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!