A week of Firsts

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.

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