hard life but despite it all she constantly turns to Christ and his atonement. I think everyone needs an akari in their life.
the ward is good and really supportive and has shown her so much love.
Christmas was beautiful. Davis Shimai and Womack Shimai cooked up some good stuff and we spent a long time talking.

My cold is getting better too so that is good news.

I hope you all have a merry Christmas. You're all special to me. I'm grateful for the mission experience and for all the people I have been blessed to meet and grow close to here. I'm grateful for the Japanese members. I'm grateful for God who doesn't abandon us, not even in the dark alone times. I'm grateful for two very special companions who have stayed with me and supported me physically and emotionally. I'm grateful for gods plan for each individual.
Have a good week!

Love
Massey Shimai

Dec 18, 2016

Hey! It's been a while haha.

I transferred from shinkotoni to atsubetsu two weeks ago. It is the biggest ward on the island so that is excited and there are so many cute kids everywhere. I love it. I am in a trio with Davis Shimai and Womack Shimai who are both the best and super kind. I am also back in the same ward as the mission home which has had its perks!

It warmed up a little today so that is good. We are going over to a members house for dinner tonight.

Our investigator akari chan is getting baptized on Saturday, but please pray for her! She is super excited and Just thinking about her makes me want to cry. She is a good soul.

Love you all. Be safe wherever you may be and have a merry Christmas!

Massey Shimai

Nov 20, 2016

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for the emails! I am doing okay! As an update my left leg is recovering pretty well and I'm able to walk a little faster now so life is brighter haha. This week I really felt everyone's prayers so I just want to say how grateful I am for them. Lately I've been feeling very happy, like so happy that it doesn't really make sense. And I'm learning to be more grateful for the little things, like being alive and my companion and spending time with people. Also our investigator (the one who is an NAs daughter) came to church yesterday for the first time in awhile and had a good time so we are grateful for that. We are still not able to really do missionary work. On Saturday we got about 30 minutes in, which was nice. But I've also felt that I needed this to know more joy and to be able to feel closer to my Savior.

Don't forget God is watching over you and literally answers prayers! I love you guys!

Love
Massey Shimai

Nov 8, 2016

Hey everyone!

Well the snow finally came so we are officially done with bikes. It's definitely winter here in Sapporo haha. I would just like to say again how grateful I am for my companion. Without her I think I would've gone crazy. Everyone needs to hear her laugh, it's healing.

I don't really have much to report on missionary work wise. We were riding our bikes home last week and I got hit by a car, but I'm doing okay. Nothing is broken and I don't have a concussion. We haven't been able to do much the past week, so that has been kind of hard but I'm very grateful for everyone who has taken care of me. Especially my companion and the mission president and his wife. Just angels.

I love you all! Please stay safe. I hope you're all doing well and happy.

Love
Massey Shimai

Hello!

It's getting colder and colder here in Sapporo, and we'll probably lose bikes pretty soon when the snow comes.  I'm on my fifth transfer now in shinkotoni and Rigby Shimai and I are staying here for another. Rigby Shimai is a blessing. She just makes people happy. I've been here in shinkotoni for so long, I'm starting to feel like a member here. The members are like family, and they're so good. Just through and through.

Also thanks for your prayers! We found 2 new dads the day after I sent this email so your prayers worked!

We went to a school play with a less active that her daughter was in, and she said it was okay to teach her from now on! Yay!!

Also we invited Tosaka-san to baptism again and she agreed to 2/19 as her date. Please pray for her too!

And we had a ward Halloween party and a lot of non members came which was cool. Our investigator brought her granddaughter too.

I'm out of time but I love you guys!! Miracles happen and God is watching out for you and me and the strangers on the street too.

Have a good week!
Love
Massey Shimai

Oct 17, 2016

Hello!!

I hope you're all doing well.
I'm sorry for not writing last week. I'm doing good and were quite happy here in shinkotoni. Rigby shimai is perfect. It's been a little hard finding people lately so please pray so that we'll find people who need the gospel and who are prepared to receive it 😊


So a lot happened this week, with general conference, interviews with kaicho, and a mission conference, and I've been able to receive a lot of guidance for myself and for our investigators so that was a huge blessing. From conference I loved president nelson's talk about finding joy in any circumstance, and that when we are focused on the joy we can go through anything. That is something I've forgotten on my mission at times, when the situation is hard. But I'm grateful for a God and a savior who has prepared the way for all of us to feel that joy now and forever.
And elder bednar and elder yamashita from the seventy came as well and spoke to us! I don't know how to sum it all into words because it was so much more than words. The part I most needed I think though was when he told us not to beat ourselves up. He focused on the sisters and told us that we do 9 things perfect and one thing not, and we focus on that one thing that was good but not perfect. But he also said that doing this gets in the way. And it is completely unnecessary. He was super bold, but I felt a lot of comfort that day. I want to share something he told us that day: "Be good. Not perfect, just good."

Hey everyone!

First of all, just a reminder that my address has changed so please do not send anything to the old address! My new address is:
Japan Sapporo Mission
6-2  Oyachi  Nishi  1  Chome Atsubetsu-ku
Sapporo-shi,  Hokkaido  004-0042
Japan

This will be my address for the rest of my mission. Thanks always for your love and encouragement! I love hearing from you guys.

Also, Hope you all enjoyed general conference! We aren't able to watch it until this weekend because we are waiting for the Japanese translation but we're so excited!

A lot happened this week! Both of us got sick so we were out for a lot of it, but we found some really cool people when we were able to work! We were housing and found a lady who was looking for the true church, and loves Christ and the Bible and feels free to choose her own path now. And she really wants to hear our message and come to church! It was a cool miracle being able to talk with her and share with her he Book of Mormon, which she is reading!!

Also this Sunday was fast Sunday so I chose to fast and pray so that we would find someone who was prepared to hear the gospel and to be baptized, and that night we were housing again and found a man who was also looking to find the true church and felt like if there was a God, then he would restore his true church and so there would be one. And so we were able to share the message of the restoration with him which he really liked and connected with!

And we got to go to the temple today which is always a blessing! Today sitting inside I really felt that this work and this life is so much more and so much bigger than me or my companion. That the Lord is in command and that he has a plan and that in the end we will be able to live with him again, which is his purpose for everything. I know that there is a purpose to why each of us and here and we don't have to go through it alone. That we were not intended to go through this alone because we are eternal beings and sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. And I am s grateful for that.
I love you all ❤️

 

Hello!

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've last written. A lot of things have happened!


We got to go through the Sapporo temple for the first time and walking in and feeling that special feeling and spirit at the temple was so special! It felt like home! I'm so grateful for temples we have that help us get back to our Heavenly Father, and help give us strength to keep going until the end. I'm grateful for a loving God who has prepared all the things to help us.

And we had transfers, and sweet Aoyama shimai was taken away from me, but I am training! Her name is ribgy shimai from st. George, Utah, and she is perfect. I love her so much already, like more than I thought I could. She's just a great big blessing. To life.

We've been doing a lot of finding this week, and it is cool to see that God definitely puts people in our paths! We've had a lot of cool conversations and teaching opportunities with people on the street this week. One day we gave out a couple pamphlets but they all said no to hearing the lessons and I was a little sad, but then we went and visited a member and we were talking about her conversion story, and she said she was converted because she had received a pamphlet before and when she met the missionaries by chance again, she recognized the pamphlet and decided to listen and eventually be baptized. It was a sweet feeling that God recognizes us and knows what we are feeling right at the moment, and that no effort truly is ever lost.

We also went to stake conference this Sunday, and I got to see a lot of people from Asahikawa and from shinoro, where I used to teach eikaiwa, so that was really special! Our mission president and temple president spoke, and one story Nakatsuka kaicho shared really stuck with me. He said there was a little boy who told his mother that if she saw Christ today, to tell Him he said hi. And his mother got a little nervous and said, I think Christ might be a little busy today. And the boy responded, "mom, if you look really hard, you can find Christ."

I'm so grateful  for all that He has done, and still does for us. I know that if we just seek Him out, even or especially in our darkest days or hardest moments, we can find Him. And I know he is always there waiting for us to let him help us, because I've felt him and I've seen him help and change the people around me, and even me.


Love you guys ❤️
Be safe and have a miracle filled week!
Love
Massey shimai

Hey everyone!

I love you guys ❤️

A lot happened this week, but probably the highlight was getting to see a less active member again. This transfer we've starting meeting with her and it's so cool to see Gods hand in her life.  So we met her for the first time at the temple open house, and a member introduced us. We've been trying to see her forever but she was never home. And then Aoyama shimai and I visited her for the first time and one of her member friends from a neighboring ward was there at the same time in her home, and it was her first time seeing her in like 4 years too. And then we went again just in time for her daughters birthday and were able to serve her. And then the third time we went on the exact day the elder who taught and baptized her 16 years ago came to visit from America. So we gave her a lesson invite and invited her to let her daughter hear the lessons too and she said yes, that was what she wants!! So now we can teach her 9 year old daughter too and prepare her for baptism!

One reason I love being a missionary is that you can really feel the love God has for His children. And you get to see his children progress and come closer to Christ and be happier.

Also Saturday was really crazy. We planned everything out the night before right, but then we start heading out to the area we planned to go to and Aoyama shimai feels that it's wrong and we shouldn't go. So we go back a little and pray and don't know what to do. So we pray again and we both feel like we should go see a member in our ward who is elderly. And it was one of the strongest promptings I've felt so I was worried she wasn't okay, and she didn't open her door, but we wanted to make sure she was okay so we went inside because the door wasn't locked. Lol. And we looked around but she wasn't home. So in the end I guess we intruded into her house, but with really good intentions! She ended up being perfectly okay! And the rest of the day followed similarly as we kept praying for what to do next, and in the end when we came home the outcome wasn't what we expected or hoped, but we knew that we followed Gods will that day, and in the end that is why we are here! Sometimes I get confused when things don't go according to my expectations, or we don't meet our goals, but I know God is in command and as long as we are doing his will, then we are succeeding.

I love you all! Have a great week!!

 Love
 Massey shimai

Sapporo Temple Dedication

Hey everyone!

I'm sorry I'm a little low on time today but we had the Sapporo temple dedication yesterday and it was so beautiful. And so special. We got to be with kobayashi shimai the whole time and she is starting on her family history too! It is so special being able to be with them together in the temple, in the house of the Lord. It felt like being home!


Elder Nelson and Elder Stevenson from the twelve apostles came to dedicate the temple, and when they entered the room the spirit was so strong, and unmistakeable. Being there made me so grateful for the Lords plan and that he is in control. And he never ever leaves us alone. That everything centers on the fact that we are His children and He loves us and has given us a family we can be together forever, and that He will take us safely home in the end. I'm grateful to be a missionary and all the things you learn through the experience and all the times you can see the hand of the Lord in the work. Sometimes it is still hard to keep moving or to believe that you're doing okay, but I know that if we hold on to what we know to be true and keep moving, even if we can't see our path clearly ahead, we can and will make it!


Also our investigator with a baptismal date shared with us yesterday all the times she thinks she has felt the spirit and it was so cool to see her recognize it.

I love you guys!

Hello!


Hope everyone had a good week! 😊
The work here is still moving, we're finding a lot of PIs and new people so hopefully we can help them progress. We set a date for baptism with one of our investigators. She's been hearing the lessons on and off for a long time now, but wants an answer to come soon. Please pray so that her desire to change will strengthen, and she'll be able to focus on that.

One miracle that happened this week was we went to go see a less active member who we've been trying to see for a long time but was never home. Not only was she home with her whole family, but a member from another ward (who I love very very dearly) was there too with her family! It was the first time they've seen each other in about 4 years so it was very cool to see the hand of the lord in that experience. Having her here helped her feel more comfortable with us I think and we were able to learn more about her and her situation.

Also heading up to the tip of our area, we had a prompting to go visit an old investigator who was sick in the hospital for awhile. And she was home and well and wanted to hear the lessons again and was so grateful that we came. She's the cutest.

Our RC got her temple recommend last Sunday to go to the temple dedication! She was worried about it before and didn't want to go but a member helped convince her! Yaaaaaaay!

I'm doing pretty well too. I've realized more lately that missionary work really is life prep, and thou it is difficult at times, I know it prepares us to be the women and men and mothers and fathers God knows we can be. And I'm very grateful for that!
I love you guys!

Riko chan got baptized!!

Hey guys!

Hope everyone is doing well!

The Sapporo temple open house is over and the dedication is coming up this month so we're all excited for that!
Being able to work at the temple everyday we really saw miracles and saw the difference in their attitudes coming in and coming out to the reception area. It was really beautiful and great to learn more about Gods plan for each of His children, and to see people come closer to God in the temple than perhaps they've ever felt before. I loved it so much! Transitioning back into regular dendo (missionary work) has been a little hard but we're trying to take each day at a time.

Our investigator Riko chan was baptized and confirmed this Sunday!
Love her so much! She's come so far and we are really proud of her.  Because of her, I've learned more that God really has a hand in each of our lives and He prepares the way. I learned more about the power of raw faith, when you don't think you can go any further. And from her example of pushing through even when there are unknowns and even when we're scared. She is the best!! The young women were so good about talking to her after church too and being friendly. I love this ward so much.

Sorry it's a little short this week but it was overall a good week. We also will be able to start teaching one of young women's friends next week and we're excited for her.

I love you all! Be safe and enjoy the summer!

Love
Massey shimai

Sapporo Temple Open House!!

Hey everyone!
So pdays are kind of different now, and I'm not sure how much time we'll have to email but I just wanted to say I love you all! The open house is here and we're going to be working there just about every day and it is so, Special! The temple is beautiful and truly is a sacred place. It's beautiful seeing people come in and feel something. We have 3 other sisters staying with us for the open house and it's been fun haha like having a family again. Have a great week!

Heyo!
Hope everyone is doing well! Transfers came and I'm staying with Welch shimai who is just perfect in all ways!! ❤️

Kobayashi san was confirmed a member yesterday and it was so so special. Every time we see her our day just gets a little brighter.

This week was a little bit of a harder one, but we were able to work more with the members this week which was really really good! The young women are on fire and we've met a couple more of their friends this week. Just perfect.

One day we decided to clean the baptismal font, but we couldn't get the water working so it didn't work out, but afterwards we went and talking to people on the streets on the way to an appointment and one of the first people we talked to was a girl our age who believed in God and wanted to come to church with us the next day! We invited her to the temple open house and she came to church too! And the whole program yesterday was so perfect for her and what she needed. We're meeting with her again this week and excited about it!

We also taught the two Vietnamese girls this week, which was interesting! They speak pretty good Japanese but we used Vietnamese pamphlets to help them and they were really into them. They're really sweet and one said she wants to be baptized 😊

Shinkotoni is such a special place. And I'm truly blessed to be able to work here.

Kobayashi San got baptized!!

Hi everyone!!
Welch shimai and I have been seeing so many miracles together. It's really amazing. We're starting to work with the members more lately and it's been really good! The young women are on fire and want their friends to get baptized. And the members help out a ton with team ups and inviting their friends to the temple too.

One member took us out around her neighborhood to invite her friends with her, which was really really good. And this last week Welch shimai and I went back to them and one wants to listen to our message! We went back to another friend and met her husband who actually have a son who is also LDS! They see his example and said that they know his religion is good because of it. We're excited we get to teach them as a couple, because it's our first time being able to do so.

We also met with another family we are teaching, and taught them the plan of salvation and the mom really wanted her kids to be involved and understand what we were saying and was involved in teaching them too, which was really cool!

And then last Sunday makino shimai brought 4 new Vietnamese neighbors and wants us to teach them as well. They're all really cute and sweet
😊

Also also!! Our beloved kobayashi San got baptized this Saturday! It was so beautiful and her testimony at the end was just perfect. She is just perfect. Its been so humbling to see her testimony grow and progress. The spirit was so strong when she bore it as well, I wish I could just bottle up that experience forever.
❤️❤️❤️

Hey guys!

K lots happened this week!

First of all, elder Quentin L. Cook and elder Stevenson from the twelve apostles came to speak with us as a mission, as well as elder Gong and the area presidency and their wives. It was really amazing and inspiring and we got a lot of questions answered for the area and for our investigators and for ourselves as well. Their testimonies of the gospel and of Christ were so powerful, and they were comforting as well in helping us know what we are successful when we feel the spirit working through us. It also got me really excited for the TEMPLE which is coming very very soon (July!) that all the sister missionaries will be able to give open house tours for! It's such a blessing and hearing them speak inspired me more to focus on the temple and on the fact that people can live with their families forever, and that the temple is the goal. So exited!!

Also!!
So there were a lot of changes and we ended up dropping two investigators, which was scary since we don't have a lot of people in our teaching pool, but afterwards we found two people who were really prepared and willing to learn about the gospel and were wanting to change.
Welch shimai and I were biking one day and stopped a girl on the street and at first we weren't sure if she was interested but Welch shimai asked if she had some time that we could share a message and she did! So we went to a park and shared lesson one about the restoration, and it's just been miracle after miracle with her after that. And we've been seeing her almost everyday since then, and she even came to church last Sunday and we set a date with her for the same day as kobayashi San's baptism! We are so so excited for her, and excited to help her as she discovers the beauty of the gospel.
And kobayashi San is keeping the word of wisdom and is doing okay!

And holy cow the ward is helping us so much, its amazing. They're so willing to team up with us and sit in on lessons and befriend our investigators and it's really built my testimony of the importance and blessing of having a friend in the gospel, especially when you're coming to church for the first time.

Overall it was just a really good week, and I'm so grateful to be here and to be with Welch shimai and to learn from her example as well. I'm grateful that God is there with us to call us, and I'm very very far from perfect but that fact that he doesn't want us to get discouraged or be impatient with ourselves, the fact that he is not disappointed in us or impatient with us has helped me have more hope recently.

I remembered one more thing I wanted to share haha. One thing we learned this week, and Elder Cook also shared it as well, was that the spiritual experiences you have are a lot of the times there to benefit those around us. There are stressful times and sometimes it's hard to endure and keep moving forward but through those times we were able to relate more to those we find and teach, and can understand more of what they're feeling. And it's something I didn't realize until they said a concern they were having and we understood it because we went through it together. I know that God has a plan and a purpose for everything!

I love you all! Be safe this week!

 Love,
 Massey shimai

Hey all!

Okay. I'm not really sure where to start but I got to go on splits with my trainer free shimai! And it was beautiful and brought back a lot of good memories and she is just perfect. 💕
So I guess this week, we had a lot of ups and downs. Some of the miracles that happened this week:
Kobayashi San committed to be baptized and we set a date for her and she feels really good about it! And she had some concerns before about her testimony but she resolved them this week through a really cool moment when she just kind of closed her eyes and imagined Joseph Smith and pondered. That was really cool, and really really humbling too. I think this week in general was just really humbling.

Also on splits Welch shimai and kuta shimai found someone while streeting and it was a total miracle because this now investigator doesn't leave her house very much, but is looking for a church and something to believe in and wants really badly to believe in God. We met her everyday afterwards and she came on church this Sunday too!  She said she would be baptized too and she really wants a second start, which is part of what the gospel promises and it was a blessing to see her feel the spirit as well while watching a video of Christ.  Love her.

And a member has a couple Vietnamese neighbors and invited them to church too so we will try teaching them as well, since they understand Japanese pretty well. They became new investigators on sunday and they were expressing how they really want to learn more about the gospel.

And we prayed a lot this week because we really, really needed it.  Without those prayers, I could not have gotten through some of these days but I'm learning to be grateful for the trials we have and the hard times when we are weak, because without those we wouldn't learn we need God. In life, there will be hard times because life can be hard, but I know with God we will be able to get through it, but more than that that we really can feel joy and love and hope amidst it.  I love this gospel and I'm grateful to be a missionary. And I'm eternally grateful for my companion who helps and strengthens and supports me along the way. Could not do it without her either.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,
Massey shimai

Heyo!
I transferred! ショック because I so thought I was staying. My new companion is Welch shimai who actually had the same trainer as me and second companion and we have a ton in common as well. She's an angel and I love her so much. I needed her.
It was hard saying goodbye to kotoni, especially because I felt like so much has happened there in those short 3 months, but shinkotoni does feel right since being here. Im grateful for this new opportunity and also to be with Welchy. Our first day we went to see an investigator who kind of has a baptismal date but not a solid one, and when she comes to the door like the first thing she tells us is that she talked to her husband who she thought was against it, and found out he actually wasn't! And she was praying for the courage to tell him that she wanted to be baptized and she felt a prompting to do it that day. She has such a strong testimony and were really excited for her. She came to church on Sunday too and bore her testimony to the Sunday school class. She is prepared!!
One thing Welch shimai and I decided to do this transfer is to stop everyone on the streets, and it's something I haven't been doing thus far. And it's been hard but the last person we stopped on saturday ended up being two deaf people AND Welch shimai in atsubetsu before studied Japanese sign language! So we can teach her and we set up a new appointment! It was a miracle.

And earlier that day we went to visit a new family named せき family who live kind of far away and the wind was blowing soooo strong that day and it was hard to keep going but it helped me think about how much I really wanted to go there and meet her and share the gospel with her, and after praying for the strength to keep going, the muscle pain went almost completely away and we were able to get there a lot sooner than we thought. And then after the lesson, which was really really good by the way! And she wants us to come back. And when we asked her if she believed in God, she was kind of like "I don't know... Is there a god?" And when we said yes she was like, smiling, "I guess there is a god." yay. But then after we go out to leave and get on our bikes but my tire went flat all of a sudden so we were going to walk home but then Welch shimai felt like we should go back, so we went back and she pumped my tire back up and we were able to make it home haha. It was such a miracle.

I'm grateful to be here and be with Welch shimai and these people that I've met so far. The ward is way cute too and it feels right. There are about 40 members so it's definitely smaller than kotoni. I'm excited for this transfer!

Love you guys 💕❤️ sorry I've been neglecting my emails. But love you all! Have a great week!

Hey everyone!

Love you all! Sorry I didn't email last week... BUT the past two weeks were good! It's been interesting and there have been a lot of changes but it's good. So there is a member here who just got her mission call and she wanted to come dendo with us to see what it was like and while we were planning we thought since the time was short we would just find before an activity but then we remembered this one investigator we haven't seen in like 2 months who is about our age as well and decided to go there. And she opens the door which in itself is a miracle because she hasn't every time we've gone back. But she opens and we talk with her a little bit and then Mori shimai invites her to a BBQ were having at Honbu for young members and their friends and young investigators that was starting in like 30 minutes and she decided to come with us! So we go and she has a great time and comes to church with us the next Sunday, and cried all through sacrament meeting. And we talked with her a little after and she is so interested in how we personally feel gods love and comfort and she said she would be baptized if she knew it was true so we set a baptismal date for the end of this month. But since Last Sunday we haven't been able to contact her since so please pray that we will be able to meet with her again! We're not really sure what happened, but hopefully she'll come back around when she is ready.

We were also able to meet an investigator who was actually passed to us from another area and she came to sacrament meeting and our Sunday school class too and she sat next to the mission presidents wife なかつかshimai while we were teaching (which is such a blessing by the way) and they became friends so we're happy about that. We're excited to see her again!

Also Lately some grandmas have been coming up and talking to us and inviting us over and it's really cute and fun.

Also I went to the beach last Monday which I missed a TON.

Hey all!
How was everyone's week? Love you all tons. This week was pretty good for me. I was sick for some of it but it's getting better.

There was one day that we had our weekly planning session and I was just kind of drained at the end of it so we took a short break, but after I woke up, Mori shimai and I decided we should at least go see one of our investigators. We were planning to give him a Book of Mormon that day. So we went and we talked with him for a little bit, and then brought up the Book of Mormon again and started to teach him about it and what it means to us, and at first he kind of made a joke out it and told us we needed to try harder if we wanted to sell this book and that we weren't good salespeople. And we realized that we can't sell anything about this gospel. We aren't professional speakers, and I can't even speak the language that well, but we can share what it means to us. We don't know a lot of things, but we know it was true. He changed completely afterwards and took the book and was flipping through it a lot and said he would read it, and it was just a really happy miracle.

I know the power of the spirit is real and that God loves all his people infinitely. And he has a plan made especially for each of us and that if we trust in his plan and follow him and come closer to him, we will be able to feel that love and happiness and peace. Sometimes when I get stressed or confused I find myself drifting away from where I want to be, but I know that we can always come back. That he beckons us back, that his arms are always, always open.

General conference also helped me learn a lot about what I need to do to become better and happier and more trusting. I learned that I need to find joy, and that I need to know I am a child of God, instead of just believing it. I learned that I need to keep trying and loving and doing what I can and that God blesses us in that effort. And that the first great truth is that God loves us. That God loves me and that God loves you. And I know that that is true!
I love you all! Have a happy week and find joy! Be safe too. ✌
Love you,
Massey shimai

ひさしぶり！ everyone,
I'm sorry I haven't written lately! I'm doing well!
I'm staying in kotoni and my companion went home (which was really sad) but I got a new companion! Her name is Mori shimai and she is just the cutest person alive. She is so sweet and encouraging and I'm really excited for this transfer! We knew each other a bit before because we were serving in neighboring areas before and we got to see her every week haha. I love her so much. She is half Filipino and half Japanese!

This week has been good. The work is progressing slowly, but we're so excited for this transfer! We had some time the other day because we ended up 10 minutes early to an appointment so we pinged on two houses and found a new family! At first the dad wasn't really interested but after a little bit he started smiling more and he was really accepting. We think he felt the spirit, and he said we could come back so we're excited for them! The kotoni members are also so great. They are such great examples to me.

Lately I've been feeling really stressed about a lot of things, but I've also been learning the importance of focusing on the simpleness of the gospel and the beauty of the world around me, and just being more grateful. I feel like there are always going to be things in life that stress out or complicate things, or even make enduring really difficult, but we can choose to be happy through faith. I love the gospel and the atonement and I love God. I really feel strengthened or peace when I have asked for it in my prayers and I'm so grateful for a loving God who hears us and is cheering us on through the road bumps and storms and peaceful periods of life. I know that we can be happy now, that it doesn't have to wait until later, and that he wants us to be happy too. I love you all!

This week was general conference in America! You can find it at lds.org! I also feel peace and comfort when I watch it. I'll have to wait till this weekend for the Japanese translation though haha.

Love you all!
Have a great week!

This week was cool! We met a lot of NAs and I got to meet some people,
and our recent convert had her first after baptism lesson so we were
happy about that. Also one of our investigators became progressing as
he started reading the Book of Mormon! We're so happy about that 😊

We also had mission tour and elder Choi our area seventy came to visit
our mission. He and his wife are wonderful! I learned a lot about
being one with God and our investigators. And about being confident in
the lord. I love you all! Sorry this week is really short! Have a good
week this week!

Love
Massey shimai

Hey everyone!

Sorry I didn't mail last week, but this week was really good! Last
week was kind of slow to be honest, and we worked hard but didn't see
much out of our efforts, but then this week came and right from the
start we just saw good thing after good thing after good thing. It was
a miracle, and through it, we learned better that blessings come maybe
not at the time we hope or expect but that they do come.

We met our young investigator who is so interested in church and
activities and even the temple. When we talked about the temple and
showed her pictures of it, her eyes lit up and she got really excited.
It was also really easy to get to know her better and we became
friends fast.

We also met another investigator who has been our investigator for
awhile, and she's 50 but looks 30 and she has the most beautiful skin
I've ever seen. She told us her secret and gave us some cream so we've
been using it haha. It's really exciting actually. She is really kind
and likes talking about religion and we like meeting with her.

AND then we met with an old investigator the elders passed to us who
is about our age. She is so cute and is definitely interested in
religion and we were able to set a return appointment. We're really
excited for her. 😊

This week there were some rough patches but I learned more about being
meek and humble, and learning again the importance of leaning on the
lord. I know that we can become stronger when we allow God to shape us
into who he needs us to be. It isn't comfortable, but I know hat gods
plan is for our eternal happiness and that when we trust in that plan
he will be able to help us the most.

I love you all! How is everyone doing? I heard it's snowing again out
east haha enjoy it!

Love,
Massey shimai

Hello!!
Ooooookay. I got transferred from asahikawa to kotoni!! Leaving everyone was really hard, especially the members and investigators, but I know that kotoni is where God has called me to be. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve here and have a part in gods work. Those people in asahikawa helped me more than I can even say and they were always supporting me way beyond what would be considered kind. I love them so much.

Kotoni is part of Sapporo and is pretty city! We don't walk nearly as much as we did before in asahikawa. There aren't really progressing investigators but I'm excited to be able to work here with morishita shimai! She is from Osaka and is an angel. It's peaceful being with her and I'm already so thankful for her and her help. It might take a bit to adjust to a new area but I love it here so much already. We're also a 4 person apartment because there are two sister sets and that's been way fun!

Love you guys! Sorry I don't have a ton of time today BUT I love you!

Hello everyone!

This week was kind of all over the place again haha. Wo shimai and I were literally running around everywhere for three days. We had a joint zone conference in Sapporo and I learned so much. Kaicho gave this one workshop about trials and the plan of salvation and he was teaching us how to teach it to answer some of life's difficult questions. He taught a really cool lesson using kanji! So the kanji for difficult is 辛い and the kanji for happiness is 幸. He showed us that when we put a little more effort in, the hard times can turn into happy moments. Truth.

He also talked about being saved and that "saving is not a finish line at the end of life but everyday." Loved it so much and it's so true. He asks us to do our best, but Christ has already made a way for us to come back home in the end. Such a good zone conference! (Also got to see free shimai again and meet Welch shimai (who was trained by free right before me) for the first time! They're so beautiful and good. I got to see a lot of other missionaries I love so that was really nice! Especially because they got rid of transfer spot... So now we'll be traveling alone to our new areas and I'm a bit stressed about that BUT it's okay. Karaka choro is going home in a couple of days and that's been really sad, but it's been such a good three transfers working with him.

Tomorrow we get our transfer calls and it's been making me kind of sad thinking of leaving all these people I love and this area and our investigators but I'm also excited for whatever is next.

This week we didn't spend a lot of time in our area because of zone conference and traveling and splits but we were able to find a couple new investigators and had good lessons when we had them. The elders passed an investigator who's blind and accepts everything we teach her. She's such a good person and we love her so much. So much.

And I love all of you!! This week there were definitely hard moments but we got closer at the end of them.

Love you guys. Stay safe and happy.


Massey shimai

Hey everybody!
The week was kind of all over the place. BUT we saw lots of miracles and really enjoyed this week together, especially because this next week is going to fly by since we're all going down to Sapporo for the winter festival and zone conference.
We were able to meet with a new investigator who is really really cool and is way more interested and knows way more about Christ than we thought she did. We gave her a Book of Mormon and asked her to read 3 nephi 11 this week and she's like okay what should I be looking for?  What should I be thinking about when I read this? And we asked her if she would just pay attention to how she feels when she reads it and what things stand out to her and what she learns about Christ, or like questions she has from reading it, and shes like, that's it?  We're excited for her! And it seems like her daughter likes us too because she runs up to see us when we pass by her shop so that makes us happy because we weren't sure if she liked us at first haha. Love those two.
One thing we've been thinking about lately is how to help our investigators progress more, because sometimes it seems like we're just saying the same thing. It's sad because we want them to come closer to God so that they can have the opportunity to feel his love and that he has a plan for us.
We also met with another investigator who has these three dogs who won't stop barking unless you hold them. So I FINALLY got a hold of the loudest one, and I was like YES now we can teach her! And we talked about the faith and Joseph smith and it was really great until her dog leaped off my lap when she left the room and I looked down at my skirt and found a little surprise. Mm. But it washed out so its all good haha.
ALSO we met this CUTE couple when we offered to help them shovel snow, but they let us into their home after like 5 minutes and gave us all these Japanese snacks and talked to us. I think the husband is probably the cutest person I've ever met in my life. He's just so good and kind and his laugh lines are proof that he is a happy man. They're not interested but they were very kind to us and we were able to talk a little bit about the gospel.
We just got back from the winter festival here in asahikawa! It's smaller than the one in Sapporo but it's apparently prettier because this one has ice sculptures. They're really breathtaking actually. It was a lot of fun! Asappi is our town mascot (every city has a mascot) and he's like a seal with ramen wings... Anyway he's a cutie and we found this taiyaki booth at the festival that made them in the shape of his body and I nearly died it was so cute.