Well this past week has been a week of firsts! I passed out
my first Book of Mormon, went on my first splits, taught my first lesson in
Mission School (Eikawa), gave my first training, met my first distant relative.
Also got lost and separated from my companion for the first time! It was a
total accident.
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| Teaching English to kids at Mission School! So cute, I know. |
We traveled to Sendai City to do splits this weekend. I had
the opportunity to be companions with Sister Lefrandt from Hawaii. Sister
Lefraundt has dendou (mission) fire! She`s always stopping and talking to
people, passing out Book of Mormons and Mission School flyers, and constantly
looks for service opportunities. I definitely want to be like her when I grow
up as a missionary.
Anyways, on Friday evening we were riding our bikes to
church. It was dark outside and the path was winding maze with right and left
turns every 20 feet or so. Sister Lefraundt was riding super fast and I was
doing my best to keep up with her. Long story short, I took a wrong turn and
ended up following another biker. So here I was a lone missionary just
aimlessly riding around the streets of Sendai without a companion in site.
Luckily I ran into an elderly lady and barely managed to ask in my broken
Japanese, "Where is the church?" Being the tender angel she is, she
led me to where I was supposed to be. On my way to the church I ran into Sister
Bean and her splits companion Sister Yamashita, who were out looking for me. It
was a joyous reunion and everything was okay after that! I just have to say,
I'm so incredibly blessed to be working with such wonderful sisters.
On top of splits, Sister Bean and I had a productive week
with finding. Yesterday (Aug. 28), we said a prayer and were led to knock on
doors in a certain area close to our apartment. We were walking down the street
when we came across a house with the name sign "Matsuura" bolted onto
the front gate. I of course got super excited and made a mad dash to the front
door. I rang the door bell and heard an old man's voice coming from inside. I
addressed him by his name "Matsuura san" and explained how I was a
missionary from America and that we had the same name. We heard footsteps come
to the door and he came outside and talked to us for a good 20 minutes. He knew
of the "missionaries from Utah" and apparently took English classes
from them back in the day. He also shared some history about the Matsuura
family and how we all "escaped" from Southern Japan and began
occupying areas in the North. I shared the story of how all my family ended up
in Idaho, which he believes is a result of the same historical event that led
his family to the Sendai area. I don't know how much of the story is true, and
I honestly had a difficult time understanding what he was saying half the time,
but it was such a great opportunity meeting him! We invited him to attend the
Mission school English classes, which he said he would try to come to. I hope
we have the chance to meet him again.
It's moments like these that make missionary work so
wonderful. I am so happy here. I love serving the people of Japan and seeing
the effects of the Lord`s work every single day. I know that every good thing
that happens, every miracle we witness, every person who is touched by the
gospel, is through Him. I know this is true because I`m just a new missionary
who can barely even speak the language. I`m just blessed with the opportunity
of having a front row seat in witnessing the Lord's work come forth.
All we`re asked to do is be obedient, to work hard, to open
our mouths and he will do the rest.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Let's all look for
opportunities to serve one another.
So much love for you all!
Matsuura Shimai
