Hello Family and Friends!
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| Kobayashi Shimai and President and Sister Collinsworth |
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| In the Zone |
As many of you know, the MTC has been hosting an open house
for people to have the opportunity to see the new buildings and get a glimpse
into the life of a missionary. Visitors got to see missionaries studying in
their classrooms, eating in the cafeteria and exercising in the gym. Not
going to lie, sometimes I felt like we were animals in a zoo exhibit! And it
didnt help that someone jokingly put up a sign by the cafeteria that read,
"Do not feed the missionaries."
During the tours, I was blessed with the oppportunity to run
into my parents, Grandma and aunt Irene. I was just in my natural habitat
(playing four square in the gym), when in walked my family! It was so wonderful
seeing them during my final days at the MTC. Mom tried so hard not to cry (bless
her heart).
Other highlights during the week included seeing Elder
Ballard, getting a baptismal commitment from one of our
"investigators,"
eating fresh guacamole in the cafetera, receiving a package
of Kristine Hodson`s homemade sugar cookies, wonderful sisters who are willing
to do karaoke hymns with you,
The list goes on.
These blessings may appear small, but mean the world to a
new missionary who is barely starting to see the Lord`s hand in everything.
In addressing one of the fundamental beliefs of this gospel,
please remember that God`s love is real. He created this world for us, gave us
life and a means of constant communication with him through prayer.
If we submit oursleves to the Lord, His love can become our
love.
Thank you for all the encouragement that has come in the fom
of letters, emails and treats. Us missionaries are always grateful for the
support we receive from home. Sometimes its what helps gets us through a rough
day and on to face the next!
Church is true.
God`s love is real.
Love,
Matsuura Shimai
Aug 22, 2017
Can`t believe it`s already been a week of serving in Japan! Jet lag is finally gone and I have so much energy. It has been wonderful.
Here in Yamagata, they're famous for their fruit and Ramen. I was beyond excited to hear that. There's also bugs, spiders and worms galore (great). I stepped on a giant cicada the other day. It probably made my top 10 list of most non social-related cringeworthy moments.
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| Praying for my investigators |
My companion is Sister Bean from Utah! We're both 22, attended BYU, and lived in the freshman dorms the same year. It`s been a fun sharing stories from our college past. Sister Bean has been great at introducing me to the life of a missionary! She's fluent in Japanese, has a GPS mind, and is an amazing teacher. She's also super fast on the bike. I`m definitely getting my daily workout in trying to keep up with her.
Our mission president asked us to think of creative ways to approach people. One thing we did this week was "pineapple dendou".
Pretty much what we did was walk around a park carrying a pineapple. We would then walk up to people and ask them, "If you`ve never seen a pineapple, would you want to eat it?" The most common response would be, "Probably not. It looks kind of scary!" We would then introduce the idea of the gospel and how it may appear scary at first, but when you eat it, it tastes sweet.
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| Pineapple Dendou with Sister Bean |
We got so many laughs. But we also had some great conversations and even passed out a Book of Mormon! If anyone has any creative ideas with approaching people, please let me know.
Thank you for all your prayers. I wish you all the best this coming week!
Matsuura Shimai
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| Sister Guenther & I (serving in Tokyo Japan) |
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| Elder Larrabee drew me as a missionary |
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